Our Story
A combined 50 years of corporate governance and company secretarial experience brought Bernadette Young and David Gracie together in 2021 to lead Indigo. We provide bespoke, innovative governance advisory services.
Our mission is to offer a unique combination of independence, adaptability and expertise to businesses looking for support with their corporate governance and company secretarial needs. We are passionate about helping boards navigate a constantly evolving governance landscape and create long-term sustainable value.
Indigo is built on the success of Chadwick Corporate Consulting, a company secretarial and corporate governance consultancy founded by Bernadette in 2005.
Our Leadership Team
Bernadette Young, FCG
Director
Bernadette has 30 years’ experience as a governance professional, working with numerous boards and businesses across the listed and private sectors. She is a firm believer in the benefits of good governance, strong organisational leadership, culture and values, and in the synergy between organisational purpose and value creation.
Bernadette is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, a member of the CGIUKI Board, and a highly respected member of the profession. A frequent speaker at professional events, she is a regular contributor to the professional journal ‘Governance and Compliance’ and author of the ICSA Corporate Governance Handbook.
David Gracie, FCG
Director
David joined Indigo as Director and co-owner in June 2021. David performs the role of Company Secretary for both listed and private companies, covering all core duties including board support and corporate activity, and takes the lead on a range of governance projects including the Annual Report and Accounts.
Prior to joining Indigo, David was at KPMG where he had led the Global Company Secretarial division since 2016, and had previously spent 17 years at Makinson Cowell providing corporate governance and investor relations advice to FTSE 350 boards. David is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, having qualified as a company secretary in 2005, and is also a Trustee of the Mulberry Schools Trust, a multi-academy trust based in East London.
Our Team
Stephen Jones, FCG
Corporate Governance Associate
Stephen has more than 30 years’ experience as a Chartered Secretary, working in large listed PLCs, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute. He spent 20 years in senior roles at Pearson plc, including the last five as SVP and Company Secretary. Although having recently retired from full-time employment, Stephen was attracted to Indigo by their passion for helping boards to navigate the constantly evolving governance landscape and is using his practical expertise to lead on significant governance projects.
Julia Herd, FCG
Senior Governance Manager
Julia joined Indigo in 2023, having previously worked in-house at four FTSE listed companies including Tesco. Julia has over 10 years’ experience and has undertaken a variety of company secretarial roles including shareholder services, corporate transactions, subsidiary management, Board and Committee governance support and working on the Annual Report and Accounts. Julia enjoys building relationships with stakeholders across an organisation and promoting good governance practices.
Julia is a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute and has a Masters in International Governance from Anglia Ruskin University. She has also completed the Graduate Diploma in Law with BPP.
Caroline Adams
Governance Manager
Caroline is an experienced Compliance professional who joined Indigo in 2022, having previously worked for over 15 years in various Compliance roles. Caroline started her career at Ernst & Young in the Quality and Risk Management team before moving into Compliance roles within the Asset Management world and more recently working in a Compliance Advisory role at an Authorised Corporate Director firm. As such, she has a wealth of experience of working with, and supporting, clients with their regulatory requirements, including those of the FCA, and of supporting governance meetings.
Karoline Penney, ACG
Governance Manager
Karoline is an experienced and qualified governance professional who joined Indigo and the world of professional services in 2022, having previously worked for several years in various governance roles in the NHS and social housing sector. As such, she has a wealth of experience of working with, and supporting, boards and their committees. Karoline graduated with an LLM Masters in Corporate Governance at the University of Law in 2022 and is an Associate member of the Chartered Governance Institute.
Cristina Crossling
Governance Manager
Cristina joined Indigo in 2024, having spent over five years working with Foresight Group, an investment fund in renewable energy. Her experience involves a wide range of commercial issues related to M&A transactions, refinancing processes, fund exits, and primarily the formation and management of legal entities. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Cristina’s international background allows her to identify the specific legal risks associated with cross-border transactions.
Cristina is a skilled Costa Rican lawyer and Notary and holds an LLM in Corporate Law with Honours from Queen Mary University of London. Additionally, she is a UK qualified Chartered Company Secretary and a member of the WCGA.
Telephone 07842 244541
cristina.crossling@
indigogovernance.com
Bev Siddons
Governance Officer
Bev joined Indigo in 2014 and manages our clients’ statutory records, Companies House filings, and board and general meeting minutes for corporate changes.
Bev has previously worked at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Bankruptcy and Companies Courts.
Libby Gracie
Governance Officer
Libby has been part of our team since 2018. She works closely with our clients where we are appointed to provide permanent board and committee meeting services, in particular supporting the chairs of those companies in drafting agendas, preparing papers, attending and minuting meetings and circulating actions lists.
Libby has completed the Chartered Governance Institute’s foundation programme. Earlier in her career, she worked as an insolvency administrator for Begbies Traynor.
Weronika Szyszka
Governance Officer
Weronika joined the Indigo team in November 2024, having worked for a number of years in local government delivering democratic, constitutional and governance support to directors and elected members. Weronika has a particular interest in promoting transparency, accountability and openness in governance and takes a keen interest in changes in regulatory and legislative environments. Weronika, who supports a number of Indigo’s clients with their compliance and board support requirements, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History and aspires to qualify as a Chartered Governance Professional.
Telephone 01702 476824
weronika.szyszka@
indigogovernance.com
Natasha Jeffs
Company Secretarial Assistant
Natasha joined Indigo in April 2024 and assists with managing our clients’ statutory records, Companies House filings, and board and general meeting minutes for corporate changes.
Natasha brings a wealth of corporate experience gained from 25+ years working within the financial sector. With a PA/Secretarial background for a leading bank in London, and subsequently providing administrative support to multiple esteemed local accounting firms, Natasha has developed a commitment to professionalism, integrity and meticulous attention to detail and strives to deliver exceptional service and support to all clients and stakeholders at Indigo Independent Governance.
Paddy Gardner
Company Secretarial Trainee
Paddy is an ambitious and passionate individual pursuing a career as a Company Secretary. Having joined Indigo in the Summer of 2023, Paddy has demonstrated his attention to detail and desire to learn from his colleagues. With a bachelor’s degree in History & Archaeology from the University of Southampton, Paddy has started his professional career as a Company Secretarial Trainee and is rapidly gaining experience of corporate governance and company law. Since joining, Paddy has been engaged in various activities, from helping to prepare board meeting minutes and agendas, to filing confirmation statements and other statutory forms at Companies House. His eagerness to take on new challenges makes him a great asset to the team.
Our Advisory Board
Colin Watts
Colin spent more than 20 years at Makinson Cowell, the leading investor relations advisory company, where he advised FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies on the identification and characterisation of their institutional shareholder base. He also led Makinson Cowell advice to clients on all aspects of the AGM voting process, from developing the initial plans on engagement strategies with institutional shareholders, all the way to the analysis of the proxy votes lodged in advance of the shareholder meeting.
Colin has strong links with corporate governance teams at institutional investors and also with market participants such as proxy voting agencies. He is a regular presenter on corporate governance, AGM voting and the shareholder identification process, covering small group sessions for client investor relations and company secretarial teams alongside larger seminars and webinars.
Lorraine Young, FCG
Lorraine is a chartered governance professional and accredited mediator, who provides board advisory and related consultancy services. She is a Non-Executive Director of PHSC plc and a former Non-Executive Director of City of London Group plc, both AIM listed companies.
Lorraine is a Past President and Fellow of ICSA, the Chartered Governance Institute. She has held senior governance roles at a number of FTSE 350 companies. She ran her own company secretarial and corporate governance advisory practice for 13 years, which in 2016 she merged with the cosec team at a UK top 50 law firm, where she was a partner. Since February 2019, Lorraine has been pursuing her own consultancy interests.
Interested in joining Indigo?
Indigo is an independent specialist provider of corporate governance and company secretarial services to listed and large private companies. Indigo is going through an exciting growth phase and is keen to hear from individuals who may be interested in joining and help support its growing client base.
Based at our offices in Essex or remotely and/or attending at client offices, we are open to those looking for a full-time role as well as more flexible part-time hours for those seeking a better work-life balance or who need to fit their careers around other commitments.
Why join Indigo?
- You want to join a dynamic, growing business.
- You want to be the go-to person for clients
- You want to achieve a sustainable work-life balance.
- You are looking for greater in flexibility in how you work.
- You want to contribute to a broader range of governance projects.
- You want to feel valued and be an integral part of the team.
We offer a competitive salary, bonus arrangement and other benefits.
If you would like to find out more about joining our friendly team at this exciting time, please contact one of our directors using the details below.