Sian Cotton Client Director in EQ Advisory Introduction and what your role is at EQ
I’m a Client Director within the company secretary team, part of the EQ Advisory business. The company secretary team provides corporate governance and company secretarial services to companies listed on both AIM and the Main Market as well as private companies.
As a member of the senior management team, I work with the other Client Directors and the Assistant Director in managing the team and developing the business. I also act as an outsourced company secretary to listed companies and work closely with the Boards of those clients to ensure they understand and meet their obligations as a listed company, from both a regulatory and governance perspective. This involves attending Board and Committee meetings, drafting the Governance sections of Annual Report and Accounts, AGM planning, assisting on the governance aspects of transactions, amongst many other things!
What office are you located at?
I’m a hybrid worker and I split my time between working from home and the London office at Moor Place. I enjoy Moor Place as I always tend to meet someone I haven’t met before; everyone is so friendly and the hot chocolate from the drinks machine is pretty good too!
When working from home I’m based in Sevenoaks. I love Sevenoaks, it’s a lovely town with a real community vibe. We also have the beautiful Knole House and Park, which, during the Tudor dynasty became a royal residence when Henry VIII stayed and hunted here! The Beatles also recorded part of their video for ‘Strawberry Fields’ there.
What’s happened in your career up to this point?
I’ve worked in Company Secretarial teams for over 15 years now, starting as a Company Secretarial Assistant/PA in a Main Market listed recruitment firm. I was very lucky in my first Company Secretarial role to have exposure to such a variety of work, and I had an amazing management team that I learnt so much from, including building my confidence! Since then, I’ve worked in other Main Market companies in insurance and property which have (mostly!) been enjoyable in different ways. Before EQ, my last in-house role was as an Assistant Company Secretary in a listed insurance company. I’ve now been with the team for seven years and I really do enjoy working in professional services. I love working with such a variety of companies. It’s great to be able to support wonderful teams and add value. I really enjoy spending time with clients to understand what is appropriate and right for them from a governance perspective – not every Board has the same appetite for governance so it can be a challenge, and one size does not fit all!
What do you like about EQ?
Lots of things, but the people must be at the top of the list for me. Everyone is incredibly helpful and easy to talk to. I am fortunate that in my role I need to have regular contact with the wider EQ Advisory teams but also with Share Registration and Share Plans as well. I’ve found that everyone makes time for you no matter if they’re busy or not and there is a real sense of working together to achieve success, which I love.
What's your biggest EQ achievement?
There have been lots of achievements and great moments, but I feel that I should mention a bit of a professional and personal achievement overlap. In 2022 I took a year out to undergo intensive treatment and surgery for breast cancer. If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t know what to expect or how I would cope with returning to work after a very tough year of chemo, surgery and radiotherapy, but I did it slowly and with the amazing support of the EQ team. Within 18-24 months I have managed to re-establish my role within the business as a member of the senior management team and more recently I was promoted to Client Director, which I’m proud of given where I was and how I was feeling a year or two ago.
What are you looking forward to in the future at EQ?
I am looking forward to seeing the business grow, with great acquisitions such as Notified that was announced recently, and the further development of our products and services. I also look forward to working hard with our team to further raise the profile of the company secretarial services and showcase our talent more, as we have some amazing, intelligent individuals and I want to encourage them all to shout a bit louder about themselves!
Do you have a fun fact to share?
I am also qualified as a Reflexologist and Level 1 trained in Reiki healing (so very different from Governance!)
A big thank you to Sian for sharing her thoughts with us.
EQ Company Secretarial Services
Our team of Chartered Secretaries has in-house experience at senior levels in FTSE listed companies, focussing on good board governance, meeting management and procedures, and annual reporting.