Vote 100

Her passion for diversity and specifically, in helping women further their careers, is just one reason why account director, Yvonne Breen, from Royal Mail Sales has been nominated for our Vote 100 campaign.

Field sales manager, Declan Breen, said: ‘Yvonne started on the Post Office counter in Rusholme, Manchester 33 years ago. She moved to Royal Mail Sales in 1987 working on national accounts, and joined Parcelforce in 1988.

‘She has worked across the UK in a number of sales roles, the highlight coming in 2016, when she received the Salesperson of the Year award for Royal Mail Sales.

‘She is currently an account director managing a portfolio which includes, British Gas, Sky, News UK and BT. This year, she has secured more than £60m worth of business across the two biggest utility providers in the UK.

‘Yvonne lives the Royal Mail values and she is particularly passionate about diversity. She sits on the sales diversity group and she has represented Royal Mail at both London and Manchester Pride for the last two years.

‘She is also working closely with the marketing director of Costco Wholesale UK benchmarking Royal Mail’s approach to diversity and specifically, opportunities for women in leadership roles. She now sits on the UK committee for LEAD - a not for profit organisation which supports the development of women in senior executive roles across the retail/wholesale sector.

‘Yvonne is my wife and most importantly, the mother to our three boys. She is incredibly hard working, inspirational and great fun. She’s a true role model to any young women joining Royal Mail.’

‘I am so proud to work for Royal Mail and everything we have achieved as an employer and a business,’ said Yvonne. ‘As well as my job as an account director, being involved in the various diversity groups is a passion of mine and it certainly crosses over into my business meetings as all my customers have a strong ethical, diversity and inclusion agenda and purpose.

‘I work within a great team led by head of sector, Jim Cahill. We look after the top 25 customers for Royal Mail and the challenge is to sell new business, gain strategic connections and develop exceptional business partnerships. It is both an extremely tough and rewarding environment and Jim ensures we achieve our goals by coaching, development and sharing our joint experiences.

‘I also work with a virtual team of contract managers and customer experience who basically keep me sane and really deal with the daily challenges demanded by our customers. No one day is the same and I particularly enjoy meetings with my customers, securing new contracts and working across the many departments in Royal Mail from commercial product & pricing to operations and everything in between.

‘My team inspires me with their achievements and we support each other brilliantly with a large dollop of humour which always helps! I’m continually inspired by the great women I meet in Royal Mail. To name just a few examples; my close friend Tracy Barnett MBE is a successful saleswoman and charity leader who has been recognised at the highest level for her drive and humanity, Stella Leigh, sales commission manager, has brilliantly led the sales diversity group with such intelligence and enthusiasm, and I was extremely fortunate to be mentored last year by Pauline Vickers, international export director, who challenged and supported me in my personal development to such a high level.

‘My advice to other women is to constantly look for role models and ask for their advice and feedback. Try to be brave and push yourself outside of your comfort zone and finally, most importantly, be kind and supportive to other women every day.’

Vote 100

 []

Our Vote 100 campaign is your chance to help us showcase the enormous contribution Royal Mail women make each and every day both to colleagues and customers, ensuring we remain the UK’s most trusted postal operator.

If there is someone in your workplace who you admire for their outstanding work ethic, their drive to improve their own and others’ skills, their knack for supporting or mentoring others, showing kindness, overcoming obstacles, or influencing positive behaviour – we want to hear from you!

Please send your name and contact details plus the name of the colleague you wish to nominate to vote100@royalmail.com. We will then be in touch to obtain further details.