Gender diversity on boards, as well as meaningful participation by women on boards, is steadily increasing. With a conscientious effort made by international businesses to place more professional women in board positions. So this International Women’s Day, we are celebrating 5 inspirational women who currently hold board positions throughout the world.
Indra Nooyi, Board of Directors, Amazon
Last month, Former PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi was appointed to Amazon’s board of directors. Her appointment raised the percentage of women on Amazon’s board to 45%, a record high for technology companies listed in the Fortune 1000.
Nooyi, who was born in Chennai, India, joined PepsiCo in 1996 and served as its CEO from October 2006 to October 2018. Under her leadership role, she helped PepsiCo acquire orange juice company Tropicana and led a merger with porridge oat manufacturer Quaker Oats. She was responsible for PepsiCo’s worldwide strategic planning function, including developing and coordinating business plans for its operating divisions.
She also serves as independent director of the International Cricket Council and a member on the board of trustees for the World Economic Forum.
Sue Dawe, UK Board of Directors, EY
In September 2018, Head of Financial Services practice for EY Scotland, Sue Dawe, was appointed to its UK board of directors. Dawe’s appointment means that half of EYs UK board is now made up of women.
Sue Dawe joined EY thirty years ago in 1988. She currently serves as head of the financial services practice in Scotland and as the office managing partner in Edinburgh. Dawe has been an audit partner since 2009 and has more than 25 years of experience within the financial sector working with a large number of global organisations.
She also serves as a board member of Scotland’s Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) as well as the Scottish Financial Enterprise High-Level Strategy Group (SFE HLSG)
Hideko Kunii, Board of Directors, Honda
Back in February 2014, technology expert, Hideko Kunii made headlines across the world as she became the first ever woman to be appointed to Honda’s board of directors. Japanese businesses had been under fire for some time for not placing women in leadership roles. Appointing women to senior leadership positions was a pillar of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies to persuade firms to promote women to corporate boards.
Kunii has been general manager of the Gender Equality Promotion Office at the Shibaura Institute of Technology since 2013 and has served as general manager of software research at development company Ricoh since October 2002.
She also serves as a non-executive director on a multitude of other Japanese boards, including the Japan Investment Corporation, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.
Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Board of Directors, Bank of England
Following criticisms about the lack of diversity on its board, the Bank of England appointed Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, former chief executive of Virgin Money, to its board of directors.
Ms. Gadhia became a Dame for her contribution to financial services and women in the finance industry late last year. She played a central role in launching Virgin Money in the 1990s and is one of the few women to have led a British bank. She is one of the most well-known faces in the banking industry and her government-backed review of women in financial services led to the HM Treasury establishing the Women in Finance Charter back in March 2016.
Shortly after her appointment to the Bank of England’s board of directors, she also became a non-executive director for the board of bus and rail operator Stagecoach.
Sharon Thorne, Global Board of Directors, Deloitte
It was announced yesterday that Deloitte Partner Sharon Thorne was to be the future chair of the big four firms global board. She will become the first woman to serve in the role when she assumes the position in June 2019.
Thorne is an audit partner with more than 30 years of experience auditing and advising clients across a broad range of sectors. She is currently based in London, having spent more than 20 years of her career based out of Deloitte UK’s Manchester office. Her present role has seen her responsible for the global dimension of Deloitte North West Europe’s strategy.
She has also spent nine years on Deloitte’s global board and six years on its UK board, four years as chair of Deloitte CIS Holdings and six years on the Board of the Confederation of British Industry.
Are you a female business professional looking to make the move to a board-level position? Why not consider joining In Touch, where we can support you with all the development tools you need to ensure your success. Visit out homepage to learn more.
