Christoph Schweizer

1
Chief Executive Officer
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

As CEO of BCG, Christoph has made diversity, equity & inclusion a key priority for the firm. Christoph sets clear aspirations related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with the Executive and Operating Committees to advance this agenda. Women represent 46% of the firm’s workforce and over a third of the Executive Committee and hold critical leadership positions across global functions and regions. BCG also continues to uphold equal retention rates for women and men, with an aim to increase women representation at all levels. In 2023, Christoph sponsored the launch of the BLISS (Bias-Free, Leadership, Inclusion, Safety, and Support) Index to quantify the employee experience of inclusion and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work – creating a happier, more motivated, ambitious workforce. Christoph regularly emphasizes the firm’s commitment to DE&I internally through townhalls and externally via promoting BCG’s groundbreaking thought leadership on the topic.

Dominic Blakemore

2
Group CEO
Compass Group plc

Dominic, the Group CEO of Compass Group, has led a remarkable transformation in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) since 2018. Under his leadership, Compass' DEI agenda has shifted towards data-driven strategies and open communication, empowering teams and individuals to drive positive change for women and diverse talent. Dominic's initiatives have left a lasting imprint, operating across 40 countries and impacting over 500,000 colleagues. He has sustained 57% women's representation while elevating women leaders at all levels, reducing the UK gender pay gap, and boosting the promotion of women. His launch of the Women in Food community empowered women chefs during a significant sports event, and the Supplier Diversity Programme drove substantial spending towards women-owned businesses. Dominic's influence extends beyond Compass, as seen in his commitment to WiHTL, Diversity in Hospitality, and his board roles at LSEG and UCL, showcasing his dedication to fostering a diverse and inclusive landscape for the future.

David Hynam

3
Chief Executive
LV=

David Hynam is the Chief Executive of LV=, who revitalised LV's DEI commitment, highlighting its centrality for success and aligning with his values. His leadership saw remarkable progress, with diversity data collection improving by 47%. The 2023 Balanced Scorecard reflects a strong DE&I focus, with two-thirds of the People section emphasising it. David's gender equality advocacy is evident at the organisation, surpassing UK targets for women in senior roles (43%). He championed balance by updating women executives' job titles, and in collaboration with the Balance network, David is addressing gender gaps through a survey, supporting women's career growth and wellbeing initiatives, including those concerning menopause. Beyond LV=, David has been Trustee of the UK Foundation, including supporting projects enhancing women's wellbeing.

Nick Mackenzie

4
Chief Executive
Greene King

Under Nick's leadership, Greene King is dedicated to fostering a diverse and equitable workplace. He supports Greene Sky, an employee-led inclusion group focused on empowering women, plus three other groups focused on making a difference at Greene King around issues relating to disability (Ability); Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (Unity) and the LGBTQ+ community (Village Greene). These groups’ impactful work has earned recognition, including nominations for the British Diversity Awards and European Diversity Awards. As an advisory board member of WiHTL (Welcoming all in Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure), Nick advocates for industry-wide diversity and inclusion. He also promotes women's sports awareness, hosts events celebrating women's achievements, and supports societal equity. He drives cultural change, involving senior leaders in reverse mentoring programmes to cultivate empathy and understanding. Committed to gender equality, Nick envisions Greene King as a truly inclusive workplace where women's contributions are celebrated, and their representation flourishes.

Abhishek Tomar

5
Chief Data Officer, S&P Global Market Intelligence
S&P Global

As a senior leader in India, Abhishek is a vocal advocate for DEI across the region. He actively supports S&P Global’s People Resource Groups locally and has supported a number of career development programs, including Evolve, a transformative on-the-job training initiative to nurture management talent. He has personally mentored 15 women, and has been a key driving force behind S&P Global's partnership with Million Women Mentors; his support of which has enabled the mentorship of thousands of women. Additionally, he contributes as the Regional Coordinator for the India Leadership Council, which focuses on critical areas such as talent management and corporate responsibility efforts. Abhishek's impact reverberates beyond the organization as he serves on the National Executive Board for AMCHAM India, showcasing his dedication to broadening community engagement. Notably, S&P Global's commitment to DEI has been recognized through several prestigious regional awards further highlighting Abhishek's efforts in championing these values.

Simon Cooper

6
Chief Executive Officer - Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO - Europe & Americas
Standard Chartered

As Global D&I Council Chair for Standard Chartered, Simon has accelerated the pace of change, resulting in Inclusive Leadership workshops for over 16,000 leaders and in CEOs taking more accountability for the delivery of local D&I plans and objectives. Simon has overseen the introduction of a global Fair Pay Charter; the disclosure of the Gender Pay Gap in key markets; and the implementation of safety and security initiatives in 21 markets to support female colleagues living and working in countries with a history of heightened violence. He recently oversaw the launch of landmark research on menopause in the workplace, in collaboration with the Financial Services Skills Commission. Simon’s approach has resulted in positive metrics including female representation in senior roles, which increased from 27.7% in 2018 to 32.21% as of December 22, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 83.07 % in 2022.

Darren Entwistle

7
President and CEO
TELUS

Darren believes passionately that TELUS’ greatest asset is its team members. Together, they embrace Darren’s long-standing belief that diversity creates a whole that is far more potent than the sum of its parts. This is why TELUS established six team member resource groups that promote and celebrate diversity and inclusiveness, globally, including Connections, which encourages gender equity with the goal of making TELUS the employer of choice for women. Darren’s commitment to advancing diversity extends to TELUS’ Board of Directors, where 46% of directors are female and 23% represent a visible minority or are Indigenous. Under Darren’s guidance, TELUS has become a DEI champion and corporate culture leader, earning recognition as a Best Diversity Employer for 13 years by Mediacorp and receiving the global Leadership in Action Award from Diversity Journal. Moreover, TELUS consistently ranks #1, worldwide, for employee engagement by Kincentric and a World’s Best Employer by Forbes. Darren led TELUS to become a founding member of the 30% Club Canada and a signatory of the Catalyst Accord.

Andrew Bester

8
Head of Wholesale Banking, Board Member
ING

As the Head of Wholesale Banking at ING, Andrew strongly advocates for board-level representation in diversity networks. As an ING Board member, he sponsors LGBTQIA+ Networks and actively participates in both internal and external events. Andrew also leads the Global Wholesale Banking Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board & Ambassador Network, creating an inclusive environment and boosting women's representation in Wholesale Banking. His dedication to DEI is evident through his mentorship of women leaders and his transformative impact on increasing women's representation in the WB Management Team from 8% to 27%. Andrew's advocacy for inclusion and diversity has garnered numerous awards, including 'Advocate of the Year' at the Women in Finance Awards and recognition in 'FT HERoes Male Champions of Women in Business.' His executive sponsorship at Lloyds also led to the bank's accolades as 'World's Best Bank for diversity and inclusion'.

Howard Ungerleider

9
President and Chief Financial Officer
Dow

As President and Chief Financial Officer, Howard is a vocal advocate for a safe, inclusive and supportive workplace for all employees. He has served as Executive Sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network ERG since 2017, supporting over 10,500 participants through programs such as EY’s POWER UP, Sponsor to Success, and Catalyst MARC Workshops. He has a track record of enforcing expectations for recruiting gender-diverse talent across all levels, including transparently posting all roles internally, and he has cultivated a strong female talent pipeline across the organization. As Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment, Howard has reinforced Dow’s commitment to offer equitable opportunities by establishing a global minimum standard of 16 weeks paid time off for new parents – birthing, non-birthing and adoptive, regardless of gender – and enhancing family and caregiver leave policies, including championing an analysis of options to advance enterprise childcare options.

Sanjeev Chatrath

10
Partner
Ernst & Young Solutions LLP

Sanjeev, Partner at EY, is an admired leader across Asia’s Financial Services, Data, and New Economy industries. He has regularly curated and sponsored impactful global sessions with women C-suite leaders in financial services, inspiring and advancing women's representation. Sanjeev has architected a groundbreaking commitment for EY to conduct pro-bono executive briefings on future growth topics, such as Generative AI and Blockchain, empowering women with knowledge and confidence in male-dominated sectors. Sanjeev co-founded the Male Allies network in Hong Kong, fostering c-suite collaboration for gender balance, and is a mentor for Web3Women. Sanjeev is a long-standing member of the 30% Club promoting gender diversity at board and senior management levels. He is a passionate advocate for importance of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in building high-performing businesses. Sanjeev's commitment extends to organizations like NineBy9, where he serves on the advisory board, focusing on gender equity research, and actions in the Asian context.

Damien Mooney

11
APAC Head of Client Partnerships & APAC Chief Marketing Officer
BlackRock

Damien, APAC Head of Client Partnerships & APAC Chief Marketing Officer at BlackRock, showcases dedication to diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts. With over 12 years of commitment to BlackRock's Women's Initiative Network in Hong Kong, Damien has sponsored and mentored women. As a past Executive Sponsor for the Asia Pacific Ability Network, he led initiatives supporting employees with diff-abilities. Damien's proactive approach to gender equity is evident in co-founding the BlackRock Hong Kong Male Allies chapter where he has driven allyship and contributed to gender-equity initiatives. Beyond BlackRock Damien was Co-Chair of the Male Allies Leadership Council within The Women's Foundation of Hong Kong, and an active member for 5 years. He was in programs advancing gender equality across Hong Kong's business community. Damien's impact extends to various events and discussions, including DEI-focused gatherings and panels at significant occasions such as the International Women's Day Luncheon.

Dean Curtis

12
Chief Executive Officer - Data Services
LexisNexis Risk Solutions (A division of RELX Group plc)

The fourth year on the HERoes role model list, Dean passionately believes that diversity is the only way for sustainable business success, as the most effective, inclusive cultures bring a depth of background, thought and experiences leading to innovation and the best business decisions. D&I targets are published, and metrics have improved significantly during his tenure at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and in the businesses he leads. Dean is an executive supporter of the company’s Employee Resource Groups and sponsor of the Women in leadership program Ignite and Accelerate, an initiative where he mentors and supports senior women colleagues. A strong ally, Dean is a regular external speaker, advocating for diversity and sits on numerous internal and external panels for events such as International Women’s Day and arranged the company’s first external D&I forum in the Energy and Petrochemical industry. Dean is a trustee of a charity which commissions research measuring progress and providing case studies of best practices for inclusion and equality.

Louis Maiuri

13
President, COO, and Head of Investment Services
State Street Corporation

From 2017 - 2021, Lou served as the Executive Sponsor of State Street's Professional Women's Network (PWN), an Employee Resource Group providing professional development opportunities for women across the company. He regularly encourages colleagues and peers to participate in the network’s events, as he strongly believes that networking and conversations are critical to help to foster a strong pipeline of female talent. As well as launching and continuing to lead the PWN's Global Advisory Board, which advises on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices, Lou has made a number of female leadership appointments at the Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President levels. In 2021, the firm reached 32.4% female representation across leadership roles, and approximately 36.4% of promotions at Managing Director level and above were women. PWN initiatives Lou has led have included authoring a blog on “Allyship and Equal Pay Day for Black Women” and hosting an event focused on Women in IT.

Wael Sabra

14
Area Director, BAT APMEA West (Middle East, Pakistan, Central Asia, North Africa, Caucasus)
British American Tobacco

Wael is the Area Director of BAT APMEA West at BAT, overseeing strategic agenda, commercial delivery, talent and culture for 17 markets across extensive geography. Wael joined BAT business in 2003 and has enjoyed an impressive career being based in Lebanon, Congo, Egypt, South Africa, Pakistan and UAE. He has always seen his job to lead with empathy and foster the culture of inclusion for all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds. In just two years, Wael drove a substantially improved gender diversity representation in senior teams and management, increased female representation from 10% to 15% in senior roles and from 20% to 30% overall. He is committed to supporting working parents as well as coaching female talent for future career development and progression. Wael is the main executive sponsor for the Women Inclusion Network (WIN) that promotes allyship and elevates women within the business.

Parminder Kohli

15
Senior Vice President
Shell Plc

Throughout his career, Parminder - Senior Vice President at Shell - has been an active supporter and contributor to the Balance Network, Shell's women's network in the UK. He has led mentoring circles, coached, and mentored members, fostering growth and empowerment. With an impressive record, Parminder has led gender-balanced executive teams for the past 8 years, promoting inclusivity across roles and levels. He pioneered flexible working and inclusivity practices, keeping women connected during maternity leave and driving gender representation in leadership roles within EMEA. Appointed by the UK Government as a Social Mobility Commissioner in 2022, he influences national social mobility efforts by integrating protected characteristics including Gender into the efforts of the Social Mobility Commission.

David Lindberg

16
CEO, Retail Banking, NatWest
NatWest Group

David, CEO of Retail Banking, is a crucial driver of NatWest's DEI strategy, ensuring alignment with the bank's Purpose & Values. David is the executive sponsor for NatWest's Gender Employee Led Network and Allied Males, fostering a supportive environment for nearly 9000 colleagues. His role encompasses global initiatives, including support for women SMEs through Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programs. David's dedication extends to his co-sponsorship of enhanced Partner Leave policies, promoting shared caregiving responsibilities. He advocates for women's voices, pushing for safer work environments and societal awareness. Since 2015, we have seen an 11% increase in women's representation across the top three global leadership levels and elevated colleague sentiment on inclusivity and elevated colleague sentiment on inclusivity. Additionally, David is a pivotal member of HMT's Women in Finance Accountable Executive Taskforce (AET), contributing to change within the Financial Services Industry. He also collaborated on designing an industry blueprint for achieving gender parity in senior management by 2032.

Jon Holt

17
Chief Executive
KPMG LLP

Since being elected as Chief Executive of KPMG in April 2021, Jon has put Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) at the heart of his strategy. He is responsible for the firm's progress against IDE targets, as well as pay gaps and action plans, and he ensures that these are regularly discussed and challenged by the Executive Committee in order to drive action and progress. He also sets the tone for all people processes, making sure that colleagues apply a gender and ethnicity lens to achieve the right outcomes and drive sustainable change. In his previous role as the Head of Audit, Jon developed IDE goals for all Audit Partners and Directors, and initiated IDE awareness sessions for all 7,000 of Audit’s employees. Since 2017 Jon has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board, which serves to challenge the firm on progress and bring in external views regarding best practice.

Sean Hagerty

18
Managing Director
Vanguard Europe

Sean Hagerty is Managing Director of Europe at Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment management companies. As such, he is responsible for leading the operations and distribution efforts of the European business. As part of his role, Sean is a sponsor for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) development programmes at Vanguard and is a mentor to women across the organisation, as well as being the accountable executive for the Women in Finance Charter and the signatory on the Gender Pay Gap report. Sean is Vice-Chair of the Investment Association Board and a member of the Financial Conduct Authority Practitioner Panel. Through these roles, he proactively mentors young individuals, particularly those from minority backgrounds, and wields his influence to drive DEI across the industry.

Osman Ershad Faiz

19
Managing Director
Asia FIIT Singapore

Osman, the founder of Asia FIIT Singapore, a strategic partner to the banking and financial services industry in their business operation transformation, large scale complex change (business process and technology) management, digital banking and digitalisation journey leads the Diversity & Inclusion Council for the company, championing initiatives that create a more inclusive workplace. He personally mentors many women future leaders in the Banking, Finance and FinTech industry across several countries, empowering them to excel in their careers. Osman sponsors the Women in FinTech initiative, offering university students internships in the FinTech sector and is instrumental in building networks supporting women's advancement, leading the establishment of a Singapore network comprising over 200 senior leaders committed to helping women executives to pursue their career goals. In the past, he contributed to HeForShe initiative in Bangladesh and Lead the Women initiative in Singapore. Osman actively participates in and sponsors women's advancement movements, including SheBrilliance and SheLovesTech, to promote women's engagement in data analytics, cybersecurity and other Tech roles in the Financial Services sector across multiple geographies.

Malcolm Palmer

20
Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services
Fidelity International

Malcolm is a passionate advocate for gender diversity and inclusion. As accountable executive for the UK Women in Finance Charter he leads the charge in achieving 55% of women in the workforce and 42% of women in senior roles within his business area. His dedication goes beyond the charter, as co-sponsor of the Gender Balance Network, actively crafting strategies to boost female representation, raise awareness of gender issues and strengthen male allyship. Malcolm chairs the Investment Solutions & Services D&I working group, where he champions diversity across all aspects and encourages his leaders to take ownership in enhancing diversity, education and inclusion. Malcolm’s commitment extends to the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint, contributing and serving on their task force. This initiative aims to accelerate gender diversity in financial services. Through his multifaceted roles, Malcolm leads the charge in reshaping the industry’s approach to gender diversity and inclusion, making a lasting impact.

Idriss Elasri

Managing Director Engineering North Africa
CAPGEMINI

As Managing Director of North Africa at Capgemini Engineering, Idriss has achieved remarkable strides in advancing gender parity and diversity in STEM related job roles. Over the past two years, he spearheaded initiatives that achieved gender parity with 48% women representation within the company, extending to top executive roles, and making Morocco a benchmark for gender equality within Capgemini globally, solidifying its commitment to diversity and inclusion among all leadership levels. This accomplishment includes becoming the largest employer of women's engineering talents with 1920 out of 4000 skills, achieving parity at all levels, and being a top recruiter of women in STEM fields. Beyond Capgemini, Idriss supports gender equality through public engagement, media work, and NGO’s such as Mentor'elles. He has received recognitions like the Certificate of Excellence for Women-Men Professional Equality & his active involvement in campaigns like "Break The Bias" and "WomenIntech" fosters an inclusive environment where he leads by example within and outside of Capgemini.

Eric Aboaf

Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer
State Street Corporation

Eric, the Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer at State Street Corporation, is a key contributor to the Ally Sponsorship Program to foster diverse professional development. Under his guidance, DEI principles have been seamlessly integrated into State Street's operations, such as utilizing various syndicates in debt issuance to empower underrepresented groups. (These efforts have seen remarkable outcomes, including underwriting a total of 38% of approx. $9.85 billion in debt offerings from Black and Latinx-owned firms since the program began in 2021.) Moreover, Eric's dedication to advancing diversity is evident through his role in the independent Civil Rights audit at State Street. His commitment to DEI extends beyond corporate endeavors, as he actively supports organizations that promote equity and empowerment. As Chairman of the New York City Urban Debate League, he champions academic opportunities for students of color and underserved communities.

Eric Burl

Head of Discretionary
Man Group

Eric Burl is the Head of Discretionary at Man Group, a member of the Executive Committee and senior sponsor of Man Group's Women at Man (WAM) network. He is dedicated to advancing gender diversity and equity, and strongly advocates for the crucial role that senior leaders and managers play in creating positive change through allyship and advocacy. As the senior sponsor of WAM, he provides guidance and support to the working group, expands their efforts into the industry, drives efficiencies and leads on internal staff policy. Eric's focus on external outreach and hiring includes exploring ways to improve the pipeline of female investment talent and supporting them into senior, portfolio management positions. As part of Man Group's Paving the Way initiative, Eric is a mentor for Girls Are Investors and participates in external speaking engagements, encouraging young people from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds to consider investment management as a career choice.

Matthew Norris

Global Head, Central Operations and Global Business Services
Standard Chartered Bank

Matthew is actively championing Diversity and Inclusion with a commitment to build a safe and inclusive environment in Standard Chartered Bank. Using data and better understanding of unconscious bias, he introduced new perspectives to hiring more women across the board. Matthew worked tirelessly to advance representation of women leadership across various committees – specifically at the Board Director level, women representation went up to 40% from 20% and in the Executive Committees to 25% across 5 legal entities in 4 countries. The TTO D&I Council that Matthew co-chairs, saw an increase of women representation from 25% to 28% within the first year of its formation.He lobbied to appoint 26 women leaders to Local Leadership Councils. He is a Sponsor to the ASCEND programme that has identified 500 women colleagues to be nurtured as future leaders through various interventions. Matthew has been a personal mentor for women colleagues across different levels of seniority since 2015.

Claudio Gienal

CEO AXA UK&I
AXA UK&I

Claudio has placed gender equality as a key, strategic priority for AXA UK&I, and his actions have resulted in AXA being listed as a coveted 2021 and 2022 Times Top 50 Employer for Women and helped to significantly reduce the gender seniority gap. Under Claudio’s leadership AXA UK&I have improved the female representation on the executive committee from 19% in 2018 to 44% in 2022. Claudio has also improved women in executive roles from 32% in 2020 to 40% in 2022. Claudio regularly participates in D&I initiatives, during 2022 these have included external panel discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day with Liverpool Football Club and an internal virtual speed mentoring event hosted by our network. Claudio also uses his LinkedIn platform to celebrate international women’s day through Break the Bias post and sharing recent conversations he had with participants in the AXA Global IWD mentoring initiative. Claudio is also an active participant of the Swiss Embassy’s YPG Mentoring Programme which sees Claudio mentor and coach future generations of female business leaders

Christian Hyldahl

Head of Continental Europe
BlackRock

Christian has consistently advocated for DEI at BlackRock by strengthening regional efforts to mitigate potential bias in the hiring process, identify women's talents and help accelerate their career growth through training, leadership programs, and mentorship. As a member of BlackRock's Global Human Capital Committee, he has been committed to building, developing, and retaining a diverse talent pipeline where women from all backgrounds can build long-term careers fulfilling their potential. His efforts led BlackRock to have 45% of employees across Continental Europe (CE) being women. In addition, Christian prioritized concrete actions to foster women's talents at all levels, including senior management. As a result, he has been able to increase the share of female Country Managers in CE from 37% to 63% over 2 years. He also promotes women leaders in key regional roles.

Ali Akbar

Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director at Pakistan Tobacco Company
British American Tobacco

Ali Akbar, the CEO & Managing Director of Pakistan Tobacco Company (a fully owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco) passionately drives diversity, equity, and inclusion in Pakistan's corporate landscape. His impact is evident through his initiatives to promote women’s advancement in non-traditional roles. Over three years, he achieved a remarkable 63% promotion rate for women, breaking gender barriers. He has consciously put together a top team with 40% women’s representation- a first for the organization in its 75-year history. Ali's commitment to change is showcased by introducing policies and systems to create an ecosystem that promotes diversity and fosters inclusion. Ali has launched a program, Catalyst, to promote disruptive thinking and ideas in the space of DE&I within his organization. As a proponent of community, Ali established the Women Inclusion Network, fostering allyship. Beyond his corporate role, he's a mentor and sponsor, advocating for women's progress across industries.

Christian Edelmann

Managing Partner, Europe
Oliver Wyman

As Managing Partner for Europe, Christian has demonstrated rigorous dedication to diversity and inclusion, driving meaningful change across Oliver Wyman. While leading our business in Europe, he has spearheaded efforts to achieve a 50/50 female-to-male ratio across all leadership appointments to the European Leadership team. Christian was also one of the architects of a revised parental leave programme. He took parental leave to enable his wife return to full-time work, reducing the stigma around paternity leave and driving an increased uptake of paternity leave amongst men in the organization. He has personally endeavoured to open conversations around the menopause within the business, hosting a panel discussion on the topic and kick-starting the process for relevant policies. Christian serves as an Executive Sponsor of Oliver Wyman Women's Network, WOW, which focuses on attracting, developing, and retaining talented women within the business.

Andrew Eisen

Senior Vice President, Head of Software Solutions, S&P Global Market Intelligence
S&P Global

Andrew Eisen is the head of S&P Global Market Intelligence Software Solutions business, which provides industry leading solutions across enterprise data management, syndication, investment management and asset servicing. Andrew has played a leading role in increasing career development opportunities for women in S&P Global and recently worked with the leadership team to launch three programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching. Designed to develop the leadership pipeline one of these programs also won a silver award at the 2021 Brandon Hall Group Excellence in Technology Awards, for the "Best Advance in Diversity and Inclusion Innovation" category. In addition to directly mentoring 10 women, Andrew has also placed a focus on building representation and recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona.

Julian Granger-Bevan

Partner, Digital Practice
Oliver Wyman

Since the start of 2022, Julian has sponsored an initiative to certify Oliver Wyman Australia as a Family Inclusive Workplace™. In addition, he has sponsored the Australia-wide Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), ensuring that key ERGs are well led and supported, sponsoring cross-ERG initiatives, sharing best practices within groups, and providing visibility of the ERGs to the market senior leadership team. Since 2019, Julian has actively participated as a Women at Oliver Wyman mentor, meeting regularly with junior women consultants to provide them with an additional perspective on their career pathway and growth. Julian’s ambition is to role model inclusion and belonging through everyday actions inside and outside his work. This includes dedicating his time to ensuring that talented colleagues are supported throughout their careers, calling out opportunities for the firm to have a broader range of perspectives, and continuing to actively sponsor the ERGs in Australia, which play an essential role in advocating for and supporting allies across IDB.

Mark Bunnage

Senior Vice President, Head of Global Research
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Mark serves as an executive sponsor of Vertex’s IWILL (Inspiring Women in Leadership and Learning) employee resource network (ERN). In this role, he provides senior leadership support and actively and visibly demonstrates the power of allyship. Mark's dedication led to establishing the Women in Science group within the IWILL ERN, championing belonging and career growth. He advocates for reverse mentorship, actively participating and supporting the program’s expansion. An advocate for meaningful allyship, Mark facilitated discussions with authors of “The Good Guys: What Great Male Allies Do”, fostering impactful allyship across Vertex. Mark's transparency initiatives, like sharing consolidated demographic data with all employees, also cultivate a culture of accountability and progress for women. His introduction of open application processes for career-defining roles boosts representation, building a diverse leadership team. Mark's influence extends globally, inspiring initiatives like the working parent-focused project, which enhances the working experience for all Vertex employees.

William Ko

Vice President
Barclays Bank PLC

William is a Vice President at Barclays Bank PLC, dedicated to advancing gender equality. With a focus on empowerment, he has led as COO for Win APAC (Women initiative network) for three years and Win Hong Kong for four years. As a Male Allies representative for two years, he fosters collaboration to advance diversity. William strategically allocates resources for gender equality awareness and spearheads impactful projects like debates, mentorships, and panels. He addresses barriers to women's participation, fostering balanced ratios within departments and teams while driving inclusive policies. Beyond "WIN," William also partners with other networks within the organization, driving holistic awareness across committees. His cross-regional collaborations emphasize knowledge sharing, contributing to a more equitable workplace and society.

Wayne Levings

Global Chief Client Officer & Previously CEO APAC
Kantar

Wayne is the Executive sponsor of Kantar's Women at Kantar Employee Resource Group (ERG), where he actively champions women's issues across the organization, from leadership representation to initiatives like International Women's Day and support for menopause awareness. As the CEO of the APAC region and Chief Client Officer, Wayne has made remarkable strides in achieving gender parity. Under his leadership, Kantar earned an outstanding 50:50 gender balance among senior board executives and leaders in the APAC region and amongst the global client partnership leaders. Additionally, Wayne ensured pay parity across all levels within the APAC region, demonstrating his commitment to equality and fairness.

Jose Sanabria

Executive Director, Global Medical and Scientific Affairs
MSD

Over the course of Jose’s career at MDS he has been a dedicated advocate for equity. Jose understands the impact of discrimination on careers and opportunities, and from the beginning of his career, he championed gender diversity. He established an organization where women's representation was paramount. His team has consistently comprised 75% women, fostering an environment where they can thrive. He's provided countless women with growth opportunities and helped them ascend to higher roles, nurturing their careers. Many former team members, now leading teams in Latin America and the United States, testify to his mentorship. Jose's legacy of inclusion continues through his mentorship within Merck, guiding women to pursue optimal career paths and sustain the spirit of inclusion.