The Reformer
Changing the system from inside it, principle turned into change.
Penny James profiles as The Reformer in the OTA Media Leadership Index. Her career combines deep technical grounding, as a chartered accountant and former chief financial officer at Direct Line Group and in senior finance roles at Prudential, with a willingness to reshape institutions from within.
“So to our current leaders with voices, I would be saying it is for us to challenge those social preconceptions. In all sorts of places, this is not limited to business by, this is a reflection of society. And culturally, I think that is really important. And that is not just about the role of women. It's about the role of men as well.”
“A fascinating question, isn't it? I think I'm always intrigued why when you see either very successful or great leaders, this isn't limited to business actually, what it is that they do or bring that makes them successful. Think we've had times where that's been about structure and order and discipline.”
“I think it's a really live question at the moment. Nobody gets out of bed in the morning and says, Do you know, I want to be an insurance person when I go up. I might want to be a fireman. I might want to be all sorts of things. No one says, please, mum, can you make sure I go and work for an insurance company?”
“And the review, I think, has two very distinctive characteristics. One is that it operates through advocacy and transparency. And the second thing is it's brutally transparent. And we publish every company name just factually where they've got to and how far they've come. And in four cases, whether or not they're prepared to play.”
Pull up a Chair with Bina Mehta: “In conversation with Bina Mehta, Chair, KPMG UK”
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