Debbie Sheen
Current Council Member; Colleague Member
Occupation: Motor Product Consultant - Insurance
Co-operative Businesses traded with in last 12 months Food, Insurance and Bank
Skills and experience
I have worked for the Co-op for over 30 years and I’m proud to say that. I have been a Council Member for the past three years and worked hard holding the Board to account on behalf of members. I would love the opportunity to continue serving members, and say to them, “here’s your share of the profits, and you can be proud of how we’ve generated them”.
Additional information
As a Council Member I have fully contributed to the various roles the Council fulfils. As well as attending and contributing to the bi-monthly meeting I put myself forward for other roles within the Council. I was elected for the Business Performance Committee which focuses on financial performance, selected for Brand Working Group inputting into the launch of the 5+1 and was part of the working group looking at Diversity.
One of the areas I think we need to develop as a Council is our communication with members and I am committed to ensuring this happens. I have completed all the training courses relevant to my role as a Council Member:
- Effective Governance
- Understanding Financial Information
- Applying our Values and Principles
- Working Together Effectively
- Developing an Engaged Membership
I feel honoured to have been part of the Council at such an exciting time, this year we have:
-Returned £70m to members
-£20m from the 1% local community fund was paid out to thousands of local causes across the UK.
-Supporting the Modern Slavery Bill and offering victims jobs within the Co-op. -Campaigns to tackle loneliness with £5.5m raised for British Red Cross to support work to reconnect 12,500 people with their communities
I am proud of the Co-op’s charity and social responsibility work from leading the way in Fairtrade to our commitment to animal welfare and British farming. I myself have helped raised lots of money supporting co-operative charities and even ran the Manchester 10K to raise money. Whilst working for the co-operative I have supported their commitment to education. Through the Co-op’s volunteering programme I helped out at a school near the centre of Manchester to help children struggling with maths, by playing numeric games to develop their confidence with numbers.
I work in the General Insurance area of the business and have carried out various roles during my career from Customer Advisor to Job Analyst to Underwriter. I have a professional insurance qualification (A.C.I.I.) and am fully conversant with financial information and business strategies. Currently I work as a Motor Product Consultant and as such support the delivery of the motor products financial plan.
My job involves working with lots of people across the organisation at different levels, from discussing product information with Customer Advisors to presenting business strategies to senior management. In doing this I have gained excellent interpersonal skills and strategic thinking.
I am 48 years old and in live in Middleton, Rochdale with my husband Steve and our two sons, Marcus and Harvey and our dog Jessie. I think like most members of the Co-op, I value the part it plays in local communities. I like to get involved in my community and have been a Sunday school teacher at my local church, a leader in a local scouts group and on the PTA for my son’s school.