In the next instalment of our blog, ‘Five Minutes With’, we spoke to Femi Sobo-Allen, Deputy Company Secretary for Frasers Group plc.
For the past 28 years, Femi has worked as a company secretary in the public and private sectors, with particular emphasis on UK regulatory compliance in financial services and corporate governance. Here’s what she had to say…
The role of a company secretary is often misinterpreted. What exactly does your role entail?
So many people underestimate the role of the Company Secretary. We keep the Board safe and ensure the company abides by the rules. Quite an important role.
You will soon be celebrating your 28th year in corporate governance and have worked for a diverse range of organisations. What do you find so interesting about your role?
I love hearing about the big decisions and seeing how much work goes into some of them. For example, at Border to Coast I was in the Remuneration & Nomination Committee during the discussions about the variable pay plan the Board wanted to implement. It was great to see the faces of my colleagues when it was announced; many weren’t expecting it. Now I’m at Frasers Group I can’t wait to see how their M&A decisions are made – in two weeks I’ve already had to arrange two board meetings at short notice!
In your opinion, what does ‘good’ corporate governance mean?
It looks different for every company. Some like to abide by the absolute letter of the Code, others less so, but that doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. I think there’s a line and unfortunately, it’s only in times of crisis that we find out where it is.
What tips could you give to budding company secretaries looking to get into the industry?
Ensure your experience is as broad as possible. Work on everything, even if it’s outside your usual role – you just never know when you will need it.
You are a great campaigner for diversity and inclusion – how can we improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace?
My absolute favourite picture of Obama is where he’s in the Oval Office bending at the waist so a young boy of colour could touch his hair. This is what true representation looks like – that young boy knows that he can aspire to the Oval Office because he’s seen someone there who has the same hair as him. I have sat in board rooms where no one looks like me and that’s intimidating. One of the things that’s important to me is to be able to look at an Annual Report & Accounts and see what the Board and the Executive look like. We should not underestimate how important it is to see people who look like us in positions to which we aspire.
Finally, at the end of a busy week of board meetings, what do you do to relax?
I have a second job as a personal assistant/chauffeur and that takes up most of my time outside work. I only have two exclusive clients: they’re my 13-year-old daughters! If there’s any time between ferrying them around and organising their social lives, I like to run; it’s great for my head and I have made some great friends. My crowning glory was the Paris marathon in 2019.