Vanessa Wright Email & Phone Number

• Community Writers Manager at We Are In Beta – building a community of education leaders writing about issues that drive impact in schools and multi-academy trusts.• Runner-Up for the BBC Countryfile Magazine New Nature Writer of the Year Competition 2022.• Runner-Up for Write Listen Create Neighbourhood Narratives Competition 2024.• Shortlisted and published in Six Word Wonders Competition and anthology 2024.• Finalist in the Save Our Seas Ocean Storytelling Grant Awards 2023.• Finalist in the Wild Atlantic Writers Awards 2022.• Longlisted for the Yeovil Literary Fiction Prize 2021.• Winner NatureScot Peatland Photography Competition 2023.• Led Nature Writing Workshops in partnership with the RSPB, Species on the Edge, The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, The Outer Hebrides Wildlife Festival, The Royal Voluntary Service, and Books On The Hill, St Albans.• Published in Bird Watching, Country Walking, Countryfile, Simple Things, Motherlore, The Upper New Review and The Pilgrim Magazines.• Guest blogger for Mark Avery and featured contributor in Tanya Shadrick's newsletter.• Consulting on GCSE Natural History for Pearson Edexcel and content creation for Extended Project Qualification on Sustainability and Climate Change.• Speaking events at St Albans Sustainability Festival, including nature and education, and interviewing environmental commentator Mark Avery.• Interviewed on Verulam Radio in Hertfordshire Mix 92.6 Environment Matters programme and podcast on nature, education and the proposed GCSE in Natural History.• Interview on nature writing with The Wild Muse video podcast.• Reader for the Highland Book Prize 2024.

Graduated with Distinction

United Kingdom

• Achieved 103% of 2019 revenue budget and 122% of profit budget delivering significant growth for the first time in over four years.• Engagement survey after 12 months in post showed that 90% of employees in a 200+ team indicated that leadership of the sales & marketing team had significantly improved.• Creation of brand video for UK Schools.• Positive brand sentiment increased by 122% and brand mentions increased by 83% after 18 months.• Launched first international school partnership for online education and enrolled first student cohort with Harrow School Online, which went on to win the 'Strategic Innovation of the Year' Award with TES.

United Kingdom

• Responsible for improving performance of sales teams across all UK, Europe, Africa & APAC businesses to deliver over £800m+ of revenue and year on year growth through market share gains in key markets and delivering achievement of budget.• Launched SalesForce CRM Sales & Marketing Cloud into several key businesses to over 100+ staff.• Delivered B2B and B2C sales training to over 200+ staff in all major markets to improve sales conversations and results.• Launched new Sales Coaching programme for sales managers in 2018.• Launched new Sales Incentive Plans to key divisions to reward sales excellence and enable talent retention.

Melbourne, Australia

• Alongside the VP sales effectiveness role, I took on additional interim responsibility of this VP general management role on secondment to lead the Australia Schools business managing publishing, marketing & sales teams with P&L responsibility of a $30+m business at the busiest time of year. This division is one of the largest businesses for Pearson in the 4Q and the end of year performance ensured that both APAC and Core divisions of Pearson achieved budget.• Delivered double digit year on year revenue growth in 2019 and achieved 107% of budget. This performance is the first time in over three years that the Schools business has returned to growth and this has been achieved through several percentage points of market share gain.• Engagement survey after six months in post showed that 64% of employees in a 70+ team indicated that the culture of the division had significantly improved since the change of leadership.• Launch of new initiative to deliver $500,000+ of incremental revenue for 2018 which won the "Innovation of The Year" company award.• Led a sales team restructure delivering both cost savings contributing to improving profitability, alongside enabling additional career development opportunities for key talent.

United Kingdom

• Alongside the VP global marketing role, I took on additional interim responsibility of this VP sales role to lead the UK Higher Education Services business through a period of unprecedented change• P&L responsibility for a £25+m business covering Higher Education, Trade and ELT portfolios• Achieved growth of UK Higher Education courseware revenues for the first time in 6 years for our 2016 results with double digit increases in our institutional business. Grew overall revenues by 4%.• Chair of cross functional UK divisional leadership meetings across product, marketing & sales leadership• Led divisional staff meetings across all teams• Led a channel strategy review with an implementation plan to position the business for better alignment to a changing business context.• Co-led discussion, in partnership with JISC, to create a year long pilot to make eBooks more accessible to students across Higher Education in the library channel -https://www.pearson.com/news/announcements/2016/september/students-and-universities-set-to-reap-the-benefits-of-market-lea.html • Launch of new revenue stream to take new services to the UK market generating £200K+ of incremental business for 2016

United Kingdom

• Led sales & marketing of key global programme delivering £38m which grew 27% in 2014• Led launch of our Global Higher Education strategy to our company preparing the presentation and script for our Executive Board Director• Led the 2014 & 2015 Global Higher Education results communication to the investor community• Led the communication of multi-million pound humanities and social sciences list divestments to internal and external stakeholders• Led workshops to deliver strategic, sales and product messages to 500+ colleagues in multiple markets worldwide• Chair of Global Marketing Council to improve functional marketing best practice across whole organisation providing leadership to all geographies and lines of business• Created Global Higher Education virtual community for 500+ internal stakeholders facilitating cross-functional and geography team communication• Chair of People Taskforce to improve results of Employee Engagement Survey representing 3,000 employees in the Global Higher Education division by designing and implementing new strategies and initiatives. This delivered an increase on engagement scores between 7-11% in the areas of focus• Nominated by 40,000 employees to represent them at Senior Leadership Summit• Steering group member to select and design requirements for a new CRM for our global organisation• Enabling the Higher Education Product Council to capture global future product requirements which will inform our future strategy• Global Account Manager for the Pearson-DFID Strategic Relationship – cited as an example of best practice for other Global Government Relations teams and participant on UK Government Relations steering team

Uk

• Led the Pearson sales and marketing strategy and response to the Kirtsaeng v Wiley court case affecting the entire publishing industry. Our response included the creation of a new publishing programme, expanding digital and customised alternatives which ensures the continued growth of international revenues along with protection of US revenues • Designed and delivered institutional sales training to priority higher education markets in Australia, Europe, Middle East & South Africa. Year on year sales have doubled for this segment in every market since launch contributing as much as 20% of all revenue in some markets• Led the successful transformation of the International Marketing Group organisational structure in 2013 • Mentor as part of the Pearson Mentoring programme to senior managers in UK and International businesses • Selected by Pearson to contribute to the 30% Club Programme due to proven coaching and mentoring expertise. This programme supports aspiring female senior managers of other FTSE 100 companies• Selected by Pearson Executive Board members to be placed on a secondment opportunity to the UK Government's Department of International Development (DFID) working as part of the Higher Education Taskforce Secretariat

• Pioneered the institutional selling strategy in the UK region in 2011 and demonstrated success of this strategy by securing £500k of revenue in Yr 1 and delivering over £1m revenue in Yr 2, of which the majority is incremental business achieving 100% of target• Led the successful business transformation of the UK Sales & Marketing organisational structure in 2012 • Led the development of new training programme for selling to senior level stakeholders • Led the execution of 4 successful sales meetings in multiple European locations with overwhelmingly positive feedback from colleagues internationally – delivering core product and sales messages to over 300 people • Key committee member that developed the reward and engagement programme for sales talent for the Sales Leadership Council 2012 & 2013 Forum• Student recruitment and marketing lead for the first institutional partnership in EMA with UK HEI to create new postgraduate qualifications• Turned round a marketing team to deliver the profit number for first time in 5 years through pricing strategy, effective marketing budget management and cost control

• Turned around UK performance and achieved UK goal in first year in post for the first time in 3 years • Achieved target hitting performance 3 years in a row; 103% goal in 2007; 105% goal in 2008; 104% in 2009• Designed content and delivery of sales module for the global talent development programme, Pearson Career Development Programme Sales modules 2008 – 2011

Uk

• Nominated and attended Pearson Forum in 2004 which is a programme for the identification of top 100 rising stars and future leaders from 40,000 employees• Co-founder of Pearson Applied Selling Skills Sales Model –model initially developed for UK HE region, but now used in all divisions in all key global markets in Pearson• Team awards most recently included “Rep of the Year” 2006; “Rookie of the Year” 2006; “Top S&H Performer” 2006; “Top Custom Performer” 2006

London, United Kingdom

• Won “Rep of the Year” Award in 2000 in EMA - first person in UK to win this award • Achieved target hitting performance 3 years in a row; 100% goal in 1999; 146% in 2000; 101% in 2001

Whitehall, London

• Worked on secondment with DFID, part of the UK Government, to look at how Higher Education contributes to development through the production of people with useable professional skills and to economic growth• Selected by Pearson Executive Board members to represent Pearson on 9 month secondment.• Led the private sector and innovation policy products work stream designing strategy and formulating implementation plans for projects and programmes of £50m+.• Worked on four government papers reviewing current and future supply and demand, the policy levers involved and policy products for higher education in 28 DFID focus countries• Key output is SPHEIR, a new £45 million DFID fund launched in 2016 to support higher education transformation in focus countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East. http://www.spheir.org.uk/

Leeds, United Kingdom

• Created entrepreneurial scheme for parents to load credit onto student accounts to drive sales and maximise cash flow across whole store• Arranged marketing and promotion of credit scheme to parents for maximum uptake of scheme across whole university • Credit scheme increased sales in all subject areas by 10% year on year• Introduced efficient stock control measures to increase profitability

Leeds, United Kingdom

• Managed of a variety of public houses in the Leeds & Yorkshire region• Achieved highest weekly sales in the UK as part of the “Original Oak” management team in Leeds with over £70K in one week• Key management team member in opening of new flagship outlet “Swans” in Leeds• Awarded National Licensee Certificate and completed “Train the Trainer” certificate• Ran successful profit and loss accounts through effective sales, merchandising, staff scheduling and stock management processes

Master Of Arts - Ma, Nature And Travel Writing, Distinction

Certificate, Lead To Succeed

Bachelor Of Science - Bsc (Hons), Zoology, 2:1

Education record

A Levels: Biology (A) Chemistry (A) Sociology (A) Music (A)