100 Women to Watch in 2018
Diversity UK Founder & CEO, Lopa Patel MBE, has been included in this year’s 100 Women to Watch list released today (17th July 2018) as a supplement to the Female FTSE Board Report 2018. The annual list was first introduced by Cranfield University’s School of Management in 2009, and aims to showcase the wide range of female professionals available for and ideally suited to positions as non-executive directors on the boards of FTSE 350 companies.
Dr Patricia Pryce, visiting fellow at Cranfield University and director of Beauwest Consultancy Ltd, is one of the authors of the report. She said: “2018 is a significant year for women in the UK. It marks 100 years since women aged over 30 gained the right to vote, the unveiling of the first statue of a woman in Parliament Square and the first time a royal princess will keep her position in line to the throne despite the arrival of a baby brother. It is also the year that women’s representation on the boards of FTSE 100 companies hits a new high of 29%.
“We know that talented women are increasingly ready to take up executive and board positions, but it is also clear that these women are not always visible to decision-makers who influence the shortlists for non-executive director positions in FTSE 350 companies. In this, our ninth annual report, we seek to continue to showcase the broad and deep pool of talented female professionals from which ‘UK plc’ could draw.”
The 100 Women to Watch Report 2018
The 100 Women to Watch report is produced in conjunction with Cranfield University’s Female FTSE Board Report, and sponsored by Aviva. Produced by Dr Pryce in collaboration with Jacey Graham, director of Brook Graham and also visiting fellow at Cranfield, it was first published in 2009.
The women it highlights are drawn from a wide range of disciplines, functions and backgrounds and include those with senior executive roles in FTSE 350 firms and other significant organisations such as large non-listed companies, major charities, professional services firms, educational institutions and the Civil Service. It does not include women who already hold a FTSE 350 non-executive director position and are likely to be well-known to the search community, nor those who are executive directors on the main board of a FTSE 100 company.
Lopa Patel, who was nominated by Executive Search firm Sapphire Partners said, "It is a surprise and a privilege to be included in the Top 100 Women to Watch 2018 list alongside so many women that inspire me. Research and studies all show that companies benefit from a diverse board: not only are they more financially stable, but they can also reduce their risk exposure and better meet the needs of their customers. I hope that Chairs will take advantage of the momentum in improving the diversity of boards in the UK by refining their usual search criteria to include those with a broader skills set in digital and technology and global marketplaces".
Kate Grussing, Managing Director of Sapphire Partners said "Sapphire Partners have always worked closely with Cranfield’s researchers to suggest great female talent, which is our core expertise. We are an executive search firm with a difference and have been passionately supporting female diversity since 2005, working closely with many women to help them raise their profile and assist in taking their career to the next stage."
Click here to download a copy of the Cranfield 100 Women to Watch 2018 report.
About Cranfield University
Cranfield is an exclusively postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and transformational research in technology and management.
Cranfield School of Management
Cranfield has been a world leader in management education and research for 50 years, helping individuals and organisations learn and succeed by transforming knowledge into action. It is one of an elite group of Schools worldwide to hold the triple accreditation of: AACSB International (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (the Association of MBAs) and is in the Top 10 International Business Schools in the Forbes’ ranking. Its customised executive education programmes are ranked 10th in the world, according to the latest Financial Times survey. Over 15,000 people come to Cranfield each year to benefit from its executive and professional development programmes.
For further information visit https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/
