Carmen Watson, chair and managing director of Pertemps, is one of the UK’s most successful recruitment leaders. Watson joined Pertemps in 1976 as a secretary and grew revenue tenfold between 1983 and 2000. She became managing director in 2000 and chair in 2012. In 2018, Watson was named Director of the Year by The Institute of Directors in West Midlands and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the REC IRP Awards in London. She is trustee and chair of the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s Women in Business patrons’ group, a member of the executive leadership team of Race for Opportunity charity and a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.