Fireside chat with Kari Daniels

In February 2023, the FTSE 350 met the 40% voluntary target for Women on Boards making it the highest level of women within the highest ranks in UK business achieved to date, and a second place on the international stage. This is fantastic news and highlights how there has been an appreciable change to business culture and the removal of barriers to women reaching the upper echelons of their organisations. Over and above the proven advantages created by diverse leadership, women aspiring to executive or non-executive roles are climbing the ranks and becoming role models for more junior women with similar ambitions. While such progress should be celebrated, the hard work to maintain such levels is real and ongoing. As WiHTL & Diversity in Retail Founder, Tea Colaianni , said in the latest FTSE Women Leaders Review which reported on the latest figures: “Broadening the scope from representation of women at board level to wider leadership roles across listed companies and the recent inclusion of the largest 50 private companies has helped organisations channel their efforts on building robust diverse talent pipelines and invest in innovative practices and policies. However, much remains to be done to create truly inclusive working environments where everybody feels welcome, where women do not feel they have to choose between having a family or a career and where we no longer need to have external scrutiny to appoint talented women to senior leadership roles. Organisations can benefit hugely from learning from those that are leading the way and collaborating with others to make lasting change happen.” 

The WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community has the privilege of engaging with many such inspiring senior women who are leading the way. Some of the most inspirational moments within the webinars, interviews and programmes WiHTL & DiR produce are the personal career stories of speakers and guests. Hearing lived experiences and advice from role models and leaders helps remove barriers which may hold ambitious employees back, and helps to increase their motivation and resilience. Feedback we receive fully reflects this and such storytelling very much supports the concepts of inclusion and belonging through hearing about – and resonating with – the real-life challenges and successes of diverse leaders. 

With this in mind, we have spoken to senior women from member organisations in the HTL and Retail sectors to learn and understand how their careers evolved and the challenges and learning which have shaped their success. We are grateful to each for their participation, inspirational accounts and ongoing support to the WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community. 

Thank you to: Kari Daniels - CEO, SSP UK & Ireland  

(Image shows a photo of Kari Daniels)

Reflecting back on your career, can you describe some of the defining moments which helped shape your role as a senior leader?
The leader I am today has been shaped by experience and circumstance. As I look back my experience has been built by the roles and companies I have worked in. The decisions to move roles at times has taken some bravery and risk taking, for example taking a Senior role where the previous director had not succeeded and ended up leaving the business. Bravery in terms of moving companies and into the unknown culturally. All my moves whether brilliant roles or less than brilliant have been experience building and opportunistic in the main. In terms of circumstance, changes in the Group CEO positive and not positive at times, company takeovers, covid, Brexit and so on have all been catalysts for business change. Change that has been massively challenging as well as exciting and ultimately learning experiences that have grown me as a senior leader. 

Has the focus on EDI in recent years facilitated your and (other women's) efforts to break through the glass ceiling and in what way?
I have seen and benefitted from the increased focus on EDI over the years. I know that when I feel I belong in a team and I can be myself I have done my best work and have enjoyed myself. One of the biggest milestones for me was becoming the first female CEO in 2018 leading Tesco Ireland. The business supported me fully as a working mum by enabling me to commute weekly to Ireland and not disrupt the family (schools and my husband's business) moving them to Ireland which historically had been required of a CEO. It took compromise all round but with the support of my family and Tesco we made it work. 

What has helped you the most in achieving what you have in your career and who has been your greatest ally?
My experience of support and senior sponsorship throughout my career has been so important. I am fully committed to doing that myself, I find it energising to mentor and support younger women in their careers. And being in CEO positions now I am able to make interventions to actively support early careers e.g. introducing job share roles, flexible working and so on. 

What advice can you give to women who are trying to create a fulfilling work/life balance?
Sometimes it has been a challenge balancing work and home life particularly when my children were younger and I was travelling internationally a lot. The way I sought to have balance was to give credits; for example if I needed to stay away overnight for business that was a credit for home for which I may use by getting into the office later to do the school run or take a couple of hours out of the day to watch a football match! I also had my non-negotiables for home, sports day, parents evenings and so on. This little ‘credit’ tactic just made me be more conscious about balancing my time fairly. 

What would you like to see happening in the EDI space in the years to come?
We need to continue to focus on the broad EDI agenda, challenging ourselves and our organisations to better understand and champion an inclusive and equitable approach in all that we do. On a personal note I genuinely believe championing EDI in my world starts with me, every day and in every way! 

To close:
When we read accounts given by senior women, there are common threads which are clearly evident. While ambition and drive are given attributes to anyone who reaches senior leadership, there are experiences which can can be hooked onto three key qualities: an openness to learning; the flexibility to course-correct when a situation demands and the underlying architect for all success: persistence. 

In 2023, women leaders who have made it to executive level and above have worked and experienced a unique transitional moment in corporate/business life. From the beginning of their careers to the current day, there has been a sizable shift in the balance between men and women at the top of organisational hierarchies, from being strongly men-dominant through the gradual turning of the dial to where we now see 40% of women on Boards (UK). Women currently at the helm of their organisations have been the changemakers, the figureheads and the role models to which more junior women can both thank and emulate on an easier path in their own careers. As senior women leaders at the peak of their own career success, they now have the influence – and continue to have the desire and motivation – to make positive change looking into the future in all aspects of equity, diversity and inclusion.

HELPING SENIOR WOMEN LEADERS REACH NON-EXEC CAREERS
WiHTL & DiR have created a leadership development programme specifically designed and created to enhance senior women’s career paths towards NED roles. The Women NED Programme prepares and guides senior women leaders within the Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail sectors and supports them in understanding the skills required. The programme is open to WiHTL & DiR members to attend. It will help delegates to:

Learn more about our W-NED Programme.