Jo Haigh

Jo Haigh is a partner in fds Corporate Finance Services, with bases in London, Birmingham and Yorkshire, and a partner in the fds Group, a specialist training and development business.

An experienced dealmaker, Jo specialises in putting together the right deal at the right time and in the right format for growing businesses throughout the country. She has bought and sold over 300 companies in the last 20 years specialising in owner managed companies.

She is a regular presenter for the Institute of Directors on corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions.

As a Partner of fds group, a highly successful training and consultancy organisation she founded at the start of the 90’s, she has held circa 40 + Non-Executive Roles over that period in companies across the country and helped many businesses through successful transactions. She has sold 3 of her own companies and undertaken 2 personal MBO’s.

She is a Visiting Fellow at The University of Leeds where she delivers the Corporate Governance development programme for all academic staff wishing to hive off new companies, in addition to training and developing non-executive directors appointed to University Companies whose role is to represent University interests.

She is currently Non-Executive Director of 6 companies; Anchor Magnets Ltd, Sticky Content Ltd, Talent Training and Talent services Holding Ltd, TPD Corporate Finance and Imperative Training Ltd. She also sits on the board for the Angelus Advisory Group, and has a close affiliate relationship with ABG (Arram Berlyn Gardner www.abggroup.co.uk) providing their corporate finance services.

Awards/titles/achievements:-

Finalist for the 2011 IoD Awards in the Business Advisor Category
Finalist in the 2011 Sue Ryder Women of Achievement Awards
Recently published a book for the FT called Finance for Non-Financial Managers
RealBusiness.co.uk columnist
On the advisory board of the Angelus Advisory Group
Part of the judging panel for the Growing Business Awards 2010
Short listed for the Forward Ladies Women in Business Awards 2010 in the Corporate Leader category.
Named in the Yorkshire Post top 100 entrepreneurs 2010.
Finalist to final 3 stage in the Women of the Future Awards – Mentor of the Year category 2009
Winner of IoD Business Advisor of the Year 2009 and 2006
Nominated for Financial News’ Top 100 Most Influential Women in Finance 2009.
Entered into the 2008 edition of “Who’s Who of Britain’s Business Elite”.
Finalist in the First Women CBI Awards 2007, in the Finance category.
Voted ‘Star Speaker’ and ‘Outperforming Speaker’ at the Vistage Annual Speakers Awards 2008 2007, 2006 and 2005.
Jo is an Ambassador of Huddersfield along with Joanne Harris.
Selected as a ‘woman of achievement’ at the prestigious Women of the Year lunch, which brings together outstanding women from all walks of life. The ceremony was held in London on October 16, 2006.
Jo was one of the first corporate financiers in the country to receive a new qualification based on her past experience alone. The prestigious advanced diploma in corporate finance was awarded by the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales.
Recipient of a 2006 Woman of Achievement Award by the American Biographical Institute.
Yorkshire Businesswoman of the Year 2005
Her first book, The Business Rules, published 2005 and 2006, was such a success that a foreign rights deal has been confirmed with a publisher in China. Jo’s second book, An Entrepreneur’s Guide, was published in March 2007 and her third book, Tales from the Glass Ceiling - A Survival Guide for Women in Business, was published in June 2008 and sold out of its first reprint after 5 days It was best selling business book of the year 2008 selling over 500k copies.