"I became disillusioned with teaching and wanted to leave, I looked back at my dream subjects and combined them with my great respect, love and affinity with water (my star sign Scorpio is a water sign) so it had to be plumbing."

"It’s an awkward balance to follow your gut instincts and also bring others in. If the vision is big you can’t do it alone, but if it’s a unique vision, other people try to push their own expectations and desires onto it. It’s good to have the right advisers and advocates."

"Have patience, because it may take a long time. Have determination because you will encounter lots of obstacles. Have compassion for yourself when things go wrong and when they do, find the advantages of a change in direction."

"Being able to help other women make their dreams come true is simply amazing and the best inspiration. One of our loyal plumbers says she doesn’t know what would have happened to her if she hadn’t joined us. She says she could have been ‘in the gutter’ but instead she has a thriving business, healthy children and has just got married. She is happy and content for the first time in her life."

"At the same time I continue to work towards this huge vision of a network of women plumbers changing the world. I’m making mistakes, getting things right and continuing to move towards the big goals"

"But being who I am, I set about finding out and taking action. That set me off on a road to build a national network of women plumbers and through that make an impact on water sustainability. If I’d realised the enormity of that vision, I may never have started out on the journey!"

"They say timing is everything and the revolution in accessible technology helped massively with building the Stopcocks network. I simply couldn’t have accomplished what I’ve done without the revolution in technology making it happen. Each new thing I want to do has to wait till the tech catches up and allows us to do it."

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now"

"I think they lack ambition. The option of not reducing emissions in line with science means everything else we worry about is academic – there are few large scale business options on a frozen/flooded/burning planet – now is not the time for pragmatism but ambition."

"There needs to be more courage, more pioneering spirit. There is a lot of it about in the waterborne sector. It may seem safer to wait to be a fast-follower but if no one leads we have a much harder time managing the inevitable transition and there will be more losses and failures as a result. Work collaboratively, build coalitions, share first mover risks."

"If we tackle the entire global logistics chain as a whole and shift as much freight as we can from land and air to water we immediately transition to the lowest cost and lowest emission transport mode."

"Listening without judgement and from there building strong relationships allows new ideas to come to fruition."

"Learning by making mistakes is the most effective way to progress."

"Making everyone in the organisation you work in feels as though they can be the very best version of them at work as happy, engaged people are always more willing to go the extra mile, think the creative solution and engage more positively with customers."

"Being a purposeful company is all about corporate character, not corporate add-ons. A purposeful company will have a very clear sense of its long-term social mission and will be guided by that in its decision-making."

"I don’t really pay attention to my own publicity - that’s not why I do the job. What I need to concentrate on is doing the best possible job for my customers, my investors, and our communities. If I have any power, it’s to do the absolute best for everyone and maybe to try to inspire the next generation to be the best that they can."

"You have to decide whether you always want to be Thierry Henry or Arsene Wenger. When I was younger, I thought I was always going to be Henry but someone opened my eyes to realise that overseeing the whole team, thinking about the strategy and getting the best out of others was much more satisfying."

"I’m a football fan (Everton) and I say to my staff you are only as good as your last match. I’ve never looked back and said that I should have done something differently, but some days are harder than others."

"I've also learned to leverage tough times to build followership. In times of crisis, the role of the CEO isn't to be a spokesperson; it's to lean in and help with the critical tasks that need to be done. You can absolutely come out of this period stronger."

"I've learned through difficult periods as a CEO that resilience is everything. I believe the ability to quickly recover from setbacks, rally for longer, and remain positive is a key differentiator for many top CEOs."

"Empathy is absolutely critical for CEOs. In a politically uncertain world—with increasing divergence between the “haves” and “have nots,” you have to think carefully about how you show up as a leader and ensure you’re in touch with your customers, employees, and wider stakeholders."

"CEOs have always had to focus on running their company well, but, unquestionably, a CEO needs to increasingly focus on purpose, investing time and resources in making a wider contribution to the environment and to the communities where their company operates. They need to focus more on culture, as culture is the enabler of any upside, and it should guide you as a leader."

"There's been a huge change for women in senior positions. Some of this has been about signing up to things like the 30% Club, where a lot of boards have agreed to commit to having a third of their directors as females."

""It's only by sharing your own experiences that other people can get a glimpse into what it's like for people who are different to you.”"

""If you want to be a creative, innovative, successful business, you embrace diverse talent, and you create an inclusive environment. It's the only way to be successful in the long term. Not one part of the community can do this on their own; it can only be done together.”"

"If you have to pretend to be someone you aren’t for too long, it will poison you from inside."

"Find somewhere to work where the culture, values and behaviours align with your own."

"I know it’s impacted people’s decisions about inviting me and my partner to events and it has made me feel uncomfortable meeting politicians representing countries where homosexuality is illegal."

"I chose to come out as bisexual just prior to starting at Lloyd’s of London so I know how it feels to be different. I am glad I have been honest because it had begun to feel like I was lying to the people around me."

"“Although it’s easier than it used to be for people to come out as LGBTQ+ at work, it’s still hard.”"

"“Believe in your own ability – I was so under confident that I even said ‘no’ to the first promotion I was offered.”"

"“The PIE model is one that I totally buy into. It stands for Performance, Image and Exposure. These are the three elements that are essential for your career development.""

"“The golden rule is to keep communicating – 1. Communicate the business case; 2. Communicate it’s the right thing to do; 3. Communicate that you mean it.""

""I got a lot of my strength and support not only from my family but also from women’s networks – a source of inspirational energy to keep going.”"

"I have taken on several CEO roles in my life and some organisations have required a turnaround or a huge transformation. To have people focus on your leadership skills, your experience and the great things you have achieved, rather than the way you look or a small mistake you have made, would have made it much easier."

"“Criticism comes at women leaders from more angles than men – there is now data showing that microaggressions in the workplace are higher against women than men.”"

"Often [as a leader] someone is demanding of you; they want it done next week, in two months or whatever"

"“You spend half your energy hiding the reality, leading a dual life, making excuses. There’s a lovely story about someone in the industry who was born male and was male at work but had a female persona in her personal life. She was outed because of technology linking Facebook photos and her iPhone. After years of being a man at work but actually being a woman it was fantastic. Everybody was supportive; she’s never looked back.”"

"“I tried to be something I wasn’t. I behaved like a man.”"

"It’s interesting, they feel awkward. That’s why when I talk about this I say let’s use the words that people are uncomfortable using – lesbian, gay."

"What you do is, you de-genderise every statement you make. You’re in a business environment; you de-gender everything, You never say he or she. You do it constantly. All these little things, that if you haven’t experienced you just wouldn’t appreciate. And suddenly you can be free"

"I said ‘I’m coming out, I can’t live with this’"

"It’s not about me. It’s about what you do for other people. For me, it’s so important because you need these role models."

"Let’s use the words people are uncomfortable using – lesbian, gay"

"“Sometimes the wave of life lifts you up, it pushes your ship, the wind gusts in the same direction, it blows the spinnaker up and you just go. You are at the ship’s wheel, but it’s the wind energy that leads you further, and you feel that incredible and dangerous sensation of ruling the forces of nature.”"

"In the meantime, while I think North European ports, such as Rotterdam and Antwerp, will continue to be amongst the top performing ports in the region, I think other ports will catch up. In fact, if there is peace in North Africa, I think the Mediterranean will attract more ships due to our location."

"While Asia will continue to be the driver of world trade for the foreseeable future and will produce ever larger ports, I believe Europe will continue to prosper when it comes to other aspects of supply chain"

"While the average rail freight in Italy is below 10 per cent of the total throughput, the figure is 35 per cent in La Spezia. This means about three out of every ten containers are transported in or out of our port via trains"

"If I have to name one special attribute of LSCT, it is the superior transit time we offer which results in saving end-to-end supply chain cost for shippers in Asia"

"“I think it is women who feel inadequate in a man’s world more than men creating obstacles.”"