CITY’S FINEST TURN OUT IN STYLE TO HONOUR THE WOMEN OF THE FUTURE
CORPORATE party-goers have been busy this week with a string of shindigs in a row, and last night saw the City’s female contingent descending upon the Marriott hotel in Grosvenor Square for the Women of the Future awards.
The ladies weren’t short of powerful supporters, either – even Tory leader David Cameron showed up to make a short speech and make small talk with one of the awards’ patrons, Cherie Blair.
Cameron began by apologising for being late, explaining he’d been tied up at a Conservative fundraiser down the road. “As I was walking out, I told them I had to get to dinner because I was sitting between Cherie Blair and Tessa Jowell,” he quipped. “I think I convinced them there are no lengths I wouldn’t go to to reach new members of the electorate…”
It’s a good job he left straight afterwards, or something tells The Capitalist there’d have been some frosty silences over the asparagus tart.
CRACKING UP
Speaking of powerful benefactors, one of the VIPs in attendance was Chris Lucas, finance director of sponsor Barclays. Lucas was probably glad to take a break from mulling over bonus payouts to get down to something a little more light-hearted, waxing lyrical about his passion for encouraging women in business, though he admitted the glass ceiling still exists.
“There is still a ceiling, but there are plenty of women who break through it, and we’ve made really good progress over the past few years,” he told The Capitalist. “I don’t like forcing numbers, but it’s something I feel very strongly about – it’s crucial to mentor and support women to help crack that ceiling.” Hear, hear.
LOVELY LADIES
Awards were handed out to Annie Graham of Ernst & Young, the youngest person and first woman audit partner to be appointed to the firm in Scotland; Capgemini, for the corporate award; HSBC’s Birgit Neu, for mentor of the year; and none other than Sam Smith, chief executive of stockbroker FinnCap, for businesswoman of the year.
Regular readers might recall this isn’t the first award of the year for Smith, who actually featured in this column’s rather more frivolous rundown of the ten loveliest ladies in the City back in the summer.
“I’d like to think this one will be taken a bit more seriously,” she laughs, “but I doubt I’ll get quite as many phone calls off the back of it!”