I joined Bupa at 18 on what was meant to be a six-week summer placement. I had just finished college and was deciding what to do next, never imagining that more than 30 years later I would still be here, serving as Chief Sustainability & People Officer for Bupa Global, India and UK.
My career has not followed what many would consider a traditional leadership path. I did not come into senior leadership through a university degree or a carefully planned route. I built my career through experience, curiosity, hard work and taking opportunities when they came. At times, that created self-doubt, particularly as I moved into more senior roles and found myself in rooms with people whose backgrounds looked very different from mine. But it also shaped one of my strongest beliefs: talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not always. That belief has stayed with me throughout my career and is one of the reasons inclusion matters so deeply to me.
Throughout my career, I have been fascinated by the impact leaders have on people. Early on, I saw exceptional leaders who listened, developed people and helped them become the best version of themselves. I also saw moments where leadership had the opposite effect. Those experiences shaped the kind of leader I wanted to become: someone who listens carefully, stays connected to people and creates the conditions for others to thrive.
One of the defining achievements of my career was leading Bupa Care Services through the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporting more than 10,000 colleagues across care homes and retirement villages during such an extraordinarily difficult period was both professionally and personally significant. It reinforced my belief that connection, compassion and clarity matter most when times are hardest. Over three years, we increased colleague engagement by more than 20 percentage points, which remains one of the achievements I am most proud of because it reflected the resilience, commitment and care of our people.
In my current role, I have the privilege of shaping the people and sustainability agenda across Bupa Global, India and UK. My focus is on creating a culture where colleagues feel heard, valued and able to be themselves. I have championed a listening-led approach to leadership, including through the Big Listen, our Executive Advisory Committee and colleague networks, so that people from different backgrounds, roles and experiences can help shape decisions that affect them.
I am proud of the progress we have made in embedding inclusion into leadership, colleague voice, policy, career development and sustainability. This includes strengthening representation ambitions, improving family-friendly support, investing in inclusive leadership capability, expanding career opportunities and creating more accessible and supportive workplaces.

For me, inclusion is not about one programme or initiative. It is about how people experience work every day: whether they feel respected, whether they feel able to contribute, whether they can grow their career, and whether they believe they belong.
When I reflect on what I have achieved, I do not think first about job titles. I think about the people who have grown in confidence, progressed in their careers, overcome barriers or felt more able to be themselves because of the culture we are building. If my leadership has helped create more opportunity, more belonging and more confidence for others, then that is the achievement I am most proud of.