eprivateclient 'in the spotlight' - Alana Gillies Ridout

This article first featured on eprivateclient and was published on 8 November 2024.

Alana Gillies Ridout is a Guernsey Advocate and Partner of Mourant in Guernsey, practising in the Corporate and Finance team. She provides advice on all aspects of Guernsey corporate and finance law, specialising in private M&A, real estate finance and fund finance.

Alana acts for a diverse client base including private limited companies, funds, institutional lenders and individuals (local and international).

Within Mourant, Alana is one of the firm's Inclusion Leaders, as well as a qualified Mental Health First Aider (MHFA).

What are the key trends shaping ED&I at the moment?

Many companies now have equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) professionals who are focused on driving forward an organisation's commitment to creating inclusive workplaces, although there are some signs that investment in such roles may be waning.

ED&I is a key business and people priority for us at Mourant and is embedded throughout our firm-wide strategy. We continue to invest in our own team of ED&I professionals, including a Senior Inclusion Manager and Inclusion and Recruitment Officer, who guide and support us on our journey to achieving our inclusion vision, which is to have an authentically inclusive 'one firm' culture that embraces diversity and values mutual respect, where everyone feels like they can belong and thrive.

A growing trend is companies setting transparent goals and ED&I initiatives that increase the accountability of those in leadership positions and encourage open and honest dialogue between supervisors, managers, and employees at a much wider level. At Mourant we have set out our own ambitious inclusion goals and objectives in our inclusion strategy and regularly refer to them in our wider firm strategy discussions.

There are ongoing and increasing discussions around the importance of businesses taking intentional steps and action to support the mental health of increasingly diverse teams. This means going beyond putting policies in place, but in addition, providing targeted and relevant guidance to people managers and colleagues in how to talk, behave, and empathise with each other in more meaningful and effective ways. To effectively recruit and retain a diverse range of talent we need to create safe and healthy environments intentionally and actively for our people to talk openly about mental health. At Mourant we have invested in ensuring everyone can access mental health and wellbeing related support, including a number of colleagues across our offices trained as Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA), including myself.

What most excites you about ED&I at the moment?

One area of particular interest to me is social mobility, and organisations championing this, such as the 93% Club founded by Sophie Pender. I am part of the Social Mobility Committee at Mourant and have become deeply involved in the Guernsey recruitment processes for our work experience, bursary and SQE programmes. I have, together with my fellow Guernsey partner Sandra Duerden, and our HR team, worked to create refreshed schemes and continue to be involved in all parts of the recruitment process to help improve access to the legal and professional services sector.

It's part of my role as an Inclusion Leader at our firm to keep ED&I at the heart of these recruitment processes. By engaging with all local schools, the application process is now open to all eligible students. We have been promoting the opportunities across our social media platforms and will be going into the schools to talk to students about them directly. Our goal is that more students from a wider cross section of educational backgrounds will be inspired to apply. I feel confident that going forward we will see a much more diverse range of candidates applying (and being recruited!) into our work experience, bursary and SQE programmes as a result.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel" - a Maya Angelou quote that a previous boss introduced me to, and often referred to. I truly believe that taking heed of this advice has helped shape me to be the lawyer/mother/manager/friend/colleague/wife I am today. Clients won’t necessarily remember every word of advice they received but they will remember if they felt understood and supported in their business objectives. People within your organisation may not remember every conversation you shared or meeting they attended with you, but they will remember if they felt heard, valued and a sense of belonging within your firm. Family and friends won't remember every shared experience, chat or embrace, but they will remember if they felt loved and safe in your hands. Prioritising people and making them feel valued and safe in all aspects of life is of utmost importance to me.

What are your favourite ways to relax/switch off from work?

My absolute favourite way to switch off from work is to move to music, and that can take many different forms! From running along the esplanade in Guernsey motivated by some big club anthems; to lifting weights at the gym with some classic rock music blaring. From being out dancing with friends to the R&B chart toppers of my university days; to dancing with my kids at home to tunes from the Disney channel.

I also love to read and devour everything from the classics to my current obsession for 'romantasy'. There's nothing like doomed faerie romance and dragon lore to distract one from the real life perils of NAV fund finance and Corporate M&A.

What’s one book you think everyone should read?

'Invisible Women: Exposing data bias in a world designed for men' by Caroline Criado Perez. From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, and the media, 'Invisible Women' reveals how in a world designed by and built for by men, women are systematically ignored, often with disastrous consequences.

This book brings together a range of studies, stories, and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the profound impact this has on us all. No matter how well versed you think you are about the state of gender inequality, 'Invisible Women' and its deep analysis on the gender data gap and how it affects many aspects of women’s everyday lives, including transport, medical research, human rights initiatives, and even mobile phone design, is likely to shock you.

Everyone should read this book to better understand the consequences of overlooking women's needs and experiences in all aspects of life, and it is most certainly a must read for any policymaker who is serious about addressing the challenges faced by half the world's population.

What was your student job?

I was a professional cheerleader for the Scottish Claymores American Football Team which played in the NFL Europe competition back in the late nineties to early noughties. I worked for them for three years whilst I was at Glasgow University and felt very lucky to get paid for doing something I enjoyed so much. As well as performing at NFL Europe games and other large sporting events, a key part of our role included carrying out charity work and being involved in local community initiatives, which gave us the opportunity to meet so many incredible and inspiring people.

I also made some lifelong friends from that experience, and nearly 25 years on, whilst we no longer cheer for American footballers, we do still cheer for each other. Supporting and encouraging others, in particular other women, will be something we always feel compelled to do.