London Business School (LBS) has awarded two female business executives £30,000 scholarships for the school’s Senior Executive Program, concluding an initiative launched in August with the 30% Club, an organization devoted to increasing female representation in the C-suite of leading corporations.
Andreea Moldova, general manager (Czech Republic and Slovakia) at Avon Cosmetics, and Yasmin Becker, assistant director at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, so impressed the judging panel that LBS increased its commitment and provided two scholarships, though the completion was originally intended to have a single winner.
To be eligible, candidates for the 30% Club scholarship needed to either lead a significant area within a large corporation or be the CEO of a mid-sized corporation. In reviewing applicants, the judges felt that both Moldova and Becker had shown “resilience, skill and most importantly amazing success in the face of adversity, and their achievements so far indicated they both had C suite potential,” according to an LBS press release.
“It is wonderful to see that this joint initiative with the 30% Club has generated so much interest in its first year,” Sabine Vinck, LBS associate dean of executive education, said in a statement. “There is no better way to demonstrate our commitment to increasing female representation on our programs,” she said of the decision to award not one but two scholarships.
“The 30% Club has sought to find ways to improve the pipeline of women for future senior executive roles and to help companies develop their female executive talent,” Helena Morrissey CBE, CEO of Newton and 30% Club founder, said in a statement. “This scholarship will prepare our two winners who aspire to move into the C-Suite for their next role. The program will equip them with a highly accredited business education, build confidence and skills and provide significant networking opportunities within a dynamic business forum.”
The 30% Club launched in the United Kingdom in 2010 with the goal of increasing female representation on FTSE 100 boards by the end of 2015. Females currently make up 23 percent of FTSE 100 boards, up from 12.5 percent when the organization began.
Morrissey noted that the LBS scholarship builds on similar initiatives for mid-career women at Oxford’s Saïd Business School and Henley for Executive MBAs.
Learn more about LBS’s two 30% Club scholarship winners.
Learn more about the 30% Club.
