A director of the Cumberland is in Paris, supporting Paralympic athletes during the 2024 games.
Cumberland Building Society non-executive director Vicky Bruce has been a consultant to the International Paralympic Committee, based in Germany, helping shape their 2023-2026 strategic plan.
The world of international para sport might seem a long way from the Carlisle headquarters of the Cumberland, however, for Vicky, who has more than 25 years’ international financial services experience, a passion for sport, and a life supporting relatives with disability, it makes perfect sense.
Vicky said: “I am really interested in how sport can be used as a way of driving community inclusion for people with disabilities.
“I have two disabled brothers, one with Down’s syndrome and one who’s physically disabled. They love participating in sport and I see how much it helps them integrate and make friends.
“It’s how the world should be, removing accessibility barriers and enabling every single person to participate in society.”
Closer to home, Vicky also recently volunteered to photograph the Parallel Windsor Festival of Inclusivity, an award-winning festival with challenging events for all ages, health conditions and abilities.
Vicky left her role as global chief operating officer for Deutsche Bank Wealth Management at the end of 2019 looking for a different challenge, which she found with the combination of The Cumberland and her work for the IPC.
She was already a board member of the IPC’s Agitos Foundation which was established to develop sports for disabled people in disadvantaged parts of the world.
In early 2020, Vicky approached the IPC CEO to see if there was anything else she could help with and she was invited to review the progress delivering against their two-year-old strategy.
Then she was asked to lead the development of the new four-year strategy.
“We held several workshops with members to talk about the different strategic areas and what they were looking for in terms of strategic priorities for the IPC as an organisation.
“We talked a lot about the role of the IPC versus the regional and national committees and sporting federations, and how the more developed nations can support the less developed ones,” she said.
To be effective, strong values need to come with professional excellence. She said: “Fundamentally, any business – whether you are a commercial business, a sport governing body, or a charity – should have a strategy and be able to demonstrate that it is delivering against that strategy. It’s about having a clear, prioritised programme of work and being able to measure and report progress.”
One of the IPC’s strategic priorities is to deliver an exceptional games, by supporting the Paris organising committee and working with many diverse stakeholders.
Success is measured in several ways including the number of viewers, gender balance of participants and number of athletes from less developed countries. There will also be a legacy of a host city that is more accessible for people with disabilities.
In late 2020, Vicky was very happy to be offered a position on the board of The Cumberland as it brought her back to the north of England after a childhood in North Yorkshire.
She said: “One of the pulls was to spend more time in the north because that’s really where my heart is. I love it up here.
“It’s really important for me to work with an organisation with strong values and I’m very excited about the opportunity to support the delivery of The Cumberland’s strategy.”
Earlier this year, The Cumberland launched its Belonging strategy, which aims to ensure everyone at the Cumberland – regardless of gender, ethnicity, age or neurodiversity – feels they have an opportunity to progress, that their voice is heard, their opinion matters, they can speak up freely and feel valued.
