Leader in Public Affairs – Polly Dhaliwal, Chief Operating Officer, Enterprise Nation “Public affairs, at its best, is about bridging worlds”

Mace | 7th October 2026 | In-House Public Affairs, Westminster Index

Enterprise Nation’s Polly Dhaliwal explains how public affairs can bridge the gap between policymakers and entrepreneurs, turn small-business experience into practical policy and ensure ambition is matched by commercial reality.

“My route into public affairs was not traditional,” says Polly Dhaliwal. She did not arrive via Westminster or party politics, but through entrepreneurship and the small business ecosystem — a background that now shapes her work representing founders and scale-ups to government as Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Nation. Her role sits at the intersection of policymakers and entrepreneurs, translating the experiences of small businesses into policy conversations. “Our role is often translating the lived experience of thousands of small businesses into practical policy insights for ministers, civil servants and policymakers,” she explains. “Public affairs, at its best, is about bridging worlds. It connects the people building businesses with the people shaping the rules of the economy.” The issue that concerns her most is what she sees as a growing disconnect between political ambition and business reality. “The widening gap between policy ambition and the reality faced by small bus...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.