In The Company Of: Dr Kathryn Scott outlines how Yorkshire Cancer Research is helping people live longer healthier lives

1. In a nutshell, what does your charity do and how did it start?

Yorkshire Cancer Research funds vital cancer research and services, so more people in Yorkshire live longer healthier lives, free of cancer.

The charity was founded in 1925, with the first meeting held in the old Queens Hotel in Leeds. Here, £50,000 was raised, the equivalent of around £3million today.

Thanks to supporters, the charity turns 100 next year, which is a huge milestone.

2. What's the most surprising thing about it?

The fact that Yorkshire has so many unmet needs in cancer, and that cancer outcomes in the region are not as good as they should be.

To help change this, the charity funds £64m of cancer research and services, working with hundreds of researchers and cancer experts to bring expertise and knowledge to our region.

3. What do you do in the business?

As the chief executive I have overall responsibility for everything Yorkshire Cancer Research does and everyone who works here. My role is to ensure the charity’s work delivers the best outcomes for people with cancer.

4. How did you end up here?

By complete accident as it happens. I had been working in research labs in Leeds and York Universities before moving to Yorkshire Cancer Research as a research liaison officer. After standing in temporarily when the previous chief executive left for pastures new, I applied for the role permanently.

5. If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

I probably would have remained a lab scientist, but I also love renovating houses so that could have been another route. However, I love my job here, so I can’t really imagine doing anything else.

6. What motivates you?

Helping people to live longer and better lives through all the pioneering work the charity funds.

The Active Together programme is unique in the UK and offers people with cancer exercise, nutrition and well-being support to help them prepare for and recover from treatment.

Exercise is proven to reduce the risk of cancer coming back and the risk of dying, so this programme is helping to save lives.

7. What one thing do you wish you had known when you started out in business?

Trust your own instinct even when others say no. You must believe in yourself, be prepared to stick your neck out and always focus on the outcomes.

Always hold your ground if you know you are doing the right thing.

8. What excites you about business?

Looking back at all the medical breakthroughs the charity has funded over 100 years, and knowing the difference new research will make in the future.

The programmes funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research are not just benefitting people in Yorkshire but nationwide and globally too.

9. What is your pet hate in business?

Bureaucracy. I appreciate you’ve got to have rules for a level playing field, but too much red tape stifles innovation.

10. What advice would you give to people just starting their careers?

The sky is the limit and always back yourself. Something I always say in career talks is to find something you love doing and then your job will never feel like hard work.

11. Who in business do you most admire, and why?

Dame Cally Palmer, the national cancer director for NHS England. It was a pleasure to welcome her to the Yorkshire Cancer Research centre earlier this year. While having a high-profile, challenging job, she remains human at all times.

It was brilliant to show her the Active Together programme and talk about the life-saving screening trials the charity funds.

12. What moments of your career so far stand out?

When I was 21, I was asked by a senior professor to do a PhD in Manchester. It wasn’t something I had previously considered but it changed my career direction and is the reason I am now in this role.

It was also a big culture shock moving from a lab to the charity, but by far, the best move I have ever made.

13. What sets your company apart from the competition?

While Yorkshire Cancer Research is focused on improving cancer outcomes in Yorkshire, the charity funds ground-breaking research which is saving thousands of lives across the globe.

The charity funded the innovative drug Lynparza which not only helps treat people with cancer in Yorkshire but has been taken by around 140,000 people around the world.

14. What is the most difficult challenge your company has faced? And what challenges are you experiencing at the moment?

Without question the biggest challenge was the pandemic as it majorly disrupted people’s ability to fundraise and the charity had to rely on digital support.

Our challenge now is to expand our retail outlets across Yorkshire. The charity’s retail network is growing fast, and the excellent retail team are working hard to find premises that fit our golden principles of retail.

15. Have you got a five-year plan for the company?

We are developing a ten-year plan to map out the charity’s long-term future. Yorkshire Cancer Research’s goal is to scale-up retail and fundraising to support research and services, and by then we will employ over 300 people.

16. Why is it good to do business in Yorkshire?

Yorkshire is a big and beautiful region, with very kind people who embrace the charity’s shops on the high street and give generously.

Thanks to them, the charity estimates that 14,700 life years will be gained for those taking part in the charity’s research and services. That’s 14,700 extra years people get to spend with their loved ones.

Factfile

Name: Dr Kathryn Scott.

Age: 52.

Birthplace: Bradford.

Job title: Chief executive.

Charity name: Yorkshire Cancer Research.

Charity address: Hornbeam Square West, Harrogate, HG2 8PA.

Website address: https://www.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk

Company founded: 1925.

Turnover: N/A.

Number of staff: 152.