WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE
Enterprising Women:
Recognising female founders and CEOs who are leading the way with their King’s Award for Enterprise While achieving outstanding success in business is increasingly common for female founders and CEOs, it is still so often the case that women need to overcome significant and specific challenges in order to triumph at the very highest levels. Here, five successful female business leaders who have received King’s Award recognition this year share their thoughts on ever- pertinent issues like glass ceilings, female stereotyping and industry gender bias, while offering invaluable advice and insight.
Angela Orton, MD of Structural Adhesives Ltd Based in Leicester, Structural Adhesives is a family-run manufacturing and service company that specialises in the formulation and development of adhesives such as epoxies, acrylics, and polymer-based adhesives. The company’s MD, Angela Orton, shared the challenges of working within an industry where “female-led organisations are still rare.” “The glass ceiling is real,” she noted, “but I try not to let it dominate my thinking. I focus on working around it, and with the right people and values, you eventually find a way through.” Angela – who trained as an art teacher with no business or technical background – believes that while some “blatantly biased challenges” to female-led success are institutional, adversity can often be found in less obvious places: “The biggest test we face as women often rests within ourselves,” she noted. “When you believe you can only go so far, it becomes hard to see what’s possible. That’s why mindset matters, especially for women in sectors where we’re still underrepresented.”
Emily Griffiths, CEO of Brand Hatchers Ltd Cardiff-based Brand Hatchers owns, develops, launches and grows consumer brands across a global distribution network online and in retail. Describing her company’s King’s Award (International Trade) win as a “huge moment”, CEO Emily Griffiths, believes much of her success can be attributed to pursuing a culture within business that encourages a healthy balance between work and family life. “As a female founder, I’m proud we’ve grown internationally while staying true to our values: building a flexible, supportive workplace where people can thrive at work and at home,” she says. “Success feels more possible when workplaces genuinely support family life, mental wellbeing, and flexibility — and I know I wouldn’t be able to lead the business the way I do without those same policies in place for me too.” Emily acknowledged that, while parental responsibilities and gender-based expectations can make succeeding in business more challenging, it is still absolutely achievable: “Juggling leadership and family life isn’t always easy,” she shared, “but with the right structure and culture, it’s absolutely doable - and I hope we’re proof of that.”
www. kingsawardsmagazine .com
16
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease