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Q&A with Dame Inga Beale
BSSC: Welcome, Dame Inga Beale! Can you share your motivation in taking the BSCC President’s role?
IB: I am delighted to take on this important role. Primarily, I was moved by a genuine sense of giving back. After a 40 year career that has offered me so many opportunities to learn, grow and achieve as a leader, and as a woman, and in some pretty entrenched male industries, I think it's so important to pass on what I've learned to tomorrow's leaders and change-makers. The BSCC, in the end, is a network that can make a difference by supporting its members to think and act differently, at the same time as chasing growth and business opportunity in a major bilateral trade relationship with huge potential.
BSCC: Do you have an agenda as President? What is on your list to deliver?
IB: I don't have so much of an agenda as priorities – Membership, Talent, Dialogue, and Networking. Each of these is an area where I can add some insights and skills earned through years of trial and error. I have had many roles as a turnaround CEO, and I am so pleased that this is not at all what is needed here! As I discussed with the Council before they endorsed my nomination, I believe my role is to share my experiences in encouraging and coaxing others, sharing perspectives, and bringing diverse people and conversations together to inspire action to better deliver the BSCC's mission.
BSCC: So membership and talent: what is your take on these?
IB: Firstly, I believe passionately that member organisations only exist for, and only grow through, their members. The professionalism of how the Chamber serves members is first-rate, but we can always do more. So I'll look to find ways to work with the leadership and chapter chairs to increase membership – and that, of course, depends on what we stand for, what we offer, and how we communicate it. I also stand for advocating workplace equality. As a leadership organisation, the clearer our commitment to equality, the more diverse our members will be, the more members we will have.
Secondly, any organisation, business, or industry must look brutally honestly at how and why young professionals starting their careers should even consider them. It's a challenge I've faced time and again in the insurance world. Do graduates naturally choose insurance as a career? Not unless you give them competitive and compelling reasons to even consider it. And that takes work and focus. I'm impressed to learn about the BSCC's Young Professional Program. We need more of these initiatives to bring diverse talent into the world of the bilateral trade flow because it is fin-tech, med-tech, bio-tech, sustainability, ESG – all the things that engage and inspire talent today – and not just the perceived legacy sectors. So the BSCC fostering talent to engage with Anglo-Swiss trade as a business space in which to learn and grow, be diverse and included, is important for me.
BSCC: Dialogue and Networking – these seem to go hand in hand?
IB: Hand in Hand – usually a loose grip, sometimes rather tighter. We have lots of discussions – and when you look at the range of events and speakers BSCC events attract, it's frankly impressive. At our AGM, in June, we will host Karin Keller-Suter, Federal Counsellor for Justice. We enjoy the active support of Swiss and UK ambassadors. We have some of the big names in Anglo-Swiss business. From these discussions, I'm hoping we can build a richer dialogue and that I can play a role. I learned in my career that so much can be achieved by engaging stakeholders, but this also needs active listening. I hope to bring the element of active listening into some of the big agenda items in Anglo-Swiss trade - whether we are convening Government Ministers, or – just as importantly – listening to our members.
Finally, networking used to be seen in business as something some people were just "good at" – like communication. In fact, networking is a critical soft skill that every professional needs to enhance their career. Given the BSCC is a network, we should actively facilitate the art of networking, the skill of networking, and not just the opportunity of networking. And every member can make a difference, and yes, I am putting my hand up to be the BSCC networker-in-chief.
BSCC: You served on the Council for several years since 2008. What has changed since then?
IB: The world has so changed since 2008, on every level, but the most significant changes, of course, include the embrace of stakeholder capitalism, the emerging shift to the intangible economy, digital revolution putting the consumer in control of so many aspects of their lives, and equality, diversity and inclusion becoming fundamental business practices. In each of these massive shifts, I see the BSCC can play a valuable role for its members in sharing information and diverse, expert points of view; but also being a conduit for members' views and the voice for businesses large and small in the debates that will shape Anglo-Swiss business. I'm really excited by the challenges and the difference the BSCC can make.
BSCC: Your professional connection with Switzerland is quite extensive, but it is also quite personal…
IB: Yes, I've had spells of residence in both the UK and Switzerland and many years of commuting, much like many of our members, I guess. My husband is Swiss and recently moved back to Switzerland. So while my working life is still mostly London-centred – I am so fortunate to enjoy both countries' cultural and business worlds – and sporting and outdoor life.
