WES CHAIR NAMED EQUALITY DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

WES Chair Professor Lynne Cadenhead has been named Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Director of the Year at this year's IoD Scotland Director of the Year Awards, which were held virtually for the first time ever.

19 outstanding leaders collected awards in a ceremony that acknowledged the best in business across 12 key director categories, as well as seven regional and two special awards.

The judges commented; “Lynne creates the environment for women led businesses to grow and explores and finds solutions to the issues women entrepreneurs face. She personally has high impact and global reach attending the T20 and G20 Osaka Leaders summits. She creates meaningful change at policy level and does this with a small team and limited budget. She has a clear vision, strategic ambitions and targets for the business over the next 3-5 years including doubling the rate at which women start their own businesses and moving away from the reliance on grants to more sustainable finance options. The impact on the Scottish ecosystem for women is obvious."

Malcolm Cannon, National Director of the Institute of Directors in Scotland, commented: "In times of crisis, we still see an incredible amount of tenacity and drive shown by those leading Scotland’s business community. Creating and leading organisations that are built to thrive is vital in this current environment. With external forces placing a strain on the viability of businesses like never before, they require leadership that can steady the ship that benefits their employees, customers and stakeholders – to whom they are responsible.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of entries this year, and our judging panel had the tough job of whittling down almost 200 entries to just 54 final contenders for our prestigious awards. Amongst our winners, we were most impressed by those who, despite their position, are not afraid to continually develop and actively encourage training to keep ideas fresh. By creating vibrant and positive cultures, leaders are motivating their teams to improve their organisation. This is no mean feat given current market conditions.”

Lynne Cadenhead said: "Winning the IoD Scotland Director of the Year Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is such a personal honour and a huge recognition for the work that Women’s Enterprise Scotland does every day to help create a better environment for women-led businesses. Whilst we are making collective progress in Scotland, there is still so much more to be done, and I encourage all directors to take action and keep working to improve D&I in their businesses. A better balanced business ecosystem is best for all of us – men, women and children alike – and I hope this award will help me to inspire other businesses achieve this balance."

ENDS