Co-op News March 2023

of legal and regulatory corporate governance and
compliance requirements is not just impressive –
it’s an absolute necessity given the complexity of
co-operative organisations.
Her remit in her many years as a senior adviser
to the board secretariat of the Co-op Group
included everything from support on technical
changes of legal status to corporate restructures,
incorporations, mergers and acquisitions –
and also the complex business of winding up
co-op entities which had run their course and
redeploying their assets.
As company secretary to numerous subsidiaries
in the Group, she was also responsible for the
preparation of board papers, minutes and
resolutions, assisting in the preparation of
annual reports and
accounts for the Group
and its subsidiaries, and
ensuring compliance with
statutory obligations with
bodies like Companies
House and the Financial
Conduct Authority. Tasks
which most of us would
find impossibly daunting, but Claire likes “things
to be organised and in good order”.
“My husband always says I enjoy a good
sort-out which says a lot!” she adds. “For me,
it’s always been about finding co-operative
solutions and troubleshooting in a co-op way.
I feel in some ways we are only scratching the
surface of what co-ops can provide. When you
have lot of companies not really doing anything
there is still a large administrative burden and
accounts have to be prepared. It all boils down
to good governance.
“Looking at things through a governance
lens – i.e. with the example of restructuring and
rationalising – if you want to change a corporate
structure, there are lots of positive options
available.”
After almost 17 years at senior level with the
Group, Claire decided last summer to move to Cooperatives
UK after a spell on secondment.
“The Co-op Group had a good relationship with
Co-ops UK,” she says. “When the former secretary
moved on to another role they approached us
and said would someone like to come and do a
secondment. I have done secondments before
and always enjoyed doing different things so
when I was approached I didn’t hesitate. I thought
it would be good to get some new experience and
it just went from there. Things worked out really
well. I was invited to apply and got the job.”
Another string to Claire’s bow is her long
involvement with the Co-operative Credit Union.
“We are led by our values
and ethics and I want to
do everything I can to
support all the organisations
in Co-ops UK”
“I’ve been a member of CCU since I started work
in 2006. I was secretary/director for a time and
joined the board in 2014,” she says. “I stepped
down towards the end of 2017 when I went on
maternity leave and I’m happy to now be back in
the fold as secretary after taking a break.”
The role of credit unions is very much in the
spotlight, given the state of the economy. “Every
business the length and breadth of the country
has been affected by the cost of living crisis” says
Claire, “and people need the support of credit
unions more than ever.
“We are worried and want to look at what we
can do to support them so in the last year we have
introduced a hardship fund. It’s always a balance
about what we can do to support members and
support sustainable
business but we are doing
our best.”
More recently, Claire
was appointed as a trustee
of the Co-op Heritage
Trust, which takes care
of the co-operative
movement’s archive and
key sites like the Pioneers Museum in Rochdale.
Three months after her formal appointment
at Co-operatives UK, Claire is enjoying her new
role and its demands. “Coming into a smaller
organisation is quite different from being in a
large organisation like the Co-op Group,” she
says. “The focus may be narrower but it is more
in depth. Being part of the leadership team is also
something quite different for me but obviously
there are lots of similarities. I am still dealing with
boards and directors and different organisations
and there is still a lot of contact with people.
“The challenge for me is getting under the
bonnet of everything. There are many longstanding
organisations in Co-ops UK and you
cannot come into an organisation and not be
mindful of that. Co-ops look to us as the apex
co-op entity as we represent Britain’s co-op
organisations.”
As Co-operatives UK enters the lead-up to its
elections and AGM, Claire is now familiarising
herself with procedure and assessing whether
there is scope for improvement.
“The challenge is always about our values and
principles and what stakeholders want to see and
what we can reasonably do in the context of good
governance,” she adds.
“We are led by our values and ethics and I
want to do everything I can to support all the
organisations in Co-ops UK and to be looked upon
as an example of good governance. I am proud to
be part of the movement.”
MARCH 2023 | 43