Spotlight Series #5 - Liz Lynxwiler

Liz Lynxwiler is a Company Secretary for BT Pension Scheme Management. She has over 19 years' experience in Financial Services and specialises in stakeholder and project management, share plans and shareholder services, board support and much more. She recently spoke with DMJ Co-founder and Managing Director, David Press about her journey into governance, her past achievements and what being names as a HOT 100 Board Influencer means to her.

How did you become a company secretary/governance professional?

Like most of the company secretaries I’ve met over the years, mine was a meandering rather than a straight path.?I was working in banking full time and studying for a law degree in the evenings, fully intent on becoming a solicitor.?However, my day job working with the CEO, and later in Investor Relations (IR), afforded me an opportunity to understand how organisations were governed at board level.?I realised that, whilst I enjoyed my degree, my head had been turned by the ever-changing and dynamic world of governance and I set out to join the governance function.?Initially I worked primarily looking after our retail shareholders, which dovetailed nicely with my previous role in IR, and later expanded out to remuneration governance – always a hot topic in financial services!?I began my Chartered Governance Professional exams a few years ago and never looked back.??

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

It’s difficult to pick just one.?This role is so varied and almost every day presents a new set of challenges and opportunities to develop solutions.?Aside from being on the Hot 100 list and passing my exams whilst working full time, I’m immensely proud of the work to enhance and refine our governance framework and processes at BTPSM.??The aim was to ensure it is fit for purpose now but robust enough to flex and meet any future challenges. As governance professionals, our goal is often to support the directors but I feel it’s equally important to work with colleagues across the organisation to support joined-up and?effective strategic decision-making.??Building trust and?internal relationships especially in a virtual environment during the pandemic was no mean feat and it’s been incredibly rewarding to work collaboratively to bring the project to fruition.

What does winning in this category mean to you?

The list is such an innovative and important initiative to highlight the many different facets of our roles as governance professionals. On a personal level?I feel privileged to represent our community in an often invisible (and sometimes overlooked) profession and I am honoured to be included alongside such an impressive group of people!?This particular category has special meaning for me given the amount of reshaping and strengthening BTPSM’s governance framework has undergone over the last few months.?It’s been a busy time for our team and there are no signs of slowing but then, I’m not sure there is such a thing as ‘down time’ for any governance function