Connected: The women of business sharing skills and expertise

GOING SWIMMINGLY: Carli Black at The Deep ten years ago for an event promoting business careers among young women

Chewing the Fat – out to lunch with Phil Ascough

This week’s guests: Freya Cross and Carli Black

A prominent local businesswoman once told me about her first day in a new job. She’d been headhunted for a senior, professional role and the package included a company car that would have been considered swanky at the time. Now I’m not much of a car person, but for a modern equivalent maybe think of a nice Audi A6.

She did the round of introductions to senior colleagues, briefings from bosses, and was then led to the car park. But there was no sign of her gleaming new motor so she asked where it was. The boss replied that the board had decided she didn’t really want one of those, so they got her something smaller. For a modern equivalent maybe think of a Fiat 500.

“We just felt you’d find it easier to park,” he said.

I’m reminded of the anecdote whenever anyone questions why women feel it necessary to set up all-female networking groups. Round here we’ve got Women in Business, which last year marked its 30th anniversary, and the Hull Businesswomen’s Breakfast Club (HBBC), which dates back even further to 1992.

Freya Cross arrived in Hull a couple of years earlier and was the first woman to be appointed general manager of a livestock market. She makes the point that one issue at the time was the tendency for the male-dominated business community to confine its networking to pubs, which didn’t necessarily hold the same appeal for women.

“There were fewer women in senior roles at that point,” she recalled.

“We were working across diverse sectors and there were no natural professional or industry events to bring us together.”

FULFILLING A NEED: Freya Cross outside The Deep Business Centre

So they created their own and, as someone charged with developing an events calendar at the livestock market, Freya pursued the networking opportunities enthusiastically.

The contacts made proved to be invaluable as Freya moved into the world of business space, running Commerce House in Hull and then The Deep Business Centre, where we chatted recently on the 25th anniversary of her arrival at the iconic tourism, conservation and education venue.

Both groups are still buzzing, and playing prominent parts in Humber Business Week. If you haven’t yet booked a place you’re too late to get a seat at “Chop and Change”, the HBBC event being delivered at The Deep on Thursday, June 5, in partnership with Ganton School.

The success of the groups and their events are evidence that they work and that there’s still a need for what they do. I’m sure there are still one or two captains of the corporate world who think misogyny is the latest recruit in the typing pool.

Such misconceptions should be banished by the calibre of HBBC membership over the years and the diversity around their day jobs. Freya, Head of Business & Corporate at The Deep, has served as chair twice and is currently the treasurer.

Other past chairs and founder members include Victoria Jackson MBE, whose many and varied roles include chair of Kingston Recruitment, and Pat Coyle, a leader in marketing, business development and client relations for more than 30 years at Rollits and now in the merged firm of Wilkin Chapman Rollits. Pat is also chair of Humber Business Week.

Another founder, Carli Black, came from an engineering background, and she spoke of the group’s origins as it held an event at The Deep ten years ago to promote careers in business for young women.

“A few women who knew each other through their jobs got together to support each other and spread good practice,” she said.

THREE CHAIRS: From left, Freya Cross, Victoria Jackson MBE, and Pat Coyle

“It’s not about networking and promoting your business; it’s about solid friendship and support through good and bad. There was a national group but we decided after about six months that we didn’t want to be part of that. We wanted to be independent, and we are.”

The first meeting took place at what is now the Mercure Hull Grange Park Hotel and they have continued every month, online when Covid crashed the regular schedule, under Chatham House rules which bring the opportunity to speak openly about live business issues.

Freya added: “That’s one reason why we limit the number of members from any particular sector – we don’t want people competing against each other. We want them to work together and share their expertise to help other people with their businesses.

“Our meetings and events feature a range of businesses from the biggest employers in the region to sole traders who don’t have a team of people to work with but who can find one here.”

The big firms include Reckitt and Siemens Gamesa. Much smaller enterprises include Salt Revive, one of the businesses set up by the current chair Clare Atkinson. Her successor later this year will be Ellie Birch, owner of acclaimed cake-baking business Elliegantly Made.

Freya said: “It doesn’t matter what your business is – the things you have to deal with are often the same but just in a different environment.

“One of you might have greater knowledge about a particular issue whether it’s health and safety or software. Your business might be more advanced in that area and you can share what you know.”

AUDIENCE: The the most recent event organised by Hull Businesswomen’s Breakfast Club at The Deep during Humber Business Week 2019

The club’s Biz Week events also embrace issues of the day. Pre-Covid, The Deep hosted sessions on cyber-crime, unconscious bias, people potential, technology and skills. Returning to The Deep this year for the first time since 2019, members have partnered with Ganton School to present Chop and Change, which is an innovative employment initiative supporting people aged 16 to 19 who have severe learning difficulties

The school will showcase the progress made by its young people by providing lunch for club members and their guests. The aim is to foster discussions on workplace inclusivity, highlight best practices for adapting workplaces, and consult with educators to unlock untapped talent.

The charge of £12.50 per head will go towards helping the school to build the resources it needs to help more students.

Freya said: “We have a member of our catering team who came from Ganton and we are working on appointing another one. The school also holds events at other venues and it’s worth people contacting them to find out about future events.

“The event itself is a great example of the highlights of Humber Business Week over the years – the way in which people freely share their expertise and knowledge with the wider business community. That’s the greatest value of it.

“It’s a fantastic, inclusive networking opportunity for making new contacts and for rekindling others. That’s fundamentally what the Hull Businesswomen’s Breakfast Club is about. The two are closely aligned and that’s why we started doing our events during Biz Week.

“It resonates with why the club was set up in the first place. In essence a lot of networking in the old days was done on the golf course. The irony around that is that we now meet at a golf club.”