Managing Your Career To Senior Leadership

Trained as a lawyer, Suzanne Wise has held numerous senior management positions in international companies in a wide variety of sectors: public transportation, food, tobacco, etc., while enjoying a fulfilling family life. 

What lessons does Suzanne draw from this busy professional life?  What would she do differently if she had to do it all over again? How to benefit from coaching, mentoring and networking?  How to assess the risks that need to be taken, why go outside the comfort zone?  Very often, it is our personal barriers or biased perceptions of our own skills that keep us from getting ahead. Suzanne will talk to us honestly about her own positive and negative experiences.  Join us in this session and learn from Suzanne’s tips and advice from her rich professional background. A career is built over time and it’s never too late to benefit from the advice of others.

Short biography of Suzanne Wise

Suzanne Wise – Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, JT International – is a British national, appointed to the JTI Executive Committee as Senior Vice President Corporate Development in June 2017.

In her current position as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Suzanne’s responsibilities include Corporate Communications, Fiscal Affairs & Anti-Illicit Trade, Corporate Sustainability, and Public Affairs.

In 1989 Suzanne Wise joined Gallaher Group Plc, and then went on to become Group Head of Legal in 2001.

After leaving Gallaher in 2007, Suzanne held the position of General Counsel & Company Secretary at Premier Foods Plc. She later extended her responsibilities to include Communications, Internal Audit and CSR. Suzanne was a member of the group’s Executive Board, sitting on the CSR Steering Committee and chairing the Risk Review Group and Policy Steering Group.

In 2012, she joined Network Rail Plc as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary. As an Executive Committee member, Suzanne was also responsible for Legal Services, Transparency & Business Ethics, Freedom of Information, Business Change and Information Governance.