Shirine Khoury-Haq: a human approach to leadership

About the event

In this episode of the Bristol Distinguished Address Series, we hear from Co-op Group's CEO and UWE Bristol alum, Shirine Khoury-Haq, as she shares her ideas on the values that underpin good business. This was the final event held as part of the Autumn BDAS series of 2024 and recorded live at the Watershed.

About Shirine

Shirine is Group CEO at Co-op, the first female Chief Executive in the company’s 180-year history and the first from an ethnic minority background. Shirine has been a Director on the Co-op Board since joining in 2019 – first as Chief Financial Officer, later becoming Chief Executive Officer Life Services, leading Co-op Funeralcare, Insurance and Legal Services. Before joining the Co-op, Shirine was Chief Operating Officer for the Lloyd’s insurance market, which comprised of more than 50 leading insurance companies operating in over 200 countries. She also led the digital modernisation programme for the wider London insurance industry. In addition to holding senior positions at IBM, McDonalds and insurer, Catlin Group, Shirine has worked in a number of regulated sectors in the UK and overseas including retail, IT, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods.

About Rachel

Hosting the event was Rachel Evans, Head of Alumni Engagement for UWE Bristol. Her role is focussed on building affinity and pride in UWE amongst the alumni community alongside creating opportunities for our alumni network to support current students. Rachel studied Law at UWE and so is a member of the alumni community herself. She was delighted to be hosting this BDAS event and to be in conversation with such an inspiring fellow alum!