Julie Ann Acey

I am passionate about people, about fairness, creating opportunity and doing the right thing.  That’s why I applied for this role, as I believe these are the core principles of the Cooperative.

Professionally, I bring strategic leadership, community commitment, and human centred values that align powerfully with the Co operative’s purpose and operating principles. With a career spanning finance, retail, transport and public service industries, I offer the breadth, depth and values based leadership that strengthen a modern, community focused board.

Personally, I am a working mum, who understands the challenges of modern day lifestyles, juggling time, money and personal commitments, but being passionate about doing what is within my power to make our community as great as it can be.

1. Deep Strategic and Commercial Experience Across Regulated, Customer Led Sectors

I have held senior leadership roles in organisations undergoing significant transformation, making her well placed to contribute to strategic oversight and long term planning.

Key strengths:

• Nearly 20 years in the finance industry, including leading strategy for RBS International and shaping consumer banking design strategy for RBS UK.

• Senior leadership roles at Ports of Jersey, spanning customer experience, brand, engineering and cultural change.

• Experienced in operational transformation, service redesign, and customer centric business models; highly relevant to the Co op’s retail, member and community functions.

My blend of commercial acumen and service culture design aligns well with boards seeking to balance financial sustainability with social purpose.

2. Human Centric Leadership Aligned to Co operative Values

I am known for a leadership approach rooted in people, empowerment, service and purpose. This directly reflects the Co op’s values of democracy, equality, self help and community benefit.

I bring:

• A strong track record in customer experience, organisational culture, and employee engagement.

• A reputation for inclusive leadership, promoting diverse voices and enabling others to succeed.

• Practical experience leading teams in traditionally male dominated industries (engineering, transport, finance), which strengthens gender balance and representation at board level.

3. Strong Governance Credentials

I am professionally qualified for governance roles, bringing both technical and behavioural strengths required of a Non-Executive Director.

Qualifications include:

• Chartered Director Diploma (IoD) – demonstrating high standards of governance and board level competence.

• Fellow of CIMA – evidencing strong financial literacy and scrutiny capability.

• First Class Honours Degree in Accounting – grounding in financial, risk and audit considerations.

My combination of financial expertise and governance training makes me a confident contributor to Audit & Risk or Remuneration committees.

4. Demonstrated Commitment to Education, Equality and Community – Core to Co op Purpose

My goal is to give-back what I can, which I believe embodies the Co operative principle of being.

My contribution to the island community is significant and sustained:

• Former Chair of the Highlands College Governing Board, leading oversight of Jersey’s further education institution.

• Long term advocate for STEM education, mentoring and youth empowerment.

• 30+ years of charity volunteering, including fundraising for Children 1st.

• Active member of Jersey’s community sporting events and local environmental/sporting groups.

• Passionate about serving organisations that invest in their community, reflecting my belief in shared benefit and long-term social value.

This alignment between personal values and Co op purpose (community, fairness, shared ownership, social responsibility) strengthens cultural fit at board level.

5. Skilled in Customer Insight, Service Design and Brand—Key Drivers of Co op Growth

The Co op operates in highly competitive and trust-sensitive markets. My expertise is directly relevant:

• Customer insight and research

• Brand development and authenticity

• Service design and customer experience improvement

• Embedding purpose-led cultures

• Digital and operational experience across multi site networks (finance branches, airports, ports)

I bring a valuable external perspective that complements operational leadership.

6. A Balanced, Progressive, Independent Voice

I am recognised as:

• Pragmatic and commercially aware

• Values-led with a strong moral compass

• Curious, collaborative and challenging in the right way

• Comfortable holding senior executives to account while supporting their success

My independence of thought, combined with deep experience in people-centred transformation, adds strength to the board’s collective capability.

In Summary: What makes me an Excellent NED Candidate for the Co operative

I bring:

• Proven senior leadership across finance, retail and transport

• Strong governance and financial qualifications

• A human-centred approach aligned to Co op values

• Deep community commitment and public service orientation

• Strategic, transformational and cultural leadership expertise

• A track record of empowering teams and championing equality

Above all, I am passionate about serving an organisation that puts community first, making the Co operative a natural fit.

Proposer – Jenna Johnson Rayner

Seconder – Rita Parmar

> Vote for Julie Ann here