Retaining your key female talent; where are we now?

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn is an experienced business leader who from 2015 to 2020 was Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s largest business organisation speaking for 190k firms. She represented business on issues ranging from Brexit and climate action to workplace inclusion and purpose-led business, making frequent public and media appearances, and with a particular passion for the positive role business can play in addressing inequalities in our society.   

An economist by training, Carolyn spent her early career with the World Bank then as a journalist at The Economist, where she was one of the founding writers for the paper’s Finance section. In 1988 she joined McKinsey, where she became a partner and leader of its UK media practice. 

From 1995-1997, Carolyn was a member of Prime Minister John Major’s Number 10 Policy unit in Downing Street, leading on health policy. 

As BBC Director of Strategy from 2000-2004, she led the BBC’s digital strategy and in 2003 launched Freeview, one of the UK’s most successful TV services. From 2007-2010, Carolyn was Strategy Director at ITV, where she helped lead the broadcaster through the 2008 advertising crash and develop its diversification strategy into content production. 

Since 2011, Carolyn has served as a non-executive director for a wide range of leading British companies, including Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, Capita plc and BAE Systems. She was a Director of the Competition and Markets Authority and, from 2008-11, the Financial Services Authority, where she helped design the post-crash structure for city regulation. 

Until 2016, Carolyn was a Trustee of Marie Curie, a leading end-of-life care charity. She is currently a member of the global board of HSBC and in July 2022 will take over as Chair of Trustees at Royal Mencap Society, whose mission to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities she strongly shares. 

In 2019, Carolyn was awarded the honour of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to UK Business.

Carolyn holds a double first class BA in Economics from Cambridge University, an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA with distinction from INSEAD. She is a honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and Visiting Fellow at Oxford University. 

Carolyn is married with three children and lives in Hampshire. 

John is an Executive Coach and HR Consultant who helps leaders gain a deeper understanding of their strengths, deal with organisational politics and develop their all-round leadership and performance and that of the team and the business.  John has over 30 years’ experience in large business in the Telecoms, Technology, Space and Defence Sectors. He has held enterprise level leadership positions and worked with leaders at Executive Committee and Board level. He has designed and implemented leadership development, coaching programmes and performance management systems. He has led policy on increasing Diversity and Inclusion, with a particular focus on gender balance. He was a member of the Women’s Business Council and awarded an MBE for his work in the STEM sector, attracting women into this traditionally male dominated environment.  He has been a Board member and Pension Trustee Director and has strong operational business understanding. He is known for connecting very quickly to the business environment, the individual issues and their implications for business performance and supporting individuals to optimise their contribution.   John has coached senior leaders in Company as part of his senior HR roles and now coaches independently. Coaching assignments have included CEOs and top teams engaged in new strategy development, divisional leaders transitioning into new/promoted positions, FTSE Directors implementing change and senior functional directors seeking career coaching.  John has a pragmatic and operationally grounded approach, he connects and builds trust quickly and combines a client centred coaching philosophy with mentoring based on his experience of what works and doesn’t in leadership and business. 

HR Director roles with FTSE 30 Company Leadership and Talent Development Director with FTSE 30 Company Group. HRD of Franco-British Joint Venture based in Paris. Recent Board member of an engineering skills organisation. Recent Member of the Women’s Business Council. Recent member of the CBI Employment and Skills Group. Previously Pension Trustee Director for a large fund. 

BA (Hons) in Business, Diploma in Professional Coach Mentoring, Associate Member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Awarded MBE for services to Industry and Equality (2019) 

April is currently Global Head of Talent at PA Consulting working to create an environment where PA people can grow and develop, building their careers and applying their ingenuity to PA clients’ toughest challenges in pursuit of creating a positive human future.

She has over 20 years experience within professional service firms experiencing significant growth and change and where creating the climate for all talent to grow and thrive has contributed to achievement of, often ambitious, growth targets. 

April has designed and implemented learning and development programmes for early careers up to senior executives, designed performance management approaches, and developed career frameworks to support growth and progression.  Supporting professional women to develop successful careers that lead to Partnership has been a consistent theme both through coaching and development programmes, and a focus on the organisational environment that enables success.

Professional credentials include MA Human Resources Management, Member of the Chartered Institute Personnel and Development  

 Jane is an Executive Coach and facilitator who helps high potential employees achieve a successful return from a parental break. With her focus on the psychology of dealing with change, aligning personal values and beliefs with those of work, she works with new parents and managers to enable the best outcomes for employees and organisations. Jane has over 20 years’ experience of working with new parents - in groups and 1-to-1 - helping them navigate their way through times of transition. Through her work with a major charity she has experience of strategic development, service development, and learning and development.

Graduating with a distinction in an MsC in Coaching and Behavioural Change from Henley Business School, Jane is now lead coach assessor for the Henley Coaching Centre. As a researcher she has conducted studies on: factors that can help and hinder parents returning to work after a parental break; the impact of coaching on new parent employees and the experience of women returning to the workplace after a career break. She is a regular contributor to ‘Workplace’, a journal published by the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy’s, in which she writes a series titled ‘Better conversations at work’. She is a member of the International Coaching Federation and the Association of Coaching.

Jane cares about this topic because becoming a parent is a major life transition that involves a deep psychological shift. She has observed women benefit from being supported during this time of change so that they can be their best at work, combining old and new skills and insights and bringing a greater richness to the workplace.