Jackie Arnold doesn’t really know the meaning of the phrase “glass ceiling”.


The proud Barrovian has forged a high-flying career in industries that have, by and large, been male-dominated preserves. Notably at the submarine builder BAE Systems where she spent 19 years, most of them as head of strategy.
That success is all the more remarkable when you consider that she didn’t go to university and never strayed too far from her hometown.

Her latest role is as chair of the Cumberland Building Society, the first woman to occupy the hot seat in its 174-year history.
“I’m incredibly delighted to have this opportunity and the fact that I’m the first woman to be elected as chair is an added bonus,” she said.
“Around 50 per cent of roles, executive and board level, are now filled by women, up from only 19 per cent five years ago. I’m in no doubt that’s a significant indication that I won’t be the last.”
Jackie has already served six years as a non-executive director of the Cumberland, Cumbria’s largest financial institution.

Based in Carlisle, it has assets of £3.2bn, mortgage lending of £2.59bn, and over 30 branches across Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and southern Scotland.
“The Cumberland is a really neat fit for me,” said Jackie. “It was an opportunity to engage with another anchor institution within Cumbria, having spent time at BAE, the University and the LEP.”
She is a passionate advocate of the mutual model where the society is owned by, and run for the benefit of, its members the savers and borrowers.

The Cumberland’s central purpose is to ‘create a banking experience that’s kinder to people and the planet’.
“Over the last five years there has been a shift towards businesses having a greater emphasis on the social-purpose agenda,” Jackie said.

“Mutuality captures so much of that. There are no shareholders to pay and social purpose is inherent in the business and the way that it’s run.
“There is still an extensive branch network, and when you call the Cumberland you speak directly to a real person. And we look after our Cumberland colleagues. Equally importantly, I love the work that we undertake in the community. We do that incredibly well.
“We live by these values and measure ourselves by them. The Cumberland is a shining example of how a business should be operated.”