The Commissioners

Pat has successfully managed businesses in challenging and competitive environments in the UK, Europe and parts of Asia. She has also improved business performance by investing in the development of directors and managers to raise the calibre and capability of leadership teams.

Pat now works on a freelance basis with business leaders and management teams to ensure organisations are high performing. Her work ranges from business start-ups, mergers and acquisitions to organisational change and leadership development including coaching and mentoring for high performance. She works with a range of clients across a wide number of sectors including service companies, distribution, charities, education, pharmaceuticals and oil exploration. Her professional style is highly positive and motivational with an ability to get to the heart of a situation quickly and pragmatically. She has high personal credibility and is well respected by business leaders who work with her as a sounding board and confidant.

She has a degree in Business Studies and an MBA as well as being a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). In 2003 she was awarded an MBE for her services to training through her many years of working with the National Training Awards (NTA) which she chaired and was a great advocate for. She is also a Councillor and Honorary Fellow of The City and Guilds of London Institute and a Non-Executive Director of Corps Security.

Pat enjoys her spare time taking in the outdoors, walking, sailing, and achieving self- sufficiency in the garden. She is married to David and lives in Gloucestershire, working across the country as well as further afield.

Ann also spent two years as HR Director at Nationwide Building Society. Ann is on the Board and Remuneration Committee of City and Guilds of London and is a Visiting Fellow at Kingston University Business School. She was a founder member of the City & Guilds Industry Skills Board advising government and employers on quality apprentice standards. She lectures on Employee Engagement at Moscow Business School. Ann actively supports university and school initiatives to encourage women into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and has received industry recognition and awards for both internal innovation and externally as a driving force in the development of youth skills in the IT industry, including the development of Higher Apprenticeship program standards.

Up until 2009 he had a long career at Accenture holding various leadership positions and culminating in a seven year spell as Global Managing Director leading the firm’s human capital and organisation consulting practice.  He writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, and the broader issues of leadership, culture, people and skills.

Peter is also a member of the Board of BPP University and of the Advisory Board for the Open University Business School. He holds an honorary doctorate from Kingston University, is a Fellow of the CIPD and a Fellow of AHRI, the Australian HR Institute, a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute.

Kirstie plays a prominent role in driving the national and international skills agenda and has worked at the forefront of skills and education for 30 years.

In 2014 she set up the City & Guilds Group’s Industry Skills Board, bringing together a range of employers and sectors to inform the development of a quality model for apprenticeship reforms.

Martin joined Home Instead Senior Care in 2011, after taking a sabbatical to care for his father who had become seriously ill. Martin experienced first-hand the varied and sometimes poor levels of care in the UK and wanted to join an environment where he could help to make a difference to the lives of other older people and their families. Under Martin’s leadership Home Instead Senior Care has grown to a network of 190 franchise offices, delivering over 5m hours of care each year to over 9,000 clients.

Alongside his passion to support families to enable their loved ones live independently at home he is dedicated to providing job opportunities that are fulfilling and which make best use of people’s skills and experience.

Martin is also a member of Business in the Community’s Age at Work leadership team, championing the role of older workers. He is committed to recruiting older people, not only because they have so much in common with Home Instead clients but have a wealth of skills and experience to offer.

Previously she worked for over 20 years in global HR leadership roles for companies such as Walt Disney and Virgin Atlantic. She has worked extensively on all the ‘people’ aspects of business start-ups and business transformation across different sectors, including education, media, retail and airlines. She is passionate about creating organisation cultures where people can grow and develop to their full potential.

Sharon also started her own Coaching and Leadership Development business 11 years ago having qualified as a Coach at Henley Management College. Her clients have included large multi-national corporates as well as smaller, not for profit, businesses. She works with their Boards, translating visions and business goals into practical people and talent strategies.

She works as a mentor with young people, often aspiring entrepreneurs, using her coaching skills and knowledge of entrepreneurial businesses to enable individuals to build their careers. Sharon has also held various Trustee roles.

This involves working across the full spectrum of IBM’s business lines, managing Early Professionals in business, technology, consulting and sales roles. These programmes have won multiple awards, including an inaugural Princess Royal Training Award in 2016.

Jenny is Chair of the Digital and Technology Solutions Trailblazer group and was named Apprentice Champion of the Year in the National Apprenticeship awards 2020. She actively supports initiatives to create skills for the digital economy including girls’ schools outreach, STEM and employability skills for young people. Jenny has received industry recognition for her mentoring and inspirational leadership.

Jenny has appeared on national TV and radio to discuss career and education opportunities for young people. She is a graduate of the University of Liverpool where she read History.

Entering the boardroom as Commercial Director in 1983, Dudley-born Carmen became instrumental in the rise of Pertemps. During the period 1983 to 2000, she was responsible for the formation of a corporate business team. Turnover grew tenfold from £32m in just over a decade to £323m. The serious scaling-up of the business during this time also saw Pertemps double its branch footprint across the UK.

Recognising her talent for generating big profits and fostering rewarding client relationships, in the year 2000 Carmen was promoted to the position of Managing Director and then Chairperson in 2012. In 2015 she was named one of the most powerful female figures in the Global Staffing Industry.

Her passion and commitment is not only reserved for recruitment. A long-term supporter of diversity in the workplace, Carmen is now one of the foremost speakers on women in the boardroom and has been a prominent figure in the ground-breaking campaign by Lord Davies to increase the number of women who are in decision-making roles.

In January, 2011, Jane launched FITE – Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship – a global women’s entrepreneurial initiative inspired by her three decades of work within the professional skin care industry. Since its launch, FITE has assisted more than 75,000 women to achieve financial independence as well as gain access to educational programs and leadership training.

In 2016, President Obama appointed Jane as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, one of a prestigious group of America’s top entrepreneurs who work with the Federal Government to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad. Her expertise on entrepreneurship has been frequently sought out by the media, including Bloomberg, MSNBC, Inc.’s ‘The Playbook’ online video series, Entrepreneur magazine’s ‘Trep Talk’, People magazine, and NPR’s ‘How I Built This’ podcast. In 2012, she was named CEO/Business Owner of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Jane is also a Huffington Post blog contributor where she writes on her passion for women in business and entrepreneurship.