Sandra Sheahan

Background

About Sandra Sheahan

The Merlin team is diverse, with people working across 25 countries, united in the mission to bring connection, belonging and memory making. I wake up thinking about how we can be more inclusive. Creating positive difference: I know that unique perspectives drive value creation. That’s why I set about creating our Internal Intelligence group. With Executive sponsorship for the idea I connected employees with lived experience of disability together, the group has tripled in size and is making a difference. Most recently guiding the Chessington World of Adventures team to make some small changes to the new Jumanji land which will have a BIG impact on accessibility. Focussed on leading change: DE & I work is about culture change not initiatives. The world of DE & I is rapidly evolving and developing, and it is personal. Leaders in the business look to HR to inform best practise and drive momentum. I invest a lot of time building my subject matter expertise, but recognise that our global HR teams don’t have time do the same. To make sure we stay at the forefront I run regular sessions for the global HR community, sharing ideas, improving capability, and making space for teams around the world to learn from each other and drive a learning mindset. This leads to increased confidence, shared best practice and increased confidence to support the wider business to drive the culture change. I care that people feel a sense of belonging: Belonging is at the heart of Merlin’s business strategy and it is one of my personal values. I love this definition shared by Brené Brown “If I can be me, I belong, if I have to be like you I fit in”. I want people to feel seen, connected, supported and proud. That’s why we celebrate our real people, reflect the diversity of customers in our marketing and keep challenging ourselves to dismantle barriers to opportunity. Our XCalibre Rising Programme empowers employees from historically marginalised groups to drive their careers. My parents run an engineering tooling business. I have lost count how many times over the years my mum has been ignored, patronised or underestimated purely because she is a women. My Dad is always great at calling out the bias deferring to mum on areas which she is specialist in. Some people praise mum for succeeding in a man’s world, others don’t trust she knows what she is talking about and chose to take their business elsewhere. I want to live in a world where we no longer make assumptions about capability based on gender, or any other identity. I want to live in a world where everyone can thrive.