From Corporate head of research to Charity CEO…

Can you tell us about your current and previous role?
I previously worked at Aegon, and I was director for their retirement research programme. I lost my job through a re-organisation and was made redundant. I knew I really wanted to stay working in the area of helping people make the most of their latter working lives and I was looking for a coach or someone who could help me think through my next step because what I do wasn’t straightforward: it’s not like an accountant where you can easily move from one job to another. I recognised the next job was likely to be one I’d have to make myself and I really wanted a partner to help me think through that issue. I’m now CEO of a charity called Pro Age which aims to create more inclusive workplaces. I’m doing something I believe in and can see we are already making a difference to helping people live better healthier longer lives so I hope to be doing this for at least the next decade and beyond!

I’m doing something I believe in and can see we are already making a difference to helping people live better healthier longer lives so I hope to be doing this for at least the next decade and beyond!

How did you go about managing your transition?
I came across Brave Starts which helped me in several ways. It introduced me to some wonderful people who on the one hand helped with some practical things like helping me improve my CV, but they also helped me improve my thinking about what I wanted to do. Their work is closely related to my interests, so I started to volunteer with them and that got me attending all their workshops and events and I was learning about all the different opportunities there are out there. One of the best things however was meeting people from a range of different backgrounds but who were all dealing with the same issue. I mean I worked for a large insurance company and when you work for a large corporate you think the world revolves around PowerPoint presentations and doing things in a very traditional way which doesn’t always work in a world which is experiencing huge changes and where careers now aren’t what they once were.

I experienced a lot of different emotions when I was made redundant.

How did you feel when you were made redundant?
I experienced a lot of different emotions when I was made redundant. It may sound naïve but the first was surprised! I had been working with my previous employer for 17 years and changed jobs within the organisation several times. I had started as head of audit, then moved to sustainability, before landing a job I loved, doing retirement research. I thought surely there is another role for me within the company and when it became clear that our department was being eliminated, I had a short time of thinking….redundancy happens to other people, not to people who are well qualified and have a solid track record. Having quickly accepted reality, I started thinking about what compromises I was prepared to make. If I went back to audit or sustainability, I would likely find a job a lot quicker than staying in my chosen field, longevity research and facilitating longer, more productive lives. I decided not to compromise too soon and see what was out there. I joined Brave Starts, worked on my CV, and put feelers out to all my contacts. I applied for a lot of different jobs that in the field of inclusion and diversity to see if I could join a company and make a difference from the inside. I lost count of how many CVs I sent out but did not get called for a single interview. I quickly realised that I had a few things going against me: the field I wanted to work in was very specific, I had previously held a senior position and may be perceived to be expensive, and I was OLD. Having a handful of lemons, I needed to find a way to make lemonade, so doubled down on the age inclusion aspect of the DEI jobs I was looking for and gave myself a couple of months to see if my bet paid off. Thankfully it did and the opportunity with ProAge came along.

How did you come across Brave Starts?
I was very keen to find a job that has a purpose and would contribute to a social good. Age inclusion and helping to make the workplace more accessible to older workers was something that I was passionate about. I had been contacting everyone in my network to see what might be out there and needed to expand my network. I was looking on the internet and came across Brave Starts and joined, first as a member to help me brush up my CV and then as a volunteer. I wanted to see what I could do to help Brave Starts fulfil their mission while I had some time on my hands. It was a match made in heaven.
In many ways, I have moved from a full-time career with a single employer to a portfolio career, where I work on the things that are important to me

How did you become CEO of Pro Age?
ProAge had previously operated as the Leadership Trust and was in the process of changing its focus to work on helping business leaders understand and address the impact of changing demographics on the UK labour market. Lucy Standing (Brave Starts Co-Founder) was a trustee of ProAge and when she heard that they were looking for someone with experience in the area, she recommended that they have a chat with me. I spent a day with one of the trustees, taking through the charity’s plans and ambitions and sharing my experience. During the conversation it became clear that the charity was looking for someone to dedicate some time to the topic and I put my name in the hat for consideration.

I am also CEO at Halixia. This is a startup, helping people lead a better longer life. When I was at the insurance company, I was on a working group at the World Economic Forum looking at the longevity economy and how we can best prepare for a 100-year life. The idea for developing an app that would help people take small steps to improve their wellbeing in the areas of, finance, health, learning, and community grew from the work we were doing in the working group. Two of the members of the group decided to work on developing this app alongside their day jobs. I had stayed in contact with one of the founders and he approached me to work with them in further developing and promoting the app. I am working three plus days a week with ProAge and wanted to devote the extra time I had to work that was coming up with practical solutions that would prepare people with the skills and resources they needed to prepare for a longer life. In many ways, I have moved from a full-time career with a single employer to a portfolio career, where I work on the things that are important to me and still have time to work in a volunteer capacity with Brave Starts.