She said it's "essential" to "build foundations early" in executive education for our future leaders.
Cartwright was speaking at HR magazine's HR Lunchtime Debate, sponsored by The Open University Business School.
Cartwright said: "When I started my career I was fortunate to have some leadership training very early on and I think it's essential to build the foundations for what comes next in the future - start early to build those blocks."
She was speaking alongside an expert panel featuring Sue Parr, head of executive education at The Open University Business School and Louise Tibbert, head of HR and OD at Hertfordshire County Council.
The panel discussed The Future of Learning: What you need to know to train tomorrow's leaders. They covered many issues around the topic of learning including: what skills and competencies do future leaders require? Is blended learning becoming the new standard for executive education? What role does technology play in executive education and how do you best utilise it?
The full video of the debate is now available to watch, and you can take part in the on-screen interactive research, the results of which will appear in a future issue of HR magazine.
Parr also said training of future leaders must begin early but said there should also be a renewed focus on the best and brightest talent in an oragnisations.
"Executive education used to just focus on the top leaders in an organisation this trend has now moved to middle and junior managers.
"Employers must invest in these leaders who are really going to take the company forward."
Click here to register for FREE, watch the debate and take part in our research.
