A road less travelled

Bridget Lea’s journey to the heart of some of the UK’s famous retail companies wasn’t your
usual career path.

Now Managing Director of Commercial at BT/EE, Lea’s route to the top had humble beginnings just
north of Manchester city centre, in Cheetham Hill.

Lea was a young mum, driven by a desire to give her daughters the best future possible.

It was the start of the journey that saw Lea working across some of the most famous retail names in
the UK, and she now boasts 25 years’ experience in the sector.

“I had two part-time jobs, was studying for my degree and looking after the kids. I really don’t know
how I did it,” Lea said.

The proud Mancunian now works hard to nurture talent from all backgrounds — as well as helping
Manchester Met as a governor, the same University where it all began for Lea.

It was her experience working part-time filing at Co-op’s head office — which fitted in with looking
after her young children — that inspired her to do a degree.

Over time, she was given more tasks and was eventually looking after graduate trainees. And while Lea enjoyed having more responsibility, she wanted more for herself and her family.

She said: “After spending time with graduates, I realised they weren’t that different after all. But they had something I didn’t have, which was a degree and brilliant prospects.

“I was really interested in technology and immediately thought of Manchester Met. I was accepted on the IT course, which I was really excited about because it was the beginning of something new.

“Hats off to my tutors, who must have seen I was juggling a lot of plates. Not only did they give me the sort of skills and knowledge I needed to achieve a 2:1, but they gave me a huge amount of emotional support as well.”

To the top

When Lea graduated in 1994, she knew she wanted to work for what was perceived as a good brand. One such big name was Marks and Spencer. It was a difficult scheme to get on to at the time but, after already jumping though many hurdles, Lea was up for the challenge.

“I was offered a place on the graduate scheme and felt very lucky because, at the time, they were very focused on graduates having mobility across the whole of the UK,” she said.

“I couldn’t move out of Manchester because I had little children and my network was quite small in the north, but as I passed all my entry requirements, they said it would be fine.

“Marks and Spencer was a really good place to start my career. They taught me how to lead teams from day one, deliver commercial results, motivate people and how to reward.

“I stayed there for four to five years and worked my way up from a graduate trainee to a junior manager and did store manager roles and departmental roles.”

After leaving Marks and Spencer, Lea went into her first area management role at the Body Shop and later went on to work for a number of brands, including Uniqlo, Sainsburys, O2 and Topshop, where she learned how to be her ‘authentic self’ in leadership and ‘shape teams.’

She said: “I had a pivotal moment at Topshop when I found myself working for a really amazing female leader, Jane Shepherdson.

“At that point in time, the company was going from strength to strength. But what I loved about it was not just the success of the business but having a diverse team with senior females empowering other females, and communities being well represented.

“She made me think differently again about leadership; it’s not just about being your authentic self, but the power you have as a leader to really create and shape and make amazing, diverse teams that can do things that nobody could ever even imagine were possible. So, that sort of game changing mentality, I think I definitely got from her.”

Now Managing Director of Commercial at BT EE, Lea is committed to delivering innovative products and services to all customers. Her goal is to create the most seamless and inspiring customer experiences in the industry, whether online, over the phone or in-store.

Spotting talent

As a Black woman, Lea has always been passionate about creating high-performing teams and nurturing talent from all backgrounds.

She sees how both graduate and apprenticeship programmes provide vital starts for young people in
their careers.

She said: “I am very keen to ensure that I try and notice talent everywhere, not just in the obvious
places, and I’m a big advocate of graduate schemes because I think they give you a leg up. But that isn’t the only place where talent lives.

“There are incredible apprenticeship schemes now which big organisations are embracing, and some incredible talent comes from there.”

BT/EE is part of the 10,000 Black Interns Programme, where talented young people who are at the end of their degrees or have recently graduated gain experience and exposure to corporate organisations.

“We brought in eight interns last year and have another 30 coming in this year across the Consumer
division, and 40 across the BT Group,” Lea said. “Not only have they brought their talent and skills they have developed at university, but also different perspectives and fresh ways of looking at the world.

“I feel as leaders, it is up to us to spot talent in other places. I’ve brought people in who didn’t believe that they could work in a head office environment and realised that they are just as capable as anyone.

“At BT/EE, I try to foster a culture which encourages growth, and provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to thrive. It’s important to me to create diverse teams and I encourage everyone to bring their authentic selves to work.”

Giving back

Lea has also been on Manchester Met’s Board of Governors since August 2022, helping to share
knowledge and insight on the University’s mission, while giving back to the city and University where
her journey to the top all began.

“I am proud of being on the Board of Governors at Manchester Met,” she said. “Vice-Chancellor Professor Malcolm Press is incredible, and I’m so pleased my hometown, my city, has got somebody like him to help lead the way for the future.

“I’ve met some people with Interesting backgrounds themselves, and they all bring something
different to that team. Whatever I can do to support the University, I will absolutely do.”