cassandra stavrou

A range of leading women within the industry will be talking at the Women in Wholesale conference on 19 October at the British Library in London.

The event will highlight positive female role models.

Confirmed speakers include Elisabeth Kelan, a professor of leadership at Cranfield School of Management; Nikki King, former managing director and honorary chairperson of Isuzu Truck UK and Emma Stewart, CEO of Timewise, an organisation which works with retailers like Tesco and John Lewis to design senior-level flexible working roles.

There will also be sessions dedicated to wholesaler and supplier success stories, with speakers to include Julie Dunn, operations director at Dunns Food and Drinks, and Cassandra Stavrou, founder of Propercorn.

Last month WiW published its report, titled ‘Six Steps To Nurture, Grow and Advance Talent in Wholesale’.

The research conducted by Him! found a lack of flexible working (52%), career path (43%) and respect (38%) were the main challenges for women working in the sector.

“Flexible working is a big challenge in wholesale with more than half of females saying it’s their biggest barrier to development, according to the WiW Report,” said WiW organiser Elit Rowland. “Our speakers will offer practical solutions to help businesses in our sector attract and retain the best talent.”