The IFL programme was extremely insightful and rewarding, diving into the insights of our CFO's career path and sharing some great advice on how to tackle challenging situations. I've learnt a lot from the anecdotes shared and resonated with a number of the challenges faced. A huge thank you to our CFO, cohort and ICAEW for facilitating such a great programme.
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The ICAEW Inspiring Future Leaders programme was a fantastic way to learn from an industry leader whilst networking with peers from a wide range of backgrounds - bringing true diversity of thought to the table. Highly recommended to members looking to take the next step in their careers.
Our 2025 senior leaders
Cohort two (September – November)
Jenny started her career training to be an accountant with Ernst & Young. From here she worked across multiple sectors, having spent time with Barclays, Greene King, Willis plc, iprism and GRP Group. Jenny is also Treasurer of Aldeburgh Cinema Trust, providing films and experiences to those in the local community. Jenny joined the Adnams Board in June 2020 as CFO and became CEO in July 2024.
Gareth trained and qualified as a chartered accountant at PwC in London. Since then he moved into industry and during 20+ years experience has held various senior finance roles across Tomkins plc, LGC, and more recently CFO (UK & Ireland) at Geodis. He is currently Head of Commercial Finance at the National Physics Laboratory Limited, helping to develop and drive high-impact strategies to support NPL's growth. Gareth has a degree in Economics from Exeter University and an MA in Accounting & Finance. In his spare time, he loves to go on muddy dog walks with the family and plays tennis for his local club.
Joel is the CFO of Schroders Personal Wealth, where he leads the finance, treasury and tax teams. Before joining SPW, he was the Finance Director of Private Banking, Wealth and Stockbroking at Lloyds Banking Group. He has also worked at JP Morgan, and Deloitte earlier in his career. Outside work life is all about sport. He is a passionate follower of both the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and Yorkshire Cricket and keeps fit though cycling, swimming and hiking. Joel graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Katie brings over 29 years of experience in financial markets, at Board and management level roles within the UK and internationally. Katie currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at AEGIS, the top quartile Lloyd’s Syndicate, she joined in May 2020. Katie has also held CFO roles at the UK entities within ERS a Lloyd’s Motor Syndicate where she joined with private equity to undertake a business transformation; the Aspen Group (Aspen Insurance UK Limited and Aspen Managing Agency Limited) and ACE Tempest Re. She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, Chair of the Worshipful Company of Insurers Charitable trust, and Court Assistant for the Worshipful Company of Insurers. Katie is also a member of the Investment Committee for the Corporation of Lloyd’s. Katie is also the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director (SID) and Chair of Audit for Helios Underwriting Plc. Helios is an AIM quoted investment company which offers growth and returns by building a portfolio of capacity of syndicates at Lloyd’s.
Cohort one (April – July )
Rowan was appointed as Chief Financial Officer at Essentra plc in November 2024. Prior to joining Essentra, Rowan was previously Group Chief Financial Officer of Laing O'Rourke and, from 2017 to 2020, was the Chief Financial Officer of McCarthy Stone plc. Prior to joining McCarthy & Stone in 2012, she worked in finance for Barclays Bank plc and professional services for PwC. Rowan is also Non-executive Director of Vistry Group plc, Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees. Rowan has a master's degree in law from Cambridge University and is a qualified chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser.
Jon will be starting his new role of interim Group FD at BBC Studios, following his interim role of CFO at Banijay U.K. a TV production group known for making shows including Master Chef, Big Brother and Peaky Blinders. Previously, Jon was VP Finance at Warner Bros Discovery where he played a key part in the growth of the UK and international TV production & format distribution businesses. Jon has also worked in a number of other senior finance roles in film production & distribution, Networks TV and post -production businesses including BBC Studios, MTV and Paramount. As a chartered accountant living in St Albans, he has helped steer finance in several charitable and cultural non-for-profit organisations and is also on the Finance committee of The Society of Antiquaries.
Tony Sutton was appointed as Chief Executive Officer following the departure of Ralph Rimmer in December 2022. Previously, Tony had been the RFL’s Chief Operating Officer since January 2019, having joined the governing body as Director of Finance and Facilities in February 2017. His previous roles include Group Finance Director and Chief Operating Officer of Hull College Group, a large Further Education College group with sites across Yorkshire, and prior to that 13 years with Hull FC Rugby League Club.
Connecting with the finance leaders was a fantastic opportunity to openly reflect, share and engage on development topics relevant for now and the future. The sessions had a good balance of pre-selected themes, and time for open and honest discussions to share my personal and professional experiences. It was rewarding to see the level of engagement and enthusiasm across the ICAEW members, and I am confident they will achieve their career goals in the very near future.
I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this programme, an informal, fun and open forum, sharing stories and learning from each other. Great to step back from the day to day and to get the opportunity to reflect and share insights.