Company: Aviva
Location: Norfolk
Lead: Darren Vertigan, IT finance partner and governor at two schools
Aviva is a FTSE 100 company and one of the biggest employers in Norfolk. It gives each employee three days of paid leave each year to get involved with their communities, give back and learn something. Volunteering to be a school governor/trustee is one of the best ways to do all three of these.
Darren Vertigan has run the Aviva governor network for the last five years. He explains: “As Aviva employees, we have a broad range of skills to offer and we know governing boards need these skills. Each of us contributes a vital discipline to our board – be that in marketing, human resources, procurement or something else. We are used to sitting in business meetings, managing people, tracking projects and being strategic.
“That said, we all get something out of it too – skills and experiences that are directly relevant to our careers. For example, my discipline is financial management. I am used to working on relatively short-term projects of three to six months. But by governing have the opportunity to contribute to strategy development and I’m responsible for an organisation with over 200 employees.”