DANY COTTON QFSM
First Woman Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade
Experience of leading under pressure in challenging circumstances
Lived experience of the challenges of diversity.
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Leadership
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
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Mental Health
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Managing an organisation through a Public Inquiry
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Dealing with Major Incidents
TESTIMONIALS
"On behalf of the Committee, I would like to thank you so much for attending and being a guest speaker at our WIN Conference yesterday. We were all ‘blown away’ from what you had to say and your journey was truly inspiring and has been a true test of resilience. I know there were a lot of people who were thoroughly inspired and motivated by your speech. So once again thank you."
Leicestershire Police
"Thank you so much for coming to HQ yesterday. I am so glad you felt it was a positive evening. The feedback I have had once again is that everyone loved it, you are now TVPs most loved speakers for sure! So many people asked if you could come back again as they could listen to you all evening, and I absolutely share that view, you were brilliant."
Thames Valley Police
"THANK YOU SO MUCH for yesterday!! It was such a pleasure to meet you and your talk was pretty damn amazing!! Your honesty, pragmatism and resilience really hit home with lots of the audience and on line as did your humour! I also think the fact that you came for the whole day was such a lovely gesture and showed participants your dedication to supporting women ☺. I know we always have a bit of a toe curl when it comes to praise for ourselves but I've copied just a few of the comments from the Teams chat bar so that you can see what others thought! I think people are lining up a few more jobs for you to sort out!"
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What an incredible woman!
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She's my new favourite person!
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I could listen to her stories for hours!
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Dany demonstrates with strength, bravery and determination you can achieve your goals.
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Extreme fortitude and bravery.
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I'm so grateful for women like Dany, it is through their perseverance and determination that we now have an opportunity to change things for ourselves and our children.
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Yup, I think she could sort the Education department and the NHS actually pretty much the country
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Dany for Prime Minister!!
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Actually makes me feel quite emotional listening to her such an inspirational woman
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Oh my gosh, what a woman
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Just wow.
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Utterly brilliant and inspiring - thank you Dany
Thames Valley Police Women’s Network
BIO...
Dany joined the London Fire Brigade in April 1988 aged 18. She was one of 30 women firefighters amongst 9000 men. Three months after leaving training school she attended the Clapham train crash where 35 people lost their lives. In 2000 she became the first female Station Officer in the UK fire service. Dany rose up through the ranks to become an Assistant Commissioner and was in charge of a significant fire (40 fie engines) on the day of the Olympic Closing Ceremony. She became Deputy Commissioner in 2016 and in January 2017 became the London Fire Commissioner, the first woman to command the London Fire Brigade in its then 151 year history. In the first six months of her role she led the Brigade during major incidents including the unprecedented fire at Grenfell Tower where 72 people lost their lives and the terrorist incidents at London Bridge and Finsbury Park. She then led LFB through the aftermath and the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire. The Commissioner’s role also included being a government advisor and being the national lead for the fire service for counter terrorism and CBRN. Dany is passionate about being a role model for diversity and inclusion and has been involved with the national support network Women in the Fire Service since 1996, spending 15 years as the Chair and is currently one of the Patrons. She is the Vice President for the charity PTSD999 and an Ambassador for England Fire Service Women’s rugby and a Non Executive Director for Securitatem. She was named ‘Public Servant of the Year’ in 2002 and was the first woman to be awarded the Queen's Fire Service medal in January 2004, voted among the most influential women in London in 2011 and won the ‘First Women Award’ in the Public Sector category in 2014 and ‘Most Influential Woman in Fire’ award in 2015. She retired from London Fire Brigade in December 2019 and now spends her time sharing her leadership and command journey to help develop, support and inspire others. Her hobbies include skiing, Crossfit, Parkrun, watching motor racing and caring for family members and her 4 rescue cats.