Susan Jackson: From Elite Sport to Business Leadership

For Susan Jackson, the lessons of leadership were shaped as much outside the boardroom as within it.

A trained chartered accountant, Susan spent 12 years at Deloitte before moving into the charitable sector and later joining her family business, Campion Homes. Alongside her professional career, she was also a member of the Scotland and Great Britain shooting teams, competing at three Commonwealth Games.

Although the two experiences were very different, Susan found that the lessons from sport stayed with her throughout her professional life.

“A lot of what I learned through sport, I absolutely used in my business life.”

Sport taught Susan the importance of discipline, time management and continuous improvement, as well as how to respond to setbacks.

“Resilience and facing disappointment, facing losses, failure, however you wish to describe it and always trying to be better tomorrow than you are today.”

Those lessons have stayed with Susan throughout her career, shaping how she approaches challenges both professionally and personally.

Learning Through Different Experiences

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, she moved from audit into corporate finance at Deloitte. Following the birth of her son in 2006, she moved into the charity sector, joining Winning Scotland Foundation. Initially joining as Programme Manager, Susan later became Senior Director and took on responsibility for running the charity.

One of her most significant projects was developing a role model programme that brought high-performing athletes into schools to share the lessons they had learned through sport. Working alongside athletes from a wide range of disciplines, Susan helped develop the programme through research into the impact of role models and behaviour change.

The experience also gave her a different perspective on leadership. Moving from a large professional services organisation into a smaller organisation meant taking responsibility for everything from finance and HR to fundraising and operations.

“It was a great learning experience from a point of view of running a small business.”

In 2013, Susan joined her father at Campion Homes as Finance Director, later becoming Joint Managing Director in 2017.

It was at this stage that Susan began to think differently about what the business needed to support its continued growth.

Finding the Space to Think Differently

Susan joined the Executive Women in Leadership (EWIL) programme in 2016, at a time when she was Finance Director at Campion Homes.

There was no immediate plan for Susan to become Managing Director, but she recognised that the business was growing and that its existing structures needed to evolve alongside it.

“I knew that there was real opportunity here, but I needed some external support to work out in my own head how I could take this business from the size it was to what I felt was needed.”

Susan put herself forward for the programme and self-funded her place.

As a senior woman working in the construction industry and a member of the family business, she was often the only woman in the boardroom, so for her the timing was significant.

The opportunity to step away from the day-to-day demands of the business and learn alongside other women gave Susan the space to hear different perspectives and challenge her own thinking.

“What I loved about it was that space to think freely in a safe space as well and talk to others away from here.”

“It just it lit so many ideas in my mind and inspired me to come back here and to be brave and to see we need to make change. We have to make change.”

For Susan, one of the most valuable aspects of the programme was not simply gaining new knowledge but finding the confidence and space to consider how she could apply it.

The Value of a Diverse Network

The network created through EWIL has remained an important part of Susan’s experience. She particularly values the diversity of the group, bringing together women from different sectors, functions and backgrounds.

“It’s a very unusual network because it’s so diverse.”

For Susan, that diversity provides opportunities to learn from people she would not necessarily encounter through her professional life. Her own experience demonstrated the practical value of that network. Through connections made on the programme, she was able to engage with people at Scottish Enterprise who helped open doors and support investment in Campion Homes.

“I think that diversity is hugely valuable because we do tend to stick to networks in the same functional area.”

However, beyond the professional connections, Susan values the sense of trust created within the network. As someone who describes herself as an introvert, she remembers how important it was to feel comfortable contributing within the programme.

“I’m much happier listening. But I remember, you know, I would stick my hand up and speak and it was completely safe environment.”

That sense of safety allowed participants to be open about their experiences, challenges and uncertainties without feeling defined by their job titles or professional achievements.

“It did feel like a very, very safe space. Trusted, which is important to me.”

A Network That Endures

Almost a decade on, Susan continues to value the opportunity to reconnect with the network. She describes her involvement as relatively “light touch”, but appreciates being able to attend events, hear from interesting speakers and reconnect with people she has known since the programme.

For Susan, that enduring connection is one of the network’s greatest strengths, that sense of familiarity creates something that can be difficult to find in professional networks, a space where people can step away from their titles and simply be themselves.

“Everybody sees you as you are.”

Looking Ahead

Looking back at her career, Susan’s journey demonstrates how much can be gained from experiences outside your immediate professional environment.

From elite sport and accountancy to charity leadership and the family business, each stage has brought a different perspective and a new set of challenges. Throughout, the same principles have remained, keep learning, respond to setbacks and look for ways to improve.

Susan’s experience of EWIL reinforced the importance of stepping outside your usual environment, creating space to think differently and surrounding yourself with people who can offer challenge, encouragement and practical support.

For Susan, the value of the network lies not only in what happens during the programme, but in the relationships that continue long afterwards. It creates a community where people can return, reconnect and simply be themselves.

Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series

This article forms part of our Executive Women in Leadership Alumni Spotlight Series, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the EWLP programme in September 2026, and has been developed collaboratively with the support of Judy Wagner, Director of FWB Ltd and Prof Susan Murphy of The University of Edinburgh Business School, (who co-founded the EWLP), the EWIL Advisory Board, programme contributors, and interview participants.

The EWLP has since evolved into the Executive Leadership Programme (ELP), delivered in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Business School and open to leaders of all genders across the private, public and third sectors.

For more information about joining the 2026 cohort, please contact elp@fwbltd.com.