Ambassadors' Spring Luncheon

Another lovely occasion with a select group of Pink Shoe Ambassadors when we met for our latest luncheon. The idea behind these is that members get chance to have a proper conversation over an excellent lunch and we were not disappointed!

Rose Review Reception at Coutts

Having been honoured to contribute to the excellent Rose Review into female entrepreneurship published earlier this year, Helene Martin Gee and Jill Pay were delighted to attend a reception at Coutts hosted by Alison Rose. 

Along with the bank's Julie Baker and Yvonne Greeves, many other leaders from the world of business and enterprise were present. 


It was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the Rose Review as well as share the latest thinking and meet fellow contributors.

EB Roadshow Birmingham

It was a real treat to go to Birmingham and the prestigious Council House for the final stop of the EB Roadshow supported by NatWest.

Hosted for the second time by the delightful Heather Waters of NatWest, who warmly welcomed everyone. 

After introductions from Helene Martin Gee we had a update on the exciting progress of the Economic Blueprint from Jill Pay. 

It was great to hear from two top keynote speakers, firstly Craig Tracey MP, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary group for Women & Enterprise who gave us an insight into the work of the APG and the importance Government is placing on female entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Our second keynote speaker was the inspiring Jodi Cook, founder of JC Social Media and co-founder of Clever Tykes. Jodie’s business story was super exciting to hear. Jodie began her business straight from Uni and now has a team of 18 and many major international clients!

Ideas flowed from the roundtables chaired by Deb Blisson, Debbie Assinder, Sarah Cooper Jones, Dipika Mistry and Sue Lawton; these were shared with the panel of Heather Waters, Jodie Cook and Vanda Green.

Asian Women of Achievement

The 20th AWA event at the London Hilton was a glittering occasion and as glamorous as ever. 

We were absolutely delighted to see Anna Sofat as a worthy finalist among many other inspiring women.

Mozart's Women at St John's Smith Square

A group of Pink Shoe Ambassadors was able to enjoy a marvellous concert from the London Mozart Players. Thanks to Sandi Rhys Jones for letting us know about this wonderful event. 

The London Mozart Players and conductor Jane Glover both achieved 70th birthdays this year, so this concert celebrating Mozart's Women created the perfect occasion.

The music from LMP was superb with a great line-up of musicians including award-winning Soprano Jennifer France, and the extraordinary 17-year-old pianist and BBC Young Musician Lauren Zhang.

Between the breath-taking music we enjoyed a speedy supper of delicious sharing platters and fizz in the vaults, which beautifully rounded off the evening.

BoardAble

The second session of the spring BoardAble programme covered board level CVs and applications. 

With expert input from Sarah Anderson CBE and Jill Pay, we then had a session with Sandy Meadows, founder and director of Saxonbury and a Pink Shoe Ambassador. Sandy went through every aspect of tailoring one's CV to NED, board or public appointment roles. Her practical advice and knowledge of recruiting for some very senior roles was extremely valuable. 

We heard from the group about how their sessions with Shadow Principals had progressed and exchanged ideas for future steps for the programme and for each individual. It was great to discover that success has already been achieved for some as they have already taken up new NED positions.

After a packed day we were joined by BoardAble alumnae and Pink Shoe Ambassadors for Aperitivo.

Edinburgh EB Roadshow with RBS

Edinburgh was the latest stop for the Economic Blueprint Roadshow supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Given the exciting activity taking place for female enterprise across Scotland we had high hopes and were definitely not disappointed.

The afternoon was opened by founder Helene Martin Gee who gave a quick overview of Pink Shoe and why we celebrate pink - which used to be a colour for boys!

Then the bank's Head of Women in Business, the award-winning Yvonne Greeves inspired us all with her passion for female enterprise and how much the bank is doing in this space.

The keynote was delivered by Chrissy Mackay, founder of BeYonder who energised every one of us and got us out of our seats! 









Jill Pay then gave a clear insight into the extensive work of the Economic Blueprint and the roadshow itself before we were able to open envelopes and get down to the roundtable discussions.

A big thank you to the wonderful Edinburgh delegates who came up with so many excellent ideas for the EB White Paper and especially to our brilliant discussion chairs: Janice Cuningham, Tracy Thomson, Susan Harkins, Emma Miller, Criona Courtney.