Cutting through the glass ceiling
January 2007
- Carole Ducumbe, managing director, Intimas
- Tony Mellor, senior commercial manager, Pall Ex
Key Lessons
- Being a female in a man’s world isn’t necessarily a handicap. It can be used as an advantage, for example in relation to Pall Ex’s use of Hilary Devey in their PR and marketing activities
- Success in business requires enormous tenacity, drive, persistence and vision, together with luck and good timing! Carol described her approach as "an opportunist with common sense driven by a strong desire not to fail"
- Senior positions are enormously stressful and personally demanding. There are no hiding places and you are often very much on your own. It is vital to have a personal support mechanism in the form of a mentor, partner or friendly face to turn to in order to have someone who can not only act as a sounding board but also provide encouragement in difficult times
- Business is often about re-invention. Taking existing ideas and re-branding, refreshing and re-positioning a business in the light of changing markets
- CEO’s or senior managers can transfer between different industries. The skills of an MD or CEO are about managing people and managing situations. These skills are transferable between industries
- An ability to see the writing on the wall and to respond quickly and decisively is a key skill. Don’t duck waves of change heading your way. Major investments in IT in the case of Pall- EX and business re-invention in the case of Intimas, has been the key to their success
- When considering making investments into companies the quality of the management team is the key factor which usually determines their success or otherwise