Page 35 – Business in the Community

James York

James York smiles in a black and white image

James York

Group CR Director,
Costain Group

South West Leadership Board

James York is the Group Corporate Responsibility Director for the smart infrastructure solutions firm Costain. Costain provide engineering and technology solutions to energy, water and transportation industry clients across the UK.

Based in the south west, James is responsible for developing and implementing Costain’s sustainability strategy and targets. A major part of his role is to manage the corporate responsibility reporting. This includes producing the corporate responsibility section of the Costain annual report, as well as leading on the annual sustainability report, modern slavery statement and gender pay gap report.

James has helped shape Costain’s EDI strategy and acts as a ‘white heterosexual male ally’ to the company’s employee networks. He is particularly proud to support Costain’s first pride march in London in 2017.

James has a passion for youth equality, regularly volunteering with the Prince’s Trust and promoting STEM careers in schools as a STEM ambassador.

James is client-focused and works closely to support their sustainability or responsible business priorities, ensuring that Costain remains focused on its material issues.

James joined Costain in 2008 as a trainee site engineer, before fulfilling various roles including: community engagement, stakeholder engagement, communications management and leading the community relations team. James was appointed as the Group Corporate Responsibility Director in November 2019.

Leighton Cardwell

Leighton Cardwell wears a suit and smiles

Leighton Cardwell

Director of Operations, Jacobs

Yorkshire and Humber Leadership Board

Leighton Cardwell is Director of Operations at infrastructure solutions provider Jacobs, responsible for the leadership of its city region strategy and its 400 staff in Leeds.

Leighton studied geography at Oxford University, prior to undertaking his MSc in transport planning and engineering at the University of Leeds, where his love of the region grew from.

Leighton leads on complex, multi-disciplinary transport and infrastructure scheme development, design and delivery in the region and across northern England. He is a chartered transport planning professional, an expert witness, a STEM ambassador, and is part of Leeds City Council’s inclusive growth extended delivery partnership.

As a result, he has a focus on ensuring community involvement, benefit, and more inclusive social outcomes from the decision making and delivery of local infrastructure; This is among the reasons why Leighton has chosen to join the Yorkshire and Humber Leadership Board.

Outside of work, Leighton is a keen swimmer, with open water swimming events and competitions having taken Leighton to swim in cities, rivers and channels all around the world. Leighton has a young son who already seems to share his passion for swimming and adventure.

Lisa Donnelly

Lisa Donnelly in a navy suit and blue shirt, looks at the camera

Lisa Donnelly

Head of EMEA Operations and Global Head of Regulatory and Control Operations,
Goldman Sachs

Education Leadership Team

Lisa is head of EMEA Operations and global head of Regulatory and Control Operations. She serves on the Operations Leadership Group, EMEA Federation Leadership Group and EMEA Client Assets Steering Committee. Lisa is also a director on the Goldman Sachs Asset Management International Board and a director on the Goldman Sachs Poland Services Board. She is co-sponsor of the Warsaw Women’s Network and managing director ally of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Network.

Previously, she was co-head of Asia Pacific Operations. Prior to that, Lisa was co- head of Bengaluru Operations and head of Derivatives and Securities Operations in Bengaluru. Earlier in her career, she managed EMEA Currency Operations and before that was head of Treasury Operations for EMEA. Lisa joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 as an associate in Treasury Operations and was named managing director in 2010.

Prior to joining the firm, Lisa worked at Deloitte Consulting.

Lisa earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to help create a UK where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, can access the education, employment, and skills they need to thrive throughout their working lives.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

LEARN MORE
Business in the Community is creating a skilled and inclusive workforce for today and tomorrow

Ian Gleeson

Ian Gleeson in close up

Ian Gleeson

UK Director of Communications,
McKinsey

Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Ian Gleeson is the UK Director of Communications at McKinsey & Company.  He joined McKinsey in 2010.

Before that he spent 15 years with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, working on a wide range of political and economic issues, with postings in East Africa and Russia.  He ran the Middle East and Counter-Terrorism team in the FCO Press Office from 2003 to 2004. 

Between 2004 and 2007 he worked in the Press Office in 10 Downing Street on secondment from the FCO. There he was responsible for the Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Development portfolios.

Prior to joining the FCO, Ian worked for Barclays Bank PLC for six years in London and Singapore.

Ian has degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia. He and his wife Jan have one son, Oscar.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to help create a UK where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, can access the education, employment, and skills they need to thrive throughout their working lives.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

Susana Sierra

Susana Sierra

Susana Sierra

People and Culture Vice President,
JTI UK

Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Susana is the People and Culture Vice President at JTI, a leading international tobacco manufacturer, which is one of only 14 companies worldwide to have been awarded Top Employer status for five consecutive years.  From employee wellbeing and diversity and inclusion, to skills based volunteering and long-term charitable partnerships, and supporting excluded groups into employment, Susana is fully involved in JTI’s responsible business activities.

A Spanish national with more than 23 years of experience in Human Resources, Susana was HR Director in JTI’s Iberian business (Spain, Portugal, Andorra and one of JTI’s Global IT Hubs) for over a decade, where she oversaw the modernisation and amalgamation of HR services and the early adoption of flexible working and benefits. Susana has a special interest in employee empowerment programmes and expertise in leadership development and talent management. Susana has also been JTI’s Western Europe Region’s representative on the company’s global talent management taskforce. She has held previous HR roles in Spain at Pepsico and DHL.

Susana holds a Law Degree from ICADE Business School in Madrid and two Human Resources Masters Degrees. She lives in Surrey with her husband and two sons.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to create inclusive employment where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, has access to good quality jobs and the skills they need to thrive in work.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

LEARN MORE
Business in the Community is creating a skilled and inclusive workforce for today and tomorrow

Dame Julia Cleverdon, DCVO, CBE

Julia Cleverdon in dark jacket and polka dot blouse smiles at the camera

Dame Julia Cleverdon, DCVO, CBE

Vice President, Business in the Community
Employment and Skills Leadership Team
Place Taskforce

Dame Julia Cleverdon DCVO, CBE is a passionate and practical campaigner who has gained an international reputation for ‘connecting the unconnected’, inspiring individuals and organisations to work together for the common good in the most challenged communities.

During her tenure as Chief Executive of Business in the Community from 1991 to 2007, Julia worked closely with the President HRH The Prince of Wales in building a movement of 850 member companies. Julia later served as Special Adviser to The Prince’s Charities and focused efforts on disadvantaged communities.

Julia chairs Transform – an alliance of Teach First, Police Now, Unlocked, Think Ahead and Frontline to collaborate on the many common issues facing public service leadership, and inspire a new generation to take up critical community impact professional roles.

Julia co-founded Step Up To Serve (#iwill), which aims to make meaningful social action a part of life for young people across the UK.  As Chair of Teach First from 2007 to 2014, and now Vice Patron, Julia has pioneered efforts to address educational disadvantage. She serves on the National Citizen Service, Careers and Enterprise Company and Youth Futures Foundation boards, is Deputy Chair of the Fair Education Alliance, and Chair of the National Literacy Trust.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to help create a UK where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, can access the education, employment, and skills they need to thrive throughout their working lives.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

Business in the Communty’s place programme

Business in the Community’s (BITC) Place Programme is about bringing everyone together in a place to act collaboratively. To act on long-term goals, based on a common agreement of the challenges, opportunities and solutions and drawing on the strengths of everyone in that community, whether they are a business, a community organisation or from the public sector.

Our mission

To facilitate meaningful connections between businesses, communities, and local councils to reset economic ambitions and collaborate on new, innovative solutions that will deliver long-term, transformative impact.

John Holland-Kaye

John Holland-Kaye, stands in an airport terminal

John Holland-Kaye

Chief Executive Officer,
Heathrow Airport Limited

Chair, Employment and Skills Leadership Team

John Holland-Kaye became Chief Executive Officer of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd in July 2014. His previous roles at Heathrow include delivering the new Terminal 2, which opened successfully in June 2014, growing commercial income and improving passenger experience. Heathrow is now rated by passengers as the best airport in Western Europe and one of the top ten airports worldwide.

John’s focus as CEO is on making Heathrow a great place to work, transforming passenger experience and building strong relationships with local communities.

Prior to joining Heathrow, John worked in housebuilding in the United Kingdom and the US, with Taylor Wimpey, and in brewing and leisure retail in the UK with Bass plc. His early experience was as a strategy consultant advising leisure and FMCG companies in the UK, US, Australia and the Philippines.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to create inclusive employment where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, has access to good quality jobs and the skills they need to thrive in work.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

LEARN MORE
Business in the Community is creating a skilled and inclusive workforce for today and tomorrow

Nathan Clements

Nathan Clements in a suit, checked shirt and tie.

Nathan Clements

HR Director for Boots UK & ROI, Walgreens Boots Alliance

Employment and Skills Leadership Team

At the end of 2016, Nathan Clements joined Boots as HR Director for Boots UK & ROI, which is part of the WBA global enterprise. He has joined the Executive Leadership team charged with building and delivering a strong people agenda as part of our new and emerging three-year Customer Colleague Strategy. 

Nathan joined WBA from DMG Media where he was Group HR Director in January 2014. DMG Media is a global publishing (digital and print) media business. He was accountable for supporting the business through a significant digital transformation and international expansion, while protecting and optimising the core and heritage businesses.

With over 20 years of senior commercial HR experience, Nathan has worked across many industries including media, pharmaceuticals, FMCG and retail; his last retail experience being for the FTSE 100 supermarket retailer WM Morrison where he held a number of HR director roles focused on organisational performance, M&A, and leadership development at the front line.  

Prior to this, Nathan held senior HR and operational roles at B&Q, PepsiCo, Elan Pharma and ABF/British Sugar.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to create inclusive employment where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, has access to good quality jobs and the skills they need to thrive in work.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

LEARN MORE
Business in the Community is creating a skilled and inclusive workforce for today and tomorrow

Fiona Jones

A close up of Fiona Jones smiling

Fiona Jones

Group Director Wales, Work and Health, Employers and Partnerships,
Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Fiona joined HMRC (formerly the Inland Revenue) in 1988 as an Administrative Assistant, and worked in many operational posts in various locations throughout career.

Appointed an Area Director in 2000, and set up two area management schemes (one of the first and one of the largest) delivering massive organisational change. Moved to Head Office in 2004, and spent a year in the Budget and Finance Bill Team followed by the Customer Insight Team, working on customer strategy.

In 2006, she joined IBM for a year as a Senior Management Consultant in their global public sector service, working on projects in Taunton Deane Borough Council, Copenhagen, and returning to Wales to work in DVLA.

Promoted to SCS in 2008 to lead the development of a taxpayer charter. This meant co-ordinating the largest consultation undertaken by HMRC, and launched Your Charter in November 2009. As a direct result, Fiona was invited to Ethiopia to provide expertise to enable the design, development and implementation of a modern, world-class Ethiopian taxpayer charter.

Following the July 2011 Treasury Select Committee Report recommendations, she led the Joint Initiative on Service Delivery – a high-profile project reporting directly to HMRC’s Chairman – to restore stakeholder confidence and improve engagement by being more transparent.

In 2012, Fiona moved to Civil Service Learning to set up the operational delivery profession. Working directly to Ruth Owen, developing the professional skills and, standards for the 280,000 frontline staff across government – this included a full CPD offer and a suite of qualifications in operational delivery. She is particularly proud of the ODP Apprenticeship Scheme and recruiting 200 apprentices to become the Surge and Rapid Response Team – the first cross-government team that works across boundaries to respond to departmental work peaks and crises across government.

About Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of Business in the Community’s Employment and Skills Leadership Team is to create inclusive employment where everyone, regardless of their background or experience, has access to good quality jobs and the skills they need to thrive in work.

Find out more about BITC’s work on employment.

LEARN MORE
Business in the Community is creating a skilled and inclusive workforce for today and tomorrow

Vicky Wallis

Vicky Wallis in a suit smiles at the camera

Vicky Wallis

Chief People Officer,
Direct Line Group

Gender Equality Leadership Team

Vicky Wallis joined Direct Line Group as Chief People Officer in April 2020 and is a member of the Group’s Executive Committee. Vicky is responsible for developing and driving the people agenda enabling a dynamic, inclusive place to work, where people can collaborate, grow and thrive.

Vicky has a wealth of experience in building HR functions, developing cultural frameworks and enhancing people capabilities having worked previously at Santander where she was the HR Director for five years and at RBS, where she partnered the business through unprecedented levels of change in their Capital Resolution and Non-Core Divisions. Having operated in international organisations with global roles and projects in India, Romania, EMEA and the US, Vicky also gained a wealth of experience running her own HR consultancy company working with a range of companies, notably EDF Trading, Lloyds Pharmacy, Abbey National and Vodafone.

Vicky is passionate about ensuring that organisations provide interesting and stretching work opportunities for people from all backgrounds and creating cultures that enable everyone to thrive and grow to their potential. She sees the continuous evolution of organisational skills as a critical part of the HR agenda in order to ensure colleagues are always ready for the rapidly changing market.

Vicky is CIPD qualified and has a Master’s degree in Organisational Leadership. Vicky is married and has two children (25 & 23) and ensures she maintains a good work/life balance in order to spend quality time with them. She is also a keen film-goer and also enjoys running, cycling and the gym, when she can get there.

About Business in the Community’s Gender Equality Leadership Team

Each area of work Business in the Community (BITC) undertakes is led by a group of senior executives who provide strategic guidance and support us in achieving our objectives.

The purpose of BITC’s Gender Equality Leadership Team is to help ensure that women can achieve their full potential at work.

Find out more about BITC’s work on gender.