FROM THE INDUSTRY
Anne-Marie heads up the new Health division within VBUK, created in April 2023, leading Vodafone’s work in delivering connectivity and technology solutions to the health and care sector, particularly through supporting innovation in the NHS. She joined Vodafone in October 2022 from Oracle, where she was Public Sector Sales Director and previously Director of UK Healthcare, as well as Strategic Innovation. Anne-Marie also has extensive experience in the NHS and civil service, having been Director of Finance at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, following periods in financial management at HM Treasury and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Earlier Anne- Marie was Head of Business Operations at GE Healthcare. Anne-Mare is passionate about technology in Health & Social Care - particularly since COVID - and how we can support the whole ‘system’ in being more coherent and accessible to patients and users to improve outcomes. She is a graduate of the NHS Leadership Academy’s Nye Bevan Programme, named after the NHS’ founder, designed for NHS Leaders.
Anne-Marie Vine-Lott, Director of Health, Vodafone Business UK
Director and was finding things very tough at one stage in not ‘fitting the mould’. My friend’s response was to state the obvious really, she pointed out that if the company had wanted more of the same, they would not have hired me. It’s an observation that has stayed with me whenever I get most struck with ‘imposter syndrome’. What have you learned along the way as a woman in a male-dominated environment? Interestingly, telecoms has not been the most male-dominated environment I have worked in but then I am not on the ‘frontline’ - and that is not to say there’s not room for improvement! I have learned to be the woman I want to be in a male- dominated environment – what I mean is that I have seen many women adjust in order to fit in, whether that’s becoming ‘one of the boys’ or in becoming more aggressive in style. I want to be able to be a feminine woman, but still be strong in a male environment and that is important to me in being an authentic leader as much as it is ensuring that feminine traits are recognised for bringing diversity of approach and style and, in doing so, create innovation. What are the main challenges for women in the telecoms industry? I’m not sure that there are challenges for women that are specific to the industry as such. We absolutely need more women in the workforce but that is the case in the technology sector as a whole and I can see it improving as more women come into the ‘STEM’ environment through Vodafone’s graduate programme et al. It’s hard to fix everything at every level at this single point in time, but I am encouraged by the progression I can see happening.
What first attracted you to the telecoms industry and how did you get into the business? This question made me laugh! I could not say that I was specifically drawn to the telecoms industry, they (specifically Vodafone) came to find me. My background is as a Finance Director across a range of sectors and industries, but I have moved into Business Development and Sales in recent years with a focus on the public sector and, at the moment, the Health sector having worked in both the NHS and for GE Healthcare. I am passionate about innovation, and I believe, as do many, that technology plays a huge part in some of how we can address health and social care challenges. However, in order to support these technologies, we are hugely reliant upon connectivity and our networks to reduce the barriers to access in building digital health services …and so a move to the telecoms sector brings with it huge benefits in being a key enabler of change. What, if any, mentors helped you along the way? I think we all need a range of mentors, formal and informal, personal and professional to support us. Dr Felicity Harvey has previously been a mentor and always encouraged me to ‘think bigger’ and outside of what could be achieved outside of my pure finance role at the time. I have also stayed in touch with a few previous bosses because they know your strengths and weakness and can be great sounding boards in new roles when you move forward. Having moved x-functionally I know the words of a close friend of mine have stayed with me at times; I moved from being a Finance Director to a Business Development
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Volume 46 No.1 March 2024
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