How it all began…

Over the Years, Jane Gibbon and Elizabeth Jenkin became more and more fascinated by the twists and turns and the stops and starts that so many women’s careers involve.

“Few of us move up the career ladder in a steady climb from bottom to top. Our journeys are strewn with obstacles, surprises and compromises.” Elizabeth Jenkin, founder of LAYC.

This led them to ask, why don't we all share our career experience, across the generations?

“We thought, isn’t it what happens in most other walks of life? The old pass on lessons to the young. The young teach the not-so-young new things. Imagine what we could do if we could bring together all that knowledge, in a career context.” Jane Gibbon, founder of LAYC.

Nobody else was doing it. So they thought, why don’t we?

And Lift As You Climb was born.

Why LAYC?

As we all know, the 21st century workplace is more fluid, dynamic and complex than ever. In order to thrive, we all need to remain flexible; continuously evolving our skills and nurturing our networks. This is especially true for women, who will typically juggle more responsibilities, face more career pivot points and have access to more opportunities than ever before.

LAYC exists to support working women so they have the tools and confidence to stay ‘fit for the future’.

As our careers evolve with differing priorities, passions and professions, we harness the vast skills and collaborative power of women across ages and industries to support one another’s growth. Our community is built around a belief that we can only get where we’re going together. At Lift As You Climb, we help women to rise.

WHAT WE DO

“And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long.”

– MARY TERRELL

Testimonials from past attendees

Testimonials

“Lift As You Climb is more than networking group, it is a community of professional women wanting and willing to help each other progress. Their events include a diverse range of inspirational speakers from across sectors and sport who speak candidly about their career journey, successes, and setbacks. The women I have met through Lift As You Climb have already helped me to progress my career pathway and purpose. I cannot recommend it enough, and I will be bringing colleagues and friends with me to future events.”

– PROFESSOR CLAIRE THOMPSON

“LAYC has given me tools that I use every day to navigate the workplace and steer my career. The practical advice from the inspiring speakers and attendees has been invaluable, but more than that, I feel supported, included, heard, and encouraged by the community. It has helped me build the confidence to negotiate promotions and I'm proud to bring along colleagues and friends from different industries and stages of careers.”

– ROSE PYKE (BUSINESS ANALYST)

“LAYC provides a unique opportunity to build mutually beneficial connections cross-industry and cross-generationally. It’s helped me to develop a stronger support network, that has enhanced my knowledge, skills and self-awareness, allowing me to be braver in my career choices. There's something really fulfilling about being able to share and learn from different experiences and perspectives.”

– KATIE BRAZIER (CONSULTANT FOR THE BUSINESS OF SPORT)

Our Founders

Jane Gibbon Lift As You Climb — **JANE GIBBON**
**Jane is Chief People Officer for London Business School.** With a strong track record of delivering business-focused HR practice globally, Jane has worked in over 50 geographies including her native US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Jane’s experience began in the US working for internet pioneers such as AOL Time Warner, Netscape and Yahoo. She then moved to McDonald’s where she was the Chairman of the Women’s Leadership Network, and founded the Diversity and Inclusion function in Europe.
She has subsequently served in a variety of HRD roles at Tesco, Starbucks, Just Eat and now London Business School. Jane has always kept building inclusive workplaces at the core of her work. Jane is a Trustee for City and Guilds, and is Chair of their Nominations Committee.
Her passion is building cultural bridges and creating workplaces where individuals can come be their authentic selves.
JANE’S LINKEDIN

Elizabeth Jenkin Lift As You Climb — **ELIZABETH JENKIN**
**Elizabeth co-founded Lift as you Climb because she believes deeply that women need other women to guide, champion and cheer-lead them through their career journey.** She is passionate about her family, people and sport. Reflecting these passions, she currently sits on the board of the Women's FA as well as on the insurance boards of AJG UK and Fidelis UK.
Elizabeth is currently the CEO of Nimbla – a disruptor in the Insuretech world. She is often contributing to panels, articles and events on the topic of inclusion and diversity.
ELIZABETH’S LINKEDIN

Our Advisory Board

We meet frequently with our advisory board, who are there to support and guide us; to ensure that LAYC is offering the best that we can to our community. We are grateful to be able to seek advice from all the team, who have a diverse mix of skills and experience.

LAVINIA GROVESLavinia is a qualified accountant with over 25 years of experience in financial services within asset management, retail and investment banking across Finance, Internal Audit, UK Governance, Risk and Controls, Product Advisory and Regulatory Compliance. Lavinia is currently a Director at a large global investment bank, within the Compliance Regulatory Engagement Function and is the Global Head of Regulatory Engagement Standards. She is married with a son and daughter, loves reading and travelling. Lavinia has been a mentor for several years and continues to support several mentees. LAVINIA’S LINKEDIN — **LAVINIA GROVES**
**Lavinia is a qualified accountant with over 25 years of experience in financial services** within asset management, retail and investment banking across Finance, Internal Audit, UK Governance, Risk and Controls, Product Advisory and Regulatory Compliance.
Lavinia is currently a Director at a large global investment bank, within the Compliance Regulatory Engagement Function and is the Global Head of Regulatory Engagement Standards. She is married with a son and daughter, loves reading and travelling. Lavinia has been a mentor for several years and continues to support several mentees.
LAVINIA’S LINKEDIN

PROFESSOR CLAIRE THOMPSONClaire is a multi-award winning scientist, strategist and storyteller with more than 20 years’ experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry spanning the large multi-nationals GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, virtual biotech and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs). She is CEO of Agility Life Sciences, an award-winning CDMO, consulting and communications firm which works with organisations across the healthcare space to fast track their products to market, raise investment and help them to convey the benefits of their science through impactful communications. Claire is also Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Cambridge, where she advises academics on how to translate their research into healthcare products, develop strategic partnerships and source funding. She holds an Honorary Professorship from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, and is Chair of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s Women in Science and Education (FIP WiSE) initiative. A former footballer, Claire has launched and fully funds the Girls In Football Teams (GIFT) Grants, which support girls’ and women’s teams across the UK.CLAIRE’S LINKEDIN — **PROFESSOR CLAIRE THOMPSON**
**Claire is a multi-award winning scientist, strategist and storyteller with more than 20 years’ experience in the Pharmaceutical Industry** spanning the large multi-nationals GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, virtual biotech and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations (CDMOs).
She is CEO of Agility Life Sciences, an award-winning CDMO, consulting and communications firm which works with organisations across the healthcare space to fast track their products to market, raise investment and help them to convey the benefits of their science through impactful communications.
Claire is also Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Cambridge, where she advises academics on how to translate their research into healthcare products, develop strategic partnerships and source funding. She holds an Honorary Professorship from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham, and is Chair of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s Women in Science and Education (FIP WiSE) initiative.
A former footballer, Claire has launched and fully funds the Girls In Football Teams (GIFT) Grants, which support girls’ and women’s teams across the UK.
CLAIRE’S LINKEDIN

VINEETA RAYAN Vineeta is a Team Leader at Mudskipper Business Limited, a healthcare communications company.Vineeta gained a BSc (Hons) in biochemistry at Kings College, University of London, followed by a PhD at the University of London researching … — **VINEETA RAYAN**
**Vineeta is a Team Leader at Mudskipper Business Limited, a healthcare communications company.**
Vineeta gained a BSc (Hons) in biochemistry at Kings College, University of London, followed by a PhD at the University of London researching the repair mechanisms involved in osteoarthritis in a laboratory. She continued her research in this topic as a post-doctoral fellow at Rush Medical College, Chicago, US, before joining the healthcare communications industry. She has worked in this industry for over 20 years, providing medical communications, healthcare learning, consultancy and digital innovation to clients within the pharmaceutical industry.
Currently, Vineeta leads a team supporting a wide range of medical education initiatives for both internal and external stakeholders and strategic publications activities. Vineeta is a senior member of the team and is also involved in the operational aspects of the company. Mentoring and training her colleagues is an area of key interest to Vineeta.
VINEETA’S LINKEDIN

ROSE PYKE Rose is a Business Analyst at Tysers, a Lloyds insurance broking house, working with the Application Development Team to innovate and modernise the Broking and Operation processes.An Edinburgh graduate of Astrophysics, she moved to London and began her career organising clinical examinations for the School of Medicine at King’s College London. She has navigated business development, office management, and operations for a digital transformation consultancy, where she mentored junior colleagues and apprentices. Rose explored the fine art world as art registrar of a print mounting and framing company, before moving into the insurance industry to join an agile development technology team. Rose’s breadth of experience enables her to find solutions in any situation.Rose is passionate about people and problem-solving.ROSE’S LINKEDIN — **ROSE PYKE**
**Rose is a Business Analyst at the insuretech, Nimbla,** working to build products that innovate the credit insurance market.
An Edinburgh graduate of Astrophysics, she moved to London and began her career organising clinical examinations for the School of Medicine at King’s College London. She has navigated business development, office management, and operations for a digital transformation consultancy, where she mentored junior colleagues and apprentices. Rose explored the fine art world as art registrar of a print mounting and framing company before moving into the insurance industry, initially at a Lloyds insurance broking house. As part of a technology development team, she helped to modernise the Broking Operations processes.
Rose is passionate about people and problem-solving.
ROSE’S LINKEDIN

KATIE BRAZIER Katie now runs her own consultancy bringing her extensive expertise and knowledge in marketing, communications, events, sponsorship and sports competition development to support a variety of clients including The Rugby Football Union, … — **KATIE BRAZIER**
**Katie is the Competition and Events Director for UK Athletics** providing strategic leadership to the development and delivery of major competitions and events including domestic UK Championships, the London Diamond League and bids to host European and World Athletics Championships. As a sports business consultant, Katie has used her extensive expertise and knowledge in marketing, communications, events, sponsorship and sports competition development to support a variety of organisations including The Rugby Football Union and England Netball. She continues to do so at FA Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses where she is a Board member.
A graduate of Carnegie School of Sport (Leeds Beckett University) Katie began her career in leisure facility management before moving into senior marketing and commercially focused roles at Adecco then British Swimming, where she experienced the magic of working on international events including Commonwealth Games, Summer and Winter Olympics, World and European Championships. As Head of Women’s Leagues and Competitions at the Football Association Katie oversaw the transformation of The FA Women’s Super League from a part-time amateur competition to a full-time professional league, as well as finally establishing Wembley as the home of the Women’s FA Cup Final.
KATIE’S LINKEDIN

How are we different?