Helping women break into the executive family
We find at this middle management level women are most likely to get stuck in an “attainment trap” whereas they need to be displaying “leadership potential”. We help participants build personal brands, improve their communication skills understand the power of networking and the importance of recruiting sponsors. We also help them to question underlying assumptions in strategic and financial plans. This is a practical programme and participants leave with a 3-year career plan, which is followed up with a 6 month coaching call.
Leadership Summit retention figures
The Leadership Summit increases retention rates of female executives, and increases the pipeline of female talent that can make it to the top of their organisations.
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At 6 months organisations are retaining 98% of women that have attended Leadership Summit
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Within 6-months of undertaking the programme 38% of all participants are achieving promotions or stretch roles
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Three women have gained NED roles within 6 months of joining the programme
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Worth noting that a significant number of women attend the Summit immediately after they have been promoted to help them develop into their new role
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Over 820 women have attended a Leadership Summit programme since its development in 2015
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Clients that have sent women to the first Leadership Summit back in 2015 are still sending women to us to attend sessions in 2020
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Women are now beginning to progress from the Leadership Summit programme to Top Flight
Testimonials for Leadership Summit
Participants are from FTSE 100 organisations or equivalent and are typically one or two roles below Executive Committee. This is an exceptional programme with a maximum of twenty-four participants across all sectors and functions creating a fantastic network for the long term. Typically, they work for large corporates in P&L and functional roles such as legal, marketing, finance, risk, financial crime, underwriting, HR, regulation, customer experience, digital and IT, as well as MDs of business units or heads of product lines. We also include two or three women from Whitehall that the Civil Service believes have the potential to become a Permanent Secretary.
I wish I’d undertaken the Leadership Summit much earlier in my career… it would have made life so much easier and I’m confident I would be even further advanced.
The leadership summit helped me understand leadership style and purpose. I channelled this understanding and was able to secure a promotion less than a month after the summit.
Guest Speakers
Valerie Amos
Vice Chancellor, SOAS University & Deputy General, United Nations
Valerie Amos was Britain’s first black, female Cabinet Minister, with an impressive history of leadership roles in government, NGOs, academic institutions, and international organisations. After working for several London boroughs, Valerie became CEO of the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1989. She was elevated to the House of Lords in 1997, becoming Secretary of State for International Development in 2003, and later Leader of the House of Lords. After leaving the Cabinet, Valerie was appointed the British High Commissioner to Australia, and later the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. She has since held non-executive roles with organisations such as the UCLH Trust and the Royal College of Nursing Institute, and from 2015 to 2020 was the Director of SOAS, becoming the first black woman to lead a university school in the UK. Since September 2020, Valerie has been the Master of University College, Oxford, becoming the first-ever black head of an Oxford College.
Karen Blackett OBE
Country Manager, Mediacom
Karen Blackett has been in media for 22 years and is currently Chairwoman of MediaCom, the largest media agency in the UK with billings over £1 billion. Prior to this, Karen was CEO for 5 years.
Karen has been instrumental not only in the success of MediaCom, but in championing diversity throughout the advertising and media industry. In 2012, Karen launched the first ever Government backed Apprentice Scheme for the sector, where the apprentices qualify for an NVQ in Marketing and Communications.
In June 2014, Karen received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours. Karen has won the Women in Marketing (WIM) Outstanding Contribution to Marketing Award, featured 5 times in the Power List of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People (heading the list in 2015, the first business woman to do so), and has appeared in the Woman’s Hour Power List of Top 10 Influencers, and Marie Claire’s Women At The Top Awards.
Most recently, Karen has been appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service, and as a UKTI Business Ambassador for No 10. In March 2016, Karen became the President of NABS, the advertising industry charity which focuses on health and wellbeing in the workplace and presenting the business case for Diversity.
Jasvinder Gakhal
Managing Director, Direct Line for Business
Jasvinder has full P&L responsibility for Direct Line’s entire B2B offering. She is rapidly growing and transforming the SME insurance space with a customer centric approach providing over 450,000 small businesses with direct digital access to insurance without the need for a broker. Prior to this, Jasvinder had many achievements such as growing Commercial Direct by delivering its first profitable year within two years as Head of Direct Line. She is also recognised as a Northern Power Women ‘Top 50 Women to Watch’.
Sue O’Brien OBE
Managing Partner, Ridgeway Partners
Sue joined Ridgeway Partners as a partner in 2015 to lead the Retail and HR practice and work with the Board practice team. Previously Chief Executive, and a board member of a listed search firm, she has over 17 years as a practitioner in board advisory services.
Her work within the search industry has focused on board and non-executive appointments in FTSE and AIM listed businesses. With an early career in retail, she was a managing director of a leisure business in the early nineties. She moved into executive search in 1998. In addition to her role at Ridgeway Partners, Sue is a board member of Walpole British Luxury, a founder member of The Women’s Business Council and a Trustee for KidsOut children’s charity. She was awarded an OBE for services to charity and for promoting equality in the workplace, has a role on the board of the Chartered Management Institute and she is also a member of the International Women’s Federation.
Programme Outcomes
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Build confidence and a consistent personal brand
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Deliver authentic powerful communication
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Contribute to overall company strategy and purpose
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Set a concrete three year career goal
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Recruit and work effectively with sponsors to mutual benefit
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Understand personal leadership style and impact on other
Benefits for Organisations
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Better business results with greater gender diversity
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Increased female retention through better all-round relationships
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More women to select from when compiling short lists for senior roles
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Rapid promotion with stronger, more confident women
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Improved organisational performance as participants apply insights gained from contributors and peers
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Increased employer attraction to millennials and Generation Z seeking greater gender diversity
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Larger pool of female role-models to inspire and sponsor more junior women
Benefits for Participants
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Personalised career plan with check points to review progress
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Access to high profile role models in an intimate setting
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Unique mix of rigorous research, practical application and personalised roadmaps
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Led by women with successful careers bringing their experience of how to overcome the barriers women face
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Establishment of great network and ongoing support to sustain new behaviours
Executive Education
The Pipeline develop and run exceptional leadership programmes for individual leaders and for organisations that want to be better at managing and developing diverse teams. We specialise in working with women and other under-represented talent to build confidence, enhance executive presence, deliver compelling presentations, prepare for interviews and ultimately secure promotions.
Helping More Women of Colour Break Through
Organisations succeed when they are more diverse, and yet women of colour face significant barriers to their progress in the workplace. This programme gives them the tools and the know-how to break through to the top.
Increasing Women in ExCo & CEO Roles
There are countless women with the potential to step into the top job. This senior women‘s leadership programmes provides the tools and the networks to make this a reality for your organisation.
Building High-Performing Diverse Teams
Organisations often promote managers for technical expertise. This course bridges that gap by equipping managers with leadership skills to create teams where all talent excels.
