Spotlight Series #4 - Helen Ashley Taylor

Helen Ashley Taylor is the Group Head of Company Secretariat for The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation and has experience in commercial property, accounting and as a Non-Executive Director.

How did you become a company secretary/governance professional?

Well, I did not start out as a Company Secretary – it was more through a process of metamorphosis from musician to accountant to company secretary/chartered governance professional; I’m still active in all 3 of these disciplines today to some extent!

I qualified with the Chartered Governance Institute (then ICSA) through the fast-track professional route having originally trained as an auditor with Ernst & Young (EY). I had studied music at the University of Sheffield and also gained a Masters in Psychology of Music there.???

At EY I initially worked on audit teams largely in banks, financial services, pension funds and public bodies.?After qualifying I moved to a niche accountancy practice specialising in arts and charity clients and spent the next 5 years engaged by Arts Council England through the firm’s consultancy arm as a finance and governance consultant on large capital build projects for some notable arts charities.?I became absolutely hooked on governance and its importance as an enabler of business and cultural success and I subsequently worked in regulation in the (then) legal and compliance directorate at the Charity Commission.

For the past 12 years I’ve worked almost exclusively as a senior governance professional, often holding a portfolio of several unique (often interim) roles simultaneously, with my accountancy experience largely being applied now in NED and Trustee roles and on finance, audit and risk committees as well as having served for almost 6 years on the ICEAW charity and voluntary sector accountancy sub-committee.?I’ve been privileged to gain experience across the public, private, charity, Co-operative and mutual sectors working in (for example) financial services, pensions, education (FE, large multi-academy trusts, independent schools), housing, environmental organisations, medical, health and disability charities, arts, heritage and sports organisations and several grant making and faith-based organisations.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

Pre-pandemic, I would have cited past governance projects for Arts Council England following the recognition and feedback I received at the time.?I am also proud of the part I played in a former role as Chair of the Nominations Committee at Ecology Building Society in board succession and the recruitment of several new NEDs in furtherance of its board diversity strategy.

However, I now regard the past 2 pandemic years as ones I will never forget professionally and I’m grateful to have got through it all working alongside some terrific colleagues.?The start of the pandemic coincided with the final months of one Company Secretary role in the education sector just as school closures were announced and the governance work behind the scenes took on a whole new dimension and urgency.?I started my next interim Head of Governance contract at the London Marathon Group just as another lockdown was announced, but nevertheless worked remotely to embed a new governance structure for the Group and induct a new Unitary Board and Chair at London Marathon Events.?I then commenced my current Group Head of Company Secretariat role working on a significant corporate governance restructuring project just before Omicron arrived and homeworking returned.?

I’d also started a new NED role in a small bank having been interviewed remotely during a lockdown and the input needed for 2 charity trustee roles I held also escalated significantly during the pandemic.?The wellbeing and support of staff and colleagues was (and still is) constantly on my mind in all the organisations I was/am involved with and undoubtedly these 2 years have been like no others professionally.

What does winning in this category mean to you?

I am genuinely humbled to have been recognised in the Governance Trailblazer category amongst those “forward thinkers that raise the standards of corporate governance beyond what is expected”.?I thank all the judges as well as all my colleagues past and present who have encouraged and supported me on my journey.?I have been lucky to have had many ‘encouragers’ along the way and I’m very keen to encourage others too.?

There are many governance professionals working diligently and quietly behind the scenes and the work of governance professionals is still not always understood, appreciated or recognised for its vital role in enabling organisational success.?Raising the profile of all governance professionals and of the work that we all do, means a lot.?Someone described part of the company secretary’s role to me recently as ‘invisible leadership’ – a vital role of significant influence but one that often goes unnoticed when the job is being done well!

I have also never forgotten the words spoken by the keynote speaker at my graduation as a company secretary which stated that a Company Secretary is “the WD40 in an organisation – the oil that enables things to happen”.?We were also told to “get comfortable with the uncomfortable”, “always do the right thing”, “be prepared to be ignored”. to “have ice in your veins and stick to your guns” and that being a Company Secretary “can be a lonely place at times”.?Hence, particularly after the challenging 2 years we’ve just had, this award is a big shout out for all the people I’ve worked with in governance and to governance professionals (both seen and unseen) everywhere.