I was very nearly ungracious when told I was up for the Pink
Shoe Club's '2010 Business ICON' award. I generally steer clear of
awards dos: so often they are PR stunts and you end up paying vast
sums of money for your company to attend. Being in the events
business too, my idea of Hell is attending an event someone else
has (badly) organized. Imagine my delight therefore, to learn that
the awards were being presented over tea at the House of Commons
and that the Pink Shoe Club wanted nothing in return - just for me
to consider becoming a member! So off I trotted, husband and
step-daughter in tow, to see what it was all about.
In their own words, The Pink Shoe Club
celebrates "the outstanding success of women across the globe
and our many fabulous achievements in every aspect of society and
the world of work. It's an alliance of diverse, modern
businesswomen who have a passion for their own lives and for
influencing and effecting positive change. Women achievers with a
can-do attitude who always get the job done!"
Helene Martin Gee, Chief Advisor to the
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship, founded the
Club. Patrons are the Home Secretary, Theresa May and Tessa
Sanderson CBE. The Founding Patron was the late Benazir Bhutto. So
women who do (and did) know what they are doing (I'm feeling
embarrassed now that I was so very nearly ungracious: always do
your research!).
Even if I had not won I would have enjoyed myself hugely!
I met some incredibly inspiring women including fellow award
winners (left to right from front row in the image above): Shami
Chakrabarti CBE, Director of Liberty (Campaigner Icon), (me -
Business Icon!), Baroness Warsi, Minister & Conservative Party
Chairman (Political Icon), Claire Lee, Microsoft (Technology Icon)
(Back row) representative for Jo da Silva, Director of Arup
(Engineer Icon), Claire Ighodaro CBE, Lloyd's of London, British
Council (Banking & Finance Icon), Emma Harrison CBE, Founder of
A4e (Entrepreneur Icon) and Lisa Buckingham, Editor Financial Mail
on Sunday (Media Icon).
Lisa has suggested we have a 'winners dinner': to meet any of
these fabulous and passionate ladies again would be a very great
joy and I thank both the Pink Shoe Club and my agent Sylvia
Tidy-Harris (who nominated me) for a really fun afternoon and
evening and for the very great honour of making me this year's
Business ICON. It is not often the wedding industry is taken this
seriously (despite the £5 billion we generate for the UK economy) I
will try and live up to it…
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© Sarah Haywood, 2010
© Sarah Haywood