Our female leadership panel
Lucy Doubleday: championing women through different stages of their career
Lucy Doubleday is a Managing Partner at We Are Social.
Lucy did not attend university, instead wanting to get out into the ‘real world’ and start earning money. She struggled not only because she was a woman, but also because she wasn’t a graduate at a time when that was preferred. She eventually found her feet in agency roles, working her way up the corporate ladder. When she was in her late 30s, burnt out by the industry, Lucy reevaluated her priorities, moving to Cornwall. After this, she re-entered agency life.
Lucy is passionate about ensuring that women don't miss out because of motherhood. She advocates for flexible working policies and accessible childcare, recognising the challenges faced by those without family support. Doubleday envisions a society where school hours align with working hours, eliminating the need for parents to leave work early. She also emphasises the importance of equal gender representation in senior leadership, with We Are Social boasting 53% female leaders.
Rebecca Rosmini: supporting parenthood in business
Rebecca Rosmini is the CEO and co-founder – alongside her husband, Alberto – of Signorelli Limited, a chain of award-winning Italian artisan bakeries in East London. The business boasts a leadership team of 75% women. Prior to founding her own business, she held senior real estate roles in several large retailers and related organisations, including Sainsbury’s, Asda and Deliveroo. She is also a co-founder of RSR Properties, commercial real estate advisory company. Overall she has amassed two decades of experience as an entrepreneur and leading entrepreneurial ventures within the food & beverage and real estate sectors.
Rebecca understands the importance of supporting working parents. Having experienced challenges as a parent herself, she encourages open discussions about parenthood in the workplace. Rosmini also highlights the need for flexible working arrangements and local living options to reduce travel time and improve work-life balance. She believes in the power of women supporting women.
Rebecca Taylor: the importance of mentoring
Rebecca Taylor, Development Manager at Galliford Try Investments, describes her career trajectory as ‘far from textbook’, having started in a secretarial role and progressed to her current role of Development Manager at Galliford Try Investments, working on Build-To-Rent and Partnerships across London and the South East.
Beccy has observed significant shifts within real estate and land roles specifically over the past two decades, with the industry becoming more welcoming to and supportive of women.
Beccy is a strong advocate for mentoring. Having benefited from mentorship herself, she now works closely with female colleagues to facilitate their career progression. Taylor also emphasises the need for better representation of women in real estate roles and improved communication about the diverse roles in the industry.
Lea Cheesbrough: culture change and allyship
Lea Cheesbrough is CEO of Movo Partnership, the AR network for insurance brokers. She joined the business after two decades steeped in the industry, holding roles with companies including AXA Insurance and Stobart Group.
Lea believed that true equality comes from culture change. She focuses on hiring the right person for the job and avoids gender quotas. Cheesbrough encourages open conversations between men and women about the challenges they face and fosters allyship. She also highlights the importance of CEO awareness and the potential damage caused by insensitive public comments.
Cathy Stewart: mentoring and behavioural change
After a decades-long career as a Chartered Architect, including founding her own consultancy practice, Cathy Stewart retrained as a behavioural change coach and mentoring consultant. Today she works with companies to develop and implement mentoring programmes, and working with individuals to help them excel in their professional endeavours and overcome barriers to success.
As part of her MSc from Henley Executive Business School, Cathy wrote a paper entitled ‘How do stereotypical gender characteristics influence the potential of women in the workplace in male dominated industries’
Cathy works with companies to develop and implement mentoring programmes. She emphasises the importance of training for promotions to ensure individuals are prepared for their new roles. Stewart also addresses the challenges of working mothers and the need for a happy medium between work and family life. She calls for guidelines to address derogatory comments and for CEOs to be mindful of their personal impact.
Heidi Carslaw: empowering women through leadership programmes
Heidi Carslaw is Head of the CEO Office at Ardonagh Advisory, responsible for running the office of the Chief Executive of General Insurance and for ensuring sound executive management and governance of the organisation and delivery of the firm’s strategic priorities. Previous roles include three years as Managing Director at Mactavish, an independent outsourced insurance buyer and claims dispute experts, and CEO at risk management and insurance broking group Aston Scott.
Heidi emphasises the importance of identifying talent and offering training and upskilling options to create wider career paths. Carslaw's commitment to diversity and inclusion is evident through her involvement with various initiatives, including the Wealthiher partnership.
Tamara Gillan: furthering gender equality in finance
Tamara Gillan is the CEO and co-founder of WHN Group, an organisation dedicated to empowering women's financial advancement. With over two decades of experience in marketing and communications, she founded Cherry London, a successful marketing agency known for its creative campaigns. In 2019, Tamara co-founded WHN Group to address the unique financial challenges women face and to celebrate their financial achievements. The platform offers resources, insights, and networking opportunities to help women take control of their financial futures.
Cripps has partnered with WHN Group to create EmpowHer, a leadership programme designed to unlock potential in female leaders.
Tamara is a sought-after speaker and a recognised advocate for gender equality in the financial sector.
Jenny Kitchen: confidence is key
Jenny has been Co-Founder and CEO of Yoyo Design for over 12 years. She has also been Co-Founder of Amplifi TW for 2 years. Amplifi is a nonprofit organisation helping to unify businesses around Climate and the Community. In addition to her role as a business leader, Jenny makes time to be a board member (part time) at Royal Tunbridge Wells Together BID.
Jenny is also a popular speaker at many events. In 2021 she made the class of 35 Women under 35 in Management Today, and was awarded Young Business Person of the Year in 2016 at the RTW Business Awards.
Jenny strongly believes that one of the biggest challenges aspiring female entrepreneurs face is lack of self-belief, and embracing the differences between men and women, as well as relevant networks and support groups, are key to empowering women to reach their potential.
Kim Simmonds: career progression and ownership challenges
Kim has been CEO and Founder at Law 365 for over 11 years, and Cloud Contracts 356 for 1 year. Law 365 supports technology businesses to grow, whilst Cloud Contracts 365 is an AI powered tool built for tech businesses to create, review and manage their own contracts.
She began her legal career as a solicitor, working her way up to Principal and Director at Simmonds Law.
Kim firmly believes in making a difference, both for businesses and individuals. This is particularly important when it comes to mentoring young adults and junior team members.
Kim was recognised in the Lawyer Hot 100 list in 2022 and was a finalist in 2020 for Entrepreneur of the Year. Law 365 was a finalist at the Lawyer awards for Boutique Firm of the Year and has also won numerous Great Places to Work awards, notably in 2022 and 2023.
Jenni Emery: speaking with authority
Jenni is a non-executive director on Cripps’ Board and runs her own leadership advisory business, Altair Advisory LLP.
Jenni began her legal career in 2000 as a corporate lawyer and has since spent her career in people and strategy roles for law and professional services firms. In her current role, she works with the Board to shape and deliver Cripps’ strategy and make a positive difference to Cripps’ clients, people, community and the planet.
Jenni believes that business culture and perceptions of women require urgent change as current parameters they leave women to succeed in business are incredibly slim. For example, she observes the difficulty female business leaders face when trying to exert authority without being disagreeable as women are expected to approach situations with warmth and humour.
Melanie Stancliffe: valued for practical, jargon-free employment advice
Melanie is a partner at Cripps with over 20 years’ experience. Her role includes advising businesses, senior executive and professionals on all employment matters, including discrimination.
Melanie believes that many of the challenges women face in business are structural in nature, and profound change needs to continue at the very top of the business in order to give women the opportunity they need to shine. She also understands that increasing the number of women in senior leadership roles is a necessity in a fair society and immediately desirable to boost business outcomes.