Nicola Clargo
Senior Assistant Company Secretary @Canada Life UK
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WORK HISTORY
Senior Assistant Company Secretary @Canada Life UK
I joined Canada Life at a pivotal moment of leadership change and modernisation. With ownership of end-to-end governance for two UK regulated entities that form part of the Great-West Lifeco group, I have refocused management committee-level activity, enabling the Secretariat to concentrate on advisory support, streamlined processes and improved governance quality.Alongside my core role, I lead the Employee Consultation Forum and founded the Canada Life Choir, building connection, wellbeing and a strong sense of community. Achieved unqualified approval for multi-jurisdictional internal refinancing as leader of CoSec workstream. Improved efficiency of the directors’ annual governance processes with a secure digital solution design and implementation. Aligned the autonomous regulated entity with group governance standards. Strengthened operational resilience, business continuity and mitigated key man risk through the creation of a scalable CoSec function through comprehensive process notes.Areas of expertise include: Agendas Communication Skills Company Secretarial Corporate Governance Secretariat Company Law Finance Financial Services Governance Frameworks INEDs Legislation Minutes Regulatory Regulatory Compliance Regulatory Developments Regulatory Reviews SMCR Stakeholder Management Succession Planning Team Leadership Training Writing
EDUCATION
Birkbeck, University of London
Master of Science (MSc), Corporate Governance and Ethics
Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Bachelor's degree, Violin Major
Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
Qualified Company Secretary
SKILLS
ABOUT NICOLA CLARGO
I am a corporate governance and ethics master, and company secretarial leader with 20 years’ experience across insurance, banking, housing and the NHS, including senior roles at Canada Life, BNY Mellon and Schroders. I help boards and senior executives uphold the highest standards of governance, statutory compliance and ethical conduct leading to better decision-making.What motivates me is creating governance that endures and ensuring today’s decisions, frameworks and processes serve future boards and teams. Hence, I invest in strong design, clear documentation and training, and always seek better ways of working, often harnessing technology to achieve this.I believe governance is a human discipline. Company law, directors’ duties and legal entity structures are often poorly understood, so I lead with empathy, clarity and integrity, while maintaining firm boundaries and high professional standards.When designing and operating governance frameworks, I balance rigour with practicality. My strength lies in combining big-picture thinking with disciplined execution, particularly in highly regulated, complex or changing environments. At Canada Life, I maintained the governance framework for several regulated entities during a CEO-led modernisation. Here, I clarified management committee activity, enabling the Secretariat to focus on advisory contribution.Known for building trust and credibility with Chairs, INEDs and senior executives, including previously damaged relationships, as CoSec at BNY Mellon, I repaired a relationship with a regulated subsidiary; I reset ways of working and introduced pre-meeting briefings that re-established trust at Chair and CEO level. With sound judgement, calm delivery and the ability to bring structure where needed, I enable greater effectiveness, clear accountability and governance that genuinely supports leadership rather than slowing it down with bureaucracy.My work consistently focuses on board effectiveness and decision quality. At BNY Mellon, I materially improved board papers, director experience and boardroom dialogue by managing the rollout of report training and coaching, and simultaneously implemented Diligent Board Books. Likewise, at Schroders, I delivered training in response to Board feedback that resulted in clearer, more focused papers.I am interested in governance, company secretarial and advisory roles where influence, trust and long-term thinking matter. Let’s connect if you want to know more about building effective boards, navigating regulation or re-shaping governance for the future.
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