Meet the Director of Strategy

We’re sharing a series of articles to help you get to know some of the people who work at Nest.

This time, meet Zoe. She’s the Director of Strategy at Nest.

Find out more about her role, what she started off wanting to be and what she likes to do in her free time!

What is your role at Nest?

I look after Nest’s overall corporate strategy, as well as our relationship with Government and our policy work. We sit at the centre of the organisation and it’s a fascinating role, constantly balancing our dual identity as a pensions trust and a public corporation, and working out how best to serve our members from a strategic perspective. ???

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How did you get to where you are today?

I started off wanting to be a journalist and somehow ended up working on a classical music magazine, which was great but wasn’t setting me on the path to BBC political editor as I’d hoped! So, I pivoted and joined the civil service fast stream, which I loved. I was private secretary to two Secretaries of State in between a series of roles, spanning policy, business strategy and operations, at DWP and HMT. In 2015, I decided I needed a bigger change and joined Nest. ?

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What does a typical week look like for you?

It’s a cliché but no two weeks are the same, which is part of what’s great about the role. I work from home 2-3 times a week and enjoy the quiet of the house and walking the dog between meetings. That means office days tend to involve a lot of running around, but if I’m honest I like it that way.

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What is the most interesting part of your role?

Probably the external engagement. It’s fascinating getting out and building Nest’s networks across industry and Government. There’s so much passion in the pensions industry to get things right for our members, and lively debate about quite what the path to doing that looks like... Getting out of the office gives me a lot of energy. ?

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What do you like about working for Nest?

Honestly, the people. Most people work at Nest because they have a strong sense of purpose related to what we’re trying to achieve on behalf of low to moderate earners. That means there are a lot of like-minded people around.

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What do you like to do in your free time?

I’m a trustee of Emmaus, a charity for previously homeless people, in South London. I’m passionate about mental health, which was one of the things that led me to the charity. I also have two kids aged 13 and 10, a husband and a dog, so life gets busy. But in my free time I run round South London’s beautiful parks, and drink as much coffee (day) and wine (evening) as I can get away with…