Wednesday 26 April | Social Mobility at Board Level

About this event

Could a more socially diverse board be important to institutional investors and help to raise more capital? Is it more productive to ensure that boards avoid groupthink by bringing through people with different social backgrounds?

While it is harder to measure social mobility, because unlike ethnicity or gender there isn’t such a clear difference, should organisations still be considering policies to change the dynamic of their Boards to include a wider representation of social class and backgrounds?

Much has improved around board diversity over the past number of years, but is there still a chasm between Non-Executives and the leadership teams? How can social mobility change this?

Date:

Wednesday 26th April 2023

Timings:

08:30am – Arrive / breakfast
09:15am – Panel debate on Social Mobility at Board level
10:15am – Perception studies. How can you gauge the thoughts of investors?
10:30am – Refreshments
11:00am – Finish

This panel session sets out to discuss the barriers to social mobility within organisations and how they might be overcome in the future to ensure that leadership represents a wider base of society and not just the traditional elite.

The session will be followed up by a short introduction to Orient Capital’s Perceptions Studies which give Boards invaluable insights into what Investors think of their organisations.

Speakers:

Ann Francke OBE - Chief Executive, Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

In addition to her role at the CMI and various Non-Executive Director positions, Ann sits on the Employer Advisory Group of the Social Mobility Commission, set up to drive social mobility in the workplace. In the 2020 New Years Honours list she was awarded an OBE for services to Workplace Equality.

Suzanne Courtney – Associate Partner, Aon

Suzanne is a recognised occupational psychology consultant who holds a Doctorate in Industrial and Organisational Psychology and is the Strategic Growth Director for Aon Assessment Solutions. Suzanne is a major advocate of diversity in the workplace and speaks passionately on the importance of inclusivity at all levels.

Ruth Odih – Assistant Company Secretary, Centrica Plc

As well as being a key member of the Secretariat Team at Centrica plc, Ruth is a faculty member of the Corporate Governance Institute (CGI). Her governance experiences range from multinationals to large UK-based FTSE and AIM listed organisations in catering, energy, oil and gas, private equity and financial services. Ruth is also a team member of the ‘Tackling Inclusion and Diversity in Energy’ taskforce and has joined previous panels to talk about the importance of social mobility in the workplace.

This event will aim to create real value in the room and continue to have insightful conversations, so online access won’t be available. Find out more below and reserve your place now to avoid disappointment.

Format:

In person event

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