INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2021 - #CHOOSETOCHALLENGE INSPIRING WOMEN - NATWEST BUSINESS HUB
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International
Women’s Day 2021
#ChooseToChallenge
Inspiring Women
Over the last few years the local NatWest We’re delighted to be working in collaboration
team in Milton Keynes have celebrated with NatWest this International Women’s Day.
International Women’s day by bringing The saying goes; you can be, what you
together an incredible community of women can’t see. And as you can see, the Oxford
to meet, network and share their experiences. to Cambridge Arc is full of inspirational
We’ve had Entrepreneurs, leaders and some women in business. It’s fantastic to bring
wonderful people share their journey on stage together female entrepreneurs to celebrate
in such a candid and engaging manner. achievements, discuss barriers to growth⁹ and
So this year, the team felt it was only right to form a community for resilience now, and in
capture the magic, inspiration and resilience the future.
shown by women right across the region
who’s stories will resonate in every household, Vicky Hlomuka
every business and every community. The Growth Hub Manager,
challenges every single person has faced over SEMLEP’s Growth Hub
the past 12 months have been exceptional,
and time and time again I have heard how
As the Local Enterprise Partnership
it’s been relationships, community, friendship,
for Oxfordshire, it’s important for us to
support that has gotten individuals through
inspire women of all ages to understand
experiences far outside of their control.
the opportunities that exist in business –
This International Women’s Day, as we whether it be giving women the confidence
explore how we all #ChoosetoChallenge I to start their own business, discover what
think it’s important to know that when we apprenticeships can bring, or realise the
look to make a change for good, we never world-leading sectors and organisations
stand alone. that all call Oxfordshire ‘home’. That’s why
Our team hopes that you enjoy reading it’s so important for us to play our part on
these experiences and join us in celebrating International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day and each other.
Richard Byard,
Sharon Rai Director of Business Development,
Diversity & Inclusion Partner, OxLEP
NatWest Commercial Banking
Over the last few years, International
International Women’s Day provides the Women’s Day has been our largest and most
perfect opportunity to celebrate the inspiring inspirational event and always a personal
women within our community. This year, highlight. This time last year, having to cancel
we’re proud to be working in collaboration our celebrations was a huge disappointment
with NatWest to recognise local women’s full of strange feelings- unsure of what lay
achievements, triumphs and discuss their ahead for each of us. Fast forward twelve
future aspirations. months and what better way to celebrate
We’re excited to continue supporting female than to recognise the amazing women we
entrepreneurs to innovate and drive ambition have around us. I’m so proud to be involved in
in 2021. this project and cannot wait to meet each of
these ladies at our virtual event on the 8th of
March.
Hilary Chipping
Chief Executive, SEMLEP Nicola D’Amelio
Business Growth Enabler, Bedford &
Cambridge
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those
of NatWest, SEMLEP, OXLEP or the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority. The nominations have
been independently provided by local networks, communities and organisations across the South East Midlands
region and do not form any recommendation or endorsement for the professional services or products that these
individuals may offer.
At age 21 Adelina came to the UK as a East European migrant worker picking
raspberries in Norfolk. She had £13 left in her bank account and was nearly Alison Taylor has worked in the public relations and marketing industry for 35 years,
homeless. Now, 18 years later she runs a successful business called The Geek and is founder and managing director of the award-winning agency Conscious
Whisperer, she works with companies like Arm and Fujitsu and runs tech events Communications. Alison is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
with Amazon and Microsoft. She won Top 21# People to Watch by Cofinitive in and the Public Relations and Communications Association; Chair of the Academy
2019 and in her last job, before she started her business 10 years ago, she was Council at North Cambridge Academy (part of Cambridge Meridian Academies
the East of England representative to Theresa May’s roundtables when she was Trust); Co-founder of Cambridge 2030; and founder of FXP Festival, a ground-
equality minister. She also guest lectures at Cambridge University and coaches breaking initiative designed to inspire young people, aged 14-19 years, and drive
leaders in tech companies of thousands of people. social mobility, which was registered as a charity in 2020.
Adelina Chalmers Alison Taylor
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
Last year I had severe Covid and I decided to share my experience on LinkedIn with people and share tips and tricks I was learning about I founded Conscious Communications in 2012 with the ambition of creating a thriving communications agency that was also a ‘force for
Covid as I was living it. A lot of people said they found it inspirational. I was even on the front page of Cambridge Independent with my good’. During 2020, more than any other year, this mission was put to the test. Witnessing the devastating impact of lockdown on local
story. people, I challenged public and private sector organisations in Cambridge to collaborate to relieve poverty and address inequalities through a
podcast docu-series, ‘Cambridge - In pursuit of equality’, which shines a spotlight on the issues of homelessness and housing, hunger, access
to opportunities and culture, in one of the UK’s social mobility ‘coldspots’. I then went on to united public, private, community and voluntary
sectors under the Cambridge 2030 banner, in a campaign to provide digital access for over 8,000 children without laptops at home across
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Though London born, I’m very happy to now call Milton Keynes home - for
both my family and my business. I founded Yellowyoyo alongside my husband
in 1998, determined to deliver transformational business and brand strategies
to our clients, together with fresh and innovative design and marketing. I’m a
graphic designer, and that problem solving attitude runs through so much of my
thinking. I’m very fortunate to do what I love and to work with some inspirational,
exceptional people. I’m proud to be trusted to help businesses to tell their stories
and be the best that they can be.
Amanda Wright
Alison Hargreaves is the director of a wedding media brand, Guides for Brides.
Launched in 1995, the company has steadily grown from being regional
magazines and consumer events to a top wedding planning and review website -
the “TripAdvisor” of weddings.
How I #ChoseToChallenge
I’d describe 2020 as a priority reboot. We witnessed displays of true colours, from organisations and from each other. Some stepped up and
showed genuine human kindness, some behaved despicably. I remember hoping that the goodness in people would continue to outweigh
Alison Hargreaves those determined to take advantage and cheat the system. In both life and work I challenged and prioritised staying in touch – calls and using
FaceTime took over from email. I was determined to maintain as real a connection as possible. Personally and professionally, I didn’t want there
to have to be a reason to call. Just to be able to ask, “How are you… no, how are you really?”, to offer advice, pro bono assistance, whatever
helped…At Yellowyoyo, from a point of actually getting work ‘done’, my working day wasn’t greatly altered. Working as I do with my husband
meant simply the reorganisation of our lounge. Conversations with clients and our small team transferred online pretty easily and when allowed
we held the odd distanced meeting. What we did face though, were challenges as to our thinking - how to advise given the new normal, adapt
How I #ChoseToChallenge our processes and to ensure that we kept our clients and ourselves visible. Like so many, what unsettled me hugely was the lack of face to face
contact. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a very sociable person. And a hugger. I’m fortunate that a great many of my clients, network
and colleagues are those I’m delighted to call friends. I did feel a significant loss with the lack of interaction. I still do struggle with that. Given
The wedding industry came to a complete standstill on 23rd March 2020, just as high season would be about to start. Around 250,000 weddings
technology of course, we could still ‘meet’, network and do business. At Yellowyoyo we found that the majority of our methods of delivery
across the country were cancelled or postponed and wedding businesses were put under immense financial pressure. I spent the first few
translated well to being fully in the online world; our presentations, workshops and webinars if different, were just as effective. I have to add at
months understanding the challenges that couples and businesses were facing, and then started trying to solve those that I could; gathering
this point that I’m very aware that we’ve been incredibly fortunate and that companies in other sectors - and we know a great many - have a
data, speaking to the government, interpreting CMA guidance, mediating and acting as a conduit of information from the government and the
totally different story to tell. Back in April, Yellowyoyo carried out a Covid-19 Recovery fund case study project for MK Community Foundation.
CMA to our clients and to couples.
I had the opportunity to speak with over 30 locally based community groups tackling the real, often brutal realities of the pandemic. The
I recognised that venues would need to know if their staff had been exposed to the virus at work and developed “Trusted Trace”; subsequently experience was humbling. This certainly challenged me to even more fully empathise with others. My family is a close one, despite being far
used by PHE in pilots while they developed the NHS App and adopted by the meetings and events industry as part of their AIM-Secure standard. flung, geographically. I’ve really missed the joy of celebrating significant birthdays with them, hated being unable to say my final goodbyes to
To promote professional standards, increase compliance with the government Covid-safe guidance and boost confidence in attending weddings, friends, felt devastated for my children who have been cheated of their University experience and spent the last 11 months worrying continually
I launched the WeddingSafe industry standard. about my elderly parents. I’ve also been challenged by the sale of a house and a move, stressful at the best of times but during a pandemic,
doubly so. Despite all this, I’m remaining confident that the world will learn from the past year. I know how fortunate I am to have a healthy
Having campaigned alone for a lot of the year, when the industry came together to form a government backed UK Weddings Taskforce in family, to be safe, well and to be surrounded by the love and support of so many kind people. 2020 has made me so much more aware of
November, I was appointed Deputy Chair. It has been an incredibly challenging few months helping to bring together a diverse and fragmented what really matters; of gratefully counting my blessings; not taking anything for granted; not saving anything for ‘special’; staying in touch; and
industry to find safe and viable reopening solutions for businesses. 80% of wedding businesses are owned or operated by women, with a cultural supporting others, whilst appreciating that it’s sometimes those you least expect need support, who actually do.
mix representative of the couples we serve, driving an economy worth £14.7b per year in the UK. As an industry, we’ve got a way to go, but
when the industry finally reopens on 21st June it will be for weddings for all couples, regardless of their faith, belief or background, and that has
been incredibly important to me.
Angie Kennedy, CEO of C2C Social Action. I head up a charity that puts women
at the heart of our organisation. We are a charity run by women, for the benefit The early part of my career was spent helping employers implement equal
of enabling women to reimagine themselves. Supporting women within the opportunities legislation. I’ve been challenging every form of discrimination for
criminal justice system, in Northants and Bucks, we help by walking with them to four decades. My business life evolved into supporting small business owners
regain their lives after domestic abuse, substance misuse, mental health, debt or through mentoring, coaching and peer group learning. I presented The Business
family crisis and work with them in a person centered, holistic way, looking at the Hub radio show for five years, launched two podcasts including The Social Media
big picture of their lives and not each element in isolation. Show in 2012 and co-wrote New Business: Next Steps for Pearson plc in 2015.
As an introvert I found networking events challenging so started my own. The
Inspired Group ran for 10 years and Drive, The Partnership Network has been
running for five.
Angie Kennedy Ann Hawkins
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
Agility and flexibility have been our aims of 2020. Since we are a very small organisation, we very quickly adapted to the challenges that the In March 2020 I challenged my network of business owners to hold steady and not to be panicked or pressured into giving up on their hard
pandemic brought last year. We had to stop all our face to face contact back in March, but we found innovative ways to remain contact with fought for successes. For 120 days we held drop in meetings on Zoom when anyone could turn up and get or offer support or just see a friendly
the vulnerable women we work with. We have moved as many activities as were possible outside and developed new ones where we have face. Many people said these meetings were the only thing that got them through the first lockdown when many were suffering bereavements
found gaps in the service, building partnerships to ensure we weren’t duplicating services. My personal perspective was about seeing a gap in of every kind. As the year progressed we held 40 workshops to share expertise and experience and keep everyone focused on their business
our service and working with the team to find the best way of plugging it, having a “yes we can do that” attitude, as long as it was right for our goals. We offered help and advice to those who were adapting their business, pivoting or moving on-line. Many of our members ended the year
service users and fit for purpose. Being able to make quick decisions and put these into action, was a key factor to how we kept up with the having had their best results ever. In the middle of the year, George Flloyd was killed, and the Black Lives Matter protests took place. I’d become
environment, that was changing on a day by day basis. increasingly disquieted by the role that social media, and in particular Facebook, played in deliberately promoting dissent for profit, so when big
So what we have done in 2020 is: brands were boycotting Facebook I took my businesses off the platform and closed all our accounts. We acknowledge that we are tiny fish in a
very big pond but our network actively supports equal rights and we have a very diverse membership so this felt like the right thing to do even
• Set up a gardening project, which allows women to work outside, gain horticultural qualifications, and experience the joys of new life. if it meant losing business. We transferred our Drive the Network Group to LinkedIn and, far from losing members, this prompted other business
• Moved our courses on line with the introduction of C2C Sews, and C2C Glows being run as virtual courses owners to follow suit. “The goal is to balance a life that works with a life that counts. The challenge is to acknowledge that just because
• Developed a walking group, to encourage women to take up exercise something works, it doesn’t mean that it matters.” Peter Block - The Answer to How is Yes. Every week I challenged my network to share
something that matters and the result is a series of over 4,500 conversations that allowed people to connect through their values and support
• Started a Debt Centre, to help women get back on their feet financially
each other in astonishing ways. What started out as a distraction and just for fun, our ‘ED (not quite TED) Talks reveal the person behind the
• Opened another womens centre in Kettering and looking to open more in the county, to allow our services to be accessible across the business and have resulted in many new connections, friendships and collaborations that continued into 2021.
county, and not just in Northampton, reducing the barriers to engagement.
• Changed our Foodbank collection services to deliveries, allowing us to do wellbeing checks on those who are most at risk, or in danger
• Found housing for those in crisis, and provided emergency beds for women in danger
• Continued to provide a safe space for women in crisis
Committed to collaboration, innovation and technology excellence, Anita has
been engaging with organizations to define and implement technology strategy
in the private sector. She is working in PwC as a technology strategist and
has more than 20 years of experience of defining and driving large business
transformations to completion while championing business growth, cost
optimisation and customer experience objectives. Anita is proud to have enabled Ashley is the co-founder of The Wonky Food Company, tackling the problem
more than $180 million of business benefits by applying cutting edge technologies of food waste by making products from imperfect and surplus fruit and veg.
to solve business challenges and to realise business visions. Started in Oxfordshire in 2018, the company’s products are now stocked in the
Co-op, Ocado, and a growing number of independent stores. Ashley also works
as a small business adviser and mentor, specialising in supporting social impact
Anita Nadkarni businesses.
How I #ChoseToChallenge Ashley Cavers
With the news of lockdown, the world turned upside down within hours. It felt like an emotional tsunami personally. The unknown, unseen
enemy took over our lives with fear, shock and anxiety about family’ safety. Soon the concern expanded beyond family, for the communities
around, for the small and large businesses, pets and animals, the elderly and it felt like the entire world was in agony.
It was pretty clear that this battle needed to be fought every day in our minds and in our daily lives. My optimist mind started looking for
winning strategies. Having dealt with crises of various sizes, I have developed a technique that I call – virtual advisory board. In my mind, I invite How I #ChoseToChallenge
the world’s best people from various fields to join a virtual meeting and ask them for a word of advice. From Sun Tsu to Tony Robins and from
Mother Teresa to Swami Vivekanand, all joined my virtual crisis meeting that day. Outcome was a simple strategy - taking care of everyone
around, and an action plan that included a list of rules, enablers and collaborations. This last year has been tough for small businesses, including my own, but it has also shone a light on the role that business has to play as a
force for good. Working in partnership with OxLEP, I have felt privileged to be part of a team delivering support for charities, social enterprises
A year on, the strategy and action plan are still working, the collaborations are flourishing and some new members such as Sir Tom Moore
and purpose-driven businesses. I have also provided 1:1 support to over 100 businesses impacted by Covid, and have been humbled by the
have joined my virtual advisory board. As a family, we managed to reach out to local communities, a homeless, a care home and connected
resilience, determination and ambition of small business owners, many of whom are going to come out the other side of this crisis with a
with children in crisis, abandoned pets, girls in need of support for education and the NHS via institutes such as Save the Children, the Salvation
stronger sense of vision and purpose than ever before
Army, Nanhi Kali, MK Hospital Charity and the RSPCA.
Professionally, right before the first lockdown, I had taken up a role that was millions of miles away from my strengths and experience. It
involved global engagement and driving incredibly diverse set of teams to achieve a goal that seemed almost impossible, even in regular
circumstances. Immediate demand of the role was to establish identity of the unit which meant engaging with people at a grand scale.
With lockdown, everything changed and our big splash event, a bootcamp, came under fire. I took the challenge head on and executed the
bootcamp virtually in the summer. It turned out to be a huge success, attended by hundreds of people over a period of two weeks. 8 months on,
we continue to strive and have achieved 90% of the set target. Thanks to our colleagues and clients that adopted the change and thanks to the
sponsors in the firm that trusted in my abilities.
I’ve run my own businesses since 2006, and love working with my teams to create
successful companies. My main business is Walthew Leisure, which currently Bianca Todd, I am the founding CEO of Community Court Yard, a director
operates two climbing centres: Clip ‘n Climb Cambridge and Climb Quest Milton of Everyday English and the founder of the Ron Todd Foundation. Three
Keynes. Both can be described as climbing centres meet theme parks. In organisations that are deeply rooted in communities and at their core seek to
non-pandemic times, we host families, birthday parties, corporate and charity prevent and provide relief of poverty and social justice; sharing the authentic
events, and adult-specific climbing sessions. As well as business, I’m a very proud voices of those who use the services, whilst celebrating culture and the power
Mum of two amazing girls. My background pre-business was music, and I enjoy of words for the purpose of creating a strong sense of belonging and building a
performing, composing and leading a women’s choir in Cambridge. better, more inclusive, creative and safer world.
Beth Walthew Bianca Todd
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
It has been a constant challenge to stay calm, resilient, forward thinking, and upbeat in the face of uncertainty, worry and every-changing Covid disconnected people from every part of their life; my journey in choosing to challenge began with uniting people and ideas through
guidance. I’m proud of myself that I’ve largely achieved this. However, as a business leader, I have always thought it was very important to sharing a virtual cup of tea and slice of toast. Crafting stories is the tool of social change, it is a transformative action. So sharing a virtual
include my team in my thoughts and actions and consider their own individual lockdown journeys when coming back to work. Change can be cuppa allowed the stories that were being whispered on the doorstep to be moved into spaces where people could unite, share courage,
scary, but I have tried hard to keep everyone in touch with what the business is facing when they have been on furlough and when they are wisdom and creativity.Through building a space where lived experience could be shared people felt trusted and believed. This resulted in
back to work, through regular individual and group communication. I feel that transparency and honesty is the best way for our team to be people taking part in small acts of rebellion, a refusal to be beaten by covid and a commitment to create connections with those who felt
prepared for this unexpected journey. When we have been back to work, I’ve supported our team through very fast changing regulations, and lonely, isolated and often very desperate. Resilience and solidarity appeared in the form of breakfast clubs for families, covid support groups for
how we can best serve our customers through these. In 2020, I chose to challenge the ever-changing Covid world by taking ownership of what I communities, walk and talk sessions for individuals. Visual storytime, conversation cafe and crafternoon sessions for young people, the elderly,
could control, so I could then objectively look at everything that is out of my control, and I believe that I have helped my team to do the same. those who spoke English as a second language and those who were seriously ill. As a lifelong social educator and in my role of youth and
community worker, I chose to double my efforts to create and build connections that were purposeful and post covid sustainable.
I’m a Fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities based at the 62-bedroom
Vicky’s Kitchen is a Caribbean food brand delivering a taste of the Caribbean House in Oxford which provides free ‘home away from home’ accommodation for
from the heart of England. I am Beverley Ward, the founder and I’ve developed families with a child in hospital. At RMHC UK, we believe that sick children need
the company range from an original recipe, sourced from my great grandmother their families close, we work with our NHS hospital partners to give families a
Victorine Harrris (Miss Vicky), from whom the company takes its name. Our vision place to stay, moments away from their child’s ward. My focus is working with
is to share the eclectic mix and diversity of Caribbean food, alongside including businesses across the region and supporting them in their fundraising, whether
sustainable food sources and supply chains. We are a small family business who that is a Charity of the Year partnership or through adhoc events for the team to
are looking forward to developing and introducing our range, to many more get involved in.
consumers in the UK and beyond.
Beverley Ward Caroline Sinclair
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
2020 was our first full time year of trading and we entered it with a very rough outline of a plan. The plan was to attend markets and events
to gain new customers locally and across the UK, alongside developing new products. The first half of the plan went out of the window very When Covid hit, fundraising events everywhere were cancelled and the Charity made the decision to make use of the furlough scheme offered
quickly and we were fortunate to already have an online store to sell our products. I began to collaborate with other businesses to get our name by the government. Being unable to do the job I loved in fundraising for a charity I was passionate about was heartbreaking – so I took the
out there and continued to seek new outlets locally. We entered the Great Taste Awards with two products and achieved three stars across opportunity to volunteer for everything in my local area, including shopping for a lady who had just come out of hospital after having Covid.
them, which helped reach a wider market across the UK. Personally, with homeschooling a six-year-old, the balance between work and home Through this, I heard that there was the possibility of setting up a social supermarket in the area and it needed people with Food Hygiene
life was definitely a challenge and effected the speed of our development, but it didn’t hinder our progress. I’ve learnt to be more patient and certificates to get started – so I volunteered to get involved, and visited a similar operation to see how it all worked. Within two weeks, we
stick to my plan. Like many we dealt with bereavement on a scale we had not known before and it has made us stronger and more appreciative opened, started taking food donations and began delivering weekly food bags to those needing support in the community, either because
of what we have achieved, as we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. they couldn’t leave the house, or were struggling for income, or had lost their jobs. I’m hugely proud of what we achieved in getting funding,
establishing a charity which will be a lasting legacy to help people with access to affordable food– the Cheylesmore Food Hub now delivers to
around 70 families or over 150 people every week, has a part time member of staff thanks to National Lottery funding and has big expansion
plans for the future. Although I am now back at work fundraising for RMHC UK, I’ll remain a trustee for the Food Hub and #ChooseToChallenge
the approach we take to ensuring families don’t fall into poverty in a difficult time.
Hi, I’m Cathy Dunbabin a Motor sport fan who adores heels and anything that
sparkles including fizz and I’m definitely an eternal optimist. I have a passion for My name is Cheryl Thallon. I am the founder and MD of ethical vitamin company,
uncovering synergies for businesses, connecting people and developing strong Viridian Nutrition. I left school and home aged 16 and experienced London in the
relationships. 10 years ago, with my business partner, Sonia, set up Opendoorz. 1970s as a single, vulnerable teenager. The workplace in those days could be
We don’t see ourselves as a networking group as we have created a professional treacherous for the powerless. A passionate voice for worker and women’s rights,
business network of owners, partners and directors. We help members build a and CND member (including visits to Greenham Common), but my commitment
trusted team of introducers, strategic partners, suppliers, mentors and friends, to animal rights dominated and I found myself drawn to the natural foods’
offering expert guidance, inspiration and a dose of laughter and fun along the movement and health food stores. I became Editor of Natural Food Trader in the
way. 1980s and launched Viridian Nutrition in 1999.
Cathy Dunbabin Cheryl Thallon
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
Late 2018 we engage an amazing business coach who put the elastic back in our big girl knickers and supported us as we doubled the size Throughout my life I have sought out ways to challenge injustice, but I believe the greatest influence you can have on equality is to be active
of our membership over 2019. We went into 2020 full of commitment, ambition and excitement for what we knew would be another great in your immediate community. 2020 was a tough year and never more so have people relied on their communities. Personally, brought my
year for Opendoorz then on March 23rd lockdown flipped our face-to-face network company on its head. It was a very surreal time for many 96-year-old mum to live with us – community starts at home and means looking after each other. As a business, we were active to remove
businesses; some saw their business busier than ever and others saw theirs drop off the cliff face, our members ranged from one end of that all pain from our Irish customers through Brexit – allowing stores to continue to support their communities. Viridian continued to innovate
spectrum to the other. We had no time to worry or procrastinate, our members were our priority, keeping them connected, calm and supported launch 10+ new supplements – supporting health when communities need it most. Viridian launched an enhanced Wellness initiative for staff
was our goal. Within less than 24 hours we had tightened that elastic another notch, learned about zoom and adapted our model for online in work and for those working from home – building a healthy work community. Viridian gave free vitamins to GP practice – supporting the
networking. We managed a few meetings back face to face in Covid safe venues but for the most part we have spent a year online now but local allopathic community. Donated £40,000+ to charities via the Viridian Charity Donation Programme – supporting those in the community
are currently hopeful we will be back meeting in person very soon. I’m lucky to have an inherent belief that everything will be alright and who are least cared for. Viridian has also been mentoring health store owners all over the UK and Ireland to help them better serve their
there’s always a way but there was a lot of fear, anxiety and frustration for many which was concerning. I didn’t consciously make a choice to communities.
challenge, I just wanted to stay connected to as many businesses as possible and support them in any way I could. I believed and still do that
this is most definitely a time to have each other’s backs and look out for one another. I’ve ramped up blogs and posts on social media giving
away as many tips and nuggets of advice as I think might be useful and made a conscious effort to catch up with people for a coffee to just
check in. Staying positive, continuing to spend with our suppliers and encouraging others to do the same just felt right. I believe the pandemic
has been particularly challenging for newer businesses who don’t have oodles of clients nor long-standing relationships so through my other
business, The Business Spa, I offered complimentary memberships to newer and small businesses who were struggling to stay connected and
Dr Chiraz Ennaceur is the CEO and co-founder of CorrosionRADAR Ltd, one
needed a bit more peer support and motivation.
of the fastest growing technology start-up in the UK in the space of predictive
Don’t get me wrong it’s been tough at times even for an eternal optimist, but I’ve also valued and benefitted from the many friends in business corrosion monitoring. CorrosionRADAR is an important enabler for Industry 4.0
who have taken the time to check in with me. I am people person, a connector and above all a hugger and I miss that massively but I’m and assets digitalisation allowing many sectors such as Oil & Gas and energy to
currently hopeful that we will be all be able to meet soon and we will all be together again in the same room. have safer and more sustainable operations.
Prior to this role she was the Programme Manager of the Structural Integrity
Research Foundation (SIRF), a £150m industry-driven research programme based
at TWI Ltd Cambridge.
Chiraz has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Technology of
Compiègne (France) followed up by a Post-doc at WZI– University of Amsterdam
and FOM (Netherlands). It all started in Tunisia for her where she had her Civil
Engineering degree from Ecole National d’Ingénieurs de Gabès (ENIG).
Dr. Chiraz Ennaceur
CEO and Founder of MK Charities, a 20 something woman who built an online
platform to showcase all not for profit organisations in Milton Keynes, a go to
guide of who they are, how people can donate, volunteer and fundraise. MK
Charities connects the dots between the community, creating opportunities for
charities to grow whilst creating media and communications throughout their
social media to help charities grow their online presence. How I #ChoseToChallenge
On the business side, for me 2020 was about 2 main things:
• Look after our people (CorrosionRADAR team & CorrosionRADAR clients)
• Focus on “Inside of every problem lies an opportunity”
Charlotte Moyle In March 2020 and at the start of the pandemic we focused on to three phases that run in parallel: survive-revive-thrive
• Survive: Make sure we have enough cash to get through these uncertain times, save existing jobs, look after the wellbeing of our team
(since the lockdown the team had daily virtual morning coffee at 9.00am that we never missed!) - as a highlight of this phase we saved jobs
and we continued to recruit more people.
• Revive: I was supporting and encouraging the team to think that in every problem there is an opportunity that we can use to grow the
business. This led to quickly moving to digital operation (e.g sales, marketing) and as part of this we started running bi-weekly webinars
How I #ChoseToChallenge to the engineering community in our space (assets integrity management). This became very popular globally and helped us to well
position the company as a world leader in corrosion monitoring and prediction within our ecosystem. This created sales and collaboration
2020 was one of the most challenging years of my life. In March, I was furloughed like many others, but I wasn’t one to sit and watch netflix and opportunities on an international scale with big companies. This gave us new market opportunities in the Middle east and USA, Australia.
do nothing and that worried me when I had nothing to do. So I turned to google, searched ‘volunteering in Milton Keynes’ and ‘charities in Milton
• Thrive: In the middle of the pandemic we were fundraising and we already secured $5m in an investment round led by the biggest oil and
Keynes’ because I knew they would be hugely impacted by the pandemic, so it’s time I gave back, and also upskill.. I couldn’t see anything,
gas company in the world Saudi Aramco and support from the future fund. As part of the Future fund CorrosionRADAR was selected as
so I created an opportunity for myself. I started blogging about charities to raise awareness and then came up with the idea of MK Charities,
one of 7 companies to meet Rishi Sunak and other members of the government to give our views on how innovation and tech companies
I taught myself website design and the project was underway. 6 months after being furloughed, I had the dreaded redundancy notification.
can be supported through their growth phases. In the Middle of the pandemic we also had our patent application in the USA accepted
‘Unemployed’ is never a term I ever imagined describing myself but given what I learnt I was so glad I had the strong mindset to grow and from
which is a key milestone for our sales in the USA.
that became a Social Media Freelancer and CEO of a registered not-for-profit organisation.
• Since March, I never doubted that we will get over this uncertain time and we will become stronger. We quickly understood that business
is NOT as usual and focused on innovating in the way we communicate with each other with our clients, the way we work and the way
we sell. We also made changes to our product development roadmap to accommodate for futures trends and be always a step ahead of
competitors. On the personal side I am a mum to 2 kids (11 and 9 years old), homeschooling was one of the biggest challenges especially
with my CEO responsibilities and a husband who is working full time. We got through it, I don’t know how:) but I guess because we worked
as a team and this brought us closer.
My name is Dawn Allen and I am Director and Founder of The Henry Allen
Trust a Childhood Cancer Charity based in Bletchley, Milton Keynes. I founded
Claire Vane has spent her career focusing on human behaviour in the workplace. the charity along with my Husband Mark in February 2014 after our son Henry
Passionate about why some organisations are blocked and some individuals gained his angel wings in October 2013 after a brave and courageous battle with
fail to reach their full potential, she, and her team of twelve women, drive and Neuroblastoma, a Childhood Cancer. Henry’s last wish was for us to help the
implement interventions in the employee lifecycle from recruitment marketing, other children and we “pinkie promised” and Henry’s Legacy was born.
through search and selection, process re-engineering, HR operations, the effective
The trust support children, teens, young adults and their families battling
application of employment law, performance management, reward, strategy
childhood cancers from birth to 18 years old.
execution, and HR transformation through organisational design and coaching.
Dawn Allen
Claire Vane
How I #ChoseToChallenge
Professionally, during 2020 the trust has grown and supported even more children, families and hospitals, oncology wards and collaborated
How I #ChoseToChallenge with some wonderful Charities. The Henry Allen Trust continued all of our services including our Treats and Wishes/Financial grants and even
adapted to delivery chemotherapy for the hospital to families.
In 2020, the lockdown started on my birthday - 23rd March - and as I approach yet another birthday, I regard the challenge of 2020 really to be Our biggest challenge was finding new and innovative ways to fundraise and quickly learning zoom and teams
a 12 month period. During that time I have kept the show on the road and we have been busier than ever. We have been working remotely for Personally during 2020 I feel I have grown so much and adapted to being in a global pandemic. Decided to get fit and healthy and have lost
the last 20 years for about 60-70% of our time so all the learning of the last 20 years has been useful and we’ve invested in technology. nearly 2 stone and feeling so much more confident.
I play the piano at semi-professional level and am raising funds, again, through streaming concerts and have kept the piano going throughout
the period. Likewise, I have kept my Italian learning going by actively joining Zoom classes and have taken up Greek again and am now
approaching C1 Level in terms of fluency.
I have settled my 25 year old into his next home and kept the team motivated when other teams have started to fall away and the business
has thrived. I have had more coaching than normal to do and have been able to preach what I practice in helping coachees harness their own
potential.
Denise Coates has worked as a Business Development Executive for more than
35 years across the media and IT industries. Since experiencing breast cancer,
she has dedicated her time to raising awareness around cancer and fundraising,
working with Cancer Research UK and her local hospitals to do just that.
Denise Coates
Dr Pace began her motorsport career more than 20 years ago, initially working in
the motorsport industry. She was the first woman to work trackside as a member
How I #ChoseToChallenge
of the FIA’s Formula 1 technical department, developing her role as a consultant
for the Federation’s Institute for Sustainability and Safety in Motor Sport, where My inspiration for writing a book was to spread that all important message of awareness. One of my goals is to help educate our future
she advised on motorsport safety and the wider deployment of safety systems generations on a subject that needs to be discussed more frequently and openly to raise awareness for everyone. This book is about hope, early
within FIA championships. In 2012, she joined Williams Advanced Engineering, detection, and with the support of like-minded, inspirational women who have shared their survival stories and tips. It’s about the gratitude of
focusing on developing the technology-transfer and sustainable innovation life and giving back. My wish would be that somewhere in this story you may find something that will help in some way. Or, indeed, if someone
sides of the business. Dr Pace returned to the FIA in 2015 to consult on safety you know is going through Cancer, it may help them too.
and sustainability while reading at Coventry University, where she successfully
completed a PhD in Sustainability and Strategic Management. In 2018, she
founded Enovation Consulting, a sustainability strategy firm that advises well-
known companies on ways that motorsport can successfully contribute to global
targets on environmental and social issues.
Dr. Cristiana Pace My name is Desi, co-founder of SKAT Recruitment and Training Academy. I have
a vision to help everyone in the early years sector achieve their aspirations. A
dedicated working mum to one head-strong teenage son and wife to a loving and
supportive husband. With a degree in Economics and a diploma in Early Years,
I’ve always been fascinated by the recruitment industry and in 2014 I set up my
own business together with Sohini. SKAT has just grown year on year since 2014.
How I #ChoseToChallenge I strongly believe it’s our hands on approach and our fantastic relationship with
our clients.
Since the beginning of her career, Cristiana worked on raising awareness about diversity and gender equality within motorsport, the legacy of
which is recognised by her roles as ambassador for the FIA’s Girls on Track Motorsport UK (previously, the Dare To Be Different organisation
founded by Susie Wolff), and Chair of the sustainability commission for eSC championship which aim to increase diversity in the sport. Desi Gray
In March 2020, together with other 5 women of the Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC) and with the full support of the STC, Cristiana become
a founding member of the gender and equality in the workplace committee, aimed to encourage both latest practices in high technology focus
business and an overhaul of outdated data – the so-called #DataGap – that it believes is having a negative effect on society. Working through
the pandemic, the committee, which now also includes a number of men, organised a successful first event in October showcasing through
How I #ChoseToChallenge
personal stories, business cases and financial impact how a business has the transformative power to change and contribute to a more diverse,
And what a year 2020 has been!! Really challenging but super exciting! In personal life, we had a fantastic time spending all together as a
open and inclusive society. A second event of the committee is due at the end of March.
family, old dusted board games came out, our son self-taught an electric guitar and piano, even the dog was pleased to have us all at home
at the same time. In the business: Like all businesses we have had the time to reflect and improve our systems and how we operate. I would
not say we have changed but we have improved and adapted. We have invested more time with Social Media and acquired a brand-new
website which we are thrilled about. We have invested in mentoring with a specialist company who help and advise businesses. We examined
how we could offer a more valued service and what we thought was for all our staff to be Paediatric First Aid qualified. Sometimes this a
requirement from the nurseries we supply so we thought let us have all our staff trained. The seed was planted, three months later our Business
Development Director now also Training Director passed the Training and Assessor qualification to be able to deliver courses inhouse and not
outsource. Our sister company was formed with the name The Skat Training Academy. Sohini, Stephen and I are all looking forward to an
exciting year ahead!
Liz is a Business Mentor. She has worked in corporate environments and always Hannah is the Managing Director of Maytrix Group which she co-founded with
mentored alongside her day job. In the early part of her career she worked in husband Colin over 13 years ago. She is a strategist who advises company
operations and personnel work in the N.F.C. She then went to Sketchley as the leaders and for the last 20 years has helped iconic businesses and brands to
first Personnel Director in the Consumer Division; started her own management thrive including Whittard, Gap and Fortnum & Mason in the UK, the Swatch group
& training consultancy; was a non-executive director in a variety of settings; then in America and Liberty London across Europe. Hannah has helped organisations
CEO of Bedfordia Motor Holdings; and UK HR Lead for Hewitt, Bacon & Woodrow. in a multitude of sectors to create and deliver Omnichannel Strategies, improve
Now she mentors women, usually running their own businesses. the Customer Journey, help boost International Sales and Distribution and review
the Marketing and Logistics Supply Chain in Luxury Goods, FMCG, F&B and
Hospitality.
Elizabeth Toogood Hannah Ingram – Moore
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
Liz chooses to challenge stereotypes every day of her life. Her clients frequently limit themselves by the expectations that surround them My challenge has been the journey that I have been catapulted along with my family over the last ten months. During a spring barbeque last
and she works with them to shift these ideas and help them believe that they can do anything they choose to provided they have the April, my husband jokingly offered my father, Tom, £1 for every lap of the driveway he completed to encourage him to walk after a recent
necessary qualifications. She also challenges gender prejudice wherever she finds it especially at senior levels in businesses that fail to operation. Why not see if he could do 100 laps before his imminent 100th birthday? We got in touch with the local press to see if we could
recognise female talent in their recruitment processes. encourage the community to join us by trying to raise £1,000 for the NHS. Little did we know that simple gesture would lead to £38.9 million
being donated from all over the globe, world records being broken, books published, visiting The Queen for my father to receive a Knighthood
and creating his legacy of hope - The Captain Tom Foundation.
Olympic silver medallist and World, European, Commonwealth Champion in I’m Hannah, a 22-year-old multidisciplinary graphic designer who helps small
badminton, now owner of Gail Emms Consultancy working with companies to businesses grow and develop through branding, social media marketing, website
maximise high-pressure team performance through the lessons learned in sport. design and much more. In my second year of uni I left my job as a waitress to
Also motivational speaker, compere, host and ambassador for brands as well as start freelancing under HJU Creative and a few years later, I am lucky to be
launching GE Fitness Lifestyle in March 2021 to inspire and bring the fun back to working with new and exciting clients all the time. My love for design means I
a healthier way of living rarely feel like I’m working and designing for business owners who feel exactly the
same is really rewarding.
Gail Emms MBE Hannah Underwood
How I #ChoseToChallenge How I #ChoseToChallenge
I #ChoseToChallenge in 2020 by creating a Twitter sports quiz every night in the first lockdown which was turned into a book. The ‘Gail Emms Colouring, drawing and generally being creative is so important for children and tends to always be put behind the Maths and English. So,
Ultimate Pub Sports Quiz’ book is out now and available for £9.99 on Amazon Prime so I turned adversity from losing ALL my work, to creating when the first lockdown started and those 2 weeks passed and then carried on and carried on, parents were working full time whilst also
something out of it. trying to home school. I knew that some children who like to escape by being creative may not get the opportunity with everything changing
so dramatically. So, I started producing free downloadable sheets with creative tasks for children to use as an outlet throughout the lockdown
period. A drive link was shared and within a weeks I had a couple thousand downloads. I realised the demand and need for accessible material
so got in contact with all my designer friends and we teamed up to create over 50 individual creative sheets within a few days.
I contacted my local schools to share the link and asked any family friends to do the same, this resulted in nearly 50,000 downloads by the end
of the first lockdown. The drive link containing all the materials has been live since and the most recent tally has shown that the there has been
a download total of 77,892. This number translated into creative time spent by children is an estimate of 25,964 hours. Although these numbers
that I still don’t quite believe are great, the biggest reward I have taken from this is seeing all the messages from thankful parents and pictures
of children’s work. When I started this, I never fathomed I had the ability to help so many families from just my laptop and some design software.
It has truly changed the way I think and feel about design and being creative in general.
So, I chose to challenge in 2020 by creating simple but accessible colouring sheets for children who rely on being creative to relieve stress and
learn, at a time when everyone and everything was going just a bit mad.
Helen has been heading up the Oxfordshire Growth Hub on behalf of Oxfordshire
Local Enterprise Partnership for the last three years. Helen is responsible for
designing and delivering a host of businesses support initiatives supporting
Oxfordshire SME’s. In the last 12 months Helen has been instrumental in Deep tech entrepreneur, CEO of Oxford Quantum Circuits, a champion for
developing a host of Covid-19 business support measures including webinars, one women in technology and leadership, advisor to the WEC’s new Future Council on
to one support, a Start Up Club - Entrepreneur Club and developing a number of Quantum. She believes the key to solving our most pressing challenges is to put
grant schemes as well as maintaining business as usual business support through their quantum computers in the hands of humanity and at the fingertips of our
two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Prior to joining OxLEP Helen’s most brilliant minds.
previous experience very much focussed on financial services and education.
Helen is a solo parent to Lilly who is 9 years old. Like many people Helen has
the challenge of balancing an increased workload as well as providing home
schooling support to your daughter.
Ilana Wisby
Helen Brind
How I #ChoseToChallenge
How I #ChoseToChallenge I chose to challenge with the power of love in business. Love is just damn good business (Faber).
Like many people the last 12 months have been less about choice but more about need. My “challenge” from March 2020 was very different to
January 2020. I wanted to ensure my daughter was happy and healthy but also to ensure that I did my very best for my team, many of whom
of women with the same challenges I’ve faced but also to those businesses that have reached out to us for help and support. It has been a big
challenge attempting to create balance during what has been a sobering time, especially when it came to reviewing/approving/declining many
grant applications. Have I reached my goal, in the main yes, could I have done better yes certainly for me daughter, have I been good to myself,
like many working Mums, no. Have I stepped up to the challenge which in reality I didn’t choose, yes.
My business was established by myself in 1985, after nearly a decade as a
journalist for two national newspaper groups. Joined by my sister Jane in the
mid 90s, Manners PR Ltd remains the longest-lasting reputation management
company in Bedford, having worked with some of the largest employers across
the county over four decades. Today, we produce “creative content” for print and
on-line platforms, working alongside talented digital teams.
Jacquie Manners
Hilary is Chief Executive at the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership How I #ChoseToChallenge
(SEMLEP), which she helped to establish in 2011. She leads on setting the
strategic economic priorities for the South East Midlands area, including
overseeing a £265m programme of capital investment through the Local Growth When the Lockdown 1 began in March 2020, I decided I would use my old school journalism skills to produce positive stories about businesses
Fund. During her tenure, SEMLEP has published the Local Industrial Strategy who were innovating, and people who were stepping up to support the community. Keeping busy was the best therapy for me when deprived of
and Strategic Economic Plan for the area, Skills Plan and Energy Strategy. Hilary socialising.
works closely with central Government, local authority, regional and private
sector partners to enable the delivery of infrastructure to unlock economic and
housing growth, develop skills and create good quality places.
Hilary Chipping Hi, I am Jade Holly Smith. I am a passionate, success driven business woman.
Soon after achieving a First Class business studies degree whilst working full time
I was made redundant. I took this opportunity to follow my dreams. I have since
established an award-winning global e-Commerce business selling horse saddles.
The Saddle Bank started with just £800 worth of personal savings. In 4 years the
business has grown to annual sales of £1.3 million, growing 170% year on year.
How I #ChoseToChallenge In 2021 we expect sales to exceed £2.5 million and help over 3000 horse owners
find their perfect saddles.
My role during 2020 was to ensure that SEMLEP and its Growth Hub could continue to provide vital support to businesses, advice to schools and
investment in infrastructure to support economic growth, whilst the whole team was working from home. I am very pleased to have a number
of women in my senior team who were able to juggle child care and home schooling whilst delivering a great service to our local businesses. Jade Holly Smith
My challenge was to maintain the physical and mental wellbeing of the whole team and ensure that people felt supported and able to play their
part in the business whilst coping with the challenges of the pandemic and the impact on their families and friends.
How I #ChoseToChallenge
In 2020 we chose to challenge the mindset of many and adopt a growth mindset. We doubled down, hustled hard and as a result were able to
double our business sales targets, create two more jobs and started thinking about different products and services we could offer. We responded
to lockdown 1.0 when clients were unable to get a saddle fitter out by launching an online course helping horse owners to recognise saddle
fit issues. This has since expanded into The Saddle Bank Academy which will be a key area of growth for the business in 2021. From this we
looked further at expanding our business through more digital means by offering our ‘Find a Fitter’ service. This connects horse owners across
the UK with their local saddle fitters and enables saddle fitters to get access to The Saddle Bank customers by being listed on our website. We
continuously chose to challenge in an industry which is very outdated. In doing so we are able to increase the level of service and quality of
products that customers receive. This is reflected in our outstanding reviews and feedback we receive from our clients.
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