Students learn about leadership

Wednesday 11 January 2023

Ten local students have been invited to attend the Guernsey Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Annual Convention, plus an exclusive lunch with the panellists and also the ‘Future Leaders Summit’.

Known previously as the ‘Directors of Tomorrow’, this initiative, sponsored by the Ana Leaf Foundation, has been rebranded as ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ to inspire young people to develop the skills they need to become the island’s future leaders.

The lunch was hosted at Deloitte on 6 October, where the ten students, representing Guernsey’s sixth-form cohorts, met Boardroom 2030 members, Charlotte Sewell and Matt Hocking, plus Akash Thaker, Youth Board Member for the Good Energy Group PLC. 

Boardroom 2030 is a campaign created by B Labs UK, which invites businesses to explore and model what a 2030 future might look like for them. They discussed some of the world’s most pressing issues including climate change and Ms Thaker encouraged the students to become leaders, no matter their age.

The Convention took place that evening and focused on how businesses can navigate the new order of geopolitical risk, and what changes are needed at board level to ensure they are fit for the future. Convention attendees heard from Dr Wolfang Piccoli, Co-President and Senior Political Risk Advisor at Teneo.

The evening also featured an interactive panel session when the students asked questions on how to create lasting change and what skills are required by the boardroom of the future.

Pictured: 'Next Gen' individuals touted by the Institute of Directors Guernsey. 

After the Convention, Mayna Jackson-Gill, student at Grammar Sixth Form Centre, said: “I think it’s been really relevant, everything that’s been spoken about is in the news. Everyone should be educated on it, and these are issues that we are all going to be faced with in the future”.

As well as the opportunity to hear and learn from top business leaders in Guernsey, the ten Leaders of Tomorrow students will also receive a year’s IoD Student Membership.

Hayley de Putron, a Trustee of the Ana Leaf Foundation, said: “We were pleased to have been able to support the Leaders of Tomorrow programme again and to hear that the students found the experience valuable. We want to provide our island’s young people with opportunities that will help them shine throughout their lives and enable them to be the best they can be”.

Wendy Dorey, Chair of the IoD Guernsey branch, said: “We are delighted to have such a strong cohort of ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ students. They are bright, articulate and engaged – and we look forward to helping them develop the skills and connections they need to become leaders in the future”. 

Pictured (top): (L-R) Jo Huxtable, Daniel Brown, Charlotte Sewell.