May announced McGregor-Smith’s appointment during the launch of Cranfield University’s 2012 report into the number of women on Boards of the country’s top companies.
The news comes as published figures show the biggest ever jump in the percentage of women on Boards of Directors over the past year – from 12.5% to 15.6%.
The Home Secretary said: “The Women’s Business Council will advise the Government on how to maximise women’s contribution to our future economic growth. I know a lot of business people have ideas for increasing women’s economic potential and I want to harness those ideas. That’s what the new Council will do.”
May added: “Ruby McGregor-Smith will bring exceptional drive and leadership to this important new initiative which I believe will be a really positive move for women in business, for women’s enterprise and for our economy as a whole.”
Overcoming barriers and challenges
The Women’s Business Council will identify barriers and challenges that prevent women from achieving their economic potential and will come up with ideas for overcoming those obstacles.
As reported on Inffo4Security, Ruby McGregor-Smith won last year’s Business Leader of the Year at the Orange National Business Awards.
Commenting on her new pro bono role, McGregor-Smith explained: “The work of the Council will focus how we can drive economic growth by developing the pipeline of female talent and support more women to succeed in business. The new Council will be a focused, one-year Working Group with the sole aim of ensuring real action by Government, business and others to maximise women’s contribution to economic growth.”
Read Theresa May’s speech in full and the Cranfield University School of Management report
MITIE wins protection service contract at Coventry University
One of the UK’s most innovative and evolving institutes of higher education, Coventry University, has selected MITIE to provide protection services throughout its 33-acre campus in the centre of Coventry.
MITIE’s Total Security Management business will supply protection services to protect the university’s students, staff, buildings and assets across the campus and at car parks and university-owned student accommodation. The university prides itself on providing state-of-the-art equipment and facilities and has planned significant investment over the next ten years.
Protection services were previously managed in-house but the university took the decision to outsource based on the need for an expert provider with the scale to meet its needs. The contract was awarded following a competitive tender process and MITIE was selected based on its capability to be flexible while demonstrating its expertise in delivering security excellence in the sector.
Virtually every member of the university’s dedicated protection team will now be transferring to MITIE.
Commenting on the contract award, Bob Forsyth (managing director of MITIE TSM, said: “We are delighted to be working with Coventry University on delivering its protection service across the campus, car parks and student accommodation. Our experience in the education sector enables us to understand the security needs and deliver services that protect students, staff, visitors and buildings while contributing to a positive experience for everyone. The university is an extremely forward-thinking one and I’m looking forward to working in partnership with our clients there.”
Coventry University’s deputy vice-chancellor (planning and resources), David Soutter, added: “The university very successfully outsourced its catering in 2010, and we felt that MITIE will offer, in the same way, a higher quality and better staffed service than we could provide in-house.”
Soutter added: “MITIE has the expertise and scale to provide what we need when we need it, and we are convinced that our students will receive an even better service than they do today.” .
