Our Team

With over 30 years’ business experience intertwining periods of corporate life and self-employment Gwen Rhys set up Networking Culture in 1996. She works with a wide range of organisations helping them and their employees to build, nurture and leverage their social capital.

Networking Culture Ltd is also responsible for launching, managing and developing several brands, including Women in the City, an out-of-town pop-up venue known as space.

Gwen has worked extensively in the corporate sector and her clients include organisations such as Intel, ICI, Shell, M&S; high street and investment banks, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Lloyds TSB, Barclays Capital; nation-wide charities such as British Heart Foundation; universities including the London Business School, Cranfield and Oxford Brookes; professional practices including BDO, Withers; Hamilton LLP, Allianz Bernstein; trade associations and small business support organisations.

A frequent conference speaker, Gwen mentors students and young professionals, and is a local town councillor.

In 2008 she became the second woman since 1664 to be appointed Assistant to the Court of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, one of the City’s ancient Livery companies and was apppointed Renter Warden, one of the Company's three senior roles,  in 2012. She also sits on the Company's Finance and General Purposes Committee.

A Freeman of the City of London, Gwen is a member of the Queenhithe and Aldgate Ward Clubs,  a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of Forum UK. 

In 2009 Gwen was nominated Management Champion by the City Branch of the Chartered Management Institute. In 2011 Women in the City won an international Stevie Women in Business Award in the Women Helping Women Category and a Global Excellence Award for its Annual Celebration Lunch. In 2012 she appeared in Brummell magazine's 30 Most Influential Women in the City List.  

View Gwen Rhys's profile

With an MA (Oxon) and an MSc from Henley Management College, Peter had a successful career for over 20 years at British Airways where his final role was within the Information Management Department as a Programme Manager. Skilled in Six Sigma and Lean process tools, he managed major change programmes across the airline.

Peter became a director of Networking Culture in 2010 and as well as being responsible for developing the space brand, is supporting the development of Women in the City through providing enhanced information and reporting processes.

He is a liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers and a member of the Croughton USAF British-American Committee.

Marianne joined the Women in the City team in 2009 and is  responsible for the smooth running of the Awards Programme including the Award Ceremonies. 

Before taking a career break in 1998 to raise a family, Marianne built up a successful Unipart Centre business with her parents.   Although the mostly male customers ignored her at first, her extensive knowledge of car parts soon won them over.

On returning to full-time employment in 2005 Marianne worked as a recruitment consultant before deciding to provide a range of business support services on a freelance basis.

She is a Brownie Guider, a former Governor of a local primary school and a member of the local Carnival Committee.  On top of all this she’s a keen gardener and DIY-er, keeps chickens, ices cakes,  enjoys exploring the countryside, finds time for the gym and likes to get stuck into something new.

Our Greeting Team is made up of students and young professionals. Being part of the Greeting Team offers a valuable opportunity to young people enabling them to network with senior level women; discover more about career options within the City; develop social skills; enhance their confidence and give them something very positive to put on their CVs and talk about at job interviews.

Members of the Greeting Team all wear a Women in the City shirt, have a special Women in the City name badge and receive payment towards travel expenses.

Greeting Team members welcome guests at our networking events, Awards Programme events and the Annual Celebration Lunch.

If you would like to be part of the team, please email Marianne Bosak, telling her about yourself and why you'd like to join.

When Chandni Sood joined the Greeting Team she was an undergraduate law student at City University. Now working as a trainee solicitorl at Allen & Overy she's the Team Leader. This is how she describes the benefits of being a member of the Greeting Team.

"As well as attending and helping at the glamorous and prestigious awards function, it is a chance to meet the most influential women in the City from every field. In a nutshell, it is a chance to network, connect and make friends whilst having a great time! I would thoroughly recommend this for every aspiring student - it can really open doors for the future."