Preventative health is often discussed but less often embedded in real business strategy. How do you believe leaders should be reframing their approach to health risk and early detection in the workplace?

You hear so many businesses talking about preventative health now, it feels like a new buzzword, but many still treat it as optional, as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a core business strategy. That needs to change. As leaders, we wouldn’t wait for a system failure in our operations before investing in infrastructure, so why would we do so with our people? Early detection should be the very foundation of your workforce health strategy. It helps us spot issues before they become crises, not just for the individual (which is obviously hugely important), but for productivity, retention, and morale.

If you want to future-proof your workforce, you must move from reactive firefighting to proactive care. That starts with embedding (anonymised) health data into leadership decisions. The most resilient companies will be the ones that treat employee health like the strategic asset it is.

Bluecrest has been at the forefront of proactive health assessments. In your view, what’s the biggest misconception people and employers still have about preventative care?

That it’s only worth it when something is already wrong, or that it’s a ‘one and done’ practice. In my view, the whole point of preventative care is that it gives people the continuous intelligence they need to stay well, not just intervene when they’re unwell. It’s about knowing your numbers, tracking their progress over time, understanding your risks, and making small, consistent changes that make a difference.

If you want to future-proof your workforce, you must move from reactive firefighting to proactive care

For employers, the misconception is that it’s expensive or hard to implement. I’m not denying it’s an investment, but we all know how costly it is to lose great people due to burnout or long-term sickness. I’m lucky enough to hear from customers (both corporate and consumer) regularly who tell us that one single assessment has changed a life or even saved one. That’s the impact of getting ahead of the problem, and that’s why we do what we do.

You’ve spoken candidly about navigating menopause while leading a national business. What did you wish more people (especially in boardrooms) understood about that experience?

I wish they understood that menopause is not a women’s issue; it’s a business issue. It has such wide-reaching impact, affecting retention, performance, and morale. And yet, for too long, it’s been met with silence or stigma.

I remember sitting at my desk and not being able to find basic words when writing a normal, day-to-day email. It was frightening and to start with I was wondering if I was experiencing early-onset dementia! I was scared and didn’t talk about it to anyone. I now know it was hormonal, not personal, or performance related. But I had to figure that out on my own. That’s what I want to change. Leaders need to make space for these conversations and invest in the right support. We need menopause policies that are more than just documents and good intentions.

There’s increasing pressure for companies to support midlife women, yet many responses still feel surface-level. What does meaningful support look like from a leadership and culture perspective?

It doesn’t look like a dusty policy that’s never acted upon! To me, it looks like listening without judgement. It looks like offering flexibility, education and health support as standard, not as an exception. And most importantly, it looks like leadership representation. If there are no midlife women in leadership, how can you claim to support them as a business? We’ve seen time and time again how diverse boards improve company performance, so if you’re not factoring midlife women into this, quite frankly, I think you’re missing a trick.

With your background in end-of-life care, how has that shaped your philosophy on health span versus lifespan – and how does it inform your leadership at Bluecrest today?

My time in the care sector taught me that it’s not just about how long you live – it’s about how well you live. Health span (the number of years you spend in good health) matters as much as life span. And that must start early. You can’t leave wellbeing to chance and hope it works out later or be surprised when it doesn’t.

The whole point of preventative care is that it gives people the continuous intelligence they need to stay well, not just intervene when they’re unwell

For me, it drives our mission at Bluecrest: to help people stay well, and informed, for longer. That means giving them personalised data, actionable insights, and the motivation to take control of their health. It’s not just about detecting disease and breaking terrible health news to people; it’s about living fully. That’s what drives me every day.

You’ve led in both the health and social care sectors. Where do you see the most urgent need and opportunity for innovation in the way we approach wellness in the UK?

In my view, we still have too many silos between health and social care, between public and private services, and even between physical and mental health. The opportunity is in creating seamless pathways that make it easier for people to access the right support at the right time.

Technology is part of that, and I welcome the intention to adopt technology more fully as part of the NHS’s 10-year health strategy, but so is empathy, expertise, and human care. We need human-centred design that sees the whole person, not just the symptoms. And we need more cross-sector partnerships to scale what works. The system won’t fix itself; we must be braver.

You were named in The Independent’s E2E Female 100 track last year. What does recognition like that mean to you personally, and how do you use your platform to advocate for systemic change?

Things like that are always a huge honour, but this business isn’t about one person’s achievements. More than anything it reminded me that visibility matters. If we want to change the system, we need to show what leadership can look like, and how that might differ from the traditional leadership figures we’ve become used to hearing from. That means being honest, human, and willing to speak up, particularly about the things that aren’t being talked about.

I’d like to hope I use my platform to advocate for preventative healthcare, the power of insights and technological innovation, and more inclusive leadership. And I try to do it in a way that encourages others to show up as themselves too. I talk about data a lot – it’s my job – but we need more leaders who lead with heart, not just with metrics.

You bring a refreshingly honest, no-nonsense voice to conversations about health and leadership. What’s one uncomfortable truth you think more CEOs need to hear when it comes to workplace wellbeing?

Firstly, thank you, I hope my team would agree! For me, workplace wellbeing can’t be outsourced; how you reflect your dedication to wellbeing comes from the top. If my team sees me burning out, emailing them at midnight, or suffering in silence, then we’ve got a problem.

Wellbeing isn’t about beanbags or free fruit, or we’d all have it cracked. It’s about trust, support, and giving people the tools to care for themselves. That starts with making health a boardroom priority, not an afterthought. My rule of thumb is: if you wouldn’t ignore a problem in your financial report, don’t ignore it in your people either.