Women in Business – Leading the next area of growth
Across every sector of the economy, one truth is becoming impossible to ignore, women are not simply participating in business they are redefining it.
The modern business landscape is being shaped by leaders who bring fresh perspectives, challenge long‑standing assumptions, and build organisations that are more resilient, more innovative, and more attuned to the world around them. This feature celebrates those women, but more importantly, it examines the mindset and momentum driving this shift.
Directors of Businesses share their expertise with Business Connect to celebrate International Women’s Day #IWD2026
Kelly Jackson of Jackson Accounts – Adele Reid of ABC+Warranty – Ellen Kitson of Kitson Architects – Helen Spencer of WR Partners – Donna Morton of Lomarton – Fabiola Doano of Apoyo Courses Ltd – Win Edmonson of The Profile Club – Christiane Hutchinson of Wealth Teck Limited and Helen Bennet of The Business Network.
Today’s female leaders are navigating a business environment marked by rapid technological change, global uncertainty, and evolving expectations around purpose and responsibility. Yet they are doing so with a clarity and confidence that is setting new benchmarks for leadership. They are founders scaling high‑growth ventures, executives steering multinational organisations, and innovators transforming industries that once felt impenetrable. Their success is not a trend it is a structural change in how leadership itself is defined.
What distinguishes many of these women is not only their commercial acumen but their commitment to building cultures where people thrive. They champion collaboration over hierarchy, long‑term value over short‑term wins, and authenticity over convention. In doing so, they are creating workplaces that attract talent, inspire loyalty, and deliver sustainable performance.
But progress does not happen in isolation. It requires platforms that amplify voices, networks that open doors, and ecosystems that recognise potential wherever it emerges. Business Connect Magazine is proud to contribute to that ecosystem by spotlighting the women who are shaping the future of business and by sharing the insights that can help others follow in their footsteps.
This feature is not just a celebration it is a call to action. The next generation of leaders is already here. The question is whether the rest of the business world is ready to keep pace.
Kelly Jackson
Jackson Accounts Managing Director
Championing Straight-Talking Accountancy for Growing Businesses
For many business owners, accountancy can feel complicated, time-consuming and, at times, overwhelming. At Jackson Accounts Limited, the mission is simple: make finances clear, accessible and supportive for entrepreneurs who want to focus on growing their business.
Led by founder Kelly Jackson, the practice specialises in providing straightforward, practical financial support for small businesses, sole traders and landlords. By combining professional expertise with modern technology, Jackson Accounts helps clients stay on top of their finances with real-time information and efficient systems that simplify day-to-day financial management.
Kelly and her team are experienced in a range of widely used accounting software packages, including Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, LEAP and Proclaim. This expertise allows them to integrate seamlessly with clients’ existing systems or guide new businesses in choosing the right software from the very beginning.
However, what truly sets Jackson Accounts apart is its commitment to building strong relationships with clients. Kelly believes that a great accountant should be more than someone who submits figures once a year. Instead, the team works closely with clients to understand their goals, support forward planning, improve cash flow and help them make informed financial decisions as their businesses grow.
As a successful female business owner, Kelly is also passionate about supporting entrepreneurs at the start of their journey, providing the clarity and confidence they need to move forward.
With Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on the horizon, Jackson Accounts Limited is already helping sole traders and landlords prepare for the upcoming changes. The firm is offering guidance and training on suitable accounting software to ensure clients feel confident and compliant when the new rules come into effect.
Over the coming months, Kelly and her team will also be running courses to explain how MTD will work and what businesses need to know ahead of the transition.
To find out more about upcoming events, follow Jackson Accounts Limited on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn, or email info@jackson-accounts.com
www.jackson-accounts.com
Adele Reid Managing Director
ABC+Warranty
Women in Business Leading with Impact!
In an industry that is still largely male dominated, leadership is often defined by visibility rather than impact. Adele Reid, Managing Director of ABC+ Warranty, challenges that expectation. She doesn’t lead by emphasising her gender; she leads by delivering results. By building a high-performing business in a technically complex market, she sets a powerful example for women across the property and construction sector.
ABC+ Warranty has been supporting homeowners, developers and builders across the UK since 1989, providing structural warranties. The company is a cornerstone of confidence for those investing in new builds, renovations, and developments, ensuring that the quality of construction is backed by a credible safety net.
Under Adele’s leadership, the company has solidified its reputation for trust, transparency, and excellence. ABC+ achieved Approved Code Scheme status with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), demonstrating a commitment to rigorous consumer protection and ethical business practice. This achievement was further recognised after winning the Business Award at the CTSI Hero Awards, a national accolade that highlights the company’s dedication to raising standards and protecting consumers.
The company’s progress has also been strengthened through strategic partnerships that reinforce long-term stability and client confidence. ABC+’s latent defects policy is now underwritten by AXA Insurance UK, one of the country’s leading insurers and A+ rated by AM Best. This agreement not only increases the credibility of the company’s offering, but also delivers reassurance to clients that their investment is protected by an internationally respected insurer.
Adele’s approach is defined by a people-first culture, built on the belief that potential and dedication matter just as much as experience. She has created a team that is both capable and customer-focused, with a strong culture of support, advancement and excellence, allowing the business to deliver consistently high standards of service. Her open-door approach and hands-on support help to create a workplace where people feel encouraged to ask questions and continuously improve.
A key focus of her impact has been nurturing early-career talent. ABC+ actively supports apprenticeships and professional development, helping young people to build careers in a sector where routes to qualification can be limited. Adele has personally supported employees working towards trade and surveying qualifications, including team members completing five-year degree programmes while working full time. These achievements demonstrate the company’s investment in future talent and that opportunity should be accessible to those who are willing to work for it.
Adele has always believed that success should be shared, and that thriving communities are built through collaboration and local enterprise. Her support within local communities reflects this intent, with festivals such as The Brit Fest in Cheshire, which is growing into a major regional event and has previously featured top acts such as Razorlight and UB40. By becoming a headline sponsor, she helped strengthen the festival’s roots and reinforce the importance of culture, connection, and regional growth. The festival has become a clear example of how business can support community spirit while helping to build a stronger local economy.
The strength of ABC+ today lies in its ability to combine technical expertise with a customer-first approach, shaping the future of warranty provision and building confidence across the market. Adele Reid’s leadership has proven that a company can be commercially successful while also building standards, supporting talent, and giving back to the community. In a profession where trust is everything, ABC+ Warranty has become a benchmark for excellence, and under her direction, it continues to raise the bar.
www.architectscertificate.co.uk
Ellen Kitson
Kitson Architecture Managing Director
A chartered architect with over thirty years experience working in the construction industry. In 2012 I co-founded KITSON Architecture Ltd and since then, we have matured into a busy commercial practice based in Altrincham, South Manchester. Since lockdown we have seen huge growth in the Dilapidations and Data Centre/ Critical Infrastructure sectors and we continue to expand our work in Retail, Commercial Offices, Heritage, Residential, Healthcare and Education sectors as well. I have recently become a mentor supporting the Construction For Women Programme based in the North West, something that I find very rewarding. I served for four years on The Women in Property North West Committee and you will often find me on the Manchester networking circuit. With 2026 racing ahead I am particularly looking forward to celebrating International Women’s Day in March, attending UKREiiF in Leeds in May and enjoying a family holiday in the sunshine in June. At KITSON Architecture Ltd we offer a free 60-minute initial consultation, so if you have a property, land, brief, ambition or simply a dream please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us! ellen@kitsonarchitecture.co.uk Directors: G.M. Kitson B.A., Dip. Arch., M. Arch., RIBA, E.M.A. Kitson B.A.(Hons.), PGDip. Arch., RIBA KITSON Architecture Ltd, registered in England & Wales – 8222667
ellen@kitsonarchitecture.co.uk
https://kitsonarchitecture.co.uk
Helen Spencer
WR Partners Managing Partner
Leading with purpose: Helen Spencer, Managing Partner, WR Partners
When Helen Spencer joined WR Partners 20 years ago as an HR Manager, she wasn’t following a traditional path into accountancy. She was drawn to professional services by something she believed in deeply, that people are the real engine of any successful business. With a background in Human Resources spanning more than 30 years, it’s exactly that experience of recognising excellence in people that has set her apart as a leader. What she couldn’t have predicted was that she would one day be appointed Managing Partner.
“I never could have imagined becoming Managing Partner,” she admits. “Walking into a traditional accountancy firm without an accountancy qualification, I knew I’d have to prove myself differently. Credibility isn’t handed to you, you earn it.”
Under Helen’s leadership since 2019, WR Partners has navigated significant change. Steering an established, traditional firm with over 100 years of history through a full rebrand and acquisitions, while protecting everything that makes it special, has been one of her defining achievements. That progress is now tangible, with a growing presence across Cheshire and the recent opening of a new Northwich office designed to deliver a better experience for both clients and the team who support them.
That people-first thinking extends to how Helen approaches leadership. “I aim to create an outstanding employee experience and attract and retain talented individuals within WR Partners,” she says. “My role is to develop and implement strategies that maximise the achievement of business and personal goals.” It’s her HR background that sets her apart, and it’s exactly that experience of recognising excellence in people that has driven WR Partners forward.
For Helen, her proudest moment isn’t a single milestone, it’s seeing what WR Partners has grown into. “Surround yourself with great people. That’s the most important thing I’ve learned.”
Looking ahead, Helen has defined a clear roadmap for the firm’s future, with a strong focus on digitalisation and the opportunities and challenges shaping the world their clients operate in.
“We are committed to protecting the future of our clients and our people,” Helen says. It’s a belief she’s held since the day she joined the firm, and one that, twenty years on, continues to shape everything WR Partners stands for.
www.wrpartners.co.uk
Rebecca Gale & Donna Morton Managing Director
Lomarton
Building Stronger Businesses: Structure, Support and Sustainable Leadership
As conversations around International Women’s Day focus on leadership, resilience and progress, it is worth reflecting on what sustainable leadership really looks like inside growing organisations.
It is rarely loud. More often, it shows up in trust, clarity of decision-making and the confidence to handle people challenges well.
Lomarton was founded in 2015 by Donna Morton, an HR and payroll transformation specialist with more than two decades of operational experience. The business was built on a clear principle: organisations thrive when People, Process and Technology are aligned.
Today, Lomarton operates across two complementary areas: HR & Payroll Transformation and HR Advisory, bringing together strategic structure and practical people support.
The Power of Strong Foundations
Strong organisations rarely separate HR and Payroll in practice, even if they sit in different departments.
HR shapes the employee journey — recruitment, contracts, performance, absence and development. Payroll ensures that journey is reflected accurately and fairly in pay. When these functions operate in isolation, friction appears. When they are aligned, the business feels steady.
In many organisations, payroll teams quietly protect the employee experience. They chase late approvals. They correct incomplete data. They resolve inconsistencies before pay day. While this dedication safeguards employees, it can also conceal underlying process gaps.
Over time, reliance on individuals to “catch” issues places pressure on teams and introduces avoidable risk.
Stronger foundations come from connecting policy, behaviour and execution. Clear ownership across the employee lifecycle, defined deadlines and consistent data standards reduce ambiguity and last-minute pressure.
The impact extends well beyond administration.
Managers understand expectations, HR gains insight, payroll moves from correction to assurance, and employees experience fairness.
And when processes feel fair and predictable, trust follows.
That trust in pay accuracy, in decision-making and in leadership is often what differentiates organisations that feel stable from those that feel constantly under pressure.
Practical Support for Real-World Leadership
Alongside transformation sits Lomarton’s HR Advisory practice, led by Rebecca Gale.
Rebecca works closely with SMEs and growing businesses navigating the everyday realities of leadership, performance management, absence challenges, restructures, grievances and compliance responsibilities.
For many founders and business owners, people issues are the least intuitive part of leadership. Balancing empathy with commercial discipline requires a different skill set from building the business itself.
Strong advisory support provides clarity and confidence. It ensures policies are protective yet practical, supports early and constructive conversations, and balances compliance with commercial reality.
And importantly, it reinforces that leadership does not mean having to manage every challenge alone.
Why Both Perspectives Matter
Strategic systems without grounded people support can feel disconnected from daily operations. Advisory support without structural discipline can become reactive.
When the two work together, organisations move from firefighting to stability.
Across sectors, similar challenges emerge:
– Payroll teams repeatedly correcting preventable errors
– Managers unsure of deadlines or approval responsibilities
– Performance concerns avoided until they escalate
– Policies written but inconsistently applied
– Workforce data collected but rarely analysed
These are not failures of intent. They are signs that growth has outpaced structure.
Leadership Lessons Worth Reflecting On
In the spirit of International Women’s Day, a few principles consistently strengthen organisations:
Clarity builds confidence.
Clear roles and expectations improve accountability.
Consistency protects culture.
Fair application of standards builds trust.
Act early.
Small issues are easier to resolve than large disputes.
Use your data.
Workforce trends are commercial insight.
Structure supports growth.
Process discipline protects long-term performance.
With both Donna Morton and Rebecca Gale leading distinct but interconnected disciplines, Lomarton reflects a broader shift in modern leadership, one that values both strategic rigour and practical people expertise.
Sustainable success is not built on reactive fixes. It comes from alignment between strategy and execution, consistent standards and leadership supported by the right structure.
Fabiola Doano Managing Director
Apoyo Courses Ltd
“Empowering Minds, transforming workplaces – Fabiola Doano
I help people and organisations have real, honest conversations about mental health, race, and inclusion. Not box-ticking. Not theory alone. Real life. Real impact.
I bring lived experience as well as professional training. I know what it feels like to be “the only one in the room,” to carry stress quietly, and to navigate systems that don’t work for everyone. That understanding shapes how I teach and how I create spaces where people can speak openly.
At Apoyo Courses, we deliver practical, interactive training in Mental Health First Aid, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Anti-Racism. Our sessions are human and engaging, using group work, discussions, and active participation so people learn with each other, not just from slides.
I explain complex topics in clear, simple language—no jargon, no one-size-fits-all. Every session is adapted to the people in the room and their organisational reality. This learning continues beyond the day, shaping conversations, behaviours, and culture.
I help organisations turn wellbeing and inclusion values into everyday actions. Real change. Lasting impact.
faby@apoyocourses.co.uk
www.apoyocourses.co.uk
Win Edmondson
The Profile Club MD
2026 sees new Brand for Networking Host
I am delighted to be featured once again in this Women in Business. Since our previous feature, we have experienced several notable developments.
In December, we announced our rebranding to The Profile Club, which has been met with a positive response. This transition required the development of a new website and the implementation of a new CRM system. We are fortunate to have members whose expertise and support have contributed significantly to this successful change.
Our Colony Networking brand continues to grow, now hosting seven meetings each month across central Manchester, down to Wrexham, and over to Liverpool. These sessions offer structured networking opportunities, including two guaranteed one-to-one meetings during the last half hour—which has led to new business connections. Thanks to Simon’s collaboration with The Federation of Businesses, these events are organised together with the UK’s leading business organisation.
So what is next? We are now looking to expand our reach, and we are speaking to potential partners to work with across the UK to bring our style of networking to the UK business community.
We are fortunate that The Profile Club and Colony Networking offer all the connections necessary for achieving our goals. This focus on collaboration forms the foundation of our groups, as working together is essential for any successful networking organization.
Christiane Hutchinson CEO
Wealth Teck
Value is not set by the market — It is built before the deal
For many UK entrepreneurs, the business is the pension.
It represents years of risk, reinvestment and personal commitment. Yet one of the most persistent misconceptions in the SME market is the belief that “the market decides” what a business is worth at the point of sale – as if value appears from somewhere external and impartial.
According to Christiane Hutchinson, CEO of Manchester-based Wealth Teck, that thinking overlooks a fundamental commercial truth.
“Value isn’t revealed at sale – it is engineered long before the deal begins.”
With over 20 years’ experience working alongside business owners, advisers and investors, Christiane has seen first-hand how preparation and transaction are often confused.
Corporate finance advisers and brokers play an essential role in executing deals. However, by the time a business enters a formal sale or funding process, much of its value trajectory has already been shaped. Operational inefficiencies, weak capital productivity, unmanaged risk or over-reliance on the founder can quietly constrain valuation and reduce deal certainty long before buyers are engaged.
Wealth Teck positions itself upstream of the transaction.
Rather than focusing on selling businesses, the firm concentrates on strengthening them – improving operational performance, capital efficiency and resilience so that companies become genuinely investable. Its independence from the transaction allows it to prioritise long-term enterprise value rather than deal momentum.
This distinction matters commercially.
Many businesses are brought to market at the value they currently justify, rather than the value they could have achieved with structured preparation. When value engineering comes first, transaction outcomes tend to improve – not only in price, but in negotiating strength and certainty of execution.
Enterprise value, Christiane argues, is rarely accidental.
For business owners, preparation brings greater control and credible optionality. For advisers, it means stronger businesses entering the pipeline. For investors, it means clearer value drivers, stronger fundamentals and reduced execution risk.
If better market outcomes are the goal, better-prepared businesses must come first.
Helen Bennett Managing Director
The Business Network
The Business Network, led by Helen Bennett, has grown into a dynamic community with groups across England. Built on the belief that meaningful relationships drive sustainable success, the Network delivers focused, monthly lunchtime events designed specifically for business owners and directors.
In a world where digital noise can dilute genuine connection, these face-to-face lunches provide an effective forum for purposeful conversation. Here, leaders share insight, explore opportunities and build trusted professional relationships.
Beyond the room, members gain access to a national database of like-minded professionals, extending opportunity far beyond their local group. This ‘extended reach’ is also achieved from the connections Helen is able to makes from the extensive network of contacts she has forged over the years. Helen explains,
“An important part of my job is to help make our member’s working lives easier, having the ability to act as a ‘problem solver’ when members ask if I know anyone who can help with a particular issue they, or a client, are experiencing, is extremely rewarding”.
Introductions are intentional, collaboration is encouraged and accountability underpins every interaction. Why not attend a lunch, experience the difference and unlock the power of connected leadership.
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