Former Chair & CEO

IBM Asia Pacific

Harriet Green OBE is a dynamic leader renowned for her commitment to purpose-driven business and global impact. With a rich career spanning leadership roles across the electronics industry, travel, and technology sectors, Harriet has made significant contributions as an executive chair and director on world-class boards. She served as CEO of Thomas Cook Group, where she led a transformative global turnaround, and as Chair & CEO, Asia Pacific at IBM, driving strategic initiatives across 15 countries. Harriet also played a pivotal role in the launch of IBM's Watson Internet of Things, Cognitive Commerce, and Education portfolios. In 2020, Harriet founded the Academies for Youth with Potential, starting with the Lost Girls of COVID Schools in Thailand, focusing on empowering young lives with essential skills. Her mentoring and business coaching efforts span across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US, where she supports young leaders and champions diversity. A passionate ally of the LGBTQ+ community, Harriet advocates for embracing unique differences as a source of strength. Harriet's influence extends beyond business, with significant contributions to philanthropy and community engagement. She resides in Norfolk, where she leads local fundraising and environmental initiatives. Her achievements have earned her numerous accolades, including a place on Business Insider’s Top 32 Business Influencers and the Heroes Hall of Fame. Harriet was awarded an OBE in 2010 for her services to electronics.

President

Mellody Hobson is president of Ariel Investments. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers six no-load mutual funds for individual investors and defined contribution plans as well as separately managed accounts for institutions and high net worth individuals. As president, Mellody is responsible for firm-wide management and strategic planning, overseeing all operations outside of research and portfolio management. Additionally, she serves as chairman of the board of trustees for Ariel Investment Trust. Beyond her work at Ariel, Mellody has become a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy and investor education. She is a regular contributor and analyst on finance, the markets and economic trends for CBS News. She also contributes weekly money tips on the Tom Joyner Morning Show and pens a regular column for Black Enterprise magazine. As a passionate advocate for investor education, she is a spokesperson for the Ariel/Hewitt Study: 401(k) Plans in Living Color and the Ariel Black Investor Survey, both of which examine investing patterns among minorities. Mellody is a director of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and Starbucks Corporation. Her community outreach includes serving as chairman of After School Matters, a non-profit that provides Chicago teens with high-quality, out-of-school time programs. She is a board member of The Chicago Public Education Fund, George Lucas Education Foundation, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and Sundance Institute, where she has been appointed emeritus trustee. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and serves on the executive committee of the Investment Company Institute’s board of governors. In 2015, Mellody was named to Time Magazine’s annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world. Mellody earned her AB from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of International Relations and Public Policy. She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Howard University, St. Mary’s College and the University of Southern California.  

Vice Chair

Melanie is KPMG’s senior sponsor for inclusion and diversity, and lead of KPMG’s Senior Business Women Network. Under Melanie’s direction, KPMG took the ‘industry first’ step of publishing a detailed diversity profile of KPMG’s workforce, looking at all under-represented groups. Her ambition of holding her own organisation publically to account sent a strong signal both inside the firm and outside in the market as to how important this issue is. Melanie has been instrumental in establishing KPMG’s Inclusive Leadership Board and invited three leading diversity experts, Tanni Grey-Thompson, John Amaechi and Nicolas Miller, to join. She has championed KPMG’s ‘Return to Work’ programme, designed for women who have taken a career break of 18 months or more, and sponsors ‘GROW’ – KPMG’s 360-degree leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups, including women, to senior positions in the organisation. She has personally supported, mentored and coached countless women at all organisational levels, both within and outside the firm. Melanie is one of the founding members of the 30% Club Steering Committee, and has facilitated a variety of research projects into women in the workplace. Melanie is joint Vice-Chair of The Eve Appeal and a member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board.

Executive Vice Chair

Cheuk Nang Holdings Limited

Gigi Chao is the Executive Vice Chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings and a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Hong Kong. She holds a BA in Architecture from the University of Manchester and an LLB from the University of London, with additional certification in coding from MIT xPro. Gigi's diverse career spans architecture, marketing, and real estate. She worked with Sir Terry Farrell on major architectural projects and managed key accounts for brands like Rolex and Mont Blanc. In 2008, she founded the Faith in Love Foundation, dedicated to helping socially disadvantaged youth and families in Hong Kong. As a specialist advisor for the United Nations Development Programme's "Being LGBTI in Asia" initiative, Gigi promotes diversity and inclusion. She also manages her family’s real estate business and advises on ESG responsibilities. Gigi has published two books, contributed to various publications, and serves as the first female president of the Hong Kong Aviation Club.

Chair

Altum Group

Baroness Helena Morrissey DBE has worked in financial services for over three decades. She was CEO of Newton Investment Management for 15 years and chair of the Investment Association from 2014-17. Helena now chairs Fidelis, a specialist insurance company, and the Altum Group, which offers fund services to family offices and corporates. She also chairs Eton’s Endowment Committee. Helena is well known for her work on inclusion and diversity. In 2010, she founded the 30% Club, a campaign for better gender-balanced boards. Since then, the representation of women on FTSE350 boards has risen from less than 10% to over 40%. There are now twenty 30% Clubs globally. Helena chairs the Diversity Project, aimed at improving diversity across all dimensions in the investment industry. She has spearheaded a new ‘Pathway’ programme to create more female fund managers. Helena entered the House of Lords in September 2020 and was appointed a Dame in 2017 for her work on diversity in financial services. She was named the FT’s ‘Person of the Year’ at its 2017 Boldness in Business awards.

Chairwoman & CEO

Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC

Since her appointment as Chairwoman and CEO of EY ShinNihon in 2019, Masami has accelerated her efforts in developing and appointing female talent and fostering a more flexible working environment to further improve gender representation of the firm. One of her key focuses is a hybrid working style, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, aimed at not only promoting work-life balance but also improving productivity and a level of collaboration with firm’s clients. According to a recent EY people survey, the female engagement index was up 16 percentage points from pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019. Masami also demonstrated the power of diversity through leadership. She serves as a member of EY Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Steering Committee, leveraging the group as a means to advance DE&I efforts worldwide. Externally, Masami focuses on developing female talent and future generations through lectures and mentoring programs for various forums, organizations, and universities.

Chair and Chief Executive Officer

State Street Corporation

Under Ronald's leadership, State Street has continually focused on increasing female leadership in the companies in which it invests, including by launching the Fearless Girl initiative, which helped spur female corporate board member appointments. Ron also introduced STT company-wide diversity goals that are tied to executive compensation, diverse talent slates for all open positions, and introduced State Street’s “10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality,” the firm’s commitment to taking strategic action in the IDE space. In 2021, Ron added two women to State Street’s Management Committee, bringing female representation to 28%, with 36% of promotions at Managing Director level and above being women. State Street has been featured on Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies and Best Companies for Dads, and the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. For seven consecutive years the firm has earned a 100% on the HRC Equality Index.

CEO

Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam

Michele Wee was appointed CEO, Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Ltd on 01 February 2021. She acquired 29 years of banking experience, thriving on her strengths of strategic solutioning for business problems, managing teams and executing complex projects across business functions. Michele’s career with Standard Chartered Bank started in 2011 when she joined Standard Chartered Bank Singapore as Managing Director, Global Head of eCommerce Sales. In her next expanded role, Michele was Head of Financial Markets – Singapore, Australia and Brunei, taking charge of these 3 markets’ Financial Markets business besides delivering the marketing governance and regulatory relationships. Michele was appointed Chairman of Banking Working Group (BWG) in March 2022 until March 2024 and has received the recognition letter from State Bank of Vietnam for her contribution in this role. Michele is a big advocate for Diversity and Inclusion. As a CEO, Michele describes herself as a “servant leader” and a strong supporter of Coaching. She sees the success in individuals, teams and in organizational delivery as encouragement to keep her going, and the best way to share passion and energy is by doing and leading by example. She has been given recognition as HERoes Women Executives yearly since 2021 in Top 5 each year, with most recent ranking at Top 3 in 2023. In Vietnam, Michele has been recognized as Top 50 Asia Pacific Women Leader with many local awards. In 2024, she received the medal "For the Great Contribution to Natural Resources and Environment" recognized by Ministry of Natural resources and Environment. Michele is indoctrinated into Heroes Hall of Fame 2024.

Founder & CEO

INvolve

In 2013, Suki founded OUTstanding, a membership organisation for LBGT+ executives and allies. OUTstanding supports the diversification of the boardroom and aims to highlight more visible senior LGBT+ role models to inspire the next generation of leaders.  In partnership with The Financial Times, OUTstanding now produces the acclaimed LGBT+ Executive Top100 list, Ally Top30 list and Future Leaders Top30 list each year. In 2017, Suki launched EMpower – or Ethnic Minority power. EMpower is a membership organisation with ten founding members across a range of sectors, from financial services to tech and FMCG. EMpower exists to celebrate BAME role models, and empower corporate firms with the leadership skills and knowledge to maintain and develop their BAME talent pipeline. Each year, in partnership with the Financial Times, EMpower publishes role model lists celebrating the top BAME Executives and Future Leaders, globally.

Managing Director, Technology Media and Telecoms

Google

Vanessa Kingori OBE is a trailblazing business leader and advocate for diversity, with a career spanning over two decades. In March 2024, she became the Managing Director of Technology, Media, and Telecoms at Google UKI, marking her as the first Black Managing Director in the British business sector at Google. Prior to this, Vanessa had a distinguished 20-year career in the media industry, most notably at Condé Nast, where she served as Chief Business Officer. Her tenure at British Vogue, starting in 2017, was historic as she became the first female business lead in the magazine’s 100-year history and Condé Nast Britain’s first business lead of color. Vanessa led transformative changes at Vogue, driving significant revenue growth, digital innovation, and audience engagement. In addition to her business achievements, Vanessa is a committed advocate for social responsibility and female empowerment. She has led initiatives like the #SHARETHEMICUK campaign and supports female entrepreneurs through the Peanut StartHer microfund. Vanessa’s contributions to media and social equity have earned her numerous accolades, including an OBE in 2023 and recognition as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Britons for eight consecutive years. She also serves on various prestigious boards, including the Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet.