APPOINTMENT JUDITH COBHAM-LOWE OBE , THE GOLDMITHS ’ COMPANY
We have 1,300 people who are just ‘ in the freedom ’. Where at one time you were only counted that way by doing an apprenticeship , now we invite people who aren ’ t just apprentices . About 280 get invited to join the livery and run some of the 13 committees it takes to run the Goldsmiths ’. I was in the livery from 2003 , and it ’ s not the standard recruitment process : you are already sizing up people who in 15 years time might be able to be on the governing body of the company , in terms of their contribution and their background and their knowledge .
THE COURT ROOM AT GOLDSMITHS ’ HALL .
25 colleagues who elected me unanimously . One of your questions was whether I applied , you can ’ t apply , that ’ s the wonderful thing about the role , it ’ s about four years ahead of when you might be in question to be prime warden , that you ’ re approached . I was approached in 2013 , and if you ’ re willing and voted unanimously by your 24 colleagues , then you take office as fourth warden , third
THE LIVERY HALL AT GOLDSMITHS ’ HALL
warden , second warden and then after three years you do the Prime Warden role .
What is the method of getting approached for the role ? Is it a highly formal process ? You say that my appointment makes a change from Prime Wardens being chosen from within the trade but actually only every fourth Prime Warden , roughly speaking , is from the trade in one way or another .
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Any good company in any sector is going to be looking at how they can make the best of the new situation and set up new opportunities and new trade links and new business
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It ’ s interesting that because it is an 800-year-old organisation , it seems to take an extremely long view on who ’ s going to be running the show as far ahead as a couple of decades Well , you can ! It would be hubris to suggest that we ’ re always going to exist in our present form , and there are 20 people around to remind you of the Royal Commission of 1884 , which for two years debated whether all livery companies should be abolished and all the money given to the surrounding poor boroughs to create hospitals and schools .
Are there any specific points in your prior career which you think will be useful in this role ? Well , obviously , the corporate strategy side and I think particularly the fact that I ’ ve been licensed to look 10 years ahead . Having the corporate strategy background I ’ m usually quite ruthless about planning : I usually say “ knock off your list anything you can accomplish in the next 18 months ,” because that is not a 10-year strategy . And so getting people to think longer-term than is usual , for any business , is something I will be gently working with people on .
And obviously we ’ re only a few months post-Brexit so one of
24 JEWELLERY FOCUS
June 2017 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk