Annette Hennessy, OBE, is an experienced CEO and leader. She has an extensive track record of collaborative, creative leadership in the criminal justice system and beyond, based on vision and compassion. She is committed to changing mindsets and perceptions about leadership, and this is demonstrated by her work with aspiring female leaders, and in supporting those outside of mainstream communities in discovering their leadership potential. Her achievements as CEO include developing a transformational approach to effecting significant organisational change in Cumbria and Merseyside and leading the organisations successfully through the transition from the public to the private sector. Merseyside Probation Trust won a national award for UK Excellence from the British Quality Foundation—a first for an organisation in the public sector. In 2014 she was awarded an OBE for services to public protection and reducing reoffending.

In 2015 she began a new phase of her career while continuing her commitment to transformational learning and leadership. She is a member of the Board for Blackburne House, a pioneering centre for education and social enterprise in Liverpool. She is also a Trustee of Coaching Inside and Out, a creative organisation using life coaching to support individuals in prison and the community. She is an Associate of Amara Collaboration and one of the Amara Gardeners, a group of individuals whose goal is to discover and increase the connections between aware leaders in the world. She is a qualified social worker, Probation Officer, and ILM 7 coach, and has her own coaching practice. She is a walker and gardener, and lives in the Lake District in Cumbria.