City leaders from a range of corporate sectors came together for Haven House’s second annual Women in Business Lunch on Thursday 8 March. 

The lunch, which coincided with International Women’s Day, took place at the prestigious Royal Automobile Club in London and raised £11,415 for Haven House.

One hundred and fifty-eight guests attended including Haven House Director of Care Eileen White and Director of Income Generation and Marketing Pushpinder Gill.    

Guests enjoyed a welcome reception, lunch and raffle with prizes including a Philip Treacy sparkle clutch bag and a cocktail masterclass for four people at The London Cocktail Club.

Emily Evans, Chief Executive of The Economist Educational Foundation hosted the lunch and chaired a panel discussion under the International Women’s Day theme of ‘Press for Progress.’  

Panellists included Nicola Horlick, Chief Executive of Money&Co, Karen Holden, Founder of A City Law Firm and Sandy Lucas, HR Director at Alexander Mann Solutions and President of City Women’s Network. 

Nicola Horlick also gave a keynote speech where she spoke about her career in investment banking and the impact of losing her oldest daughter, Georgina, to Leukaemia in 1998.

After the speech Nicola was joined on stage by Haven House’s Director of Care Eileen White who introduced the charity’s appeal film which profiles three young people who are part of Haven House’s Teenage Cancer Group.       

Pushpinder Gill, Director of Income Generation and Marketing at Haven House, said: “We are so grateful to Nicola, Sandy, Karen and Emily for taking part in our Women in Business Lunch. 

“It was very powerful to hear the different experiences of women who have pressed for progress in their respective industries.

“As a Sunday Times best not-for-profit employer, we have strong female representation at every level of our charity, but we know from our supporters and families who work in the city that this is not always the case across the corporate sector.

''Our lunch was an opportunity to reaffirm the need for greater corporate equality and for guests to support life-limited children as part of International Women’s Day.”

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