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Podcast Notes: Brave Bold Brilliant Episode with Annemarie Durbin
Episode Overview
- Podcast Title: Brave Bold Brilliant
- Episode Title: From Pain to Power - The Untold Story Behind Annemarie Durbin’s Rise to the Top of Global Banking
- Host: Jeannette Linfoot
- Guest: Annemarie Durbin
- Theme: Annemarie shares her transformative journey from New Zealand to a leading position in global banking, highlighting the power of resilience, mentorship, and the importance of inclusive workplace culture.
Key Themes and Discussions
- Personal Journey and Resilience
- Childhood Challenges:
- Grew up in a challenging environment with familial strife.
- Faced personal tragedy when her mother passed away from pancreatic cancer.
- Developed a strong sense of resilience from early adversity.
- Career Beginnings:
- Transitioned from law to banking despite initial fears and unfamiliarity with the industry.
- Emphasized the importance of stepping out of comfort zones and "feeling the fear" to pursue opportunities.
- Workplace Culture and Belonging
- Mentorship and Support:
- Highlighted the significance of mentorship in her career growth.
- Found a sense of belonging and support at Standard Chartered, which fostered her professional development.
- Importance of Inclusive Culture:
- Discussed how workplace culture affects job satisfaction and career success.
- Advocated for environments that align with personal values and promote diversity.
- Gender and Leadership
- Navigating a Male-Dominated Industry:
- Shared experiences as a woman in leadership and the necessity of not being defined solely by gender.
- Encouraged openness about personal struggles to create authenticity and connection.
- Lessons Learned
- Embracing Vulnerability:
- Recognized that strength includes sharing experiences and being vulnerable.
- Discussed how personal struggles can shape leadership styles and approaches.
- Living on Purpose:
- Importance of making conscious choices aligned with personal values and living without regrets.
- Coaching and Mentoring:
- Emphasized the value of executive coaching and mentoring in facilitating personal and professional growth for others.
Key Takeaways
- Resilience: Personal adversity can cultivate resilience, enabling individuals to navigate challenges.
- Mentorship: Having mentors can significantly impact career trajectories and personal growth.
- Cultural Fit: Aligning workplace culture with personal values is crucial for job satisfaction and effectiveness.
- Authenticity: Sharing personal stories can foster a deeper connection and inspire others.
- Continuous Growth: Emphasis on lifelong learning and self-awareness as keys to personal and professional success.
Final Insights
- Personal Philosophy: Annemarie believes in taking bold steps, embracing fear, and trusting one's instincts to pursue opportunities.
- Advice for Listeners: "Feel the fear and do it anyway." This mantra underlines the importance of pushing through doubts to achieve one's goals.
Resources
- For more insights and tools on leadership, visit [Brave Bold Brilliant](https://brave-bold-brilliant.com/).
- Contact for mentoring sessions: info@brave-bold-brilliant.com
Connect with Jeannette Linfoot
- Website: [Jeannette Linfoot Associates](https://www.jeannettelinfootassociates.com/)
- Social Media:
- [LinkedIn](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jeannettelinfoot)
- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@braveboldbrilliant)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/jeannette.linfoot/)
- [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/jeannette.linfoot/)
Conclusion Annemarie Durbin’s journey illustrates the power of resilience, the importance of mentorship, and the impact of a supportive workplace culture. Her story not only inspires others to overcome adversity but also emphasizes the significance of authenticity in leadership.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:01Jeannette:Why wouldn't I share? It's who I am. It's all part of the rich tapestry of life. And I think I'm better for it. And I hope that people can see the human face, you know, the real, the real mucky mess and all.
0:17Annemarie Durbin:yeah so welcome to profile brilliant i'm here today with the wonderful amary durbin the chair of yorkshire building society but you've done a lot more than that amary so we're going to get
0:30Jeannette:into all of your journey aren't we so so pleased to be able to be here with you janet today it's
0:35Annemarie Durbin:a it's a real pleasure pleasure oh great well we actually met balance the board um so both of us I think hugely passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and especially sort of the career that you've had as a woman forging your way, especially in quite a what would be perceived as maybe a more male dominated financial services, banking, etc. So where I'd like to start, if it's okay with you, Anne-Marie, is sort of really how your career evolved because I know you're from New Zealand originally yes you're a Kiwi but just take us through sort of the early part of your career and then we're going to dig into how things have changed and
1:16Jeannette:evolved since then that's all right absolutely so I'm one of three daughters the middle one and so in true order of birth style I was the rebellious middle one well at least I thought I was that but then I realized that what I actually did is I went to the same schools as my older sister who was nine years older than me, is nine years older than me. I went to the same university, did the same degree, went to the same law firm where she was actually a partner by that stage and I was forever struggling to sort of want to be better than her or at least as good at her but you know had this nine year age difference.
1:56Jeannette:And so I trained, that's what I trained as a barrister and a solicitor in New Zealand And then actually, I mean, this is a sad story, but my mum passed away in my early 20s. And that was really, I didn't realise it at the moment, at the time, but it really knocked me for six. And my way of dealing with adversity is to buckle up and armour up and power on through, which is exactly what I did. But it was really odd because she died of pancreatic cancer. and it was literally four months from she was running with me and she said oh you know I've got there's something wrong with my toe and then she went in to have a toenail removed and then she stopped eating and etc etc this was August and then by December on Christmas Eve actually they gave the diagnosis that it was pancreatic cancer and there was no hope and three days later she died and so it was really sudden yeah the good news about it I mean and obviously I say that now with the benefit of hindsight is that we did have that period of time and I dropped everything pretty much and I was um and I had been working really hard as as we as young professionals do in the in the law firm and um but I spent time with her I went walking with her every day I went to see her in hospital and we became friends and we hadn't been friends as as me as a child.
3:24Jeannette:I felt really abandoned as a child for reasons beyond my mum's control, I now realise, but at the time I just felt abandoned and that I didn't belong. But I spent that time and then literally at the funeral, my boss came to the funeral, which was on New Year's Eve, and afterwards he said, oh, we haven't had time to have your performance appraised. So I was like, no, no, we'll do it in the new year. He said, well, you haven't been keeping up with your peers. And at that stage, I thought, well, this is not the words I was thinking. They're a different word. But for God's sake. And I was so cross, so angry that it was that was a pivotal moment.
4:06Jeannette:And so I actually started looking for other jobs. And I was approached by the biggest banking client that the law firm had and who I'd been doing litigation for. and they said, look, we're setting up this multidisciplinary team of people to do mergers and acquisitions. Would you like to join? I said, well, I'm like, you do realise I can't even spell mergers and acquisitions, let alone do any of them. And they go, no, no, no, it's fine. It's fine. And I said, you know, I'm not going to be an in-house lawyer. And they go, no, no. And I actually said, you know, but I want to be a, I want to either be a judge or be an ambassador for my country.
4:42Jeannette:That was my big dream. And I said, no, I don't really want to come. And they said, then they offered me four times the money I was getting and in my mid-20s I'm afraid I sold my soul to the devil and I said oh yes I've always wanted to be a banker but there was the beginning of a theme which is feel the fear and do it anyway just trust your gut and dive in and don't think about it too much because if you think about it too much you're going to persuade yourself out of it. And so I went to the, I joined this bank. And honestly, we had 7am morning meetings every morning. And I'd go in there, and this is before internet.
5:24Jeannette:So I'd go in there, and I'd come out, and I maybe understood 10 % of what was said, because it was all jargon and acronyms and all sorts of stuff. And you couldn't go and Google it, and get AI to help you with what on earth are they talking about. And so I was so out of my depth, but I couldn't admit it. And I think that's one of my learnings going forward is now it's, you know, why couldn't I admit it? And it's because I wanted to belong, because I wanted to succeed. But I worked it out eventually. So, you know, I spent a lot of time in the library looking up these terms and realised that most of them are just gobbledygook acronyms for, you know, the funniest thing is when I did eventually say, I don't understand it.
6:06Jeannette:What does BAU mean? And everybody falls about laughing because it's business as usual. And I'm like, I've been so snow blinded by all this stuff that I couldn't even work out the most basic basic of things. But I had an ally there, another female, in fact, so it's a mainly male team. But there was her. She was an accountant and I was a lawyer and she knew about as much as I did. But we and she was very sacrilegious. And, you know, we managed to laugh and cry and spit and fight our way, our way through that. and that was me sort of starting to forge my own way and to be my own self and my big regrets my mum was never around to see all of that she's a huge she was a huge feminist in her time she was one of the people who she was a teacher and when she when she went back to teaching at secondary school after I was born people would put notes in her these fellow teachers putting notes in her cubbyhole saying you're a disgrace you should be at home with your children because this was back in the 60s in New Zealand which was quite conservative I mean I'm not sure it was that much different here either but very conservative and she was she was a real feminist fighting against the world and she kind of came from a really tough background herself one of nine children the only one who went to university all the rest quit school at 14 and lived on a farm down in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand and her parents basically cast her aside.
7:44Jeannette:And even when her mum died, she left something to all of the other eight children, but nothing to my mum. She said she had chosen her path, she needed to lie in it. And these things I didn't really know at the time, and it's only later I understand that. And unfortunately for her although she contributed to to this as well but our family background was a very physically and verbally and mentally violent sort of background between my dad and my mom should never have got married I used to write them notes saying could you please get a divorce because it was so awful and and that's that sort of shaped me I think into this fighting type spirit and I see the first phase of my life as being surviving and I don't begrudge that now I look back and it's made me as tough as tough as old nails yeah but it I was in survival mode survival to fight to be seen to be heard to succeed to be my own person and that's the part of finally moving away from the law and moving into banking which was a completely different parts.
8:58Jeannette:These things make you, as they say, you know, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. There is some aspect of that and I do feel stronger as a result of it but I also, there's scars from that and there's things that I've had to unpeel, you know, a lot of my life, latter life has been about de-armoring myself so that I can be more in the moment, more vulnerable, more present, more open, more trusting and that's been a lifelong will continue to be a lifelong journey
9:30Annemarie Durbin:I mean there's a huge amount in here from those very early days, early years as a child with that environment that you've just described there must have been frightening, upsetting everything, unless you've been in that situation I guess it's very hard to imagine it but as you say you know I guess there's your mum was carrying some baggage from her childhood that she obviously brought in and I'm not sure on your on your dad's side yeah but isn't it interesting that when we talk about authenticity and we talk about resilience and and sometimes I think as as as women as well you know we we think that we have to behave in a certain way or to get on in business and in life we need to sort of you know be the the strong person but actually to be able to understand and show some vulnerability and explain that despite that you know because you could have gone down a similar route right um or you go no that's shown me exactly what i don't want to be yeah um and then go the opposite the opposite way but as as you were was it at that time then that you were sort of after your mum had passed away and you were sort of moving into banking and kind of starting to really build you know your professional career did you have that realization of what was going on then or is it like years later now you can think about oh actually
10:50Jeannette:that's what was going on yeah much later so actually it wasn't until I re-qualified so I did law and commerce degrees but then in 2010 so decades and decades later I did a master's in executive coaching and it was actually only through that process and some therapy that I had alongside that, that I really realised that I was still carrying around the scars and the baggage.
11:18Annemarie Durbin:I was carrying this huge, big bag of stuff around and that I was hurting myself with
11:26Jeannette:that and that the biggest gift I could give to myself was to chop it off. I really made a conscious decision to let go of that pain, that hurt, that sense of lack of attachment, lack of belonging, lack of care, if anybody cared, I let that go. And I can now reframe it in a really positive and energising sort of way. But actually back then, after I went into banking, I then decided my then boyfriend was English, is English. Well, it's not my boyfriend anymore, but my then boyfriend is English. Well, he is English as it happens too. There's something about the English and me. and he said he wanted to go back to England and I'm like okay I'll come we'd been together for four years and he wasn't really good for me either when I look back on it there were there were patterns that I was promulgating that I didn't realize at the time but I said okay I'll come so I sold my car I got a transfer with the bank to to the to London sold all my we shared a house I've invested some of it in it sold that and etc and two weeks before three weeks before we were due to go he said I'm not going and I'm like okay and I thought sod it I haven't got a job in New Zealand anymore I haven't got a car I haven't got all these things I'm going anyway and I had never been to the UK I knew nothing about the UK I do have grandparents but they've passed away a decade I never knew them who came from the UK and so I thought I'm going to go anyway all I had was a job and some temporary accommodation so off I trot totally unknowing what I was getting myself into and I'd gone from an organization in New Zealand which was which was a Australian organization that was one of the preeminent banks in New Zealand to what was really second or third tier in England and I had no knowledge of this I worked walked into the working environment and it was full of these people I mean literally they were wearing cravats there was an executive floor that only certain seniority of people could go to there was no woman's loo on the executive floor it was just so prehistoric from what I was accustomed to and I really railed against it big time and they railed against me as well.
13:56Jeannette:It literally only lasted weeks and I quit. But here I am now in the UK and I have temporary accommodation, I have no job, although I gave notice so I was still actually working. It was the early 90s and it was really hard. There was a mini banking thing going on, recession going on And it was really hard. I couldn't get a job in banking for love, no money. And it was a real humbling experience because I thought I had got to quite a senior position in the bank in New Zealand. I was leading teams. I was paid very well. I thought I was a bee's knees. And all of a sudden, they're like, who do you think you are, you little girl?
14:37Jeannette:You've got a terrible accent. You went to the wrong schools. You're the wrong gender. And quite frankly, none of this was said. this was all completely in what was not said and I felt and it triggered in me that sense of abandonment lack of attachment lack of belonging and so that actually sent me back into a into a not very great place so I actually had some therapy around then which helped me to work through it certainly in a sticking plaster sort of way and I found some accommodation that I'm sharing with a bloke who turned out to be a complete nutter and who stole some money from some bad people and they came and attacked out the flat that we were in.
15:20Jeannette:I was there, he was not. And, you know, so at this stage, I was three months in the UK, no job, no safety. The police I'd rung and they never came. And I thought, oh my God. Now, a sensible person would have gone home, but I thought oh there's no way I'm giving up here yeah and so I think that's part of this resilience which is like right I'm going to prove the so-and-so is right those yeah those you know toffee-nosed bankers yeah New Zealand the whole lot of you I'm going to just prove you all right and so I actually went in to become a teacher believe it or not teaching law to people who wanted to become accountants and so in their postgraduate qualifications you teach them law and then I also taught insolvency law and other things.
16:11Jeannette:I was wholly, I mean I was not committed to being a teacher at all but my now husband of nearly 30 years he interviewed me for the job, said I was wholly inadequate but luckily was overridden and we've been together ever since and so you know good things come out of bad circumstances yeah um uh you just never know what's going to happen and it's about putting yourself out there uh to work it through and then I always knew that I wanted to get back into banking um and the way that happened was through the client base that the BPP was the teaching organization that they had um Standard Chartered was one of their clients and I taught on Standard Chartered's first investment banking programme which was slightly bizarre because at that stage Standard Chartered didn't do investment banking so I couldn't quite understand why the graduates were being trained to do this but hey-ho and that's where I got to know people at Standard Chartered and that then blossomed into being offered a job albeit in a training role but I said I'm not going to be a trainer for more than 12 months and may also you know nod but you're thinking yeah whatever um and i you know and then i worked my way through and up i'm going to we're going to talk about
17:32Annemarie Durbin:standard charter because that was quite um that you found an environment there and a culture that really yeah aligned with your personal values that is also then and i know when we were talking uh when we had a chat the other day around some of the incredible strong women that also came from standard charter so we'll talk about that a little bit but just before we do as you were talking a couple of things were standing out for me one was around obviously resilience two around choosing an alternative path when life could have swept you along another journey to you know sort of repeated behavior potentially uh with what you'd experienced as a kid growing up but then also this ability so survival instinct but an ability to kind of pivot and and change um because you had to yeah because you had to but also not being frightened to try those new things do you think do you think you know that experience of being a child growing up in that environment where you had to survive that you you you kind of had that that grit if you like do you think that allowed you to then not be completely overwhelmed and consumed by those terrible things that happened when you first came to the UK because other people would have probably ran for the hills or maybe wouldn't have said okay well this is it but I'm going to push on I'm going to do this instead do you think it was it was the what you learned life skills I guess as a kid that helped you when you were then facing these challenging situations still pretty young actually in your early 20s or something at the time I guess right yeah I actually think it was my my mother's mantras
19:20Jeannette:which was um never give up and if you're going to do something do it really well and I had decided I was going to the UK so I was going to do it really well and the more that people put up obstacles in the way I thought nope I'm sorry and stubbornness just general stubbornness yeah refusing to be told you can't do that. I think it's, if I may reframe something that you said earlier on, I feel the fear. I mean, one of my big things I say to people is that wonderful book by Dr. Susan Jeffers, feel the fear and do it anyway. I feel the fear, terrified. Every time I jump off into something new, it's like, oh my God, this is the day I'm going to show that I've taken off more than I can chew.
20:05Jeannette:So it's not a confidence that leads me to do it. It's a, and I call the second phase of my life drive. So survive and then drive. And that's that drive to prove to myself, to prove to my mother, to prove to my sister, to prove to others that I am worth it, that I am good enough that I can succeed despite stuff that gets thrown in the way. So I think it was that just bloody mindedness, to be honest.
20:36Annemarie Durbin:Yeah. And to your point, you know, we all face fearful situations, whether it's fear of failure, judgment, whatever it might be. And that's normal, isn't it? I think it's where people sometimes maybe get it wrong is that they they might not expect for things to go wrong they might not expect to fail and therefore you know whereas actually if you're expecting oh I'm going to mess up things aren't going to go my way that's okay I'm going to be worried I'm going to be fearful but to your point just acknowledging it yeah and still jumping in or pushing forward is there anything in your head apart from saying I feel the fear I'm going to do it anyway which is really important it's a great book as well by by the way, I agree.
21:19Annemarie Durbin:Is there anything that sort of you say to yourself internally, when you're facing a challenging situation, or you're pushing yourself into a new role that kind of helps you take that step? Because sometimes people, the fear stops them, right? They don't push out forward. So I think what I've learned as a way of dealing with that, as the challenges have got bigger and
21:41Jeannette:scarier, is not to analyse it too much. So there is a part of me that would say, right, if I could work out what's the very worst that can happen and I can work out all of the lines of what I do with this this this this and this but then I would have persuaded myself not to do it okay and so over time I've like just do it just do it and probably these first ones moving out of the UK moving into banking I didn't feel I had a I mean that just sounds weird but I didn't feel I had a choice I thought that I had I was stuck and I had to do something bold to get out of it yeah and then the fear of failure when I'm in the UK and I'm not going home with a tail between my legs when everybody had said, oh, you know, you're never going to succeed there's just no way I was doing that and then over time it was more, I think I was trying to prove it to myself and almost sometimes these things were so big hairy things that most people would say were stupid to do but I was, the more that you do it and the more that you swim rather than sink, you think, oh, I'll do it again, shall I?
22:48And then I'll find that limit where I don't actually swim, where maybe I do sink.
22:55Jeannette:And there's something not quite healthy about that. But I think I've managed that over the years to make it a more positive force rather than trying to not trust in myself and not overstretch my boundaries.
23:10Annemarie Durbin:and at standard charter you that was quite a unique culture yeah you're explaining to me because because as i say from someone that's not doesn't come from financial services or banking i think the image that you probably have or that i have sometimes thinking to how it might have been back then not so much now white male stiff bureaucratic no fun you know and and quite difficult as a woman to get on in that in that sort of sector and but actually what you encountered there was was very different wasn't it and that really seemed to help you then almost give you that confidence to confidence and the skills and the experience the people around you to actually build an incredible career you know and here you are now as chair of Yorkshire Building Society who would have thought you know back then when you had the you know the police wouldn't even come out when you'd been you know you'd have these horrible men at the door and all of a sudden here you are as chair of Yorkshire Building Society but but that pivotal moment in your career where at Standard Chartered what was it about that that kind of helped you do you think
24:19Jeannette:so it is an amazing culture for those who don't know Standard Chartered is a international bank it is listed in the UK one of the top 30 listed companies in the UK but it's it's history is based in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. And it was two banks put together in the 1850s, 1860s. And as a result of that, it had a culture that was, there was no one dominant culture. Of the, we got up to about 100 ,000 people in the bank at its peak, it's no longer that sort of size for various reasons. And in 70 countries around the world, there was no one dominant culture. Only 2 ,000 people were British.
25:02Jeannette:in the entire organization. We had a culture of bringing teams of people from all the various countries up and to have the leadership teams of the various countries being people from those countries or from neighboring countries or whatever. So there was a, and there was none of this old school Thai thing. So there were people, Lord Mervyn Davis, who was CEO and chair, you know, he comes from, his family comes from a mining background, as he would share it. The people came from all sorts of different walks of life, not necessarily the sort of upper echelons of British society. And as a result, there was a camaraderie and there was a bonding of provided you did good work and you bought into the culture, which was a culture called our catchphrase, but also our culture deeply was here for good.
25:56Jeannette:So here for the long term, here to do good in society. Standard Chartered was the first bank in Kenya and in other countries around Africa. That was the central bank. We formed the banking system in some of these countries. So it was just a really amazing culture. And even when I joined, which was back in the mid-90s, it was still really close. And there were sort of like 200 people in this big conglomerate that were the leadership and really held everything together. And even today, in a couple of weeks' time, some of the alumni of Standard Chartered are getting back together. And these alumni are permeating, both in the UK society, but even more so in Asian and African society, are permeating leadership roles and contributing to the good of humanity and the good of the corporate world all over the place.
26:48Jeannette:So it's a magical place, a magical place. and I did feel privileged and I did for the first time in my career feel I belonged somewhere, accepted and belonged for who I was and stretched, oh my goodness, stretched and pushed to grow into things and with wonderful mentors, most of whom, well nearly all of whom were men, but that was just it there still was not that many women yeah so I was the first or second um CEO of a country who was female I'm still the only CEO of a country um who uh had baby on duty uh literally as it as it happened um and so you know and there were two of us on the executive committee and then now I think I think I haven't checked it but it's more like 40 percent of the of the management team that the winters has put together is female it's just a really different different place and it's it's um a really special culture yeah and and so quite quite a challenge
27:53Annemarie Durbin:a quite a disruptive way of maybe the model and the cut like you say a blend it as sort of a melting pot when an asian culture you know is very different right you know there's a lot of respect there there's a lot of you know I guess rituals around around Asian culture as well that possibly shakes things up a little bit as well doesn't it I think
28:15Jeannette:I think what we had is is a culture that a standard charted culture that transcended any national culture and that's what made it special yes so when everybody came to work so for instance I am one of my big stretch roles was to be CEO and executive director of a listed public company in Thailand which was the we standard chartered bought a broken bank in Thailand and my job was to go and be to put the two banks together shrink it down from a big national network to a much smaller national network 8 ,000 people down to 2 ,000 people to build a culture that brought everybody together and why we were able to do that so successfully and so quickly was because we coalesced around the standard charter culture about that we're courageous, that we're international, that we have these behaviours, these ways of being that transcended.
29:14Jeannette:And I had a leadership team there that was half female, which back in the early noughties was relatively unusual. And they would say, well, I can't speak up like this when I go home I have to be what is what is in Thai culture the norm but they came and they absolutely contributed exactly in accordance with the standard chartered culture in the office and I think that's something that we managed to inculcate and I'm not quite sure how we managed to do that but it absolutely was there and I say we because I was privileged in due course to be to run functions in in standard chartered where we where we drove that cultural cultural sort of golden thread through the organization so when you got that first big
30:04Annemarie Durbin:big role the ceo role which is full pnl right of that entity so that's that's as you say the big step up and you've done lots of lots of amazing roles since then but as a as a as a woman coming from the background that you did did you naturally take on that role and just go yeah i'm ready i've got this this is you know or were there their moments of imposter syndrome oh my gosh can i do that you know because i think i think for any woman that's taking that step whether it's your first director role whether it's your first board role or your first non-exec or your first chair you know that that that whatever that big move is that big career move it's it's a tricky one i think and almost the first one the first big move is going to define probably how you progress and you know both in terms of your mindset but also how great you do at a job but talk about that first big step at role because someone listening to this might be going oh my gosh I feel like I'm ready for promotion I really want the next big job but I'm not quite sure I'm ready yeah or you
31:08Jeannette:know yeah how what was the dialogue for you so two things um firstly I don't this sounds really weird but I never thought of myself as a woman so I thought of myself as a person I think of myself as a person yes and I think that does make a difference as opposed to feeling that you're starting behind the start line because of something that you can't control I think I must have early on thought well either I'm going to use it to my advantage or I'm at least not going to let it hold me back in my own thinking of things. I did say, this is very Chatsapar of me, but when I first joined Stada Chartered and I did a training role, I said, they said, what do you aspire to be?
31:57Jeannette:I said, I aspire to be on the Exco of Stada Chartered. Once again, everybody calls about laughing. And I think I had that. I'm one of these people, I've got five-year plans, 10-year plans, 20-year plans. I mean, actually, not so much anymore, which is a bit sad. But, you know, it's not that I'm stuck in the plan. No, no, no. But it's quite a forward thinker. It's the vision, isn't it? Yeah. And so wanting to get ahead. And this is my third, the third part of my sort of narrative, you know, with the survive drive and then the sort of like getting to the thrive stage. This is the drive stage that I'm still in.
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32:34Jeannette:and actually the Thailand job wasn't my first CEO job so I was asked to move to the Philippines from the UK to become the CEO and head of a consumer bank in in the Philippines I knew nothing about retail banking zero I couldn't even balance my own checkbook and we did have checkbook spoken the first back in those days I couldn't do any of that and I'm thinking oh my goodness so and and I was like doing really well in the wholesale bank and one of my mentors said but if you stay in the wholesale bank you'll be one of many stars if you move into the retail bank which for standard chartered we were quite in the early days of of being retail banking in countries around the world you'll be a star you know that will shine more brightly and of course he knew exactly how to manipulate me so I'm like oh that sounds like a good idea yeah I want to join so um so I go yes I will I mean and what's I mean what what he didn't know but in the background I was also trying to have a baby and um and I'd had in total over I had successfully had two babies but over the the this period of time I was in my third or fourth I think it was fourth IBF round and so it's like okay do you want to move to the Philippines I can't get the treatment out there I couldn't get the treatment out there we were just trying for the fourth for the fourth time my husband had children from a previous marriage and they would stay they would have to stay home and they were at school here and my husband would have to commute and then my dad died as well and so I yeah there was a lot going on um and I thought I'm solid I'm just going to do it um and And so I rocked up.
34:26Jeannette:Actually, I went. I had my IVF treatment. I then went down to New Zealand to my father's funeral. And then came from there. My husband went back to the UK and I went to the Philippines. And I was there on my own because he didn't join me for several months. So I was there on my own. And then two weeks later, we got the news that this fourth round of IVF was successful. So I was pregnant. Gosh. I was like, oh, gosh. Yes, exactly. Oh, gosh. and I was terrified to tell anybody. And this is the first baby, right? My first, yeah, my first baby. I mean, I count us as having four children. Yes. I've known the elder too since they were two and four.
35:05Jeannette:But my first, the first that I was going to give birth to. And so there I am in the Philippines, total, I mean, talk about culture shock. Pregnant, husbands at home in the UK. our father's just died, taking on this bank that really needed turning around so it was making a loss and it was on the why don't we just pull out of this country it's a complete basket case and how do we how do we turn that around in a period of time and I just thought okay what would success look like I'd like to begin with the end in mind what would success look like in three years time okay let's get everybody corralled around what that looks like and then let's work back from there and then look at all the key ingredients and see how we can we can work it out um and i just refused to see obstacles i think so there were things like bizarre things like well we had a debenture to the local golf club but only men were allowed to be members of the golf club and I was told if you want to do any business in the Philippines you have to play golf I hate golf I'm not good at golf and I was pregnant and I didn't want to play golf and then they said oh well and I said well I'm not joining because if they're not gonna accept me for who I am I'm yeah they can take their golf membership and put it somewhere yeah and and they said okay well eventually they all got very worried about this and then they said well you can be an honorary member I said you mean you're trying to pretend on a man and they go yeah it's like no I'm not doing that and so in the end they changed the rules so I could join I mean I still hated golf but so I could join as a as who I was not just as a result of being the role that I that I held I have to say I did not a single piece of business on that golf course because I was in the rough and behind here they were all chatting up there and I mean it was a complete was one of those total myths that all businesses don't you know outside of.
37:15Jeannette:But you've
37:15Annemarie Durbin:still got the rules changed.
37:16Jeannette:I've still got the rules.
37:16Annemarie Durbin:Which was a lasting impact for any other.
37:18Jeannette:Yeah for people who's followed on exactly exactly so that that was you know that was great and I was scared to tell my bosses I had two bosses the head of the consumer bank who was married with six children and a stay-at-home wife and and another boss who ran all the geographies and he was married with no children I was thinking oh this is just going to go down like a lead balloon so I made it until I was about five and a half nearly six months pregnant because they didn't visit the Philippines very often and I could be judicious in the way that I am dressed when I went to Singapore where both of them were based and eventually and I got myself into such a funk about it was like oh my god my life's over they're never going to accept it um and um okay there was such a non-event except that the mistake i made as i said you don't need to do anything i'll just make this work and so literally um i was in labor as i was dealt because the baby came a bit early i was in labor as i was delegating to people and three days later having had an emergency cesarean i was working again and there was no cover right um and that's a mistake on my part because i was fearful yes that i would be seen as not good enough yes if i had a baby and had proper arrangements for cover i mean i know that sounds totally insane well no but it's understandable
38:45Annemarie Durbin:if you think from from what you described with your childhood as well right around not belonging and i know you found this you found your tribe you're doing great and all of a sudden you sort there's a risk isn't there to that in your head whether it was real or perceived there's a risk
38:58Jeannette:and i was aware that i was the first and the youngest because i was still relatively young um at that stage i think i was 36 or 37 and that was the youngest or second youngest ceo that they had put into a ceo role so i was mindful that i didn't want to muck it up yeah for those who would follow either for them saying look we finally finally put a woman in the job and look what she
39:20Annemarie Durbin:went she went got pregnant and you know this is why we don't have yeah isn't it interesting because in your mind you were dreading telling them so you had a perception around oh my gosh you know it's going to be responded to in this in this way and and and they surprised you in a good way and said no it's kind of fine you know and I think so often um male and female regardless of gender just as it as human beings we spend time worrying about what other people will think what other people will say and nine times out of ten they've got their own stuff going on they're really not that interesting i mean they're interested but you know and i think we waste we can waste a lot of a lot of anxiety a lot of emotion a lot of energy can't we and i think probably with with a little bit of age experience you know it's sort of it's not that we don't care about what other people think but i care less than i used to i used to really worry about stuff and now i'm like well I'm just going to do the best I can I am me you know and if that's not just that doesn't fit then that's okay but certainly when I was younger I would have sweated this you know worrying about other people's perception really and so so after the Philippines you you you continued in standard charter how many years after that a long time I went from the Philippines I was 20 years and
40:41Jeannette:20 years long time yeah so I mean and I had 18 different roles probably in the 20 years and we were going through a phase of double hatting, triple hatting, quadruple
40:51Annemarie Durbin:hatting, which was one of those things.
40:54Jeannette:And what I discovered, so I went from the Philippines to Thailand and that's where I had my first listed company experience and actually we delisted as part of that which was an experience in itself. And then what happened was I would have quite happily stayed out in Asia and I had another baby in Thailand so that was the last of who's turning she's turning 21 next next week actually um um and my husband who had been the most amazingly supportive person to come up give out up his career which he was prospering in but he didn't couldn't work in either thailand or the philippines because you didn't get work permits for trailing spouses yeah and it was a time where there were hardly any male trailing training spouses it was super hard for him and things got to a head where he said look I've just got to go home yeah and that's when you have to take a step back and say what matters yes I won't say I was totally gracious about it no but I knew deep down what was most important and that was the family yeah and standard charter was a was amazing to me because they allowed me to come back early they didn't say oh you know you've let us down or any of that sort of stuff um and they found me it was a sideways move I wasn't really happy in that sideways move but they found me a move to come back to the UK yeah um and re-establish myself and then from there what I did is I tried to make myself as useful as possible by taking on all the roles any role that nobody else wanted to zoo I collected and then that became sufficiently large that it was an ex-co role.
42:37Jeannette:Yeah, you got your dream you see.
42:39Annemarie Durbin:And then I got my dream, yeah, exactly.
42:42Jeannette:But there were lots of disappointments along the way so I did, when I came back to the UK, I did apply for some things and I didn't get them and I could have thrown my toys out to the pram and gone to another organization but I really carefully weighed up pros and cons at that stage and thought look I'm going to stick it out um and the bank was amazing amazing place and I learned so much because that was the financial crisis and so I was right at the center in the boardroom yeah um around the financial crisis um I um the bank paid for me to do my master's in executive coaching which was a two-year very expensive they knew and I was really clear with them that I wanted to have a second career and that would be a coaching and mentoring and a portfolio non-exec yeah allowed me to take on a non-exec role whilst I was still full-time exec in the bank yes so that these things are preparing you know being being gracious and prepare and allowing me to prepare for the next phase in a really adult-to-adult way.
43:53Annemarie Durbin:Yeah, and so we've done the survive, we've done the drive, and now we're in the thrive phase, aren't we? So that transition out into a plural career, again, it's different again, isn't it? Because all of a sudden, you're not running the P &L, you're not running the shop, you're not there to be hands-on in the business, you're there you know to be much more of a sort of coaching yes supportive strategic you know and not meddling interfering which if you're a driven person and you're used to running a business what's what's that what's that gear change been like for you then to go from sort of you know corporate exec role to non-exec and plural role.
44:40Jeannette:I think I was fortunate in being indulged by the WH Smith management team when I joined. I was still a full-time exec. Luckily, that meant that I didn't have that much time spare to be meddling in WH Smith matters. So I think through a combination of that and also they were very gracious because I'm sure I was super annoying and did cross the line because it takes time it does take time to learn to learn what your role is but then I had three nearly four years of practicing back before I actually came out and I was a much better non-exec as a result and I joined the board of Santander so I then had two boards yeah Santander was pretty full-on yeah and what I learned through Santander is just because you know the industry inside out you don't know the organization and so I spent a lot of time learning about banking through the lens of Santander as opposed to my paradigm of what banking was all about and that's held me in good stead as I've transitioned to YBS as well and then I always had you know there's other board roles that I've had through the period of time all of which I've learned and got better I hope slightly better each time that how I calibrated to to get that boundary right there are times there are topics I was coaching somebody earlier today and the topic of anti-money laundering and financial crime came up and it doesn't matter I think I would say that probably every board member of every financial institution in this country and probably globally when that topic comes up it sort of sends stress signals through the board and through the executive team because it's just such a conundrum to grapple with the challenges that that poses for all financial institutions who 99.999 % of them want to do the right thing but it's incredibly difficult to do it in a systematic well controlled way.
46:51Jeannette:and so there are times there will be there'll be those sort of triggers which where maybe I would dive in. Yeah yeah and I'm not sure that that's wrong.
47:00Annemarie Durbin:No no no exactly.
47:02Jeannette:I think there are times the the worst thing is if you have a board who's sort of only vaguely interested you know and it's all and that strategy is really important and it's important to have the 30 ,000 feet perspective but there are times where you have to be in the trenches with the management team you know financial crisis when there's a cyber attack there are there are times where you need to be with them but allowing them to do what they do best and doing what you do best yeah i always
47:30Annemarie Durbin:think you're gonna be like a helicopter haven't you is in a leadership role whether it's an exec or a non-exec where you know you're here you're hovering above you're looking at the big picture the strategic stuff that the kind of key accounts the big deals you know yeah looking at your succession planning all that kind of good stuff and then something happens either an opportunity arises or it could be that something's not quite you know it's gonna arrive and you need to land get involved and but then importantly know when to take off again and it is this constant adjustment both in it both in an exec leadership role actually so you don't interfere and meddle with your team all the time and annoy the hell out totally but again you know being able to be emotionally aware and commercially aware as to what's appropriate that again it just takes a bit of time doesn't it to adjust so amory you've you've done a huge amount you've gone through that whole career cycle we're at the ned stage now we're still in that thrive stage of your life but obviously the shift from ned to chair again it's a different move isn't it so chair of yorkshire building society so can you just explain a little bit around the role of the chair how that transition happen for you and any advice really for anyone that might be at that stage of their career and thinking oh actually what and do I go from a net to a chair is it not the same thing is it completely different so yeah if you don't mind it's elaborating on that that would be really
48:53Jeannette:helpful one of the magic things about being a non-exec is something that you that you said is well isn't that a difficult thing and it's that you're no longer involved in the nitty-gritty that you're at a strategic level. The reality is you come and go every month or so and you do engage and learn about the business outside of board meetings, but it's a different sort of engagement and that can be feel a bit empty, a little bit empty, but it does give you a lot of freedom to do other things and over a very quick period of time you realise that and you get a lot more flexibility in terms of your time.
49:29Jeannette:A chair role is really going back a little bit. You're still non-exec, but the reality is, as chair of Yorkshire Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society is on my mind every single day. When I go on holiday, it's on my mind every single day. Not because I'm doing anything actively, but you're always attuned and you always are on call. As a non-exec, you are, but it's to a much, it would have to be Rome, it's really burning before you'd be impacted during holiday times. You know, when I went down to New Zealand to see my family in March this year, I delegated the chair role to my vice chair because I wanted, apart from being 12 hours time difference away, I wanted to try and give myself a bit of space.
50:19Jeannette:But even then, every day I was doing something with YBS. And so it's a much more holistic thing. The chair runs the board and obviously the CEO runs the company, but there's a lot of interplay in that and there's a lot of detail in that. And having a board, choreographing a board with the right members, talking about the right topics to the right level of detail at the right times, there is both art and science to that. And it takes really gentle, purposeful, forward-looking and moving backwards from the future to here and now orchestration to do that. And it's fascinating. It's really challenging, more challenging than I thought it would be.
51:07Jeannette:I, you know, as a non-exec for a long period of time and as an executive director, and when I was a group company secretary for a while as well at Standard Chartered, I thought, you know, this is a piece of cake, you know, and I was brilliant at giving advice to other people as to how to do this. And it's much more challenging than you think to do. So you have to be up for that level of responsibility and accountability. You still have no ability to do anything in the business. So when I'm talking with members of the Exco, I'm always saying I'm just sharing my thoughts. You must do nothing. Susan runs the bank, the building society.
51:44Jeannette:I run the board you've asked me for my views I'm giving my views as an individual but you have to that is not for you to go away and do anything with and so there still is that very big distinction between being a CEO and being being a chair that distinction blurs a bit if you're in a crisis yes but once again it to use your helicopter analogy that's when you have to come and camp yourself side by side and then you've got to pull out and let the exec get on with what they do best. I didn't want to be a chair particularly. You might have thought, you know, because that's the zenith of the top of the mountain, so to speak, but I didn't really aspire to it.
52:28Jeannette:But Yorkshire Building Society spoke to me. It's heritage. I love things with a heritage, member-owned, purpose-led, female CEO, her and I as a female partnership CEO and chair, all it's it all came together at a time that really um was quite compelling and so i'm glad i'm doing it it's a lot more work yeah whatever to your audience whatever the headhunters tell you is the time commitment it is double that in even in in normal times and it's probably a lot more than double when it comes to to challenging times yeah that's such a great way of explaining
53:06Annemarie Durbin:it the CEO runs the business and the chair runs the board yeah that is a great way to just demystify yeah this actually but that makes absolute sense I'm really because if you're saying around you run the board well the board is a combination of the executive team and the non-execs and the board is there to you know as you say to protect the interests of the shareholders as well as the governance, et cetera. So actually, that great simple way of cutting through the noise and just explaining it that way makes absolute sense. And for you as well, you've done so much in your career, and thank you for sharing so openly about the early years as well, because someone looking at you might go, oh, I'm Alicia's the chairman of Yorkshire Buildings.
53:55Annemarie Durbin:She speaks very posh. Oh, my gosh. she's quite you know he was very very polished and you know out there but actually people don't know what's gone before they don't know the struggles the heartache the difficulties that the the the work you've had to do internally on you in order to be able to do these big roles and and you know having the right people in your camp whether it's therapy whether it's a mentor or whether it's a coach, makes a huge difference, a huge difference, doesn't it? And, you know, let's talk very briefly about the executive coaching, because I know you're huge. Well, one, it sounded like that was a lot of self-work that you did through that qualification of executive coaching, but also how you work with people today.
54:41Annemarie Durbin:It's almost taking your full circle background to kind of where you started in terms of wanting to be comfortable in your own skin, but also helping others do the same, really. So yeah, executive coaching, why is it so important for you, do you think?
54:55Jeannette:I was so lucky to have brilliant executive coaches myself in my career. And I thought they really helped me to thrive in my career and to give me different perspective. I knew through the various roles that I had at Standard Chartered that my special source, my superpower if you want to call it is about understanding what makes people tick and how to encourage and support and coach people to be the best that they can be and that gives me really real joy and energy in executive coaching for me it's about helping people to really live their life on purpose and I don't mean live a purposeful life I mean make conscious choices about what really matters to them and align how they live with the things that they say really matter to them so that there's no regrets they're not going to sit in their rocking chair when they're 96 and say oh I really wish I'd spent more time with my grandchild or whatever it is yeah nobody says I really wished I worked harder when they're in that rocking chair or when they're at the eulogy somebody is speaking so to really help people live life on purpose to learn to love themselves and to see themselves clearly and that's the journey I've been on I think I didn't love myself for a very long time and this sounds it sounds a bit bold to say this but I do love myself now I do accept myself I understand I'm a very human person who makes huge mistakes still all the time but I'm learning you know to focus on the things that I can control and and and to your point about what other people think is is not what I can control I can control how I turn up to be my best self put put energy out there into the universe to and to help others to make real conscious choices and I get such joy out of that you know I have clients who are now married with children who they would not have been they would not have gone on the first date had it not been for a conversation I had with them at a very pivotal moment, a female CEO at a very pivotal moment.
57:10Jeannette:She talks about this. There are things that, you know, you can see you've really made a difference. Some people want to change the world. I'm a change the world one person at a time by helping people to really be the best that they can be. And that gives me enormous energy. And I can do that in broad contexts as well. And in one-on-one mentoring and coaching, it's such a privilege to have these close relationships with clients, some of whom I've worked with for years and others of whom I only worked with for a brief period of time as they go through inflection points in their careers or in their lives.
57:46Yeah, no, I love that because actually life, business, relationships,
57:51Annemarie Durbin:they don't fit into neat little boxes at all, do they? You know, what can be going on at home or personally, it can impact work and vice versa. And I think you're right, when you have that trusted space, that relationship is very special. So when I mentor people, it's different to coaching, but the trust has to be there, the relationship has to be there. And actually, you're right. You say you like to work one-to-one as well as impacts in the world, but one-to-one, but it's like dropping a pebble in a pond, isn't it? Because the impact of that one individual and then how that takes through to their family to the businesses they run to all the you know families of the people in the you know so actually by helping one person you're you're making a big impact yeah yeah which is which is really amazing so huge congratulations on all of that no no it's it i am i learn with
58:48Jeannette:every coaching and mentoring session i do i probably learn more about myself than i than i give and it's such a mutually reinforcing mechanism but it's so important to have done my own work to know what's my stuff versus if you were my client what's your stuff and not to infect you with my biases and preconceived notions and background filters and all that sort of thing and that took two years to and to learn that actually being strong doesn't mean holding it all in and hiding it all from the world. Being strong is being able to share all these experiences. It doesn't, I used to think that people would pity me or look down on me because of some of the challenges.
59:33Jeannette:But now, well, now I don't think about that at all. But I think that it's, why wouldn't I share? It's who I am. It's all part of the rich tapestry of life. And And I think I'm better for it. And I hope that people can see the human face, you know, the real the real mucky mess and all that is that is Anne-Marie Durbin. Yeah.
59:56Annemarie Durbin:Yeah. So if someone listening to this is thinking, OK, you know, they're thinking of do they go down the plural route? Maybe they want to get their first NED role. What advice would you give, male or female? but I'm not talking any specific gender now, just in general.
1:00:11Jeannette:What are some of the golden nuggets of advice? I think it's really helpful if you can get your first one before you come out of corporate life. Yeah. It makes it so much easier. So that's number one. Number two, it's a completely different ballgame from executive life. I mean, going... We as successful people are used to applying for a job and getting it. most of the time that's what happens when when in executive life but in in non-executive life you'll get called by headhunters or you'll apply for things and you'll hear nothing for months and then maybe something will pop up and then then it'll go away again and then it'll be like oh no even if you get onto a short list it'll be like oh no they they and you never get any proper feedback as to why you weren't and you just have to live with that because that's love as a non-exec there are so many now I'm a chair and I'm doing board composition decisions myself I can see there's just so many parameters that you're trying to solve for it's a bit like a Rubik's cube yeah and it's really hard to do that and it's nothing to do with most of the candidates and they're all really really good candidates but because your Rubik's cube doesn't quite get all the greens in a row that person may not be may not fit at that moment but it doesn't mean they weren't great people and I always try and give feedback and to give positive messages to anybody who's gone through a process for a non-exec role because I know from my own experience that the caliber of the feedback is generally speaking incredibly poor and it can be quite soldier story particularly in the early days you know and people give you advice it could take a year to get your first non-exec role well if you finished executive life sitting with acres of time to spare and it could take a year that's that's pretty scary stuff yeah and i guess you know the
1:02:12Annemarie Durbin:old the old gremlin you know kicks in and then we start to get the self-doubt or is it me or why is it so quiet you know i'm used to and i guess also you know to your point when you've got when you're in an exec role you know it's a bit it's busy isn't it you know the phone's off the hook your emails are and all of a sudden when you come out it's like oh okay no one's calling me anymore and and um i think this is this is an interesting point around finding a new identity finding your purpose but you know being being clear and trying to get clear on who you are now versus maybe the role you played in an executive role because quite often when you work in a larger organization or a big a strong brand let's say people are going to take your phone call yes because of the brand and because of the role that you that you that you're in yeah but when that's stripped away who are you yeah and and it can become very quiet can't it and that then sort of as i say you know great advice that you're given there because it might take a while you know so what are you going to do with your time how do you keep yourself current and exactly and I think also the other thing that I think is interesting is is network so how important I mean network is hugely important it always is isn't it's about who you know or who spots talent in you sometimes that you don't see in yourself necessarily but when you're in that sort of space of you know what proportion of roles would come through a network when you're looking for a ned versus you know the headhunters and just sort of more that kind of process what do you think that is changing a little bit back in the
1:03:49Jeannette:day when i was first doing my first turn of non-execs nearly everything was through headhunters actually because there's been that uptick of corporate governance and about it's no longer the old boys network right but as a and you actually had to disclose in your so they i'm talking about for public listed companies yes which is where it was the sort of generally all subsidiaries yeah large large subsidiaries which was where I was playing in that space um it was all done through headhunters now that didn't mean that networking wasn't important because you needed and you still do need when a long list comes and the chairs or the nomco is looking at it they go oh yeah I met that person at such and such event she's a good girl yes and and off and off you go through there yeah so that is you know that is important but in the UK because of a strong corporate governance the headhunters are really important and I think finding a headhunter who who will champion you yes it's really important because this is no disrespect to headhunters board roles non-exec board roles do not pay very much compared to executive where you get a x percent of the first year salary etc it's a fixed fee they want to make a profit i'm sure like any any business yeah of course therefore they put they do just enough to get a set of candidates in front of you and you so therefore you as the kind of potential candidate really got to work hard to get a headhunter to really understand what makes you tick and to advocate for you rather than just you being another another name on a long list because they want to have a long list that's diverse or whatever whatever is the requirement of the of the sponsoring company yeah so the networking and
1:05:43Annemarie Durbin:relationship building for this but in this particular area was probably more with the headhunters than it is with the the sector the industry that's helpful if people know you of course to vouch for you but it's probably going to be further down in the process than maybe and i think it's probably slightly different in the world of pe probably um you know because because again pe work in a very different way they're in for the short term to then make a to make um to make a you know a change um so yes listen we've had an amazing conversation i'm going to come to few last questions if i may so best piece of advice you've been given keep calm and carry on
1:06:25Jeannette:so that doesn't matter how big the challenge seems or how um much of a mess it seems nothing is made better by panicking about it very wise words indeed so if we were to describe this year in one word what would it be and why amory i think it's a roller coaster i think and and the and the ups and downs of the roller coaster or maybe it's a combination of fairground rides you know you've got the different going round the up and down i mean it's a it's a crazy old world out there and how to navigate to really think about what what really matters and keep centered and core on the things that really matter and get rid of the noise is is the difference between success
1:07:10Annemarie Durbin:and failure yeah most definitely it's an interesting ride along the way isn't it we're going to enjoy the ride exactly exactly and we have a brave bold brilliant playlist so what song what artist are we going to add to the playlist from you then amory well i'm going to beg for a
1:07:26Jeannette:bit of an indulgence i have three around my life i have um for my first part of my life it's i will survive by gloria gainer from second part it was i am who i am which is also by gloria gainer And I think now my phase I'm in now is my fourth phase, which is just be alive, be really present and real and honest and available. And for that, don't worry, be happy.
1:07:51Annemarie Durbin:Oh, I love that.
1:07:53Jeannette:Three great tracks that we're out of. You see, you're the gift that keeps giving.
1:07:59Annemarie Durbin:And then the final question, what does Brave Bold Brilliant mean to you when you hear that?
1:08:06Jeannette:it's about have a vision have a plan be be um be fearless feel that fear it's okay just do it just do it you just don't know what will happen and it could be amazing oh what a way to finish thank you so much that's wonderful i really hope you've enjoyed this episode of brave bold brilliant
1:08:29Annemarie Durbin:remember check out our new website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com you're going to find loads of resources on there that's going to help you with your leadership journey and with the businesses that you're trying to scale up and grow so take care everyone and remember there are no limits to your growth but it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliant
From the publisher
Jeannette meets the remarkable Annemarie Durbin, one of the most highly respected and experienced business minds in the world, to talk about her inspiring journey from her early career in New Zealand to becoming a prominent figure in the banking industry.
Annemarie discusses the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field, including personal adversity following her mother's passing and the cultural shocks she encountered when moving to the UK. She also reflects on her resilience, the importance of mentorship, and the supportive culture at Standard Chartered, where she found a sense of belonging and opportunity for growth
Annemarie explains why:
The journey of overcoming personal loss and challenging childhood experiences shapes a strong sense of resilience and determination
Acknowledging and sharing personal struggles, including feelings of inadequacy and the challenges of balancing career and family, can foster authenticity and connection with others
Finding a workplace culture that aligns with personal values can significantly impact career satisfaction and success.
The inclusive and diverse environment at Standard Chartered provided a sense of belonging and support that was crucial for professional development.
The experience of being a woman in leadership roles highlights the importance of not defining oneself solely by gender.
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VALUABLE RESOURCES
Brave Bold Brilliant - https://brave-bold-brilliant.com/
Brave, Bold, Brilliant podcast series - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/brave-bold-brilliant-podcast/id1524278970
ABOUT THE HOST
Jeannette Linfoot is a highly regarded senior executive, property investor, board advisor, and business mentor with over 30 years of global professional business experience across the travel, leisure, hospitality, and property sectors. Having bought, ran, and sold businesses all over the world, Jeannette now has a portfolio of her own businesses and also advises and mentors other business leaders to drive forward their strategies as well as their own personal development.
ABOUT THE GUEST
Annemarie Durbin is a globally respected banking leader with decades of experience across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. A former senior executive at Standard Chartered, she is known for driving cultural transformation, championing inclusion, and mentoring future leaders. Her journey from New Zealand to the top of global banking embodies resilience, authenticity, and values-driven leadership.
Podcast Description
Jeannette Linfoot talks to incredible people about their experiences in business and life, gaining first hand insight into how they unleashed their potential to become Brave Bold Brilliant.
From the boardroom tables of big international businesses to the exciting world of entrepreneurs it's all about stepping up to the next level while staying true to yourself.