Three Teesside business leaders are asking people who have built up influence, experience and useful contacts to think about who else could benefit from them.
Zoe Lewis CBE, principal and chief executive of Middlesbrough College, Tracerco director Rachel Burke and High Tide Foundation director Claire Preston discussed and mentoring at a Tees Business LIVE event at The Auxiliary in Middlesbrough.
Their message was practical: opportunities are not distributed evenly, and people already established in their careers can help by making introductions, encouraging applications and showing younger people routes they may not know exist.
Lewis spoke about starting work in a bank at 16 after leaving sixth form, before people she met through work encouraged her towards opportunities she had not imagined for herself. She now argues that professional networks should not only circulate among people who already have access to them.
Burke described how encouragement from a manager helped her apply for a team leader role while she was a single parent. She now works with the Power of Women campaign, which introduces young people to careers and role models.
Preston, whose work includes the High Tide Foundation and Work Ready Collective, described her focus as the gap between potential and opportunity. She highlighted the progress of a young person who took part in a High Tide sector week and has since developed an ambition to work in the maritime industry.
The discussion also came ahead of the 7 September deadline for entries to the 2026 Tees Businesswomen Awards.
: Reporting is based on Tees Business coverage of the panel discussion published on 3 September 2026. Read the original report.