Samantha Barber has been appointed chairman of Iberdrola’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee, a committee of independent directors that reports to the Iberdrola Board.
The CSR Committee, which was created in October 2010, is responsible for supervising the company’s CSR policy, developing social commitments to the communities in which it operates and managing relations with the Iberdrola Foundation, the company’s charitable programme.
The three member committee, which includes Braulio Medel, and María Helena Antolin Raybaud, also has responsibility for driving improvements to Iberdrola’s CSR activities and managing the evolution of the company’s social strategy.
Iberdrola features prominently in the leading global indices for sustainability, including the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and Europe Index where it has figured for the past 11 years, as well as the FTSE4Good, Storebrand Investments SRI and the ET Carbon Ranking Global 800.
Samantha Barber said: “Iberdrola is built on a foundation of respecting and working closely with the communities in which it operates. As a global organisation, it is committed to doing business responsibly. I am very pleased to be taking on this role within Iberdrola, and I look forward to working with the other committee members and the Board of Directors to oversee our commitments in the area of corporate social responsibility.”
Commenting on the appointment, Ignacio Galán, Chairman Iberdrola and ScottishPower said: “I am very pleased that Samantha Barber has taken on this important role. Ms Barber has been a member of Iberdrola’s Board of Directors since July 2008. In that time, she has shown a great deal of enthusiasm towards our social direction and corporate governance. I am sure Ms Barber will be an excellent chairman of the CSR Committee and will help to further improve our social policies and community relations.”
Ms Barber’s appointment reflects the international nature of the Iberdrola Group, which has fostered a policy of active integration and international cross-transfer of executives working for the group around the world. Many professionals from ScottishPower have held posts at Iberdrola’s head office and elsewhere in Spain, as well as taking up appointments in the group’s U.S. subsidiaries and elsewhere.
Notes to Editors:
Samantha Barber
Samantha has worked at CEO and Board Level in both domestic and international companies and has extensive strategic business experience. With particular focus on multi-stakeholder, complex organisations she has worked across sectors for over fifteen years, delivering tangible growth & results to effect change.
Samantha qualified with a BAHons in Applied Foreign Languages & European Politics with a Post Graduate in EC Law. She started her career as a Policy Advisor in the European Parliament focusing on the Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee. She then became the Director of Business for Scotland, followed by nine years as CEO of Scottish Business in the Community led by HRH the Prince of Wales as President.
She was appointed to the Advisory Board of Scottish Power in 2007, post acquisition by Iberdrola, and was subsequently appointed to the Board of Iberdrola in July 2008 where she is also Chairman of the Board CSR Committee. Samantha is also an Advisory Board member for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and a business advisor to a start-up business, Chamomile Sanctuary and sits on the 2020 Group on Climate Change.
Samantha is a Fellow of the RSA, an Honorary Professor at Glasgow University and was a Finalist for Non-Executive Director of the Year 2012 at the IoD Scotland Awards.