No.44 Carol Coombes

Jul 16 2007 Power 50

Carol Coombes believes in human potential, and much of her working life has been spent helping people achieve it.

In her current role as a Birmingham-based senior consultant with human resources consultancy Caret, she's responsible for helping business leaders achieve their potential and play major part in their organisation's growth.

She believes there are real and measurable bottom-line benefits to an organisation if staff enjoy their work and get recognition for their contribution to the organisation's long-term aims. She works strategically with management teams to ensure sustainable change and growth.

Caret works with chief executives, senior management teams and company boards to improve organisations and businesses through the best use of the talents and strengths of its people. Carol brings extensive experience of social economic regeneration to the job, having set up a number community enterprises which have had a positive impact on the city. She conceived and developed the first mobile creche, an idea now replicated across the UK, she established and supported a number of new enterprises, and developed 'off the shelf' packages to mobilise talents within disadvantaged communities.

She was chief executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau in Birmingham, managing through a period of change to ensure its sustainability. In 2001 she was instrumental in a public campaign to save the advice bureau when it faced bankruptcy.

When CAB's future was secure she left to head up the Birmingham Office of Common Purpose, a post she held for three years. Common Purpose is an international educational trust with the aim of helping senior people become more effective in their own organisations, but also in their communities and society as a whole. The organisation's premise is that the benefit of better leaders isn't confined to the workplace.