When Women in Business Reach for Gold

Whenever possible, Healys LLP commits to initiatives that support more diversity & inclusion within the business community. That’s why earlier this month, we joined forces with Best of British Events alongside Seico Mortgages, Kreston Reeves & Sussex Business Times to host a special event in celebration of Women’s Month.

In addition to celebrating Women’s Month, the aim of this event was to invite and introduce more leading women in business to one of Sussex’s most prestigious business networks.

The Best of British events is a multi-award winning events platform, which brings together a range of business leaders from across Sussex and London. These sell –out events actively support a range of charities through fundraising activities, while celebrating some of Britain’s best sports celebrities, who attend the events and share their stories.

To support this initiative, Ryan Heal, CEO of Best of British was keen to make sure that this event was female led, which included who managed, sponsored and led on this initiative as well as the chosen charity involved. Therefore Ryan shared his role with Events Manger Stella Buckingham and Business Development & Marketing Manager, Stephanie Prior, who came together to co-host this unique event.

Stephanie Prior said:

“When initially asked to take on Ryan’s role at this Best of British event, I was nervous as Ryan is a leader in his field and a fantastic host! We had big shoes to fill. But it was an honour to co-host alongside leading events manager, Stella and I am so grateful to Ryan Heal and Anne Heal for their time and encouragement as well as the opportunity to work with one of Sussex’ leading Business networks.”

This Women in Business Best of British was a sell-out event, which included representatives from some of Sussex’s leading businesses. This women in business event attracted a mixed audience, with a range of male leaders supporting this event to promote the importance of diversity and inclusion within the business network as well as celebrating this initiative with their female counterparts.

Nick Taylor, Partner & Head of Media & Entertainment at Healys LLP said:

“Healys LLP recognises the importance of inclusion & diversity in the workplace and are keen to lead on initiatives that support and promote this. Healys are proud members of Best of British and it was a fantastic opportunity for us to work with Ryan and the Best of British team on this particular event. Sussex has a strong women in business network and this was very apparent by who attended and support this event. We look forward to working on more projects that have a positive message and impact on our business community.”

During this event, guests were joined by gold medal winning Paralympian, Anne Usher MBE who competed for Great Britain during the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Before competing in the Paralympics, Anne led a successful career as a Physiotherapist specialising in musculoskeletal conditions and sports injuries. In her spare time, she was a competitive endurance mountain biker. However in 2011, Anne ruptured a disc in her back, which led to her to develop cauda equina syndrome, suffering with permanent nerve damage in her right leg.

After her injury, Anne shared with guests how distraught she was to know that she could never ride again and questioned whether her love for competing in sports had come to an end. However through sheer determination, tenacity and resilience, Anne revised her goals and re-trained to become a world class paracanoeist.

Anne’s story was not only inspiring, but reminded guests that life is not always fair and presents the most unexpected challenges. But with the power of a positive mind-set, we can all reach for gold.

Guests also heard from Laura Sercumbe, CEO of The Girls Friendly Society – a charity that supports young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds across England and Wales, to achieve their aspirations and dreams. Laura shared insight into some of the barriers that young girls face when striving for a seat at the table and the fantastic work this charity does to break glass ceilings and support young girls to achieve their goals.

As members of the Best of British network, Healys were proud to join forces with Seico Mortgages, Kreston Reeves & Sussex Business Times to support an initiative that promoted the importance of diversity & inclusion through strengthening our networks and creating more opportunities in the business community.

For more information regarding Healys LLP’s up and coming event and services, please visit: www.healys.com