One of the principal reasons I took on the EMBA at King’s was its focus on doing business in a way that delivers positive social purpose.
Veronica Daly, Chief Procurement Officer, King's College London
23 June 2025
How King's EMBA Helped Veronica Daly Land Her Dream Role as Chair of London Charity
Veronica Daly, Chief Procurement Officer at King’s, has recently landed her dream role as Chair of the Mary Ward Centre, a historic London charity offering education and legal advice to those who need it most.
As a practising lawyer who provides legal aid ‘pro bono’ in her spare time, and a member of the inaugural Executive MBA (EMBA) cohort at King’s Business School, Veronica’s story exemplifies King’s mission of making the world a better place.
The programme weaves this theme throughout, with modules on purposeful leadership, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), and innovation for impact.
For Veronica, the EMBA helped her build confidence in different elements of running a business beyond her core expertise. And just as importantly, it gave her space for something less tangible: self-reflection.
‘The Purposeful Leadership module helped me to think deeply about what I wanted from my life and enabled me to make a plan about how to achieve the things I want,’ she recalls. As part of this process, Veronica doubled down on her commitment to organisations that contribute back to society. And that’s what led her to apply to chair the Mary Ward Centre.
On the role that the particular emphasis of the King’s Business School EMBA played in the selection process, she comments:
I honestly don’t know if I’d have got it without the EMBA. They (current Chair and panel) really were very impressed by me doing the EMBA and also the focus of the King’s EMBA.
Veronica Daly, Chief Procurement Officer, King's College London
The Mary Ward Centre, founded by Victorian novelist and social reformer Mary Augusta Ward, was one of the earliest institutions in the UK to champion adult education and social welfare. Today, the Centre continues to offer adult education, legal advice and community programmes across London. It’s a natural fit for Veronica, who credits education as life-changing in her own journey, and who still uses her legal skills to support social enterprises in her free time. ‘I think it's a wonderful benefit to have up to three days of service time you can use,’ adds Veronica.
Before coming to King’s, Veronica was a Commercial Director at the Houses of Parliament, where she put in place a new socially responsible procurement policy. ‘That meant the way we were buying things, we did it responsibly,’ she explains.
At King’s, social value is built into the procurement process. Suppliers bidding for contracts are asked not just to deliver a service, but to contribute value back to the community. That might mean offering students summer placements, providing training, or helping fund impact projects across the University.
Veronica is now looking forward to graduating with King’s Business School’s first EMBA cohort this summer. She said the group challenged her expectations; not just career-driven professionals, but people willing to reflect on how they want to use their careers to make a difference.
Her advice to anyone thinking of applying?
This gives you a time just to step back and reflect about what is it that you really want to do with your life and how do you make that happen.
Veronica Daly, Chief Procurement Officer, King's College London
