Great Minds: Anne-Marie Martin talks about gender balance in managerial roles

Anne-Marie Martin currently holds the position of Director of Global Business Networks at the British Chambers of Commerce. In the latest Great Minds video, she speaks to LSBF about the importance of achieving greater gender balance in the workplace and the fundamentals of being a successful director.

What makes Anne-Marie stand out as a business person is her global outlook. As a first generation migrant from Romania, Anne-Marie feels connected to her country of origin and has moulded her career to be based not only in the UK, but also abroad in Central and Eastern Europe. Notably, she worked for an extensive period of time as the CEO of the British Romanian Chamber of Commerce, a role which helps to strengthen the business relationship between Romania and the UK. Her view is that we live in a globalised world and it is important to understand the nuances of how each country conducts business.

As well as emphasising that business people should develop an understanding of how different business cultures operate, Anne-Marie also advocates placing more women in senior manager roles. Despite being on the verge of a technological revolution, the issue of gender inequality in the workplace is still a high ranking priority for many businesses. Anne-Marie states if we are still discussing the issue, “we haven’t got it right”. Therefore, in order to achieve a greater balance, she believes governments need to bring in legislation. She sees this as the way to drive change and argues that in addition, businesses themselves should work together to create an environment in which this change can take place.

During her career, Anne-Marie has undertaken several directorships evidencing that she knows what it takes to be successful in a senior position. The skills she highlights as being paramount to success are excellent communication, the ability to thinking strategically and commerciality. She again focusses on the importance of having a global outlook stating that social and cultural understanding between countries is “imperative”.

The discussion concludes with some thoughts about what the future of the business world looks like. Anne-Marie highlights there are already fintech solutions in place to assist businesses in making them more efficient and managing risk. However, the world is fast-paced and always changing. Therefore, it is important that we continuously educate ourselves.

If you’re looking for a global business experience, visit LSBF’s website here to see what courses we can offer you.