This Monday 22nd September, 59 women in finance came together at Box in Leeds for the latest HerFinance Circle event. The morning combined peer-to-peer insights alongside forward-looking perspectives on technology in finance, featuring a keynote speech on AI and automation, in addition to alive panel discussion of four finance leaders from private equity.
Keynote on AI and Automation
The keynote speakers from Unity Advisory – Pippa Booth (Partner), Claire Tisch (Senior Manager), and Alice Fee (AI and Automation Specialist) – explored the opportunities and risks of using AI.
- Training and context: “Training your teams is crucial. Leave AI in unskilled hands and you’ll get unskilled answers. When using AI, you need to make sure you talk to it like a junior colleague. It’s not a magic machine – the more context you give it the better,” said Pippa Booth.
- Choosing the right tools: Alice Fee spoke about data security and confidentiality: “Selecting the right AI tools is important – for example, the difference between the free version of ChatGPT vs. the enterprise version where the latter has higher levels of data encryption and doesn’t use your data for training purposes.”
Insights from the Panel Discussion
The live panel – Alex Moore (CFO, Switalskis), Alex Owen (Finance Director, M Group – Plant and Fleet), Kayleigh Wright (CFO, Tes Global), and Sophie Calverley (CFO, Checkmate Fire Solutions) – shared candid advice on leadership, resilience, and growth.
- On building strong teams: “Resource up, get people around you who are brilliant. Pay market rates. I’ve learnt over the years that you can train anything – but attitude far outweighs anything you can teach, you need to be able to trust your team,” said Alex Owen.
- On personal development: Kayleigh Wright highlighted the value of coaching: “Get a coach. Work on yourself, that really helped me to increase my confidence when it came to things like presentations.”
- On work-life balance: Alex Moore reflected on the realities of juggling senior roles with family life: “It is a juggling act, and it’s certainly a challenge to get the balance right. Someone once told me, ‘Don’t be a martyr,’ – which actually on reflection was good advice because it made me question what support do I need to get things done, as you simply cannot do everything.”
- On preparing for investors: Sophie Calverley stressed the importance of readiness: “Do your due diligence and make sure everything is always tidy. Keep records dating back at least 3 years. Don’t wait until it is required in a later process… You need to be prepared.”
What’s Next for the Circle
Plans are already underway for the rest of the year and beyond. Upcoming activities include:
- An online workshop to delve deeper into AI and automation.
- An in-person evening networking event in December.
- The release of dates for quarterly events throughout 2026, so members can get these dates in their diary.
Join the Circle
HerFinance Circle is free to join and already has more than 120 members. The community connects through regular events designed to provide mentoring, peer-to-peer advice, and honest conversations about female leadership in finance.
Members also have access to a dedicated WhatsApp community with specialist groups such as CFOs-only, Women in Manufacturing, Women in Retail, and Women in Private Equity.
For updates and to join, email info@headstar.co.uk.
