Lilian Margery Bennett
IN AN era in which women were expected to stay at home, Lilian Bennett was one of the first to break the glass ceiling and achieve a place in a UK boardroom. The daughter of schoolteacher Maurice Barnett and granddaughter of a United Synagogue minister, she grew up with her three sisters in East London but the family moved to Brentwood, Essex at the outbreak of the Second World War.
An exceptionally able and gifted student, she attended Brentwood boys’ school because she wanted to study subjects normally unavailable to local girls. Anecdotal accounts describe how she took care of herself in the roughand-tumble of a boys’ school with the help of a “favourite” umbrella.
In 1941, she won a scholarship to study medicine at the Royal Free Hospital. However, the war and personal circumstances prevented her from accepting, although she kept her letter from the Royal Free with its offer of a place whenever she felt ready. Many years later, and in retirement, she regularly threatened to take it up.
Lilian joined Thermo-Plastics Ltd of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, starting as an office junior, and rising to become sales director in 1957 — an extraordinary achievement at the time. She married Ronald Bennett in 1952.
In 1968, she joined the then ailing UK branch of Manpower PLC, as part of a new, young management team with responsibility for marketing services. Her brilliance was recognised, and she was soon made general manager of operations, subsequently becoming a main board member with responsibility for strategic planning and business development. She was appointed UK chief executive and chairman of Manpower PLC in 1990.
There, she was instrumental in shap- ing the American parent company’s direction in the UK and the contemporary work-place. She understood the importance of matching detailed job specifications from would-be employers to the skills of her temporary workers, ensuring that their assessment and training met the demands of sudden personnel shortages.
The company became widely respected for initiating and developing its own “Skillware”, office-based training programme to upgrade the skills needed for modern temporary work. This was soon adapted and rolled out to other branches across the world. She knew that, by listening to, and rapidly acting on, management feedback concerning the aspirations of Manpower temporary staff, they would be engaged, gain qualifications and remain loyal to the company. She was consulted widely on employment issues, both nationally and internationally. Over time, the Manpower logo and name became one of the most familiar trade-marks in the UK.
Lilian maintained interest in wider social issues including prison reform and education. Once, she heard a radio interview with Lord Windlesham with which she so disagreed that she immediately wrote explaining why. This resulted in her serving as a member of the Parole Board for some years.
Lilian was committed to charity work with the Butler Trust, Community Service Volunteers, and the Rathbone Society. She was particularly proud of her role as a trustee of the “Irene Taylor Trust — Music in Prisons” from its foundation until 2008. She was widely admired for her wisdom, her practical approach to complex issues, her integrity and commitment. Lilian was made OBE in 1993 for services to employment and the Butler Trust
She is survived by her sister Doreen, her son Jon and daughter-in-law, and her four grandchildren.