President's Newsletter – April 2015
Dear Member,
If you’d asked me 4 years ago when I first became a CWN Corporate member if I thought I would write to you all as President of CWN, my response would have been – highly unlikely! Not because I wouldn’t relish the responsibility but when reflecting on the amazing achievements of past Presidents, like most women, I’d wonder if I was up to the challenge. And yet here I am - stepping up and leaning in.
I’m incredibly excited and honoured to be appointed CWN President. I feel humbled to step into Brenda Trenowden’s shoes.
For the past 3 years, Brenda has shown an overwhelming passion, dedication and commitment to our network. Under her inspirational leadership we have really made our mark on London. We are a powerful and growing community of 250+ senior women. In addition to growing our individual membership base, we have secured corporate sponsorship from leading companies in the UK which has helped fund our strong calendar of events ranging from social to professional development seminars and workshops. We have just under 2,500 twitter followers and 800 members on LinkedIn.
Our Annual Conference has gone from strength to strength resulting in “Plugged In ...Tuned Out” selling out in February this year. Our Gala Dinner, our most elegant event of the year, has raised tens of thousands for our chosen charities and no doubt will shortly be another sell out event.
I graciously thank you, Brenda and the Board for all your hard work in making CWN what it is today. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution made by those Board Members who are also stepping down this year - Isabel Evans, Mary Peterkin, Jeanine Long, India Wardrop and Ann Goodger - your work has been greatly appreciated by everyone. And I thank you, our membership, for continuing to keep our network current, fun and vibrant.
So now I’m lifting the CWN baton with pride in our achievements and with some exciting plans for the future development of CWN.
Over the next year, I want to make sure all our members, whether you’re an individual or corporate member, experience the full value of being connected to CWN.
I would like to see more of you participating in our committees and having a say in what you want and expect from me as your President and your Board. We will shape our events to meet your needs with relevant and meaningful content.
We will continue to extend our influence and reach through strengthening our connections with associations, partnerships and alumni. By building a stronger community both on and offline we will enrich the quality of interaction and opportunities to learn from each other.
I’m so delighted to have the support of the CWN Board to help us achieve our mission. We have an excellent mix of new faces whom you will be meeting over the coming months and luckily there are seasoned members staying on the board to give us continuity.
As always, we have some terrific events coming up – just click on the links below to find out more about our event with EY on 13th May and our very glamorous and fun Summer Drinks on 2nd June.
Looking forward to see you all very soon.
All my best
Sandy
Sandy Lucas
President, CWN