Mon 18 Sept 2023 - An inclusive boardroom culture, accommodating a diversity of views and perspectives, is increasingly recognised by regulators and shareholders as a vital ingredient in effective risk management. Gender is one aspect of diversity.
As reported by Women On Boards UK, “In 2011, the Davies Review found that women made up only 9.5% of members on the boards of FTSE 350 companies. Subsequent UK monitoring of board diversity by the government-backed Hampton-Alexander Review in 2016 reported 23% of FTSE 350 board members were female. Today that figure is 40%... proof that business-led targets, with appropriate monitoring and scrutiny, can be effective in driving change.”
We are delighted to invite you to join us for this webinar to hear from our inspiring panel of leading female actuary NEDs, sharing how their career progressed into NED roles, as well as their insights and experiences of the benefits of all forms of diversity in the boardroom.
Speakers: Evelyn Bourke, Sally Bridgeland, Eithne McManus and Kathryn Morgan
Chair: Brandon Horwitz
Evelyn is a non-executive director of Bank of Ireland Group, Admiral Group plc, Marks & Spencer plc, and AJ Bell plc. She is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and received an MBA from the London Business School.
Previously, Evelyn served as Group Chief Executive Officer of Bupa, the international health insurance and healthcare group, until her retirement in 2020. She had previously served as CFO of Bupa from 2012 to 2016. Prior to that, she was an executive director with Friends’ Life, now part of Aviva.
In addition to her non-executive portfolio, she is a Non-Executive Director on the Ireland Fund of Great Britain Board with Sue O’Brien.
Evelyn is a native of Tipperary in Ireland, where she grew up on a farm as the oldest of six, and she is married to Seamus Creedon. They live in Greater London/ Kent.
She enjoys reading, travelling, food, wine, watching rugby, and supporting her home rugby club, Munster, and Ireland.
Sally Bridgeland is an actuary with extensive experience in innovation, risk management and responsible investment across investment management and pensions.
She was CEO of the BP Pension Scheme from 2007-14 after 20 years as a consultant and investment researcher. She has since had an extensive non-executive career and is currently Chair of the Development Bank of Wales, Nest Invest and BelleVie Care.
She is an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, introducing diverse ideas to their senior leadership. Sally was also the first woman to be Master of the Worshipful Company of Actuaries in 2016-17.
Eithne is a portfolio non-executive director and is currently on the board of 3 insurers - Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, Countrywide Assured, and SCOR Ireland. She was previously a non-executive director at UIA Mutual (a general insurer) and at LGPS Central (a start-up asset manager) and was an independent member of the With Profits Committee at M&G Prudential.
Prior to moving into non-executive roles, Eithne was Chief Executive (and previously CFO) of City of Westminster Assurance, having spent her earlier career in a number of actuarial roles.
Kathryn has worked in financial services for nearly 40 years, in both companies and regulators. She is a qualified actuary and has led research on risk management and capital adequacy assessment.
Along the way, Kathryn has mentored and coached other women working in financial services with the aim of increasing their confidence and opening up new opportunities.
Kathryn is now a NED for four insurance companies in Gibraltar and the UK. She chairs one company, and chairs the Audit Committee for two others.