Dr Helene Roberts, Chief Executive of Robinson PLC – the custom manufacturer of plastic and paperboard packaging headquartered in Chesterfield, has been named in a national report as a ‘woman to watch’.
The Women to Watch 2020 supplement is produced by Cranfield University’s School of Management Gender, Leadership, and Inclusion Centre. Its aim is to highlight the impressive talent pool of female business leaders and board members of the future. The Women to Watch 2020 is launched alongside the Female FTSE Board Report, an annual analysis of women on boards.
Dr Patricia Pryce, Director, Beauwest Consultancy Ltd; Visiting Fellow, Cranfield School of Management says: “This year we have spotlighted 100 leading female professionals who are ideally suited for consideration as non-executive directors (NEDs) on the boards of FTSE350 companies, now or in the near future.”
“Over the last 20 years we have seen significant improvements in gender representation in the workplace, particularly at more senior levels and in many traditionally male-dominated industries – gender has been on the agenda! Our hope is that the impact of COVID-19 does not cause this progression to falter or regress. As businesses re-emerge after lockdown and organise themselves for a different kind of future, the business imperative for realising women’s potential (and that of other underrepresented groups) in the workplace remains.”
Dr Helene Roberts is delighted to be on the ‘Women to Watch’ list 2020: “I am very proud to be leading the team at Robinson in what is a challenging but exciting time to be in both plastic and paper board packaging. Robinson is a well-established business, built on strong social and environmental principles and working with key international brands. This provides a great foundation on which to take a holistic and all-encompassing approach to sustainability that will form the backbone of our growth going forward in both the UK and Europe.
“We are proud to be an inclusive employer and growing in diversity. Being a woman has never been a career issue for me and we make sure we work closely with our teams to ensure everyone is empowered to prosper and grow in their chosen field. I have to thank the Robinson board for appointing their first female CEO.”
Helene has extensive knowledge of sustainable materials technology, global sales, marketing and innovation, and people leadership. She has a degree in Materials Engineering and a PhD in Polymer Engineering.
Helene’s career started with M&S, initially as a materials technologist based in Hong Kong before spending seven years as food and drink Head of Packaging. She then spent two years with Sealed Air Corporation as European Executive Retail Director followed by three years at Benson Box, initially as Group Marketing Director before taking on the role of European Director of Marketing, Innovation and Design for Graphic Packaging International.
Helene was most recently Managing Director at Klockner Pentaplast, responsible for the UK, Ireland, and Australian business across four sites, a position she took over after a period as Director of Global Marketing and Innovation. Her key achievements have been leading and developing the business’ sustainable strategy, overseeing structural change to deliver improved results from all areas in the company.
When asked for her advice on what women should do when starting their careers Helene said, “spend time listening and talking to thought leaders in your business and your industry and always reach out and network.”
Robinson PLC supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.
