Adapt + Thrive: An evening with Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer

Join us at our Adapt + Thrive: An evening with Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer and CIMA President Elect, Sarah Ghosh.

Register now to ensure your place at this very special Central Southern England Area flagship event. A chance to re-connect with fellow professionals across the Central Southern England Area.

Adapt + Thrive means being agile, changeable, efficient and proactive. It means learning new ways — better ways — of thinking and doing that brings a new level of trust, opportunity and prosperity to the world. And it means not going back to the way things were, but moving forward with courage, purpose and optimism.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the world experienced several major developments in 2020 and 2021, and the pace of change isn’t slowing down. Depending on your mindset, skill set and resources, this can either be a challenge or an opportunity.

Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer will talk to us about how to lead during turbulent times and how to master change and face challenges head on!

He will explain how he simplified complex messages to influence safe attitudes and behaviour. He will discuss staying calm under the pressure of crisis and responding to difficult lines of questioning. And he will talk about stakeholder management with leadership.

This event is also a great opportunity to meet Sarah Ghosh, CIMA President-Elect. Sarah will provide an update on the future priorities of AICPA & CIMA.

A buffet and reception drink are included during the evening.

Location

Reading FC, Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0FL

Speakers

Sarah Ghosh, FCMA, CGMA, CIMA President Elect

CIMA President Elect Sarah Ghosh is a proven finance leader with expertise in machine learning and experience in multinational organisations, SMEs and start-ups. She is co-founder and Director of Onyx AI, focusing on finance strategy and commercialisation for businesses across fintech and digital health. Sarah is currently in the Civil Service, supporting the Government Finance Function Strategy, with a focus on leveraging technology to drive value for money decisions. Sarah held leadership positions across finance, IT and operations, improving service provision and transforming processes using data analytics and machine learning.

Sarah’s academic background is in Computer Science & Economics, after which she began her career as a system engineer at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a multinational software services company. She worked on IT projects with major publicly listed clients, developing operational and financial systems across the motor and banking industries. Sarah then moved to the international finance division of EDS, and as a management accountant studied for the CIMA qualification.

After achieving CIMA Associate membership, Sarah then joined PwC as a consultant in London, working on client assignments in the communications, energy, water and transport sectors. She specialised in finance systems implementation and process effectiveness. After taking time away from work to look after her children, Sarah set up Lean Finance Consultancy. Working on behalf of clients, Sarah led finance initiatives with a focus on transformation, efficiency and managing change. She consulted in sectors including healthcare, insurance and government, working at companies with turnovers ranging from £7m to in excess of £1bn. Sarah then worked as both a finance and programme director in healthcare organisations across community and care settings.

Sarah was awarded Fellowship in 2013 and has been actively involved as an ambassador and advocate for CIMA over the past 10 years. She has held various leadership positions, with an emphasis on member engagement and events planning. Sarah served as a member of CIMA’s UK Board, and as chair of CIMA’s Central Southern Board and the UK Network Panel. In 2017, Sarah joined the CIMA Council, and a year later became a member of the Association Board and the Management Accounting Board. She works to raise the profile of women in global leadership and provides support through mentoring, with a particular commitment to opening up opportunities in India.

Sarah lives with her husband in Surrey, UK. They have two sons: one a London-based culture journalist; the other a consultant. Away from work, Sarah enjoys playing the piano. As a family they support Future Hope, a charity providing accommodation, schooling, sports and medical outreach to some of the most vulnerable children in Kolkata, India.

Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer

Jonathan Van-Tam is a public health specialist with a clinical background in emergency medicine, anaesthesia, and infectious diseases. He is an expert on respiratory viruses and pandemics and is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine, and Health Sciences, at the University of Nottingham. His career has also taken him to Public Health England, the World Health Organisation, and the pharmaceutical and vaccine industries.

Jonathan was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care as Deputy Chief Medical Officer. He is well-known for his leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly his straight, no-nonsense, communication style from the podium at number ten Downing Street, and for the acquisition and rollout of vaccines and antiviral drugs in the UK.

After stepping down as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England he returned to the University of Nottingham as its Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Medicine & Health Sciences.

Jonathan received a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in her New Year’s Honours List, for services to public health. He has also been awarded the Royal Society’s Attenborough Award and Lecture for outstanding public engagement in science.