Rose joined Co-operatives UK as CEO in 2021 with a focus on engaging younger generations and building a tech & digital infrastructure capable of co-op innovation in the 21st century. Rose immediately spearheaded the creation of an ambitious new strategy to grow the co-operative economy. As the voice of the UK’s co-operative movement, Co-operatives UK empowers and supports co-operative enterprise with specialised knowledge and expertise, to grow the co-operative economy and create a fairer society. From football clubs and farms, to convenience stores and pubs, there are more than 7,000 co-operatives in the UK.
Rose is also Chair of the International Co-operative Working Group (ICWG) alongside consumer and worker co-ops and including infrastructure bodies such as the Co-op Heritage Fund, Co-operative College and Co-op News and has championed development work in India and Malawi. In the last few years, driven by the ICWG, the sector has donated £100,000 to female led co-operatives in India to provide emergency Covid aid and provide sustainable livelihoods for 40 young women. With Rose at its head, the ICWG is also developing an international fund which will be launched in 2024 in celebration of the 180th anniversary of the Rochdale Pioneers. As Chair of ICWG, Rose has also launched co-op Beyond the Music at SXSW in Texas, USA and was a keynote speaker at both WCM Brazil 2022 and the Global Innovation Forum in Paris, 2021.
Rose lives in Manchester with her husband and two children.
