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Christoph Schweizer

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jon Holt

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Brenda Tsai

Global Chief Marketing Officer
State Street Corporation

Brenda Tsai is the Global Chief Marketing Officer at State Street Corporation. She is passionate about advancing diversity in business and is an executive sponsor of State Street's Asian Professionals Alliance Community, empowering Asian American employees with resources for personal growth and professional development. She collaborated with Ascend on the "The Other Side" campaign, highlighting challenges faced by AAPI professionals in corporate America. As an executive member of Ascend Leadership, Brenda supported over 60,000 business professionals and in 2023 was named an Ascend A-List honoree for her achievements and leadership. Outside of State Street, Brenda participates in leading business and industry associations, advocating for diversity and inclusion, where she is a driving force in marketing, diversity, and leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Former Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith

Tamara Box is a partner and immediate past (July 2023) Managing Partner, EME at Reed Smith LLP. Tamara is a non-executive director on the Boards of Interpath Advisory and Hanover Investors, a Trustee of Chartered Management Institute and Chair CMI Women, a trustee of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal, an Advisory Board member of charity Theirworld, an Advisory Board member of LSE’s The Inclusion Initiative and a founding member of the Steering Committee of 30% Club. Tamara has twice been named a Financial News “50 Most influential Lawyers” (2022, 2023) and was Law Firm Leader of the Year – Large Law Firm at Women and Diversity in Law Awards, 2023. Tamara is a passionate advocate for the women at Reed Smith and for gender balance generally. Several women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted/ winners of female leadership awards from Rising Star, Women of the Future and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sheetal Acharya

Director of Operations, Global Transformation Office
National Grid

Sheetal is the Director of Operations Global Transformation Office at National Grid, where she also is the Executive Sponsor of the Women in Networks Employee Resource Group and has orchestrated impactful initiatives to promote gender parity and empower women. Her commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace is evident through her leadership of the 1st Annual Women's Summit, which brought together over 100 women for networking and learning. Sheetal's focus on pay equity is marked by hosting events like the "Unhappy Hour" on Equal Pay Day and facilitating the WiN Pay Equity Panel to raise awareness about gender pay gap issues. Beyond her professional endeavors, Sheetal was the Opening Speaker for President Biden's Cancer Moonshot Launch, sharing her inspirational story of overcoming Stage 1 breast cancer. Sheetal's dedication to breast cancer awareness and supporting women's health underscores her commitment to making a positive impact both professionally and personally.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Grosvenor

Chief Engagement & Growth Officer
GroupM

Katie is the Chief Engagement & Growth Officer at GroupM. Passionate about gender equality, she sponsored and led the Gender ERG at IAS EMEA, fostering an inclusive environment for gender-related conversations. As an Executive Sponsor, she champions the Unite ERG, supporting LGBTQIA+ members. Katie's impact extends to mentorship and sponsorship programs, elevating underrepresented talent to leadership positions and held the position of COO for the women’s network, Bloom, in 2021. She actively endorses the Visible Start program, aiding women in reentering the advertising field after career breaks. Through media appearances and speaking engagements, Katie uses her voice to address workplace inequalities, retention, and mentorship. Beyond the workplace, she collaborates with Business in the Community's Cost of Living Taskforce to alleviate employees' financial challenges. Katie's accolades include being recognized as one of Management Today's 35 Under 35 and one of the U.K.'s 50 Most Influential Women in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mohita Sajwan

Chief Operating Officer - Consumer and Healthcare
Genpact

Mohita Sajwan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) - Consumer and Healthcare at Genpact, leads initiatives that drive progress in gender diversity and has fostered supportive environments like the 'Women in Insurance' group. Her championing of sponsorship through the Pay It Forward program empowers women to succeed by pairing them with influential leaders, resulting in remarkable growth from 32 to 3075 sponsor-protégé pairs in nine years. Mohita's efforts have significantly increased gender diversity in the Consumer Goods & Healthcare vertical, as well as in the Insurance vertical that she previously led as the COO. Her influence extends beyond Genpact as she engages in meaningful conversations with client leaders to foster awareness and support for inclusion. Passionate about mentoring, Mohita actively engages with youth groups, guiding them toward fulfilling their potential and becoming change-makers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Jeronimo

CEO
Gaingels

As CEO of Gaingels, Inc, Jennifer Jeronimo launched the WAVE program (Women Accessing Venture Equality). This transformative 6-month initiative empowers women and gender-diverse individuals to engage and thrive in the venture economy. This innovative initiative combines education on venture investing with networking opportunities. Beyond Gaingels, Jennifer's influence extends to the CEOX networking group, where she works with senior women throughout many industries to help women's advancement to C-suite positions through peer collaboration. A trailblazer in promoting diversity within venture capital, Jennifer's participation in industry panels, discussions, and events sets her apart. Her contributions range from powerful insights at HSBC's Women's BRG group to discussions on Invest in Her podcast and The Los Angeles Angels podcast.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sabrina Browne

Vice President, Corporate Affairs and North America ERG Lead
BCW

As a Vice President and North America ERG Lead, Sabrina works to elevate women across the region through client counsel, internal programs and events, and various speaking engagements. She has been counseling Fortune 500 clients on strategic communications, national campaigns, and ways to provide access to capital to women and minority business owners. Additionally, Sabrina empowers Black employees to enhance their personal and professional development skills through her oversight of BCW's African American Employee Resource (AAER) Group, of which more than 50 percent of members are Black women. She also served as a WPP NextGen Pod Leader, managing a 10-week immersive learning program designed to introduce early talent to WPP. Outside of BCW, Sabrina is a Partner at The Flow Initiative, a national organization committed to ending period poverty in the United States, and Global Board Chair at Pandemic Periods, the leading menstrual health collective operating in over 25 countries worldwide.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Solange Cunha

Lawyer
Mattos Filho

In 2021, Solange - a Lawer at Mattos Filho - introduced a transformative Book Club at her law firm, emphasizing literature by women authors. This platform delves into discussions about feminism, motherhood, career, race, and class, fostering a safe space for shared experiences and inspiring conversations. A year later, CNN invited her for an interview, shedding light on workplace sexism and showcasing initiatives to inspire other companies to follow suit. Currently, Solange spearheads a mentoring program for women lawyers and interns, addressing the challenges faced by women in corporate environments. Beyond Mattos Filho, Solange has participated in initiatives that promote diversity, including "Leia Mulheres," a nationwide Brazilian book club spotlighting literature by women authors to foster understanding of gender issues, and Maritime SheEO, an international community dedicated to advancing diversity and innovation within traditionally male-dominated industries.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yeniva Massaquoi

Associate
Latham & Watkins

Yeniva is a senior associate at Latham & Watkins with extensive experience advising multinational clients on raising capital in high value cross-border transactions. Yeniva is also a member and previous Global Leader of Latham’s Women Lawyers Group (WLG), which has over 1500 members globally. As Global Leader, Yeniva drove the WLG’s mission to recruit, retain, and progress women lawyers by spearheading professional development training, mentorship, and community building, including by organising retreats, launching women-focused networks, furthering mentoring schemes, and moderating panel discussions on gender equity and progression. Prior to WLG, Yeniva was Chair of Latham’s Black Lawyers Group in London followed by two years as Global Chair of the group during which she established a number of diversity initiatives. Yeniva is also active in gender and broader DEI related pro bono work, including supporting The Windrush Legal Initiative – a free legal clinic helping applicants navigate the UK’s Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dionne Condor-Farrell

Application Development Manager - STEM
Transport for London

Dionne is an Application Development Manager at Transport for London (TfL). As Co-Lead of TfL's Women in Tech Community, she co-leads a team of 13 volunteers, spearheading coding workshops, advice sessions, and tech talks for a thriving community of over 200 individuals. Her passion for nurturing women's tech careers shines through as she facilitates shadowing, work experience and mentoring opportunities. As Career Development Lead for TfL's RACE SNG, Dionne tackles diversity gaps directly, orchestrating events like the "Journey To Your Career Success" series and empowering 125+ attendees with insights from senior professionals. In 2022, she launched Techfidence, a career coaching service offering the Confidence Coaching Programme that allows women to transition into tech roles with remarkable results. Dionne's impact extends to published works like "Black and Great" and "The Voices In the Shadow" and recognition on the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in Tech UK Tech 2022 and 2023 long list.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Allison Endara

Head of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Investment Solutions
UBS Financial Services

Allison is the Head of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Investment Solutions at UBS Financial Services. As a mentor, Allison has guided rising women leaders in the Wealth Management division, imparting skills to advocate for themselves and pursue leadership roles. Serving as Co-Chair of the Pride Americas Network, she has played a pivotal role in driving LGBTQ+ allyship and advocacy across divisions through impactful programming, events, and workshops. Allison's impact extends beyond UBS. She partnered with UCLA School of Law to host an event on the implications of Roe v. Wade, shedding light on its effects on marginalized communities. Her recognition by "100 Women in Finance" underscores her dedication to promoting gender equity and diversity of thought within the finance sector. Outside of UBS, Allison actively supports grassroots women's health and social justice organizations, further exemplifying her commitment to positively impacting women and communities

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samrudhi Vaghmare

Senior Consultant
EY

Samrudhi, a Senior Consultant at EY, is the Co-Lead of EY's Data & Analytics DEI Team. Samrudhi champions diversity within the practice, and crafts recruitment and retention strategies – driving gender, race, and other diverse representation across 700+ employees. As a Strategic Partner for EY's DEI Recruiting team, she elevates underrepresented voices. Hosting 150 students from Out for Undergrad’s (O4U) MOSAIC Program, she garnered recognition for her impact from EY senior leadership. Samrudhi's influence shined as Conference Director at the 2023 O4U Business Conference. Orchestrating an exceptional event, she prioritized intersectionality within the LGBTQ+ community and facilitated connections with HBCUs and Women's Colleges. Samrudhi also mentors at Correlation One, where she empowers young women in data fluency through the DS4A Program, amplifying representation in tech, consulting, and finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dominic Blakemore

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sean Hagerty

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global CEO, VMLY&R COMMERCE and NY CEO, VMLY&R
VMLY&R

Beth Ann serves as Global CEO, VMLY&R COMMERCE and NY CEO, VMLY&R. She has led company and cultural transformation, bringing together world-leading capability and talent to provide unmatched expertise for clients including The Coca-Cola Company, SC Johnson, Mazda, General Mills and more, at a time of unprecedented global growth in Commerce. Her belief that Commerce holds the most untapped creative potential to grow brands and people has led to delivery of new and innovative creative commerce experiences that harness data and technology to build brands and sell products across channels. Her experience spans all areas of retail, brand, sales, and marketing, as a founding member of a successful startup purchased by Omnicom, Global CMO of Westfield Corp, CEO for Kantar Consulting Americas, and the first female CEO at TracyLocke during its one-hundred-year history. She is an AdAge Women to Watch, has judged the D&ADs, EFFIEs, and, in 2022, was Cannes Lions Jury President for the newly launched Creative Commerce jury.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Efe Ukala

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel
JP Morgan

Efe is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan. In addition to her role as in-house counsel, she’s involved in the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts that have resulted in hiring and retaining diverse talents. Her passion for inclusiveness transcends her day job. Efe is also the Founder of ImpactHER, a non-profit that cultivates environments within which African female-led small businesses not only survive but thrive. Under her leadership, ImpactHER has provided pro bono business advisory support and directly trained over 76,100 African women entrepreneurs from 53 African countries, connected them with investors, and converted 39,444 non-technologically enabled businesses to technologically enabled businesses. Her work helped African women-led businesses from permanent shutdown during the COVID pandemic, and is actively changing the narrative of disenfranchised female business owners on the Continent; allowing women to crash through glass ceilings and re-define the face of successful entrepreneurs in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jen Tippin

Chief People & Transformation Officer
NatWest Group

As Chief People & Transformation Officer and executive sponsor for LGBT+, Jen co-chairs NatWest’s One Bank Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee, bringing together key stakeholders (including employee-led networks) to share best practice and drive positive change. Jen builds a culture of inclusivity where everyone can thrive, working with the Gender Network to ensure women's voices are heard. Jen pushes for constant improvement, e.g., by updating NatWest’s parental leave policy, introducing enhanced menopause support and improving business travel policies to enhance colleague safety. Jen relentlessly holds leaders to account for attracting and retaining diverse talent and building strong sustainable pipelines. Externally, Jen is a proactive ambassador, speaking at events to facilitate change, and supports campaigns such as 25x25, an initiative to help to increase the number of female CEOs in the UK FTSE. Jen is also a founding sponsor of the Bain led Stratos Academy for female talent and leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mirjam Staub-Bisang

Head of BlackRock Switzerland and member of the EMEA Executive Committee
BlackRock

Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Head of BlackRock Switzerland and member of the EMEA Executive Committee advocates for diversity within the financial industry and a recognized leader in sustainable investing. Leading a team of about 120 employees, she shapes BlackRock's presence in Switzerland while serving as a non-executive director of the global shoe retailer Bata and contributing to prominent boards like the Asset Management Association Switzerland and Swiss Sustainable Finance. Mirjam also co-sponsors Elevate—a program nurturing emerging women talent within BlackRock's Women's Initiative & Allies Network (WIN). As an active Black Professionals & Allies network member, she fosters meaningful opportunities for Black professionals. Mirjam's legacy extends beyond the workplace, as she founded and chaired the "MBA for Women Foundation," providing financial aid for women pursuing MBAs. She endowed the "Mirjam Staub-Bisang Research Fund for Sustainable Investing" at INSEAD and earned recognition as one of the "Top 100 Women in Business" in Switzerland.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Louise Prashad

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Louise was appointed Chief HR Officer in January 2022 and is the Executive member responsible for the design and implementation of Diageo's Inclusion and Diversity strategy. In her previous role as Global Talent Director, Louise led the creation of Diageo's Thriving Through Menopause guidelines to raise awareness and understanding of menopause throughout the business. The guidelines are live in over 40 countries and in June 2022, Louise championed Diageo to become the first global company to make the balance+ menopause app available to all employees. Since Louise’s appointment, Diageo has introduced a variety of further guidelines and policies to assist its ambition of creating the most supportive and inclusive environment, with the company launching in 2023 Pregnancy Loss Guidelines globally and Fertility Support Guidelines in the UK. Louise is committed to ensuring Diageo drives change across society, with the company for example having ambitious goals to increase its Supplier Diversity spend with minority-owned businesses, including female-owned, to 15 percent by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arungalai Anbarasu

Chief Technology & Strategy Officer
Waygate Technologies

Arungalai is mother to a 8-year-old daughter, fierce gender-balance advocate and a member of the Women's Network Group within her company, and she has been coaching and mentoring gender-diverse employees to succeed in their careers so that she can create more gender-diverse teams in a high-tech business. Arungalai has been promoting roles in STEM with school and university-level students and is a thought leader in Forbes Technology Council and on Gender Balance & Working Mothers. She was featured in the Top 100 Women in Technology Leaders by Technology Magazine in 2021, in the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by National Diversity Council in 2021, and in the 10 Most inspiring women leaders to follow in 2022 by Insights Success in 2022 & 40 under 40 by CDO Magazine in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natsayi Mawere

Partner
Reed Smith

Natsayi is the Co-Chair of Reed Smith’s NYC office’s DEI committee, has helped to develop the office's Racial Equity Action Plan and is also a liaison for the office’s Women’s Initiative Network (“WINRS”). In 2020, she introduced an annual virtual Career Day program to NYC WINRS that connects low-income and homeless women served by the NYC Coalition for the Homeless’ “First Step Program” with lawyers and professional staff in NYC WINRS. NYC WINRS attendees assisted First Step students with resume development, mock job interviews, and discussed issues women face (in the context of a job search). As part of the NYC office's REAP, Natsayi worked with colleagues to develop a pilot Associate Buddy Program in 2021, which she took the lead in taking global in 2022. She is dedicated to investing in the well-being and advancement of others, especially women facing systematic barriers to employment.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lexie Toorock

Wealth Management Solutions
Bridgewater Associates

Lexie Toorock joined Bridgewater in 2012, and today she is a lead relationship manager and marketer for the firm’s wealth and distribution practice, reporting directly to the Global Head of Wealth and Distribution. Lexie is a founding member of Bridgewater’s “Women’s Influence Network,” the firm’s largest affinity network and currently serves as its co-Head. She has consistently mentored women and others throughout the firm, while also hosting various firmwide discussions on business and leadership. Beyond Bridgewater, she serves on the board and is Chair of the Development Committee of LSA Family Health Service, a 65-year old nonprofit focused on assisting families and children in East Harlem, and she is a significant contributor to fundraising efforts and strategy for Grameen America, the largest microfinance nonprofit in the US. Lexie holds a B.S. in Strategic Management and Economics from Babson College.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Malgorzata (Gosia) Lesniak

Global Head of Talent Acquisition
AMS

Gosia Lesniak is Global Head of Talent Acquisition for the talent solutions business. Since 2020 she has led the AMS Women ERG, a platform for discussion and support, capturing women voices from regions across the world and emphasising intersectionality in its initiatives. Gosia is a passionate advocate for women’s issues, ensuring personal development, well-being and career advancement opportunities for AMS women in keeping with the company’s diversity goals. Over the past year, she has led the establishment of the AMS Career Centre in Poland, providing refugees, primarily women, from Ukraine with essential support to integrate into the Polish workforce. This initiative supports those displaced from conflict in finding jobs and offers psychological support through workshops and meetings, creating a supportive community. Gosia elevates the voices of the women and allies she inspires through internal events, external speaking opportunities and partnerships and through her support of local refugee and women initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sharniya Ferdinand

Enterprise Community Strategy Director
NatWest Group

Sharniya, Enterprise Community Strategy Director at Natwest Group, is dedicated to advancing gender equality and fostering intersectional empowerment. Appointed in October 2021 to drive collaboration across networks, Sharniya's impact has been remarkable. She orchestrates events of profound implications, including 'Black Female Excellence' and 'The Power of Black Femininity,' engaging hundreds in discussions on intersectionality. Sharniya's commitment to mentorship is evident through her work with graduate colleagues, supporting them to secure permanent roles and promotions. She has also created a Black Female Colleagues' Network that provides a safe space for connection. Moreover, she champions women's recognition through external awards and shapes dialogues on entrepreneurship, gender balance, and empowerment through hosted events and webinars.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eugenia Linares Traiman

HXM Global Business Partner
SAP

The HXM Global Business Partner at SAP, Eugenia, created innovative and impactful panel events that brought attention to the experiences and challenges faced by various groups. From topics on diverse families and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women, her events provide platforms for sharing stories, promoting allyship, and fostering understanding. She also champions education, coordinating English and Computing lessons for transgender women. As the leader of the Pride ENG for Latin America and the Caribbean, Eugenia fosters an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees. At the same time, her involvement with other ENGs advances gender equality for women. Her mentorship extends beyond her organization as she helps women from other companies establish their own ENG to support women in technology. Eugenia also volunteers at NGOs supporting transgender women and women with mental health issues, actively participating in fundraising, reintegration programs, and awareness campaigns.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jessie Chen

Head of Marketing Deployment, APMEA North
British American Tobacco

Jessie Chen, the Head of Marketing Deployment, APMEA North at British American Tobacco, is the first woman Country Manager for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Her leadership exemplifies how women can drive business growth and influence the organization. Her contributions include active participation in International Women's Day workshops, DEI activities, and leadership-sharing sessions. Jessie's involvement in the Workplace Culture Focus Group showcases her dedication to fostering an inclusive environment. She's made strides in recruitment, training, coaching, as well as successfully mentoring other female talents into leadership positions. Jessie's commitment extends to community engagement outside BAT through mentorship programs and campus recruitment events. Her efforts have been recognized with awards, including being named a Top Employer, receiving the Golden Torch Award, and earning accolades for BAT's commitment to employees through HR Asia and Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Hynam

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Osman Ershad Faiz

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Karen Blackett

WPP, UK President
WPP

Karen is a proven business leader with a track record in creating vibrant cultures, energising teams, and consistently delivering business growth and success. She is UK President for WPP, the world’s largest marketing services group and responsible for driving growth in WPP’s second largest market of 12,000 people. Karen is dedicated to advancing women's careers. She is the Executive Sponsor of Stella, a WPP Employee Resource Group supporting women's opportunities and gender diversity. She also launched Elevate, a programme for high-potential Black female employees. Karen champions WPP's Propeller programme, fostering diverse leadership pipelines with 2,633 participants across 71 countries. It has resulted in 33 promotions to CEO-level roles in four years. As CEO of Mediacom, Karen also elevated women in senior management to 44%. Karen is a single to a beautiful teenage boy, Isaac. The daughter of 2 Bajan parents, Karen regularly returns to her spiritual "home" Barbados and spends her weekends enjoying the outdoors and walking her two adorable dogs Bob Marley and Missy Elliot.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marjorie Dickman

Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
BlackBerry Limited

Marjorie joined BlackBerry in 2020 as a corporate officer and the company's first Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, making her one of the few female Global Government Affairs/Public Policy C-suite leaders worldwide. As the top advisor to BlackBerry's Executive Chairman and CEO on worldwide government affairs and technical standards decisions, Marjorie role models gender diversity and women's inclusion across the company. She endeavors to ensure that all voices and perspectives are considered in corporate decision making, and remains steadfast in her commitment to mentoring women across the technology and government affairs sectors. Her multi-decade history of advocating for and mentoring the next generation of women leaders and promoting STEM education and careers for women, has inspired an entire cohort of women (and men) at BlackBerry, who have joined Marjorie in promoting gender diversity and women's inclusion throughout the company and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President Global Communications
Philip Morris International

A veteran communicator and trendspotter, Marian makes smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Through regular bylines, interviews, and keynote addresses, she advocates for the equitable advancement of women. A member of the PRWeek Hall of Femme and Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, she has been honored with AWNY/She Runs It’s Changing the Game Award and has served on the board of directors of Venture for America. Within Philip Morris International, Marian promotes change through two employee resource groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN). Her latest book, The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption (Penguin Random House, 2022), examines changing gender mores and the role female leaders can play in addressing critical societal issues.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alessia Falsarone

Executive in Residence
The University of Chicago

Alessia, Executive in Residence at The University of Chicago, and independent director of private and public companies, has fostered diversity within various spheres. As the Women in Circularity network convener, Alessia was pivotal in achieving equal representation in the Circular Economy and Sustainable Business Management executive program. Her dedication resulted in a 50:50 gender participation rate across diverse sectors and countries. Alessia's influence extends to the global Women in Green Hydrogen network, where her impactful policy engagements in Australia, the U.S., and Germany have contributed to shaping gender-inclusive energy transition conversations. Her recognition as a Global Woman in Leadership Awardee by the SheInspires Foundation underscores her commitment to inclusive growth and climate justice, as demonstrated through her work in designing the first private sector investment for COVID relief programs. Her book "The Impact Challenge" showcases her dedication to creating inclusive networks, aligning business ownership with sustainability, and prioritizing women's well-being.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Wade

Global Chief Marketing Officer
VMLY&R

Beth Wade is the Global Chief Marketing Officer at VMLY&R. Inspired by the impactful careers of her grandmothers, she champions gender equality within VMLY&R. Beth has facilitated meaningful change and growth as a founding member, chair, and executive sponsor of Lumina, VMLY&R's employee resource network for women. With more than 500 members and a growth rate exceeding 50% in 2022, Lumina delivers valuable programming and initiatives, including support for nonprofits, safe space discussions, policy enhancements, and a Buddy Program. Beth has created captivating content, including her "Innovators Chat" LinkedIn interview series, which highlights inspirational stories of entrepreneurial women, and her former podcast, "VMLY&R Women Around the World," which highlighted diverse career paths. She's created VMLY&R’s Re/Imagine client event series, hosted industry panels and received prestigious awards, including 2023 Ingram's CMO of the Year and 2022 Top 50 Women Leaders in Missouri.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Enna Jimenez

Business Transformation and Quality Leader
IDEMIA

Enna is a Founding Committee Member of Women in IDEMIA Network, WIN, facilitates WIN Circles in Boston, giving women a chance to come together in a safe space, and supported the launch of WIN's first Mentor/Mentee program. She spearheaded on-boarding recruiting vendors based in Puerto Rico to increase diversity for its Engineering roles and led the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, raising awareness of Latinas and their influence in collaboration with LatAm colleagues. Enna created a partnership between IDEMIA and ALPFA, to bring our TSA Precheck enrollment to their Annual Convention for 2-years in a row. Enna has been an active public speaker, speaking at over 40 organizations, conferences, and workshops, raising awareness of Afro-Latinas in Technology, leading as a woman, sponsorship, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Franklin

Chief Human Resources Officer
Moderna

Tracey Franklin, Chief Human Resources Officer at Moderna, is an exceptional leader who puts belonging first when it comes to driving workplace innovation. In 2021, Tracey pioneered the 12 Moderna Mindsets, uniting the culture and empowering teams to overcome obstacles collaboratively. Amid Moderna's growth from 1,300 to 3,900 employees at the end of 2022, she championed gender and pay parity globally, with 41% of high-level leaders being women, elevating employee engagement. Tracey's influence extends beyond Moderna. Her insights shared at platforms like the Forbes Future of Work Summit highlight purpose-driven leadership and employee experience. Acknowledged as a Leader to Watch by N2 Growth and an INSIDER Top H.R. Leader, she's committed to driving inclusivity and change. Moderna's recognition as a Disability:IN Best Place to Work and one of Forbes World's Top Female-Friendly Companies reflects her impactful leadership, shaping a culture of belonging and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susannah Stott

Low Carbon Fuels Integration Analyst
Shell PLC Ltd

As part of Shell’s Balance Network, Susannah founded and led the 50:50 Ops initiative to improve DEI in operations at their onshore and offshore facilities. Through this initiative, she held focus groups with women across operations, created a Facility GAP analysis survey to identify and track improvement actions around focus areas, gained buy-in from the VP of Upstream and Facility Managers, created "The Balance Badge" to reward facilities for good DEI performance, and led a committee focusing on broader improvement initiatives. Outside of Shell, Susannah helped kick start the Axis Network, Inclusive Offshore Working Group (IOWG), to promote Women's inclusion and gender diversity across the energy industry more broadly. She used this network to conduct a cross-industry survey to develop an informed understanding of the micro inequalities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Namita Singh Thakur

Sr.Manager - Global Strategic Accounts
LinkedIn UK

Namita Singh Thakur is a leader within the Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn in EMEA. She has also been a Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA between 2020-22. LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving parity across all levels of the organization. Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her passion for the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. Outside of her formal role, she is passionate about arts & democratization of art through her foundation Art Curio & regularly supports emerging artists and artists within under-represented racial groups as a patron, art-collaborator and collector. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate/social life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tasnika Goorhoo

Sr Specialist in Technical Research
S&P Global

Tasnika, a Sr Specialist in Technical Research within Upstream Solutions, Commodity Insights at S&P Global, is a WINS Southern EMEA chapter board member, representing South Africa. Tasnika has orchestrated impactful events, at times extending to global panels, on career development, imposter syndrome, career coaching, and cultural and gender diversity. As a leader of the ladies' network for the Club of Engineers, Tasnika forges connections among women in engineering, creating a supportive environment and opportunities. She has also stepped in the role as a Cape Town ambassador for Future Females, driving the mission to amplify women’s entrepreneurship and success stories. Tasnika's dedication to mentoring extends to the WomEng, where she empowers high school girls. As a Chemical Engineer, Tasnika is an equality advocate determined to ensure female empowerment and sustainable progress in the energy sector, leading her to delivering a TEDxYouth@CapeTown talk on the topic.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sindhura Kola

IT Manager
Boeing India Pvt. Ltd.

Sindhura Kola, an IT Manager at Boeing India Engineering Technology Centre, is the Co-Chair of Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL) Bangalore chapter. Since its inception in 2020, she has spearheaded initiatives that empower women and allies to thrive at Boeing. Under her leadership, BWIL's strategies have provided access to networking, business alignment, professional development, and community outreach opportunities, contributing to personal and professional growth. Beyond BWIL, she initiated the informal networking group 'Sakhi' during the pandemic, evolving into the flagship program My3(pronounced as Maitriye) with the support of other Women Leaders, fostering connections, storytelling, and mentorship among women employees. Her dedication to diversity and inclusion earned her the Quarterly Diversity & Inclusion Spotlight award twice. Sindhura's promotion of external affiliations and emphasis on recognizing D&I efforts has transformed the culture, amplifying the voices of those championing diversity and inclusion within Boeing and the broader community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jordan Pearson

Senior Design Analyst
Lloyds Banking Group

Jordan is a Senior Design Analyst at Lloyds Banking Group who is extremely passionate about encouraging women and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to embrace opportunities in technology. She recently worked to develop and deliver Lloyds Banks' inaugural virtual work experience program, where she introduced 11-14-year-olds to the world of data. Her dedication to youth development extends beyond this initiative, having volunteered with over 1,000 young people to date. Jordan's impact goes beyond her workplace, she founded Jordansgirlcode.com, a platform to support women's career journeys in tech, data, and coding. She shares valuable insights through blogs, tutorials, and community-building activities. She has also spoken at conferences and workshops, emphasizing the significance of STEM education for girls. By mentoring through organizations like Brightside, she has guided young women through critical career decisions. Jordan's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive tech industry is evident in her efforts to inspire the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Priscila Cruz

Leaf Services, Technology and Capabilities manager
British American Tobacco

Recognizing the need for change, Priscila - Leaf Services, Technology and Capabilities Manager at British American Tobacco - spearheaded the creation of a women managers' group aimed at identifying gender disparities and fostering awareness. This initiative led to the establishment of "Inspiring Change," a dynamic cross-functional team that evolved organically, transcending hierarchical boundaries. As a key figure in "Inspiring Change," Priscila facilitated a SWOT analysis, crafted a comprehensive action plan, and galvanized leaders to support the movement. Her impactful work has left an indelible mark, with "Inspiring Change" expanding its scope to encompass overall diversity under the name "Inspiring People." Priscila's unwavering commitment is evident through her engagement in various corporate gender diversity groups at local, regional, and global levels, where she has served as a leader, co-responsible member, advisor, and board committee contributor.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nick Mackenzie

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Malcolm Palmer

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jette Nygaard-Andersen

CEO
Entain

Jette Nygaard-Andersen is the CEO of Entain, prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the organization. Under her leadership, a diverse ExCo was formed, and she spearheaded initiatives like Reboot@Ivy, empowering women returning to work in technology roles. She brokered a returnship program with McLaren, reigniting careers for women in STEM. Jette also launched the Women@Entain network, fostering inclusion for women colleagues. Committed to promoting women in STEM, Jette partnered with Girls Who Code and established technology scholarships with global universities. Recognized as one of the "25 People to Watch" by Global Gaming Business Magazine, she advocates for positive industry change, emphasizing the significance of diversity and encouraging women in STEM careers. As a personal and professional supporter of Global Gaming Women, Jette actively mentors senior women, highlighting the importance of mutual business support.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey McMurray

CEO
Pollen Street Capital

Lindsey McMurray is Pollen Street Capital's CEO and a member of the ESG Committee leading on DEI. The ESG Committee launched a DEI and Engagement Survey and formed a working group with the Chief People Officer to drive the diversity agenda. Moreover, challenging traditional recruitment biases, Lindsey ensured over 50% of new hires in the past year were women. Under her management, Pollen Street sponsors Level20 to enhance gender diversity in Private Equity and fosters social mobility, with 66% of the team educated in state schools. Through her work with CIFE, Lindsey promotes investing in women entrepreneurs, contributing to guidelines on Diversity and Inclusion in the investment industry. Her dedication earned her recognition, including the FT Adviser Diversity Champion of the Year and the Trailblazer Award at the Women's Private Equity Summit Europe. Lindsey strives to share her experiences and ethos in a male-dominated industry to drive meaningful change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eliza Casinather

Global Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
TMX Group

Eliza is an internationally recognized and award-winning leader known for her experience in strategic consulting, digital innovation, and human capital management across technology, retail banking and capital markets. She has influenced financial services organizations in driving revenue and business results through authentic leadership, inclusive talent management and innovative client experiences that strengthen these organizations’ commitment to diversity and inclusion. To further champion change within Canadian Capital Markets, Eliza, formerly Director, People and Culture, CIBC Capital Markets, took on the role of Global Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the TMX Group, an integrated, multi-asset class exchange group which includes the Toronto Stock Exchange. Eliza currently serves on the CARE Canada Board of Directors, advises the Canadian Paralympic Games Human Resources Committee, and actively partners with Women in Capital Markets. Her influence also extends beyond Canada's borders to supporting young women in sub-saharan Africa and minority entrepreneurs in Australia.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Cope

Commercial Director - Defence Digital
Ministry of Defence

Victoria, Commercial Director at Defense Digital in the Ministry of Defense, sponsors the Government Commercial Function RISE program, nurturing ethnically diverse and women professionals to excel as leaders. Her efforts have led to the promotion of candidates who benefitted from the program's development initiatives. As a commercial professional, working parent with a disability, and a woman leader, Victoria is a prominent advocate for underrepresented individuals. She encourages diversity within the profession through workshops, speeches, podcasts, and articles. Her leadership within the charitable sector has transformed lives, increasing the diversity of entrants into sustainable careers, particularly among vulnerable women and girls. Victoria's commitment extends to the tech sector, where she contributes to the Inspiring Leadership Foundation as NED and Chair of the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee. Her ambassadorial roles with organizations like WISE and the Royal Aeronautical Society also showcase her dedication to empowering women in technology and engineering.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Hall

VP Operations, Supply Chain & Procurement
Shell

Catherine is the Vice President of Operations for Supply Chain & Procurement at Shell, where she also chairs Balance@Shell, the gender ERG for 6000 UK employees, delivering a strategy of inclusion, enabling all to progress and a balanced ‘future of work’. She inspires and engages the network through events like International Women's Day, the Senior Women's Network, fostering role models and introducing innovative external coaches. She actively creates allies among her male colleagues, promoting critical conversations. Catherine influenced progressive changes, such as policies on menopause and extended Partner Leave. During her ERG leadership, Shell has achieved recognition as a Times Top 50 Employer for Women in 2022 and 2021. Externally, Catherine sits on the Gender Leadership team of Business In the Community (BITC) and the Women's Network Forum. Across her roles in Shell, Catherine has been a role model for inclusive leadership and promoted an environment where all can thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elaine Grell

Chief People Officer UK and EMEA
Ogilvy

Elaine has over 20 years’ experience leading strategic human resources; shaping and delivering people and culture solutions in global FTSE100 and SME scale-up businesses in Europe and the US. She has led transformative people initiatives that reflect her dedication to fostering a culture of equality and empowerment. Elaine champions women's diversity and inclusion through strategic actions such as supporting Employee Networks like "Parents & Carers” and sponsoring programmes like Elevate to advance Black women's leadership and 30for30 which empowers and develops women across the EMEA region. Outside of Ogilvy, she actively participates in initiatives that promote gender diversity and inclusion. Elaine's mentorship roles with organizations like PWN, WiHTL, and CIPD demonstrate her commitment to uplifting women and guiding aspiring leaders. She has also lent her expertise to podcasts, panel discussions, and conferences, sharing insights on topics ranging from non-traditional career paths to hybrid working environments.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kate Tinsley

CEO
MKM

Kate Tinsley, CEO at MKM, is committed to promoting fairness throughout the organization, from the warehouse to the boardroom. Under her leadership, MKM employs over 550 women, constituting 18.3% of the workforce—exceeding the industry average. Kate's vision extends to the future, evident in the apprenticeship scheme that boasts a remarkable 40.6% female participation, showcasing her commitment to fostering diverse talent. Kate's influence goes beyond MKM. She actively collaborates with #YesSheCan, driving inclusivity across sectors. Moreover, as a Non-Executive Director of the Football Association, she champions grassroots football and supports women's football growth, reflecting her dedication to positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Fiona Cameron

Senior Leraning and Development Business Partner
GroupM

In the past year, Fiona has developed EMPOWER, a women in leadership development program aimed at progressing women in media and supporting gender pay gap reduction. She leads the YourBridge mentoring initiative and apprenticeship programs at GroupM. As newly appointed Chairperson of Lifetimes, an intersectional and intergenerational Employee Resource Group (ERG), she champions inclusivity and diversity within the workplace. Fiona is a trained GroupM Menopause Champion, and through Lifetimes has secured WPP's continued support against age-related gender bias and promotion of Menopause awareness. She's a vital team member of the Visible Start Programme, a WPP driven initiative designed to encourage inclusion for women aged 45+ to re-enter the industry. Externally, Fiona has actively contributed to the Bloom women's network for six years, initially on the leadership team. She later revitalised the mentoring programme, introducing skill-sharing and coaching to promote women's career advancement and equality in the communication industry.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suzie Nolan

Head of Property
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC

Suzie is the Co-chair of Aviva Ireland's (Gender) Balance network and she is also on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Suzie takes a broad approach to DEI, supporting initiatives such as ‘Free to Be Me’ Children’s Libraries, regularly speaking at industry events promoting gender balance and using her role as property fund manager to provide rent-free or reduced rent access to commercial properties for the benefit of the minority groups in Ireland, including registered charities such as ‘Dublin Pride’, Neurodiversity Ireland and Sightsavers. Suzie is an active participant in Aviva’s ‘Women Tackle Finance’ campaign through which female experts share their financial and investment knowledge in a way that is more relatable for women. Suzie is a Council member of the 30% Club and recently took on the role of Chair of the Financial Services Group, working with senior leaders across Ireland to collectively drive change to accelerate gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sophie McHale

External Communications and Sustainability Manager
The Co-operative Bank

Sophie, External Communications and Sustainability Manager at The Co-operative Bank serves as the Chair of the Elevate (Gender) colleague network, where she drives initiatives to empower women and promote gender equality across the business. Sophie's leadership has elevated the network's impact, fostering progress in critical areas. She spearheaded efforts to promote women's health, resulting in the implementation of supportive policies and the distribution of free and environmentally friendly period products. Sophie's commitment extends to addressing societal issues and supporting survivors of domestic and economic abuse through partnerships with organisations like Refuge. Her strategic collaborations with the Bank’s suppliers promote diversity in tech, and she regularly organises career inspiration sessions for colleagues to combat gender pay disparities. Recognised for her efforts, Greater Manchester Digital has featured Sophie's work, and she continues to lead seminars to share best practices on inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maryse Gordon

Partnerships and Business Development Manager
RepRisk

Maryse Chairs the RepRisk’s DEIB Committee and has helped build the strategy following years of experience as Vice Chair New York Women's Inspired Network (WIN) and Co-Chair Black Employee Network at LSEG. Maryse supported over 100 members in bringing opportunities to enhance career and personal development, through workshops, networking, and speaker events to address topical issues from parenthood and well-being to financial independence and leadership. At RepRisk, Maryse is tasked with embedding DEIB as a core pillar for the 300+ strong employee base, bringing education, resources and opportunities for personal and career development. Maryse is on the advisory board for the Criminal Justice Alliance, Defy Ventures and the Raphael Rowe Foundation, bringing the subject of diversity and inclusion to the formerly incarcerated community and bridging the gap between corporates and those who require a second chance

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yosr Hamza

Director, Legal & Compliance - Middle East
Gartner

Yosr Hamza, Director of Legal & Compliance - Middle East at Gartner, co-leads the Legal & Compliance Inclusion Council, where she has spearheaded initiatives that leave a lasting impact. From establishing internship programs to launching mentorship programs, Yosr's commitment shines through. Moreover, Yosr's individual to over 15 individuals, supporting recent graduates and senior professionals across multiple countries. She advocates for women's empowerment and champions fellow women in the legal field, challenging gender norms, advocating for authentic leadership, storytelling and fostering equitable opportunities to lift one another. Outside Gartner, she contributed to the LexisNexis Middle East Arab Women in Law book. She initiated DEI themed Coffee Chat series for ACC Women in the House, fostering open dialogue and creating a diverse, inclusive, and supportive network.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tamanna Gupta

Senior Solution Architect
Fidelity International Limited

Tamanna Gupta is a Senior Solution Architect at Fidelity International Limited. Tamanna's dedication to inclusivity shines through her involvement in the Uplift Programme, where she has played a pivotal role in discovering and nurturing talented delegates from diverse backgrounds. Her efforts have transformed the hiring landscape, enabling talented individuals, especially women from marginalized backgrounds, to thrive. Passionate about mentorship, Tamanna actively participates in programs such as MentorHer and the GNDP flagship initiatives , guiding and empowering women within the organization to achieve their fullest potential. Beyond the workplace, she champions empowerment on a larger scale through her LinkedIn group, "Shatter the Ceiling and Rise Up." Through this platform, Tamanna offers valuable guidance, addressing career inquiries and fostering skill development for aspiring professionals in technology.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Abhishek Tomar

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam

Michele’s organization has 70% female representation with 45% in leadership roles. As chair of the Vietnam’s people’s agenda, the focus on DEI, Wellness, CSR and New Ways of Working resonates across the organization of 1,550 employees with ~30 events throughout the year. Michele is senior sponsor of SCB’s global coaching program – IGNITE that target mid-level female leaders. The program has coached 1,165 senior females (35.8% of total female population) across 45 countries. She also pioneered the MOU signing with State Bank to implement gender equity across banking sector, contributing to overall financial market success. For the Vietnamese community, SCB’s commitment of female empowerment through various local partner NGO’s, Chambers of Commerce and vendors impact ethnic minority students to executive/ entrepreneurs providing thought leadership, toolkits and financial education that augments female participation in society and business. Michele is Top 100 women in Fintech 2022 and Heroes for the 3rd consecutive year. She is featured on Vietnam National TV Channel for Hero Women award – promoting women development journey.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Paley

President, North America
Haleon

Lisa Paley is the President, North America at Haleon. Committed to achieving gender parity in leadership roles by 2030, she has driven gender equity in her U.S. leadership team, with over half of her direct reports being women. Lisa also actively mentors and sponsors young women, supporting their career growth and promoting flexibility. As the Executive Sponsor of the U.S. DEI Council, Lisa leads a cross-functional team to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Haleon. Additionally, she was crucial in championing the CHPA Diversity Initiative, promoting inclusivity, and supporting diverse talent in the consumer health industry. Outside of work, Lisa is a board member of WE, an organization focused on expanding women's voices in health and wellness. Her dedication to advancing women in the workplace has garnered significant media attention, highlighting the importance of building an inclusive business model where women can grow and thrive as critical drivers of business performance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nilhan Onal Gökçetekin

CEO
Hepsiburada

Nilhan, CEO of Hepsiburada, is a transformative leader who fosters diversity, empowerment, and innovation. She started her career as an entrepreneur in the textile industry at the age of 17. Then with a 25-year career, including roles at P&G and Amazon, Nilhan has championed gender equality and women's entrepreneurship. At Hepsiburada, she's led groundbreaking initiatives to uplift women within the organization and the e-commerce ecosystem. Under her guidance, Hepsiburada established the Hepsinspire platform, promoting mentorship and career development for women colleagues. She's shattered the glass ceiling, elevating women to executive positions, and cultivated a balanced hierarchy. Nilhan's commitment to well-being programs, flexible work schemes, and training initiatives highlight her focus on holistic growth. Her visionary leadership enabled the Technology Empowerment for Women Entrepreneurs program, impacting thousands of women and raising the share of women merchants in Hepsiburada's Marketplace. Additionally, she's driving significant social impact through a post-earthquake program, supporting SMEs, tradespeople, and women entrepreneurs. Throughout her career, she took part in numerous tech and women related forums as a founder or a member.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Geraghty

CEO
Landor & Fitch

Jane is the CEO of Landor & Fitch, a division of WPP. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, brand and communications, Jane is the driving force behind Landor & Fitch’s evolution to become the world’s leading brand and design specialist, creating transformative brands, by design. Focused on building a business that is truly equitable, Jane has successfully achieved gender equality at Landor & Fitch with 52% of leadership positions held by females and 59% of all employees being female. Jane is an active member of WPP forums such as Menopause Champions, WPP Inclusion Council, WPP Roots, and WPP Unite, where she serves as the U.K. Executive Lead for LGBTQ+ initiatives. Beyond her role at Landor & Fitch, Jane is also an advisor to Women Political Leadership (WPL), aiding women's empowerment in government and business. Jane is also a Reykjavik Global Action Advisory Board member.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Diamond

Global Head of Claims
Beazley

In January 2020, Beth joined the Executive, taking on the global Group Head of Claims role, reporting to Beazley's CEO. She is responsible for the development, management, and operational efficiency of a high-performing global team who she committed to a culture valuing inclusion, friendliness, approachability, and creativity. Throughout her career, Beth has been devoted to developing junior talent through mentorship, helping many achieve promotions because she is passionate about empowering others to accomplish their objectives, maximize their opportunities, and stretch their development. Since she took the helm, Beth was able to double the number of People of Color on the team and materially increase the number of managers who are People of Color, as she recognizes development and promotion are crucial markers of change. Beth also played a key role in extending parental leave to 6 months paid leave, honoring equality in family responsibility while materially enhancing a staff benefit.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner, Chief Diversity Officer
Boston Consulting Group

In addition to being a leader within BCG’s Technology and Digital Advantage practice, Nadjia serves as BCG's Chief Diversity Officer. Nadjia helps drive BCG's internal diversity agenda and foster an equitable and inclusive environment across the firm. In 2023, Nadjia's team successfully launched the firm's BLISS (Bias-Free, Leadership, Safety, and Support) Index, which is used to quantify the employee experience of inclusion and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work – creating a happier, more motivated, ambitious workforce. With a focus on gender diversity, Nadjia assists BCG in maintaining equal retention rates of men and women across all cohorts, resulting in women representing 46% of BCG's global workforce and leading BCG's businesses in some of the world's largest economies. Nadjia's unwavering passion for driving BCG's DEI agenda is only matched by her dedication to family. This year, she was overjoyed to welcome the arrival of a healthy baby girl.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Michelle Crossan-Matos

Chief Marketing Officer
Ulta Beauty

Michelle Crossan-Matos, Chief Marketing Officer at Ulta Beauty, is a trailblazing ally and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her leadership shines during Women's History Month, where she led fireside chats, sharing her journey and empowering others to persevere. Michelle's commitment to celebrating diversity is evident in her support for colleagues with unique backgrounds, amplifying their stories and leadership, and fostering an inclusive environment transcending race, sexuality, and education. Moreover, by collaborating closely with store associates, Michelle underscores the significance of every individual's contribution, emphasizing the collective impact in achieving the company's mission.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Toner

Head of Strategy & Transformation - GB Independents
Diageo

Rachel is the Co-Chair of Diageo’s Spirited Women Network in the UK, the firm's Employee Resource Group established to engage, retain, and develop female employees. Rachel plays a leading role in the creation and running of engagements for the UK Network, which recently includes a virtual event with 'Fertility Matters at Work' to educate and support male and female employees regarding the topic in the workplace. As well as her work with Spirited Women, Rachel is also a member of Grocery Girls, an Employee Resource Group from Co-op created to acknowledge the lack of female representation across the grocery industry. Rachel is a true champion of Diageo's commitment to nurturing the most inclusive and diverse culture, and is dedicated to educating herself and her colleagues on topics regarding gender equality and the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Susan Cole

Community Engagement Marketing & Membership Manager
NAM aidsmap

Susan is an award-winning health activist, broadcaster, writer and public speaker. She spearheads the community engagement and broadcasting initiatives for the HIV information charity NAM aidsmap, including producing and hosting the live broadcast series aidsmapLIVE for a global audience of people living with HIV, and Health & Power the UK’s monthly show on health inequality. Beyond her role, Susan's advocacy reaches global platforms. As the keynote speaker at the International AIDS Society Conference she highlighted global inequities and women's inclusion. In the UK Parliament Susan discussed COVID-19 and HIV's impact on women and people of colour. Her recognition is far reaching, from UK Parliament's International Women's Day debate to the Royal Society of Arts fellowship for her impact in tackling inequalities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Khushboo Pandey

Lead Digital Strategist
National Grid

Khushboo, a Lead Business Strategist at National Grid, champions the Women in National Grid (WiNG) group, leading impactful initiatives that drive positive change. Khushboo's focus areas within the WiNG group exemplify her commitment to fostering an equitable workplace. She has spearheaded the Pay-Gap Initiative, researching gender pay disparity and working towards pay parity. Her dedication to inclusivity extends to advocating for fair representation of women of color, neurodiverse individuals, those with unique abilities, and LGBTQ+ members. Beyond her role at National Grid, Khushboo's advocacy extends to her work with government initiatives and policy design. She was a policy advocate and mentor for start-ups and incubators, contributing to policies that empower and include women in nation-building. Her efforts have led to impactful changes, such as championing special incentives for women in start-up policies and advocating for women's inclusion in government-funded incubators.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chloe Howe

Head of Central Operations - Installations
Wickes

Chloe launched the Wickes Balance for the Better Network in 2019 and continues to co-chair it. She mentors three colleagues internally and uses the network to amplify women's voices and drive equity and equality. Chloe has worked with the senior leadership team to understand their role as gender allies and sponsors of female talent, launching the Gender Ally program which is open to all colleagues. Since launching in September 2021, they now have over 140 allies across the company. In December 2021, Chloe launched Wickes’ period positive campaign which aimed to normalize conversations on the topic, remove the stigma around it and make period products available free of charge to all Wickes colleagues who need them. Wickes is trialling flexible working for Retail Managers. By providing greater flexibility in leadership roles, Wickes believes that they can retain and attract great female talent.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Vanessa Marrou

Global Product Manager - Claims
Liberty Mutual

Vanessa Marrou is a Global Product Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance, she is also the National Co-Chair of Amigos, an ERG dedicated to the Hispanic and Latino Community.  Vanessa supported the launch of a Mentorship Program, growing it 2.5 times since its 2021 start. With a total of 224 members, the program has a 79% Net Promoter Score demonstrating its success among the community participating. Vanessa was also fundamental in launching a Language Exchange Program that brings together over 500 participants globally, promoting language skills and cross-cultural networking with more than half of the participants being women. Vanessa's commitment to cultural events is evident in her orchestration of Hispanic Heritage Month keynotes, doubling participation in two years. Vanessa is proud of directly mentored two Latina women on her team, leading to their recent promotions. Beyond work, Vanessa volunteers as a coach in the Celtics Little League, empowering young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shareeka Meadows

Vice President, Divisional Merchandising Manager
Dollar General Corporation

Shareeka is the Vice President and Divisional Merchandising Manager at Dollar General Corporation. As former President and now Executive Sponsor of DG's African-American Employee Resource Group (AAERG), she fosters an inclusive culture that fuels growth and success. Shareeka oversees AAERG's initiatives, including enriching Lunch & Learn sessions, impactful Days of Service, and the annual AAERG Gala celebrating Black History Month. A pivotal member of DG's Diversity and Inclusion Council, Shareeka played a vital role in reforming the company's commitment to investing in diverse teams through empowerment and inclusion. With more than 80% of her team being women, she exemplifies her belief that inclusion enriches both employees' lives and the communities they serve. Recognized on Mass Market Retailer's Most Influential Women list, Shareeka's influence extends beyond her role. She participates in career fairs, symposiums, and community partnerships, attracting diverse talent, sharing her journey, and advancing Dollar General's D&I efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Simon Cooper

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

Megan Clarken is the Chief Executive Officer at Criteo, the global commerce media company. Since joining in 2019, Megan has been instrumental in Criteo’s transformation. Today, the company operates a robust Commerce Media Platform that connects 22,000 marketers and thousands of media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences. Prior to Criteo, Megan served as Chief Commercial Officer of Nielsen Global Media, where she spent over 15 years in a variety of roles leading initiatives that allowed the 90+-year-old company to adapt and prevail in a time of change. Before she was dubbed one of the “most important figures in media” by Adweek, Megan was an Olympic class athlete, using her perseverance and resilience to pivot into a successful career in technology. With vast awards under her belt, Megan continues to be recognized for her ability to transform businesses, while championing underrepresented groups in media.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marlene Olsavsky

SVP International Higher Education
Pearson PLC

Marlene Olsavsky has been the SVP of International Higher Education at Pearson PLC and previously the Executive Sponsor of Pearson's Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) group. Marlene empowers women, encourages dialogue on well-being, and advocates for gender equality. She also supports professional development initiatives and mentorship programs for women's advancement in leadership roles. She serves as Executive Sponsor for Pearson's Truth & Reconciliation Committee in Canada, where she fosters meaningful conversations and integrates Indigenous perspectives in literature. Beyond Pearson and as Chair of the Canadian Publishers Council, Marlene established a DE&I plan. She initiated partnerships, including scholarships for Indigenous students and the Doors Open Publishing event, promoting inclusivity in the industry. Her dedication to diversity and equity drives transformative change in education and publishing.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah Diamond Morandin

Global CEO & Global Diamond Wing & Author
Entrepreneurs Paradise Pty Ltd & Diamond Empire Global

Deborah, the Global CEO & Global Diamond Wing of Entrepreneurs Paradise Pty Ltd based in Australia, is a visionary leader committed to empowerment and inclusion. Over the last twenty years, Deborah's passion for promoting women's DEI has led her to create "YOUniversal-Inclusion-Mentoring," a groundbreaking strategy that decodes life and fortifies businesses by embracing diverse perspectives. She also convened Diamond-Power Summits, empowering thousands of women, and facilitated The Butterfly-Experience Alumni Group, elevating 10,000 women. Her philanthropic endeavors include preserving pristine forests in South Africa and establishing education, skills training, and healthcare initiatives for local communities. Deborah has shared her insights on "YOUniversal inclusion" and "Shine Bright Like A Diamond" at prestigious events globally, including those hosted by Sir Richard Branson. Deborah inspires and uplifts countless individuals through her curated world trips filled with unique opportunities and Diamond mentoring. Getting the message out through media campaigns, mentorship, and published work with her book Shine Bright Like a Diamond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny is responsible for Aviva’s DE&I strategy, which supports women through initiatives including: simplifying job adverts resulting in more female candidates; including diversity targets in Executive reward; monthly reporting on gender diversity; inclusive leadership training; Aviva’s own Licence to Hire training (covering non-inclusive behaviours and recruiting underrepresented candidates); extending sponsorship programmes for underrepresented talent (including women); and engaging 1,000+ part-time colleagues (87% female) to understand their challenges around progression resulting in a new parental leave coaching programme. Danny personally champions the female agenda in many ways, including by encouraging businesses to consider the potential long-term impact of hybrid working on women, carers and the future gender pay gap. Aviva’s approach includes equal parental leave, paid carers leave, menopause and domestic abuse support, for which Danny is co-executive sponsor. Danny is also the co-executive sponsor of Aviva’s Pride community and has contributed to several external articles, and events, championing women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Denise Gibson

Co-head of the Global Leveraged Finance Group
Allen & Overy

Denise, Co-Head of the Global Leveraged Finance Group at Allen & Overy, is a driving force for gender equality and diversity in the legal field. Denise has played a crucial role in recruiting women partners across the firm's global operations, resulting in an impressive 45% women partners in her practice. She also revitalized the London Women Partners Network to enhance senior women's representation. Her dedication to fostering women talent spans initiatives like A&O Women Making their Mark and Emerging Leaders programs. Denise's tenure on the A&O Board saw the introduction of gender targets, aiming for 50% women at the highest echelons. Her collaborations include partnering with The Female Lead on their Women at Work Report and championing Womankind Worldwide as an advocate and fundraiser, raising over £1m 2023 for women's rights. Denise's innovative approach extends to hosting gender-inclusive client events, creating lasting impact within her profession.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather White

Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Genpact

Heather White is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Genpact. She serves on Genpact’s Leadership Council, and leads all legal, compliance, and corporate governance functions for Genpact. She brings more than 20 years of broad legal experience to the company and played a key leadership role in the company’s initial public offering in 2007. Heather also serves as head of Genpact’s Corporate Social Responsibility team, where she sets the strategy for the company’s global giving and volunteering programs. Genpact believes deeply in making a positive contribution to the communities in which we live and operate. She is also head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, driving programs and policies that foster an innovative and inclusive culture. Prior to joining Genpact, Heather was a member of the corporate department at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, serving clients out of their New York and London offices. Heather holds a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Cornell University.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Thamina Stoll

Women@ LinkedIn Global External Network Lead & Senior Client Solutions Manager
LinkedIn

Thamina Stoll is a Women’s Advancement & Diversity Advocate, B2B Marketing & Sales Expert, Podcast Host, Board Member, Angel Investor, and Speaker. By 28, she had generated and influenced 8 figures in revenue for LinkedIn and was appointed the youngest Women@ LinkedIn Global Leadership Team member. As Senior Client Solutions Manager, she strategizes for a Fortune 30 client on Corporate Reputation, Employer Branding, and Customer Acquisition in New York City. Thamina hosts the Give Her Dollars Podcast, helping women build wealth and reclaim economic power. After being diagnosed with a chronic illness and premature fertility decline in her 20s, she’s become a vocal advocate for women's health. Thamina is on the advisory board of several female-founded companies and serves on the DukeNY Women’s Forum Executive Committee. Featured in global outlets like Thrive Global and Nasdaq, Thamina was named one of Germany's “100 Women of the Year” in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One nearly five years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead and International Lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, and pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; the launch of regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marissa Guiang

Vice President, Asia-Pacific Active Investments Platform Strategist
BlackRock

Pioneering the Weekly Asia-Pacific Investor Meeting, Marissa Guiang, Vice President at BlackRock, brings 200+ participants together on a regular basis to spotlight the diversity of investment professionals and their insights. As the driving force behind BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group Pathfinders Program in Asia, she shapes training, mentorship, and career opportunities for junior talent, many of whom are from underrepresented groups. Marissa also co-leads the Communications Pillar within BlackRock’s Women's Initiative Network (WIN) in Hong Kong, initiating impactful office-wide publications showcasing female professionals. Marissa’s early engineering of the Fundamental Equities "Investing in Investors Program" shows her global influence, which places career-switchers from diverse backgrounds into investment roles in the US and UK. Marissa extends her influence beyond BlackRock, mentoring with Built By Girls to empower young women in technology. Her guidance has propelled mentees to internships, jobs, and top graduate programs.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Comms, GroupM Italy - PR & Marketing Director, WPP Italy
GroupM

Paola is Operations Director in Italy for Stella project, the global networking group whose purpose is to inspire and enable WPP women to maximize their potential and fuel WPP growth through increased diversity. It collaborates with some industry big players to create initiatives dedicated to DEI. Some of the projects Paola has been responsible for organizing have included a ‘Fast Forward Women’ training with Meta, inspiring women in their careers; a WPP ‘#IAmRemarkable’ workshop with Google Italia; pro-bono activities for women entrepreneurs in the world of technology and to create adv campaigns for associations that support women in troubled countries (e.g. Afghan women). Paola is a mentor for the young generation of marketers, she has been invited to join as speaker to external events, such as WomenXImpact, an event dedicated to women empowerment where she had the chance to be a role model for marketing community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Senior Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a business support manager for the Consumer, Business & Wealth Management Technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion (D&I) for almost a decade, she received the Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2019 and 2021. She puts her passion for inspiring and mentoring women to work supporting several bank efforts, including as a panelist a Diversity Series during Women's History month; and as a speaker for multiple Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women events promoting finding your Authentic Voice and Domestic Violence Awareness. Dipti also helped organize a bank-hosted D&I Courageous Conversation in partnership with the Asian Leadership Network, Black Professional Group and Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement. Externally, she has led a Mentoring Circle event on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and mentors young professional women to help them navigate their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee

Team Lead and Product Owner
BAE Systems

Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee is a multi-award-winning chartered aerospace engineer and STEM Ambassador working as a Team Lead and Product Owner at BAE Systems. As a steering group member of the company's Gender Equity Network Employee Resource Group (ERG), she is involved in orchestrating impactful events. Beyond BAE Systems, Krystina actively engages with organizations through her participation as a speaker, mentor, STEM ambassador, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering council member and as a cluster coordinator for the Merseyside Women's Engineering Society, exemplifying her dedication to fostering connections and empowering women engineers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Huijie Ma

AAD Lead Software Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

Huijie is Chair of the Inclusion Council and holds leading forces from all networks in promoting D&I, created a forum for Gender Equality, Women in Engineering, and REACH network members to raise their issues and deliver improvements. She also constructed and maintained a DEI website to promote inclusion, unity forces, and drive actions. She delivered the Mother Nature Lockers initiative, which supplied free sanitary products, menopause support for all women in the factory; the project has rolled out to all plants. She presented multiple Lunch & Learns, i.e., Awards for women's work, and discuss Colourism. She gave public talks in D&I events. She also actively runs the Name Campaign, using her own story, to promote respect for a person's real name in breaking down barriers between people. She leads a women in engineering Career Progression work group. She also visits schools to provide career aspirational talks to tap into future talents.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Darren Entwistle

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Teresa Ko

Hong Kong Senior Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has been a staunch advocate for gender diversity for over a decade. As the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee, Teresa has been a leading voice on greater board gender diversity in Hong Kong. Teresa is known for her commitment to clients and believes in using her position as a trusted advisor to encourage systemic change. She is dedicated to developing Freshfields colleagues, both professionally and personally to maximize their potential. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa mentors and sponsors female associates, helping them to hone their business development skills, connecting them to key contacts, and nurturing them to become future leaders. She is also a strong advocate for ISSB’s global baseline sustainability standard as trustee and co-vice chair of the IFRS Foundation, and believes that individual as well as collective efforts count. She was named in IFLR1000 Women Leaders 2022 - an elite ranking for the most prominent women lawyers globally and in Forbes’ ‘Asia's Power Businesswomen’ list 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alisha Alaimo

President of Biogen, North America
Biogen

Alisha is responsible for developing the strategy and driving growth for Biogen’s North America Organization. Over her 25-year career, her focus on creating a diverse and inspiring culture—where people achieve more than they thought possible—has consistently led to strong business results in organizations up to $7B in annual revenue. Alisha serves as Executive Sponsor for Women's Impact Network, an employee resource group designed to create opportunities for empowerment and advancement. At Biogen, she created programs to accelerate the readiness and visibility of mid-level women and non-white people for senior roles. As a board member of The Biogen Foundation, she advocates for supporting access next generation of leaders in underserved communities. Her career spans a wide spectrum of global leadership roles where she has led major acquisitions, strategic partnerships, restructurings, and the commercialization of breakthrough therapies for cardiovascular, Alzheimer’s, postpartum depression, multiple sclerosis, ALS, rare diseases and more.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne Erni is the Chief People Officer at Audible where she leads the People and Places team, which comprises Human Resources, Workplace Real Estate and Facilities, and Newark neighborhood-making. Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘Impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. Anne is an internationally recognized thought leader on workplace innovation and a champion for equitable hiring and professional development practices.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ritu Sharma

Executive Director – Boeing Global Enterprise Services, India
Boeing

Ritu Sharma is the Executive Director of Boeing Global Enterprise Services, where she serves as the Executive Champion for Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership & Boeing Employee Ability Awareness Association. Her initiatives promote women's representation and professional development, making gender diversity a critical/important success criterion at Boeing. Under her leadership, with initiatives like the Women Safety Policy, Mothers' Rooms and Women Safety App, Boeing saw a remarkable rise in women's diversity ratio from 17% to 26%. Beyond Boeing, Ritu participates in organizations like CoreNet, IFMA and WiREnet, advocating diversity, inclusion, and ESG. Recently, Ritu was recognized as the Global Environmental Sustainability Champion in Boeing. Her collaboration with NGOs and local governments showcases her commitment to community wellbeing, as seen through her work supporting underprivileged children and establishing healthcare facilities in remote areas. Ritu's passion for change has made her a sought-after speaker and panelist, highlighting the importance of diversity and women's inclusion in various industries.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Pallas Partners LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer and one of only a few women to set up and lead a London/New York firm. She launched Pallas Partners in February 2022, starting out as a majority female led firm with diversity integral to the wider strategy; Pallas has pledged to achieve diversity parity by 2025. Natasha has signed-up and committed Pallas to the Law Society’s Women in Law pledge, the Equal Representation in Arbitration pledge and the Menopause Workplace pledge. She has also launched Pallas’ first Employee Resource Group for Women, to provide the team with a safe space to share experiences and discuss challenges and success. Natasha has been leading the way on innovation in the legal sector for years and in the past year was listed by Financial News as one of the 50 Most Influential Lawyers and as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Yurko

Chief Legal Officer
Bridgewater Associates

As Chief Legal Officer, Operating Committee Member, and Partner, Tracey is among the most senior leaders at Bridgewater. Her work spans initiatives designed to promote equality for all employees as well as DEI programs within the legal department. Under Tracey's leadership, Bridgewater instituted pay equity audits by a third-party and is one of the only alternative asset managers to disclose pay equity data for underrepresented groups on our public website. In partnership with others on her team, she established the firm's first Pro Bono program, creating opportunities for attorneys to provide services to organizations that reflect their and Bridgewater's values. Tracey is also executive sponsor for Bridgewater’s “Women’s Influence Network”. Beyond Bridgewater, she is Board Chair for Make-A-Wish Connecticut. Under Tracey’s leadership, the Board formed a DEI Committee looking not only at the board itself, but also at the team and volunteers to ensure they reflect the families they serve.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Imade Iyamu

Asset Management and Wealth Management
Goldman Sachs

Imade Iyamu is the first Nigerian alumni President of Junior Achievement Africa, an organization that has reached and impacted over 1 million young Africans and whose global body was nominated for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. As an MBA candidate at Columbia University, Imade initiated a scholarship for African women from underrepresented backgrounds in business and acts as a peer adviser and student representative. Having joined the Asset and Wealth Management division at Goldman Sachs this year, Imade has joined the women’s network. She was also an instructor at Yale University under Yale Young African Scholars, where she mentored young African girls to make a meaningful impact in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aya Harb

Former Director, Investor Relations
S&P Global

Aya is a board member for her WINS chapter, striving for an equitable world where women have strong representation, role models, and recognition at S&P Global. As the lead for the Washington DC office, she helps connect other women-focused organizations and speaking engagements to build a platform for elevating women on a global level. Beyond S&P Global, Aya is an advisory board member for the ASHERAH foundation, enabling underprivileged women globally to further their education through providing scholarships and raising awareness of the worldwide need for accessible post-secondary education. In her early career, Ms. Harb worked with international municipalities in regions like Nepal and Lebanon, training local municipalities and youth centers in non-violence and conflict rehabilitation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Director of Consumer Equality
Ogilvy Consulting

Shelina is Director of Consumer Equality at Ogilvy Consulting, pioneering an industry paradigm shift to tackle 'consumer inequality' facing Minority Ethnic groups, to drive business growth. An award-winning business leader, she’s also Ogilvy's Vice President of Islamic Marketing, and has worked to engage Muslim audiences with some of the world's biggest brands and exciting start-ups. Shelina is a passionate advocate for businesses and brands to reclaim their creative and commercial superpowers for business growth and societal impact. She’s a board member for IMPRESS, the UK's only charter approved press regulator. She is a bestselling non-fiction as well as a children's author, including her memoir 'Love In A Headscarf' and her most recent kids' book about the British Empire "Story of Now: Let's Talk About the British Empire". As a podcaster, op-ed writer, and sandwich generation carer, she is working hard as a polymath-in-progress to create social and cultural change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Muneebah Quyyam

Senior Engineer
AtkinsRéalis

Muneebah is an award-winning Senior Engineer, specialising in Systems Engineering and is working for AtkinsRéalis in the Transportation sector. Muneebah works front-line with clients, providing her expertise in optimising, analysing, and transforming their complex systems. Muneebah champions ED&I at all levels within the company. She co-created an ED&I questionnaire, and its use has been instrumental in the selection of diverse suppliers. Muneebah gave a thought provoking ‘Allyship in the Spotlight’ interview, published on the company’s World News, which sparked a company-wide allyship week. Muneebah mentors young professionals & senior leaders and delivers keynote speeches to promote women’s diversity and inclusion. Muneebah is also recognised externally as an influential role model and is a member of the WISE Young Professionals Board; she creates national STEM competitions and collaborates with International Publishers spotlighting women role models in educational books. Furthermore, she was appointed as a national judge for external ED&I industry awards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chimuka Muyovwe

Director, Business Planning Manager to Regional CEO, Europe and Global D&I Council Secretary
Standard Chartered Bank

Chimuka is the Director and Business Planning Manager for the office of the Regional CEO for Europe and Americas, Standard Chartered Bank and based in London. She is also the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council Secretary, working in close collaboration with the Group Diversity & Inclusion team to improve representation of women in senior leadership positions. Her relentless dedication is testament to her unwavering commitment to gender equality and inclusion efforts. Outside of work, Chimuka is also a Director for When Females Lead, an NGO dedicated to empowering ambitious women in Africa through mentorship and career guidance. Her advocacy for underrepresented women of colour is commendable and reflects a commitment to fostering positive change in her community and beyond. Chimuka also chairs Agova, a women-led business development consultancy, and serves on the Board of Directors for Copper Rose Zambia, a leading youth led organization driving change in gender and health.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Geeta Gupta

Director, Application Development Manager
BNY Mellon

Geeta Gupta, a Senior Group Manager at BNY Mellon, passionately advocates diversity and skill development in the tech industry. With over a quarter of her team being women, Geeta actively fosters an inclusive environment while mentoring talented women and attracting more women talent. As a member of the Leadership Team for the Women in Engineering New York Chapter, Geeta leads communications and engages senior leaders to create an inclusive atmosphere. Beyond her role, Geeta mentors students in BNY Mellon's intern program, empowering them with essential skills and insights into corporate culture. Her impact also extends to community involvement, where she's volunteered since 2008, teaching Hindi and programming languages to children from diverse backgrounds, promoting cross-cultural awareness, and enhancing students' science and mathematics performance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sabina Phillips

Payments Product Manager
The Co-operative Bank

Sabina Phillips, a Payments Product Manager at The Co-operative Bank, also serves as Chair of the Access Network, a group supporting colleagues with disabilities, mental health challenges, and caregiving duties. Under her guidance, the Access Network tackles various topics monthly, creating awareness, providing resources, and advocating for policy changes. Initiatives include discussing pregnancy loss, fertility challenges, menopause, mental health support, caregiving responsibilities, period stigma, endometriosis awareness, and neurodiversity. Sabina's proactive approach extends beyond discussions; she trained 16 Mental Health First Aiders to ensure comprehensive support for all colleagues. Addressing challenges women face, Sabina emphasizes the importance of caring responsibilities. Her commitment to cultivating inclusivity and support showcases her dedication to gender equality and well-being within the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Andrew Bester

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'.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Helen Mets

President and CEO
Ahlstrom

Helen Mets has been the President and CEO of Ahlstrom since January 2023, previously serving in executive leadership roles at DSM, Pon and Avery Dennison. She strongly advocates for diversity and inclusion, championing women's leadership through balanced teams and fostering a culture of inclusivity. Helen is responsible for setting the company strategy and places strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion and sustainability, and has doubled employee engagement in her first six months as CEO. She sponsors Ahlstrom's NICE program (Nurturing, Inclusive, Collaborative, and Equal), where she personally mentors future women leaders in navigating their leadership journeys. Helen also served as an executive sponsor for DSM's I&D strategy and was a member of the Advisory Council WIN Global. Helen also advocates for equal opportunity, and is a sought-after public speaker, using her experiences to inspire others. Her inclusive purpose-led and performance-driven leadership has been recognized through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Leading Women Award.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Kantar Profiles
Kantar

Kantar is a world-leading market research agency shaping the brands of tomorrow by better understanding people everywhere. As a Global CEO, and part of Kantar's Executive Team and I&D Steering Committee, Caroline is committed to developing a culture and society that embraces all intersections of diversity. She holds herself accountable to increasing female representation and ensuring senior roles in Kantar achieve gender parity by 2025 by being an authentic ‘see it, be it’ role model, sponsor, and mentor to Kantar’s ~12,000 women across the globe. Caroline also serves as Global Executive Sponsor and Ally for Kantar’s Pride Employee Resource Group supporting 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and partnering with DIVA Media and Stonewall to drive better awareness and understanding of unique challenges LGBTQIA+ women, transgender women, and non-binary people face. She is also a founding member of Chief UK, the $1.1b private network supporting and driving more women into positions of power.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dimitra Manis

EVP, Chief Purpose Officer
S&P Global

Dimitra, Executive Vice President and Chief Purpose Officer for S&P Global, leads the People, Marketing, Communications, Corporate Responsibility, and DEI functions for 35,000+ colleagues. Dimitra is a trailblazer and fierce advocate who is focused on creating a people first experience at S&P Global through global initiatives and benefits including: 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all parents, unlimited bereavement leave, career coaching, fertility coverage, and cancer and menopause support. Under her leadership, S&P Global has been recognized by Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index, Newsweek’s Greatest Workplaces, and other prestigious awards. She serves on a public board, as well as the S&P Global Foundation, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (an S&P Global and CME Group joint venture) and chairs the Nominating and Compensation Committee of the BritishAmerican Business Association and the Advisory Committee for the World Wellbeing Movement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Miller

President of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking & Lending
Bank of America

Sharon Miller is the President of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking & Lending at Bank of America. As a Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion Council member, she actively shapes an inclusive culture while chairing the Corporate Benefits Committee and co-sponsoring the Women's Executive Development Program. Sharon's influence extends to mentoring small business owners, providing invaluable support to ventures like Chica Beauty, which she elevated through platforms like the Jennifer Hudson Show. Her dedication shines through initiatives like the annual Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight, shedding light on their unique challenges. Sharon's affiliations with institutions like the Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the National Association of Women Business Owners underscore her commitment to empowering entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melanie Kalmar

Corporate Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer
Dow

Melanie Kalmar is the Corporate Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Digital Officer at Dow. With a steadfast focus on gender diversity, Melanie has driven a remarkable 41.5% women’s representation, including 50% women’s leadership representation, within Dow's CIO organization. As the executive sponsor of the Prime Employee Resource Group, she advocates for an age-inclusive workforce that values experience. Melanie actively supports the POWER Up program, aiding the career development of thousands of Dow's employees. Her leadership extends to the tech community as an advisory board member of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology, earning recognition as their 2021 Woman of the Year. Acknowledged by various prestigious awards, including Forbes' 2023 CIO Next honoree and Technology Magazine's Top 100 Women in Technology, Melanie inspires change and innovation in the technology landscape.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Zena Couppey

Chief Executive Officer
Altum Group

Zena wears many hats, as a professional, mom, wife, philanthropist and, at Altum Group, CEO. She is the first female CEO the business has seen since its establishment. Under her leadership she saw the business grow from $11 to $32 billion AUM, triple in size and expand in three new locations. Zena implemented a shared ownership scheme and advocated for the launch of Altum’s Philanthropic Trust. Today, Altum has 60% female representation with 60% on the TopCo Board. With 24 years of experience, Zena is responsible for Altum’s strategic vision, organic growth and oversees the delivery of quality services to clients while nurturing an open and collaborative culture. Other policy changes she’s implemented is flexible work, self-development and cultural collaboration, equal paternal leave, and she launched a lasting ESG and CSR manifesto aligned with the UN SDGs. Altum are IoD DEI Charter Signatory’s, joined the UN Global Compact and achieved carbon neutrality under her leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Frances Holmes

Client Technology Lead
Microsoft

At Microsoft, Frances is one of the founding members of the Pregnancy, Maternity and Returner (PMR) UK Public Sector (PS) program and is an accessibility champion for the PS Disability ERG. She has championed the introduction of pregnancy parking and pumping facilities, which have now been implemented in the head office of Microsoft UK. Externally, Frances is the founder and CEO of Speak Out Revolution, an award winning not-for-profit disrupting the conversation on D&I in the workplace using data-driven insights. She is driving transparency on less discussed workplace inclusion topics, using open source technology that enables organisations to access intelligent insights to optimally address the challenges within their sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lorna Ive

Programmatic Executive
GroupM Nexus EMEA

Lorna is the Programmatic Executive within the Nexus EMEA Programmatic Team. As the Chair of the Gender Employee Resource Group, she organized a 'Women in Tech' event, which led to a series addressed to schools to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM. As a member of WPP's Menopause SteerCo, she actively involved her network to educate men and younger generations of women at work. The first event resulted in a policy change across WPP, bringing Menopause support under BUPA benefits. Lorna also built an award-winning grassroots campaign to start conversations around menopause. Furthermore, she is an Ambassador for the Visible Start Programme, raising awareness through social media video interview campaigns for greater inclusion of midlife women in the industry, and a member of 50:50, a Network supporting women's progress into politics.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Adela Nano

Medicinal Chemistry Research Scientist
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

As an active member of Vertex’s IWILL (Inspiring Women in Leadership and Learning) Employee Resource Network (ERN), Adela strives for more excellent representation of functional and racial diversity, contributing to advancing underrepresented voices. She currently serves on the ERN’s Women in Science Committee and previously served on its Steering Committee. Recognizing the importance of showcasing women leaders, among others, Adela contributes to organizing panel discussions highlighting the achievements of women professionals from various functions and backgrounds within the company, and seminars with external speakers to promote skill development. More recently Adela initiated and is the co-lead of a Women in Chemistry group, providing a platform for women to address challenges faced while working in chemistry and engaging with leadership on pertinent issues. Her dedication extends to the Graduate Women in Science Association, where Adela evaluates fellowship proposals and manages evaluations to support early-career women scientists.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Shree

Data Analyst Manager
NatWest Group

Divya is a Data Analyst Manager at NatWest Group. Her commitment to fostering awareness led to the creation of 'BLOSSOM,' an impactful initiative addressing menstrual health and difficult conditions like PCOS, Endometriosis through informative videos. As the Women In Big Data community owner within her area in D&A, Divya facilitates a platform for women's growth and collaboration. Her leadership extends to supporting women on maternity leave and their return to work, through various proposed initiatives(Maternity Checklist, Veteran Mummies group). She has received recognition from senior executives (including group CEO) for her dedication. Divya's passion for mentoring is evident through her work with NatWest employees and her free LinkedIn Mentorship group. A finalist for both WiT Excellence, WiF award and a driving force behind digital tools for reporting online abuse as part of the UN women CSW67 group, Divya is dedicated to promoting resilience, skill development, and equal representation for women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Neal

Project Manager
BP

Lauren is a Project Manager at bp, where she co-chaired one of bp's regional Women's International Networks. Within two years, under her guidance, network membership surged from 12 to over 200 participants, encompassing both genders. She mentors several young professional women, offering guidance and networking opportunities. Her role enables women to visit construction sites with industry leaders like OneSubsea and GE, fostering exposure to lesser-known sectors. Lauren's impact extends to organizing events on psychological safety and unconscious bias, sparking global dialogues. As a leader in LeanIn Equity and Sustainability, she shapes workplace cultures. Her speaking engagements empower women, including the "EveryWoman in Tech Forum," sharing career transition advice. A multi-award winner, Lauren's accolades include WeAreTheCity Rising Stars and WeAreTechWomen awards. Her podcast appearances and upcoming book, "Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable and Retain Women in STEM," demonstrate her commitment to fostering inclusive workplaces.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ayesha Afzal

Researcher
Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU)

Ayesha Afzal, a Researcher at the Erlangen National High-Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU), has secured first place in the Ph.D. Forum Award at ISC HIGH PERFORMANCE and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications, showcasing her outstanding work in high-performance computing. Awards such as the WearetheCity’s Global Award for Achievement 2023 and her consistent contribution in international conferences as a co-chair, committee member, reviewer, and active speaker highlight her commitment to advancing women in STEM. Ayesha's passion for inclusive technology shines through her mentorship efforts and involvement as an ambassador and advisor in initiatives promoting diversity in STEM. Ayesha also inspires scientists and continually promotes technical women by providing them with opportunities and guidance. Her advocacy, interviews, and networking amplify her impact in encouraging women to excel in STEM fields.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Zaria Parvez

Senior Global Social Media Manager
Duolingo

Duolingo's Global Social Media Manager, Zaria, has redefined social media strategies with her unique insights and intersectional background. As the youngest member of the marketing team, she catapulted Duolingo's TikTok following from 20K to an impressive 6.6 million. Her creative freedom and expertise transformed a test-and-learn initiative into Duolingo's most successful social buzz. Beyond Duo, she advocates for young, diverse talent in marketing, delivering inspirational talks at various organizations. Her presence at industry events like SXSW, OMR, and Vidcon sheds light on her experience as a young, first-gen Pakistani Muslim, showcasing the power of her identity in shaping her impactful work. Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Zaria was awarded AdAge Social Marketer of the Year, Adweek Creative 100, and Forbes 30 Under 30. Zaria's journey exemplifies her dedication to uplifting underprivileged communities and reshaping marketing narratives

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Howard Ungerleider

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Debra Crew

Chief Executive Officer
Diageo

Debra Crew was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Diageo in June 2023, making history as the company's first woman CEO in its 25-year existence. The firm has continued to make strides in accelerating gender equality within its business, with the company receiving high acclaim in 2023 for its gender equality efforts including ranking #1 for women’s representation at board level in the FTSE Women's Leaders Review and #2 global and #1 U.K. ranking in Equileap's Equality Global Report. Over the past year, the firm has also launched several progressive policies and employee initiatives that further its commitment to empowering women. The company launched Pregnancy Loss Guidelines across 34 markets, as well as Fertility Support Guidelines in the UK, complementing its existing policies and guidelines such as Parental Leave and ‘Thriving through Menopause’. Under Debra’s leadership, Diageo is committed to being a champion of Inclusion and Diversity across everything it does.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Global CIO
WPP

Through a complete redesign and relentless focus on equality through our recruitment process, Rachel improved the female intake into the WPP IT organization from 11% to 38% over the past 12 months. Through the firm's operating and organizational model redesign and by establishing a new people design authority to govern internal and external appointments, she has improved the representation of women in the top 3 layers of leadership in WPP IT. Before joining WPP, she was the founder and executive sponsor of the multi-award-winning TechWomen program in her previous job. During her final year leading the program in 2020/1, Rachel delivered a year-long development journey for 450 women across BT and supported an alumni network of 2,300 women. The program was enormously successful, dramatically improving participants' confidence, with 67% of them moving into more prominent roles, and addressing the local cultural barriers to women's progression in India and Malaysia.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mei Chen

Vice President and GM International - Alibaba Group; Board Member and Chair of Investment Committee - Innovo Group
Alibaba Group; Innovo Group

Mei Chen is the Vice President and GM International at Alibaba Group and Board Member and Chair of the Investment Committee at Innovo Group, where she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering talent and empowering underrepresented groups. Mei has mentored and sponsored numerous junior staff members of Chinese backgrounds in the U.K. and China. She has spearheaded initiatives like 'Women@Alibaba,' a program that has created a supportive network for women leaders within Alibaba Group across the globe. Through her leadership, Mei has organized mentoring programs, industry dinners, and initiatives aimed at addressing gender disparities and championing the underprivileged and LGBTQ+ communities. Acknowledged with the Alibaba Outstanding Female Leader Award, Mei's dedication to equality and inclusion is exemplary. She has shared her story and insights at top industry events and academic institutions (INSEAD, LBS, HBS), leaving an indelible mark on the tech and business landscape. She was recently named in 'Inspiring Fifty Winner 2021' - an elite ranking for the most prominent trailblazing women in tech, and 'Drapers’ Power 100 2022'.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maral Kazanjian

Chief People Officer
Moody's

Maral Kazanjian became Moody's Chief People Officer in February 2022 after working as an employment lawyer at the company earlier in her career. In her current role, Maral actively fosters an environment of empowerment and equality across Moody’s. She has led conversations with employees around fertility support, career growth, fair compensation, and meaningful recognition. Under her guidance, Moody's has been acknowledged for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, earning spots on Diversity Inc.'s list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the Pinnacle Inclusion Index by Seramount. As the Executive Sponsor of the RISE program at the company, Maral has boosted women's leadership development, leading to transformative outcomes for many people. An Armenian General Benevolent Union alum, she remains actively engaged in supporting global women's advancement, showcasing her commitment to leading positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leanne Wood

Chief HR Officer
Vodafone Group

Leanne has been driving gender equity and inclusion for over 20 years across technology, fashion and FMCG industries. At Vodafone, Leanne is an Executive Committee Member and Sponsor of its Employee Networks including the Women's Network. She led Vodafone's #CountMeIn diversity data capture initiative, enabling an intersectional approach to DEI and further strengthened women's inclusion and representation with the launch of the Reciprocal Mentoring program to encourage senior leaders to connect with minority groups and ensure the lived experiences of women inform the future of Vodafone. Leanne equalised parental leave at Vodafone to support diverse parents and families so that responsibilities can be shared, with more than 2,300 women and 1,600 men benefiting from April 2022 – April 2023. In her role as Trustee of Vodafone Foundation, she championed the Apps Against Abuse initiative to help connect 2.4million people to support to date, including women facing domestic abuse.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Managing Director
Jomas Associates (Engineering & Environmental)

UK’s first Black Female founder of a seven-figure turnover engineering company serving the construction sector, Roni combines being CEO of Jomas with campaigns championing women. Graduate of Portsmouth University with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management from Exeter University. A Chartered Engineer and Chartered Geologist, she has worked on major construction schemes including the widening of the A406 and M25, and various buildings and structures across the UK. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (2019), was appointed Honorary Fellow of RIBA (2020), and conferred with a Honorary Doctorate by University of Portsmouth (2023) for exceptional contribution to the Construction sector. She is Construction Policy Chair for FSB. Multi award winner, international speaker and dedicated mother to three boys, Roni is passionate about diversity, social mobility and volunteers her time to mentor many.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dawn Carter

Enterprise Data Architect
BAE Systems Plc

Just six months after joining BAE Systems, Dawn became Co-Chair of the company’s Gender Equity Network, a voluntary Employee Resource Group dedicated to providing an equity of opportunity to all genders. Her commitment to empowering women in the workplace saw her take the lead in forming a brand partnership with Women in Data, an organisation whose mission is to increase diversity in data careers. Dawn continues to be a role model, whether organising and co-hosting BAE Systems International Women’s Day conference at Bletchley Park, reviewing company policies such as maternity, fertility and menopause, or promoting data literacy across the analysis and architecture communities. She has also facilitated critical conversations & provided support for those seeking guidance on gender equity issues. Out with BAE Systems, she’s also a trustee with Epilepsy Scotland, is an active member of Bolton Deaf Club and even donated 16” of hair to The Little Princess Trust.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

EMEAI Commercial Director, Dow Consumer Solutions
Dow

Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group in 2020. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. In 2023 the 3rd edition of the Female Talent Sponsorship program will be run, to continue the focused efforts in developing Dow Female talents across the organization. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Joe

Head of FICC Research Engagement & Quantitative Innovation
TD Securities London

Rachel is a dynamic force driving diversity, equity, and inclusion at TD Securities London. Leading the European D&I Mentoring program for four years, she pairs women mentees with senior leaders, boosting confidence and fostering career growth. Rachel also founded the European Colleague Experience - Connect D&I group, enabling networking and job shadowing opportunities. She introduced Generation Success to TD, offering diverse young talent internships and employment chances. Beyond her corporate role as Head of FICC Research Engagement & Quantitative Innovation Rachel is a qualified executive coach and National Council for Psychotherapists member, mentoring students from diverse backgrounds. She's received recognition, including the WiBF Volunteer of the Month Award and a Women in Bank & Finance 2022 Shortlist: Future Leader Award. As a corporate partner and strategic advisor for WIBF, she initiated the WIBF Leadership Academy, a pioneering program with a gender lens approach.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Vivian Falcão

Senior Labor Lawyer
Mattos Filho

As a devoted advocate for women's rights, Vivian, Senior Labor Lawyer at Mattos Filho, leverages her unique perspective as a mother to champion improved guidelines and benefits for working mothers in her firm, showcasing her commitment to fostering a more inclusive work environment. Vivian's dedication extends beyond her firm, as she actively engages in initiatives promoting women's presence in the legal field. Her impact has earned her recognition, featured in various categories in a prominent women-focused ranking. Vivian's leadership shines through events she has organized, addressing the challenges faced by women in the workplace and featuring distinguished speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Zaina Alhejin

Head of Communication Saudi Arabia
Boeing

Zaina Alhejin is the Head of Communication at Boeing Saudi Arabia. Her passion for equity, inclusion and empowerment prompted her to lead since 2019, the Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL) Business Resource Group, for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia region; a group aimed at building equity and developing both men and women in the enterprise. Her main tasks are focused on promoting women leaders both internally and externally, while emphasizing the concept of Allyship. Zaina also leads Boeing Global Engagement efforts in the Kingdom, in which she develops and grows partnerships with non-profit organizations like AlNahdah, Rofaida, and Mawada to support educational awareness, health initiatives, and financial independence for women. Her active participation in initiatives like SheInspires, exemplifies her dedication to women's empowerment in information technology, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiatives. Zaina enjoys creating engaging learning environments enabled by diversity and inclusion to tackle future challenges with creativity and innovation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Najiyah Chowdhury

Senior Manager Audit - Wealth & Asset Management
Ernest & Young

During her tenure as an Audit Manager at Deloitte, Najiyah championed change through her active involvement in two critical networks. In the Women's Network, Najiyah created forums for women to address challenges hindering their progression and advocated for organizational changes to promote the retention and recruitment of women. She facilitated interactions between women senior leaders and interns, sharing experiences that inspired and empowered them. As a member of the Working Parents Network, Najiyah pioneered flexible working arrangements for staff with children, fostering a supportive work environment. Her influence extended beyond her profession, as she engaged with students to inspire careers in science and accounting. She guided aspiring accountants through mentoring, including a successful placement at a Big 4 firm. Najiyah's commitment reaches beyond her field, exemplified by her talks and mentoring for minority students. Her journey as a Muslim British Bangladeshi woman inspires others to overcome obstacles and excel.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Emma Jaeger

Associate Director, Programmatic at Mindshare
Mindshare

Emma Jaeger, Associate Director, Programmatic at Mindshare, was pivotal in launching Mindshare Women's Private Marketplace (PMP), uniting women-owned and women-centered publishers into a single inclusion list. Emma's work enables Mindshare's investment teams to allocate advertising funds to women-centric publishers, addressing vital topics such as civil rights, healthcare, and news. Emma helped launch the PMPs with clients such as TJX and Tyson Foods, empowering women-centered publishers while yielding results for clients. A passionate advocate, Emma fosters a supportive environment and serves as a mentor for women pursuing careers in programmatic advertising. Her dedication to her team is evident; in her guidance to a junior employee on their work in growing Mindshare's LGBTQ private marketplace. Emma also conducts learning and development sessions, enhancing the expertise of new hires on the programmatic team.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sanjeev Chatrath

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jill Schnarr

Chief Social Innovation, Communications and Brand Officer
TELUS

Jill, Chief Social Innovation, Communications, and Brand Officer at TELUS, is a driving force behind diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a founding Connections member, the TELUS women's network, she empowers over 6,000 women and allies with mentoring and networking opportunities. Her commitment to diversity reflects in her leadership team, where 75% are women. Jill also launched the TELUS CHLOE Awards, honoring women leaders, and achieved 40% women’s representation on the executive team and 45% on the board. Passionate about social impact, Jill established the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, investing $100M in companies led by women, Indigenous, and racialized founders. Beyond TELUS, Jill speaks at events and supports organizations like the Prosperity Project. Jill's initiatives address mental health, support Indigenous women, and combat violence against women and children. Her dedication fosters meaningful change and empowers communities

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Erin Platts

CEO
HSBC Innovation Banking UK

Erin is a strong advocate for gender equity and is passionate about shining a light on the diversity challenges that the innovation ecosystem faces – she is also committed to help solving them. Under Erin’s leadership HSBC Innovation Banking UK has increased its proportion of women in senior leadership to 38%. This has been achieved in part by taking a laser-like focus to senior leadership hiring, where in 2022, 50% of all new senior leaders joining the bank were women. Erin sponsors ‘ChangeUp’, a disruptive leadership development programme for high-potential women aspiring into senior leadership roles. She has spoken at numerous industry events on gender diversity and mentors and sponsors multiple women, internally and externally. Erin's ambition is to increase the number of women and other overlooked talent in the innovation ecosystem and to create an environment where all people can thrive and bring their authentic selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Farberger

Board professional in Financial services, Investor, G7 Advisor, Keynote speaker
Wellstreet

Caroline, Board professional, Investor and Keynote speaker, has championed DEI initiatives across a vast sphere of influence. As an experienced CEO, in both large corporations and startup environments, Caroline has dedicated herself to ESG and DEI, leading training sessions for executive teams and large company audiences. Her efforts have ensured that these companies embrace DEI practices as an integral part of their organizational culture. Her unique experience of having worked both as a male and female CEO gives her the great advantage to offer inspirational, powerful and engaging keynotes. Her thought-provoking insights and expertise have resulted in over 100 speaking engagements, including significant conferences across Europe and the U.S. Caroline's dedication to promoting diversity has earned her recognition and accolades. She has received the Swedish LGBTQ Person of the Year Award, the Danish Womenomics Leadership Award, and the Swedish Kerstin Hesselgren Award.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melíosa O'Caoimh

Country Head, Ireland
Northern Trust

As Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for all its asset servicing business conducted from Dublin and Limerick supporting fund managers and institutional investors worldwide. Under her leadership, female representation at senior level has moved from 37% in 2019 to 44% in 2022. Meliosa led the firm’s signatory of the Women in Finance Charter in Ireland, setting a target of improving senior female representation from 44% to 48% by 2025. Meliosa has led a number of notable initiatives across the Irish community to help underrepresented groups obtain work experience. Meliosa is the chair of the 30% Club in Ireland. Since taking on this role, Meliosa has committed to ensuring the network is fully inclusive of diverse groups, recognizing the additional challenges underrepresented women face. She is planning to expand the network’s reach, recognising the talent in regions beyond Dublin, and ensuring the network is accessible to all.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Brock

CEO
OpenUK

Amanda supports the initiatives of several organizations and leads one of the most diverse organisations in tech. OpenUK has Diversity at its core and its first Sate of open Con tech conference had 44% non male speakers and almost 40% female delegates . For IWD Day in 2022 she organised an event at the House of Lords with Baroness Kennedy and the Judges rescued from Afghanistan and in 2023 at BT Tower brining almost 100 women together.  She’s been a Judge at We are the City's Rising Stars Program, speaks at many organizations' diversity events and mentors a number of young women. She successfully nominated one of them as the winner of Woman of the Year Next Gen in the UK this year. She also led the creation of two OpenUK Kids Camps in 2020 and 2021, designing courses for kids learning tech and gave away over 8000 digital gloves to young people, particularly targeting the digitally excluded to allow them free participation. 

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anushka Sunder

Head of Healthcare Private Equity North America
Blackstone

Anushka Sunder is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Private Equity North America at Blackstone. She is also actively involved in technology, media, and consumer opportunities. Ms. Sunder joined Blackstone in 2013 and is a Director of Advarra, Precision Medicine Group, Medline, HealthEdge, Candle Media, TeamHealth, and Optiv and previously served as a Director of Blue Yonder. She has also been actively involved in Blackstone’s investments in Signature Aviation, NCR, and InComm. She is Executive Sponsor of Blackstone’s Women’s Initiative and on the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Leadership Council. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Sunder was at TPG Capital and at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group. Ms. Sunder received her B.A. from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is also a member of the Corporate Leaders Program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending, Transaction Management and Mujeres al Mundo
HSBC Bank

Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating the economic inclusion and empowerment of women, based on 4 pillars: training and networking, mentoring, international connectivity and financial services. To date, HSBC Argentina has disbursed more than US$500 million in loans for women-led SMEs. Over 19,000 SMEs, entrepreneurs and executives have already signed up as part of MAM community, which has been expanded to Uruguay and Mexico, consolidating a regional strategy to unlock the potential of women’s market, highlighting the important role they play in the economy with a comprehensive proposition to help them thrive. For MAM, Melisa trained +100 relationship managers and developed an ambassadors network to embed gender perspective in the business. Melisa chaired HSBC’s Balance ERG for three years (2017-19). She is women’s mentor at Vital Voices and Cherie Blair Foundation and co-chair of DEI committee at BritCham.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Director, Corporate Banking
HSBC Innovation Banking UK (HINV)

Catherine is a Director in HINV’s Corporate Banking team and a strong DE&I advocate for 8+ years. She sits on the DE&I ERG Leadership Committee and in 2022, Co-Founded HINV’s EMEA Gender-ERG, spearheading the launch of six working-groups to engage 650+ colleagues in advancing the gender-balance agenda and increasing HINV female senior leadership to 50% by 2030. She also collaborates on intersectional-ERG initiatives to improve representation beyond gender. For IWD ‘23-‘22, Catherine chaired multiple NPS leading internal & public events to 400+ people, promoting DE&I in the Technology/Finance sectors. Catherine is Founder of the Women in Business Society, a global non-profit professional development community serving 1000+ women. She is also a member of the House of Commons Business and Parliament Forum, influencing new governmental policies to support female entrepreneurs. In line with her mission of supporting the next-generation, Catherine delivers coaching, mentoring and masterclasses to help women obtain leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Akua Opong

Senior Analyst
LSEG

Akua Opong is a Senior Analyst at LSEG, where over the past two years, she has facilitated conversations on women's safety, health, and career advancement for women in STEM. Akua also organizes monthly women's career series talks, covering essential topics from gender equality to tech advancement. Akua's accomplishments include implementing menstrual health initiatives, Wellbeing, mentoring and youth engagement initiatives. She's been a fervent advocate for neurodiversity in the workplace as well, actively participating in discussions and fostering innovation. Beyond LSEG, her commitment to mentorship and empowerment is evident in her engagement with various networks, such as Cajigo, LMF Network, Global Tech Advocates Black Women in Tech and WeAreTheCity. She is passionate about raising the profile of Women in STEM, as a STEM ambassador. She was a UN Women UK Delegate for CSW67 during IWD 2023. Akua's dedication has earned her accolades, including Brummell’s One to Watch 2023 and Women in FinTech Power list - Standout 45 (Technology Category).

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

Head of UK&I Chief Risk Office
AXA UK

Caroline chairs AXA’s Balance Network, which focuses on gender equality and supporting working families. Over 2 years, Caroline has supported the release of a Home School Hub, to support parents home-schooling their children during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the launch of a Women’s Wellbeing Hub, to provide a supportive resource for women and help educate those across the organisation. During this time, over 15 ‘People Like Me’ vlogs have been released, spotlighting those who don’t let prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. In addition, over 5 Virtual Speed Mentoring sessions have been run which connect mentees and mentors to have conversations around career progression, networking and interview skills. Caroline also supported with the update of the Menopause Policy and the creation of a Domestic Abuse Policy and Hub, with the aim of increasing awareness and creating a safe and supportive environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rochelle Samuel

Sustainability Manager, CertainTeed Roofing
Saint-Gobain North America

Rochelle Samuel is the Sustainability Manager for CertainTeed Roofing at Saint-Gobain North America, where she co-founded LEAD (Leading Efforts for Ancestral Diversity) in 2017, fostering an open culture for employees of all backgrounds. Her two-year board membership enhanced SGNA's inclusivity through training, events, and development. Rochelle is one of leads for the Women's Network Steering Committee, partnering with businesses to attract, develop, and retain talented women across 13 North American hubs. Passionate about women and minorities in engineering and sustainability, Rochelle promotes inclusion in historically underrepresented fields. Rochelle's commitment extends beyond SGNA. With the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), she is a mentor and speaks on sustainability and career development. With the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), she connects professional development opportunities with local colleges and universities. Her dedication builds a roster of talented engineers and furthers diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Linda Lim

Compliance Services, APAC Head
Barclays Bank PLC

With a passion for people development, Linda - Compliance Services APAC Head at Barclays - has become a beacon of change by actively mentoring young women. As co-chair of WIN Singapore, Linda orchestrates initiatives that attract, empower, and advance women across all levels of the organization. Through leadership sessions, panel discussions, mentoring, and speed networking, she shapes a supportive environment for achieving gender equality. Linda's influence extends beyond Barclays as she advocates for diversity and growth. Leading the inaugural pioneer Women in Compliance Sponsorship program in APAC, Linda addresses the underrepresentation of women in leadership by identifying and nurturing their potential and the program has successfully elevated colleagues to achieve their career aspirations. Her dedication resonates in her role as a mentor for the pioneer batch of the Singapore Leadership Network mentoring program, sharing experiences that inspire others.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Damien Mooney

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Martina Cheung

President, S&P Global Ratings
S&P Global

Martina Cheung is the President of S&P Global Ratings and Executive Sponsor for ESG at S&P Global. As Executive Sponsor of WINS (Women's Initiative for Networking and Success), she advocates for equity and inclusion, providing support and sponsorship opportunities for women across regions the company’s global workforce. With over 7,000 members and 23 chapters worldwide, WINS focuses on industry-specific networking, skill-building, and impactful mentorship programs. Furthermore, as the first woman of color Asian woman to hold the position of President at S&P Global Ratings, Martina models diverse leadership leads with excellence. She received the Women's Bond Club Merit Award and is a prominent speaker at global forums and events, including the World Economic Forum at Davos and Politico Women Rule. Martina also champions gender diversity research on gender diversity through the S&P Global Diversity in the Markets Research Lab, to raise awareness of the progress being made as well as the challenges on the path to gender equality in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos

Co-founder, President and COO
Flag Luxury

Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos is an accomplished developer of luxury hotels and land-based retail entertainment projects. She is known for her exceptional leadership and visionary approach to real estate development. As the co-founder and President/COO of Flag Luxury Group, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of luxury hotels, boutique hotels, and retail development in prominent cities such as Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, and New York City. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Dayssi has consistently pushed boundaries and set new standards in the industry. Her keen eye for identifying untapped potential and transforming spaces into extraordinary destinations has garnered widespread acclaim. Beyond her professional achievements, Dayssi is also the Co-Founder of the Woman's Day Power Breakfast, a groundbreaking initiative celebrating women in business. Together with her daughter Sophia Kanavos, she has created a platform to empower and inspire women from all walks of life.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Quest

Head of UK & Ireland
Oliver Wyman

Lisa Quest is committed to using her leadership platform to drive system and culture change from within to serve all. As UK&I market leader Lisa championed the introduction of our Sustainable Performance framework which enables conversations about work-life balance whilst delivering great client impact. As Co-Head of Public Sector Europe, Lisa has built Oliver Wyman’s fastest growing, most diverse practice on gender equity principles. And as Executive Sponsor of Women of Oliver Wyman, Lisa has long championed flexible working and was pivotal to introducing equal maternity and paternity leaves at 26 weeks in 2022. Lisa has also been a visible leadership role model, who operates as a commercial partner, and plays an active family role. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa is on the board of the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of the Green Hat Foundation, both organisations focused on supporting people from diverse backgrounds to thrive in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Partner, Linklaters
Linklaters

Always passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity, Claudia serves as sponsor many initiatives and acts as a mentor to support female talent. Since 2022, she is Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange, the first woman in this position. She founded Breakfast@Linklaters, the largest Italian female business community, is the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls and a Special Friend of UNHCR in Italy, supporting the campaign for the instruction of refugees focusing on young women. She was President of ValoreD, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion and contributed to create InTheBoardroom. She published “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues and “Si vince solo insieme” on the value of diversity, sustainability, human capital. She frequently speaks at conferences on various topics, including gender issues and is a member of the most important juries granting awards to leading companies and eminent individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

International Chief Customer Officer
American Express

Charlotte Duerden is a true advocate,  consistently championing women’s inclusion; driving the conversation forward as well as initiatives and action.  In her former role as UK Country Manager at American Express, Charlotte pledged to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management under HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, a target achieved in 2022. As current chair of Executive Women’s Network representing all senior women across EMEA at American Express, she has driven membership, created greater engagement bringing together senior leaders and allies to enable women’s ambition and has advocated for, and influenced changes in women’s health and menopause support at the company. In addition, she is proud to be an advocate for women in payments in the industry as a regular speaker at events to inspire women to be ambitious including to a new generation of women leaders at the inaugural Women in Open Banking event earlier this year.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Paula Capuzzo

President, Africa Eurasia Division
Colgate-Palmolive

Maria Paula Capuzzo, President of the Africa Eurasia Division at Colgate-Palmolive has been a strong proponent of equity diversity and inclusion through her positions in Latin America and Africa Eurasia Middle East. She relaunched Colgate Women's Network (CWN) in both Africa Eurasia and Brazil, fostering a dynamic cross-regional-functional mentorship program that matches pairs for leadership development. She conducted studies, hosted webcasts, and LinkedIn Live sessions on pertinent topics for her 55% women Africa-Eurasia team. Maria Paula has also led transformational efforts beyond her region, relaunching CWN during her tenure as president of Colgate in Brazil. Under her leadership, Colgate received recognition for fostering diversity and inclusion, including a United Nations award for ethnic diversity practices. She also scaled the oral care educational program Bright Smiles, Bright Futures expanding its reach to engage teachers, nurses and parents. This Colgate program reaches over 1.6 billion children globally. Her dedication extends to volunteer work, including mentoring low-income students and piloting leadership programs for African talent. Maria Paula's visionary leadership continues to drive positive change and impact within Colgate and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Connie Peng

Director
BlackRock

From 2018 to 2022, Connie served as Chairperson for BlackRock's Women & Allies Network (WIN), retiring from the role in 2023 to encourage the next generation of leadership but continuing to shape and support the organization as a member of the Board of Directors. In recognition of her leadership, Connie was honored with the APAC Passion for WIN award this year. Externally, Connie is a committee member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative, a subsidiary organization of the Urban Land Institute promoting gender equity and the professional development of women within China’s real estate industry. With the WLI, Connie spearheaded an initiative to sponsor underprivileged women students in rural China to complete their high school education. She also donates time through the Urban Land Institute’s mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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O'Brien Kalumba

Director, CEO Office & Client Coverage
Standard Chartered Bank

Throughout her 12-year international career across Zambia, the UK, and Germany, O'Brien has fervently advocated for diversity and inclusion (D&I). She championed these values at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and externally, with a focus on elevating female leaders and minority ethnic groups, enabling their full potential and advocating for the critical role that mentorship, sponsorship and coaching has on one’s career. At SCB, she serves on the Europe D&I Council. In July 2021, she was among the 20 Black Leaders at Standard Chartered, amplifying their voices through shared life experiences on Black Leaders Awareness Day. O'Brien is deeply committed to women's empowerment, volunteering on When Females Lead's Board of Directors. This nonprofit empowers confident women leaders across Africa through mentorship, career guidance (mentoring 300+ young female professionals), and uplifting vulnerable children.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claire Pascaud

Global HR Talent Manager
CAPGEMINI

Claire is a Global Talent Director at Capgemini and co-chair of the Women@Capgemini Employee Resource Group (ERG). In 2017, Claire co-created the 'Women for the Future' in Bordeaux France and pioneered the awards, a groundbreaking initiative spotlighting women's talents across all organizational levels. This program's international deployment, which she has led since 2021, has grown exponentially, celebrating 3331 nominees and 275 winners from 17 countries. Claire also onboarded Capgemini University and Diversity & Inclusion teams, fostering cross-leadership learning cohorts involving five women networks. This initiative highlights women's achievements, strenghtening their development and growth. Under Claire's leadership, Women@Capgemini's mission has flourished through international mentoring, coaching, learning & development programs, and well-being workshops. Claire's passion for fostering talent's experience aligned to business priorites, shines through her engagement in highlighting women role models in tech through portraits and storytelling endeavors.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Karen Taluskie

Senior Manager Vapor Deploy
Reynolds American

Karen Taluskie, Senior Manager of Vapor Deploy at Reynolds American, is the organization's Women's Employee Resource Group (ERG) Co-Lead. Under her leadership, the ERG's membership grew by 15%, becoming the company's largest ERG. Karen plays a pivotal role in shaping the ERG's strategy, vision, and monthly activities, fostering a culture of awareness, professional development, and community service. Her commitment extends beyond Reynolds American. Karen is an engaged alumna of WOMEN Unlimited Inc., where she mentors and actively participates in initiatives promoting gender parity and inclusiveness. She also serves her community as a volunteer with The Parenting PATH, working to prevent child abuse and neglect, and LEAD Girls, empowering at-risk preteen girls through education and support.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tejal Shah

Global Head, Talent Development
Kantar

Tejal relaunched and Chairs the Global Women at Kantar ERG from 2022.  In 2023, she led Kantar’s best IWD celebrations yet which engaged thousands of colleagues with global intersectional events including a “Disruption Talk” on Embracing Equity, and an internal and external campaign that went viral about what Embracing Equity meant to Kantar colleagues. Membership to the ERG skyrocketed by 45% with new ERG chapters launched for Women in Tech and in North America. Tejal led leadership talent reviews using D&I data and led production of a video setting out key themes from the lived experience of Women at Kantar resulting in better awareness at Exec level and creation of ambitious leadership gender targets. She has also led the launch of our most inclusive Global Mentoring Programme, which gives priority access to ERG members and also offers reverse mentoring, to help all colleagues learn from each other and realise their potential.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jeramie Sutton

Healthcare Sales Leader - South
Microsoft

Jeramie, Healthcare Sales Leader at Microsoft, is a member of the company's leadership teams for the race and ethnicity Employee Resource Group (ERG) EMBRACE and the women's ERG. Jeramie is pivotal in fostering an inclusive environment, leading external partnerships for EMBRACE, and demonstrating her commitment to creating positive change beyond the organization. Jeramie's influence extends to mentoring early-in-career women colleagues within Microsoft, providing guidance and support that has resulted in enhanced responsibilities and improved team interactions. Beyond Microsoft, she is a mentor for Urban Synergy, contributing to youth empowerment, and serves as a trustee for Kernow Learning, a multi-academy trust. She actively contributes to external initiatives and programs such as TC4RE, Change the Race Ratio, and Black Tech Nexus, collaborating with industry leaders to drive DEI improvements across the tech sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dean Curtis

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Nilema Bhakta-Jones

Group General Counsel
Kantar

In just two years, Nilema built one of the most diverse teams in Kantar, expanding the global team and increasing ethnic, female and LGBTQ+ representation including 13 women, 9 of colour in her London team alone. Working with Multiverse, Obelisk, Accutrainee and Flex Legal, Nilema is breaking down barriers of privilege in the legal industry by working with women founded businesses whilst providing opportunities to trainees and paralegals from varied socio-economic backgrounds to enter the profession. Kantar joined the Interlaw Diversity forum to ensure transparency in DEI reporting among law firms. Beyond her professional role, Nilema founded the Courageous Leaders Event, donating ticket fees to support marginalised girls in Zimbabwe to access education. She also serves as a Board Adviser for Empathy Week, a startup that teaches empathy in school children to create a more inclusive and equitable society. Through mentorship and advocacy, Nilema works to impact others' lives positively.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stefany Bello

Senior Vice President- Digital Partnerships, Retail and Commerce
MasterCard

Stefany Bello is the Senior Vice President of Digital Partnerships, Retail, and Commerce for Mastercard Latin America, where she mentors more than 25 women and actively engages with the company’s Women Leadership Network through internal and external speaking engagements. Passionate about women's education in technology, she supported the launch of "The Belle Block," empowering women and non-binary individuals in Web3 technology and crypto. Beyond Mastercard, she serves on the board of CodeArt, supporting young girls in STEM. Stefany also was a crucial mentor in the Mastercard's Start Path Empodera program, supporting women startups in the fintech and commerce sectors across the Andean region. Recognized for her leadership, Stefany was also selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, named one of the top women in Web3 across Latin America by Crypto Conexiones, and received the Top Rising Talent in the U.S. award from the Women's Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix-Broom

UK Chief Executive Officer
Canada Life

Throughout her career, Lindsey has been a passionate advocate of women’s inclusion and ensuring women have the right environment to prosper. In the last year, Lindsey has set up leadership development programmes to support women in gaining the necessary skills and experience to grow and ultimately improve the leadership talent pipeline. She has also: advocated for Canada Life to become an accredited living wage employer; supported the role out of our new menopause policy/tools; committed to 35% women in senior leadership roles by 2023; championed hybrid working for all colleagues; and set out clear actions to reduce the gender & ethnicity pay gap. Gender diversity has also always been at the top of her agenda, and that is why she has also continued to remain committed to raising its profile publicly through joining the 30% club, discussing its importance in the media, and supporting the local communities we operate in.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Managing Director and Vice President of Amazon Web Services, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Amazon Web Services

Tanuja Randery, Managing Director and Vice President of Amazon Web Services, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is responsible for setting EMEA strategy and guiding the company’s growth across the region. She leads multi-country, cross-functional teams who work closely with customers, from startups through to the world’s largest enterprises. Tanuja has more than 25 years of strategic, commercial and operational experience. She joined AWS in 2021 from McKinsey & Company, where, as a Partner, she led enterprise transformation projects in the technology and industrial sectors. Prior roles include CEO, UK & Ireland for Schneider Electric, CEO of UKI and Benelux for Colt, and head of strategy for EMC in North America. She founded the PowerWomen Network—a cross-industry network for senior women business leaders, and hosts a podcast, PowerWomen Speak, on what it takes for women to be successful in business.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Edwarde

Partner
Slaughter and May

Jane is the lead Partner of the Real Estate group and is a Diversity and Inclusion Partner at Slaughter and May. As a champion for inclusion, she creates a legacy of impact through the strategic oversight of inclusion initiatives, leading the gender balance working group, and acting as a Sponsor Partner for the firm’s Gender Equality Network. Jane has been instrumental in firmwide changes with the launch of the flexible working pilot, championing fair parental leave and sponsoring training aimed at facilitating a ‘speak-up’ culture. Jane’s efforts go beyond the firm as she works in collaboration with the Black Solicitors Network, and as a mentor with Real Estate Balance and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). She is also a speaker at a variety of events including an International Women’s Day panel with NOTICED. Jane looks forward to continuing to further diversity and inclusion within the firm and the wider community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eva Andren

VP Head of Operations Country Manager Egypt
Ericsson

Eva Andren is the V.P. Head of Operations and Country Manager for Egypt at Ericsson, where her dedication to women's career development is evident in her initiatives to sponsor and support graduates, elevating their growth within the company. Beyond Ericsson, Eva is a prominent advocate for gender equality. As a member of the 30% Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, she drives the inclusion of women in leadership roles across various industries, and her efforts have earned recognition, including the Inclusive Leader of the Year award in 2020. With a six-year career in Africa's telecom industry, Eva has paved the way for women leaders in a predominantly male field by mentoring, coaching, and sponsoring women to excel in impactful operational roles. Eva's influence has also extended to Saudi Arabia, where she has broken barriers by promoting women employees and creating infrastructure to support their growth.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudette Whyte

Senior Compliance Officer / Director of the Compliance Institute Ireland
JP Morgan

Claudette is a strong advocate and outspoken voice for DE&I and works as a Senior Compliance Officer at JP Morgan Ireland. She is also a Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the Compliance Institute. She has been championing DE&I initiatives and raising awareness to collectively drive change in attitudes towards gender balance and identify ways to progress equality. Claudette has served as a panel member at various DE&I-focused events, where she provides perspective on fostering a sense of belonging to under-represented groups, pushing to create greater equality for all. Claudette has made it her mission to open doors for people across various backgrounds and walks of life through mentoring, volunteering, raising awareness and raising her voice in combating discrimination on the grounds of age, race, ethnic origin, religion, faith or lack thereof, disability or sexual orientation. Claudette fosters a diverse and inclusive environment, allowing everyone to feel welcome, valued and respected.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gill Hardy

Head of Executive Talent EMEA
WPP

Gill is Head of Executive Talent EMEA at WPP. In 2015, she co-founded and launched ‘WPP Stella’, to tackle barriers to Women's career success through extensive programing. Gill also led WPP Propeller, a coaching-led program for WPP's high potential Women. In 2022, Stella became an open community for all WPP Women and allies, which increased women's representation in senior managers and executive leaders’ roles globally. WPP ranked sixth in the FTSE 100 for gender representation among senior leaders and at the board level and was recognized in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth year in a row. Through WPP Stella's programming, Gill also leads the corporate membership of Women on Boards, a not-for-profit aiming to increase the representation of women on all types of boards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs

Lin is a multi-award winning thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and behavioral science. Alongside her role at Goldman Sachs, she has created talk series such as “Diversity – From Awareness to Action” focusing on behavioral science and how changes happen both internally and partnering with clients and driving changes in the industry. She articulates East Asians' experience and leads discussion on Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She created the “How to find your voice” series to empower women, especially as working parents. Her Tedx talk - The Art of Being Different - is inspiring for ethnic minorities and future generations.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanja Velling

PSL Counsel
Slaughter and May

Since becoming the Gender Equality Network (GEN) Chair in 2017, the network has grown to over 100 members and organized various events. These include a panel consisting of four women partners discussing career journeys and the legal industry, co-hosted by Macfarlanes and NOTICED for International Women's Day (IWD), a talk by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi, authors of Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change, co-hosted by the Diverse Network in 2021 and a roundtable with Angela Darlington for IWD, co-hosted by the LGBTQ+ network, on workplace inclusion of lesbian and bi women. Tanja also organized the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that offered free breast examinations by a nurse and helped put together a podcast series for International Day of Families that shares the experiences of having children. She has also been mentoring with the 30% Club supporting mentees with career planning and the King's College Women in Law Society Mother-Daughter mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda Paris

Senior Manager, Global Workforce Consulting
Deloitte Tax LLP

As a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Global Workforce Consulting practice, Amanda helps transform multinational organizations’ talent mobility programs, including mobility strategy, policy, and service delivery. In alignment with her personal passions, Amanda is also the Deloitte Women & Allies Midwest Hub leader, representing and empowering over 4,000 women across the region. With a passion for fostering community and self-advocacy, Amanda organizes events and initiatives focused on leadership, empowerment, intersectionality, and nonprofit engagement. For approximately 2.5 years, Amanda has held this impactful leadership position, leveraging her skills to make a difference. Drawing on her nonprofit background, she volunteers with organizations like the YWCA and Girl Scouts, teaching Deloitte’s Business Chemistry to enhance collaboration and leadership skills. Her involvement spans a decade, reflecting her commitment to advancing women and diverse communities. Amanda's efforts extend beyond gender equity, as she liaises with various Inclusion Council communities to broaden the impact of diversity initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Obonu Rachael Davies

Senior EMA GTM Program Manager
GoTo Technologies

As a trailblazing founder and seasoned business consultant, Obonu brings an unparalleled depth of expertise to the world of multinational programs. With an illustrious career, she has consistently harnessed innovation, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to excellence to drive transformative change on a global scale. Beyond her day-to-day role, Obonu is a sought-after thought leader and speaker, gracing international stages and publications with her insights on the future of global business, innovation, and leadership. Notably, she orchestrated a multi-faceted International Women's Day celebration, empowering upcoming generations, honouring leaders, and fostering allies. She serves as the Country Lead for Black Girls in Tech Ireland, creating a safe space for women in tech to connect, support, and uplift each other. Her dedication has been recognized by Digital Business Ireland, The Irish Centre for Diversity, and IMAGE magazine, nominating her as a next-gen leader.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louis Maiuri

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Hanneke Smits

Global Head
BNY Mellon Investment Management

Hanneke Smits is the Global Head of BNY Mellon Investment Management. A strong advocate for inclusivity at BNY Mellon and beyond, Hanneke takes every opportunity to share her insights and guidance with employees. Within the industry at large, Hanneke serves as Global Chair of the 30% Club, expanding the campaign's international reach and aiming for gender parity in the boardrooms and C-Suite. Her leadership at BNY Mellon IM prompted one of the most significant independent global studies, "Pathway to Inclusive Investment," examining gender differences in investment attitudes, aiming to improve the engagement of women with the financial industry and developing partnerships with organizations like Inspiring Girls International. Hanneke has been widely acknowledged as an industry leader, most recently recognized by Financial News' as one of the “20 Most Influential in Fund Management”, and by LGBT Great as one of their 2023 “Top 50 Executive Allies.”

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paola Garbini

European Head of Marketing
Oliver Wyman

Paola, European Head of Marketing at Oliver Wyman, spearheads mentoring initiatives within and outside the company, supporting colleagues and young talent in their professional journey across different geographies. She also actively participates in Oliver Wyman's Refugee Hiring Program, promoting opportunities for refugees in the marketing department. Externally, Paola is the visionary Founder of the NOI Club, an international community of over 4,000 women across 30 countries dedicated to connecting and uplifting women in business, where she curates impactful initiatives, including virtual sessions and partnerships, empowering women to exchange skills and achieve their goals. Paola's commitment extends to academia, where she co-founded Her Innovation Collective with the University of Warwick, empowering young women students through workshops and mentorship. Moreover, as a founding member of Brussels Binder Beyond, she advocates for women experts, contributing to innovative toolkits and empowering women's voices on a larger scale.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Managing Partner
Reed Smith

On April 1, 2023, Casey Ryan became the Global Managing Partner of Reed Smith, the first woman to lead the firm in its 147-year history. Prior to assuming the top leadership position, for eight years Casey was the Global Head of Legal Personnel overseeing the firm's DEI Program, Women's Initiative Network, and recruiting, retention and hiring programs for lawyers. In 2021, she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; a family forming benefit with a leading global fertility benefits provider, and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Starr

Global Head of Impact
Carlyle

Megan, the Global Head of Impact at Carlyle, is a trailblazer driving change within the private equity industry and Carlyle's portfolio. Megan has pioneered innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, catalyzing transformative impacts. Under Megan's leadership, Carlyle has embarked on DEI endeavors, including the ESG Data Convergence Initiative - a groundbreaking partnership uniting 300+ general and limited partners to standardize ESG reporting metrics, including diversity and women on boards. Megan's support of diversity's positive correlation with profitability was instrumental in establishing Carlyle's $8B ESG-linked credit facilities, focusing exclusively on Board diversity. Moreover, as a mentor and advocate, Megan actively contributes to Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program and Women's Employee Resource Group, fostering inclusion within the firm and the community. Megan's contributions have garnered widespread recognition and media coverage, from private markets forums to Bloomberg and PEI Responsible Investment Forum, where she delivers keynote speeches on pioneering ESG initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, overseeing the network’s 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets. She is passionate about building diverse teams and giving people the confidence to be their authentic selves – that’s how you create outstanding ideas and make a positive impact on society. Under Mel’s leadership, Wunderman Thompson has become one of the most awarded networks for creativity and innovation, winning Cannes Lions Grands Prix in 2021, 2022, and 2023, crowned Campaign’s ‘Global Integrated Network of the Year’ and named to Ad Age’s A-List in 2023. Mel has featured in Campaign’s A-List, The Drum’s Digerati, HERoes Women Role Models, and Ad Age’s European Women to Watch. In 2023 she was named Business Woman of the Year in Marketing and Communications at the European CEO Awards, and Agency Leader of the Year at the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards. Mel lives in London with her husband Rich, her children, Honor and Mack, and their dog Whiskey.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Liz Benison

Chief Executive Officer
ISS UK & Ireland

Liz Benison, CEO of UK & Ireland at ISS, played a crucial role in establishing the Global Employee Resource Group for Gender Balance, a critical initiative fostering gender equality and an inclusive environment across regions. Liz's visionary leadership extends to developing a comprehensive playbook, guiding gender equality efforts throughout the organization. This playbook highlights strategies, policies, and best practices that empower women and promote diversity and inclusion. Liz's dedication to advancing women's representation in leadership is evident through mentorship programs, leadership development initiatives, and inclusive hiring practices. Under her guidance, ISS has successfully increased the number of women leaders, creating a diverse and inclusive leadership team.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Naomi Tsuru

Executive Officer, Head of Human Resources
Fidelity International (Japan)

Naomi at Fidelity International (Japan) leads the APAC Gender Balance Network with 8 leaders across different locations. In her role, she also leads APAC regional collaboration initiatives and supports initiatives to raise awareness on the importance of gender balance, unconscious bias, role models and mentoring. Her initiatives raised the senior women's ratio through comprehensive talent reviews and development actions and created a more gender-balanced organization. This resulted in the organization earning an "Eruboshi" certification, which the Japanese government awards to companies as a recognition of the company's efforts to promote women's inclusion. Naomi has also been involved in 7 organizations outside of her full-time position at Fidelity International to encourage gender diversity, including the Japanese government's working group and various volunteer groups. In addition to her work for women's inclusion, she has been actively involved in DEI initiatives for LGBTQ+, Enable, Culture, and Social Mobility.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Senior Vice President, Business Development
Teleperformance Philippines

Michelle is Teleperformance Philippines Senior Vice President for Business Development and a fierce advocate for women empowerment in the workplace and everywhere. From the moment she joined TP, Michelle has been a catalyst for positive change and a fierce advocate for women's rights, leading TP Women initiatives, driving women inclusion in leadership, and attracting programs that highlight women empowerment to all employees. A passionate champion of Filipina excellence, she takes every opportunity to showcase women leadership at TP in all geos she caters to and promotes gender equity in the industry. She also actively leads TP for All, the company’s new impact sourcing program, forwarding innovative intersectional strategies for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Bock

Senior Consultant
Oliver Wyman

Catherine Bock, a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman, drives gender diversity and positive change. Leading initiatives for International Women's Day, she orchestrated panel discussions, interviews with high-achieving women and tackled complex topics like income inequality and unconscious bias. Catherine's leadership with the Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW) team facilitated transparent communication among women, fostering open dialogue and support. She supported efforts to address unconscious biases in recruiting and shifted into an APR co-lead role, collaborating on implementing a regional gender strategy. As the Oliver Wyman for Society Lead, Catherine championed a pro bono project with Dress for Success Perth, enhancing their social impact measurement. Her coordination of volunteering initiatives further highlights her commitment to social inclusion beyond the firm, reflecting her dedication to fostering meaningful change. Catherine is currently on a Leave of Absence from Oliver Wyman, pursuing an MPhil in Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nadia Radulovich

Head of Utility Services
HSBC Bank Argentina

Nadia is the Head of Utility Services at HSBC Bank Argentina. In 2017, she became a member of the local HSBC Balance ERG, empowering colleagues globally to achieve gender balance. She rapidly progressed within the ERG, co-championing the Networking Workstream in 2020 and becoming the Local ERG President in 2021. Under her leadership, the ERG delivered over 45 initiatives promoting leadership, sustainability, networking, coaching, allyship, and cancer awareness targeting the Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay ERG members. Beyond HSBC, she is part of the Vital Voices South Cone network, where she participated as a mentee in the Vital Voices South Cone "Women Leaders Program" and engages in different activities. Nadia's dedication to women's advancement is evident as she completes the cycle by serving as an HSBC Mentor, guiding colleagues and her team in their career progression.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Isabel Elvira Molina

Domain Tech Lead Shared Services developement in TDI division (Technology, Data & Innovation)
Deutsche Bank Spain

Ana is a Domain Tech Lead for Shared Services development in the TDI division at Deutsche Bank Spain. She's a technical expert and a Founding Member of WiB Spain (Women in Banking), advocating for diversity in the banking sector. WiB Spain, endorsed by multiple banks, including Deutsche Bank, aims to elevate women's presence in decision-making positions. Ana fosters collaboration between WiB Spain and Deutsche Bank Spain, empowering women talent and inspiring new generations through role models. Ana actively contributes to WiB Spain's expansion, growing from 7 to 16 banks with over 100 women. As a Steering Committee member, she shapes the strategy and actions. Her engaging #WibTalks connect women experts in banking. Ana works on creating WiB as an association, conducting a market study on women in Spanish banking, and curating a directory of women leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocio Del Mar Cárdenas

Scrum Master, Product Owner & Technical Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions S.A.

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals either in and out the company. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable workshops and managed to teach online with other companies workshops this year to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition, she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Wael Sabra

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO Europe Cluster and Member of Group Executive Committee
Vodafone Group

Serpil Timuray is the CEO of Europe Cluster at Vodafone Group since October 2018 and a member of the Group Executive Committee since January 2014. She also oversees Vodafone’s interest in joint ventures in Netherlands, Australia and India and is responsible for Vodafone’s Partner Markets in 48 countries. Since 2013, Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which leads a pioneering agenda to improve diversity and inclusion. Serpil has championed the development and launch of specific apps and services to support women – such as the domestic violence app, and drove a target of connecting an additional 20 million women in Africa. In March 2020, Serpil launched Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative which led to the creation of the #ChangeTheFace Alliance, bringing leading global tech companies and organisations together to collaborate on accelerating diversity and equality. In February 2022, Serpil received the Diversity In Tech Outstanding Achievement Award at Mobile World Congress.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer & Global Head of Relevance
EssenceMediacomX

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at EssenceMediacomX, and EM including, sponsorship of the Women’s ERG; the Belonging Council. The author of two best-selling books on diversity at work: “Belonging, the key to transforming and maintaining diversity, equality and inclusion at work”; “The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business”. In September 2022 she spoke at United Nations General Assembly week in NYC on the role that media can play in making the world a better place for women and girls. Sue is a fellow of the IPA, and is one of the ilist, inclusion champions for the industry. She blogs for Campaign magazine, where she champions inclusion. She won the Cannes Lions 2022 creativity for good competition for a campaign designed to deliver gender equality for business startups.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aysem Sargin

Managing Director
Boeing Turkey

Aysem, Managing Director at Boeing Turkey, has substantially contributed to fostering an inclusive environment at Boeing and beyond. As a member and sponsor of BWIL METACA since 2019, she has driven women's empowerment initiatives. She's a proactive contributor, delivering presentations that offer a global perspective on diversity and inclusion. Aysem's impact expanded as she concurrently served as Executive Sponsor for BWIL METACA and BWIL Europe in 2020, enabling her to share best practices across regions. Beyond Boeing, Aysem serves as Chair of the International Investors Association and a Board Member of the American Chamber in Turkey, where she champions women's empowerment in the workforce, STEM education, and women's entrepreneurship. Aysem's collaboration with NGOs and academic institutions further exemplifies her dedication. She promotes women's participation in engineering and aviation careers by partnering with organizations like the Turkish Women's International Network and engaging with universities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Managing Director
Bain Capital Private Equity

Sarah, Managing Director at Bain Capital Private Equity, joined other women leaders at Bain Capital in creating the inaugural women's leadership event and network, fostering an environment of support and empowerment. Sarah's mentorship extends across diverse career stages, propelling women to achieve their fullest potential. Sarah also initiated and sponsored the portfolio company CEI Community of Practice, driving transformation in a challenging landscape. Sarah's commitment extends beyond Bain Capital, as evidenced by her role on the global 30% steering committee since 2017, catalyzing the growth of boards to an impressive 41% diversity. As a dedicated Women of the Future advisory board member, she contributes to developing impactful programs and awards. As a speaker and mentor, Sarah extends her reach to schools, the industry, and professions, fostering the next generation of diverse talent and ensuring a more inclusive future.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francia Sales

Head of CSC
Manulife

Francia is a highly accomplished professional serving as the Head of CSC at Manulife. She holds the position of Executive Chair and Sponsor of the Global Women's Alliance (GWA), where she has made significant contributions. Under her leadership, GWA has witnessed remarkable growth in membership and has successfully implemented impactful initiatives like #IamRemarkable Workshop series. With a deep commitment to women's empowerment, Francia has been a passionate advocate for gender equality. She has represented the Philippines and APAC in various Diversity and Inclusion workshops and has actively participated in Women Leadership discussions. Francia's outstanding achievements have earned her recognition as one of the Top 100 most influential Filipino Women on LinkedIn in 2023.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joon Heem Kham

Country Chief Operating Officer
Barclays Bank Singapore

Joon Heem Kham, Country Chief Operating Officer at Barclays Bank Singapore, ensures that Employee Resource Groups, including the Gender ERG WIN, effectively drive the DEI agenda. Her commitment to gender diversity is evident through her focus on implementing best practices in hiring processes, promoting women candidates and interviewers. She also ensures that Singapore's efforts are aligned with the global targets for women's representation in leadership positions. Beyond her role, Joon Heem is a dedicated mentor and supporter of women. As a Female Champion for FWA Singapore, she empowers women to excel professionally and personally, fostering change in her organization and the wider society. Her engagement as a mentor for the FWA Advancing Women in Finance Mentoring Program underscores her dedication to guiding mid-career women in the banking and finance industry toward professional growth and development.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Hazel Lising

Delivery Manager
IBM

Jessica co-leads two of IBM’s BRGs for ASEAN+Korea, where she is involved in numerous initiatives, including providing support for breastfeeding moms to deliver breast milk from the office to home, providing a mother's wellness room, developing a transgender bathroom policy, and introducing first-of-its-kind coverage for gender affirmation treatment. Externally, Jessica has joined Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry Pride (PFIP), advocating for women who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies. From Jessica's work with IBM’s BRGs, IBM won the Asia CEO Awards among the most diverse companies in Asia Diversity. Company of the Year in 2019 and Circle of Excellence Awardee for the Diversity Employer of the Year in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stefanie Carpenter

Relationship Director
Fidelity International Limited

In addition to her role as a Relationship Director, Stefanie has taken on leadership positions that directly contribute to promoting Gender Balance and inclusivity on a broader scale. As the Gender Balance Strand Lead, she supports the global DEI strategy and Gender Balance action plan by focusing on the internal lack of women's representation in sales roles. This has involved reviewing data, discussing challenges and opportunities with business leaders, and scoping the next steps. As the UK Gender Balance Network Co-Lead, she worked on building a sense of community, creating an inclusive culture through discussion groups and awareness-raising events. Through collaboration with leaders and stakeholders, this network has developed and implemented activities and programs that foster Gender Balance locally and globally. Stefanie has also been the Chair of a performance netball club for the past six years, creating an environment that promotes equity, celebrates diversity, and ensures that all players, regardless of their backgrounds, can participate and thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Cusdin Harris

Retailer Experience Journey Lead
JLR

Jane leads JLR’s Gender Equality Network, passionately driving for gender balance in an organisation where only 20% are female. Her notable achievement is the 'Be the Change' campaign, promoting gender balance's business benefits and actionable steps. These engagement efforts, including a conference with over 500 attendees, have been instrumental in driving positive change for gender equality. Jane’s motivation arises from personal experiences. Over the last two years, she has embraced her voice and has tackled difficult topics by sharing her own stories of peri-menopause and mental health. She seeks to engage an audience outside of a D&I community and bring men into the journey of gender equality. Jane’s commitment extends to nurturing a supportive workplace culture for women to become role models and trailblazers. She highlights how gender balance fuels business success and amplifies change agents within the organisation. Her leadership is marked by kindness and integrity, leaving a lasting impact.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Corina Callan

Principal Engineer
Oliver Wyman

Corina Callan, Principal Engineer at Oliver Wyman, is the leader of our London women’s network and the driving force behind the new women's network for the Digital practice at the firm, fostering support and collaboration among women globally. She works to close the confidence gap, providing practical guidance before year-end reviews to enhance review writing and self-promotion skills. As a mentor, Corina supports colleagues across consulting and tech, leveraging her experience to guide them through various processes. She is also instrumental in the International Women's Day initiatives, collaborating with different women's networks. Her leadership extends to organizing panel events on critical topics like career progression and women in leadership. Corina is also a member of the tech talent charter, a speaker at industry conferences, and an attendee of diversity and inclusion awards events.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikeisha Beckford

Group Director of Client Engagement
VMLY&R

Nikeisha Beckford, Group Director of Client Engagement at VMLY&R, leads the agency’s Detroit office. As Office Lead and former Fluorescent Co-chair, VMLY&R's Black employee resource group, she has championed inclusion and belonging within the organization's 18 nationwide offices, particularly for Black women. She co-produced and co-hosted VMLY&R's 2022 Just Ad Flava conference, engaging employees and client partners in conversations about Black health, wellness, and culture in advertising. A true advocate for women's well-being, Nikeisha co-produced community conversations and fireside chats for Just Ad Flava, touching on navigating the healthcare system and prioritizing mental and emotional wellness. She's also a co-founder of The Level, a vodcast dissecting cultural, corporate, and industry issues, and she's featured at "Wednesday Wellth" discussions by Hue, a nonprofit amplifying BIPOC voices and careers. A founding member of Detroit's Black Girls Social Club, she's dedicated to sisterhood, community, and mentoring, exemplifying her commitment to uplifting women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mallory Allen

Product Manager
WizeHive

Mallory Allen, a Product Manager at WizeHive, is a driving force behind establishing the company's Women in Tech employee resource group. Mallory has set innovative goals and actively improved the work environment through consistent check-ins and personalized guidance. Her commitment to empowering individuals to find their voice and communicate effectively has cultivated a supportive and inclusive work environment. Mallory's impact extends to strategic initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization. Leveraging data-driven insights from employees, she has successfully built buy-in from the Executive team, resulting in several internal DEI initiatives, including an Annual Culture Celebration Event, Employee Resource Group Charters and a proper reporting process with HR.. Outside of work. Mallory's dedication to social justice is evident through her involvement in the Rockford Women's Club, where she supports initiatives like the NWVU Rockford SheVets Philanthropic Project.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Parminder Kohli

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Reshma Kewalramani

CEO and President
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

As CEO, Reshma leads Vertex’s mission of investing in scientific innovation to transform the lives of people with serious diseases — like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, type 1 diabetes and more. Under Reshma’s leadership, Vertex fosters a strong culture of inclusion, diversity and equity and supports four thriving employee resource networks that strengthen community and belonging for women, racially and ethnically diverse employees, LGBTQ+ employees, and veterans and first responders. Reshma works to make careers in science, technology and biopharma approachable to more people. She implemented a skills-based approach to hiring, removing academic degree requirements where appropriate — to make jobs accessible to anyone with the relevant skills. Reshma is also passionate about supporting biomedical innovation, the next generation of scientists, and her community. Outside of Vertex, she serves on the Boards of Year Up and the Biomedical Science Careers Program, organizations committed to closing the opportunity gap for women and underrepresented groups.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and is an active leader of local and national communities. In addition to her work for State Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting over 3,000 women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn. Yvonne is also the co-founding Chair of Milagros para Niños, a board at Children’s Hospital in Boston, which has raised more than $20 million in funds for Hispanic children who cannot afford medical care. In addition, Yvonne was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to serve on the state’s Latino Empowerment Commission Board. Most recently, Yvonne was appointed to the Board of Directors of Reading Cooperative Bank and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Taylor

Chief Compliance Officer for Citibank, N.A & Banking and International
Citi

As Co-Chair of Citi's EMEA Women Affinity Steering Committee, Jennifer spearheaded the creation of initiatives, including the "Power Walk," bringing women and male allies together to walk in pairs, sharing stories in a mentoring conversation. In 2023, 400 employees across 23 locations participated, with plans to expand in 2024. Jennifer is an advocate for gender diversity; hiring a number of high-profile women, improving her department's gender diversity globally and at senior levels. She is a mentor to several women and sponsors talent within Citi and pan- industry. Prior to joining Citi, Jennifer was the Co-Chair of EMEA D&I Council at a top-tier investment bank, where she executed a global D&I strategy, oversaw mentoring programs and panels, and drove progress toward representation targets. Furthermore, Jennifer was invited to ring the closing bell at the NYSE in celebration of International Women's day in 2022 in recognition of her diversity efforts. Jennifer also sits on the board of Vital Voices, a non-profit organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kelly Burtenshaw

Head of Finance
British American Tobacco

Kelly is the Head of Finance at British American Tobacco. With a global perspective, Kelly has been a driving force behind enhancing working conditions, parental arrangements, and career pathways for women's talent within BAT. As the first woman Finance Director in PTC's history, Kelly leads a diverse team, recognizing her pivotal role in promoting an inclusive culture. She also initiated the first flexible working policy at BAT Australia, emphasizing work-life balance and inclusivity. As a catalyst for change, Kelly leads the Women Inclusion Network in Pakistan, fostering open dialogues and creating safe spaces for growth and learning among women in the workplace. Her dedication to empowering women leaders extends beyond her organization. Kelly has shared her insights on diversity, innovation, leadership, and career development through keynote speeches and presentations at various conferences. She also mentors and advocates aspiring women professionals, providing guidance and encouragement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Fernihough

Chief People Officer
KPMG

Lisa is the Chief People Officer and Partner at KPMG UK. With executive accountability for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) strategies, Lisa champions the firm's commitment to 40:40:20 representation, promoting a minimum of 40% women and 40% men in leadership roles and fostering an environment where everyone thrives. Lisa's advocacy shines through her sponsorship of award-winning mentorship programs like RaiseYou, nurturing a diverse talent pipeline, and I.T.'s Her Future, a ground-breaking network for women in technology. She actively contributes to the Women in Leadership community, sharing insights and inspiration with peers. Her contributions to the industry earned her recognition from organizations like Women in Banking Finance, the MCA, and in the recently published book, “Women in Leadership: 500 Lessons to our Younger Selves.”

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Corinne Ripoche

CEO
Capita Experience

Corinne Ripoche is the CEO of Capita Experience, having joined the business in October 2022. Corinne is a passionate advocate of female leadership and empowerment and is a diversity and inclusion activist. More broadly, as an intentional leader, Corinne believes in unlocking the potential of all people through empowerment and the provision of opportunity, actively mentoring in startup companies in the HR technology space. As the executive sponsor of the Capita Gender Equality Network and a regular participant in the Capita RISE program, Corinne leverages her insight and expertise to support underrepresented groups and promote development. Her positive influence extends to the industry, speaking on panels, at events, and in the media, advocating for women in the C-suite, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Recognitions such as membership of the Fortune Most Powerful Women community, and her role as a board member of C200 underscore her impactful contributions to shaping a more inclusive world.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ekta Narula

Director Operations
Barclays

At Barclays, Ekta has led in translating the global DEI strategy into actions for ERGs across India, which are brought together through a DEI network established by Ekta. She is also involved with the WIN gender ERG, which focuses on attracting, recruiting & retaining diverse talent, achieving gender ambitions, and improving the employee value proposition as an inclusive organization. The group has organized impactful development programs to progress women at Barclays and has introduced sponsorship and mentoring initiatives. Externally, Ekta has developed partnerships with gender-focused partners to amplify women’s progression and drive employer value propositions.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sanjana Chhantyal

Investment Analyst and Relationship Manager
Avasar Equity Limited

A Fulbright Scholar and MBA graduate from Emory University, Sanjana Chhantyal utilizes her finance and investment analysis expertise to organize training workshops for early-stage entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on women and youth entrepreneurs. She is the co-founder of the Stree-Shakti Project, which aims to encourage and prepare young women to take on leadership roles in Nepal's Energy sector by increasing access to information, mentorship and networking opportunities. She has conducted training sessions for young Nepali women on Circular Economy, Entrepreneurship, Clean Energy, Innovation, and raising equity investment. Sanjana also founded the Next Steps Project: she designed a higher education research toolkit and has conducted mentorship sessions in schools and colleges to help students, especially young girls and first-generation students, to make informed academic decisions. She is a member of the UN Women Asia and the Pacific’s 30 for 2030 Youth Network, USAID Youth Excel's Global Youth Advisory Council and serves as the YSP Deputy Project Lead at SDSN-Youth, program of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bamidele Farinre

Pathology Quality Manager/Governance Lead
Whittington Health NHS

Bamidele Farinre, Pathology Quality Manager/Governance Lead at NHS, has cultivated an inclusive culture by fostering open communication, mentorship programs, and resource groups. She has heightened awareness, visibility, and innovation as a Freedom to Speak Up ambassador and BAME Forum staff representative. Bamidele's commitment to equity is evident through her contributions to policy reviews and her efforts to celebrate diversity within the organization. Committed to personal development, Bamidele invests in others and actively mentors aspiring scientists. Her leadership roles, including deputy chair of the Institute of Biomedical Science's Virology Special Advisory Panel and committee involvement, showcase her dedication to inclusive decision-making. As a Black woman senior leader, she ensures diverse perspectives are heard and valued. With numerous affiliations, such as being a WISE campaign role model and STEM Ambassador, her expertise is showcased through published works, podcasts, speaking engagements, and roles in recognizing excellence within healthcare science.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

Technical Leader and North Europe STEM Champion
3M

Sarah initially trained in ballet until an inspirational teacher steered her towards a rewarding career in STEM, a story she recently shared in a TEDx talk entitled “Why we need STEM role models who are a bit less brilliant” which challenged the genius scientist stereotype. A Technical Manager at global science-based technology company, 3M, and working parent, Sarah is a role model and champion for diversity in STEM. She chairs the 3M EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum which has delivered #IAmRemarkable workshops to over 500 people and was recently appointed as North Europe STEM Champion enabling her to take her STEM volunteering to a new level and support 3M’s pledge to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025. A governor at Farnborough College of Technology, she was recognised as a ‘Rising Star in Education’ in the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lara Jewinat

Engineering Director
Orsted

Lara, Engineering Director at Orsted, was elected as Co-Chair for the Gender Inclusion network in Region Europe where she has led impactful initiatives to support Orsted's EDI aspirations. In her capacity, Lara has spearheaded various initiatives. Among them, a Gender Inclusion global newsletter that highlights talent and sheds light on the challenges women face in the workplace, and showcasing senior management perspectives and support on the topic. Lara's dedication to positive change is palpable through her orchestration of awareness workshops, which tackle bias, promote healthy money habits, and address bullying, harassment, and discrimination. She championed a campaign aimed at unraveling personal biases, fostering awareness of internal predispositions. Additionally, she initiated a Coffee Roulette, fostering networking and dismantling barriers throughout the organization. Collaborating with Monika Izydorczyk, VP Partnerships, Professional Women Network in Copenhagen, Lara co-created the empowering "Women in Energy breakfast" series, facilitating connections, shared experiences, and the fortification of diversity and inclusivity within the energy sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shivani Naveen

Associate Director, Professional Services
MoEngage

Shivani, Associate Director of Professional Services, spearheaded impactful initiatives at MoEngage, collaborating with HR to launch the Menstrual Leave Policy, creating a more inclusive environment for women by pitching to install sanitary napkin dispensers, and promoting gender balance through strategic women hiring. Shivani's commitment to elevating women's voices is showcased in her high-profile speaking engagements. She organized a session featuring Dr. Kiran Bedi (24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, first Indian woman to be appointed head of the United Nations Police) discussing women's empowerment and self-care. Additionally, she curated a panel discussion featuring accomplished women leaders, delving into career development and leadership. Recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion, Shivani orchestrated internal DEI awards at MoEngage. Moreover, her dedication to social responsibility shines through her efforts in conducting donation drives for various essential items, benefitting NGOs like Mahila Daskhata Samiti, Bangalore, India.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Lindberg

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Laura Jordan Bambach

Former President & CCO
Grey London

Laura Jordan Bambach is the President and Chief Creative Officer at Grey London. At Grey, she introduced a charter that promotes greater equity, inclusion, and representation in clients' organizations, helping to foster positive change in the advertising industry. Laura's commitment goes beyond her role at Grey, and as the Founder of SheSays, Laura empowers women in the creative sector, with over 90,000 members across 55 cities. She also launched The WEI, a personal development plan for women mid-career, and OKO, a mentoring app for underprivileged young adults. She actively supports DEIR initiatives with WACL and mentors rising star women in the industry. Laura advocates for gender parity through events like Funny Women and IAA Creativity4Better. Moreover, as a Jury President at Eurobest 2022 and Film Juror at Clio 2023, she continues to make a significant impact in the creative world.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmen Bodden

Vice President and General Manager, CertainTeed Roofing
Saint-Gobain North America

Carmen is Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Roofing at Saint-Gobain North America and is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion within the manufacturing and construction industries. Her team exemplifies her leadership within the organization, where women hold multiple vital roles. Carmen also serves as the Executive Advisor of the company's Women's Network, championing initiatives that empower women. She mentors women colleagues and collaborates with organizations like the Manufacturing Institute's Women Make America program to foster a pipeline of women talent. Passionate about her field, Carmen takes leadership roles outside her company, contributing to the National Women in Roofing (NWIR) organization and its Philadelphia Chapter. She promotes women's advancement through events, education, and advocacy, contributing to the DEI committee to drive nationwide change. As a speaker at trade shows like the International Roofing Expo, Carmen also facilitates discussions on the value of women in the roofing industry.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Boeri

President, SAP Latina America South
SAP

Claudia Boeri, President of SAP South Region, fostered a genuinely inclusive workforce representing over 18 nationalities. Since taking the helm in September 2018, she has orchestrated remarkable growth in the percentage of women in the company and management positions, with rates reaching 51% and 50.5%, respectively. Her advocacy for diversity has materialized through groundbreaking initiatives like an inclusive parental leave policy and the promotion of women leaders in key positions, including Argentina and Peru. Beyond her SAP role, Claudia is deeply engaged in various leadership positions and board memberships, including Women Corporate Directors, Junior Achievement Argentina, and IDEA. Her accolades include being ranked #1 in the "Women Leadership 25" and participating in impactful events like TEDxBarrioSanNicolás and the Gender Equality event. Claudia's dedication extends to mentoring women within SAP's Business Women's Network, further solidifying her commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yolanda Seals-Coffield

Chief People Officer
PwC US

Yolanda Seals-Coffield is the PwC US Chief People Officer. As a principal who has been with the firm for over 12 years, Yolanda has worked with teams across every aspect of the employee experience. In 2022, Yolanda launched My+, the firm’s biggest and boldest reimagination of its people experience. Before joining the US Leadership Team, she was the firm’s Chief Employment Counsel and also previously served as president of the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. Outside of work, Yolanda is an active leader in the Stamford Norwalk Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. and the Fairfield County Chapter of The Links Incorporated. Yolanda received her JD from the Boston University School of Law where she was a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow and a staff editor of the Public Interest Law Journal. She is a proud graduate of Howard University, where she received her BA.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather Mitchell

Chief Risk Officer, Head of EMEA and the firm's global General Counsel for Investments
Carlyle

As Chief Risk Officer, Head of EMEA, and the firm's global General Counsel for Investments, Heather Mitchell drives Carlyle's commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive teams. Heather's advocacy goes beyond words, as she sits on Carlyle's DEI Council, a pioneering initiative within the investment management sector, and is a vital member of the ESG Committee, assessing ESG-related risks. Heather also plays a crucial role in Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group, fostering an inclusive environment. Her contributions have garnered recognition, including being named in lists like Private Equity News' Twenty Trailblazing Women and Financial News' Fifty Most Influential in P.E. The Financial Times and the Legal 500 GC Powerlist have acknowledged her role in risk management and impactful initiatives. Heather's transformative leadership extends beyond Carlyle; she founded Law-G, a charity supporting Afghan legal professionals, and serves on the board of Cornell Law School.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Corinna Refsgaard

Group Chief People & Culture Officer
ISS

As the Group Chief People & Culture Officer at ISS, Corinna has supported the D&I team at ISS, offering guidance, resources, and encouragement to implement initiatives that foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Her mentorship and advocacy ensure that the team's efforts are recognized and championed at all levels. Corinna's collaboration with H.R. departments has led to gender parity in recruitment and talent management processes. She has also played a pivotal role in developing programs and policies focusing on gender equality, such as flexible work arrangements, mentoring initiatives, and leadership development opportunities for women. Moreover, Corinna shared her experience as a speaker at the Female Young Leader event at ISS HQ in 2023. Her inspiring speech resonated with soon-to-be-graduated female students from Danish universities, offering insights into her career journey and motivating them to pursue leadership roles in business.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elisha Rios

Director, Merck Manufacturing Division Integration Lead
Merck & Co.

Elisha is a thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and engineering. Alongside her role at Merck, Elisha spearheaded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) group at Merck, where she leads a global team of 20 to enable Merck’s company goals around four strategic pillars: talent acquisition, talent development, advocacy and outreach, and communications. Under her leadership, SWE at Merck launched the Re-Invent program, a returnship program for experienced employees who have taken a 2+ career break, piloted an ‘on the spot’ hiring program at the SWE conference and has grown to 300+ members. Elisha served as the DE&I Program Manager for Merck's US-Human Health Division in 2022, supporting the organization with strategic planning and creating a best-in-class DE&I metrics dashboard to drive accountability for representation and development. In 2023, Elisha co-led the DE&I strategic team for the Global Science, Engineering and Commercialization organization within the Merck Manufacturing Division.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Blagorodna Stoycheva

Associate Director, Business Excellence
Xaxis (GroupM)

In 2020, Blagorodna co-founded the Rise Women Network within Xaxis to identify pressing issues and build an understanding and sense of community for a more equitable environment. Through this Network, they held numerous training sessions and networking events, which raised awareness of grassroots charity organizations and how people can support them. Most recently, they raised awareness for Guria India, a charity fighting sex trafficking and supporting the reintegration of victims into society. These initiatives spotlight Women across the organization, ensuring they are invited to speak on panels and events. In addition to her work at Xaxis, Blagorodna is also a member of the Advisory Board and volunteer as Marketing Lead with Springboard Youth Academy, providing innovative and comprehensive educational programs to newly arrived young refugees and asylum seekers aged between 13 and 17.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maria Isaza

Global Head of Investment Operations
Man Group

Maria Isaza is Global Head of Investment Operations at Man Group and co-chair of the firm’s Women at Man (WAM) network. Under her co-leadership, WAM underwent a restructuring, introducing network pillars such as Women's Health, Allyship and Mentoring Circles. Maria has led the network’s activities, organising events with industry leaders and building partnerships with Girls Are INvestors and SEO London to enhance diversity in the workforce and showcase career pathways for those from underrepresented backgrounds. Maria also champions DEI within the Product and Client Operations department, organising speaker events with accomplished female leaders within and outside the firm. Maria’s commitment to DEI extends beyond Man Group – she is a mentor for the Women's Societies Alliance Mentorship Programme and participates in speaking engagements at schools and within the industry. She strives to be a guiding light and role model for young women and other diverse groups pursuing careers in finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anne Marie Elona-Lainez

Learning Consultant
IBM

Anne is a Learning Consultant at IBM and a Co-Lead for IBMHer ASEAN+Korea Women's Business Resource Group, driving initiatives and programs for women empowerment, DEI, wellness, and volunteering. She played a key role in the IBMHer IWD 2023 Celebration and spearheaded the closing celebration, Embracing Equity Through Corporate Social Responsibility, that celebrated the intersectionality of IBMHer, EAGLE, PwDA BRGs and IBM CSR. Anne's dedication to spreading awareness and promoting learning drove major contributions towards the creation and management of the IBMHer website. She’s also a core contributor to Women in the Corner Office and a catalyst for global learning events, mentoring sessions, and workshops, covering topics like allyship and financial independence. Anne’s a certified #IAmRemarkable facilitator, challenging perceptions on self-promotion and improving skills for women and underrepresented groups. She also works with other organizations to promote STEM education and technology trends. Her unwavering dedication continues to empower women and foster diversity within IBM and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jill Chrencik

Principal Scientist
Merck

Jill Chrencik is the Principal Scientist at Merck. Over two years as co-lead of the SSF Women's Network, she initiated inspiring talks spotlighting women in science. She launched the impactful #IAmRemarkable campaign, expanding its reach globally within the organization. Jill's unwavering commitment extends to gender balance within her department. As the driving force behind the CSC Women's Committee, she introduced campaigns fostering support, public speaking skills, and diversity awareness. Her initiatives have been pivotal in creating a more inclusive environment. Jill's impact reaches beyond her organization. She spearheads diversity initiatives at conferences like SACNAS and NOBCChE, advocating for the next generation of scientists. Active within the HBA, she empowers women, and her engagement with local schools and Girl Scouts exemplifies her dedication to inspiring STEM interest in young minds.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melissa McLean

Senior Manager - Product Data Management
Reynolds American

Melissa McLean, Senior Manager of Product Data Management at Reynolds American, is the Co-Lead of her organization's Women's Employee Resource Group (WERG). Through this group, Melissa has led panels on various topics, from celebrating cultural heritage to fostering authenticity in the workplace. Her dedication led to her recognition as an "Embrace Equity" award recipient for Women's History Month 2023. Melissa's advocacy goes beyond the workplace. Overcoming a low-income background, she passionately mentors young girls in Guilford County Public Schools, tutors in STEM, and volunteers with Senior Services Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to senior citizens. She also contributes to the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, inspiring high schoolers in STEM journeys. She helps lead fundraising efforts for LEAD Girls’ annual LEAD-A-THON, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake. A proud member of the REACH Women's Network, Melissa radiates positivity and serves as a sponsor for her teams and colleagues.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alison Lomax

Managing Director
YouTube UK & Ireland

Alison started her career in the public sector working for government departments including M15 and Foreign Office, before moving to the advertising industry. Over the last 11 years at Google, she has led numerous commercial and creative teams and is now Managing Director of YouTube UK & Ireland. Inside and outside of Google, she is a diversity champion, a member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications, Leadership), Director of Trans in the City and a Trustee of Berkhamsted Raiders Football Club, England’s largest girls youth football club.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Ronald O'Hanley

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Christian Kinnear

Chief Sales Officer
HubSpot

Christian Kinnear is the Chief Sales Officer of HubSpot, where he leads the company’s global sales strategy and organization across North America, Latin America, EMEA and JAPAC. Since joining HubSpot in 2016, under his leadership, HubSpot expanded its footprint with global operations in Ireland, Germany, France, UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Christian has also been instrumental in building HubSpot’s award-winning culture, championing various global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging efforts

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Naoto Kubo

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Naoto is Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and has been responsible for hiring women talent for the Japan office. He has conducted several events for women to expand the candidate pool and join BCG to increase gender balance within the firm. Naoto is a core member of BCG's Financial Institutions, People, and Organization practices. He has worked closely with clients, mainly in financial services, and much of his work involves development of corporate and business strategies, transformation, group management, digital transformation, and post-merger integration.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global Chief Executive Officer
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is the Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, a network built to inspire growth for ambitious brands. She oversees 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets.A catalyst for business transformation, Mel is recognized as a leader with a proven record of helping marketers anticipate and navigate change. At WPP, Mel successfully led the global brand transition to Wunderman Thompson whilst continuing to expand the agency’s client relationships with Ford, HSBC, Microsoft, Nestle, Pfizer, Unilever, and more. Most recently new clients have included The Coca-Cola Company, Snap and Kyndryl. Mel is recognized as one of the most influential people in digital marketing and advertising, having been featured in Campaign’s A-List, The Drum’s Digerati, HERoes Women Role Models, and Ad Age’s European Women to Watch.Mel currently lives in London with her husband, Rich, and her two teenage children, Honor and Mack.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

CEO
Bank of Ireland

At Bank of Ireland Francesca set D&I targets to achieve a 50:50 gender balance in management and leadership appointments and introduced dedicated female accelerator and development programmes . In 2021 the percentage of women represented in senior appointments was 45%, up from 38% in 2017, and by H4 2021 this figure had risen to 51%. Under Francesca’s leadership a number of initiatives were introduced including a policy whereby colleagues having a baby via a surrogate can take paid leave in line with maternity benefits; a Recruitment Charter for hiring diverse talent; and a domestic abuse leave policy providing a range of supports to colleagues who may be experiencing domestic abuse. Additionally, Bank of Ireland is the only Irish bank to proactively publish their Gender Pay Gap Report ahead of legislation, and during the pandemic colleagues unable to work due to childcare and caring commitments continued to receive a full salary.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Apiramy Jeyarajah

Co-founder of the Intersectionality workstream at the Diversity Project & Head of UK Wholesale Aviva Investors
Aviva Investors

As co-founder of the intersectionality workstream at the Diversity project, Member of the Inclusion Steering Committee at Aviva Investors, Mentor to women, Apiramy consistently and tirelessly works to drive DEI within the company and the industry. She challenges outdated business practises to contribute to creating a more gender-balanced company. She drives discussions on how Aviva can create a culture of belonging for all to thrive and has helped implement Inclusive leadership approaches within organisations to focus on getting middle managers on the inclusion journey to flex their management style to the individual in their teams. Apiramy’s goal is to create a culture of "add," not "fit," and a leadership team and style that has, at its core, empathy and curiosity for its employees. She is keen to inspire the next generation into work, pass on the knowledge to navigate the industry, and empower others with the soft skills required to succeed.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Sweet Zavaglia

SVP & US General Counsel
National Grid

Keri is helping National Grid, The Energy Transition Company, implement its vision for a fossil-free future while delivering safe, reliable, and affordable service to its more than 7 million customers across New York and Massachusetts. Keri is committed to helping women thrive in the energy industry. She serves as the Executive Sponsor of National Grid's PRIDE Employee Resource Group- which advocates for, invests in, and sponsors LGBTQ+ employees to ensure everyone is treated fairly, respected, and empowered to achieve their full potential. Keri is a member and former Executive Sponsor of the Employee Resource Group WiNTR, focused on supporting women in field, engineering and technology roles. She has incorporated diversity metrics in personal and team objectives and promoted women to leadership roles. She has been a speaker for WiN, an ERG focused on supporting and sponsoring women in the organization, and a mentor through Executive Connections with the Alliance of Black Professionals ERG.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix

Chief Executive Officer
Canada Life UK

Throughout her career, Lindsey has been a passionate advocate of women's inclusion, whether through significant mentoring and support provided to women during all stages of their careers or through setting up dedicated accelerated leadership programs to broaden further and accelerate women's opportunities. As a CEO, Lindsey has been able to ensure Canada Life UK has committed to offering fully flexible working to all 1500 of its colleagues. Additionally, she has put Family Friendly Policies under review to ensure that they have a robust D&I lens and has championed the rollout of Menopause support & guidance. Under her leadership, the company released an annual report to publicly set out Canada Life's commitment to reducing the pay gap and has committed to having 35% Women in Senior Leadership Roles by 2023. Lindsey is currently a key mentor to several women looking to achieve senior executive positions in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Meyseng SE TCHAO

Head of Future Vehicle and Mobility Services - Vice President at DEKRA
DEKRA

With a background of over 20 years in the Automotive industry, Meyseng considers it a part of her mission to mentor and sponsor the next generation of women in the workplace, providing confidence and opportunities for their own journeys. She is taking part in two Mentorship programs for women, one at DEKRA and one for the WAVE (women and vehicles in Europe) association. With another colleague, she created a small initiative called Women Circle @DEKRA aiming to promote gender diversity within the company. Furthermore, she strongly supported an HR initiative to create a dedicated budget for salary equality in France that has been in place for a few years. Outside of DEKRA, she is also an active member of the Lean-In Network. She is known within her team and peers as a woman who stands up for other women and dares to speak out for women’s equality and gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Diana Velarde

Delivering Deal Value Director
PwC Mexico

In addition to her commercial role, she is also the Director of the Firm's first D&I Staff Council. As part of her work within the council, she leads the gender inclusion efforts to reduce gaps, stereotypes, and unconscious bias both inside the Firm and within our process, through conversations with senior leaders. She promotes initiatives to support women who suffer, or are at risk of suffering, any forms of gender-based violence by providing tools and a support network. Diana co-founded the Deals Women Network (DWN), which promotes networking and skills development for women. Another program she co-founded was Women in Mergers & Acquisitions Consulting. Her involvement in this project includes speaking in online forums focused on inviting female students and graduates to apply to Deals' open positions.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Senior Vice President (SVP)
Silicon Valley Bank

Catherine is a strong advocate for DE&I and this year Co-Founded SVB’s first EMEA Gender Employee Resource Group (ERG), engaging with over 500 colleagues to drive change towards a gender-balanced, inclusive and equitable workplace. Alongside Senior Leadership, Catherine led the launch of 6 Gender-ERG working-groups: Talent, Inclusion, Ecosystem, Working-Families, Comms/Events and Allyship, with KPIs aimed at moving the needle for female senior leadership representation to 50% by 2030. She also collaborates on cross-ERG initiatives to improve representation, beyond just gender. For IWD, Catherine chaired multiple NPS leading internal & public events to over 400 people, promoting gender equality among clients/employees in the Finance & Technology Sectors. Catherine is Founder of The Women in Business Society, a free global community serving over 1000 women, providing opportunities to share knowledge, network & create connections. She also mentors women and delivers masterclasses in addition to publishing a monthly magazine including professional development resources.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Gould

Head of PR and Campaigns
NOW: Pensions

Samantha has DEI at her core, and she is a member of several groups, including the Diversity Project and internal D&I Steering Committee and the Working Parents And Carers Network, of which she is also the founder. In addition, Samantha is a member of the Pride network, Race and Culture network and Gender Inclusion Network. Since 2019, she has been campaigning to raise awareness of pension wealth inequality. She has produced four industry-leading reports since 2019, which have gained international media coverage, reaching an audience of 2 billion +. For years, Samantha has been promoting DEI activities within and outside of her organization and pushing to create greater equality for all. As a recently qualified financial adviser, Samantha is passionate about helping women to understand their pension gaps and how they might close them to reach their retirement goals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hadia Sheerazi

Program Manager Carbon Management Research Initiative
Center on Global Energy Policy

As an interdisciplinary researcher and practitioner, Hadia has been an active proponent of mainstreaming gender-equity and social justice in climate action, sustainability and national disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy-making, and highlighting the lived experiences of women and minorities on the front lines of energy poverty and climate change in academic research and flagship reports. Most recently, Hadia was one of 10 employees at Columbia University selected to help search for Columbia Climate School’s first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Bias who will play an instrumental role in shaping the DEIA culture and influence key hiring decisions at this new school. Hadia has also served as an Ambassador for Girl Rising, was named a "Global Champion for Women's Economic Empowerment" by UN Women’s EmpowerWomen team, and invited to the first United State of Women Summit by The White House Council on Women and Girls as a "Nominated Changemaker."

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Richa Pathak

Group Vice President
Avigna Group

At Larsen and Toubro, Richa supported the CSR's activities surrounding both internal and external communications and also had a crucial role in devising programs such as Digital Sakhi (for women) for the company on financial inclusion to people at the grassroots levels. Richa has always been an active speaker. She was invited as a guest speaker for the national conference organized by We Citizen Foundation on Girls' education and leadership under the aegis of the Government of India, on the topic "How Laws, Security and Safety can impact girl education?". She was also a speaker at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal to speak on 'Role of GC in corporate governance and beyond…' specifically targeting the inclusion of women on board. Richa also has worked for the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in a pro-bono legal aid capacity, helping underrepresented and underprivileged women to understand their fundamental rights.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jess Gosling

Senior Innovation Policy Advisor
UK Government

Jess has used her diversity and inclusion ambassador role to recognize the intersectionality of culture and gender across the British Government. She was responsible for organizing the rollout to over 400 colleagues across the Government of the #IAmRemarkable training, a Google initiative encouraging women to speak openly about their accomplishments. She has also supported broader D&I practices by volunteering to be on recruitment panels at all levels, ensuring that a diverse and inclusive culture was being realized across a number of Departments. Through utilizing a positive, proactive, and solution-focused view, Jessica has also managed to commit to several pro-bono initiatives in her spare time, including launching both, The Standard Brain, a platform designed to challenge the perceptions faced by under-represented groups around self-promotion, unconscious biases and imposter syndrome and Yogi Bants, a global community changing the narrative of inclusion in wellness with laughter.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Malcolm Palmer

Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services
Fidelity International

As the Accountable Executive for the UK Women in Finance Charter, Malcolm supervises the company’s progress toward achieving gender balance targets: going from 29.4% women in senior roles and 53% women in the overall workforce in April 2022 to 27% and 52% respectively in April 2021. He is also Chair of the COO ISS D&I Working group - championing all aspects of diversity within his business area and encouraging leaders to take accountability and ownership towards improving diversity and inclusion. Malcolm is actively engaged with the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint creation and communication as well as a member of the Taskforce. Blueprint is an industry-first blueprint to accelerate gender diversity across financial services. He is an active mentor. Additionally, he was a keynote speaker for Fidelity's internal celebration event for featuring on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women List 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Omar Boulos

Senior Managing Director - Resources Industries US South
Accenture

For Omar, DEI is at the heart of everything he does and is crucial for the company's success. In early 2021, he shaped and implemented the "New Business DEI Initiative" that reviews the gender and ethnic diversity of team structures in proposed work to embed DEI into the fabric of the business he leads. The initiative is increasing opportunities for the firm’s diverse workforce, helping them to progress with their career. Since the initiative began, 242 programs have been reviewed, triggering 46 deep dives with leaders to either re-shape the teams immediately or identify actions to correct them in the immediate future. Additionally, he made sure that this initiative became a pre-requisite to any new business being discussed for approval and a mandatory approval step in the management process. Omar also actively mentors and sponsors women at all levels in his business and across Accenture, formally and informally, to grow their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Karen Blackett OBE

WPP U.K Country Manager & GroupM U.K CEO
WPP & GroupM

As the GroupM UK CEO and WPP UK Country Manager, Karen has launched the Visible Start Program, which has trained 300 midlife female returnees in digital media, and provided confidence building, soft skills, networking, and mentoring. Since 2020, she has supported a Sponsorship Program benefiting 30 Black and ethnically diverse employees and launched best-in-class mandatory DEI training on Allyship and Conscious Inclusion. In addition, she has been championing training for senior management in understanding all structures of oppression and helped build and launch the Inclusive Leadership Learning Experience to help mid-level managers foster a culture of belonging for their teams. As a result, WPP UK was named 9th best performer in FTSE100 gender diversity ranking in Senior Leadership and on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for transparency in gender data for four consecutive years. Karen is also a founding trustee of the Black Equity Organization; a new national Charity focused on dismantling systemic racism.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne Erni is the Chief People Officer at Audible where she leads the People and Places team, which comprises Human Resources, Workplace Real Estate and Facilities, and Newark neighborhood-making. Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘Impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. Anne is an internationally recognized thought leader on workplace innovation and a champion for equitable hiring and professional development practices.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Wesley LePatner

Global Chief Operating Officer, Core+; Chief Operating Officer, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT)
Blackstone

Wesley has served as Chair of Blackstone's Women's Initiative since 2019. Under her leadership, the Initiative has driven many programs focused on developing employees' careers, fostering connectivity across businesses, encouraging organic mentorship relationships, and helping shape Blackstone's recruiting strategy. Wesley also created the Working Parents initiative in the U.S. for the firm. She is a mentor and champion for other women and is deeply committed to hiring and retaining top women talent. Over the past few years, Blackstone has also evaluated its benefits to ensure they are comprehensive and competitive. The firm offers primary and secondary caregiver leave, adoption leave, phased back to work, fertility coverage, and backup childcare, to name a few. It also recently introduced family planning benefits for US employees, such as enhancing infertility benefits to include cryopreservation and extending primary caregiver leave to 20 weeks.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicolina Andall

Senior Corporate Counsel
Atlas Copco

Since 2020, Nicolina has been a member of the UK D&I committee and was spotlighted globally for her support for women and diversity within this global Nasdaq listed company. As one of the few diverse members of the senior leadership team at the top of the Holdings group within the UK, she is often approached to encourage and mentor those within the organization. Nicolina is involved with the rollout of the new mentoring program for young women at university to build an understanding of STEM careers and join the innovative global engineering sector. Furthermore, she is an Ambassador, presenter, and mentor for Women On Boards UK and sits on the Racial Equity Committee of International Women’s Forum UK. In 2022, they set up a mentoring scheme to link ethnic women with high-profile women leaders to help them on their senior leadership journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arungalai Anbarasu

Chief Technology & Strategy Officer
Waygate Technologies

Arungalai is mother to a 7-year-old daughter, fierce gender-balance advocate and a member of the Women's Network Group within Baker Hughes, and she has been coaching and mentoring gender-diverse employees to succeed in their careers so that she can create more gender-diverse teams in a high-tech business. Arungalai has been promoting roles in STEM with school and university-level students and is a thought leader in Forbes Technology Council and on Gender Balance & Working Mothers. She was featured in the Top 100 Women in Technology Leaders by Technology Magazine in 2021, in the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by National Diversity Council in 2021, and in the 10 Most inspiring women leaders to follow in 2022 by Insights Success in 2022 & 40 under 40 by CDO Magazine in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marie-Jeanne (MJ) Deverdun

CFO of Deutsche’s Investment Bank
Deutsche Bank

MJ joined the CFO team in 2019 and is responsible for business aligned activities including strategy and planning, performance management, resource allocation and management reporting. She is also the COO for Fixed Income and Currencies.Since joining Deutsche Bank in 2010 MJ has held a number of positions, starting in Risk running Credit Operations, moving to Portfolio Risk Management focusing on the optimisation of financial resources across CIB and holding various COO roles in Structured Finance, GCT and Fixed Income. MJ holds an MBA from Audencia Business School and is Mum to a six year old boy.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lexie Toorock

Marketing Associate
Bridgewater Associates

Lexie Toorock joined Bridgewater in 2012, and she is a relationship manager, focused on business development and sales, reporting directly to the co-Head of Client Service. Lexie is a founder of Bridgewater’s Diversity and Inclusion Council in Client Service, a member and early builder of Bridgewater’s Women’s Network, and a leader in the firm’s central DEI efforts. She has consistently mentored women and others throughout the firm, while also hosting various firmwide discussions on business and leadership. Beyond Bridgewater, she serves on the board of LSA Family Health Service, a nonprofit focused on assisting families and children by meeting their basic needs for food, healthcare, education, and a safe home, and she is a significant contributor to fundraising efforts and strategy for Grameen America, the largest microfinance nonprofit in the US. Lexie holds a B.S. in Strategic Management and Economics from Babson College.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending, Transaction Management and Mujeres al Mundo
HSBC Bank Argentina

Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating the economic inclusion and empowerment of women, based on four pillars: training and networking, mentoring, international connectivity and financial services. From 2021-to date, HSBC Argentina has disbursed US$350million in loans for women-led SMEs. Over 4,000 businesswomen/entrepreneurs have already signed up as part of MAM community, which has recently been expanded to Uruguay and Mexico, consolidating a regional strategy to unlock the potential of women’s market, highlighting the important role they play in the economy with a comprehensive proposition to help them thrive. For MAM, Melisa trained +125 relationship managers and developed an ambassadors network to embed gender perspective in the business. Melisa chaired Balance ERG for three years (2017-19), engaging +100 colleagues to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace. She is women’s mentor at Vital Voices and Cherie Blair Foundation and member of DEI committee at BritCham.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy Consulting

As one of the few high-profile women of color at Oglivy Shelina plays an active role in pushing the company’s D&I agenda, sitting on the Inclusion boards of both Oglivy and WPP. As well as chairing key public and internal sessions, such as industry discussions on unconscious bias and women, Shelina has represented Ogilvy at International Women's Day events. In the past she has hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme, and today she mentors junior talent herself with a focus on women and women of color. She is the bestselling author of the memoir Love in a Headscarf about her experiences as a Muslim woman. Her children’s book debut was ‘The Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams’. In May 2022 she published “BeYOUtiful” an illustrated book for empowering girls to understand what it means to be beautiful and to decide for themselves.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Daniela Gauntlett

Learning & Development Manager, GroupM University
GroupM

For the past two years, Daniela has been the Chair of GEN GroupM's gender ERG and has worked with fellow ERG Unite, representing LGBT+ employeed to raise awareness of gender diversity, including trans and nonbinary. She also has been supporting the Visible Start returners program that welcomed 45+ women from diverse backgrounds back into work or a first career. She is currently working with two of these women in her team. Daniela will continue to champion the program, work on the launch of the next iteration and serve as an ally to challenge ageist attitudes and those against parents, carers, and disabled people, to create opportunities for those underrepresented in the industry. Daniela also pitched and designed a Listening Project, qualitative 1-on-1 interviews providing insight on barriers to gender parity, and the annual WPP Belonging Survey data, which provides key insights. Furthermore, Daniela is a member of the Bloom women's network as a mentee, enabling her with confidence, gravitas, and the skills to build a network of allies to push for gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tejal Shah

Head, HR Strategy and Transformation
Kantar

Tejal chairs the Women at Kantar ERG globally which she re-launched on International Women’s Day in 2022 with a “Disruption Talk” on Breaking the Bias and spotlighting employees who were breaking the bias at Kantar. She has developed the Women at Kantar strategy focusing on promoting gender equality in the workplace and building an inclusive community of women and allies by creating safe spaces for sharing experiences and learnings to help create an environment where women are comfortable bringing their whole self to work. Women at Kantar now has 750 members with chapters for Women in Tech and Women in Retail. Tejal is passionate about hardwiring positive change into Kantar’s DNA to improve its workplace for women through increasing data transparency to bring more impactful focus and providing input on people policies to ensure they are inclusive. Tejal mentors underrepresented minorities inside and outside work helping them realise their full potential.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanna Haslam

Design Director
Snap Finger Click

Joanna takes an active role in recruitment, ensuring job adverts appeal to a diverse audience. As a result, Snap Finger Click is 40% women, well above average in Technology. At Snap Finger Click, they create games designed to appeal to a diverse audience outside of hardcore gamers; Joanna is responsible for the design of these games. When she arrived at the company in 2017, she helped create a flexible working policy so that staff could work from home, choose their hours, and choose to work part-time. This new policy benefits, especially parents. Joanna promotes Limit Break, a mentorship for underrepresented groups (including women), to the staff and encourages them to apply as mentors and mentees and has been a mentor herself since 2020. Furthermore, she has worked with the social media manager to create content promoting the work of women employees and dispelling myths about women in games.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jon Holt

Chief Executive
KPMG UK

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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Bank PLC and HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is a passionate supporter of driving gender diversity and inclusion. She strongly supports the creation of a nurturing and sustainable inclusive culture, where differences are acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged. This helps individuals thrive, supports innovation and makes the organisation a better workplace. Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor of HSBC Balance (an Employee Resource Group promoting gender diversity with over 50,000 members across 48 countries) and HSBC Digital Business Services (DBS) on 'Inclusive Culture’. Terecina also sponsors #Inclusive Europe, an Employee Resource Group covering over 10,000 colleagues across 21 countries. Alongside sponsoring female talent under HSBC’s talent programmes, Terecina also mentors colleagues around the world and participated in various external events in Europe and Asia supporting wider female talent growth in the community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Johnson

Group General Counsel
London Stock Exchange Group

As Executive Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion and chair of LSEG’s D&I Working Group, Catherine brings together leaders who own, drive and oversee change within their business units and regions. In her collaboration and overarching leadership of the LSEG Inclusion Networks, Catherine's focus on diverse female talent drives these networks' realignment and overall strategy to increase awareness and allyship. Catherine’s consistent visible leadership and promotion of internal activities and events in support of LSEG Inclusion Networks that represent diverse groups and talent are evident in her attendance, promotion, and speaking engagements at specific activities such as International Women's Day – No Woman Left Behind panel discussion, which discussed how to drive genuinely equitable opportunity for all women, across all backgrounds and demographics. She accelerated the progression of underrepresented talent by launching Women's Mentoring Circles in collaboration with LSEG's Women Inspired Network, and in 2020, she spearheaded LSEG's reverse mentoring program for black colleagues and senior leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

In addition to her main job, Nadjia chairs DE&I for BCG's largest region covering Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. She oversees the regional networks: Women@BCG, Pride@BCG, Accessibility, and Ethnic & Cultural Diversity with a focus on gender, driving the mission internally to step-change BCG gender diversity, especially women’s representation, particularly at senior levels across the region. Nadjia has been driving the change across Recruiting, Sponsorship; Career Support, Bonding; Policies, and External Engagement. She has ensured the company’s policies have maintained equal retention rates of men and women across cohorts, resulting in a 10% increase in the number of junior female consultants in the last two years and this year, a 5% increase in experienced women hires. Nadjia's involvement with DEI goes beyond BCG by being a Trustee of the charity Women for Women International UK, which helps women affected by war and conflict to rebuild their lives and communities through a holistic curriculum of social and economic empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Head of Preferred Lending
Bank of America

At work and in her communities, Shim is a tireless advocate advancing women’s careers, mentoring and developing women leaders, and working to dismantle barriers built by unconscious bias. She is often invited to speak at various forums, panels and events, and has served as a keynote speaker addressing global audiences on the topic of inclusion and empowerment of women. She is an executive sponsor for Bank of America’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy & Development for Women employee network, with 44,000 members in 25 countries. She is founder of the company’s Consumer Investments Women’s Forum and founder and executive sponsor of the Preferred Banking Executive Women’s Forum, bringing together executive women and providing them exposure to education, expansion and advancement opportunities. She has been named to the 2022 and 2020 EMpower Top 100 Executives Role Model list, and the 2021 and 2020 “INDIA New England News” list of Outstanding Women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Louise Prashad

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Louise was appointed Chief HR Officer in January 2022 and is the Executive member responsible for the design and implementation of Diageo's Inclusion and Diversity strategy. In her previous role as Global Talent Director, Louise led the creation of Diageo's Thriving Through Menopause guidelines in 2021 to raise awareness and understanding of menopause throughout the business. The guidelines are live in over 40 countries and in June, Louise championed Diageo to become the first global company to make the balance+ menopause app available to all employees. Under Louise's leadership as Global Talent Director, she helped to foster a culture with inclusion and diversity at its heart and developed Diageo's approach to talent development and acquisition. During her time in this role, she worked to drive the representation of women in leadership roles from 28% in 2016 to 42% in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Gretchen Berlin

Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company

Gretchen has been the co-lead of McKinsey’s DEI efforts in North America in an official capacity since October 2021 and previously for the Mid-Atlantic office. She launched the Women and Families initiative to drive an integrated effort on gender equity across multiple dimensions. Gretchen also advocated for improvements to the parental leave and return from leave re-boarding programs, resulting in an enhanced offering designed in a manner inclusive of all family structures/types. In her career at McKinsey, she has always been very committed to people leadership and passionate about being an ally and sponsor for all under-represented colleagues.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farrah Ekeroth

Head of Employer Brand
EY

For over two years, Farrah, alongside her day job, has served as Co-Chair of the EY Women's Network. In this role, she has led EY's largest ERG with 3,500+ members across 25 UK locations. She co-leads a team of volunteers to accelerate gender parity at EY through various initiatives with 70+ events delivered in the last two years covering body positivity, intersectionality, everyday sexism, allyship, and menopause topics. The network also runs a Conversation Series with women role models across the firm in fireside chats. She has led EY's International Women's Day celebrations for the last two years. In addition, Farrah hosted, developed, and led EY's largest IWD Awards to date, receiving a record-breaking 600 nominations across the firm celebrating women role models and allies. Furthermore, Farrah launched EY's EMEIA Women in Technology Program with the United Nations to mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carol Fergus

Director, Global Travel, Events and Ground Transportation
Fidelity International

In 2021, Carol developed and launched a certificate-accredited two-year apprenticeship scheme for young adults from minority groups, collaborating with Fidelity suppliers within the Corporate Property Services (CPS) business area. She is proactively involved in promoting intersectional D&I within Fidelity and being a role model by supporting the Social Mobility strand and Cultural Diversity Network Focus Group. Carol has also been a panellist on various internal webinars on D&I topics, especially promoting and championing mental health and invisible illness inclusion, and Black History Month. Additionally, she has featured in the internal “Senior Leaders going back to Grassroots” campaign to promote diversity and inclusion in CPS. She is a TAMS Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisor and founding member and Advisory Board member for LEVEL all Women's Travel network.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amal Khatib

Project Manager at Oliver Wyman Dubai
Oliver Wyman

Amal co-led Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW), the employee resource group for gender equity, at the India and Middle East office. In 2021, she led a team of 14 to organize a large program around International Women’s Day which lasted for 30 days and offered talks and discussions and semi-weekly newsletters. The program saw increased engagement compared to previous years, tripling the number of event attendees. Outside Oliver Wyman, Amal worked with Nama Women Advancement Establishment in the UAE. This included moderating two panel discussions on business and entrepreneurship, coaching upcoming Emirati women entrepreneurs, and delivering workshops on business ideation to 200+ women. Amal’s first work on gender was creating a dance installation around gender roles which she performed at the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival 2012. Amal’s inspiration is her mother, who dedicated her life to support women in Palestine and is working relentlessly to champion women in legislation and society

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Natasha Pinto

Manager, Culture and Wellbeing | Global Co-Lead - LSEG Accessibility Network
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)

Natasha is a strong advocate of Diversity & Inclusion and is involved in enabling, supporting, and promoting a disability-inclusive environment. She has been invited to speak at several industry events to share best practices, and has advised many corporates, NGOs and individuals, focusing on redefining, and breaking stereotypical mindsets of what the disabled community can achieve. She initiated and rolled out a people leaders handbook to creating a disability inclusive workplace. She has played a significant role in contributing towards the wellbeing of the disabled community through many inclusive initiatives, such as ensuring subtitles in global corporate videos as well as focusing on digital and physical accessibility. Natasha received the prestigious NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award-2021 and was a Finalist for the D&I Champion of Change Award-2020 by Community Business. She was a speaker at FICCI -Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Innovation Summit,2022, focusing on creating diversity in organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Allison Wolf

Senior Associate, Invention+
Mindshare

Allison is the U.S. communications lead for Mindshare Collective, an employee group that drives intersectional diversity within Mindshare and clients' media plans, with identity groups including the LGBT+ community, women, Latinx, and more. She drives numerous events year-round in partnership with media companies like Paramount and senior leaders that highlight women/minority voices and create a sense of belonging for people at Mindshare. Allison also worked on the launch of Mindshare's Latinx private marketplace that drives clients' ad dollars to support the voices of Hispanic & Latinx journalists and content creators across the U.S. She was instrumental in working with media vendors and Mindshare's programmatic & planning teams to create a catalog of sites that prioritize and amplify LatinX journalism. Thanks to Allison's work, thousands of dollars were donated to nonprofits that support women and other marginalized communities on behalf of Mindshare.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Adelle Wainwright

Regulatory Policy Manager
National Grid (Electricity System Operator)

Adelle is passionate about creating an environment of belonging at National Grid. She has been part of the Women in National Grid (WiNG) leadership team since 2019, helping the ERG grow to serve its 900 members. She now co-Chairs the group leading 50 diverse volunteers to challenge stereotypes and promote equal opportunities for female professional development and personal success. Through her roles in WiNG she has enabled support for the female talent pipeline through launch of WiNG’s mentoring programme, a development planning support package, leadership talks, networking opportunities, and professional qualification events. She also mentors a diverse group of women and advocates for inclusion in the organisation. Her work enables WiNG’s inspiring events and social media campaigns for key celebrations including International Women’s and International Men's Day, alongside targeted campaigns including a series on gender-based violence and a newly launched menopause initiative, helping colleagues bring their whole selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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John Rohde

CEO, RES Americas
RES (Renewable Energy Systems)

John believes all women are supported in the work environment, and one of the first things he did as CEO of the Americas was to sign RES up to the Business Coalition for the Equality Act. He has supported the LGBT+ network in implementing the gender affirmation policy and creating a workplace ally guidance document. On his leadership team, he has increased diversity from one female to three within his first nine months of work. This Pride Month, the company’s Americas head office is attending Denver Pride for the first time and has arranged for trans speakers in the UK and Australian head office. Globally the firm is also reviewing its HR processes, including recruitment and career progression, to ensure there are no barriers to advancement for those from underrepresented groups, including women and non-binary people. John advocates for DEI by joining panels and organizations and by speaking publicly about DEI to try and influence everyone to do more.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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, such as the recently appointed COO for Continental Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Bina Mehta MBE

Chair
KPMG UK

In 2021, Bina was appointed KPMG UK’s first female chair in its 150-year history. As well as chairing KPMG’s UK Board, Bina also chairs the firm’s Inclusive Leadership Board, a forum for independent experts to provide challenge to ensure the organisation is embedding inclusion, diversity and equity within the business strategy. She uses her prominent role to champion the need for organisations to create inclusive, supportive, and diverse cultures that enable people from all backgrounds to thrive. Bina won the Hammer Award at the 2022 GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, awarded to an individual who has broken through the glass ceiling, and was awarded an MBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours list for supporting female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Robyn Grew

Global COO & GC, Head of ESG, Head of Man Group US
Man Group

Robyn leads ‘Drive’, Man Group's global DE&I network, and chairs its Steering Committee, overseeing Man Group's DE&I activity globally. She is the senior executive sponsor of Man Group's BEAM (Black employees and allies) and PRIDE (LGBT+) employee networks and has been driving "Paving the Way," the firm’s campaign to diversify the "pipeline" and encourage a broader range of talent, especially women, to enter the company and industry. Alongside the CEO, Robyn led Man Group's signing of the Women in Finance Charter and has been working to meet the targets set by this. Man Group now has 56% women representation on its board. She spearheaded the inclusion of gender pronouns across WorkDay, Slack and emails and has been leading HR and Talent in Diversity-focused recruitment, graduate engagement policies, and initiatives. Furthermore, she championed a Women Returners program, which helps highly-skilled women return to the workforce following a career break, and also worked on expanding the firm’s mentoring program to include peer mentoring through the "Power of 10" program, which is led by Robyn and other women from the Executive Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachael Asonibare

Chief Information Officer
Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria & West Africa

Rachael Asonibare is the Chief Information Officer for Nigeria and West Africa at Standard Chartered Bank. Rachael is an advocate for employee development, and she is an active member of the Bank’s Network of Women (NOW). She champions an annual awareness program on health, wellness and fitness. She is a career mentor to several women both in and outside of the Bank and is committed to helping them upskill their capabilities to take advantage of the new evolving professional roles within the professional industry. Racheal is passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially on education and the empowerment of women and youths. Most recently, she sponsored a CSR program on Climate Change to create awareness and enable the behavioural and societal support required for the achieving the global net zero agenda. Rachael consistently works towards inspiring young girls in Information Technology and Cybersecurity through ELICIT, an NGO she co-founded.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Arnold

Regional Head of Learning, UK & EMEA
GroupM UK Ltd

Sandra has been an active ally and advocate of women’s inclusion. Through the Visible Start women 45+ “returnship” program, she has supported the production and delivery of mid-life women returners training program, helping to build/rebuild confidence, learn new skills, and recognize and appreciate their existing transferable skills. The full program resulted in 20 women being hired within the Group, around a quarter of those into senior roles. Sandra also designed, developed, and launched an internal sponsorship program, requiring senior leaders to actively and intentionally advocate for and seek out the opportunity to grow and develop the careers of minority ethnic employees (60% women), resulting in 50% promotions overall (of which 60% were women). Additionally, she is a member and co-chair of Lifetimes (Generation) ERG promoting multi-generational workforce benefits with a particular focus on women 45+. Sandra organized numerous menopause lunch and learns, drop-in sessions, and set up a menopause champion group.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marjorie Dickman

Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
BlackBerry Limited

Marjorie joined BlackBerry in 2020 as a corporate officer and the company's first Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, making her one of the few female Global Government Affairs/Public Policy C-suite leaders worldwide. As the top advisor to BlackBerry's Executive Chairman and CEO on worldwide government affairs and technical standards decisions, Marjorie has role-modeled gender diversity and women's inclusion across the company. She proactively endeavors to ensure that all voices and perspectives are considered in corporate decision-making and has mentored many women across the technology sector. Her multi-decade history of advocating for and mentoring women and promoting STEM education and careers for women has inspired an entire cohort of women (and men) at BlackBerry, who have joined Marjorie in promoting gender diversity and women's inclusion throughout the company and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Donna Milrod

Executive Vice President and Lead Acquisition Integration Executive for the Brown Brothers Harriman Investor Services Business Integration
State Street Corporation

Donna is a member of State Street's Professional Women's Network, an employee resource group (ERG) that focuses on networking, coaching, and professional development opportunities for women; and also of the State Street Management Committee, which serves as the company's most senior strategy and policy-making teams, including implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, Donna serves as a mentor in "Leading Women," a group of State Street's top female executives established to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization. Donna has a leadership role in State Street's 10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality, established in 2020 to help drive DEI issues both within the firm and beyond. As a Workstream Sponsor for Action #8: Representation Across the Industry, Donna and her team leverage partnerships across the industry and educational networks to advocate for industry representation and career opportunities for Black and Latinx talent, in addition to the creation of college and graduate internship programs designed to attract diverse talent to the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanja Velling

Senior Professional Support Lawyer
Slaughter and May

Since becoming the Gender Equality Network (GEN) Chair in 2017, the network has grown to over 100 members and organized various events. These include a panel consisting of four women partners discussing career journeys and the legal industry, co-hosted by Macfarlanes and NOTICED for International Women's Day (IWD), a talk by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi, authors of Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change, co-hosted by the Diverse Network in 2021 and a roundtable with Angela Darlington for IWD, co-hosted by the LGBTQ+ network, on workplace inclusion of lesbian and bi women. Tanja also organized the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that offered free breast examinations by a nurse and helped put together a podcast series for International Day of Families that shares the experiences of having children. She has also been mentoring with the 30% Club supporting mentees with career planning and the King's College Women in Law Society Mother-Daughter mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

Head of UK&I Chief Risk Office
AXA UK

Caroline chairs AXA’s Balance Network, which focuses on gender equality and supporting working families. Over 2 years, Caroline has supported the release of a Home School Hub, to support parents home-schooling their children during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the launch of a Women’s Wellbeing Hub, to provide a supportive resource for women and help educate those across the organisation. During this time, over 15 ‘People Like Me’ vlogs have been released, spotlighting those who don’t let prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. In addition, over 5 Virtual Speed Mentoring sessions have been run which connect mentees and mentors to have conversations around career progression, networking and interview skills. Caroline also supported with the update of the Menopause Policy and the creation of a Domestic Abuse Policy and Hub, with the aim of increasing awareness and creating a safe and supportive environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

EMEA Application Engineering Manager & North Europe STEM Champion
3M

Sarah initially trained in ballet until an inspirational teacher steered her towards a rewarding career in STEM, a story she recently shared in a TEDx talk entitled “Why we need STEM role models who are a bit less brilliant” which challenged the genius scientist stereotype. A Technical Manager at global science-based technology company, 3M, and working parent, Sarah is a role model and champion for diversity in STEM. She chairs the 3M EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum which has delivered #IAmRemarkable workshops to over 500 people and was recently appointed as North Europe STEM Champion enabling her to take her STEM volunteering to a new level and support 3M’s pledge to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025. A governor at Farnborough College of Technology, she was recognised as a ‘Rising Star in Education’ in the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Gill

Well Delivery Lead, Shearwater Asset
Shell UK Ltd.

Caroline is a role model because she tirelessly works to empower individuals within her team and the wider company. She leads by example to encourage an environment where there is trust, respect, and freedom of speech. Caroline always appreciates the diverse development needs of others, always looking for opportunities to elevate and recognize, whether through their work, through visibility and opportunities to present at internal or external meetings, or through award nominations for the team and individual members, ensuring everyone feels valued. She encourages flexible working for those with childcare commitments. She fosters a diverse and inclusive working environment, allowing team members to feel welcome, valued, and able to perform at their best. Caroline has been an active member of OEUK's Diversity and Inclusion Task group since 2019, which brings together senior leaders and D&I champions to promote and develop best practice within the energy industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lucy Straker

Deadly Weapons Protection and Political Violence underwriter
Beazley

Lucy founded Beazley Families Network and it’s committee to ensure working parents feel supported and empowered at Beazley both taking parental leave and successfully returning to the workforce. Following maternity leave she interviewed 40 women from across her company about their experiences around parental leave. Additionally, Lucy interviewed 10 external companies to ascertain what their internal protocols were and how Beazley compared. Using the initial research she then led a working group that identified a formal structure for pre and post-leave, designed internal communication plans, internal web pages, a parental handbook, a buddy system and manager training. She also set up the network and engaged with HR, D&I, and communications to ensure a minimum standard is adhered to. The whole process is accessible to all. In May 2022 she was able to present it to the executive committee and successfully got it formally agreed with an annual review signed off.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sinead Maxwell

EMEA Corporate Citizenship Program Manager
Fiserv

One of the ways Sinead has pushed to create an environment that celebrates inclusion in the workplace has been through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She is an active member or ally of all the ERGs in region and continuously looks for ways to support and promote them. The ERGs she is involved in include the LGBTQ Community UNITY, the Asian Leadership Council, the Women's Impact Network (WIN), the Young Professional Leadership Council and the Black Leadership Council. Together with some colleagues, Sinead is also leading an initiative to form groups across EMEA called Culture Circles, based on a tried and tested model first established in Ireland. The aim is to bring employees from all backgrounds together to network, have fun, celebrate different cultures and festivals and educate others along the way. Within the last 18 months five Culture Circles have been set up in office locations across EMEA under Sinead’s guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma Plc

Andrew is Group Chief Executive of Halma, the FTSE 100 global group of life saving technology companies. Halma is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the Group and has been a member of the 30% Club since 2017. Andrew’s work to improve the gender balance in leadership positions at Halma has resulted in more diversity at all levels of the organisation. As of March 2022, Halma’s plc Board and Executive Board were 50% and 60% women, including two of the three Sector Chief Executives who lead its portfolio of companies. Female representation on all Halma company boards was 26%, an increase from 18% in 2020, and targeted to be 40%+ by 2024 supported by a range of initiatives, including Halma’s graduate programme which is 55% female. As Halma’s CEO Andrew is personally committed to ensuring that this progress lasts and to build further on other dimensions of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michael Roberts

Chief Executive Officer US and Americas
HSBC

Michael is an advocate and Sponsor for all HSBC ERGs, including Balance (gender equity). Michael is supports the Balance ERG by sponsoring a partnership with the United Nations. This partnership brings together an intimate group of the most ambitious leaders from across government and institutions who will spearhead transformative change across countries, companies, and communities, inspiring many others to follow suit and demonstrate the value of allyship. The Inclusion & Culture Team, newly formed under Michael Roberts in 2020, supports, develops, and implements programs and processes to progress the US Inclusion and Culture strategy. As a result, in 2021, an increase was achieved in women's representation in Senior Management. In November 2021, two women were appointed to the HNAH, HUSI, and HBUS Board of Directors, moving the profile of women to 36.4% of the Board.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Luke Adebiyi

Business Development Manager, Banking
Capital International Group

Luke is Group Mental Health Lead at Capital International Group and an Advisory Board Member for The InsideOut Mental Health Charter, which demonstrates leadership engagement in and commitment to the mental health agenda by signing up to several actionable principles. Luke was previously a Company Director at the Isle of Pride and is in charge of organizing the first-ever Isle of Man Pride in history, promoting equality on the Island. Luke is also an ambassador for reboot, which is tackling racial inequality in the workplace. In addition, is a Trustee of InspireUK, a Mental Health Charity to support the overwhelming NHS, and other mental health providers throughout the pandemic. More recently, Luke has supported Unmind with videos to share his wellbeing story, globally.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jennifer Bell

CEO, North America
Aon plc

As Co-Chair of the Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Jennifer drives the group’s efforts to provide advice, recommendations and accountability for I&D strategy and actions at Aon plc. Her achievements in the role have included the formation of a new Aon plc sub-committee to the board for I&D, which she now regularly reports to, and the launch of a global ‘I&D Scorecard’ which has clear goals for gender diversity and is linked to leadership renumeration. Part of Jennifer’s work with the board sub-committee led to the recent announcement of a 50:50 gender balance within the Aon Executive Committee. She has also worked hard to ensure that female representation on her leadership team is higher than average, and she remains connected with Aon’s Business Resource Groups in order to drive equity at all levels of the firm, not just at senior leadership. Over recent years she has mentored a number of female colleagues and clients.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jen Tippin

Chief People & Transformation Officer
NatWest Group

As Chief People & Transformation Officer and executive sponsor for LGBT+, Jen co-chairs NatWest’s 'One Bank Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee’, bringing together key stakeholders, including employee-led networks, to share best practice, drive impact and positive change. Jen strives to build a culture of inclusivity where all women can thrive, working with the Gender Network to ensure women's voices are heard. Jen pushes for constant improvement, recently initiating a review of women’s safety, the company’s parental leave policy and introducing enhanced menopause support. Jen relentlessly holds leaders to account for attracting and retaining diverse talent and building strong sustainable pipelines. Externally, Jen is a proactive ambassador, regularly speaking at external events to help to facilitate change across UK plc, and supports several campaigns such as female executive development, the 30% club and 25x25, an initiative to help to increase the number of female CEOs in the UK FTSE.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan LaMonica

Chief Human Resource Officer
Citizens

Susan LaMonica is the Chief Human Resources Officer & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and serves on the bank’s executive committee. She is responsible for developing and driving people strategies to further Citizens’ growth plans while working to enact sustainable and systemic change leading the company’s ESG efforts. As the Executive Sponsor of Citizens’ Business Resource Group, Women’s Impact Network, she understands the challenges that exist for female colleagues, customers and community members while advocating for efforts to attract, retain and support women inside and outside of Citizens. She led the development of initiatives aimed at increasing accountability in Citizens’ hiring process and the deployment of programs such as TalentUp which focuses on talent acquisition, reskilling/upskilling, and expanding the talent pipeline. Outside of Citizens, Susan is a board member of Oasis, a non-profit whose mission is to change the lives of women and children by breaking the cycle of poverty.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Seymour

General Manager, President & CEO
HSBC Bank Canada

Throughout her career with Canada’s leading international bank, Linda has been a passionate advocate for gender diversity and women's inclusion. Over the last two years, Linda continued to use her position of influence to create meaningful change. She championed D&I by making it a key priority in HSBC's strategy approved by the Board in November 2021 and supported the creation of a D&I Dashboard, including targets for women leaders, to drive accountability and measure progress. Linda endorsed improvements to employee benefits supporting women, including flexible/hybrid work, market-leading maternity benefits, parental leave, and family-building benefits. Additionally, she set a 50% promotion target for women in senior leadership, which was achieved in 2020. Furthermore, Linda has been mentoring and sponsoring female talent, actively hosting exchange sessions and other employee-led meetings on challenges experienced by women, and challenging her leadership team to increase women's representation in their respective succession plans.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director & Co-Head of US Buyout and Growth
Carlyle

Carlyle's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council launched in 2013 as one of the first of its kind in the investment management industry. As well as being a leader on this council, Sandra plays a pivotal role in ensuring at least half of the firm's incoming classes are diverse. In the past year, she led the charge in re-evaluating and refining Carlyle's portfolio board diversity goals, which now includes ensuring that 30% of all directors on boards of Carlyle portfolio companies are diverse by 2023. As an active leader in Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program, which has had over 1,000 pairings globally since its inception in 2015, Sandra oversees more than 100 employees, 61% of whom are diverse (female or ethnic minority). She is a long-time Executive Sponsor of Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group, which creates inclusive environments for women to advance their skills and leadership potential through connection, mentorship and discussion.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Justine Anderson

Chief Operating Officer for EMEA
BlackRock

Justine is an active participant within BlackRock's Women's network, Black Professionals Network, Women in Investments network, and the Administrative Professional network. As COO of EMEA BlackRock, her biggest focus is to normalize the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in the firm's every action, to challenge and create a subtle change in the day-to-day. Justine’s role provides her with dozens of daily decisions that impact employees across the region. She approaches all of these with DEI as one of the core pillars—for example, bringing in parental leave coaching and supporting an internal program to develop and retain women, as well as a development program for Black professionals. Justine is also a Sponsor for BlackRock's participation in Black Women in Asset Management, a non-profit organization promoting the advancement of Black women working in asset management.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzie Nolan

Head of Property Fund Management
Aviva

Suzie is the Co-chair of Aviva Ireland's (Gender) Balance network. She has created opportunities for the network to educate colleagues about all genders, gender discrimination, stereotyping and allyship. In addition, she has escalated a review of the company’s equal parental leave policy to provide equality for all parents. Suzie is also on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and has addressed the gender imbalance at senior levels at Aviva by promoting the need for diversity of thought at all decision-making forums. She supports gender conversations across the organization, encourages the elimination of 'manels' (male-only panels), and has established a mentor circle program that has helped women mentees be successful in progressing their careers further and faster. Suzie has also been working as a Council member of the 30% Club with senior leaders of organizations across Ireland to collectively drive change in companies' attitudes towards gender balance and identify ways to progress gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Selma Music

Head of Global Banking Sales - Global Trade and Receivables Finance
HSBC

As Head of Global Banking Sales at HSBC, Selma supports gender inclusion within different groups and committees inside the bank, has mentored upcoming women within HSBC since 2019, and has been establishing partnerships with stakeholders to advance gender inclusion. Selma is an ally of the LGBT+ community and a co-founder of a start-up that created a blind recruiting app, to avoid discrimination in the recruiting process, accelerating the diversity agendas of corporates in Europe. In addition, she has moderated interviews with female executives who support diversity efforts in their organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

Head of ESG Client Experience
BlueBay Asset Management

Koycheva contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s women’s forum, which she subsequently restructured to bring greater intersectionality. Now, as co-chair of the RBC BlueBay Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Forum she works on creating a DEI vision and strategy, organizing various work streams and establishing a diversity data initiative. She actively collaborates with the Employee Resource Groups of BlueBay's parent company, RBC, and other financial organizations. In addition to spearheading the firm’s partnerships with GAIN, 100BlackInterns and SEO London, Elena has led BlueBay's International Women’s Day events over the years. Elena is a member of the RBC BlueBay Corporate Responsibility Committee, Charity Forum, and RBC’s RWomen ERG. Externally, Koycheva leads the CFA UK Job Profiles working group and is a member of the CFA UK Volunteering and  Networking Steering Committees. She promotes greater D&I awareness as the CAIA London chapter head. Koycheva is a member of the 100 Women in Finance MidCareer Committee, mentors in cross-industry mentoring programs and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Senior Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a business support manager for a global technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion for almost a decade, she was the recipient of Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019 and 2021. She put her passion for inspiring and mentoring women to work in 2021 through her active support and participation in several events such as the "Innovation Challenge" to promote innovation, as a panelist for the "Diversity Series" in celebration of Women's History month, as a speaker at LEAD's (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women) "The Power of Your Authentic Voice" event, and as one of the organizers of an enterprise event, "Courageous Conversation: Coming together against racism," in partnership with the Asian Leadership Network, Black Professional Group and Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement. She also mentored young professional women to help them advance in their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Filiz Besler

Director of Product and Platform Operations
Xaxis

Filiz co-founded and co-chairs Xaxis UK's Rise Women Network with a mission statement that aims to create networking opportunities for Xaxis Women. There has been an enormous response and enthusiasm for Rise amongst women in Xaxis. After getting their feedback, Filiz and her team put together a plan on the most burning topics such as financial advice, salary negotiation, Imposter Syndrome, returning from Maternity leave and more. Whilst there are a growing number of women in leadership at Xaxis, Filiz plans to continue strengthening Rise with a vision one day to make it a fully inclusive workplace where women have equal opportunities. Outside of work, she is very active in human rights, including supporting several charities such as Nadia's Initiative, which works to rehabilitate the Yezidi community in Iraq.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ria Pandit

Cyber Security Engineer
DWS

Every day, through her work and outreach activities, Ria tries to create an inclusive environment within technology. She is a Gold Tier Facilitator as part of Google's #IamRemarkable initiative, which aims to provide women and underrepresented groups with self-promotion skills. In addition, she is part of various Employee Groups such as Women in Technology, the UK&I D&I Council, the Junior Network, and the D&I Retention Pillar. During her time working with these groups, she has organized, led, and participated in many initiatives, including training on bias within hiring, manager community drop-in sessions, and 'Share the Tech' talks. Furthermore, Ria has participated in graduate recruitment events, including speaking at various universities, on panels, and through 1:1 mentoring, aiming to encourage more BAME students (primarily women) to apply for roles within Technology and Finance. She is also a mentor with the Stemettes, an organization that enables women and non-binary individuals between 11 and 25 to partake in STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ronald O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

Under Ron'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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christian Edelmann

Managing Partner for Europe
Oliver Wyman

First and foremost, Christian is a father. He has two young children and took significant time out of his career after each birth to enable his wife return to full-time work. As Managing Partner for Europe, Christian is the most senior role-model for other men in the region. By talking openly about his parental leave he has reduced the stigma around it. As a result, many more men now take longer breaks. Following his parental leave, Christian was one of the architects of a revised parental leave program, which for the UK now includes 26 weeks of equal parental leave. Fathers taking on greater childcare responsibilities will help address some of the inequities women experience in the workplace, something Christian is cognizant of as Global Sponsor of the employee group Women at Oliver Wyman. Christian also personally oversees all efforts to meet the firm’s diversity targets in Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Adam Kerfoot

UK Commercial Director
CBRE, Global Workplace Solutions

Adam has worked to build the largest, most effective Commercial team in the industry, and his reporting line is now 50/50 male/women. In addition, Adam has been an advocate for change and diversity, making opportunities available for women who may have felt overlooked in the industry. He and his team have made key workplace adaptions to retain and develop returning Mothers within CBRE, who may not have otherwise been able to return due to new family commitments. By developing a program to welcome returning mothers, they have removed the uncertainty and anxiety some women have experienced on MAT leave. This program has also created opportunities for returning Mothers to advance their careers shortly after returning, recognizing their hard work and talent. Furthermore, Adam has been a mentor to and helped develop two women members of the team who have been selected for the firm’s High Potential program, recognizing them in the top 0.001% of CBRE talent.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Cristina Palmaka

President, SAP Latin America & Caribbean
SAP Latin America &Caribbean

Cristina Palmaka is president of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since July 2020. With more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry, she is known for creating inclusive conditions that allow diverse teams to thrive and achieve extraordinary results. SAP LAC has more than 6,000 employees throughout Latin America and Cristina believes in the power of their diversity to unlock business value and social impact. She brings to the table people from different races, genders, sexual orientations, and backgrounds to broaden perspectives and make decisions educated by different viewpoints. Cristina is part of the company's D&I council and its main sponsor. Under her leadership, women in the workforce at SAP LAC increased from 35.6% to 38%, and women in leadership went from 28.8% to 33%. Also, SAP LAC's employee network model grew substantially, thanks to an executive sponsorship program that promotes their work and increases visibility.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Remling

Global Chief People Officer
WPP

As WPP's Global Chief People Officer, Jennifer Remling is laying the groundwork for unlocking the creative potential in all 109,000 employees within the WPP network. Central to that is ensuring DE&I is embedded in all aspects of the People strategy – from talent acquisition and total rewards to employee engagement and leadership development. Jennifer has a wealth of experience building high-performing teams in agency environments in roles at Essence, R/GA, AKQA, 360i and most recently GroupM. There, she transformed the People team to deliver a world-class People proposition that ensured a fair, equitable and inclusive workplace for all 36,000 employees in 80 markets. Jennifer is passionate about helping people find meaning and purpose in what they do, no matter their background. That’s why she published “Carve Your Own Road: Do What You Love and Live the Life You Envision” in 2009 and has made it her lifelong ambition to help as many people as possible reach their full potential

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Manz

Chief Financial Officer
London Stock Exchange Group

Over the past 18 months, Anna has engaged in several initiatives to promote D&I. She has led the cultural change aspects as Exco Sponsor for the D&I Committee, focused on 'creating a culture that fosters belonging' to embed the concept and enabling policies across the group. She held an 'employee board listening conversation' with colleagues from North and Southeast Asia, and spent time with the Indian teams discussing culture, diversity, and inclusion in various formats to understand the challenges. Anna is committed to coaching and developing leaders of all backgrounds by sharing her career path, views, and experiences at women’s networking and D&I events. She has taken an inclusive approach to developing her Finance Leadership team, ensuring diversity. In 12 months, she reached 36% ethnic diversity from a baseline of almost no diversity, with seven of the 13 being female.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Brock

CEO
OpenUK

Amanda supports the initiatives of several organizations. She is a Judge at We are the City's Rising Stars Program, speaks at many organizations' diversity events, and in 2022 organized an IWD Day event at the House of Lords with Baroness Kennedy and the Judges rescued from Afghanistan. Amanda leads an organization with Diversity at its core and supports diversity at every turn in her work. She also led the creation of two OpenUK Kids Camps in 2020 and 2021, designing courses for kids using a digital glove based on Imogen Heap's software glove, with which Arianna Grande toured. This has encouraged young women into developing digital and coding skills. OpenUK gave away over 8000 gloves to young people, particularly targeting the digitally excluded to allow them free participation.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Enna Jimenez

Business Transformation and Quality Leader
IDEMIA

Enna is a Founding Committee Member of Women in IDEMIA Network, WIN, facilitates WIN Circles in Boston, giving women a chance to come together in a safe space, and supported the launch of WIN's first Mentor/Mentee program. She spearheaded on-boarding recruiting vendors based in Puerto Rico to increase diversity for its Engineering roles and led the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, raising awareness of Latinas and their influence in collaboration with LatAm colleagues. Between 2020 and 2021, Enna launched a partnership between IDEMIA and the Boston Greater Chamber of Commerce, where she sent three employees to their Women's Leadership program yielding 2 of the women to be promoted internally, with one to a director-level position. She is also part of the global company's Ambassadors social media group to help elevate the voice of employees internally and externally. Enna has been an active public speaker, speaking at over 40 organizations, conferences, and workshops, raising awareness of Afro-Latinas in Technology, leading as a woman, sponsorship, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Taylor

Chief Compliance Officer, Institutional Clients Group & Citibank, N.A.
Citi

As Co-Chair of Citi's EMEA Women Affinity Steering Committee, Jennifer spearheaded the creation of initiatives, including the "Power Walk," bringing women and male allies together to walk in pairs, sharing stories in a mentoring conversation. In 2022, over 200 employees participated in 11 locations globally, with plans to expand in 2023. Jennifer is an advocate for gender diversity; hiring a number of high-profile women, improving her department's gender diversity globally and at senior levels. She is a mentor to several women and sponsors talent within Citi and pan- industry. Prior to joining Citi, Jennifer was the Co-Chair of EMEA D&I Council at a top-tier investment bank, where she executed a global D&I strategy, oversaw mentoring programs and panels, and drove progress toward representation targets. Furthermore, Jennifer was invited to ring the closing bell at the NYSE in celebration of International Women's day in 2022 in recognition of her diversity efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Lin is a thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and behavioural science. Alongside her role at Goldman Sachs, she has created ground-breaking talk series such as “Diversity – From Awareness to Action” focusing on behavioural science and how changes happen, to create inclusive cultures both internally and partnering with clients and driving changes in the industry. She articulates East Asians' experience and leads discussion on Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She created “How to find your voice” series to empower women, especially as working parents. Lin believes that inspiration alone isn’t enough, we need to accelerate learning to equip individuals and organisations. She regularly shares her insights with internal teams, and industry groups such as CFA, ICAEW & Lean-in. She influences via leadership positions at Diversity Project, UK Chinese Women Connect, and Rising Network, and is recognised by multiple awards for her work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director of Sustainability
Dow

Alongside her role as Corporate Director of Sustainability, Eunice actively mentors across Dow’s ten Employee Resource Groups. Specifically, the Women's Inclusion Network’s (WIN) +5 program, matches up-and-coming female employees with potential mentors. For this affinity network, she has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions and regions including Supply Chain, Purchasing, Commercial, R&D and Manufacturing. Through these engagements, female leaders have successfully been able to position themselves for broader accountability within their current roles as well as for promotions. As the keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, Eunice actively shared her personal experiences throughout her career as an African American woman, wife and business leader. As a result of authentically telling her story, many young female leaders asked Eunice to serve as their mentor for her to coach them through challenging business and personal situations, whilst male leaders in attendance recognized the importance of allyship.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Senior Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah is a member of the firm-wide Women's Affinity Group, which plans and hosts a number of events each year to promote leadership training and mentoring. As well as being a member of the Hiring Committee and helping to give platforms to diverse women candidates, she also serves, through the firm's formal mentoring program, as a link with new associates, meeting them on a frequent basis in order to ensure their success, and making introductions to partners and other associates. As part of the firm's pro bono program, Sarah has worked with numerous organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Youth About Business, and Street Law. Sarah also leads the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program in the Atlanta area. Externally, she is a member of the Junior League, which helps to promote voluntarism, develop women leaders, and inspire people to positively impact the community. Moreover, Sarah works directly with victims of sex trafficking through a Junior League partnership with Wellsprings Living.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Diane Chan

Director, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

As Director at BNY Mellon, Diane is an empathic leader and a change agent who goes above and beyond in transforming Women's leadership at BNY Mellon. She is IMPACT's (which supports DEI) Co-Chair and a leader with the Women In Technology NY. Having always advocated for gender equality, Diane, through company-wide meetings and events, leads three significant initiatives to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. The first initiative includes her and tenured employees sharing career journeys and advice to new employees and interns. Through COVID, these events helped employees create a network of mentors. The second initiative focuses on Women's Career Advancements to provide career planning and coaching sessions and internal website posting of photos and stories to advocate for more women in technology and careers. The third initiative celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Months through sharing the different Asian cultures and hosting events featuring Asian American leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anusha Pache

Organisation Design & Operating Model Consultant
(formerly PwC)

At PwC Anusha set up and ran a ‘Forward from Maternity Leave’ networking group to support new mothers returning from maternity leave. Returning from her second maternity leave she was acutely aware of the difficulties in transitioning back into the world of work and using her experiences she developed the objectives, set up sessions to focus on core topics, including confidence building and flexible working, and successfully helped to connect women of different grades across the organisation. Anusha is passionate about supporting women of colour in the workplace and has coached and mentored over 20 more junior colleagues providing advice, guidance, and support with career progression. Outside of work Anusha is an Advisory Group member for the Action for Trustee Racial Diversity (ATRD) and is currently using her experience to advise on the establishment of a mentoring scheme for new and existing trustees to share experiences; she is also a mentor for the Girls Network since 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Pooh Vichidvongsa

Vice President, Division Merchandise Manager
Dollar General Corporation

Pooh values inclusion and ensures each team member in the company is 'seen,' exposed to other areas of the business, and participates in cross-function meetings. She develops working relationships between teams to ensure critical synergies and partnerships. Pooh also encourages and supports her team's involvement in Dollar General's various Employee Resource Groups and meets with her mentees at least every month to talk through challenges, career advice, and how to navigate DG. Furthermore, Pooh helps coach minority and women-owned businesses and recruits and hosts female and minority interns from several colleges, serving as a mentor and providing counsel, experience opportunities, and career skills. She is a member of WPN: Women's Professional Network and IGNITE that strive to cultivate and further an inclusive and empowering women's network, supporting leadership development and workplace transformation to achieve gender quality and NextUp Nashville which advances all women, growing business and transforming workplaces through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Simon Cooper

CEO, 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 31.19% today, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 80.65% in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Pierre Sarrau

Co-Head and Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions
BlackRock

Pierre is a senior co-sponsor of BlackRock’s "Women in Investment" initiative in EMEA. The initiative looks to nurture and facilitate the development of women within BlackRock's investment teams and attract women's talent to new roles and opportunities. Thanks to the commitment of Pierre and his team, the representation of women within BlackRock's European Investment platform has grown significantly. He is also the senior Sponsor of Big City Bright Future, a program founded by BlackRock in 2015 and was created in partnership with IntoUniversity, a UK charity focused on education, to increase economic mobility and help students from underprivileged backgrounds gain work experience. As a Managing Director, Pierre is actively involved in BlackRock's internal diversity network and is a senior sponsor of landmark industry initiatives fostering social inclusion and gender diversity. Furthermore, he is a mentor and advocates for helping women from all kinds of backgrounds to grow careers in the workplace, especially in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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B. Pagels-Minor

Secretary, Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B sits on the Board of Directors of the YWCA, an organization whose entire purpose is to empower women. In 2020, B and their team acquired an additional YWCA location that was in danger of closing, ensuring that women and children in a more suburban area of Chicago had their programs maintained. The YWCA also acquired Streetwise, an organization that allows individuals to become independent workers and develop their own income. With COVID, those individuals were given additional training that supported programs like vaccination registration, food assistance programs, and childcare. The YWCA also stepped up and provided 1000s of meals to Chicagoans who had lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as providing grants to support housing assistance. Outside of the YWCA, B speaks nationally and internationally on gender diversity and women's inclusion including talks with companies such as British Airways, McMaster University, and Crunchyroll so far in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Siew Choo Soh

Chief Information Officer, Asia
Metlife Asia

As a Chief Information Officer for Metlife Asia, Siew Choo serves on the Global T&O Diversity Council and is a sponsor of the Asia Women in Tech group. Prior to MetLife, Siew Choo was Managing Director at DBS Bank in Singapore and was the sponsor for the DBS Gender Diversity agenda, where she drove many initiatives including DBS Women in Tech Hiring that helped increase by 4% representation of women in tech in a single year. She is a Board Member who champions gender diversity at the School of Science & Technology in Singapore and the National University of Singapore - High School of Maths & Science. Siew Choo was recognized in 2020 as one of Singapore’s Top 100 Women in Tech. In 2019 and 2021, she was recognised by IBM for the Top 40 Women in AI awards. Furthermore, she is a mentor at the Financial Woman Association in Singapore and a Core Team Member of Web3 Women in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Samina Jafree

Managing Director - Head of Advisory & Sales, Wealth Management Middle East & Turkey
Credit Suisse AG

As a managing director and internally Head of the Middle East & Turkey Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Board, Samina focuses on highlighting the strategic role that D&I plays in achieving business goals, as well as implementing several initiatives that promote an equal opportunity landscape within her region, centered around three ongoing D&I Priorities. To build women's representation, Samina implemented female talent mentorship programs, set gender aspiration and hiring targets through ongoing monitoring, reviewed the gender pay gap, and set up a Women's Network. Additionally, Samina focuses on fostering an inclusive culture through awareness. She also focuses on age by using the generational gap as an advantage and implementing some strategies like reverse mentoring. As a senior female leader at Credit Suisse in the Middle East, Samina co-hosted Women's Events in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and Qatar in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has been a staunch advocate for gender diversity for over a decade. As the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee, Teresa has been a leading voice on greater board diversity in listed companies. Teresa is known for her commitment to clients and believes in using her position as a trusted advisor to encourage systemic change. She is dedicated to developing Freshfields colleagues, both professionally and personally to maximise their potential. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa mentors and sponsors female associates, helping them to hone their business development skills, connecting them to key contacts, and nurturing them to become future leaders. As well as being recognised as a HERoes Executive Role Model. She was recently named in IFLR1000 Women Leaders 2022 - an elite ranking for the most prominent women lawyers globally and in Forbes’ ‘Asia's Power Businesswomen’ list 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President, Global Communications
Philip Morris International

A veteran communicator and trendspotter, Marian makes smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Through regular bylines, interviews, and keynote addresses, she advocates for the equitable advancement of women. A member of the PRWeek Hall of Femme and Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, she has been honored with the Changing the Game Award from AWNY/She Runs It and serves as a mentor for Brown Women in Business. Within Philip Morris International, Marian promotes change through two employee resource groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN). Her latest book, The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption (Penguin Random House, May 2022), examines changing gender mores and the role female leaders can play in addressing critical societal issues.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith

In her position as the Global Head of Legal Personnel at Reed Smith, Casey oversees the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program, Women's Initiative Network, and Recruiting, Retention and Hiring Programs for lawyers. In 2021, she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Meanwhile the Family Support Initiative, which was launched in 2020 to address COVID-19 family challenges, was also enhanced. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; a family forming benefit with a leading global fertility benefits provider, and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns. Of the firm’s partner promotions in 2021, 42% have been women and 22% have been ethnic minorities.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Owen

Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Commercialization
Bristol Myers Squibb

Catherine Owen was recently appointed to SVP and General Manager, U.S. Commercialization. In this role, she has responsibility for Cardiovascular, Immunology and Oncology Commercialization at Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to her current role, Catherine was SVP Major Markets at Bristol Myers Squibb and oversaw 19 global markets. Each market has an active B-NOW (BMS Network of Women) chapter focused on ensuring all women at BMS have equal opportunities to develop and advance their careers through programming, development, and mentorship. BMS has achieved gender parity across the company and is on track to achieve gender parity at the executive level by the end of 2022. Catherine is a mentor to many women leaders across BMS and an advocate for supporting wellbeing at work, as well as expanded family care leave so that working parents can thrive in their personal and professional roles. Catherine also mentors colleagues from previous roles, and is on the board of the Philadelphia Conference for Women, a non-profit professional and personal development program where she advises on women's leadership initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eunice Zhu

Director, Head of Derivatives XVA Trading
SMBC Nikko Capital Markets Ltd

At Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)’s Nikko Capital Markets, Eunice is an active committee member of the BALANCE network, a group which supports gender balance and aims to empower all female and male colleagues. Through BALANCE, Eunice hosted the ‘Learning from Leaders’ session where she interviewed the CEO of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in front of an audience of 200 colleagues. Eunice’s other work championing diversity has seen her actively mentoring and tutoring for the “Young Women into Finance” programme and Career Lead to help develop the female talent pipeline for the finance industry, as well as participating in D&I initiatives such as multiple women’s networking and support groups. Outside of SMBC Eunice founded and now leads the Lean In (Women in Banking & Finance) circle, connecting and empowering women who have career ambitions in finance. She runs monthly and sometimes bi-monthly events for the circle’s 400+ members.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leigh Kelly Andrews

Content Marketing Manager, Middle East & Africa
Kantar

As Content Marketing Manager for the Middle East and Africa and Chairperson of the South African Transformation & Sustainability Forum, Leigh works closely with the company’s regional I&D champions to ensure I&D is woven into cultural DNA. She has crafted communications about South African results from the WFA’s first census into diversity, equality, and inclusion issues in the global marketing industry and industry-specific Kantar findings on gender diversity and the power of inclusive portrayal. As Communications & Engagement Lead of the Women at Kantar Employee Resource Group (ERG), she ensured their relaunch tied in with the global International Women's Day 2022 theme #BreakTheBias with a live internal Disruption Talk session. Externally, Leigh partners with Women in Research (WIRe) and has served as advisor for the Women in Marketing Africa chapter since being panel moderator for their ‘Female representation in the media: who controls the narrative’ continental launch at Loeries 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lucy Cohen

Co-Founder
Mazuma

Lucy is Co-Founder of Mazuma, has led a women's management training program and has been actively promoting women in tech. She also led a campaign to improve female healthcare in the UK, which resulted in the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health updating their guidelines and the NHS reviewing training. The petition reached almost 35,000 signatures. Lucy’s campaigning for better minor gyno care hit the headlines, and she appeared on BBC Breakfast, and ITV on numerous radio channels, as well as being featured in Vogue, The Daily Mail, and the BBC. Lucy was also involved in writing the Women's Health Plan for Wales.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocío Del Mar Cárdenas Coronilla

TSTS Associate Technical Service Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions S.A.

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable campaign, and managed to teach online workshops this year even with the difficulties presented by the pandemic, to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women. Rocío has also had the opportunity to collaborate externally with other companies, and made an inspirational presentation ‘Hangout’ for people from both Fujitsu and other companies to learn about all the activities she is undertaking. For International Women’s Day this year, Rocío was involved in putting together events including inviting a female Spanish scientist to give a speech to inspire the company’s employees.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bianca dos Santos Waks

Pro bono senior associate
Mattos Filho

Bianca has conceived and implemented a pro bono service in favor of the defense of human rights, with focus on women's rights, the rights of immigrants and refugees, the LGBTQIA+ community and racial justice, promoting lawyer's training to deal with these issues. She works with a team of 10 talented and dedicated people who are part of a reference pro bono practice in Brazil. They were recently awarded the Chambers pro bono recognition for their work inspiring other women in the firm to achieve their goals through meaningful work and have also been recognized by Latin Lawyer and Lumen Award. In addition, she has supported and participated in the initial constitution of some of the firm's affinity groups, especially of LGBTQIA+ and racial inclusion, and is the point of contact for conversations on a professional career and personal development.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chimmy Ngoma

Sales Enablement Associate
Calastone

Chimmy believes that in the workplace, we must actively create inclusive and empathetic environments so that employees are comfortable sharing and bringing their different life experiences. For this reason, in 2020, thanks to Chimmy’s advocacy and engagement with senior leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) became part of the corporate objectives, and Calastone made unconscious bias training mandatory throughout the company. The same year, she organized a panel entitled Stereotypes of Technology, which allowed women across the organization to share their experiences and barriers faced within the industry. Chimmy also decided to create a resource page to educate employees on gender equality and empower women by raising awareness of various charities, podcasts, books, and videos. In 2021, she started work on an initiative to teach coding to female students as well as leadership, teamwork, presentation, and CV skills.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christoph Schweizer

Chief Executive Officer
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

As CEO of BCG, Christoph has made diversity, equity & inclusion a key priority for the firm. Women hold several critical leadership positions across global functions and regions – in particular leading BCG’s businesses in some of the world’s largest economies: the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Christoph has set clear goals related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with leaders and teams to advance this critical agenda. The firm has seen a rise in the percentage of women new joiners globally, from 44% in 2020 to 48% in 2021. BCG also continues to uphold equal retention rates for women and men at all levels, with the aim to further increase women representation. Christoph is known for creating a truly inclusive workplace, emphasizing widespread awareness through regular trainings for all 26,000+ BCGers to ensure all live up to the firm’s DE&I ambitions and business ethics.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ronnie Felder

Global Chief People Officer
VMLY&R

Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R’s global chief people officer, oversaw the promotion of two women to global executive co-directors of DEI in 2020. The team has since grown to a global roster of 10 women. More recently, Ronnie was a key player in the promotion of three women into executive or leadership roles and hiring of nine more women into leadership roles. Ronnie is also involved in the development of policies and provision of benefits, many of which are vital to employees who identify as women. For example, VMLY&R offers employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave for child birth, adoption, or foster placement, including in the case of surrogacy. VMLY&R also pays up to $8,000 per child in adoption expense reimbursement and offers educational resources to assist with adoption and assisted reproductive technologies. Ronnie is dedicated to ensuring VMLY&R is the best place to work for everyone and committed to elevating as many women as he can into leadership positions within the agency.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Yvonne Greenstreet

Chief Executive Officer
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

As CEO at Alnylam, Yvonne has advocated for the development of measurable benchmarks to hold the company accountable, leading a cross-functional global team to create an action plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that after establishing a set of guiding principles to inform their work, it led to Alnylam's first-ever Corporate Responsibility Report for 2021. Alnylam is committed to supporting women in the office and at home and creating a work environment that allows staff to balance work and family. Alnylam’s Employee Resource Networks (ERNs) enable global networking, education, advocacy on gender diversity, and promotion of equity and inclusion both internally and externally. In 2021, the company initiated The Athena Project, which focuses on enhancing women's leadership skills at the Director and Senior Director levels. As a board member of the Biomedical Science Careers Program, Yvonne advises and supports initiatives to provide academic opportunities to underrepresented individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and serves as Executive Sponsor of the firm’s Latino Professional Affinity Group. Under her leadership State Street earned a spot on Working Mother Magazine's “100 Best Companies” and “Best Companies for Dads” lists, as well as the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index and the “Top 10 Companies to Work For” by Latina Style Magazine. In 2020, Yvonne helped to define the firm’s 10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality, and in 2021, she supported the addition of two women to State Street’s Management Committee, bringing the balance to 28% women. In addition to her work for Slate Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara Box is the Managing Partner, EME and a member of the global board at Reed Smith LLP. Tamara is a founding member of the Steering Committee of the 30% Club, an influential group seeking to enlist Chairs and CEOs to bring more women into senior management and onto boards. Tamara is also a non-executive director on the Board of Interpath Advisory, a member of the Board of the Chartered Management Institute, a trustee of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal, a member of the Advisory Board of children’s charity, Theirworld and an Emeritus Governor of the London School of Economics. Tamara is an active and passionate advocate for the women at Reed Smith and for gender balance more generally. Several Reed Smith women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted or winners of female leadership awards including from Rising Star, Citywealth PowerWomen, and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at MediaCom. These include serving as Executive Sponsor of the Gender ERG and serving as a member of the new Global Belonging Council, a diverse mix of senior people from different areas of the business who meet on a regular basis to drive sustainable change in all areas of DE&I. She is also actively involved in the company's Leadership Reverse Mentoring, a program which sees junior employees act as mentors to senior global leaders. Sue has been a frequent participant in, and promoter of, the company’s ongoing learning initiatives around allyship and microaggressions and is also the author of two best-selling books on diversity in the workplace, “Belonging, the key to transforming and maintaining diversity, equality and inclusion at work” and “The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business”.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Founder & Managing Partner
Pallas Partners LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer and one of the few women to set up and lead a City law firm. Natasha launched Pallas Partners in February 2022, starting out as a majority female firm with significant representations of ethnic minority background and LGBTQ+ colleagues. Diversity is integral to the firm-wide strategy she introduced, with the firm pledging to achieve diversity parity by 2025. When launching Pallas the vast majority of the partners, associates and staff from Boies Schiller Flexner’s London office joined her. That office, which Natasha founded, was ranked #1 for the highest proportion of U.K lawyers identifying as LGBTQ+ by Law.com, and #1 in AmLaw’s UK A-List for diversity and female equity partner representation in 2020. She further won plaudits for overhauling BSF’s diversity programme when she was the Deputy Chair there, securing the firm Mansfield Rule Certification. Natasha sits on the Changemakers Board at The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for under-privileged candidates.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Yurko

Chief Legal Officer
Bridgewater Associates

As Chief Legal Officer, Executive Committee member, Operating Committee member, and a Partner, Tracey is among the most senior leaders at Bridgewater. Her work spans initiatives designed to promote equality for all employees and a department-level D&I program. Under Tracey's leadership, Bridgewater instituted third party pay equity audits and is one of the only alternative asset managers to disclose pay equity data for women and people of color on their public website. In partnership with others on her team, she established the firm's first Pro Bono program, creating opportunities for attorneys to provide services to organizations that reflect their and Bridgewater's values around diversity. In addition, Tracey built a database of D&I industry memberships and conferences and established a development budget for each department member to attend. Furthermore, she promoted awareness and education by requiring diversity information from outside law firms and service providers and organizing department-wide D&I training within and outside the company.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Najoh Tita-Reid

CMO
Logitech

Najoh Tita-Reid is Logitech's CMO and an ambassador for the company's efforts to enable all people to pursue their passion in a way that is good for the planet. Previously she held senior roles at Hero AG, Bayer, Merck, GlobalHue and P&G. Throughout her career, Najoh has worked tirelessly to drive change and results, inspiring women to stand in their unique power and do the same. This includes driving equality of women’s representation, equal pay, and opportunities for career advancement. She has implemented psychological safety training and practices to establish environments that are safe for all employees, and women, to work and contribute fully. She is a mentor to over 20 women, coaching them to overcome barriers in achieving their career goals. Additionally, Najoh is a founder member of the first organization for Black CMOs that advocates for the next generation of talented and diverse women. Finally, she is an active speaker who shares advice on women's leadership to attract top female talent to join her organization and pursue their ambitions across sectors.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Samantha Merwin

Head of Markets Advocacy for ETF & Index Investments
BlackRock

Samantha is the Head of Markets Advocacy for ETF & Index Investments at BlackRock. In addition to this role, Samantha co-chairs the firm’s Associate Development Program (ADP), which helps Associate women at BlackRock develop their personal impact, executive presence, and leadership skills to achieve their career goals. After completing ADP in 2017, Samantha chaired its Alumni program for two years before taking leadership of ADP in 2020. 170 women across BlackRock’s Americas offices have participated in ADP, over 50% of whom have been promoted at least once since completing the program. Samantha also serves as a mentor, formally in BlackRock’s mentorship programs for underrepresented groups, and informally throughout different parts of the firm. Since 2019, Samantha has been an active member of the Women’s Bond Club (WBC), whose mission is to advance women in financial services and shape the industry’s future; she received the WBC Rising Star Award in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Karen Anne Hutton

Head of Repowering & Life Extension
RES

Karen Anne’s a founding member of RES' Global Gender Affinity Network, which promotes gender equality in RES across 11 countries and which was recently awarded the Culture Change Award at the Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Awards. In addition, she’s the Leader of the Career Progression workstream that aims to eliminate barriers to progression that different genders face. Karen Anne’s currently leading a review of Gender Pay Gap Reporting (GPGR) to identify opportunities for improving RES' GPGR. She’s also been mentoring, and advised on changes to the internal communications campaign that resulted in a 75% increase in female mentors this year and improved the gender diversity in RES' internal mentoring program. Since 2022, Karen Anne’s been working on an internal sponsorship program that addresses the under-sponsorship of women and non-binary people, alongside a return to work program which will support people of all genders to return to work after an extended career break.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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O'Brien Kalumba

Director, Business Manager
Standard Chartered Bank

Throughout her 10 year international career working across Zambia, UK and Germany, O’Brien has been an advocate and champion of D&I both at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and externally with a focus on increasing representation of female leaders and minority ethnic groups. At SCB, she is the co-chair of the Gender Network in Germany and has played a significant role in advocating for important role that mentorship, sponsorship, coaching has in one’s career. In July 2021, was nominated as one of the 20 current and future Black Leaders at Standard Chartered, amplifying their voice by sharing life experiences, knowledge, and advice as part of Black Leaders Awareness Day. O'Brien is passionate about women empowerment and is also a Director at When Females Lead, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower and raise confident women leaders across the African continent and beyond through Mentorship & Career Guidance (mentoring over 200 young female professionals) and uplifting vulnerable children.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Harris

Global Vehicle E-Commerce Manager
Jaguar Land Rover

Since becoming Vice Chair and Event Lead for Jaguar Land Rover Gender Equality Network, Jane has focused on women's development and health requirements by raising awareness, empowering people, and advocating for change in the workplace. In March 2021, she designed and developed a company-wide virtual events platform to which she invited internal and external experts to educate, storytell and role model. In addition, Jane created multiple series of events on topics such as self-development and growth, health and wellbeing, and confidence and ways of working. She also led a Menopause Awareness Campaign, events on men's mental health for International Men's Day, and delivered an inspiring Break the Bias programme for International Women's Day. Her work has helped, grow the Network by 40% to over 1,400 members, and by providing feedback and insights, has successfully influenced business priorities within the D&I agenda. Jane is a changemaker and continuously innovates to create a workplace where women are visible.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kay Malcolm

Senior Director of Database Product Management
Oracle

Kay is a member of Oracle's ERG, Alliance of Black Leaders for Excellence. Dedicated to using technology to make a difference, Kay partnered with the Oracle Diversity and Inclusion team to support their work with HBCUs and HSIs. She leads a team dedicated to helping customers build innovative solutions on Oracle Database, in the cloud and on-premises and is the creator of Oracle LiveLabs, a platform to increase access to Oracle Cloud technologies with 3M+ views. Her team launched an Applied Database Systems course at Howard University that taught modern data management topics, working with several Oracle Database PM weekly guest lecturers. Kay hosts the podcast Lashes.Love.Tech and uses every opportunity to pursue her passion for increasing minority and women representation in STEM careers – both at Oracle and the tech industry at large. Her goal: to create a more robust, diverse talent pipeline into the engineering organizations at Oracle.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ciara Ros

Senior Associate
Vinson & Elkins

Ciara has been a London office lead for the Firm's Diversity Team Committee for seven years and is a stream leader for two sub-committees of the Women's Initiative. She uses her diverse experiences and kind, giving nature to inspire a future generation of disputes lawyers to take on the construction and engineering worlds. Ciara's commitment to driving DEI is evident through her mentoring junior colleagues, her role as communications chair for Young ITA, her development of women contacts in business and law, and the low-key and generous support and encouragement she offers women and diverse attorneys on a day to day basis around the firm. Additionally, Ciara is an active member of Arbitral Women, attending events, contributing to the newsletter, utilizing her role as Young ITA Communications Chair to ensure gender diversity on panels, and championing female reporters for events.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jacob Aarup-Andersen

Group CEO
ISS

Jacob has encouraged all 30 countries in which ISS operates, to sign the UN charter of Women Empowerment Principles, strengthening ISS’s commitment to advance gender equality. He set a new target to reach at least 40% of gender balance within all corporate leadership levels by 2025 – a target already reached at the Board of Directors. Over the last 12 months, Jacob successfully implemented leadership programmes to attract and develop female talent, with the number of women at Executive Group Management (EGM) level increasing from one to four. In addition, the Global Management Trainees are gender balanced, ensuring a strong pipeline of future leadership talent. Jacob, as the Gender Balance Employee Resource Group sponsor, empowers the team to drive continued awareness and initiatives globally, and explore global partnerships to drive further action. Jacob ensures that DEI is high on the EGM agenda and a new strategy, policies and frameworks ensure a fairer, more equitable workplace. Outside the organisation, Jacob has joined the Danish Diversity Council. Alongside other prominent CEOs, Jacob will host the council focussing on DEI initiatives and future challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Kevin Hogarth

Partner – Chief People Officer UK
KPMG UK

In his role as Chief People Officer at KPMG in the UK, Kevin has executive accountability for the firm’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity strategy and policies, and has set clear expectations about the proportionality of all promotions, and the outcomes of performance reviews and reward processes. Since joining he has initiated a review to ensure that annual IDE targets and the associated plans are sufficiently stretching, and that KPMG in the UK are on target to achieve their publicly quoted gender targets. As well as requesting the organisation develop more ambitious gender targets that go beyond current 2022 goals, Kevin has also required a IDE review of all new policies being implemented as part of the transition to hybrid working, to ensure there will be no adverse gender impact. He has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board since starting at the firm, and along with the CEO and Chair sets the agenda for this group of external advisers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

As the Chief Executive of Fidelity International and Chair of Fidelity’s Global Operating Committee, Anne is responsible for setting the firm’s corporate and strategic initiatives with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, Enhanced Parental Leave Policy was introduced, allowing fathers/secondary carers to take equalised paid leave as mothers/primary carers regardless of sexual orientation or working location. Another policy provided all employees with caring responsibilities with up to five additional days paid leave per calendar year. In 2020, Fidelity achieved their target of 30% women in global senior management roles and set a new target to achieve 35% women in senior roles by December 2023. Under Anne’s leadership, Fidelity also piloted a female leadership program which resulted in a direct increase in female recruitment to senior roles in India, and expanded the firm’s successful New Horizon Returnship Program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farmida Bi CBE

Global Chair
Norton Rose Fulbright

As Norton Rose Fulbright LLP’s first female Chair, Farmida is committed to further increasing the representation of women in management positions and closely supports the firm’s ambitious global gender diversity targets. She has also long been a sponsor and steering group member of the firm's women's network. Farmida personally reorganised the firm’s CSR programme and, alongside the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) Managing Partner, implemented initiatives addressing gender and wider diversity and inclusion issues. This included a bursary programme to improve access to the legal profession and a Race & Ethnicity Strategy, which involved setting targets and launching a learning and development programme to increase BAME representation. Farmida leads the firm’s EMEA partnership with Save the Children (STC), which tackles the disruption COVID-19 caused to education, providing pro bono and volunteering support. She also drives the firm’s 2022 Global Charitable Initiative with STC, helping communities affected by climate change.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens Financial Group

Jessica has served in several leadership roles in the Citizens Business Resource Group, Women's Impact Network (WIN), since its inception in 2017. From 2019 to 2021 she served as the Chairperson of the group, growing the organization to reach 2,000 members, aligned under the mission to help women advance their careers through professional development and networking opportunities. Jessica also helped initiate the development of the Women in Commercial Banking Group, an internal organization at Citizens that provides networking opportunities and encourages local connections in the Greater Boston area and across Citizens' footprint in North America. Externally, Jessica serves as Board Director for the Center for Women and Enterprise, a 501C3 organization that provides education and support to female and minority business owners throughout New England and in 2021 she co-chaired the Boston chapter of 50/50 Women on Boards, a global advocacy organization that promotes gender diversity for corporate boards.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aditi Javeri Gokhale

EVP, President of Retail Investments
Northwestern Mutual

Aditi is the executive sponsor of Northwestern Mutual's African American ERG and has spearheaded strategy development with leaders and advocated for resources required for the group's mentorship program, talent development, and robust programming for its 700+ members. In 2019, Aditi championed the company's first-ever Women's Initiative, which aims to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women at the company. Since then, she and her colleagues have created programs that support women through leadership development and coaching. As a result, women recruitment grew by 60% over the last five years, and women in leadership positions increased by 57% in the previous three years. Aditi, with her team, championed the Northwestern Mutual's Women's Field Association, a first-of-its-kind industry group, which supports the growth, development, and relationship building of the women advisors in the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Cornett Bertram

Global Head, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
S&P Global

Maria is a leader in S&P Global women's PILOT program, a skill-based program targeting mid-career women. She participates actively, leading panels, sharing expertise, and coaching women throughout the duration of the program. Maria has successfully raised the profile of women leaders by participating in a 2-year program on women sponsorship at the executive level, thereby highlighting the contribution of women in leadership at the company. She has also been an active mentor for years, and thanks to her coaching, many women successfully moved into leadership roles. Furthermore, she mentors graduates in programs from the Brandeis International Business School, Miami University and other institutions, helping them to identify areas of career direction and find internships and employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzanne Rich Folsom

Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Philip Morris International

Suzanne is a leader in the global corporate, government, and NGO communities whose multi-decade focus on—and support for—emerging female leaders sets her apart. With a compelling strategic vision and sustained commitment, she actively supports mentoring and sponsoring the next generation of leaders around the world. Owing to the breadth of her experience—from working for multiple heads of state to her work with the United Nation’s Decade for Women Conference and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to her corruption-fighting role at the World Bank, to serving as General Counsel and a trusted business adviser for a range of multinational companies, to her myriad board roles—Suzanne’s leadership is a model for how progress can be achieved. She continues to emphasize the critical role corporate governance engagement plays over the long term—all with the recognition that achieving meaningful change takes time and a champion to drive it forward.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ruulke Bagijn

Head of Carlyle's Global Investment Solutions
Carlyle

Ruulke is an active leader and a member of Carlyle's DEI Council, founded in 2013 as one of the first DEI initiatives of its kind within the investment management industry. She is an advocate for diversity and passionate about increasing the representation and leadership of women in private equity. Under her management, 45% of entry and mid-level employees are women, and 27% of senior leaders are too, which is an 8% increase since 2021. Since 2018, Ruulke has played an active leadership role as the Inaugural Chair of the Dutch committee of Level 20, the not-for-profit body established to inspire women to join and advance in the private equity industry. In addition, she focuses on attracting and retaining women into the private equity industry across the Netherlands, supporting women to reach the most senior levels, and organizing and running networking events and initiatives to connect women across the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Genevieve Esguerra

Content Operations Manager
London Stock Exchange Group

As a member of the D&I Committee, Genevieve’s goal is to share the voice of her colleagues and push the DEI agenda. In 2021, she was elected Global Co-Chairperson of LSEG Women Inspired Network (WIN) and has worked closely with the Executive Sponsor & D&I team to push for a more gender diverse and racially diverse company. To help attain the company’s leaders' goals, Genevieve holds monthly meetings with WIN Chapter leads across the globe and sets objectives, works on initiatives such as mentoring, leadership development training & sharing updates to ExCo and D&I. In addition, she has worked with the talent team on focus group discussions to understand the slow progress of talent in Asia. As a result, she partnered with various networks in the Philippines and Co-founded the Women Inter-industry Network to push the D&I agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One over two years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, as well as serving on the UK Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Partners forum which pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; running regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Fuller

Customer Journey Developer
NatWest Group

At the NatWest Group Gender Network; Lauren has taken on the role of Initiatives & Partnerships Lead and sits on the Leadership Team board. Her DEI work includes building an award support hub including an Awards Pairing Programme to encourage more women at NatWest to nominate themselves for awards. As a result, since 2020 the bank has seen almost 100 women being shortlisted for awards externally. Additionally, she developed Woman’s Worth to support c.2000 women with managing their finances, and the Lean In Circles she launched currently has 30 circles running with 400 people involved. Other initiatives Lauren has kickstarted include Google’s #IamRemarkable with 30 facilitators delivering workshops to over 1500 colleagues 13 months. Also launching MentorHER; a Gender-based reciprocal mentoring programme with over 350 matched colleagues. Lauren was a winner of the bank’s 2021 Amethyst Award for Gender Inclusion and is a finalist in the Women’s Recognition Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Deepa Raj

Service Delivery Associate Director
Accenture

Deepa has demonstrated passion for driving gender equality in leadership through various programs. She is the Founder-Lead of Women Leads of Future program, and Program Advisor for the Women Leadership Development Program for which she helped conceptualize and design the structure and construct. She has exceeded the overall gender diversity target and has increased women leads in her span. She executes various engagement and retention programs for women in Accenture Chennai Life Science team. As a part of CSR @ Operations, Deepa leads projects that support education for underprivileged; through one of the school adoption programs, she helped schoolgirls participate in state and national sports tournaments. Deepa is a recipient of young scientist award from the Indian Science Congress Association and the Van Slyke International Travel Grant Award from the American Association of Clinical Chemistry. Being a passionate leader, she invests quality time in mentoring and coaching budding women leads.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Justine Tabarin

Senior Manager, Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Criteo

Justine is a trusted advisor and sponsor of Criteo’s Employee Resource Groups: Women, Pride, BIPOC, Critenable, Education, Parents, and Green. When she joined Criteo's Comms team, she instantly gravitated towards initiatives around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), diversity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability – which led to her promotion to CSR lead. In her role, she developed a strategy for Criteo’s CSR program and Criteo Cares, the employee engagement branch which aims to develop empowerment and leadership. In 2021, Justine helped lead Criteo's signatory to L'Autre Cercle – an LGBTQIA+ charter that outlines the firm’s commitment to an inclusive environment. She also led the launch of Criteo’s global GIVING platform, which focuses on volunteering and charitable projects for employees to participate in. Furthermore, in 2022, Justine launched IMPACT week, where employees volunteered in clean-ups for Earth Day. Today, she is working to enrich Criteo's environmental sustainability strategy

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Harriet Kuzemko

Manager - FS Strategy
KPMG

Since joining the team, Harriet has worked hard to create the infrastructure to help promote gender diversity. She is a founding member and Co-Chair of SheCan, a network within KPMG, and has organized internal events on topics including healthy masculinity, financial planning, and career coaching. The committee also releases a monthly newsletter, has a workstream focusing on improving allyship, and a group identifying tangible change initiatives to share with the broader team. Harriet felt the need and took the opportunity, thanks to her expertise in building a network, to create an umbrella network where she and other networks can work together and utilize increased scale to widen their focus areas. She has also been involved in several external recruitment initiatives promoting diversity in deals and opportunities in the FS Strategy Team as she believes that building a strong and diverse recruitment talent pool is key to increase and maintain diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Luke Ellis

CEO
Man Group

As CEO of Man Group, Luke oversees the firm’s DE&I strategy alongside the Group COO and General Counsel. Together they re-launched Drive, the internal DE&I network, which today is comprised of the gender balance network Women at Man alongside several others. Luke also oversees the Senior Executive Committee, who are responsible for championing DE&I at the firm and leading Drive’s employee networks. Luke is the executive sponsor of Man Group's commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, and the firm has seen the proportion of women in senior roles increase from 16% in 2016 to 27% in 2022, which is aligned with efforts to support and develop women within the firm. The firm’s consistent efforts to support and develop women have now led to increased targets to reach 30% female representation in senior roles by 2024, whilst the board achieved gender parity in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jorge Arce

CEO HSBC Mexico
HSBC

Jorge promotes gender equality within HSBC Mexico by actively participating in the ERG Balance activities. He signed the WEP's from UN Women to support gender equity actions within the organization and has worked with authorities of the financial system to reinforce gender balance actions. Also, Jorge promotes a DEI agenda with ABM (Mexican Bank Association). This year, under his administration, HSBC Mexico launched "Mujeres al Mundo", an initiative from Argentina focused on products and services for women. As a result, HSBC Mexico has increased the number of women in leadership positions from 22% in 2017, to 30% in 2021, above the regional goal and 13% above the national average. In addition, women in succession plans of the Executive Committee increased from 68 to 92% in the last five years. Before working at HSBC, Jorge participated in launching Women in Wall Street in NY.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered bank (Vietnam) limited

Michele’s organization has 70% female representation with 45% in leadership roles. As chair of the Vietnam’s people’s agenda, the focus on DEI, CSR and New Ways of Working resonates across the organization of 1550 employees that participated in 30 events through the year. More broadly, Michele is also senior Bank sponsor of SCB’s global coaching program – IGNITE that target mid-level females as they progress their leadership journey. The program has coached 650 females (21% of total female population) across 53 countries. For the Vietnamese community SCB’s commitment of female empowerment through various local partners NGO’s, Chambers of Commerce, clients and vendors impact ethnic minority students to executive / entrepreneurs providing thought leadership, toolkits and financial education that augments female participation in society and business. Michele is vocally advocates for all DEI through media and panel discussions and is recognized by Top 100 women in Fintech 2022 and Heroes for the 2nd consecutive year.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rebecca Glashow

CEO Global Distribution
BBC Studios

Since joining BBC Studios in June 2020, Rebecca has recruited a senior leadership team with talented women leaders in key roles that are helping to grow BBC Studios' commercial business around the world. Furthermore, she has been at the forefront of creating and championing BBC Studios' flexible work environment that allows all employees to find balance in their lives while still making an impact. She is a member of the Women's Forum of New York, a network of women leaders representing the highest levels of professional achievement across all sectors, industries, and spheres of influence in New York City. Rebecca previously served on the board of WICT, an organization dedicated to helping women in media, entertainment and technology advance, and she is also the global executive sponsor of the Pride network at BBC Studios, an employee group dedicated to providing support, advice and community to LGBTQ+ team members and allies.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Global CIO
WPP

Through a complete redesign and relentless focus on equality through our recruitment process, Rachel improved the female intake into the WPP IT organization from 11% to 38% over the past 12 months. Through the firm's operating and organizational model redesign and by establishing a new people design authority to govern internal and external appointments, she has improved the representation of women in the top 3 layers of leadership in WPP IT. Before joining WPP, she was the founder and executive sponsor of the multi-award-winning TechWomen program in her previous job. During her final year leading the program in 2020/1, Rachel delivered a year-long development journey for 450 women across BT and supported an alumni network of 2,300 women. The program was enormously successful, dramatically improving participants' confidence, with 67% of them moving into more prominent roles, and addressing the local cultural barriers to women's progression in India and Malaysia.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Lilley

Chief Executive Officer
Federation of Small Businesses

As CEO at the UK’s largest business group, Julie founded a new cross-organization Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group, which includes both leading staff and a set of elected FSB volunteer members, including female business owners and staff. As the leader of the business, Julie has overseen a majority female Board of Directors, and a majority female Senior Management Team – empowering women to put themselves forward, and sending the message throughout the organization that women succeed at FSB, and reach the very top. Most recently, Julie has signed FSB up to the Menopause Workplace Pledge, starting a conversation with the small business community (collectively – the UK’s largest employer) to address 900,000 women that have left work because of periods, fertility struggles, pregnancy or menopause.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

Independent Non-executive Director
Scottish Power Energy Networks Holdings Ltd

In her previous role of CEO HSBC Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Sue was the Lead Executive Sponsor of the D&I Allies Group. Through this role she raised the profile of the group’s work and helped to cement an inclusive culture at the bank. In by-monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ townhalls hosted and sponsored by Sue for over 1,200 colleagues, she regularly raised issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, actively encouraging people to discuss and ask challenging questions about gender bias in the workplace. For the last 4 years Sue has been a Global Ambassador for BALANCE, HSBC’s gender diversity Employee Resource Group, made up of over 48,000 members. For International Women’s Day this year she hosted a virtual panel event and wrote a thought leadership article about gender equality, sharing her own experiences of trying to climb the executive career ladder in a historically male dominated sector and highlighting the struggles women still face today.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Public Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Goldman Sachs

As a passionate believer that diverse teams outperform, Katie is at the forefront of leading Goldman Sachs diversity efforts and is a champion for women at the firm and across the industry. She has built and leads one of the industry’s most gender diverse investing teams where over 50% of the team’s $330bn AUS is managed by female portfolio managers. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Asset Management Division’s D&I Council and is the firm’s sponsor for the ‘Girls Who Invest’ program. Over the past four years, Katie has evolved the firm’s proxy voting policy to push for greater levels of diversity on public company boards and has seen significant improvement, with 68% of all-male boards voted against in 2019 having added at least one woman director. Externally, Katie serves on the Board of the Toigo Foundation, which seeks to advance inclusive leadership within finance and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible, Inc.

As Executive Sponsor of Women@Audible, Audible's largest global impact group with chapters in the US, UK and DE, Susan champions women in business and guides future leaders in their commitment to career development. In leading Audible in nine marketplaces outside the US, Susan and her team have been intentional and purposeful with their responsibility as a content creator. In the past year, they increased their multi-million dollar fund designed to identify, produce and elevate local, diverse voices. Every International Audible marketplace delivered highly-rated, award-winning Original titles under this initiative. In addition to her work for Audible, Susan serves as Executor of the Christine Schneider Scholarship, part of NYU Stern’s Breakthrough Scholars Leadership Program. This four-year undergraduate initiative helps make college accessible to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, and offers cohort-based leadership workshops that complement extracurricular support and career development resources.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Comms - Italy, GroupM - PR & Marketing Director - Italy, WPP
GroupM

Paola is Operations Director of the Winspire leadership team, a cross-agencies WPP Italy project inspired by the WPP Stella Project, whose aim is supporting female talents and leadership with internal/external audiences and stakeholders. It collaborates with some industry big players to create initiatives dedicated to DEI. Some of the projects Paola has been responsible for organizing have included a ‘Fast Forward Women’ training with Facebook, inspiring women in their careers; a WPP ‘#IAmRemarkable’ workshop with Google Italia; pro-bono activities for women entrepreneurs in the world of technology and to create adv campaigns for associations that support women in troubled countries (e.g. Afghan women). Paola is a mentor for the young generation of marketers, she has been invited to join as a speaker to external events, such as WomenXImpact, an event dedicated to women empowerment where she had the chance to be a role model for marketing community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Heather Reisner

Product Development & ESG Sr. Associate
WisdomTree Asset Management

Heather leads WisdomTree’s Women's Initiative Network (WIN) and has been actively involved since the group was founded in 2019. She developed an internal mentoring program launched in 2022 to connect women at WisdomTree with leaders who can help them achieve their career goals. Heather joined WisdomTree in 2018 as part of the firm’s Product Development team focused on managing the launch of new exchange traded funds (ETFs) and overseeing relationships with key service providers. As of February 2022, Heather also began co-leading the firm’s Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative. Outside work, Heather serves on the Associate Board for Rising Ground, a charitable organization that supports children and families in the NYC-area. At her previous firm, BNY Mellon, she was an active member of the firm's women’s network.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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MiRan Park

Managing Director, Strategy, M&A and Partnerships
S&P Global

In addition to her role leading the Content Partnership team within the Strategy, M&A and Partnerships function at S&P Global, MiRan is a UK-based member of the Women's Network. She mentors women, supporting their continued development and professional advancement to strengthen the diversity of SPGI’s talent pipeline. She also served as a co-mentor to IHS Markit's CEO, Lance Uggla, in 2021 under its inaugural Collaborative Mentoring program whose objective was to allow participants to exchange personal experiences and perspectives while respectfully sharing information that challenges biases and assumptions through a structured program. She supports early career programs such as SEO London through mentoring and interview programs to drive diversity and inclusion. In addition, MiRan amplified people resource groups around mental health and participated in panel discussions to raise awareness. Outside of S&P Global, MiRan is a board member and ambassador at Outstanding Global, an executive coaching and leadership development program provider, where she spoke in events designed to support women's leadership development.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hannah Ryan

Associate Director, Business Development
The Business of Fashion

Hannah set up BoF’s Female Empowerment Network with the mission to cultivate a workplace where women feel nurtured, empowered, equally represented, and heard. Hannah and her Network stand for career advancement, support, education, and the development of women. The network works to dismantle any structures that prevent women from progressing in their roles. She organised a monthly speaker series inviting outstanding women in their field, ranging from women's health experts to C-level executives and founders. The series opened up conversations on race, fertility, anxiety, micro-aggressions, and violence against women. These successful events brought the women of the company closer together, helping them to highlight and address what work still needs to be done within the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carlotta Zorzi

Partnerships Manager
Shopify

Carlotta is dedicated to having a positive impact on society through helping more women and underrepresented groups access roles in tech and growing in the industry. An advocate for social mobility and equitable opportunities, Carlotta holds multiple positions in addition to her Partnerships role at Shopify. On top of her contribution as Communication & Operations Lead on the Women at Shopify Leadership team where she creates content that goes out to nearly 3000 women globally, Carlotta also regularly facilitates #IamRemarkable sessions that help women and underrepresented groups learn the importance of advocating for their achievements. Outside of Shopify, Carlotta is a mentor for women-focused networks like Bloom UK and a Tech Career Coach for School16, a NYC-based startup that helps individuals from all over the globe get into tech no matter their background. Carlotta is also a Visiting Professors at Sussex University, a career development speaker and a 2021 TechWomen100 award winner.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, Connections
Anheuser-Busch InBev

As Senior Director of Connections at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), Stephanie is a female leader in a male-dominated industry, one of a select group of female partners at the company. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive space within the beer industry for all. Her efforts to advocate for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry include working with recruiting teams to ensure a minimum of 50% of candidates for new positions on her team are diverse; partnering with external agencies to ensure the teams supporting the organization are diverse; and recruiting on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Stephanie has worked to promote and develop female leaders within the company by providing one-on-one mentoring to six women and hosting informal group mentoring through Women in Beer get-togethers and career panels. She also serves as a ‘Captain’ for the Network of Executive Women within ABI, an educational non-profit committed to advancing all women through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Schwimmer

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
London Stock Exchange Group

David has set a clear vision for a diverse culture where inclusion is a constant practice. He has established priorities against which to measure the Group’s progress globally; LSEG employs 23,000 people, more than half of whom are based in Asia Pacific. In 2022, one of LSEG’s strategic objectives is to ‘foster a diverse, inclusive culture’, a goal embedded throughout the organisation. David has introduced senior leadership gender and race/ethnicity targets aiming to achieve 40% women in senior leadership roles by the end of 2022, 20% underrepresented groups in senior leadership roles by the end of 2023 and 25% by the end of 2025. With great pride, LSEG was shortlisted for the "Company of the Year" category at the British Diversity Awards in 2022 and awarded “Large Brand of the Year” in the Bank of London Rainbow Honours 2022. LSEG continues to build momentum in advancing its diversity, inclusion, and belonging agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jig Ramji

Group Head of Talent
London Stock Exchange Group

Jig leads the global Talent and DEI Function and sets the DEI strategy, owning the four priorities around which the strategy is based: create a culture that fosters belonging, build a diverse leadership team, accelerate the progression of underrepresented talent, particularly ethnically diverse women, and shape inclusion in our industry. As Group Head of Talent, he is heavily involved and ultimately responsible for ensuring the hiring of diverse talent across the company. Jig also ensures that every leader has an objective centred on DEI in their performance to help drive the representation of senior women. He created a new leadership development strategy, with inclusive leadership at its core, to support the career development of women company-wide. In addition, he also initiated the Belonging & Inclusion index from LSEG engagement surveys and an Employee policy review to mitigate bias and psychological safety.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO Europe Cluster and Member of Group Executive Committee, Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group plc

Since 2014 Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which has led a pioneering agenda towards colleagues, customers and communities to improve diversity and inclusion. Serpil has championed the development and rollout of specific apps and services to support women in markets where Vodafone operates – such as the domestic violence app, and drove a target of connecting an additional 20 million women in Africa and Turkey, achieved four years ahead of schedule. In March 2020, Serpil led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative – a call for action based on ground-breaking research into the lack of racial, gender, age diversity within the technology industry. This evolved into the #ChangeTheFace Alliance where leading global tech companies and organisations collaborate on accelerating diversity and equality in the technology sector. In February 2022, Serpil received the Diversity In Tech Outstanding Achievement Award at Mobile World Congress.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Yaccarino

Global Chairman, Advertising & Partnerships
NBCUniversal

As global chairman, Linda is an advocate of BOLD, an initiative created by NBCUniversal with a mission to influence, inspire and develop the next generation of Global Advertising & Partnerships leaders. Linda's extensive championing of BOLD's mission has driven transformational change for the initiative, including the creation of new opportunities in leadership and diversity, with BOLD Vets, the group's program to honor and engage veterans within NBCU, and BOLD Spotlight, a series of inspirational conversations with internal and external leaders from diverse backgrounds and careers. Externally, Linda uses advertising to advance equity through a variety of partnerships including the #ShesMy campaign, which champions the ways women break down barriers in both the professional and personal spheres; Target’s Scene in Color, which elevates emerging BIPOC creatives in film; and a partnership with Telemundo to release a Latina-centric storytelling guide as well as external partnerships around Telemundo’s exclusive coverage of the Women’s World Cup in 2023.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny champions the female agenda by encouraging business to consider the potential future impact of hybrid working on women, carers and the future gender pay gap. Danny is responsible for Aviva’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which supports women through initiatives including: simplifying all job adverts to encourage more female candidates; including diversity targets in Executive reward; monthly reporting on gender diversity metrics; inclusive leadership training; Aviva’s own Licence to Hire training (covering non-inclusive behaviours and recruiting underrepresented candidates); extending sponsorship programmes to advance the careers of underrepresented talent (including women); and engaging 1,000+ part-time colleagues (87% female) to understand challenges around development and progression. Aviva’s employment policies include equal parental leave, paid carers leave and domestic abuse support, the latter of which Danny is co-executive sponsor of. Danny is also the co-executive sponsor of our Pride community, and has also contributed to a number of external news articles championing women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ilse van Gasteren

Partner/Lawyer
Clifford Chance LLP

Since joining Clifford Chance in 2001, Ilse has advocated for gender parity within the Amsterdam office and the Global Firm, ensuring that diversity is at the very top of the agenda. From 2020 to 2022, Ilse co-led a project with Harvard's gender and behavioral science expert, Paola Secchi Dimeglio, to perform an AI data-driven "body scan" of the Amsterdam office appraisal and promotion systems to find nudges to improve the gender balance and enhance retention numbers in the longer term. The research outcome has been used to implement changes in the Amsterdam appraisal and collaboration systems and heavily contributed to increasing the number of women partners from 2 to 5. Under Ilse's leadership, Clifford Chance Amsterdam launched their chapter of the global gender parity group Accelerate in 2020, and she also organized a high-profile women leadership program for women associates.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Partner
Linklaters

Always hugely passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity at every strand, Claudia serves as sponsor many initiatives and programmes and has participated to mentorship projects to support female and young talent. She is the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, an important female business community in the country and the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls, a project launched in Italy with the Ministry of Education. As Special Friend of UNHCR in Italy, she is supporting the campaign for the instruction of refugees focusing on young women. In the past she was President of Valore D, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion. In 2020 Claudia published with Il Sole24Ore the book “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues, young women and talent. In 2022, she has been appointed as Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange, the first woman to take this position.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Glasscock

Executive Director, People
Selfridges

As Executive Director of People, Maria champions the representation of women within Selfridges by focusing on the cross-sectional data of female talent and creating more inclusive opportunities for female team members, particularly those from underrepresented and minority groups. In 2021, Maria set a target to increase female leadership in 'Director positions' to 50%, which was surpassed in 2022 (hitting 51%), while also increasing the number of female leaders from ethnic minorities in leadership roles. In 2021 and 2022, she created educational training for managers on Inclusivity, Menopause, and Mental Health. In March 2022, she hosted team panel discussions with 'Fertility Matters at Work' and launched the 'Fertility and Neonatal loss policy.' Furthermore, Maria has introduced new D&I Terms of Business for all partner recruitment agencies, where every candidate shortlist must be 50% female. Moreover, she has been sponsoring careers events that promote Black women within the Tech space and has mentored on Diversity in the Retail's Global Female Leaders program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ishita Dhamani

Partner, Supply Chain Competency Leader, EY ASEAN
EY

After these past two years of the pandemic, Ishita’s focus is to push forward equitable policies and a safe work environment to drive gender equality. As the Supply Chain leader at EY, she has ensured that 50% of candidates considered for any role should be female. In addition, she has furthered EY’s culture of flexible working hours which could help young mothers manage work and childcare commitments. Ishita also has organized monthly sharing sessions by women leaders and has been a mentor to young women within the company. Thanks to her efforts, her team has 40% gender diversity, with 60% of managers being women. Additionally, Ishita strives to create a better working world outside her company, so she engages with the professional and start-up community in Singapore to promote gender diversity through inspirational speaking, collaboration, support, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Margherita Fontana

Europe, Middle East, Africa and India Commercial Director Dow Consumer Solutions
Dow

Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group in 2020. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. In 2023 the 3rd edition of the Female Talent Sponsorship program will be run, to continue the focused efforts in developing Dow Female talents across the organization. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Juliana Puntel

Senior associate of the Charities, Social Business & Human Rights practice
Mattos Filho

Juliana is a lawyer at Mattos Filho, an international Law Firm based in Brazil, and part of 4Women, a group that works to boost gender equity and promote women to leadership positions through training, mentoring, and the creation of an increasingly strong and welcoming professional network. In 2019, the 4Women program was recognized by Valor Econômico and Women in Leadership Latin America (WILL) in the ‘Women in Leadership’ category, and in 2022, it was one of our internal programs that has granted us with the “Work-life balance” recognition by Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards. Juliana is a feminist lawyer who is concerned with promoting gender equality and inclusive environments in her team, in her relationship with stakeholders and in the legal solutions she proposes to clients. Recently, Juliana became a mother and has carried out actions aimed at a more inclusive motherhood and integrated into the corporate environment. Juliana is also involved in pro bono initiatives offered by the firm to feminist and women’s organizations in Brazil, such as Instituto Alziras, Instituto AzMina, Me Too Brasil, Casa Sueli Carneiro ( an important institution that honors Sueli’s black feminist activism).

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sonia Silva

Executive Director- Regional Head, Financial Markets Client Management
Standard Chartered Bank NY

Sonia is a member of the Gender Equality Network and has a leadership role at BOLD, the Black Organization Leadership and Development network. Through Mentorship and her network, she shines the light on talented women that are yet to be given an opportunity to showcase their talent and potential by creating support lean-in circles within the firm to allow women to get advice and guidance. Sonia also created a platform called For Women by Women, an educational platform that aims to encourage, support, and elevate Women across the globe through different experiences. Furthermore, she delivered workshops and Masterclasses on Leadership, Imposter Syndrome and Personal Brand and actively engaged in events that elevate women. However, Sonia also brings difficult conversations to the table, such as panel discussions on career paths for Women and Women of Color, on "Women by Banking," or as a board of advisor for WOMENICE.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda (Jane) Rodriguez

Retail Account Manager
Benefit Cosmetics (LVMH - Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton)

Amanda championed DEI by raising awareness about 'National Arab American Heritage Month' in 2021 with Benefit Cosmetics/LVMH to promote a more inclusive and diverse company culture. This positively impacted LVMH senior executives as she was given the opportunity to present on the positive influences of Middle Eastern culture and her personal testimony as an Arab-American. She joined and collaborated with the EllesVMH Resource Group to bring awareness to NAAHM and was featured in EllesVMH Newsletter and LinkedIn to encourage female empowerment and D&I. Amanda also joined the ‘LVMH New Moon APAHM Closing Celebration’ as a panelist to commemorate Asian Pacific American traditions and shed light on how allies can help support underrepresented cultures and communities. Additionally, Amanda participated in EllesVMH AllyLunch! a pilot program that provides LVMH employees with community and mentorship opportunities; her feedback and suggestions to the creators helped expand the program and drive mentorship for future executives.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Irene Henriksen McGillivray

Senior Account Lead
Yahoo!

Irene, AuDHD, is the Global Lead for the company’s Neurodiversity ERG, working on creating a more inclusive workplace for neurodivergent employees while collaborating with all ERGs to cover intersectionality. The ERG looks at each office to see how it can be more inclusive of Neurodivergent people and reimagines their structure to become more Neuro friendly, and it also ensures recruitment, hiring, interview, and onboarding processes are inclusive. In addition, the Neurodiversity ERG, creates awareness in the company by hosting events related to Neurodiversity. Previously the ERG hosted a panel for Parents and Caregivers called: A Community of Care: Caring for our Autistic families and caregivers. Irene tirelessly works to educate the company on Neurodivergences and how to be more inclusive and recently did an event for Autism in the Workplace where we had the amazing Joan McDonald in to talk about how we can be allies to Autistic people.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Krystle McGilvery

Founder
Mind Over Money

Krystle has been empowering women through mentoring for over ten years and actively encourages financial independence. She is the Board Director of an all-women board of not-for-profit organization Abianda, which supports women and girls connected with gang violence and county lines. Krystle has actively hired women within her organization, Mind Over Money, and provides financial education and training as a benefit. Krystle is a mentor at Women of Colour Global Network and Like-Minded Females and runs her female-only personal and financial development community The Growth Assemble. In 2022, she was added to the D-List platform as a diverse entrepreneur. Krystle has been an active advocate for women by being a panelist at several events within the last two years, including the Female Founders Lead Today Shape Tomorrow Flagship event, The Female Lead and AllBright: The Road to a Shecovery and the Hatch Presents - Women in Business Achieving Economic Empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claudio Gienal

CEO AXA UK and Ireland
AXA

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

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Lou Maiuri

President 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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Global Board Chair
Deloitte

Sharon has spent over three decades on boards and held several executive roles including Deputy CEO of Deloitte North South Europe. She actively promotes and is a sought-after public speaker on diversity and inclusion, mental health/wellbeing, and sustainability. Sharon works with Deloitte’s leadership to set and meet ambitious goals for the representation of women in leadership globally. She is an advocate for allyship and sponsorship in the workplace, for example through her involvement with Deloitte's Women in the Boardroom report. Sharon established Deloitte’s UK diversity networks in 2007, and champions the Deloitte Global Gender Balance network, the Deloitte UK Neurodiversity network, and the Deloitte Global LGBT+ network. She personally sponsors and mentors several people, and actively participates in external forums such as The 30% Club. Sharon regularly meets with groups of women at Deloitte and externally to share her experiences, understand theirs, and encourage them to pursue their career ambitions.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracy Garrad

CEO AXA Health
AXA Health

Tracy is the Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion across AXA in the UK and Ireland, and as part of this role she chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Board, which is comprised of senior leaders from across the business. Over the past year successes have included getting AXA UK&I listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, developing and executing an Ethnicity Action Plan, and launching an allyship program which has been engaged with over 2,000 times to date. Additionally, Tracy was able to strengthen senior leadership commitment to D&I by ensuring all leaders have two performance-related D&I objectives, as well as making D&I a quarterly standing agenda item at Executive Committee meetings. To celebrate 2021 International Women's Day, Tracy starred in a global AXA Group panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on gender equality, which was watched by over 3,000 employees across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar

Kantar is a world-leading market research agency, inspiring growth by understanding people. As a Global CEO, and part of Kantar's Exco and I&D Steering Committee, Caroline is committed to ensuring a culture that embraces all intersections of diversity. She holds herself accountable to increasing female representation by being an authentic ‘see it, be it’ role model to Kantar’s ~12,000 women, which includes being a mentor and sponsor for Kantar’s Aspire programme empowering females across the globe progress their careers by building strong, authentic, influential personal brands. Caroline also serves as Global Executive Sponsor of Pride@Kantar, the Employee Resource Group inspiring Kantar’s 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and allies flourish at work by embracing and celebrating their individuality, and co-founded Kantar’s 360 Mentorship Program with Special Olympics athletes, to support people with intellectual disabilities build successful careers in paid jobs. She also represents the ‘Agency’ voice on the Market Research Society’s DI&E Council.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leanne Wood

Chief HR Officer
Vodafone

Leanne has been driving gender balance, diversity, and inclusion for over 20 years across tech-comms, luxury and FMCG industries. At Vodafone, Leanne is an Executive Committee Member and Sponsor for its Employee Networks, including the Women's Network, and led Vodafone's #CountMeIn diversity data capture initiative to enable an intersectional approach to DEI and strengthen women's inclusion and representation. She launched the Reciprocal Mentoring program enabling senior leaders to connect with minority groups and, in 2019, equalised parental leave to support parents and families so that responsibilities are shared. In 2022, as part of Vodafone's support of Ukrainian refugees, she led the Ukraine Employment Programme providing those displaced with employment and resettlement, with 61% of applicants being women. Additionally, Leanne launched Vodafone's hybrid working model to provide flexibility, including 20 days of remote working from any location to attract and retain diverse talent.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

International Chief Customer Officer
American Express

While leading the UK Business as Country Manager, Charlotte pledged American Express’ commitment to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management under HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, a target which was reached earlier this year. As an Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Networks, Charlotte has championed the Company’s ‘Ambition Project’ as a means of raising awareness of the role ambition plays in women's professional success. She has also overseen initiatives including the roll out of self-identification amongst colleagues to help drive D,E&I changes across the company and the introduction of training to over 5,000 colleagues in order to combat unconscious bias. As colleagues moved towards working from home during the pandemic, American Express also initiated a range of company-wide internal communications and initiatives intended to support colleagues, particularly those shouldering caring responsibilities. Under her leadership American Express has been recognized over the past two years as a top employer by the Financial Times, LinkedIn, Working Families and Glassdoor.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I); Asia Pacific oversight
Dow

Jane is president of the Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure operating segment within Dow. With annual sales of $16 Billion, this segment provides innovative solutions to global markets including infrastructure, consumer, construction, mobility, and energy. Jane leads a diverse global leadership team comprised of 40% women, underscoring inclusion as a top business priority. As a member of Sadara Chemical Company’s and Stanley Black & Decker’s Board of Directors, Jane advocates for female representation in the workforce. Jane is also the Executive Sponsor of Dow’s Veterans Network Employee Resource Group focused on attracting, retaining, and mentoring active service members and military veterans. A true champion for gender equality, Jane’s executive-level speaking engagements have included: a notable keynote speech at the 2019 P.O.W.E.R. Up leadership development conference, co-sponsored by EY; and an executive-level industry panel at the March 2019 AFPM International Petrochemical Conference on "How Inclusion Ignites the Workforce in the Petrochemical Industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Neha Rajesh

Marketing Lead - Chrome Enterprise EMEA
Google

Neha works at Google and has been championing DEI initiatives through mentoring and coaching for 8+ years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neha launched a platform called WonderWoman to connect young girls with women mentors in the tech space to support each other on their journeys. Through this initiative Neha has helped several women globally progress their careers, find new routes to employment and grow their skills. She also runs regular school visits for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to introduce them to the world of work, and to inspire the next generation of female leaders to pursue a career in technology. Born in India and immigrating to the UK at the age of 20, Neha has made it her mission to open doors for women across various backgrounds and walks of life through mentoring, volunteering, providing job opportunities and raising her voice.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ricole Tan

Partner & Director, Regional Lead, Financial Restructuring & Sustainable Financing
Boston Consulting Group

Ricole is a committee member of SEA Women@BCG Network and leads the Women@BCG Network in Singapore. She organized internal and external events to promote gender equality, such as International Women's Day celebrations, mothers’ appreciation, and panelist discussions with senior women business leaders on career navigation. Ricole encourages internal women affiliation and support through creating open and transparent communication channels amongst all women staff in BCG Singapore. She collaborates with the recruitment team to ensure women hiring and acts as a mentor to younger women colleagues of BCG. Furthermore, Ricole has participated in various seminars and discussions on gender equality and inclusions within the industry, such as women in shipping, demystifying gender in restructuring, the role of men in mentoring women, and personal branding for professional women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Siona Lamble

Treasury Business Partner and Co-chair of Gender Network
NatWest Group

Siona has been Co-chair of the Gender Network since 2021 and oversaw a review of the Male Allies Network in early 2022, providing scope, coaching, and supporting review leaders, re-launching it with new aims and objectives in May 2022. Siona also directed the re-launch of the recruitment process for volunteers to give more people the opportunity to be involved in the network. This led to the publication of 36 vacancies in May 2022 alone, with most of these filled by people new to volunteering, enhancing their professional development opportunities. Furthermore, she championed change for the maternity returners process, collecting feedback and liaising with the Family & Carers network and senior leaders. This has provided HR with the direction to enable change. Lastly, Siona aims to create cultural change through influencing for policy reviews, including, for example, women's safety when traveling.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Martina Satherlund

Senior Director - Global Head Market Data
Fidelity International

Martina is a Senior Director in Fidelity’s ISS COO office. Within her department, she plays a key role in embedding D&I and is the business sponsor of Fidelity’s Returner Programme. She authored the article “Breaking bias and building balance” and in April presented “Breaking the Bias” at a primary school to act as a female role model along with her fellow rising stars. She coined the acronym SHOW - a concept that highlights the need to encourage women to join and stay within STEM by ‘SHOW’ing them how. It stands for School, Home, Office, and Workplace. At Fidelity, she is implementing unconscious bias training and the “shifting the dial 2022/2023” gender-balance focused programme to help develop talent in ISS COO. Externally, she was part of the Women in Finance Summit 2022. Leading FISD women’s group and participating in and moderating panels across the industry about gender balance and D&I initiatives. Martina is part of mentoring schemes and facilitates workshops for Fidelity’s menopause support policy.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maryse Gordon

Partnerships and Business Development Manager
RepRisk

Maryse’s work supporting the development of RepRisk’s D&I strategy comes from her years of experience as Vice Chair New York Women's Inspired Network (WIN) at LSEG. Maryse supported over 100 members in bringing opportunities to enhance career and personal development, in parallel to LSEG Benefits Committee, Charity Committee, and Black Employee Network. This work enabled her to fully understand the needs of women throughout the organization and target advocacy and activities to support them. During the pandemic’s lockdown, she ensured that LSEG women still received career development opportunities through networking, learning, and development in the virtual space. Maryse organized workshops, networking, and speaker events to address topical issues such as parenthood and well-being and linked in other employee networks for cross-pollination. Her platform within the WIN helped her launch the Black Employee Network in 2020, which added a new lens on the need for all Women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanya N. Blocker

Director and Assistant General Counsel
National Grid

Besides her Director and Assistant General Counsel responsibilities, Tanya is the co-chair of the National Grid DEI committee in US Legal. Playing a vital role in driving the diversity agenda in the General Counsel Group, Tanya organized a trial reenactment of the historic case James Meredith vs. Ole Miss, spotlighting the achievements of Constance Baker Motley, the first black woman attorney on the Southern District of New York (SDNY) federal bench, for the group’s global Black History Month Program. Tanya spearheads and is a frequent speaker on DEI as well as employment law panels on pay equity, parity and gender bias. Recently, she spoke for the SDNY Federal Bar Association’s – “Grab Them by the Workplace: Understanding Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era” program as well as for the NYC Bar Association’s "Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment Post Cuomo” program. Tanya is currently a 2022 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity fellow.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Bampfylde

Director - Wealth
Redington Ltd

Since joining Redington in 2021, Laura has been a very active and engaging mentor both in and out of her firm. She has been mentoring and coaching young women within her company to help them gain confidence in navigating the financial services industry. She is passionate about increasing the number of women and other diverse talent representing the industry at conferences, running initiatives to build public speaking skills. In her previous role at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Laura was also a mentor, guiding students in the JP Morgan School's Challenge – an initiative encouraging young people to think about careers in STEM while starting to build professional networks. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase the range of roles within financial services and the different skillsets needed. Additionally, she mentors through the charity Migrant Leaders, specifically helping an A-Level student by introducing him to the different facets of the finance world.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Since becoming Diageo’s Chief Executive in 2013, Ivan has championed Inclusion and Diversity across the whole of the organisation, as well as the wider drinks and hospitality industry. As well as ambitious 2030 goals to increase the representation of women in Diageo leadership roles and the percentage of suppliers from female and minority-owned businesses, Diageo is amongst the first companies to have created a clear link and direct accountability for ESG commitments with its senior management community, meaning that ever senior leader is incentivised to make progress on this agenda. This year the firm has continued to empower women and to lean into often taboo subjects: its Global Menopause Guidelines are now live in over 40 countries and it introduced Domestic and Family Abuse Guidelines to foster a working environment that promotes safety and respect.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Matthew Norris

Global Head, Standard Chartered 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. Through the use of data and better understanding of unconscious bias, he introduced new perspectives that were effective in 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 50% from 20% and in the Executive Committees to 25%. He lobbied to appoint 24 women leaders to local Leadership Councils. Matthew has been a personal mentor for women colleagues across different levels of seniority since 2015. He is an active sponsor of IGNITE, a coaching programme for junior women talents. As part of “SheReturns” initiative, Matthew was instrumental in the collaboration between the Bank, government agencies and NGOs to empower women who wish to resume work after a career break.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Alisha Alaimo

President
Biogen U.S. Organization

Alisha is responsible for driving growth and people development for Biogen’s U.S. Organization. Leadership to Alisha is about inspiring people to achieve more than they thought possible, embrace change, and seek diverse perspectives to deliver extraordinary results. She created new development programs including "Women on the Rise" and "PROPEL" to accelerate the readiness and visibility of mid-level women and non-white people for senior roles. She also serves as Executive Sponsor for Biogen's Women's Innovation Network, an employee resource group designed to create opportunities for empowerment, advocacy, and advancement. As a board member of The Biogen Foundation, she advocates for supporting access to science education for diverse populations. Her career spans a wide spectrum of leadership roles in strategy, sales, marketing, market access, key account management, advocacy, and medical functions in the U.S. and internationally.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Quest

Partner – Co-Head of Public Sector - Europe
Oliver Wyman

As leader of the Public Sector and member of the European Leadership Team supporting over 1,500 employees in Europe, Lisa is committed to using her platform to drive diversity and inclusion through core commercial operations. An Executive Sponsor of Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW), Lisa’s goal is to achieve gender equality; therefore, she has built out her team on this principle resulting in being the only one that is gender-balanced at all levels. Her teams have achieved results through their deep understanding of public institutions and their ability to bring together diverse skills to solve complex problems. Long before the pandemic, Lisa was pivotal in championing the option of fully flexible working and job shares and campaigned for equal maternity and paternity leaves at 26 weeks. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa is a member of the Board of Trustees for Best Beginnings and co-founder of the Green Hat Foundation, both charities focused on supporting people from diverse backgrounds to thrive in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Stern

EVP, Chief Legal Officer and Global Head of Strategic Resources
FactSet

Passionate about D&I, Rachel has promoted gender diversity since she started at FactSet in 2001. As the company's first general counsel and sole female executive leadership team member for over 15 years, she fought for women to be included and promoted to higher ranks of management globally. Rachel is responsible for introducing the first female director to FactSet's board and including three more after her. Rachel has formally mentored and informally sponsored women who are now part of the company's leadership. As an Executive Sponsor of FactSet's Women's BRG, Rachel furthered programs around the world designed to bring women together to support each other. Furthermore, Rachel founded and led a 20/20 Women on Boards chapter to achieve at least 20% women directors on boards of public companies, and has supported the Thirty Percent Coalition. Additionally, Rachel is a Mentor, WOMN, LLC, mentoring women law partners in New York since 2014.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melíosa O'Caoimh

Country Head - Ireland
Northern Trust

As Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for all its asset servicing business conducted from Dublin and Limerick supporting fund managers and institutional investors worldwide. Under her leadership, female representation at senior level has moved from 37% in 2019 to 44% in 2022. Meliosa led the firm’s signatory of the Women in Finance Charter in Ireland, setting a target of improving senior female representation from 44% to 48% by 2025. Meliosa has led a number of notable initiatives across the Irish community to help underrepresented groups obtain work experience. Meliosa is the chair of the 30% Club in Ireland. Since taking on this role, Meliosa has committed to ensuring the network is fully inclusive of diverse groups, recognizing the additional challenges underrepresented women face. She is planning to expand the network’s reach, recognising the talent in regions beyond Dublin, and ensuring the network is accessible to all.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead McIlkenny

Vice President Global Product Delivery
Fiserv

Mairead has always been a keen advocate for Diversity and Inclusion and has sponsored a number of ERG’s in her previous companies and participated in several discussion panels and working groups in Ireland and globally. Since joining Fiserv, she became a Committee member of the Disability Associate Council, of the Women's Impact Network, and an ally of the LGBTQ+ Leadership Council Unity. Her commitment sees her participating at DEI events, in mentorship programs, discussions, and driving engagement externally with local community women's events. Mairead takes a servant leadership approach with her teams and her stakeholders, ensuring that as a leader, she creates an environment of diversity and inclusion, where diversity of thought is encouraged and where everyone has a voice and where that voice is listened to. She is also always driving her recruitment partners to ensure they bring in gender-balanced and diverse candidates and have diverse interview panels with closed feedback loops to remove unconscious bias in the selection process.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Helen Shan

Chief Revenue Officer
FactSet Research Systems

As the Chief Revenue Officer of FactSet, Helen is a committed advocate for driving equality and empowerment across races and genders. She is the company’s executive sponsor of the Asian Business Resource Group, a member of the Global Diversity Council, and an executive member of the Women’s Business Resource Group. Helen strongly believes in creating personal sponsorships and sharing advice on how to leverage differences into strengths. In addition to being an active speaker at FactSet, Helen has been a panelist at several external corporate events, such as the Women@Amazon’s "Achieving Gender Parity in AWS Partnerships” in 2020, EPAM's IWD 2021 "Lessons in Leadership" panel and HSBC's Latin American Women's conference that same year. As a result, she brings greater visibility to senior female executives, not only in a corporate area but also on the revenue-generating side.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marie Hemingway

Principal Asset Management Consultant
Atkins

Marie is a principal consultant helping the Defence enterprise transform their approach to strategic investment decision making with expertise in technology adoption, asset management best practice and people-centric change. Her part-time and fully flexible role at Atkins enables her to apply her skills and experience to additionally support ED&I work around her primary role, for which she is particularly passionate.Marie is the founder and Chief Technology Officer for Speak Out Revolution, an award winning non-profit on a mission to cancel the culture of silence on workplace harassment and bullying in pursuit of truly inclusive workplaces. She led the development of the Speak Out Dashboard - novel, open source technology which transparently presents global workplace challenges for people who experience non-inclusive behaviours so organisations can access intelligent insights to optimally solve the problem within their sector. Marie regularly delivers talks, workshops, training, and consulting to organizations, institutes, and member groups who dare to make a difference for more inclusive workplaces for all.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rainie Pan

Principal
Oliver Wyman

In addition to her role as a Principal in the firm’s Financial Services and Digital practices, Rainie leads the Hong Kong chapter of Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW), an employee resource group focused on promoting, supporting, and empowering gender diversity both within the firm and for the local community. An advocate for coaching, mentoring, and learning, Rainie is passionate about crafting sustainable career paths for young women as well as driving broader education, D&I and social impact initiatives in and outside of Oliver Wyman. She also serves in various volunteering capacities at not-for-profit and/or public sector organizations, including the Hong Kong PropTech Association, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, the Hong Kong Blockchain Society, and the Cherie Blair Foundation, providing coaching and mentorships to female entrepreneurs and students.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ashlee Williams

Vice President, Data Operations & Client Services
S&P Global

Ashlee founded Women in Maritime, a women’s networking group in the Maritime and Trade business line at S&P Global. Under Ashlee’s leadership, IHS Markit (now S&P Global) was the seventh company to gain Charter certification by Maritime UK for efforts to address gender fairness, equality, and inclusion within the maritime sector. The company actively achieved a 50/50 gender split through its Early Careers program for the Maritime & Trade business for the past three years, and Ashlee’s team comprised of 40% women in 2021. Additionally, Ashlee is a global board representative of WINS Global (Women's initiative for networking and success) at S&P Global, responsible for communication strategies, raising awareness, ensuring the value of diversity in the workplace is understood and communication is inclusive. Externally, Ashlee is a volunteer and mentor for the 'Y's Girls program', an early and effective mentoring initiative in East Surrey for girls aged 9-14 years.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chloe Howe

Head of Operations Trading & Implementation
Wickes

Chloe launched the Wickes Balance for the Better Network in 2019 and continues to lead it. She holds colleague listening events, mentors two women internally and uses the network to amplify women's voices. Chloe has worked with the leadership team to understand their role as gender allies and sponsors of female talent, launching the Gender Ally program open to all colleagues. Since launching in September 2021, they now have over 120 allies. In December 2021, she launched Wickes’ period positive campaign aimed to normalize conversations on the topic, remove the stigma around it and make period products available free of charge to those who need them. Wickes is also trialling flexible working for Retail Managers. In May of this year, she was recognized in the 2022 Role Models for Inclusion in Retail Index for her contribution to Inclusion in Retail by working with companies that have signed their charter to drive their gender diversity and make meaningful changes for women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Julia Jones,PhD

Software Developer
Credit Suisse

Julia is a career changer and people person dedicated to philanthropic endeavours, holding committee seats for Credit Suisse Inspire, the Credit Suisse BAME Network and Credit Suisse Financial Inclusion Advocates Network. She has an effervescent, endearing spirit that shines through in all that she does and the connections she forges with others. She willingly gives her time and effort to causes large and small. Her ethos is to give back and build a better society for all. In her two and a half years at Credit Suisse, Julia has impacted the lives of numerous individuals, from primary school children, school leavers to mature returners, encouraging them to take STEM careers. She is involved in impactful and strategic changes projects, value creation, that aligned to the long-term vision and success of the firm. Julia is also the founder of Aray Wellbeing CIC, a personal & career development charitable organization and Nerve2Serve, a community food bank, as well as a Charity Trustee for CORE Clapton.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Barbara Bernstein

Wealth Management Advisor
Northwestern Mutual

Barbara serves as the Education & Community Outreach Chair of the Northwestern Mutual Women's Council in Los Angeles that seeks to elevate women of all tenures and roles by acknowledging their unique strengths and challenges as they strive for academic mastery and career excellence. It fosters ways to achieve optimal work/life balance in pursuit of personal, professional, and financial goals through formalized programs, events, educational opportunities, and philanthropic efforts that attract ideal candidates and clients. Under Barbara's leadership, the council has created an environment to build bonds between women across the six network offices in Southern California and Nevada, starting with the Big Sister Program, which connects all women joining the network with a woman mentor to help bring them into the fold. Barbara's role is to help women articulate their goals and connect them to the tools available to bring those goals to fruition.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram

Advocat, head of pro bono department
Clifford Chance

As a human rights lawyer, Sylwia believes in and fights for diversity, equity and inclusion, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, which she represents in court. For example, she has successfully brought a motion to a Polish court which ordered the conservative newspaper Gazeta Polska to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers (acting together with attorney Michał Wawrykieiwcz) Another instance sees Sylwia representing both at the police station and in court LGBT activists arrested for confrontation with the police during the protest against the arrest of the LGBT activist argot in Warsaw in august 2020. Sylwia also received the award Badge of Advocacy for the Distinguished from the Polish National Bar Association and the award from the "Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka Foundation" for outstanding achievements in representing minority rights and combating discrimination on the grounds of age, race, ethnic origin, religion, faith or lack thereof, disability or sexual orientation.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

As CEO of WPP, Mark appointed a new Chief People Officer and a Global Head of Culture, to continue to improve diversity and build an open and inclusive culture at the firm. Women now make up 51% of senior managers and 40% at the most senior executive level. Last year, WPP launched an updated online ethics training, including unconscious bias modules which are mandatory for all staff, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed DE&I into hiring processes, performance management systems and leadership development. For the third year running the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has listed WPP, and last year Forbes ranked the company sixteenth in its Top 20 Best Employers for Women List. In 2020, of a total $94 million had been spent by the firm on diverse suppliers, 64% of which went to women-owned business enterprises and 14% to minority women-owned business enterprises.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Gregory Jones

Vice President, Global Head of Business Service Centre
InterContinental Hotel Group - IHG

A natural approachable and inclusive leader, Greg has worked and collaborated with HR and Talent acquisition partners to create a more balanced gender ratio of workers in India’s Global Service Centre employees to 48% male: 52% female – spearheading and bringing to life IHG’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion agenda in India, championing a diverse culture where everyone can thrive.He’s also actively creating career opportunities for women to move into roles of increasing responsibility, and believes that investing in women's talent and having diverse leadership and development initiatives is pivotal to the hospitality industry. For a long time Greg has supported organizations such as Jack and Jill (formed during the Great Depression by African American mothers) and 100 Black Men of America (a mentoring organization changing the lives of children through education) which has influenced his drive to make positive and inclusive cultural changes. For example, he recently hosted gender/transgender equality engagement sessions in the office featuring Kalki Subramaniam, an Indian transgender speaker.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

Megan Clarken is the Chief Executive Officer at Criteo, the global commerce media company. Since joining in 2019, Megan has been instrumental in Criteo’s transformation. Today, the company operates a robust Commerce Media Platform that connects 22,000 marketers and thousands of media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences. Prior to Criteo, Megan served as Chief Commercial Officer of Nielsen Global Media, where she spent over 15 years in a variety of roles leading initiatives that allowed the 90+-year-old company to adapt and prevail in a time of change. Before she was dubbed one of the “most important figures in media” by Adweek, Megan was an Olympic class athlete, using her perseverance and resilience to pivot into a successful career in technology. With vast awards under her belt, Megan continues to be recognized for her ability to transform businesses, while championing underrepresented groups in media.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Efe Ukala

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel
JP Morgan

Efe is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan. In addition to her role as in-house counsel, she’s involved in the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts that have resulted in hiring and retaining diverse talents. Her passion for inclusiveness transcends her day job. Efe is also the Founder of ImpactHER, a non-profit that cultivates environments within which African female-led small businesses not only survive but thrive. Under her leadership, ImpactHER has provided pro bono business advisory support and directly trained 46,806 African women entrepreneurs from 53 African countries, connected them with investors, and converted 16,432 non-technologically enabled businesses to technologically enabled businesses. Her work not only helped African women-led businesses from permanent shutdown during the covid shutdowns but is also actively changing the narrative of disenfranchised female business owners on the Continent; allowing women to crash through glass ceilings and re-define the face of successful entrepreneurs in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rebecca Henderson

CEO, Randstad Global Businesses and Executive Board Member
Randstad

Rebecca is one of two women on Randstad's executive board and the executive sponsor of Randstad's Global Diversity Council, which represents 15 business-led workgroups such as inclusive leadership, the Business Resource Group for Women, diverse hiring programs, equal pay, and the Pride Business Resource Group. Rebecca is a founding sponsor of Women in Randstad Empowering Development (WIRED), which empowers Randstad women to develop themselves as leaders and to achieve exceptional results through collective inspiration, sharing of knowledge, and giving back to the community. Furthermore, she is a sponsor and mentor to Randstad's Hire Hope apprentices, which provides career-readiness training and job-placement services to underserved and at-risk women. As a global executive at Randstad, Rebecca actively explores ways to advance gender parity issues and change policy in all areas of work. She also works with partner organizations like the Female Quotient to raise awareness and effect change to help working women advance their careers

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Debbi Vandeven

Global Chief Creative Officer
VMLY&R

Over two decades, Debbi has built VMLY&R into a creative force — experiencing unprecedented growth and recognition. In May 2021, under Debbi's leadership, Campaign magazine named VMLY&R as Global Creative Network of the Year. Additionally, in 2021, Debbi's leadership helped earn yet another year of growth for the nearly $2B agency, which bookended the year with renewal wins of two of VMLY&R's long-standing and notable clients. Debbi drives her teams around the world to create advertising that makes a difference, particularly in the crusade for gender equality. She was named 2020 Ad Age CCO of the Year, as well as being featured on Adweek's Creative 100, Business Insider's "30 Most Creative People in Advertising," and Campaign's Female Frontier Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Diamond

Group Head of Claims
Beazley Group

In January 2020, Beth joined the Executive, taking on the global Group Head of Claims role, reporting to Beazley's CEO. She is responsible for the development, management, and operational efficiency of a high-performing global team who she committed to a culture valuing inclusion, friendliness, approachability, and creativity. Throughout her career, Beth has been devoted to developing junior talent through mentorship, helping many achieve promotions because she is passionate about empowering others to accomplish their objectives, maximize their opportunities, and stretch their development. Since she took the helm, Beth was able to double the number of People of Color on the team and materially increase the number of managers who are People of Color, as she recognizes development and promotion are crucial markers of change. Beth also played a key role in extending parental leave to 6 months paid leave, honoring equality in family responsibility while materially enhancing a staff benefit.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Lynch

Former Chief Business Officer
Sandoz

Carol was an executive sponsor of the Sandoz resource groups Women in Leadership and GLOW, where she had the opportunity to amplify the voices of and actively support underrepresented groups at Sandoz. By helping to bring awareness to GLOW issues, Sandoz has seen positive momentum, including raising its first Pride flag on the Holzkirchen, Germany campus and creating "all-inclusive" bathrooms. She is a globally experienced, values-based leader. She was a member of the Sandoz Executive Committee and served as co-chair of the Sandoz Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council, promoting diversity and inclusion across the organization to create an equitable and representative culture. Carol also endorsed Sandoz's sustainable programs and policies, which support minority and underrepresented groups with, for example, extended parental leave and flexible work, executive sponsorships, and DE&I training.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natsayi Mawere

Senior Associate
Reed Smith

Natsayi is the Chair of Reed Smith’s NYC office’s DE&I committee, has helped to develop the office's Racial Equity Action Plan and is also an Associate Liaison for the office’s Women’s Initiative Network (“WINRS”). In 2020, she introduced an annual virtual Career Day program to NYC WINRS that connects low-income and homeless women served by the NYC Coalition for the Homeless' "First Step Program" with lawyers in NYC WINRS, who assisted First Step students with resume development, mock job interviews, and discussed issues women face (in the context of a job search). As part of the NYC office's REAP, Natsayi worked with colleagues to develop a pilot Associate Buddy Program in 2021, which she took the lead in taking global in 2022. She is dedicated to investing in the well-being and advancement of others, especially women facing systematic barriers to employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Senior Vice President for Business Development
Teleperformance Philippines

Michelle is the new SVP, Business Development of Teleperformance. In her previous organization, Accenture, Michelle led the company’s Women’s Network in the Philippines, with a group objective to make women and women advocates feel empowered, connected, and valued. Key initiatives she spearheaded included the monthly Women’s Talk and the #SELFMADE TALK SERIES – a quarterly podcast that features inspiring and #SelfMade women. For Accenture in the Philippines’ International Women’s Day 2022, Michelle and the community ran the Designing for Inclusion virtual learning session. Since March 2021, she has also served as a sponsor for Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative that strives to empower women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments and promote themselves to others, breaking gender-related modesty norms. Michelle is grateful for the opportunity to drive her I&D advocacy in her previous org and looks forward to making an impact in Teleperformance.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

Legal Manager, Disputes
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes is an experienced Disputes lawyer in the Alternative Legal Services (ALT) team at Herbert Smith Freehills. She was integral in the set-up of ALT Johannesburg in 2017, which forms part of an innovative team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 global locations. As well as serving on the "Pro Bono" and "Race Champions" Committees, Plaxedes was instrumental in setting up ALT's Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health Committees. In addition to managing complex cross-jurisdictional projects, Plaxedes’ responsibilities include recruitment of legal analysts, as part of the market-leading International Legal Development Programme. Plaxedes champions individual uniqueness and diversity and as a result, more than half of the legal analysts recruited in 2021 were women. Outside of work, Plaxedes founded "Pink Power", a charity raising funds for breast cancer patients' treatment. She has also fundraised to enable a Biokinetics student to complete her second year of studies.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Clark

IT Program and Portfolio Leader
Corteva Agriscience

Lauren has been the Global Leader of the Women's Inclusion Network since 2021 and has managed to grow membership by over 20% in the last year. She expanded representation by a growing number of chapters, including the installation of a virtual chapter in North America, and has hosted events around advocacy and allyship but also hosted the first global International Women's Day celebration in 2022. Lauren and her teams are assessing how Corteva can become a preferred employer choice for women by setting up focus groups and developing recruiting best practices. In addition, many initiatives are taken outside of Corteva to directly impact local communities across the globe, including toiletry drives for women's shelters and partnerships with local STEM organizations for girls and girl scouts. In 2021, WIN members volunteered more than 300 hours of their time, benefiting 21 external organizations with 31,000+ people impacted.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Esther Federspiel

Senior Management Support
Credit Suisse AG

Despite an already challenging work-life driving operative and strategic initiatives across the Middle East with her team of 4, Esther stepped up to the Business Area Middle East & Turkey D&I Board, helping to define the DEI Mission Statement: “No fear – to look different, speak different, think different. Difference creates opportunity. Inclusion creates value.” Esther understands that difference creates opportunity and inclusion creates value. Her priority is to increase women's representation at the senior level, and she established a Female Talent Coaching Program and, with HR support, launched a Women Network. She also contributed to the re-launch of the Employee Recognition Program and organized various Panel discussions. Esther is responsible for 4 DEI newsletters annually and presents DEI themes as part of the "Welcome day" for new joiners in Switzerland. Esther sees the advantages of reverse coaching where the young generation coaches the older and initiated a pilot program in this area.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Magdalena Szymczak

Office & Corporate Communication Manager
Fiserv Polska S.A.

Magdalena is an active member of the Women's Impact Network community in Poland. As the PR & Communication Manager, she pays special attention to promoting women in the technology industry by delegating experts working for Fiserv Poland to the media and internal communication. In addition, she created an Employer Branding strategy, which some of its strong points are, among others, positioning women in the organization as industry experts and mentors, support for women in the recruitment process, and a partnership program for female students of technical universities. Furthermore, Magdalena organizes webinars for women in her organization, aiming to give them motivation and courage to reach for more, acquire new skills, and develop personally and professionally, as well as nurture their self-confidence and appreciate their talents.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Heather Quinn

Financial Advisor
Northwestern Mutual

Although her career background is in the entertainment industry, she developed an interest in financial planning and now works at Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Advisor. Heather strives to help as many women as possible by guiding financial planning so that women can take control of their financial future. With an exhaustive knowledge of the financial services industry, and a compassionate, person-centered approach, she helps clients feel secure, educated, and in control. She once produced an ABC special called "Un-broke: What You Need to Know About Money" alongside Mellody Hobson. She saw firsthand how the entertainment career could have many phases, shifting from short-term contracts to loan-outs to vested corporate positions, making it much harder to map out personal financial plans. Hence, her goal is to guide people, especially women, in taking control of their finances to plan for the future.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Howard Ungerleider

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 9,000 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 by providing external coaches for female employees globally. As Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment program, 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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director
LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX)

The third year on the HERoes role model list, Dean passionately believes that diversity is the best way for a business to succeed, as the most effective, inclusive cultures bring a depth of background, thought and experiences leading to innovation and the best business decisions. All D&I targets are published, and metrics have improved significantly during his tenure at LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group and in the businesses he leads. Dean is an executive supporter of the company’s Employee Resource Groups and sponsor of the Female Ignite and Accelerate program, an initiative where he mentors and supports several female colleagues. A strong ally, Dean regularly speaks 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 also a trustee of a charity which commissions research measuring progress and providing case studies of best practices for inclusion and equality.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Masami Katakura

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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Gilder

CEO
Colt Technology Services

Keri founded Colt's first Inclusion & Diversity Council and chairs the TM Forum's Diversity & Inclusion Council, the aim of which is to make the telecommunications sector more diverse and inclusive. In response to 2020's Black Lives Matter protests, Keri held listening sessions with a cross-section of employees from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to find out what was on their minds and gain an understanding of what Colt could do to support them. The insights she gathered led to a collaboration between HR and the YOUnited employee network group, aiming to ensure that Colt was focused on removing any biases inherent within its systems, processes and structures, and that all employees, including those who identify as BAME, had a fair chance to join and develop at the firm. Over the past year, under Keri's support, Colt has sponsored 12 employees through the Black British Business Awards Talent Accelerator programme.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Passionate about creating opportunities for women, evolving inclusion in tech is a key priority for Tanuja. At AWS, she has sponsored empowerment initiatives such as Leadership Circles, a monthly open forum focused on learning and development. She is a member of the AWS ID&E advisory board and championed the Inclusion Ambassador program – active change agents across genders. She is an avid GetIT advocate, an AWS program for young students especially girls to encourage them into tech and re/Start which started in the UK and is a free 12 week classroom training program for unemployed and underemployed individuals. In 2013, Tanuja founded PowerWomen Network, a peer-to-peer network of 150 C-level women across sectors and functions focused on building the next generation of female talent. She also hosts a podcast called PowerWomenSpeak, where she has conversations with senior female leaders. More recently, she started the Next Gen Power Women network, a group of high potential women who are actively mentored by PowerWomen members.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Angela Yang

General Counsel of BlackRock Taiwan
BlackRock Taiwan

Angela, one of the 3 representatives from APAC sitting on the global Talent Development Committee from 2018 to 2021, has successfully promoted 89 females within the global Legal & Compliance function to the next level of their corporate title. Since 2020, she has been serving as the sponsor for the VP Village and the Associate Arena for BlackRock, social networks for colleagues with junior to mid-level corporate titles. Through these social networks, Angela has been mentoring young female colleagues and assisting them in navigating their careers in the firm. She has coached more than ten female colleagues across different functions and geographical areas, resulting in 2 of them being promoted to VP and Director roles in 2021. She has been conducting career advancing sessions for colleagues in BlackRock Taiwan since 2019 and served as the WIN Chairperson from 2012 to 2019, holding quarterly events to promote gender diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Associates(Engineering & Environmental)

UK’s first Black Female founder of a seven-figure turnover engineering company serving the construction sector, Roni is a trailblazer and role model, combining being CEO of Jomas with campaigns championing women in industry. Roni is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Geologist. Graduate of Portsmouth University with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management from Exeter University. She has worked on major construction schemes including the widening of the A406 and M25, and various buildings and structures across the UK. She is Construction Policy Chair for FSB. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 2019 and was appointed Honorary Fellow of RIBA in 2020. Multi award winner, international speaker and dedicated mother to three boys, Roni is passionate about diversity, social mobility and volunteers her time to mentor and coach many.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Renata Zuccolo

Partner Antitrust Practice
Mattos Filho

In 2016, Renata, along with other colleagues, founded the 4Women's Program, aimed at discussing and supporting the career development of all women at the firm. Since then, she continues to participate in discussions to bring new initiatives, such as the collective mentoring for women lawyers. She is highly involved in several others mentoring programs and has started to dedicate part of her time to other entities outside the firm. Renata is an active member of a female network called "Woman in Antitrust" (WIA) which gathers female lawyers, economists, and government officials in Brazil. She is currently participating as a mentor in the program organized by WIA and also on an initiative named "elas no jota," which has the aim of promoting and spreading the opinion of female lawyers by encouraging the publication of articles on law and economics for a Brazilian legal newsletter called "Jota."

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Namita Singh Thakur

Sr.Manager- Global Strategic Accounts (EMEA)
LinkedIn

Namita Singh Thakur is a leader within the Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn in EMEA.  She has also been the  Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA for the last 2 years.  LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving parity across all levels of the organization. Throughout the year, Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her formal involvement in the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. Outside of her formal role, she is passionate about arts & democratization of art & regularly supports emerging artists and artists within under-represented racial groups as a patron, art-collaborator and collector. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate/social life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Meghan Flannery Hayes

Research and Development Engineer
The Pennsylvania State University - Applied Research Laboratory

Meghan co-founded the Women’s Strategic Synergy Group at ARL Penn State, which identifies issues and advocates for positive change. Efforts under her leadership include hosting events to build employee retention, promoting a positive and inclusive work culture, facilitating listening sessions for women, and successfully advocating for parental leave. Within WSSG, she helped develop a new mentorship program for all new employees who started remotely due to COVID, and mentored three women across two different mentorship programs. She also advises on action plans to increase workforce retention and diversity in recruitment. In 2021, she served as a panel member on a DEI-focused empowering women Intelligence National Security Alliance event, where she provided perspective on fostering a sense of belonging to underrepresented groups, including women in technical fields and leadership positions. She is a vice-chair of the Board of Directors for Centre Safe, a not-for-profit that empowers survivors of domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yasmine Alani

Senior Creative Learning Lead
Media Zoo

Yasmine is passionate about creating safe and supportive spaces for women, and has hosted workshops on 'Exploring the Female Experience' for IWD, as well as chairing Allyship events to enable male employees to become better allies to women. Yasmine has developed training to ensure recruiters remove biased language in the recruitment process, to encourage female applicants. She has also championed a company-wide showcase that celebrated unsung women and their contributions. She set up and now leads the Inclusion Group at Media Zoo. Yasmine developed the first parental coaching program while working at News UK. This enabled women to quickly reintegrate into the workplace, reducing anxiety and imposter syndrome. Furthermore, she set up the first internal business-wide mentoring program, with a particular focus on championing women to mentor other women. Yasmine was the Gold winner of the Rising Star Award in 2021 for the impact of her Diversity and Inclusion work

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelley O'Connor

Business Change Manager
Bank of England

As co-chair of LGBTQ+ Staff Network, Shelley has stood up as an ally for all her colleagues. She has worked on the Trans Equality Policy and Transitioning at Work guidance with the Networks Trans reps, standing up for Trans colleagues in senior management meetings and pushing for change. Shelley is a vocal ally for women in the Bank and frequently calls out microaggressions. She led the project team for the Stonewall WEI submission 2022, which resulted in the Bank moving up 100 places to 57th. The work has supported the Bank to become a more inclusive place to work in and for women of all kinds to be themselves. Shelley has been part of the Gender Network for five years, sitting on the steering committee and driving intersectional change. She has also worked with the Disability Network, creating management guides and training with HR.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Huijie Ma

ADAS Lead Software Quality Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

Huijie is Chair of the Inclusion Council and holds leading forces from all networks in promoting and delivering D&I projects. She hosts regular meetings with (GEN + WiE&A) and REACH Network members, creating a forum for their issues to be raised and delivering projects to improve them. She also constructed and maintained a DEI website to promote business, unity force, and drive action. Furthermore, Sophie planned and delivered the Mother Nature Lockers initiative, which supplied free sanitary products, menopause support, and personal care items for all women in the factory; now, the project is being rolled out to all plants. She created and presented the Network Lunch & Learns on Awards to promote women's work and discuss colorism, to promote understanding and inclusion of people from different ethnicities. Additionally, Huijie has been leading a Pregnancy & Maternity focus group, creating a process and materials to streamline actions and turn pregnancy into a development privilege.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gillian Lyng

Managing Director
Deutsche Bank

Since 2016 Gillian has supported maternity leave returners, sharing her experiences as a returner through her internal blog as a Mental Health First Aider by co-hosting quarterly maternity returners meet-ups, building a community amongst working parents. Over 50 maternity returners have been supported through this initiative in the UK & it's now extending to other locations globally. In 2021, Gillian took on a volunteer role as a program leader for the Diversity pillar of Technology, Data & Innovations People Strategy. She has supported women in technology by championing inclusion and educating staff about how to work inclusively. She created a new regular employee-led cross-division speaker series sharing tips on how to make meetings inclusive & having inclusive conversations. She is also raising awareness of violence against women through employee-led events, promoting allyship, and inspiring colleagues, especially male colleagues, to become active bystanders, challenge peer culture & support survivors.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Andrew Eisen

SVP, Head of S&P Market Intelligence Software Solutions
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 and the leadership team launched three new Women’s Career Development and Retention programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching. In addition to directly mentoring 10 women, Andrew has also placed a focus on building recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona. In 2021-22, IHS Markit (now S&P Global) has seen a significant increase in female promotions at the VP level and SVP level. 2022 is also seeing an increase in female hires, specifically in the intern program that reached an all-time high of female representation. These outcomes have received public recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, the Rewards & Benefits Association and Forbes’ list of America's Best Employers for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ajoy Menon

Senior Managing Director, Cloud First Lead, Advanced Centers in India, Accenture
Accenture

As the Cloud First Lead at ATCI, Ajoy is committed to helping women achieve their full potential by conceptualizing, sponsoring, and driving programs for maximum impact. Previously, as the lead for the largest ATCI market, Ajoy drove the diversity ratio to 48.3% (2% above ATCI average) and it further increased to 50% in 2022. His notable contribution as a program sponsor sees Ajoy conceptualize the Cloud Career program to help women technologists transform their careers and create the Cloud X Hackathon event. With over 7,000 participants, 4,000 entries, and 136+ prototypes, the event generated ideas for an Accessible & Inclusive Environment. In addition, Ajoy has been building tech expertise with the Go-Higher hackathon, which has helped 500+ women at AM level and above build a brand of knowledge through hands-on cloud learning and an innovation contest. Furthermore, he has enabled PwDs – a Sign language training for 190 people, of which 126 are now certified, and the #Horizon>Together mentoring program for PwDs.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Burcin Ressamoglu

CEO
Sodexo Engage

Burcin has been a member of Sodexo's global women advisory board (SoTogether) since 2017. The board sponsors inclusion and gender balance initiatives in the company and partners with local NGOs to advance women's representation. She collaborates with Sodexo leadership teams on HR processes, the embedding of DE&I strategy, and how to improve the measure of KPIs. Burcin is also a mentor to women in Sodexo and across the world, encouraging and advising them on building their careers through Sodexo Together initiatives. Her commitment to gender equality and inclusion has resulted in 59% of the management community and 45% of the senior leadership community in Sodexo being represented by women. Furthermore, in 2022, the company was awarded an Investors in People Gold Award – a recognition that only 17% of firms achieve. Additionally, Burcin is part of several NGOs leading on gender equality and actively mentoring young Turkish women through TurkishWIN, a global community of women with cultural, professional, or family ties to Turkey

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dipi McKernan

Chief Operating Officer, Fidelity Holdings Limited, Global Head of First Line Risk and Regulatory Solutions
Fidelity International

For over a decade Dipi has passionately championed D&I in the financial services sector at a senior level. Within Fidelity she is an Executive Board member, sits on Fidelity’s Global D&I Leadership Council and is Executive Co-Sponsor of Fidelity’s Social Mobility Strand. She is also a role model and mentor, particularly to women in the industry and has contributed to the City Hive mentoring programme and The Investment Association’s Investment20/20 programme. Dipi is also a Director and Steering Group Member of “Progress Together” – a membership body that drives socio-economic diversity at senior levels across UK financial services. Chosen to be part of a group of 30 industry leaders - she was instrumental in the development of Progress Together - promoting social mobility across the UK financial and professional services sector. In 2022, she received the Freedom of the City of London in recognition for her exceptional contribution to the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Brown

Partner, Financial Services
Oliver Wyman

Catherine’s leadership priorities at Oliver Wyman Australia focus on upholding its unique culture and values. During her time in Australia, the company jumped to #5 in "Most Prestigious Consulting Firms in Asia Pacific" in the 2022 Vault rankings, and the Australian office has been certified as a Family Inclusive Workplace. She has helped increase women hired by 11% since May 2021. In 2016 she pioneered Oliver Wyman’s European BOOST program, which provides sponsorship and support for individuals taking parental leave. In 2021 she introduced BOOST in Australia, with a 100% success rate to date. She is a mentor to over 25 incredibly talented women, and a senior stakeholder for Women of Oliver Wyman. She has been a sponsor of the company's Inspiring Leaders program since 2015. In addition, through her pro-bono work she supports organisations that promote gender diversity. Her motivation: I would rather women don’t have to think about it.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Erin Platts

Head of EMEA & President of the UK Branch
Silicon Valley Bank

Erin has been Executive Sponsor for SVB’s global gender network since 2021 and established a local EMEA chapter in 2022. Five years ago, she created the first EMEA women's network and under her leadership the team implemented significant enhancements to the company’s family-friendly policies by extending enhanced pay for maternity, shared parental and adoption leave from 12 to 30 weeks; making it available from day 1 of employment. In addition, introducing 'Special Parental Leave' that provides any FTE 12 weeks fully paid. Her commitment to women’s inclusion has seen her exceeding internal targets to achieve 50% women in senior leadership hires and promotions. She mentors and sponsors numerous women, internally and externally. Erin's ambition is to dramatically increase the number of women and other overlooked talent in the innovation ecosystem and to create an environment where all people can thrive, build with purpose, and bring their authentic selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rhonda Taylor

Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Dollar General Corporation

Rhonda has leadership responsibility for legal, risk management, public relations, government affairs, global compliance, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and internal audit. As one of three female C-suite leaders at the Fortune #106 company, she values diversity and inclusion as well as the mentorship and development of all talent. Rhonda mentors several individuals, both formally and informally, connecting one-on-one with future leaders of the Company and offering counsel and advice. She also is a mentor to her team, leading by example as a good business partner while proudly celebrating the accomplishments and successes of her colleagues. She also helps spearhead D&I efforts at Dollar General to guide and support the Company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, mission and goals. Additionally, Rhonda is a member of the Women's Professional Network Employee Resource Group, which strives to cultivate and further inclusivity and empowerment through networking, leadership, educational opportunities, and experiences.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anissa Dhouibi

Managing Director, Global Head of Equities Quantitative Analysis
Citi

Since joining Citi, Anissa has been actively involved in increasing women’s representation in Markets, particularly in MQA (Markets Quantitative Analysis), an area of Wall Street in which women are traditionally underrepresented. At Citi, women's representation in Anissa’s group has meaningfully increased since she joined. She is also an MD sponsor for RISE, the women’s affinity network in Markets North America. The group organizes events ranging from mentoring, speaker series with women leaders, product teach-ins roundtable discussions, and regular networking events for women. Additionally, Anissa is a mentor to several junior women in Markets and a regular speaker and organizer of networking and career advancement events for women and has been a regular mentor also with Streetwise Partners for multiple years. She was one of the mentors in their first women-only mentorship program aimed at providing unemployed or underemployed women with professional mentorship, skills, resources, and access to networks they need to secure and maintain employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tiffany Garland

U.S. Head of Sales, Rare Disease
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

As a founding member of Alnylam's Employee Resource Network (ERN) for women, iThrive, Tiffany engages leaders at Alnylam to promote gender diversity and strengthen career growth for staff through advocacy and mentorship. Outside her role as Head of Sales, she sits on the DE&I leadership team, a cross-functional, employee-driven group supporting internal DE&I objectives and workstreams. Tiffany works closely with the talent acquisition team to understand how they can refine their hiring process by developing internal talent and communications and recruitment guidelines for gender diversity. In addition, she is an ambassador and an active participant in the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA). This women-run organization furthers the advancement of women in health care globally. She is also a member of her local chapter of the National Sales Network (NSN), a national non-profit focused on supporting the professional development of sales professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Woods

Head of International Disputes - Europe
Vinson & Elkins

Louise is the president of Arbitral Women and is the office lead for the Women's Initiative (WI) at Vinson & Elkins, placing her at the forefront of the WI's activities in London. Her responsibilities have included organizing internal skills training and client events; writing on the topic of diversity; spearheading a cross-office senior female networking and mentorship program; mentoring women colleagues herself both formally and informally; and acting as talent lead for her practice group. She is also the office lead for the Practice Group Talent/Diversity Team, a role which has seen her drive D&I efforts including a schools outreach mentoring program; internal training on topics such as implicit biases and DISC assessment; cultural and religious celebrations; and a London office Book Club to discuss race and gender issues. Together with Human Resources and graduate recruitment teams Louise has worked to ensure the diverse hiring, retention and promotion of lawyers at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jacquie Van der Veur

Senior Manager, Communications
VMLY&R

Jacquie is co-chair of Lumina, an internal employee resource group for those who identify as women, that creates an environment where all people are valued and treated equally. It promotes engagement in policy creation, forward-moving education, opportunities to connect, personal development, professional recognition, and support. In March 2022, Jacquie spearheaded a movement to change VMLY&R's bereavement policy to allow for pregnancy loss to be included and available for both parents to use. In 2022, Jacquie has been an outspoken voice for gender diversity and women's inclusion. In March, she was a speaker on a panel about "Motherhood and Bias," and in May, she assisted in running multiple panels about Reproductive Healthcare. The sessions, available for all U.S. agency employees, provided 650-plus attendees with education and a safe space to share concerns about the leaked supreme court ruling.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dharma Laloobhai

Head of EMEA ETF Portfolio Management
BlackRock

As a member of the Women In Investments EMEA Committee, Dharma partnered with the global sponsor to launch the APAC (2021) and AMRS (2022) chapters which have the primary objective to retain women investors, grow careers and facilitate networks. Some examples are several panels in the past two years two of which Dharma hosted, including one on Internal Mobility and another on the Women Development Programs. Dharma also partnered with WIN Japan to launch the WIN for Men initiative after co-leading this for EMEA in 2018. She also co-led the ‘Taking the Stage’ program in 2019. Furthermore, she directly and indirectly always contributed to promotions for women through mentorship and sponsorship and, in the past two years, appointed several women team leaders. Outside of her firm, Dharma has served as a mentor on the Migrant Leaders Mentoring Program and CityHive Mentoring, launched on the back of the #TalkAboutBlack campaign.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Chief Administrative Officer
State Street

Marion strongly believes in the power of education and visibility when it comes to making the workplace more inclusive. She therefore acts as a role model for LGBTQI+ women, regularly appearing on panels to discuss the specific issues faced by this part of the LGBTQI+ community in the workplace. This has included featuring on the EUROUT Conference’s “Corporate activism: the second full-time job” panel and the LBTQIA Women’s Visibility in Business conference organized in Gdansk, Poland in November 2021. In 2019, Marion founded Women of Interbank, a women’s group within Interbank, the network of LGBT+ networks for financial services firms in the UK. In this framework, she regularly organises educational and networking events with a view to increase women representation and visibility within the network and ensure there is a safe space for LGBTQI+ women in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Molly Gray

Senior Account Executive
FiscalNote

Every day Molly meets with companies to help them report on their DEI initiatives and ESG goals. She also supports them in tracking the diversity of women on their board, the diversity of their suppliers, their governance policies, and labor practices. Molly strongly believes that companies must be focused and committed to reporting on, diversity, inclusiveness, and belonging within their organizations. She meets with global sustainability leaders, ESG directors, DEI officers, and inclusion directors to help track the great work they are responsible and accountable for, so they can report on what they are doing to create an inclusive culture and company. Additionally, from 2020 to 2021, Molly was a volunteer coach and mentored for Girls on the Run for girls from 3rd - 5th grade.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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B. Pagels-Minor

Vice President, Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B sits on the Board of Directors of the YWCA, an organization whose entire purpose is to empower women. In 2020, B and their team acquired an additional YWCA location that was in danger of closing, ensuring that women and children in a more suburban area of Chicago had their programs maintained. The YWCA also acquired Streetwise, an organization that allows individuals to become independent workers and develop their own income. With COVID, those individuals were given additional training that supported programs like vaccination registration, food assistance programs, and childcare. The YWCA also stepped up and provided 1000s of meals to Chicagoans who had lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as providing grants to support housing assistance. Outside of the YWCA, B speaks nationally and internationally on gender diversity and women's inclusion including talks with companies such as British Airways, McMaster University, and Crunchyroll so far in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Larry Tomei

Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC Bank Canada

Larry Tomei is a passionate advocate for Diversity & Inclusion. As a first generation Canadian, Larry knows the challenges faced by newcomers, and it was this experience which led to his devotion to promoting D&I. Larry is a strong supporter of empowering women in the workforce. At HSBC Bank Canada, he has achieved a 50% gender balance on his leadership team and has championed three-year diversity and gender promotion objectives. Within WPB, Larry created a platform for female leaders to raise their profiles. He often designates women leaders to represent him in business and speaking engagements, and leverages communication channels to promote women as role models for upcoming employees. Larry mentors and sponsors women, ultimately leading to career advancement and transition into more progressive, important and impactful roles. He hosts “Women Only” exchange sessions to facilitate their feedback and to identify opportunities not only for improvement, but also for creating a pipeline of top talent

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director
LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group (part of RELX)

Dean believes an inclusive culture is a true differentiator and a fundamental pillar of a high performance organisation, overseeing two organisations which together have a 45.7% female representation across the workforce, and a 50/50 gender balance at leadership level. Dean has championed D&I initiatives including unconscious bias training for employees, gender balance leadership, psychological safety along with mentoring and sponsorship initiatives for women, all of which have driven employee engagement, retention and employee satisfaction. Dean believes that for diversity to be sustainable, first you must have inclusion. The diversity of backgrounds, experiences and beliefs drive the best decisions, innovation and results as the business continually strives for everyone to bring their best authentic selves to work. Dean regularly sits on panels and promotes the business’ Employee Resource Groups and is currently working with industry leaders to set up a D&I forum for the Energy and Chemical markets.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Andrew Eisen

SVP & Partner, Financial Services Solutions
IHS Markit

This year, Andrew and the rest of the executive leadership team at IHS Markit launched and sponsored three new Women’s Career Development and Retention programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring and 1:1 coaching. In addition to directly mentoring ten women as a participant in those programs, Andrew has also placed a focus on building recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona. In 2020-21, IHS Markit has seen a significant increase in female promotions at the VP level and SVP level. 2020 also saw an increase in female hires, specifically in the intern program that reached an all-time high of female participation. These outcomes have received public recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, the Rewards & Benefits Association and Forbes’ list of America's Best Employers for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Lou Maiuri

Chief Operating Officer
State Street Corporation

Since 2017, Lou has served as Executive Sponsor of State Street's Professional Women's Network, 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, who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices, Lou has made a number of female leadership appointments at the Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President levels. In 2020, the firm reached 30% female representation across leadership roles, and approximately 68% of promotions at Manager Director level and above were women. PWN initiatives Lou helped with in 2020 included authoring a blog on ‘Allyship and Equal Pay Day for Black Women’ and hosting an event focused on Women in IT.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Georg Beyer

Managing Director & Senior Partner and People Team Chair of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East
Boston Consulting Group

Under Georg’s leadership over the past 2 years, BCG has defined a clear business case as to why gender diversity is important for BCG, and has ensured that this is constantly communicated to leaders and to all staff. As well as setting goals on the hiring and retention of female talent, Georg and his team have stated their ambition to continue to advance BCG’s women representation in the region. The programs they have implemented include family support, extended paternity leaves, women leadership programs, and participation in external thought leadership publications. Georg personally oversees the retention and career progression of CEMA’s senior women including a strong focus on female share in succession planning for leadership roles. Alongside that commitment he also sponsors 14 senior women to ensure they are successful in advancing through the ranks, by making regular check in calls and advocating for them internally.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Kevin Hogarth

UK Chief People Officer
KPMG

In his role as Chief People Officer at KPMG Kevin has executive accountability for the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy and policies, and in this capacity has set clear expectations about the proportionality of all promotions, and the outcomes of performance reviews and reward processes. Since joining he has initiated a review to ensure that annual D&I targets and the associated plans are sufficiently stretching, and that KPMG are on target to achieve their publicly quoted gender targets. As well as requesting the organization develop more ambitious gender targets that go beyond current 2022 goals, Kevin has also required a D&I review of all new policies being implemented as part of the transition to hybrid working, to ensure there will be no adverse gender impact. He has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board since starting at the firm, and along with the CEO he sets the agenda for this group of external advisers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David Stone

Partner, Global Head of Intellectual Property
Allen & Overy

David is an active force in promoting D&I at A&O. In 2019, David established a Women in Intellectual Property initiative amongst partners and staff globally. The group, which David still sponsors, hosts events for women clients; runs CPE sessions with women-only speaker panels; encourages women to publish thought leadership; and promotes women's achievements within and outside the firm. As a result, lawyers at Allen & Overy have felt empowered to take the spotlight and talk on topical IP issues in front of clients and peers. The group also runs a mentoring program connecting female lawyers across offices and seniority levels, which benefits not just the junior staff but also the mentors, who gain valuable experience and insights. David was also responsible for organizing a study of the language used in quotes for legal directories. With the findings he published guidance on avoiding gendered language when providing feedback on barristers, which is now used across the firm’s London Litigation department.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Matthew Krentz

Managing Director and Senior Partner, Global DE&I and Leadership Chair
Boston Consulting Group

Matt is the DEI and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group. He is responsible for the firm’s global Women@BCG program whose purpose is to increase the recruitment, retention, advancement, and satisfaction of women. The program is focused on outreach, increased flexibility and mobility offerings, bias reduction, pipeline planning, and customized professional development. Under Matt’s leadership BCG has increased women as a percentage of entry level hires from 29% to 42% and has retained men and women at equal rates over the last eight years. The number of female Managing Director & Partners at the firm has also grown at three times the rate of male MDPs, resulting in the percentage of female MDP representation doubling since 2013. In order to support caregivers at BCG during the pandemic, Matt worked with his team to develop a flexible work model that has provided caregivers with a 70% salary while working at 60% capacity across all cohorts and levels of the company.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Osman Ershad Faiz

Chief Information and Operating Officer
AMTD Digital Inc

Continues his relentless effort across Singapore, Bangladesh as well as his new company, AMTD Digital Inc. through his advocacy to those 'men of position' and the HeForShe platform. Osman also leads the D&I Council. He personally mentors several mid-career women leaders within the Banking and FinTech industry and serves as Sponsor for the Women in FinTech initiative, which offers graduating students educational visits and internships to FinTech's to connect them with other women in tech and access to AMTD Digital SpiderNet ecosystem. Bangladesh was one of the first Muslim markets to launch a HeForShe network through Osman, and the Singapore HeForShe network he kickstarted currently has over 200 senior male leaders committed to helping hundreds of female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. In addition to the HeForShe networks, Osman has been supporting the Lead the Women initiative in Singapore, which reviews the hiring of women at each grade and identifies opportunities to drive progress towards a target of 30% women in key leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Lee Moore

Midwest Market Unit Lead
Accenture

Lee serves as Senior Managing Director and Midwest Market Unit Lead at Accenture, and has been a driving force behind the company's partnership with Women in Cloud (WiC), a community-led economic development organization dedicated to advancing gender equity in the technology industry. In addition to sponsoring and empowering a female Managing Director at Accenture to serve on WiC's Board of Directors, Lee serves on a core team of advisors and influencers helping the not-for-profit organization drive its mission to generate $1 billion in net new global economic access for women entrepreneurs by 2030, through partnerships with corporations, community leaders and policy makers. He spearheaded the creation of Accenture Midwest’s partnership with The Mom Project to provide career opportunities for people from that organization, and is also a champion of Accenture's Women's Employee Resource Group with nearly 6,000 members who participate in networking, work/life balance, recruiting and community access opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Huibert Vigeveno

Downstream Director and member of Shell's Executive Committee
Royal Dutch Shell

As a passionate advocate for D&I, believing that diverse teams are better in conversation, decision and outcome quality, Huibert has set clear expectations with his leadership for creating gender balanced teams, with lasting improvements to gender diversity increasingly evident across his organization of 32,000 people. Operating in 150 countries, with revenues of $150 billion in 2020 and net earnings of $7 billion, women now hold almost half of all senior roles in Downstream: 44% up from 23% in the 18 months since Huibert was appointed. Under his leadership, women now run many of Shell’s leading and largest businesses, including Lubricants, Aviation, Marine, Low Carbon Fuels, Customer Operations and several Trading divisions. Further, women also lead the Mobility retailing businesses in Europe and the US as well as some of Shell’s largest and most complex chemicals plants and refineries in Asia and the US. Huibert’s other actions have included pushing Shell's brand campaigns to advocate for greater personal mobility for women, with messages of empowerment, support and celebration for achievements.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mahesh Zurale

Senior Managing Director, Lead - Accenture's Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI)
Accenture

As the Executive I&D Sponsor for Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India, Mahesh has taken bold steps to create an inclusive and barrier-free culture. In order to champion continuous learning and help women technologists achieve fulfilling careers, Mahesh spearheads several strategic women-centric initiatives across ATCI. He is deeply committed to is achieving a gender-balanced workforce and growing the percentage of women directors in the team to 30% by 2025. Mahesh believes in technology being an equalizer and has been instrumental in developing pathbreaking programs, such as the Apex Leadership Crescent Program, Cloud Elevate, Grow Women in Leadership Program, Quantum Impact and High-Tech Women Edge, which are collectively geared towards enabling 25,000 women across career levels to build their technology skills and become stronger leaders of tomorrow. As the Accenture Technology Accessibility Co-Sponsor, Mahesh has also launched a virtual Accessibility Center; a dedicated place with a suite of assistive technologies to empower colleagues with disabilities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Colin Passmore

Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has used his 10 years a senior partner at Simmons & Simmons to ensure that improving gender diversity is a key business priority for Simmons & Simmons with a focus on progressing women through to the partnership and into senior management positions. In those ten years, he has sponsored two female Managing Associates in their route to partnership; chaired quarterly gender balance meetings; sponsored the cost of two film screenings to mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act; supported the launch of email signature guidelines for the inclusion of personal pronouns; and started reverse mentoring with the firm’s female race and ethnicity partner lead to gain an insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by ethnic groups across the firm. Since Colin became a partner the percentage of firmwide female partners has increased from 11% to just below 25%. This year, six of the thirteen new partners at the firm were female. More recently, Colin has been a lead male advocate for demystifying the female menopause.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Edward Chidsey

Partner and Senior Vice President
IHS Markit

At IHS Markit, Ed is Lead Advisor to the DEI team and a participating Sponsor within the Women's Sponsorship Program. As well as contributing to the Program’s panel events, he has sponsored a budget in 2021 supporting the launch of three new Women’s Career Development & Retention programs covering almost 300 women across all titles. These programs have since contributed to a meaningful increase in female promotions. In addition, Ed also plays an active role in early careers and IHS Markit’s campus recruiting programs, which have led to encouraging results including in some of the highest female representation in IHS Markit’s 2020 intern class. Ed and his team’s efforts have resulted in numerous Diversity & Inclusion awards for IHS Markit, including recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, Human Rights Campaign, and Forbes. Outside of IHS Markit, Edward is an active participant as a coach, teacher and fundraiser with several organizations focused on improving educational programs and career development opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Claudio Gienal

CEO
AXA UK & Ireland

Claudio has placed gender equality as a key, strategic priority for AXA UK&I with the result that the organization has been listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, and the gender seniority gap has been significantly reduced. Under his leadership female representation on the Executive Committee has increased from 19% in 2018 to 50% in 2021, and the percentage of women in executive roles has risen from 32.1% in 2020 to 39.9% in 2021. Claudio is actively involved in the sponsorship of female talent across the AXA Group, and on International Women’s Day 2021 he used his LinkedIn platform to spotlight three AXA female future leaders he is currently supporting. He regularly participates in internal D&I initiatives, which in 2021 have included an internal panel discussion to celebrate International Women's Day and a virtual speed mentoring event hosted by AXA UK&I’s gender equality network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Keith Barr

CEO
IHG

As Chief Executive Officer, Keith has been instrumental in defining IHG’s culture as one of inclusion, and to the sense of belonging colleagues feel and the freedom they have to be themselves. A commitment to champion a diverse culture where everyone can thrive is at the heart of IHG’s ‘Journey to Tomorrow’ 2030 Responsible Business plans, and the company has a set of targets to help achieve this, including driving gender balance and a doubling of under-represented groups across our leadership. Throughout the pandemic, recognising the pressures it has placed on all IHG colleagues, Keith has ensured that colleagues can prioritise wellbeing and manage family and work needs, including with the introduction of new global flexible working guidelines and recharge days to allow colleagues to recuperate.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Julio Bruno

Chief Executive Officer
Time Out Group plc

Throughout his career and at Time Out Group, Julio has always surrounded himself with a team of mixed genders, races and ethnicities. The leadership team Julio currently heads at Time Out has a 50:50 gender split. In addition, 58% of the whole workforce is female and there is no gender pay gap. The company’s HR recruitment process involves practicing blind recruitment, to avoid unconscious bias around hiring men over women, and insisting on a 50% minority candidate long list from any agencies used. During 2020, in response to the issues faced by working parents over the pandemic, Time Out created a family resource center as a support to help with mental health and the time off needed while working and caregiving simultaneously. Every year Time Out celebrates International Women's Day, both internally and through the company’s media megaphone, and Julio actively encourages his editorial team to spotlight female owned businesses as well as minority-owned businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Shinbo Won

Head of Asia ex-Japan, BlackRock Investment Stewardship
BlackRock

Shinbo is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of BlackRock Singapore's Male Allies program, a role through which he is tasked with growing the pool of male champions who advocate for the empowerment of female colleagues. The position also involves supporting the broader Women's Initiative Network (WIN) in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion. The Male Allies program is focused around building awareness of biases and behaviors that act as barriers to achieving gender equity in the workplace, while sharing experiences and practices that help build a more inclusive culture. In his role at BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship, Shinbo and his team have strengthened the expectation of board diversity, including gender diversity, by newly implementing a voting policy in 2021 which BlackRock holds existing members accountable for a lack of women on the board by voting against the re-election of directors. Outside of BlackRock, Shinbo has been appointed as Male Champion of the Financial Women's Association (FWA) of Singapore.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jon Holt

Chief Executive
KPMG

Since being elected as Chief Executive of KPMG in April 2021, Jon has put Inclusion and Diversity at the heart of his strategy. He is responsible for the firm's progress against Inclusion, Diversity and Social Equality (IDSE) 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 IDSE goals for all Audit Partners and Directors, and initiated IDSE awareness sessions for all 7,000 of Audit’s employees, and since 2017 he 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.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Since becoming Diageo’s Chief Executive in 2013, Ivan has championed Inclusion and Diversity across the whole of the organization, as well as the wider drinks and hospitality industry. As well as ambitious 2030 goals to increase the representation of women in Diageo leadership roles and the percentage of suppliers from female and minority-owned businesses, Diageo is also amongst the first companies to have created a clear link and direct accountability for ESG commitments with its senior management community. In February 2021, Diageo announced 20% of the Diageo Long-term Incentive Plan will be linked to ESG measures, including Inclusion and Diversity, ensuring that every senior leader is incentivized to make progress on this agenda. This year the firm has continued to empower women and to lean into taboo subjects: in March 2021 Global Menopause Guidelines were launched to offer strengthened support and flexibility and to encourage employees to build their understanding of how the menopause impacts individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Gerald Yao

Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder
FiscalNote

As Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at FiscalNote, Gerald has driven a number of initiatives to improve gender diversity at the company. Last year, after speaking with over 25 DEI experts on how to shape the company’s programs, he launched the first Diversity and Inclusion company-wide survey and led the creation of the 2020 State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report released internally to the entire international organization. Gerald also built the structure and recruitment of the company’s DEI Task Force. Furthermore, he organized Senior Leadership Team enablement sessions around DEI, integrating incentive goals for leaders. This year has seen him sign onto the CEO ACTION for Diversity and Inclusion, bring women onto the Advisory Board, and coordinate with the Head of CSR to create monthly themes related to DEI.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

As CEO of WPP, created two new roles of Chief People Officer and a Global Head of Culture to continue to improve diversity and build an open and inclusive culture at the company. Women now make up 51% of senior managers and 40% at the most senior executive level. Last year, WPP launched an updated online ethics training, including unconscious bias modules which are mandatory for all staff, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed DE&I into hiring processes, performance management systems and leadership development. For the third year running the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has listed WPP, and last year Forbes ranked the company sixteenth in its Best Employers for Women in the US List. In 2020, of a total $94 million had been spent by WPP on diverse suppliers in the US, 64% of which went to women-owned business enterprises and 14% to minority women-owned business enterprises.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David McCormick

Chief Executive Officer
Bridgewater Associates

David is the CEO of Bridgewater Associates and has spearheaded the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative as a top priority since 2017. David appointed Bridgewater’s first Chief Diversity Officer and full-time team, reporting directly to him. Under David’s leadership, the firm instituted pay equity reviews; launched affinity networks, including the Women's Influence Network; implemented equal parental leave; publicly released representation and pay equity data; ensured gender representation was a key consideration in designing a new governance structure; and increased the number of women in senior leadership. Throughout David’s career the advancement of women has been deeply personal to him – as a public servant focused on getting the best out of his team, as a business executive responsible for developing the next generation of leaders, and as a father of six daughters with his wife Dina Powell McCormick. David is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, has a Ph.D. from Princeton, and is a veteran of the First Gulf War.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sean Fan

Partner/Managing Director, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited, Co-Head China Investment Banking Division
Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited

Sean’s actions to foster workplace diversity at Goldman Sachs include serving as a member of the Asia Pacific Inclusion and Diversity Committee, where he focuses on developing and implementing D&I strategies across the region; ensuring the inclusion of women during recruitment and promotion processes; hosting roundtable sessions with diverse vice presidents including women to enhance visibility and connectivity with leadership; and serving as an active sponsor for high-potential professionals across Asia to ensure the progress of diverse representation. He also sponsors the China Diversity Network, where he is a frequent speaker at women empowerment events, such as ‘When Women Lead – Perspectives on Women in Business’ and the ‘Lean in China Young Leaders’ Program’, where he shared his belief in gender equality. Sean also played a key role in driving Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity’s incremental diversity hiring results.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Simon Cooper

CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas
Standard Chartered Bank

As Global D&I Council Chair for Standard Chartered Bank, Simon has initiated a major shift in the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion agenda. His leadership 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 also overseen the introduction of initiatives such as 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, in order to support female colleagues living and working in countries with a history of heightened violence. David’s approach to engage the organization has resulted in a positive trend across several indicators, including female representation in senior roles, which increased from 27.7% in 2018 to 30.14% today, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 82% in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ron O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

Under Ron's leadership, State Street has continually focused on female leadership in the companies it invests in, including by launching a Fearless Girl initiative which saw more than 860 companies appoint at least one female board member where they previously had none. Within State Street, Ron has introduced company-wide diversity goals which are tied to executives’ compensation, and diverse talent slates for all open positions including on the board. Three women have been added to State Street’s Management Committee by Ron, bringing female representation to 29%, and last year approximately 68% of promotions at Managing Director level and above were women. State Street has featured on Working Mother's 100 Best Companies and Best Companies for Dads, as well as on the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. For seven consecutive years the firm has received a score of 100% on the HRC Equality Index.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David Kenny

CEO
Nielsen

David’s achievements as CEO of Nielsen include launching Gracenote Inclusion Analytics in order to identify, including by gender and sexual orientation, groups on TV and in the audiences watching. He heads a leadership team in which four of the nine members are women, and this year he appointed a female Chief Diversity Officer. In light of the additional pressures being placed on women due to COVID, David launched a mental health and self-care program including Mental Health Days Off and a spotlight on childcare and counselling benefits. As well as launching a company-wide e-learning session, ‘From Witness to Advocate’, on allyship and recognizing microaggressions, David also gave a keynote speech at Nielsen’s Women’s History Month where he spoke about challenging bias and encouraging women at all levels to take on leadership roles. For the third consecutive year, Nielsen has featured on Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Howard Ungerleider

President and Chief Financial Officer
Dow

Howard has served as Executive Sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network ERG since 2017, a role which involves supporting over 7,000 participants. As well as sponsoring a POWER UP program and career portfolio toolkits with over 1,300 Dow women, Howard has also championed Sponsor to Success in Finance, advancing women and U.S. minority talent development by pairing participants with a senior leader advocate who enhances exposure and visibility. 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 by providing external coaches for female employees globally. In another of his roles, as Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment program, Howard has reinforced his commitment to offer equitable opportunities by establishing a global minimum standard of 16 weeks paid time off for new parents regardless of gender.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Luke Ellis

Chief Executive Officer
Man Group

As CEO of Man Group, Luke oversees the D&I strategy alongside the Group COO. Together they re-launched Drive, the internal D&I network, which today is comprised of the gender balance network Women at Man alongside several others. In his position on the Senior Executive Committee, which is responsible for championing D&I, Luke pushed for the implementation of a policy to incorporate a systematic review of diversity within talent and succession planning reviews. Man Group's commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, for which Luke serves as Executive Sponsor, has seen the proportion of women in senior roles increase from 16% in 2016 to 25% in 2020, meeting their Charter target. The firm’s consistent efforts to support and develop women have now led to increased targets to reach 30% female representation in senior roles by 2024, whilst the board achieved gender parity in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Robert Fairbairn

Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of Human Capital Committee
BlackRock

As the Co-chair of the Human Capital Committee and Talent Sub-Committee, Robert has led and sponsored a number of initiatives aimed at increasing gender equality in the workplace. He helped launch BlackRock’s Women Leadership Forum, established extended maternity/paternity leave and a flexible time-off policy, and sponsored numerous senior women, through investing in helping them find broader, more impactful careers at BlackRock. As Interim Global Head of HR, Robert expanded adoption assistance and new surrogacy and egg freezing benefits for all employees. Robert is also one of the founders of the first chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network based on the East coast. As one of BlackRock Women's Leadership Forum Chairs, Robert has been a Global Executive Committee sponsor of the program for many years and has been instrumental in involving other Global Executive Committee members as sponsors of women in the program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Adrian Warr

CEO, Hong Kong , Taiwan and Thailand
Edelman

Adrian serves as CEO of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand for Edelman, and a founding member and Co-chair of Male Allies, a charity under The Women’s Foundation. The raft of policy changes and engagement initiatives introduced under his leadership have led to a reduced turnover from 35% in 2017 to 19% in 2021. The firm has also seen an increase in the percentage of women on the leadership team from 30% up to 50%, and on the management team from 40% up to 55%. Pay has also been equalized, and 100% of working mums have been retained for the third year running. The many DEI initiatives Adrian has overseen have included a dynamic working policy for all; increased holiday allowances; balanced panels for hiring and reviews; the replacement of paternity and maternity benefits with primary and secondary carer benefits; and a partnership with The Women’s Foundation that provides mentoring and training.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christoph Schweizer

CEO-Elect and Chairman of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Managing Director & Senior Partner
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

In his current role as Chairman of the Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East (CEMA) region at BCG, Christoph Schweizer has made Women@BCG one of his four top priorities. Christoph has set clear goals related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with leaders and teams in the region to advance this critical agenda. Not only has there been a rise in the percentage of female entry level hires for BCG in CEMA, from just over 30% in 2019 to over 40% in 2021, the firm also continues to uphold equal men and women retention rates, with the ambition to continue to advance BCG’s women representation in the region. In May 2021, Christoph was elected as BCG’s next CEO, effective October 1, 2021, and diversity, equity & inclusion in particular is a strong pillar of his global agenda going forward.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma

Andrew’s work to improve the gender balance in leadership positions at Halma has resulted in more diversity at all levels of the organization. From July this year, the Executive Board will be made up of 78% women, including one Black woman. Additionally, 46% of graduates in the last four years have been women, and more than 50% of Halma’s senior leadership team are women, including on the plc Board, the Executive Board and the Divisional Chief Executives. As part of Halma’s commitment to building inclusive businesses, last year the firm launched its first ever global paid parental leave policy to support new parents to look after their new family, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or the market in which they live or work. The policy aims to remove career impediments for mothers, and to enable fathers to enjoy more time with their new family.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christian Edelmann

Managing Partner Europe
Oliver Wyman

When promoted to Managing Partner Europe earlier in 2021, Christian enacted two policy changes. The first was aimed at talent acquisition, allowing business leaders to go beyond their hiring targets if they managed to attract female talent. This initiative allowed Oliver Wyman to hire five additional highly talented female colleagues. The second policy, which was implemented after a strong correlation was observed between the sponsorship of women and their career progress, asked each member of the European Leadership Team to sponsor two female colleagues. Christian has also been working closely with the HR team to ensure Oliver Wyman creates a ‘back to office work’ policy which allows employees to retain the benefits of hybrid working. The Men4Change program he co-founded two years ago has run workshops with many clients on the topic of gender balance, as a forum to share experiences and as an opportunity to get to know like-minded peers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Haydi Adel El Lamey

Regional Head of Customer Experience – Wealth & Personal Banking EMEA
HSBC

After almost 20 years of experience in the industry, Haydi noticed that the inclusivity of women in the workforce has been an ongoing battle. Once in a managerial role she felt she had the capability of making a change, and now leads an all-female team. Within the last two years she has received women from the global graduate program on to her team so that they can learn and move up the ladder of success, with her priority being to make sure that they have a voice and are heard. Haydi has also been driving and managing a transformational Customer Experience Strategy at the bank for the last two years, in an attempt to encourage a culture shift across all layers of the organization. She is driving this change through the SMILE Program (Service Magic through Innovation, Listening & agile Execution) and has already started seeing signs of success in the first two years of the program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

EMEA Application Engineering Manager
3M

As a well-respected, full-time Technical Manager at a global science-based technology company, Sarah is a role model for women in STEM careers. As a manager, she has always championed flexible working and leads by example as the mum of two young children. Sarah was appointed Co-Chair of the EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum after returning from maternity leave and has led many campaigns to support diversity and inclusion, such as facilitating #IAmRemarkable workshops for more than 200 people, mostly from underrepresented groups. Her work as a Gold level #IAmRemarkable trainer and recruitment of new facilitators to support the roll-out was recognised at 3M’s internal International Women’s Day event. 3M has pledged to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025 and this is something that Sarah is wholeheartedly supporting through her award-winning STEM volunteering and advocacy work. Sarah mentors numerous female colleagues and is also a mental health first aider.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amy Bird

Senior Associate
Clifford Chance

Amy took over as Co-Chair of the UK arm of the Accelerate Gender Parity network in February 2021, and since then has implemented a number of initiatives including running an International Women's Day month of events to drive forward discussions and educate colleagues on achieving cultural change; influencing the content of the firm's new Code of Conduct, including principles around inclusive environments and respect for flexible working; and calling for enhancements to family leave/benefits, to embrace shared parenting culture. She also created a working group on work culture and campaigned to adopt true agile working. She was instrumental in establishing the firm's principle of up to 50% home working, serving on the steering committee with senior management to drive through this cultural change, with the potential for generational impact. Since autumn of last year Amy has also been on the firm’s ESG Board and as an employment lawyer works with clients to maximise the impact of their own D&I work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

Legal Manager, Disputes, Alternative Legal Services
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes is an experienced Disputes lawyer in the Alternative Legal Services (ALT) team at Herbert Smith Freehills. She was integrally involved in the set-up of the Johannesburg ALT team in 2017, which forms part of a market-leading, innovative global team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 international locations. As well as serving on the Johannesburg Pro Bono Committee and the Regional Race Champions Committee, Plaxedes was also instrumental in setting up the Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health Committees. In addition to managing complex cross-jurisdictional international disputes projects, Plaxedes’ responsibilities include the recruitment of legal analysts as part of the market-leading International Legal Development Programme. When recruiting, she ensures that she and her colleagues are championing individual uniqueness, and that the teams they recruit are diverse. As a result, more than half of the legal analysts recruited in January 2021 were women. Outside of work, Plaxedes has raised funds for a breast cancer patient who could not afford treatment and for a Biokinetics student to be able to register for her second year of studies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

ESG Institutional Portfolio Manager
BlueBay Asset Management

Koycheva contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s women’s forum, having led the restructuring of the forum’s activities to become the diversity and inclusion forum, building greater intersectionality. She has contributed to a D&I vision and strategy and organised working groups on data, volunteering, and interview practices. As vice chair of the D&I Forum she sets its agenda and chairs its meetings while collaborating with the Employee Resource Groups of BlueBay's parent company, RBC, and other financial organisations. In addition to spearheading BlueBay's participation in the inaugural summer internship programs with GAIN and 100BlackInterns, Elena led BlueBay's International Women’s Day panel with senior females from across the business. In 2021 she became a member of the BlueBay Corporate Responsibility Committee, Charity Forum, and RBC’s RWomen ERG. Externally, Koycheva leads the CFA UK Job Profiles working group and supports greater D&I awareness as the recently appointed CAIA London chapter head. Koycheva mentors in cross-industry mentoring programmes and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sneha Shah

Founder & CEO
Curaty

Over the last two years Sneha has built a database of over 3000 artists, 72% of which are female. She has created paid opportunities for female artists to show their work across the commercial sector, and curated an all-women exhibition of recent art-school graduates titled ‘Resilience’ in the prime location of Oxford Street. One service Sneha and her team launched for their art rental client businesses was curated collections of artwork for the walls of workplaces, commenting on the importance of diversity and inclusion. The artworks stood as a daily reminder to employees and visitors of the company's commitment towards this goal. Over 30,000 individuals have experienced, interacted and engaged with these exhibitions and art programs. Sneha has personally mentored over 40 female artists on their public image and on pricing their artwork, after it was proven discovered that female artists tend to undervalue their works in comparison to their male counterparts.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sinead Maxwell

EMEA Corporate Citizenship Program Manager
Fiserv

One of the ways Sinead has pushed to create an environment that celebrates inclusion in the workplace has been through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She is an active member or ally of all the ERGs in region and continuously looks for ways to support and promote them. The ERGs she is involved in include the LGBTQ Community UNITY, the Asian Leadership Council, the Women's Impact Network (WIN), the Young Professional Leadership Council and the Black Leadership Council. Together with some colleagues, Sinead is also leading an initiative to form groups across EMEA called Culture Circles, based on a tried and tested model first established in Ireland. The aim is to bring employees from all backgrounds together to network, have fun, celebrate different cultures and festivals and educate others along the way. Within the last 18 months five Culture Circles have been set up in office locations across EMEA under Sinead’s guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Virginia Mayo

Distinguished Engineer
IBM

As a recently appointed technical executive and the first Filipino-American Distinguished Engineer at IBM, Virginia joins an elite group of innovators and pioneers of today’s modern digital infrastructure built for the future. In her technical leadership role, Virginia acts as a mentor to many up-and-coming top female technical talents, both within her own IBM business organization and outside it. She believes in 'outcome-based mentoring' is most effective, so she works with her protégés on achieving specific career goals rather than meeting for the sake of meeting. A frequent speaker on diversity in senior leadership roles at IBM, Virginia was the Keynote Speaker for the IBM Innovation Centers' 2021 International Women's Day in Hungary, Czech Republic, and South Africa. The event was attended by over 1,000 professionals ranging from entry-level employees to senior professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Woods

Partner
Vinson & Elkins

Louise is the Office Lead for the Women's Initiative (WI) at Vinson & Elkins, placing her at the forefront of the WI's activities in London. Her responsibilities have included organizing internal skills trainings and client events; writing on the topic of diversity; spearheading a cross-office senior female networking and mentorship program; mentoring women colleagues herself both formally and informally; and acting as talent lead for her practice group. She is also the Office Lead for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, a role which has seen her drive D&I efforts including a schools outreach mentoring program; internal training on topics such as implicit biases and DISC assessment; cultural and religious celebrations; and a London office Book Club to discuss race and gender issues. Together with Human Resources and graduate recruitment teams Louise has worked to ensure the diverse hiring, retention and promotion of lawyers at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Swastika Somaddar

Programme Manager, Risk Functions
Standard Chartered Ltd.

Swastika is an active contributor to the fourth Pillar of Standard Chartered Bank’s new Global Functions initiative: People. The People pillar includes both Diversity and Inclusion, primarily focusing on retaining, attracting, developing and engaging female talent, and Championing Wellbeing, a workstream which concentrates on awareness, mental health and wellness sessions held by expert external agencies. Since becoming part of the Women on Work, and Wellness teams in early 2021, Swastika has been mentoring upcoming women leaders within the organization, and has also been involved in supporting and empowering Risk Functions women at all stages of their career. Outside of Standard Chartered Bank Swastika is Co-Founder of a community 'Livia and it’s Events' in Singapore, which organizes activities, whether a trek, a talk show or cultural events, to bring out awareness among races. Swastika strongly believes that these creative and cultural events are the best way of spreading the right message in communities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kyoshia Jackson

Compliance Paralegal
LVMH-Moet Hennessy USA

Kyoshia has been a driving force in raising awareness of the Black experience at Moët Hennessy USA (MHUSA) and reinforcing the company’s commitment to foster a more inclusive workplace. Over the last four years, she has organized cultural celebrations and thoughtful discussions to help celebrate diversity and increase the visibility of underrepresented populations, specifically women of color while working to drive policy change that focuses on equity. Her influence has extended beyond MHUSA and has permeated throughout LVMH. She was a panelist during one of LVMH's D&I events and a founding member of the MH Noir Assemblage, MHUSA’s ERG, that advocates for the inclusion and advancement of Black employees at MHUSA/LVMH. In December 2020, she was the recipient of MHUSA’s Spirit & Stars Award and was nominated for the Women at MHUSA’s Everyday Inspiring Women award. Most recently, Kyoshia was selected by EllesVMH, LVMH’s women’s ERG, to participate in their pilot allyship program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Southall

Senior Sales Manager, Small and Medium Business
Vodafone UK

Caroline assumed the role of the Chair of the Women's Network at Vodafone UK at the end of 2020, with the purpose of re-invigorating an inactive network by engaging a broad and diverse workforce. To date she has established an operating model; recruited 40 voluntary roles to form the network committee; and held sessions with the CEO and the Network’s Executive Sponsors, to gain support and to highlight how the company can better support its women employees. Under Caroline’s leadership the Women’s Network has gathered feedback from its membership and defined a program of activity in 2021 based on their insight and input. This has involved taking an intersectional approach with other D&I networks and using events to target key topics such as imposter syndrome, the menopause, and striking a work-life balance throughout COVID. Caroline has also worked with HR and the D&I Team, highlighting 'gaps' in Vodafone's employment policies and support materials relating to women and working in collaboration to develop and launch new support tools.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Zhu

Director, Head of XVA Trading
SMBC Nikko Capital Markets (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation)

At Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) Nikko Capital Markets, Eunice is an active Committee Member of the BALANCE network, a group which supports gender balance and aims to empower all female and male colleagues. Through BALANCE, Eunice organized and hosted the Learning from Leaders session in September 2020, where she interviewed the CEO of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in front of an audience of more than 150 colleagues. Eunice’s other work championing diversity has seen her actively mentoring and tutoring for the “Young Women into Finance” programme and Career Lead to help develop the female talent pipeline for the finance industry, as well as participating in D&I initiatives such as women’s networking and support groups. Outside of SMBC Eunice founded and now leads the Lean In Circle for Women in Banking & Finance, connecting and empowering women who have career ambitions in finance. She runs monthly and sometimes bi-monthly events for the Circle’s more than 230 members.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Waters

Head of Investment Management Technology
Man Group

Rachel became Co-Chair of Women at Man (WAM) in 2020. Under her leadership, engagement in the WAM working group has improved and a focus has been placed on retention and personal growth, empowering women at the firm to reach their full potential. The Mentoring Circles she introduced provided women with an opportunity to share their varied experiences on topics like 'Getting Out of your Own Way' in a facilitated environment, whilst the Development Workshops focused on offering support in areas commonly highlighted as gaps for women, starting with impact, authority and presence. In addition to running interview sessions with Man Group’s three new female board members, whose presence took the board to gender parity, WAM has also been investigating the ways it can build ally support from male colleagues, and how this can lead to sponsorship opportunities for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suman Sidhu

Investment Consultant
Lane Clark & Peacock LLP

Suman is a Committee Member of Lane Clark & Peacock’s Women’s Network and helped lead the firm's ‘Let's talk about Gender Equality’ four-week educational program covering a range of topics such as ‘The History of Women's Rights’, ‘Celebrating Differences’, ‘Women in the Workplace’ and ‘Legislation and the Gender Pay Gap’. Information was shared internally and discussed with the rest of the firm in weekly discussions. In addition, Suman and her team have now held three Women's Talent Academies which are unique mentorship schemes giving undergraduates access to women working within investment consulting with the aim of improving gender diversity in the investment industry, in pensions and at LCP. Suman also sits on the Gender Equality workstream of the Diversity Project and has recently set up a podcast called “Spotlight on Women in Investment” which offers female students a chance to voice their opinions on D&I related topics such as the Imposter Phenomenon and EQ vs IQ.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sherena Masharani

Business Integration Manager
Centrica plc

At Centrica Sherena is the Head of Communications and Engagement for the VOICE Network, a role through which she works to care for all colleagues, including female ethnic minority women. In this role she led the Network’s relaunch, creating a distinct platform as a forum for colleagues to support one another. This included promoting a 'Hidden Figures' event, which focused on allowing female ethnic minority colleagues to be heard across the organisation. Sherena has also brought a fresh perspective to conversations including gender diversity by producing the 'Amplify' newsletter to promote a message of inclusion, share best practices, and encourage readers to engage with the conversation. Sherena helped co-ordinate the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion event for Centrica’s Legal function. This event facilitated the discussion on how the future of the legal industry could be more inclusive, especially for women. This event, featured within industry magazines, committed 14 leading law-firms to initiatives providing more inclusive workplaces for employees.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ankita Gupta

Head, Model Risk Management, Risk technology
Standard Chartered Bank

Following the launch of Standard Chartered Bank's Diversity and Inclusion strategy in 2018, Ankita has continually raised awareness of D&I within the organization through means such as hackathons, virtual trainings, and D&I forums. She founded the Women on Work (WOW) team which aims at supporting teams to improve their gender balance so that they can contribute to the Bank's overall female ratio target, as well as identifying allies, promoting inclusivity, and conducting virtual trainings to address cultural gaps. In addition to her work with WOW, Ankita is one of the mentors for the Bank’s ASCEND program, which aims at creating and enabling a platform for learning, mentoring and coaching in order to nurture future senior female leaders in the Technology and Innovation space. As someone active on both internal and external professional networking sites, Ankita made a LinkedIn video for International Women’s Day 2021 promoting diversity in all its forms.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Vice President
State Street

Marion strongly believes in the power of education and visibility when it comes to making the workplace more inclusive. As Co-Chair of the State Street UK Pride Network and Chair of the Interbank’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, she acts as a role model for LGBT+ women, regularly appearing on panels to discuss the specific issues they face. This has included featuring on the “Corporate activism: the second full-time job” panel organized in the framework of the 2020 EUROUT conference, and the “Inclusivity in the workplace” event organised by Out in Business. She has also been responsible for organizing events herself, for instance featuring women’s stories from the birth of the modern LGBT+ movement at Stonewall to the present day. Marion is also credited for setting up a diversity committee within Interbank, the network of LGBT+ networks for financial services firms in the UK. Tremendous progress has been made in women representation and visibility in the wake of this initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Preeti Singh

IT Audit Assistant Manager
KPMG LLP UK

Preeti was a graduate when she joined the IT's Her Future programme in 2017, an initiative to improve gender diversity at KPMG. As part of the programme, she dedicated herself to driving inclusion for women, both within and outside KPMG. Since 2019, Preeti has led the Juniors workstream which is aimed at younger women outside of KPMG, to help tackle the gender diversity issue within technology. Preeti leads various events for students aged 10-18, such as bespoke primary school technology workshops, insight events with a long-term mentoring scheme and reunion events to ensure that students are kept engaged. Preeti has also supported and promoted the national roll-out of the internal KPMG mentoring for IT audit females. Preeti is an inclusion and diversity ambassador at KPMG, training and advocating existing and new D&I workstreams and supporting IT’s Her Future’s mission, which, in the past 5 years, has seen its efforts result in an increase in female headcount from 26% to 42%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Frances Holmes

Head of Technical Innovation
Thales UK

Working in Engineering, Frances is very aware of the severe under-representation of women in the sector. At Thales she speaks out to advocate for flexible working and for adapting the workplace environment to become truly inclusive for all. Most of Frances’ work in aid of gender diversity and women's inclusion, however, has been done externally through the non-profit she founded, Speak Out Revolution. Speak Out Revolution has a mission to cancel the culture of silence on workplace harassment and bullying. Frances and her team decided that the best solution to these issues was to create the 'Glassdoor' of workplace harassment and bullying: a place to provide insights for individuals to help them navigate the poor systems in place, and to spotlight the challenges faced by different people. The non-profit has now launched their Speak Out Survey and Speak Out Dashboard designed to capture and present data on these behaviors, to raise awareness and drive positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocío Del Mar Cárdenas Coronilla

Associate Technical Services Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable campaign, and managed to teach online workshops this year even with the difficulties presented by the pandemic, to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women. Rocío has also had the opportunity to collaborate externally with other companies, and made an inspirational presentation ‘Hangout’ for people from both Fujitsu and other companies to learn about all the activities she is undertaking. For International Women’s Day this year, Rocío was involved in putting together events including inviting a female Spanish scientist to give a speech to inspire the company’s employees.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jessica Gosling

Senior International Policy Adviser
UK Government

Jessica has used her role as a Diversity and Inclusion ambassador in her directorate to recognize the intersectionality of culture and gender. She was responsible for organizing the rollout to over 400 colleagues across government of the #IAmRemarkable training, a Google initiative that encourages women to speak openly about their accomplishments. She has also supported wider D&I practices by volunteering to be on recruitment panels at all levels, ensuring that a diverse and inclusive culture was being realized within the broader department. Through utilizing a positive, proactive, and solution-focused view, Jessica has also managed to commit to several pro-bono initiatives in her spare time, including launching both Growth & Grace Collective, a global community changing the narrative of upskilling, learning and development, and Gosling & Co., a platform designed to challenge the perceptions faced by under-represented groups around self-promotion, unconscious biases and imposter syndrome.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tamara Makoni

Senior Communications Specialist
Deloitte

As a volunteer member of the Panel & Proposal Promise team at Deloitte, Tamara pushed for all panels and teams to have at least 40% women, 40% men and 20% people from underrepresented groups. For one of the team’s events, Tamara created promotional text and materials and developed the event flow and content, including putting together questions and discussion points for panelists. She also created 'How to' guides, highlighting everyday inclusion actions. Another of Tamara’s D&I efforts this year has been voluntarily delivering Inclusive Leadership labs to senior leaders, involving over 100 attendees to date. During these labs she shares proven approaches to increase gender diversity and inclusion, giving participants time to reflect, share stories and create action plans, and sharing insights with trainers from other geographies so that they can run their own local labs. Since 2018, Tamara has also been leading the public speaking training initiative she co-founded, offering special programs tailored to female colleagues

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Teneeka Mai

Senior Analyst
Oliver Wyman

Teneeka joined Oliver Wyman as Digital specialist in Data and Analytics in 2019 after graduating with a degree in Physics from the University of Oxford. She founded the Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW) Digital group in late 2020, where she leads a team which focuses on three core pillars: development, inspiration and community. To drive these initiatives, she has organised a variety of events including speaker events, networking sessions, discussion groups, and working with the global team on reverse mentoring. The group regularly engages with senior stakeholders and colleagues across the Digital practice, spanning multiple offices across three continents and collaborating with other I&D groups within the firm. Outside of work, Teneeka has an interest in social impact and has volunteered her skills with an organisation that supports other charities to generate operational insight from their existing data. In 2021, she was also recognised as a Rising Star in Digital by WeAreTheCity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kathryn Mattox

Lead Technical Project Manager
Nestle

In 2019, Kathryn re-launched the Nestle USA Women in Engineering (WiE) Network, growing membership and attendance 300% in the first year. She leads a team of nine women with two executive sponsors to organize multiple development and connection events per month. The number of event offerings per year has risen from 1 prior to 2019 to 35 in 2021. Kathryn also led the WiE support of the Nestle Black Employee Associates by launching 10 trainings and listening sessions on allyship over the summer of 2020. In 2021, Kathryn developed an Unconscious Bias and Allyship workshop for the senior leaders of the Nestle USA engineering team. Kathryn’s success with WiE meant her team set the global benchmark on how to create Women in Engineering Employee Resource Groups, and she was invited to present their results to the global Engineering Chiefs. In addition to her other activities Kathryn acts as a one-on-one mentor to multiple WiE members.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Robles

Director of global client development
GroupM I Xaxis

During her time at GroupM, Stephanie has been involved in numerous diversity initiatives. She participated in WPP’s award-winning global female empowerment program Walk the Talk, which has been rolled out to GroupM and WPP globally, and engaged over 10,000 women to increase the number of senior female leaders. Stephanie stayed involved in many diversity programs by being responsible for global communications working together with WPP’s senior leaders. With her gained experience, she rolled out other local initiatives. She co-founded the Future of Work program to drive change by setting up Employee Resource Groups focused on gender, sexuality and ethnicity. The aim was to build better teams, to enrich talent pools, and to create more inclusive and diverse strategies together with clients. Another role Stephanie is committed to is Chair of Gender Equality Network (GEN), where she creates awareness for the gender gap and takes actions accordingly, making sure it’s each and everyone's responsibility to build a gender equal business.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Rose

Head of Salesforce Platform
Centrica

After being an active member of the Centrica Women's Network since 2018, Joanne became Co-Chair from September 2020. One of her focuses is on ensuring an intersectional lens is applied to everything the Network does. For International Women’s Day 2020, the Network commissioned articles from diverse female Centrica employees sharing their experiences, whilst the main event featured a panel of women from different ethnic backgrounds. At a joint event with Centrica’s ethnic minority network, Joanne spoke about the importance of being an ally to BAME women. Other efforts Joanne has undertaken include introducing the Google #IAmRemarkable program in 2020, for which she facilitated workshops for over 180 people, as well as co-drafting and championing the 2021 D&I objectives with key targets cascaded as measures through the Technology directorate. Joanne has served as a main stage speaker at both the London Women of Silicon Roundabout and the Panasonic Toughbook Innovation Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yanique Williams

Technologist & Founder
Young Ambitious One

As a Technologist and the Founder of Young Ambitious One (YAO), a learning and career development company, Yanique also serves as an advocate and mentor for women in business, technology, and entrepreneurship. She is deliberate about creating pathways and opportunities for success that develop and promote women leaders, adopting the motto ‘empowered women, empower women’. The annual women empowerment workshops Yanique and her team co-created, are called ‘Ambitious Women In The Workplace’ and ‘Women At Work’, both have impacted over 1500 attendees in the past four years. The programs aim to accelerate professional and career development, and enhance the technical skills of aspiring diverse women leaders. Several attendees have landed jobs, secured promotions, and started businesses. Yanique specializes in information security and data privacy, over the past five years she has served as a guest instructor and career advisor at several universities, MPACKU.org, and the National Association of Black Accountants’ Eastern Region Student Conference, to co-lead these impactful YAO workshops.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Burns

Senior Manager, Talent Development
London Stock Exchange Group

Jennifer joined LSEG to support Talent Development in the Americas, but quickly stepped forward to offer support to the Women’s Inclusion Network and broader D&I efforts. In 2019 Jennifer established a partnership with the Ellevate Network, securing over 50 memberships for LSEG women in 2020, which allowed them to participate in hundreds of career development events, including cross-company mentoring. Her other biggest achievements have included co-developing a global Breaking the Bias course, which featured women’s stories of bias as course audio recordings; identifying women for executive coaching and leadership development programs, which led to promotions or expanded roles in several instances; and serving as the global Workplace Choice Co-Lead, a role through which she developed flexible working policies with a particular focus on attracting and supporting female talent. After serving as a mentor to several women at LSEG, Jennifer was nominated in 2020 for the Inspirational Mentor of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gunjan Sharma

Client Service Delivery Senior Manager
Accenture India

Gunjan is currently leading a Diversity & Women Retention initiative for Software & Platform client businesses under Accenture India Operations. Her efforts in this role include creating Location Wise Women Retention Champions, to strengthen women’s engagement networks and activities and to engage with high potential women employees expressing their desire to quit; launching a Women Retention Roadmap across all India sites; and creating business-wide visibility around weekly, monthly and year-to-date Diversity and Women Attrition Gap numbers to further create awareness and develop mitigation plans. She has also been engaging with Internal Staffing Teams to find alternate career opportunities for female employees quitting due to relocation or the nature of their work. The other programs Gunjan has driven forward include a mentorship program, a platform to support women employees to speak about their challenges and seek help, and a Women Centric Engagement Survey to empower females employees to voice out their opinions about their experience at work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Patrícia Souza

Senior Consultant
EY

As part of the D&I TaskForce within EY Luxembourg, Patrícia has been working to promote inclusion and equality amongst the workforce. Beginning back in February 2020 with the advent of the Covid pandemic, the TaskForce asked its employees to share their views on D&I. Then on International Women's Day 2021 women within the organization were asked to share the successes they enjoyed throughout their careers. Patrícia is currently involved in the committee organizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, to ensure equal representation and raise awareness of LGBT+ inclusion. She and her team are also organizing a diversity day event, where they will share with their external community the ways they have been supporting companies throughout Europe to move the dial on their inclusion agenda. The TaskForce is also working together with EY’s talent team to prepare D&I metrics and a roadmap to measure their work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aimee Sykes

Business Liaison Manager
UWE Bristol

At the University of the West of England, Aimee’s achievements in promoting gender equality include spending a year as a Co-ordinator for the Women’s Forum, where she implemented and managed their social media. During her tenure, membership almost doubled and event attendance tripled. Aimée facilitated a partnership with the Red Box Project resulting in every campus hosting a donations box. She contributed to UWE's Engineering Our Futures and Inclusivity and Diversity blogs. Aimée hosted sessions at other campuses to ensure a cross-campus approach and organised collaborative events with the Disabled Staff Forum and the Parents’ Network, to promote intersectionality. Aimée founded and manages the Aurora Alumnae Network. Outside of work Aimée wrote articles for the City Girl Magazine, providing careers guidance, leading to the creation of a Careers segment. Aimée spent a year as Head of Communications & Engagement for the Women’s Higher Education Network, where she contributed to a significant increase in social media following and recruited many volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Steinwall

Head of Sales Enablement and Business Management for iShares Canada, BlackRock Asset Management
BlackRock Asset Management

Divya was Chair of the Canadian Chapter of BlackRock's Women's Initiative Network from 2015 to 2020. During this period, network membership grew by 23% overall, with male membership increasing by 83%. Over her tenure Divya placed a deliberate focus on providing educational opportunities to support career advancement. Divya’s primary contributions to the network included piloting a two-year facilitated training program focused on developing important tools in career progression such as building influence, enabling engagement and presenting effectively. She also made sure the network continued to offer virtual programming to support its members over the COVID pandemic, including a three-part wellness series focused on Nutritional and Physical Health while working from home and a session on achieving Financial Wellness. In 2020, Divya piloted a career and personal development program for working mothers called ‘The Sophia Project’, and in 2021 she transitioned to the role of DEI Business Lead for the Canadian office.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maya Welford

Behavioural Finance Specialist
Barclays

Maya is dedicated to having a positive impact on society and championing inclusion. She does this in various ways at work and beyond, such as through her podcast, That's My Name, which focuses on lived experiences of bias related to names and identity, leading LMF Network's Social Mobility programme, and mentoring young people to raise their aspirations. Maya has multiple leadership roles within Barclays' Gender Network, Win. She is Founder and Leader of the Charity Mentoring Programme, one of Win's flagship offerings, which supports the professional development of network members and staff at charities. In 2019, the programme formed 43 mentor partnerships which ran formally for 6 months. This grew to 257 partnerships and 19 charity partners in 2020. The programme has had a positive impact in developing the leadership and coaching skills of over 500 mentors and mentees. Maya also co-leads Win's community-focused committee, which develops campaigns to raise money for charity partners and skills-based volunteering.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Martina Satherlund

Programme Director - Market Data
Fidelity International

Martina co-founded the Fidelity Women in Technology Network so that women in all stages of their career could come together and discuss relevant topics such as STEM, personal branding and women in leadership. She is currently active in setting the strategy and driving the group, including organizing webinar discussions of topics such as personal branding, mentoring and career journeys which have reached thousands of people, and establishing career roundtables in which groups of 15 men and women meet senior female leaders to learn how careers are not linear. The ‘Let's get ready to rumble’ article Martina wrote for WiT addressed the importance of having a gender balance in the Technology sector, and in 2020 she won the network’s Technology award. Since 2017, Martina has actively enlisted both male and female mentors to support women, a scheme which has led to more women progressing to senior roles.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Valerie Henninger

Managing Director
Mindshare

At Mindshare, Valerie has led a number of client campaigns promoting gender diversity and inclusion. In the Chicago office she works to keep the Director level community, which is 80% female, connected through peer mentorship, training opportunities, knowledge sharing, and support. In light of the pandemic and remote working, she launched a monthly series to this effect, keeping Directors across different teams better connected, and uplifting future women leaders across the office. She also personally mentors and guides junior-level women in their careers at the agency, developing and implementing plans to help them succeed. Valerie’s work with General Mills has resulted in programs that drive diversity and women's empowerment across the media industry and society at large. In the past year, her work won in the Multicultural and Social Good categories at the MMA's Smarties, and was shortlisted for the Inclusive Campaign of the Year category at the Festival of Media Global.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shivani Tannu

Analyst, Institutional Sales Fixed Income
JP Morgan Chase

Shivani has recently started a new role at JP Morgan & Chase, coming from an Investment Banking Associate role at Avendus Capital. Shivani goes beyond her everyday work in order to sign up for initiatives to improve gender diversity in investment banking. She has volunteered for every campus recruitment fair and careers fair that Avendus Capital attends, so that she can address some of the concerns that young women have regarding banking as a career and demonstrate that there are women working in these domains. Shivani has also mentored an intern, who was struggling to network as the only female intern at her previous organisation. She had an informal chat and shared some of her workplace experiences to put her mentee at ease, acknowledging the struggles that exist for women within the industry. This year Shivani was selected as an ‘Ambassador of Change’ by Women in Private Equity, a not-for-profit helping to create more opportunities for women and pioneering a platform to transform mindsets in favor of gender diversity in the PE industry.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ngozi Emeagi

Senior Consultant
Powerscourt Group

In her previous role at MS Amlin, Ngozi initiated the first celebration of International Women's Day, organizing for the Chairwomen and Chief People Officer to talk about why the day was so important and what it meant to them, and encouraging others in the organization to do the same. Believing it was important for women to be known for being excellent at their day job as well as for being D&I champions, Ngozi started a women's visibility PR programme to externally promote the work that senior female leaders were doing outside of the D&I area. She also organized a number of journalist meetings with the Chief People Officer in order to actively promote the company’s emerging policies aimed at helping women work more flexibly and encouraging equality in the workplace. In her current position at Powerscourt Group, Ngozi continues to be responsible for addressing gender and diversity issues. She is also currently Vice President of Women in PR.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah is a member of the firm-wide Women's Affinity Group, which plans and hosts a number of events each year to promote leadership training, mentoring, advocacy, and inclusion. As well as being a member of the Hiring Committee and helping to give platforms to diverse women candidates, she also serves, through the firm's formal mentoring program, as a link with new associates, meeting them on a frequent basis in order to ensure their success, and making introductions to partners and other associates. As part of the firm's pro bono program, Sarah has worked with a number of organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Street Law. Externally she is a member of the Junior League, which helps to promote voluntarism, develop women leaders, and inspire people to positively impact the community. Her role in the organization is to help with fundraising, leadership trainings, and other educational and community service events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hannah Farmer

Associate Director
CBRE GWS

Hannah was appointed Co-Chair of the Proud Network at CBRE GWS 12 months ago, and has already grown the network to over 500 members in that time. This year the network is focusing on underrepresented subjects such as trans awareness and allowing conversations to happen in safe spaces , and aspiring to be a role model for employees to come out at work. To help progress this agenda Hannah published an online interview with a male colleague and his trans son, who transitioned female to male. The interview went out to 30,000 employees and represented a huge advancement within the business as something which had never been tackled before. Hannah’s proudest moment so far is hearing the volume of people who have now come out at work, , as well as having three employees who will be transitioning following the education, awareness, and freedom promoted by the Proud Network. Hannah is also involved in the Executive Steering Committee supporting the wider DE&I action plan for CBRE GWS.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sophie Salway

Geomatics Consultant
Shell

Sophie’s achievements as Chair of Shell’s Balance Employee Network have included delivering programs to develop female talent with the overall goal of achieving gender balance. The mentoring scheme had 52 joiners to 5 mentoring circles, and the staff development program resulted in reviews of career development plans of over 60 employees. Sophie’s teams' initiatives to retain female STEM talent included a dedicated session on 'Accelerating Technical Careers’ and two panel sessions on International Women’s Day and International Women in Engineering Day. Likewise, Sophie served as a focal point for female staff after long career breaks in the government 'Return to Work' program. In order to take further steps to transform company culture, Sophie and her team organised the 'Role Model Awards', where 412 staff voted to recognised their D&I Champions, and celebrated International Men's Day, creating 200 information packs on men's health. Collectively these initiatives contributed to Shell's application to become a Times Top 50 Employer for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Namita Singh Thakur

Business Manager
LinkedIn UK

Namita Singh Thakur leads Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions in UK. She is also Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA, co-leading the operations across ten countries in EMEA where LinkedIn has a presence. The ERG's mission to create an inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers whilst being their authentic selves. LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving gender parity across all levels of the organization. Throughout the year and across EMEA, Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her formal involvement in the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys. This has enabled her to help & create impact for women around her.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lillian Bijl

Senior Director, Account Management
FiscalNote

At FiscalNote Lillian co-founded the DEIB Task Force, which, among a number of initiatives, facilitates cross-company discussions around equity and gender diversity in the workplace. As well as actively seeking women candidates for open roles as a hiring manager, Lillian has mentored younger women professionals on career development, supporting two internal promotions. She has also pressed senior leadership to expand the Board of Advisors/Directors to include more women, with the addition of two new female members. Externally, Lillian is a member of the DC Young Leaders Council of Vital Voices, the local chapter of a global organization which invests in the women leaders who are taking on the world's greatest challenges. She also served as a judge on the WE Empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Challenge, assessing applications to help advance participants to the next round in an international competition for funding for women entrepreneurs. Lillian is also a sustaining member of the centre for Feminist Foreign Policy.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aisha Adedeji

Digital Engagement Manager
Barclays Bank

Aisha is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council of Barclays, as well as the Black Professional Forum and the Women’s Inclusion Network. She has hosted various events including ‘Women In Business’ conferences held at the head office of the bank. These events were hosted internally but open to external female entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. The impact of the events on the bank’s reputation and income included on-boarding over 20 new female business clients who were impressed by the offering. Aisha is also part of an initiative titled ‘Ethnically Diverse Founders’, a program launching in 2021 aimed at educating businesses on a variety of things including access to finance, digital engagement and growth. She has pioneered the program to ensure that the selection process includes a 50:50 male to female ratio. Externally Aisha runs a Youtube channel titled ‘The Hustle Table’ which aims to empower young women in their career aspirations.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Dal Pozzo

Performance Leader
KPMG

After joining KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) in 2014, Sarah became the National Co-Chair in 2021. She is also the Chair of the Leeds network, where she drives events covering important but often overlooked topics such as impostor syndrome and the menopause, as well as tackling issues around women's safety. Sarah represents KNOW on the MyLeeds committee which runs events for International Women's Day, International Men's Day and Mental Health Awareness Week. She hosted KPMG's flagship International Women's Day 2021 event which saw over 800 attendees globally. In her Performance Leader role, Sarah actively challenges leadership to consider diversity, leading to the recent promotion of three women to Director roles, where previously there was no female representation. She was also responsible for arranging for KPMG Leeds to support Smart Works, a national charity which helps women to re-enter the workplace after an absence or due to difficult background circumstances by providing clothing, coaching and interview preparation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chidi Onyeche

Associate
Latham & Watkins

Chidi has successfully led Latham's award-winning Black Lawyers Group (BLG) in London for two years. Based on this success and on her track record as an associate, Chidi made history as Latham's youngest affinity group global leader. In this role she has been instrumental in the recruitment, retention and promotion of Black women. Her efforts have included mentoring and training each group of BLG trainees since 2017; hosting events focusing on Black female excellence; assisting in creating safe communities and housing for orphans impacted by the Rwandan genocide; establishing an internal system within the London Women Lawyers Group to nominate exemplary female attorneys for awards; co-founding The Ultimate Guide Group to empower and educate the Black community on careers, finances, wellness and property; and assisting the expansion of Latham’s pro bono partnerships with organisations supporting the Black community, including the Making of Black Britain and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to help individuals impacted by the Windrush scandal.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mamaa Duker

Associate Director, Business Development
WPP

Mamaa has led Roots, WPP's Ethnic and Cultural Diversity employee network since 2019. The group actively amplifies ethnic minority voices within the business, particularly those of ethnic minority women. Mamaa’s work to expand Roots and embed inclusive thinking throughout the global network has led the community to grow by over 400% since 2017, with 160% more agencies participating. In 2020, Roots expanded to Amsterdam and Canada, with ongoing expansions into Australia and Asia. Rallying WPP’s people and leaders to support women in the business through times of distress and grief has been another of Mamaa’s priorities. In response to Sarah Everard's murder, rising Asian hate crimes and India's COVID Crisis, Mamaa built and hosted educational resource libraries and held safe room discussions to encourage judgement-free conversations. She is committed to ensuring female voices are overrepresented both at Roots events and in speaker nominations for WPP townhalls.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Gonzalez Malloy

Investment Associate
Bridgewater Associates

Elena Gonzalez Malloy is an Investment Associate at Bridgewater Associates, a team lead in the group that runs and develops systematic strategies for investing in Commodity Markets and is a founding member of the firm’s Hispanic/Latinx Network. Elena helps advance Bridgewater’s D&I initiatives by working with Bridgewater's investment recruiting team to help engage previously untapped pools of minority talent, with a particular focus on women STEM candidates. She regularly represents Bridgewater at recruiting conferences where she advises on how to prepare for careers in the financial services industry, covering topics like application processes and finding mentorship and how to create immediate impact when starting a new role. Elena has led efforts to examine Bridgewater's investment training program to ensure it was optimal and inclusive for all. Externally Elena is a volunteer with the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs where she helps immigrant members of the Hispanic/ Latinx community through educational programs on their legal rights and available pathways to citizenship.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Alice Kirby

Senior Director, Inventory Accounting
Dollar General Corporation

Mary Alice served as the first President of Dollar General's Women's Professional Network (WPN), one of five Employee Resource Groups that work to leverage differences and build a more inclusive culture consistent with the Company’s mission and core values. The WPN strives to cultivate an inclusive and empowering women's group through networking, leadership, and educational opportunities, as well as partner with national and regional chapters of the Network of Executive Women. Mary Alice also launched ‘Ignite’, a women’s development program designed to boost WPN participants’ career progression and was instrumental in expanding the WPN company-wide. Additionally, Mary Alice promoted support for women in the workplace through an internal #ChoosetoCelebrate campaign during the 2021 Women's History Month, empowering and inspiring women and their allies. She also regularly participates in a mentorship program, providing guidance to upcoming female leaders at Dollar General.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anne Collins

Senior Associate - Dispute Resolution
Clifford Chance LLP

At Clifford Chance Anne is responsible for helping to ensure the firm is targeting pro bono support towards issues that particularly affect women and girls. She jointly led a global team of lawyers on a pro bono project for an international NGO in support of its campaign for the reform of national laws and practices regarding protections against violence and harassment at work. These efforts were significant in promoting engagement across Clifford Chance's global gender parity Accelerate>>>> network. For the past two years Anne has also acted for a not for profit sporting organization which supports women and girls, seeking protection and justice for female players alleging systemic sexual abuse by officials. Last year Anne was a finalist in both the Inspirational Women Awards in the Under 35 category and the Law Works Pro Bono Awards in the Best Contribution as an Individual category.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amandeep Khasriya

Senior Associate / Founder
Moore Barlow / Women Back to Law

As Co-Founder of Moore Barlow's Women in Leadership group, as well as Co-Chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Amandeep played a key role in the firm's application to a gender pilot program run by the Law Society for its Diversity and Inclusion Charter. In the process, she secured senior buy-in; created a 'self-assessment' team; and helped to prepare a submission which involved collecting, analysing and presenting gender diversity data, in addition to researching benchmarking statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Her contribution is now helping the Law Society to develop a final version of the Charter and the firm has since then celebrated a milestone at leadership level, with its equity partner female to male ratio now sitting at 50:50. Outside of Moore Barlow, Amandeep plays an active role as a Committee Member of the Law Society's Women Lawyers Division and as a mentor within the Reignite programme, and has been heavily involved in high-profile projects that promote gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director, Environment, Health & Safety and Sustainability
Dow

Alongside her role as Corporate Director of Environment, Health & Safety and Sustainability, Eunice is actively engaged in the Women's Inclusion Network’s (WIN) +5 program, which matches up-and-coming female employees with potential mentors. For this scheme she has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions including Supply Chain, Purchasing, Commercial, R&D and Manufacturing. Through these engagements, female leaders have successfully been able to position themselves for broader accountability within their current roles as well as for promotions. As the keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, Eunice actively shared her personal experiences throughout her career as an African American woman, wife and business leader. As a result of authentically telling her story, many young female leaders asked Eunice to serve as their mentor for her to coach them through challenging business and personal situations, whilst male leaders in attendance recognized the importance of allyship.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ligia Lima Godoy

Senior Associate (Lawyer)
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Since 2019 Ligia has been one of the three leaders of the Women of the Arbitration and Litigation Team, a support group of 80 whose main purpose is to provide a space of comfort, encouragement and debate about the main challenges that women face within society and the legal business. Besides having conversations where women of different levels of seniority share their personal experiences, Ligia also brings outside guests to speak to the group. She is particularly responsible for coordinating the monthly meetings, suggesting topics of common interest, and inviting speakers who can contribute to the gender diversity and women's inclusion discussion. Since the group was created in 2019, Ligia and her team have noticed a deeper engagement of all associates, including men, and a greater commitment to gender equality within the organization. They have also recognized an increased in the number of female associates hired, now representing more than 50% of the Litigation and Arbitration Team.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Green

Chair and Champion advocate
Sussex EDS and Hypermobility Group

Jane promotes accessibility issues in all areas, including with a gender lens. She believes we need 360-degree insight into accessibility issues, which has been particularly relevant during Covid. Jane designed Covid19 alert cards, free, as all the main charities were in lockdown and unable to help. They now sit on the DHSC. Also online cards so women could be fully included in virtual meetings by offering different means of communicating. Jane founded and Chairs the multi award winning charitable social enterprise and chronic ill/disability group mainly for all women, plus theAutismConnected for autistic/neurodivergent adult women and non-binary, who have historically been left out of any support or belief. The first autistic Trustee for the Social Care Institute for Excellence, sits on the DEI Gender Equality, Diversity Steering and co-production group. Recently, CoChair for the National Institute of Health research, policy lead for autism health training medical students, leads the content on the new hypermobility SchoolToolkit UK and oversees health strategies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Hepworth

Business Manager
LSEG

At LSEG Sarah participates in and promotes all the Women Inspired Network’s internal and external events, ensuring new joiners are connected to this network if they wish to be. During the pandemic and the summer of the Black Lives Matter protests, Sarah and her team swiftly recognized the impact external events were having on Black colleagues and their experience working in the city. They sourced relevant external partners to support coaching and counselling for Black colleagues, and following a successful pilot they have now had approval to develop this into the current Employee Assistance Program, which ensures Black, Asian and other ethnic minority colleagues have a counsellor or coach they can relate to and connect with. In 2020 Sarah facilitated a virtual panel event with LSEG’s COO and the COO of their external partner City Mental Health alliance, where they talked about mental health, race, and Diversity and Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Professor Gerardine Doyle

Associate Dean of the UCD College of Business, Director of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and Professor of Accounting and Taxation
University College of Dublin

As Director of the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Gerardine was responsible for leading the School's first dedicated female recruitment campaign, which is aiming to increase the number of women on MBA and MSc Finance programs up to 40% within three years and 50% within five years. Since 2018, the percentage of women in these programs has already increased from 49% to 54%. As well as creating a new Executive MBA program designed specifically with women in mind, in order to address key barriers including flexibility, confidence and cost, Gerardine also established three new scholarships for women and one new EDI scholarship, the first of its kind in an Irish Business School. Additionally, the Smurfit Women Inspiring More initiative founded by Gerardine was designed to raise awareness of challenges that women face when transitioning from education to a professional environment, and to form a network where these topics can be safely discussed.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Price

Head of client solutions - RPOne
Morson

Samantha is the Founder of the Morson Group Diversity Champions. Her achievements in promoting gender equality include launching a series of reverse mentoring sessions for directors from the company’s population of future female leaders formalizing a partnership with Women in Rail including sponsoring its Big Rail Diversity Challenge and its mentoring program; and extending the group-wide Diversity Champions network to ensure it is gender balanced and includes all under-represented groups. She was also responsible for launching a Women Leaders in Transport network together with telent, Siemens, Crossrail and TfL. Most recently Samantha has introduced an ‘inclusion moment’ for every meeting, put in place plans for inclusive meeting training, and finalized and promoted the BAME Inclusion Report. Her work on gender inclusion within the Morson Group and its client base played a pivotal role in their awards recognition, receiving the accolade for the Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy by the Firm Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lara Byrne

Director, Global Digital Commerce
Fiserv

Lara is Director, Global Digital Commerce and Head of the Women's Impact Network (WIN) in EMEA at Fiserv. She has overseen the launch of WIN in Ireland, the UK and Poland, with Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands launching later this year. Under Lara’s leadership the network is dedicated to building gender equality by empowering, supporting, developing and advancing the careers of women, and cultivating an environment where women are represented at every level and in every corner of Fiserv. Lara’s activities are primarily focused on building a platform for networking and career development; partnering with external organizations to support women-owned businesses; spotlighting topics previously taboo in the workplace like menopause, fertility and maternity; and funding women-specific development programs. Lara has always been passionate about empowering women in her industry and making a difference to women's enjoyment of their work and their belief in their ability to develop, progress and thrive both professionally and personally. WIN provides a forum for women to discuss challenges and share experience without judgement, and to relate to and support one another in a meaningful way. Lara also mentors five associates at Fiserv, with the objective of making an impact on others which lasts even in her absence.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Communications, GroupM and PR & Marketing Director, WPP - Italy
GroupM

Paola is the Operations Director on the Winspire leadership team, a cross-agency WPP Italy local project whose aim is to support female talent into leadership positions, build gender balance, and undertake D&I activities with internal and external audiences and stakeholders. After WPP’s participation in the Female Employment Manifesto, organized by Valore D, Paola mentored through ‘Quick Fix Training: speed mentoring for colleagues to discuss how to become a future leader’. Moreover, Paola was instrumental to organize a series of activities, such as the training program for WPP women carried out with industry player as Facebook Italia and called ‘Fast Forward’, and she implemented a ‘I’m Remarkable’ workshop with Google Italia. Paola has been collaborating with numerous associations within the industry to develop D&I strategy and activities and embedded into the company. Externally, she has been invited to join as speaker to industry events and she has contributed to the ‘Women4Women: Hack your campaign’ bootcamp on digital media, among other initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sabrina Pyneeandy

Project Manager
Aon

At Aon Sabrina is Co-Chair of both the Gender Inclusion Network and the Gender IQ Business Resource Group. She has played a pivotal role in Aon UK's mission to strive for gender parity by running events for International Women's Day, International Men's Day and Non-Binary Day across the UK. As well as developing key D&I goals and initiatives, Sabrina has been working with HR on the gender pay gap and women's issues, particularly women's safety. She has spoken out about men’s rights, toxic masculinity, the andropause and menstrual leave, and has changed the narrative at Aon for non-binary colleagues, including by sharing how this narrative change could benefit clients. Sabrina’s work running the industry-wide Gender Inclusion Network has seen her create a gender strategy from ideation through to execution. She has helped use the network’s position within the sector to offer insightful events and informative content to advocates, allies and mentors.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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René Lumley-Hall

Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

As Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Technology, René has made a tremendous impact so far in her four-year tenure at BNY Mellon, to include hiring and coaching 11 women of varying ethnic, educational and professional backgrounds in support of the firm’s Digital and Product Management efforts. She successfully promoted high performing women on her team, ensuring their compensation was commensurate with their contributions, and has advocated for and mentored women on a formal and informal basis. René also sits on the invitation-only IMPACT Black Leadership Forum (BLF), a group of senior Black leaders across BNY Mellon who serve as catalysts for promoting a diverse and inclusive

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Vice President
Bank of Ireland

Catherine is Co-Chair of the Bank’s Corporate & Markets Gender Balance Network and also Chair of the UK Network where she is involved in managing a number of initiatives, including organising I&D focussed events, whilst engaging with key stakeholders to grow the bank's inclusive culture. As part of International Women's Day, Catherine spearheaded a series of high-impact Women in Business & Finance webinars with a diverse group of industry leading panellists, including female Chairs and CFO’s across the corporate sector, achieving the highest NPS of any bank event. Catherine formally mentors upcoming women within the organisation and is also a UK Representative of the Psychological Safety working group, where she has been developing ideas and taking action to help women feel psychologically safe. Externally, Catherine supports and empowers millennial women through bespoke mentorship and coaching. In 2021, she founded The Women in Business Society, a global membership community providing opportunities for professional females to share knowledge, network & create impactful connections.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs

Lin is a multi-award winning thought leader, keynote speaker, an original thinker in delivering the intersection of diversity, culture and psychology to business. Alongside her Executive Director role at Goldman Sachs, Lin informs management about East Asians’ experiences, led a Lunar New Year event for the Asian Pacific Network, where she delivered the keynote on ‘China – A Personal Journey’, and a ‘What did you hear me say?’ diversity session, where she partnered with senior female clients to drive changes across the industry. She articulates East Asian professionals' experience and leads discussion on Stop Asian Hate and Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She has created ground-breaking talk series such as “If the World listens to China” to inspire vital curiosity about China and the influence it will have, and “How to find your voice” to empower more women. She influences via leadership positions at Diversity Project, UK Chinese Women Connect, and Rising Network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rabi Wilson

Head of Business Case and Benefits – Help to Grow Digital
Department for Business

At the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Rabi initiated and set up working groups to address issues on allyship, women's health, and women's safety including sexual harassment. After developing a program of work to engage colleagues, and in particular men in Senior Leadership positions, to better understand gender equality, the Women Empowered Network saw an increase in membership from allies. Rabi was also responsible for launching 'Allies Hours', which invites a diverse range of speakers to discuss effective allyship to women and individual actions to promote gender equity, in cross-thematic conversations related to women in business and women in STEM amongst others. In 2020, Rabi had strategic oversight of the network’s first interactive 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence across the department. Rabi champions a safe space for awareness-raising discussions focused on women's health, aiming to better equip staff to have honest conversations about conditions that predominantly affect women and the impacts in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Seema Bansal

Partner & Director
Boston Consulting Group

As only the second woman to be recruited into Boston Consulting Group India, Seema pioneered the Women@BCG India program, driving a rigorous agenda from recruiting to retention as well as mentorship and enablement. As the group’s membership has increased, the focus has now evolved into supporting women to aim for larger leadership roles, an objective orchestrated through bold aspiration setting and individually focused mentoring. Today, BCG has over 35% female representation including over 20% at leadership levels - significantly higher than BCG's peer group and directly comparable to the best-in-class in India. Seema is also the Asia Pacific Leader for the Social Impact practice at BCG. This leadership position sees her regularly deliver lectures, host discussions and be a part of senior panels within and outside BCG – inspiring scores of women via these channels. Seema’s biggest focus externally has been on inspiring young female students – to this end she speaks at more than 10 Indian University campuses every year.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gillian Russell

Senior Program Manager, Global Military Affairs
Amazon

Gillian is a Royal Navy veteran and military spouse who joined Amazon three years ago with the objective of increasing military hiring at the company. When she arrived she immediately realized that solely increasing the number of veteran hires would do little to impact diversity, so she instigated specific measures to attract female candidates and those with different backgrounds and education. Working with recruiters and hiring managers, she dispelled myths regarding the perceived lack of transferable skills that military personnel, and their spouses, bring to business. In addition to designing and executing tailored events, some exclusively for women, to ensure that military leavers understood the breadth of roles available at Amazon, Gillian also managed Amazon’s sponsorship of the Women's Army and Navy rugby game at Twickenham in 2018, highlighting the company's commitment to the female military community. In 2020, 33 female veterans joined the company, making up 11% of hires.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bola Adesina

Senior Systems Analyst (Co-Chair, Culture Club network)
LGIM | Legal & General

Bola has worked tirelessly to empower women and ethnic minorities both in the Tech sector and within the workplace. As a member of the C-suite led Women in Technology (WIT) forum, she has represented the company at cross industry events such as the Women of Silicon Roundabout, where networking opportunities are promoted and best practices and insights shared. Her appearances at these events have encouraged other junior women in Tech to stay put and to look to their role model for guidance as they navigate a male-dominated industry. Bola is also Co-Chair of Culture Club (Ethnicity workstream) where she works to ensure an inclusive workplace by collaborating with stakeholders at all levels, gaining buy-in, and aligning D&I initiatives with overall business strategy. Her experiences with Culture Club have led her to mentor and coach other ERG Leads, to build an effective intersectional D&I outcome.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sultana Tafadar

Barrister
No 5 Chambers

Sultana is a human rights, international law and criminal justice barrister. She is the first Chair of the new Religious Discrimination Task Force at the Bar Standards Board, supporting the delivery of the BSB's statutory objectives to improve equality of outcomes for those in the profession. As a hijab wearing female from an ethnic minority background, Sultana has consistently encouraged candidates from diverse backgrounds to enter the legal profession, speaking at dozens of events every year to promote diversity, including at universities and other institutions. Sultana has mentored scores of aspiring barristers throughout her career, most often female mentees from diverse racial, ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. As Chair of the Muslim Lawyers Action Group, Sultana is spearheading a mentoring program for the hiring, retention and progression of minorities in the legal profession, including a new program for increasing the number of Judges and QCs from racial, ethnic and faith minorities, with a particular emphasis on supporting gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nina Ma

Technology, Data & Analytics Senior Associate
PwC

At PwC Nina is an active member of the Midlands' committee and the national communications team of the Gender Balance Network (GBN), where she regularly contributes to the weekly digests and monthly newsletters to talk about gender-related issues. She has organized many successful events to raise awareness of gender equality within the firm and also with clients, including International Women's Day events, Discussion Clubs and Everyday Sexism initiatives. Nina is also part of the Women in Technology, Data & Analytics (WiTDA) team, which aims to create an environment where everyone feels empowered, inspired and supported to bring their authentic self to work. The special initiative she supports within WiTDA helps women at the manager level break the glass ceiling and progress further in their careers. Nina has spoken at many internal and external events and conferences, including for the Diversity Network, Generation Success, Females of the Future and Women in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rebekah Bostan

Director of Research and Insight
InsTech London

Rebekah joined InsTech London in July 2021 having previously worked for almost 15 years for IHS Markit. One of the key features of Rebekah's time at IHS Markit was a focus on proactively seeking out opportunities to progress female talent within the organization, in partnership with HR. During her time at IHS Markit, she mentored senior leadership on issues that predominantly affect women, such as the menopause and flexible working, culminating in the implementation of global awareness programs focused on both those issues and an award from TimeWise in recognition of her efforts. As Chair of Parents@IHSMarkit, Rebekah worked with HR to launch a Global Parental Leave Support program and Global Parental Leave Buddy Scheme. She was also an active mentor for the latter, as well as the Women in Tech program. Additionally, as co-lead of the Innovation Month she was able to facilitate a 50% increase in the representation of female and minority groups in the program over 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Blanch Israel

Managing Director & Partner
BCG

In addition to her role as a partner in the firm’s Consumer practice, Caroline leads Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Women@BCG for BCG Australia & New Zealand. In 2019, BCG Australia moved to equalize leave for all new parents regardless of gender or caregiver status. Under Caroline’s leadership, the program has grown to over 90% participation from eligible staff. Caroline has championed the de-gendering of working parenthood, with 20% of female and 10% of male managers working on flex models. To complement existing Women's and Pride networks, Caroline amplified employee action groups around Culture & Ethnicity, First Nations and Disability Inclusion. They run intersectional programming and affiliation activities such as a ‘True Colours’ storytelling series where diverse individuals are invited to share their lived experiences with colleagues, and a Women@BCG conference with over 150 attendees. Under Caroline’s leadership the local diversity network has more than quadrupled, with over 100 employee champions across 6 engagement pillars driving grassroots change.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Fuller

Customer Journey Developer
NatWest Group

At the NatWest Group Gender Network Lauren has taken on the roles of Strategy Committee Lead, East Regional Lead, and Comms & Marketing Deputy Lead. Her D&I work includes building an internal awards support hub to encourage more women at NatWest to nominate themselves for awards. As a result in 2020 the bank saw an uplift of over 40 women being shortlisted for awards externally. In addition the financial capability program she developed to support women with closing financial gaps helped almost 1000 women with managing their finances, and the Lean In program she launched currently has 13 circles running with 200 people involved. Other programs Lauren has kickstarted include Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative, which involved 31 facilitators delivering workshops to over 400 colleagues in less than three months. As well as being an Inclusion Champion, Lauren was a winner of the bank’s 2021 Amethyst Award for Gender Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

UK Risk Reporting Manager
AXA UK

Caroline chairs the AXA Balance Employee Network, which focuses on gender equality supporting and working families. In 2021, the network released a flexible working hub designed to help employees understand what flexible working arrangements were available; to normalise taking advantage of them; to empower employees to start conversations with managers; and to escalate issues. Caroline also supported the creation and launch of a Women's Wellbeing Hub, to allow men and women across the organisation to understand and engage with the issues faced by women in the workplace, and to provide a supportive resource for women. A 'People Like Me' vlog series was also created, spotlighting those living the life they choose and not letting prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. Later this year, the domestic abuse policy and hub that Caroline has helped to design will go live, with the aim of helping employees to normalise conversations and create a safe environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Candice Tse

Managing Director - US head of Market Strategy within the Strategic Advisory Solutions team in Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Goldman Sachs

Candice is a dedicated manager, mentor, diversity recruiter, and advocate for women, committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment throughout the firm. She developed an investing framework titled ‘EMPOWER the Female Investor’, in order to help women gain confidence in investing and take control of their finances, and she conducted, produced, and published research for the firm on the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on the gender gap. As the Co-Head of the Asian Professionals network, she ensured that the group took an intersectional approach to its programming so it would address issues specific to women within the Asian Community, such as breaking the bamboo ceiling and addressing the model minority myth. Candice also participates in mentorship pods supporting Asian women, promoting their continued development and professional advancement, and strengthening the diversity of Goldman Sach’s talent pipeline. She leads diversity recruiting efforts for the Asset Management Division.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olivia Maguire

Portfolio Manager
J.P. Morgan Asset Management

At J.P. Morgan Asset Management Olivia instituted and chaired EMEA Women on The Move in Asset Management, and EMEA Women on The Move in Fixed Income. The ‘Innovate & Inspire’ conference series she organized for internal and external attendees included ‘Investing in your Connections’ - designed to encourage the building of networks - while ‘Investing in your Future’ highlighted mentoring, ESG, technology and being 'board-ready’. The fourth annual ‘Defining Success’ panel facilitated an opportunity for junior employees to hear from senior female and male leaders, including the CEO, and a parental leave discussion held with male leaders aimed to increase awareness and encourage male take-up. Olivia is a partner for the ‘Male Ambassador Program’, a cohort of 50 senior male Managing Directors committed to being allies for female employees, mentoring young emerging female talent, and encouraging their teams to do the same. Externally Olivia chairs the CFA UK Inclusion & Diversity Committee and is personally committed to various diversity initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yasmine dong

Senior Policy Advisor
department for business energy and industrial strategy (BEIS)

In her role as joint Head of Events, L&D and Volunteers for the Women Empowered Network at BEIS, Yasmine has raised the profile of the Network internally and externally by aligning Gender equality initiatives with departmental strategy and increasing collaboration with cross-government and private sector allies. Throughout the pandemic, Yasmine revamped the Network’s events offer to accommodate new ways of working with a focus on community. This involved creating a bespoke programme called 'Elevenses', which provided safe spaces to discuss challenging issues including Gender pay gap and returning to work while breastfeeding. She also led the Network's delivery of the first 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, where she curated thought-provoking sessions on topics ranging from sexual harassment in the workplace to victims’ safe access to justice. Externally, she provides pro-bono legal advice at the Waterloo Action Centre where she particularly focuses on representing victims of domestic violence and those affected with respect to their legal rights.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jeanette Gitobu

Project Developer
Windlab

In November of 2019, Jeanette joined Windlab as the only Black female Project Developer working on Africa’s first of its kind renewable power project, Meru County Energy Park. The $150 million project is an innovative 90 MW power project that combines wind turbines, solar PV technology, and battery storage capabilities. The multimillion-dollar project involves over 1,700 landowners with approximately 27% of the owners being women who will receive income over the lifetime of the project. Jeanette has successfully worked with senior management to ensure that women empowerment and women led companies are given preferential procurement during feasibility and construction phases, in addition to ensuring that women’s voices will be represented in the Community Trust which is responsible for developing projects in Education, Health, Agriculture, and Access to Clean Water. This year, Jeanette was chosen out of 200 candidates to represent the Kenyan emerging market at this year's Women in Wind Global Leadership program hosted by the Global Wind Energy Council.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikki Jamieson

Transformation Manager
NatWest Group

Currently a Transformation Manager at Natwest Group, Nikki has taken on additional roles to progress the D&I agenda. She is an Inclusion & Gender Champion, Lead for the Intergenerational Workforce, member of the Gender Balanced Steering Group and as LGBT, Disability, Ethnicity & Neurodiversity Ally. She’s coached and mentored many women including Executives, Senior Managers, Software Engineers and Graduates. These experiences led to opportunities to speak “Women in Technology” events, including ‘Neuroscience during Covid-19', and ‘Resilience and Positive Mental Health in Women’. In both the all-female ‘Bereavement Café’, and in a panel looking at ‘Mental Health in Women and the Return to the Office’, Nikki shared her advice and experience of loss. During lockdown, she took two additional female graduates onto her team, coaching them on soft skills and strategies they’ll need to succeed in a complex and largely male environment. Lastly, she is coaching ‘women with Autism’ - having (finally) disclosed she has Aspergers as well as Multiple Sclerosis.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti is a business support manager for the Consumer, Small Business and Wealth Management Technology team. As a decade long advocate for diversity and inclusion, she received Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019. A member of the bank’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women employee network, she was a panelist at their ‘The Power of Your Authentic Voice’ event to inspire women to raise their voice and recruit male allies. She mentors young, diverse female talent through many bank partnerships to encourage their interest in and pursuit of careers in technology. Other efforts to promote gender equity include Dipti: championing the inaugural Chief Operating Office Innovation challenge to continue to promote inclusive workspaces and foster innovation, as well as her involvement in organizing the ‘Courageous Conversation: Coming together against racism’ event cohosted by the Asian Leadership Network, the Black Professional Group, and the Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement at Bank of America.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda Scott

Managing Director
Willis Towers Watson

Amanda is a senior leader at Willis Towers Watson and advises clients on organisational transformation, gender equity, inclusion and diversity, climate, talent management, rewards and leadership. Amanda launched an I&D programme within the firm to drive employee experience and a culture of inclusivity. The programme includes ‘diverse diversity’ to encourage broader thinking about diversity, an educating matters series, promotion coaching, mentoring scheme, diversified hiring processes, recognition, and community impact through a partnership with Inspiring the Future. Amanda is passionate about mental health issues, a gender balanced workforce, environmental, social and governance issues. Amanda founded the mental health charity, Mike’s Mates and sits on the board of Global Women 4 Wellbeing. Amanda regularly publishes industry thought leadership, provides commentary to the UK press and social media and is an active public speaker. Amanda recently led a lecture masterclass series across Europe communicating key issues about the future of work to tens of thousands of delegates.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amrit Teja

Operations Manager, Digital Acceleration
National Grid

Amrit Teja is an Operations Manager in the Digital Acceleration team at National Grid. Over the past eighteen months Amrit has driven the Inclusion agenda within National Grid, was appointed as Co-chair of the Women in National Grid (WiNG) employee resource group and embarked on her current role helping to shape National Grid’s digital future.Co-led by Amrit, WiNG promotes gender equality and the professional development of Women. The diverse Steering Committee spans eight teams delivering projects across the business. The network has 400 members with 650 on Yammer and a further 150 in the Families Group.Whether it’s offering training and development, professional accreditation support, events, networking, mentoring, lean in circles, Allyship or Inclusive Culture; WiNG is a powerhouse network. During the pandemic, working full time and home schooling her children, Amrit ensured the continued success of WiNG and is now excited to focus on future projects around women in science, technology and the green workforce of the future.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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KC Boas

Vice President
BlackRock

KC’s achievements to promote gender equality at BlackRock include founding the Women in RG network; establishing a next generation leadership development program; and placing a focus on bridging the retirement gender savings gap through career development, community building and industry engagement. Over the last few years KC has had the responsibility of leading BlackRock’s global campaign for International Women’s Day, engaging thousands of employees in a gender equality pledge, orchestrating regional events, and curating the firm’s social media presence. She has also spearheaded 23 small-group discussions, which generated more than 1,000 ideas on developing female leaders at BlackRock. In 2021, KC was the inaugural recipient of BlackRock’s DEI Leaders Award, which recognizes employees for their dedication to DEI outside their day job and is awarded based on impact achieved within the firm. Her work on DEI initiatives has also previously won KC the Heart of BlackRock award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending TM and MAM Argentina
HSBC Bank Argentina

For three years (2017-19), Melisa chaired the BALANCE network at HSBC Argentina, engaging over 100 colleagues to drive change towards a gender-balanced, inclusive and equitable workplace. As well, Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating women's economic inclusion and empowerment by way of providing training, networking, mentoring and financial services to female customers. For MAM, Melisa has trained over 100 relationship managers and developed a network of 30 women ambassadors to embed gender perspective in business positions. Up to date, over 2,000 businesswomen and entrepreneurs already signed up as part of MAM community, from which they have free access to an online training program of 21 masterclasses on key business topics, along with mentoring days and networking meetings. Also, from March’21 to date, as part of MAM financial proposal, HSBC disbursed USD 40 million, with lower interest rates, to boost female-owned commercial projects. MAM is certainly changing the way we talk about gender across the financial system.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy

As one of the few high-profile women of color at Oglivy Shelina plays an active role in pushing the company’s D&I agenda, sitting on the Inclusion boards of both Oglivy and WPP. She has served as a panelist next to the WPP CEO and the WPP UK CEO to discuss anti-racism and allyship in an internal WPP-wide 'safe room’. As well as chairing key public and internal sessions, such as industry discussions on unconscious bias and women, Shelina has represented Ogilvy at International Women's Day events. In the past she has hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme, and today she mentors junior talent herself with a focus on women and women of color. In August 2020 Shelina published a children's book called ‘The Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams’, serving to highlight strong female role models. In the same year she received Advertising Week's Future is Female award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alison Kessler

Product Director
IHS Markit

Alison founded Women@Englewood in order to help women at IHS Markit arrive at their full potential; to identify and connect with supporters of women at the firm; and to break barriers in the realm of Diversity and Inclusion. Attendance of the group has now grown to over 50 participants each month, with increased awareness, braver discussions, and a strong enthusiasm for the space to learn. Each meeting intentionally 'shares the mic' with women that might not have visibility, and intersectionality is emphasized through partnerships with other affinity groups. Women@Englewood’s work prompted the publication of gender diversity stats at each level in the company, and led to discussions about the need for systemic changes. In another role as Americas Region Champion for the whole of the Women's Network, Alison has helped collaborate on activities across North and South America, including working on global programming such as the celebrations for International Women’s Day, which over 400 people attended.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leya Teo

Vice President
Edelman

An advocate for coaching, mentorship and learning opportunities, Leya has chaired the Global Women's Equality Network (GWEN) China at Edelman since 2017 - an internal initiative with a mission to continue to foster an environment where women and men of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed in and beyond Edelman. She was Global lead for Mentorship programs, APAC representative at International Women’s Forum (IWF) World Leadership Conference Milan and China Lead for APAC DE&I Council. Amongst the initiatives Leya has launched to engage more than 200 GWEN members was a SHERO Showcase, where strong female leaders in China are invited to Edelman offices to inspire colleagues. Achievements so far include helping Edelman reach 49% gender parity amongst senior leaders compared to 30% three years ago in this region. Leya is named HERoes 100 Women Future Leaders List 2020 and shortlisted in Top 5 for Women Empowerment Awards in China - Outstanding Woman Leader of the Year 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One over two years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, as well as serving on the UK Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Partners forum which pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; running regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rhonda Childress

Business Information Security Officer
IBM in support of Kyndryl

Whilst security organizations typically have 8-12% women, Rhonda's direct reports are 50% women and across the herentire organization 24% of employees are female. Rhonda is the Executive Sponsor of the Women in Security Excelling (WISE) network, which boasts over 400 members, and has been an active mentor to more than 30 women holding various positions throughout IBM, with 50% of these women achieving their primary outcome. Furthermore a third of women recently appointed to the role of Distinguished Engineer, the second highest technical rank, were directly mentored by Rhonda, as were 25% of the women appointed to the highest technical rank of IBM Fellows. Externally, Rhonda mentors girls in a computer class at a high school in Austin, where her positive impact has included successfully encouraging a student to enrol in community college. For the Austin Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, Rhonda serves as Social Media Leader and helps organizes events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, Connections
Anheuser-Busch InBev

As Senior Director of Connections at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), Stephanie is a female leader in a male-dominated industry, one of a select group of female partners at the company. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive space within the beer industry for all. Her efforts to advocate for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry include working with recruiting teams to ensure a minimum of 50% of candidates for new positions on her team are diverse; partnering with external agencies to ensure the teams supporting the organization are diverse; and recruiting on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Stephanie has worked to promote and develop female leaders within the company by providing one-on-one mentoring to six women and hosting informal group mentoring through Women in Beer get-togethers and career panels. She also serves as a ‘Captain’ for the Network of Executive Women within ABI, an educational non-profit committed to advancing all women through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katy Goodrich

Business Manager, Strategic Growth
Adobe

As Global Executive Co-Chair of Women at Adobe, Katy launched the group’s Strategic Pillars within UK&I, including establishing 23 women across tiger teams with a lens on Professional Development, Recruitment, Social Impact, Women's Health and Communications. Each team has set a strategy and KPIs to help move the dial on key indicators of diversity in the business and its leadership. After accepting the Executive Co-Chair role in May this year, Katy has been partnering with stakeholders to advance the mission of women at Adobe globally. Another way Katy has advanced the group’s mission has been through a Women at Adobe Speaker Training, which saw 25 women participate in a three-month training to enhance their skills and gain opportunities for internal networking. Each participant filled out a profile, which were then referred to Adobe’s marketing and communications teams, expressing their interest in participating in future internal and external speaking opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melanie Cook

Vice President, Assistant General Counsel - Employment
Dollar General Corporation

At Dollar General, Melanie is Executive Sponsor of the Women's Professional Network Employee Resource Group (WPN), which aims at empowering female colleagues and allies within the company. She has been instrumental in the company-wide rollout of WPN and has led quarterly events to highlight women and the impact they can make at DG and beyond. Additionally, she has moderated panels including one of male executives who spoke on the significance of being an ally for workplace diversity and another for the company's largest annual internal meeting where board members and senior leaders discussed the importance of female leadership. As well as leading an all-female team, Melanie has served as a mentor to female colleagues and contributes to the formation of the company's Diversity and Inclusion strategy, mission, and goals at quarterly Diversity Champions committee meetings.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Janelle Reiko Sasaki

Director, Brand, Marketing & Communications
EY Japan

Janelle Sasaki leads the strategy and initiatives of EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) for 200 women athletes and entrepreneurs globally, which has received several external recognitions. With her 10-year experience as a gymnast, she addresses the needs of businesses to find diverse talent and women athletes on realizing their leadership potential in the business world. As a well-known expert on gender diversity, Janelle is invited to speak at international events including the American and British embassies in Tokyo. Most recently, as an ally of LGBT+ community, Janelle facilitated a WABN workshop at Pride House Tokyo. Internally, she is a Committee Member of EY’s Women. Fast forward Steering Group. As the group’s leader for Asia-Pacific, Janelle manages campaigns and provides skill-building workshops for high potential female managers. Janelle is a third generation Japanese American. Prior to EY, she served as the D&I Leader for a technology company in Asia-Pacific, where she launched the company-wide D&I strategy and addressed workplace challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

EMEAI Region Purchasing Director
Dow

This year, Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Client Experience Operations Senior Manager
Accenture

Michelle leads Accenture Women’s Network (AWN) of Accenture in the Philippines’ Client Experience Operations. The group’s objective is to make women and women’s advocates feel empowered, connected and valued, something that Michelle pushes for through a number of key initiatives such as the monthly Women’s Talk events, which average between 100 and 150 attendees, and provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences. Other initiatives have so far covered themes around working parents, men championing women, and mental health and wellness. For International Women’s Day 2021 a special Stand Up and Stand Out event was held, which challenged gender misconceptions, and had an attendance of nearly 350 people. Since March 2021, Michelle has also served as a sponsor for the Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative that strives to empower women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments and promote themselves to others, breaking gender-related modesty norms.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marilyn Lin

Interim Head of MuleSoft Global Customer Support.
Salesforce

Having always been an advocate for gender equality, including being the co-founder of Salesforce Women’s Network (the Company’s first ERG), Marilyn recently shifted her DEI focus to address the challenges and struggles faced in the workplace by those who identify as belonging to more than one underrepresented group. Over the last two years she has started shining a spotlight on intersectionality in one-on-one discussions with Executive Leaders at Salesforce, helping them understand the importance of having representation up and down the organization beyond just gender. In light of recent events, Marilyn has shared her experiences of anti-Asian hate as an Asian American woman through company-wide meetings and external events. Both in and outside of Salesforce, Marilyn serves as a mentor and coach to several individuals each year, including former direct reports, and she is often contacted via her social network to share her career journey and to guide women on how to navigate their own career changes.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margaret Gribben

Performance Manager
Irish Life

Margaret leads several gender equity initiatives at Irish Life, including the Women@Work Gender Networking Group, the Women@Work Steering Group and the Female Leader Development Group. She has successfully instigated Gender Balance Targets, winning Board approval for her approach and managing an action plan that not only delivered these targets but exceeded them. Subsequently, Margaret has gone on to create Irish Life’s inaugural Gender Dashboard, which now includes recruitment data, and has authored board papers highlighting the progress made. Her other achievements include raising the engagement and attendance on the company’s flagship Women@Work Programme with 80% of female employees actively participating; leading International Women’s Day company celebrations; working with cognitive diversity assessments to understand leader preferences; introducing group-wide mentoring and reverse mentoring programs; and mainstreaming D&I into Talent Management. All of which has contributed to a substantial increase in the inclusion score within Irish Life’s annual engagement survey.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ramat Tejani

Programme Lead
Amazon Web Services

At Amazon Web Services (AWS) Ramat leads the AWS GetIT education programme in the UK and Ireland. It is designed to inspire young students aged between 12 and 13, especially girls, to consider a career in tech, by challenging them to design an app which could help their school or local community. AWS GetIT simultaneously empowers female talent within the business to build confidence and leadership skills through a 10-month executive speaker training program. The women, known as AWS GetIT ambassadors, go on to use some of the skills they learn to mentor students at the schools involved in the school stream of the AWS GetIT programme. This year Ramat increased the total number of AWS GetIT ambassadors to over 150 women, from across a variety of business units. For Amazon UK’s Black Employee Network, and in collaboration with the Women@AmazonUK, Ramat curated a series of financial wellbeing workshops, after recognizing the importance of financial literacy especially for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Juliana Puntel

Lawyer
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Juliana is a lawyer at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados, an international Law Firm based in Brazil, and part of 4Women, a group that works to boost gender equity and promote women to leadership positions through training, mentoring, and the creation of an increasingly strong and welcoming professional network. In 2016, the 4Women program was named by Chambers and Partners as ‘Best Gender Diversity Initiative’ and in 2019, the same program was recognized by Valor Econômico and Women in Leadership Latin America (WILL) in the ‘Women in Leadership’ category. Juliana is involved in several pro bono initiatives offered by the firm to feminist and women’s organizations in Brazil, such as Instituto Alziras, Instituto AzMina, Me Too Brasil (that is starting in Brazil), Reprograma, Mulher em Construção, Mães na Luta, LeME (Leite Materno na Escola), DIVAM (Debates Integrados pela Valorização e Atendimento das Mulheres), Empodera and Coletivo O Berço. All these projects are focused on women’s rights or offered to vulnerable women. Among them, Juliana contribution to the creation of Casa Sueli Carneiro should be highlighted, since it is an important institution that honors Sueli’s black feminist activism.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Diana Velarde

Delivering Deal Value Director
PwC Mexico

In addition to her commercial role, she is also the Director of the Firm's first D&I Staff Council. As part of her work within the council, she leads the gender inclusion efforts to reduce gaps, stereotypes, and unconscious bias both inside the Firm and within our process, through conversations with senior leaders. She supports women who suffer, or are at risk of suffering, any forms of gender-based violence inside PwC and her communities by providing tools and a support network. Diana co-founded the Deals Women Network (DWN), which promotes networking and skills development for women. To reduce female turnover in the DWN group, she advocates improving existing benefits for working mothers too. Another program she co-founded was Women in Mergers & Acquisitions Consulting. Her involvement in this project includes speaking in online forums focused on inviting female students and graduates to apply to Deals' open positions.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Ozdinec

Senior Technology Strategist, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

Jennifer is BNY Mellon’s Sr. Technology Strategist, Agile Transformation Lead. She has been instrumental in developing the Women in Technology (WIT) brand, serving as the Americas lead and overseeing programming for New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and LATAM. In June 2020, she was recognized as a DEI Champion at BNY Mellon for her efforts launching the #SitWithMe internal campaign, focused on driving awareness of WIT through conversations about global diversity. Most recently, Jennifer organized a virtual mobility event for hiring managers to meet directly with the WIT talent pool to increase diverse hiring and improve the attrition of women technologists at BNY Mellon.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Meliosa O'Caoimh

Country Head - Ireland
Northern Trust

As the Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for driving strategy across the business. Under her leadership the Executive Gender Balance Group (a subset of the executive leadership group focused on ensuring gender parity) have developed a number of programs and interventions to support female development and to remove biases from all levels of the employment lifecycle. As of May 2021, 51.85% of the Irish workforce was female, along with 40.4% of senior leadership. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Meliosa has connected regularly with the firm’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council to share advice on how women can continue to progress their career and network effectively whilst working from home. In addition, recognizing the challenges that diverse women face, Meliosa is driving an initiative via Northern Trust to support refugee and immigrant women who are looking to obtain employment within financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens

Jessica has served in leadership roles in the Citizens Business Resource Group, Women's Impact Network (WIN), since its inception in 2017. From 2019 to 2021 she served as the Chairperson of the group, growing the organization to reach 2,000 members, aligned under the mission to help women advance their careers through professional development and networking opportunities. Jessica also helped initiate the development of the Women in Commercial Banking Group, an internal organization at Citizens that provides networking opportunities and encourages local connections in the Greater Boston area and across Citizens' footprint in North America. Externally, Jessica is involved with the Center for Women and Enterprise, a 501C3 organization that provides education and support to female and minority business owners throughout New England and she is co-chair of the Boston chapter of 50/50 Women on Boards, a global advocacy organization that promotes gender diversity for corporate boards. This year Jessica was named by FinTech Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in FinTech.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Eggerton

Chief Marketing Officer
BigCommerce

As well as serving as the Executive Sponsor of BProud, BigCommerce's Employee Resource Group (ERG) supporting LGTBQ+ employees, Lisa is actively involved in the women's ERG BEmpowered, where she has spoken to the group about the value of diversity and the importance of investing in mentorship and sponsorship relationships. Lisa has also played an integral role in shaping the company's approach to diverse recruiting: she routinely looks for ways to attract more diverse candidates -- one of her first moves at BigCommerces was to have her team remove education requirements where possible for candidates applying to marketing roles, a decision which significantly broadened the pool of qualified candidates. Additionally, Lisa served as a core member of the team that built out the DEI framework for the company. She is a frequent speaker on issues of passion for her. As a parent of a transgender child, she is increasingly involved in organizations that support LGBTQIA teens.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Global Business Development and Marketing Partner
Linklaters

Always hugely passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity at every strand, within Linklaters Claudia acted as global champion for gender and has sponsored internal initiatives and programmes to support female talent. In 2021, Claudia ran for the role of Senior Partner for the Firm, representing an example for women inside and outside her organisation. Claudia is the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, considered by many the largest female business community in the country and the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls, a project launched in Italy with the Ministry of Education. In the past she was President of Valore D, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion. Claudia serves as sponsor, mentor and role model for women and young people and she is often invited to deliver inspirational speeches to support and motivate. In 2020 Claudia published with Il Sole24Ore the book “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues, young women and talent.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Helen Redfern

Group HR director
Kier

As a leader at Kier, Helen has been instrumental in promoting Diversity and Inclusion as a strategic imperative, resulting in full, active support from senior management, who are committed to making a real difference and driving change across the industry. Her achievements in this position have included appointing Kier's first head of D&I; upskilling and mentoring women to encourage career progression; and leading the creation of the Kier Inclusion Network. The Future of Work workstream Helen sponsors aims to drive an agile approach in a historically traditional employer, encouraging more flexibility in working patterns for those with caring responsibilities. As well as chairing the Kier D&I committee, where she helps to steer the agenda at the company while championing employee voices, Helen is also the Executive Sponsor of the firm’s newly created Gender Inclusion Network, and was heavily involved in the introduction of Kier's first D&I audit.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Ofek

Founder
World Crisis Forum (WCF)

Danielle is a tech and social entrepreneur and a champion of inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond. Danielle advocates and supports the recruitment and retention and engagement of a diverse body of talent, mentors colleagues globally and organises company-wide initiatives to drive inclusion. As the founder of WCF she puts the values of DEI at the forefront of any activity and as a constructive value from day1. Outside of WCF, Danielle founded Parliament51, a non-profit organization which inspired the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to publish a statement pushing for gender equality and the alleviation of discrimination in the workplace. Following further guidance from Parliament51 the MFA later published an implementation guide. Danielle is working to ensure that the partner companies of P51 are a model employer for women through the hiring, retention and promotion process, as well as the provision of support on best practices designed to create an inclusive workplace. Danielle hopes that this will pave the way for more companies and other governmental and international organizations to follow their lead and adopt the same approach towards creating an equal and safe working environment for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Founder & CEO ET Solutions, Board/Advisor, Non-Executive Director, Co-Chair UK Government Diversity & Inclusion Board, Military Ambassador
ET Solutions

Emer was very proud to receive an OBE in the recent Queen’s birthday honours for her services to Equality and Diversity. Emer is Co-Chair of Leaders as Change Agents, a UK Government Diversity and Inclusion Board, which represents the FTSE 350 Chair’s and CEO’s as well as the 150 largest privately owned businesses, to lead the change in promoting diversity and inclusion across all businesses. At ET Solutions, Emer leads the Women's Mentor and Sponsorship program. During COVID-19, she allocated time every week to host internal and external calls and workshops.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Mascolo

President Shell Aviation
Shell

Anna is responsible for Shell's global sales of fuels and lubricants to the Aviation industry. Anna ‘s career spans a wide spectrum of leadership roles and she is an inclusive and inspirational leader with international experience. Anna serves as a mentor and has been an active participant to a number of Women’s Networks, she has spoken at events to raise awareness on gender issues and to share her personal experience (most recently at the International Transport Forum during International Women's Day 2021). Anna has had a positive impact on mentees’ next career choices, their chances at promotion and their work-life balance. She has inspired many women within Shell and beyond to be confidence that change is possible. Anna takes pride in leading gender balanced leadership teams and has taken courageous steps to drive gender balance throughout the organisations she has led.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sara Michael

VP & GM, Verywell Health
Dotdash

Sara's main contribution to Diversity and Inclusion at Dotdash has been as the Chair of the Events Committee for the organization’s Women's Council. Sara has helped see this group through its infancy, growing from 30 to nearly 160 members in under two years. One of her roles within the Council has been to lead monthly roundtables on a range of topics relevant to women, including exploring imposter syndrome; the impact of COVID-19 on women in the workplace; how women can better support each other; and a recent panel in collaboration with the Dotdash Pride ERG around family planning, which centered the experience of trans women and folks. As a result, women have been provided with an empowering space to connect, raise their voices, and share experiences. The discussions have established a forum for women's perspectives that wasn't present at Dotdash before, and has helped carve out a meaningful model for DE&I programming across the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Patricia Furtado Alvim

Chief Financial Officer, LATAM
BNY Mellon

As Chief Financial Officer, LATAM, Patricia leads a high-performing team made up of 70% women. Her efforts to further gender equality have included leading the LATAM chapter of BNY Mellon’s Women's Initiatives Network (WIN), as well as serving as a member of the LATAM DEI Council and the DEI Champions Award Council. Patricia has also acted as a mentor for women as part of the Finance Mentoring Program, which supports the development of younger professionals from different regions to include LATAM, EMEA and APAC. Externally, she has represented BNY Mellon in such groups as BE TOGETHER that focus on increasing female inclusion and empowerment in the Brazilian financial

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bo Zhou

Partner & Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Account Management Team
IHS Markit

Partnering with IHS Markit Academy and the Marketing & Communications teams, Bo Zhou initiated the global IHS Markit Academy ‘Women in Leadership’ series. This series invite external female leaders to dialogue with IHS Markit internal female leaders and male advocates. Since its inauguration in December 2020, the series has had over 50 external and internal D&I advocates involved globally. Bo’s other roles include serving as a sponsor of IHS Markit’s internal leadership discussions and initiatives such as mentorship and sponsorship programs. In addition, her position as a woman in one of the top posts at the organization has allowed her to serve as a role model for other women at the firm. This year, Bo has served on the judging panel of the event ‘Kindness and Leadership - 50 Leading Lights in Asia Pacific’, in order to support the broader Diversity and Inclusion conversations happening in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Revell

EMEA Deputy Chair and General Counsel
BNY Mellon

Susan is the EMEA Deputy Chair and General Counsel and serves as the Global Co-Chair of BNY Mellon’s Women's Initiatives Network (WIN) having previously been its EMEA Executive Sponsor. She is responsible for developing and executing the strategy for furthering the WIN mission of advancing female potential. In 2020, Susan initiated the EMEA Business Inclusion Council at BNY Mellon, and she currently sits as its Executive Sponsor and Chair. The council brings together over 30 volunteers to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are at the core of the firm’s talent experience and embedded in all strategies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Dovaston

Partner; co-Chair of Firmwide Diversity Committee
Boies Schiller Flexner

Since joining Boies Schiller Flexner in early 2020, Tracey has played an integral role in bringing inclusion, equity and diversity to the very center of the firm’s business strategy. She has led on multiple initiatives in the past year, including committing BSF to the Law Society Women in Law pledge, which involved setting meaningful and sustainable targets that will address issues relating to gender equality within the firm; committing BSF to the Equal Representation in Arbitration pledge to promote women's appointments as arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis; and developing the BSF women in law video series in order to promote and assist women rising up through the legal profession. In addition to initiating monthly meetings for all BSF women, Tracey has also arranged spotlight panels for women from different backgrounds across the firm to talk about their career aspirations, and has organised fireside chats and presentations with senior female clients and renowned motivational speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alicia Arias

Vice President Wealth Sales
BlackRock

Alicia is Co-Founder of Mujeres en Finanzas, (MEF) the first network of women in the financial industry in Mexico. A non-profit organization with the aim of empowering women to achieve a more diverse, inclusive and equitable Mexican financial sector. Over the past 8 years Alicia, at BlackRock her former employer, led the efforts of Women’s Initiative Network and Allies Network for the Latin America region. In this capacity, she has helped launch numerous initiatives enabling women to advance their careers. The group’s efforts have expanded outside the firm too, connecting with the local community. Last year, through the launch of a sustainable local fund, the business and WIN donated around $1.3 million to a local organization focusing on women’s development, which funded technical training for 250 Mexican women. She is currently pursuing a new adventure in Fin-tech, she believes that through technology more people can experience financial well being.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cassandra Illidge

Vice President, Partnerships
Getty Images

For the last five years, Cassandra has grown Getty Images’ Content Partnership business to add authentic, diverse and inclusive content, so that all communities are accurately represented in the visual content on gettyimages.com. In June last year, as Getty Images grappled with how to address systematic racism in support of the Black community, Cassandra worked tirelessly, taking a leadership role to support employees. She received the Getty Images Leadership Principle Award, nominated under the principles ‘We are inclusive of different voices, perspectives, and experiences’, and ‘We care, are kind, courteous, and respectful’. Cassandra is Co-Chair of Getty Images' first Employee Resource Group, The Multiculture Network which is open to those who are considered a minority based on race or ethnicity within the country they reside. The group was formed last summer as a grassroots effort to build a community of support for those who were impacted by racism or discrimination.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Preferred Lending & National Operations Executive
Bank of America

At work and in her communities, Shim has built an exceptional track record for advancing women’s careers, mentoring and developing women leaders, and working to dismantle the barriers built by unconscious bias. She founded the Preferred and Consumer Banking & Investments Executive Women's Forum in 2020, bringing together senior executive women from across the country, providing them exposure to education, expansion and advancement opportunities. She has served as executive sponsor of the company’s Consumer Banking & Investments Employee Engagement and Inclusion Council, and founded the Consumer Investments Women's Forum where she served as executive sponsor for two years. Widely known for her passion for women’s parity and gender equality, she has addressed global audiences and has served as a keynote speaker at various forums and events to discuss inclusion and women’s empowerment. In 2021, she was named to the “INDIA New England News” List of Outstanding Women and in 2020 to the EMpower/Yahoo Finance Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model List.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cate Luzio

Founder and CEO
Luminary

Cate founded and self-funded Luminary in 2018 with the mission to uplift, upskill, and propel women forward through all phases of their professional journeys. In order to achieve its purpose of gender diversity and women's inclusion, Luminary has led more than 1,500 events, sessions and workshops; built a digital library with over 400 hours of downloadable content; and set up a work and social space in New York, together with a virtual platform, so that members can connect. The company has grown to include more than 2,500 individual members in 36 countries, as well as boasting over 40 corporate members. Luminary also runs a Fellowship Program which supports both women-owned businesses and women impacted by the 'She-cession'. Last year the company acquired Declare, a premier leadership platform for women, and partnered with Bolster, to make it possible for more women to join private boards.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Ward

President
Man GLG

Carol is an active member of Drive, Man GLG’s D&I network; WAM, the Women at Man network; and Pride@Man, the LGBT+ network, which she co-chairs. During 2020 she introduced Man Group to Girls Are INvestors (GAIN), which resulted in the firm supporting their first internship program and a number of colleagues to speaking at their events. As a panelist at Drive's event on leadership, which featured the firm's female COOs, Carol shared insights on what makes a good leader, how to lead teams through difficult times, and the importance of diversity. In 2020 she held a firm-wide virtual talk based on LGBT+ facts and figures which resulted in increased engagement with the internal Pride@Man networking channel. As well as leading the Diversity and Inclusion efforts aimed at hiring, promoting and retaining talented, diverse individuals, Carol also serves as a mentor to two women as part of Man Group's mentorship program, an initiative which aims to develop the talent of high-potential female individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vaishali Rastogi

Global Head- Technology, Media, Telecommunication Practice
Boston Consulting Group

As BCG's Global Leader of TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) Practice, Vaishali is passionate about creating a gender-balanced business world and has been intentional in recruiting and retaining female talent. 25% of her global leadership team, and 25% of TMT Managing Directors and Partners in Asia are female. During Vaishali’s tenure as BCG's Head of Southeast Asia, the number of women hired increased by 40% and the female attrition rate dropped by 10 percentage points. Vaishali is proud to have enabled an environment which allows employees (male and female) to manage their work-life balance, with more women taking up flexible working hours under her leadership. Her position as part of the global Executive Committee at BCG has seen Vaishali mentor senior women across the organization, and in 2018 she formally set up the Women@BCG Sponsorship Program for Southeast Asia, a program in which over 30 senior women have participated in over the last 2 years.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith

In her position as the Global Head of Legal Personnel at Reed Smith, Casey has responsibility for the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program; the Women's Initiative Network; and Recruiting, Retention and Hiring Programs for lawyers and staff. In 2021 she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Meanwhile the Family Support Initiative, which was launched in 2020 to address COVID-19 family challenges, was also enhanced. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns. Of the firm’s partner promotions in 2021, 42% have been women and 22% have been ethnic minorities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aimie Chapple

Chief Executive Capita Experience Division
Capita

As an Executive Committee member at Capita, Aimie takes mentoring seriously, supporting many leaders including the mentoring of women in our organisation. She is co-sponsor of Capita’s wellbeing network and has highlighted topics such as mental health and support through the menopause. In addition to her work for Capita, Aimie also advises start-ups such as TechPixies, a digital learning organisation that helps women to change jobs or start businesses using digital technologies. Aimie has previously been recognised as a Business Woman of the Year 2012 and Kindness & Leadership, 50 Leading Lights from Women of the Future in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner and Co-Head of Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

As a senior woman leading an investing team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Katie organizes a lot of her time and efforts around ensuring that more women will have the opportunity to lead investing businesses in the future. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Asset Management Division Diversity and Inclusion Council, where she has responsibility for substantially improving the diversity of senior hires, and she has been successfully pushing for more diverse representation in the C-Suite and on the boards of companies in Goldman Sachs Asset Management portfolios. Additionally, Katie sits on the Advisory Board of Launch With GS, a $1 billion capital commitment from Goldman Sachs to invest in diverse entrepreneurs and fund managers. Katie is a passionate believer that diverse teams outperform, and has consequently built and led one of the industry’s most gender diverse investing teams: female portfolio managers in the Fundamental Equity group manage 40-50% of assets under management, up from 30% in 2016 and compared to an industry average of 11%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sally Moore

Executive Vice President - Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Alliances
IHS Markit

Sally founded the Women’s Affinity Network at IHS Markit 10 years ago. Her efforts to improve gender equity at the firm include maintaining a 50% female gender balance in the Strategic Alliances business line she manages, in accordance with firm-wide recommended KPIs. The company saw female promotions at VP level rise by 7% in 2020, whilst those at SVP level increased by 3%. As well as participating in Collaborative Mentoring as a partner mentee, Sally has chaired the VP Promotions Committee for the last two years, with a specific focus on equal opportunity promotions. During Sally’s time in her role, IHS Markit has been recognized as a top employer by Mogul, the Human Rights Campaign and Forbes, who included the firm on their list of America’s Best Employers for Women. Outside of IHS Markit, Sally is a member of an informal CEO female leadership group which helps promote gender representation in finance.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible, Inc.

As Executive Sponsor of Women@ Audible, Audible's largest global impact group, Susan has had the opportunity to guide future leaders in their commitment to career development. In addition to the US and London-based chapters, this year the group grew stronger after launching a Berlin-based chapter, Women@Audible EU. In heading up Audible in nine marketplaces outside the US, Susan and her team have been intentional and purposeful with their responsibility as a content creator. In the past year, they established a multi-million dollar fund designed to identify, produce and elevate local, diverse voices. Despite the challenges of producing under COVID-19, every international Audible marketplace delivered highly-rated titles under this initiative. In addition to her work for Audible, Susan is Co-Chair for the NYU Alumni Association's Awards Committee, a role in which she oversaw the implementation of a D&I metric for awards deliberations, and updated the language in materials to take representation into consideration.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsay Pattison

Chief Client Officer
WPP

Lindsay sits on WPP’s Inclusion Council, a body which gives a voice to under-represented groups, advises on appropriate DE&I goals, recommends new systems and strategies and identifies barriers to progress. The group’s impact has included introducing DE&I goals into the annual bonus plans of leaders across WPP, a critical step forward in the push for gender equality at the top of the industry, which is expected to have a ripple effect through all levels of seniority. Lindsay also sits on WPP’s Diversity Review Subcommittee, which set up an alert mechanism for WPP's 100,000+ employees to report harmful stereotyping, and also created the Inclusivity Playbook, a best practice industry guide for marketers. Since 2007 Lindsay mentors between five and ten women annually, and in June 2020 she launched WPP’s inaugural Next Gen Internship Program with a talk on gender equality. The program reached 850 participants, and over 50% of applicants were women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Data & Intelligence, Canada & Latin America
Edelman

A marketing, communications, and media research industry veteran, Catherine oversees research, analytics, and performance & paid media teams that drive business intelligence, activation, and impact. Catherine is passionate about supporting women in the workplace, volunteering as a member of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) global steering committee that helped the firm achieve parity of senior women leaders. Catherine also leads GWEN regionally, promoting events and initiatives across Canada which help women from all backgrounds lead and succeed. In 2021, Catherine volunteered to champion a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative for Edelman’s global Data & Intelligence unit of 400 employees, establishing a new DE&I vision, team, and plan to promote equality across four strategic pillars: Education, Community & Inclusion, Recruitment, and Retention. Catherine is also a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Council Working Group for Women’s Advocacy, bringing the voice and perspectives of women to national policies and advancing the gender equality agenda to drive meaningful action.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Engineering & Environmental

As CEO of Jomas, Roni is committed to ensuring her employees achieve their full potential, and that the company provides an inclusive environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive and excel, irrespective of who they are. She recently set up an internal buddy system, which aims to support new graduates as they build their careers with the company. The system is particularly commended by women who receive mentoring and support by other women who are further along in their careers. Roni also offers herself as a mentor, and has created strict company policies ensuring there is no discrimination and that the recruitment process is not biased. Her other efforts to promote diversity include running events and getting heavily involved in outreach programs. Roni’s approach has resulted in a 40% female workforce at Jomas, in a sector where only 12% of the workforce is female.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lanaya Irvin

Chief Executive Officer
Coqual

Lanaya is the CEO of Coqual, a 17-year-old global think tank that conducts research and advises corporate companies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Coqual’s research aims to bring visibility to the barriers and inequity faced by women and other underrepresented groups in the workplace. A global thought leader, Lanaya promotes gender diversity and inclusion outside of the organization as well. Not only do they serve as co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Advisory Council, they also sit on the Advisory Board of the Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Inclusion, the Board of Directors of Outright Action International and the Board of Lesbians Who Tech. Lanaya’s thought leadership has been featured in Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Marketplace, and Business Insider.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Fleury

Global Vice President of Cloud Services
SAP

As a fierce advocate for equality, Jennifer served until 2020 as the Global head of SAP’s Business Women’s Network, an Employee Resource group, boasting more than 14,000 members and over 85 chapters. She is a member of North America Diversity & Inclusion council and mentor for SAP’s Corporate Social Responsibility pro-bono programs. Jennifer helped foster economic equity for Black-owned businesses and worked to fight poverty and build capabilities with vocational training institutes to skill the youth of Uganda. Her accomplishments in these roles include encouraging children and women in the poorest countries to join STEM; increasing the number of women in leadership roles; and expanding the impact and influence of women across the company. In her current organization, Jennifer has increased female talent from 9% to 23%. Jennifer is also a mentor for the Global Give Back Circle. In this role, she provides at-risk adolescent girls with support to move from a mindset of marginalization, to one of empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

General Manager, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK
HSBC UK Bank PLC

Appointed as HSBC UK’s first female Head of Commercial Banking in 2017, Amanda has initiated a number of gender diversity programmes which have since thrived. This includes the re-design of job adverts to ensure that they now attract both men and women, changing the recruitment process so that there is a requirement for gender-balanced interview panels, and embedding a new practice whereby the shortlist for every senior role includes both male and female candidates. Amanda has also focused on HSBC UK’s Employee Resource Groups, which she considers instrumental in opening up awareness of the issues that impact colleagues and creating a more inclusive workplace. Meanwhile, UK Commercial Banking’s flagship cultural programme continues to promote the benefits of a gender inclusive workforce and the importance of developing colleagues so that they can be at their best and over the last 12 months, more than 100 female colleagues across UK Commercial Banking have achieved promotions

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner EME
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara is a member of Reed Smith’s WinRS Business Inclusion Group. She has chaired two Female Legal Leader roundtables for General Counsel as well as the opening panel of Reed Smith’s 2020 DEI Summit. Tamara is responsible for the firm’s gender pay gap reporting, and in 2019 she made Reed Smith the first UK law firm to voluntarily report its equity partner pay gap. It was also one of the few firms to report that the mean pay for female equity partners was actually greater than for men. As well as serving as an active advocate, mentor, and sponsor for the career advancement of female associates, counsel and partners, Tamara has been instrumental in achieving a 40% female Executive Committee and 50% female representation in Senior Management. Several Reed Smith women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted or winners of female leadership awards including from Rising Star, Citywealth PowerWomen, and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Naina Bhattacharya

Chief Information Security Officer
Danone

Naina is the Chief Information Security Officer at Danone where she is responsible for developing cybersecurity strategy and delivering transformation. She is the co-sponsor of Inclusive Diversity for the IT & Data team and has worked with the CIO, IT Leadership and HR to develop the first-ever transversal strategy for diversity for IT & Data with a strong focus on getting leadership roles to gender parity. For the first time, inclusiveness targets have been a part of the annual leadership team objectives, and an ‘Inclusive Diversity Engine’ is being developed to drive forward this global initiative. Naina is also the winner of the Financial Times, 30% Club and Henley Business School Women in Leadership Award, 2020. Before arriving at Danone, Naina was the founder of the Cybersecurity D&I initiative for EMEA at EY. There, she set up a new network of Diversity Champions in each region for cybersecurity. This work earned her the EY Inspirational Role Model Award in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Seema Bains

Partner & Head of D&I Leadership Group
DWF

Seema is one of just thirteen female partners at the highest tier of DWF, and she is the first person from an ethnic minority to hold this position. Seema is also a Partner Director on DWF's Plc Board. Over the past two years Seema has grown the D&I Leadership Group into a global group with over 50 members across all DWF's offices. She has pioneered D&I best practices, such as the implementation of blind CVs and inclusive hiring training, to increase the recruitment of underrepresented groups. In addition, she has designed and obtained board approval for gender and ethnicity targets for the Plc Board, the Executive Board and the senior leadership team. For her intersectional approach to advancing women's careers, Seema’s gender equality roundtables were recognised by The Times Top 50 Employers for Women report, and in March 2021 she was invited to speak at the United Nations live conference ‘Target Gender Equality, Target Ethnic Diversity’.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Marcil

Managing Director and Senior Partner, Chief Marketing Officer & Global Chair of the Client Team
Boston Consulting Group

In 2000, Sharon became the first ever head of the Boston Consulting Group’s Women's Initiative. Working hand in hand with the firm’s leadership, including the CEO, she set a global ambition for women's inclusion and promotion. This included leading fundamental research regarding why women stayed at BCG and why women left, with the findings resulting in increased training and support for women as well as gender bias coaching for male colleagues. As a consequence of setting clear recruitment and retention targets, and developing a strong female talent pipeline, 23% of the BCG's leadership are now women, with the number of female managing directors and partners growing at three times the rate of male managing directors and partners over the past five years. 2020 marked the 10th year that BCG has retained women and men at equal rates at all career steps in the consulting team.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

UK Managing Director
American Express

As an Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Networks, Charlotte has championed the Company’s ‘Ambition Project’ as a means of raising awareness of the role ambition plays in women's professional success. She has also overseen initiatives including the roll out of self-identification amongst colleagues to help drive I&D changes across the company and the introduction of I&D training to over 5,000 employees in order to combat unconscious bias, As colleagues moved towards working from home during the pandemic, American Express also initiated a range of company-wide internal communications and initiatives intended to support colleagues, particularly those shouldering caring responsibilities during the pandemic. By signing the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, Charlotte pledged American Express’ commitment to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management, a target which was reached this year. Under her leadership American Express has been recognized over the past two years as a top employer by the Financial Times, LinkedIn, Working Families and Glassdoor.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mariquit Corcoran

Group Chief Innovation Officer
Barclays

Mariquit is a Senior Steering Committee Member of the Women in Technology group at Barclays, a group whose aim is to recruit, retain and empower women in technology across the company. In this role, she hosts both large- and small-scale talks and events to inspire the female population across Barclays to progress in their careers, and leads a workstream to identify opportunities for external recognition of female talent at Barclays, including helping leadership identify top candidates. Her representation of WIN externally includes speaking regularly at events where she actively supports efforts at recruiting female talent. Mariquit is also Executive Sponsor for Barclays and Anthemis’ Female Innovators Lab which has a mission to identify female founders at the earliest stage of their journey, provide them with an initial investment, and match them with the resources and mentorship required to bring a business concept to market.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Christiana Riley

Member of the Management Board, and Americas CEO
Deutsche Bank

Christiana is a leader of the Schneider-Lenné Cadre at Deutsche Bank, a group of senior women at the firm who are selected to act as role models, drive cultural change, and help develop diverse talent. Her actions to promote gender equity have included announcing equal parental leave for primary and non-primary caregivers, signing the CEO Action Diversity & Inclusion pledge and the UN Principles of Responsible Banking, and implementing changes in hiring practices with immediate results. In a reflection of the changes Christiana has pushed for, Deutsche Bank's regional graduate intake for this year was 41% female and 10% Black, a 13 and 6 percentage point increase from last year respectively. Deutsche Bank’s other recent D&I efforts include partnering with 11 minority-, woman- and service-disabled veteran-owned underwriters to issue a $750 million D&I bond to help finance the business in the US.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lucy Dimes

Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer
Virgin Money PLC

As a member of Virgin Money’s Balance Network and its Gender Balance Committee, Lucy has participated in numerous internal events, ranging from podcasts to focus groups, deep dives, jams, inclusion events, discussions and panels. In addition to mentoring and coaching a long list of senior women at the company, she has also sponsored female rising star talent across different functions. Her active involvement in promoting diversity has led to the deployment of targets for gender and ethnic minority inclusion on Executive and Business Unit scorecards, as well as several significant internal promotions for talented women, and an external hiring process for ethnically diverse female talent. Outside of Virgin Money, Lucy has been passionately and actively involved in a long list of groups, events and actions addressing gender inequity for over 20 years.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mayra Souza

Global Head of Trade
Solvay SA

Mayra has been part of numerous gender diversity initiatives at Solvay SA. These include Solvay-X, an Employee Resource Group aimed at improving the culture of DEI, by ensuring the company attracts, retains, and enables women; Solvay One Dignity, a program that sets ambitious DEI targets; and the former Women Leaders@Solvay, a group responsible for developing proposals aimed at strengthening the visibility of female talent. Externally, Mayra is the Belgium Leader for the Harvard Kennedy School Women's Network, which aims to enable community building, to advance the understanding of local issues, and support the work of women and gender nonconforming individuals. In February 2021, Mayra hosted a conference on leadership with Solvay’s CEO, in which they discussed the role of women at Solvay and beyond. In addition, Mayra is an instigator at Trade Experettes, a global network with over 200 individuals committed to shining a light on women working in trade, whilst also aiming to empower them to achieve their goals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aisling Ryan

Managing Partner and Global Consulting Principal at The Sustainability Practice
Ogilvy

Since 2020, Aisling has been the Managing Partner of Ogilvy Growth and Innovation’s Sustainability Practice. Alongside this commitment she has been heading WPP’s relationship with the United Nations and acting as the WPP Executive Sponsor for UN Women. For the past year she has led the Ogilvy team in working with UN Women and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop #ActForEqual, the official campaign for the Generation Equality Forum, which brings together cross-sector stakeholders to secure commitments to gender equality. Aisling was also responsible for coordinating the process to make WPP a GEF Commitment Maker, specifically to champion diverse voices in media through technology innovations. Since 2012, she has mentored a number of female CEOs of conservation and climate NGOs and advised them on strategy, communications, fundraising, career development and maximizing their impact. For the past two years she has spoken at the Women in Smart Energy Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Rademaker

Executive Vice President - Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

Jennifer is Executive Sponsor and Co-Developer of a women’s mentoring program at Mastercard which aims at developing junior female talent. Now in its second year and with 2000 participants, the Mastercard Women's Mentoring Series is delivering statistically significant improvements in the retention, promotion, development, and engagement of participating mentees. The men and women who serve as mentors in the program also report higher levels of engagement as a result of their participation. Jennifer also leads work to support the advancement of more senior women at Mastercard, including a drive towards flexible work locations for senior roles. Providing women (and men) with the opportunity to advance without requiring a physical move opens more potential career paths, supporting growth and retention. In addition to these initiatives, Jennifer sponsors and participates in several business resource groups, a women's leadership development series, and a program that readies women for non-profit board seats. Outside of Mastercard she regularly speaks about gender issues at external events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO, HSBC, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
HSBC

Sue is the Lead Executive Sponsor of the D&I Allies Group at HSBC. Through this role she raises the profile of the group’s work and helps to cement an inclusive culture at the bank. In by-monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ townhalls hosted and sponsored by Sue for over 1,200 colleagues, she regularly raises issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, actively encouraging people to discuss and ask challenging questions about gender bias in the workplace. Since 2018 Sue has also been a Global Ambassador for BALANCE, HSBC’s gender diversity Employee Resource Group, made up of over 48,000 members across 20 countries. For International Women’s Day this year she hosted a virtual panel event and wrote an internal thought leadership article about gender equality, sharing her own experiences of trying to climb the executive career ladder in a male dominated sector and highlighting the struggles women still face today.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division, Kantar
Kantar

As part of Kantar's most senior Inclusion and Diversity Steer Committee, Caroline is responsible for ensuring a culture that embraces diversity. In her senior executive leadership team, she has increased senior female representation by over 40%, and tripled ethnic minority representation - including recruiting Kantar's first Black, female C-suite leader in the UK. Caroline is also a senior mentor for Kantar's 'Empowering Growth For Women' Mentorship Program, which sits at the heart of the I&D strategy, supporting and empowering Kantar women across the globe to positively progress in their careers by building a strong, authentic personal brand in the workplace. Caroline also serves as the Global Executive Sponsor of the Pride@Kantar Employee Resource Group, inspiring Kantar’s 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and allies across the globe to flourish at work by embracing and celebrating their individuality. She is also a founding member of Kantar’s 360 Mentorship Program with Special Olympics, supporting people with intellectual disabilities to build successful careers in paid jobs.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melissa Di Donato

CEO
SUSE

Melissa is SUSE’s first female CEO and has driven transformational change for the company since her appointment in August of 2019. In addition to becoming the first woman in the 21st century to take SUSE, a multibillion-euro company public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, representing the largest software IPO in Europe in 2021, Melissa has focused on enhancing SUSE’s inclusive culture. As a passionate supporter of D&I, Melissa created two employee resource groups, the Women in Technology Network and Pride @ SUSE, to foster inclusion at the company. She has also made a concerted effort to increase female representation in leadership positions in addition to focusing on developing and nurturing the growth of SUSE’s employees. Beyond her work as CEO, Melissa is the co-founder of inner wings, a charity she created to help girls aged 6-12 build confidence, to create a world with more determined women, and more gender balanced leadership. She is also the author of three children’s books.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Frances Taplett

Chief People Officer
The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

When the pandemic resulted in childcare and many offices shifting to remote work, Frances realized that working parents would suffer and that working mothers would disproportionately shoulder the burden. Partnering with Bright Horizons and their own clinical testing lab, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard opened a childcare facility for all employees and affiliates. By testing all teachers and parents every three days for Covid-19 they were able to run the childcare center all summer with zero transmission. The fees were heavily subsidized in light of the fact that many parents had other childcare costs they were still paying. In addition to providing flexible working models and a supportive culture to keep women in the workforce throughout the pandemic, the organization has also been looking at promotion decisions and pay equity to ensure that women are not disproportionately impacted. Externally, Frances speaks regularly on the topic of D&I and particularly on women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Global Head of Strategic Investor Group Sales
Standard Chartered Bank

When Souad first joined Standard Chartered Bank she was the first female head of Financial Markets in the UAE. Despite the fact that all her peers and superiors were male, she set herself the aim of increasing the absolute number, as well as the influence, of women at the organization. Souad achieved this goal in part by chairing talent reviews, implementing career sessions, and becoming a mentor to over 25 female colleagues. Her efforts saw the percentage of female MENA Financial Markets promotions rise to a record 54%, and Souad’s suggestions for diverse interview panels and exit interviews when women resign were both implemented globally. Souad is a regular speaker at global events, and often intentionally chooses to use her voice on topics typically considered ‘male’: at SCB’s 2021 CreditConference she moderated an entirely male Islamic Finance panel. Amongst numerous external engagements, Souad serves as a girls’ STEM role model for the non-profit GLAM.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

partner and China chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has long been a leading proponent of diversity including gender diversity in all walks of life. After initiating the process that led to mandatory disclosure of diversity policies by listed companies while serving as the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee in 2009, Teresa recently issued a call for gender quotas for the boards of Hong Kong listed companies. She continues to lobby for mandatory diversity requirements to help accelerate the pace of change. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa is passionate about supporting and developing Freshfields’ colleagues both professionally and personally to maximise their potential. She is also a staunch believer in using one’s influence to bring about positive change, whether as trusted advisors to clients or mentors to colleagues and business partners. Teresa is a co-Chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee, a vice-chair of the IFRS Foundation, a founding member and steering committee member of The 30% Club Hong Kong as well as a member of the advisory board of Women in Law Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead Nayager

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

As the Executive member of Diageo responsible for the design and implementation of the company’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy, Mairéad has been instrumental in driving numerous gender diversity initiatives. Diageo’s 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' ten-year sustainability plan included the bold target of having 50% female representation across leadership positions by 2030. In addition, for the first time the organization’s Long Term Incentive Plan included gender diversity as one of its selected measures, ensuring every senior leader is incentivized to make progress on the D&I agenda. Under Mairéad’s leadership Diageo has also improved the balance of its executive leadership team: whilst eleven years ago, Diageo's Executive Committee was all men, it is now made up of 38% women. In March of this year, Mairéad led the introduction of Menopause Guidelines, which offer strengthened support and flexibility and encourage all employees to build their understanding of how the menopause impacts individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan LaMonica

Chief Human Resource Officer
Citizens

Susan LaMonica is the Chief Human Resources Officer & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and serves on the bank’s executive committee. She is responsible for developing and driving people strategies to further Citizens’ growth plans while working to enact sustainable and systemic change leading the company’s ESG efforts. As the Executive Sponsor of Citizens’ Business Resource Group, Women’s Impact Network, she understands the challenges that exist for female colleagues, customers and community members while advocating for efforts to attract, retain and support women inside and outside of Citizens. She led the development of initiatives aimed at increasing accountability in Citizens’ hiring process and the deployment of programs such as TalentUp which focuses on talent acquisition, reskilling/upskilling, and expanding the talent pipeline. Outside of Citizens, Susan is a board member of Oasis, a non-profit whose mission is to change the lives of women and children by breaking the cycle of poverty.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Debbi Vandeven

Global Chief Creative Officer
VMLY&R

Debbi credits VMLY&R’s 2020 revenue increase in part to the strong female creative teams she has built. In December, she added two female CCOs to her ranks, each charged with leading one of the agency's most important and high- profile accounts, the latest in a long list of senior female appointments she has made. As well as being a champion of creativity and a mentor for women across VMLY&R and the industry, Debbi is proud to serve as a founding member of ‘Time'sUp/Advertising’, leading and paving the road for women in her industry. She consistently drives her teams to create advertising that makes a difference, particularly in the crusade for gender equality, and has been recognized by Ad Age as their 2020 Chief Creative Officer of the Year. She has also featured on Business Insider's 30 Most Creative People in Advertising and Adweek’s Creative 100.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Page

CEO, Aon UK Limited
Aon

Through her position on the Aon Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Julie drives the company’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Her belief in the importance of a diverse workforce is reflected in the gender diversity of her leadership team, which she continues to build upon with senior female appointments, including most recently to the position of Chief Broking Officer. By sponsoring and coaching other female leaders in her team, Julie has supported them to grow and realize their potential, helping them into external roles on the Board of BIBA and the CBI London Committee supported and enabled them to extend their influence across the industry by taking up external roles with business influencing bodies and associations. The implementation of a diversity dashboard based on aggregated, anonymized colleague self-identification data has been a game changer for Aon, allowing the company to identify and improve opportunities for diverse talent. Julie further contributes to these efforts through regular touch points with leaders in the business, introduced to identify and support high potential female talent.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanne Ross

Director of Group Strategy, Corporate Brand & Reputation
Centrica plc

Having too often been the only woman in the room in a male dominated industry, Joanne cares about improving diversity and inclusion, both at Centrica and more generally. Having always admired the great work done by the Centrica’s Women’s Network to support women and drive change, Joanne was delighted when she was asked to become the group’s Executive Sponsor earlier this year. Since then she has taken part in a panel event for International Women's Day as well as participating in the CWN ‘Empower’ series, where she spoke about her own personal career and life journey. Joanne has mentored three women in Centrica over the past three years and has also been a mentee as part of a reverse mentoring programme, from which she learned a lot about the challenges some women face which can hinder their development and career progression. Outside of Centrica Joanne has served as a mentor for the 30% Club and also has been a strong advocate of the importance of mental health awareness and support in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jaine Mwai

Chief Information Officer
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd

Jaine is a champion of diversity within the Standard Chartered Bank in Kenya and also within the Technology Function. In Kenya, she serves as a member (and former Leader) of the Women's Employee Resource Group, a position which has seen her mentor many women throughout the organization resulting in more women being promoted into senior roles. In the last two years she has been active in ensuring her team continues to hold virtual events to enhance career progression and improve colleagues’ wellness and work-life balance. Within SCB’s Technology Function, Jaine has supported increasing African female talent, including championing 12 women from the region to join female leadership programs since 2020. Last year Jaine became the first woman to be voted as East Africa's CIO Of The Year at the 2020 annual CIO100 Symposium and Awards, an accomplishment which served as a major coup for women technologists in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President, Global Communications
Philip Morris International (PMI)

As a long-time advocate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Marian has made smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Notably, she been active in two PMI Employee Resource Groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women's Inspiration Network (WIN). One of her roles within these groups has been hosting and serving as a panelist on several company-wide webcasts devoted to DEI issues, including in November 2020 an EMBRACE Global Inclusive Conversations event ‘Delivering on Race Delivers Results’. At the company's Women Who Lead event, Marian and three other female members of the Senior Management Team discussed their personal journeys, offered advice, and shared their visions for gender equity and diversity. Another means by which Marian promotes the advancement of women in business is through regular local and international bylines, interviews and columns for Forbes and Medium, offering her insights and guidance for the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vivienne Artz

Chief Privacy Officer
London Stock Exchange Group

As Gender Sponsor at Refinitiv, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, Vivienne supports all aspects of the organization’s D&I strategy regarding gender. She has been responsible for leading for Legal & Compliance on the new global Inclusion initiative, and was successful in securing Refinitiv and then LSEG as one of the three HMT Women in Finance Charter sponsors. As well as providing leadership, sponsorship and privacy advice on a new initiative to collect and analyze D&I data globally to enable deliberate interventions, she has also been involved in supporting and speaking at Gender Network events, including contributing to a series of senior leader role model stories for International Women’s Day. Outside of LSEG, Vivienne is an Advisory Board member and ex-CEO of Women in Banking and Finance, a nationwide, not-for-profit organisation connecting, challenging and inspiring individuals and institutions across the industry to increase women's visibility, participation and engagement in financial services at all levels.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Morag Watson

senior vice president digital science and engineering, bp
bp America

Morag is the Executive Sponsor for the bp America Women’s International Network and the global Women in IT Network, as well as serving as a member of the D&I Steering Committee. She mentors numerous women at bp, offering them practical and tangible actions to advance their career progression, and was a key leader in the inspiration and creation of the bp Group Disability Forum, an assistive technology portal providing technologies to increase productivity for workers of all abilities. Morag’s team is one of the most gender diverse in bp, with 50% women in leadership positions and a high percentage of women across the wider team. Morag is a founding member of the Women's Innovation Council and Curated Pathways, which developed a web-based app designed to create an opportunity for students, particularly for young women and minorities, to unleash their potential to pursue careers in STEM and Computer Science.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at MediaCom. These include serving as Executive Sponsor of the Gender Employee Resource Group and serving as a member of the new Global Belonging Council, a diverse mix of senior people from different areas of the business who meet on a regular basis to drive sustainable change in all areas of DE&I. She is also actively involved in the company's Leadership Reverse Mentoring, a program which sees junior employees act as mentors to senior global leaders. On International Women’s Day, Sue hosted a Safe Room discussion, and she has been a frequent participant in, and promoter of, the company’s ongoing learning initiatives around allyship and microaggressions. MediaCom’s work on gender equality has had the result of bringing their gender pay gap down to 3.08% compared to 6.59% a year previously, and against a national average of 15.5%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Lilley

Chief Executive Officer
Federation of Small Businessses

At the Federation of Small Businesses, Julie founded a new cross-organization Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group, which includes both leading staff and a set of elected FSB volunteer members, including female business owners and staff. Last year she created a new full-time EDI Coordinator role, which means that for the first time FSB has a specific person charged with looking after each diversity strand and community, advising the elected board and supporting staff, volunteers and members. Meanwhile Julie has also been building a program of activity across the business which involves collecting data, drawing together what internal reforms are required, and deciding what policy work should be looked at externally. Julie is proud to lead a majority female senior management team, recognizing that this sends the message throughout the organization and beyond that women succeed at FSB, and reach the very top.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmel McKinney OBE

Chairperson and Non Executive Director
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

Carmel drives the gender diversity agenda within the Service. She is also an Equality Commissioner for NI. Carmel spearheads the NIFRS Equality sub Committee which is chaired by her board member colleague who is committed male Ambassador for the Equality Diversity and Inclusion agenda. Carmel's profile as a female role model ,has involved close collaboration with her colleagues and has resulted in NIFRS achieving the Diversity Chartermark and receiving a nomination at the 2021 National Diversity Awards. Carmel has also won numerous accolades nationally internationally for her work as an inspirational female leader who promotes and encourages others to reach their full potential. Her other activities include serving as a member of an internal NIFRS working group, which aims to promote a female pipeline of aspiring leaders through mentoring and coaching. In her capacity as an Ambassador with Women in Business (WIB), she is a volunteer coach and mentor to a number of rising star female entrepreneurs and leaders, and she was recently recognized for her work by winning the 2021 WIB’s Mentor of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marissa Andrada

Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer
Chipotle

Marissa has always prioritized inclusion and fostered a culture of well-being at Chipotle. The listening sessions she conducts across the organization help with understanding how Chipotle could evolve as a company and provide equal opportunities for all. She helped develop its Multicultural ERG called UNIFIED (United Network of Influencers Furthering Inclusion and Ethnic Diversity), is activating a company-wide minority mentorship program, conversing with inspirational speakers for her Real Scoop series, developing partner relationships with aligned mission and values, organizing roundtables, leveraging data for change and ensuring compliance and communication around diversity and inclusion training. Marissa has also spearheaded a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to build a pipeline of diverse talent, and has expanded the debt-free degree program to include a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Paul Quinn College. Marissa was this year named one of Business Insider's Most Innovative HR Leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I) + oversight for Dow Asia Pacific
Dow

Jane leads a diverse global leadership team at Dow, comprised of 30% women. She has used her senior role to set clear expectations about the importance of I&D, emphasizing inclusion as one of the top priorities in the business segment. As Executive Sponsor of the Veterans Network Employee Resource Group she has provided advocacy for Dow's active service members and military veteran population, and in her previous position as Executive Sponsor of the Women's Innovation Network (WIN) she advanced the group’s strategic pillars and conducted town halls globally. Jane’s other speaking engagements have included: a notable keynote speech at the 2019 P.O.W.E.R. Up leadership development conference, co-sponsored by EY and attended by over 200 women; an executive-level industry panel at the March 2019 AFPM International Petrochemical Conference on "How Inclusion Ignites the Workforce in the Petrochemical Industry"; and a company-wide special event, ‘Women and Financial Wellness: Demand More from Your Money’, which she co-hosted.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani MBE, FRSA

Executive Director
Morgan Stanley

Through her leadership on more than a dozen committees internally, Bijna makes impact with a focus on age, gender, ethnicity, race, LGBT, social mobility, mental-health, domestic abuse, intersectionality, empowerment – her effort spans the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Bijna advocates consistently to raise awareness of the Diversity, Equity and & Inclusion (DE&I) agenda and to bridge maturity across different regions in order to obtain consistency in the firm’s approach across the verticals. Forming strong alliances with external partners has been a creative means for Bijna to proactively strengthen awareness and focus across the DE&I umbrella. Externally, to support DE&I strategies, Bijna serves the Boards of The Inclusive Companies Network, Generation Success, Cajigo and Restorative Justice for All. Bijna is featured in the following books: Aspire To (2021), The Ultimate Professional Networker's Guidebook Volume 1 (2019) and Women Kind: Unlocking the power of women supporting women (2018). In 2020, Bijna received an MBE for services to Diversity and Inclusion in Financial Services.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Geraghty

Global Chief Executive Officer
Landor & Fitch

Jane is a member of WPP’s Stella network, which aims at addressing barriers that could prevent women from progressing their careers to senior levels within the Group. As well as founding the Building to Belong community, a group within Landor & Fitch designed to promote an inclusive workforce, Jane is a regular participant in London's 'Design Doula' group, a community of mothers from within the firm’s London-based team. In each of the leadership roles Jane has taken on at Landor and Fitch, she has put mentoring in place to support women across the company, prioritized leadership training for women, and actively sought to redress the gender balance through the active recruitment of female talent. She has also promoted internal and external campaigns to celebrate International Women’s Day. Today there is a gender balance across all levels of the company including within global, regional and local leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Bell

CEO, North America
Aon

As Co-Chair of the Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Jennifer drives the group’s efforts to provide advice, recommendations and accountability for I&D strategy and actions at Aon plc. In her role, Jennifer regularly reports to the newly formed Inclusion & Diversity Sub-Committee of the Aon plc Board. Jennifer’s leadership and commitment to Aon has been instrumental to laying the foundation for the recent announcement of a 50:50 gender balance within the Aon Executive Committee. She has also worked hard to ensure that female representation on her leadership team is higher than average, and she remains connected with Aon’s Business Resource Groups in order to drive equity at all levels of the firm, not just at senior leadership. Over recent years she has mentored a number of female colleagues and clients.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global CEO
VMLY&R Commerce (was formerly Geometry)

Beth’s actions to promote gender equality on behalf of WPP include serving on the firm’s ‘SeeHer’ committee, mentoring across the organization, and sponsoring Black women as part of the Safe Space program. Within VMLY&R, Beth ensures commitment to pro-bono work supporting women-run businesses, and works hand-in-hand with the HR department to ensure that there is always a focus on gender diversity across the hiring and promotion of talent. The World Woman Hour she created, showcasing 60 female stories for one minute each, received millions of views on Facebook Live and You Tube where they aired, whilst VMLY&R’s partnership with Luminary has produced content allowing women to hear from others and learn from their stories. During the pandemic, the organization took a very personalized and flexible approach to work hours and locations, and in doing so achieved its goal of retaining women and talent disproportionately impacted.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lily Xiong

Head of Corporate Solutions Asia Pacific
BlackRock

Sitting in the Talent and Culture Taskforce at BlackRock, Lily has been leading efforts to achieve gender equity for the Asia Pacific region via three key pillars: hiring, developing and retaining talent; developing a culture of female sponsorship at all levels, from early career to executive; and upskilling managers to equip them with essential tools. As an Executive Sponsor for BlackRock’s Analyst Ally and WIN China, Lily sponsors several women’s development and career growth programs. This includes ‘Taking the Stage’, an activity which helps Female Directors and VPs build confidence around public speaking and developing a leadership voice. In 2019, Lily created a program called the WIN Power Hour, which features the most talented and accomplished leaders from across the industry with the aim of forming a roundtable for them to share their industry knowledge and career advice, and how they drive gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer
Compass Group

Since joining Compass in May 2020, Sarah has sponsored and led the activation of a number of programs and interventions to promote gender diversity and women's inclusion. As well as introducing the LBS scholarship for senior executive women in June 2020, she also launched ‘Babies with Love', which helps Compass colleagues celebrate new mothers and also offers support to a childcare charity. The initiative was introduced alongside a new annual maternity leave policy to help new mothers in their first year back after birth. For International Women's Day 2021, Sarah encouraged hundreds of colleagues in 45 countries globally to demonstrate their support of women, publishing the results both internally and externally, and also led a conversation on women’s gynecological health to educate the organization’s leaders at all levels. As an active member of the 30% Club, Sarah this year introduced the network’s mentoring program at Compass.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Gilder

CEO
Colt Technology Services

Keri is CEO of Colt and a champion for inclusion and diversity. On her very first day at Colt, she hosted an event for the women's network, Network 25, and she’s been a strong supporter of the network and its events ever since. Becoming CEO in May 2020, Keri has built Colt’s inclusion and diversity strategy and placed it front and centre. Under her leadership, Colt has launched initiatives such as company-wide inclusivity and bias training, a new mental health and wellbeing policy, and a domestic abuse support policy. The business has signed up to the Race at Work charter and introduced ally training for the LGBTQ+ community. Keri was responsible for forming Colt’s Inclusion and Diversity Council, bringing together all employee groups to drive real change. In 2020, Keri was made Chair of the TM Forum's Diversity and Inclusion Council, a global collaboration project focused on making the telecommunications industry the most diverse and inclusive it can be.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicola Shaw CBE

Executive Director, UK
National Grid PLC

Nicola’s efforts to drive gender equality at National Grid include progressing women into senior roles, including our Electricity division, where women now outnumber men on the executive team. She is an advocate of the Women in National Grid Employee Resource Group, and has championed initiatives including Strategies for Success, a development program helping women navigate the unwritten rules in business, managing the political landscape and maximizing career success; and Lean-In circles where women collaborate to share experiences. In addition, Nicola encourages regular dialog between ERGs and the Executive, participates in diversity lunches to hear directly from women on the challenges of working at National Grid, and is a role model in storytelling sessions for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. Nicola also mentors senior and middle ranking women within the energy and rail industry, and in the police, and also appears regularly on discussion panels and at conferences discussing the merits of diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ana Dutra

Board Director
CME Group

Throughout Ana’s career she has been an advocate, mentor and sponsor for women, immigrants, Latinos, leaders of color and LGBTQ+ people. She was the Board Member Sponsor for the first Women’s Employee Resource Groups at CME, and today sits on the board of the Women Business Collaborative, where she chairs the Women of Boards initiative, the Latino Corporate Directors Association, the Latino Corporate Director Educational Foundation, and the Women’s Empowerment Network. She has previously served on the boards of the International Women's Forum and the Committee of 200, and remains very active in these organizations to this day. Ana is also a frequent speaker on women and DE&I at organizations like the Federal Reserve Bank, Beta Gamma Sigma, Kellogg business School and others. She has published dozens of research-based articles on topics such as women’s empowerment, leadership development, innovation, succession planning, DE&I and culture transformation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Rainbird

Chief Executive
Financial Services Compensation Scheme

As the CEO of FSCS, Caroline sponsors and supports the firm’s work on gender diversity and women's inclusion including the Women@FSCS group and the RISE Women's Development Program. In 2021, FSCS was listed as one of The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women in recognition of the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and was Highly Commended in the FT Adviser Diversity in Finance Awards for Championing Women’s Equality. By signing the Women in Finance Charter, Caroline committed FSCS to promoting greater gender diversity and setting internal targets for progression. The firm exceeded its first target by reaching 60% women at board level this year and 75% at executive level, making the board and the executive team predominantly female for the first time ever. The RISE Women's Development Programme is another FSCS initiative sponsored by Caroline. Now in its second year, the program enables delegates to articulate their strengths and contributions and explore the challenges they face that hold them back.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stephanie von Friedeburg

Senior Vice President, Operations
International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Improving diversity and inclusion has been a top priority for Stephanie throughout her 30-year career at the World Bank Group. A passionate advocate for advancing women in information and technology, Stephanie has founded two global women’s IT networks to further that goal. Under Stephanie’s leadership, IFC has made steady progress in diversifying its workforce at all staff levels, increasing the number of females in managerial and technical roles, and also in boosting the number of female nominee directors on boards where IFC is a shareholder. While she served as IFC’s interim Managing Director and Executive Vice President, the organization appointed Respectful Workplace Advisors and launched the hiring process for IFC’s first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion manager. Stephanie serves as Co-Chair of IFC’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, is an active advisor in IFC’s Sponsorship program, and participates in IFC’s Reverse Mentoring scheme, which has a strong focus on developing millennial staff and boasts 65 percent female participation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Throughout the pandemic, Aviva continued to pay colleagues, regardless of hours worked, supporting parents balancing work with childcare and home-schooling. And, as people return to offices, Danny has championed the female agenda in Aviva and externally; encouraging business to consider the potential future impact of hybrid working on carers and especially women. Aviva’s D&I strategy includes many initiatives supporting women. From its Equal Parental Leave policy and advertising all roles with flexible working to including diversity targets in Executive reward and monthly reporting on gender diversity metrics. Danny sponsors and champions several initiatives including Aviva’s approach to domestic abuse for colleagues and customers, Aviva’s Menopause Support Group, the introduction of the Peppy menopause app for colleagues and their partners, and also its Pride Network. She is a mentor for the 30% Club, and was, until recently the Co-Executive Sponsor of the Aviva Carer’s Community - a global network of predominantly women who support each other to balance working with caring responsibilities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine 'KitKat' Mijares

Head of HR Operations Asia, Manulife
Chairperson

Kitkat considers Gender Diversity and Women's Inclusion as key to achieving any organizations' purpose. In 2015, with leaders from ANZ, Thomson Reuters, HSBC, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank, they established the Women’s Inter-Industry Network (WIN) believing that a much bigger impact could be made if organizations all worked together. Kitkat co-founded this network to foster a corporate industry that would enable and support women’s inclusion and empowerment. The network has grown from 5 organizations in 2015 to over 50 organizations today, and it continues to expand creating an environment where more people will have the opportunity to be involved and take action.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief Human Resource Officer
Unilever

As Chief Human Resource Officer at Unilever, Leena is an executive sponsor on the Global Diversity Board. In this position she has proudly helped the Unilever achieve its goal of a 50:50 gender balance in managerial roles globally, using historical data to set targets for business functions. In partnership with Harvard University, the company has also launched a metric called the Gender Appointment Ratio, to present senior leaders with their gender appointment track record and provoke meaningful conversations about gender biases. Other initiatives sponsored by Leena include MAPS, Unilever’s flagship Maternity and Paternity Support program, which has achieved a 24% reduction in attrition by supporting employees going through the transition to parenthood. Outside of Unilever, Leena sits on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work and on the Leadership Council at the International Centre for Research and Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO, Europe Cluster, Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group plc

Since 2014 Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which has led a pioneering agenda to improve employee rights. The global domestic violence policy the committee launched in 2019 offers affected colleagues HR support, specialist counselling and up to 10 additional days' paid leave, and has been adopted in 27 markets. This year the committee launched a package of support, assistance, training and awareness to help Vodafone employees feel comfortable seeking support when going through the menopause. Serpil is also passionate about increasing the proportion of women in Vodafone's workforce and management, and she has set a target of reaching 40% female leadership by 2025 in the European Cluster countries she manages. In March 2020, Serpil led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative, which saw the company publish groundbreaking research into the lack of racial, gender and age diversity within the technology industry.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

In her role as Chief People Officer at Audible, Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. In April 2021, Anne spoke at the Human Resource Development Virtual Summit and highlighted the large number of women who lost jobs or left the workforce due the pandemic, and the critical need for advocacy and policy to address the problem.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah O'Neill

Partner, Head of UK and Ireland Digital
Oliver Wyman

Deborah is the Executive Sponsor of Oliver Wyman’s Digital Women's Network and, is one of Oliver Wyman’s certified Inclusion and Diversity Champions. She was responsible for leading and sponsoring Oliver Wyman's inclusion in the Tech Talent Charter which resulted in the executive team increasing data collection and monitoring of gender diversity progress, and implementing a targeted female recruitment approach. The flagship sponsorship program Deborah is a sponsor for, Inspiring Leaders, works with employees from historically under-represented communities over 12 months to deliver a leadership spotlight project, and has been successful in helping participants secure promotions. Meanwhile another program led and sponsored by Deborah is Oliver Wyman’s relationship with WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen, which has resulted in the recruitment of more women to the firm through connections made via conferences and awards ceremonies, as well as creating more opportunities for the women on the current team to gain exposure and experience.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and serves as Executive Sponsor of the firm’s Latino Professional Affinity Group. Under her leadership, State Street earned a spot on the ‘Top 10 Companies to Work For’ by Latina Style Magazine. In 2020, Yvonne helped to define the firm’s 10 Actions Addressing Racism and Inequality. In addition to her work for State Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn. Yvonne also serves on the Advisory Board for the Greater Boston Chamber’s Women’s Network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of few women running a major international law firm, and the only British woman currently running a US law Firm. As is reflected in the London office Natasha built from scratch, she cares passionately about equality – the office topped AmLaw’s UK A-List for diversity and female equity partner representation and was named on the 2021 Global Inclusion Index. Diversity is integral to the firm-wide strategy Natasha introduced last year. She has formed a Diversity Council and appointed a dedicated DEI officer and external consultants to ensure cohesion in addressing DEI at the firm, setting firm-wide diversity targets and introducing a budget to ensure these are achieved. Mandatory diversity training for all staff, and bias interrupter training for evaluations and promotion have also been introduced under her leadership. Natasha supports The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for disadvantaged candidates. She has been invited to join the Changemakers Board from September 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tricia Griffith

President and Chief Executive Officer
The Progressive Corporation

When Tricia was the Chief Human Resource Officer at The Progressive Corporation she began focusing on the firm’s D&I efforts through the establishment of several Employee Resource Groups. Fifteen years later, Progressive has nine ERGs deeply embedded in its culture, and Tricia’s commitment to D&I has continued in her new position as CEO. The firm ended 2020 with 45% of its leadership represented by women, as well as having increased the representation of people of color. As an active member of Progressive’s Network of Empowered Women, Tricia works to raise awareness of the unique values women bring and the challenges they may face during their career. Through her position on the board of the Business Roundtable, Tricia actively works with other CEOs to help promote change at a higher level, encouraging leaders in corporate America to step up to the challenge of promoting diversity by providing greater transparency on their diversity metrics.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

Chairwoman & CEO
EY ShinNihon LLC

Since being elected as Chairwoman and CEO at EY ShinNihon in 2019, Masami has accelerated her efforts in developing and appointing female talents and nurturing flexible work system. For example, there are four female board members at EY ShinNihon effective July 2021, making up 25% of the board, compared to 7.6% when Masami first joined in 2016. The firm’s recent people engagement survey has shown that female engagement was up 16 percentage points from 2019. Masami also demonstrated the power of diversity in leadership. On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, she reiterated the importance of being oneself regardless of gender and expressed her genuine commitment to be an ally of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Masami has served as a member of EY Global Diversity and Inclusiveness Steering Committee, using the group as a means of advancing D&I efforts worldwide.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susanne Schaffert, Ph.D.

Global President, Novartis Oncology
Novartis

As an Executive Committee member at Novartis, Susanne is a driver of the company’s goal of gender balance in management by 2023. Steady progress has been made, with women in management at Novartis rising to 45%. As well as serving as a member and sponsor on Resource Groups such as Empowering Women to Impact Novartis (eWIN) and Women in Leadership (WIL), Susanne co-sponsors the firm’s Gender Equality Project and its Disability Equity commitment. In 2020, she joined an eWIN event focussed on 'The Power of Inclusive Leadership', where she shared her perspectives and experiences of inclusion. Earlier this year, she launched the Novartis Switzerland second-generation Healthcare Businesswomen's Association ambassador group, where she encouraged the community to check personal biases, find the courage to speak up, and unlock inner potential through self-awareness and self-belief. Passionate about creating inclusive workplaces, Susanne wants everyone to feel safe, respected, and able to be their true selves.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracy Garrad

CEO
AXA Health

Tracy is the Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion across AXA in the UK and Ireland, and as part of this role she chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Board, which is comprised of senior leaders from across the business. Over the past year successes have included getting AXA UK&I listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, developing and executing an Ethnicity Action Plan, and launching an allyship program which has been engaged with over 2,000 times to date. Additionally, Tracy was able to strengthen senior leadership commitment to D&I by ensuring all leaders have two performance-related D&I objectives, as well as making D&I a quarterly standing agenda item at Executive Committee meetings. To celebrate 2021 International Women's Day, Tracy starred in a global AXA Group panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on gender equality, which was watched by over 3,000 employees across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Annette Rippert

Group Chief Executive - Strategy & Consulting
Accenture

As a Group Chief Executive at Accenture, Annette has sponsored and been closely involved in scaling the company's apprenticeship program to provide under-represented groups access to digital economy jobs. She actively works across the industry to advance Accenture's agenda with key organizations looking to bring change for women in STEM fields. As part of her efforts to take an active role in helping women shape their careers and enlist the support they need to excel in the workplace, Annette introduced Accenture’s 16-week Return to Work program, which assists ‘relaunchers’ with training and an opportunity to sharpen leadership skills as they return to a professional environment. Annette marked Springboard Enterprises' 20th anniversary in October 2020 by honoring four female CEOs for their technological innovation as ‘Women Transforming Industries’. Her ongoing collaboration with Springboard through Accenture Ventures helps advance their mission of accelerating the success of women-led tech businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Canney

Chief People Officer
ServiceNow

Jacqui Canney is Chief People Officer for ServiceNow, the digital workflow company making the world of work, work better for people. Jacqui joined ServiceNow in July 2021 and leads all talent strategies for its rapidly growing global workforce of more than 14,000 employees. Prior to ServiceNow, Jacqui served as the Global Chief People Officer for WPP, a creative transformation company that builds better futures for its clients. In this role, she was responsible for WPP’s global talent organization, making WPP the destination for the industry’s top talent and for leading all aspects of people strategy, rewards, talent management, recruiting, and leadership development and learning. Prior to joining WPP, Jacqui was Walmart's Chief People Officer, where she was responsible for attracting, retaining, and developing talent for one of the world’s largest private employers. Before Walmart, Jacqui worked at Accenture for 25 years where she played a pivotal role in helping support the rapid growth of the business. Jacqui currently serves on the boards of the American Marketing Association and Project Healthy Minds, and on the Board of Trustees at Boston College.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

As the Chief Executive of Fidelity International and Chair of Fidelity’s Global Operating Committee, Anne is responsible for setting the firm’s corporate and strategic initiatives with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, an Enhanced Parental Leave Policy was introduced, allowing secondary carers to take as much paid leave as primary carers regardless of gender, sexual orientation or working location. Another policy provided all employees with caring responsibilities with at least five additional days paid leave per calendar year. In 2020, Fidelity achieved their target of 30% women in global senior management roles and set a new target to achieve 35% women in senior roles by December 2023. Alongside these achievements Anne also piloted a female leadership program which resulted in a direct increase in female recruitment to senior roles in India, and expanded the firm’s successful New Horizon Returnship Program resulting in 23 female returners.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director & Co-Head of US Buyout
The Carlyle Group

Carlyle's Diversity & Inclusion Council launched in 2013 as one of the first groups of its kind in the investment management industry. As well as being a leader on this council, Sandra plays a pivotal role in ensuring at least half of the firm's incoming classes are diverse. In the past year, she led the charge in re-evaluating and refining Carlyle's portfolio board diversity goals, which now includes ensuring that 30% of all directors on the boards of Carlyle portfolio companies are diverse by 2023. As an active leader in Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program, which has had over 800 participants globally within the last four years, Sandra oversees nearly 100 employees, 50% of whom are diverse. She also started Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group to help create inclusive environments that support and encourage women to advance their skills and leadership potential through connection, mentorship, collaboration and discussion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzanne Rich Folsom

Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Philip Morris International (PMI)

In July 2020, Suzanne joined Philip Morris International as its most senior female executive. As an active member of the women's Employee Resource Group (ERG), the Women's Inspiration Network (WIN), she participates in company-wide interactive webcasts to discuss gender equality and integrity in the workplace. At the Women Who Lead conference in March 2021, the first WIN event, Suzanne engaged with employees, sharing her personal journey, advice, and vision. She has also been vocal in her support for gender equality, through PMI’s Leaders of Change website. Suzanne considers it a part of her life’s mission to mentor and sponsor the next generation of women in the workplace, providing opportunities for their own journeys. She has also made a mark on her department, and corporate governance, by hiring female and minority talent to her leadership team, as well as promoting and showcasing the contributions of a diverse team to other senior leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

As CEO of a public company that employees over 2500 people across the globe, Megan is committed to using her platform to shine a light on diversity, equity and inclusion. This year, she has led two major initiatives to help foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. The first was a Pay Parity Action Plan launched in March which closed the pay gap to zero and committed to regular gender pay equity analyses for full pay parity across the organization. The second initiative launched this year was a parental leave policy updated to include additional paid time tailored for both parents, ensuring that new parents can spend quality time with their growing families regardless of gender. In the spring, Criteo hired its first head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to help it build a more robust global strategy, and the organization now has seven active Employee Resource Groups to support its diverse communities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

Group Chief Executive
Bank of Ireland

At the Bank of Ireland Francesca set D&I targets to achieve a 50:50 gender balance in management and leadership appointments by 2021. In 2020 the percentage of women represented in senior appointments was already at 41% and by the second half of the finance year this figure had risen to 47%. Under Francesca’s leaderships a number of initiatives were introduced including a policy whereby colleagues having a baby via a surrogate can take paid leave in line with maternity benefits; a female mentoring pilot to improve the visibility of female talent and support professional development; and the launch of a Recruitment Charter for hiring diverse talent. Additionally, Bank of Ireland is the only Irish bank to proactively publish their Gender Pay Gap Report ahead of legislation for second year running, and during the Covid-19 pandemic colleagues unable to work due to childcare or other caring commitments have continued to receive a full salary.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Osborne Ross

U.S. CEO
Edelman

Lisa’s impressive achievements at Edelman include setting DE&I metrics for all U.S. offices, which resulted in women and people of color making up 48% of Edelman’s senior hires since May 2020. Whilst serving as Edelman’s COO, Lisa achieved her goal of having 50% of senior leadership positions occupied by women by 2020, and her efforts to increase the gender diversity of the Washington D.C. office Executive Committee resulted in a team of 67% women and 33% men, reversing the original balance. As well as serving as a member and advocate of Edelman's internal women's group, GWEN, Lisa mentors and sponsors women at all levels throughout the organization and is considered one of Edelman's top external spokespeople on diversity, including gender diversity. Beyond Edelman, Lisa co-created the E3 Network (Empower, Elevate and Engage) to address the lack of diverse women in the C-suite of communications agencies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia San Pedro

President
SONIC Drive-In

In 2018, Claudia became the first woman and first Latina to serve as President of SONIC Drive-In, a role she is using to foster a culture with more opportunities for diverse talent. Not only does SONIC Drive-In have many women on its leadership team, but there is gender parity at the level of operators and supervisors within individual franchises too. Claudia frequently shares her experiences and insights on D&I with others in the industry, including being featured in Executive Women's Forums (EWF) International, where she shared her journey and the lessons she learned along the way to help inspire other women. In December 2020 she was named the 2020 LATINA Executive of the Year by LATINA Style Inc., in recognition of her leadership, commitment to the community, impact to the company bottom line, and her ability to build an environment where employees are encouraged to succeed and reach their full potential.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Executive Vice Chair
MasterCard

Ann leads Mastercard’s Gender Steering Committee, presiding over D&I initiatives including a Mentoring scheme, Relaunch Your Career program and enhanced gender-neutral parental leave. She is sponsor of Mastercard’s Boards for Impact scheme matching female executives with NFP boards - now extended to black US executives. She champions Girls4Tech, committed to educate 5million girls in STEM by 2025 and Mastercard‘s lead in a $100m early-stage venture fund focused on one female equity holding executive. Ann is active with UN Generation Equality, where Mastercard pledged to reach 25million women-led SMEs by 2025 as part of their drive to include an extra 1billion people into the financial system. Outside Mastercard, Ann is Global Chair of the 30% Club, a campaign in over 20 countries committed to boosting female representation at board/executive level. She is also Chair of Financial Alliance for Women, working with banks/Fintechs on the SHEeconomy. Ann is the lead director of BEIS, the UK government department for enterprise, net zero and innovation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel began her role at Wunderman Thompson by recruiting female talent, and she now proudly leads a gender-balanced Executive Committee. Not only is Wunderman Thompson the only major marketing agency with women in the global CEO, CFO, CMO, and IE&D Officer positions, it is also the first global network to launch an Inclusive Experience Practice, the aim of bringing inclusive design and accessibility to the marketing landscape. Wunderman Thompson also launched the WT Inspire initiative, including a diagnostic tool, the Inspire Score, which ranks the top 100 inspiring brands in the world today. In 2020, further cementing Wunderman Thompson's commitment to inclusion and diversity efforts, Mel hired Ezinne Okoro as Global Chief Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Officer. The same year saw her speak to Meio se Mensagem, a leading Brazilian advertising and media publication, on the network’s actions for diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam

Michele has focussed strongly on improving gender representation in front-line banking jobs whilst driving a holistic inclusive D&I culture. She chaired the D&I Council at Financial Markets Singapore across 40markets and member of country D&I. Under her stewardship, the first Financial Markets LeanIn circle in 2019 was born. The coaching program for 50 female directors to support their journey to become Executive Directors achieved 24% senior leadership in front office from 19% in 2019. Michele’s other achievements include introducing ‘balanced hiring’ for FM early careers program and a balanced interview panel / candidate slate. Financial Markets annual MARC awards recognized male colleagues who are true advocates of female leadership to escalate momentum. Outside of her work at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, Michele has also coached and mentored women on career progression and navigating markets for the Singapore Institute of Management MBA program, and served as an advocate for women on the Executive Committee of the Financial Markets Association SG

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is a passionate supporter of driving gender diversity and inclusion. She strongly supports the creation of a nurturing and sustainable inclusive culture, where differences are acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged, as this will help individuals thrive, support innovation and making the organisation a better workplace.. Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor of HSBC Balance (an Employee Resource Group promoting gender diversity with over 50,000 members across 48 countries) and HSBC Digital Business Services (DBS) on 'Inclusive Culture’. #Inclusive Europe, an Employee Resource Group covering over 10,000 colleagues across 21 countries was also launched in Europe earlier this year. Alongside sponsoring female talent under HSBC’s talent programmes, Terecina also mentors colleagues around the world and participated in various external events in Europe and Asia supporting wider female talent growth in the community.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bina Mehta

Chair, KPMG UK
KPMG LLP

In 2021, Bina made headlines both in the UK and overseas by becoming the first woman to be appointed as Chair of KPMG in the firm's 150-year history. Since taking on the role, she has hosted ‘In Conversation’ sessions with colleagues in multiple networks, including BREATHE (the firm's LGBT network), the African and Caribbean Network and the Muslim Network. Since 2014, Bina has led KPMG's relationship with Women of the Future, ensuring representation from the firm at the annual summit from a diverse group of females across the global network. She was also responsible for initiating KPMG’s first reverse mentoring scheme, which initially focused on junior female staff, but was so successful it was later expanded to include a scheme focused on Black Heritage colleagues too. Last year she was made a Member of the Advisory Group for the Fawcett Society focused on the Pay and Progression of Women of Colour.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kathy Reardon

Executive Vice President - Chief People Officer
Dollar General Corporation

As one of the female executive officers at Dollar General Corporation, Kathy is an active member of the Women's Professional Network (WPN) Employee Resource Group having previously served as its executive sponsor. Serving as chief people officer to the company’s workforce, which is 68% female, Kathy helped to launch a new female leadership program in 2021, participates in lunch and learns with female leaders to share empowering experiences and mentors numerous individuals. Her leadership to advance Dollar General’s diversity and inclusion journey extends throughout the organization and is evidenced by the development of a company allyship guide that helps employees play an active role in creating a more inclusive environment. Thanks to Kathy’s leadership and the Company’s efforts, Dollar General was featured on Professional Women’s Magazine’s list of top LGBTQ+ Friendly Companies in 2020 and was also recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for ongoing workplace inclusive efforts in support of LGBTQIA+ employees in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors
Deloitte

Sharon works closely with Deloitte’s leadership to set and meet ambitious goals for the representation of women in leadership roles. She actively promotes and is a sought-after public speaker on the topics of diversity and inclusion, mental health/wellbeing, and sustainability. Sharon is a vocal advocate for allyship and sponsorship in the workplace, for example through her involvement with Deloitte's Women in the Boardroom report and Deloitte’s global 2021 Pride campaign. In 2019 Sharon sponsored the launch of an internal sponsorship initiative designed to develop the talent pipeline and bring more Deloitte women through to senior leadership positions, and she personally sponsors and mentors a number of women. Sharon champions the activities of a variety of internal networks and groups, for example the Deloitte Brazil Women’s network, the Deloitte UK Neurodiversity network and the Deloitte Global LGBT+ network. She regularly engages with groups of women around the world both at Deloitte and externally to share her experiences, and understand theirs, and encourage them to pursue their career ambitions.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hiltrud Dorothea Werner

Member of the Board of Management
Volkswagen AG

Hiltrud serves as the Member of the Board of Management for Volkswagen AG. She is the Women’s Forum internal Mentor for Future Female Leaders at Volkswagen Management Association. Hiltrud is the Member of Initiative Women into Leadership, Women Leaders Global Forum and Women Corporate Directors. She made a great impact for application of young females to work in the automotive industry and for Volkswagen. She was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Conference. A champion advocate for gender equality in the workplace, Hiltrud is the recipient of "Mentor of the Year’ for advancing the careers of women in Compliance in Germany.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aisling Gannon

Partner, Head of Healthcare
Eversheds Sutherland Ireland

Aisling is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation department at Eversheds Sutherland Ireland and head of the firm’s Healthcare unit. Aisling Chairs Eversheds Sutherland’s CSR Committee and sits on the Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee. She was a member of ESW (now known as Pathways) – the firm’s gender diversity committee. Recently, Aisling was involved in spearheading the adoption of the firm’s Gender Identity in the Workplace policy. Aisling is also a committee member and Director of Irish Women Lawyers Association (IWLA). Seen in various print mediums and a regular speaker on D&I topics, Aisling has passionately advocated for equality in the workplace throughout her career. Aisling is currently shortlisted in the Insurance category of The Women in Business Law Europe Awards 2020. Aisling was delighted to feature on the HERoes Role Model List 2019.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Gomez

Chief Financial Officer
Leo Burnett Group

Accountant by trade, accidental author and Chief Financial Officer of Leo Burnett Group—Anna Gomez’s story is all things inspirational. Originally from the Philippines and mother of three, Anna continuously elevates those around her, pushing for gender diversity inside—and outside—work. At Leo Burnett, Anna is the Executive Sponsor of Shades, an ERG for black colleagues and allies as well as the Executive Sponsor of Sages, an ERG for employees 45+, providing resources essential for colleagues to address challenges of ageism. Outside work, she’s on the Board as Treasurer of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Organization, which provides leadership development opportunities to youth, and a Board Member of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, where she supports the next generation of young women entrepreneurs. Most recently, she was a keynote speaker in the 2020 Illinois CPA Society Young Professionals Leadership Conference.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Reshma Ramachandran

Vice President
Hitachi ABB Power Grids

The Vice President of Hitachi ABB Power grids , based at their headquarters in Switzerland, Reshma is a D&I keynote speaker and a member of the D&I council. As the Head of Engineering, Reshma has increased the number of women on the leadership team significantly and she also serves as the Founding Member of Divershefy. Reshma coaches and mentors several young women in universities that encouraged them to opt for STEM careers and minority ethnic groups to help them advance in their careers. As an advocate for women in STEM, Reshma actively champions the business benefits of employing an effective diversity strategy and has been a voice of change both inside and outside of the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global, CEO
Geometry Global

Beth Ann is the Global CEO of Geometry, WPP’s Creative Commerce agency. Women’s initiatives remain a priority for her. Recently, she expanded WPP’s Stella program to NA recognizing the need for mentorship. Beth Ann is on the board of Geometry’s IE&D Council supporting efforts to globalize programs like WPPRoots to champion greater ethnic and cultural diversity and inclusion. She sponsors high potential talent across the organization. Working with World Woman Founder, Rupa Dash, a program has been conceived to share 60 inspiring leadership stories. Externally, Beth Ann serves on the board of Newhouse at Syracuse University where she mentors and provides a scholarship. Additionally, Beth Ann is on the National Board of Back on My Feet, an organization that uses running to address Homelessness. An advocate in the creative industry, Beth Ann is working to set new models that are fitting of a woman leader and relevant for today's challenging world. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rocki Howard

Operations Director
Resource Solutions

In addition to heading the US region for Resource Solutions, Rocki heads the organization’s Global Diversity Council. She has fostered a culture of inclusion and acceptance through diversifying recruitment, mentoring promising talent and leading initiatives to entrench gender equality in the workplace. Her goal is to create cultures that open diverse career opportunities for bold, brilliant career women and advocate for the promotion of women into leadership and entrepreneurial roles. She has single-handedly launched an online platform for women over 40 to support their personal and professional development. Rocki even hosts a podcast that highlights the accomplishments of women. Over the years, she spoken at numerous events and written dozens of articles that advocate for respect and acknowledgment of women in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Seema Bains

Partner and Head of Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Group
DWF

Seema is the head of DWF’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Group and is 1 of 8 women, and the first ethnic minority to hold the position of a Career Level 1 Partner. Seema has been appointed as a Partner Director on DWF's Plc board with effect from 22 October 2020. Seema has been instrumental in creating an inclusive culture at DWF and promoting gender diversity, and has grown the Leadership Group into a global board, designed trailblazing gender and ethnicity targets across all levels of the business and pioneered D&I best practice to increase the recruitment of a diverse body of talent. Seema serves as a Senior Sponsor to women and BAME professionals and promotes inclusion through industry leading initiatives by the Gender Inclusion Network for Insurance and Women in Hospitality Travel and Leisure. Seema has been quoted in numerous legal and business publications, including the Sunday Times.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Associates (Engineering)

As the CEO and Founder of Jomas Associates (Engineering), and a rare Black woman CEO in the construction industry, Roni is blazing trails for women in business and beyond. She champions diversity and inclusion across the company through strict policies, an unbiased recruitment process and as a mentor to staff members. She also spearheads the D&I campaign across business sectors and the construction industry, sitting on several advisory boards. Named as the Best Consultant & Most Distinguished Winner at the European Women in Construction & Engineering Awards, Roni was the National Lead for Women in STEM at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and is now the Policy Chair for Construction, representing small businesses across the UK, while also promoting the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Liburd MBE

Non Executive Director
Abstract

Sue champions the importance of diversity and inclusion in all that she does. Sue serves as the Non-Executive Director at ABSTRACT where she works in collaboration with the Board of Directors to deliver the gender equality strategy. This work is focused on increasing the numbers of female and minority associates moving into higher positions. With the support of her efforts, 30% of ABSTRACT's ACCELERATE programme delegates have been promoted or seconded into more senior roles, and 34% of delegates have developed wider roles and responsibilities. Sue also serves as the National BAME and Gender Diversity Lead for NHS England Armed Forces Public Patient Voice Advisory Group. She recently curated an annual TEDx Women event in the City of Lincoln, as well as leads senior women in business forums with female business leaders attending from across Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Fostering, advancing and accelerating diversity is core to Natasha’s business strategy and at the heart of the London office of Boies Schiller Flexner, which she built from scratch. Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of few women to head up a major international law firm, and the only UK woman to be running a US law Firm. She has built a UK team with more than 40% female partners and is a supporter of The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for candidates from diverse and under-privileged backgrounds. As part of her strategic vision for the firm, Natasha has appointed a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion officer, introduced a firm-wide diversity budget and targets for female and minority representation in leadership positions. Committed to the development of young female lawyers, Natasha has made a public stand about how firms can bridge the issue of inequality. Externally, Natasha mentors a number of high-flying women looking to return to the workplace. She has also counselled women through discriminatory dismissals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Kamel Hothi OBE

NED & Trustee
TLC Lions

An ex-banker with 40 years’ experience and architect of numerous initiatives, Kamel is a NED for TLC Lions and Trustee to a number of charities and organisations. She chairs the TLC Lions Club in Westminster hosted by UN Chair for women UK, helping over 180 companies to collaborate on Inclusion challenges. Is passionate about mentoring and coaching senior businesswomen across industries and an Ambassador to Alzheimer Society helping reach out across the BAME community and the impact of being a carer. She is an advisor to Her Majesty Queen’s Commonwealth Trust supporting 53 countries to find solution to social problems in particular gender challenges. In 2019, Kamel was invited to Chair the Bloomberg summit round table with UN Women in Mumbai and is a regular speaker globally on gender and inclusion. Kamel was awarded an OBE for diversity across banking in 2017

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Canney

Global Chief People Officer
WPP

As WPP’s Global Chief People Officer, Jacqui is responsible for the company’s global talent organization and making WPP the destination for the industry’s top talent. Passionate about inclusivity and diversity, Jacqui is creating an integrated talent team that will work with leaders throughout WPP to help build a culture that empowers people to do their best work. She serves on WPP’s Executive Committee and is the Chair of WPP’s Charity Committee. Jacqui is a Board member of the American Marketing Association, and she is active in organizations at her alma mater, including the Council for Women of Boston College and the Boston College Women in Business Network. Throughout her career, Jacqui has driven large-scale, people-centered business transformations and she is motivated by the journey to workplace inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claire Dykta

Head of UK Strategy
National Grid

Claire is a member of the Senior Challenge Group for Women in National Grid and a strong advocate of gender diversity both within and outside the organization, Claire’s primary objective is to help individuals, who are relatively early in their career, identify their aspirations and work at an organizational level to remove barriers to progression and help them succeed. In 2019, Claire introduced a series of external speakers within her organization to provide relatable role models and inspiration to early-career women. She coaches and mentors women inside and outside the organization and is currently establishing an industry wide network to provide support, inspiration and role models to early career women. In addition, she is regularly invited as a role model herself to networking sessions tackling issues regarding equality. Claire has assisted people in gaining confidence to apply for and secure promotions and identify avenues to success within their organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairéad Nayager

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Mairéad leads Diageo’s I&D strategy which has seen Diageo exceed its 2020 target for women in leadership roles and rank first on the Equileap Gender Equality Index. Today, 50% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women. In 2019 Mairead spearheaded an ambitious parental leave policy, offering all female employees globally six months fully paid maternity leave and offering the same benefit to men in a majority of markets. Since launch, the average number of paternity leave days taken by men increased from 23 to 105. Diageo is working to increase the number of women in STEM roles through apprenticeships, returnships and a scholarship at Herriot Watt University for female brewers, distillers, and mechanical engineers. Mairead is Diageo’s Executive Sponsor for race, and supports Spirited Women, Diageo’s gender equality employee group. She is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at events focused on gender equality in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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May Tai

Managing Partner, Asia
Herbert Smith Freehills

May is the first woman to become Asia Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehill, leading a team of approximately 600 people across nine offices in Asia. She is the partner sponsor of the Gender Equity Matters (GEM) Network and plays an integral part in creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment at her firm, and promoting and protecting individual rights in Hong Kong. May represented Herbert Smith Freehills’ Hong Kong office to sign the Fair Hiring Pledge, encouraging employees in Hong Kong to hire domestic workers fairly. Under May’s leadership, the firm signed a government-led Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation in 2018. This code was to facilitate self-regulation on the part of employers to eliminate the discriminatory practices. In addition to this, May has been teaching “International Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific region” at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Head of National Operations & Northeast Division
Bank of America

Shim is a role model for women par excellence! At work and in her communities, she has built an exceptional track record for advancing women’s careers, and mentoring and developing women leaders. She serves as executive sponsor of the company’s Consumer Banking & Investments Employee Engagement and Inclusion Council. Widely known for her passion for women’s parity, she has addressed global audiences and has served as a keynote speaker at various forums, panels and events to discuss inclusion and women’s empowerment. She is a tireless promoter of gender equality, and is committed to dismantling perceptions and barriers built by unconscious bias. In 2020, she was named to the “INDIA New England News” List of Outstanding Women and to the EMpower/Yahoo Finance Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model List that honors global leaders who are champions for diversity and inclusion in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cristina Palmaka

President of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean region
SAP Brasil Ltda.

Cristina is an Ambassador of the Employee Network Group and Member of the Business Women Network (BWN) and Black Employee Network (BEN) at SAP Brasil. Under Cristina’s guidance, SAP reinforced the importance of their inclusive employee network models and the number of women at the firm has grown to 35% in two years. As well as being a seasoned panelist and speaker, Cristina is a Board Member of Arcos Dorados and Junior Achievement and is a passionate advocate for women and their professional advancement across industries.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jo Whitfield

Co-op Food CEO
Co-op

The CEO at Co-op, Jo champions women's inclusion and gender diversity through colleague networks. Jo served as the Aspire Executive sponsor which is a community of colleagues who believe that all women in Co-op have a right to equality. Recently she has become the new Respect Executive sponsor which support LGBT+ workers at the Co-op. Jo founded the Grocery Girls Network, a trailblazing initiative bringing women together to share experiences, career journeys and inspiration. Jo serves as the Ambassador of Girls Out Loud, a non-profit organization focusing on developing young female talent. Moreover, Jo is the member of Women’s Business and Manchester International Festival. In 2019, Jo was awarded Veuve Clicquot Business Women of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Ofek

Founder
Genddex

Danielle is the Founder of GenddeX, and champions gender inclusion in the workplace and beyond. She has created and developed new accelerator programs for minorities to enhance their great ideas advancement and works to implement and measure gender equality in work through tailored recruitment, retention and promotion. Danielle founded WCF (World Crisis Forum), a non-political community of global-leaders who gather to identify solutions to global critical challenges operating in the spirit of inclusion, equality and diversity, and she serves at the IVLP- Leadership Program Alumni of the U.S. Department of State. In addition, she is an advisor at the Ministry of Science and Technology to promote women in science. Danielle is Co-Founder at GreenOn Startup encouraging the usage of green transportation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tea Colaianni

Senior Independent Director
Watches of Switzerland

Tea is also the Founder and Chair of WiHTL - Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure. Tea’s approach towards D&I includes conducting research, supporting industry collaborations and sharing, and creating tangible action to root inclusion as a core principle within businesses across hospitality, travel and leisure. Tea has implemented cross-company mentoring programmes for women with over 300 participants, a reverse mentoring programme, and in 2020, Tea launched and chairs the Race and Ethnicity in HTL Committee made up of 28 leaders with 57% from a BAME background. The Committee focuses on the creation of best practices, tools, webinars content as well as raising awareness and improving educational programmes. Tea's work is making a positive difference to 2 million people across the industry, and is building great momentum to achieve WiHTL's mission to positively impact 5 million women and people from ethnic minorities across hospitality, travel and leisure by 2025. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Isabelle Roux-Chenu

Group Head of Commercial & Contract Management, Senior Advisor to the Group Chairman
CAPGEMINI

Isabelle is the Founder and Worldwide Lead of Women@Capgemini with the objective to enhance gender balance and accelerate business. Passionate about inclusion and fostering innovation, Isabelle is a regular speaker on gender balance issues. She has appeared on podcasts, spoke at the Global Summit for Women in Switzerland and the US to talk about gender pay gap and share tips for negotiations of salaries and promotions. Isabelle was also speaker at the 4th Annual Women in leadership Global Summit (2018) in London to discuss how to promote gender balance in the workplace. She is an active member of the EDGE Foundation, the Global Summit of Women, Women in Leadership Europe and Will India and is committed to playing an active role in driving the change for inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix

Chief Executive Officer, UK Savings and Retirement
Aviva

Lindsey is one of the most senior females in the UK Savings and Retirement industry and is a pioneer in making a profound difference to the careers of women. Lindsey recently established the Commercial Leadership Initiative to broaden the opportunities for women within Aviva, by setting up two smaller businesses within her teams to enable women to experience the full breadth of running a business at an earlier stage in their career. Lindsey is an experienced mentor and has mentored over 20 women during the last 5 years; most notably as a lead mentor for the Aviva Women in Leadership Programme which strengthens the learning and development pathway for high potential women. Lindsey is also passionate about creating the right environment for women to prosper and is a lead voice on the Mid-Life MOT campaign externally, which supports over 45s with their work, wealth and wellbeing.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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KiKyeong Lee

Head, Distribution Network & PB Segment
Standard Chartered Bank Korea

KiKyeong is a champion for Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s Gender Team, Chair of the Bank’s Female Talents Academy and Chair of the Female Network. Through her work she has advocated for inclusion by fostering women talent, creating an environment conducive to a work-home balance and has raised the profile of the importance of gender equality within the organization’s culture. KiKyeong sponsored the ScaleUp Program of KVBWA, providing career development for 40 start-up women CEOs. KiKyeong serves as the Coach of Mentoring at the Graduate School of International Studies Yanbian University for women students and is a speaker at mentoring program 'youth to work', which is led by "Future Makers', SCB's social contribution activities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mariquit Corcoran

Head of Barclays Ventures US and Global Rise FinTech Platform
Barclays

Mariquit is an active and vocal champion for firm-sponsored initiatives focused on D&I.  She is on the Senior Steering Committee for Women in Technology (WiT) and is focused on recruiting and retaining women talent in technology at Barclays. In addition to organizing company-wide events, Mariquit launched the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis, a new program based in New York which invests in early stage companies led by women and is aimed at helping female entrepreneurs launch new companies.  She takes part in fireside chats and mentoring for Encore, a 12-week fellowship programme aimed at helping professionals who have taken career breaks return to work. She has been featured in numerous internal and external communications featuring her work to drive greater diversity.  Her work within Barclays and extensive public profile has significantly increased inclusion within the firm and beyond. Recognized in NYC FinTech Women’s Inspiring Females of 2019, keynote speaker for the 2020 WeAreTechWomen global conference and recipient of the Jes Staley CEO Award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda McKay

Quality & Assurance Director
Balfour Beatty Major Projects

Amanda serves as Co-Chair of the Gender Equality Network and chair of LGBT+ Network at Balfour Beatty, promoting women within the business and working to achieve gender parity within construction. Amanda supported Balfour Beatty’s work for International Women's Day and a member of the delivery team. Through her work she has increased the number of women in technical and engineering roles, supported the development and delivery the firm’s Women in Business course and aided in women’s career advancement. A regular speaker on D&I topics, Amanda is also an Ambassador and Mentor at Women in Nuclear. She is the National Executive Member and Chair of the Central Scotland Building Equality group and is committed to building an inclusive construction sector. A champion for inclusion in the workplace and beyond, Amanda’s work has been key to fostering inclusion in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mirjam Staub-Bisang

Country Manager, Switzerland
BlackRock

Mirjam is Co-Sponsor of Elevate, an education programme within BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative & Allies Network (WIN) for emerging female talents. She is a committed mentor and has helped women to overcome professional challenges and supported their career advancement. Named as one of top 10 Business Women and one of the top 50 finance professionals in Switzerland by leading Swiss business magazines and laureate of “GenerationCEO”, she serves a visible role model and actively championing women to excel in their careers. Mirjam is the Founder and Chair of “MBA for Women Foundation”, a charity providing loans and scholarships to women enrolled in MBAs. Mirjam is invested in entrenching inclusion in the workplace and beyond and breaking down barriers to access and success for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Bijna Kotak Dasani

Executive Director
Morgan Stanley

As an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, Bijna is committed to enabling women gain the tools to lead and thrive within their careers. She is Co-Chair of the bank’s divisional Diversity Steering Committee in-country and is a member of its in-country Diversity Action Council. Bijna has actively supported the professional advancement of women throughout her career by championing agile-working programmes. She speaks regularly on diversity & inclusion (D&I) topics globally and mentors women in the workplace. In addition, Bijna is a strong promotor of gender and ethnic-minority social mobility and the career development of women in under-represented STEM professions. She serves as an Advisory Board member with various similarly dedicated organisations including Generation Success, Cajigo and CIONET Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Meliosa O'Caoimh

Country Head, Ireland
Northern Trust

As the Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for driving strategy and has championed gender diversity in the implementation of firm-wide policies. She establish the Executive Gender Balance Group at Northern Trust and have achieved their target gender balance ahead of time, diversifying the talent pipeline and recruitment efforts. A regular speaker, though leader and expert in her field. Meliosa is the Deputy Chair of the 30& Club’s Financial Services sub-group, completing ground-breaking research that provided a benchmark for women’s representation in Ireland. Developing the careers of women in leadership is core to Meliosa’s mission and as an educator, she is deeply committed to creating inclusive businesses across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible

Susan is a Member of Moms@ Audible and the Executive Sponsor of Women@ Audible, the largest employee impact group in the US with growing global chapters. Susan is focused on fostering women leadership talent with an expanding remit to include minority voices. A recipient of the NYU Stern Women in Business (SWIB) award, Susan is also a Board member of BRIC Arts & Media and is working to take sustained action to make diverse cultural programming accessible and elevating artistic expression from women and minorities. Susan is a champion of inclusion in the workplace and beyond and has advocated for women throughout her career.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cate Luzio

Founder & CEO
Luminary

Cate is the Founder and CEO of Luminary, a global collaboration hub focused on advancing women through community and content. With inclusion at the core of its philosophy, Cate has built a community with thousands of individual members and over 30 corporate members like Goldman Sachs, WW, and MasterCard to elevate women in business across the world. Named as a Top 100 Female Founder by Inc Magazine (2019), Cate sits on the National Board for Girls Inc, the Advisory Board for Pomp and Whimsy, a woman-founded gin brand, as well as WaterAid. Cate’s mission in life is to advance the careers and businesses of women globally and is committed to gender inclusion and equity in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Chin

Director, EU Retail
Amazon

Jacqui is the Founder and Leader of UK’s Women@ Amazon and has provided thousands of employees with resources to progress across all levels of business. She has steered the delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines in 2017 implemented across six countries and has lead Amazon’s mentoring schemes. Winner of the Worldpay Everywoman in Retail Ambassador Award, Jacqui supports Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre and is the Co-Chair of the International Women’s Day Leadership Forum. Through the latter, she has facilitated forums as part of the Women in Silicon Roundabout (WISE) campaign for gender balance in science and engineering.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arati Deo

Lead – Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Inclusion & Diversity, Advanced Technology Centers in India
Accenture Solutions Private Limited

Arati is the Sponsor of Accenture’s Inclusion and Diversity Programme for Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI) with which she has designed and executed training programmes and initiatives for women. She is the Creator and Lead of the Grow Women in Leadership Programme and the Creator of High-Tech Women and has overseen the virtual Parents@Work support program seeing a 99% retention rate of mothers returning to work. Passionate about driving gender equality in the workplace and beyond, Arati has been recognized in the Top 10 Women in Tech List by VoiceNData for International Women’s Day 2020. She is the Programme Chair of Grace Hopper Celebration and is a committed Mentor to women technology professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Simone Roche MBE

Managing Director
Events 1st

Simone is the Founder of Northern Power Women, Global Power Women and Northern Power Futures. Simone is committed to accelerating equality across all levels of business and through her role has diversified talent pipelines, built mentoring schemes that have supported hundreds of women professionals and she is vocal advocate for inclusion. A recipient of an Honorary Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University, Simone is also a Project Champion for BBC 5050 with which she has driven the charge for fairer and increased minority representation in the media. She is also a judge for the Asian Power List and a Champion of the Women’s Business Council and has been named as the first and only woman Honorary Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Purchas

Partner, Head of People
KPMG

Anna is a Member of the Inclusive Leadership Board, Chair of the Black Heritage Working Group and a mentor to the Chair and regular contributor the KPMG Network of Women. She has spearheaded initiatives that have advanced women’s professional careers across all levels of KPMG and beyond and instills in them the confidence to move up the career ladder. A passionate advocate for creating inclusive workplaces, this year, Anna has been a member of the ICAEW Leadership and Professional Development Board, a Judge for Changemakers, Women in Software and a member of the Forward Institute. Additionally, Anna is a coach to women across industries and is committed to actively championing gender equality in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Nadjia is the UK Diversity and Inclusion Lead and Head of Women@BCG UK at the Boston Consulting Group. She focuses on gender diversity and works to entrench inclusion within her organization through recruiting, mentoring, offering career support and creating inclusive policies. A regular speaker on D&I topics, she was selected to speak at TED as a role model for women in STEM. Nadjia is the Founder of Diversity Drivers, which curates expertise of top D&I leaders for smaller organizations. She is a member of the Women’s Forum Daring Circle for STEM and a supporter of Women For Women International and has dedicated her professional and personal life to driving inclusion across the world.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
HSBC Bank plc

Sue promote gender diversity within HSBC globally and locally in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. She is a Global Ambassador for HSBC BALANCE which promotes gender diversity across the firm and has 50,000 colleague members in 20 countries. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Sue is HSBC’s executive ambassador for International Women’s Day and the lead executive sponsor of the D+I Allies group who work to cement an inclusive culture in the workplace. In the community, Sue is the corporate sponsor of The Diversity Network in Jersey and has recently been appointed as sponsor and guest lecturer for Jersey College for Girls’ International Finance Programme,  developing the next generation of women professionals in the finance industry. Sue has also been shortlisted for the British Diversity Awards ‘Diversity Ally of the Year’ 2020 and is an dedicated mentor to both women and men.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sabrina Lynch

Senior Vice President
Taylor Strategy

Co-leading Taylor Executive committees, Sabrina supports programs and initiatives that further gender equality, diversity & inclusion in workplace. She acts as a vocal and visible role model for staff across all levels of the business and co-steers Taylor ERG groups and external workshops that educate the industry on better equity practices. She is Chair of the Parsons School of Fashion’s D&I Committee, being instrumental in the evolution of the School’s approach to D&I across syllabi, experiences and culture. In addition, she is a member of the UN Foundations Communications Corp and was chosen as Pitch Magazine’s 2019 ‘Super Woman’, profiling influential women working behind-the-scenes in the creative industry. Sabrina was handpicked by Macy’s as a panelist to provide counsel on the importance of women and ethnic minority representation in Fashion to their staff and retail partners.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director, Co-Head of US Buyout
The Carlyle Group

Sandra is a leader of the Carlyle Group’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and plays a pivotal role in ensuring that 50% of the firm’s incoming classes are diverse. She is a leader of Carlyle’s Global Mentorship Programme, which has over 800 participants globally and is the Founder of Carlyle’s Women Employee Resource Group to support and aid in women’s career progression through connection, collaboration and mentorship. Named as one of Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance (2020), Sandra is also a Trustee at Wellesley College, and through her work as Member of the Toigo Foundation Breakers Ground Women in Leadership, and Former Chair of the Stanford Graduate School of Business is inspiring the next generation of leaders to embrace and create an inclusive way of working.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lanaya Irvin

President
Coqual

A true champion of equality for women in the workplace and beyond, Lanaya is the President of Coqual (formerly Center for Talent Innovation), a global think tank conducting rigorous research and advising companies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Bringing a global lens and undeniable passion for equity, she leads a diverse team of researchers, storytellers, consultants and data analysts to build more equitable workplaces. Prior to Coqual, she spent over a decade on Wall Street in global banking and markets. A regular speaker, Lanaya is also the Co-Chair of the Human Rights Campaign’s, National Business Advisory Council where she collaborates with a forum of leaders from Fortune 500 companies to advance HRC equality goals.  Her thought leadership has been featured in Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Fast Company,

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens Bank

Jessica is the Chair of the Citizens Bank’s Women Impact Network (WIN), leading a 2,000-person strong organization that helps women advance through professional development and networking opportunities. Under her leadership, WIN has sponsored and/or hosted dozens of internal events for colleagues and some that benefit the broader community including the Center for Women in Enterprise, Dress for Success, Girl Scouts and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is also a coach and mentor to numerous women both inside and outside the Bank. Jessica is passionate about providing professional and personal support to help facilitate the success of others and is committed to advocating for gender equality in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Rainbird

Chief Executive Officer
Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Caroline has been FSCS CEO for 18 months and brings a wealth of global experience from a career spanning 30+ years within financial services.   Previously Caroline held several senior positions at, amongst others, RBS Plc and ABN AMRO where she gained extensive knowledge in regulatory, strategic, commercial, operational, change and client led roles. She is a working parent and a strong advocate for women at work.  FSCS is a signatory of the Women in Finance Charter and aims to have a 50/50 split across its leadership by 2022.  Caroline has already seen this achieved at Board level which is predominantly female for the first time in FSCS’s history.  Outside of work Caroline has given her time to the community by providing help and support to girls from an Academy in a very disadvantaged area of London where typically only 1% of A-level graduates have left school for Russell Group Universities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Natalie Daghles

Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP

Natalie is the Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins LLP’s Global Women Enriching Business Steering Committee, whose mission is to promote the long-term success of women lawyers and empower them to become industry leaders. As well as hosting events, mentoring, and increasing the visibility of women, Natalie is a Member of the Global Diversity Leadership Committee overseeing the implementation of firm-wide inclusion strategies. Listed among the best lawyers for M&A and corporate law in Germany, Natalie is the Co-Founder of the Women into Leadership Initiative which was built to establish a cross-mentoring programme for successful women professionals to attain C-Suite roles. She is the creator of a seminar series for women board members and a skilled Mentor with the University of Düsseldorf.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqueline de Rojas CBE

President
techUK

Jacqueline is the President of techUK, where she formed the Skills and Diversity Council to push for diversity and inclusion in all its forms. Seeking to promote girls into STEM careers and encouraging women back to work after a career break, Jacqueline is also the Chair of the Institute of Coding, which has its own diversity board. An advocate for inclusion, Jacqueline has been included in high profile lists, most recently in the top 100 BAME Leaders Inclusive Boards. In addition, Jacqueline is a Board Advisor to accelerateHER which exists to redress the under representation of women in tech, Tech Ambassador to Girlguiding Association, The Youth Group’s Board Advisor and a Board Advisor to Cajigo a learning platform empowering girls and women into STEM and leadership careers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne activates caring at Audible by driving a culture that embraces all the glories of the human spectrum. She introduced the D&I function to three organizations – Lehman Brothers, Bloomberg, and now Audible. Anne founded and co-chaired Audible’s Activate Caring Committee, which addressed racial issues pertaining to the company’s content offerings, and the Audible Workplace Taskforce, which addressed psychological safety, intersectionality, race and hate debates, and gender equity. She is a mentor in W.O.M.E.N. In America (WIA), a development program for high potential women, with a focus on women of color. She has also supported Johns Hopkins University’s efforts to drive diversity in its faculty. An effort that Anne is most proud of is pioneering “Encore”, the first “back to work” program for women who had left the workplace for extended periods to care for their children, which launched at Lehman Brothers in 2005 and thrives nationally in the US today.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Deloitte Global Board Chair
Deloitte

Throughout her career Sharon has championed D&I across all levels and industries, and has long advocated for Deloitte’s ambition to achieve higher representation of women in leadership globally. In 2019 she launched an internal sponsorship initiative designed to give women the experience, exposure, and advocacy needed to accelerate their careers, and in 2020, she increased the representation of women on the Deloitte Global Board to 33%. Sharon recently convened a group of senior women Chairs and Executives to share best practice and further the representation of women in leadership across industries. During her tenure as Deloitte UK’s Talent Partner, she established a number of diversity networks including the Gender Balance network. Sharon speaks openly about her experiences with imposter syndrome, and she mentors several future women leaders. She is a member of the 30% Club, the A4S Advisory Council, the Social Progress Imperative Board of Directors, and the WEF Stewardship Board for the Future of Equality and Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Regional Managing Partner, Global BD & Marketing Partner
Linklaters

In her capacity as Regional Managing Partner at Linklaters, Claudia is the Global Champion for Gender within the Executive Committee. Through this she has sponsored many internal initiatives, championing specific programmes aimed at attracting and retaining female talent, participating in numerous internal events and organizing initiatives to galvanize the mission for equality. Named by the directory IFLR1000 as one of the Women Leaders, Claudia is the ambassador in Italy of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (chaired by Claudia from 2013 to 2016) and the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, a networking forum for the senior female business community consisting of regular breakfasts recently transformed into weekly virtual meetings further to COVID-19 outbreak. She is often invited to speak at conferences, clients’ roundtables and TV programmes on financial matters and diversity issues and to deliver inspirational TedEx speeches for female and young audience.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO, Europe Cluster
Vodafone Group Services Ltd

CEO of Europe Cluster and a member of the Group Executive Committee at Vodafone she also chairs the Inclusion for All Committee at Vodaphone. During her tenure, several successful global initiatives including a groundbreaking Global Maternity Policy. Serpil is passionately committed to increasing the proportion of women in our workforce and in management roles at Vodaphone through coaching, creating pathways to success and spaces to create meaningful change. Externally, Serpil mentors numerous senior women and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association’ (WBAT Turkey). Additionally, Serpil regularly speaks at global events to champion D&I. She has led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative in March 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kathryn 'Katie' Koch

Partner & Co-Head, Fundamental Equity
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)

Having benefitted from mentorship, networking and sponsorship in the past, Katie is now passionate about providing other women with access to these advantages. She connects the dozens of women she manages and mentors with each other and with industry leaders and seeks to raise the profile of high-potential women at the Firm. Katie has sought to hire and promote women at GSAM for more than a decade: 43% of assets under management within the GSAM Fundamental Equity business are managed by female portfolio managers, substantially more than the industry average. Additionally, Katie has mentored and coached women through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women initiative. Externally, Katie has led a successful effort to increase female representation on corporate boards at companies globally where GSAM is a shareholder. She is also a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia Muir is the CEO of Gaia Innovation, and Founder of the Automotive 30% Club; a network of 42 CEOs and MDs aiming for minimum 30% representation of diverse women in key roles by 2030. She specialises in enabling women to achieve their potential, encouraging male allies, and inspiring young women to join automotive. Julia organises the Inspiring Automotive Women Awards and the Inspiring e-zine and Super-Network to motivate women to progress; and leads the Inspiration for Innovation Network of volunteers engaging with schools to dispel career stereotypes and inform youngsters about D&I. She is the leading voice on gender-balance and women's inclusion in UK automotive, is on the steering committee of the Global 30% Club, and is a Gender Equality and Diversity Ambassador for the Silverstone Technology Cluster. Her book, “Change the Game: A leader’s route map to a winning, gender- balanced business” will be published in March 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amani Duncan

SVP Music MTV
ViacomCBS

Amani is the Executive Sponsor of ViacomCBS Women's ERG Here@Viacom and has served as a catalyst to help develop key D&I initiatives across the organization as well as mobilizing and moderating several panels for the group. Amani is the Founding Member of Chief, a club for women at the VP and C-Suite levels to work together and elevate each other into becoming strong leaders in the workplace and beyond. She is a skilled Mentor and author of an upcoming book and has partnered with Catalyst on their #BiasCorrect campaign which supports show juries in becoming 50:50 gender balanced. A true champion of inclusion, Amani is a strong advocate of equality across business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paula Lindenberg

President - BU West
AB InBev

Paula is the Lead Ally for Women in Beer, an internal Business Resource Group at AB InBev and spearheads initiatives to attract, develop and empower women in the workplace, recruiting for the future by building a solid, diverse pipeline and advocates for the representation and inclusion of women within the beer industry. Paula is a committed mentor and encourages nad promotes women into senior Leadership, a feat that has been recognized in the trade press. Paula has overseen and launched a consumer-facing campaign designed to reorient the way in which women are portrayed in beer advertising and has signed Budweiser for its first-ever sponsorship of women’s football. Paula is a skilled advocate who is passionate about inclusion across the business sphere and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

With industry recognitions including the 2019 National Organization of Women’s Women of Power and Influence Awards, Megan Clarken continues to be recognized for her ability to transform and maintain businesses – while also remaining a champion for underrepresented groups in media. Prior to becoming CEO of Criteo, she spent 15+ years at Nielsen helping the company adapt and prevail through change. In addition to her role as CCO of Nielsen Global Media, she led a strategic partnership with GLAAD that expanded reporting capabilities so Nielsen’s national TV panel would count same-sex spouse and partner audiences. As Criteo's first female CEO, Megan remains committed to shining a light on D&I. In her short time at Criteo, Megan led awareness initiatives around International Women's Day and PRIDE month, and most recently appointed two internal D&I Program Leads, who will dedicate six months, fully paid, to building a more robust global strategy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Pallavi Verma

Senior Managing Director, responsible for North America Quality & Risk and Accenture’s Boston Office Managing Director
Accenture

Pallavi was named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s Most Powerful Women in Business (2019) and Better Chicago’s 25 Most Powerful Women (2019). Since joining Accenture 30+ years ago, Pallavi has built a reputation as a someone who promotes gender diversity--both internally and externally. In addition to leading Accenture’s Apprenticeship program in North America which connects underserved groups, including women with innovation economy jobs, Pallavi is the executive sponsor for the Planning for Success Program which matches Black & Hispanic managing directors with a sponsor. A committed champion for inclusion, Pallavi was the Executive Sponsor of International Women’s Day in Chicago and a member of The Chicago Network where Pallavi was instrumental in developing member programing. She has served as a sponsor and mentor to hundreds of women over the course of her career.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Funke Abimbola MBE

CEO
The Austen Bronte Consultancy

As a C-suite healthcare executive within the global pharmaceutical industry, Funke supports women entering their careers and is a skilled mentor and sponsor to her mentees. She acts as executive sponsor for D&I initiatives focusing on the advancement of women and has established gender equality initiatives, running workshops and establishing reverse mentoring and bursary schemes to enhance success. She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire (recognising contributions to social and corporate diversity), a skilled public speaker and diversity campaigner and was the only black female member of the Law Society’s Women in Law Group, contributing to the group’s far-reaching successes. She regular features across a range of media outlets including the BBC and supports inclusive leadership as a business committee member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Governance and Inclusive Leadership. Funke has been instrumental in entrenching inclusion in the business world and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar

Caroline strives to be a ‘see it to be it’ role model for women in Tech and the C-suite, and an active ally for underrepresented groups. She is Kantar's Global Exec Sponsor for the Pride@Kantar safe community supporting LGBTQI+ employees across the globe, and is an ambassador for Ethnicity Mentoring Programmes, providing sponsorship and mentoring for both Kantar employees and young individuals externally who don’t get the support or opportunities in business they deserve. Caroline recently became a Sponsor for Leaders Plus, a social enterprise supporting women leaders with babies and young children stay in the career progression pipeline, and is also part of the Market Research Society D&I Council responsible for the Industry’s UK Manifesto for Inclusion & Opportunity and CEO Pledge, endeavouring for an industry representing the diverse world it serves and an authentic voice for the industry, brands and society on issues of representation, equality and accountability.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cecile Frot-Coutaz

Vice President, EMEA
YouTube

Cecile is actively involved in promoting gender diversity and inclusion within YouTube and Google, both as Executive Sponsor of YouTube EMEA's Women@ Employee Resource Group and as a speaker and panelist for a range of internal communities. She recently launched a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion speaker series within YouTube EMEA and is a committed mentor. Cecile has previously worked with the Big Brother Big Sister Programme in Los Angeles, and embraces being a positive role model who reinforces that women are more than capable of being successful on their own terms.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Cole

CEO
Wunderman Thompson Argentina

An inclusion champion, Victoria is the CEO of Wunderman Thompson Argentina and the Latin American for Pass It On, a programme aimed at senior women within the organization. She regularly hosts events for women to share best practice, knowledge to advance career development, has organized gender perspective trainings and accessibility trainings that entrench an intersectional approach to inclusion within her organization. Victoria is a member of the WEF (Women Economic Forum) Argentina Delegation with which she attended an annual event in Egypt to further equality and she is the Gender Perspective Director for Argentina’s AD Council.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cindy Hoots

Chief Digital Officer & CIO
AstraZeneca

As an exceptional woman in technology, Cindy has evolved her leadership programme to an outstanding 56% women. Together with Dell Technologies, she has established a Talent Exchange Programme across many global corporations and in her capacity as Chief Digital Officer and CIO mentors early and mid-career women around the globe. Committed to inclusion in the technology industry and beyond, Cindy has notably delivered a keynote speech at Unilever’s Women in Tech campaign and as one of few women in her freshman class, is a passionate advocate for changing this industry dynamic.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny is the Chief People Officer at Aviva. She promotes diversity across all communities and is a strong advocate for inclusion. She is the Co-Executive Sponsor of the Carer’s Community, Executive Representative on the Global Inclusion Committee and Co-Executive Sponsor of the Domestic Abuse Working Group which has introduced training to support customers and colleagues. She was also a strong supporter of women and inclusion in her previous business, Metro Bank. Danny drives inclusion in organisations by delivering key interventions across the employee life cycle - whether broad or focused.  She also sponsors and speaks at events on topics like Menopause and writes articles on issues such as caring and working parents. Outside work Danny mentors several women, supports career development activities at her daughters’ school and is a past Master of the Guild of HR Professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Demet Ikiler

GroupM EMEA CEO, WPP Country Chair Turkey
GroupM

Demet is a strong, skilled gender equality advocate who is passionate about creating opportunities for women in the workplace and beyond. Demet is VP and Board member of UNGC TD which she was instrumental to the establishments of inclusion policies and its dissemination. Demet is a mentor with WPP’s Women Empowerment Mentorship Programme & one of the mentees in GroupM’s “The Bridge; ethnic and cultural inclusion initiative and she is a skilled member of the WPP Global Inclusion Council. Demet is the Project Leader of WPP Turkey Culture Projects which explore barriers to entry and success that women face in the professional world. As well as addressing gender inequality in the workplace, Named among the ‘Women to Watch’ in Turkey and listed by Fortune in the top 5 Most Powerful Women in Turkey for the last 5 years and was ranked in 25th in the Fast Company Turkey’s “50 Businesswomen Friendly Leaders” list.”

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

Executive Vice President Global Marketing
Unilever

As Unilever’s Chief D&I Officer, Aline has lead Unilever’s Unsterotype Initiative, which focuses on eradicating stereotypes and works to advance the professional progression of everyone. Having reached a 50% gender balance at a management level, under Aline’s leadership Unilever has implemented the Global Maternal Wellbeing Standard and have launched the successful Gamechangers for Gender Equality campaign. Aline is the recipient of the Catalyst Award for D&I (2019) and, independent of Unilever, is a Board Member for the Effie UK Council, WACL and the Creative Equals Accelerate Programme and she is focused on creating systemic change in the industry through research, driving gender balance in UK organizations and is a committed Mentor with the Mentoring Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Global Head Strategic Investor Group Sales, Financial Markets
Standard Chartered Bank

Souad is a Member of the Financial Markets Diversity and Inclusion Council and a Member of the Africa Middle East CCIB Diversity and Inclusion Council as part of her role at Standard Chartered Bank, where she is also a Board Member at Standard Chartered Saudi Arabia. A committed Mentor and advocate for gender equality in the workplace and beyond, Souad has aided in implementing diverse talent pipeline and recruitment, speaks regularly, as seen in Arabian Business Magazine, Financial News London and as part of a Bloomberg business panel, t0 share best practice and strategies with global organizations. Souad is an Advisor to Munathara, a non-profit organization promoting the voices of young people, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public sphere and is passionate about creating opportunities for disadvantaged communities across the world,

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Managing Director of IT
BT plc.

Rachel is passionate about securing the future of women in technology careers for generations to come.  She is the Founder and Executive Sponsor of BT TechWomen, Executive Ally of the BT Gender Network and champions gender equality and inclusive design globally for BT.   BT TechWomen provides a year-long development programme and supportive network that has delivered a tangible impact to the careers of its 2,550 alumni.  Rachel’s work with TechWomen has transformed BT’s agenda for women in key technology, commercial and operational roles.  She also acts as cohort Mentor for BT India TechWomen and has personally supported 126 women in furthering their careers this year. Rachel is Board Chair of FACT, a digital arts charity, and her work has seen over 2,800 women across all backgrounds receive access to digital, media and tech training helping to transform their lives and those of their communities. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julietta Dexter

Founder and CEO
The Communications Store

Julietta is the Founder and CEO of The Communications Store (TCS) and has ensured that inclusion is at the core of her business, As a member of the Board of Directors and Diversity TaskForce, Julietta has a formal board level of responsibility for sustainability and diversity, and she is engaged with TCS grassroots staff group to discuss and lead workplace initiatives in an open forum. With Julietta’s rigorous work on B Corp assessment TCS has become a purpose-driven company legally obliged to deliver positive environmental and social impacts, as well as profit. In addition, Julietta is an Executive Board Member of CEW (Cosmetics Executive Women) and an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust campaign, Women Supporting Women, the latter of which she helps nurture, empower and inspire young women to build their own dream futures.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmel McKinney OBE

Chairperson
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

Carmel is the first female chairperson of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue .She is deeply committed to ensuring a pipeline of aspiring female leaders for the future and in March 2020 she was appointed as an Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland .Carmel is a multi-award winning professional for her highly acclaimed work on Diversity and Inclusion including coaching and mentoring programmes, and key note speaker at local national and international events. Carmel was also appointed April 2020 by the Minister for Justice as an Independent member of the Policing Board. Carmel is a former Independent Assessor for the Commissioner for Public Appointments and is currently working alongside the Commissioner to design and deliver a range of short courses to encourage females to enter public life. Carmel is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a strong supporter of the work of Women in Business in NI.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Group Chief People Officer
Compass plc

A long term committed advocate for equality in business, Sarah is bringing her extensive expertise and experience to refresh and lead Compass’ global I&D strategy.  She was invited to speak to the Women in Business Council in Turkey, the British Consular equality conference in Zagreb and the Royal Navy annual conference on how to improve gender equality at all levels. She is a Member of the Global Steering Committee for 30% club and Co-Chair of the Best Practice Group. Highly though of as a mentor and sponsor, Sarah has demonstrated her ability to deliver successful change that has levelled the playing field.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sari Granat

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
IHS Markit

Sari is an Executive Sponsor across IHS Markit in promoting gender diversity and inclusion and founded the Women in Technology Global Affinity Group at the company. Sari developed and launched IHS Markit’s innovative Board Development Programme to support diversity in public company boardrooms by providing boardroom executive experience to diverse board candidates who have not yet sat on a public company board. She is also currently sponsoring the first ever IHS Markit 16-week structured mentoring program for high potential female employees. Sari was one of 2018’s three honorees to receive the Legal Momentum’s Aiming High Award and is an active Board Member and fund raiser for Opening Act, a New York City-based urban educational organization. Sari is committed to elevating and inspiring others to push for self-advancement and is a valued mentor to women professionals within and outside her role at IHS Markit.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue leads the Glass Wall Network at MediaCom, the largest and most inclusive group in this industry. Named for her book ‘The Glass Wall’ Sue is committed to creating successful strategies for women to succeed in the workplace and beyond and within her role, has helped to secure the policy for 50:50 candidate shortlists globally.  Sue is an active member of Hive Learning People’s Leaders Network, and has delivered an empowering keynote speech at Management Today’s Young Women In Business Conference in 2019. Sue is a dedicated professional with vast, success in entrenching gender equality and inclusive principles within business. Belonging, her major new book on diversity and inclusion is published in October. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Data & Intelligence, Canada & Latin America
Edelman

A marketing and communications research industry veteran and role model, Catherine oversees research, analytics, and performance teams that drive business intelligence, activation, and results.  Catherine is passionate about supporting women in the workplace, volunteering as a member of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) global steering committee that helped the firm achieve parity of senior women leaders.  Catherine is also the regional Edelman GWEN leader, promoting events and initiatives across Canada which help women lead and succeed and support BIPOC.  Catherine is recognized as a Canadian Women of Inspiration Global Executive Leader, volunteering on multiple boards to drive the research and analytics industry forward and support diversity and inclusion in the business community. Catherine is a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Council Working Group for Women’s Advocacy, bringing the voice and perspectives of women to national policies and advancing the gender equality agenda to drive meaningful action.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claire Gillis

International CEO
WPP Health Practice

Claire is a member of WPP STELLA and a supporter of Women in Creative Healthcare, a global programme to promote women in creative fields. She’s an executive director for InHer Space, a platform for women challenged by key life transitions – e.g. divorce, bereavement, menopause and eating disorders. Claire’s was awarded ‘Leader in Creating Change in Heath and Wellness’ from Women-In-Marketing. She was the Non-Executive Director for In Med, a US charity to create pathways for disadvantaged families. Claire has supported the Bigger Bounce aimed at women suffering from Breast Cancer and has helped to promote the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Charter and Alliance, by calling for better care for woman suffering from the disease. She installed a full time in-house councillor within her London office and, more recently, she led a team to support the work of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

Partner and China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa is the Executive Sponsor of Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s Asian’s Women’s Network. Through she has mentored and sponsored several women associates and aided in their professional development. Among the first to commi to Freshfields’ Every Day Gender Equality’ initiative (EDGE), Teresa is actively part of creating an inclusive and equal culture at her firm. Teresa is a frequent panelist and speaker and as authored an op-ed in the Financial Times discussing gender diversity in Hong Kong that issued a call for gender quotas on boards of Hong Kong listed companies. In addition, Teresa is the Co-Chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee, Founding member and Steering Committee Member of the 30% Club Hong Kong as well as being an Advisory Board Member of Women in Law in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farmida Bi

Chair, EMEA
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Farmida is the Chair (EMEA) of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, and a partner specialising in capital markets and Islamic finance transactions. As Chair of the firm’s Partnership Committee and Audit Committee as well as a steering group member of the firm’s Women’s Network (WIN), she has worked to recruit more women to management positions, created spaces for meaningful discussions and organized successful inclusion-focused events. Externally, Farmida has sponsored and hosted Mosaic’s mentoring programme for girls and their mothers. Farmida speaks frequently about diversity, most notably as a panellist at a ‘Women and the Law’ discussion at the House of Lords. As a leading figure in the Islamic finance  industry, she has also organised networking events for women at the annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain. A global advocate for women’s equality, Farmida is paving the way for inclusion in business and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue McLean

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

A steering group member of BakerWomen, Baker McKenzie’s London Women’s Network, Sue has harnessed her vast professional experience to further the mission for gender equality in the workplace. She Co-Chair’s the London Office’s Internal Engagement Committee for Baker Women (BWIE) and has organized events, run a He For She session and presented at regional Women’s groups. Recognized in the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Power List 2019 and shortlisted for the TechWomen100 Champion Award 2019, Sue is the Founder and Chair of SCL Women in Tech Law which helps to advance and celebrate women in the tech law sector. Additionally, she is a Committee Member for the Law Society of England and Wales Women Lawyers Division.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Founder & CEO
ET Solutions

In 2019, Emer founded ET Solutions, providing professional services and strategic engagement programs to global clients and venture capitalists. Emer is also a FTSE NED, Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group and the Co-Chair of Leaders as Change Agents. This is a UK Government backed board, aimed at intensifying the campaign of great diversity at senior levels in business. This board is focused across the FTSE 350 and 150 of the largest privately owned companies and Emer works with Global CEO’s and Board chairs in this role engaging on all aspect of D&I within their companies. She has hosted and spoken at many conferences both nationally and internationally, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

Managing Director UK
American Express

Charlotte is the Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Network and has rolled out transformational D&I training, spearheaded the UK launch of the company’s ‘Ambition Project’, and has signed AmEx UK to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter. Charlotte has oversight of the company’s UK Gender Pay Gap stats and is constantly creating opportunities to level the playing field for women both with the organization and externally. Charlotte is a Board Member and Diversity Lead for UK Finance and the Chair of Women in Payments Awards Committee where she has used her adept skills to drive change across the banking and finance industry. She is a trustee of Friends of Sr. Marcellin’s Children and advocates strongly for creating better futures for disadvantaged youth.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith LLP

Shortlisted for ‘Woman of the Year’ at the British Legal Awards, Tamara is a committed advocate for gender equality and inclusion across all levels of business. In her capacity as Managing Partner at Reed Smith LLP, Tamara is involved with WiNRs, Reed Smith’s internal Women’s Initiative and the 30% Club’s mentoring scheme. An instrumental voice for women in leadership, Tamara regularly speaks at industry events and sponsors the career advancement of women associates and partners internally and externally. In addition, Tamara is a Founding Member of the 30% Club and Steering Committee Member, a Sponsor of the PowerWomen Network and Chair of Women of Influence, which mentors and fundraises for women fellows. Tamara is also a founding member of Paradigm for Parity, a gender balance campaign that has secured support from CEOs of major, global corporations to increase gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Group General Manager, Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC UK Bank PLC

Amanda is HSBC UK’s first female Head of Commercial Banking and is committed to driving equality and inclusivity, across all levels of business. She is the Executive Sponsor for the Female Development Programme and an Executive Sponsor of Balance UK, having provided tailored development initiatives with success. She has led on HSBC UK’s first ever open initiative on Menopause leading to a review of how the Bank can better support colleagues going through Menopause. In addition, Amanda hosts the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and has partnered with SheEO, an organization aimed at connecting women entrepreneurs. Amanda aims to create an environment that enables all women to achieve their ambitions. During her tenure women in senior roles in the Commercial Bank at HSBC UK have risen to 30% in 2020 and her Senior Executive Team is now 50% gender balanced.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Hussey

Partner
Arthur Cox

Rachel is the founder of Arthur Cox’s Women in the Firm Initiative and is a member of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  The firm has accelerated inclusion objectives, cemented key strategies to further gender equality and, in 2019, appointed its first woman Chair. A regular speaker and panellist at universities, 30% Club Ireland events and a regular columnist on diversity issues in the accountancy profession in Ireland, Rachel is a committed advocate for equality. She is the Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, Chair of the recently established Governing Authority of Dublin City University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee and a member of the Lex Mundi Women’s Initiative Task Force. Her work has had a strong, impact within businesses in Ireland with fantastic wide-reaching success cementing Rachel’s position as an inspiring, force for change.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bina Mehta

Partner
KPMG

Bina has over 20 years’ international experience in Corporate Finance and Restructuring, is Chair of KPMG UK’s Emerging Giants practice and a member of KPMG UK’s Board.  She is a role model with a strong voice who actively promotes inclusivity and is a regular speaker at events and quoted in the media. She champions KPMG’s Global Diversity and Inclusion agenda taking a leading role with Women of the Future as well as with KPMG’s India Club, bringing together diversity networks to promote inclusion and recognise intersectionality. Included in India Inc’s Top 100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations, Bina is also a Member of the HM Treasury and BEIS co-sponsored Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs and is an Ambassador for Code First: Girls. She is passionate about inspiring diverse talent to consider careers in technology and mentors junior female and BAME colleagues at the firm as well as entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Robyn Grew

COO and General Counsel
Man Group

Robyn is COO and General Counsel at Man Group. She sits on the steering committee of Drive, the firm’s D&I network, and is responsible for progressing and shaping its initiatives. She is also the senior sponsor of Man Group’s Pride (LGBT+) and BEAM (Black employees and allies) employee networks. Robyn has been a key force behind the firm’s Paving the Way campaign, which seeks to create a pathway for diverse candidates to enter the financial services industry. Robyn proudly embraces her responsibility in leading the firm, and global initiatives, on diversity and inclusion – she is a regular speaker at internal and external events, championing the importance of inclusion, belonging and allyship. She has led various industry initiatives, including as Chair of the Alternative Investment Management Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group which in 2019 launched the “Perspectives” paper outlining practical actions firms can take to foster diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr Paula C H Franklin

Chief Medical Officer, Bupa Group & Chief Medical and Risk Officer, Bupa Global & UK
BUPA

As the Chief Medical Officer at Bupa, Paula champions equality in business across its many levels. As the Executive Sponsor for Bupa’s global Diversity & Inclusion agenda, Bupa has signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, have committed to ethnic pay gap reporting and exceeded their target for women representation on the Board and among senior management. Paula regularly takes part in panel discussions, podcasts and webinars and works to elevate Bupa’s global profile. As a Trustee of the UK Bupa Foundation and Trustee of the Youth Sports Trust, Paula has implemented support for deprived communities in across the UK and supports women in career development and mental health management.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Morag Watson

Senior Vice President Digital Science & Engineering
bp America

Morag is the Executive Sponsor for the BP America WIN and Global Women in IT networks. She is a member of the D&I steering committee at BP, where she led the creation of the BP Group Disability Forum. Morag was honored by BIO Houston for displaying exceptional leadership in STEM, motivating and empowering the next generation. She is a founding member of the Women's Innovation Council, where senior women in technology across the world come together to advance gender balance in the workplace. She is also a founding member of Curated Pathways to Innovation, a web-based app which guides and incentivizes students’ success through gamification, to create opportunity for students to pursue careers in STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yonca Dervişoğlu

Chief Marketing Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Google

As CMO for Google EMEA, Yonca has created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan for EMEA Marketing and is its Executive Member. A long-time vocal advocate for gender equality and Google and beyond, Yonca Co-founded Grow with Google which provides free digital training to millions globally with 47% of those trainees women with EMEA. As Executive Member of the DEI committee, Yonca has initiated region-wide DEI programmes, Co-founded Google Pride Day and is also a Co-Founder of EMEA’s Racial Equity Working Group, working to find long term intersectional solutions for equality. Additionally, Yonca is an Advisory Board Member for accelerateHER, created to address the under-representation of women in technology and is a previous member of the Board of Heineken. Yonca is the Executive Sponsor of #IamRemarkable, empowering women and underrepresented groups to speak candidly about their triumphs in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sinead Lynch

Chair
Shell UK

Sinead is the executive sponsor of many internal D&I Networks as well as for the Shell UK ‘Race at Work Charter’. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion across all levels of business and has spearheaded policy changes that have embedded it within the company’s culture. This leadership has resulted in Shell UK exceeding its near-term target for an increase in female senior leaders. They are also ahead of plan on their 2025 ambition. Sinead began her career as a Geophysicist for BG Group before undertaking a variety of roles including Economist, VP Commercial for BG Nigeria, and EVP Safety and Sustainability. She joined Shell in the role of Chair, UK in 2016. Through her work as a founding Board Member of the Energy Leaders Coalition, and a Sponsor at POWERful Women org and This is Engineering, Sinead is playing a leading role in shifting the gender balance towards equality by sharing best practice with other companies.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hannah Grove

EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Member of the Management Committee
State Street Corporation

Hannah is the CMO at State Street and a Founding Member of State Street’s Leading Women Group, established to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization, having aided over 3,500 women since its inception. Named by American Banker in their list of most powerful Women in Banking, Hannah is also on the Global Advisory Board of State Street’s Professional Network aiding in optimizing it’s strategy and advancing State Street’s internal inclusion. Additionally, Hannah is a Board Member of Fund for the Boston Public Library and has been instrumental in raising over $4 million to support critical programming. She has previously served as a Board Member for the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and as a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, reads in public schools to inspire the next generation of young women to enter STEM track careers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Jennifer R. Jackson

President
Capital One Canada

As President of Capital One Canada, Dr. Jackson is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and operations in Canada. Within Capital One, she champions diversity, serving on the Advisory Board for the Black employee resource group and mentoring many women throughout the organization. This year, Dr. Jackson was the keynote speaker at Boss Women Media's 100 Women Sitting at the Table in the U.S. celebrating women in leadership and was one of 20 Canadian leaders selected for the global mentorship program CEOx1Day, giving university students the opportunity to learn directly from top executives. As a member of the Executive Leadership Council and a Board member and committee chair of the BlackNorth Initiative, she works to advance the Black community in business, finance, and leadership across Canada and the U.S. Dr. Jackson served on the Advisory Board for Elevate, a not-for-profit offering tech, innovation, and sustainability programming.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Brenda Trenowden

Partner
PwC

Brenda leads the Inclusion and Diversity community with PwC’s Workforce Strategy and Culture team. Through her strong advocacy, she has encouraged new partners to join the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme, has created a regular D&I forum and has spearheaded a new initiative for bias awareness trainings within the firm. Externally, Brenda was the Global Chair of the 30% Club and current Advisor and Steering Committee Member, is an advisor to the national Hampton-Alexander Review and has recently been named a Trustee on the Board of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Brenda’s work in advisory capacity to the 25x25 Initiative has seen the 30% Club’s goal of a 30% increase in the representation on the FTSE 350 ahead of time. A true leader in D&I, Brenda is committed to driving inclusion in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Executive Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann is a champion of inclusion in the workplace and is committed to driving the charge for equality in business. As Chair of Mastercard’s Gender Steering Committee, Ann has spearheaded the introduction of unified parental leave, rolled out a company-wide mentoring programme and solidified Mastercard’s financial inclusion commitment. Ann is Chair of the Financial Alliance for Women, aiding in an exponential growth of their global membership, and as Chair of the 30% Club has increased the number of global 30% Club chapters as well as creating a global advisory group. Ann is one of UN Women’s 282 leaders for Generation Equality and has participated as one of the high-level Champions of Gender Equality hosted by Melinda Gates.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vivienne Artz

Chief Privacy Officer
Refinitiv

Alongside her role as Chief Privacy Officer at Refinitiv, Vivienne is a Global Business Sponsor for Gender at Refinitiv and the Sponsor and Mentor for the Refinitiv Women’s Network. Championing inclusion in business and beyond, Refinitiv has achieved its 40% target for gender equality at executive leadership level and Vivienne has successfully collaborated with external networks to amplify messages and work regarding gender inclusion. Vivienne has helped accelerate the recruitment process by creating a pool of women candidates and ensuring the visibility of a slate of outstanding diverse talent. Named as WeAreTheCity’s Rising Star ‘Editor’s Choice’, externally Vivienne is President and CEO of Women in Banking & Finance which connects, challenges and inspires individuals with institutions and applies a gender lens across the industry. She has doubled membership, launched an incredible digital offering and has shared best practice and improved strategies to ensure long-term gender equality is reached.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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June Felix

CEO
IG Group

Since becoming CEO of IG Group in 2018, June has shown herself to be a passionate believer in meritocracy championing gender diversity and women’s inclusion across the global jurisdictions in which IG operates. She is one of only 14 women in the CEO role of a FTSE 350 company, and uses her position to act as a role model for women. She has been instrumental in reshaping attitudes around the qualities and qualifications of CEOs in the finance and trading sector. Under her leadership, IG has increased female representation in the business by almost 5% and introduced the ‘One IG Goals’ initiative, which includes setting ambitious regional targets to challenge local leaders and drive women’s representation and retention in the organisation. June is the Regional Co-Chair of the Committee of 200 (C200) Diversity Council, supporter of the Blossom Awards, which recognises the contribution of those of Chinese and Asia-Pacific heritage to the UK, and last year, was a finalist in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief HR Officer
Unilever

Leena is the Chief HR Officer at Unilever and has championed inclusion across all levels of business and beyond. She has implemented a flagship Parental Support programme, customized leadership development programmes to accelerate the progression of women talent by over 25% and is a regular speaker, having notably delivered the keynote speech at One Young World (2019). Leena is a Steering Committee Member of The Future of Education, Gender and Work within the World Economic Forum, a Leadership Council Member for the International Centre for Research on Women, a Steering Committee Member of the Global Future Council on New Social Contract and leads a programme called ‘Shakti’ in South America which empowers women in rural areas with the tools to set up sustainable distribution businesses. Leena’s successful efforts in bridging the gender inequality gap has created tangible opportunities for women across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

Chairwoman & CEO
EY ShinNihon LLC

Masami is the first woman Chair and CEO of a Big 4 accounting firm in Japan. As one of the Founders and steering committee members of WindS, a 2000-person strong women’s association, Masami has mentored employees and regularly speaks at internal and external events. Featured in the Nikkei Asian Review and Vogue Japan, Masami is a champion of gender equality and is key to driving change within her organization and beyond. In her capacity as Executive Director at NPO J-Win’s Executive Network and as an Advisory Board Member for Catalyst Japan, Masami has elevated the visibility of women in Japan and has created numerous opportunities for cross-company collaboration. EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program in Japan and efficaciously compered its event in Tokyo to aid women entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific develop networks with further entrepreneurs, stakeholders and the community.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Antonia Romeo

Permanent Secretary and Civil Service Gender Champion, Department for International Trade
UK Civil Service

Antonia is Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade (DIT). Prior to joining DIT, Antonia was the first woman to be appointed Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York. As Civil Service Gender Champion, Antonia has worked with colleagues to create an inclusive culture within the wider Civil Service. Antonia serves as a mentor and coach to women across the Civil Service and beyond, and is a regular speaker at internal and external events. Antonia was recognised in the 2018 Women in Fintech Powerlist for her continued advocacy for gender equality in financial services, and in the 2019 Most Influential Women in UK-India Relations list.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Christiana Riley

CEO, Americas
Deutsche Bank

Serving as the first woman Deutsche Bank Management Board Member, and first woman CEO of DB Americas, Christiana was named one of "Ten People Set to Shape Wall Street in 2020" by the Financial Times in 2020. Committed to driving inclusion in the workplace and beyond, in her role at Deutsche Bank she has worked to entrench equal parental leave and has set and achieved gender equality objectives for its US headquarters. As a member of the Partnership for New York City, Christiana spearheaded work on Covid’s impact on diverse communities. As a Board Director for DB Americas Foundation, Christiana supports various initiatives aimed to promote and elevate women in society including through partnerships with the nonprofits Hot Bread Kitchen, The Young Women's Leadership Schools, and the Center for Women's History. Serving as the first woman CEO in the company's 150 year history, she has added to study on women in leadership under the direction of McKinsey and Oliver Wyman.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Lord

Senior Managing Director, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
BlackRock

A champion of inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond, Rachel is the Global Executive Sponsor of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative and Allies Network and Chair of BlackRock’s EMEA Executive Committee (EEX). Among her achievements is hiring and retaining a diverse body of talent, creating development opportunities for women across all levels of the business and increasing women’s representation within the EEX to 42%. Named as one of 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance, Rachel also sits on the board of the Investment Association, regularly speaks at events for senior women in business and delivered the keynote speech at the Credit Suisse Women’s Financial Summit. Rachel is a passionate advocate for creating businesses that are for everyone to be their full, authentic selves.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor for HSBC Balance Worldwide, and serves as Co-Chair for Balance China since launching the initiative in 2018 during her time as Chief Operating Officer, HSBC China. A committed advocate for equality and equitability in the workplace and beyond, Terecina supports the recruitment and retention and engagement of a diverse body of talent, mentors colleagues globally and organizes company-wide initiatives to drive inclusion. Terecina is actively involved in wider woman network within Asia and beyond and has aided in sharing best practice regarding how Covid-19 has transformed the D&I Landscape, driving tangible change for women in the workplace. Having regularly spoken at panels and been the subject of various internal and external interviews, as one of few Asian female leaders in a well-known international bank, Terecina is keen to see additional ethnicity and gender diversity at senior level. Having been COO for HSBC China since 2018, Terecina has recently been appointed COO for HSBC Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street CEO
State Street Corporation

Yvonne Garcia serves as Chief of Staff to State Street’s CEO, Ron O’Hanley and as Global Head of Internal Communications. Previously, Yvonne served as Director in Marketing and Distribution Strategy for Liberty Mutual and as Vice President for Bank of America’s China Construction Bank Program. Yvonne served as the Chairwoman for the largest Latino Professional Organization in the country, ALPFA. Yvonne is the co-founding Chair of Milagros para Niños at Boston Children’s Hospital. She serves on Massachusetts’ Latino Advisory Commission Board and also as Chairwoman for Greater Boston Chamber’s Women’s Network. Yvonne has been named one of Fortune’s Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas in the US three years in a row and in Boston Business Journal’s Power 50. Yvonne holds an MBA from Boston University and a BA from SUNY Albany and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a graduate of the ARMY R.O.T.C. program at Siena College.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Penny James

Chief Executive Officer
Direct Line Group

The CEO of Direct Line Group, Penny became a member of DLG as the only woman on the Executive Committee which has grown in numbers since her appointment. She is a signatory to the Women in Finance charter which companies pledge to increase female leadership representation. She was a panellist at Progressive Marketing, co-hosted by the Financial Times and Kantar, who generated #whatwomenwant - encouraging constructive gender representation in brand communications in November 2019. Penny participated in the HM Treasury panel 'Women Rising: a conversation with women at the top' and is a speaker at the Leadership Pipeline 'Topflight' programme, designed for women to excel in their careers. A WeQual sponsor for two consecutive years to embolden numerous women to enter the C-suite level, Penny has a strong record of advocating for gender equality and inclusiveness in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I); Dow Asia Pacific Oversight
Dow Inc.

Jane is president of Dow’s Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure, one of three business operating segments within Dow. With annual sales of $13 Billion, this segment provides innovative solutions to global markets including infrastructure, consumer, construction, mobility and energy. As a member of Sadara Chemical Company’s Board of Directors and the first and only woman board member, Jane advocates for female representation in the workforce. She is also the Executive Sponsor of Dow’s Veteran’s Network and the former Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Inclusion Network. A true champion for gender equality, Jane has taken part in executive-level industry panels, diversifying recruitment talent pipelining and has advanced the development of service members and veterans through providing education and community service opportunities. In her position as the first woman to Co-Chair the Board of Directors at the Alliance to Save Energy, Jane has been recognized for her ongoing contributions to sustainability and diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

Anne has demonstrated a passion for driving gender equality in business. In her capacity as Sponsor and Speaker of Fidelity Women in Tech and Sponsor and Host of Fidelity Senior Women’s Network, Anne advocates for inclusion at a strategic level reinforcing real-life applications, flexible operating and reducing the gender pay gap. Anne is an ambassador for Women on Boards UK and has developed a partnership with the 30% club to boost women career development through involvement in a cross-company mentoring program and has reinforced the launch of Women & Money campaign through four countries – speaking and empowering women clients to take charge of their monetary futures. In 'Women and Money Labs' influencers from industry, government and media were unified to uncover tangible solutions.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Christian Edelmann

Co-Head EMEA Financial Services
Oliver Wyman

Christian is the Executive Sponsor of Oliver Wyman's women's network, WOW, a role he has held for over four years. He carries out female-focused recruiting events globally and leads a number of communication initiatives to profile female leaders. Since 2015, approximately 50% of entry-level consultant appointments have been women and Christian assisted in establishing firm-wide gender targets to ensure that this gender parity is better carried through to more senior roles. In 2018, he co-founded Men4Change with the aim of increasing the number of male allies at Oliver Wyman. Men4Change has significantly improved the quality of dialogue on gender topics within the firm and created a network of like-minded leaders beyond the firm. Most recently, Christian has been leading conversations around intersectional issues, particularly the experiences of Black women and what white men need to do better to be better allies to them, specifically.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Sanjeev Malik

Managing Director,  APAC Head of Technology & Operations
BlackRock

Sanjeev has mentored dozens of women across all levels at BlackRock, as well as sponsoring emerging talent to ensure they receive the exposure and visibility they deserve at appropriate leadership forums.  He champions participation by male colleagues in BlackRock WIN events to gain broader perspectives from female participants.  In partnership with HR, He has led by example, on both recruitment and promotion processes to ensure diverse slates with women candidates and diverse interview panels, as well as data and facts driven promotion decisions that meet our principles and  free of bias. As a technologist, Sanjeev has championed and supported women technologists in APAC Hackathon events. He is also the Inclusion and Diversity Executive Committee Sponsor for Technology and Operations in APAC and founded the Singapore chapter of Forum for Asset Manager ecosystem (FAME) with industry partners equally passionate about  Sharing,  Learning & Development of Talent across all levels  , where he promotes and encourages women leadership and participation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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B. Pagels-Minor

Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B. is on the Board of Directors of YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, an organization whose every aspect of work is to promote and empower women. Some of the critical programs provided by YWCA include child care and parenting services, DEI training for Chicago organizations, and a WOMN ETF, which is the first ETF curated with companies that support women's empowerment efforts. B. is also on the board of Howard Brown Health, which helps provides culturally competent healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community. B. works as a senior product leader at a large media technology company and has worked at some of the world's most recognized and respected companies. B. is also a nationally and internationally recognized speaker specializing in DEI, building effective teams, personal development, and scaling products that delight customers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ingo Perizonius

People Development Director
EDF

Having worked for many years with EDF in France, Ingo, a proud father of four daughters, was used to many more women in senior leadership prior to working in the UK so has proactively pushed for greater equality. While at EDF, he has ensured that the senior leader talent process is 50% female and has laid the foundations and encouraged the organization to run a female only cohort through their talent development process in 2020. His team has helped to set challenging gender balance ambitions at EDF to have 40% female representation at all levels in the business and hold people to account for achieving those ambitions. To help achieve this, he as built inclusive leadership into all of their leadership development programs to create the right environment where everyone is welcome and can thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Garrison Gibbons

Head of People
Knotch

As Head of People, Garrison oversees recruiting, talent, and performance management at Knotch and has helped double the company’s size and increase the female to male ratio at the company with 43% now female-identifying. He has rolled out several new policies including flexible time off and lengthy parental leave and transition back to work policies. As a vocal advocate he has spoken on several panels around women's rights and women in the workplace and has ensured corporate support for several different organizations including the Memorial Slone Kettering Cancer Centre.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Rob Mukherjee

Director
EveryCloud Security

Rob leads the “EveryCloud Everyone” inclusion network – ensuring support from board level through strong internal communications, events and social media. In 2019 he enhanced EveryCloud's Inclusion & Diversity Policy to commit to even greater active support for women and has championed increased flexible working including a flexible 4 day week and reversed work location – so home working became the accepted norm and office working the exception. He is one of only two men on Northern Power Women’s ‘Power Board’ and has been a speaker at various Northern Power Women events as well as a judge for the Northern Power Women Awards. Prior to joining EveryCloud Security, Rob’s work for gender inclusion at Vodafone across the North of England culminated in him receiving the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) ‘Male Mentor of the Year’ and Northern Power Women ‘Agent Of Change’ Award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Edward Chidsey

Partner and Senior Vice President
IHS Markit

Edward is an active member of Women At IHS Markit and was a senior sponsor of IHS Markit’s first ever Return to Work program for primary care givers who left the workforce and were looking to return after a career break. As a vocal advocate he has participated in ELLEVATE panels to discuss gender diversity and sponsorship as well as being involved in numerous UNITY week activities as the Partner Sponsor for the panel on Diversity & Inclusion. Edward has personally sponsored several senior women to help coach and support them for promotion to Executive Director and Managing Director levels. He has also provided company space to Path Forward and participated on a panel with several other companies to discuss views on D&I and to showcase Path Forward opportunities for over 100 returnees.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director
Accenture

Globally Andrew is one of Accenture’s cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures and ethnicities. He is the Executive Sponsor for Accenture’s African-Caribbean Network, and works with global leadership to open and grow opportunities for future women MDs. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Christoph Schweizer

Chairman, Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East, Managing Director and Senior Partner
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Christoph is a member of BCG’s Executive and Operating Committees and in this capacity shares responsibility for ensuring that the Women@BCG program (to recruit, retain, and advance women at BCG) is meeting aspirations and closing the gap when it comes to gender equality. He has played an important role in establishing new forums to acknowledge and celebrate women in the Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East (CEMA) region. Christoph personally reviews the business’s female leadership pipeline twice a year to develop a shared action plan to ensure each woman has the support needed to continue to advance at BCG and to find a successful commercial platform. During the COVID-19 crisis, he advocated for a creation of a new flexibility and compensation model which was designed specifically for caregivers who have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis. This program is a critical resource for many female—and male—employees.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dickson Hoi Keung Lee

Chief Financial Officer
Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited

In his role of CFO of Standard Chartered Bank in China, Dickson is dedicated to creating an environment of gender diversity and women's inclusion. His efforts to promote opportunities for women is reflected in the fact that approximately 72% of Standard Chartered Bank China staff are women.  Dickson also provides full support for a series of events across various branches to promote gender equality including the CEO sharing forum with colleagues on International Women's Day. He advocates for wellbeing at work and is currently leading a project to revamp the future work model to ensure that work can fit each colleague's needs, especially those of women. Dickson also works closely with other senior executives to ensure that Standard Chartered Bank China continues to provide financial support and education for female owned business and engages actively with female clients through events covering financial planning, next generation education, and volunteering.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Lou Maiuri

Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Management Committee
State Street Corporation

Lou is Executive Sponsor of State Street’s Professional Women Network (PWN) providing professional development opportunities for women across the company. He launched and continues to lead PWN's Global Advisory Board – a group of senior executives who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices. As a Mentor and Executive Sponsor, Lou regularly presents on career management and talent management within State Street to give women the tools they need to advance their careers. He also supports the Esperanza Academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a tuition-free, independent middle school welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races and cultures.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director – Reed Business & Analytics (Division of RELX plc), CEO & President ICIS
Reed Business & Analytics (Division or RELX plc) & ICIS

Dean is a strong advocate for inclusion and oversees an organization which has a 50/50 gender balance across the entire workforce, as well as within the leadership team. Dean has driven D&I initiatives including unconscious bias training for employees, gender balance leadership and mentoring programmes and sponsorship initiatives for women , all of which improved employee engagement, retention and employee satisfaction rates. Dean believes that for diversity to be sustainable, first you must have inclusion. From a background in sport he understands that all high performing teams have inclusion as a pillar of their culture, where members can be the very best version of themselves. Dean regularly sits on panels and promotes ICIS’ ERG groups and is currently working with others to set up a D&I forum for the Energy and Chemical industry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Charlie Nunn

CEO, Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC

Charlie is the Sponsor for Wealth and Personal Banking’s Accelerating into Leadership (AiL) program targeted at women with the aspiration to progress. Benefits of the program includes increased confidence, a focus on strengths, visibility with senior leaders, and the opportunity of meeting a wider group of high-performing and motivated peers. He also led the creation of the Executive Committee Gender Dashboard which provides visibility to the weighting of men and women at senior leader level for each of the teams aligned to Executive Committee members. In his role as CEO, Charlie has supported and taken part in many engagements and initiatives related to gender inclusion including the Wealth and Personal Banking Graduate Program, the EXPLORE leadership development program, and the Accelerating Female Leadership program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Francois Rigou

Managing Director, Head of Engineering in Asia Pacific
Goldman Sachs

Francois is a member and Gender Strategy Lead for the Asia Pacific Inclusion and Diversity Committee (APIDC) at Goldman Sachs ensuring there is an inclusion of women during both recruitment and promotion processes. He is also a Sponsor of the Asia Pacific Women in Engineering Network (APWE) and Managing Director Ally of the APAC Women's Network. As Head of Engineering in Asia Pacific he has expanded gender-focused initiatives and been involved in developing the next generation of women engineers through his support of The Women's Foundation's (TWF) Girls Go Tech program and their bi-annual STEM Competition and Awards Ceremony. He is a member of TWF's Male Allies Initiative, where he works with other senior male leaders from across industries and within Goldman Sachs to further gender equality in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Harkness

Partner
Clifford Chance LLP

David is Chair of Clifford Chance’s UK Inclusion Committee and has championed a series of initiatives to promote gender inclusion and diversity including publishing pay gap data beyond the statutory minimum, designating partners at every remuneration meeting to ensure gender equality is respected, and creating a network of “Inclusion Advocates” to support those at the receiving end of any sexist behaviour or unconscious bias. He encouraged the relaunch of Accelerate>>> as a global gender parity group and the introduction of a new target of 30% women UK partners by 2025. David is also a member of the Development Board at Tender; a charity dedicated to reducing domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Krentz

Managing Director & Senior Partner
BCG

Matt is Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and leads the Women@BCG program with the purpose of improving women's recruiting, retention, advancement and satisfaction at the firm. Under his leadership Boston Consulting Group has increased women as a percentage of entry level hires from 29% to 40% with the number of women partners growing at three times the rate of male partners. Matt has also been responsible for developing BCG's DE&I offering for clients, advising Chief Executives on their DE&I strategies. Outside of BCG, Matt is on the Advisory Board for Catalyst, the Business Roundtable’s (BRT) Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and WEF Community of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers (CDIOs).

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Eisen

SVP & Partner, Financial Services Solutions
IHS Markit

Andrew is heavily involved in a number of groups at IHS Markit dedicated to gender equality, including Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Forum, member of the IHS Markit Ally Network and member of the Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Executive Working Group. As a Sponsor for Women in Tech, he has helped develop a mentoring program that nurtures women’s leadership skills, empowering participants to own and drive their careers and build confidence to have crucial career development conversations with their managers. As a long-term advocate, Andrew has also been involved in dozens of internal and external D&I committees and initiatives focused on the issue of gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dominic Christian

Global Chairman Reinsurance Solutions
Aon

Dominic is the Chairperson of Aon’s Diversity Council and sponsor of the Gender IQ Business Resource Group which was renamed from the Women’s International Network in 2019 to encourage more men to get involved and champion gender equality. In addition to Aon, Dominic is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyd’s and was instrumental in the launch of The Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2019 saw events take place in 60 cities across 32 countries, with over 10,000 attendees. Dominic played a significant role in launching a cross-industry Inclusive Behaviors in Insurance Pledge, asking films in the industry to sign up and demonstrate their commitment to a culture where inclusive behaviors are the norm. Dominic is also involved with a women’s non-profit organization “Lift as You Climb” which promotes and advises women on career advancement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Joe Duffy

Head of Global Client Management EMEA
BNY Mellon

Joe is on the Steering Committee for WIN (BNY Mellon’s Women’s Employee Resource Group) as a Male Ally and has for many years been a vocal advocate for the promotion of diverse talent. As a result his EMEA Global Client Management Team has a gender split of 56% women to 44% men. He has actively supported the 30% Club Ireland including the launch of its expanded 2018 Executive Education Scholarship Program. Through Joe, BNY Mellon have also sponsored the Women in Management Report for the previous five years witnessing the progress that has been made in improving the gender balance in business leadership across Ireland.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Hill CBE

Chairman
Keller Group plc

As Chairman of Keller Group, Peter has reviewed and changed the composition of the Board increasing representation of women from 25% to 66%. In 2019, he was responsible for the appointment of Keller’s first Non-executive Director for Workforce Engagement whose remit includes the encouragement of the diversity and inclusion agenda at Keller. In addition to this, Peter has been supporting the role creation and appointment of Keller’s first Group Head of Talent and Diversity. Peter has also encouraged diverse board membership and diverse organisations in his role of Chairman at other companies including Petra Diamonds, Volution Group plc and the Royal Air Force.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Larry Tomei

Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC Bank Canada

Larry Tomei is a passionate advocate for Diversity & Inclusion. As a first generation Canadian, Larry knows the challenges faced by newcomers; it was this experience which led to his devotion to promoting D&I. Larry is a strong supporter of empowering women in the workforce. At HSBC Bank Canada, he has achieved a 50% gender balance on his leadership team and has championed three-year gender promotion objectives. Larry created a platform for female leaders to raise their profiles. He often designates women leaders to represent him in business and speaking engagements, and leverages communication channels to promote women as role models for upcoming employees. Larry mentors and sponsors women, ultimately leading to career advancement and transition into more progressive and impactful roles. He hosts “Women Only” exchange sessions to facilitate feedback and identify opportunities for improvement and creating a pipeline of top talent. Larry leads participation in International Women’s Days.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Steve Murrells

CEO
Co-op

Under Steve’s leadership at Co-op Group, gender diversity in senior hires has increased from 33% women in 2017 to 56% women in 2020. The executive team recruited by Steve has women leading two of the biggest business areas as well as the roles of Chief Finance Officer, Chief People Officer, and Group Secretary and Legal Counsel. Steve has developed a strong D&I agenda at the organization with aims for increasing inclusion and representation at all levels of the businesses. Since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Steve became the first major UK business leader to call for an increased commitment for tracking racism in the workplace and commissioned new work within the Co-op Group to address their own issues of cultural and institutional discrimination.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Patrick Street

Managing Director
Goldman Sachs

Patrick promotes gender diversity in hiring and champions initiatives to attract women talent from diverse backgrounds, specifically into roles not historically marketed towards women. These initiatives include co-running the spring and summer intern program for Global Markets with over 50% of hires being women over the last 3 years. He has also supported the implementation of the Women's Trader Academy; women in their penultimate university year learn about being a trader. The program has contributed towards an increase of 150% in women analysts joining trading and met the aspirational goal of hiring 50% women traders at junior levels over the last 2 years (from less than 20% before implementation). Outside of Goldman Sachs, Patrick is actively engaged with social mobility organizations to support their mission of helping students from less-advantaged backgrounds to secure jobs. He is a Trustee of CityHarvest – a fresh food rescue and redistribution charity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Robert Fairbairn

Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of Human Capital Committee
BlackRock

As the Co-chair of the Human Capital Committee and Talent Sub-Committee, Robert has led and sponsored a number of initiatives aimed at increasing gender equality in the workplace. He helped launch BlackRock’s Women Leadership Forum, established extended maternity/paternity leave and a flexible time-off policy, and sponsored numerous senior women, through investing in helping them find broader, more impactful careers at BlackRock. As Interim Global Head of HR, Robert expanded adoption assistance and new surrogacy and egg freezing benefits for all employees. Robert is also one of the founders of the first chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network based on the East coast. As one of BlackRock Women's Leadership Forum Chairs, Robert has been a Global Executive Committee sponsor of the program for many years and has been instrumental in involving other Global Executive Committee members as sponsors of women in the program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has been an active force in promoting gender balance and equality and has helped Simmons & Simmons achieve an 11% increase in the percentage of female partners. He is a Senior Ally for the Allies Network and has worked towards improving gender diversity by focusing on helping more women progress through to partnership and into senior management positions. He chairs quarterly gender balance meetings and has started a reverse mentoring partnership with his female BAME partner lead to gain a personal insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by diverse colleagues across the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Michael Miebach

President and CEO-Elect
MasterCard

As President and CEO-Elect, Michael understands that ending gender discrimination isn’t just a matter of basic human rights; it’s eradicating a barrier to accelerating sustainable development. Promoting women’s leadership in driving economic growth and galvanizing their willpower isn’t just about enriching economies—it’s about building a more just, equitable global society. During the course of Michael’s 10 years at Mastercard, he has been a visionary who kickstarted much of the work behind their financial inclusion journey. Recently, Mastercard has expanded its commitment to financial inclusion, pledging to bring a total of one billion people and fifty million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025, with a direct focus on supplying twenty-five million women entrepreneurs with solutions to help them grow their businesses. Outside of Mastercard, Michael is part of the Accion Board of Directors; providing support to two billion adults across the world lacking financial services. In 2018, MasterCard and Accion launched a partnership, bringing Mastercard’s worldwide networks and resources together to transform millions of underserved micro and small businesses while focusing on the cultivation of female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Babu Thiagarajan

Former Country General Manager and Head of Technology, India
Fidelity International

Babu is Executive Co-Sponsor of Fidelity International’s Global Gender Network as well as a member on the Global Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. In that role he has brought a formal focus to effectively address the gender imbalance at all levels of the organisation. Externally, as a member of the industry association, NASSCOM, he has sponsored, championed and facilitated their first D&I focused conference in northern India. He continues to champion his teams’ involvement with AnitaB.org and their sponsorship of a Delhi regional chapter to help drive the agenda of women in technology. To engage with their communities on the same objective, Fidelity International in India have successfully skilled over 1000 women from marginalised communities to enable them to take first steps towards employment and empowerment. They have also worked with schools in under privileged areas to enable over 700 girls to stay in school and complete their schooling.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Atsushi Egawa

Japan Market Unit Lead
Accenture Japan Ltd

As Japan Market Unit Lead of Accenture, Atsushi initiated Project Pride – a workstyle reform initiative with the aim to create a working environment which is practical, equal for everyone, and free from discrimination. The outcome of this initiative has been reduced overtime work, greater employee retention, and an increased use of paid holiday time. Since launching Project Pride, the number of women working at Accenture Japan has increased from 21% to 35%, with 44% of new hires now women. Following this transformative work, Atsushi speaks regularly at events on the importance of diversity and inclusion, as well as advises other organizations in Japan on adopting work practices which promote and support gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jim Brown

Chief Executive Officer
Sainsbury's Bank

Through his life and work experiences, across multiple continents, Jim has seen first-hand the benefits that diversity brings to both the workplace and society.  As CEO for Sainsbury’s Bank, and Board Sponsor for Gender at Sainsbury’s, Jim is focussed on moving the dial on diversity and is committed to promoting an inclusive culture where colleagues from all backgrounds are able to reach their full potential.  Jim championed the recent launch of Sainsbury’s Gender Network, INSPIRE, and is actively engaged in the network’s plans and events.  Under his leadership at Sainsbury’s Bank, diversity and inclusion is a key component of the organisational goals with all of the Executive team actively involved in specific colleague initiatives including: sponsorships of mentoring circles and a development programme for Women, launch of an Inclusion Working Group and, overseeing commitments made to the Women in Finance Charter.  Outside of Sainsbury’s, Jim is a Be Inspired Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Osman Ershad Faiz

Chief Information and Operating Officer (CIOO)
AMTD Digital Inc (a subsidiary of AMTD Group) 

Osman launched the HeforShe network Singapore in 2018. The network currently has over 150 senior male leaders who are committed to helping hundreds of mid-level female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. He also launched the HeforShe Network in Bangladesh, making it one of the first Muslim markets to have a HeForShe network. Alongside this, Osman has been a supporter of the Lead the Women initiative in Singapore which reviews the hiring for women at each grade and identifies opportunities to drive the target of 30% women in key leadership roles. He is also Sponsor of the Women in Tech initiative which offers university students educational visits to Banks to connect with other women in tech. Osman has recently joined AMTD Group as the Chief Information and Operating Officer (CIOO) for AMTD Digital Inc.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Adrian Warr

CEO Hong Kong, Taiwan & Thailand and APAC Employee Experience Leader
Edelman

To drive inclusion, collaboration and equality, Adrian created #WeStepUp at Edelman; an initiative which includes an independent study of pay equality, sponsorship of The Women’s Foundation (TWF), balanced panels for hiring and performance reviews, new flexible working policies and external coaching for returning parents. He is a founding member and the Co-Chair of the Male Allies, a charity under TWF dedicated to tackling gender equality through senior male business leaders. Adrian has played a crucial role in promoting the Male Allies initiative to the wider community and has worked on a key piece of Male Allies research that focuses on the need for male allies in Hong Kong and explores the barriers to men being more engaged in tackling gender inequality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

Mark has been working hard to continue to improve diversity and build an inclusive culture at WPP. Women now make up 50% of WPP’s senior managers and at the Board level, 50% of Board members are now women. They have launched their updated online ethics training, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed inclusion and diversity into hiring processes. As part of their anti-racism commitments, Mark also announced the launch of a new Global Inclusion Council to ensure they are meeting their diversity commitments. In 2020, WPP were also named in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equity Index. Mark is a member of Male Champions of Change Global Tech Group, where he has called on male leaders to help improve gender equity in the technology sector and made a public commitment not to appear on male-only panels. WPP’s partnership with UN Women has also resulted in multiple campaigns to amplify the voice of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa Global & UK

Through his role as CEO, and as sponsor of Bupa’s global leadership development programme, David has championed diversity and inclusion. He has launched Bupa’s code of conduct, including the “Be you at Bupa” commitment, which ensures all colleagues are supported and comfortable in being themselves at work. Last year, he became the first signatory on the government-backed pledge “Leaders as Change Agents” to drive diversity in business and was a signatory for Bupa on the HM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter. He also oversaw the introduction of anonymised CVs to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment. Outside of Bupa, David is the Chairman of HomeServeUK. With his support, HomeServeUK was recently voted one of the Best Workplaces for Women in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Alan Jope

CEO
Unilever

As a business leader, Alan is resolute in his vision to make Unilever a beacon for diversity and inclusion. Part of this is building a gender-balanced workforce, and a wider value chain that helps to empower women. Alan chairs the Unilever Global Diversity Board and is active in all parts of its work, including supporting interventions in traditionally male dominated 'hot spots’ within the business. Already, Unilever has reached its ambition of 50/50 gender balance among its management population of 14,000. Wider progress is driven through programs like Shakti, which trains women in rural areas in new skills and helps them grow into micro-entrepreneurs through selling Unilever products within their local villages. Also through its portfolio of purposeful brands – like Dove, which has taught Self-Esteem workshops to over 35 million girls – and initiatives like #Unstereotype, which focuses on eradicating harmful stereotypes from advertising and advancing progressive portrayals of everyone.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter T. Grauer

Chairman
Bloomberg LP

Peter is a leading force behind advancing gender equality and diversity in the workplace. Under his leadership, Bloomberg’s Gender Equality-Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality, saw a >40% increase in companies included in 2020 vs. 2019. In 2020, Bloomberg expanded “Girls take Finance” to London to provide career opportunities to women in business, finance and technology. Bloomberg also provided corporate support for “This Changes Everything,” a documentary which dives deep into the topic of gender equality and pay equity in Hollywood. With Peter's help, Bloomberg’s Buy-side Network was launched, becoming the first community for women in the asset management industry in Asia. Outside of Bloomberg, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, creating initiatives focused on increasing the pipeline of female talent, and he has served as a mentor with the Catalyst Women On Board initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ron O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

As CEO of State Street Global Advisors, Ron called on corporate boards to make gender diversity a priority to promote better decision-making and launched the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street, which promptly became a global symbol of the need for more women in leadership. Under his own leadership, State Street introduced company-wide diversity goals tied directly to executive’s compensation, and were included on the Working Mother 100 Best Companies List as well as the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. As well as being Executive Sponsor for State Street's Black Professionals Group, Ron is also a member of the Boston Foundation Board of Directors: a prominent community foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Ron has recently launched the Small Business Strong initiative, a partnership of leading businesses in Massachusetts with the aim of supporting women and minority-based businesses negatively affected by the COVID-19 associated economic downturn.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Howard Ungerleider

President & Chief Financial Officer
Dow Inc.

Dow President and Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider is a vocal advocate for a safe, inclusive and supportive workplace for all employees. Since his appointment to the position in 2014, female direct reports to the President and CFO increased from 0% to 35% in 2020, and Finance Leadership Team female representation increased from 13% to 40% in 2020. Ungerleider serves as the executive sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) – Dow’s employee resource group for the equality and advancement of women in the workplace. In this role, Ungerleider has helped provide a framework to share experiences, find mentors, seek professional development, and find routes to senior leadership. His work also includes supporting Dow’s partnership with Forte, sponsoring the EY POWERUP program to empower women, hosting MARC Workshops in partnership with Catalyst to engage men as allies, and championing Sponsor to Success to advance women and U.S. minority talent development.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Koichi Tsuji

Chairman & CEO
EY Japan

Koichi is a Committee Member at the EY Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Steering Committee and is a strong advocate for increased flexible working. This has included the introduction of both flex-time systems and improved childcare programs to support women in the workplace. EY ShinNihon, the Assurance practice within EY Japan, won the J-Win Diversity Award in 2018 under his tenure as Chairman & CEO; awarded by NPO J-Win, an organization dedicated to empowering Japanese women. Koichi supported the declaration on action by a group called (translated) "A Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in which Women Shine"; an initiative supported by the Cabinet Office. As Chairperson & CEO of EY Japan, he is also supporting a program called Entrepreneurial Winning Women to foster female entrepreneurs, and a program called Women Athletes Business Network to assist retired young female athletes transition into business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jimmy Etheredge

CEO – North America
Accenture

Jimmy Etheredge is deeply committed to accelerating equality for all and takes seriously his responsibility as an ally and advocate.  Under his leadership, Accenture is on its way to achieving a bold goal of a 50/50 gender-equal workforce by 2025.  He has ensured a thriving women’s Employee Resource Group, sponsored a Women in Technology development initiative, and led programs to accelerate senior women to leadership roles. In 2019, Jimmy was appointed to the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, to pursue equality, wage peace, fight disease and build hope.  Dedicated to creating new pathways to tech jobs for underrepresented groups, Jimmy is overseeing the expansion of the company’s pioneering apprentice program.  More than 700 apprentices in 20 cities have participated in the program, which provides paid training and the opportunity to join Accenture in a technology role.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jeremy Darroch

CEO
Sky

Jeremy is a vocal advocate and has championed gender equality to help make Sky a company of choice for women. Over a number of years, he has driven and supported a range of initiatives, including; a 'Women into Leadership' programme to help strengthen Sky’s talent pipeline; a 15 week 'Get into Tech' initiative to increase representation of women in technology, and the Sky Returner Program, a paid six-month placement to help senior level people who have taken a 2+ year career break return to full time careers. With Jeremy’s support Sky now has a well-established Women@Sky employee network and has partnered with The WBC and Management Today to spotlight Britain’s “Agents of Change” – male allies supporting women in business. Alongside his role at Sky, Jeremy is Chair of Business in the Community where he inspires, engages and challenges organisations to make business a force for good in society.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Cooper

CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking
Standard Chartered Bank

Since becoming the Chairman of the Global D&I Council, Simon has been responsible for Standard Chartered Bank’s focus on engaging all genders. His 2018 global D&I strategy resulted in shifting accountability to the businesses’ CEOs for the delivery of local D&I plans and objectives, delivery of Inclusive Leadership workshops, and the introduction of enablers such as global Fair Play Charter and Gender Pay Gap disclosure in key markets. His extensive and integrated approach to D&I has ensured a positive trend across several indicators, including representation of women in senior roles. Simon has also driven gender equality beyond the workplace including the “Men Advocating Real Change” program in the UK, India and Singapore. He has also advanced the Impact Investment Exchange Singapore with their second Women’s Livelihood Bond (a multi-country listed gender bond), creating sustainable livelihoods for 250,000+ underserved women in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Kenny

CEO and CDO
Nielsen

David is the current CEO and CDO at Nielsen, founding partner of Leading Executives Advancing Diversity (LEAD) Network, and council member of Advancing Diversity Leadership Council. Under his leadership, Nielsen have signed the LEAD Network Pledge to increase women in leadership from 39% to 46% by the end of 2021. They have also introduced a number of other initiatives which have put D&I at the center of the company including tying executive incentives to D&I targets, implementing Executive Leader representation for ERGs, adding D&I contributions into company annual performance reporting, and adding an inclusion index into the employee engagement survey. On conducting a Women in Leadership study in 2019 Neilson learned that they have equality for women in advancement, career movement, bonuses and performance reviews. David also helped launch a Wise up to Women research project which shapes how companies can rethink their approach to marketing, innovation and designing their services for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Marc Benioff

Chair and CEO
Salesforce

Under Marc’s leadership as Chairperson and CEO of Salesforce, the company undertook a comprehensive study of remuneration to ensure women were paid equally for comparable work to men spending nearly $3 million to eradicate differences in salaries in this first ever equal-pay assessment. Salesforce have continued to undertake this company-wide assessment on a yearly basis spending over $12 million to guarantee equal pay for equal work. He has been a strong advocate for the Salesforce Women's Network which is the company's largest equality group and strengthens the development of women in each step of their career journey. This group concentrates on expert and personal growth, allyship, accommodating networks, and working towards gender equality. It also has content and activities designed to support the values of empathy, reliance, welfare, and advancement of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Brittin

President, EMEA Business & Operations
Google

Matt is the Executive Sponsor of Women@google and Board Member of the DEI council where he takes responsibility for DEI across EMEA covering over twenty thousand employees. He has also been working for two years as the Executive Sponsor for the regional Women@google community which is the largest employee network throughout 36 countries. Matt initiated #itsuptome - a program to ensure every colleague works to build a more inclusive workplace culture and managers become responsible for progress as part of their quarterly objectives. Matt’s other work includes hosting the initial EMEA Women@google leadership summit, sponsoring the Google State of Black Women summit in EMEA in 2019, and sponsoring of the Women's Forum; a prominent platform for women’s STEM education. He is also an active mentor and sponsor for #IamRemarkable - a worldwide Google initiative that empowers women and underrepresented groups to celebrate successes in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ajay Banga

Chief Executive Officer
MasterCard

Under Ajay’s leadership, Mastercard has become a company where inclusion, opportunity and empowerment for women are global priorities. He has always believed that ending all forms of gender discrimination and fostering women’s participation in the global economy isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s also good business. Mastercard has become a leader in products designed for women and his support in helping them get access to finance and funding shows up in many of the company’s programs, including a $250 million commitment to support small businesses globally and linking identification to payments to benefit the millions of women globally who lack formal ID. Ajay also provided the pioneering vision for Girls4Tech™, the award-winning education program developed to teach STEM foundations and principles to girls around the world. Beyond Mastercard, Ajay is involved in global initiatives and organizations which encourage and empower women financially. He has partnered with World Bank to help women in under-developed areas, and regularly speaks to executive groups and student groups on the importance of inclusion and decency.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Keith Barr

CEO, IHG
IHG

Keith founded and currently chairs IHG's Global D&I Board. He supports IHG’s employee networks and has fostered representation of women on the Executive Committee. Keith also oversaw the introduction of new worldwide flexible working guidelines, and has purposefully promoted and hired women to leadership roles. Under his leadership, IHG has been named in the top 10 companies promoting women in managerial roles in the Hampton-Alexander Review for the past three consecutive years. Keith is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, the leading CEO-directed business pledge to encourage diversity in the workplace. Being a member of the Advisory Board for Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure in 2020 as well as the WiHTL, he has initiated master classes on subjects such as upskilling women to prepare for Executive Committee roles.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Roberts

Chief Executive Officer
Sainsbury's

Simon is the Chief Executive Officer at Sainsbury’s. He has made gender equality an essential element in creating a truly inclusive culture with targets set for increasing diversity at a senior level. He has implemented positive initiatives for gender equality which work across recruitment, retention and promotion. These initiatives include; gender balanced shortlists for senior positions, senior leadership mentoring and sponsorship, the creation of diverse talent pipelines, featuring visible role models in communications and raising awareness around the opportunities for flexible and agile working. As a voice for the industry, Simon recently featured in the Diversity in Grocery report highlighting the importance of diversity, inclusive leadership and the challenges within inclusion that the industry faces.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

As Chief Executive of Diageo, Ivan has taken strong measures to support gender balance within the business, where 50% of its Board and 40% of its Executive Committee are currently women. This includes setting targets for gender balance in senior leadership and insisting on diverse shortlists for external hires. In 2019 Diageo launched an ambitious parental leave policy offering all female employees globally six months fully paid maternity leave and offering the same benefit to men in a majority of markets. Since launch, the average number of paternity leave days taken by men increased from 23 to 105. While speaking at the 2019 Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) Inclusive workplace conference, Ivan drew attention to the need for greater diversity while calling for more employers to come together and become ambassadors for change. In 2018, Ivan was honored with the Men As Change Agents Award from the Women’s Business Council.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma

Andrew is Group Chief Executive of Halma, a FTSE100 global group of life-saving technology companies. He has been steadily improving diversity and gender balance in executive leadership positions within what was previously regarded as a traditional engineering and manufacturing business. This has resulted in Halma’s Executive Board now having five women, representing 63% of Board positions, compared with it being all-male until 2014. There is also significant increased gender balance in the leadership pipeline to ensure sustainability. This includes appointing five female Divisional Chief Executives, who Chair Halma’s companies, in the last two years and targeting for all 45 company boards to be between 40% and 60% gender balanced. To help achieve this target, Halma has encouraged increased diversity of the roles on Boards and recently launched a new global inclusion program to support their continuing efforts to build a truly inclusive culture.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Greg Case

CEO
Aon plc

As CEO of Aon, Greg has put a firm focus on gender equality and aims to achieve 30% women in their most senior role levels globally. In 2019, he set a target for their global Executive Team to sponsor female or ethnic minority colleagues to help create a strong network of future leaders and is actively involved in sponsoring and mentoring as part of this rewarding program. Greg is also personal sponsor of the Women’s International Network (WIN), Aon’s global Business Resource Group to support gender equality. Aon has a comprehensive supplier diversity strategy (Aon Diversity Solutions) that champions women-and minority owned businesses and Greg was one of the first signatories of The Equity Pledge which holds a commitment to working toward achieving gender equity in leadership roles by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Eugenia Planas

Head of Digital Services
Bank of England

Since returning from maternity leave in 2018, Eugenia has co-chaired the Technology Inclusion Council at the Bank of England. This year, the council has been responsible for mandating diverse interview panels for recruitment at senior grades and unconscious bias training for people managers. Eugenia mentors talented women from across the bank, and undertakes career conversations with top talent, recognizing that women continue to be underrepresented in technology. Within the Technology Leadership team, Eugenia acts as a sponsor and advocate for gender diversity, ensuring the subject gets regular and deliberate focus. She is at the forefront of the Bank’s efforts to embrace flexible working and supporting technologies.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eileen Bax

Pathways Development Manager
AXA PPP Healthcare

Eileen has been involved in promoting and supporting the Ways of Working policy at AXA, providing key stakeholder insight from different geographical areas and a range of business areas across a broad demographic. This has included women with responsibilities for elderly or sick family members, women with health vulnerabilities, women seeking work-life balance to improve their overall wellbeing, and working parents. Discussions in this area included men and very senior colleagues, proactively encouraging them to think outside the norms and stereotypes, and to role model change. Eileen is passionate about ensuring fairness for all and empowering managers to handle cases consistently while still recognizing the importance of individual circumstances.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carolina Vaccaro

Total Rewards Senior consultant LAC
SAP

Carolina is the regional leader for the Business Women’s Network at SAP. Last year, as a result of joint efforts from HR and D&I, she collaborated in the update of the ‘Back to Work’ parental leave policy for Argentina, inclusive of all families and absent of gendered language; and they created a regional gender violence campaign to raise awareness. This year, the ‘Back to Work’ policy was expanded throughout the region, and Carolina and the BWN team work on gender violence has extended to a COVID-19 protocol, compiling data from locations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, listing internal and external channels for reporting domestic violence. Together with an employee assistance program, the group now has a code to report cases, which is only shared with women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Silbert

VP + GM, The Balance
Dotdash

As Vice President and General Manager of The Balance, Lauren has worked to make finance topics accessible to everyone, and brought female representation and leadership into a notoriously male-dominated sector. She oversees a predominantly female team of writers and editors covering topics from banking and credit, to the economy and investing. In 2019, Lauren was named a “Corporate Champion” in Folio’s Top Women in Media Awards. Lauren has been a long-time member of The Wing, an organization devoted to providing working and community spaces for women, and regularly contributes to Dotdash's monthly community Diversity and Inclusion meetings. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lydia Brookes

Senior Director - EMEA Syndications
Mizuho Bank

Lydia founded the Mizuho Gender Network in 2017, which has since been enlarged through merging with the gender networks of Mizuho subsidiaries. Lydia, who now co-leads the network, has organized speaker events, driven policy change, with a focus on parental leave, and supported the re-launch of the mentoring scheme. She has secured funding for an external events program with high-profile speakers, targeting imposter syndrome, careers, performance, mindset and resilience. With a focus on policy change, Lydia is now helping the bank understand the need to collate and analyze employment data, and how to use this to impact decision making. She is also focused on tackling the flexible working policy and expanding paternity leave. Lydia mentors women within Mizuho and through Women in Banking & Finance, and represents the bank at external networks, including WIBF and the Network of Networks.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Felicia Ofori-Quaah

Senior Associate
Milbank LLP

Felicia is active member of the Women's Initiative Group, Family Focus Group and Heritage Group (which relates to underrepresented minorities) within Milbank and also acts as a mentor to younger women associates; especially those on their maternal journey. She has been focused on improving the experience of women lawyers who return from maternity leave, including advocating for more effective ‘Return to Life’ procedures and maternity coaching as well as emergency care benefits for carers within Milbank. She has featured as a panel member at Thomson Reuters' Transforming Women's Leadership in the Law conference and was named as a “Mover and Shaker” by The Glass Hammer; an online career resource for professional women in law, finance, technology and business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Brenda Hudson

EMEA Commercial Finance Manager
GroupM EMEA

Brenda founded The Bridge this year to amplify inclusion and belonging to the current diversity programs across WPP in GroupM EMEA. The group works to target those who are at the intersection of race and gender with the aim of providing traditional mentoring and sponsorship, as well as facilitating reverse mentoring to encourage challenging conversations on race and intersectionality with leadership in order to break barriers and create allies. Externally, Brenda set up an informal training program, The Kitchen Table, which she launched in response to work that her grandmother was doing to support a small group of women with financial literacy. The program equips women with vital financial skills to support themselves and their children.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Denise Best

Associate Project Manager
Euromoney Institutional Investor

Denise co-chairs the Race Faith Diversity & Inclusion group at Euromoney Institutional Investor (EII), and has organized numerous events promoting diversity and inclusion. As a member of the EII Charity Committee, EII Cares, Denise works with organizations to support women, such as Iris House, a Harlem-based women’s support organization, and Bottomless Closet, which empowers NYC women in need to enter the workforce and achieve success. EII has participated in clothing drives, resume and interview preparation, safe sex kit preparation and toy drives. Last year, EII hosted the Euromoney@50 awards, where Denise won over $10,000 for Bottomless Closet. Denise is also the creator of the ‘I Am’ empowerment movement, honoring women who are a credit to their community or industry. The group is currently running a series called ‘The State of the Black Woman’, and is starting a mentoring program for young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katy Goodrich

Customer Success Director
Adobe

At Adobe, Katy is a Customer Success Director and co-lead for Women at Adobe and Social Impact Teams for the UK. As part of her Customer Success role, she works with Adobe’s largest Financial Services customers as a trusted advisor towards their digital transformations. Her Women at Adobe and leadership of Social Impact teams involves creating internal programs and community partnerships to promote causes top of mind for Adobe employees, such as championing gender diversity in tech. Her recent accomplishments include co-organizing and hosting Adobe’s first Women in Marketing speaker training program to bring more diverse voices to marketing and financial marketing conferences. She also founded and leads Adobe’s Financial Services Executive Women’s Roundtable, promoting networking and knowledge-sharing among female leaders in Adobe’s customer base. Recently, she co-launched an EMEA Adobe for All Book Club, a space for ongoing reading and ideas to encourage a more inclusive environment for conversation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Masumi Ichimoto

Associate Director, Accenture Technology
Accenture Japan Ltd

Masumi is involved in the Japan Inclusion & Diversity Initiative at Accenture Japan, where she developed a program for working parents to help them continue working without stress after returning to work, with a focus on career development and a healthy work-life balance. The program focuses in particular growing working mothers’ career opportunities, challenging the misconception that returning mothers are limited by less flexible working hours. It also focuses on unconscious bias around parenting, and is inclusive of working fathers. Masumi’s program has contributed to Accenture being ranked in the top ten of Nikkei Dual’s ‘Best Companies for Working Parents’ in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Relationship Manager
Bank of Ireland

Catherine is the UK Representative for the Gender Balance Network, supporting Bank of Ireland’s Inclusion & Diversity Team. She represents the UK Corporate Banking division in idea generation, and engaging with decision-makers and key stakeholders internally, with an aim to grow the culture of inclusivity within the bank. This year, Catherine has spearheaded a series of inclusive programs, including a Woman in Business & Finance initiative in partnership with Deloitte, leading high-impact webinars with a diverse group of panellists. Catherine mentors upcoming women within the organisation and externally, is involved in supporting and empowering millennial women at all stages of their career, through bespoke mentorship and coaching whilst also offering opportunities to broaden their network. She is a member of The Women's Chapter and 100 Women in Finance; where she actively participates in sessions promoting D&I by sharing best practices to create a ripple effect and close the gender gap.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ranu Sharma

Head of International Operations and Technology Finance
MasterCard (VocaLink)

Ranu sits on the MasterCard Women Leadership Network, heading up the London Operations and Technology guild, whilst also advocating for young working mothers from minority ethnic backgrounds within a male-dominated industry. Ranu was instrumental in Introducing the concept of ‘Reversed Balanced Mentoring’ program to Senior Management, whereby less senior colleagues mentor executives within the organization, whilst ensuring the program maintains a 50:50 gender balance. Outside of this, Ranu leads women’s forums and coaching sessions across the AAPAC region, and shares best practices and experiences to encourage women to lean in and step up, to be more confident and to grow. She has helped transform the lives of young youths through her own Podcast Series and other influences.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carol Reddy

Manager, Client Services
Northern Trust

Carol is a Client Service Delivery Manager at Northern Trust. In addition to chairing the business’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council in Ireland, Carol participates in the Ireland Executive Gender Balance Group; a sub-committee of Northern Trust's Ireland management team solely focused on ensuring gender parity across its workforce in Ireland. While recognising the intersectionality of women, Carol has championed a female-focused cohort of an internal mentoring programme to support the development women in the early-to-mid stages of their professional life, introduced role modelling initiatives to enhance the visibility of senior females, and driven an increase in male ally-ship through inclusive engagement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Musidora Jorgensen

Head of UK Energy & Utilities
Salesforce

As an ally and speaker for the Salesforce Women’s Network, Musidora has been a strong advocate of promoting gender diversity within her career, and is one of the UK leadership team on Salesforce’s internal working group focused on more inclusive hiring. She coaches, mentors and sponsors women both internally at Salesforce but also externally across the wider STEM industry. She's also regularly involved with the Women In Sales Awards Europe; an organization created to recognize excellence in sales across a very male dominated industry. Musidora has spoken on gender diversity as a keynote speaker for the Salesforce Women’s Network, at the Women in Sales Conference, at the PwC Women’s Network, and is due to speak at the House of Commons in February as part of the Gamechangers Women's Network. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mira Niswonger

Senior Program/Project Manager
Capital One Bank

Mira is a member of the leadership and coordination team for the Diversity Inclusion & Belonging Council at Capital One Bank. In this role she helps to shape and drive the bank’s D&I strategy and also collaborates to form alliances and develop strategy with other diversity groups and networks at Capital One; creating a culture of allyship with an enhanced understanding of the importance of intersectionality. Within the EmpowHER business resource group she leads conversations beyond race and gender to include other identities that influence the experiences of working moms and which can create barriers to advancement and authenticity at the workplace. Mira has designed and led development programs for Capital One promoting both career mobility and career development, therefore helping individuals to bring more of their talents and potential to their work.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mamaa Duker

UK, Business Development Associate Director
WPP

Mamaa was born and raised in Ghana and has lived and worked across four countries including the UK, US and Hong Kong. She is the lead for WPP Roots - WPP's ethnic & cultural diversity employee network which plays an active role in amplifying the voices of ethnic minority leaders within the company and creating platforms for ethnic minority women to share their experiences. She has actively worked to embed inclusive thinking throughout WPP’s global network – leading Roots’ expansion, and successfully launching a workshop called “Covering in the workplace”, which explores how ethnic minority employees cover aspects of their identities in order to fit in. She also created an Anti-Racism Resource Pack following George Floyd’s death featuring support resources for Black women. As well as providing informal mentoring for junior colleagues at WPP, Mamaa provides mentorship to young female students at Aves International Academy in her hometown of Tema, Ghana.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kristin Parris

Senior Manager, Talent Development
Essence

Kristin is the North American lead for POC@Essence, an employee resource group focused on supporting people of color within the agency. She oversees initiatives across six offices to support women of color, spearheading over 10 women-led programs in the last two years with topics including industry thought leadership, wellness and media resources. She has partnered closely with the leads for Womxn@Essence, the agency’s gender-diversity group, to launch the Essence Immersion Program; a pipeline program giving underrepresented groups virtual networking opportunities and increased visibility within the advertising industry. In July 2020, Kristin was selected by the Advertising Club of New York to participate in the i'mPART Women’s Fellowship executive training program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kyoshia Jackson

Legal & Compliance Paralegal
Moët Hennessy USA

Kyoshia is actively engaged in Moet Hennessy’s diversity and inclusion efforts — first, as a member of the former Polycultural committee, and now, organizing and leading Moet Hennessy USA’s first Black employee resource group. In 2019, she organized the company’s first Black History Month celebration, and then co-authored its IDE strategy. Most recently, she was the catalyst for the company‘s discussion of racial bias and systemic injustices that affect Black Americans. Kyoshia‘s personal mission is to ensure upfront presence of more Black professional women in her industry, and her leadership, insight, and confidence have inspired her peers to join her efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Hennessey

Senior associate
Allen & Overy

Louise was appointed Chair of A&O’s women’s network, WiN, in November 2018, and was tasked with revitalising the network and formulating the shape and strategy of the committee. Since then, WiN has organized numerous successful events and seminars to promote gender equality in the firm, including collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, and discussion groups profiling recently promoted women partners to inspire junior women associates and to make male sponsor allies aware of the valuable role they play in this process. Louise was also involved in the development of a quarterly program to support and develop the careers of A&O’s junior women lawyers, is participating in a program aimed at supporting mid-level women lawyers, and has contributed to a paper presented to the board which helped shape the firm’s gender strategy and targets. Externally, Louise mentors diverse female students, is a champion for Women for Women International, and has helped co-ordinate donations with the Hygiene Bank among other causes.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Noble

Director
Deloitte MCS

Sarah started Women at the Wheel in 2016 as a networking group to drive positive change by supporting women on their automotive career journeys. As a Director in Consulting and working with clients across the industry, she was struck by the lack of diversity in the top roles and the desire to inspire women to grow and succeed in the industry. Women at the Wheel is guided by three main tenets; to inspire women to achieve their top potential, to encourage collaboration towards gender equality across the industry, and to strengthen women’s careers through providing regular events and a platform for discussion of key issues impacting women. The group now has over 850 members including both men and women drawn from 150 organizations across the UK automotive sector including all the major manufacturers. As well as leading Women at the Wheel, Sarah coaches others across industries to set-up similar organisations, is a mentor and sponsor across her own network, works with the Automotive Council UK on the diversity & inclusion committee, and is a frequent speaker on diversity in business at conference and client events.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yusra Hussain

IT Advisor - Asset Management, New Energies
Shell

Yusra has taken part in many different projects in the past 2 years supporting women from diverse backgrounds. This includes an E-mentoring program for children aged 14-16 in an East London school and a STEM mentoring program for Shell women in the early part of their careers. This initiative was set up to connect young women in STEM with senior women and men interested in helping them develop professionally, with a specific lens on STEM and the challenges associated with it. Yusra launched the inaugural Women in STEM @ Shell awards and hosted Shell’s largest Bring Your Child to Work Day, with 150 children between the ages of 9-15, taking part in STEM workshops, talks and showcasing both female and male role-models. In response to COVID19, Yusra is working with Robogals as a special program lead to bring online STEM content to girls across the world.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jagjeet Doheley

Learning Services Manager
British Retail Consortium

Jagjeet co-leads a project to inspire inclusion within retail environments and is partnering with the Centre for Inclusive Leadership to hold Inclusion Dialogues with industry leaders to inspire change. She leads personal branding sessions for women in leadership and has helped women leaders and business-owners build confidence to move up the ladder and to solidify their brand. In her previous role, Jagjeet ran mindfulness sessions to encourage wellness practices based around gender and energy levels.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claire Foster Chart. PR, FCIPR

Senior Manager - Corporate Affairs
Direct Line Group

Claire champions diversity at every opportunity with a specific focus on paying it forward. She helped create the ‘My Life’ parental leave transparency and flexible working policy at Direct Line Group, launching it externally to set an example across business. Her research in this area was used in support of a Parliamentary Bill led by Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson to make all large organisations publish their parental leave and pay policies. Claire is a former Vice President of Women in PR, helping women reach their potential through mentoring, events and championing gender issues. Claire has now joined the Executive Board of Global Women in PR, an organisation dedicated to supporting female talent in the PR industry. Despite being on maternity leave in 2019, Claire won the PRCA’s City and Financial Professional of the year and became a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah Primrose is a member of the Financial Restructuring group at King & Spalding. Her practice focuses on representing debtors, lenders, and  creditors in Chapter 11 reorganization cases along with other bankruptcy-related litigation throughout the country. Sarah is part of the firm’s Women's Affinity Group where she helps promote both internal and external events supporting women and fostering professional development. As a member of the King & Spalding Hiring Committee, she recruits new hires and serves as a formal mentor for summer associates along with first year associates. Externally, Sarah’s commitment to gender equality includes current and past service as a member of the United Way Young Professionals Board for Greater Atlanta, as a Board Member for the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation-Georgia Network, as part of the Junior League of Atlanta promoting women’s leadership development, and as a Wellsprings volunteer working directly with victims of sex trafficking.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Anderson

UI/UX Designer
RobustWealth Inc.

Rachel Anderson is the Founder and Host of the RobustWealth Roundtable; an interview series for the awareness, advocacy, and advancement of women in finance. She has also led Women by Women; a program created in recognition of International Women's Day and Women's History Month which displayed artwork depicting women created by female artists. Among other initiatives outside of RobustWealth, Rachel founded the Future Financial Planners Community for rising finance professionals and Newbee Community which supports women entering technology. She is also a frequent speaker for initiatives advocating for women and presented at the Seattle Design Festival. Rachel is an active member of 100 Women in Finance and Females & Finance, as well as a top contributor on TechLadies where she shares material on women’s leadership and financial empowerment. This year, Rachel was featured as a Reinvented Magazine STEAM Dreamers Role Model and nominated for Woman of The Year. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Legge

Head of Cyber Behaviour Change
BP

Joanne chairs bp WIN IT&S, the internal network for women in information technology at bp, developing and implementing a strategy to increase women’s participation, progression and recognition in IT roles. This includes ownership of the company Yammer tool to promote internal and external opportunities, running network sessions, driving nominations for external IT awards, providing mentoring opportunities for both women and men at all levels, and engaging with bp’s senior leadership to ensure female talent is recognized globally. Externally, Joanne is a judge for the FDM/Everywoman Women in Technology awards, judging several categories including ‘Leader of the Year’. Joanne achieves this on top of her role as Head of Cyber Behaviour Change, driving cyber security awareness and education programmes across the Company.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocio Cárdenas

Informatic Technician
Fujitsu Technology Solutions

From November 2019, Rocio is participating in the Fujitsu Radar program, a year-long Program designed to learn tech streams and find future leaders. Through it, Rocio has volunteered with Fujitsu’s D&I group and has participated in a #IamRemarkable workshop in partnership with Google. In April, Rocio became a certified #IamRemarkable facilitator, and carries out these workshops to demonstrate empowerment, finding satisfaction in seeing others benefit and more proactively seek out career development opportunities. Rocio’s #IamRemarkable sessions are fully inclusive, exposing the many struggles women and other underrepresented groups face in business on a daily basis. The initiative aims to give a voice to women and minority groups to talk about their achievements with pride. Furthermore, Rocio is being among the top positions in the Radar Program every month so far. Additionally, she just has started studying a degree at university to keep motivated herself outside the company as well.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Vice President
State Street

Marion co-chairs the State Street UK Pride Network, where she acts as a role model for gay women. She regularly appears on panels to discuss the specific issues faced by LGBT+ women and she organizes events with a strong focus on women. In the last two years, Marion has organized two book launches at State Street, one dedicated to the lives of older lesbian and bisexual women, and the other dedicated to the former Press Officer to two Prime Ministers who shared her views on gender equality and the LGBT+ community. Marion always looks to increase diversity when hiring new talent and reminds the management team of this imperative. Within Interbank, where she was the second female co-chair, Marion continues to work tirelessly to increase the representation and visibility of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leah Kimata

Information Security Risk Officer
Standard Chartered Bank

In her previous role at KPMG, Leah mentored women in her unit towards becoming senior members of the firm. At Standard Chartered, she is one of the senior management team, and mentors women in the T&I unit on various elements of cyber security. She has also volunteered for initiatives targeting girls and women in technology. Externally, Leah is a member of African Women in Fintechs, and has been involved in panel discussions on payment security and discussions on women in Fintech.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joyce Cheng

Assistant Director
Edelman Hong Kong

Joyce leads the Edelman GWEN (Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network) initiative in the Hong Kong office. She formed the #WeStepUp employee campaign to encourage greater inclusiveness. Her voice is heard on the issues that matter – workplace diversity, equality, employee welfare, team dynamics and delivering the best possible work for clients. She has introduced initiatives on career development and training, work-life balance policies and improved benefits to reward retention and more. In her five years at Edelman, she has forged a stand-out reputation among peers and senior management through leading by example and action. As a result, she constantly inspires and guides junior colleagues around her. Joyce is currently a leading member of the #BetterTogether, an evolution of #WeStepUp covering wellness, D&I, improved HR policies and unconscious bias training at all levels. #WeStepUp and #BetterTogether contributed to Edelman Hong Kong winning the HR Asia Awards Best Companies to Work For 2019.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Patricia Souza

Senior Consultant
EY

Patricia is a member of the EY Luxembourg D&I task force, which oversees the implementation of the D&I balanced scorecard firmwide. Furthermore, as a part of her goal to drive Inclusion amongst her team members, she developed a successful training session on inclusion and belonging, which is now under consideration to be scaled up for other areas and service lines. In addition to her contributions to the D&I task force, Patricia has actively brought together her People Advisory Services team, initiating a running group to bring together women and men in her team promoting an inclusive atmosphere with allies at all levels. She is also co-creating D&I within Workforce Advisory (WFA) at EY Luxembourg and EY Belgium. Outside EY, Patricia is building a D&I network of experts to tackle the issues this community is facing and promote a more inclusive and equitable society in Luxembourg. Additionally, she is also working as a member of the Hacking HR Luxembourg to promote debates on human topics, including D&I.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christina Mallon

Global Inclusive Design Lead
Wunderman Thompson

Christina is a member on five inclusion boards (WPP DEI Council, WPP Culture Council, WPP Sustainability Council, WPP Innovation Council, and Wunderman Thompson DEI Council) where she advises on women's issues and their intersection with disability. On the Wunderman Thompson DEI Council she created an Inclusion framework and scorecard for individual disciplines to give everyone the steps and measurement to a more inclusive culture. She created the Inclusive Experience Practice which uses Inclusive Design Methodology to create inclusive products and experiences for her clients' customers. This methodology forces the creator to ask who they are leaving out of the experience that they are creating and pushes them to take the time to learn from the groups that they're leaving out. Christina is the Chief Brand Officer of a non-profit, Open Style Lab, which is an inclusive design education hub which teaches women and girls with disabilities about STEM through adaptive fashion design.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kai Deveraux Lawson

Global Director of Community Engagement
WPP

At WPP, Kai’s role has allowed her to highlight top women and leaders of color throughout the network. She supports all employee resource groups, providing marketing, financial, and membership support. She works to provide a platform to showcase WPP’s diverse employee talent and retain a strong pool of talented women and people of color. Externally, Kai co-hosts and produces the Mixed Company Podcast, where she advocates for cultural issues, especially those affecting women in advertising. She has spoken on various panels to bring the importance of diverse representation in advertising to the forefront. Additionally, Kai leads the Fishbowl Women in Advertising Bowl.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelley Tiltman

Employee Experience & Inclusion Senior Manager
Cognizant

Since joining Cognizant in 2019, Shelley has been instrumental in re-energising UK&I Women Empowered, recruiting 24 new and active committee members, to drive inclusion and empowerment. Combined with her role as Engagement and Inclusion Lead, she has organized and hosted number of events to educate develop and support employees. She is part of the team looking at the gender pay gap and shares recommendations to enhance attraction, retention and development. Shelley is a driving force behind other Affinity groups including Embrace, the LGBTQ+ Ally network and promotes trans rights. She is core member of global diversity & inclusion network spanning 52 countries. Shelley’s broad external network helps to bring insights to the internal networks, always sharing food for thought. Shelley is extremely proud of the sense of community and support the Affinity groups bring to colleagues. Shelley writes thought leadership articles on many aspects of diversity and tirelessly campaigns for equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

ILDP Manager (Legal, Disputes)
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes joined Herbert Smith Freehills in 2017 when the Johannesburg Alternative Legal Services (ALT)  practice group was launched. ALT Johannesburg forms part of a market-leading, innovative global team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 locations.  Plaxedes, a qualified lawyer, practices as a Disputes Manager specialising in managing complex document reviews, on large international and local matters,  She also manages the International Legal Development Programme (ILDP), which offers high-performing legal graduates the opportunity to gain work experience as a Legal Analyst through a structured learning and development programme. During the ILDP recruitment process and in day-to-day interactions, she encourages the team to be mindful of racial, cultural and gender diversity. She was instrumental in establishing the ALT Johannesburg, Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health, and Awareness committees. Personally, Plaxedes founded Pink Power, a breast cancer awareness initiative to raise funds for patients who cannot afford treatment.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suki Heather

Creative Director
AKQA

Suki was part of the initial Women's Global Council that brought together senior women across the AKQA network. The council introduced several initiatives in their local studios including, unconscious bias training designed to help build a more representative workplace, returnships designed to attract back into industry those who've most likely left to be a parent, and apprenticeships to encourage entry level hiring from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. During her time at AKQA, Suki has worked with management to introduce free feminine care products in all female toilets of the London studio. Suki’s work has been featured in prominent publications that focus on women in design including Hidden Women of Graphic Design, Women of Graphic Design, Femme Type (TYPE01) and Graphic Burd - all of which have highlighted her work to draw more attention to visibility of women in the creative industry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hope Ditlhakanyane

Venture Partner
MEST Africa

In her previous role at A.T. Kearney, Hope co-led the Women’s Network, hosting numerous programs aimed at improving women’s safety, access to opportunities and general workplace experience. This included organising women’s breakfasts, self-defense workshops and diversity & unconscious bias training for all staff, backed by the leadership team. Externally, she founded the Superwoman Hub, a 1,000+ strong community of high-impact African women. The community’s mission is to connect women and empower them to take on leadership roles, through awareness and advocacy. Superwoman Hub regularly hosts leadership programmes, advocacy initiatives such as the #50FacesOfWomenIn Africa series, as well as events such as the Women in Africa conference to connect women leaders across the continent. Over the next year, she will be launching a fund aimed at supporting and scaling women-owned businesses across Africa. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bjial Majithia

Assistant Director
EY

Bijal is an ambassador and mentor for 'The Girls Network,' which seeks to empower girls from disadvantaged communities. She is also an ambassador and educator for 'Binti International' with a mission to provide menstrual dignity to all girls all over the world. She has been featured on BBC Radio 2 'Pause for Thought' to represent the Hindu voice on topical issues as well as a panellist for Women on the Wharf, the BBC, Tempo recruitment and Lloyds Banking Group. At EY, she has helped to drive and deliver strategic D&I initiatives as well as highlight the conversations of ethnicity, gender and faith within the workplace. This includes championing campaigns and hosting events to discuss taboo topics and create a culture of openness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Léna Elisabeth David

Principal
Boston Consulting Group

Last year, Léna took charge of the Women@BCG initiative in Switzerland as a co-head with a male Managing Director and Partner. Together, they introduced a set of new diversity policies and a retention and advancement program for women in Switzerland. Through their work, the office in Switzerland became the first BCG office worldwide and one of the first employers in Switzerland to introduce a fully paid gender-neutral parental leave. The new program furthermore includes revised flex-time and part-time working models, a support process for returning mothers, and sponsored access to childcare support. It also includes improved sponsorship models for senior women, mentoring for junior women, unconscious bias training for all staff and a speaker series on diversity topics. Léna presented the BCG Swiss diversity journey at a regional Women@BCG conference covering Europe, Africa and South America, and leads senior officer meetings to raise awareness and to discuss solutions to advance diversity at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Parris Brown

Relationship Manager for Canada
Audible

Parris is a Board member of the Women@Audible Impact Group and the Lead for the group's Global Membership & Engagement Committee. She has worked with Cornerstone, a hiring initiative Audible created in partnership with the city of Newark. Working as an Ambassador she engaged with a local job resource group to identify and support candidates from the community including college students, recent graduates, and those with work experience, but lacked some skills employers seek. Parris also volunteers as a Leadership Coach with Braven, a nonprofit founded with a mission to empower first-generation minority college students, where she assisted many of the young women, beyond the Braven program. Parris is a proud member of Eureka Grand Chapter Prince Hall Order Eastern Star, Inc., State of New York, Alpha Chapter No.1. This organization prides itself on serving communities with charitable events, especially for women and children, all while uplifting women in achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a Business Support Manager for the Consumer, Small Business & Wealth Management Technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion for almost a decade, she received the Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019. An active member of the bank’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) for Women group, she recently spoke at their Domestic Violence awareness event to encourage and inspire women to speak up against domestic violence. She actively mentors young female talent from multiple universities to pursue careers in technology. As a recognized artist and poet, Dipti works on one subject every year and writes a poem inspired by her artwork from the series ‘Women's Rights and Empowerment’ that depicts challenges women may experience throughout their lives. Dipti recent interviewed with GirlTalkHQ about her effort to create awareness around human trafficking through her recent art and poetry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Lee

Head of Technical Innovation
Audible

Jennifer was on the Leadership Board for Girl Develop It Boston thru 2019 and continues to be very active with the Women/Girls in Tech Community. She organized a 3-day Hackathon hosted at Audible and has established a relationship between Audible and Resilient Coders, a nonprofit that trains people of color for careers as software engineers. In 2019, Jennifer advocated for establishing an Ally Group at Audible and as part of the pilot has held monthly meetings and worked with HR to create a roadmap for diversity initiatives and for holding the company accountable on D&I ambitions. The group's advocacy led to their latest class of interns having majority women for the first time. Jennifer is a co-lead for Amazon Web Services Boston Meetup group and leverages her position to lead by example and inspire greater female membership.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amandeep Khasriya

Senior Associate
Moore Barlow

Amandeep is Co-founder of the Women in Leadership Group and Diversity and Inclusion Committee at top 100 law firm Moore Barlow. She spoke at the annual Partners conference on gender diversity in 2018 and was a keynote for the Diverse Law legal conference on gender. As well as being the Founder of Women Back to Law, Amandeep is a committee member at the Law Society Women Lawyers Division and has worked on many projects promoting gender diversity. These included speaking at their menopause resource launch event, researching into the impact of Covid-19 on women and ethnic groups, and presenting to Open University students on gender diversity. Amandeep also volunteers at Hillingdon Women Centre, providing workshops on CV and interviews - helping women gain financial freedom following domestic violence.  She has recently been invited to participate in the Oxford Faculty of Law inspiring woman lawyer project which aims to create an oral history of inspiring women lawyers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alpha Mae Arias

Client Services Manager
IBM

Alpha has been with IBM Cognitive Process Services for 11 years supporting Clients in transforming their HR processes using Analytics, Automation and Enterprise Cloud platforms. Apart from delivering client value with her US Payroll Profession, she also volunteers in leading Business Resource Groups earning her "Be Equal" and "LGBT+ Allyship" Badges.  She locally introduced IBM Global programs "Nursing Mom Breast Milk Delivery service",  #Pinktober Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and launched the "Unleashing Your Leadership Potential" training to help increase women representation in Management. A regular speaker during Women's Month and LGBT+ PRIDE event celebrations, she collaborates with external HR leaders thru Forums and IBM Design Thinking workshops. Working for a 100-year-old company with rich history, Alpha's journey tells how working with technology and diverse minds could out THINK anything.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kenesa Ahmad

Partner, Co-founder
Aleada

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. In 2017, Kenesa co-founded Aleada, a boutique information privacy and security consulting firm based in San Francisco. She started the company with her two fellow co-founders of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), a non-profit organization established in 2014. Kenesa’s objective with Aleada is to put into practice the WISP mission: to advance women in the converging fields of privacy and security. Aleada has made a commitment to recruit and hire individuals from diverse backgrounds seeking to enter or transition into the privacy field. Aleada specifically focuses on providing career opportunities for individuals re-entering the workforce from caretaking or family rearing roles, second career job seekers, and new graduates.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, High End Brands
Anheuser-Busch InBev

Stephanie is a women leader in a male-dominated industry and one of only a handful of female partners in US Sales at Anheuser-Busch. She is constantly advocating for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry. She has worked to promote and develop women leaders within the company, providing mentoring to 5 women who are currently progressing in their careers. Stephanie has recently joined the Make a Play Foundation where she will supporting a group of under-represented student athletes in career-building activities and projects.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Akansha Goyal

Vice President, Product Control
Barclays

At Barclays, Akansha is part of the department's diversity and inclusion initiative where she has been involved in mentoring and talent development. She has also been engaged on initiatives around female talent review, development and retention with a focus on providing guidance on career progression to top talent within the department. As an ambassador for Masters in Finance at London Business School for more than five years, Akansha has been involved in interviewing candidates for the program across the globe and personally guided and mentored several prospective candidates from diverse backgrounds. She is passionate about female education and has worked with multiple small schools to promote and encourage female education by providing mentoring to female students.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sueli Nascimento

Senior Product Manager
SAP Brasil Ltda.

Sueli leads the Black Employee Network at SAP Brasil, has previously led the Business Women’s Network, and is now a member. She has run monthly sessions with internal VPs and external guests on gender equality, personal experience and successful projects, and she has developed a close relationship with the Communications and HR departments, participating in programs and processes to showcase and champion the company’s women. Under her direction, SAP Brasil signed the ‘Women’s Empowerment Principles’ with the United Nations, and she brought men into the gender discussion through her introduction of the UN ‘HeforShe’ program. She is coaching numerous women for leadership positions, and is involved in talks at universities and other companies on gender equality and women in technology careers. Sueli helped to introduce a mentoring program for returning mothers, and created a room for breastfeeding at the São Paulo office. Externally, Sueli is a member of ‘Ser Mulher em Tech’.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yvonne Luu

Senior Communications Officer
Peabody

Yvonne is co-chair of Peabody’s Gender Network and established their inaugural reverse mentoring programme which includes several Board members and Directors as the first tranche of mentees. Her success in involving members of the Board and senior leadership team has not only given this initiative significant profile but has also provided the potential to effect real change at the very top echelon of the organisation. Yvonne also led the planning and delivery of Peabody’s largest ever International Women's Day celebrations which included a high profile panel event held in collaboration with five other large housing associations at which three Chief Executives joined the speaking panel. She is a Young Women’s Trust Champion which is a charity supporting young women struggling to live on low or no pay.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sally Keane

Head of Sales
LinkedIn

Sally co-founded Parents At LinkedIn UK, an ERG working with managers to understand the experience of colleagues returning to work after having children and offer appropriate support. Sally creates a safe space to have open conversations about difficult topics by sharing her own experiences with infertility and miscarriage. She offers mentoring to female talent across different levels of seniority both within LinkedIn and outside of her network. Sally has been a member of Bloom since 2017, holding several leadership positions, and is the president for 2020. In the past 6 months, Sally and her team have brought over 200 women into the organization, launched a mentoring program for over 600 women, and introduced Bloom Boost, a bridge between the mentee program and a mentor partnership in association with the Believe charity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Welch-Phillips

Associate
Bird & Bird LLP

Rachel is the Founder and Chair of Embrace, Bird & Bird's inaugural intersectional BAME network. The network achieved many successes in a very short period of time through social media campaigns, community outreach and a series of internal events to engage with key stakeholders and improve representation, retention and attitudes to intersectional diversity within the legal profession. These successes were recognised when Embrace won the Outstanding Multicultural Employee Network award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2019. Embrace has maintained a strong focus on community engagement and dedicates hundreds of hours to uplifting youth in BAME communities, particularly BAME women and girls who often have the fewest doors of access and opportunity open to them. Alongside her work with Embrace, Rachel is an active mentor through formal and informal channels to high school and university students, trainees, and other women who aspire to become lawyers in the City.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nina Ma

Technology, Data & Analytics Senior Associate
PwC

Nina is a member of the national comms team for PwC’s Gender Balance Network, and is a committee member for the Midlands. She is also a member of the Women in Tech team in the Midlands, which organizes office-wide Lunch & Learn events to attract and retain female talent in the tech sector. As a core member of the Women in Technology Data & Analytics team, Nina aims to create an environment where everyone feels empowered, inspired and supported to bring their authentic self to work, allowing greater career progression. Nina is also a #IamRemarkable trainer, a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. Last year, Nina was a member of the advisory board for GirlDreamer, a charity aiming to empower millennial and GenZ women of color and provide them with life-changing opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Agbesanwa

Management consultant
PwC

Mary joined PwC on their Women In Business program and has been involved in a campaign to encourage more young women to apply to PwC through sharing her experiences and inspirations. She delivered a Level Up Workshop focusing on promotions, sponsorship and relationship building to members of the Gender Balance Network and is a mentor in the firm’s diversity mentoring scheme. Outside of PwC, Mary is Co-founder of the Now You’re Talking Network for professional women millennials and has conducted a series of inspiring Instagram Live Series with female entrepreneurs and professionals covering topics from communicating confidently on camera, tapping into your emotional intelligence, and developing a positive money mindset. In May she was selected from over 6900 applicants across EMEA to be a McKinsey Next Generation Women Leader.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Lin is a thought leader on decoding cultural, gender and generational differences and how it impacts career strategies. Across industries, she is a highly sought-after speaker and she’s an advocate for women to find their own voice by building awareness of their unique experience and help them achieve not just equality, but equity. Within the firm, Lin works with Chinese and Asian professionals groups, addressing differences between Asian professionals and tailoring their career strategies. Lin is the President of the Rising Women’s Network in London. She is also a founding member of UK Chinese Women Connect, which helps women in breaking the glass and bamboo ceilings. She is also an executive member for Chinese Women in the City. Lin has pioneered a diversity session for Chinese professionals in light of recent racial injustice events. She is also active in Charities work especially for BAME communities, and a mentor with Migrant Leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Freddie Cormack

Assistant to the Chief Information Security Officer
BP

Freddie is the Co-chair of the Transgender Group at BP which has transformed transgender awareness within BP globally. This includes creating senior management engagement resulting in many public shows of trans support from leaders including BP’s new CEO. Freddie has developed many "Safe Space" training sessions and is also an active member of BP's Women in Industry group advocating equality for women in BP. Outside of BP, Freddie is a Founder and Committee Member for "Trans in the City", a collaboration of over 75 organizations to actively promote corporate transgender awareness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kam Dhillon

Head of Services Marketing NWE
Fujitsu

Kam has over 20 years of global experience in key leadership roles, developing go-to-market strategies focused on accelerating revenue growth and driving customer value. Throughout her career, Kam has been a champion for gender equality. She has been the Co-chair of the Women’s Business Network for over three years, where she has worked on a range of initiatives, including Gender Pay Gap, female mentoring and development programmes, and running events to encourage young women into STEM. As a result of initiatives such as these, Fujitsu was named Times Top 50 Employer for Women. Kam works collaboratively with other women’s business networks from Fujitsu’s customers, partners and third party organizations to share best practice and drive awareness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katherine 'Katia' Ramo

Associate - Technology, Media, IP & Competition
CMS

Katherine is the Founder & Chair of CMS ENABLE (disabilities & wellbeing) Network, a member of the UN Stakeholders Group for Persons with Disabilities, & Co-chair InterLaw Diversity Forum disAbility Network. She is a member of CMS Women, BAME and an ally to LGBT+ Networks. She is a core member of CMS equlP, helping technology start-ups scale & supporting women tech entrepreneurs. Katherine leads substantive impactful global conversations, mentoring, advocacy, media, writing and speaking engagements to champion equality for women and disabled talent. Katherine is always called upon internally, and externally by clients, diversity organizations, the UN, and regulatory bodies, to provide advice regarding disability, often with a specific gender lens. She introduced monthly mindfulness sessions at CMS to build resilience and mental wellbeing and in CMS’ film of the Lord Mayor’s appeal, ‘This is Me’, destigmatizing mental health. She is in the First 100 Years Project, celebrating Women in Law.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Abisola Barber

Vice President, Markets Business Manager
Barclays Bank PLC

For two years, Abisola sponsored a bespoke investment banking internship program targeting women from wider university and subject pools to further increase diversity of both gender and background in the bank. Through Barclays’ gender network, Win, Abisola annually delivers networking and mentoring offerings to over 300 interns across the Barclays Group. She has stewarded new external partnerships for Barclays, launching last year to an audience of 61% female and 84% ethnic minority students and graduates from across the country. In the wake of the pandemic, Abisola spearheaded a strategic pivot: transforming her development program offering into a virtual platform whilst continuing her focused support for diversity in the talent pipeline. Outside Barclays, Abisola collaborates with universities, student societies and other organizations to advance female talent, and for the last five years has been delivering insight and confidence workshops on personal development, personal brand, and commercial awareness at top UK universities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Smridhi Gulati

Partner
Dechert LLP

As an active member of Dechert’s Global Women's Initiative (GWI) in London, Smridhi is a champion for gender equality, helping organize major events for the group and oversees a female focussed "soft-skills" training and development program. Smridhi is involved in the firm's global Sponsorship and Sustained Support program, which helps senior women associates navigate the path to partnership. Her pro bono and charity efforts are diversity focussed: having handled the UK piece of a global pro bono project relating to the fair and equal treatment of female professional athletes; supporting Inspiring Girls International, an organisation seeking to raise the aspirations of young girls by connecting them with female role models; and helping organize a clothing drive for the "Dress for Success" charity in London providing support (including professional attire) for underprivileged women looking to get into work. Furthermore, Smridhi serves as an ambassador for Aspiring Solicitors which supports underrepresented individuals get into law.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kim Rowell

Assistant Editor, BBC News & BBC Three
BBC

Kim seeks to promote diversity and inclusion in all her work, alongside clients, collaborators and contributing parties, as well as amongst her team and fellow employees. Her work as a leader, mentor, hiring manager and volunteer in this respect saw her achieve a 'Women of the Future' award in 2018. Kim has extensive experience in the mental health arena, in particular working with journalist Bryony Gordon at the Telegraph, creating three series of a hugely popular podcast which attempted to break down the stigma attached to mental health. Kim now hosts the Women of the Future podcast, featuring alumni from the Women of the Future Program. Her intention is that these women's stories will allow the audience to gain insight to aid them on their own paths. Her children's book 'Townie Spider' published in 2019, and was named in the 'Top 7 Books for Children's Mental Health' by Motherdom, a magazine for parental mental wellbeing.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Camila Davoglio

Head Underwriting Centre Brazil
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Camila is a local ambassador for Swiss Re’s D&I group, Impact, organizing local meetings and discussions. Camila has acted as a member of the committee dedicated to gender equality, Women in Leadership. She co-founded the Associação das Mulheres do Mercado de Seguros (AMMS), a women’s association in the Brazilian insurance market. AMMS champion women’s inclusion through events, sponsorship, a podcast, and live webinar sessions. Camila’s role is to procure sponsorship, prepare strategy, choose topics for discussion across the year, and create a set of best practices for the industry. This year, Camila will appear in a book telling the story of 30 women in the insurance market.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikki Jamieson

Business Support Lead for Chief Digital Information Officer
NatWest Group

Within the NatWest Group, Nikki acts as a gender champion in Technology & Digital, and is a member of the NatWest/RBS Women ELN, NatWest Gender Employee Led Network (ELN), the Women in Technology ELN and as an ally in the Rainbow ELN. She promotes intersectional D&I in all aspects of her work, bringing together gender, LGBT+, ethnicity, disability and multigenerational age groups to foster greater inclusion. Additionally, Nikki is a member of Enable, the disability ELN, and is an MS Ambassador both internally and externally. She mentors numerous women across the group, including through the CEO-4 Female Talent programme, which she attended herself last year. She is currently helping the Families and Carers ELN to find solutions for those juggling caring responsibilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nikki has supported an all-female cohort through the ‘Determined Leader’ development programme, and assisted many women technology graduates on the necessary soft skills to succeed in a largely male-dominated working environment.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anoushka Mehta

Head of Gender Lens Finance, Americas
HSBC

Anoushka recognized that HSBC could play a larger role in promoting gender equality with its clients and the communities where it operates. This realization led her to successfully propose and then lead Gender Lens Finance (GLF) at HSBC. GLF is a formal, business-led initiative that aims to leverage HSBC’s position and products to extend financing and resources to women globally. GLF has become a part of HSBC’s business strategy by addressing gender equality as both a social and business imperative. Anoushka also founded the “Coaching Circles” program within the firm’s gender equality Employee Resource Group. Participants in Coaching Circles receive group coaching from senior managers on career development. Based on its success in the US, Coaching Circles is being rolled out to HSBC markets globally. Anoushka has represented HSBC on WeConnect International’s “Council Scaling Women-Owned Businesses” and currently serves as a global board member at Women for Women International.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Innocentia Dogbe

Head of Credit Cards
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana

Innocentia is Council Secretary for the Standard Chartered Bank Diversity & Inclusion Council, and has been involved in the formulation of a D&I Country Plan for the past three years, alongside working with the various ERGs to activate programs in line with the country plan. Innocentia began a partnership with Mentoring Women Ghana, an offshoot of Vital Voices, which focuses on providing young women with the opportunity to learn from more experienced women. Last year, she was selected by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana to participate in Fortune-U.S. Department of State Women’s Mentoring Program. Through her work as an alumna of The Ark Foundation Ghana’s Women’s Leadership & Human Rights Institute, Innocentia has trained women in rural areas on financial literacy, economic empowerment, and domestic violence. During her tertiary education at the Takoradi Polytechnic, she served as Women’s Commissioner, aiming to get more women interested in leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Steinwall

Director, Head of Sales Enablement & Business Management for iShares Canada
BlackRock Asset Management

Divya is the chair of the Canadian Chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network, where she focuses on providing educational opportunities to support career advancement. During her tenure, network membership has increased by 23% and male membership by 83%. The network has piloted a local two-year facilitated training program to develop important skills for career progression, encouraged participation and leadership involvement in an annual program for female associates, and coordinated events with external partners to hear from senior industry leaders and expand professional networks, among many other initiatives. Divya has mentored through the Women in Capital Markets’ UniConnect Mentorship Program, and is an Executive Committee Member for the Toronto Chapter of 100 Women in Finance, where she co-heads the education subcommittee. She is also a Board Member for the Canadian Chapter of Women in ETFs, where she co-heads the Mentorship Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanna Obstoj

Managing Director
Goldman Sachs

A Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in Poland, Joanna sponsors the Women’s Network in Warsaw. When the Warsaw office first opened, Joanna was passionate about hiring female talent at all levels, and co-founded the Women’s Network to provide members with a platform to enrich leadership skills. She has been instrumental in orchestrating the Network’s success by inviting external speakers to events, offering one-to-ones and formal mentoring to members, and helping leaders to be creative in this forum. In 2017, the IT for SHE program was launched in partnership with Goldman Sachs, with the aim of helping talented women studying technology enter the job market. As part of this award-winning program, Joanna has been involved in Europe’s biggest themed camp for young women in IT, ‘Women Tech Camp’, as a formal mentor to encourage girls to learn programming. Joanna is also sponsor of the Warsaw LGBT Network.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanisha Sharma

Junior Business Analyst
News UK

At News UK, Tanisha is a member of the steering committee for Women in Tech, where she will be presenting on ‘Expressing Accomplishments’ at the upcoming event, and hosted 12 year old school girls at News UK to give them Tech insights and promote women’s inclusion in STEM. Tanisha has participated in a GenZ forum event discussing gender balance, age barriers, and women’s inclusion in the media; and she engaged in a Women in Agile meet-up, influencing women from outside News UK to promote diversity and STEM careers. Externally, Tanisha founded SHEisRARE, a non-profit dedicated to break down barriers to women’s inclusion, instil passion for STEM careers in young women and to see more women in leadership roles. She featured in the 1 Million Women in STEM campaign, volunteers as a STEM Ambassador with STEM Learning UK, and has participated in high profile interviews and media engagements discussing gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Ramos

Events Manager
Internet Creations

In 2017, Stephanie led the successful effort to implement comprehensive paid family leave at Internet Creations with equal access to men and women. She went on to found and co-lead the women’s ERG, WomenSurge, aiming to allow women and their allies to come together and support each other through life transitions, personal and professional development, and career challenges. The group have achieved high engagement with both women and ally members through monthly educational programming which speaks to improved conflict resolution, promoting speaking opportunities, and holding social gatherings to promote fellowship. Externally, Stephanie served as a vote captain for TheSkimm, where she helped to increase millennial voter turnout in the 2018 U.S. Midterm election. She has also served as a mentor and advocate for PaidLeaveUS, and participated in the first-ever Ways & Means Committee hearing at the House of Representatives on Family Leave.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Preeti Mascarenhas

Head of Product & Strategy
Mindshare

Preeti was instrumental in the development and delivery of GroupM’s ‘Walk the Talk’ initiative, designed to empower women to identify and achieve their purpose by providing the tools to confront barriers and create a more balanced vision for the future through sharing experiences and learning to become more effective leaders. This year, Preeti was honoured at the Women Leading Change Campaign Asia Awards for her leadership in fostering innovation in the media and marketing industry. One of many campaigns headed by Preeti which sought to bring change was NAYI SOCH, designed to challenge stereotypes and build new role models in India, which was shortlisted at Cannes. Previously, Preeti headed a campaign with Indian cricketers to question why they shouldn’t have their mothers’ names on their jerseys, which was well-received across the country.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mairi Dean

Engineer
Buro Happold

Mairi co-founded and chairs FAIR (Fairness, Awareness, Inclusion, Respect), which aims to promote intersectional dialogue, understanding and action at Buro Happold. FAIR leverages the voices and achievements of women and minority groups in the business, launched a bookclub to promote broader engagement on issues faced internally and externally, and acts as a sounding board for HR and leadership on inclusion strategy. This year, Mairi and her team expanded FAIR across Buro Happold’s UK offices and are in discussion with colleagues setting up FAIR in Europe and the Middle East. Mairi is also a co-lead on a WomEng collaboration, where she develops STEM workshops for girls and trains colleagues to become WomEng Ambassadors. The team reached over 200 students this year and aim to reach 400 by December. Mairi’s team developed an online workshop to be delivered during lockdown, and engages with parents and teachers to encourage girls into STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy

Shelina is a member of the Ogilvy UK and WPP UK Inclusion Boards. She has chaired key public and internal sessions, such as an industry discussion on unconscious bias in the gender space. Shelina has represented Ogilvy at their International Women’s Day celebrations, and hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme last year. In addition to her work on gender diversity, Shelina is a member of Ogilvy Roots, focused on ethnic diversity, and is on the steering committee of WPP Roots. Externally, Shelina is a Board Member for IMPRESS, the UK press regulator, and is an Advisor for the AMAL Foundation, an arts body encouraging investment in Muslim art and culture. She is serving as a judge for this year’s Gerety Awards, celebrating women’s work in advertising, she is a judge for New Blood at the D&AD awards, and regularly contributes to industry press discussing women’s experiences through an intersectional lens.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

Purchasing Director EMEAI
Dow Chemical Inc.

Over the last four years, Margherita led the Dow Women’s Inclusion Network, WIN,. Under her leadership, the WIN ERG has helped move the needle for representation of women at leadership levels. Margherita developed and implemented a strategy for the EGR which introduced bold initiatives, such as sponsorship of female talent in partnership with INSEAD Business School, an equal pay initiative with EDGE to gain Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland, a role model stories initiative to showcase Dow’s hidden heroes, and the MARC Catalyst workshops to promote male as allies in driving gender equality. Margherita has engaged with the European Chemical Industry Council and the European Petrochemical Association on devising D&I best practice to be shared across the chemical industry in Europe. She is one of the founding members of  ETH Zurich Circle, to promote women role models in STEM education, and mentors young MBA women graduates through the INSEAD Women in Business Club.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Debbie Phillips

Head of Campaigns
NatWest

Debbie is the Global Chair of NatWest Women’s Network, and in the last year she has introduced a global speed mentoring program, launched a book club, created a global calendar of activity and hosted the bank’s top 100 leadership conference to encourage leadership engagement with challenges in gender inclusion. She advocates for the network and for the bank at external fora to share best practice on D&I. As Head of Campaigns, Debbie applies a gender lens to her day job, supporting the CEO’s communications, and leading PR campaigns designed to resonate with a female audience, such as the Women in Business campaigns addressing women’s investment. Additionally, Shelley established The Breakfast Club, initially conceived to create more women-friendly networking opportunities, but now tackling issues that disproportionately affect women in the workplace. Externally, Debbie is a communication committee member for WACL, a member of Bloom, and a Brownie Guide Leader.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jess Gosling

Senior International Policy Advisor
UK Government

Listed as one of the UK’s Top Most Influential Women in Tech, Jess champions intersectionality at every opportunity. She used her role as a Diversity & Inclusion Ambassador in her Directorate to recognise the intersectionality of culture and gender, organising the rollout of #IamRemarkable training for 100+ colleagues across government, a Google initiative that encourages women to speak openly about their accomplishments. Externally, Jess co-founded the Growth & Grace Collective, a global professional platform changing the narrative of upskilling and development with a focus on women’s issues, like the gender pay gap. Over their first year, they upskilled 2500+ people across 70 events focused on social mobility, women’s issues and D&I, hosted events with a truly global attendance and won the UK Social Mobility Honour Role in 2019. She has spoken at many global events, conferences and leadership sessions, and has built her network to 5,000 women globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Communications
GroupM Italy

Paola is the Operations Director on the Winspire board, a cross-agency WPP Italy local project whose aim is to support female talent into leadership positions, build gender balance, and undertake D&I activities with internal and external audiences and stakeholders. After WPP’s participation in the Female Employment Manifesto, organized by Valore D, Paola mentored through ‘Quick Fix Training: speed mentoring for colleagues to discuss how to become a future leader’. Moreover, Paola was instrumental to organize a series of activities, such as the training program for WPP women carried out with industry player as Facebook Italia and called ‘Fast Forward’, and she implemented a ‘I’m Remarkable’ workshop with Google Italia. Paola has been collaborating with numerous associations within the industry to develop D&I strategy and activities and embedded into the company. Externally, she has contributed to the ‘Women4Women: Hack your campaign’ bootcamp on digital media, among other initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hanne Tuomisto-Inch

Head of Chrome and Web partnerships EMEA
Google

Hanne chairs Women@Google UK, and has previously led the ItsUptoMe allyship campaign to energise leaders, managers and employees, which resulted in the implementation of inclusive hiring practices and a culture of inclusion. With Women@, Hanne co-led the UK part of global walkout to end forced arbitration, increase transparency, and launch a sexual harassment investigation report and an investigation care support program. A key Women@ focus for 2020 is the gender pay gap, and the network is challenging leaders to focus on progression and setting ambitious goals, with recommendations now incorporated into the UK DEI market plan. Women@ has launched a career conversation series with the Black Googler Network, reintroduced Stretch training in the UK, run a ‘How to Own the Room’ future female leadership pilot, and a three month Grow Your Career Your Own Way program. Externally, Women@ hosted the first Each for Equal summit this year, among other impactful initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

Senior RFP Writer
BlueBay Asset Management

Elena contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s Women’s Forum, and has since been elected Co-Vice Chair, where she led a proposal to restructure the Forum’s activities to become the Diversity and Inclusion Forum, building greater intersectionality. She has contributed to a D&I vision and strategy, and has worked on strategic projects, such as organizing working groups on data, volunteering, and interview practice. Elena has also supported the inclusion of BlueBay’s female portfolio managers in the 100 Women in Finance FundWomen initiative, and backed the participation of BlueBay’s employees in the Women in Investment Festival 2020. Externally, Elena leads the CFA UK Careers in the Investment Sector Working Group, and supports greater D&I awareness as a CAIA London Chapter executive. Elena mentors in the CityHive, Women in Banking and Finance, and the CFA UK cross-industry mentoring programs and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

Technical Manager
3M

Sarah is the Founder and Lead Events Orgniser for the Bracknell Wellbeing and Inclusion Forum, which hosts speakers discussing topics impacting women, such as unconscious bias, managing maternity, mindfulness, menopause, confidence, mental health, self-promotion, mentoring, and personal brand. Sarah won the WISE Outreach and Engagement Award, and featured in 3M’s success in winning the prestigious Catalyst award. As a role model for women in STEM, Sarah is a successful Technical Manager in a traditionally male-dominated industry, championing flexible working, wellbeing and inclusion through her role as a mentor and champion for female colleagues. She has appeared on the BBC, including as a guest on Sunday Politics, and has spoken at the House of Lords. She has spoken about how diversity drives innovation at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, and her STEM Supper Club featured in the Kids Zone of the 2020 WeAreTechWomen Conference.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leya Teo

Director
Edelman Shanghai

Leya leads Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) APAC, a global initiative dedicated to fostering an environment where women of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed within and beyond Edelman. She began by initiating ‘Lean-In Circle’ sessions and a cross-market talent mobility program in Beijing. In 2018, she was selected as Edelman APAC’s representative at the IWF World Leadership Conference. Leya was later elected Global Lead for mentorship programs and APAC Lead for GWEN. She created ‘SHERO Showcase’ to invite inspiring women leaders to speak in Edelman offices and ignited a new mentorship program across 3 China offices. Over the years, Leya has represented GWEN in partnering with external organizations to drive a broader impact in business and the community. With more than 500 engaged members across APAC, Leya continues to work with the GWEN committee, committed to ensuring women feel motivated and empowered.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alice Jefferis

Senior Associate – Global Financial Markets
Clifford Chance LLP

Alice is co-founder of the global gender parity group Accelerate >>> and chairs its UK arm. She led on design and delivery of a reverse mentoring scheme, collaborates with other affinity groups to ensure intersectionality and incorporates diverse feedback to ensure inclusivity. Alice helps support and launch Accelerate>>> in unrepresented offices across Clifford Chance's network and actively promotes gender parity internally and externally through a targeted strategy. Over the last two years, she has successfully campaigned for and helped deliver the signing of the Law Society's Women in Law Pledge, the introduction of time-specific diversity and inclusion targets and equalisation of shared parental leave. She has also worked with Spark21, a charity aimed at raising visibility of women in law, and following the onset of COVID-19, persuaded Clifford Chance to allocate funds to enable the London Black Women’s Project to open a new refuge required due to increased domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director, EHS & Sustainability
Dow

Through the WIN+5 program, Eunice has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions at Dow. Through these engagements, women leaders have been able to position themselves for broader accountability in their roles and for promotions. Eunice has been a panelist and keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, EY PowerUp, sharing experiences as a successful African American woman in business. Beyond WIN+5, Eunice mentors many women in the business, and was appointed MBA Leadership Development Program Director last year, focusing on accessing top talent from prominent MBA schools and diversity conferences. Among many other high-profile speaking engagements, Eunice spoke at FAMU College of Engineering’s Freshman and Sophomore Engineering Program, with an emphasis on what it takes to be a successful woman in engineering. Consistent speaker on special panels for women in business from student leaders at the FAMU School of Business to GreenBiz women leaders in sustainability.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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René Lumley-Hall

Director, Product Management
BNY Mellon

In her leadership position within BNY Mellon, René has hired and coached women into her team to support large scale, high profile digital and product management efforts. She spearheaded a global Women’s Initiatives Network image consulting event to support women in the workplace with stylists and shoe retailers to provide appropriately-priced, yet polished options for professional women. René has been an Advisory Board Member of the Student Leadership Network for 10 years, a network of all girls schools intended to equalize education and success. She established a Yoga Instruction and Wellness Education practice to provide tools to encourage women and Black and indigenous people of color to thrive through holistic health and wellness. René is a Case Writer, Presenter and Judge for multiple cohorts of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, who work to transform career trajectories of thousands of Black, Hispanic and Native American women and men.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hayley Kahn

Senior Brand Manager of BABE Wine
Anheuser Busch

Over the past four years, Hayley has co-led Anheuser-Busch’s largest ERG, Women in Beer & Beyond. Here, she has fostered a community for women and allies to connect, share, and grow within an industry that has traditionally leaned more male-centric. She has organized speaker series with female executives, networking events, and coffee chats for colleagues to foster relationships, as well as recruited on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Hayley is passionate about enhancing the portrayal of women in advertising. As a founding member of Anheuser-Busch’s Culture Collective, Hayley reviews marketing creative across brands to prevent potential unconscious biases, reduce negative stereotyping, and elevate inclusion and diversity. Outside of Anheuser-Busch, Hayley founded The Supper Series (@thesupperseries), a speaker series that brings together women over dinner to learn from female entrepreneurs across various industries and donates all proceeds to the Food Bank for New York City.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Emily Hanson

Marketing Director
Finecast

Emily chaired GenderM, where she and her team highlighted International Womxn's Day by bringing women from different parts of GroupM and varying seniority to the spotlight.  Emily ensured the content aimed to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary people, women of colour, women with disabilities and all other marginalised genders. She and her team also championed successfully for free sanitary products to be available in toilets. Last year, Emily stepped into a leadership position at Bloom UK facilitating events with inspiring speakers and workshops. She also took part in The Exchange, a pilot reverse mentoring program between senior men and women to break down the gender divide. This year, Emily remains on the leadership team at Bloom, looking after how the network expands globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

Jennie is the UK Chapter Lead for Capital One’s gender BRG, empowHER, and brings a gender lens to the REACH ethnicity network. On joining Capital One 18 months ago, Jennie focused on increasing visibility and awareness within her leadership team, quickly getting appointed to lead empowHER’s UK chapter. In the midst of a global pandemic, Jennie joined forces with a newly formed parents network to drive increased awareness of the pressures of lockdown and the danger of the current situation setting gender conversations back years. As such, she has been driving focused policy change opportunities around increased working flexibility. With intersectionality in mind, Jennie has taken on the work stream of community engagement and role modeling within schools and charities which focus on social mobility. She also volunteers on the board of Women in Banking and Finance, establishing a regional presence to support women in the Midlands & North regions.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aimée Sykes

Business Liaison Manager
University of the West of England

Aimée spent a year as a Co-ordinator for the Women’s Forum at UWE, where she implemented and managed a social media presence. During her tenure, membership almost doubled and event attendance almost tripled. Aimée’s efforts formed a partnership with the Red Box Project, leading to each UWE campus hosting a donations box, and additionally the forum raised finds for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and CoppaFeel. Aimée encouraged collaboration with other staff networks at UWE, to ensure an intersectional approach. Aimée also founded the Aurora Alumni Network at UWE. Outside of work Aimée has written regular article for the City Girl Magazine, providing guidance to young women on careers that led to the magazine creating a Careers segment. Last year, Aimée was appointed Head of Communications & Engagement for WHEN (Women’s Higher Education Network). Since then she has contributed to a large increase in social media following and recruited many volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Justine Zwerling

Head of Primary Markets Israel
London Stock exchange

Within the Women’s Inspired Network (WIN) at the London Stock Exchange, Justine has launched and forged partnerships with many organizations to promote gender diversity and women’s inclusion and empowerment throughout the world of finance. She founded the Jewish Women’s Business Network at London Stock Exchange Group, which supports gender and neuro-diversity throughout the City and internationally. Justine volunteers with numerous organizations, with Clare Josa and Joy Burnford to combat imposter syndrome and to raise confidence. Board Advisor to Israel Bonds. Board of Sahi, supporting the lives of young people at risk through building communities and giving. She encourages diverse hiring from grassroots to board director-level, supports interns from the U.S., U.K. and Israel to gain summer placements and mentoring. Advises SafeUP, helping women in distress globally 24/7 with safe guardians for virtual support and physical help. Founding member of the UAE Israel Business council, cultivating friendships and impactful business partnerships.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Michelle Morgan

Associate Director
Mindshare

As Associate Director at Mindshare, Michelle has been working with Dove/Unilever on breakthrough advertising campaigns around women’s self-esteem, alongside cultivating gender diversity within Mindshare itself. As the Events Lead of Mindshare’s ERG, The Collective, Michelle has created experiences which bring women’s and minority voices to the forefront. With Dove, she led an award-winning campaign to reframe the concept of beauty, working with Hearst editors from Cosmo, Harper’s Bazaar, O Magazine and others to integrate powerful images of diverse beauty and change young girls’ perspectives on antiquated beauty standards. Michelle was also involved in a panel for Dove’s Self Esteem Project, an educational curriculum developed to strengthen girls’ self-esteem. She has also been involved in a mentoring program which pairs young professionals with teenagers to provide advice and encouragement through their high school years.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Sales
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A.

For three years, Melisa chaired the BALANCE ERG at HSBC Argentina, which is dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. She has built a team structure with four working groups and designated champions to execute multiple initiatives simultaneously, creating new leadership and development opportunities. Main initiatives carried out during her mandate includes workshops with parents and children, meet-ups with senior executive women, workshops for female entrepreneurs in low-income neighborhoods alongside credit support to boost their projects, and training on unconscious biases and domestic violence. Melisa is also co-founder of ‘Mujeres al Mundo’, HSBC program aimed at accelerating women’s inclusion by providing training, networking, mentoring and financial services, which has already impacted on more than 400 businesswomen. Through her work, she believes each day is taking a step to fulfill a greater purpose, contributing to create an environment in which everyone has equal opportunities and rights.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jo Moffatt

Practice Director
Atkins

Jo is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She co-chairs the Transportation ED&I Leadership Team at Atkins, where she champions part-time and flexible working, having hosted a ‘power part-timers’ event last year, inspiring women to consider flexible working and helping to challenge line managers’ views. She founded an internal coaching program and is currently trialling a two-way mentoring program. This June, Jo launched a Senior Women’s Network, providing support and momentum to women across the Transportation business in Atkins, and Jo is leading Women in Rail and International Women in Engineering Day involvement. She is Deputy Chair of the Chartered Management Institute’s CMI Women Board, who have delivered events encouraging sponsorship of women, with themes around BAME, finance and STEM. Jo has been instrumental in the Institute’s Covid-19 response events and is also planning events reflecting on 50 years since the launch of CMI Women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shubha Polisetty

Associate Director - Technology Delivery Lead
Accenture Solutions Private Limited

At Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centres in India (ATCI), Shubha leads the Returning Mothers Program, the Parents@Work and the AnitaB.org relationship. She enabled 1400+ women to jumpstart their second-innings at work with mentorship, training and staffing support. Shubha ensures that new mothers are offered technology roles with customized learning, re-skilling and growth opportunities. She focused her efforts to retain/re-staff returning mothers, leading to a drop in attrition. Additionally, she launched the ‘I-for-Inclusion’ campaign, engaging 30,000 employees and their children during the pandemic. Shubha is the ACTI AnitaB.org relationship lead and has established chapters in Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, and Chennai. She jointly led the I&D Council for a global Consumer Goods client, driving conversations across countries. Shubha leads technology delivery for APAC clients. She started her career in an electrical power plant where she was the only woman on the shop floor. Since then Shubha has been relentlessly advocating to make workplaces better for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ramat Tejani

Programme Lead
Amazon Web Services

Ramat leads AWS GetIT an Amazon Web Services’ skills and gender diversity programme, which aims to empower female talent and build confidence and leadership skills, and to encourage more young people, especially girls, to consider a career in technology. Ramat also sits on the board of the Amazon Black Employee Network (BEN) in the UK. She is responsible for developing and executing strategies to support the professional development of BEN UK members in areas such as employability and realising their potential.  Beyond AWS, Ramat has coached almost 100 women in the last two years, utilizing her mentoring and confidence coaching skills through The Inspiration Box, a personal development platform. She is also part of The Mentor Circle, which was set up during the pandemic to combat widening inequality in the UK for young people.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olaide Olumide

Assistant Director
Department for Business

Olaide Co-Chairs the Women Empowered Network, where she has re-launched and re-branded the Network to emphasize gender equality as a collective issue and recruited a senior male Champion to lead 'WE Allies'. She led the network’s first International Women's Day Leadership Conference for 200 women championing intersectionality and public and private sector collaboration to tackle gender equality. Olaide spearheaded the development of the first BAME Women Working Group successfully influencing seniors to commit to delivery through the departments trailblazing Race Action Plan. She was featured in the Government Equalities Office #WomenWhoInspiresMe series celebrating women who have challenged gender stereotypes. As a member of the UKsec Steering Committee, Olaide advocated for a session to address gender diversity challenges in the cybersecurity sector. Externally, Olaide runs Shades of Success, an online network for BAME women, mentors women within the Civil Service whilst volunteering in outreach activities through Inspiring the Future & Urban Synergy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margaret Gribben

Performance Manager
Irish Life

Margaret chairs the Women@Work and alumni network, and heads the steering group. Over the last two years, the network and other initiatives she leads have achieved numerous recognitions as industry leading best practice. These initiatives have significantly progressed the agenda with senior leadership & boards, both approving gender targets and a new gender dashboard to provide data and board papers to track progress. Externally, Irish Life is recognized as industry best practice in Diversity & Inclusion following a number of D&I audits. Margaret is Program Director for the LifeCareers Mentoring Program and chairs the steering group. This program has become a benchmark, spawning national and international mentoring initiatives. Margaret is the internal network lead of the 30% Club Ireland Financial Services network, mentors through Pathways in Technology, and instigated and leads a partnership with Skillnet Ireland’s Women TechStart & ReBoot Program, supporting women with technology skills to return to work.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Larissa Dudley

Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Engineering Asia Pacific
Goldman Sachs

Larissa co-chairs the Hong Kong Women's Network at Goldman Sachs, where she planned the firm’s International Women’s Day conference, featuring prominent internal and external women leaders, and sessions with senior leaders on resilience, career development and leadership. She was instrumental in Goldman Sachs’ sponsorship of The Women’s Foundation and Girls Go Tech, including a STEM competition for female students. Within the Engineering Division, Larissa has organized four roundtables with divisional leadership to hear from women engineers, organized roundtables for women engineers with senior visiting engineers, presented at recruitment events targeting women, and spearheaded a volunteer event with the Women Entrepreneurs Network, among other initiatives. Externally, Larissa is part of a 12-person team who will trek 150km across Kyrgyzstan over eight days to raise funds for Women for Women International.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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KC Boas

Vice President
BlackRock

KC co-founded the Women in Retirement Group in her department at BlackRock, which focuses on career development and community building for its members. She leads programming across five offices, alongside a team that seeks to strengthen male allyship and gender diversity across the business. KC is also the Global Strategy Manager for BlackRock’s Women’s Network, and spearheaded a global campaign for International Women's Day where she engaged thousands of employees across 63 offices in a gender equity pledge. Last year, she was asked to join the firm’s Global Mosaic Leadership Team as an inaugural member – working in concert with BlackRock’s Inclusion & Diversity Team to cultivate and advance diversity, equity and inclusion at the firm and in the communities in which it operates. Outside BlackRock, KC is an ambassador for Girls Who Invest and an associate board member for the Council for Economic Education.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Price

Head of client engagement
Morson

Samantha is the Founder and a current Board Member of the Morson Group’s Diversity Champions. The group continues their #gendersnobarrier campaign, and has formalised a partnership with the Northern Power Women. The Morson Group Diversity Champions support The Girls' Network with strategic support and events which have included a rail industry experience day. Samantha has supported the Morson Group in the initiation of a series of reverse mentoring sessions for directors from Morson’s population of future women leaders. As a co-founder of the Women Leaders in Transport Network and helping to formalise a partnership with Women in Rail, sponsoring its Big Rail Diversity Challenge she has formalised the Morson Group’s outward facing gender inclusion programme within the rail industry. Additionally, across the Group’s strategic client portfolio she works with each organisation to understand their current inclusion practices and to provide a diversity improvement road map for the group’s service to them.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olivia Maguire

Portfolio Manager
J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Olivia is an advocate of diversity and inclusion (D&I), both within J.P. Morgan and at industry level. She collaborates with internal business resource groups to help foster leadership and networking opportunities and advance the firm’s commitment to diversity and community involvement, including chairing EMEA Asset Management’s Women on the Move, and partnering with Black Organization for Leadership Development and Voices for Employees that Served). Olivia has mentored colleagues and supported entrepreneurs and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the firm’s philanthropic initiatives and charity partners, including the Female Founders Accelerator Program, The Schools Challenge and The Service Corps (Detroit and Dublin). Externally, Olivia participates in D&I focused forums, panels and roundtables and is a member of the CFA UK Inclusion & Diversity Committee, the Bank of England’s Money Market Committee and SONIA Stakeholder Advisory Group. She also chairs the Investment Committee for the Institutional Money Market Fund Association.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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JiHye Bae

Head of Credit Cards
Standard Chartered Bank Korea (SCBK)

JiHye is a senior leader for the SCBK D&I Council Gender Charter, where she takes the lead in implementing gender diversity programs, and has organized a special Balance for Better lecture series for staff. She also ran programs on career development, mentoring, and a lecture series linked to external institutions as Retail Banking Leader for SCBK's Women's Network. JiHye and the Network conduct regular meetings on leadership, overcoming unconscious bias, and international finance, and she promoted the activities of the Network through media engagements. Externally, JiHye has conducted economic education and cultural events for migrant women from multicultural families in conjunction with SCBK and the Jongro-gu Multicultural Family Support Center. She has also been instrumental in the implementation of the Women’s Venture Scale Up Program, in partnership with the Korean Women Venture Association.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Perez

Senior Director Consulting
Oracle

Ana chairs OWL (Oracle Women in Leadership Network) where she has developed and curated an improved program of events and increased membership from 100 to over 600. She has created a peer network for senior women leaders through a program of women-only dinners for senior executives. She has expanded the program to include participation in the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme, and has also developed OWL’s membership of Women on Boards to provide access to external opportunities. Ana is also a trustee and company secretary of Smart Works Reading, a charity that provides interview coaching and suitable clothing for women, through which she has supported over 800 women in the Thames Valley.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Partner

David has made it his mission to change the culture at Clifford Chance. He chairs a group aiming to address the firm’s diversity issues relating to gender.  The group persuaded the firm’s management to publish all pay gap data, including partners, plus data on ethnicity, sexuality and disability pay gaps as well as gender. David has championed a series of initiatives to promote diversity, including a successful pilot of reverse mentoring; designated partners at every meeting where pay or promotion is discussed, charged with ensuring gender diversity is respected; a network of ‘inclusion advocates’ trained to help and support those facing harassment issues; equalising the firm's shared parental leave package; and refreshing and relaunching the firm’s women's group as a global gender parity network.  David has spoken at a series of partner events to make sure that every one of Clifford Chance’s 150+ London partners is aware of the importance of D&I and of the great damage that sexist behaviour and harassment can present. Externally, David supports and encourages academic research in D&I, particularly Jill Armstrong of Murray Edwards College Cambridge. He has attended many events promoted by Women's groups to try and deliberately be the only man in a room full of women, in order to understand the minority experience and promote male advocacy. David also supports Tender, a charity dedicated to reducing domestic violence.

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UKI Chairman and Country Director

Under Olly’s leadership, Accenture has embedded diversity across all HR processes; recruitment, development and performance. He is a coach and mentor to several senior women and in recent years has overseen many initiatives to support women’s development in the workplace. These include refocusing Accenture’s Women’s network to an inclusive Gender network, resulting in greater engagement from men in Accenture-run programmes, and normalising their market-leading Shared Parental Leave (SPL) provision in 2015, which has seen 350+ applicants since its inception. He also championed the creation of Accenture’s 50:50 gender-equal culture. Olly is highly committed to the success and promotion of Accenture’s Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, which have seen over 100K users of the firm’s Skills to Succeed Academy and taken more than 840 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through their Movement to Work Programme since 2014. All employees are encouraged to contribute to their local communities, with 3,250 UKI employees using 42,000 volunteering hours in the last financial year. Under Olly’s leadership, Accenture has put a huge focus on the talent agenda; sponsoring 14 University Women’s Societies, 46 school events and mentoring over 80 SME women CEOs through their business mentoring programmes.

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CEO HSBC Argentina

Gabriel has a very strong commitment to HSBC’s global diverse workspace strategy, as the main sponsor of Argentina’s 4 HSBC ERGs. In 2018, he signed up to the UN Women and UN Global Compact WEPs (Women’s Empowerment Principles) agreement on behalf of HSBC Argentina, and since then has been involved in different aspects that make gender balance and equality a priority on the company's agenda. In 2019, Gabriel led HSBC Argentina’s ‘No means No’ campaign to raise awareness about gender violence and harassment, as well as to make women aware of their own rights. It was the first time that a brand used a characteristic feature of the business – the ATM – to deliver diversity messages in Argentina. Under Gabriel’s leadership, more than half of HSBC Argentina associates are women, with women’s representation in senior roles increasing to 30% from 22% over the last four years. Externally, Gabriel was one of the 12 CEOs to undertake and sign the Leading Men for Change initiative of Upward – Uniting Professional Women Accelerating Relationships & Development. He is one of the five Argentine leaders invited to participate in the INADI (National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism) debates, to share experiences, challenges and achievements in diversity management in the workspace. Gabriel was also Vice President of IDEA (Institute of Entrepreneurship Development of Argentina), which gathers CEOs and owners of many enterprises in Argentina in an annual Colloquium where Gender balance was included in the agenda for the first time.

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Managing Director

Globally Andrew is one of Accenture’s cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures and ethnicities. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, within his remit as Operations MD it is Andrew’s duty to look at ways in which the company creates an inclusive environment that champions women in the workplace. Andrew is the Executive Sponsor for Accenture’s African-Caribbean Network, and works with global leadership to open and grow opportunities for future women MDs. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations. Andrew is also a Non-Executive Director at Kingston University, looking in particular at how to include gender diversity in the academic staff, and a mentor at Harringay Secondary School, supporting young women as they start their journey into future careers.

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Midlands Regional Chairman

Karl has championed creating an environment where everyone flourishes and has particularly focused on female talent in his two and a half years as Midlands Regional Chair. He created and delivered the firm’s ‘What shadow do we cast?’ programme to inspire all partner and director groups to consider their role as leaders and try new ways of working to create an inclusive environment. He sponsors KPMG’s Network of Women, hosting sessions to discuss challenges to I&D, and mentors potential women partners. Karl also created a female partner/director community specifically working together to help each other and to inform him on how to remove barriers to their progression. He has driven the roll out of his team’s Beliefs, Biases and Behaviours Training programme and launched a ‘Shadow Board’, 50% of whom are female, to be a sounding board and challenger group for the Midlands Leadership Team. Externally, Karl has sponsored the creation of a Women in Business external network comprising of female leaders and top talent from some of the largest and fastest growing businesses in the region. The Hampton Alexander Review, sponsored by KPMG, is a key platform around female progression for the firm, and Karl has assisted in promoting and hosting events in the Midlands to share learning with clients and others.

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President & Managing Director
Toyota GB PLC

Under Paul’s leadership, Toyota GB have launched flexible working guidelines for all staff, adjusted language used in job profiles to avoid deterring women and have sent targeted communications to female placement students to explain opportunities in the industry. Toyota GB actively participates in the 30% Automotive Club, offering an external mentoring scheme for thirty female colleagues, and their ‘Women in Business’ networking sessions enable women to learn from each other and understand the career journeys of senior female leaders. Recently, Paul’s team launched a ‘Women on the Verge of Brilliance’ programme, helping women to take control of their professional development, with discussion and tools around managing perception with critical audiences, building a personal reputation management campaign, emotional resilience and mental toughness. The Company Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is fully endorsed by the TGB Board, and Paul now hopes to influence Toyota’s European Head Office to follow their lead. Externally, Paul is a member of the 30% Club and founder member of the Automotive 30% Club, whose conferences he sponsors and regularly participates in as a panel member and speaker. This year, Toyota sponsored Autocar’s “Great British Women, Top 100 list, rising stars” awards and through their involvement with the Automotive 30% Club, TGB are also sponsoring “Inspiring” - a new digital magazine aimed at creating a super network of women in the automotive industry that can share best practices, tips, advice and generally learn from each other.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 40 Advocates

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Chief Investment Officer, EMEA

Mark is responsible for the execution of Columbia Threadneedle’s ‘Gender Action Plan’, aiming  to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. This has resulted in 45% of the company board, 42% of the regional Executive Committee and 20% of senior management being women. Mark’s team has also launched an inclusive women’s network, ‘Aloud’. One of the main initiatives that Mark has spearheaded with the network is the formation of mentoring circles which allow junior/mid-level women to reverse-mentor senior leaders within the organisation whilst also being mentored themselves. Mark is proud that Columbia Threadneedle Investments EMEA became the first European asset manager to disclose gender data in 2015 and acted as a founding signatory of HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter. Externally, Mark is a trustee of Access Sport, a charity which aims to harness the proven power of sport to tackle social exclusion, inactivity and obesity, and is Chairman of LIFEbeat, which aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of young people.

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Partner

Michael was the Executive Committee’s Gender Champion for the last three years, during which time he acted as a role model to partners and lawyers across the firm. He took responsibility for ensuring that the firm and the Division for which he was responsible met its target of electing 30% new female partners over the past two years. Michael launched and led the firm’s HeForShe group, organising events, campaigns and internal efforts to promote the group to the largest audience possible, resulting in 212 male staff signing up in the UK alone. For International Women’s Day, Michael canvassed the firm’s most senior male partners across the globe to get their thoughts on the HeForShe programme and secured their commitment to press for progress in gender equality as HeForShe supporters. He also sponsored Stepping Forward, the firm’s newest talent development programme for more junior female associates. Externally, Michael has been a powerful industry voice speaking out on this topic across multiple high level fora exchanging views, experiences and best practice with other business leaders introducing gender related initiatives within their own organisations.  Within the legal industry he has been a vocal champion for greater gender equality and opportunity, helping to lead discussions with other senior partners from law firms across the City. He is a frequent and committed mentor, keynote speaker and industry champion for diversity.

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UK Technology Consulting Lead Partner

As leader of the Deloitte technology consulting practice, Stephen has promoted and created a respectful and inclusive culture which allows everyone to flourish. Over the last 18 months, he has sponsored and championed a Respect and Inclusion programme within technology consulting, aligned to Deloitte’s firm-wide respect and inclusion agenda. Related initiatives have included Stephen setting performance goals and gender diversity targets for his leadership team, and ensuring all leadership team members also mentor women in their teams, particularly at the manager and senior manager grades where there is most leakage of female talent. He has created improved gender balance for visible leadership roles across the technology practice and challenged the recruitment team to make sure there are a diverse range of candidates applying for the roles and under his leadership. Stephen also sponsored personal brand training for Deloitte Women in Technology members as well as a number of female Women in Technology conferences. Externally, Stephen was delighted to be able to speak and present at the WeAreTechWomen awards earlier this year. He raises the topic of respect and inclusion with his clients and has championed the firm’s respect and inclusion framework for use on projects. Stephen has also championed and sponsored a number of the external initiatives that have been led by the Women in Technology network including the CoderDojo girls-only dojos which are helping to drive awareness and hope to increase the number of girls considering technology as a career in the future.

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UK Managing Partner

Ray has ensured that D&I is a central pillar of Osborne Clarke’s 2020 business strategy and continues to be important for their emerging 2025 strategy. Through diversity in recruitment, development and progression strategies, Osborne Clarke’s partner pay gap has dropped by 13% since last year and 43% of the Executive Board are now women. Ray commissioned a review of the firm’s lawyer progression framework, resulting in a relaunch with critical changes to some senior roles and the promotion process, making them more attractive, attainable and sustainable for all the firm’s lawyers. The firm has established a women’s network, with a high response rate from both male and female partners who want to lead the network. Ray’s team launched a generous parental package and enabled agile and flexible working styles. Externally, Ray was recently announced as an "Agent for Change" by Management Today and he is a member of the 30% Club. Last year, he participated in the Dads4Daughters campaign, which brings together fathers and their daughters to discuss key issues faced by contemporary working women. He is a trustee of the Social Mobility Business Partnership, and is also involved in supporting Bristol’s SteppingUp Programme, which aims to encourage more people from BAME backgrounds into senior leadership roles across Bristol.

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Chief Executive Officer

Rod has ensured that inclusivity is engrained into FDM’s corporate values. The company embraces the differences that make them stronger as one and Rod has always focused on instilling a culture of acceptance that fosters innovation from the day he founded FDM. With 80+ nationalities and cultures working together today and a healthy pipeline of senior female management, FDM is leading by example. FDM regularly hosts panel discussions, thought leadership sessions, breakfast events and networking sessions for women, and Rod supports and participates in these events, alongside mentoring several women throughout the business. FDM has almost 50% women on the management team and 30% women globally, with a 0% median pay gap for the last two years, as well as being ranked first in the Women on Boards and Leadership rankings in the tech industry. FDM has a robust partnership with Everywoman and hosts the FDM Everywoman in Tech Awards on an annual basis. These awards exist to recognise, reward and celebrate the achievements of women at all levels in tech. FDM welcomes girls (largely from disadvantaged schools) into centres around the world every year to showcase what a career in tech could look like for them in the future. Rod regularly advocates for women’s inclusion through external media, making public statements in the Telegraph, City AM, Management Today and European CEO amongst other media outlets.

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Managing Director and Senior Partner

Matthew is the Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group, and leads the Women@BCG program, which aims to improve women’s recruiting, retention, advancement and satisfaction at the firm. Under Matthew’s leadership, BCG has increased the proportion of women in entry level hires from 29% to 35%, women and men are retained at equal rates and the number of female partners has grown at three times the rate of male partners. He is involved in a number of organisations that promote women in business including Catalyst’s Board of Advisors, and The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In 2016 and 2017, Matthew led TEDWomen workshops focused on promoting women’s inclusion and men’s role in advancing gender diversity, and frequently sits on panels on the topic. He has also authored many publications which have been shared in the press, with clients and in women’s forums including ‘How AI Could Help—or—Hinder Women in the Workforce’ (BCG May 2019), ‘Diversity Is Just the First Step. Inclusion Comes Next. (BCG April 2019)’, ‘Lightening the Mental Load that Holds Women Back (BCG April 2019)’ and ‘What Diversity and Inclusion Policies Do Employees Actually Want? (Harvard Business Review February 2019)’, among others.

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Senior Partner

During his tenure as Senior Partner, Colin has ensured that improving gender diversity is a key business priority, leading the firm to greater positive action to progress more women through to partnership and into senior management positions. Under Colin’s leadership the percentage of female partners has increased from 12% to 22%, and the firm has experienced its second consecutive year of 40% plus internal partner promotions for women. Colin sponsors two female Managing Associates in their route to partnership, and chairs quarterly gender balance meetings with the firm’s gender balance partner lead, steering committee and the co-chairs of the firm’s women’s Network, The Number One Club. Externally, in June, Colin spoke on the panel of a Women’s Business Alliance event at Morgan Stanley to mark the first 100 years of female solicitors in the UK, where he discussed the steps that Simmons & Simmons have taken towards increasing gender diversity. He has also been involved in a charity called Sport Gives Back, the brainchild of a former UK athlete Connie Henry, aiming encourage social mobility through sport.

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Group Chief Financial Officer

Andrew is proactive in challenging inequality, and establishing and embedding strategic support to create a more inclusive working environment where diversity thrives. He has worked closely with the Group CEO to establish a leadership goal for all appointments to senior management and leadership to reflect a 50:50 gender ratio by 2021. He has built awareness and understanding of the importance of gender diversity through encouraging his team to lead by example, through educational support including unconscious bias training and by speaking passionately internally and externally and communicating regularly with all colleagues. Andrew also published the ‘Group Finance Maternity Charter’, a leadership commitment to supporting the needs of expectant and new working mothers, and regularly hosts lunches with colleagues who are returning from maternity leave to network and build confidence. He commissioned a return to work pilot scheme, actively engages men in gender diversity and hosts a regular ‘Role Model’ networking series with senior female leaders. Externally, among other initiatives and engagements, Andrew established the Gold Sovereign award. Until 1972, when Ireland joined the EU, upon marriage, women were required by law to leave employment and ‘return to the home’, and were presented with a gold sovereign on their departure. Andrew repurposed the gold sovereign, presenting them to people who are driving the I&D agenda in the organisation and in wider society.

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Leader, Amazon Business UK

Dave has made a hugely positive impact on boosting diversity across Amazon through his work leading the policy workstream for Women@Amazon, one of Amazon’s employee affinity groups. In this role, he works closely with Women@ members and HR to develop policies and workplace practices that are applied, not only in the UK, but across Europe. He was a key driver of Amazon’s Flexible Working guidelines, providing informal guidance to help managers and employees more effectively use informal and occasional flexible working. The guidelines were launched on International Women’s Day in 2016, initially in Amazon’s London corporate office. Since then however, they now apply across five EU countries. Dave is also passionate about mentoring women at all levels of the business, currently mentoring four women, two of whom have subsequently been promoted to senior management positions. He also speaks frequently at Amazon events, championing diversity across the business and gathering feedback from female employees which he then feeds back for the consideration of the policy working group. Most recently he spoke at the Women@ Annual Summit and the Amazon UK Graduate/MBA All Hands meetings to talk about how Women@ and the company are working to ensure a great and diverse workplace for employees.

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Chief Operating Officer, Singapore

Osman was instrumental to the launch of HeForShe at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore in 2018, which has now evolved into a global network at Standard Chartered Bank Group. HeForShe currently has over 150 senior male leaders who are committed to helping hundreds of mid-level female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. Osman also helped launch HeForShe in his home country, Bangladesh, making it one of the first Muslim markets in Standard Chartered Bank Group to have a HeForShe network. He is a key advocate of D&I at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore and of the corporate target of 30% women in key leadership roles. He has always ensured a fair representation of women on interviewing panels and candidate slates in Information Technology and Operations functions, leading to 55% of his 400 employees being women. Externally, Osman supports HeForShe Singapore and mentors a group of 10 high potential women. He is also a sponsor of the ‘Women in Tech’ initiative, which offers university students educational visits to Standard Chartered Bank. Osman recently hosted a visit by 26 students from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business to learn about how technology is changing the future of banking.

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Managing Partner

Since becoming a Managing Partner at Mattos Filho in 2015, José Eduardo has worked hard to promote gender equality. His first initiative was the Women’s Programme, in which he shared practices from other law firms abroad with a group of women partners and encouraged them to create an affinity group, now called 4Women. Following concentrated research into understanding women’s perception of Mattos Filho’s workplace, José Eduardo and 4Women built a plan of action which is now being implemented. Under José Eduardo’s leadership, Mattos Filho have become supporters of the UN’s HeForShe movement, and José Eduardo has signed the CEO’s Declaration in Support of the Women's Empowerment Principles. More recently, José Eduardo and his team are developing the ‘Building Together’ initiative within 4Women to consider men’s opinions on how to build and improve initiatives for gender equality in the firm. Additionally, José Eduardo introduced unconscious bias training for all partners and, in partnership with KPMG, introduced non-harassment training for all Mattos Filho employees. Externally, José Eduardo is very active in sharing his experiences and possible strategies with clients and NPOs.

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Chief Executive

During Lee’s tenure as Managing Partner and now Chief Executive, Eversheds Sutherland has elected its first female Chair and met its initial target of having 25% female partners in the business one year ahead of the set timescale. The new target is 30% by 2021. Lee personally leads on Eversheds’ D&I strategy and appointed its first Gender Champion and Diversity & Inclusion Partner Sponsor in 2019. He was the first member of Eversheds’ Gender Network, which is currently working to engage male champions across the business as part of the #balanceforbetter campaign. Every year International Women’s Day is celebrated across the firm, with the day kicking off with a personal video or message of thanks from Lee and a celebration of the talents and contributions of female colleagues. He also launched Eversheds’ Development Plus programme to support career progression of women at the firm. Externally, Lee is a frequent speaker and panellist at legal industry conferences on D&I and is often quoted in the legal industry press.

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Chief Operating Officer EMEIA

Following his analysis of some unfavourable data regarding gender balance, Gavin became the new Chair of the D&I Council, creating a gender action plan which is unequivocal in its approach and clearly aligned to the business strategy. It is a personal challenge for Gavin to eradicate the gender pay gap in the next 3 years. Gavin’s hard work has contributed to drastic improvements in gender diversity throughout the region. Gavin has made monthly calls on progress, challenging the under-representation of women at higher levels. He is taking decisive action to address gender parity in recruitment, demanding and enabling balanced shortlists and bias-free processes. Beyond Business, Gavin has given a personal commitment not to appear on external all male panels. He promotes STEM subjects for girls in schools and has published several articles on LinkedIn and external blog pages outlining his views on targets and tokenism. He is determined to create an attraction and retention culture so women can thrive. He coaches a phenomenal disabled woman, Kate Nash OBE, to grow her business @PurpleSpace which is creating employee networks; promotes International Women’s Day using #SheInspiresMe asking LBT+ women to share inspirational quotes and regularly speak out on women’s equality. Amongst his many efforts to support D&I, Gavin also supported a trans woman manager, featuring as a Values Champion in a video about inclusivity, where she highlighted the importance of colleague-support through her transition.

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Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs International

Richard sponsors the EMEA Inclusion & Diversity Committee (IDC) at Goldman Sachs, which is responsible for maximising the potential of GS’ talent, is accountable for diversity in hiring and progression and has a mandate to drive positive cultural change. Richard has led the firm’s efforts to shift the needle on its culture, including creating an annual IDC Townhall, with quarterly updates on progress, achievements and opportunities in the D&I space; monthly ‘Chats with IDC’ hosted by IDC members; an internal panel series acknowledging both progress made and remaining targets; and a ‘partner cascade’ series, encouraging self-reflection on acts which can enhance or erode inclusion. Richard has also sponsored the Affinity Network Fair, hosted breakfast for nearly 50 GS women partners, clients and graduates of GS’ 10,000 Small Businesses UK, endorsed the firm’s support of the Diversity Project and championed ‘Launch with GS’, a £500m investment in women-led businesses. Beyond GS, Richard hosts the annual ‘When Women Lead’ event at London’s Serpentine Pavilion, gathering over 600 women to celebrate the achievements of women from a host of industries. He supports the Cambridge Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre and was instrumental in GS becoming headline sponsors of their 2019 conference. He was also involved in the firm’s sponsorship of the Women of the Square Mile Conference.

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Chief Operating Officer

Lou is currently the Executive Sponsor of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network (PWN), an ERG providing professional development opportunities to women across the company. As part of his work with PWN, Lou launched and continues to lead the PWN’s Global Advisory Board – a group of senior executives who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices. He also encourages colleagues and peers to participate in PWN events as he strongly believes that networking and conversations will help to drive a strong pipeline of female talent through the organisation. To help change the face of financial services, and make sure that the organisation reflects the communities where employees live and work, Lou is also an active champion of diverse hiring practices, and actively encourages his teams to bring in diverse slates of talent when making hiring decisions, which has resulted in hiring of several women for key leadership roles across State Street. Lou often presents on career management and talent management to give women the tools they need to advance their careers. He mentors many women throughout State Street, and is an active supporter of the Esperanza Academy, a tuition-free, independent middle school welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races and cultures in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

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Executive Chairman

Iain sponsored Cicero to become the first communications company to join the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and set ambitious targets for a 50/50 gender balance in their first year of recruitment, which has been surpassed. Cicero is also part of the 30% Club and actively participate in their mentoring programme. Cicero has supported the City of London's initiatives around women at work in the City, and has provided pro bono support to the Diversity Project for the asset management sector. Cicero has recently been awarded the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association) Workplace Champions award for their work in supporting diversity at work. Cicero supports LGBT+ women at work with OUTstanding and supports the Women in Public Affairs network. Iain has been named as one of the PRCA 50 for 50 champions of diversity, he has appeared on BBC Question Time this year speaking about the importance of diversity and has worked with the 10 Downing Street business liaison team to support the Diversity Project. He is a Non-Executive Director of the global Fintech body Innovate Finance, where he chairs the Fintech Strategy Board. The Board has launched key initiatives in 2019 around women in finance, including a schools’ careers programme, and support for the Rose Review.

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CEO

Since becoming CEO in September 2018, Mark has made culture a cornerstone of WPP’s new strategy. His commitment to create a more inclusive WPP has led to an increase in the proportion of women at the most senior levels: the number of women on WPP’s board has increased to 42%, and the number of women leading WPP’s 20 biggest global brands has doubled under his leadership. Mark continues to champion WPP’s Stella, Propeller and Walk the Talk networks, which provide mid-level and senior women with networking, coaching and help with increasing their internal and external profiles. He and his team have introduced new guidelines for best-practice maternity, paternity and flexible working policies, and made unconscious bias training part of WPP’s ethics training for all staff. Mark has been vocal about the need for WPP and the wider industry to reflect the diversity of society to help clients better connect with consumers. In January, through his membership of the Male Champions of Change Global Tech Group, he called on male leaders to improve gender equality in the technology sector. Mark sees pay gap reporting as a positive move, forcing businesses to act faster and think harder about what can be done to achieve the ultimate goal of equal representation in executive leadership. He shared WPP’s own challenges at the launch event of the Women in Advertising and Communications report into the industry’s gender ‘leadership gap’, speaking of a need for a generational and cultural shift in leadership to better understand what women need to succeed.

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Chairman

As Chairman of AFME, Michael has been instrumental in driving forward diversity and inclusion initiatives. One key example is through the formation of AFME’s Diversity group and Women’s Network, where Michael has helped to shape the groups’ strategy and deliverables to ensure AFME’s diversity and inclusion policies are relevant and achievable. Michael has encouraged AMFE to support inclusive organisations by hosting events and urging staff to attend D&I sessions. Over the last year, Michael also joined the Women in Banking in Finance (WIBF) as Patron. Through his leadership, he has encouraged AFME to become an associate WIBF member and all staff now have access to the women’s networking events and resources on offer. Michael is also a passionate advocate of ensuring diversity on panel representation at AFME’s 40 annual events and conferences across Europe. Externally, Michael mentors under the 30% Club programme and the Mission INCLUDE programme, where he sits on the steering committee. He is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, LGBT+ rights, mental health, and is an active supporter of City Mental Health Alliance. He is a regular panellist and keynote speaker on all things diversity and inclusion.

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Group Chief Executive

At Schroders, Peter has introduced 50/50 gender splits at entry-level assessment centres and ensures that the firm only uses executive search firms signed up to the Voluntary Code of Conduct on Gender Diversity. Among many other effective initiatives to build gender diversity, Peter has introduced diversity targets linked to individual pay outcomes for senior management, and ensured Schroders was the first FTSE 100 firm to publish its gender pay gap data. Parental leave policies and global flexible working policies have been reviewed and improved under Peter’s leadership, a trans policy has been introduced, a mentoring scheme launched and unconscious bias training rolled out. Peter has introduced ambitious targets for female representation at Schroders, which the company is on track to meet by 2020. Beyond Schroders, Peter is Chair of the Investment Association and holds positions on the advisory boards of the Diversity Project, CFA and CityUK, where he champions D&I. He led Schroders in signing up to the Women in Finance Charter, and supports Schroders’ initiatives to improve financial education at school level through to apprenticeships and work experience, among other outreach initiatives. Under Peter’s guidance, Schroders has proudly sponsored numerous awards recognising women in STEM careers and investment.

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Senior Partner and Chief Executive

As part of David’s ongoing focus on ensuring Deloitte provides a truly inclusive culture, he has rolled out innovative agile working and return-to-work initiatives, targeted career development training, and reviewed all recruitment processes to ensure they are free from bias. Deloitte has also created development programmes for high-potential female practitioners; including each member of the Executive team sponsoring a female senior manager. David has taken personal ownership of progress towards achieving the target of having 25% female partners by 2020 in the UK, rising to 40% by 2030. He has also been a keen advocate of increasing pay gap transparency: Deloitte was one of the first large companies to voluntarily report their gender pay gap in the UK in 2015 before it was mandatory, and has reported it annually ever since. In order to further increase transparency, David was passionate about voluntarily calculating Deloitte’s ‘total earnings gap’ which they have now committed to publishing each year. Externally, he is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its Agents for Change list last year. Over the last few months, David has given interviews to national media and written about the importance of committing to changing cultures in organisations, generating significant media coverage. He uses platforms outside Deloitte including CBI and London First but also schools and other groups to argue the case for a truly inclusive workplace and for gender equality in the workplace.

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Chief Executive

Ivan is extremely proud that Diageo has been recognised by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, ranked fourth in the Thomson Reuters Global Diversity and Inclusion Index, and by Equileap as the best company for gender equality in the UK. Ivan has led his team in introducing many gender initiatives at Diageo, including ambitious family leave policies that equalise maternity leave globally, and in many markets see new fathers employed by Diageo able to take 26 weeks of fully paid paternity leave including the UK, across Europe, North America, Thailand and the Philippines. Today 44% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women, and Ivan has placed targets at 40% female representation in senior leadership roles by 2025. Externally, Ivan has spoken at an event hosted by the Women’s Business Council, outlining why diversity is a ‘business imperative’, which requires a commitment from the top and action at all levels to create an environment where everyone can achieve their potential. He has spoken at numerous events on the importance of D&I, and has been recognised for his efforts with a plethora of awards. This year, Diageo became an official sponsor of Creative Equals’ Returners programme, to help women return to work in the creative industries following a career break. They also recently celebrated one year on from pledging to ‘Free the Bid’, an initiative to promote equal opportunities for women in the advertising industry.

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Chief Executive Officer
easyJet plc

Johan is extremely proud of the work he and his team are doing to make easyJet an inclusive airline. easyJet plc’s Board is 30% female, with Johan’s direct reports being 50% women. When Johan joined easyJet as CEO, he demonstrated his personal commitment to equal pay and equal opportunity for women and men, asking the easyJet Board to reduce his pay to match that of easyJet’s former CEO, Carolyn McCall, when she was at easyJet. The airline is on track to meet their ambitious target that 20% of its new cadet pilots will be female by 2020 and rates of pay are equal and standardised based on role and rank. As part of easyJet’s pioneering Amy Johnson initiative to encourage more girls to consider becoming a pilot, the company has launched a mentoring programme for Britain’s youngest pilot, Ellie Carter (16), with Training Captain Zoe Ebrey. easyJet supports Girlguiding’s aviation badge, and in FY18, easyJet pilots undertook over 100 visits to schools, youth and aeronautical organisations. easyJet’s commitment to integrating D&I into their policies is demonstrated by the ITV documentary about trainee pilots at easyJet, ‘Inside the Cockpit’.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 40 Advocates

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Chief Executive Officer

During his tenure leading State Street’s asset management arm, State Street Global Advisors, Ron’s stewardship team focused on gender diversity on boards, following research linking gender diversity to better business outcomes. In 2017 Ron and his team called on boards to ensure they were focusing on gender diversity as a reflection of board quality and overall cognitive diversity. They committed to voting against the member slates of those boards that had no women and no plan in place to add women. On the eve of International Women’s Day in 2017, Ron’s team placed the Fearless Girl statue in the centre of Wall Street as a symbolic call for more women on boards. Fearless Girl ignited a global conversation about the power of women in leadership and inspired companies around the world to add women to their boards. Since launching the campaign, 445 companies of the 1,265 identified have responded to the call to action by either adding a female director or committing to do so. As the CEO of State Street, Ron continues to be laser-focused on gender diversity, introducing company-wide diversity goals and comprehensively diverse talent slates, among other initiatives. Externally, Ron is a frequent speaker at important corporate governance/gender diversity events, and is a member of the 30% Club and the Boston Foundation Board of Directors.

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Chairman & Co-CEO

Marc Benioff is Chairman, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Under Benioff's leadership, Salesforce is the fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally. Benioff was named “Innovator of the Decade” by Forbes and is recognized as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, Benioff has been honored by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award. A member of the World Economic Forum ("WEF") Board of Trustees, Benioff serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF's Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. Benioff received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees.

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Executive Partner

This year, Justin championed the introduction of a market-leading shared parental leave policy which is available to the firm's employees across its nine Asia offices, supporting all parents, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or other circumstances. The policy creates a ground-breaking “sharing” arrangement that allows working parents to organise their families as they see fit rather than being cast in typical “maternity” and “paternity” gender roles. Justin is also focused on breaking down barriers that prevent women from reaching the highest levels, advocating for the introduction of gender targets in the firm, resulting in 33% women in the Asia partnership. He was instrumental in the introduction of new, stretch global targets in May 2019, stating that women will comprise 35% of the global partnership and partner leadership roles by 2023. Justin is also a personal sponsor and mentor to numerous high-performing women across the firm, and Executive Sponsor of the firm’s IRIS (LGBT+) Network, and led the development of the firm's Asia Multicultural Network in 2018. Beyond Herbert Smith Freehills, Justin is a member of the 30% Club HK as well as BritCham's HK Women in Business Committee, through which he acts as a vocal ally and champion of gender equity across Hong Kong.

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CEO

Keith became IHG’s CEO in July 2017 and is a passionate advocate and believer that a balanced workforce is critical to the company’s success. Under Keith’s leadership, IHG’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) agenda has gone from strength to strength. In 2018, he established a D&I Board which he Chairs, to reinforce IHG’s ambitions in this space and to prioritise areas where the company can make a real impact, including addressing an under-representation of females in senior leadership roles. Since becoming IHG’s CEO, female representation on the company’s Executive Committee (EC) has increased to almost a third, and nearly 40% of the EC and their direct reports are women. This is in addition to the 36% female representation IHG has at Board level. IHG also has an external target to increase the percentage of diverse Senior Leaders (in terms of gender & nationality/ethnicity) and the percentage of females working in General Manager and Operations roles in managed hotels. To meet these goals, the company has launched initiatives including conscious inclusion training for the entire organisation, and a mentoring programme called RISE, which supports women who aspire to become hotel General Managers. Keith is a founding member of the Advisory Board for Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure 2020 group, and is a member of the 30% Club. He speaks regularly on the importance of D&I and uses social media and his internal blog to discuss the importance of D&I at IHG, and has hosted events dedicated to celebrating and championing D&I.

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Director of Transformation

Having fundamentally changed the focus on gender inclusion at Vodafone across the North of England - culminating in receiving the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) ‘Male Mentor of the Year’ and Northern Power Women ‘Agent Of Change’ Award – Rob left Vodafone in October 2018 to join the board of EveryCloud Security. In his first month in the new role, Rob teamed up with EY and Northern Power Women to have EveryCloud engage in the Northern Power Futures programme, aimed at inspiring and engaging more women into tech careers. As part of EveryCloud’s 2019 recruitment plan, Rob spent International Women’s Week engaging with a number of women who had recently been made redundant in the North of England. In addition to recruiting female talent into EveryCloud, he was able to help coach other women to find new roles elsewhere that suited their talents and ambitions. He has championed flexible working initiatives and encouraged female colleagues to attend the Institute of Directors annual “Enterprising Women” conference. Beyond EveryCloud, Rob works closely with Northern Power Women, judging the 2019 and 2020 annual awards and working to encourage more senior male support. He has mentored and sponsored many women who have been made redundant this year, and speaks regularly on panels to promote gender inclusion, among many other similar effective activities.

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President and Chief Executive Officer

Ajay has forged a company and culture at Mastercard where inclusion, opportunity and empowerment for women are global priorities. He’s made gender equality a central, guiding theme – not only for our diversity, inclusion and hiring efforts, but in Mastercard’s business strategy in general. Under Ajay’s guidance, Mastercard has created a global female leadership development programme to identify next generation talent and ensure they have the opportunity to develop the necessary skills for broader roles within the company. Additionally, Mastercard’s Women’s Leadership Network has expanded to 31 chapters around the world, supporting the growth and development of 3,500 members. Ajay’s vision of Mastercard becoming a leader in products designed for women and his support in helping them get access to finance and funding shows up in many of the company’s programmes, including supply chain financing for microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in markets where women represent a large, underserved segment; and linking identification to payments to benefit the millions of women globally who lack formal ID. Ajay provided the pioneering vision for Girls4Tech™, the award-winning education programme developed in conjunction with top engineers and technologists to teach STEM foundations and principles to girls aged 8-13 around the world. Beyond Mastercard, Ajay is involved in global initiatives and organisations that encourage and empower women financially. He is an investor in Ellevest, has partnered with World Bank to help women in under-developed areas, and regularly speaks to executive groups and student groups on D&I.

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Managing Director

Richard believes in positive, direct action led by empowered individuals. He was named one of thirty ‘Male Agents of Change’ challenging gender inequality by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today. At Centaur Media, Richard enjoys working with an Executive Committee featuring 60% female representation, including the CEO and COO. The overall workforce is balanced across genders, with many taking advantage of flexible working policies, including senior executives. Richard and his team implement enhanced maternity and paternity leave, actively encourage returnship where over 4 out of 5 return to work, and ensure all London-based employees are paid above the London Living Wage. Within Xeim Advise, Richard motivates his teams to directly impact diversity and inclusivity through pro-bono time and connections with fifteen diversity and inclusivity organisations he has supported for many years. The team have supported the ‘Be Awesome Night School’ for women; operationally support Creative Equals’ events and accelerator programmes for female professionals, contribute to Badass.Gal, build a new guard of talent in schools through BIMA & The Ideas Foundation, and mentor across the industry through NABS and WhosYourMomma. Externally, Richard sits on the leadership teams of pioneering networks such as Creative Equals, Token Man and SheSaysUK, among others. He regularly speaks on D&I at conferences and has mentored dozens of women through various schemes.

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Chairman

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, holding the company’s business leaders accountable for the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg expanded its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index in 2018 to launch its first sector-neutral version. The success of last year’s inaugural Bloomberg Equality Summit, part of the company’s cross-platform editorial initiative focused on supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workforce, has led to further events in New York, London and Mumbai. Bloomberg News’ New Voices initiative aims to increase the representation of women sources in both online and on-air content. Last year, Peter launched a ‘Chairman’s Challenge’, a firm-wide competition to encourage the development of innovative D&I initiatives. Externally, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, creating numerous initiatives focused on increasing the pipeline of female talent. Initiatives include a cross-company mentoring programme, a partnership with theBoardlist, and a Future Female Directors programme. Peter also serves as a mentor with Catalyst’s Women On Board programme.

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Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL), Shazad is committed to creating an inclusive environment which leverages colleagues' diverse strengths and positively impacts clients and communities. Under Shahzad’s leadership, SCBPL has made significant strides towards becoming an inclusive gender balanced organisation. Presently, 27% of SCBPL’s workforce is female in contrast to 2014 whereby the female participation rate was 21%. During Shahzad’s tenure, SCBPL has embedded flexible working practices, revised parental leave benefits, introduced mentoring and wellness sessions for women and most importantly increased focus on hiring, retaining and promoting women. In addition, SCBPL launched Inclusive Leadership Programme which is designed to support over 550 People Leaders in understanding the importance of developing an inclusive work environment by equipping them with the essential skills to drive change and mitigate bias. Shazad sits on the Standard Chartered Global D&I Council, responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the D&I strategy which covers gender equality as well. He is also the member of SC Global Community Programmes Steering Group championing the GOAL programme. The programme aims to empower adolescent girls become integral economic leaders and has benefited over 6,000 girls in Pakistan alone. SCBPL also supports female entrepreneurs in Pakistan via its #SCWomenInTech programme. Shazad is an advocate of increasing female representation in senior roles and enabling a discrimination free reward and performance decision-making, principles emanating out of SC Group’s commitment to UK HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the Fair Pay Charter. Externally, Shazad chairs the board of directors for Developments in Literacy (DIL) in Pakistan which primarily focuses on providing educational opportunities for girls.  Furthermore, Shazad is a great ambassador for gender equality and regularly speaks and participates as a panellist and keynote speaker at external events to bolster change.

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Global Chairman Reinsurance Solutions

Dominic has personally signed up to the 30% Club, signed Aon’s Gender Pay Gap Report, and signed Aon up to the Women in Finance Charter. Aon has also signed up to The Diversity Project, which drives gender parity in the investment sector, and is keenly involved in the programme. Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of all seven Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and the lead of the Diversity Council at Aon, whose extremely active gender network recently changed its name to Gender IQ to encourage male participation. Dominic mentors eight women, and as part of the Sponsorship Programme, sponsors three senior females on a regular and engaged basis. He also mentors a female actuary, who is a rising star at Aon, and is reverse mentored by a female apprentice. Aon’s target is to reach 30% female representation on their senior leadership team by 2020, and they have a number of strategies in place to support this, such as an inclusive early careers programme. Externally, he is the Chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, a committed group of senior individuals from across the insurance industry who champion diversity and inclusion. He was instrumental in the launch of the Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2017 saw 80 events take place in 17 countries and 32 cities. On International Women’s Day, Dominic hosted various events at Aon, and an industry-wide one, with Inclusion@Lloyds.

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UK Country Manager & Vice President, Marketing Solutions EMEA & LATAM

In 2015, Josh set a goal of achieving 50/50 gender balance across the LinkedIn EMEA advertising business. This goal has been achieved, with 50% of roles across all functions being held by women. Josh has introduced a gender aware recruitment process across the whole UK business, which has seen significant movement towards achieving gender balance. Last year, Josh drove the roll out of unconscious bias training for all 300+ LinkedIn employees in the UK office, and he mentors numerous female leaders inside and outside of LinkedIn. He supported the creation of robust leadership programmes focused on developing the next generation of leadership talent amongst women and under-represented groups, including Women’s Initiative (WiN), where he acts as a mentor and sponsor. He has also ensured that LinkedIn has been a positive influence on other businesses in its role as a tool to source and hire diverse talent. Outside of the company, using LinkedIn’s gender trends data, Josh regularly talks about the benefits of D&I in the press, as well as sharing specific actions that companies can take to create a more inclusive environment at industry conferences, including ISBA, the IoD and CBI. He has also spearheaded important gender research leveraging LinkedIn’s data and in-conjunction with WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications London) initiated workshops on D&I for senior male leaders in the Media, Marketing & Communications sector.

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Chief Executive of Bupa Global & UK

In 2019, Bupa has committed to taking three important steps towards gender diversity: continuing to build a strong pipeline of female talent; working towards more balanced gender representation in recruitment; and doing more to support people returning to work, and with parental and caring responsibilities. Last year, David launched the ‘Everyone’s Welcome’ pledge and the ‘Be You at Bupa’ initiative, celebrating a positive and fully inclusive working environment. He is Global Sponsor for Bupa Advance, a development programme with around 50% women participating. He is also Global lead for both health care management and aged care, with the majority of those in aged care being women. Bupa is a signatory of the Women in Finance Charter and member of the 30% Club. They are the first UK-owned company to extend health cover for employees to include gender dysphoria, and have a successful mum’s returners’ network. David led the launch of a new Code of Conduct focused on inclusivity, and provides CEO sponsorship for Bupa’s DiverCity network. Externally, David has been involved in many inclusion initiatives and programmes, including mentoring several women, and acting as a Trustee for the Bupa UK Foundation, primarily supporting carers, mid-life mental health and young adults living with health challenges.

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Principal Accessibility Marketing Lead

KR has been a fierce advocate and leader for connecting underrepresented groups with disabilities throughout the technology industry. At Amazon, her passion is to continue to drive inclusion and awareness for people of all backgrounds with disabilities to have a voice to create change. Prior to Amazon, KR advised Google on several projects that focused on tech innovation in accessibility. Her main project, Live Caption was announced at Google I/O 2019 by Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. KR is on several boards such as, the Consumer Technology Association Foundation, Deaf Kids Code, and the World Wide Hearing Foundation, and SXSW to drive disability inclusion in product design and culture. She has been awarded a U.S. Congressional award; Silicon Valley's Top 40 Under 40 and 2017 Women of Influence; and 2015 Women on the Move by Women's Business Journal for her advocacy and accessibility work in technology and policy.

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Talent & Performance Manager

Since May last year, Margaret has delivered a flagship Female Leadership Development Programme, focused on equipping women with the skills to take centre stage in their careers and progress to leadership. The programme has resulted in numerous promotions, expanded and more varied roles, and more involvement in senior leadership teams, boards, and networking groups. An alumni group has been formed to foster learnings and Margaret has mentored women leaders to deliver the programme going forward. In partnership with INSEAD, Margaret undertook a programme to drive gender balance, developing a business case, researching hidden challenges for women, conducting diagnostics and working with senior leadership teams to implement solutions. She is a founding partner and inaugural speaker for the Female Networking Group, and has led the rollout of Breaking Bias training for over 1,000 staff over 6 months. As part of this training rollout, Margaret initiated and managed a research project with Dublin City University to conduct rigorous academic assessment to measure programme outcomes. She also developed the company’s inaugural mentoring programme, exceeding gender balance targets. Externally, Margaret spreads the gender diversity message during speaking engagements at key events, sharing her experiences establishing various initiatives and programmes focused on gender diversity. She is beginning a journey with the Women ReBOOT programme, an innovative initiative that supports women with technology sector skills and experience to return to work after a career break.

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CEO

Shruthi has established diversity and inclusion among the baseline values for Adapt Ready. Despite being a startup, she believes that establishing such values at the beginning will blend into the culture of the company. Last year, Shruthi’s team made a conscious decision to have women represent 50% not only on the board, but also among employees. The board goal has been met and the organisation is close to reaching the same ratio among employees. She believes that no matter how good the policies and governance are within companies, in order for them to effectively work, every organization has a responsibility to go further - and hence, at Adapt Ready, Shruthi also established a system of governance to constantly challenge biases towards gender, race, even functional roles among other diverse characteristics to influence change beyond the company. Despite being a startup, Adapt Ready is designing workforce policies to simplify the hiring and retaining of such talent, such as flexible hours and 50% remote work. In addition to championing these within the organisation, Shruthi took the initiative in sharing best practices with a community of startup founders and other organisations and communicating it to Adapt Ready’s advisors and board to create a ripple effect and close the gender gap. As a thought leader, Shruthi is frequently invited to speak on diversity & inclusion. She regularly mentors other women, particularly those thinking of starting their own business, and was recently named ‘Champion for Action’ by Grant Thornton International.

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Sales Leader

A Sales Leader within LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions business, Rebecca also leads Women@LinkedIn in London, an ERG aimed at engaging, inspiring and empowering women and allies in the workplace. She has hosted a series of events to celebrate both International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day to ensure LinkedIn are as inclusive as possible. She is also a member of GenderNetworks.com which brings together the heads of gender networks in the UK. She has mentored young women through LinkedIn’s mentoring programme, and often speaks at events on diversity in the workplace to drive positive change. Rebecca has been instrumental in hiring diverse talent into LinkedIn and advising companies on how they can attract and retain diverse talent within their own organisations. She actively creates and curates content on LinkedIn on all things related to diversity and inclusion.

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Corporate Communications Director

Christina co-leads Women @ MHUSA, Moet Hennessy USA’s internal initiative and the most celebrated pillar of MHUSA’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. The program is based on three pillars – personal and professional development, creating meaningful connections (both internally and externally) and giving back to the community. In 2018, Women @ MHUSA organised and hosted 350+ participants at over 30 events and programmes in New York and across the United States. They also launched a Women in Leadership Speaker Series and created monthly author and panel discussions and networking events with best-selling authors in conversation with a diverse group of panellists about poignant and relevant topics. They have elevated their partnership with Women of the Vine and Spirits, and continued to foster Dress for Success corporate partnership for eight professional women’s group events. Christina is an active member of the nationally recognised Dress for Success organisation, and has participated in annual clothing drive collections as well as served as mentor during their Professional Women’s Group meetings; sharing insights and learnings about her own career to benefit the women who are part of the Dress for Success network.

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Head of primary markets Israel

Justine is the head of Primary Markets Israel and a proud mum. She founded the Jewish Women's Business Network, which is part of the London Stock Exchange Group’s Women’s Inspired Network (WIN), connecting over 250 women globally from the UK, Israel, Gibraltar, Europe, the USA and South Africa. The network has positively contributed to developing job prospects, mentoring opportunities, business connections, communities and philanthropic efforts for its members. She is also on the board of directors for Vibe Israel, who support professionals globally to understand and share Israel’s brand. She is part of the SAHI Youth Organisation, who work to support neglected youth, and is an Executive Board Member and mentor for parents with Autistic children. Additionally, Justine volunteers for the Forum of Jewish Leadership, supporting university students to be placed in corporates and tech companies for summer internship programmes in the UK and Israel.

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Senior Project Manager

Joanne is the D&I lead for the IBM UK & Ireland laboratories . She and her team run special gender diversity programmes supporting women’s career and skills advancement. She runs internal events involving mentorship programmes where women share experience and inspire others. Running "Women in Technology Interconnects" twice a year which bring together women from all over the UK and Ireland with themes covering ‘Press for Progress’ & "Be Equal".  Attendees hear from a range of inspiring IBM and external role models which provide participants with an insight into the technologies that are transforming businesses today, inclusion in society, and career hurdles and how to overcome them. Joanne also co-developed a course called ‘Developing Your Technical Career’, aimed at encouraging female employees on a technical career path through engaging role models and recognising that sometimes technical people face unique challenges. She runs internal lunch and learn sessions for the ConnectingWomen@IBM initiative, among many others. Externally, Joanne empowers young women to pursue careers in STEM through IBM’s educational outreach events and programmes. She also runs Women in Technology days for university women to highlight IBM’s work and its diversity credentials.

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Head of Client Engagement

Across a Group of historically male-oriented businesses, operating in traditionally ‘white-male’ sectors, Sam has successfully embedded D&I into the company’s DNA, ensuring it remains top of the agenda and is driven by passionate people, at all levels, who embrace it and learn from it. She has been instrumental in establishing the Morson Group’s commitment to double the number of female engineering contractors by 2020. Sam has achieved significant success in helping to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment decisions, delivering on-site training together with blind auditioning and CV anonymisation. Male-oriented language has been eliminated and recruiters work more closely with candidates to ensure CVs fully reflect skills, suitability and attitudes. Sam has also been instrumental in introducing gender-balanced panels, increasing gender balanced representation and breaking down stereotypes. Externally, Sam helped to launch The Girls’ Network’s Salford division, where she is also a mentor and role model. Bridging the gap between education and business, Sam organised a group of Year 10 and 12 Girls’ Network mentees from St Ambrose Barlow RC High & 6th Form in Manchester to get a taste of what a career in rail and engineering can offer them. The #CareersOnTrack event aimed to address skills shortages and the lack of diversity in the industry by shining a spotlight on the exciting careers and pathways, whilst breaking down the stereotypes that prevent women from entering.

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IT transformation Director Solutions and Digital

Anna established and leads the ‘ITs Her Future’ (IHF) Programme at KPMG, which tackles gender diversity in technology by transforming how KPMG attracts, recruits, promotes and retains women. 34% of the women on the IHF mentoring scheme have secured promotion since joining, and the attrition of women in tech consulting has dropped by 10%. The scheme has been adopted by KPMG Global firms, and recently the scheme has been taken to clients; driving a wider change and impact. Within KPMG, Anna mentors and sponsors several women and leads schemes serving a wide community of women. The mentoring programme she founded now supports 300 women in developing and enhancing their careers, including the opportunity to serve on Boards. She is also supporting the wider community through the Future Leaders Technology Programme for Girls targeting Years 5-10. The programme has seen great results such as 95% of the girls seeing themselves working in tech in the future in comparison to 30% at the beginning. She is developing a white paper focused on how children can best be equipped for the technology-centric workplaces of the future, and how we can make sure girls are fully engaged at every education stage. Anna is also passionate about community volunteering, and regularly dedicates time to mentoring children from challenging socio-economic backgrounds.

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Senior Director, Oracle Consulting

Three years ago, Ana became UK chairperson for Oracle Women’s Leadership (OWL) programme, an internal network for women to support the growth and development of current and emerging women leaders. OWL runs around eight events a year, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Ana has increased OWL’s membership from 100 to 500 members due to a much improved communications programme. She has created a peer network for senior female leaders by establishing a program of women-only dinners for senior female executives from Oracle and their customers and partners. She has also improved the gender diversity of the consulting team by insisting on gender-equal candidate lists for the graduate assessment days resulting in more gender balanced intakes. Additionally, Ana expanded the Oracle Women Network program to include participation in the 30% Club cross-company Mentoring Scheme, and promoted Oracle’s corporate membership of Women on Boards to provide Oracle women with access to external opportunities. Externally, Ana is a founding trustee and company secretary for Smart Works Reading, a charity that supports women to return to employment, having helped over 400 women to date. She has also run a fundraising project to take professional headshots of men and women in exchange for a charitable donation, and is a member of the TechUK Skills and diversity council focused on diversity initiatives.

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Associate Business Director

Following a gender pay gap announcement, Emily compiled a business case for the creation of a women’s network at her organisation and its partner agencies, outlining her vision for the network to be a platform for inspiration, support, encouragement and an opportunity to make new and more meaningful connections. The Women’s Network hosted 6 events in the first 7 months, including workshops, speed networking, coaching training and talks. In 2016, Emily also helped launch a new consultancy within her organisation called Female Tribes, looking to change the way the world works for women, starting with more diverse representation in the media. Since launching, Female Tribes has raised awareness and facilitated change within many client corporations around how they communicate to women. Emily and the Female Tribes team are now working with tech company Connectt to launch Female Tribes as a social network: a place for women to create, connect and be inspired. In 2018, Emily won the WACL Future Leaders Award, and has since supported other women across the organisation to apply too. She also helps to organise NPP Women in Marketing, a word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer network with a diverse mix of women from both agency and client side, providing greater insight into the challenges faced by women across the industry.

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Client Services Lead, Bloomberg Media Group

Charlie Leech is a Client Services Lead within Bloomberg Media Group. Across the business she is an advocate for diversity, proactively sharing knowledge and insight on company initiatives with her peers, such as the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index. Charlie is an active lead of the Media Diversity and Inclusion SWAT team in EMEA, leading showcase events to engage media executives in topical conversations. Charlie also makes a significant contribution to the business as Leadership Development Lead for the EMEA Women’s Community delivering a range of programming for members including: inspirational talks, group mentoring sessions, networking events and skill training workshops. On International Women’s Day for the last 3 years Charlie has volunteered for Media Trust as a communications expert, advising charities on their marketing strategies. Charlie is a Millennial Coach for the Thrive Career Mentoring scheme at the University of Reading, which was awarded the AGCAS Research Informed Practice Excellence Award in 2018. She has directly mentored undergraduates over the last 4 academic years and regularly speaks at the University as a Guest Lecturer for The Professional Track; advising the next generation of leaders. Due to her ongoing voluntary commitment to the University, she was selected by the Vice Chancellor as a Senior Ambassador for the IMAGINE programme, focussed on creating solutions to real-world problems. Charlie was also recognised as a Rising Star in Media and Journalism by WeAreTheCity in 2018.

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Vice President Risk Engineer

Prior to becoming VP of Risk Engineering at Marsh, Samantha worked in the offshore oil and gas industry for over 20 years, actively and vocally advocating for women in a heavily male-dominated environment. Now at Marsh, Samantha developed and delivered the concept of the Marsh & McLennan Companies ‘#InThisTogether’; an Intersectional Diversity event aimed at engagement, education and empowerment and focused on diversity including gender, ethnicity, disability, and mental health. She is passionate about inclusion within all aspects of diversity no matter where in the world she travels with work; being a visible senior woman role model in places such as South America, Africa, India, Middle East, Far East and countries where diversity is limited and visibility is low. She has spoken at MMC’s Global Colleague Resource Group leadership summit in New York and at the at the Dive In festival in London, attended Out & Equal in Orlando, Philadelphia and Seattle and OutLeadership events in London as a champion for all elements of diversity. She has presented at events on D&I, gender equality, LGBT+ and Trans womans issues for: the Vanguard Network; GLOW ‘Gender Identity and Trans Inclusion’; Mercer’s ‘Unbundling Gender Identity & Sexuality’; the Royal Society’s very first Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event; AIG's 'Bring your whole self' event; the Financial Times 'How to be an Ally'; and EY’s ‘Making It Real: Driving inclusion' to name but a few.

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Management Consultant

Margarita joined Oliver Wyman as a Management Consultant in 2016, having previously worked at BlackRock and Morgan Stanley. She lead high impact engagements, focusing primarily on clients in the Public Policy and Wealth and Asset Management domains. Margarita also serves as the Global Co-Chair and London Lead for the Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW) network. Since taking on the role of London Lead in March 2018, committee membership has grown by 50% and network membership by 25%. She has launched training initiatives to help women self-evaluate in order to overcome stereotypes and embed confidence; led internal and external events at Oliver Wyman to help coach others and build their professional networks; launched sessions with career coaches; and organised panel discussions. As Global Co-Chair, Margarita is launching ‘Men4Change’, a global initiative engaging men and other allies to encourage awareness, dialogue, and action to decrease gender disparities. Beyond these roles, Margarita is a role model with a high profile at Oliver Wyman, hosting D&I sessions, publishing research in the World Economic Forum on increasing the agility of company boards and presenting at conferences. She will be going back to her school in the Autumn to discuss her career path with students. While studying part-time for a Masters in Finance at LBS, Margarita served as treasurer of the Women in Business Club.

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Managing Director, Head of Americas Equity iShares Portfolio Engineering

Amy has been committed to helping and supporting women throughout her career, serving as a mentor and sponsor to many women at BlackRock. Over the last 10 years, she has also developed influential programming for the women at BlackRock and has been co-head of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative on the West Coast since 2018 year, providing programming to well over 560 members across four locations. The programming includes 14 discrete committees which promote engagement, connection, and aims to empower and inspire members. Six years ago, Amy co-developed a program called Women in Focus, which created a framework for direct dialogue with senior men across BlackRock and helps to provide insight into the challenges that women face in advancing their careers.  Women in Focus is currently developing a video to scale and share the content with managers and employees globally. Externally, Amy is a member of 100 Women in Finance and Women in ETF's, participating in several panel events on Diversity and Inclusion.

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Senior Associate

MaameYaa acts as a reverse mentor for the Global Managing partner of Allen & Overy, a relationship she uses to submit recommendations to the board of A&O on changes that can be made to increase the number of women at senior levels. She presented 10 ideas to the board and received overwhelming support for these ideas to be implemented. She uses reverse mentoring to improve conditions for those who might not be able to have a voice in such forums. MaameYaa offers mentoring to younger women in the profession and regularly hosts lunches for new parents at A&O. Externally, she has assisted a number of Saudi organisations in recruiting women into positions of influence. She regularly conducts interviews and reviews CVs, and holds bi-annual dinners for Saudi women professionals in Riyadh. She also holds bi-weekly catch up calls with a number of Saudi females with the aim of pushing and progressing talent. Additionally, she established a programme in London called Raising Aspirations, aiming to inspire young talented deprived BAME women and men in Tower Hamlets and beyond.

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Founder

In January, Lucie launched her own advertising and branding agency, The Inclusive Branding Agency, with a mission to help brands be more inclusive and representative in their workforce and marketing. She selects clients based on the company’s gender make-up and on the inclusivity impact of the projects. Prior to this, she spent two years working for Brides do Good, a social enterprise that sells wedding dresses to fund charities fighting child marriage, where she was in charge of marketing and also worked on recruitment. At Brides do Good, Lucie cast ethnic minority models and ensured there was LGBT+ representation in online and social media assets in an industry which typically lacks diversity. She developed language to be inclusive of all sexual orientations, and she implemented a fair process of intern recruitment. Five years ago, while working at Burberry, Lucie founded Women in Foreign Policy, an organisation that provides career advice and access to girls and women who want to pursue and develop a career in foreign policy, which she still runs today. As of 2018, the organisation has helped at least 500 women find jobs in foreign policy, including graduates from underrepresented backgrounds. The community has grown to over 100,000 since expanding to cities including Washington, Delhi, Toronto and Sydney. Additionally, Lucie works as En Marche’s representative in Northern Europe. She is also part of an internal working group on strategies to encourage women to run for office and devises ways to support them once they are campaigning.

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Associate

As a trainee and the only black female fee earner at the firm at the time, Rachel quickly targeted ethnic minority women’s representation as a need she was going to address at Bird & Bird. Rachel founded Bird & Bird’s first ethnic minority network, Embrace, which she now chairs. Since its founding, Embrace has hosted workshops, community events, film screenings, a book signing client event on D&I, and several social media campaigns showcasing diversity, with an emphasis on intersectionality across diverse strands. Through this role, Rachel began collaborating with several partners and HR on improving gender representation at the firm with an intersectional approach to also tackle improved ethnic minority, LGBT+, disability and social mobility representation. Externally, Rachel dedicates time to engaging with those who aspire to law. She mentors university students and is a Professional Ambassador in the Aspiring Solicitors programme, while also actively engaging in informal mentorship with students and trainees. Rachel is also a regular volunteer at the South Westminster Legal Advice Clinic, a free legal drop-in advice service helping those on low incomes many of whom are ethnic minority women.

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Former Joint Heads of Content Planning

Sam and Dee operated a job share arrangement as Head of Content Planning, Digital Communications & Employer Brand, within HSBC’s Global Communications function. Having both successfully worked for many years in an ambitious team at HSBC, Sam and Dee became mothers and decided to enter a professional job sharing arrangement in order to be successful employees and the best possible carers for their children. To overcome the challenges of job sharing, Dee and Sam sought out other flexible working colleagues, a large but invisible community. Over 600 colleagues responded, with over 90% expressing an interest in joining a flexible working network to promote and raise the visibility of the issue inside of HSBC UK; giving rise to HSBC Flex. Since its inception, HSBC Flex has amassed over 1,300 members, gained senior sponsorship at Group Management Board level and recruited a team of champions to lead its events and activities. Externally, Sam is the Communications Consultant to Leaders Plus, who run a fellowship programme designed to support leaders with babies to progress in their careers and to tackle one of the root-causes of the gender pay gap. She gained backing from HSBC for any member of Communications interested in participating. Now as they approach their second year of the programme, HSBC has also offered mentors to the programme to help support mothers develop in their leadership careers.

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Co-founder and Partner

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. In 2017, Kenesa co-founded Aleada, a boutique information privacy and security consulting firm based in San Francisco. She started the company with two fellow co-founders of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), a non-profit organization established in 2014. Kenesa’s objective with Aleada is to put into practice the WISP mission – to advance women in the converging fields of privacy and security. Aleada has made a commitment to recruit and hire diverse individuals seeking to enter or transition into the privacy field. Aleada specifically focuses on providing career opportunities for individuals re-entering the workforce from caretaking or family rearing roles, second career job seekers, and new graduates.

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Director, Talent Solutions

With over 26 million members in the UK and 645+ million members globally, LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. As Director of LinkedIn’s UK Talent Solutions leadership team, Janine is focused on helping businesses attract, find and develop the talent they need to succeed and grow. Janine has over ten years’ experience building and leading diverse teams at LinkedIn, having joined the company in its infancy in 2008 when she helped to grow its Marketing Solutions business. Passionate about technology, diversity and talent, Janine has led LinkedIn's global Women's employee resource group focusing on creating an inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers and is currently leading a women’s investment program for high potential women leaders at LinkedIn. As a vocal advocate for gender parity and equality, Janine champions diversity, inclusion and belonging both internally and externally through hiring and performance management practices and in speaking engagements. In 2017, she completed a master’s degree in Consulting and Coaching for Change at INSEAD.

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National Partner

Karen spearheaded the efforts of the Dechert Global Women’s Initiative (GWI) in London in order to create an internal support network for women at all levels at the firm. This involved organising events that enable female lawyers and business service professionals to meet and interact with more experienced colleagues. She organised a number of speaking events in London to showcase female talent, and devised a monthly training programme for female professionals at Dechert. Karen has also organised a number of sessions to develop lawyers’ and business service professionals’ technical skills and soft skills to provide women with the tools to develop and progress within the ranks of the firm. Throughout her career, Karen has provided mentoring services to more junior women to encourage people from different backgrounds to pursue professional careers. Pro bono matters have remained high on Karen’s agenda since the start of her career. She is currently supporting an NGO to analyse sexual offences laws in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to advocate for legislative changes to improve the rights of the LGBT community. She drafted a report for the Centre for Reproductive Rights to supplement the report of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo scheduled for review by the Human Rights Council. She also volunteered with the Advocates for Human Rights to assess the implementation of domestic violence laws in Serbia and has worked with Oxfam on a similar project in Kenya which was commended by the Financial Times in 2014.

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ILDP Manager (Disputes)

Plaxedes is proud to work in both a firm and practice group that places a great emphasis on diversity, inclusivity and equality in the workplace. Being in the management team has enabled her to have an active role in establishing committees and networks that strive to make the practice group more welcoming and inclusive, not only for women but for all employees. This includes the establishment of the ALT Johannesburg Diversity Committee and the ALT Johannesburg Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Plaxedes strives to foster an inclusive business culture by championing individual uniqueness. As a member of the interview panel for her team, Plaxedes is mindful of unconscious biases and is always sure to circumvent them. Recently, she was appointed to the firm’s pro-bono committee. Externally, Plaxedes is a powerful advocate for breast cancer awareness and treatment funding. She recently hosted a fitness day, Pink Power, to raise funds for a breast cancer patient who could not afford treatment.

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Associate Director EMEIA Restructuring

Since arriving in London three years ago, Laura has made a significant impact in advancing women in business. She has worked alongside senior executives to influence mindsets and behaviours and has become a visible role model for changing the environment for women in finance. She has spoken regularly on the importance of gender parity and has been featured in several global campaigns at her firm. Her experiences have provided valuable guidance to support the advancement of younger women, including one of her mentees, who recently spoke at the Houses of Parliament. Among other forms of recognition, Laura has received EY’s “Inclusion Ally” award for her work on improving the diversity of project staffing. Outside of work, Laura is active in supporting women through social and business organisations. She mentors 6th form students through the ThinkForward volunteer programme, providing insights into career opportunities and helping them instil self-confidence and belief. She is a frequent public speaker who has delivered personal development talks focused on the intersection of personal empowerment and achieving gender equality. In 2019. Laura was a featured guest speaker at the business seminar, Power to Achieve, where she shared her experiences as a woman in finance with an audience of over 1,000 professionals. Laura’s work was recently profiled in The Bold Woman Guide, a book showcasing 20 women who are making a contribution to gender parity in business, cultural and civic organisations. She is currently pioneering a personal development programme to help women navigate the personal and professional challenges of succeeding in business.

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Head of Liabilities and Balance Sheet Management

For the past three years, Nikki has been the global co-chair for the RBS Women’s Network, which now has around 13,000 members from across the bank. She brought together a multitude of gender networks across the bank to form RBS Women setting a clear strategy which helps drive positive cultural change, as well as launching a Male Allies. Nikki’s focus on strategic alignment across the network and across the Bank is based on close collaboration with the Bank’s D&I team and with Senior Leaders and she provides regularly updates the Bank’s Executive Committee on the work that the network undertakes. Initiatives led and supported by Nikki include annual International Women’s Day celebrations including an internal awards programme, the launch of a global development programme, development of a Mentor Matching Tool and hundreds of events. She has also instigated, coordinated and participated in various Graduate Schemes, Returners Programmes, and Career Days. Externally, Nikki is a Community Governor at her local primary school and a volunteer for NatWest Moneysense, which supports financial education offerings in schools. Additionally, she mentors university students on the Springboard Mentor programme and has attended and spoken at various D&I events organised by industry associations.

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Global Director

Over the past two years, with her involvement on the Executive Team for the Women@Hyatt West DBRG, Ana has facilitated training topics such as ‘owning your seat at the table’ and ‘caregiving for others while caring for yourself’. She led the Women@Hyatt West Mentorship Matchup, bringing together 60 associates to create organic connections, and assisted in planning a Rejuvenate event to help members focus on mindful leadership and wellbeing. Most recently she co-coordinated a three day Women’s Leadership Development and Wellness Forum in San Diego with over 330 associates from all brands within the Hyatt portfolio, focusing on the power of storytelling, networking and personal as well as professional development. Externally, Ana has recently been asked to appear as a panellist for a Women's Empowerment Series in Washington DC aimed to guide young women professionals, and she continues to mentor young professionals outside of Hyatt and the hospitality industry. She also participated in Grant Thornton’s annual Women in Business campaign this year, which is focused on creating a global conversation to drive change for women in senior leadership. With this goal in mind, Grant Thornton identified ‘Champions for action’ to provide input about this topic and what can be done to elevate women in leadership roles. Grant Thornton approached Hyatt with the opportunity for Ana to lend her voice to the campaign which was featured during International Women's Day.

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Senior Engineer - Welding

Within National Grid, Kirsty supports the Women in National Grid (WiNG) Employee Resource Group. For last year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), she organised an internal event with attendance from women and men, engineers and non-engineers from across the business. This event brought together a new network of colleagues to share stories on their routes into engineering, barriers they have faced and how they have overcome them. This year, Kirsty has a team of event organisers to make INWED even better, and she has engaged with technical institutes to support the day to help engineers become professionally registered with the engineering council. Externally, Kirsty has been on the Young Members Board for the Women’s Engineering Society, who reach out to young people through working with schools and universities to encourage more girls into Engineering careers. One project she was involved in was #LottieTour which worked with Lottie Dolls on a social media campaign showing a Lottie Doll in an engineering role to broaden the thinking of young girls and allow them to understand engineering isn’t a ‘men’s job’. Kirsty has also presented at a number of sessions, such as an all girls school in Manchester at a ‘Challenging Stereotypes’ event, explaining her career route and how anyone can do her type of role if they choose to.

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Partner

As BCG’s Global People Senior Director from 2013 through 2018, Frances spearheaded an agenda that included the Women@BCG program, work sustainability, and engagement topics. She developed priorities and set, implemented, and tracked BCG’s HR strategy across more than 90 offices around the world. As a result, the number of women partners at the firm increased at three times the rate of male partners, while men and women were both retained at the same rate. Frances was recently promoted to Partner, and is using experiences from the US and Saudi Arabia to Germany and Latin America to collaborate with clients in the People & Organization practice to refine D&I strategies. Frances regularly presents BCG’s gender diversity research on the firm’s recruiting, retention, and advancement rates for women at the firm’s women’s conferences, annual partner meetings, and client meetings, as well as to BCG’s Executive and Operating Committees. She has also co-authored numerous articles for the press focused on D&I research and initiatives. Externally, Frances has worked with clients around the world in driving an increase in their diversity & inclusion (from Saudi Arabia, to Latin America to the US) and has presented workshops and shared BCG’s research at TEDWomen, MassChallenge, the International Bar Association, and G-7 events. She also works with women in business schools at various universities, sponsoring or mentoring them and sharing knowledge and research.

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Senior Multinational Client Executive

Niamh works in AIG’s Multinational & Global Fronting department. She is also a Committee member and Charity Collaborations partner of GEM - Gender Equality Matters - a UK-based Employee Resource Group within AIG, which advocates a gender-balanced approach in the workplace. Her role involves identifying and pursuing partnerships with various charities in order to coordinate specific fundraising or volunteer events, longer term schemes and support opportunities. In 2018-19, she has worked to organise events such as SheCanBe (in association with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal), International Womens’ Day, mixed gender sporting events, professional-wear clothing drives and Mentorship programs designed to make opportunities in the professional environment available to students from underprivileged backgrounds. Externally, Niamh informally mentors and has a reputation for helping others to drive their own career progression. She has personally supported several charities, aimed at promoting the wellbeing of young females in developing countries.

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Data Science Delivery Lead

Emma champions diversity and inclusion at Aviva leading a number of high profile initiatives primarily focused on technology and gender. Creator of Tech Talks, covering all aspects of diversity, Emma brought to attention toxic masculinity for international men’s day and balance of the home for international women’s day. Co-lead for #Iamremarkable UK wide pilot, working with Google and volunteers across the country to help women and underrepresented groups better self-promote. Beyond Aviva, Emma advocates and volunteers for Smartworks, supporting women that are less fortunate into work by giving them confidence, coaching and a professional wardrobe.

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Managing Consultant

Harjinder leads on PwC’s gender work, including all gender proposals and programmes. She is passionate about gender equality in the workplace, and ensures that gender is integrated and mainstreamed in the business. She works as an advisor to the PwC and Strategy Gender Balance Network and Talent and Inclusion team to help position PwC as a lead on gender and diversity. She has delivered numerous training sessions on gender across PwC to increase awareness and understanding, and has produced thought leadership pieces and given presentations on the topic. Externally, Harjinder has spent over 15 years undertaking mentoring and voluntary work for UK and international women’s organisations. She has volunteered as a Board Director for two domestic violence organisations, Eaves and the Domestic Violence Intervention Project, and for a further two years a researcher and refuge worker for a domestic violence refuge (North Kent Women’s Aid). She has also volunteered with organisations such as the GREAT Initiative which aims to challenge stereotypes of masculinity and to engage men and boys in the movement towards gender equality. Harjinder has spent time working with and advising gender and child-based charities in Asia and Africa. She has also mentored up to fifty young women nationally and internationally, including through the Women of the Future programme.

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Trading Business Manager

Abisola works as a Trading Business Manager within Barclays’ Investment Bank, responsible for bespoke Trading desks of various expertise. Abisola also co-chairs the ‘Recruit and Retain’ committee of Barclays’ Gender Network, WIN, which exists to engage all genders across the organisation to attract, develop and retain women at all levels. Abisola focuses specifically on early recruitment of highly capable and talented women into the Bank, engaging them through University outreach events, social media insights, and external co-partner events. Her particular passion is ensuring the next generation are empowered and encouraged to be the best version of themselves, with the appropriate support and guidance they require early in their careers. Through the bespoke first year female internship programme Abisola sponsors, to the networking and mentoring offerings her team deliver for full-time interns, and new partnership external events for students and graduates, Abisola has the opportunity to empower and engage young women. Outside of Barclays, Abisola frequently engages alongside Universities, student societies and other organisations to advance female talent. She returns on an annual basis to her two alma mater universities to deliver confidence workshops and private seminars, leaning on her own experience progressing through the Banking industry. She offers follow-up online and in-person coaching sessions with attendees, understanding their motivations and development points, and supporting them through applications and interviews – regardless of industry. She is also involved in the Women of Brummell, Women in Banking & Finance and WeAreTheCity, sitting on a host of conference panels and interviews.

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Internal Engagement Manager

At the outset of her career, Anna was one of fifteen employees selected to work with the Chef Operating Officer to launch AXA’s UK Diversity Forum to promote a culture where women feel supported, respected and valued for their differences, improving their representation in senior roles, attracting more job applications from those with disabilities, and introducing a formal process to request flexible working to support working parents. She spearheaded the launch campaign for Bristol Women’s Network to drive localised activity for 3,000 employees and stood in a nationwide election to lead Aviva Balance, winning the most votes to Chair the UK community. Anna’s steering committee of ten acts as Aviva’s voice for gender equality and provides qualitative insight into issues affecting women, which she has supported other organisations with and spoken about at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers’ annual conference. She works closely with Aviva’s other D&I Networks to ensure an intersectional approach, so women who identify with multiple groups are all represented. On International Day of the Girl, she joined 100 underprivileged schoolgirls and 100 professionals in an event led by June Sarpong and Beyond the Classroom. Alongside her day job, she was shortlisted as a ‘Women in Marketing’ Changemaker and achieved a Grade A in Marketing Week’s Mini MBA. Whilst on maternity leave, Anna maintained her impact by becoming a ‘QuinnyCaster’, road-testing baby products and creating content to review them for social media. She now creates opportunities for the next generation of girls to develop less traditional skills, including her daughter becoming a Toy Awards judge and reviewing STEM toys for a leading publication.

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Management Consultant

Alongside senior leaders, Mary became one of the PwC Gender Balance Network's #PressForProgress champions, being featured due to her work supporting and encouraging women in the workplace. She hosts informal lean-in sessions for peers to discuss careers and workplace challenges, and shared her thoughts on being a woman in the corporate world through her blog, A Millennial’s Diary, discussing topics such as Shine Theory. Mary mentored four young women in PwC’s women in business programme, a work experience shadowing programme for female university students. She also co-led the relaunch of the PwC Financial Services Next Generation network which provides a fun environment to share knowledge about financial services in a judgement-free zone. She has used her role as Co-Chair of the Multicultural Business Network (MBN) to recognise the intersectionality of culture and gender, organising the rollout of #IamRemarkable training for 100+ MBN members, a Google initiative that aims to encourage women to speak openly about their accomplishments. Externally, Mary founded and runs a millennial women’s community, Now You’re Talking, which now consists of 250+ predominantly ethnic minority women. The group connects like-minded future leaders to opportunities and resources and organises a wide range of events focused on personal and professional development. She also actively mentors students via the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick Women in Consulting mentoring schemes to provide career direction and guidance.

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UK Consulting Inclusion Lead

Sheree is listed as one of the UK's Top Most Influential Women in Tech and is an international multi-award winner for her services to Diversity & Inclusion in the Tech industry. She is the UK Technology Respect & Inclusion Manager at Deloitte, founder of I Am Lanka, a board-appointed Global Ambassador for Women Who Code and a contributor to Forbes. Leading the Respect, Diversity & Inclusion strategy in the Consulting practice at Deloitte, Sheree has rolled out sponsorship programmes for senior women in the firm, created internal and external partnerships which shift the dial in gender diversity through showcasing the need for women in industry and supporting those organisations which are readily making a difference, delivering specific training to underrepresented groups in the firm to ensure all are aware of the need for their voice being heard and more. She has spent time across Deloitte North West Europe with many member firms, helping senior leaders develop their diversity and inclusion strategies. Externally, Sheree is a global tech outreach leader and, as a passionate advocate for gaining/retaining women in the tech industry,  launched and led the award-winning UK expansion of Women Who Code. She has spoken at many global events, conferences and leadership sessions, and has built her network from nothing to over 9,000 women across the UK.

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Associate - Financial & Strategic Investors Group

When she joined Standard Chartered in 2016, Kemi joined the Bank’s Gender Engagement Network, a key employee resource group focused on gender issues.  As a representative of the international graduate population, she has since played a critical role in discussions with decision-makers and key stakeholders internally, on improving gender balance in our internship and graduate programs. She represented her global graduate class of almost 300 to pitch the benefits of having a more diverse cohort, as well as ideas on how to attract and retain the appropriate female talent pool, to the senior management team, leading to a commitment from the firm to address the imbalance. Kemi was recently invited to join the Diversity & Inclusion Council for Standard Chartered, Americas to proactively contribute to projects, initiatives and conversations that would create a more inclusive and diverse working environment for all colleagues. In collaboration with other council members, Kemi designs, implements and executes local programmes to help women connect, learn and grow; including: formal and informal mentoring, networking opportunities, panel discussions, training workshops, roundtable forum sessions. Externally, Kemi launched two initiatives last year, GLOW UP and Fempire Professional Network. GLOW UP works to empower female orphans and provide children in Africa and the United States with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be economic leaders in their communities. Fempire Professional Network is an international community of female professionals of colour across several professions and sectors, creating a support system and providing a platform of opportunity.

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Head of Operational Risk Management

Jennie balances her day job with a mixture of volunteering work namely Women in Banking & Finance (not for profit, members organisation), where she founded and now chairs the regional branch in Birmingham. Through this, she supports a far wider audience and multiple organisations with their gender agenda through providing personal development workshops, access to influential senior leaders, and mentoring and networking opportunities. She is also driving an initiative to bring male ambassadors on board by hosting International Men’s Day to further the agenda of inclusivity and showcase the male ambassadors we have to leverage the support of others. Jennie is also an advisory board member to the Aston University Enactus team, and mentors with the Prince’s Trust where she proactively supports the pipeline development and challenge of social mobility into Financial Services. Jennie’s recent move to Capital One was partly driven by their internal D&I programme and their proactive presence through Women in Tech alongside their Corporate & Social Responsibility programmes. Since joining Capital One, Jennie has supported in the continued development of their inclusion agenda with an intersectionality lens. She hosted an Inclusion session for her leadership team to start a wider consideration of inclusion such as culture and age crossed with gender; enabling leaders to think differently about potential biases. She has also recently been appointed as the UK lead for their Women’s Resource Group - EmpowHer.

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Senior Campaign Manager

Having joined the gender employee resource network at Virgin, Stephanie has led the launch of inclusive recruitment guides that are used alongside advice the People team give, to ensure that female applicants are on a level playing field. Recommendations included checking language, such as using gender neutral terms, removing exaggerated descriptive words and ‘desirable’ skills, highlighting unconscious bias, ensuring a gender balanced shortlist, and stating the salary range. The document has been well received, and hirers confirmed they could see this improving diversity at the company. Externally, Stephanie is President of women’s network, Bloom UK, which supports the media and marketing industry. Through collective action, Bloom UK’s members champion and encourage realness, vulnerability and honesty to drive genuine change for women. Their Real Voices strategy rests on three core pillars: future-proofing women’s careers via training, mentoring and networking; spearheading industry change with events and the Booth of Truth - a platform for collecting anonymous truths; and paying it forward for the next generation with a mentoring programme for female rising stars and support for their charity partner Women’s Aid. Under Stephanie’s leadership in 2019, they’ve brought more male allies into the equation through a partnership with The Book of Man, and a cross-mentoring pilot with senior industry men, The Exchange

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Senior Account Manager

Charlotte is a vocal champion for gender equality at Cicero, regularly reminding senior leadership of the need to do better in terms of the gender balance of the team and pointing out examples of unconscious bias. She has challenged all-male panels at events and actively participated in efforts to improve the recruitment process; working with HR to improve  the language in job adverts and descriptions, and pressing for more gender balanced shortlists and interview panels. This has led to a more balanced selection of candidates and a more diverse range of hires. Charlotte has used her position as a Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) Committee member to encourage Cicero to host more events specifically on issues of gender equality and has been involved in planning broader events on this issue; for example a successful panel event on equality in the workplace to coincide with 2017’s International Women’s Day. She has taken a leading role in organising social events specifically for women in the business including company-wide networking events. She also mentors junior women within Cicero. As part of the WiPA committee, Charlotte has helped to deliver a full range of events from networking to training for members. She also acted as a mentor for WiPA’s recent speed mentoring session. Beyond WiPA, Charlotte is involved in numerous other initiatives to support D&I across the financial services sector.

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Corporate Counsel

Before joining Salesforce, Nilufar co-led a 900-member strong women’s network at a global energy company, advising on and supporting the company’s policies for attracting, developing and retaining female talent. At Salesforce, she champions the Women’s Network and has supported  internal initiatives to discuss and empower employees to redress gender equality challenges inside and outside the organisation. Nilufar is also a mentor to women inside and outside Salesforce, and showcases her pro bono and Trustee work internally to inspire others to likewise use their skillsets to make impactful contribution within charities. Externally, Nilufar is Trustee of Cruse Bereavement, a charity providing bereavement support through a network of 5,000 volunteers. She is also Chair of the Board for #techmums, an award-winning social enterprise that empowers mums, their families and communities through teaching key technology skills. As Chair for the past three years, Nilufar has devised a hyper-growth strategy to reach one million mums by 2020; developed community-based solutions to increase tech skills amongst mums; helped grow the charity from three trustees and a volunteer to an inclusive board of five trustees and three staff; and implemented improved governance standards and processes. She and the #techmums founder were pivotal in the charity being selected by Nominet Trust to participate in the MUMSCONNECTED initiative; which she and the team successfully rolled out empowering  socially and economically disadvantaged young mums nationwide with new-found tech skills and confidence. Nilufar has supported the charity in achieving funding grants and strategic corporate partnerships enabling growth of product reach and staffing. Nilufar is also regular speaker and panellist at D&I events, and is also Founder and Chair of London Legal Ladies, a women’s development programme.

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Head of Services Marketing EMEIA

Kam Dhillon is Head of Services Marketing EMEIA at Fujitsu. She has over 18 years of global experience in key leadership roles, developing go-to-market strategies focused on accelerating revenue growth and driving customer value. Throughout her career, Kam has been a champion for gender equality. As Co-Chair of Fujitsu’s Women’s Business Network (WBN), Kam supports the recruitment, development and empowerment of over 1,500 women within Fujitsu UK. Her role involves developing and creating plans with customers, partners and D&I networks (internally and externally) for short and long term initiatives that will have a positive impact for women. Kam conducted research with members of the WBN to understand what the network needed to do to support members. From this, the WBN launched mentoring and development programmes for women at different stages within their careers. For example, “Future Me”, a programme helping to develop women in the early stages of their careers. Kam supported Fujitsu’s Gender Pay Gap initiative by influencing the action plan; resulting in an improvement of 1.5% within a year and continues to advocate and support the eradication of the Gender Pay Gap. WBN also run events for young girls, encouraging them to build STEM skills and consider STEM careers. Kam is also a role model to women from ethnically diverse backgrounds and has been involved with numerous initiatives to champion women beyond Fujitsu on the topic of The Power of Diversity.

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Executive Director

Lin has championed women and diversity throughout her career and has spoken at many events outside of the firm, including for the MuLan Foundation, at the Wo+Men Conference at Cambridge University, firms such as EY and Linklaters, and before the House of Lords. Lin is currently in the process of establishing a network which aims to connect Chinese and Western women to address her larger goal of breaking the glass and bamboo ceilings. Lin was the winner of the “Excellence in Banking” award at the Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2016 and was recognised in Brummell’s 2017 list as one of the most inspirational women in the City of London. In 2019, she is listed as one of the 50 Ethnic Minority Future Leaders by EMpower. Lin has authored a widely-acclaimed presentation based on her personal journey growing up in mainland China, highlighting the lives of three generations of Chinese women - from Lin’s grandmother who lived through a Japanese colony to her mother who grew up during the Cultural Revolution, to Lin who is a millennial after the one child policy. She pioneered a Diversity Conference decoding how unconscious bias, in particular cultural influences, can impact behaviour and how to transform existing stereotypes in the workplace. At the Goldman Sachs Young Professional and Future Leaders Conference, Lin shared insights on the uncovered similarities between Western and Chinese millennials.

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Product Analyst

Having recently joined AND Digital, Lola founded AND She Can; an initiative to raise awareness, inspire, support, educate and facilitate the transition of young girls into a career in technology. Since founding this initiative, she has hosted an education discovery workshop with education specialists who have provided their input into how AND She Can could be successful. She has been able to attract 17+ AND Digital employees to gain STEM ambassador training and this year defined a roadmap for 2019/2020 to ensure that the initiative is engaging and building long term relationships with schools. Additionally, the initiative has joined the Tech She Can chapter founded by PwC to ensure girls are at the top of the agenda. Beyond AND, Lola founded thinkHER ambition, an organisation aiming to upskill 14-19 year old girls. Since its founding last year, thinkHER ambition has impacted over 500 young women and partnered with organisations such as Google, YouTube, Accenture, EY and IBM. thinkHER ambition curates workshops and events to ensure that every girl who walks through the door has an actionable takeaway and has been provided opportunities that they may not otherwise have had due to circumstances such as their location, their school or even their social capital. The organisation raised £5,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, and aims to use this to launch upskilling academies in London. Lola also co-leads Now You’re Talking, a millennial women’s community connecting like-minded future leaders to opportunities and resources.  

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Director of AI, Data & Industry Solutions in Financial Services, Global Data Centre of Excellence

Over the last 10 years, Sarah has been helping to change the stereotypes of FinTechs and AI organisations from being male dominated and actively encourages women and other minority groups to get into STEM, FinTech and consulting through her work on the Executive boards; of DevelopHer, Cass Global Women's Leaders Programme and running events and training through EY Women in Tech (EY WIT). In EY WIT, Sarah helps provide technical bootcamps which train people to code in various languages and software. Sarah has spoken at numerous events to train people on Data, AI and Ethics, and moderated a panel discussion on the rise of women in AI. Last year, Sarah trained five EY employees in building virtual agents, who then trained 200 colleagues alongside Sarah. On International Women’s Day 2019, Sarah received the EY Change Maker award for her efforts to support women and champion those in the LGBT+ community. In her external work on executive boards, Sarah continues to change stereotypes. Through the Cass Global Women’s Leadership Programme, she helps to provide scholarships to women globally for university qualifications, with access to mentoring and networking. With DevelopHer, Sarah runs mentoring, coaching and coding events to help the 12,000+ women in the community into STEM. Sarah is also an advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI, where she promotes D&I.

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Head of Sales, Global Liquidity and Cash Management

Now in her third year as Chair of HSBC’s gender ERG, BALANCE, Melisa is working hard to support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Membership has tripled over the course of a single year, with a new team structure, working groups and the involvement of men. Melisa is proud of the new opportunities brought about by these changes, including leadership development for those heading up the new working groups and the ability to execute multiple effective initiatives simultaneously. Some of the group’s more recent initiatives include a ‘Balance for Better’ walk through the city to raise awareness for gender equity on International Women’s Day; a breakfast for employees and their sons and daughters; inspirational meet-ups with senior executive women at HSBC; workshops with women entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods alongside a credit support initiative to support their projects; and a workshop with more than 80 students to discuss the gender pay gap and inclusivity in the workplace. Melisa is also mentoring and sponsoring a young professional woman at HSBC. Last year’s HERoes recognition encouraged her to help launch ‘Mujeres al Mundo’, Women to the World, to connect businesswomen with new markets and opportunities, taking advantage of HSBC’s international footprint. Alongside milestone successes with Mujeres al Mundo, Melisa participates in local female networks. In addition, she is involved as a mentor in an international mentoring program with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

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Associate in Technology, Media, IP & Competition

Katherine champions diversity across every channel, leading diversity networks, mentoring, writing and speaking at events. She is called upon both internally and externally by clients and diversity organisations, and by the UN and regulatory bodies, to provide advice regarding diversity issues, particularly surrounding gender and disability. Katherine is the Founder and Chair of CMS Enable Disability & Wellbeing Network and is an active member of CMS Women in Business, BAME and an ally to LGBT+ Networks. She has given keynote speeches on International Women’s Day, addressing women across the organisation regarding her journey and promoting gender diversity. Katherine introduced monthly mindfulness sessions to combat stress at her firm, and participated in the Lord Mayor’s Appeal campaign, ‘This is Me’, with her Guide Dog for the Blind, to destigmatise mental health as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. In her international development career, Katherine championed women’s career development in the projects she undertook domestically and globally. Externally, Katherine spoke on diversity and intersectionality at the Women in Law Summit in May 2019, receiving a standing ovation. She was also a panel speaker at The Law Society International Symposium: The power of gender equality to transform the business of law in June 2019.  She has participated in the First 100 Years Project, celebrating 100 years of Women in Law, recorded a podcast for the Law Society’s inspirational women series,  a short film for the Solicitors Regulation Authority on ‘Why a disability inclusive workplace makes a difference’ , and is a regular speaker at diversity and inclusion events.

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Field Vice President

Magdalene has served as Head of GSK’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) for the past four years, and has led significant change to build a more balanced organisation within GSK. During her tenure, WLI’s membership has grown from 1,500 to over 6,500 and from six chapters to 22 with members across over 40 different countries. Annual survey results demonstrate that WLI members overwhelmingly feel that WLI benefits the company overall and helps them perform better in their day jobs. To supplement WLI’s work at a grassroots level, Magdalene worked with key stakeholders within GSK last year to construct a Global Gender Council, which aims to progress gender diversity at all levels in within the company. Magdalene sits on the Global Gender Council as the voice of WLI. Through WLI, Magdalene’s team was able to persuade GSK to sign on as one of 11 founding companies of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s (HBA) Gender Parity Collaborative. Independently of GSK, Magdalene has held several board positions within the HBA, a non-profit dedicated to the leadership advancement and impact for women in healthcare. Magdalene drove the HBA’s establishment in the UK and has helped to establish the organisation across Europe. She has also been involved with the UK Government’s Women’s Business Council’s work to support the attraction, retention and promotion of women in to STEM careers in the UK.

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Vice President, Islamic Marketing

Shelina takes an active role in organisational events, those both directly related to women as well as more general events, in order to ensure there is an upfront presence of women demonstrating leadership, insight and confidence, and is one of the most referenced spokespeople at Ogilvy in the media. She has written for the Guardian about her experiences as an ethnic minority at Ogilvy, and represented the company at their International Women’s Day event last year. Shelina is part of the Roots diversity group within Ogilvy, and is on the steering committee for WPP Roots, as well as sitting on WPP’s Inclusion board and Ogilvy’s Inclusion board. A visible role model, Shelina works to informally mentor upcoming women through the organisation, sharing her own experiences of developing a flexible parent-friendly career. She has pushed for change at her company to accommodate flexible working, and insisted that her daughters travelled with her for business when they were young. Externally, Shelina has written for numerous publications and appeared in TV and radio to highlight the challenges facing women in business, and to encourage women to step into new spaces, especially in the various sectors of the creative economy. She has served as a D&AD New Blood Award Judge and is working with the BFI to tackle the structural challenges for Muslim women in the industry. She has judged the Young Muslim Writers Awards and written two books about Muslim Women’s experiences and representation, Love in a Headscarf and Generation M.

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Director, Digital Lead

Lejla has been actively engaged in BNY Mellon’s Diversity and Inclusion programmes for over 10 years, first as a member, then a mentor, and now a leader at the regional and global levels. She currently chairs BNY Mellon Pittsburgh IMPACT BRG focused on the recruitment, promotion and retention of multi-cultural employees. She is also the Global COO providing executive support and governance for IMPACT globally. Lejla continues to mentor employees with IMPACT and the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN). She co-created the WIN GROW, a seven month mentoring programme focused on promoting women to leadership positions. Lejla participated as a panellist in BNY Mellon’s WIN 2019 International Women’s Day Pittsburgh event to speak about her experiences and thoughts on how the company can “Balance for Better”, highlighting the importance of gender-balanced boardrooms, politics and education, and the significance of intentional actions. She’s particularly focused on intentionality as it relates to women of colour. Externally, Lejla mentors middle school refugee girls from Nepal, Thailand and Africa through SHIM, where she is also a board member. She works to encourage girls into the STEM field through innovative exercises, and has organised women speakers from diverse cultures to further inspire the girls. She and the other mentors discuss the challenges of navigating the world as an ethnic minority woman, and many young women who go through the programme end up in higher education.

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Director, Consulting Technology

Shilpa leads Deloitte’s Alternative Delivery Models agenda and programme and is passionate about Respect and Inclusion. She leads the award winning Women in Technology (WiT) network at Deloitte and is an active member and supporter of the Multi-Cultural Network (MCN). Shilpa has spoken at many WiT and MCN events to inspire members and clients and those from ethnic minority backgrounds to reach their full potential. Shilpa has mentored over 100 individuals within Deloitte and externally. She also mentors and speaks with students, including 100 women from India sponsored by the UK British Council to undertake their Masters at UK universities. Shilpa has appeared on BBC Radio London and Radio 4’s Women’s Hour discussing diversity and will be speaking at the upcoming Alpbach forum on ‘Unleashing Europe’s Digital Potential’. She is a Board member of the Institute of Coding’s Industry Advisory Board, focussed on widening participation and improving the industry relevance of computer science degrees. To inspire future BAME STEM talent she has sponsored and driven Deloitte’s participation in ‘Your Future, Your Ambition’ at the Emirates Stadium for six years. She has delivered ‘People Like Me’ training to inspire young girls to consider Physics A Level and has worked with CoderDojo to help children to learn coding skills.

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MD
Pinch Point Communications

Sarah is committed to diversity and runs Spring Forward, an annual conference encouraging women to think about leadership positions and providing life and career inspiration. In 2019 the conference explored the theme of authentic leadership and 100% of delegates said they would recommend it to a friend. In February 2019, Sarah published a white paper titled The C Words: culture, confidence and choice, Women in the Boardroom. The paper draws on research from the inaugural Spring Forward conference and makes a number of recommendations for women and employers; including introducing Rosie’s Rule, calling on organisations to interview at least one competent and qualified women for every senior leadership position. Sarah is exploring the launch of a mentoring programme in 2020 and continues to mentor a number of women within the fields of PR and communication and beyond. She was appointed Chair of the Taylor Bennett Foundation in 2017, and is a Non-Executive Director at the HSE - their youngest board appointment. Externally, Sarah has joined the charity Speakers for Schools, delivering talks on PR, journalism and being a woman in business. She has also been appointed as an independent advisor to the Welsh Assembly Commission and Chair of their Workforce, Engagement and Remuneration Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Google Israel’s business
Google

Einat is a senior member of Google Israel’s management and is constantly striving for gender equality, promoting women to senior positions and acting as a very visible female role model. As a member of Parliament 51, she has signed Google up to the statement for gender equality. Externally, Einat is a mentor to many women at different stages in their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder & CEO
Genddex

Danielle has more than 15 years of experience in business development in various industries, and from the age of sixteen alongside her career, she's always had social activities.  She's passionate about innovation, Tech, and communications. Within her artificial intelligence and data-driven startup, Genddex, Danielle has committed to numerous initiatives to bring about gender parity. Danielle is also Co-Founder and the Leader of Parliament51 ('P51'), a social impact venture aiming to achieve gender equality and equal opportunities for women in the workplace. Parliament51 have established a close international community of influential top executives in their fields in London, Berlin, Melbourne, Tel Aviv and New York. P51 are working with companies to narrow gender gaps through their Statement of Principles Women in the Workplace Standard, currently working with more than 50 companies in Israel and more companies abroad covering 350,000 employees. Danielle created a unique methodology called: "Design Equality", which uses a number of innovative tools and applications including cross-company, cross-industry and cross-cultures working groups, knowledge and information sharing, guidance and mentoring. P51 works first within companies, then uses these organizations as role models for other companies and industries. Danielle mentors women extensively throughout the industry and around the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director and Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Nadjia is the Diversity & Inclusion lead for BCG UK, overseeing all four diversity networks: Women@BCG, Pride@BCG, London Black Network and Family@BCG. This is in addition to her client service role in helping banks, central banks, payments providers and insurers fundamentally change their technology systems, organizational structures and digital customer experiences. A passionate advocate for empowering individuals and technology in the workplace, Nadjia is heavily involved in shaping and progressing both BCG’s own diversity agenda, and those of other organisations and society more broadly. She heads up the local Women@BCG network, through which she drives gender inclusion through recruiting, mentoring, career support, bonding, policies and external engagement. She has co-authored various research pieces on diversity, the findings of which have helped to drive BCG’s internal policies and the work the group does with clients. Externally, Nadjia is an advisor to a number of organisations on their diversity policies, particularly those related to gender. She strives to act as a mentor and role model both within BCG and with external networks. Nadjia launched Diversity Drivers, an external network of leaders from across industries who are passionate about D&I to create a platform for other organisations to replicate successful models. She is a member of the Women’s Forum Daring Circle for STEM, which aims to increase the number of women in STEM roles. Outside of work, Nadjia is a supporter of the charity Women for Women International, helping female survivors of war rebuild their lives.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief People Officer
Metro Bank plc

As Chief People Officer, Danny encourages diverse applicants to vacancies at Metro Bank through specific wording on job adverts and transparent salaries for all positions. She has introduced a gender balance check as part of the annual reward review recommendations to help leaders understand the gender impact of decisions during the reward process, and a requirement for diverse longlists for all jobs, especially more senior hires. Danny speaks at and supports events and panels for the Metro Bank Women on Work ERG and signed up to the Women in Finance Charter alongside many other initiatives, leading to one of the lowest gender pay gaps in banking, an increase in women in senior leadership roles and more women appointed to the Board. Danny is passionate about making sure that men and women are included in conversations on gender and Metro Bank offers equal shared parental leave to all colleagues regardless of their gender.  Danny is Master of the Guild of HR Professionals.  She mentors several women and attended the BBC 50:50 initiative to have more women included in the media.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy Director Marketing International
Warner Music Central Europe

Nina is a strong advocate for equal rights and equal pay. She ensures that mothers on her team are offered more flexibility in their contracts to allow them to balance work and family. She has created a training programme for interns, many of whom are women, to enable them to develop their potential, help them build their confidence and to support them in their next career steps. The programme has led to an increased number of young professionals being offered long-term jobs at Warner Music Central Europe after successful internships. Nina keeps closely connected with all her female former employees to offer support and networking opportunities. Externally, Nina was a member of the Board of Trustees and speaker at the newly-founded Recorded Music Summer School in 2018. Alongside designing modules and lectures on the course, Nina held a lecture with two other female marketing experts in Music, providing a great opportunity for young female professionals to gain more insight into the Music industry, to get a clearer idea of potential employers and to find female mentors to guide them on their career paths.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, Head of Group Innovation Partnerships, Programmes and Rise FinTech Platform
Barclays

Mariquit is setting an example as an active and vocal champion for firm-sponsored initiatives focused on D&I. She has led fireside chats and mentored with Encore, a 12-week paid fellowship programme aimed at helping professionals, primarily women, return to work. She has also participated in panels with the firm-wide women’s network, WIN, focusing on career progression and supporting initiatives to promote professional growth. Mariquit is leveraging her network to help women at all levels increase their experience in the FinTech space, expand their network and grow their skills. Mariquit drives ‘Women in Technology’ initiatives, and recently moderated a panel comprised of female senior business executives and entrepreneurs at an event in which Women’s Bond Club scholarships were awarded to remarkable young women graduating high school. She has been asked to represent Barclays at the 2019 Grace Hopper event, where she will share insights on the firm’s focus to support women in technology. Mariquit is also currently leading the development of a flagship programme to back female entrepreneurs. Externally, Mariquit led the launch of ‘Female Executives in FinTech,’ which aims to develop an engaged community of executives and investors focused on established, growth-stage and early-stage companies led by women, ultimately working towards levelling the playing field. She also regularly participates in gender diversity-focused events as a keynote speaker and panellist.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Practice Group Head of Human Resources and Pensions
Eversheds Sutherland LLP

In addition to her role as the Global Head of the Employment, Labour and Pensions legal practice, Diane is the firm’s first Gender Champion and the Diversity and Inclusion sponsor across Eversheds Sutherland’s international business.  She is working to increase diversity in all areas and to drive change and embed a culture where women have opportunities to progress their careers. Last year, she spearheaded the launch of the firm’s new Development Plus programme, which invited 130 female participants from countries across five continents to join four sessions across the year designed to aid their career progression, with some excellent feedback and outputs. As leader of the Gender Network, Diane has co-ordinated focused activity around career and skills development, flexible working, raising awareness of parental leave, tackling unconscious bias, providing access to role models and personally worked to mentor others and supported colleagues to act as champions of change. Externally, Diane has worked on an initiative in the further education sector to increase the number of female college governors across England. She has supported the women’s development programme network at a major financial institution for a number of years, and as part of that programme worked with around 40 talented women in their business group. She has championed equality, diversity and inclusion issues, with a focus on gender diversity for many years, by speaking at events, including the Women’s Leadership Network.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner, The Corporate Practice
WPP

The Corporate Practice that Aisling leads at WPP is a committed agitator for positive impact. As well as championing diversity among clients, Aisling is involved in a wide range of mentoring and training for women of all levels and functions at WPP. She personally supports female colleagues through training, career development, conflict resolution, challenges returning to work from time off, and salary negotiation. Aisling also contributes to WPP’s formal mentoring programmes, such as their X Factor programme which prepares women for the next level of executive leadership. Aisling herself is an alumnus and shares what she learned with the women she manages and mentors. Aisling negotiated free office space for the WOW Foundation, the organisers of the annual Women of the World Festival. Beyond WPP, Aisling is passionately involved in wildlife conservation, supporting numerous NGOs. She advises and mentors many women who are senior in these organisations, and in August she hosted some of them in her home.Recently, Aisling joined the Board of Trustees of CSL (Conservation South Luangwa) an anti-poaching and wildlife rescue NGO based in Zambia. As the WPP lead for the United Nations, Aisling has been an advisor to the UN Women. Aisling also helped create The People’s Seat campaign with the UN and UNFCCC. The People’s Seat gave people the opportunity to have their voice heard directly by world leaders. Launched at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference, Aisling interviewed Greta Thunberg, amplifying the inspirational activist’s voice on the global stage.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Planning Officer
Kinetic

Throughout her time at Kinetic, Nicole has dedicated herself to helping both male and female staff understand the challenges faced by women in the workplace. Using her extensive network of industry peers, she regularly arranges for speakers to present to the business on a broad range of diversity and inclusion topics, whilst also championing a dedicated training programme for female staff on topics such as leadership, effective communication and empowerment. From her experiences returning to work following maternity leave, Nicole has worked with Kinetic’s Talent team to develop a programme to help returning mothers settle back into the workplace – she also wrote a blog for IWD on this subject. In 2017, Nicole broadened her focus to help improve working conditions for women across the wider industry. She established “Balance”, a diversity and inclusion network for Out Of Home advertising, with the ambition of inspiring women to stay in the sector longer and attract a more diverse range of talent. Balance regularly publishes on a range of topics, and has also hosted three industry conferences focused on educating leaders and senior managers on how to understand unconscious biases and the impact of improving processes and business cultures to create a more diverse and empowering workplace. Looking ahead, a new event is planned, aimed at breaking the silence on some of the more challenging issues specifically faced by women in the workplace, such as miscarriage, infertility and menopause – overcoming taboos and showing our industry how to better support women in order to keep them succeeding.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Co-Head of Economic Crime Risk
Oliver Wyman

Lisa is a Global Executive Sponsor for Oliver Wyman’s Inclusive Leadership Initiatives, encouraging global programmes which increase gender diversity. This includes setting ambitious gender balance targets across senior teams at the firm. She also sponsors work with an advisory firm aimed at increasing the number of female partners in leadership positions. Lisa is Executive Sponsor for Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW), where she leads the team to promote gender diversity, supporting the firm’s UK gender pay gap response, reviewing parental policies, establishing a ‘Men4Change’ programme and leading a ‘sharing stories’ initiative. In addition, Lisa is UK&I Executive Committee Sponsor for D&I, where she ensures all D&I activities are brought to the leadership team. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa sponsors various organisations and mentoring schemes. She is a board member of Best Beginnings, a charity focused on helping new parents give every child in the UK the best start in life; the Green Hat Foundation, a charity focused on helping individuals re-enter the workforce. She also regularly speaks at events and published articles on female inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Senior Managing Director
Alliance Bernstein

Kim is Executive Sponsor of Women of Wealth, a group within Bernstein Private Wealth designed to add additional training and mentorship for skills development of next generation women. She sits on the Global Culture Committee for the CEO to design a workplace of inclusion, diversity and individual/corporate success. She is also National Leader for Diversity and Culture, designing better recruitment and retention strategies to enhance the firm’s workforce for future business success. Externally, Kim is Executive Sponsor of Thinking Out Loud, supporting events for UHNW women to explore traits of highly successful women, designed to inspire women to take calculated risk, to push for higher plateaus, to advocate for equality and to build a community that can support and lift each other up. She is also Development Chair for Sheltering Arms, raising awareness and money to support disadvantaged children and families, with an emphasis on fundraising to sponsor young girls’ education, increasing confidence and advancement.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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VP Digital Transformation & Innovation
Fujitsu

As the UK Executive sponsor for the Women’s Business Network, Wendy is focused on helping women succeed in Fujitsu – a workplace that has featured in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women for the second consecutive year.  She has improved recruitment processes, built two female development programmes and gained board level investment and sponsorship, affording specific development programmes to 80 Fujitsu women in the UK and driving positive gender balance on the leadership team. She created and hosted a House of Commons event on the power of diversity and is leading a Gender Pay Gap Action Plan which aims to eradicate the pay gap to 0% by 2021. Externally, she has been re-elected to sit on the techUK Diversity and Skills Council for the third year, and last year successfully led the techUK Returners programme, giving it a more inclusive image and improving the content to make it more useful for returners and other organisations. Wendy also mentors men and women outside of Fujitsu, and provides over 10 hours of coaching each month.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith LLP

As the Global Head of Legal Personnel, Reed Smith’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) report directly to Casey, providing a great opportunity to innovate and drive positive change.  Reed Smith was an inaugural signatory to the Mansfield Rule, through which Casey and her team guided the firm’s efforts to ensure women and diverse attorneys comprise at least 30% of the candidates for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions. Casey also has introduced innovative initiatives to address demands on working women, including an online course assisting pregnant women to plan for leave and to return to work; a breast milk storage and shipping service to assist breastfeeding attorneys who are travelling for work; a ‘Ramp-Up/Ramp-Down’ programme, allowing attorneys on extended absences to ramp up and down from 60% of expected hours to full time over 16 weeks with no impact on their compensation; and an Associate Life initiative, aimed at providing business skills and an overall positive experience at work.  Externally, Casey has co-chaired the United Way of Allegheny County’s Women’s Leadership Council, during which time the number of members in the WLC increased to more than 2,000 and significant finances were raised for women’s causes. She has also been a long-time supporter of the Girl Scouts, who have recently honoured her for her efforts as Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania’s Woman of Distinction in Government & Law.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CFO & business service director
Stella McCartney

Given that the workforce at Stella McCartney is 80% female, Sandra guides women through nurturing and supporting them in the workplace. She actively supports women in the organisation to complete core hours, ensuring a beneficial work-life balance. She is actively supporting women’s emotional intelligence in the workplace, helping them to grow and nourish their talents and build careers to be proud of. Externally, Sandra acts as a mentor for The Girls Network, helping to guide young women with the direction of their career and to make worthy business choices. She has been collaborating with the Istituto Marangoni and has recently joined the INvolve mentoring programme as a mentor. Sandra regularly speak on panels, sharing her mentoring experiences and helping to empower young, ethnic minority women. Sandra has also judged on the panel at the Barclaycard ‘Every women in retail’ awards, where she supported other women who share her hard work ethic. Alongside this, Sandra joined the financial times as a speaker at the CFO dialogues in November; where she guided aspiring CFOs on the importance of changing the workforce, and talent management.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of Fuse
Allen & Overy LLP

In 2017, Shruti launched tech innovation space Fuse, which is designed to help lawyers to touch, feel and understand the impact of technology. As an Asian female partner, she is acutely aware of the lack of diversity on the tech sector generally as well as specifically in LawTech. She seeks to redress this balance by providing opportunities for females within A&O. Examples include hosting and participating in a Women in Derivatives session on tech innovation and organising Code First: Girls to teach coding  to emerging female leaders at A&O alongside their counterparts at a key client. As a school governor at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls in Elstree, Shruti is on the strategy committee, on which she has a focus on ensuring that the young women leaving school are well prepared for the future. She is also an active member of the all-female fundraising committee of the charity, Noah’s Ark Childrens Hospice. Shruti participates in female mentoring, including through the LegalGeek network. She works hard to support female entrepreneurs and women in STEM careers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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General Partner
Street Global Venture Capital

Alysia founded and is a General Partner at Street Global Venture Capital where an appreciation for diversity’s value is embedded in her firm’s strategy, engagement with the market and standard operational behaviour. Practically speaking, Alysia’s firm engages with more women in business, science and finance than is typical, finds more opportunities because they are diversity-friendly and capitalises on more opportunities because they engage with a wide range of people. Alysia invests globally to improve financial freedom, health, entrepreneurial productivity and economic security, a group of investing themes for empowering women. The firm reinforces embracing diversity in their brand articulation and public media presence. The firm has also done philanthropic outreach and education via online media and public speaking. Externally, Alysia is a UN Global Champion for Women’s Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. She created a radio show that democratised access to advice on entrepreneurship, technology and investing. She advises government ministers from a globally diverse group of countries, both in private and in public forums and has one-on-one relationships with key people and leaders in governments in Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, the UK, the US and Canada. Alysia also speaks before officials at development forums on economic development and empowerment, and at educational institutions and general public education forums.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vice President of Operations
Nicor Gas

Throughout her 27 years with Nicor Gas, Christa has acted as a prominent role model for women in the energy industry. She is a founding member and executive sponsor of Nicor Gas’ ERG Inspire, an inclusive network focusing on women’s issues, working to inspire women to fulfil their personal and professional potential. Christa regularly speaks at Inspire events. Other Nicor Gas ERGs have benefitted from Christa’s experience through presentations and panel discussions. Christa makes herself available for one-to-one meetings with employees to discuss career progression. She has encouraged women in the workplace to step up into leadership positions within their boards, ensuring they have an opportunity to develop professionally outside of the company. She is board chair of Voices for Illinois Children, an independent, nonpartisan advocacy organisation that champions strong public policies and investments for all Illinois children. She brings her leadership and mentorship to the classroom where she regularly presents on “The Future of Energy” to high school students. Christa is also a founding member of the Women’s Energy Network and third president of the Chicago chapter, an organization which educates girls on STEM careers and seeks to attract, retain and promote women in the energy industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer, Americas
Standard Chartered Bank

Nancy has been the Chair of Standard Chartered Bank’s Gender Engagement Network (GEN) in the Americas for the last five years. When she took over the leadership of the network, she successfully spearheaded the effort to change its name from ‘Women’s Initiative Network (WIN)’ to the ‘Gender Engagement Network’, recognising the imperative to include men in the conversation. The rebranding in the Americas region led to a swift tripling of membership over the course of the first six months. Nancy campaigned for the network’s UK counterparts to do the same, which has also resulted in significant growth! In 2018, GEN undertook over 45 events, both internal and client-focused, with activities including a client recognition award in honour of International Women’s Day, a movie screening of and conversations around RBG, a Meet and Eat series with senior management, creation of Lean In Circles, and a number of career building and networking workshops. GEN also led the charge to have Standard Chartered publish an Influencer Statement for International Women’s Day 2019 in support of #BalanceforBetter. Nancy also ensures that graduate recruitment has ample female representation through participation in the steering committee. Externally, Nancy is an active member of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance Governance Board and participates in a number of formal and informal mentoring relationships with women covering different aspects of their career within Standard Chartered, plus involvement in many other efforts to drive gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM//McCann

Nicky is leading the diversity charge in the marketing industry, with the board at her agency MRM-McCann boasting a 50:50 gender split, including the recent hire of a female Chief Financial Officer. The agency has also become a founding supporter of the Creative Equals Returnship programme, welcoming women back in to the industry following a significant absence. MRM-McCann continues to invest in retaining female talent, sending 4 women to the Global Web Summit in Lisbon and maintaining their Flexy Forty programme, allowing women to ‘work work’ around their lives and family commitments without judgement. Externally she has been working with NoMore, the charity working to end domestic and sexual violence against women, creating work that will use voice technology to highlight the warning signs of verbal abuse – a common precursor to physical violence. She has also worked with the Miscarriage Association on their Cards of Acknowledgement project, allowing the charity to, quite literally, put help in the hands of those who need it most. She was also President of the Direct Jury at the Cannes Lions Festival 2019, the most prestigious industry awards show in the world.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer
Compass

Maëlle is an executive advocate for the Women at Compass group, where she engages with other women in the organisation and within the industry. She hosts a monthly Women in Tech meet-up for female tech talent to have a safe space for open discussions. Externally, Maëlle has been a panellist at Fortune Most Powerful Women, and won the Inspiring Fifty award, which aims to make female role models in tech more visible. She spoke at the Global Agents of Change conference organised by the Consulat Général de France à New York, Consulate of Canada in New York and the New York Stock Exchange. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Fortune's 40 Under 40 and one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. As more doors are opened for Maëlle, she is able to open more doors for other women, helping them to find their way through the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Equity Partner, Dispute Resolution
Baker & McKenzie

Joanna has been part of the BakerWomen Leadership team since 2010, and spearheaded the launch of the original BakerWomen Client Event Programme which provided a networking forum for senior business women. These targeted events have helped to shift the culture of the firm – talking and thinking about gender diversity is no longer just "the right thing to do", but it’s commercially critical for building stronger relationships with clients. Joanna championed the development of granular gender reporting at the firm. From evaluation, promotion and retention statistics, to recruitment and salaries; these tangible statistics have enabled the BW leadership to raise awareness of the issues, and facilitated BakerWomen to develop a clear plan of action, identifying key areas that need to change. As a direct result, initiatives such as agile and flexible working have been promoted in order to support women in their careers. Joanna also mentors women throughout the firm, both informally and formally through the firm's Career Guidance Scheme. Externally, Joanna is part of the King’s College London Alumni group and is involved in the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. She spoke at the inaugural event ‘Gender Equality: what's holding back greater change?’ event, celebrating the achievements of the impressive King’s alumnae community and showcasing the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Quality Director Major Projects
Balfour Beatty

As Woman with a Trans* history and a senior leader within Balfour Beatty, Amanda supports her female colleagues and works to demonstrate that Balfour Beatty is a diverse, inclusive and accepting employer. She is Co-Chair of Balfour Beatty’s Gender Equality network and Chair of their LGBT+ network, both of which she promotes internally and externally through public speaking, running internal events and workshops, contributing to internal media and communications and acting as support and mentor to 3 female staff members and reverse mentoring a female apprentice. Amanda is a member of Balfour Beatty’s D&I working group and has been one of the leads for the company’s approach to International Women’s Day since 2015. She has supported and provided input to  for the company’s Empower course, which helps build confidence and skills for women across the organisation, where she is also a Fairness, Inclusion and Respect ambassador. She is actively involved in the development of policies and guidance in relation to D&I, and regularly contributes to leadership and business unit conferences, speaking on women’s issues and STEM recruitment for women in the organisation. She has also helped many other organisations in their approach to gender equality. Externally, Amanda supports gender equality and women’s rights though mentoring, coaching, public speaking and community work. She is currently mentoring several women and is part of the HERoes mentoring scheme, among others. She has won numerous awards for her work in diversity and advocates passionately for LGBT+ and women’s policing groups.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, Head of the Retirement Group
BlackRock

A seasoned senior executive with over 30 years of experience, Anne is committed to empowering and advancing other women in financial services – and beyond. Throughout her career, she has devoted significant time to mentoring and sponsoring women – frequently speaking on career-building panels and advocating for gender equality in the workplace. Anne’s proudest achievement was co-founding BlackRock’s first employee affinity group, the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) in 2009. Since its launch, she has helped grow the network to over 4,000 members across 63 offices, impacting the careers of thousands of BlackRock women. Most recently, Anne has served as head of WIN for the Americas and as Chair of the Global WIN Executive Committee, working to accelerate the network’s mission at scale. Anne also contributed significantly to the creation of the Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF), a state-of-the-art and successful development program for high-performing women. She was also instrumental in the creation of Leadership, Excellence and Development (LEAD), a development program for under-represented populations at BlackRock, including women of color. Outside the firm, Anne has been honored by the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders, as well as the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW), and was awarded the Women’s Bond Club 2018 Merit Award. Currently, she is developing content in partnership with Girlboss, an online and events-driven female community, to empower millennial women to take control of their financial futures.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
JCURV

Until January 2019, Payal was the first woman in a commercial executive position in a FTSE 250 Bank, which had previously gone through a number of turbulent years.  Payal spearheaded the group D&I strategy to combat this, which included the Bank joining HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and bringing about change in the bank’s recruitment policy by ensuring gender parity on shortlists. Payal also initiated a D&I Speaker Series, bringing key women working in the D&I space into the Bank to provide powerful female role models. Both the CEO and Chairman have championed and participated in the Speaker Series. Having left the bank, Payal is proud that the D&I agenda is now firmly embedded into the strategy. Externally, Payal is Chair of Women in Data (WiD), a not-for-profit organisation that is seeking to achieve gender parity in data and technology roles, especially at senior levels. Under her leadership, the network has grown from 125 in 2015 to 28,000. She co-opened the latest annual conference with Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who recognised the WiD network as an influential group that’s creating change in the data and technology industry. Within the last 12 months, Payal has attended forums at Downing Street and has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences raising awareness of the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO Europe, Middle East & Africa and Bank Distribution
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

Amanda is passionate about driving gender equality in the workplace and has introduced a number of initiatives, both as CEO of AXA UK & Ireland and in her most recent role as CEO of Zurich EMEA. When recruiting for senior leadership positions, gender-neutral language is embedded into job descriptions, candidate lists for senior management positions are gender balanced, coaching is offered on presentation and interview techniques and targets are set for increasing female representation in senior positions.  To share first hand experiences with others, she talks of frequently being the only woman in the boardroom, holding open-mic sessions with women in business and writing online blogs about balancing being a CEO with having a family. Amanda also often uses her own network to advocate women for roles in other organisations which helps to develop careers and ensures barriers to women’s progression are tackled. Amanda signed the Women in Finance Charter for Axa UK and became one of the global executive sponsors of the Zurich Women’s Innovation Network. Externally, Amanda was the first female Chair of the Association of British Insurers, the first female Chair of The Insurance Fraud Bureau and the second female President of the Chartered Insurance Institute. As Chair of the ABI she supported the September 2018 ABI Gender Report which identified tangible actions to ensure women’s career progression. She has taken part in the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee on Women in Finance and regularly speaks at industry events and to the press to raise awareness and act as a catalyst for change. Amanda is also involved with ‘Speakers for Schools’; a non-profit aiming to “end educational inequality by giving young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools.” She chooses to try and make a difference at schools located close to her family roots in the Rhondda Valley in Wales.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Macquarie Bank

In her previous roles such as at UBS Investment Bank and AIG Asset Management, Carolyn has organised regular meetings where women Managing Directors or senior leaders speak to other women about their careers and listen to their female colleagues’ issues. These meetings are a great networking opportunity for more junior women to build relationships with those in senior positions. When she noticed that her firm did not have a mentoring program in place, Carolyn found mentors for her staff herself. Now at Macquarie, she is part of the steering committee of Balance EMEA, its women’s network, and continues to organise intimate ‘non-corporate’ brunches in private houses to create a strong bond between the few women working in front office, leading to better retention of female staff through support and sponsorship. Externally, Carolyn volunteers with The Girls’ Network, spending time with teenage mentees over coffee, lunch or museum and cinema trips, and inviting them to her office and introducing her to colleagues. Carolyn also volunteers both  at committee level and on the ground with the Junior League of London a women-only charity that aims to promote voluntary service, develop the potential of women and improve the London community through the effective action and leadership of its trained volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer
Diageo

This year Mairead led the transformation of Diageo’s parental leave policies globally – offering female employees globally a minimum of 26 weeks fully paid maternity leave. Diageo also set a global minimum standard of four weeks fully paid paternity leave, with a majority of Diageo’s businesses adopting 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including the UK, North America, Europe, Thailand, Philippines, Colombia and Australia amongst others. The new policy is the latest move to achieve a senior leadership team which is 40% female by 2025 which includes a commitment that 50% of hires to Diageo’s global graduate programme are women. Mairead has worked to galvanise each Managing Director of Diageo’s 21 markets to establish both a diversity and inclusion plan and local goals. Through her ownership of succession planning to the most senior roles she has supported the promotion and acquisition of women into a significant number of critical roles. Today, 44% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women. Additionally, Mairead has worked with the Board and their advisors on considering a diverse group of candidates for NED appointments.  Externally, Mairead is a vocal advocate of Diversity and Inclusion in business – speaking at major conferences and putting her support behind key campaigns including the 30% Club, the Race at Work Charter, Free the Bid and Open for Business.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Jomas Associates Ltd

Starting her career as a graduate engineering geologist, Roni was the rare woman on the construction site, with no visible female role models in the industry. After years of working in Industry, she founded Jomas Associates in 2009, working for land developers across the UK. As a result of her own experiences climbing the ladder, Roni is determined to reduce gender disparity in the construction and engineering industry. Roni employs and mentors women both in and outside of Jomas, and enjoys watching them excel in their careers. She is a regular speaker on the topic of engineering, construction, diversity and inclusion. Roni is passionate about parity and social mobility, having initiated and participated in several initiatives empowering women and mothers. She is part of the Federation of Small Business Women taskforce, where she is National Lead for Women in STEM. She is a member of committees and advisory boards, with focus on social mobility. She also volunteers for, and is a trustee for the YMCA, empowering young women to get back on track. She is an active part of the Women in Engineering Society, and has spoken to many girls at primary and secondary schools. She took part in the women mentoring programme for the Geological Society of London. Roni has also written articles for numerous media outlets on women in engineering and construction. She is a multi-award winner, named Black British Business Person of the Year in 2018, as well as Natwest Athena Inspiration Woman, Best European Female Consultant in Construction and Engineering, amongst others.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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President and CEO
Cossette

At Cossette, Mélanie encourages her team to embrace everyone’s natural leadership style and works hard to advocate for women’s empowerment. As a result, women hold 47% of senior and 45% of management roles in the agency. Mélanie reinforces the importance of D&I at every occasion, from within the executive team to meetings with all staff. She has also made diversity training mandatory for every leader across the country. As a member of the executive team of Vision7 International, a global agency network, and its Diversity, Individuality and Inclusion (D&I2) committee sponsor, Mélanie has championed the roll-out of a D&I2 benchmarking survey that enables network agencies to track the evolution of their team makeup over time. Externally, Mélanie has shared her views on changing the way we understand leadership qualities in Canada’s leading newspapers, on panels, and in a book called ‘Your Turn: Powerful Thoughts from Today’s Women to the Next’ which compiled advice from 150 of Canada’s leading women to those of tomorrow.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Pearson Canada

As the first female Managing Director, Marlene is making Pearson Canada a welcoming and inclusive place for women. She has ensured female representation is present on her leadership team, with 60% direct reports being women, and that women at Pearson and in the education space are prominently featured at internal and industry events. Marlene has championed opportunities for flexible working and celebrates International Women’s Day by hosting employee engagement events. She also sponsors team members to attend women’s conferences in leadership, and established the first chapter of the ERG for gender at Pearson outside of the US. Beyond Pearson, Marlene champions diversity and inclusion across the industry through her work with the Canadian Publishers Council. She mentors aspiring female leaders at Pearson and on the Pearson Student Advisory Board, and coaches educational female social entrepreneurs in the MaRS Discovery District. Marlene has spoken about her experiences as a woman in leadership at community and school events, and is training for a martial arts black belt, where she is mentored by experienced women and passes that on to younger female students, including her daughter.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa is executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asian women’s network, through which she hosts activities, International Women’s Day celebrations and sponsors initiatives by members. She regularly mentors female associates, guiding them in their work and strategic thinking and helping them to navigate the world of M&A and IPOs. She supported the women’s network’s ‘Every Day Gender Equality’ initiative (EDGE), a set of ten everyday actions that everybody in the firm can take to demonstrate gender inclusion and to break down the current unequal status quo. The actions include championing women as a fundamental part of business success, making sure everyone can fully participate and be heard, calling out inappropriate behaviour and representing these values to clients. Teresa ensured that maternity and paternity leave entitlements are substantially above market norms for Asia, promoting a better work-life balance. Externally, Teresa is a leading voice in combatting Hong Kong’s board culture, where women represent only 13% of directors. She is a founding member and steering committee member of the 30% Club Hong Kong and is an active supporter of The Women’s Foundation. Teresa was the first female chair of Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange Listing Committee, where she introduced initiatives to promote board diversity throughout Hong Kong’s listed companies.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Country Chairperson and CEO respectively
WPP Turkey & GroupM Turkey

Across the 28 WPP agencies for which Demet is responsible in Turkey, she is committed to supporting diversity in recruitment policies, workplace culture and office facilities. She was instrumental in implementing the ‘Walk the Talk’ initiative across WPP Turkey, an award-winning equality movement positively impacting the lives of hundreds of women across GroupM and WPP. WPP launched the WPP Culture Project in April 2019 to address our approach to a scope of issues including gender equality, and Demet remains very active in this area. Demet has ensured that WPP offers one of the most comprehensive parental packages in Turkey, and she launched the GroupM Mother Support Programme, which provides returning new mothers with a one-to-one mentor for the first three months back at work. Externally, Demet is Vice Chairperson of the UN Global Compact Turkey roundtable of CEOs. She is also an ambassador to Unilever and the Advertising Association for their gender equality and female stereotype initiatives. Demet has entered into a partnership with Yanındayız (We Are With You), an association tackling gender inequality based on the principals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Co-founder
Contracts IT recruitment Consulting

As CEO, Naheed ensures recruitment is inclusive and is a strategic partner of The Tech Talent Charter. An Alumni of the Mayors International  Business Trade Programme she has championed inclusive recruitment in tech and business globally  for 20 years, emanating from her background as a human rights lawyer and her dedication to social inclusion, equality and justice. She has built strategic partnerships with organisations who share these values, and created a diversity recruitment plan, leading to 60% female representation, with all staff regularly trained on D&I. As a result, Contracts IT Recruitment Consulting have won accreditations and awards for D&I. The company uses numerous resources, including advances in technology, to ensure they are attracting and sourcing a larger percentage of women through their activities than their peers. Externally, Naheed is Vice Chair of the London and South East leadership team for the Prince’s Trust. She has been heavily involved in the primary girls’ and mothers’ mentoring programme to support with cultural barriers to progression for girls and their mothers within BAME communities. Naheed is also the UK advisor for The Wonder Women Tech Foundation US and an ambassador for Diverse In. She also chairs TLA Pakistan, a working group of Tech London Advocates and Global Advocates.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner - Greater China
Herbert Smith Freehills

May, the first female managing partner in Asia, has been instrumental in creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment at her firm, and promoting and protecting individual rights in Hong Kong. In 2018, May led the firm to sign up to a Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation. She has simplified and updated the firm’s agile working policy to allow more flexible and efficient ways of working for employees. The firm has also seen improvements in terms of maternity and paternity leave policies under May's leadership. May represented the firm's Hong Kong office to sign the Fair Hiring Pledge, committing the firm to encouraging their employees in Hong Kong to hire domestic workers fairly. Externally, May is passionate about nurturing new generations of legal talent including a number of young female lawyers-to-be, and she leads the firm's efforts in developing home-grown PRC lawyers under the firm's PRC Scholarship Programme.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner, London
Boies Schiller Flexner (UK) LLP

Fostering, advancing and accelerating diversity is core to Natasha’s business strategy and at the heart of the London office of Boies Schiller Flexner, which she built from scratch. Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of the UK’s only female managing partners and one of the firm’s first women to be elected to the executive committee. Natasha has built a team with two women partners out of six, 50% women associates, 75% female staff and all three senior managers are women. Boies Schiller Flexner UK support the Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for high calibre candidates from diverse and under-privileged backgrounds. Natasha has personally made a public stand in the press against the billable hour and how it holds back female lawyers. Externally, Natasha mentors a number of high-flying women looking to return to the workplace, matching them with the right coach. She has also counselled women through discriminatory dismissals when they have found themselves dismissed following pregnancy or children, put them back on their feet and helped them find new roles.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Board Member Integrity and Legtal Affairs
Volkswagen AG

Hiltrud is an active mentor to numerous women both within and beyond VW, within Germany and internationally. She has been involved in national and international groups active in the field of diversity for many years, such as Women Corporate Directors, the G(irls)20 Summit and the Women Political Leaders Forum. Hiltrud is passionate about helping young women to break the glass ceiling, raising awareness of gender issues and equal pay, and advocating for women whenever possible. As a board member, Hiltrud also gives interviews and participates in panel discussions on issues surrounding diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Dechert LLP

Abbi has strived to create opportunities for women since becoming a partner at Dechert in 1992. She has chaired Dechert’s Global Women’s Initiative (GWI) since its establishment in 2013, connecting and supporting Dechert’s women attorneys at all levels, across practice groups and 28 offices. The initiative now has dedicated local or regional chapters around the globe, which hold meetings, events and activities, and offer skills training and development as well as opportunities for internal and external professional and social interactions. Abbi also helped develop and implement the firm’s Sponsorship and Sustained Support (SASS) programme which focuses on supporting the firm’s most senior female associates, counsel and national partners in navigating the path to partnership. As of July 1, 2019, Abbi was appointed Dechert’s partner in charge of Diversity and Inclusion globally, representing the interests of all diversity affinity groups and women attorneys at the firm and ensuring maximum inclusion across all groups. Dechert today counts 4 women on its policy committee, 5 women office managing partners, 8 women practice group or industry sector leaders, and the firm has added more than 15 female lateral partners in the past year. Beyond Dechert, Abbi sits on the Dean’s Council for Penn Law Women as well as the Board of Managers for the Penn Law Alumni Society and regularly mentors students in both capacities, alongside mentoring women lawyers in the wider legal community. She also holds a number of leadership positions in organisations focused on targeting social injustices.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is the Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, the largest advertising agency in the world today, employing more than 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets. Mel came to Wunderman UK as the CEO in 2012 and soon built a reputation for recruiting great talent and empowering people to do the best work of their careers. In 2015, she was named CEO of Wunderman EMEA and in 2018 Global CEO of Wunderman. She then successfully led the agency's transition to Wunderman Thompson, a global agency designed to inspire growth for the world’s leading brands. Today, some of the agency’s largest clients include Shell, Best Buy, Samsung, BT, EE, Duracell, and HSBC. Mel has a true passion for inclusion and is recognized globally as a leader seeking to address the historical imbalances in the advertising industry. At Wunderman Thompson, she has implemented a strong female leadership team, making it the only major agency today with females as CEO, CFO, and Chairman. She spearheaded Pass It On, a programme that provides space for reflection and access to other women who serve as mentors and help grow careers. She also created the Female Tribes programme, which is changing the narrative around women in the industry by finding great female role models in content, culture, and society. For all of these efforts and more, Mel has been named one of Ad Age’s European Women to Watch, a group of 20 executives making a difference in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
EY

Joanna led the women’s network at EY for 10 years, handing over responsibility in July this year. She continues to run EY’s FTSE women’s group which brings together women who are or aspire to be FTSE directors.  She has been a steering committee member of the 30% Club in the UK since its inception and led the creation of the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme which has now seen over 2000 mentees pass through the programme in the UK alone. She is currently Co-Vice Chair of the Women's Network Forum (WNF) which brings together the broadest of industries, from tech to retail to business services to PR, to work together to showcase and share best practices that are driving change in the gender space.  WNF recently released a research report ‘Fuelling Gender Diversity - Unlocking the impact of the next generation on the workplace’, an important look at how much ground we can gain by adapting working practices for all to recruit and retain the next generation.  Joanna leads the Entrepreneur Of The Year programme at EY and works to support female entrepreneurs through mentoring scale up entrepreneurs and bringing together a peer group of over 100 female entrepreneurs to share experiences and support each other.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director UK
American Express

As Managing Director of American Express in the UK, Charlotte has launched and championed a number of incremental internal initiatives to continue to build a more inclusive work environment where women are encouraged to speak up and take control of their own careers. She signed American Express UK up to the Women in Finance Charter and invested in transformational Diversity and Inclusion training for 120 of the company’s most senior leaders. Charlotte is executive sponsor of the Women’s Interest Network and regularly participates in internal diversity panels and events for employees. Combined with an active talent strategy, these measures have helped Amex to increase the number of women in senior roles from 36% to 41%. Externally, Charlotte is involved in a number of organisations where she works to motivate and inspire other women. She is a UK Finance Board Member and diversity lead, and an awards committee member of professional network Women in Payments UK . She regularly talks publicly about important topics affecting women in the workplace at industry events and in the media. Charlotte also sponsors the American Express UK Leadership Academy which helps develop emerging leaders in the not-for-profit sector.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Accenture Research

Barbara leads Accenture’s global programme on equality in the workplace – ‘Getting to Equal’. Her research investigated challenges behind the gender gap in career advancement and pay, providing encouraging and actionable news about equality in the workplace, helping Accenture to cultivate a more inclusive environment. Under her direction, the research, surveying over 22,000 people across 34 countries, identified 40 factors that are statistically shown to influence advancement of women, including 14 that are most likely to effect change. Since publishing her study, Barbara has reached hundreds of HR professionals and business leaders internally and externally with her findings. Barbara is a particularly passionate advocate for BAME women, LGBT+ women and women who experience mental health difficulties, lending her support to numerous inclusion initiatives, including as executive sponsor for mental health where she has driven forward a programme that has trained over 2000 mental health allies. Barbara has also launched a development programme for female managers in her team, through which she mentors a number of women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Products Group Operating Officer
Accenture

Jean has championed gender equality throughout her time as Finance Director and now Products Group Operating Officer at Accenture. In 2017, she became Products D&I lead, aiming to achieve greater impact in creating a culture of transparency, belonging, and stewardship. She has enlisted Accenture’s Products leadership team and elevated the D&I agenda throughout the organisation. During Jean’s tenure as D&I lead, significant improvements have been made in culture and D&I metrics, including an increase in gender mix at leadership level and overall, improvements in the female leader attrition gap, proper sponsorship of women up for promotion to managing director and above, and the establishment of an active D&I leadership network across 43 countries. Jean has personally coached over 100 women leaders, launched a Diverse Referral Cultivation programme, required D&I metrics be added to leadership performance objectives, led the Products Women’s Network, collaborated with clients on joint initiatives to further their mutual D&I agenda and required a diverse gender slate for every position recruited in Products. Externally, Jean has dedicated countless hours to championing women’s issues through her involvement with the Society of Women Engineers at Portland State University, Assistance with Grief Board, Women’s Vision Foundation, WiseWomen Council and the University of Colorado Engineering Advisory Council among many others.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner and Head of International Arbitration, London
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Sylvia is a role model at the firm and beyond, particularly in the international arbitration community. Sylvia founded the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge to improve gender diversity in the world of arbitration, in particular the appointment of female arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis. The Pledge now has more than 3,500 signatories from over 110 countries, including 672 organisations. Sylvia also influences the visibility and appointment of female arbitrators through her membership of various arbitrational institutions. Her role as founder and now  Co-Chair of the Global Pledge Steering Committee opens the door to wider involvement of people within the firm in this important gender diversity initiative. More broadly within the firm, Sylvia is a key promoter of the associate-led Every Day Gender Equality (EDGE) commitment, acts as a sponsor for the Global Sponsorship Programme for high-performing women associates, and as a mentor in the Dispute Resolution mentoring scheme. She has trained as a Mental Health First Aid Champion to increase dialogue and break down stigma in this area. Sylvia also plays a role in the firm’s D&I Committee for Dispute Resolution and speaks at internal events and on panels about diversity and inclusion, including hosting an internal global training session regarding the Pledge. Externally, she ensures D&I (including EDGE and the Pledge) is on the agenda at client relationship meetings, has spoken on various panels at industry-wide events and has published on these topics.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded the social enterprise Gaia Innovation to inspire young people from less affluent backgrounds to aim higher and to equip themselves with the skills for the jobs of the future, and to escape the poverty trap of low skilled insecure employment. She employs women through spotting their potential and their transferable skills rather than relying on evidence of past performance or specific job experience, and encourages them to believe in themselves and their abilities. She achieves a high level of productivity and employee engagement in the business through flexible and agile working, and many of her team are women returners with caring responsibilities who are trusted to fit their work around these responsibilities and deliver high quality output.  Externally, Julia founded the UK Automotive 30% Club and is on the steering committee of the Global 30% Club. As a result of Julia’s work, 33 of the largest UK automotive companies have set the ambitious gender diversity goal of achieving a 30% female representation in their key roles through all organisational levels, by 2030. She designed the four phase “30 by 30” strategy that the companies have adopted, to encourage the effective hiring, retention and promotion of women in the automotive sector. Each year she runs an Inspiring Automotive Women Day, bringing 100 girls to meet women in the sector, and sending 60 volunteer “real model” women into 30 schools across the country. This year also saw her launch the Inspiring e-zine - a digital magazine aiming to create a grassroots movement to inspire women to progress, and the inaugural Inspiring Automotive Women Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, UK & Ireland Coverage
MUFG

Sarah co-founded Balance, MUFG’s gender diversity network with a male colleague in 2016 and currently performs an advisory role supporting the new co-chairs. Since its launch, her leadership has seen the group go from strength to strength, with a balanced membership base of both men and women who regularly interact with its campaigns and initiatives, plus the launch of several network chapters across MUFG’s EMEA region. Her ability to engage male champions in the gender agenda has been a catalyst to organisational change, with MUFG making its first public gender diversity declaration in 2017 when it signed the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter. This saw several internal changes to policy and practice to support the progression of gender diversity at the firm. Sarah is a leading figure in MUFG’s senior women’s networking forum and was a member of the Director Promotion committee this year. Sarah mentors a number of women externally and frequently attends thought leadership forums which address gender diversity in order to expand her network. She has been involved in a programme to demystify the finance sector for female sixth-form students and participates in a Senior Women’s Network hosted by KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Sue is a member of the executive committee of Baker McKenzie’s women’s network BakerWomen, aiming to proactively engage with the firm’s leadership, to serve as a think tank regarding gender issues and to create a networking community. Recent initiatives include creating programmes for returners, introducing expert allies and inclusion champions and increased use of capacity managers for work allocation. BW’s current focus is increasing partner accountability for D&I. BW’s previous efforts have led to a huge increase in agile working and take up of paternity leave. Sue is also a Partner Sponsor for the Baker G.E.N. (Gender Equality Network), working group which brings together women lawyers, business professionals and allies. At her previous firm, Morrison & Foerster, Sue founded and chaired MoFo Women and was on the global Women’s Strategy Committee. Sue coaches three junior women in her department, alongside colleagues in other male-dominated teams. Beyond Baker McKenzie, Sue is a trustee of the Society for Computers and Law (SCL) and founded the SCL Women in Tech Law Network to help advance, celebrate and connect women in the technology law sector. She is a member of the Law Society's Women Lawyers Division executive committee. She has focused her pro bono efforts on social enterprises aimed at improving the life chances of girls and young women, supporting You Make It, Techmums and Stemettes.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Slaughter and May

Sara was one of the founding partners of Slaughter and May’s Women’s Network and continues to champion the network’s activities. Since organising the firm’s first International Women’s Day event, Sara has sponsored a number of high-profile events including inspirational talks from the likes of Deborah Frances-White, Laura Bates and Annie Lennox. She has also supported the introduction of speed networking events, which aim to provide women trainee lawyers with access to a diverse range of female role models, and helped to organise an event to celebrate 100 years of women in law. She is passionate about progressing women throughout the talent pipeline, and is a sponsor of the firm’s Female Leadership Development programme, now running for six years. Sara also devised and sponsored a series of drinks and discussion evenings in 2018, hosted by female partners for female associates and trainees. Sara is a visible role model has mentored a significant number of women lawyers and other employees, both formally and informally. Externally, Sara was lead sponsor of the firm’s innovative partnership with The Old Vic, promoting Sylvia, a hip-hop musical detailing the suffragette movement. She is a member of the 30% Club, through which she mentors high-potential women as part of their cross-company mentoring scheme, and trustee of School-Home Support. Sara has also supported The Lawyer’s Circle, a network of female lawyers from across the UK, in addition to organising a number of women in tax events.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder and CEO
Luminary

Last year, Cate left a senior career in finance, where she was a powerful supporter of women’s inclusion, to focus on advancing and connecting women across all industries, ages, levels and backgrounds through her new company, Luminary, a collaboration hub for professional women and women-identified to advance their careers, further develop their skills and expand their networks. At Luminary, Cate is committed to nurturing and advancing women’s careers, businesses, economic opportunities and aspirations, while also welcoming male allies. Luminary offers a robust 10 for 1 scholarship programme and partners with many non-profits and organisations across NYC. Cate has driven her organisation’s partnership with other spaces and communities throughout the US to deliver greater collaboration, including Ellevate, The Well, Six Degrees Society as well as WE.NYC, where she acts as a Mentor, and Girls Inc., where she is a National Board Member, a Board Member for WaterAid, and on the Advisory Board for Girls Inc NYC. Cate enjoys mentoring dozens of young women, helping them to start and scale their businesses as well advance their careers for those in the corporate workforce. She recently started a Female Founders Support Group, and holds ‘office hours’ open to women. She is a regular event speaker on gender diversity and often writes pieces on leadership and D&I for the press including Fast Company and Forbes.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder & CEO
Northern Power Women

During her role at People 1st, Simone led and grew the Women 1st campaign to increase women in senior positions in the hospitality industry by creating a community and support framework delivering an annual conference, awards and establishing an active and organic mentoring platform reaching over 300 relationships. In 2015 she created Northern Power Women (NPW) to accelerate gender equality from the North of England by recognising, celebrating and showcasing role models. NPW engages all genders across the Northern Powerhouse including the launch of a reverse mentoring pilot and a monthly, live recorded podcast and annual awards. Simone has recently created Northern Power Futures to discuss the future of the world of work, designed by the generation of future leaders. She has also been working with leading business schools to incorporate a student engagement programme to help students connect with business, gain exposure to the NPW community, and access mentoring opportunities. Externally, Simone is licensee for TEDxWhitehallWomen, sits on the advisory board for World Merit, the Gender Network and is a committee member for the Women of the World Festival. She is a regular judge at diversity awards, and often speaks in the media on the importance of gender balance. Simone is also Leader in Residence at Lancaster University and part of the round table for British Council for 100years, Chinese Delegation of Women Leaders with Gov Equalities Office and judge for Queens Awards for Innovation and also We Are the City Rising Stars, NW Charity Awards and Top 100 Asians in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Country Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A.

Patricia is executive sponsor of BALANCE, HSBC’s ERG dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. BALANCE gained enormous visibility last year as many initiatives materialised into concrete actions with impressive results. Patricia is actively working to strengthen mentoring and sponsorship relationships and has challenged BALANCE to organise monthly meet-ups with executive leaders. This initiative is underway, with video conferences including diverse senior female leaders to act as visible role models. Patricia is also inviting women from across HSBC to join her at monthly roundtables as a way of supporting professional development globally. She is mentoring two future women leaders and continues to sponsor top performing women in her area to take leadership programmes in recognized institutions. In addition, Patricia launched the ‘Mujeres al Mundo (Women in the World)’ initiative, aiming to connect businesswomen with new markets and opportunities. As part of the initiative, Patricia included ‘Female Leadership’ as a category in the HSBC-La Nación SME Awards, with over 400 applications from women leading Argentine companies. She also led the first ‘Women in Business’ chapter in a commercial mission to the UK, organised by the British Argentine Chamber of Commerce. She often speaks at events on gender diversity and participates in panels and roundtables.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK
HSBC

Amanda is a passionate and visible role model, responsible for almost 1 million commercial banking customers. She has led HSBC UK Commercial Bank in the drive to improve gender balance with a core focus on female representation at senior to mid-management level roles. Amanda launched a Female Talent Development programme for high potential colleagues, focusing on core leadership and behavioural capabilities, generating 22,000 hours of development opportunities for women at the bank. Amanda also launched the Engage programme targeted at nearly 600 people leaders to build a more inclusive working environment. As a result of these programmes and other efforts, HSBC UK Commercial Bank now boasts 50% female representation. Amanda is also executive sponsor of HSBC’s BALANCE UK ERG. Externally, Amanda champions female entrepreneurs and businesswomen through mentoring and other support. She mentors female talent at HSBC through the CEO’s involvement in the 30% Club CEO Campaign to reach 30% women senior leaders across the bank by 2020.  She speaks at numerous external D&I-focused events, and recently led a talk on sexual orientation and gender diversity to property professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Outgoing Chief People Officer

At Irish Life Group and in the wider sector, Simone has taken a root to branch approach to stamping out gender bias in financial services and beyond. She established the Achieve Your Potential ERG to drive gender balance across Irish Life; she introduced policies allowing both parents to share responsibilities more equally; she rolled out unconscious bias training to over 800 people managers, with 83% of staff reporting heightened D&I awareness as a result; she introduced a full parenting support pathway with workshops and resources; she established a female leadership programme; and she undertook a complete review of recruitment practices and policies to remove any bias from the process and ensure a wider pipeline of diverse candidates for the future, among many other successful initiatives. Externally, Simone developed Irish Life’s involvement with Irish government-launched P-Tech, promoting social inclusion of young people in the north east inner city of Dublin. She is a member of the financial services working group of the 30% Club and has been instrumental in the development of the new Girls in Financial Services Schools’ programme. Simone is also a board member of Business to Arts, and is a regular keynote speaker at events in Ireland and internationally, fostering a sense of belonging for women in financial services.

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Director, EU Consumables
Amazon

Jacqui launched and leads Amazon’s Women@ employee affinity group in the UK, providing thousands of employees with resources and activities to develop skills, manage their career and expand their network.  She leads teams of Women@ employee volunteers to create and deliver initiatives that support gender diversity in recruitment, policy, community and learning and development. She advocated for and steered delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines, which are today in place across five EU countries.  Across the last 12 months, she championed the development and launch of updated UK Parental Leave Guidelines.  Jacqui initiated and led growth of Amazon mentoring schemes, including One-to-One Mentoring and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Groups, where she steered automation of P2P mentoring management enabling increased participation by over 150% in 2019 to involve thousands of employees.  She led Women@ input to launch the Amazon Amplify programme to increase the number of women working in tech and innovation and to inspire the next generation of women innovators.  Amplify includes initiatives such as the Amazon Web Services Return to Work programme, which gives people who have not been in work a chance to come back to full-time employment with training and coaching on new cloud technology skills.  Her leadership of such initiatives helped Amazon to be recognized as Female Tech Employer of the Year in the 2019 Women in Tech Awards, and supported Amazon’s first place ranking in the LinkedIn UK Top Companies 2019 list.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Financial Officer
Aer Lingus

Four years ago, Rachel joined Aer Lingus as the first female executive board member and only the second woman at executive level in 83 years. She is responsible not only for all areas of Finance including actionable financial insight to drive business performance, but also for the technology functions, covering day to day operations across all systems, cyber security and development of new technology solutions. Rachel acts as a powerful and visible role model for women in the sector. She has developed diversity from an initially uncomfortable conversation to a regular point of discussion. She sponsors the LIFT (Let’s Inspire Female Talent) network, enabling a 9% improvement in women at senior management level in the last three years. As a result of Rachel’s commitment to diversity, a number of positive changes have been introduced, including annual International Women’s Day all female flights; and the engagement of the company’s first female engineering apprentices. Rachel allocates time to act as a mentor and sponsor to women at all levels across Aer Lingus and the IAG Group. She also participates in panels at events and conferences, such as Hackathon – The Levers of Change, the 2018 Women in Tech conference and the 2019 Dublin Tech Summit. Furthermore, Rachel has supported the launch of the first Irish Girl Guides Aviation badge.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Creative Director (UK & EMENA)
Wunderman Thompson

Jo is a creative director, which is rare given that only 12% of creative directors in advertising are female. A large part of this imbalance stems from a lack of female role models in the creative industries because, as the saying goes: if you can't see it, you can't be it. Therefore, Jo is an outspoken advocate for female talent and regularly mentors female creative teams. She also regularly speaks at events, on panels, podcasts and in industry press, and hosts in-house events with an equal representation of female role models. Externally, Jo collaborated to create an exhibition called 'There's a Good Girl' which celebrated and showcased 20 women artists (the first all-women exhibition), including Alison Jackson, Sara Pope, Pam Glew and Hattie Stewart. The exhibition received wide-ranging press attention, featuring in The Independent, The Sunday Times Style Magazine, and on BBC Radio amongst others. For the past four years Jo has run the popular, non-profit event called ‘Good Girls Eat Dinner’ which has one simple mission: provide kick-a$$ female role models across the creative industry and beyond. Speakers to date include Cathy Newman (CH 4 News), Amanda Foster (Hollywood Stuntwoman), Lisa Smorsarski (Editor in Chief, Stylist Magazine) and many more.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice President, Insights & Analytics
Edelman

Catherine has been with Edelman for 4.5 years, leading the growth of the Insights & Analytics practice and team of 17 research professionals in Canada, and is a member of the Toronto leadership team.  Catherine has 25 years of research and analytics experience, is a Canadian Advisory Council Member of the Insights Association, and has been recognized for industry leading insights, winning 4 Research Excellence Awards.  Catherine is a member of the global steering committee of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN), where she leads and supports global initiatives designed to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm. She led the development of new global and regional scorecards and KPIs to track corporate progress and insights towards Edelman’s goal of achieving equal female representation at the most senior levels of the firm.  Catherine also developed a plan and led the launch of a global Instagram channel on International Women’s Day last year, broadening awareness of the network and profiling Edelman’s women leaders in the market. Catherine is Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN)’s leader in Toronto, championing a volunteer team of women to drive local initiatives such as Lean in Circles, mentoring sessions, celebrations of International Women’s day, panels, and other community events designed to support a culture that helps women lead and succeed.  Catherine mentors numerous women in and outside of Edelman, and supports organisations who help women in business management and women and girls in the wider community.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director of IT
BT

Rachel designed, delivered and now sponsors BT TechWomen, which in its 4th year has delivered a year-long development journey for 970 women across BT and has created an alumni network of 1,595 women. 67% of the participants have moved into bigger roles and local cultural barriers to women’s progression in the UK and India are being addressed. A core element of BT TechWomen is their 2-way pact, with more experienced members mentoring more junior women, engaging in STEM outreach initiatives in schools and university, and supporting the recruitment of female apprentices and graduates. Rachel also launched the Reignite programme with TechWomen India, focussed on building confidence and helping women return to work after a career break. Beyond BT, Rachel is Chair of the board of FACT, the Foundation of Arts & Creative Technology that has a strong diversity policy and social engagement programme. 45% of the board are now women and FACT have recently appointed their first female CEO. FACT runs a number of learning and engagement programmes providing access to digital art, media and tech skills for over 2,800 women for 1,600 young girls each year.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer & Chief of Staff
O2 (Telefonica UK)

As O2’s Chief HR Officer Ann has led the business in achieving a majority female board, ensured gender parity across its annual apprentice and graduate recruitment programmes and ingrained a flexible working culture into O2’s DNA. Ann has been instrumental in leading key initiatives encouraging gender parity and driving positive change at O2, including increasing paid paternity leave to 14 weeks for all permanent employees, for heterosexual and same-sex couples and partners welcoming a baby via adoption or surrogacy. She led O2’s development of a Career Returners programme which saw 100 percent of its latest cohort of women accepting offered roles at O2. Ann is an advocate for getting young women into challenging roles early in their careers. As a result, she was appointed a trustee of Step up to Serve, providing opportunities for millions of young people and giving them the skills to be successful in their careers. Ann is also passionate about improving social mobility in the workforce. Ann is both Chair of the Advisory Board and Visiting Professor of HRM & Employability at Sheffield University Management School, and is a trustee of research charity Breast Cancer Now.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Co-head Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)
Goldman Sachs

Having benefitted from mentorship, networking and sponsorship in the past, Kathryn is now passionate about providing other women with access to these advantages. She connects the dozens of women she manages and mentors with each other and with industry leaders and seeks to raise the profile of high-potential women internally within senior management, with clients, with industry leaders and in the media by delegating speaking roles of panel participation to them. Kathryn has sought to hire and promote women in her division for more than a decade. 43% of assets under management within the Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Fundamental Equity business are managed by female portfolio managers. Kathryn has mentored and coached women through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women initiative. She has been involved in research efforts which led to the first global financing facility dedicated to women, and she is champion of the Launch with GS capital commitment to invest in female investment fund founders and managers. Externally, Kathryn is actively involved in building a strong pipeline of female talent through the ‘Girls Who Invest’ programme. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Patton’s Veterans Project, and works with a number of clients and competitors who have asked her to mentor and coach high-potential women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Trustee, Advisor & Non Executive Director
TLC Lions

Dr Kamel Hothi OBE has been breaking glass ceilings in the banking world for over 4 decades from cashier to director, having been strategist and designer of numerous initiatives that have changed the banking industry. She championed the cause for Asian businesses who complained that access to finance was difficult by developing the banks Asian strategy which included designing & delivering her own cultural diversity training, influencing the first high street bank Sharia Business Account as well as creating an interactive communication campaign sponsoring over 35 national events such as Asian Jewel Awards and The Asian Women of Achievement Awards; which resulted in numerous corporates also pursuing the community. Her passion for diversity and a level playing field included the founding of the Women’s and Ethnic Minority networks, resulting in increasing recruitment, retention and mentoring initiatives thus helping the bank winning numerous awards. The decades of dedication were awarded by an OBE for diversity in banking by the Queen in 2017. Since retiring Kamel has been invited to sit on several boards as advisor and Non Exec to such organisations as the Queens Commonwealth Trust support 53 countries, Teenage Cancer Trust, Alzheimer’s Soc to name a few. Her knowledge and expertise as a Corporate banker and diversity champion has helped support TLC Lions in her capacity as a NED to assist over 65 companies on their inclusion & Wellbeing challenges. In the past she chaired the Government task force to improve their procurement process for supplier diversity resulting in supporting the 2012 Olympic bid and has spoken internationally on inclusion & leadership challenges and been interviewed on screen and in print.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Derivatives - Legal and Transaction Management (EMEA) 
Daiwa

Miranda has worked on driving diversity with senior management across numerous organisations and has participated in mentoring, media interviews and public speaking, resulting in an increase in diverse recruitment. She has spoken out internationally in support of young people and diversity on TV, radio and in the press. Her work across the UK has helped her to close diversity gaps in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the US and Scotland. Miranda has also given speeches on diversity and inclusion at a number of events, conferences, seminars, schools, universities and venues across the UK and Globe. More recently, Miranda gave a talk to Pakistan's first and only female university being the first UK speaker to speak to their female students on STEM and diversity. In 2018, Miranda launched a women’s empowerment scholarship via the multi-award winning Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation, which was launched in January 2016 to help increase all forms of diversity including gender diversity. This year, Miranda has launched women of colour in tech and engineering scholarships. Her foundation has helped over 50,000 young people to date and has attracted the support of highly influential individuals across the Globe. Miranda has also been a board member for various organisations and charities, such as Cancer Research UK Women of Influence, helping to raise £1m and mentor female scientists who are new to leadership positions. Her Tedx Women Modena Talk in December 2018 highlights some tips on how together we can close the diversity gap.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Head of Client Service Directors (Asset Servicing)
BNY Mellon

This year, Carol’s focus has been mentoring and developing women leaders, participating in several mentoring programmes (both internally and externally), including a reverse mentoring programme. She uses her position of influence to further advance female potential, particularly at senior levels, and to act as a proactive ambassador for gender parity both within and outside BNY Mellon. Carol led the BNY Mellon partnership with the 30% Club in Ireland to co-sponsor the ‘Women in Management’ report, now in the fourth year of this five year survey, with results showing increased participation rates of women at all levels in the management hierarchy. She supported the implementation of BNY Mellon focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report, seeking to identify hidden tensions within workplace cultures that may explain why UK employers are struggling to create a more gender-balanced workforce. Externally, Carol is a co-founder of the 30% Club in Ireland and is currently country lead for the Ireland chapter.  Under her leadership, the 30% Club in Ireland has grown to 250 Chairs and CEOs of Ireland’s largest businesses committed to better gender balance in senior decision making.  The 30% Club Ireland’s cross-company mentoring programme has supported more than 700 women and in 2019 will offer 22 executive education scholarships.  Carol is also personally supporting, the ‘Balance for Better Business review’ under the leadership of the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, which will set voluntary gender targets for Irish Business.  Carol is a Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) and holds an MSC in Business Practice from the Irish Management Institute / University College Cork.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner Western Europe, Global BD and Marketing Partner
Linklaters LLP

As a member of the global executive committee of Linklaters, Claudia is the global champion for gender and promotes internal initiatives supporting the enhancement of women’s talent. Currently she is working with the HR department on a new action plan to accelerate progress on gender diversity. She has championed a number of successful initiatives within Linklaters’ network such as Breakfast@linklaters; the Linklaters’ Women Leadership Programme and the Stepping Forward programme for developing talented women at Linklaters. Externally, Claudia has been an ambassador of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (the first association of large Italian companies supporting women’s leadership) and was President from 2013 to 2016. She has also contributed to the development of In The Boardroom and The CEO School for women on executive boards. She is often invited to speak at conferences, roundtables, seminars and courses on financial matters and diversity issues, and has been interviewed by national and international media on such topics. This year, Claudia has been interviewed by DiverCity, a new Italian magazine on inclusion and innovation, and held a masterclass and released an interview for FREEDA, the first Italian social media platform for young women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors
Deloitte

In 2006, Sharon was the first woman to join Deloitte’s UK executive and since then her energy and passion for making the workplace more welcoming for women has grown. She is the first woman to be appointed as Chair to the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. Sharon is a passionate advocate for inclusion with a focus on gender. In 2007, Sharon established Deloitte UK’s diversity networks including the Women’s Network. She also established a ‘Women in Leadership’ group which comprised some of the most senior male and female partners in the organisation with the aim of increasing the number of women in leadership through tangible actions such as identifying the pipeline of women, mentoring and sponsoring. She also introduced flexible working arrangements, childcare support and maternity coaching. Since 2008, the number of women in Deloitte UK’s top 100 leaders has trebled. Sharon champions and speaks at firm-wide development programmes, such as the Female Manager Development Programme and Women’s Network events, in addition to participating in external engagements and conducting media interviews. She mentors women across the organisation, many of whom are now in senior roles, and is a senior sponsor to Deloitte’s LGBT+ network. Sharon speaks publicly about gender inclusion at events around the world, including in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. She speaks openly about her experience of imposter syndrome. Sharon established a cross-organisation Women’s Network in Manchester in 2008 and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Social Progress Imperative.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO, Europe Cluster
Vodafone Group

Serpil champions women’s inclusion across Vodafone’s markets as the chair of the global Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee. She is committed to helping to increase the proportion of women in management and leadership roles by helping build a pipeline of talent, specifically through initiatives such as Vodafone’s pioneering ‘Global Maternity Policy’ and ‘ReConnect’, the world’s largest recruitment programme for talented women on career breaks. In March 2019, a new initiative was introduced to support colleagues affected by domestic violence and abuse. Vodafone has built credibility already in this space helping thousands of people via Vodafone Foundation’s TecSOS, Easy Rescue app in Turkey and the UK’s Bright Sky app. Inspired by the work of the Foundation, Serpil’s team has launched a new global HR policy and specialist manager training to support employees affected by domestic abuse. Vodafone Europe has already exceeded their 2020 female leadership target, currently at 31%, and aims to reach 40% by 2025. Externally, Serpil mentors numerous senior women and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association’ (WBAT Turkey). She is also mentoring female undergraduates studying in rural parts of Turkey as part of the ‘A New Leader Association’ initiative. Additionally, Serpil regularly speaks at global events to champion D&I.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Outgoing Chief People Officer
Aviva

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s strategy. She led the introduction of Aviva’s new global parental leave policy, offering equal parental leave to men and women regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how an individual becomes a parent. Since the launch, she has advocated continually to help others take a step in the same direction. She also sponsored the Aviva Balance Community, regularly talking at events and holding ‘listening lunches’ to encourage a bottoms up engagement and approach. A regular voice on the topic, she has recently spoken to senior leaders at Changeboard, Vote 100, and SAID Business School, as well as at Sheffield Academy through Speakers for Schools. She is a member of HRH Women Network Forum, the 30% Club global steering committee. Additionally, Sarah has championed Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards, and the Asian Women of the Future awards. Sarah mentors and coaches a number of talented women across industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO and Founder
Intelligent Ethics Limited

As a PwC Partner, Tracey established and led the Gender Balance Network UK & sat on the Leadership Council for Talent & Diversity. This involved overseeing the development and delivery of a 2-day leadership development module on unconscious bias as well as sponsoring a number of D&I initiatives. At PwC she was an active sponsor of Women & Girls in Cricket, the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2016, Women in Compliance, Women on Boards and The Enjoyable Life Series 2017, alongside being a founding member of PwC GLEE network and establishing the PwC Network of Networks trade fair series. Tracey has been a regular mentor and coach to professional services women looking to develop their careers in the City, both internally at PwC and externally. Tracey is a Board Member of City Women Network (CWN) and an Advisory Board Member for Gender Networks (WeAreTheCity). A prevalent speaker on diversity in the workplace, she has delivered a TEDx Talk as part of Whitehall Women in 2015, and has been interviewed in trade journals and the press on diversity and inclusion, including by BBC News 24 celebrating 100 years of the vote. Tracey is also a business partner with the BBC 50:50 Project, focusing on increasing the number of women online, digital and on air.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Financial Markets MENA - Managing Director
Standard Chartered

At Standard Chartered Bank, Souad has focused her activities in several areas to reach maximum impact. Since Souad joined SCB in 2017, 80% of graduates hired into Financial Markets (FM) UAE have been female. She has pushed for the promotion of existing female talent, running confidential 1:1 career sessions for all front office female staff in FM MENA, leading to 54% of FM MENA front office promotions being female. She gave a presentation at the launch of the SCB ‘GOAL’ programme in Dubai to inspire young girls to positively shape their own futures. Souad is a member of the MENAP D&I Council, influencing SCB MENA’s hiring procedure by suggesting more diverse slates for senior roles, which has also been implemented by the global FM D&I Working Group. Souad has ensured exit interviews are carried out with all outgoing senior front office women, and has implemented a reverse mentoring programme with senior male colleagues, among many other internal initiatives. Externally, Souad spoke at the Dubai Bloomberg D&I lunch in April and was interviewed on the power of diversity by the Arabian Business Magazine. She was also selected as one of the 50 most influential women in ME Finance by FN London.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of People
KPMG

Anna champions leadership accountability for increasing the diversity of KPMG’s workforce. She led the setting of KPMG’s publicly declared targets to increase representation of female talent through to 2022. This clear focus on gender parity has increased executive membership to 33% female. Anna ensures transparency over pay gaps and works with KPMG’s women’s network to lead popular pay gap workshops across the country to generate ideas and drive KPMG’s response. She support’s KPMG’s programme to support working parents, has championed numerous return to work programmes for women and is leading a project on agile working. Anna proactively supports female promotion candidates and KPMG’s GROW programme, from which 44% of female delegates were promoted at least one grade in FY18. Anna also promotes positive change beyond KPMG. She appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018, sharing KPMG’s approach to parental leave. In February this year, she was asked to give evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee on the best practice use of settlement agreements. She published a letter in March 2019 offering advice to young women on self-confidence in salary negotiation. She has spoken with the Department for Transport about job sharing, is an active fellow of the Forward Institute, is chair of Access Accountancy and is on the Learning and Professional Development Board of the ICAEW.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Co-founder
Akoni

Felicia’s startup, Akoni, has committed to maintaining a minimum gender balance within the firm’s employees through the Tech Charter, restates this commitment in any grant funding applications and actively pursues a gender balanced recruitment approach. Felicia mentors young women in business and supports a range of public initiatives including speaking relating to Innovate Finance’s Schools and Girls initiatives. She actively promotes women in business with Hambro Perks, a startup hub which directly engages entrepreneurs and is a role model for younger team members as a way to actively encourage young girls and women to enter into the tech and startup space. Externally, Felicia speaks on panels and podcasts about gender equality. She has been featured in Forbes on normalising female leadership and on Women in Business radio hour discussing issues around the lack of diversity in the workforce. Earlier this year Felicia won the FDM Everywoman in Tech Woman of the Year award, adding to a list of prestigious awards for women in fintech. She is also Co-founder of a group which helps mentor younger female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann champions gender diversity from the top at Mastercard, working with the full management committee to make gender balance a reality. Her work includes advocating for gender balanced slates for every senior appointment; sponsoring women’s executive training; sponsoring Mastercard’s Gender Steer Co, focused on People, Market and Society; sponsoring and mentoring top female leaders and bringing in more female executives; getting more women into external board seat appointments; sponsoring focus groups to understand the key issues women at all career levels face; and driving and sponsoring company-wide strategy and narrative on gender equality. Ann advocates for STEM and has set a goal to reach one million girls aged 10-13 around the world with Mastercard’s signature Girls4Tech™ programme by 2025. She also promotes global standards in parental leave policies. Beyond Mastercard, Ann is the new co-chair of the 30% Club, looking to campaign for greater representation of women in and beyond the board. She is a member of the UK AI Council, hoping to eliminate bias in algorithms. Ann also chairs the board of the Financial Alliance for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chairwoman
WPP Taiwan

WPP Taiwan’s culture of diversity has led to a 70% female workforce, and 60% of WPP Taiwan’s leadership are women. Therefore, Shenan’s focus has shifted to supporting her female staff members. In 2018, Shenan and her team established the Stella Community, composed of nearly 40 senior women leaders. Shenan also joined an organisation of female leaders, the Taiwan Women on Boards Association (WOB), becoming Supervising Director of the Executive Board. WOB’s key missions are to raise Taiwanese society’s awareness of the substantial business contributions of female leaders; to influence the government on a wide range of policies; to increase the percentage of women on boards of directors; and to build international networks. WPP Taiwan supported WOB in hosting an anniversary forum in Kaohsiung this year, attended by city government officials and female business leaders. Shenan was a keynote speaker at this successful event, which will now tour major cities around the island. Shenan’s team will present the 2019 Taiwan WPP Thought Leadership event on “Women in the Digital Age” on August 20th in Taipei. WPP’s most recent survey, on how Taiwanese women use digital devices in their lives, finds that technology empowers them to be confident and pragmatic, but they are concerned about privacy. On May 17, 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage.  As Taiwan’s leading communication group, WPP Taiwan gave impetus to LGBT rights in our inaugural thought leadership campaign on the subject of Millennials in Taiwan in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CMO
Diageo

On Diageo’s executive committee Syl has supported policies which support gender equality in the workplace, such as flexible working practices and equal parental leave. Diageo’s global executive committee is 40% women, and the company is aiming for 40% women on senior leadership teams across the 180 countries Diageo operates in by 2025. Syl has led Diageo’s work on gender balance in advertising, sharing their framework broadly with other companies. Diageo were one of the first signatories to the UN Unstereotype Alliance and to Free the Bid, aimed at driving gender equality for directors in advertising. Syl has held Diageo’s agencies across the world to account, calling on them to commit to advancing gender equality in advertising. To back this up, Diageo sponsored the Creative Equals Returners programme, supporting women returning to work. Syl also drives change through her position as President of the Marketing Society, where she has supported an agenda on ‘Brave Leadership’ that has raised the profile of and championed many issues linked to the success of women in business. Syl regularly speaks on gender equality and gender portrayal in advertising, and often appears on panels and steering committees, alongside mentoring numerous women and being a board member for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair & CEO, Canada and Chair, Latin America, Edelman
Edelman

Lisa has sat on the Steering Committee for Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) since its inception, and took on the role of global chair in 2017. GWEN is an internal initiative with a mission to continue to foster an environment where women of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed in and beyond Edelman. When GWEN began in 2011, women represented 33% of the company’s most senior leaders. As of June 2019, this number has climbed to 47%. Through GWEN, Lisa has championed the introduction of two mentorship programmes, based on group mentoring and peer coaching, a global pay analysis, and the inclusion of male and female candidates for senior roles. Externally, Lisa devotes a significant amount of time to engage in speaking and editorial opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, on subjects ranging from the importance of diversity on boards, to boosting self-confidence. Recent engagements include participation in a #MeToo debate at Women’s Forum Canada and a panel discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace organised by the Canadian Club, the most preeminent business forum in the country. She continues to support future leaders through mentorship programmes with various women’s organisations. Lisa is also a member of the UN Women’s Empower Advisory Group.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of Business Development
Arthur Cox

In 2009, Rachel founded the Women in the Firm initiative within Arthur Cox. This involved bringing the women partners together to formulate a strategy to empower women in the firm. The initiative included training for women partners and associates on a range of subjects, as well organising talks and presentations by external speakers on key issues. Arthur Cox was the first Irish law firm to introduce maternity coaching. For the past seven years, the firm has hosted a lunch event for 200 women clients on International Women’s Day. Rachel also played a key role in bringing the Catalyst programme, Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) to the firm, running over two days and fostering inclusive leadership through understanding privilege. 33% of the firm’s partners are now women and in May the firm’s first female chair was appointed. Externally, Rachel is currently the Deputy Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, and co-heads the club’s Professional Services Firms’ Group. She is a regular speaker in various fora on women in the workplace – she recently spoke about gender diversity in the legal profession at the Annual Conference of the Society of Young Solicitors, she was a panellist for Dublin City University Law Society, and she spoke at a Grant Thornton-hosted event on Women in Tax. Rachel is also a member of the committee of the Irish Chapter of the International Women’s Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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President, Data Practice
Epsilon

In 2017, Stacey co-founded Epsilon’s first ever Women in Leadership initiative, which is now available to female associates across the international organisation. A champion for female representation and leadership, Stacey makes it a priority to reach a hand back and help pull other female leaders forward, having not had a mentor to lean on herself. A working mother of two children, she understands the importance of women in the workplace and promotes a culture that fosters confidence, inclusion and positive outcomes for women. She regularly mentors up and coming female associates each year from across the business. In her local community, Stacey is actively involved in supporting Leadership Ascent, a Denver not-for-profit that helps to support women in leadership. The programme provides education to women in leadership roles in business that focuses largely on emotional intelligence, how women and men approach business differently and how to ‘reach a hand’ back to help other women as they progress in their careers. Stacey also serves on the Board of Directors for a local not-for-profit called Denver Urban Scholars, and is an active speaker and thought leader in the industry, having spoken this year at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Women’s Visionaries conference to an audience of over 600 women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Digital Transformation
Lloyds Banking Group

Since completing her Masters thesis exploring the gender gap at c-suite within the UK Financial Services sector, Bijna has advocated exercises to help establish ‘new ways of working’ and to re-skill staff, and female colleagues in particular, so they are equipped for jobs of the future. One example was the development of a Data Science Lab, which she championed internally in 2016. She invested in video content, seminars and training to develop existing female staff within the division, and to attract other women into STEM roles internally. Bijna also mentors women internally, and through Lloyds’ accelerator programmes, mentors women CEOs in Fintech. Externally, Bijna serves on Advisory Boards for FinTech Connect, CIO Net, CDO (Chief Data Officer) Exchange Series and the Inclusive Companies Network. Through her various roles, she advocates for equal opportunities for women in the workplace. She has also been a presenter for the Women in Business (WIB) TV show and has appeared on Disruptive TV, where she discussed key statistics, research on women in the workplace and associated topics. Recently, she has been interviewed for three international publications, including Forbes, and is championing the importance of women in the workplace and gender parity in the boardroom. She has also been mentoring for Women in Technology in London for three years and has filmed a series of leadership videos for their new mentoring-on-the-go app, ‘Cajigo’.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith

Tamara leads by example, working with Reed Smith’s active women’s network (known as WinRS) for years. Now, as the firm’s most senior person in the EME, she uses her influence to leverage the sponsorship of young women aspiring to partnership. She has been instrumental in the promotions of dozens of women across all areas of the firm. Viewed as a role model for young lawyers, she is active in firm-wide recruitment and seeks to inspire all women to achieve their potential. With WinRS, Tamara hosted an event this year called ‘The Art of Success’ and moderated a panel on gender balance in financial services at the ‘Deal Us In’ event in New York. Externally, Tamara is generous with her time and contacts. She is heavily involved in a number of organisations, including the 30% Club Steering Committee, founding member of Paradigm for Parity, C200 Membership Committee, and a sponsor and judge for Asian Women of Achievement Awards. She also works closely with universities and international organisations, advancing the pipeline of talented female leaders. Additionally, Tamara is a sponsor and co-founder of the Women in Corporate Trust Network, and founder of the Women in Structured Finance Network.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar (Lightspeed)

Caroline is a powerful and vocal agent for change, refusing to be seduced by ‘progress’, advocating instead for urgent and committed change. Over the past 12 months, Caroline has focused on three major initiatives. She has pushed to implement a Zero Tolerance Policy on any discriminatory or harassing language or behaviour. She has also undertaken pro bono work to support Kantar’s Reykjavik Index for Leadership, which was created by Kantar and Women Political Leaders to support the journey of gender equality through substantial and meaningful research, and is now rolling out across all G20 countries. Caroline also plays an active role in Kantar’s partnership with the Special Olympics, supporting 5 million people in 170 countries by driving the ‘Inclusion Revolution’ and ‘Unity in Diversity’. Meeting the Special Olympics Athletes, presenting medals to the female Power Lifters, and being the keynote speaker at The Global Youth Summit whilst she attended the Special Olympics 2019 World Games inspired Caroline to get intellectual disabilities on to the agenda of the world’s Top 500 brands and help develop a 360 mentorship programme between senior leaders at Kantar and Special Olympics Athletes. Externally, Caroline mentors a diverse mix of inspiring women at different career levels across the globe, supporting them to flourish in their professional lives and ultimately progress to senior roles. She is Kantar’s Exec sponsor for Pride in the UK, she continues to do pro bono D&I work for the Marketing Research Society, and she is working with CEOs of other leading organisations to drive a CEO pledge of commitment to creating an environment where the only barriers to progress are personal choice and professional competence.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy CEO, NatWest Holdings CEO, Commercial & Private Banking
RBS

Alison is passionate about achieving gender balance at RBS and is executive sponsor for the bank’s employee-led networks, including those for women. Alison is championing action on RBS’s target to achieve gender balance by 2030 through development, networking and performance support. RBS’s networks have delivered unconscious bias training and Alison has introduced programmes supporting women returning to work. Alison has insisted on a 50:50 gender split on each of RBS’s regional boards and she frequently engages with government officials and MPs on diversity. Alison is also involved in an RBS initiative in which Women in Business specialist bankers offer bespoke mentoring, networking and professional business advice to women-led and owned SMEs. In September 2018, Alison led a review on behalf of the UK Government to identify barriers faced by women when starting a business and most importantly what can be done to overcome them. She set out a series of recommendations designed to deliver significant and co-ordinated action to ensure female entrepreneurs across the UK have ample opportunity. As a result, the Prime Minister set out the government’s ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030, and numerous leading financial institutions are reviewing policies and products, and developing further investment opportunities for female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vice President, Facebook EMEA
Facebook

Nicola has been instrumental in creating an inclusive culture at Facebook across the EMEA region by bringing awareness to Facebook’s impactful diversity and inclusion initiatives and programmes. She advances the work highlighted in the annual Diversity Report 2019, now in its sixth year, and increasing recruitment of people from underrepresented groups, through initiatives such as ‘Diverse Slate’ recruitment and internal resource groups. Nicola promotes flexible working and launched BackHer, designed in partnership with Creative Equals, which supports women returning to work. She implemented Managing Bias training and Be the Ally courses across her region and launched, and is executive sponsor of, Facebook EMEA’s Business Resource Groups (BRG), Women@ and Black@. Nicola has also built a successful women in leadership development programme across EMEA. This programme reaches out to staff, charities, school children and partner organisations through events, such as Balance for Better, celebrating women in Dubai. Externally, Nicola launched #SheMeansBusiness in seven markets across EMEA  to empower women to start their own businesses by giving them access to advice, support networks, partnerships and events.  Previously, Nicola chaired the Women’s Aid Development board and was the first female president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, where she launched the Women of Tomorrow awards and the Creative Pioneers apprenticeship programme. She also served as director for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Special Advisor on Inclusion
Deloitte

In her previous role as Managing Partner for Talent, Emma’s activities internally focused on changing the culture of the workplace, the gender pay gap, increasing the number of female partners and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all. Since being appointed to the UK Executive Committee, she has driven significant change within the firm on gender parity. Emma led the design and implementation of Deloitte’s approach to agile working, including the award-winning Time Out programme and the firm’s gender balance action plan. She also launched the industry-leading ‘Return To Work’ internship programme which to date has enabled almost 50 women to re-enter the workplace after a career break. Emma established Deloitte’s approach to Respect & Inclusion, including devising and commissioning the multi-award winning film Ask Yourself… She also created the Respect & Inclusion Advisor role, a group of 39 senior leaders from across the firm who provide all employees with a safe space to confidentially raise concerns and call out inappropriate behaviour. Emma acts as a formal and informal mentor and sponsor to many women, both within and outside the firm. Externally, Emma is a regular speaker at events around gender diversity, the gender pay gap, and social mobility. She sits on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership Committee, and has been recognised as Ambassador of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards 2018. Since judging, Emma has become Deloitte’s Global Special Advisor on Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia
Norton Rose Fulbright

Farmida is a debt capital markets and Islamic finance partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, and has been European Head of Islamic Finance since 2011. In May 2018, she became Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (responsible for Europe, Middle East and Asia) after being elected by her peers, the first woman and the first ethnic minority to hold this position. Her responsibilities include chairing the firm’s Partnership and Audit committees and reviewing the firm’s global business plan, but she has also taken the lead on developing the firm’s D&I initiatives and is partner sponsor and steering group member for the firm’s women’s network and a mentor in the firm’s Career Strategies Programme (which aims to improve retention of female and ethnic minority associates and encourage them to enter the partnership) as well as being involved in its LGBT+ and faith networks. Farmida continues to do fee earning work in debt capital markets and Islamic finance, and has been active in promoting the firm’s pro bono work (after advising on the world’s first Humanitarian Impact Bond for the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2017, which was done on a pro bono basis). Externally, Farmida is involved in many initiatives promoting inclusion for women, including participating in the Prime Minister’s roundtable on diversity at 10 Downing Street; participating in the Law Society’s Women in Law Leadership Symposiums; and sponsoring and hosting the mother/daughter mentoring programme for Mosaic (part of the Prince’s Trust).

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Group CEO
BUPA

Evelyn has long had a passion for helping people reach their full potential and believes that championing diversity and inclusion in the workplace makes huge business sense. In 2019, Bupa committed to building a strong pipeline of female talent; working towards more balanced gender representation in recruitment; and doing more to support people returning to work, particularly those with care responsibilities. In her time as Bupa’s Group CEO, female representation on the Bupa Board is 41.6% and the Bupa Executive Team is 45% female; both above the 33% set by the Women on Boards, Lord Davies review. Bupa is also a signatory of the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and The 30% Club; global campaigns for a better balance of women at all levels. Bupa has a global footprint. In creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, Evelyn believes that Bupa’s workforce must reflect the global reach and needs of its customers. In 2018, the ‘Be you at Bupa’ pledge was launched, encouraging its people to bring their whole selves to work. In 2019, the internal engagement campaign, #together, celebrates an inclusive culture. Evelyn spent two years as a Non-Executive Director of Opportunity Now and is now Non-Executive Director for the Bank for Ireland and London First, supporting their diversity and inclusion agendas. She is also a member of the Insurance Supper Club, and regularly speaks at events to support women in their careers, including The Times CEO Summit, Opportunity Now’s ‘Same But Different’ Summit, the International Women’s Forum and Pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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WPP UK Country Manager
WPP

Karen is an established leader who champions diversity of all types. In 2012, Karen launched an apprenticeship scheme for 18-24 year olds at MediaCom, the first of its kind in the industry. Karen developed Inclusion@MediaCom, where external speakers are invited to share life stories, acting as role models. Karen championed a Women Returners programme with the organisation Successful Mums, and launched Project Blend with the help of Open Blend, focusing on helping everyone reach their true potential blending work with life. Karen introduced a female empowerment programme at MediaCom in 2014 with Shine4women. Karen is a mentor, both internally and externally, as well as taking part in reverse mentoring schemes. Karen helped launch the Our Time initiative, a mentoring programme for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan at City Hall. She is a member of Women in Advertising and Communications London (WACL) and part of their Gather committee. In her new role as WPP Country Manager, Karen is helping to drive through change by creating a UK Inclusion Board with programmes focused on reverse mentoring, cultural inclusion and a leadership exchange programme. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service. Karen is also a Business Ambassador for the Department of International Trade. In the past year, Karen has been named as one of the most influential women in Britain by Vogue 25 and as the Prime Minister’s Race at Work Champion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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EVP Global Marketing and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Unilever

Aline continues to lead Unilever’s Unstereotype internal change programme, aiming to remove all stereotypes from Unilever’s advertising and branded communications, and includes unconscious bias training, best practice sharing and inspirational examples to help marketers challenge bias and harmful stereotypes. During Aline’s time as Chief D&I Officer, representation of women in managerial levels at Unilever has increased from 46% to 49%. In 2017, the Global Maternal Well-Being Standard was introduced, enabling greater attraction and retention of women across all countries Unilever operates in. In 2018, this was built upon with the Global Paternity Leave Standard. Last year, Aline launched the ‘Gamechangers for Gender Equality’ campaign to celebrate male and female employees who are breaking stereotypes and driving positive change. Working with UN Women, Aline is the Vice Chair for the Unstereotype Alliance, bringing together a powerful and growing global coalition of leading industry players with the common goal of eliminating gender bias and harmful stereotypes from their advertising by 2020. She also plays an active role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focusing on driving gender balance in UK corporates. Aline is also an active member of the 30% Club, and a mentor with The Mentoring Foundation on its FTSE Next Generation Women’s Leaders Programme which helps companies develop their talent pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer, HSBC China
HSBC

Alongside being COO of HSBC China, Terecina established the BALANCE network in 2018 to drive gender diversity and support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Through the network, Terecina organised a series of themed events, inviting keynote speakers and panellists from internal senior executives and external advocates. She has facilitated knowledge exchange sessions with high potential female talent and mentors colleagues from around the world. As of May 2019, the percentage of women in senior leadership positions at HSBC China has reached 46%. Beyond HSBC, Terecina has participated in corporate sustainability activities, with a focus on equipping underprivileged women and teachers with financial management knowledge and supporting the learning and growth of local women and children in underprivileged locations. She is passionate about equipping these groups with knowledge to increase their competitiveness in cities, and leads a donation of computers to remote parts of China to aid education. She also works with external professional women’s communities, participating in and speaking at events aimed at bringing about balance in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO, Visa Europe, Visa Inc
Visa

Charlotte is an active role model in business, advocating for better inclusion of women at all levels across the business. She has been involved in numerous events aiming to challenge assumptions, prejudices and biases about women. She hosted a Leadership Forum in Europe, bringing women from different organisations together to inspire and learn from one another, leading to the creation of a network. Charlotte is co-lead for Visa’s global Gender Inclusion Council, focusing on accelerating progress around inclusion and representation of women. Initiatives include mandatory diverse candidate slates for recruitment. She has committed all European managers at Visa to complete Inclusive Leadership Training this year, raising awareness around barriers to inclusion. Recently, Charlotte has strongly advocated for the creation of part-time roles and flexible working initiatives. Externally she supports NowTeach, an organisation that exists to help career-changers who’ve already made a success of one profession to retrain as teachers.  She is a regular speaker at events to champion women in business, including to external networks such as the Mentoring Foundation, Adelaide Group and Women in Finance in the UK and Europe. She is a vocal advocate for women in FinTech, passionate that Visa should take the lead developing more female leadership talent in the payments sector.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Chairman, IBM Asia Pacific
IBM

Harriet is a key executive sponsor of Women@IBM, IBM’s own 90,000-strong social community for women. The community directs women to the training, resources and materials they need to progress their careers, and creates a network of women who can share tips, insights and support. Within one month of starting work in Asia Pacific Harriet championed the “Advancing Women’s Leadership” initiative in India to improve diversity and inclusion. In January, Harriet was appointed to Singapore’s Economic Development Board, becoming the first female industry board member and resourcing committee member. Harriet pioneered the second annual inclusive suite of events in Singapore around International Women’s Day, under the theme #BeEqual. Harriet led a live-streamed panel session to 2,500 IBMers to answer tough questions, leading to overwhelmingly positive feedback on attendees’ trust in IBM’s support of an equal and inclusive workplace. Externally, Harriet regularly speaks at events focused on women in business, including Australia’s very first International Women’s Forum event, addressing the role of AI in the advancement of diversity and inclusion and the elimination of unconscious bias. A regular commentator on LinkedIn and in live media, Harriet has drawn attention to women-specific issues including gender diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer
Unilever

In Leena’s tenure, Unilever’s female representation at managerial levels and above, has moved from 38% to 49% in the last 8 years. Their ambitious programme includes metrics-led governance and a robust repeatable model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. Their holistic efforts have been recognised by multiple bodies including by BITC and they consistently feature on the Times Top 50 Employers for women in the UK. Some of the key initiatives that have made this possible focus on investing in the development of their people, maternity and paternity support, agile working policies, putting a focus on women in STEM, and minimising bias through integrating behavioural science. Externally, Leena’s personal mission is to inspire 5 Million women with the message of what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women and business leaders on the importance of inclusion. She has driven the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign and they are one of the 10 Impact ambassadors for the programme. Leena also serves on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Marketing Officer
State Street Corporation

Hannah is a founder of Leading Women, a group established nine years ago comprising State Street’s female executive vice presidents. Their mission is to advance and sponsor senior women across the organisation with the proviso that they pay it forward to junior colleagues. Additionally, she is a global advisory board member of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network, the company’s largest employee resource group. As a member of State Street’s Management Committee, its most senior policy making and strategy group, she has advanced new multi-year gender diversity goals with the objective of making the company best in class for diversity. Externally, Hannah served as a board member, and ultimately president, of the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and children in Boston. While there she established a library and resource centre for guests to access job skills and career support. She is a decade long supporter of the Massachusetts Conference for Women, and speaks regularly at events to share career advice and advocate for more women in the finance industry. As a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, she reads in public schools to encourage young women to enter STEM track careers. Hannah regularly speaks at events and publishes blogs encouraging companies to evaluate candidates on capabilities more than on experiences in an effort to improve female representation in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO
Webpals Group

As CEO of Webpals Group, Inbal has ensured that 50% of the 400-strong team is female, which grows at senior management level to 67%. Inbal’s team works with partner organisations to connect female candidates to Hi-tech companies. Webpals measure and present their gender equality figures internally to the entire staff and externally through a variety of media encouraging other companies to make gender parity an important issue on their agendas. Inbal’s team works hto ensure women are supported on returning from maternity leave, often receiving a promotion and new challenges to look forward to. Inbal has recently shared Webpals’ story as a case study on cracking gender equality in the private sector at the Commission on the Status of Women in the United Nations. Inbal has partnered with Parliament 51 to share Webpals’ success and influence others, leading to Nokia Israel adopting the Webpals model of promoting women during pregnancy. Inbal has also taken part in various events, sharing her personal story to inspire young women from different backgrounds in the high-tech sector, with Israel Mass-challenge, Intango, Tsofen, LeadWith and more.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice President - Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

As an executive woman leading a global technical function at Mastercard, Jennifer is responsible for the end-to-end technical implementation of Mastercard’s products and services worldwide.  She is an active advocate for advancing women globally.  Upon joining Mastercard in 2007, she established an internal European Women’s Leadership Network to drive career advancement for European women. Reaching women in 18 offices across Europe, she led a programme of events to educate and empower women.  Now located in the United States, she focuses her efforts on developing and empowering the technical women in her organisation. She established a global ‘Women in Delivery’ group, to provide coaching to technical women to help them succeed in largely male-dominated environments, and to build a support network. Outside of Mastercard, Jennifer serves as a mentor for the 30% Club, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross in Greater New York, where her work includes mentoring a high potential American Red Cross female employees. She also represents Mastercard externally as an advocate for women, speaking at the 2018 Women in the World event in New York and Chatham House forums on gender and economic growth.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie works with her fellow board members to drive KPMG’s strategic direction and works alongside KPMG’s highest-profile clients and key stakeholders, including regulators, industry bodies and the public sector. She has personally driven a wide range of programmes designed to advance inclusion in the workplace. Melanie chairs KPMG’s Inclusive Leadership Board (ILB), which includes external representation and provides a check and challenge to the executive teams and works to ensure that the firm embeds inclusion and diversity into its strategy. She is the senior sponsor for ‘GROW’ – KPMG’s award-winning leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups, including women, to senior positions. In addition, Melanie continues to mentor women both within and outside the firm, sharing her knowledge and helping them to build their networks and progress their careers. Externally, she has driven KPMG’s Senior Business Women Network for over 10 years – a market-leading group of successful women who gather frequently to discuss business issues and build networks. Melanie is one of the founding members of the 30% Club Steering Committee, and member of the Hampton-Alexander Review steering committee. Melanie uses her platform as a business leader to make equality a reality not just within KPMG, but across society more broadly too.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
PwC

Brenda has more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, investment and relationship banking, with sector expertise in financial institutions. She is also a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognised with several awards for her global campaigning for greater gender balance across organisations as a voluntary, business-led imperative. In her previous appointment at ANZ Europe, she led Responsible Business efforts for Europe and the Americas and all gender diversity initiatives. In 2015 Brenda was appointed Global Chair of the 30% Club, where she works closely with leading Chairs and CEOs around the world to increase the representation of women in senior roles and throughout organisations. For the last two years she has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance by Financial News, and is also a regular contributor to the FT City Network, a panel of 50 of the City of London’s most influential individuals. Brenda is also an advisor to the UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women in the executive level of the FTSE 350. She is a trustee of the EY Foundation and a non-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board. Brenda has recently taken up a new role within PwC’s People & Organisation consulting practice.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has driven change internally, and MediaCom has introduced gender equality targets for recruitment, promotion and appointment boards. MediaCom’s median pay gap has dropped significantly, and Sue continues to fight for its eradication. In the last year, Sue’s Glass Wall Network for diversity and inclusion has had 4 very highly attended events, including a cross-industry panel entitled ‘Where are all the men?’. As co-host of the MediaCom Connected Podcast, Sue ensures that they feature strong female leaders in interviews, including all of their internal female leaders and inspirational women from outside MediaCom. She has also launched a transformation consultancy, Theobalds Road Consulting, staffed exclusively by women. In 2016 Sue wrote a book with co-author Kathryn Jacob: ‘The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business’. It is a business book best seller, now reprinted in a new edition. Since publication she has given over 200 talks at businesses, and published numerous blogs on LinkedIn. Sue has now created a new proposal for a book aimed at driving the equality agenda still further, this time aimed at men as a guide to championing diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Group Chief Executive
Bank of Ireland

Shortly after joining Bank of Ireland as CEO in October 2017, Francesca articulated her ambition to enable customers, colleagues and communities to thrive by supporting a D&I agenda. She appointed the CFO as executive sponsor for D&I, thereby demonstrating her commitment with both Executive Directors fronting the diversity agenda. Francesca launched a 50:50 public commitment for all senior appointments by 2021, which has also heralded a sense of ambition for upcoming female talent. The bank has delivered a female talent accelerator programme, and Francesca has introduced ‘Modern Ways of Working’, allowing greater flexibility to those with outside responsibilities. She initiated a returners’ network and has spoken at the bank’s Role Model lunch series on gender diversity. Outside of her regular work, within the last year Francesca has given the keynote speech at the 30% Club annual conference, also ensuring that the Bank of Ireland actively supported and embraced the pilot ‘Board Ready Programme for Senior Female Executives’ run by the 30% Club. She has supported a number of ‘100 Women In Finance’ events, welcomed the ‘Fearless Girl’ to the Bank of Ireland, penned an OpEd for the Irish Independent and welcomed the Minister of Finance to the bank to present the Balance for Better Business first annual report.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Marketing Officer & President Strategic Sales
Brightstar

Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, consistently making it a positive regular board level agenda item. She allocates time to act as both a mentor, and importantly a sponsor, to women at all levels to ensure a healthy pipeline of successful female talent. She does this through networking events, ensuring gender balanced shortlists for prominent roles, raising the profile of talented women and speaking regularly at events. She works with SoftBank Vision Fund to deliver their strategic engagement programme and support entrepreneurial women. Emer also uses her position to encourage more young women to work in IT, opening them to the possibilities of a STEM career. She replicates this work in PaddyPower Betfair PLC where she is a Non- Executive Director and also as an Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group. A member of the UK government Women’s Business Council since 2013, Emer has represented the UK at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Globally in NYC in 2014, and has been asked to address the UN again in 2019. She created the Men as Change Agents (MACA) board in 2015 and, this year, designed the MACA Academy professional development programme for senior businesswomen who have the potential to fill a CXO role within the next 3 years.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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General Counsel
Cycle Pharmaceuticals Limited

Funke is the most senior black lawyer within the UK’s pharmaceutical industry. She joined Cambridge-based Cycle Pharmaceuticals in July, becoming a member of the global leadership team with strategic responsibility for providing legal and compliance leadership of the company’s global operations. She is a global diversity champion. In March 2019, Funke was appointed as a Champion for Action as part of Grant Thornton International’s global diversity campaign, challenging gender-based barriers to career progression including recruitment bias. As part of the Law Society’s Women in Law Group, she contributed to the success of the largest ever international survey of its kind, resulting in the Law Society’s ‘Influencing for impact’ report with practical recommendations for increasing gender diversity across the global legal profession. Funke provides mentoring and sponsorship to support a pipeline of diverse talent and holds a number of non-exec roles within the diversity space. She has a grassroots approach to driving change and provides talks to approximately 2,000 school children annually. A regular media contributor for the BBC, Funke has been filmed for the First 100 Years Project celebrating 100 years of achievements by prominent women in law. She is also a notable alumni of her alma mater, Newcastle University, and was awarded an MBE for services to diversity in the legal profession and to young people in 2017. In September 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire, recognising her significant contributions to corporate and social diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Rachel Pashley

Head of Female Tribes Consulting
J Walter Thompson London

Having become frustrated with the narrow lens through which women were represented in popular culture, Rachel developed Female Tribes- a global insight study, a book and a business consultancy. Rachel defined and qualified the term ‘Female Capital’ – the value that women bring to the world as women. In March 2018, Rachel was personally awarded Female Future Leader IPA. Rachel has championed many varied initiatives aligning with this agenda, including a 4-part documentary, ‘Her Story: the female revolution', with BBC World News., #drawaline with UN Women to end violence against women.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Shruthi Rao

CEO
Adapt Ready

Shruthi Rao is CEO of Adapt Ready, an early stage business in the InsurTech space. Under her leadership, the company has won major industry awards for its innovative risk intelligence platform, including “Risk-Modelling Technology of the Year”, “Excellence in Technology”, and “Best Customer Service Product”. As a longtime proponent of “women-in-tech” (and gender equality in general), Shruthi was featured in major publications for International Women’s Day in 2018. Diversity is one of the top agendas at her company, from 50% board representation to advisers and team. She is a firm believer that “good business” and “good for businesses” do not have to be mutually exclusive. Shruthi began her career as a software engineer, later moving onto management consulting. She holds a BE in electrical engineering and an MBA.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Bianca Cole

Entrepreneur, Author & CEO
The Be Group & Bianca Miller London

As the CEO of The Be Group, Bianca ensures that their personal branding workshops and keynote talks inspire others to be their best, futureproof their careers and work towards achieving their long term goals. Bianca works with a number of Gender/BAME networks as she is passionate about diverse talent, specifically helping women and gender parity. Bianca is also CEO of diverse hosiery brand ‘Bianca Miller London’ which provides a nude ‘skin tone’ shade for every woman. Bianca’s accolades include being listed on Forbes Lists 30 under 30, being a bestselling author of Self Made: The Definitive Guide to Business Start Up Success, being one of Richtopia’s top 100 Most influential Entrepreneurs and a LinkedIn’s Power Profile, as one of the most influential people out of 20 million members.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Shuchi Sharma

Global VP & Head of Gender Intelligence
SAP

Shuchi leads Gender Intelligence for SAP globally, and is charged with ensuring SAP is attracting, retaining, and promoting women to achieve a goal of 30% women in leadership by 2022. She is currently helping SAP renew its EDGE certification and implement action plans in over 12 countries where 80% of our population resides that will help us ensure gender equality. In addition, she is spearheading initiatives designed to enhance sponsorship, create flexible working arrangements, and a culture of male allies that understand gender diversity is good for everyone, not just for women. Shuchi also speaks at global conferences on gender equality and is active with UN Women helping to drive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that address gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Wallis

Head of EU Withdrawal Unit
Bank of England

Laura co-chairs the Bank of England’s women’s network, and has recently created an Allies pillar within the network, to broaden engagement particularly with men. Using her position as co-chair, together with a colleague she recently run a project on gender progression, looking at both data trends and colleague’s perceptions. Laura also co-organised a flag-ship international conference on gender progression in economics. On top of all of this, Laura is a mentor to up and coming talent at the Bank of England.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sayli Chitre

Associate (Manager)
Oliver Wyman

Sayli co-led Empowered UK – Oliver Wyman’s network for racial, ethnic & cultural diversity with a view to fostering inclusion and enhancing the culture of the firm. In her capacity as the co-lead, she has driven a variety of initiatives for the network across graduate recruiting, internal community building through various discussion events and upwards mentoring to senior management to communicate the challenges faced by women of colour. She is also a formal mentor to a number of junior women consultants within the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Kenesa Ahmad

Partner & Co-Founder
Aleada Consulting

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. She is co-founder and partner at Aleada Consulting, a Silicon Valley based  business consulting firm, where she advises a diverse portfolio of clients including cloud service providers and financial technology companies, among others.  She is also co-founder, board member and the former Chair of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), and is frequently a featured speaker at industry events around the world.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Siva Karthikeyan

Senior Finance Business Partner
Aon

As Chair of Aon’s Multi-cultural network, Siva leads the inclusion and equality agenda focussing on raising the profile of the unique challenges faced by BAME women within the Insurance and Financial Services sector. The network recently launched a speaker series focussing on C-Suite executives sharing their success stories on building diverse teams, driving collaboration and ultimately business results. Siva has a passion mentoring, and currently mentors entrepreneurial women through her involvement in community networks and provide them with the guidance and strategic advice to achieve growth within their business. In 2017, Siva won the Rising Star Award within Investment Management as part of the We Are The City initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Rochelle Parry

CEO
Wealth of Knowledge LTD

Being CEO at Wealth Of Knowledge, gives Rochelle the opportunity to hire and give women opportunities to grow and manage their own businesses. She personally coaches women through our leadership program, aiming to open doors for them, and show them more of the world of business. She works with a charity In Greater Manchester and often gives talks to children and young adults at their events on getting women into business and the fight to be female leaders. She also has connections with local schools and works alongside them to help encourage girls in to business. Rochelle is a leader at a local Girl Guiding Unit, she work with Girls ages 5-11 and helps them think about where they want to be and encourages a girls can do anything attitude, her girls are working in the new term to start a simple Girl guiding business/ charity drive and the hope is that this will help instil the belief that they want more, as many of them have C-level aspirations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Elkina

Partner/Co-Owner
Aleada Consulting

Elena is a partner and co-founder of Aleada Consulting, a minority and female owned business - one of the first privacy and data protection consulting firms in Silicon Valley. Elena also co-founded a non-profit organization called Women in Security in Privacy to advance women in the fields. She serves as a Board Member for WISP spreading awareness and building champions for women across different industries. Up until recently, she served on the Board of LWT, a non-profit organization that empowers women to grow their knowledge, leadership skills & networks for greater professional & personal impact. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Nelson

Vice President Risk Engineer
Marsh

By openly and honestly sharing the story of her extraordinary journey, transitioning in the male-dominated workplace of oil rigs, Samantha serves as a role model to the diversity community and helps people better understand the power of inclusion. Samantha developed the concept of the Marsh & McLennan Companies #InThisTogether an Intersectional Diversity event held at the Tower of London in September 2017 aimed at Engagement, Education and Empowerment focused on topics which looked to unbundle diversity, covering Gender, Race, Disability and Mental Health through discussion and developing understanding as to why these topics are still relevant today. She has presented at events on D&I, Gender Equality, LGBT+ and Trans*Womans issue, for the Vanguard Network, GLOW ‘Gender Identity and Trans Inclusion’ , Mercer ‘Unbundling Gender Identity & Sexuality’, the Royal Society’s very first Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event, AIG's 'Bring your whole self' event and the Financial Times 'How to be an Ally' to name but a few.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Helen Baker

QA Director Interim Director of Payroll and Services for UK & I Product Engineering
Sage

As an LGBTQIA+ woman, Helen takes an intersectional approach to gender equality. Helen champions diversity initiatives in her sector alongside her role at Sage. She mentors up and coming talent, and regularly takes part in the Women in STEM Accenture annual event where she hosts a Sage stand to encourage girls to get curious about tech and open their minds to the skills and roles available. She repeats this exercise at numerous colleges and local digital events every year.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Anderson

Counsel
Allen & Overy LLP

Catherine is a champion for part-time working parents within the firm and was named in 2017 on the Power Part Time Ones to Watch List. She has been the senior partner’s reverse mentor for 18 months and several initiatives to support the firm’s gender diversity strategy have been implemented as a result of this experience. Catherine is an active role model within the firm, participating in the firm’s womens’ network and taking part in a Q&A session which was filmed and shown at female talent programmes taking place around the global network. In the last year, Catherine has been promoted to Counsel, recognised as a key individual in the trade and commodities sphere by Legal 500 and has led on developing ground-breaking and innovative structures in her product area, winning several industry awards for her practice and for key deals from four major trade and commodity finance publications.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Oare

Senior Vice President, Head of US International Banking Center
HSBC Bank USA

Mary Ellen Oare is the Executive Co-Chair of Balance in the U.S., which is HSBC’s largest employee resource group focusing on gender parity to drive meaningful conversations, influence policy and make an impact on gender issues. In this capacity, Mary Ellen spends her time educating both internally and commercially on the benefits of gender balance, encouraging a shift in attitude, conduct and culture throughout our business. She advocates for recruitment processes, promotion procedures and advancement opportunities that deliver a gender-balanced workforce. Externally Mary Ellen is a featured workshop facilitator at Woman Up conference held in Buffalo, NY speaking on Executive Presence and Personal Branding. She has presented to Women in Management club at University of Buffalo focusing on Unlocking Your Potential and initiated a partnership with the West Side Bazaar in Upstate NY which enables immigrant and refugees to pursue their dreams of small business ownership.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sherah Beckley

Sustainability Specialist and Editor, Thomson Reuters Sustainability Site
Thomson Reuters

Sherah Beckley is Sustainability Specialist for Thomson Reuters, as part of their global Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion team. Sherah is the Editor of the Thomson Reuters Sustainability site and supports global corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts for the business. As part of her role, Sherah also leads a network of environmental ambassadors called “Green Teams” across their global office locations. Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Sherah has a diverse and international background both studying and working in Ghana, Finland, and the UK and has a passion for international development particularly in Africa. Sherah has previously worked in third sector, NGOs and financial services, and holds a BA Honours degree in Politics & International Relations from the University of Kent.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sharon Malhi

Senior Associate - Antitrust, Competition and Trade
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Sharon is a senior associate in the London Antitrust, Competition and Trade team. She has experience of assisting clients with complex multi-jurisdictional mergers, competition law litigation and broader behavioural, strategic competition law matters. She is a founding member and former co-chair of the Freshfields London Women’s Network where she helped to co-create an online cross-departmental mentoring scheme for female associates and co-founded the London Women’s Network client speaker series. Externally, Sharon has been a trustee non-executive director of Rosa – the UK Fund for Women and Girls, since October 2015.  She is also the founder of a soon-to-launch women’s ethical fashion label.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Katherine (Katia) Ramo

Associate - Technology, Media & Telecommunications
CMS

Katherine (Katia) Ramo is an Associate in Technology & Media at CMS. She is also the Founder and Chair of CMS’ ENABLE Network (disability and wellbeing) and supports the other internal diversity networks (Women, BAME and LGBT+). Katherine acquired visual, hearing and other disabilities as an adult due to a civilian tour of duty in Afghanistan and diagnosis of an elusive genetic condition. Katherine uses her disabilities, legal and business acumen as a platform to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes and misconceptions associated with disability to progress the agenda for disabled talent. Her unwavering spirit and determination make her a role model for all.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

ILDP Manager
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

In South Africa particularly, given its racial history and patriarchal culture, it is extra-ordinarily difficult for a black woman to be in a senior management role. Plaxedes Makura, through hard work and an unparalleled perseverance, has risen through the ranks of the South African legal fraternity to be appointed as the most senior lawyer in the Johannesburg ALT practice group at the global law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP (Johannesburg). She runs a department of approximately 18 legal analysts, and deals with work that is cross-border, large-scale and commercially complex. . She encourages diversity of all types, has an open-minded and respectful approach to her team and their work style. She is a remarkable woman with a work-ethic next to none, who always encourages her team to reveal the strengths of their nature regardless of the stresses of the job.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pippa Murray

Founder
Pip & Nut

Pip champions gender equality in the workplace – two thirds of Pip & Nut’s small team are women. Pip strongly believes in nurturing talent from within. In the past year Pip has given over 20 talks about her experiences. Pip has been awarded 30 awards during Pip & Nut’s 3 years of trading. Highlights including 2016 Natwest Everywoman Award, First Women Young achiever Award 2017. Startups.co.uk Women in Business Award 2017, The Grocer Top Talent 2017, Regional HSBC Forward ladies winner 2017 and Listed in Forbes 30 under 30 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pauline Wong

Senior Vice President, Head of Global Services, Hong Kong
State Street

Pauline leads State Street’s asset servicing business in Hong Kong and is a champion for diversity in all its forms. She is the executive sponsor of State Street’s Hong Kong PRIDE network, which creates a safe networking environment for LGBT+ employees and their allies. Previously she was also the executive sponsor of the Bank’s Hong Kong Professional Woman’s Network. Externally, Pauline is a member of the steering committee of Women’s Foundation’s Life Skills Programme. Together with some friends, she also set up a social enterprise that brings together young designers to design upcycling products produced by women from minority groups. Finally, Pauline has been a mentor to many female mentees within and outside the company.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Smita Joshi

Energy & Infrastructure Lead
Edelman India

At Edelman India, Smita has instituted several informal knowledge building platforms for women members willing to expand their sectoral knowledge and thus open career path in otherwise male dominated sectors within India. She personally mentors close to 10 women members of different teams, and has setup informal cross-gender reciprocal mentorships between varied team members aimed at nurturing skill and career development across practices and skillsets. In 2015, Smita co-founded a social development organisation JanmFoundation.org which is presently operational in two Indian states of Uttarakhand and Haryana, creating financial inclusion for women in rural communities of these states.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Akansha Goyal

Vice President, Product Control
Barclays Bank

Akansha is an international mentor, successfully steering women to achieve strategic goals and unlock their potential. She carries this with her both inside and outside the workplace. At work, she is helping drive the campaign for diversity, leading a team where women hold 80% of roles across various levels. Outside the workplace Akansha engages with schools to help improve literacy for young women in India. She was a part of the Women Leadership development program in Barclays, and was awarded the CFO award in Fidelity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Val Risk

Client Executive
Fujitsu

The 2018 BITC Gender Champion and previously chair of the Women's Business network, Val has created a clear Gender Strategy and Action Plan embedding change so women can succeed, close the gender pay gap and increase the representation of women especially in leadership, technical and customer facing roles. Val represents the company in the 30% Club, sits on the Everywoman Industry panel, supports Women in Automotive and was a non-executive Director for six years for an NHS Health Trust championing patient equality and chairing a health charity. A role model for diversity and its impact on business success Val was awarded the Global President’s Award 2017 and the Top Performers Award for her work on customer digital transformation and co-creation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Tanveer Nandhra

Executive Principal; Head Financial Market Sales Kenya
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya

Tanveer is part of the working group for the Africa Financial Markets Women Agenda. The broad agenda is to develop a mentorship framework for the female talent; promote career development and leadership base via Short Term & Long Term assignments across the SCB footprint. Tanveer is currently coaching a female graduate on expressing her interest to join the global Foreign Exchange trading team. On International Women’s Day Tanveer celebrated women in Financial Markets East Africa by conducting a session focused on #Pressforprogress motivating the wider community to be gender inclusive. Outside of work, Tanveer is part of Ramgharia Youth Association volunteering on social and welfare programs. Prior to this she was part of  the mentorship program at Kibera School for Girls under the Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Corporate Sales Team Leader
HSBC Argentina

In 2017, Melisa was selected Chair of Argentina’s BALANCE Group, HSBC’s ERG dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of colleagues, managers and senior leaders in driving towards a gender-balanced workforce. The Group has undertaken many activities to promote dialogue on gender diversity challenges and progress, including workshops, breakfasts with employees and their daughters and monthly networking walks. Last year Melisa, along with Argentina’s BALANCE members, carried out a challenge of innovation and inclusion in partnership with Junior Achievement: One-day activity with high school students working together in developing ideas for a more inclusive workplace. Melisa has been in charge of Corporate Sales Team for the last three years. Throughout her career in Commercial Banking, she notes that business and finance have historically been men’s areas. She believes it is time to challenge the current paradigm. “If there are some inhibitors taking women away from decision-making positions, we all have to take action to bring them closer, because this is the only way we will be laying the foundations for a sustainable future”, she says.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Battung

Global Director
Hyatt Hotel Corporation

Ana is currently on the Executive Leadership team for the Women@Hyatt West Chapter which encompasses 10 cities with 300 members. Their mission is to provide resources, learning & networking opportunities for our members to grow both personally & professionally. Ana has also been asked to be on the panel for a Women's Empowerment Series in Washington DC aimed to guide young women professionals. Ana was recently appointed to oversee global Inclusion and Diversity Sales for Hyatt globally and is also the Membership Chair for the Hyatt Asian-Pacific Islanders DBRG Corporate Chapter.  

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Coleen Mensa

Trainee Solicitor
EY

Coleen created a video for EY’s global website to shine a light on amazing women in the workplace whilst encouraging other females to join EY. She is also the founder of a focus group which is dedicated to bringing females in law together who share the same desire to excel at work. Coleen mentors 12 young women, assisting them with getting with entry level law positions or trainee solicitors roles in FTSE 250 companies. Coleen is a regular speaker at diversity and inclusion events and often speaks on the importance of this in the workplace. Coleen hosts quarterly roundtable masterclass sessions for her mentees which mainly focuses on the tips she learned through her own journey. In addition, Coleen is the co-founder of Power Up – an initiative which helps women get into their chosen career paths. This is done through “power dinner” events where individuals can connect with others who are excelling in their field.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Katja Butler

Partner, Private Equity
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Katja regularly acts as a mentor to junior attorneys at Skadden and has been heavily involved in women’s initiatives both at Skadden and at her previous firm. She was recently appointed co-head of the Skadden Women Attorneys Network (SWAN) and as a member of the Firm's Global Women's Initiative Committee, both of which work to help connect, support and sponsor women firm-wide, as well as within the legal and business communities.  Katja regularly plays an active role in mentoring junior lawyers from outside of her organisation to help support them in their own careers. One of her mentees is now in a senior in-house role whilst another is running for partnership at an international law firm this year. Katja also participates in a number of industry events, which offer opportunities for her to take part in candid discussions about improving gender diversity in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Anna Stables

Digital Innovation Manager
Aviva

Anna supports Aviva in working with innovative technology startups. She finds ways for them to collaborate and solve customer problems through technology. She’s also on both the Digital Diversity & Inclusion working group, and the Global Inclusion Committee, to promote diversity and women in to technology roles. This year, and five years in to her career, Anna was named in the 'Top 25 Women in Tech 2018' by Code First: Girls. She hopes to support them in achieving their goal of training 20,000 women in coding by 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Kathryn Cripps

Partner
Knight Frank

Kathryn sits on Knight Frank’s People Board and is a member of their Gender Focus Group where she has been positively championing gender diversity and an improved working environment for working parents. Kathryn has regular 1:1 sessions with young women in the business, acting as an informal mentor. Outside of Knight Frank Kathryn provides advice to several aspiring women across the industry and is a mentor for the OBREMS network. Kathryn is a member of Real Estate Balance, an association focussed on addressing the gender imbalance and Women Talk Real Estate. She was shortlisted in 2016 for ‘Young Property Person of the Year’ at the PROPS awards, the longest running UK industry awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sue McLean

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Sue is a member of the executive committee of BakerWomen, Baker McKenzie's women's network and supports the firm's Senior Female Peer Network. She also leads Baker McKenzie's women in tech initiative, BakerWomen in Tech. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Sue founded and chaired MoFo Women and was on Morrison & Foerster's global Women's Strategy Committee. On top of this, Sue provides pro bono legal support to You Make It and Techmums, two social enterprises focused on empowering women. Outside of work, Sue is an Inspiring the Future mentor, Modern Muse mentor and mentor under the GSA mentoring scheme. Recently, Sue co-founded and chairs a Women in Tech Law network with the Society of Computers and Law. On top of this. Sue regularly host events for various women's networks, such as UPWARD and Precious.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Emma Summerfield

Digital Product Manager
Aviva

At Aviva, Emma took a leading role in organising International Women’s Day events across London; particular focus was taken on the Women in Tech event at Aviva’s digital office. Emma formed a working group in order to deliver the event and department wide communication; utilised senior network of contacts to source speakers and gain sponsorship. Now the driving force behind a programme of events across all diversity characteristics including gender as part of her role in the global D&I working group. Utilising previous experience as women’s network chair in previous organisation to share best practice in Aviva.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Khalia Newell

Vice President
Barclays

Khalia is deeply passionate about diversity and sits on The Black Professionals Forum and also the Chief Controls Office Junior Think Tank - part of the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) at Barclays. As part of the Junior Think Tank initiative she is working to improve the number of female Directors and Managing Directors within the Chief Controls Office; with a focus on progression for women of colour. In addition to this, Khalia has devised Director/Managing Director Leadership training across the Barclays Group to help promote diverse senior leaders and she continues to mentor many women from underprivileged backgrounds along her journey. Her work has been recognised by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall where she received an invitation to meet Prince Charles at St James’ Palace and also an invitation to assist the Advisory Board for an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM in 2018 following her TEDx Talk in 2017 ‘Why Diversity Initiatives Fail’. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including: Black British Business Awards, Rising Star in Financial Services (2016); We are the City, Female Rising Star (2017) and was listed as Top 3 EM Power Future Leaders in the Financial Times (2018).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Borrett

Senior Software Development Release Project Manager
IBM UK Ltd

Joanne is a Senior Software Development Release Project Manager in IBM UK.  In addition to this role she is the Diversity & Inclusion lead supporting the IBM UK Laboratory's in the UK & Ireland, where she leads, coordinates and runs many gender related initiatives.   She has played a pivotal role in the organisation, development, delivery and leadership across a number of initiatives and special gender diversity programs, in order to support women’s career and skills advancement in IBM.  She leads many Women in IT events  where the theme was ‘Press for Progress’ – progress in careers, progress in technology and progress in diversity.  She is the co-founder and launched a pilot program to support women with their careers -  Developing Your Technical Career.  Joanne has been a key sponsor of a number of programs at IBM including the UK wide Connecting Women @IBM where she is involved in running events to encourage women to network across the organisation. She is a powerful advocate and role model regularly being a guest speaker or running events for local schools, colleges and universities  to encourage more women through the use of STEM workshops to join the IT industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pamela Jones

Operational Change and Integration Manager
TPICAP PLC

Pamela has been instrumental in forming ICAP’s Women’s Network, of which she is Co-Chair. Founded in 2009, she has delivered events for employees introducing female speakers such as Michelle Mone and Eve Pollard to illustrate Entrepreneurship and representation of women in male dominated roles. As a result of the network, Pamela has been able to form mentoring relationships with women internally to manage their career progression and navigate the corporate. Pamela is a Board member and Director at WILD (Women in Listed Derivatives), and chairs the Mentoring Committee. Pamela has been an active mentor and coach at Central Foundation Girls School in Bow  spending one hour mornings a month for the academic year working with year 10 and 11 girls. The demographic make- up of the school is 95% Punjabi. Alongside this, Pamela is looking to work with Dr Claudette Bailey Morrisey to create a programme of mentoring focusing on BME girls. Pamela is a committee member of TP ICAP’s global ‘connect’ diversity committee and looking to play an instrumental part in the set- up of the TP ICAP’s first Ethnic Minority and cultural Backgrounds  committee too. She is an Advisory Board member and Brand Ambassador for Dress for Success who work to empower and mentor women back into the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Parisa Namazi

Head of Talent
Cicero Group

Parisa was responsible for signing up Cicero Group to 30% club and women ahead mentoring scheme, and gave all female employees the opportunity to sign up to mentoring. Throughout the process she encouraged male allies, with approximately 35% of mentors being male. She led Cicero through joining Women in Finance Charter, and as a result of this, has held events on International Women’s Day to empower female employees, maintained a level of 50% female new hires,  led focused training sessions and has signed employees up to industry specific women’s networks. Elected in 2016, Parisa is one of 12 to sit on HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter Industry Board to represent SME and professional service signatory firms, and returns to her university to give talks on career progression and provide advice for those who have not been placed on a graduate scheme to consider other options and to be a role model for those looking to enter HR.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ashlesha Vaishampayan

Manager, Consultant Relations
Russell Investments

Ashlesha leads the Gender Equality Network for EMEA at Russell Investments, and is a member of the EMEA Diversity & Inclusion committee. She chaired and organised a panel event for International Women’s Day with 3 prominent industry speakers to educate and spread awareness of key issues. On top of this, she is organising a ‘Gender Equality Skills Based Training Week’ with multiple workshops/events, which will be taking place in September.  Outside of work, Ashlesha is a committee member of the Diversity Project, sitting on the ‘Gender Equality’ working committee. Mentoring up and coming talent is also important to Ashlesha – she mentors 3 women in the asset management industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Insights & Analytics
Edelman

Catherine has been with Edelman for 3.5 years, leading the growth of the Insights & Analytics practice in Canada, and is a member of the Toronto leadership team.  Catherine is also a member of the global steering committee of Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN), where she advises on and leads global initiatives designed to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm.  In 2017, Catherine led the development of new global and regional scorecards and KPIs to track corporate progress and insights towards Edelman’s goal of 50/50 representation of women in leadership positions.  In early 2018, Catherine developed a plan to create and launch a new global Instagram channel for Edelman GWEN. To support this launch, Catherine formed a global team of women community managers across different regions to develop content that helps highlight local GWEN activities, women leaders, and their champions.  Under Catherine’s leadership, the GWEN team has organized regular local office events, such as lean-in circles, to help create a culture where women can lead and succeed.  Catherine is passionate about her mentorship of women in the communications, marketing, and research communities, supporting them to successfully manage their career development.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Carolyn Porretta

Head of Portfolio Services
AIG Asset Management Europe

At AIG, Carolyn actively encourages a focus on Diversity & Inclusion. She has regularly helped organise sessions where senior leaders talk to employees about their careers and listen to feedback. Outside work, Carolyn is a volunteer mentor with The Girls’ Network, which aims to inspire and empower teenage girls from the least advantaged communities by connecting them with a network of positive female role models for mentoring. Carolyn is also a mentor with Women in Banking and Finance. In addition, she volunteers with the Junior League of London, a charity that aims to promote voluntary service, develop the potential of women and improve the community through effective action and leadership from trained volunteers. Carolyn is due to speak at the European Women in Finance conference in Amsterdam in November, and was recently invited to the House of Commons for the inaugural Game Changers senior female networking event.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ngaire Moyes

Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Brand Marketing
LinkedIn

Ngaire leads LinkedIn's EMEA employee resource group, Women at LinkedIn and helped drive initiatives for International Women's Day. She regularly hosts and takes part in internal panels and workshops on issues related to gender equality, including most recently a panel in Dublin with an audience of 140 people. Ngaire mentors a number of women inside and outside of LinkedIn, and has taken part in a scheme by the Inspiring Women Campaign where professional women visit schools and speed mentor girls. On LinkedIn, Ngaire writes on gender equality and women in the workplace, and has been interviewed for the ‘Human Experience’ podcast on gender equality and the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Niamh Carty

Senior Multinational Client Exeutive
AIG Europe

Niamh works in AIG’s Multinational department, and is a Committee member of GEM - Gender Equality Matters - a UK-based Employee Resource Group within AIG. GEM advocates a gender-balanced approach in the workplace both externally, through events and partnerships, and internally, through the support of AIG’s senior leadership. In 2018, Niamh  helped drive a clothes collection campaign at AIG in collaboration with the charity Smartworks, which offers training and career support services for unemployed women from deprived backgrounds. Niamh also mentors colleagues and peers in the industry, and in 2017, was named a ‘Rising Star in Insurance’ as part of the ‘WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards,’ which recognise emerging female talent across multiple sectors of industry. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Insurance, as well as a BA in International Insurance and Risk Management

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Amma Mensah

Founder & Executive Director
Beyond the Classroom

Through her work as founder and executive director of Beyond the Classroom (BTC), Amma provides leadership-skills, mentoring and work experience opportunities to girls as young as 11.  BTC’s Girlhood to Womanhood programme is unlocking a well-equipped pipeline of diverse talent, enriched by the resilience and determination forged through difficult life circumstances.  As a trustee of Business Launchpad (BLP), Amma supports thousands of young people launch and grow their own businesses, 85% of BLP clients are still trading after two years. Amma is also the youngest trustee of UnLtd, the UK's foundation for Social entrepreneurs, where she is responsible for a £100 million endowment.  Not content with activities in the UK, Amma has been commissioned to help steer the UK arm of the Senegal based Kemi Malaika  school and Foundation (KM). One of the key objectives behind KM is to create awareness among parents about the importance of educating young girls and to promote the role of women, as essential drivers of development through education.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Tiffany Poeppelman

Head of Sales Productivity, EMEA
LinkedIn

At LinkedIn, Tiffany blends her daily leadership of core business initiatives like the 2018 opening of a new company office in Berlin, with service as both a culture ambassador and mentor to young women across the enterprise. She has coached dozens of young women to pursue leadership positions in technology, tackling deep-rooted imbalances in the sector. Tiffany also served as a board member of Women at LinkedIn, an employee resource group focused on developing female leaders. Tiffany spends much of her time outside of work as a thought leader in the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, serving as a mentor to young professionals new to the field, and writing a quarterly column on the subject. She actively promotes diversity by participating in mentoring sessions and developing “personal branding” events. She also showcases her business leadership through outlets like: Training Industry Magazine; speaking on podcasts; and keynote talks at many events internationally. Most recently, she was a featured speaker at Vodafone’s International Women’s Week, and at the Ericsson Women network resource group.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Angela Lungati

Director of Community Engagement
Ushahidi

Angela Oduor Lungati is a technologist, community builder and an open source software advocate who is passionate about building and using appropriate technology tools to create impact in lives of marginalised groups. With over 7 years experience, she currently serves as Director of Community Engagement at Ushahidi, providing support and building programs for Ushahidi’s diverse global community of users and contributors.  At Ushahidi, Angela  serves as a mentor to several female colleagues, in her capacity as the Director of Community Engagement at Ushahidi, and has been part of a team that has developed progressive policies that allows for a flexible work-life balance of all employees. In April 2010, Angela co-founded AkiraChix, along with a group of friends working in the tech industry.  AkiraChix is a non-profit organisation that nurtures generations of women who use technology to develop innovations and solutions for Africa. AkiraChix provides technical training for young girls from low income areas, high school students and primary school children, with the goal of increasing technical capacity of women, and ultimately increasing the number of women working in the tech industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Jayashree Mitra

Head, Global Regulatory Portfolio Management, Information Technology & Operations
Standard Chartered Global Business Services Private Limited

Jayashree heads the Gender Diversity & Inclusion programme for Standard Chartered Bank Technology, India. She has led campus recruitments in women’s colleges across India, designing a programme to demonstrate that IT engineering roles can be interesting and fulfilling. She created a global programme promoting leadership for high potential women in the historically male- dominated field of IT Infrastructure. Jayashree also mentors junior women building networks and enabling to promote themselves positively. To recognise women doing amazing things in the field of technology, Jayashree launched a company newsletter featuring them, circulated globally and instituted awards for recognising Women talent and achievements. At Standard Chartered Jayashree has led the creation of parenting circles, and is working on in-house creches and family networks to support children while the mother is working.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Gemmell

Manager, Software
Amazon

Lauren plays a key role in the progression of women at Amazon. For the past four years, she’s led Amazon’s Women in Engineering Group at the Edinburgh Development Centre, an internal group which supports female engineers through mentoring, networking and identifying new career progression opportunities. Lauren is also mentor for Claire Doherty, one of the Amazon Women in Innovation Bursary participants, providing her with advice on how to pursue her career in tech. She regularly organises and speaks at diversity events, and her most recent panel discussion was broadcast to hundreds of employees across the UK for International Women’s Day. Lauren is the lead sponsor for Amazon’s Early Insights Scheme, a community outreach programme in Scotland designed to encourage more young girls to study STEM subjects. Overseeing strategic direction and finances for the programme, the Scheme helped build confidence in the technical skills of the participants, and encourage a career in technology through workshops, talks, social events and a ‘hackathon’ for 12 female early years students. Lauren has also hosted workshops for Women Who Code Edinburgh, a global non-profit inspiring women to excel in technology careers, and Scotland Women in Technology.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Susan Robson

Principal Consultant
National Grid

Since 2015 and in parallel with a full time role, Susan has been involved in the National Grid gender diversity employee resource group, becoming chair in 2016. She has the raised the profile of the gender diversity network internally through visibly aligning initiatives to the business strategy and creating a much more robust framework for the activities. Susan is committed to raising visibility of  National Grid’s gender diversity commitment externally and has presented at a Westminster Briefing, an Inclusive Employers conference and an UN Global Compact summit. Susan led National Grid’s sponsorship of a European Women in Energy Leadership Conference earlier this year in London, hosting the final panel session of the conference. Building on the success of the female Remarkable Role Model book, Susan co-led the production of a second volume to showcase role models across all minority groups at National Grid, demonstrating a broader commitment to equality. Maintaining close relationships with key partners including the Women’s Engineering Society and the POWERful women, Susan works to promote development partner opportunities to women in National Grid. This year, Susan is leading the design and delivery of a new programme to encourage men to become more active in the gender diversity debate and is mentoring two sixth formers as part of the Future Mentors programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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MaameYaa Akoto

Senior Associate
Allen & Overy LLP

MaameYaa is an active participant in the firm’s female development programme and is often sought as an informal mentor/role model to junior associates. She has undertaken various speaking engagements at schools and universities, discussing a career in law. MaameYaa regularly speaks at female universities in Saudi Arabia such as Dar El Hekma with the aim of inspiring female law students. She is also working with a number of Saudi government agencies to implement Saudi Arabia’s vision of increasing the amount of females in the work place. She also hosts career insight days at A&O for young black girls from a local school interested in a career as city lawyers and took part in a graduate recruitment event for prospective trainees discussing both the firm’s gender strategy and BAME initiatives. She spearheads the firm’s BAME initiatives and is a founding member of the BAME network.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Lucinda Wakefield

VP, Principal, Administration & Planning
BNY Mellon

Throughout Lucinda’s 3 year leadership of BNY Mellon’s largest business resource group, the Women’s Initiative Network, EMEA (WIN EMEA), she has been a visible and vocal advocate for diversity in the workplace. Lucinda has enabled 45 female employees to be mentored by external senior executives through the 30% Club Cross Company Mentoring Scheme. On International Women’s Day, Lucinda joined a panel at BNY Mellon’s Manchester offices and spoke about the important role we can all play in moving the needle around gender equality. She blogs to raise awareness about significant political milestones that have furthered gender equality and on the importance of men’s involvement in our gender equality mission. In January 2018, BNY Mellon gave Lucinda a Spotlight Award for developing talent by supporting ex-Military Interns who went on to secure permanent roles with BNY Mellon. Since being nominated, Lucinda has been promoted to Director, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, EMEA, BNY Mellon)

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Tynan

Manager EMEIA Restructuring
EY

At EY, Laura’s focus has been largely on cultivating female leadership. She serves as a mentor for a number of women in the firm including Lena Forster, winner of EY’s inaugural Corporate Finance Woman of the Year 2018 award, supporting her in navigating through difficult decisions. Aside from these individual efforts, Laura is the co-lead of EY’s ‘Gender Debate’ initiative, an important part of the firm’s effort to elevate the discussion around women’s issues. In this role, she organised and chaired EY’s inaugural ‘Profitability of Parity’ event, where gender parity was discussed as a critical business issue that impacts the long-term success of the firm. Outside of EY, Laura coaches a number of women, helping them navigate through career challenges, and build their confidence in order to overcome setbacks.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Holly Villiers

Managing Director, Head of UK, Ireland & Nordics Corporate Banking
MUFG

Holly is an active supporter, sponsor and role model of gender diversity at MUFG, and is a critical enabler to its success. She was a key player in driving the development and launch of MUFG’s EMEA Inclusion and Diversity strategy in 2015 and is a founding member of the EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee. She was influential in the establishment in MUFG’s employee network for gender-balance, which launched in 2016, She also took on a key role in leading in the development of the proposal and securing buy-in to the signing of the Women in Finance Charter in July 2017, the first public commitment for MUFG in the gender diversity space worldwide. Holly exemplifies the company culture being built through her mentorship of many employees, sharing her knowledge and expertise to enable and empower others to drive change, and mentoring other women throughout her career. Holly’s mentorship extends beyond her business role, as a volunteer with Working Chance, an award winning charity partner of MUFG committed to getting female ex-offenders back into employment This programme provides careers advice and interview practice to equip female ex-offenders with invaluable skills and to ultimately help them secure jobs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Payal Vasudeva

Human Capital & Diversity Executive Sponsor
Accenture

Payal is a managing director who sits on the Accenture United Kingdom & Ireland (UKI) Board with singular accountability for Inclusion & Diversity, and leads the Talent & Organisation UKI practice. Payal is the sponsor of a coordinated programme around the recruitment, development, progression and retention of female employees. In her capacity as a People Advocate, she has overseen the establishment of Accenture’s market-leading Shared Parental Leave provision, and is a key contributor to many of Accenture’s events aimed at promoting female progression, including the annual flagship International Women’s Day celebrations. Externally, Payal is a Trustee on the Board of East London Business Alliance and part of the Business in The Community (BITC) Gender Equality Leadership Team, with a focus on intersectionality and challenging gender norms. Payal has been recognised in prominent global diversity rankings, and is regularly invited to speak at conferences such as Critical Eye CEO Retreat, CBI, European Business Summit, STEM Gender Equality Congress as well as senior leadership forums on the topic of the future workforce and inclusion. She has founded a scholarship program in Mumbai for under-privileged girls, and is co-founding a ‘not for profit’ helping youth from disadvantaged backgrounds build life and leadership skills.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jill Gwaltney

Founder
Rauxa

In 1999 Jill launched Rauxa, which has grown to become the largest independent women-owned agency. She has maintained Rauxa’s culture of being “upside down” from the start with 70% of the leadership team being female. Jill has prioritized mentorship with an internal program to lift younger women and increase their chances of visibility within the industry. She also supports industry mentorship programs including that of longtime client with Verizon AdFellows. She is outspoken in the industry, penning a call to action for Campaign U.S. to champion women in the workplace. RauxaGives is Jill and Rauxa’s give-back program aimed at giving back to its communities. They partner with local non-profits to give time and money. She hosts a quarterly "RauxaGives Day of Service” where organized activities are set up in each major office for employees to participate in – from beach clean ups, to toy drives, painting classrooms or making signs for marathon runners. They also created a “Build Your Brand” workshop that aims to help youth understand how to build and own their brand (professionally and socially) as it relates to who they are, what they stand for and what they want to accomplish.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kerry Sinclair

VP of IT Enterprise Application Delivery (Global)
Sage Group PLC

Kerry Sinclair leads a team of technology specialists at Sage – one of the UK’s largest technology companies. She is mindful that a career in technology development and delivery hasn’t historically been a favoured career choice of women.  To help address the challenge of gender diversity in her field, Kerry is involved in a number of Sage, industry and educational programmes. Kerry helped build a leadership programme to support high potential females in technology, a yearlong programme that focuses on women in STEM. She speaks at industry events such as the North East Chamber of Commerce and has worked with local schools and in order to change mind-sets amongst young women considering their career options. At Sage Kerry coaches women through the Women@Sage programme, designed to support talented females through their careers. She also works across various programmes including: return to work, diversity training, unconscious bias awareness and much more.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Laura Meyer

Chief Information Officer
HarperCollins Publishers

As HarperCollins UK’s CIO, Laura oversees the company’s technology division, and has oversight for Distribution and Production, which includes the company’s distribution centre in Glasgow. She believes passionately in redressing the existing gender imbalance by championing women in technology and emphasising the message that women can enjoy enormously interesting and rewarding careers in the sector. Laura sits on HCUK’s Executive Committee and regularly interviews colleagues at all levels up to and including CEO as a leadership resource for HarperCollins intranet training hub, speaking at and sharing best practise at trade and technology events and conferences. She also sits on the employee led diversity and inclusivity council where she supports and helps promote progressive initiatives across the business. Mentoring is a key passion of Laura’s and something she has been actively involved in for over fifteen years. As well as mentoring female employees within HarperCollins she has acted as an external mentor for two mentoring organisations, SWIMM and WING. WING is a cross-industry organisation that helps mentor women in the workplace, which she co-founded whilst at Time Warner, and now includes businesses such as Oracle, Condé Nast, MVF Global, News UK, and of course HCUK.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kimberley Hunt

VP Commercial Excellence EMEA & Americas
GSK

Having herself benefitted from the support and mentorship of colleagues in developing a highly successful career in the fields of Sales and STEM, where women have traditionally been underrepresented, Kimberley has been keen to pay this forward to the next generation of up-and-coming women. In particular, she is a strong advocate of mentoring, having mentored approximately 50 people over the course of her career, the majority of whom have been women. In addition to being a mentor herself, Kimberley has also encouraged others to do the same, by becoming a sponsor of GSK’s mentoring programme in the US. Externally, Kimberley sponsored the partnership with the LEAD Network (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity), which has a mission to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development. Kimberley prioritised investment from her operating budget to support the enterprise partnership with LEAD, ensuring GSK were one of the early ‘Gold’ sponsors of the network. Most recently, Kimberley has also supported LEAD by producing an ‘Inspirational Journeys’ video, which showcases her own success story and was circulated to LEAD’s 2,700 members, as well as being available to all to view on their website.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Noiana Marigo

Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

At all opportunities Noiana endeavours to act as a role model for diverse lawyers and women in the firm. As US partner for gender diversity, she guides women lawyers in their careers, works for smarter workplace policies, and thinks more broadly about the firm’s strategy to increasing gender diversity at senior levels. Additionally, she has served as a mentor on the US Women’s Mentoring program and has been asked to act as a partner, as well as acting as sponsor on the firm’s Global Sponsorship Program, a bespoke 12-month talent development programme for high potential mid-level/senior women associates. Externally, Noiana helped establish, and sits on the steering committee of, Equal Representation in Arbitration, a group of professionals committed to improving the profile and representation of women in arbitration, particularly in the tribunals themselves. This initiative has gathered over 3000 signatories worldwide, including law firms, corporations, arbitral institutions and arbitration practitioners, all of whom are committed to achieving gender balance in international arbitration.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Merelina Monk

Parter Student Property Team
Knight Frank

Merelina is an active member of the Women in Real Estate Organisation. She runs focus groups and speaks at regular internal panels and debates to tell her story in Knight Frank, but also to enable Women to speak to her as a role model. She specifically runs the graduate scheme, with a focus on providing women entering the profession with support and direct guidance. She runs the commercial graduate scheme at Knight Frank, liaising with circa 50 graduates this year and assisting with interviews, mocks and APC preparations. This also includes the recent innovation of starting a pioneering internship scheme for the first time in Knight Frank’s history. Merelina regularly mentors interns and graduates personally, and takes a hands on approach to advising and nourishing the next generation of real estate professionals. She has already supported 90 graduates from interview stage through to APC. She is a Registered APC councillor and this year became an official RICS trained APC assessor. She has also been part of a panel event at the Hotels and Alternative Conference, speaking confidently and knowledgeably on the student sector with her peers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicci Take

CEO
m|62 vincis

At her firm, Nicci’s vision statement is "Making D&I Win!" with a special lean towards gender diversity. They look for clients that have a good D&I attitude and support them in favour of their less diverse competitors. Specifically they have declined to work for organisations where the board or management team is All Straight White Male. Vincis is 75% Female. They have two recently returned to work mothers and have adapted contracts and practices designed to make this easy. They are also supporting 3 apprenticeships, where 2/3 are females and they are currently paying for and supporting one young lady to complete her bachelor’s degree on day release. Externally, Nicci presents about D&I and in particular gender diversity. One of her standup shows, “Prey", is about raising awareness of Domestic and sexual abuse of women and children. She supports a national trans charity, and has recently been appointed as the Head of Diversity for "Wings" which is one of the largest International Scout camps taking place every 4 years, the next is in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner, Goldman Assessment Management - Fundamental Equity Business
Goldman Sachs

Katie spends many hours mentoring the women within her own group and across the Firm. She strongly encourages the women she mentors to take a seat at the proverbial table, to be transparent about their own ambitions, and to invest in both knowledge and networking. In the group she leads, more than half the assets are run by women portfolio managers, and she makes efforts to formally and informally connect women to one another, and to other influential leaders in the industry. Additionally, she has conducted various research efforts at the firm that focus on women’s roles in the global economy. One of her studies helped create the first global financing facility dedicated to women, conducted in partnership with the International Finance Corporation. Outside of the firm, Katie is very dedicated to building the industry-wide pipeline of female talent, through investing in the programs and resources to encourage female undergraduates to pursue careers in finance and investing. She is actively involved in the “Girls Who Invest” program both through Goldman Sachs and her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Runa Alam

Co-founder and CEO
Development Partners International

Within DPI itself, Runa prides herself in promoting equality across every level of the business. Three of the six current company partners are women, putting DPI well ahead of the industry average. This diversity is apparent across all levels of the firm – over 40% of the firm are women and she actively supports DPI’s staff in their professional development through mentoring. DPI invests in the emerging middle class in Africa, where women are increasingly influential, looking after investments based in 27 countries. Externally, Runa played a role in the establishment of AVCA, the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, where she was chairperson and remains an active director. She is also the Chair of the AVCA Sustainability Committee, a Board and Africa Council Member of EMPEA and a steering committee member of PEWIN, the pre-eminent organisation for senior women leaders in private equity, where she has been instrumental at driving the organisation’s growth and regularly host and contribute to events aimed to promote and support women in private equity. In 2016, she was invited onto the board of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rakhi Kumar

Senior Managing Director- Head of ESG Investing & Asset Stewardship
State Street Global Advisors

Rakhi has been a key speaker at the firm's Professional Women's Network (PWN) events in various geographic locations. She met with female employees in Boston, Tokyo and London offices in formal and informal settings to discuss her personal challenges in managing work-life balance, particularly as a mother. She is trying to highlight the need for more awareness on the role of organizational, team and societal culture in facilitating gender diversity. She is pushing for more accountability at the individual manager level and greater exploration of team culture to better understand which practices are helping or hindering achieving gender diversity at all levels. Additionally, Rakhi helped develop and implement the engagement and voting guidelines behind SSGA’s Fearless Girl campaign that calls on companies that have no women on their boards to enhance gender diversity within their organization. Through her association with the Fearless Girl, she serves as both a spokesperson and role model in the industry on matters related to gender diversity. In honor of International Woman’s Day, she addressed the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, and called on companies to disclose gender data across their entire businesses to build more diverse leadership pipelines for the future.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Douthwaite

Managing Director
Santander Business

Sue has made much progress in establishing a culture which embraces gender balance in the workplace, striving for gender parity in the leadership team and always working hard to seek out talent. She co-founded the Santander Women in Business network to inspire, educate and recognise women across the bank and it now has nearly 3,000 members. She also mentors 8 women internally. Given her extensive network of external contacts, Sue has organised trade missions; launched business education programmes; and given female business leaders access to high profile business women who can help them transform their business. She has also worked with partners including Cause 4, Blooming Founders, Enterprising Women, Forward Ladies, Prelude and PRECIOUS. She has also sponsored and spoken at events and awards that celebrate female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Biola Alabi

CEO
Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment

At Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment, from the beginning they committed to economically empowering women. The company is has over 75% female staff and the leadership is all women. Externally, Biola is the founder of Grooming for Greatness, a foundation committed to the development of future leaders . The organization makes a concerted effort to select 70% women for each cohort. Every week on her TV show, she interviews, showcases and highlights female entrepreneurs. She is also a regular speaker at Female leadership events across Nigeria : Wimbiz, WeConnect, iWOW, Ladies in Business. Biola is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a Yale Greenberg World Fellow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Liao

Senior Partner & Managing Director
The Boston Consulting Group

As the leader of BCG in Greater China, Carol is responsible for four offices and over 500 staff members. In the past three years, 11 women have been elected partners in China—one-third of their partner group in the region. Through investment in recruiting, women comprise more than 50% of the entry-level cohorts in the region. Carol leads a cross-functional committee dedicated to providing career support to women, including programs focused on sponsorship for mid-level and senior women and flexible working arrangements. Externally, she is involved in a number of organizations that promote women in business, including the Mu Lan Club, an organization of female entrepreneurs sponsored by China Entrepreneur magazine. The group comes together to discuss topics impacting women in business. In 2017, she attended Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Conference in Hong Kong, and has spoken on gender-equality issues at the Women of Our Time conference, sponsored by the South China Morning Post. In addition, she co-authored the BCG research paper Creating the Diverse Organization: How to Thrive in a Complex World (April 2016), in which they advocated that a diverse workforce is imperative for meeting the demands of diverse customers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Finnegan

Head of HR EMEA
LinkedIn

Over the last two years, as she met with candidates, talked to hiring managers, and shared experiences with fellow HR professionals, Lisa became increasingly focussed on the problems preventing potential talent from reaching the stage of making an application. As a result of lengthy discussions, she started looking at ‘returnship’ models that have emerged elsewhere, but saw the chance to go further. LinkedIn’s programme, ReturnIn, would be real, full time jobs, not work experience. It would have a unique recruitment process, additional help with onboarding, family friendly features and specialist help, and mentoring from people who understand the circumstances. Last November at the All Hands event, at which CEO Jeff Weiner was present, they officially launched LinkedIn’s ReturnIn programme. Lisa also speaks regularly internally and externally on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, including hosting CWIT (Connecting Women in Tech) events and International Women's Day at LI.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ebru Pakcan

Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, EMEA
Citi

Following her appointment as head of TTS, Ebru also joined Citi’s executive committee (ExCo) for the region. She is one of four women out of 22 members to sit on the board. In January 2017, Ebru also joined the Board of Directors of Citibank Europe Plc. She is heavily involved in the talent development and diversity agenda, and actively promotes and supports development of female diversity and inclusion as a senior leader through mentorship and coaching. She is a regular speaker at Citi run ‘women in leadership’ events throughout the region, speaking to audiences comprising of both senior women as well as junior talent. She is also currently working with senior colleagues globally, to create a formal women’s network specifically designed for the TTS business. Externally, Ebru has been invited to speak at a number of industry events championing women in the workplace, including the Women in Treasury conference sponsored by Treasury Today, keynote speech at Financial News FN100 dinner as well as participating and speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 2017 ‘Momentum’ program. Ebru has encouraged a number of her senior management team to participate in this particular program over the past years as mentors themselves.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bukola Adisa

Managing Director, Head of Risk and Controls Framework, Design & Execution
Barclays

At each of the places she has worked, Bukola has actively championed the progression of women by ensuring that women are aware and are prepared for opportunities that exist. She sponsors the careers of several junior women within Barclays and has done the same at other banks she has worked at. She is an executive sponsor for the EMBRACE multicultural network and through this work, she speaks and acts as a champion at several inclusion events. At a previous bank, she helped design an accelerator program that saw junior women undergo training that will move them from the branch network to corporate roles in head office. She also dedicates several hours a month mentoring and advising women across Barclays. Externally, Bukola is a very vocal advocate for women progression in the workplace. She actively mentors numerous high potential women across all industry sectors. Through her work with her non-profit enterprise which was set up in 2015 to enable the career progression of women and ethnic minorities, she has been able to positively impact and inspire countless women, several of whom have gone on to change roles, negotiate better pay and outcomes and secure promotions as a result of her guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mazuin Zin

Managing Director
Edelman

Mazuin in a career spanning two decades has built an industry reputation of playing a business transformation leader. Having led three successive business turnarounds for Malaysia’s leading international Marketing Communication Groups in Edelman, MullenLowe and Leo Burnett, she brings with her the tenacity and rigor required to influence the business trajectory. An avid proponent of ‘playing a meaningful role in the Clients’ business journey’, Mazuin today is one of the very few women business leaders in Malaysia who continue to invest in nurturing and building a startup based corporate culture that shines light on young talent. A natural mentor at heart, she continues to take immense pride in creating entrepreneurial abilities across workforce, as she continues to steer Malaysia’s leading Reputation Management Consultancy with over 70% women as part of the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Helene Silverman

SVP, Client Relations
Lightspeed Research

Helene believes that supporting women’s professional development and advancement is crucial to the success of an organization, and relies on fundamentals of role models, mentors, connections and support. She has made addressing these fundamental needs a central part of her career, and was a founding member of the Women’s Mentor Program at Information Resources. This group established mentorship best practices, identified mentor pairings, and provided ongoing support to mentees through one-on-one sessions, group workshops and inspirational yet practical guest speakers. She brought this experience with her to future employers and continues to play a role in formal mentor programs. At Lightspeed, she is currently a mentor in the LEAP program, which pairs influential senior women with high potential women in other parts of the company. She is currently developing a program to bring one-on-one mentorship to a broad group of employees, to go beyond existing invitation-based mentoring. She is often sought out as a mentor and coach, particularly in the areas of communication, employee engagement, and difficult conversations, and has developed mentoring relationships both internally and externally.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stacey Hawes

President, Data Practice
Epsilon

Stacey is an executive co-chair of Epsilon’s first ever Women in Leadership initiative, which she helped establish in 2017. The initiative is now available to female associates in 25 offices including Toronto and Bangalore. A champion for female representation and leadership, Stacey makes it a priority to reach a hand back and help pull other female leaders forward after not having a mentor to lean on herself. A working mother of two children, she understands the importance of women in the workplace and promotes a culture that fosters confidence, inclusion and positive outcomes for women. She regularly mentors “up and coming” female associates each year from across the business. In her local community, Stacey is actively involved in supporting Leadership Ascent, a Denver not-for-profit that helps to support women in leadership. The program provides education to women in leadership roles in business that focus largely on emotional intelligence, how women and men approach business differently and how to “reach a hand” back to help other women as they progress in their careers. Stacey also serves on the Board of Directors for a local not-for-profit called Denver Urban Scholars, and is an active speaker and thought leader in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Abi Wright

Managing Director and Co-founder
SpaBreaks.com

Abi has taken Spabreaks.com from a two person business in 2008 to 80 members of staff today (the majority of which are women), with a strong focus on ensuring that all employees feel appreciated and have the chance to progress in their career. She recently opened a second call centre in Brighton to encourage more women to be able to be able to return to work. This shows in the company's near perfect 4.8 score on Glassdoor. Abi has won numerous awards since launching Spabreaks.com 11 years ago including the European Business Award for Leading Woman in Business for Inclusivity and Diversification, the First Women in Travel and Leisure Award in June 2017, and she won the Natwest and Everywoman Female Entrepreneur of the Year in November 2017. Abi works with a number of women within her industry to improve opportunities for women and to help improve women’s work opportunities, as well as their confidence, health and wellbeing.  She has also recently joined the board of the CEW. She pioneered Recovery Retreats for people with cancer in 2008, working alongside other leading women in the spa industry has broken down prejudicial barriers against cancer patients and other individuals in spas.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farah Foustok

CEO- Gulf
Lazard Asset Management

As CEO of LAM’s business in the Middle East, Farah internally connected Lazard asset management (LAM) to the 30% Club in the UK, US, Australia & Singapore to launch diversity initiatives. Subsequently, LAM hosted the 30% Club US mentoring program in 2016, and Farah has actively mentored women at LAM in US, UK, Australia, China and Middle East. She recommended an amendment to the LAM HR handbook in Middle East to enhance maternity leave, in line with global standards, and has enrolled all female staff and senior male directors in a regional mentoring program (Reach). Externally, Farah co-founded Reach, which has mentored over 300 professional women in the UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia since launch in 2013. She also co-founded the 30% Club GCC in 2015 and currently chairs steering committee, with over 150 member firms.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emma McGuigan

Group Technology Officer, Communications, Media & Technology at Accenture
Accenture

Emma has spent many years championing women in Accenture from running early stage networks 15 years ago to sponsoring global attainment programs today. With a focus on retention, progression and recruitment in her former role, she increased the percentage of women at every level, exceeding the global targets. She pioneered Accenture’s outreach work with Stemettes, a program which started with 14 school girls in London in July 2014 and today reaches >4,000 girls in over 8 countries annually. Externally, Emma sits on the advisory board of Digital Leaders, CBI Innovation Council, and is Treasurer of Orchid Project. She recently stepped down from board of techUK as the sponsor for diversity. She is a regular speaker and panellist pushing the agenda for women in business, from keynote at the GSMA Women4Tech Summit at MWC Barcelona 2018 to speaking at local schools. She is also on the Women in Business board for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, is a Godmother Stemette and acts as a judge for several UK women in business awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lea Paterson

Executive Director Human Resources
Bank of England

Lea has been a long-standing sponsor, mentor and champion of female colleagues in the workplace. In her current executive role she has initiated a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at further embedding the Bank’s inclusive culture. This includes launching the Bank’s first pilot sponsorship programme for diverse talent. She co-chaired the Bank’s gender network for 3 years, and led a professionalization of the network – expanding its membership, influence, effectiveness and impact. Achievements included the establishment of a parents’ network, a strengthened training offering for managers of maternity leavers/returners, and the establishment of an ‘Allies’ pillar to facilitate the inclusion of male colleagues in the push for greater gender diversity. She has also been involved in social media campaigns, via the Bank's channels, to champion women in the Bank and celebrate international women's day. Additionally, she has had numerous mentoring and sponsorship relationships with female colleagues over the years. Externally, Lea maintains a number of informal mentoring relationships, and regularly attends roundtable discussions on how to support gender progression.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann has led many initiatives that improve the lives of women and girls at Mastercard. These include the creation of GiveMe5, Mastercard’s umbrella programme for all gender diversity initiatives, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal Number 5, the empowerment and enablement of women and girls. She has driven initiatives to ensure a balanced pipeline of future women leaders is in place, focusing on entry-level recruitment, and ensuring balanced candidate slates at entry level in every country. She is the main sponsor of Mastercard’s returnship programme, which helps employees return to mid-senior level management positions after an extended career break. Externally, Ann has led partnerships around the world with UN Women to advocate for and develop digital identities for women. She has led the creation of partnerships between Mastercard and organisations including the Vietnamese Women Union and the China Women’s Development Foundation. She also created the global networking initiative Leave a Legacy, a coming together of senior women executives from around the world to create a community designed to promote and create legacy initiatives for the next generation of women leaders. Additionally, she regularly speaks at global organisations dedicated to closing the gender gap and promoting empowerment of women.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah Baker

Group Director for People
Sky

As a Director in HR, Deborah’s team is responsible for several initiatives that fall within the Women in Leadership (WiL) programme. Activities have included upskilling programmes for high potential women, introducing gender-balanced shortlists for all job vacancies, and implementing inclusion training. She is also building Sky’s reputation as a leading employer for women through targeted recruitment events and media coverage. As a result of the Women in Leadership programme, Sky announced that nearly 40% of their senior leaders are now female, up from 31% since the launch of the initiative 2 and a half years ago. Their aim is to move this to half by 2020. Externally, Deborah has been involved in speaking platforms such as The Women in Media Awards and also in press articles talking about what they are doing at Sky in the gender diversity space and to create a more inclusive culture, and how other organisations can learn from this, for example in ‘HR magazine’.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Wendy Warham

VP Hybrid Infrastructure Services and Networks & Telecoms, EMEIA, DTS
Fujitsu Services

As the UK Executive sponsor for Women in Business, Wendy has a clear strategy with measurable goals to ensure women can succeed in Fujitsu. She has been key to driving the gender pay gap actions, which included getting an external audit to address any issues. She mentors women internally, and externally, to help them find confidence and realise their ambitions. She championed a new way of writing role descriptions so that they could eliminate male orientated language and encourage more women applicants, which resulted in an increase in the number of females who applied and who were appointed to senior roles. She has also been hosting the Fujitsu Women in Technology event for Fujitsu customers where they bring the latest thinking and insight to the senior customer base. Externally, she has been re-elected to sit on the techUK council and has been leading a work package promoting a Returners programme which can be accessed via the techUK portal. She also wrote a blog for International Women’s day which was published on the techUK portal called Press for Progress. She has been collaborating with customers and partners to share the latest thinking on how women can succeed.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanna Ludlam

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Joanna co-leads the London office’s gender initiative, Baker Women, which aims to ensure that there are no barriers to career progression for women at the firm. They have introduced agile working, mentoring circles, maternity coaching for leavers and returners, sponsorship programmes for high performers and reviews of data to understand when and why women leave the firm. She has also introduced a programme of female client networking events and are active supporters of HeforShe. Externally, Joanna is actively involved in the King’s College London Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and participated in its launch event panel with Chair, Julia Gillard. She mentors King’s College London female law students, and speaks regularly at industry events on the subject of gender equality and the challenges faced by the legal profession. Joanna is one of GIR’s 100 Women in Investigations, and is listed in the Who’s Who for Investigations 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Warson

Head of Citi Private Bank North America
Citi

Since 2015, Tracey has been the Co-Chair of Citi Women, a global effort designed to empower and promote women at Citi. In this role, she has had the privilege of receiving feedback from women across the globe and escalating appropriately, one important example, Citi signing the UK Women in Finance Charter. In partnership across Citi, Tracey has driven multiple initiatives in support of women, such examples include Pay Equity, Girls’ Education, and increased female representation across Citi. Earlier this year, Tracey made the business case at the United Nation Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum that sourcing from women owned businesses is important globally and promoted for the UN/Citi created guide which emphasizes The Power of Procurement. Leading by example, female representation on her Leadership Team is at 40%, and taking into account other diversities, ethnic and LGBTQ, the team is 60% diverse. With this diversity of thought and experience, her business has achieved double-digit growth YoY since 2014. By understanding this business imperative, Tracey has led trainings for her staff to communicate, educate, and help women align their investment objectives with their life goals. Under her leadership, Citi Private Bank will soon be launching a gender lens investment offering to clients.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead Nayager

Chief Human Resources Officer
Diageo

Mairead has ensured Diageo has a holistic plan in place which will result in the business achieving a senior leadership team which is 40% female by 2025 and has committed to ensuring that 50% of hires to Diageo’s global graduate programme are women. She has worked to galvanise each Managing Director of Diageo’s 21 markets to establish a diversity and inclusion plan that meets these targets as well as locally relevant goals to ensure the business reflects local consumers. Through her ownership of succession planning to the most senior roles in the company, as well as partnering with the CEO and Presidents on hiring decisions, she has supported the promotion and acquisition of women into a significant number of critical roles. Externally, Mairead is a vocal advocate of Diversity and Inclusion in business – most recently writing an opinion piece for City AM on the subject. She has put her support behind key campaigns championing women in business, and diversity and inclusion more generally, including the 30% Club, Free the Bid and Open for Business.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elizabeth Raffle

Head of Finance, Legal & Strategy Community
Lloyds Banking Group

Elizabeth leads a cultural change programme with targets including 40% female leaders by 2020. It upskills colleagues to value diversity and inclusion and be aware of unconscious bias. She runs an Inclusion & Diversity working group, a women’s leadership programme, and contributes to the Group’s women’s network, Breakthrough. She mentors female colleagues and role models best practice. She speaks at internal and external events, and hosts visits from organisations to promote the benefits of an empowering, inclusive culture. Externally, Elizabeth has spoken at conferences such as PwC’s Finance Leaders’ Summit, its Women in Finance Network, and Deloitte’s Shared Service Forum, about the value in empowering, inclusive working practices, and is participating in a panel discussion on gender pay. She talks to girls at schools, supports with work placements, and has won an award for work with local charities.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicole Lonsdale

Chief Planning Officer
Kinetic

Nicole believes empowering her colleagues is critical to success, so she ran a companywide workshop for all female staff and male managers that openly addressed the unique challenges women face in the workplace – from not speaking up in meetings and going for promotions, to the importance of supporting other women and creating a work/life balance that actually works. She was then invited into other companies she works with to present the session to their teams. She also worked with her team to promote International Women’s Day, involving inspirational speakers inside and outside the business promoting their successes and the importance of creating a personal brand. Externally, in 2017, Nicole started work creating a Diversity and Inclusion network – Balance - across Out of Home advertising to drive more balanced representation in all companies. She has signed 10 businesses up to Balance, who are now actively involved and making real change happen. The network is open to everyone who works in Out of Home advertising and provides information, training and advice to inspire women and BAME employees to stay in the sector longer while attracting new diverse talent.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Diane Sullivan

Partner, Litigation Department
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Diane knows first-hand how transformative the mentoring experience can be, and in turn has worked hard to promote and mentor young women lawyers. She has demonstrated how they can excel as jury trial lawyers in “bet the company” cases and helped talented litigators develop the strengths and skills to be top trial attorneys. Also, as a member of Weil’s Management Committee, she advocates for women at the highest levels of leadership and has helped address firm wide issues, including the retention and advancement of women attorneys. Externally, she has been an active supporter of organizations such as Coastal Volunteers in Medicine and Womanspace, which offer critical support for women and families in need. She was also proud this year to work on a pro bono matter in the interests of academic freedom, securing asylum in the U.S. for a female Syrian professor who was fired and tortured for speaking out against the Assad regime and for aiding victims of the conflict in Syria.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Hussey

Partner, Head of Business Development
Arthur Cox

In 2008, Rachel founded the Women in the Firm initiative within Arthur Cox. This involved bringing the women partners together to formulate a strategy to empower women in the firm. The initiative included training for women partners and associates on a range of subjects including Mastering the Unwritten Rules of Work and Developing a Personal Brand, as well organising talks and presentations by external speakers on key issues. Arthur Cox was the first Irish law firm to introduce maternity coaching. For the past five years, the firm has hosted a lunch event for 200 women clients on International Women's Day. Rachel also played a key role in bringing the Catalyst programme, Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) to the firm which was attended by partners over two days in Dublin in September 2017.  Externally, Rachel is currently the Deputy Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, and co-heads the club’s Professional Services Firms’ Group. She is a regular speaker in various fora on women in the workplace - she has recently chaired an event for the Irish Society for European Law and has been invited to give the key note address at the Society of Young Solicitors' conference in November.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Carroll

Managing Director, Corporate Banking
MUFG

Sarah is a driving force behind Balance, MUFG’s gender diversity network, which she co-chairs with a male colleague. Since its launch, her leadership has seen the group go from strength to strength, with a balanced membership base of both men and women who regularly interact with its campaigns and initiatives, plus the launch of several Network chapters across MUFG’s EMEA region. Her ability to engage male champions in gender agenda has not only contributed to a sea-change in company culture, but has also been a catalyst to organisational change, with MUFG making its first public gender diversity declaration in 2017 when it signed the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter. This saw several internal changes to policy and practice to support the progression of gender diversity at the firm. This also saw MUFG listed as a finalist in the 2017 Women in Banking & Finance Awards for Team of the Year. As a mentor to a number of women at MUFG and other organisations, Sarah utilises her extensive network to assist women seeking new roles, particularly post-redundancy. Sarah has also been involved in a programme, which saw her visit sixth form female students to promote the finance sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Raquel Florez

Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Raquel regularly takes opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, including speaking on panels for the Global Sponsorship Programme, a bespoke 12-month talent development programme for high potential mid-level/senior women associates, and featuring in the firm’s internal campaign for International Women’s Day which profiled 27 women across 5 regions sharing their #pressforprogress statements. As part of the “Stronger Together” network, she encouraged partner firms to promote diversity, and tries to influence decisions on speakers. Externally, Raquel is an active member of the Women Partners Forum in Spain, which aims to promote gender diversity in law firm partnerships. She hosts events for external attendees, including men, covering topics such as how best to support talent pipelines, flexible working arrangements and modernising perceptions of legal institutions. She is an active member of a Senior-Women group for members to the International Bar Association, and organises a now traditional group lunch at the IBA’s global conference.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lauren Kisser

Director, AWS S3
Amazon

Lauren is Director for Amazon Web Services S3 based at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cambridge, U.K. She is the executive sponsor of the Diversity Working Group at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cambridge, which aims to create and foster a diverse workplace. Under Lauren’s leadership the Diversity Working Group focuses on: building the recruiting pipeline to get more women into key positions; fostering internal knowledge and skill building; and inspiring young women to get into the STEM field. She has been named 100 Women to Watch in 2018 and was awarded the 2017 everywoman in Retail Ambassador of the Year awards for her dedication to addressing the gender gap in retail and technology. Lauren has led outreach efforts to inspire girls to continue studying STEM subjects at school by inviting them to Amazon’s drone lab in Cambridge and regularly visited schools as a Prime Air STEM and AWS Cloud Computing Ambassador. She is also a STEM Ambassador for Connect Education and Business since October 2016, where she is a role model and mentor to women and mothers looking to return to work. She often speaks at events to inspire women to embark on a career in technology.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cristina Ferreira

Head of Regulatory Solutions and Innovation
State Street

As a member of State Street’s EMEA diversity council, Cristina is in charge of developing and driving initiatives that affect gender diversity at State Street, in Luxembourg specifically. To raise awareness and engagement, several breakfast sessions have been held with female managers to understand their career aspirations, as well as the challenges and opportunities when developing more diverse teams. In addition, as part of State Street’s ‘Speak up / Listen Up’ initiative, which aims to support and create an open and inclusive culture, Cristina facilitated training sessions to Assistant Vice Presidents and above, providing them with tools and strategies to improve communication and dialogue within their teams. She has also been an active member of the Luxembourg chapter of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network (PWN) for several years, and became its Chair in 2017. Externally, Cristina takes part in a number of speaking opportunities, including panels at the German Women’s Network “Fondsfrauen” regional meeting, and the Swedish-Nordic Chamber of Commerce conference. She is also a member of the “Gender Diversity Lobby”, which is a group of companies in Luxembourg driving change and creating an environment attractive to female talent to further economic competiveness and social progress.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leigh Ayer

Human Resources Director
Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK & Ireland

Leigh is the Chair of the UK/Ireland diversity team and founded a ‘Mum & Tots’ group, allowing women and men to bring babies into the office when on leave. She launched Enterprise’s first women’s networking group ‘Enterprising Women’ and developed an award-winning ‘Diversity Scorecard’ – a company-wide benchmarking tool. She also created the internal gender diversity magazine ‘DRIVE’ and Twitter page to engage leaders/customers/universities and profile successful women in the business. Additionally, she helped sponsor #inpursuit, an Enterprising Women’s annual customer event focusing on diversity and inclusion, attracting 100+ customers. Externally, Leigh was appointed to the BITC Leadership Team for Gender Diversity, championed BITC’s #EqualLives research, and is a regular speaker at conferences, in HR press, and at events on gender diversity, recently speaking on inclusion at DEFRA. She is a sponsor of the Women of the Future and Asian Women of Achievement Awards, and championed the BITC Race At Work Survey 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicky Bullard

Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM-Meteorite

Nicky has introduced ‘FlexyForty’ at her agency, MRM-Meteorite, in order to retain and invest in a talented female workforce. Through this, employees need to be in the office for their core hours [10-4] but can work the rest around them. Freeing mums up to drop-off or pick up their kids up, without guilt or raised eyebrows. She has also given two young female creatives the opportunity to work on every new business pitch this year. There are only three female Creative Directors in Ireland, so on International Women's day Nicky took a day off work and flew to Dublin to speak about what it's like to be a female creative leader. Externally, she is a regular speaker on the importance of diversity. At Eurobest, she gave a personal account of her journey and how not to let the buggers get you down. At the WACL Gather conference, she did a talk entitled 'I am not Sheryl Sandberg' to 250 young women. She is on the Creative Equals Advisory Board and the Women for Women International marketing board; the charity that helps women affected by the horrors of war start their own businesses and thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather Melville

Head of Financial Inclusion, Corporate & Private Banking
Royal Bank of Scotland

Heather founded and led the RBS women’s internal network for over 12 years, and has now assumed an advisory role to ensure the strategy of the network supports the delivery of RBS gender targets. She mentors a number of women across the different franchises, and engages front line staff around the gender & ethnicity agenda. She organised and sponsored the 2017/2018 Women in trade , WINTRADE conference for 200 plus global female entrepreneurs representing RBS/Natwest. Externally, Heather is the Chair & Trustee of CMI Women, which has a membership of 16,000 members. She is also an NED for Enterprise Enfield, and is involved in an initiative which is focused on coaching & mentoring 80 young black girls in supporting their aspirations. She was invited to speak at the UN Spring summit in Washington, on behalf of the World Bank, IMF, UN & Global Banking Alliance, in the presence of HRH Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. She has also been invited to participate in a round table of Dutch Bankers to share best practise around the WIB proposition for Female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanna Santinon

Partner
EY

Joanna has been partner sponsor for EY Women's Network for eight years, doubling its membership in that time and extending its reach to all offices. The network runs a variety of learning and development events to help women be the best version of themselves, alongside events that showcase inspirational role models. The network has created a best in class International Women’s Day Celebration and awards programme where they presented 22 awards across the UK last year. She also takes part in mentoring and sponsorship of up and coming female talent both formally and informally. Under the banner of the Women’s Network Joanna runs a full external programme with events for different groups. They have a market leading group for women on boards of FTSE companies to discuss current business topics. Separately she has brought together a group of female entrepreneurs providing a forum for them to learn from each other. She has been a member of the 30% club steering committee for 7 years, and was instrumental in creating the cross company mentoring scheme and running the pilot at EY. She currently mentor two female entrepreneurs in the early stages of their start up journey.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

Chief Executive
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded the social enterprise Gaia Innovation to inspire young people from less affluent backgrounds to aim higher and to equip themselves with the skills to escape the poverty trap of low skilled insecure employment. She employs women through spotting their potential and their transferable skills rather than relying on evidence of past performance or specific job experience, and trains and encourages them to believe in themselves and their abilities. She achieves a high level of productivity and employee engagement in the business through flexible and agile working, and her team are women returners with caring responsibilities who are trusted to fit their work around these responsibilities and deliver high quality output. Gaia Innovation runs the Inspiration for Innovation programme that is free of charge to state schools and funded by employers, universities or altruistic donors. Within the programme, they facilitate meaningful interactions between female students and employers in male dominated sectors such as automotive, engineering and technology in order to raise the students' awareness of all the opportunities available to them. Externally, Julia is also an adviser to The 5% Club, a steering committee member of the 30% Club, and founder of the UK Automotive 30% Club.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sigga Sigurdardottir

Chief Customer and Innovation Officer
Santander

Sigga has passionately tied the innovation agenda of the bank to the diversity and inclusion ambitions, linking innovation and business results to a more diverse workforce. She is UK Executive Sponsor for the Global Santander D&I Council and, having completed Santander UK's unconscious bias training, over 50 of her immediate team have also completed the workshop. Her role on the global diversity and inclusion steering committee sees her influence and challenge her peers and the wider leadership teams on raising awareness of all diversity challenges, including gender parity at senior levels. Beyond Sigga's contribution at steering committees, she regularly identifies opportunities and leads best practice for Santander UK. Externally, she has championed mentoring circles, regional events, round table discussions and outreach to other organisations to create a culture of learning and best practice sharing. Sigga's drive to address diverse and female talent within workplaces is not restrictive to just Santander UK, and she also champions diversity at industry events and sits on the Business in the Community Race Equality Board. She regularly attends external speaker events/talks/discussion, and as a speaker, about diversity in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

Managing Director
Jomas Associates Ltd

Roni is an Engineering & Environmental Geologist, working for clients in the Construction Industry. She is hugely passionate about diversity and inclusion, and speaks regularly within her company, and the institution boards/committees that she is part of, on the importance of not making preconceived adverse decisions against candidates based on their gender. She empowers women to believe in themselves and to go for opportunities that they would normally feel insecure to go for. In her previous employment as Associate Director of a major UK Engineering Company, her team comprised a good mix of men and women. In her own business, she has a diverse team who are recruited based on their technical abilities. Externally, Roni has both initiated, and partakes in, initiatives empowering women and mothers. She is part of FSBWomen taskforce, helping to raise profile and support women in business across the UK. She is a volunteer for the YMCA, working to get young women who have lost hope, back on track. She is also part of the Women in Engineering society, helping to raise profile of engineering and construction as a suitable career for women. Additionally, Roni is a regular speaker, coach and mentor.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Miriam Gonzalez

Partner, Co-chair of the International Trade and Government Regulation practice
Dechert LLP

Within Dechert, Miriam has championed the Global Women’s Initiative, which provides opportunities for development, advancement and leadership for women within the firm. She works on the Sponsorship and Sustained Support (SASS) programme, which helps senior female associates navigate the path to partnership. Participants receive individual and small-group support, skill-appropriate training, individualized attention from Dechert partners, access to consultants and advisors, and networking opportunities with other programme participants and Dechert partners. She is also a Local Women Liaison, a network of women located in Dechert offices in the United States, Europe and Asia who host welcome receptions for new women associates and organize business and legal community events, including networking events for International Women’s Day. Externally, Miriam founded and currently chairs Inspiring Girls International, a charity that helps girls build self-confidence. Together with Melanie Hall QC, a barrister with Monckton Chambers, Miriam also co-founded the Lawyers’ Circle, a 100-strong association of female lawyers who channel their legal skills, networks and resources to furthering women’s rights. She is a prominent thought leader and forthright speaker, regularly exploring gender equality and related issues in the world’s print and broadcast media, including the Telegraph and the Guardian, GQ magazine, and BBC Radio 4.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Simone Roche

CEO
Events 1st Ltd

During her role at People 1st, Simone led and grew the Women 1st campaign to increase women in senior positions in the hospitality industry by creating a community and support framework delivering an annual conference, awards and establishing an active and organic mentoring platform reaching over 300 relationships. In 2015 she created Northern Power Women (NPW) to accelerate gender equality from the North of England by recognising, celebrating and showcasing role models. NPW engages all genders across the Northern Powerhouse including the launch of a reverse mentoring pilot and a monthly, live recorded podcast and annual awards. Simone has recently created Northern Power Futures to discuss the future of the world of work, designed by the generation of future leaders. She has also been working with leading business schools to incorporate a student engagement programme to help students connect with business, gain exposure to the NPW community, and access mentoring opportunities. Externally, Simone is licensee for TEDxWhitehallWomen, sits on the advisory board for World Merit, the Gender Network and is a committee member for the Women of the World Festival. She is a regular judge at diversity awards, and often speaks in the media on the importance of gender balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

EMEA CEO
Wunderman

Over the past year, Mel has strengthened Wunderman’s reputation across EMEA as a leading global digital agency. With the courage and commitment to lead 4,500 people towards the future, Mel has spent much of her time focusing on creating a strong culture and building diverse leadership teams within Wunderman. Responsible for 72 offices across 23 markets, Mel recognises the importance of recruiting great talent and then empowering people to do the best work of their careers. Throughout her own career, she has developed industry-leading, future-ready programmes for both clients and staff. For Wunderman, she helped develop ‘Pass It On’ a global initiative designed to provide women with a structured programme to enhance leadership skills, including 1:1 mentoring and direct access to senior executives throughout WPP. Mel is regularly named as one of the most influential people helping to shape the world of digital. She features in some of the most respected awards line-ups, including Campaign’s A List, The Drum’s Digerati and BIMA 100. Most recently, Mel was named one of Ad Age’s European Women To Watch, as well as earning a spot on the Steering Committee for Gender Parity for the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bijna Dasani

Head of Group Architecture, Strategy and Innovation
Lloyds Banking Group

Since completing her Masters thesis exploring the gender gap at c-suite within the UK Financial Services sector, Bijna has advocated exercises to help establish ‘new ways of working’ and to re-skill staff, and female colleagues in particular, so they are equipped for jobs of the future. One example was the development of a Data Science Lab, which she championed internally in 2016. She invested in video content, seminars and training to develop existing female staff within the division, and to attract other women into STEM roles internally. Bijna also mentors women internally, and through LBG is a Mentor to the CEO of a global RegTech. Externally, Bijna serves on advisory Boards for CIO Net, CDO (Chief Data Officer) Exchange Series and the Inclusive Companies Network. Through her various roles, she advocates for equal opportunities for women in the workplace. She is also a presenter for the Women in Business (WIB) TV show and has appeared on Disruptive TV, where she discussed key statistics, research on women in the workplace and associated topics. She has also been mentoring for Women in Technology in London for three years and has filmed a series of leadership videos for their new mentoring-on-the-go app, ‘Cajigo’.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Pinch

Managing Director
Pinch Point Communications

This year, Sarah has appointed a female Non Executive to her company, to advise on growth plans - but also to underpin the company's commitment to diversity. In May she launched Pinch Point’s inaugural conference - Spring Forward - aimed at women who want to run the show and are looking for inspiration in their careers and lives. She continues to mentor a number of women, including cementing her relationship with Anne-Marie Lacey, from Filament PR, by becoming the first NED for Filament PR. She was also appointed Chair of the Taylor Bennett Foundation in 2017, and is the youngest board member to be appointed to HSE. Externally, Sarah has been a volunteer with One Million Mentors, and mentored a young women who has now, with her support, taken the leap to move city and industry. Sarah continues to dedicate a lot of time to mentoring and coaching young women in PR, including assisting with a complaint of sexual harassment. As a past President of the CIPR she still speaks out on issues of diversity and unequal treatment of women; recently chairing debates and discussions, and talking at conferences and events.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer DeSilva

President
Berlin Cameron

Jennifer has long recognised the need for equal opportunity, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. She launched Girl Brands Do It Better (GBDIB), a Berlin Cameron division, to empower female entrepreneurs through connections and creativity. GBDIB touts Chromat, The Other Festival and Kidfund amongst its impressive roster. In addition to GBDIB, Jen instituted “Side Hustle Days”, where employees are allowed one additional PTO day per month to work on their passion projects. Once a quarter, the agency discusses potential collaborations, and some staffers’ brands have even made their way to GBDIB. While many leaders shy away from “vulnerability”, Jennifer spearheaded industry-shifting research this year on workplace standards and found that 96% of respondents feel that they learn more from a leader who shows vulnerability than from one who doesn’t. She is a frequent thought leader, appearing on stage at the Women’s Convention, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and more, as well as in print in outlets like The Huffington Post and Adweek. Jennifer sits on the boards of advisors for the National Kidney Foundation and global leadership development initiative Girl Up. Through Girl Up, she’s been able to directly encourage young girls to take action and empower each other.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Revell

Deputy Chair and General Counsel EMEA
BNY Mellon

Susan is an Executive Sponsor of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiatives Network (WIN) EMEA, and has played a critical role in furthering the WIN mission of ‘advancing female potential’, acting as a bridge between WIN and senior leadership. She regularly participates in internal panels and writes internal blogs to share her passion for this subject, as well as motivating aspiring women and emerging leaders. Most recently, she was the executive delegate at an employee forum on ‘Gender equality and culture’, where she tackled important questions around the gender pay gap approach and broader inclusivity. Susan has also leveraged her network to set up the Senior Women’s breakfast group. Acting as an informal think tank, the group use collective experiences, connections and leadership skills to support the advancement of female leaders and drive corporate diversity strategies. She has led the creation of the EMEA Legal Department’s Legal Citizenship network which consists of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), Community and Pro Bono streams, and championed a “Male Allies” programme, to raise awareness of the important role we can all play in furthering gender equality efforts. Externally, Susan is an advocate and participant of mentoring programmes that support diversity, including the 30% club mentoring programmes.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Groves

Founder & Owner
Intelligent Ethics

Tracey established and led the PwC Gender Balance Network UK & sat on the PwC UK Leadership Council for Talent & Diversity, as a former PwC Partner. This involved overseeing the development and delivery of a 2-day leadership development module on unconscious bias as well as sponsoring a number of D&I initiatives. At PwC she was an active sponsor of Women & Girls in Cricket, the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2016, Women in Compliance, Women on Boards and The Enjoyable Life Series 2017. Tracey has been a regular mentor and coach to professional services women looking to develop their careers in the City, both internally at PwC and externally. Tracey is a Board Member of City Women Network (CWN) and an Advisory Board Member for Gender Networks (WeAreTheCity). A prevalent speaker on diversity in the workplace, she has delivered a TEDx Talk as part of WhitehallWomen in 2015, and has been interviewed in trade journals and the press on diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Fox

CEO
LIDA

As global executive sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion Victoria leads the drive for equality and inclusion across the group. At a global level they have defined a vision and mission to challenge the status quo, inspire the global board and give different perspectives. They published their gender pay gap figures in April 2018, after Victoria pushed for greater visibility and accountability. She has been spearheading a programme in the UK to improve the results, involving mentoring, coaching, pulling out future female leaders and investing in them. Externally, Victoria is on Executive Team for WACL (Women in Advertising London) and will this year be chairing the Future Leaders Awards which offers bursaries to over 30 women in the industry to further themselves and boost their chances of reaching leadership positions in next 5 years. For past 3 years she has been on the committee organising WACL Gather, a training event for 500 women in the communications industry, the next generation of women leaders. She also sits on the WACL partner committee, working with 10 organisations that are affiliated with WACL. As a committee they offer support, advice and community to these groups so they can collectively drive towards equality. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Head of Financial Markets Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan Sales
Standard Chartered Bank

Souad is currently with Standard Chartered Bank in the UAE and manages a team of approx. 120 people. She is very passionate about identifying, nurturing and promoting female talent especially in the Financial Markets business which historically had a low female front office representation. Souad is a member of the Standard Chartered MENAP Diversity & Inclusion Council and has been instrumental in introducing new processes aiming to attract more females into the Bank. Under her leadership, 75% of the 2017 and 2018 Financial Markets UAE graduate hires were female. Throughout her career, Souad has mentored many women from different divisions and countries. She also takes time to provide guidance to male colleagues who ask for advice on various aspects of diversity. She is a regular speaker at universities and conferences. She was also a panellist at the first ever Arab-German Women Leaders Forum in Berlin. Souad holds a Master from the University Paris Dauphine and a Master from the Frankfurt University with specialisation in Financial Engineering. Souad is originally from Algeria and speaks five languages (Arabic, German, English, French, Italian). She is married with two young children. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Estelle Brachlianoff

Chief Operating Officer
Veolia

Veolia is now entering a new phase, and to lead it, Estelle has been chosen as part of the new generation of leaders who have a deep knowledge of Veolia's businesses, its culture and its people. Since application Estelle has moved to Paris to be part Global team (the only female). Estelle leaves behind a vast legacy to champion women which will continued. Her highlights have included hosting the 2018 Women in Leadership programme in UK and Ireland, a Veolia initiative that takes place over a nine-month period, designed to help bolster high-potential, current and future women leaders within the business. She also worked with Employer Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei) to develop a proposed ‘Inclusion Strategy’ for 2018-20 and build a priorities action plan. Estelle believes in building and retaining a diverse workforce that is resilient, innovative and inclusive. She is committed to women in STEM and has partnered with the Government to help encourage more female students into STEM. She has always internally championed younger women, employing 300 apprentices, and works to upskill the future workforce. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO
M&S Bank

Sue understands that unconscious bias - both in recruitment and management - is still a challenge in many industries. As such, she believes in having strong female role models and mentors, and relevant training, which has included sponsoring female leaders to attend 'Women on Board' training, supporting their leadership development. M&S Bank have an equal 50:50 gender split at the most senior management level, with 65% of other managerial roles held by women, and the lowest gender pay gap in the industry (2%). They have also done a lot to break down taboos, like talking openly about fertility struggles and enabling new parents to bring their baby in to work to attend events/roadshows, making it easier for them to stay connected and feel less isolated. Sue has also implemented a D&I committee - covering five strands, including Gender, Ability & Well-being, LGBT, BAME and Faith. Externally, she is an advocate of mentoring and firmly believes that empowered women really do empower women and that you can learn a huge amount from the experience of others. She also regularly gives her time to speak on the importance of inclusion at both national and regional events and in the media.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hannah Grove

Chief Marketing Officer
State Street

Hannah is a founder of Leading Women, a group established nine years ago comprising State Street’s female executive vice presidents. Their mission is to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization with the proviso that they pay it forward to junior colleagues. Additionally, she is a global advisory board member of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network, the company’s largest employee resource group. As a member of State Street’s Management Committee, its most senior policy making and strategy group, she has advanced new multi-year gender diversity goals with the objective of making the company best in class in terms of diversity. Externally, Hannah served as a board member, and ultimately president, of the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and children in Boston. While there she established a library and resource centre for guests to access job skill and career support. She is a decade long supporter of the Massachusetts Conference for Women, and speaks regularly at events to share career advice and advocate for more women in the industry. As a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, she reads in public schools to encourage young women to enter STEM track careers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sara Luder

Partner
Slaughter & May

Sara is head of Slaughter and May’s Tax Practice.  She was one of the founding partners of the firm’s Women’s Network and continues to champion the network’s activities as one of their supporting partners. Since organising the firm’s first International Women’s Day event, Sara has sponsored a number of high-profile events including inspirational talks from the likes of Deborah Frances-White, Laura Bates and Annie Lennox. She has also supported the introduction of speed networking events, which aim to provide women trainee lawyers with access to a diverse range of female role models. She is passionate about progressing women throughout the talent pipeline, and is a sponsor of the firm’s Female Leadership Development programme, now celebrating its fifth anniversary. Sara is a visible role model has mentored a significant number of women lawyers and other employees, both formally and informally. Externally, she is a member of several organisations that aim to further gender equality, including the 30% Club, through which she mentors high-potential women as part of their cross-company mentoring scheme. Sara has also supported The Lawyer’s Circle, a network of female lawyers from across the UK, in addition to organising a number of women in tax events.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Purchas

Partner, Head of People
KPMG

As KPMG’s Head of People, Anna has put Inclusion and Diversity at the heart of their People strategy. Her action plan focusses on many activities to champion women in the workplace, most recently involving developing and setting equality targets, developing a firm-wide narrative about levelling the playing field, and designing content for an inclusive behaviour session for the Executive Committee. She champions multiple parental and return to work programmes, and hosts a range of internal events, from firm-wide discussions on gender pay gap, to smaller focused events for specific groups such as Women in Consulting or the Future Leader Technology Programme, our work experience programme for Women in Technology. Externally, Anna meets regularly with clients and other businesses to debate how best to further women in business, and share best practice. Most recently she lead a discussion with senior head hunters and recruiters on this topic. She often visits schools to talk to girls about the opportunities to them, particularly in STEM, and sits on the Learning and Professional Development Board for the ICAEW.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Rademaker

Executive Vice President, Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

As an executive woman leading a global technical function at Mastercard, Jennifer is responsible for the end-to-end technical implementation of Mastercard’s products and services worldwide.  She is an active advocate for advancing women globally.  Upon joining Mastercard in 2007, she established an internal European Women’s Leadership Network to drive career advancement for European women. Reaching women in 18 offices across Europe, she led a programme of events to educate and empower women.  Now located in the United States, she focuses her efforts on developing and empowering the technical women in her organisation. She established a global “Women in Delivery” group, to provide coaching to technical women to help them succeed in largely male-dominated environments, and to build a support network. Outside of Mastercard, Jennifer serves as a mentor for the 30% Club, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross in Greater New York, where her work includes mentoring a high potential American Red Cross female employee. She also represents Mastercard externally as an advocate for women, speaking at the 2018 Women in the World event in New York and Chatham House forums on gender and economic growth.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon McCooey

Head of LinkedIn Ireland
LinkedIn

Sharon has always strived to recruit diverse teams, with her current team at Linkedin in Dublin being 50/50 male/female balanced. She mentors up to 20 people at any one time, men and women, and encourages diversity by supporting both men and women succeed equally. She also advocates and sponsors women as part of the internal promotions process, as a result of sitting on the European and global leadership teams, to ensure they are not only recruiting but promoting women. External to her role, Sharon is also the executive sponsor and external spokesperson for a Linkedin initiative to recruit people who are relaunching their careers after taking time out to care for children or parents. It is a pilot program in Ireland in 2018, with hopes of a global launch later. As part of the external launch campaign she is encouraging other companies to look at this untapped and talented talent pool. She has also worked to change the board composition of the American chamber of commerce from 2 females and 10 males to 6 female and 6 male, while improving all the chamber operating and strategic objectives.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Kimmel

President and CEO
Edelman

Lisa has sat on the Steering Committee for Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN) since its inception, and took on the role of chair in 2017. GWEN champions programs and policies to help Edelman reach its global target of 50/50 gender parity at the most senior ranks by 2020. GWEN was conceived to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm, and to create an environment where women are encouraged to lead and succeed. When GWEN began in 2011, women represented 33 percent of the company’s most senior leaders of the firm. As of April 2018, this number has climbed to 47 percent. Externally, Lisa devotes a significant amount of time to engage in speaking and editorial opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, on subjects ranging from the importance of diversity on boards, to boosting self-confidence. Recent engagements include participation in a #MeToo debate at Women’s Forum Canada and a panel discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace organised by the Canadian Club, the most preeminent business forum in the country. She continues to support future leaders through mentorship programs with various women’s organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer, Aviva Plc
Aviva

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s company strategy. She was key to Aviva’s new group-wide parental leave policy, launched last year, offering equal parental leave to men and women regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how an individual becomes a parent. Since the launch, she has been vocal on the benefits when speaking to the press, peers and Aviva partners. She encouraged Mark Wilson, Group CEO, to sign up to the Executive Committee commitment outlined by the 30% Club. She also advocated publishing their Gender Pay Gap Reporting early, and sponsors the Aviva Balance Community, regularly talking at events and holding ‘listening lunches ‘ with members in all the different markets. A regular voice on the topic, she has recently spoken to senior leaders at Changeboard, Vote 100, and SAID Business School, as well as at Sheffield Academy through Speakers for Schools. She is a member of HRH Women Network Forum, the 30% Club global steering committee, and regularly holds breakfast meetings to encourage CEOs to sign up to the 30% Club commitment. Additionally, Sarah champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards, and the Asian Women of the Future awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Friedman

Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Astellas Pharma US

As part of the globalisation of Legal, Linda became the first global General Counsel and first women to sit on the Executive Committee. Linda launched the WLN (Women’s Legal Network) to bring women in Legal and IP together focusing on education, networking, mentoring and resources to address work life balance. WLN is the first global women’s network in the company, and was officially launched on March 8th to coincide with International Women’s Day. The launch included a program where influential women in Japan, Chicago and London presented their own inspirational stories. She has also developed and Co-Chairs the first network in Japan for senior women to come together. Externally, Linda is a mentor with WOMN LLC, and is a member of the Healthcare Business Women’s Association, both with the aim of furthering the advancement of women in business. She also regularly participates on GC and Leadership Panels at the American Conference Institute Annual Women in Life Sciences Conference. In April 2018, Linda was selected as Pepper Hamilton LLP’s 2018 Champion of Diversity, recognising her work in promoting diversity in the legal profession.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Luzio

Founder and CEO
Luminary

Prior to founding her own company in 2018, Cate spent the last sixteen years in financial services leading various efforts around women internally and externally. She led the internal employee women’s group at both HSBC (North America) and JPMorgan (EMEA) respectively and spearheaded the development of the Women’s MD Forums at both. Cate has been an Advisory Board member of her organisation's respective D&I committees representing women for the last 10 years, building and launching the HSBC - Girls Inc. National Mentoring Program. Given her global role, Cate had the opportunity to lead panels, sessions and events around the world with female, and male, employees focused on gender diversity and parity. She was regularly asked to champion women's initiatives and act as spokesperson for HSBC. Externally, Cate is an executive sponsor of the Women in Finance Mentoring Program for the University of Maryland as well as Adele’s Circle of Women. She is a member of the American Banker Young Women’s Leadership Award Advisory Board and has spoken at numerous events and organizations globally in support of women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Patricia Bindi

Head of Commercial Banking Argentina
HSBC

Patricia is executive sponsor of “Balance”, HSBC’s employee resource group dedicated to support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. She has been involved in several activities to empower women, focusing on the importance of building relationships for career development, and looking for mentors and sponsors. Balance organize monthly networking walks, as a new way to expand personal networks and strengthen ties. For the last International Women’s Day, Balance organized a workshop for HSBC talented women, where Patricia held a panel with Inés Bertón and Gabriela Arias Uriburu, with the aim to sharing thoughts and experiences to inspire women. In addition to Balance sponsorship, she hosts roundtable discussions with female employees across the Commercial Banking area, to encourage and support their professional development, providing them with greater internal and external exposure to accelerate their careers. Outside the workplace, Patricia attends women’s roundtables and workshops organized by the Argentine Institute of Financial Executives, sharing HSBC’s diversity and inclusion work, and encouraging others to take action. This year, Patricia was also sponsor of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality (Argentina), to raise awareness of the pivotal role the private sector can play in advancing gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Managing Director of IT
BT

Rachel designed, delivered and now sponsors BT TechWomen, which in its 3rd year is delivering a year-long development programme for 385 women across BT. This is different to similar gender focussed initiatives, in that is both a network and a development programme for talented women in under-represented roles across our business. Development topics include personal brand, courageous speaking and purposeful teams, leading change in self and others, building confidence and impact, and politics and networking. By vocalising the issues facing women in technology and demonstrating the impact that targeted investment can have, it has influenced BT’s broader Diversity and Inclusion agenda and transformed the careers of 635 women in our business. Externally, Rachel actively shares the design and learnings from TechWomen with partners and corporate customers through our NextGen CIO events in order to spark and generate momentum to address the technology gender gap. She has recently supported events at the BBC, CMI and Imperial College London celebrating women in business and promoting her approach. She has also visited schools to promote STEM careers and recently launched the 2018 Step into STEM programme mentoring young girls in Sixth Form colleges across London.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

EVP for Global Marketing
Unilever

As Executive Vice President for Global Marketing, championing gender equality in the workplace and advertising is a top priority for Aline. In the last two years, she has been responsible for leading Unilever’s gender balance efforts, aiming to increase female representation in management. On International Women’s Day, Unilever launched the ‘Unstereotype-Changing Mindsets’ programme that aims to remove the limiting power of stereotypes and unconscious bias in the workplace. Aline works with external organisations including INSEAD and Harvard to study the market for the most progressive ways of working to incorporate into Unilever’s policies. Recognising the power of partnerships to accelerate progress, Aline led an initiative with United Nations Women to unite industry leaders to tackle the widespread prevalence of stereotypes in the advertising industry. In 2017, 24 global companies including Facebook, Google and Diageo, came together to make Unstereotype a reality cross-sector and to create impact at scale. She also plays an active role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focussing on driving gender balance in UK corporates. Aline is a mentor with The Mentoring Foundation on its FTSE Next Generation Women’s Leaders Programme which helps companies develop their talent pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Siobhan Moriarty

General Counsel
Diageo

Siobhan is one of two executive committee sponsors for Diageo’s Diversity and Inclusion goals, responsible for ensuring the business achieves its aim to have more than 35% of female senior leaders by 2020 and 40% by 2025. To achieve these goals she has worked with her co-executive sponsor and market teams to establish multi-year talent plans with built in gender diversity actions and milestones. She is also executive sponsor and an active member of the employee-led ‘Spirited Women’s’ network which aims to celebrate everyone’s individuality and exchange ideas. Externally, Siobhan has been a part of the Speakers for Schools organisation for 5 years. She gives talks to pupils who are at the point of identifying potential careers, and focuses on inflection points that drive career choices, women in the law and opportunities for women in business. She has also spoken at a number of law events on gender equality in the legal industry, including to the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel and, most recently, at the London Irish Lawyers Association. Siobhan also co-hosted Diageo Singapore and the Singaporean chapter of ‘Lean In’ at their “#PressForProgress” International Women’s Day event.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Pips Bunce

Director / Head of Global Markets Core Engineering Strategic Programs
Credit Suisse

Pips is a key proponent for many of Credit Suisse’s gender focused initiatives and regularly promotes the importance of intersectionality. This spans the LGBT & Ally Program, which she co-leads, the European Women’s Network and the IT Women’s Council where she is a ‘Champion of Women in IT’, designed to promote the changes needed to build the pipeline of female and non-binary talent in the workplace by being a visible ambassador. Externally, Pips regularly speaks at external high profile gender network  events to promote the importance of gender equality & parity. She uses these as a platform to promote the good work being done and to articulate why such initiatives are so key, what good looks like and how firms can improve their support for a more diverse gender workforce where there is the parity, equal representation and equality across all 3 genders. Recent events include Women of the Square Mile Diversity Conference, the ‘Sit With Me’ campaign from the National Centre for Women & Information Technology coalition, and the Diversity In Technology conference – other examples include presenting to the Lords in the Houses of Parliament on topics such as non-binary/gender fluidity and changes sought to the Gender Recognition Act.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maggie Stilwell

Dispute Services Partner, EY (previously Managing Partner for Talent until June 2018)
EY

In her role as Managing Partner for Talent, Maggie has championed gender and other diversity at EY. She has given her sponsorship and personal presence not just to the EY Women’s Network, but to many diverse Network events. She has built a strong intersectional viewpoint – and an appreciation that women have different ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientation, faith and mental health issues. She led EY’s early disclosures under Gender Pay Gap legislation, effecting additional voluntary disclosures on ethnicity and partner remuneration. She has also been persistent in driving up the numbers of women to the profession and to EY, a top ten UK employer in size, both in terms of transforming the student recruitment process and championing the Women Returners Campaign. She is a mentor to many women. Maggie is a regular speaker at conferences and in the last year one of EY’s top 3 most quoted spokespeople. She also blogs and speaks openly about being a flexible working champion. In her client work within the Forensic & Integrity services team, she is a recognised accountancy and finance expert, being listed in the Who’s Who for her specialism.  Maggie was recently ranked in the Accountancy Age Top 5 Women in Finance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsay Pattinson

Chief Transformation Officer, WPP and GroupM
WPP

Concerned by the lack of senior female peers, Lindsay launched a global gender strategy in GroupM, beginning with “Mind the Gap”, an initiative reviewing external barriers to women; pay, flexible working and parenting policies. She then launched Walk the Talk, a global programme aimed at helping senior women identify and overcome any internal barriers. They saw amazing results: accelerated promotions, heightened confidence and ambition, and a powerful women’s network across the agency globally. This success led to change at scale and it is now a global initiative at WPP level. She is now focused on ensuring that women are (at least) shortlisted for all senior roles at WPP, and she personally mentors women of all levels across the WPP network. Externally, Lindsay is an active member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications London) serving 5 years on the ExCo and a term as President. Our purpose is to accelerate gender equality in communications and marketing. Alongside programs to accelerate gender equality, they provide inspiration to aspiring female talent via Gather, the annual conference, and quarterly mentoring sessions. She regularly appears on public platforms to champion the importance of gender equality, and writes extensively on the subject.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emma Codd

Managing Partner for Talent
Deloitte

Emma’s activities internally focus on changing the culture of the workplace, the gender pay gap, increasing the number of female partners and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all. Since being appointed to the UK Executive Committee, she has driven significant change within the firm on gender parity. During her tenure, senior female appointments, promotions and retention rates have all increased, and the most recent engagement survey showed women as 2% more engaged than their male counterparts. She also launched the industry-leading ‘Return To Work’ internship programme which to date has enabled 37 women to re-enter the workplace after a career break. Emma is a vocal advocate of gender pay gap reporting; she led Deloitte’s approach to voluntarily reporting its gender pay gap in 2015, and championed the firm’s involvement in the GEO ‘Trailblazing Transparency’ report in 2016. She also acts as a formal and informal mentor and sponsor to many women, both within and outside the firm. Externally, Emma is a regular speaker at events around gender diversity, the gender pay gap, and social mobility. She is a member of the Patron Group for Access Accountancy and also sits on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership committee.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Denise Gibson

Partner
Allen & Overy

Denise is the partner champion for "A&O Women Making their Mark", a training programme designed to engage with women earlier in their career around gender issues and building a successful career. She is also part of a focus group to refresh the firm’s recently launched gender strategy. Additionally, she is a speaker on various internal panels and a mentor to a number of female associates across the business. Externally, Denise has participated in a number of diversity ‘think tank’ sessions with investment banks, and hosts an annual networking event for female investment bankers at Goldman Sachs to encourage women to build networks early in their careers. She is a committee member for the 2018 inaugural Gala Dinner for Womankind Worldwide and a member of London Women's Forum, a network for senior female leaders in London’s Financial Services. She is ranked as a top lawyer for finance in Chambers, and this year was awarded Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Business Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Laura Barrowman

Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer
Credit Suisse

Laura is not only a technologist, she is a trailblazer in promoting and empowering women in IT. As the global sponsor of Credit Suisse’s IT Women’s Council (ITWC), Laura works with colleagues around the globe to attract and retain female tech talent and fuel the pipeline for the future. Programs and initiatives within ITWC are intended to increase promotability of deserving female staff, impart career skills, and more fundamentally, bring together diverse voices to create a real community and powerful social network for women at Credit Suisse. Recently, Laura’s efforts have led to a change in job descriptions to remove gender-specific language or biases, and to promote programs that help women progress. Externally, Laura is a big proponent of STEM education for girls – and advocates on its behalf whenever and wherever possible. Earlier this year, she met with members of the UK government to discuss STEM education for young girls, and was asked to participate in a panel event at EPFL in Lausanne with other STEM advocates and business leaders. Laura is also the Credit Suisse Champion for Million Women Mentors – which strives to build the global number of volunteers and mentors driving girls toward future STEM ambitions and careers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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HyonJoo Park

Executive Vice President
Standard Chartered Bank Korea

As a Chairperson of Diversity and Inclusion Committee of Standard Chartered Bank Korea and now a member of Global D&I Council, HyonJoo has promoted Advancing Women’s Leadership by influencing Korea HR, Executive Committee and CEO to offer a variety of advancement programs and policies. These include Women Development & Leadership, Unconscious Bias Training for line managers, succession planning of key positions, and an on-site Day Care Centre at head office. She launched a Parents & Caregivers Network to support work life balance of working parents, and hosted #BeBoldForChange, #PressForProgress and #HeForShe Gender Equality Forums. Externally, HyonJoo has served as a Steering Committee Member of Korea Network of Women in Finance since 2014, and has driven various industry wide women initiatives including hosting local forums and International Women Conference with influential speakers. The Conference served as a breakthrough occasion for Korea to change gender perception and learn from advancing institutions like Standard Chartered. Beyond her industry, with the support of SCBK Women Network, HyonJoo launched SoongEui Girls’ Highschool mentoring program and has arranged several corporate tours and career coaching sessions, with the aim of instilling social and economic skills in less privileged teenage girls.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Operating Executive
Apax Partners

Recently appointed as Operating Executive at APAX, Tanuja advises Apax portfolio CEOs and teams on accelerating business and organisation performance. She leads the Human Capital Practice for Apax and is responsible for putting in place the methodologies to develop and retain the best management talent across the portfolio. Tanuja is also a Non Exec Director at Proximus Group, and was CEO UK & IR for Schneider Electric. Tanuja is a champion of women in business and founded PowerWomen Network in 2015, a network of and for senior women leaders committed to advancing women in leadership roles and developing the next generation of female talent. The network operates as a non-profit, hosting quarterly events with leading business and academic leaders to share perspectives on themes such as Digital Transformation, Strategy + Culture, Innovation and Risk, among others. In addition, Tanuja is a supporter of a strategic philanthropy foundation, Dasra focused on supporting vulnerable adolescent girls 10-19 and eradicating child marriage. Tanuja is frequently called on to speak on Diversity & Inclusion at conferences, for senior management teams, and in the press, and has published blogs on social media and in We are the City. She was also ranked #23 in FT & HERoes 2017.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Chin

Director, Baby & EU Programmes
Amazon

Jacqui launched and leads Amazon’s UK Women@ employee affinity group, providing thousands of employees with resources and activities to develop skills, manage their career and expand their network.  She leads teams of Women@ employee volunteers to create and deliver initiatives that support gender diversity in recruitment, policy, community and learning and development. She advocated for and steered delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines, which are today in place across five EU countries.  Jacqui initiated and led growth of Amazon’s UK mentoring schemes, including Peer-to-Peer Groups and One-to-One Mentoring.  She steers other employee teams of Women@ volunteers working on a range of initiatives including paternity leave, return to work support and female recruitment candidate support.  Externally, Jacqui has mentored female residents of the Centrepoint charity, to help women in making the steps from living on the street to independent working and living in their own home.  As head of Women@, Jacqui speaks and encourages members to speak regularly at external events such as Women in Silicon Roundabout. She also provides support to Amazon’s Cambridge development centre Diversity affinity group, who amongst other initiatives have established a program for schoolchildren to visit, engage and be inspired about learning and working in STEM. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

Group Chief Executive Officer
Bank of Ireland Group

Francesca joined Bank of Ireland as Group Chief Executive in October 2017. Since joining the Group, Francesca has articulated the ambition to make Bank of Ireland the National Champion bank in Ireland. Francesca joined HSBC as a graduate in 1997, rising through the ranks to become one of the youngest Group General Managers in 2014. In HSBC, Francesca worked in investment banking, private banking, retail banking and wealth management in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Before leaving HSBC, Francesca was Regional Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, UK and Europe. In this role Francesca led the largest retail network in the HSBC group, was a member of the UK and European leadership teams as well as a member of the Global Retail Banking and Wealth Management team. Francesca is a member of the PRA Practitioner Panel and sits on the board of IBEC, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. She has previously served on the Board of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), where she was Deputy Chair and on the Board of the National Centre for Universities and Business in the UK. In 2017 she was awarded an OBE for services to banking.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Harriet Green

CEO & Chairman, IBM Asia Pacific
IBM

Harriet is a key executive sponsor of Women@IBM, IBM’s own 90,000-strong social community for women. The community directs women to the training, resources and materials they need to progress their careers, and creates a network of women who can share tips, insights and support. Within one month of starting work in Asia Pacific Harriet championed the “Advancing Women’s Leadership” initiative in India to improve diversity and inclusion. The programme continued in India throughout June, with Harriet reaching over 6,000 Indian employees through a series of speeches, fireside chats and roundtables addressing inclusion and innovation. Harriet pioneered an inclusive suite of events in Singapore around International Women’s Day, under the theme #pressforprogress. Over 300 people, including men and women, attended panel sessions showcasing best practice and encouraging discussion around inclusion and women in the workplace. Externally, Harriet regularly speaks at events focused on women in business. Most recently, she addressed Australia’s very first International Women’s Forum event, addressing the role of AI in the advancement of diversity and inclusion and the elimination of unconscious bias. A regular commentator on LinkedIn, Harriet has drawn attention to women-specific issues including gender diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief HR Officer
Unilever

In Leena’s tenure, Unilever’s female representation at managerial levels and above, has moved from 38% to 47% in the last 7 years. Their ambitious programme includes metrics led governance and a robust repeatable model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. Their holistic efforts have been recognised by multiple bodies including by BITC and they consistently feature on the Times Top 50 Employers for women in the UK. Some of the key initiatives that have made this possible focus on investing in the development of their people, maternity and paternity support, agile working policies, and putting a focus on women in STEM. Externally, Leena’s personal mission is to inspire 1 Million women with the message of what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women, attending over 100 external diversity related engagements in 2017 alone. She has driven the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign and they are one of the 10 Impact ambassadors for the program. Leena also serves on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Milan Capital Markets Partner and WEELEG Managing Partner
Linklaters

As a member of the global executive committee of Linklaters, Claudia is the global champion for gender, the sponsor of the Female Leadership Programme and promotes internal initiatives supporting the enhancement of women’s talent. Currently she is structuring an innovative mentoring programme connecting Linklaters senior people with female top clients and has championed a number of successful initiatives within Linklaters’ network such as Breakfast@linklaters, breakfast forums for the female business community. Externally, Claudia is the ambassador of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (the first association of large Italian companies supporting women’s leadership) and was President from 2013 to 2016. She has also contributed to the development of In The Boardroom and of The CEO School for women on executive boards. She is often invited to speak in conferences, roundtables, seminars and courses on financial matters and diversity issues, and has been interviewed by national and international media on such topics. Claudia was included in the Forbes classification of most powerful women in Italy and in the last three years she was ranked as “Star Individual” by Chambers. Claudia is also Chair of Allianz Italia and Deputy Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has driven change internally including gender equality targets for recruitment and promotion, and for appointment boards. She is co-creator and sponsor of MediaCom’s inclusion network for employees, and features as a panelist in annual Women's Day events in March. In May 2018 they launched The Glass Wall network specifically for driving change internally and for clients. As co-host of the MediaCom Connected Podcast, Sue ensures that they feature strong women leaders in interviews, including all of their internal women leaders and inspirational women from outside MediaCom. In 2016 Sue wrote a book with co-author Kathryn Jacob: "The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business" which is a business book best seller. Named the year’s most significant addition to the debate on gender diversity at work - its a collection of success strategies for women, and an invaluable guide book for businesses that want to develop the women who work for them. Since publication she has given over 80 talks at businesses, and published numerous blogs on LinkedIn. She is on the key supporters group for Women's Aid, and has appeared three times on Women's Hour to discuss gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Andrews

Managing Director, Global Head of Service Directors, Client Experience
BNY Mellon

Carol serves on the Leadership Committee for BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiative network (WIN), the largest and longest running ERG with over 4,000 internal members. Under her leadership, BNY identified a gap in information on women in management, and co-sponsored the “Women in Management” research. Furthermore, she supported the implementation of internal focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report. The report alongside the focus groups, ultimately led to an internal media campaign featuring a video of BNY’s Chairman dispelling myths around agile working. Carol also began the company’s Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility programme and continues to support local efforts. Externally, she is one of the co-founders of the 30% Club in Ireland and currently the country lead for the Ireland chapter. In this role, she was part of the 30% Club 4th Annual Chair and CEO conference, showcasing research on gender diversity in the financial services and the importance of engaging men. Carol is also in the process of completing the final stages of her Master’s degree at the University of Cork (IMI). As a senior female business leader, she has entered academia again to develop the skillset needed to interface with diverse people and inspire their success.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alison Nimmo

Chief Executive
The Crown Estate

At The Crown Estate, Alison ensures they’ve got the basics right on issues like equality of pay, hiring and promotion, and building a strong pipeline of female talent. They have “family friendly” policies such as extended paternity leave, adoption and care leave, and emergency care support. She recently appeared on Bloomberg TV to discuss the GPG statistics and champion momentum for change, after The Crown Estate published figures showing that women in the organisation are paid marginally more than men. Externally, Alison is an active champion of Pathways to Property; an internship and mentoring programme, which supports young people from diverse backgrounds to get into property. She speaks at a huge number of events, and was keynote speaker at Bisnow’s inaugural women in property event, the awards dinner hosted by Women in Property. She also supports Real Estate Balance; Chicks with Bricks; The Mentoring Foundation; the Honour Chapman memorial lectures and RICS Inspirational speaker series. Alison has mentored and coached several women over the years, including the only current female CEO of a construction company.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Funke Abimbola

General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance
Roche

Whilst at Roche, Funke was the most senior black lawyer in UK pharmaceuticals and was the Roche UK diversity champion. A global female role model, she extensively mentored and sponsored her Roche colleagues and established a summer work experience and internship scheme for students. She regularly presented on the importance of D&I to all 2,000 Roche UK staff and new joiners and partnered with local and global D&I teams to progress D&I across 100,000 Roche staff globally. Following UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, she also engaged with strong male champions of diversity. Externally, Funke is an Advisory Board Member of Women in Law London (WILL), and Aspiring Solicitors. She is heavily involved with First 100 Years and the Precious Awards, as well as being the Founder of the global network, Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law. Funke regularly provides free inspirational diversity in leaderships talks to over 2,000 school and University students annually, as well as engaging with mentoring and sponsorship opportunities. She has been a commentator on gender for the BBC, and regularly campaigns on gender issues in the media and in the government. Among many accolades, in 2017, Funke was awarded an MBE for services to diversity and young people. Funke left Roche in July and is currently a post graduate student at Cambridge University before embarking on the next chapter of her career.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner Europe & Middle East
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara leads by example, working with Reed Smith’s active women’s network (known as WinRS) for years. Now, as the firm’s most senior person in the EME, she uses her influence to leverage the sponsorship of young women aspiring to partnership has increased. She has been instrumental in the promotions of dozens of women across all areas of the firm. Viewed as a role model for young lawyers, she is active in firm-wide recruitment and seeks to inspire all women to achieve their potential. Externally, Tamara is generous with her time and contacts. She is heavily involved in a number of organisations, including the 30% Club Steering Committee, founding member of Paradigm for Parity, C200 Membership Committee, and a sponsor and judge for Asian Women of Achievement Awards. She also works closely with universities and international organisations, advancing the pipeline of talent female leaders. Tamara has won many awards for her legal expertise, including Euromoney’s “Best in Structured Finance”, as well as for her activities around diversity including Women of the Future’s Mentor of the Year, and being featured as on of Brummell’s 30 Inspirational Women Champions of Diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Evelyn Bourke

Group CEO
BUPA

As one of the first two women in Ireland to qualify as actuaries, Evelyn has always supported and encouraged women to take on new challenges in their careers. She believes that championing the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace makes huge business sense. Evelyn is proud of the fact that Bupa currently has 50% female representation on its Board, and 41% of its executive team is female, and says it is her personal mission to ensure talented women continue to take on key roles across Bupa. During her time as Bupa’s Group CEO, the company has signed the UK HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and joined The 30% Club. In 2017, Evelyn hosted the annual International Women’s Forum Jean Denton Lecture at Bupa, bringing together high-profile speakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities for women in the workplace. Externally, Evelyn spent two years as a Non-Executive Director of Opportunity Now, and she regularly speaks at events which support women in their careers, including delivering a speech at The Pipeline: Top Flight, an executive leadership programme, founded by Baroness McDonagh, designed to help women with potential to take the final difficult step to Executive Committee and CEO roles.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Brenda Trenowden

Head of Financial Institutions, Europe
ANZ

Brenda has more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, investment and relationship banking, with sector expertise in financial institutions. She is also a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognised with several awards for her global campaigning for greater gender balance across organisations as a voluntary, business-led imperative. In 2015 Brenda was appointed Global Chair of the 30% Club, where she works closely with leading Chairs and CEOs around the world to increase the representation of women in senior roles and throughout organisations. For the last two years she has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance by Financial News, and is also a regular contributor to the FT City Network, a panel of 50 of the City of London’s most influential individuals. Brenda is also an advisor to UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women in the executive level of the FTSE 350, and she leads the Financial Institutions Group in Europe for ANZ Bank and is a member of the UK Management Board. She is a trustee of the EY Foundation and a non-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Head of Commercial Banking UK
HSBC

Amanda is committed to building an inclusive culture and has driven a number of initiatives to create a workplace where people feel they can be themselves and realise their potential. Amanda is a mentor to many colleagues and is the Executive Sponsor for BALANCE UK, promoting a gender-balanced workforce within HSBC. Outside of HSBC UK, Amanda plays an active role in championing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and regularly speaks at events designed to share best practice and help them succeed in business. She was keynote speaker at the, “EQ vs IQ in the Workplace” event, and a panellist at an event sponsored by Robert Walters PLC & Women in Banking & Finance, “Empowering Women in the Workplace”, where she shared her experience of the benefit of having mentors and sponsors. In addition to involvement with International Women’s Day events externally, Amanda also hosted several BALANCE events at HSBC UK and established a series of female development events in the Commercial Bank.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive
Virgin Money

As CEO Jayne-Anne has taken executive sponsorship for gender balance at Virgin Money. Under her leadership they have publically committed to achieving a 50:50 gender balance by 2020 at all levels in the company, and to closing their gender pay gap. She has made diversity and inclusion a key strategic priority for the company. Internally she brings the topic to life through sharing examples in her weekly all colleague email, regularly talking about the topic at colleague gatherings and recognises D&I achievements in their EBO stars awards. The Jayne-Anne sponsored gender equality plan at Virgin Money is based on progressing the top three findings to achieving gender equality identified through extensive research during the ‘Women in Finance’ review. Externally, Jayne Anne was asked by HM Treasury to lead a review into the lack of female representation in senior roles in the financial services industry. The resulting ‘Women In Finance Review’, published in March 2016, recommended setting/publishing targets, aligning remuneration to achieving those targets, and ensuring senior sponsorship. Since publication, she has been appointed the Government’s business champion for gender equality, speaking extensively about the importance of gender equality in business. In July 2018, HM Treasury announced that since publication of the ‘Women In Finance Review’, a further 68 firms have signed the Women in Finance Charter, taking the total number to 273 firms across the financial services sector and covering over 760,000 UK financial services employees.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO
Lightspeed

Caroline’s inclusion journey started with sharing her own personal story with everyone in the business, when she first took on the role of Lightspeed’s Global CEO. Since then, her proactive approach has seen her increasing the female representation on the Board of Directors from 27% in 2016 to 44% in 2017. She has introduced a 3 Year Plan of Transformation for the business, including new transformation-focused global values, which encourage everyone, especially women, to be bold in their careers. She regularly encourages the business to take time out to the celebrate important landmark anniversaries for diversity e.g. International Women’s Day, Black History Month, and Mental Health Awareness Week. Not only has her work lead to implementations of policies on agile working and addressing the gender pay gap, Caroline also makes time to mentor female colleagues. Externally, Caroline has been hugely involved in conducting pro bono research to provide an initial baseline view of ‘what the Market Research Industry truly looks like when it comes to Inclusion and Diversity’. Results from the research led to a large number of projects and policies to address the lack of female representation at senior levels.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melanie Richards

Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie is KPMG’s senior sponsor for inclusion and diversity, and has been championing women in the workplace for over a decade. She has personally driven a wide range of programmes and activity to make progress in this field. Thanks to her efforts, KPMG took the ‘industry first’ step of publishing a detailed diversity profile of KPMG’s workforce in 2014. She has since hosted a panel on KPMG’s published gender pay gap, hosted a session on Disruptive Leadership for International Women’s Day, and championed internal research on social mobility, gender and race. Melanie has been instrumental in establishing KPMG’s Inclusive Leadership Board (ILB), and is the sponsor for ‘GROW’ – KPMG’s 360 degree leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups, including women, to senior positions. In addition, Melanie continues to support mentor women both within and outside the firm, sharing her knowledge and helping them to build their networks and progress their careers. Externally, she leads KPMG’s Senior Business Women Network – a market-leading group of successful women who gather frequently to discuss business issues and build networks. Melanie is one of the founding members of the 30% Club Steering Committee, and she and KPMG are major supporters of the Hampton-Alexander Review.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Hogg

CEO, Europe
Visa

Charlotte brings 25 years of experience in financial services, bank operations and management consulting to Visa, which she joined as CEO Europe in October 2017.  She has been leading the charge on ensuring gender balance and a culture of inclusion and recently signed the company up to HMT Women in Finance Charter.  She co-leads Visa’s Global Gender Inclusion Council, is an Executive Sponsor for the Visa Young Professionals network, and has recently been involved in International Women’s Day activities, supporting the new Return to Work programme and is a mentor in the company-wide mentoring scheme. Externally she supports NowTeach, an organisation that exists to help career-changers who’ve already made a success of one profession to retrain as teachers.  She is a regular speaker at events to champion women in business, including most recently a client event in Paris bringing together 26 female policy leaders from banking and retail . She is a vocal advocate for women in FinTech, passionate that Visa should take the lead developing more female leadership talent in the payments sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President Enterprise and Strategic Sales
Brightstar / PaddyPower Betfair

Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality by consistently making it a positive regular board level agenda item. She allocates time to act as both a mentor, and importantly a sponsor, to women at all levels which ensures a healthy pipeline of successful female talent. She does this through networking events, ensuring gender balanced short lists for prominent roles, raising the profile of talented women and speaking regularly at events. She replicates this work in PaddyPower Betfair PLC where she is a Non- Executive Director and also as an Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group. A member of the UK government Women’s Business Council since 2013, Emer has represented the UK at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Globally in NYC in 2014, and has been asked to address the UN again in 2019. She was appointed Co-Chair of the Men as Change Agents (MACA) board and, with the support of the Home Secretary and Number 10, MACA launched a toolkit to the Chairmen and CEOs of the FTSE 350 and 150 privately owned companies on how to achieve gender balance in business leadership and thus close the gender pay gap.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

Group Chief Commercial Operations and Strategy Officer
Vodafone Group

Serpil has championed a women’s inclusion programme across Vodafone markets, serving as the Chairwoman of Vodafone Group’s “Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee”. She is committed to helping to increase the proportion of women in management and leadership roles by helping build a pipeline of talent, specifically through initiatives such as “50/50 female/male graduate recruitment”, Vodafone’s pioneering “Global Maternity Policy” and “ReConnect”, the world’s largest recruitment programme for talented women on career breaks. Serpil also launched the ‘Connect’ initiative in 2017, a commitment at Vodafone to provide 50 million unconnected women in emerging markets with access to mobile technology, thereby narrowing the gender connectivity gap by 2025. This initiative is designed to provide specific products and services for women that enable financial inclusion, build skills and promote entrepreneurship, improve health and wellbeing. To date, the programme has reached more than 15 million women; 33% of the target. She also launched ‘Women First’ in Turkey, in partnership with the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Affairs. She is a regular mentor to a number of senior women professionals at Vodafone, and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association” (WBAT Turkey).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rana Salhab

Talent & Communications Partner
Deloitte Middle East

Rana is a former member of the Board of Directors, and sits on the regional Executive Committee of Deloitte in the Middle East. She leads a women advancement program (DRAW- Deloitte Retention and Advancement of Women), frequently profiled by global diversity leaders as a best practice in building an inclusive culture and accelerating gender diversity. Externally, Rana is active in championing economic and political participation of women in Arab countries. Rana serves on the advisory boards of organizations such as Reach (Mentoring NGO for women in finance registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre) and the 30% Club – GCC. She is also on the Executive Board of the National Commission for Lebanese Women, and the Middle East Advisory Board of the American University of Beirut’s OSB Business School. Rana has spoken at a wide number of international events, and was invited by UN Women to participate in the Consultation Workshop the Union for the Mediterranean Headquarters in Spain for a "flagship" project in the MENA region. She was then invited to participate as a speaker in the UfM-UNIDO Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum: ‘Promoting Women Business Partnership in the Mediterranean’ as part of the “Women for Mediterranean” Conference in Portugal in October 2018. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Karen Blackett

Country Manager
WPP

Karen is an established leader who champions diversity of all types. In 2012, Karen launched an Apprenticeship Scheme for 18-24 year olds at MediaCom, the first of its kind in the industry. Karen developed Inclusion@MediaCom, where external speakers are invited to give life stories, acting as role models. Karen championed a Women Returners programme with the organisation Successful Mums, and launched Project Blend with the help of Open Blend, focusing on helping everyone reach their true potential blending work with life. Karen introduced a female empowerment programme at MediaCom in 2014 with Shine4women. Karen is a mentor, both internally and externally, as well as taking part in reverse mentoring schemes. Karen helped launch Our Time initiative, a mentoring programme for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan at City Hall. She is a member of Women in Advertising and Communications London, (WACL) and part of their Gather committee. In her new role as WPP Country Manager, Karen is helping to drive through change via creating a UK Inclusion Board with programmes focused on reverse mentoring, cultural inclusion and a leadership exchange programme. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service. Karen is also a Business Ambassador for the Department of International Trade.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

During his tenure as Senior Partner, Colin has made gender diversity a priority business issue, leading the firm to greater positive action to progress more women through to the partnership and into senior management positions. Under Colin’s leadership the percentage of female partners has increased from 12% to 18%, and 33% of the elected members on Simmons & Simmons’ Board are female. He is also championing the roll out of firm wide, mandatory Inclusive Leadership & Unconscious Bias training. Colin is the partner sponsor for 3 female partners and mentors 2 trainees. Externally, in March, Colin spoke on a panel at the 2nd annual Women in Finance conference. The session was entitled: “What next? …practices to effectively engage men in implementation of your gender diversity programmes.”, where he used the platform to discuss steps that Simmons & Simmons have taken towards gender balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Karl Edge

Midlands Regional Chair
KPMG

Since Karl’s return to the Midlands and promotion to Senior Partner, he has personally led the way in championing female talent and crucially has brought the wider partner group along with him. His ‘What Shadow Do We Cast ?’ program has inspired all of the partner and director group to implement new techniques for inspiring and leading their teams. His focus on creating an environment where females can be successful including personal mentoring of female partner candidates has already led to 3 female partner appointments in Watford/Milton Keynes and the strong positioning where by the end of 2019 the Midlands partnership will move from 4 to 10 females. He has led on the female partner mentoring programme as well as driving an external network of senior females in the region to drive opportunities from our Women In Business forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matthew Norris

Global Head, Standard Chartered Global Business Services
Standard Chartered Bank

Matthew’s passion for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has  led to the launch of the Women’s Network at Standard Chartered Global Business Services (GBS).  He has personally mentored talented female leaders in 2017 as part of the organisation’s Women Mentorship Initiative.  Through his leadership, GBS has witnessed effective roll-outs of Group-level policies that significantly improve gender balance and maximise the potential and retention of female employees.  This included flexible working hours, prolonged maternity leave, Return-to-Work programme amongst others.  Matthew sits on the Standard Chartered Global Diversity & Inclusion Council and is also the chairperson of the D&I Council for the Bank’s Information, Technology  and Operations function.  He is now spearheading the Unconscious Biasness Training Programme in GBS, making GBS the first area of the Bank to pilot this programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Alex Atzberger

President, SAP Customer Experience
SAP

Under Alex’s leadership, a D&I council was created to shape the diversity agenda for SAP. The purpose of the council is to build and execute diversity and inclusion programs and priorities within the organization. Comprised of five individuals from around the globe, representing diverse geographies and ethnicities, the council advises his leadership team and him on how to further drive and promote diversity in the workplace. In addition, he is the executive sponsor for the SAP Business Women’s Network, which helps women advance their careers by sharing best practices, education and experience. Lastly, Alex is committed to filling 50% of all new leadership positions with women and minority candidates, and has actively set strategic goals to do this. Externally, he is also an active sponsor of Planned Parenthood.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Seamus Smith

Executive Vice President, Global Payments & Banking
Sage plc

Throughout the past year, Seamus has been a key mentor in the Women@Sage Mentoring Program , with both mentees assuming new roles during this period. As a mentor, Seamus offers advice, insights and perspectives to female executives to help them develop their careers. As well as this, half of his senior team in the payments, banking and technology area is made up of women – when historically these have been sectors dominated by men. Externally, Seamus has been a strong diversity champion as part of his role as Trustee of leadership development organisation Windsor Leadership over the last 6 years. He also actively addresses issues of diversity and equality regularly on social media.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Burgess

Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer
Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Mark is responsible for the execution of Columbia Threadneedle’s “Gender Action Plan”, a plan which aims to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. Mark personally act as a mentor to the female graduates that he hires in the Investments team through Columbia Threadneedle’s partnership with Investment 2020. This early intervention in their careers provides them with the necessary platform and support to set them up for success and opens up a range of opportunities to gain knowledge and experience.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Linares

Group Human Resources Director
Direct Line Group

Simon joined the Executive Committee of DLG in 2014 as HR Director, and set about developing the people strategy which would support the company's mission to make insurance easier and better value for customers. Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Simon saw this as a key part of making the strategy sustainable for the future, and he was instrumental in raising the debate around this to the top table over the last 2 1/2 years, while also accelerating a range of tactical activity to drive immediate benefit, and which built on the organisations pre-existing Diversity Network Alliance activity. In 2016, Direct Line Insurance Group was the first insurer to sign up to the Government’s Women in Finance Charter, underpinned by further investment in their female talent through a series of specific development programmes designed to support the growth and promotion of our female leaders throughout the organisation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Heighton

Head of UK Real Estate Team
CMS

As supporter of CMS’ gender initiatives, Mark encourages and supports the development of female lawyers (mentoring and supporting a number of female colleagues), encouraging an inclusive culture and involving clients to support gender initiatives, including organising clients to participate in gender initiatives including the firm’s annual International Women’s Day Master Class for female students delivered in partnership with Career Ready. He advocates for flexible working and maternity coaching and in nearly 8 years of managing the Group, two thirds of Partners appointed were female. Externally, Mark is also a CMS Real Estate representative for Real Estate Balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Read

CEO & COO
Wunderman & WPP

Mark has become a prominent voice on the need to improve gender balance within the communications services industry. Addressing a packed Girls’ Lounge session at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, he spoke about how vital it is for WPP to attract talent that reflects the society in which we live, and he has written to all 130,000 of WPP’s people on the importance of respectful, inclusive workplaces. Within Wunderman he has championed programmes like “Pass It On”, a global initiative to get more women into senior leadership roles, and led the expansion of the company’s Parental Leave policy. His ambition for WPP and beyond was made clear at a recent Wunderman town hall meeting, where employees were invited to submit questions during a live webcast. When asked to fill in the blank, “Advertising needs more _____”, Mark replied simply, “Women”. Since judging, Mark has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, WPP.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Joerg Ambrosius

Executive Vice President
State Street Bank

Jörg is co-chair of State Street’s EMEA Diversity Council, and has been instrumental in creating and supporting the regional inclusive and diversity strategy, helping to drive local activity aligned with local challenges. He engages with leaders across the region to actively drive positive change. He has served on the Global Advisory Board of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network and was recently invited to join the organisation’s Leading Women group to support initiatives designed to create a more inclusive culture.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Rakesh Kapoor

Chief Executive Officer

Rakesh is the Board sponsor for RB’s DARE programme, which was launched in 2015 and is focussed on Developing, Attracting, Retaining and Engaging talented women at RB. Their ambition is to double the number of women in senior management positions, a key strategic objective for him and his management team. In 2017, 24% of their senior managers were female, up from 20% in 2016. A series of DARE initiatives are already contributing to this change and include an RB Parental leave policy, a ‘Working From Home’ policy, and also a ‘Stay In Touch’ policy, so that mums can keep in touch with the company during maternity should they wish. 400+ mothers joined RB’s Maternity Webinars in 2017, a support network which was Rakesh’s original idea. He has sponsored a mentoring program, and champions Lean-In circles for women, where they can share and grow together. This year he is launching the ‘HE Dares, SHE Dares’ RB initiative, which encourages RB males to be allies for their female colleagues and champion women’s development.

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Omar Ali

UK Financial Services Managing Partner
EY

In his role of Managing Partner, Omar has made the establishment of a truly inclusive culture the number one priority for EY. As part of this focus, Omar has put gender equality at the forefront of UK firm’s agenda, and set the ambitious target of achieving 30% female partners and 50% female graduate recruitment. In the last few years EY FS has launched various programmes to support women (and BME talent) in the workplace, such as the launch of EY’s Return to Work, EY Reconnect, and Career Watch, aimed at female and BME Managers. In 2018, EY was the first of the Big Four firms to publish its gender pay gap, including their Partners, voluntarily. Omar is an active supporter of the Her Majesties Treasury Women in Finance Charter and was one of the first signatories to make a commitment to women in the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director-Operations
Accenture

Andrew has been a prominent feature in promoting Accenture’s Inclusion and Diversity initiatives throughout United Kingdom and Ireland. Globally he is one of Accenture’s Cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, this is an integral role when dealing with women in the workplace. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Johan Lungren

CEO
easyJet

Since joining easyJet Johan has renewed the airline’s commitment to being a company in which women are supported to fulfil their full potential. One of his first actions was to establish a project to develop the diversity and inclusion strategy, including a focus on women at easyJet. This strategy will build on the existing initiatives that focus on championing women at easyJet, such as the Amy Johnson Initiative to encourage more women to become pilots. As a result of the initiative, last year easyJet recruited 49 female new entrant co-pilots. That's a 48% increase on the previous year and takes the proportion of easyJet new entrant female pilots to 13%. Earlier this year, as a way to show his personal commitment to equal pay and equal opportunity for women and men, he asked the easyJet Board to reduce his pay to match that of easyJet’s former CEO, Carolyn McCall, when she was at easyJet.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Keith Weed

Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Unilever

Keith has been a champion of women’s empowerment and diversity throughout his whole career. Since becoming CMO of Unilever in 2010, he led the creation of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), pioneering new ways of integrating sustainability into the business and increasing Unilever’s positive social impact. The USLP includes a commitment to empower 5 million women by 2020 as Keith is a strong believer that a world where women are economically empowered will be a fairer, happier and more prosperous place to live – and that society and business will flourish in it. To achieve this Keith has been a strong advocate for building a gender-balanced organisation – including mentoring Unilever’s top female executives, promoting safety for women in communities where Unilever operates, enhancing access to training and skills for women and expanding opportunities within Unilever’s retail value chain. Keith is also passionately committed to tackling stereotypes in advertising – gender and beyond – through Unilever’s #Unstereotype initiative and is the architect behind the #Unstereotype Alliance, co-created with UN Women, bringing together 24 companies to remove the portrayal of unhelpful stereotypes from their advertising by 2020. His commitment to UN Women also extends to other programmes such as HeforShe.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Murtaza Ahmed

Managing Director
Artistic Milliners

Since joining the company in 2008, Murtaza has set out to use his factory floors as agents of social change. Under the umbrella of the campaign Women at Milliners, he has led projects such as HERhealth, Adult Literacy program, Micro-finance Literacy and Gap Inc. P.A.C.E. Program (Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement) for worker women. Murtaza has encouraged women in his company to Lean In and currently, 50% of the top management at Artistic Milliners is female- the highest in any manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Externally, he is a vocal supporter of women’s economic participation and has worked with UNDP on a Youth Employability program. Through this venture, women who have never worked before were taught employability skills by UNDP staff in Artistic Milliners’ factories and subsequently the women were hired by the company as full time employees. In March 2018,Sportswear International, a leading media brand, cited Artistic Milliners as an example for the global denim industry on women empowerment. Murtaza has also spoken at forums of Pakistan Business Council and IFC, World Bank on issues of gender equity and is a #HeforShe advocate and a signatory of UN Women Empowerment Principles.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Richard Robinson

Managing Partner
Econsultancy

Richard believes in positive, direct action led by empowered individuals. He was named one of thirty 'Male Agents of Change' challenging gender inequality by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today. He actively motivates his team to directly impact diversity through pro-bono work across fifteen diversity & inclusivity organisations including: managing the ‘Be Awesome Night School’ for women; helping scale up the Women’s Sport Trust; and supporting Creative Equals many events for female professionals. Externally, Richard creates time to champion women, with pioneering networks such as Creative Equals, Token Man, and as an advisor to the Women’s Sports Trust and BAME2020. SheSays, the ground-breaking global network for women in creativity & tech invited him to become their first male SuperMomma, and he is an Ambassador for The Marketing Academy Foundation. Richard speaks at industry-leading conferences to champion women such as Creative Equals Leaders and both Management Today’s Inspiring Women conferences in Edinburgh and London. He mentors over a dozen people at any one time through WhosYourMomma, NABS, SheSays and Magnificent Generation, while further afield he champions and upskills creatively gifted school students struggling in mainstream education as Vice-Chair and Trustee of the award-winning Ideas Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Josh Graff

EMEA Vice-President of Marketing Solutions and UK Country Manager at LinkedIn
LinkedIn

Josh has led the way in creating not only awareness and focus on the need for diversity at his leadership team, but he took action and held all his managers accountability for ensuring that women were hired, promoted and developed into management. He mentors a number of female leaders in LinkedIn, supporting them in various developmental areas such as executive presence, prioritisation, communicating to executives as well as helping them figure out how to develop their professional brands. Outside of LinkedIn, Josh regularly talks about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the press and at conferences as well as sharing specific actions that companies can take, including at the ISBA conference, at the launch of Evolve, The Institute of Directors annual conference and frequently in the broader press.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Roger Carr

Chairman
BAE Sysytems

Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of BAE Systems plc, where he has set a corporate board policy of gender diversity, and promotes gender diversity through various speaking engagements, mentoring schemes and board appointments. Roger has deliberately instructed his search firm to look at varied sources to find a broader pool of experienced female candidates.He is a founder member of 30% Club and was major advocate for diversity whilst President of the CBI. Throughout his career he has served on a number of external committees including the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, the Manufacturing Council of the CBI, The Higgs Committee on Corporate Governance and Business for New Europe.  He is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, a Companion of the Institute of Management, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He was knighted for Services to Business in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2011.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Rob Mukherjee

North West Regional Chair
Vodafone

Rob inspired the creation of Vodafone UK’s first-of-a-kind “ReConnect” event, helping women on a career break get back to work. He also drove the introduction of a Northern Women’s Network, engaging that network to support local communities of women and girls. He regularly mentors, and actively seeks out female talent to guide through their career. Rob has spoken passionately about diversity and inclusion at events such as “Northern Power Women Live”, “Guys That Get It” and “The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit” at the Great Exhibition Of The North.  In recognition of his work in this area, Rob is the current holder of the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) “Best Male Mentor” Award and the Northern Power Women “Agent Of Change” Award.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Tom Casteleyn

Managing Director, Global Head of Custody Product Management
BNY Mellon

Tom has been at the forefront of BNY Mellon’s regional efforts to drive greater gender parity, using his position of influence to garner the support of fellow leaders and significantly, BNY Mellon’s male employees. As well as acting as regional co-chair for our internal Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), BNY Mellon’s largest employee resource group, Tom has proactively championed gender parity across digital platforms, through participation in panel events and through the production of information resources. His blog on the importance of male support in gender parity was viewed more than 600 times which is a testament of his bold commitment and influence in moving the needle around this crucial topic.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa UK

David champion’s strong female representation at all levels. During his time with Bupa, he’s led the launch of a new Code of Conduct in the UK, helping ensure Bupa is an inclusive organisation that welcomes everyone and nobody is treated differently. David has overseen Bupa’s initiatives to support women, including the mums’ returners’ network and Tommy’s pregnancy membership as standard in our maternity offer. David has also encouraged participation in the cross-company Women Ahead mentoring scheme which aims to develop and retain women. Under David’s leadership, Bupa UK also partnered with Business in the Community on the 'Same but Different' project to celebrate women from different teams and backgrounds.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Hammerstein

Head of Barclaycard UK & Retail Lending
Barclays

A huge advocate of supporting and promoting women within Barclays UK, Matt annually sponsors a progression coaching programme designed to create our future female leadership talent. He regularly and actively engages with all participants, with over 50% having since been promoted to new roles, a direct impact of his passion and dedication. He understands the benefits of a diverse workforce, making sure half of the seats around his leadership table are filled by females. A true advocate for women, he regularly attends external events so that as a thought leader he can bring an alternative perspective back into the business.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Daniel Kramer

Executive Vice President, Chief Client Experience Officer, Asset Servicing
BNY Mellon

Dan Kramer is an Executive Committee member of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) and has been instrumental in the establishment of WIN’s Male Allies Program. Dan has shown tremendous commitment as an ally, advocate and sponsor for the firm’s efforts towards gender-parity and the advancement of women at the organization. At the top of the list of things Dan values as a champion are “to listen to women’s concerns, perspectives and ideas, shine a light on women’s talents and achievements, foster an environment of respect for all and inspire and enlist colleagues to do the same.”

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Elliott

People Director
Virgin Money

Matt leads the company approach to D&I and is responsible for delivery of the plan and achieving their ambitions. VM has led from the top, with a 50/50 Board and the only all female Chair/CEO Team. Under Matt’s leadership, they adopted the Women in Finance recommendations established by HMT. He has driven a plan based on equality in hiring & progression, and removing barriers through greater flexible working, capability of managers, and enabling technology. VM’s first Returners Programme enabled experienced women who have been out of the workplace to update their skills and knowledge and transition back into the workplace. Matt introduced equalising parental leave pay with maternity pay 3 years ago, and led VM’s approach to Gender Pay Gap reporting, which has led the way in the UK. Having introduced maternity mentoring to VM, Matt was the first mentor, and continues to mentor a number of women both within and outside of VM. Externally, he has spoken about building careers at all women events, has spoken at various events supporting gender equality, and supported the Government’s roll out of gender pay gap by speaking at their Welsh roadshow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matthew Krentz

Senior Partner and Managing Director, Global People Chair

Matthew leads the Women@BCG program, which aims to improve women’s recruiting, retention and advancement at BCG. He is involved in a number of organizations that promote women in business including Catalyst’s Board of Advisors, and The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In 2016 and 2017, Matthew led TEDWomen workshops focused on promoting women’s inclusion and men’s role in advancing gender diversity, and frequently sits on panels on the topic. He has also authored many publications which have been shared in the press, with clients and in women’s forums including Measuring What Matters in Gender Diversity (April 2018), How Millennial Men Can Help Break The Glass Ceiling (November 2017), and Getting the Most from Your Diversity Dollars (June 2017), among others.

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Dominic Christian

Global Chairman Aon
Aon Benfield

Dominic has personally signed up to the 30% Club, signed Aon’s Gender Pay Gap Report, and signed Aon up to the Women In Finance Charter. They have also signed up to The Diversity Project, which drives gender parity in the investment sector, and are keenly involved in the programme. Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of all seven Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and the lead of the Diversity Council at Aon, and they have an extremely active Women’s Group (Women’s International Network). Passionate about engaging men in the gender debate, he mentors eight women, and as part of the Sponsorship Programme he sponsors three senior females on a regular and engaged basis. Aon also hosted a HeForShe event with high profile speakers, where Dominic made his personal HeForShe Pledge. Externally, he is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, which is a committed group of senior individuals from across the insurance industry who champion diversity and inclusion. He was instrumental in the launch of the Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2017 saw 80 events take place in 17 countries and 32 cities. On International Women’s Day, Dominic hosted various events at Aon ands an industry-wide one, with Inclusion@Lloyds.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Osman Faiz

Chief Information Officer, Singapore
Standard Chartered Bank

Osman is a key sponsor of the Women’s Network and the HeForShe network at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore. HeForShe network connects senior leaders in the bank to support women in their pursuit of professional and personal development at work and in life. Osman currently mentors 10 high potential women at Standard Chartered Singapore to prepare them for future leadership roles. Externally, Osman mentors 3 high potential women, and champions the "Girls in Tech" initiative by sponsoring educational visits to Standard Chartered for university students.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Harrison

Group Chief Executive
Schroders

Shortly after joining Schroders, Peter introduced an initial target of at least 30% female representation in senior management roles. The firm made strong progress and has now increased its target to at least 33% by the end of next year, and 33% at Board level by 2020. He is a founding member of the Diversity Project, an initiative by a group of senior leaders to accelerate progress towards an inclusive culture across the investment and savings industry. Peter is overseeing initiatives to address the issue of fewer job applications from women, including introducing a 50/50 gender split at the entry-level assessment centres; reviewing maternity, parental leave and flexible working policies; and pairing the top 10% of female talent with a senior sponsor. Schroders was the first FTSE 100 firm to publish its gender pay gap data, almost a full year ahead of most firms. He has led the firm’s move to become one of the first signatories to the Women in Finance Charter and was nominated a leading executive LGBT+ ally by OUTstanding, the professional network for LGBT+ executives, leaders and allies. He continues to drive improvements across the firm, including measures to increase black and minority ethnic job applications.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Paul Rawlinson

Global Chair
Baker & McKenzie

As global chair of Baker McKenzie, Paul leads the charge on the conversation around gender attrition, pay, and overall satisfaction of women in the workplace. In his previous role, as London Managing Partner, he appointed the firm’s first ever Diversity & Inclusion Partner, a role unique to city law firms at that time. He recently launched the global commitment to the UN's HeForShe movement on International Women's Day 2018, and is about to launch a second sponsorship program to help elevate and give access to the tools women need to progress into leadership roles. Externally, Paul has actively supported a number of external bodies which champion women in business. At the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos he attended a celebration of Forbes 100 most powerful women, and represented the private sector at a United Nations event in New York, to talk about the role that the industry can play in bridging the gap in equal pay. Last year, he also became an ambassador for the International Trade Centre's #shetrades campaign; to highlight women's economic empowerment. Closer to home, he actively supports the 30% Club UK, and spoke on the Panel at the 30% Club's Shifting the Needle Leadership Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Les Matheson

CEO, Personal & Business Banking
RBS

As executive sponsor for gender, Les has worked with the Bank’s Executive Committee members to introduce a formal target to have >30% women in their most senior roles by 2020, and to have full gender balance at all levels by 2030. The targets are supported by a positive action approach, tailored by business area, according to the specific challenges they face. Externally, Les is a great ambassador for gender equality and regularly speaks and participates as a panellist at external events to help facilitate change. He was a keynote speaker at the London Women's Forum in Whitehall; the Global Banking Alliance (GBA) Women Summit and a panellist at the Citi Women Event, on International Men’s Day. Later this year, Les will host an external roundtable with fellow CEOs, ministerial representatives, analysts and academics, to broaden the discussion on how to create a sustainable culture across UK plc, that supports gender equality, by allowing participants to share their own or their organisation’s stories, experiences, outcomes and practices so that others can benefit from them. He also leads the women in business initiative, where they have over 400 trained Women in Business specialists who nurture and support the business women of tomorrow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Wim Dejonghe

Senior Partner
Allen & Overy

Wim was elected to Senior Partner in 2016 and immediately introduced diversity as one of 5 strategic priorities for the firm. He established the Gender Advisory Committee and is heavily involved with supporting the firm’s women’s network, WiN. Under his leadership the firm has developed and launched a refreshed gender strategy in 2018. The strategy focuses on partner accountability, allocation of opportunities, alternative career paths, parental support and a supportive work environment. In all their initiatives, Wim is keen that the firm “thinks outside the box” to ensure actions stretch the boundaries and make visible changes. He has overseen the introduction of initiatives such as piloting a hub office in Vauxhall to help people balance the demands of work with their personal responsibilities and interests. Wim advocates for better gender diversity externally in the industry press and at events to ensure that Allen & Overy is part of the debate on gender diversity. He also regularly takes part in panel discussions which include questions on diversity. Two examples from this year are a State of the Global Legal Industry panel at the Asia Pacific Legal Executive Briefing in Hong Kong and an IBA Law Firm Leaders panel.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Iain Anderson

Executive Chairman
Cicero Group

Iain sponsored Cicero to become the first communications company to join the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and set ambitions targets for a 50 50 gender balance in thier first year of recruitment, which has been surpassed. He is a key part of the Diverse City initiative working with Dame Helena Morrissey to support diversity charities, with a special emphasis on women in work. He has also worked with the 10 Downing Street business liaison team to drive the Prime Minister's support for the initiative. Additionally, he sponsored and hosted an investor breakfast at Cicero Group with the Home Secretary to champion women in business across the Commonwealth as part of CHOGM 2018. As one of the few SMEs to become part of the 30% Club, Iain acts as a mentor to several women in business. Cicero now hosts the regular Women in Public Affairs events and his team members are part of the decision making structure and governance. He has also personally supported the Diversity Project on a pro bono basis with strategic communications advice, designed to bring more women into the asset management sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ajay Banga

President & CEO
MasterCard

At Mastercard, they are investing in people and creating an inclusive environment where the best people choose to be. It is Ajay’s goal to hire and retain the best and brightest talent, and ensure they feel valued and respected. His commitment to gender equality is ongoing, continuing to listen to employees and to take actions aligned with Mastercard’s commitment. The three pillars of their efforts include, creating opportunities for teams by expanding their skills and experiences; working to support the development of future leaders through programs like thier Women in Technology effort and Girls4Tech STEM education program; and bringing balance and equal access to products and solutions. Externally, Ajay and Mastercard are involved in a number of external partnerships and programs designed to facilitate gender diversity. For example, the Board Chairman and other Mastercard management are members of the 30% Club and 25% of the board of directors are female. Among many accolades, Ajay was recently listed among the best-performing CEOs in the world by Harvard Business Review, and awarded 'Business Leader of the Year' at the 7th Annual Asian Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Under Ivan’s leadership, women currently make up 50% of the Board and 40% of the Executive Committee at Diageo. In the last year Diageo has been recognised by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, ranked fifth in the Thomson Reuters Global Diversity and Inclusion Index, named third in the Hampton-Alexander review and named joint first for FTSE 100 companies with female executive directors by Cranfield School of Management. Externally, Ivan became a signatory of the 30% Club, aiming to develop a diverse pool of talent and commit to better gender balance at all levels of his organisation. He is an active speaker on the importance of diversity in the workplace, recently appearing at the Confederation of British Industry Inclusive Workplace Conference. On International Women’s Day Ivan was ranked by Management Today as one of their top male Agents of Change pushing for parity in the workplace. Additionally, he is Chairman of Movement to Work, which offers opportunities to thousands of unemployed young people, allowing them to develop the skills and confidence they need to find a job.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Chris Wei

Global Chairman Aviva Digital, Executive
Aviva

Christopher is the group sponsor of Aviva Balance, which focuses on gender diversity and promotes opportunities for women across the group. He is a mentor to several senior executive women at Aviva, actively sponsors Aviva’s global leadership development program for women and spends time with students to help them understand career choices across gender boundaries.. He is also a vocal advocate of “inclusive diversity”, across all dimensions of identity, which vary across the multiple geographies in which Aviva operates. Through corporate participation and personal sponsorships, he has influenced corporates, think tanks and interest groups on the importance of diverse workforces. Externally, Christopher has spoken at multiple industry and business events on the importance of inclusive diversity and how it impacts business favourably, and has published articles on the topic on LinkedIn. He sponsors the “Woman Leader of the Year” at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards, a new category for 2018, and was named“Personality of the Year” at the 2017 Asia insurance Industry Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ron O

President & COO
State Street

Starting his early career at McKinsey, Ron became very involved in various programs to develop, mentor, and retain women, and championed several women who went on to become senior partners at his firm. At State Street, he has led the corporate governance activities of State Street Global Advisors. State Street’s corporate governance research demonstrates that companies with gender diverse leadership deliver better long-term results. Therefore, in 2017 State Street issued additional principles on board gender diversity. For 2017 International Women’s Day, Ron’s team placed the Fearless Girl statue in the center of Wall Street as a symbolic call for more women on boards. Since the Fearless Girl’s placement, 152 US companies identified as lacking a single woman director have added a woman to their board and another 34 have pledged to do so. This year, State Street’s call for increased board diversity has been expanded to Canada and Japan. Fearless Girl’s phenomenal success is catalysing discussions and actions on gender diversity. Externally, Ron is a frequent speaker at important corporate governance/gender diversity events, and is actively involved in the 30% Club. He is also on The Boston Foundation Board of Directors, a leading community foundation committed to diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Christopher Stirling

Global Chair, KPMG Life Sciences
KPMG

Christopher has been driving KPMG’s Exceptional Women in Life Sciences initiative to promote female talent and gender parity internally and in the industry. He has supported the development of women’s networks within KPMG, and recently sponsored a global study to explore innovative solutions to the barriers to progression women are facing. This enabled the women in the Life Sciences sector to engage with Leadership, and he has since observed an increase from 13% to 35% of women in leadership roles in the Life Sciences practice in the past year. Externally, Christopher set up an advisory board to discuss gender diversity and inclusion issues with Global Life Sciences companies and academia. He is an annual sponsor of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Woman of the Year award, and encourages HBA membership across KPMG and industry contacts. With Christopher’s encouragement, the HBA has become a platform for leadership development at KPMG, as women colleagues have adopted volunteer HBA leadership roles that have raised their visibility and influence at KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Marc Benioff

CEO
Salesforce

Marc Benioff is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Under his leadership, Salesforce is the fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally. Marc was named “Innovator of the Decade” by Forbes, ranked #3 on Fortune's 2017 "Businessperson of the Year" list, and recognized as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and 15 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, he has been honoured by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award. A member of the World Economic Forum ("WEF") Board of Trustees, Marc serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF's Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. He also serves as Chair of Salesforce.org, which redefined corporate philanthropy by donating 1% of Salesforce's equity, product and time to its communities. Additionally, Marc received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Jim Cowles

EMEA CEO
Citi

Jim is global co-chair for the Citi Women’s Affinity. In this capacity, he has set a new strategy and direction in order to drive greater gender parity across Citi. The strategy focuses on: hiring, promoting, and retaining more women; creating an inclusive work environment; leveraging Citi’s diversity of thought to drive value for clients; and embedding the value of diversity into business practices. Jim has been instrumental in driving this change for all employees and firmly communicating to senior leaders that they are accountable for achieving gender results. The focus has included initiatives such as implicit bias education and tools, actions around male advocacy and engagement, and reverse mentoring, all underpinned by a strong communications strategy which Jim is personally involved in. He was instrumental in Citi’s signing of the UK Women in Finance Charter, which sets a target of at least 30% of women in senior roles by 2025. Jim regularly lends his voice to an external audience via leading media outlets pushing the agenda of gender parity. He has also contributed to the Financial Times diversity series discussing a variety of topics in the gender diversity space.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Vittorio Colao

CEO
Vodafone

Vittorio is driving Vodafone’s ambition to become the best employer of women in the world by 2025. He has championed a number of programmes across Vodafone, including placing targets on the number of women in senior roles, pioneering a new maternity policy and launching the world’s largest recruitment programme to bring women back to work who have taken career breaks last year. Externally, as a UN Women HeforShe Impact Champion, he is one of 10 CEOs actively supporting gender equality externally and working on bold commitments to support gender equality. He signed up to the #MentorHer programme led by LeanIn and sponsored Vodafone’s membership of the Womens Business Council and worked with the UK Government to shape its Returner programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Liao

President & CEO
HSBC Bank China

David has established gender balance data and monitoring of work force at all levels, and regularly reviews progress as a standing item in the People's Committee. Under his leadership, HSBC China provide extra care for female employees including a dedicated nursing room, and a half day on International Women’s Day. They also host lectures organized to address women leadership, wellbeing, etc, and ensure female candidates in the shortlist of recruitment and internal promotion for senior leader roles. David advocates for gender equality in client meetings and in membership forums, and is externally a member of the Beijing CPPCC, and the Young President Organization. Additionally, HSBC has won multiple awards under David’s leadership, including Asiamoney’s Best international Bank in China, and 51Job’s Top Graduate Employer.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Michael Fontayn

Chairman
AFME

In April 2017, BNY Mellon was named to The Times “Top 50 Employers for Women” list, an achievement that would not have been possible without Michael’s allyship and engagement in the company’s efforts to progress women in the workplace. He oversees BNY Mellon’s EMEA Diversity and Inclusion Council, playing a key role in shaping the regional strategy and supporting groups to ensure diversity and inclusion priorities are relevant and culturally appropriate to each office. Through his support, BNY Mellon proactively signed the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter in July 2016 to make the company’s workforce commitments public and inspire others to openly share their own strategies. Since retiring from BNY Mellon, Michael continues to champion Inclusion and Diversity, mentoring under the 30% Club programme, joining the steering committee of MissionInclude and mentoring under the MissionInclude programme. He is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, LGBT rights, mental health, and is an active supporter of City Mental Health Alliance. Additionally, he has spoken at external events such as the Women’s Forum of British American Business, the Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Programme and The Economists’ Pride and Prejudice Conference, and is joining Women in Banking and Finance as a Patron.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Sproul

Senior Partner & Chief Executive
Deloitte

As part of David’s ongoing focus on ensuring Deloitte provide a truly inclusive culture, he has rolled out innovative agile working and return-to-work initiatives, targeted career development training, and reviewed all recruitment processes to ensure they are free from bias. They have also created development programmes for high-potential female practitioners; including each member of his Executive team sponsoring a female senior manager. David has taken personal ownership of progress towards achieving the target of having 25% female partners by 2020 in the UK, rising to 40% by 2030. He has also been a keen advocate of increasing pay gap transparency: Deloitte was one of the first large companies to voluntarily report their gender pay gap in the UK in 2015 before it was mandatory, and has reported it annually ever since. Externally, he is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its Agents for Change list earlier this year. Two years ago he also received the United Nations 2016 Women’s Empowerment Principles award for his commitment to gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Steve Varley

UK Chairman
EY

Earlier this year Steve made the decision, with the support of his leadership team, to go beyond the UK Gender Pay Gap Regulations and publish EY’s Partner pay gap. The decision was recognised by the Financial Times and set best practice across the industry. EY has a firm focus on diversity and inclusion (D&I) and increasing the representation of women and ethnic minorities at all levels, with many initiatives in place. These include, setting public diversity targets, developing a returnship programme, and focusing on supporting high potential female talent through their careers. They have also delivered inclusive leadership training to over 2,000 business leaders in the UK to help drive cultural change in the organisation. Steve chairs EY’s UK D&I Steering Group that brings together EY’s four business units based in the UK, to ensure that they focus collectively on the D&I outcomes that matter. He also actively sponsors a number of women within the organisation to counsel and advise them on their careers. Externally, he has been an active supporter of the 30% Club since its inception.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Oliver Benzecry

UKI Chairman and Country Director
Accenture

Under Oliver’s (Olly’s) leadership Accenture has embedded diversity across all HR processes; recruitment, development and performance. He is a coach and mentor to several senior women and in recent years has overseen many initiatives to support women’s development in the workplace. These include refocusing Accenture’s Women’s network to an inclusive Gender network, resulting in greater engagement from men in Accenture-run programmes, and normalising their market-leading Shared Parental Leave (SPL) provision in 2015, which has seen 250+ applicants this financial year. This year alone, Accenture has been named again in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women, received a Gender Game Changer Award in recognition of their SPL provision, was a finalist for the BITC Responsible Business Award for Gender Diversity and has seen several senior women business leaders recognised in individual external awards. Accenture continues to focus on the STEM agenda and leads Europe’s largest STEM event annually for girls aged 11-14. They also sponsor 14 University Women’s Societies and 46 school events, mentor 80+ SME women CEOs through business mentoring programmes and introduced their Tech ‘Breakthrough’ Returners programme this year. Olly is also a passionate champion of Accenture’s goal to have a 50/50 gender-balanced workforce by 2025.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Brian Cornell

CEO
Target

The representation of female and diverse leaders across the business is a source of pride for Brian. His desire for a diverse team extends all the way up to the Leadership Team and Board of Directors. One of the areas where Target has focused on engaging and advancing women is STEM. Programs for the team include Target Women in Science and Technology, which helps foster connections, inspiration and knowledge sharing. The Engineering Management Immersion Program is a 12-month global leadership development program that offers immersive and personalized experiences to increase participants’ leadership ability. Externally, Brian signed the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge, which aims to create a more inclusive society where all perspectives and experiences are welcome. He is the co-chair of NEW’s Future Fund, which provides meaningful tools and training that women can use to advance their careers in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries. He also recently joined Catalyst’s board of directors, to play an active role in accelerating the progress of women’s inclusion in the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Penn

CEO
Telstra

Under Andrew’s leadership, Telstra sets clear targets for gender representation, with the current Telstra CEO Leadership Team being 50% female. There is also a huge focus on gender pay equity, and comparing like-for-like roles, the gender gap as at 30 June 2017 is 2%. In March 2017 they also introduced a requirement that interview shortlists include at least 50% female representation. Tesltra encourages different ways of thinking about gender equality through ‘Brilliant Connected Women’, a network of almost 3,000 Telstra women and men who champion gender diversity and equality. Andrew is a passionate advocate for women in business through Australia's longest running women's awards program – the Telstra Business Women's Awards. Externally, he is a member of Male Champions of Change, an initiative for male CEOs to step up beside women to ensure a sustained increase in the representation of women in leadership. This year their major project is an examination of the Future of Work, Technology and Implications for Gender Equity. He gave a keynote speech for AustCham in Hong Kong focussed on the role of diversity and inclusion in corporates and recently participated in a panel session for the Women in Rotary Breakfast celebrating International Women’s Day.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Paul Polman

CEO
Unilever

Under Paul’s leadership, Unilever has made significant strides in moving to a gender balanced and inclusive organisation. Today, 45% of Unilever’s non-executive directors are female and 47% of all Unilever managers are female, up from 38% when Paul joined as CEO in 2009. Unilever’s world leading policies on recruitment, development and retention of women have helped to achieve this. A global maternity leave policy of 16 weeks and global paternity leave standard of three weeks have significantly helped employees transitioning to parenthood, leading to a 24% reduction in women leaving the organisation after having a child. The global “Unstereotype” campaign is a key initiative to support women’s empowerment and gender equality. As an important part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the company is making steady progress in its aim to empower five million women throughout the value chain, including improving the livelihoods of 800,000 women smallholder farmers. Unilever has begun to roll-out a financial inclusion programme with a goal to help empower up to 1.5 million female small-scale retailers, and Unilever’s Last mile distribution models are creating entrepreneurship opportunities for over 150,000 women through skills development and training. Externally, Paul is a HeforShe Impact Champion, and supported the Women Rising 2030 initiative. He is part of the UN Women Private Sector Leadership Advisory Council and a member of the 30% Club, for which he gave a speech at the launch of the new gender diversity index from FTSE Russell at the London Stock Exchange.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Grauer

Executive Chairman
Bloomberg

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, holding the company's business leaders accountable for the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg expanded its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index to launch its first sector-neutral Gender-Equality Index in 2018. Peter also co-hosted Bloomberg's inaugural Business of Equality Summit in April, part of the company's cross-platform editorial initiative focused on supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workforce. Externally, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, and serves as a mentor with Catalyst's Women On Board program. Peter is also a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and serves on its Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services and Gender Parity Board of Governors. He is founding Chairman of the Community of Chairmen at the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Harriet Arnold

Assistant Editor, Special Reports

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Jill Shedden

Group HR Director
Centrica

Jill has been sponsor of a number of programmes at Centrica, involving many events, networking and online resources to champion gender diversity. She is also the founder and sponsor of the Centrica Women's Network, which was built around the question ‘how can diversity and inclusion help Centrica achieve its strategy?’ She has also been heavily involved in the launch of pilot returnship programme, to support experienced professionals to get back to work after a career break. Centrica made a pledge to Powerful Women during international women’s day and national apprenticeship week to increase the number of female engineers by supporting at least 50 females on career development and mentoring. Externally, Jill is a member of the Women’s Business Council, set up by the Government in 2012 to advise ministers on how to maximise women’s contribution to the future economic growth of the country. She has spoken at local school events about women and careers based on her own experiences and success, and was awarded an MBE in this year's New Honours list for her services to women in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jay Hunt

Chief Creative Officer
Channel 4

Jay has been leading our content strategy at Channel 4 for the past 6 years and has led us to an unprecedented level of creative recognition and audience success. Under her leadership Channel 4 has twice been made Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival and has also been recognised in genres as varied as news, documentaries, comedy and drama. Jay is an inspiring leader to both men and women having developed an innovative approach towards peer review at Channel 4. She sets high standards but has also nurtured a new generation of talent both behind and in front of the screen.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Heather Melville

Director of Strategic Partnerships & Head of Women in Business
RBS

Heather founded the RBS Women’s Network, to support the development, growth and attraction of female talent. The network has since been used to help support the change of culture needed to engage their leaders, peer employers and clients. Through her leadership, RBS engaged an executive sponsor and funding which allowed the creation of a wide range of development programmes and events, which complimented the technical training offered to staff. Heather has also launched the Focused Women’s Awards, which have three key categories recognising men, women, and clients who act as role models for gender diversity. She has mentored, and still supports, the two chairs in an advisory capacity. Externally, Heather is an NED for Enterprise Enfield, is on the board for CMI, and is the Chair of CMI women, which has 16,000 members across industry. She hold various advisory board positions, and is a visiting lecturer at University of Westminster for the Women on Boards programme. For the last 5 years, she has been a guest speaker at Chelmsford Girls High School, where she provides business coaching and mentoring. She also has six female business owners as mentees, and mentors 26 women from school age through to their corporate careers.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Janet Pope

Chief of Staff, Group Director Corporate Affairs
Lloyds Banking Group

Janet’s work encompasses all aspects of enabling women to achieve their full potential, from women on shortlists to agile working and action on domestic violence. She worked with the CEO to set the first FTSE 100 target for women in senior management (40% by 2020), and is a regular speaker at Lloyds’ Women’s Breakthrough Network, the largest in the FTSE. She mentors four women and has established a ground breaking internal programme to propel the careers of high potential women, tackling issues such as authentic leadership and creating aspirational role models. As a Camden Councillor Janet was heavily involved in equalities issues including the rights of women in employment, housing and education. She has been involved for 20 years with the Camden School for Girls, founded by Suffragettes in 1871, pioneering the drive for girls’ education. The school straightforwardly shows girls what they are capable of achieving and equips them with the skills to get there. She has chaired the governing body for the past five years, having previously chaired the finance committee. She is also a regular contributor to events organised by EY, KPMG, Egon Zehnder and others to promote the role of women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Michal Berkner

Partner
Skadden

Michal founded the Skadden Women Attorneys’ Network (SWAN). Having worked at Skadden as an associate for several years, she had recognised the need for an internal forum specifically designed to support women in their professional lives. SWAN was the first such group in the entire Skadden global network. It has evolved into a major force for championing women, both within the Skadden business and externally. Each of the firm’s 22 offices globally participates in the programme, hosting a multitude of events and networking opportunities. The European SWAN group regularly hosts intimate roundtable events for women in the business community. In addition to SWAN, Michal has recently played an active role in the roll-out of a ‘Women in Leadership’ programme at Skadden. Aimed at supporting women in the firm reach senior levels and partnership, the course offers one-on-one training to provide the tools needed to help them become partners. Michal is an active participant in the female business community, regularly participating and speaking at conferences and industry events specifically targeted at women, and mentoring more junior women in the sector. She has also mentored women with ambitions to work in government as well as in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emma McGuigan

Global Group Technology Officer, Communications, Media & High Tech
Accenture

Under Emma’s leadership, Accenture were able to make significant progress with the recruitment, progression and retention of women technologists. This success involved implementing a number of programmes to out-perform the estimated c.15% women in the UK talent pool more than two-fold in their recruitment activity. In 2013, Emma was made a fellow of The Chartered Institute for IT. In 2015 and 2016, Emma was named as one of the 50 most influential women in UK IT by Computer Weekly magazine, and was listed in Computer Business Review’s 10 most successful women in UK technology; her other accolades include being the National Women in Business STEM category winner 2016 with Forward Ladies. Emma is regularly in the national media and a regular speaker at industry events from Wonder Women in Tech & the National Digital Conference to most recently appearing at the Salesforce World Tour 2017. Emma is a prominent feature in STEM and she regularly is contacted to act as a mentor within this rapidly growing field. Emma currently serves as a board member of techUK, is an advisory board member of Digital Leaders, and a trustee for the Orchid Project.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Siobhan Moriarty

General Counsel
Diageo

Siobhan has been co-leading on internal D&I initiatives to achieve a goal of 35% female leadership by 2020 and 40% by 2025. Each business unit now has a multi-year talent plan with gender diversity actions and milestones, sponsored by the business head. She is also an active sponsor of the women’s network “Spirited Women” and the LGBT Rainbow Network. In her own legal function, females hold 55% of roles across the team. She also ensures, when reviewing relationships with law firms, that they look at diversity statistics, not just gender, but also ethnic origin, LGBT+ diversity, and social mobility. Siobhan led the initiative for #IWD2017 to make #BeBoldForChange a rallying cry in and outside Diageo. This involved the organisation of panel discussions and events, and the use of internal media to promote her activity. She has spoken on many occasions about the benefits of having an open and inclusive workforce and acts as a senior agent of change in the business. Externally, Siobhan encourages girls to enter the legal profession and young female lawyers to strive to achieve their goals, through talking about her career journey and decision points along the way.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded Gaia Innovation Ltd to build positive links between schools, employers and universities, in order to encourage children to aim high, equip themselves with creativity and technology skills, and seek careers in the growth industries associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These industries tend to be male dominated, and so she uses successful female role models in all activities to demonstrate to both male and female students that women can perform at the highest level in industry and academia. In 2016, Julia founded the UK Automotive 30% Club, a group of progressive CEOs and MDs of the UK automotive industry. The goal she has set is to achieve 30% of key leadership positions in member organisations to be filled with women by 2030, and she has devised a 4 phase "30 by 30' strategy in order to make this happen. She has also recently launched a "303030" Campaign in collaboration with the charity Speakers for Schools which will see 30 senior automotive executives go into 30 schools to give inspirational speeches, and then provide 30 executive work shadowing placements to girls where they will spend a week with the senior leadership team of that business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Runa Alam

CEO
Development Partners International

Runa Alam is one of the most influential women in private equity, being one of few women CEOs managing over US$1 billion. Within DPI, Runa prides herself on promoting equality across every level of the business. Three of the six partners are women, while a 2015 study from Harvard Business School found that the typical number of women in senior positions in Private Equity is 5%. This diversity is apparent across all levels of DPI – nearly half the professionals are women. Runa believes that the top quartile returns of DPI’s funds are due to the talent and diversity of its team. Externally, Runa played a role in the establishment of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, where she served as the Chair and is currently the Chair of the Sustainability Committee. She is also a Board and Africa Council Member of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, a steering committee member of PEWIN, an organisation for women leaders in private equity, as part of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Runa has over 35 years’ experience in private equity, entrepreneurship, investing, investment banking, and is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Leigh Lafever-Ayer

HR Director UK & Ireland
Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Leigh has been co-chair of Enterprise’s UK/Ireland diversity team since 2007, where she started a ‘Mum and Tots’ group, launched Enterprise’s first women’s networking group, ‘Enterprising Women’, and developed an award-winning, company-wide benchmarking tool. She created the gender diversity magazine ‘DRIVE’, which is distributed to employees, customers and universities. Leigh drives employee awareness through Twitter and has also introduced a number of events, both client and customer facing, to showcase diversity at Enterprise. Under Leigh’s leadership, Enterprise was shortlisted for Corporation of the Year by Women of the Future in 2016, been included in the Times’ Top 50 Companies for Women for the last 12 years and has increased the number of females in senior management positions by 58% and women holding director positions by 83%. Externally, Leigh is a member of the BITC Leadership Team for Gender Diversity. She is a regular speaker at conferences, in the HR press and at events on gender diversity. Enterprise is a sponsor of Women of the Future and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. Leigh has also held positions on multiple advisory boards and organised International Women’s Day conferences with influential guest speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue holds a key role in defining how MediaCom evolves, and is an important part of the company’s drive to establish strong women leaders, in which MediaCom has led the industry over the last 10 years. She helped set up the "Inclusion Network" at MediaCom to ensure that the culture of inclusiveness is open to everyone. Project Blend is another new initiative at MediaCom to encourage and ensure that everyone can manage their own work life balance. She also mentors women, both within MediaCom and across their client base. One of her focuses is gender diversity at senior levels, which is why she has written and published The Glass Wall: success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business. Since publication, she has given many talks and run workshops both at MediaCom and across their client base, for example, at Tesco, Sky and Ebay. The book has since been called the most significant addition of the year to the debate on gender diversity at work. It has been featured and extracted widely in the media including features in the Times, the FT, the Daily Mail, the Mirror, Good Housekeeping, Grazia, Mumsnet, and BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Kirsty Roth

Global Head of Operations, Group General Manager
HSBC

Since joining HSBC in 2016, Kirsty has spearheaded a number of initiatives to advance gender equality across the bank’s international network. Within Operations, a function employing more than 40,000 colleagues in 59 countries, Kirsty has increased the proportion of women in leadership roles to one in three. She has doubled the maternity leave entitlement from 12-24 weeks for colleagues in India and Sri Lanka. This year, a new internship programme to bring undergraduates into HSBC’s Global Service Centres (GSC) had a 100% female intake. The GSC in Kolkata has been awarded the NASCOMM ‘Highest Percentage of Female Employees in IT/ITES’ award three times. In March, Kirsty led the introduction of HSBC’s ‘Take Two’ programme to bring women back into the workplace in India – with the aim of hiring 30 women into management positions each quarter. Kirsty also invests a lot of personal time into championing women in business. She was part of the team that established the City Women’s Club in 2004, which recently merged into the London Women’s Forum (LWF). She also mentors and sponsors a number of aspiring female leaders in other organisations, helping to coach them through their work and life challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Pinch

Managing Director
Pinch Point Communications

As a board member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations from 2013-2016, Sarah tirelessly worked to support the women in the industry, establishing a young communicators forum, speaking out regularly on the gender pay gap, supporting female leaders and commissioning detailed quantitative research into the experience of women in PR. That research was published in 2017 along with an action plan. In the New Year, she will launch a mentoring programme to support female managers who want to become leaders.  She takes time to mentor women in business, and actively promotes her own company as a female owned and led business. As a non-executive director of the HSE, she also talks to and sponsors aspirant female NEDs who are seeking a public appointment. Sarah is frequently asked to talk to schools, groups of girls and young women about being a leader in business. She also spoke at a debate of the Parliamentary debating group on the issue of new legislation calling for reporting of gender pay statistics. She led a session at The Fawcett Society conference on the same topic and now regularly speaks to groups of women about the opportunities the publication of this data will afford women

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Marie O

Partner
PwC

As the first woman to become a partner at PwC in Ireland, 30 years ago, Marie has promoted, sponsored and supported hundreds of women in their careers since. She leads PwC’s Asset Management sector, with over 50% of the partners in that area being women.  Externally, over the last three years, Marie has lead the 30% Club in Ireland; a group of Chairs and CEO’s who are committed to accelerating gender balance in their organisations through voluntary action.   They are an active part of the Global 30% Club, with 170 CEO/ Chair supporters from leading business in public, private and multinationals in Ireland.  Their activities include information sharing on best practices, research on Women in Management, cross company personal mentoring, and scholarships to promote further education. They are complementary to individual company programmes and other networks, adding to these through support and the development of targeted programmes where gaps exist. Marie received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Ireland-US Council in June 2016, and was honoured by Irish America Magazine as one of its Inaugural Top 50 Women in July 2016. She was also an honouree of University College Dublin at their Alumni Dinner in New York.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Maggie Pedersen

Chief of Staff, Pharma R&D
GSK

When Maggie started to realise the potential impacts of unconscious bias in society, she was inspired to drive change through taking on the role of Global Head of GSK’s Women's Leadership Initiative. Leveraging her role, she has led a strategy for global growth, developing the WLI presence from two countries to over forty. She has held regular senior stakeholder engagements, with a focus on gender balance, collaborating with external not-for-profits, providing networking opportunities and 50% membership growth. When Maggie relocated to the UK from the US, she found that the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association lacked a presence in London, so she drove the establishment of the UK division; now it is one of the strongest and fastest growing regions of the European Chapter. Maggie has since progressed through various roles, culminating in becoming President of the European Chapter in January 2017. She is responsible for leading the Board to deliver strategic and profitability objectives, centred on advancing the leadership impact of women in healthcare. Maggie is now planning her next initiative; working with expert organisations to develop a secondary school curriculum on beekeeping in Western Africa. This will empower women to be economically independent and provide extra income for families.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jacquelyn Guderley

Founder
Salomé

Jacquelyn is a gender equality advocate, social entrepreneur and change-maker, and listed as one of the UK's most influential Women in Tech in 2017 by Computer Weekly. She began her career as a management consultant in the technology sector, at Accenture, where she played a key role in company-wide gender initiatives, including piloting and launching Accenture's Girls in Tech programme. She went on to become co-founder of Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise that inspires girls and young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM), working with over 10,000 girls and young women over three years to change their perceptions of the STEM industries. She is now Founder and CEO of Salomé, the literary magazine for emerging female writers, a platform that aims to tackle gender inequality in publishing. Jacquelyn is also on the steering committee, and a member of the management team, for the Tech Talent Charter, which brings together industries and organisations to drive diversity and address gender imbalance in technology roles. In 2016 she stood as a political candidate for the Women's Equality Party, particularly focusing her campaign on equal education (in STEM) and opening up access to business investment for women.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Deborah Baker

Group Director for People
Sky

Deborah worked with the core Women in Leadership team to create initiatives designed to empower women in the workplace. These include programmes to upskill high potential women, introducing gender-balanced shortlists for all job vacancies, delivery of unconscious bias training, targeting women-only recruitment events to actively diversify the talent pipeline, and offering family friendly policies surrounding care and leave. Deborah also actively champions gender diversity at Sky, by speaking internally about her career journey, challenges she has faced and why she supports the Women in Leadership initiative. She is focused on engaging the leadership team, and making them accountable by regularly reviewing targets and recruitment shortlists so that business areas can be updated.  She has been integral to the development of the Women@Sky network, and the GetIntoTech training programme. Deborah is an active mentor, both internally and externally, and often engages with speaking platforms such as The Women in Media Awards, and in the press.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

EVP Global Marketing
Unilever

In Aline's current role as Executive Vice President for Global Marketing and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, championing gender equality in the workplace and in advertising is a top priority. She has been key to the #Unstereotype initiative; a movement to eliminate outdated stereotypes from advertising. Aline made the ‘Unstereotype’ commitment public in 2016, and has since been advocating for industry-wide change. 2017 saw the launch of the Unstereotype Alliance with UN Women– an industry wide collaboration to make Unstereotype a reality cross-sector and create impact at scale. Along with leading Unilever’s steady march towards Gender Balance, with current female representation in management at just under 46%, Aline places equal emphasis on building inclusion. On International Women’s Day, Unilever launched the “Unstereotype-Changing Mindsets” program that aims to remove the limiting power of stereotypes and unconscious bias in the workplace. They have also been working to create global standards for wellbeing, including maternity and paternity leave policies, and Aline has been focusing on business areas that have traditionally low female representation. She also plays an active leadership role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focusing on driving gender balance in UK corporates.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Nicky Bullard

Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM-Meteorite

Nicky regularly mentors many young women, both in her own business and externally. One thing which may seem small but she believes can make a big difference, is the championing of women in business, singing their praises at any given opportunity. As the first female and creative Chair of a UK marketing agency, she evidences that women can lead a business, not just work for it. Externally, Nicky has chaired the IPA's Women of Tomorrow awards and filmed an experiment which highlighted the difference in confidence between men and women in the workplace, and gender inequality in general. She is on the Creative Equals Advisory Board and is a member of WACL. She is also on the Fundraising and Marketing Committee for ‘Women for Women International’, a charity that helps women in worn torn countries get back on their feet and live independent lives through starting their own small businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Pips Bunce

Head of Global Markets Technology Core Engineering Integrations Components
Credit Suisse

Pips took the conscious decision to be ‘out’ at work as gender fluid to embrace and advocate the importance of authenticity as well as to shine a light on the power and diversity of women in the workplace. Multiple aspects of our identity, including gender identity/expression, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation,  disability and religion  influence our experiences at work. Our sex or gender may be the same, but our identities, our successes and our struggles are different and it is for this reason why Pips is proud to be a female champion in business. She is a member of the European Women’s Network/IT Women’s Council and had many external publications relating to gender equality published. Additionally, she has been integral in providing reverse mentoring to management board members of the firm and is co-lead of the LGBT & Ally program at Credit Suisse where she places much importance on intersectionality and how the voices of all types of women and our allies need to be heard to drive forward gender equality – our differences make us stronger and diversity should be celebrated, not tolerated. Pips is also a regular panellist/speaker on gender equality, and often interviewed by external publications on the topic.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Wendy Warham

VP Head of Network and Telecoms EMEIA
Fujitsu

As Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Business Network in Fujitsu Wendy has created a new strategy to make Fujitsu the IT company where women can succeed. She is a regular mentor.  She has set the ambition for them to become a Times Top 50 Women’s Employer within two years, and is personally driving the action plan to address the gender pay gap issues within Fujitsu. She often shares her very truthful and personal story at internal and external women in business events, including Fujitsu’s Ada Lovelace Day, to speak on the importance of building good networks, and help inspire others to achieve their own success. Externally, Wendy sits on a variety of women in business panels discussing the variety of careers available in tech, and giving practical tips and advice to attendees. She has also recently enrolled onto ‘Inspiring the Future’, affording her the opportunity to connect with, and encourage, young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Lucy Clayton

CEO
Community Clothing

Community Clothing is a social enterprise with a mission to sustain and create jobs in the UK textile and garment manufacturing industry, where many of the workforce at risk from the closure of factories are women. Together with Founder Patrick Grant, Lucy has focused on delivering the company’s social impact, collaborating with organisations working with vulnerable women and the long-term unemployed, many of whom live in underprivileged communities. The team at Community Clothing is 75% women, and Lucy is a fierce supporter of working parents, as many of the women in the team at Community Clothing work non-traditional schedules. Passionate about discovering and supporting female talent, Lucy continues to mentor young women who no longer work with or for her, helping them to transition back from career breaks or to move into different industries.  Having successfully returned to work after a career break herself, Lucy is looking to share her experience and promote the voice of working women. Lucy gives talks in schools, regularly speaks on industry trends and the future of work at events including WGSN, AdWeek Europe, and will deliver a forthcoming TEDx talk on Community Clothing’s ethos and ambition in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Payal Vasudeva

UKI Human Capital & Diversity Lead
Accenture

In her role as the Accenture UK & Ireland Human Capital & Diversity Sponsor, Payal has single accountability for employee engagement, leadership development and is responsible for all Inclusion & Diversity initiatives for the workforce. She is a senior executive sponsor for the ‘Accent on Gender’ employee network, providing an environment where Accenture’s people to drive towards greater gender equality at all levels, through sponsorship, mentoring, and coaching initiatives. Payal was the compere and keynote speaker for an internal International Women’s Day event focused on gender through the lens of social mobility. Externally, Payal speaks regularly at conferences such as Critical Eye CEO Retreat, European Business Summit, STEM Gender Equality Congress as well as senior leadership forums on the topic of the gender inclusion and diversity. Alongside this, Payal sits on the Business in the Community (BITC) leadership team for gender where she works with other senior business leaders to shape and drive the BITC agenda. She is a Trustee on the Board of East London Business Alliance (ELBA), and mentors CEOs as part of the Accenture Diverse Supplier Development Program. She has also founded a scholarship program for under-privileged girls in Mumbai, India.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Zone President UK & I
Schneider Electric

Whilst at Schneider, D&I was a top strategic priority for Tanuja and her senior executive team, and she personally reviewed progress against key goals monthly. She is also an advocate of the HeForShe UN initiative and Schneider is one of 10 companies– with 28,000 men globally who have signed this commitment. She also launched the PLUS ONE initiative encouraging hiring managers to add one more woman to their team. Tanuja regularly monitors female talent and proactively reviews their progress, as well as ensuring each of them is assigned a mentor and proposing women talent for promotions and key projects. Externally Tanuja is an active advocate for D&I and Women in Technology, and frequently speaks on industry panels, at schools, and in the media on the topic. When Tanuja joined Schneider, she founded PowerWomen a network of senior female leaders committed to developing the next generation of female talent and advancing women’s roles in leadership. This group meets quarterly to discuss the topic of D&I, how they encourage women into their industry, especially in commercial roles and at executive level. She has recently moved to Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, and continues to be a champion of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Wendy Murphy

Senior Director HR (EMEA)
LinkedIn

Wendy is passionate about ensuring gender diversity at all levels across LinkedIn and champions this through the EMEA Leadership Team, ensuring that the topic remains front and centre as the business grows. As a result of this effort, and the programmes associated with it, LinkedIn has almost 50/50 gender parity across the region. She initiated LinkedIn’s partnership with Connecting Women in Technology, an initiative aimed at attracting and retaining women to the technology sector, and she is also the executive sponsor for the Employee Resource Group (Women@LinkedIn, or WIN) focused on developing top female talent. Externally, Wendy is a volunteer mentor for a number of women helping them to reach their potential. So far she has helped three young women make important career moves, with a fourth in the works. She is also on Board of Junior Achievement Ireland, which promotes entrepreneurial skills to young people. On the board she has focused her attention on getting female engagement in STEM subjects.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Katie Bickerstaffe

Chief Executive, UK & Ire
Dixons Carphone plc

Katie believes that, without setting specific gender targets, companies should always employ the best person for the job. The attitude has seen a steady increase in the number of senior team members who are female. They attract and then support women with genuine opportunities to work more flexibly: from home, from out-based locations, or flexible hours for example.  Externally, Katie is an active supporter of the annual ‘Power Part Time’ List, which garners immense interest and national coverage. The list promotes flexible working for men and women. Having been listed herself four years ago, she is now a judge and speaker at the event. Dixons Carphone are sponsoring more of this going forward and, through connections made on the Power Part Time List, they’re founding members of ‘Be Inspired’, the retail change programme to encourage more women to join the industry. She has also spoken at her daughters’ school on valuing difference in the work place. Additionally, she is also non-executive director of Scottish and Southern Energy plc.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Carroll

Managing Director, Global Multinationals, Corporate Banking Division EMEA
MUFG

Sarah is a driving force behind Balance – MUFG’s gender diversity employee network. Balance has seen employee engagement and awareness gather significant momentum since its launch. Sarah’s ability to engage male champions of the gender agenda has also led to a sea change in company culture, with employees understanding that male inclusion is a key factor to successfully progressing gender diversity effectively.  Sarah has built a gender-balanced leadership team alongside an impressive network of supporters by being a visible, outspoken and active ambassador for gender diversity. Sarah has make a concentrated effort to mentor other women in financial services. She has also worked to raise awareness of diversity issues in her previous roles at JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. As a mentor to a number of women at MUFG and other financial institutions, she actively utilises her extensive network to assist other women in seeking new roles, particularly post redundancy. Sarah has also been involved in a programme which saw her visiting sixth form female students and promoting the finance sector, and takes part in a Senior Women’s Network hosted by KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC

Amanda dedicates a lot of time supporting women in business within HSBC. She is a mentor to many of her female colleagues, and she has also created a female talent development programme to help more women working in Corporate Banking to rise through the ranks. At a global level, Amanda is a sponsor of Balance – HSBC’s largest employee network resource group, which promotes gender diversity across the bank and reaches around 44,000 colleagues in 45 locations around the world. Outside of HSBC, Amanda plays an active role in championing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and regularly speaks at events designed to share best practice and help them succeed in business. HSBC is also partnered with Forward Ladies, the UK’s largest business support network for empowering women in business – the only women’s network with a regional and national reach across the UK and beyond. As an avid supporter, Amanda speaks at their networking meetings and events. With women accounting for more than half of the increase in self-employed workers since the recession, Amanda joined forces with Anya Hindmarch to create The Entrepreneurs Exchange, a nationwide programme designed to connect successful British business founders with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emma Codd

Managing Partner, Talent
Deloitte

Since becoming Managing Partner for Talent in 2013, Emma has led significant change on culture and gender diversity at the firm. She designed and implemented an action plan against which Deloitte measures progress – focusing on culture and targeted interventions designed to address key challenges. Their relentless focus on culture has included embedding agile working (including the design and implementation of their award winning ‘Time Out’ programme) and ensuring that the workplace is truly inclusive. Specific interventions have included a female manager development programme and a Return to Work internship. Externally, Emma regularly speaks publicly and to clients about Deloitte’s focus on gender diversity, including being an advocate for gender pay gap reporting. She regularly comments on these topics in the national press and broadcast media. She championed the early, voluntary reporting of Deloitte’s gender pay gap in 2015 and was a private sector representative spokesperson for the GEO during the recent gender pay gap legislation launch in April 2017. In addition, she has been on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership team since 2016. In 2015, Emma was named Woman of Achievement by Women in the City.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief Human Resources Officer
Unilever

Leena led the Diversity and Inclusion agenda at Unilever from 2012 to 2016 as Global Head of D&I, and continues to be involved as a member of the Global Diversity Board. With the vision of getting to gender balance, they put together a comprehensive framework, metrics led governance, and a robust model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. There are number of programmes which have aided in this aim, by supporting women going through maternity transition, providing agile working and leadership development programmes, and mentoring. They have also introduced balanced slates in recruitment which ensure that they create a level playing field while adhering to the principle of meritocracy. Leena’s personal mission is to "ignite the human spark in everyone to build a better business and a better world”. She has set a target to inspire 1 million women by showing them what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women across the world, and drives the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Funke Abimbola

General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance
Roche

Funke is the most senior black lawyer in pharma, the only such leader in Roche globally, and a multi award-winner. She was appointed as Roche UK diversity champion, as a strong, visible female role model, who mentors, coaches, and sponsors female colleagues. She regularly presents on importance of diversity and inclusion to all 2,000 new joiners, and is filmed for transmission globally. In line with the UN HeForShe campaign, Funke engaged strong male champions of diversity, and supports the UK General Manager in achieving diversity goals. She established a summer work scheme, and an annual paid school leaver internship, changing trajectories of over 30 students from a range of backgrounds. She is also executive sponsor of a company-funded University bursary scheme to support students from underrepresented groups, specifically female graduates. Externally, Funke holds numerous voluntary leadership roles with strong gender equality campaigning focus, and grass roots approaches to removing barriers for women in the workplace. She also provides free diversity in leaderships talks, and has mentored thousands of individuals, impacting both men and women. Funke is one of the few female world news reviewers regularly presenting on BBC 1, and is a regular speaker and campaigner on gender diversity issues.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Caroline Carr

Chief HR Officer
Permira

Caroline leads the talent strategy internally and across Permira’s portfolio companies, including a focus on maximising diversity of recruitment, optimising development initiatives and ensuring HR strategy is designed to align with business agenda. Though not having been with Permira long, Caroline has a strong history of engaging with diversity issues throughout her career, including the establishment of a cross-company network for women in law and compliance during her over 11 years at Goldman Sachs as a lawyer and HR professional. She is a founding steering committee member of the 30 % Club, founded by Helena Morrisey. During the set up of the group a number of law firms and accountancy firms asked to work with the 30 % Club to help them achieve better gender balance at partner level.  In response to that Caroline founded and has chaired for the last five years the professional services firms' group they then set up, ultimately consisting of 22 law firms and accountancy/consultancy firms conducting research and evidence based initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

President International Markets
MasterCard

Ann has looked in detail at the Mastercard hiring process at a managerial level to make sure that they have qualified women among the candidates. This year, the women intake in this category as well as the number of high potential females in her division has increased by 22% and 20%, respectively. She is the executive co-sponsor of “GiveMe5”, an initiative launched to advance the gender balance agenda within Mastercard as well as in the societies and markets they operate in. Through this initiative, she supports projects that engage, enable and empower women. GiveMe5 builds on the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5; achieve Gender Equality. She is also a sponsor of the work Mastercard are conducting with World Food Program, and is connected with UN Women to advocate for and develop digital identities for women around the world. Additionally, Ann is a sponsor of the production of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs launched in 2017.  Moreover, she has just launched the Let Her Shine platform, where female leaders will be gathered from various industries to reflect on what legacy the women leaders of today can create to excite and inspire the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Alison Nimmo

Chief Executive
The Crown Estate

At The Crown Estate, Alison makes sure they have the basics right on issues such as equality of pay, the way they hire and promote, and how they ensure a strong pipeline of female talent.  She supports employees with “family friendly” policies – such as extended paternity leave, adoption and care leave, and emergency care support.  Two out of the three of her Executive Committee colleagues are female and 30% of the Board Commissioners are female. Their bespoke leadership programme (comprised of the executive committee, directors and other senior staff) includes recognising unconscious bias and creating the right workplace culture.  Alison is a very visible supporter of diversity charities, and regularly hosts talks from inspiring individuals to encourage diverse thinking within business. The Crown Estate has achieved the RICS Inclusive Employer standard, which gives them a framework to evaluate and celebrate what the business does well, highlights areas for improvement and helps them learn from the best practice of other businesses.  Alison worked on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for 8 years, starting on the bid.  As the only female director, it was critical that she built a highly diverse team – across many different backgrounds, genders, sexual orientation and disabilities.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Debbie Wosskow

Co-Founder & Chairman
AllBright

Debbie has always believed in the importance of championing women in the workplace. In her latest venture, she implemented 1:1 mentoring of each of their female employees, personally taking on the majority of mentees. She also organised a quarterly afternoon tea for all female employees to have an open and honest conversation about the workplace. Additionally, she has set up monthly fireside chats by high profile entrepreneurs - ensuring that the majority of speakers are female founders. Debbie is well known for her activism around the importance of women in the workplace and on the challenges faced. She is a regular speaker on panels on this topic and is an active mentor outside work, often running one-off sessions through her network. Alongside this, she is a keen investor in female companies and a contributor to the government on women in business, actively engaging in policy-making. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2016, she was awarded an OBE for services to business. She was also a participant on the Silicon Valley 2 UK scheme, an invitation-only initiative that sends Europe's most promising female entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley to help scale up their businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Melanie Richards

Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie works with KPMG’s Chairman and Board to set the firm’s strategic direction and determine major policy positions.  Melanie is a Partner in the Debt Advisory practice and has more than 30 years of experience in Financial Services, with expertise in banking, lending and debt restructuring. She is KPMG’s senior sponsor for inclusion and diversity, and leads the firm’s external Senior Business Women’s Network. Under Melanie’s direction, KPMG published a detailed diversity profile of its workforce, looking at under-represented groups throughout the organisation. This move was an industry first and demonstrated the importance of this issue both to colleagues and to the wider market. 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 leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups to senior positions. She has personally supported, mentored and coached women 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’s experience in the workplace. She sits on the steering group of the Hampton-Alexander Review, which aims to increase the number of women in senior positions in FTSE 350 companies and is joint Vice-Chair of The Eve Appeal and a member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board. In June 2016, Oxford Brookes University awarded Melanie an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration for her achievements in business and her promotion of gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Victoria Fox

CEO
LIDA

Victoria believes diversity is critical to business success and has created a 50/50 management team within M&C Saatchi owned customer experience agency LIDA, and is leading a committee defining diversity strategy globally for M&C Saatchi Group. They are building more flexible working options into their approach at LIDA to ensure they keep brilliant talent returning after maternity leave and fully support shared parental leave. LIDA also run speed mentoring for all women in the organisation bi-annually, giving female talent access to advice and inspiration from senior female management. She writes a Huffington Post blog on 'authentic leadership', and is an active member of WACL (Women in Advertising London) working on two committees focused on up and coming female talent. Firstly, she is a member of WACL Gather committee, an annual training event giving advice, inspiration and mentoring to 500 women. Secondly, she sits on the partnerships committee working closely with all organisations that are supporting younger females in the industry. They are currently working on a plan to promote ‘equal pay day’ Friday 10th November. Victoria is a school governor at South Hampstead High School for Girls, helping the next generation make great strides towards equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive
Virgin Money

Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the government's Women in Finance Champion. In 2015, HM Treasury invited Jayne-Anne to review and report on the representation of women in senior managerial roles in the Financial Services industry. The Review recommended that financial services companies should set targets for gender diversity in senior management and publish progress against those targets annually. The Review also recommended progress against the targets should be explicitly linked to variable pay for the Executive team. Jayne-Anne's report led to HM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter - a commitment by firms to work together for gender equality in financial services. The Charter has been a huge success with over 140 signatory firms, covering over 560,000 people - equal to over half of the employees in the financial services sector. Whilst recognising there is more to be done, Jayne-Anne believes the Charter will make a real difference in improving culture, make firms more female-friendly, and offer the opportunity to have a successful and rewarding career.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Elizabeth Raffle

Head of Finance Community
Lloyds Banking Group

Elizabeth leads a cultural change programme, transforming Finance and targeting 40% female leaders by 2020. The programme upskills leaders to value diversity and inclusion, support agile working and be aware of unconscious bias, as well as empowering colleagues, giving them a greater voice and helping them achieve their potential. One of the elements is a talent programme which gives aspiring, female leaders the opportunity to develop their skills through a broad range of activities. Elizabeth speaks regularly at internal conferences and hosts visits from other organisations to promote the benefits of an empowering, inclusive culture. She role models best practice within her own team, including a job share and flexible work patterns. Outside work, Elizabeth has spoken at conferences such as PwC’s Finance Leaders’ Summit and its Women in Finance Network, as well as talking to other financial institutions and local organisations. She supports many charities, including women’s charity, One25, through fundraising and building their management skills. She has a particular interest in the impact of technology on women in the workplace and is in dialogue with Bristol academics about potential research in this, and other, areas.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Carolyn McCall

CEO
easyJet

The biggest challenge for women in business is the lack of women in senior management roles. Carolyn has sought to create an environment in which women can build a career, by actively encouraging and supporting women as they progress. EasyJet make it easy for people to have flexible working including part-time working, working from home and job sharing. Women now make up over half of the executive team and a third of the senior management team, while one in seven of the world's female airline captains already fly for easyJet. Carolyn has a regular programme of speaking and Q&A sessions with groups of women both in easyJet and outside, in particular young women who are starting their career. Recent events have included Speakers for Schools, and speaking to the women's network of their engineering partner GE and LVMH. She has been involved with "Women in Advertising and Communication " and chaired Opportunity Now from 2005 to 2009, continuing to be involved in the activities of both. Carolyn has been recognised a number of times for her gender diversity and management efforts, including a Damehood in 2016.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Abi Wright

Co-Founder and Managing Director
SpaBreaks.com

Abi Wright launched Spabreaks.com in 2008. Her aim, to change the perception of spas from purely hair and nails to highlight their role in health, wellbeing and body confidence; making them more accessible, and opening up the industry where people had been marginalised before i.e. Cancer and Disability. Today she has a culturally diverse team of 85+, was number two in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 in 2012, won numerous awards relating to her role in diversification and inclusivity in the workplace and has taken turnover from £250k to £20m+ in 2016. The London based call centre hopes to attract more women into a male dominated world of sales and as a result her skilled senior management team is 98% female. In 2017 the company introduced its first female apprentice, and she has recently introduced a part-time home working programme for parents wanting flexibility.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President of Strategic Sales
Brightstar

At Brightstar Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, and champions the subject through speaking engagements at various forums within the business. These include team briefings, segments on the quarterly global webcasts, as well as feature pieces in internal publications. She acts as a mentor to women across the business at different stages of their careers and set up the Brightstar Breakfast Club where talented women at all levels have the opportunity to connect, contribute and grow. Emer is a member of the UK Government's Women's Business Council (WBC), and represented the UK at the UN "Annual Commission on the Status of Women Globally" in New York. She was also appointed as the Co-Chair of the "Men as Change Agents" board which is a key project of the WBC, and was a keynote speaker at this year's Mobile World Congress session on Women4Tech. Most recently, Emer was honored in New York by Women's eNews, as one of the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" for her work on promoting gender equality - the only European female to feature on the list this year. Emer is also a Non-Executive Director of PaddyPower Betfair plc.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Carol Andrews

Head of AIS Client Service
BNY Mellon

Carol serves on the Leadership Committee for BNY Mellon’s women’s network and is also an internal mentor to five women. In 2016, she co-led BNY Mellon’s co-sponsorship of the “Women in Management” report, which enhances the evidence base for addressing workplace gender inequality in Ireland. She supported the implementation of internal focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report, which ultimately led to an internal media campaign featuring a video of their Chairman dispelling myths around agile working. She also began the company’s Ireland CSR programme in 2006 and continues to support local efforts. Externally, Carol founded the 30% Club Ireland Chapter and, two years later, 169 member organisations have pledged to make a meaningful difference to the way women participate in the Irish workforce. She currently co-chair the Financial Services group and has recently become the Ireland chapter lead in July. She was the former Director of Junior Achievement in Ireland, believing that empowering women in the workplace begins with the development of young children, and encouraging education at a very early age. Gender equality is not just about women, but men as well, and she is dedicated to fostering cultural change that inspires diversity of thought.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Karen Blackett

Chairwoman
MediaCom

Karen started the Inclusion@MediaCom initiative, holding sessions covering 'Authenticity', 'The Glass Wall' and 'Mental Health and Wellbeing'. MediaCom also supports Women Returners to Work and launched Project Blend, which focuses on helping everyone reach their true potential, and ensuring the next generation of leaders are empathetic, intuitive, successful, and most importantly - happy. MediaCom also uses Shine for Women, a coaching course designed for women to give support, goals and focus to allow more women to reach the boardroom. This International Women’s Day Karen spoke in Dublin at the IAPI Doyenne Awards, she also mentors many women in and out of her role. She has also spoken at various events on the impact the female workforce can have on gender equality. Karen was also the first women to be interviewed for the new ‘Women in Business’ segment for BBC Breakfast News. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service and is President of NABS. She is a member for WACL and part of WPP Stella. Recently Karen became the Chancellor for Portsmouth University and was named one of 20 ‘Women to Watch’ throughout Europe by Ad Age, and was one of three women honoured by Hearst UK & Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Harriet Green

General Manager, Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education
IBM UK Limited

Harriet is an active IBM executive leader, mentor and sponsor of several women diversity groups. She has spoken at and hosted a variety of women in business events, internally and externally, discussing women’s leadership and how to drive transformation. She also regularly blogs internally on diversity and leadership communities, reaching 300,000+ IBMers. Harriet regularly speaks with women’s groups, university programmes and individuals worldwide to coach, mentor, and share her leadership views. She is a proud supporter and advocate of championing women through the Peaceworks Foundation, to help foster understanding, tolerance and co-existence in regions of conflict. In May, she was named one of the most Creative People in Business for 2017 by Fast Company and last year won the Women in Technology Institute award and was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame for her contributions to technology in business and her commitment to support and mentor women and girls worldwide. Harriet was recognized as the UK Business leader of the Year and Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year for 2014 and ranked 23rd in the Fortune Top Global Businesspeople list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Helen Rose

COO
TSB

TSB was created to bring more competition to UK Banking and make banking better for UK consumers. Creating a different, inclusive culture has been key to success, with Helen driving TSB’s long-term commitment to gender diversity. Helen led TSB’s Gender Balance Matters campaign, pioneering a transparent approach to gender pay gap reporting, and calling on others to follow TSB’s lead and come clean on causes of their gender pay gap, and what they are doing to fix it. Helen regularly promotes gender diversity through media interviews and speaking events like CBI’s First Women, Management Today's Inspiring Women, and an Equalities Office seminar for SMEs. She also led TSB’s sponsorship of the Women’s Equality Party’s first conference, participated in forums for HMT Gadhia and Hampton Alexander Reviews and was shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards. Helen ensures TSB's policies are gender neutral, championing activities supporting parental leave, flexible working and encouraging women to return to financial services. Throughout her career, she has mentored women and she introduced a programme for TSB’s executive committee to champion female partners. This is all on top of her ‘day job’ which includes co-leading TSB’s transformation programme, migrating to a new IT platform.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Rachel Lord

Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa
BlackRock

Rachel Lord, Senior Managing Director, is head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BlackRock and a member of the Global Executive Committee. Prior to assuming her current role in September 2017, she was EMEA Head of iShares and Head of Global Clients, ETF and Index Investments. During the time in her former role, Rachel was Global Inclusion & Diversity lead for iShares and achieved 100% diverse slates in recruitment at all levels since 2014. She also championed global minimum maternity policies.  As a result, there is 50% gender diversity at analyst and associate levels in iShares. Rachel is a member of the Women's Initiative Network advisory council, and has been Global Executive Sponsor since early 2017. She leads on International Women's Day European client and internal events, is a powerful advocate and role model for women leading major businesses at BlackRock. Rachel regularly mentors women, both internally and externally, and is often asked to attend and speak at events for senior women in business. She is a speaker at industry-wide recruiting and educational events for women at university, and girls at school, and actively engages with other women's networks at major financial firms in Europe to encourage cross-firm collaboration.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner Europe and Middle East
Reed Smith

Tamara has been active in, and has ensured that RS is visible in, community, industry and global initiatives to champion women, including through involvement with organisations such as Women Corporate Directors, Boardwalk, Asian Women of Achievement, and the International Women's Forum. She also started some herself, including Women in Structured Finance and Women in Corporate Trust. Tamara has worked for years with the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) at Reed Smith, is a founding member of the 30% Club, and has been instrumental in the development of the “Paradigm for Parity”, designed to accelerate the achievement of gender parity in business. Tamara is a member of C200, an invitation-only organisation of the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators, and is the London School of Economics Court of Governors Sponsor for LSE Power (the female staff network).  She also led a group of donors in support of the LSE’s acquisition of the Women’s Library and she currently chairs the Cancer Research UK initiative “Women of Influence”.  She is a regular speaker at conferences and professional meetings focusing on closing the gender gap and frequently writes on women in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Under Sarah's leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva's strategy. In the UK, they have set a target of 40% senior management roles held by women by 2020, with similarly stretching targets in all other 15 markets. They are a founding signatory of the Women in Finance Charter.  Last year, Sarah launched a programme for 45 women across the globe to develop Aviva’s future female talent – by helping them grow their influence, confidence and leadership. Sarah believes in 1000 small degrees of change, in 2016 she put in place a policy globally for parents to take half a day off to support their child’s first day at school. She champions and speaks at Aviva global Women’s Network events and encourages the business to get behind iconic moments such as International Women’s Day. She asked Aviva’s people globally to make their ‘#Beboldforchange’ pledge, including the Chairman, Board and CEO. Sarah sits on the 30% Club steering committee, and mentors and coaches several women internally and externally on their career paths. She speaks on many panels and contributes to the gender conversation in the media. She also champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards and Asian Women Achievement Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Estelle Brachlianoff

Senior EVP - UK & I
Veolia

Estelle's vision is to build a more diverse company with a diverse management team and, as part of this, 30% of Veolia UK & Ireland’s ExCo is now female. To ensure this continues, she has created a diverse executive pipeline with support from Veolia’s Women in Leadership initiative and a series of executive training programmes. She is also one of two sponsors of Veolia Group’s Gender Diversity Network ‘WEDO’, to influence gender balance throughout the 163,000 employees worldwide. Internally, Estelle has also held a Coaching Circle to give guidance in addition to a live Q&A to answer business questions from female leaders across the entire Veolia network. Externally, she is involved in several networks promoting gender balance in the workplace, including being the chair of the French Chamber of Commerce’s Women's Business Club. She also often meets groups of young women at the start of their careers and has spoken to female engineers at various events such as those held at HEC Paris – the European business school that holds events in London. On International Women’s Day, Estelle has also taken part in several annual events, including those led by Accenture to inspire young female leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Julian Pritchard

Partner, Corporate
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

While managing his firm’s US practice, Julian developed a programme with the ambitious goal of making the firm the most attractive law firm for women to work in, and to drive great gender diversity outcomes. The programme was comprised of a variety of factors, including new mentoring and sponsorship programmes for women, unconscious bias training, women’s lunches, workshops and client events, part time and flexible working initiatives and other initiatives designed to drive inclusion. In that period, 70% of recruits into the firm’s US practice were women, and they had a relatively high proportion of women elected into the partnership. Julian is now co-sponsor of the firm’s global gender diversity efforts, and one of two partners assigned to assess and interrogate the firm’s partnership candidate pipeline to ensure better gender diversity outcomes. Externally, Julian regularly participates in diversity events ensuring that he is part of the debate. He has driven a project to obtain statistical information that can inform internal discussions on women in the workplace, and has led offsite presentations focussed on behavioural changes that will lead to more inclusive leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Michael Keegan

Chairman UK & I, Head of Product Business EMEIA
Fujitsu

Michael is a vocal champion of gender diversity in the Fujitsu EMEIA leadership team, and to workplace colleagues. He secured funding for gender diversity initiatives enabling Fujitsu to join Everywoman and other networking events, and supported the deployment of unconscious bias training for all Fujitsu UK hiring managers. He has supported senior female colleagues attending important networking events, for example, the Global Female Leadership summit May 2017. He is a mentor to several talented women, both inside and out of Fujitsu, and helped to support the establishment of a Fujitsu gender diversity group in their Germany business, encouraging others by speaking at the launch event. Michael is an ambassador for Everywoman and a frequent speaker at industry events and contributor to media articles on the of gender diversity. He regularly uses his social media reach to promote gender diversity campaigns in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Stefano Toffolo

Managing Director, Global Head of F2B and Compliance QA
Credit Suisse

Stefano actively encourages diversity and flexibility, as demonstrated by establishing a Women’s Network to support the development, advancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Stefano has initiated many initiatives and policy changes to increase gender diversity within his own significant area of influence. Since 2014, six female professionals joined Stefano’s team to re-enter the workforce through the bank’s “Real-Returns Program” and he offers his professional experience as a mentor to many employees. Stefano participates in a variety of events, both internally and externally, aimed at promoting gender diversity and encouraging the advancement of women. He also holds attended an advice seminar for Liverpool University, at their London campus, and offers advice to female students on developing their career paths.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Simon Linares

Group HR Director
Direct Line Group

Simon is committed to the progression of talented women at all levels through an inclusive culture. He has developed Direct Line Group’s people strategy to support the company's mission to make insurance easier and better value for customers. Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of making their strategy sustainable for the future, and they have raised the profile of this debate at Board and Executive level over the last 2 years, while also accelerating a range of tactical activity to drive immediate benefit. They are signatories of the Women in Finance Charter and members of the EveryWoman Network.  Direct Line Group focus on everyone being able to 'bring all of yourself to work' as a key value.  Simon is also a voluntary advisor of the Leadership Pipeline, which promotes women progressing in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Richard Beaven

Distribution Director
Swinton Insurance

Richard has been a driving force behind equality and diversity in the workplace. As part of a restructure he displaced all three layers of mostly male senior leaders in the business, the outcome of which was an almost 50% mix of male and women in the leadership team. The basis for selection wears entirely meritocratic but they use a very robust process to select around both skills and competencies, in particular behaviours. He is a regular speaker on panels, and internally, about the importance of gender diversity. Most recently he was on a panel with Liz Bingham OBE with the British American Business Women's Network, where he spoke to an audience of around 200 senior women about diversity in the workplace, and how both companies and individuals have a responsibility.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Christopher Stirling

Global Chairman, Life Sciences
KPMG

Chris has more than 20 years’ experience advising clients in the Life Sciences sector across the globe, including overseeing large, complex transactions. Chris is passionate about creating an environment where women thrive, and raising awareness of the benefits of an inclusive business. Chris has been central in driving the firm’s Exceptional Women in Life Sciences initiative, raising the profile of female talent in the firm globally. He is passionate about accelerating career progression for the best talent, and he coaches and mentors men and women at all levels at the firm to ensure that gender parity is reflected in his team and the wider firm. He has also been key in the development of women’s networks and events within KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Mark Burgess

Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer, Chief Investment Officer, EMEA
Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Mark has overall accountability for improving gender diversity and inclusion in Columbia Threadneedle’s EMEA business. He is responsible for achieving the gender targets set out in their “Gender Action Plan”, which aims to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. He has made great strides in this area, with 33% of the company board, 29% of the regional Executive Committee and 29% of the investment professionals being female. Externally, Mark is a trustee of Access Sport, which aims to harness the proven power of sport to tackle social exclusion, inactivity and obesity in areas where help is most needed. He is also a trustee of LIFEbeat, which aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of young people – giving them the skills and inspiration to overcome challenges and lead confident, healthy and purposeful lives.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Chris Allington

Regional Head, Financial Markets, West (Head FM)
Standard Chartered

Chris is an active sponsor for both the UK and US Women's Networks and provides support, mentorship and direction to the committees. He is also a passionate champion for gender equality and was instrumental in rolling out improved Parental and Maternity Leave Policies across the bank to ensure employees could access the same benefits across the globe. His active engagement has encouraged a number of men to get involved in the Women's Network and pushing the gender equality agenda further. He regularly speaks at both internal and external events on the importance of a strong gender mix to an organisation and is part of the Corporate and Institutional Banking management team, actively pushing to ensure they have higher numbers of women in senior positions in Financial Markets. Externally, Chris also speaks at events and to special interest groups on the importance of gender equality, as well as regularly taking part in mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director
Accenture

Andrew has been a prominent feature in promoting Inclusion and Diversity initiatives throughout United Kingdom and Ireland. Globally he is one of Accenture’s Cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, this is an integral role when dealing with women in the workplace. Accenture is committed to building an inclusive environment for its employees that has mutual respect at its foundation and empowers individuals to seize opportunity. It is Andrew’s duty to look at ways in which they create an environment that champions women in the workplace and continues to grow an inclusive culture. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has implemented an aspirational target that women will make up 30% of all their Managing Associate and partner promotions each year. He has also amended the Partner Remuneration process to ensure a greater emphasis and accountability for people development. Colin was central to setting up the mentoring scheme, in which all Managing Associates are matched with a partner sponsor who acts as a guide to support and champion them in the workplace. He currently has two mentees, one female and one male, and is focused on providing them with equal opportunities. Externally, the firm is involved with a sector-wide female mentoring scheme, and Colin volunteered to be one of three senior mentors. He is also involved with external diversity committees, and ensures that gender diversity is always on the firm’s agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Rakesh Kapoor

CEO
RB

Rakesh successfully sponsored the launch of Project DARE (Developing, Attracting, Retaining and Engaging talented women @ RB) to implement a more systematic approach to ensure the number of women at middle management and senior levels more closely mirrored the population of women across the business. He has introduced extended parental leave and working from home policies to allow for flexible lifestyles, and a ‘stay in touch’ programme, whereby employees who go on maternity leave can stay in touch with the company. For parents to be, he promoted webinars before and after maternity leave, to help with balancing a family and a job.  In addition, he has sponsored a mentoring program, to allow talented women in the organisation to have a mentor to support and sponsor them. He also promoted fair gender representation for external hires, so that there is mandated diversity in candidate lists. As a father of a girl, Rakesh is very committed to tackling unconscious bias and championing women in and outside of the workplace, and has set a company target to double the number of talented women at RB by 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Richard Robinson

Managing Partner
Oystercatchers/Econsultancy

Richard was named a ‘Male Agent of Change’ by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today and a 'Campaigner for increased diversity in the industry' by The Huffington Post. He mentors a dozen people at any one time, with a simple philosophy: Never mentor someone who looks or sounds like him. This principle has since been adopted by Centaur Media’s mentoring programme. He regularly writes and speaks about empowered inclusivity and was the only man asked to contribute to Engine Group’s industry-leading white paper “21st Century Woman” released on International Women’s Day 2017. He was a key panellist at Advertising Week Europe 2017 on Diversity as well as at the Marketing Agencies Association #doDifferent Conference 2017. Richard is active as a Board member of Creative Equals and the first male SuperMomma for SheSays. A regular speaker and columnist on the topic of gender diversity, he is also an external mentor to 25 students from Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Chris Stylianou

Chief Operating Officer UK & Ire
Sky

Chris Stylianou is the Executive sponsor of Sky’s Women in Leadership (WiL) programme. He leads on the vision to enable female talent within Sky, and reach our target of a 50:50 gender balance. To do this, Chris worked with the core WiL team to create a wide variety of initiatives to encourage gender parity and female advancement. Chris also actively champions gender diversity at Sky by speaking internally and regularly holding executives accountable to their departmental targets with regular reviews. He also sponsors a number of women, and has 12 women in high profile leadership roles. Externally, Chris is a ‘Male Agent of Change’ and sits on the Women’s Business Council, as well as taking on a number of speaking engagements focusing on how big business can drive change internally and in their communities. Chris was a finalist in the Business in The Community Gender Champion Award, and has also just led and advised on the vision and objectives for the newly formed Women@Sky network.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Michael Cole-Fontayn

EVP, Chairman EMEA
BNY Mellon

Under Michael’s leadership, BNY Mellon was named to The Times “Top 50 Employers for Women” list. He oversees BNY Mellon’s EMEA Diversity and Inclusion Council, playing a key role in shaping the regional strategy and supporting groups to ensure diversity and inclusion priorities are relevant and culturally appropriate to each office. His impact is felt across EMEA, notably through holding senior leaders accountable to the company’s commitment to diversity and his active engagement with BNY Mellon’s six Employee Resource Groups. Through his support, BNY Mellon proactively signed the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter in July 2016 to make the company’s workforce commitments. Michael is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, mental health, and LGBT+ rights in the workplace. He has spoken at external events such as the Women’s Forum of British American Business, the Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Programme and The Economists’ Pride and Prejudice Conference. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos in January 2017, Michael launched BNY Mellon and the UN Foundation’s ‘Return on Equality: Investment Opportunities to Help Close the Global Gender Gap’ report.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Joshua Graff

UK Country Manager & Vice President Marketing Solutions
LinkedIn

Josh took action and held all his managers accountable for ensuring that women were hired, promoted and developed into management.  He set an aspirational goal of 50/50 gender parity at every level of seniority within LinkedIn's EMEA Marketing Solutions organisation, which was successfully hit this year through a variety of diversity and inclusion efforts. He did this through a programme involving sponsorship, mentoring, breaking bias training sessions, and insisting on diverse hiring slates & interview panels. He is also a sponsor for several future female leaders, and Executive Sponsor and host of a diversity evening at LinkedIn which brought together senior clients and D&I leaders with an appetite for driving change. Josh is a mentor to female leaders in the US, UK, and across EMEA & APAC. He frequently talks to the media about the importance of diversity in the workplace and the opportunities to drive more senior female leaders.  

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Olly Benzecry

UKI Chairman and Country Director
Accenture

Olly has championed a programmatic approach to the recruitment, development, progression and retention of women which has resulted in increased representation at all levels of the organisation. He is a coach and mentor to a number of senior women and has introduced a number of new initiatives in the last two years that have championed women in the workplace, including refocusing the Women’s network to an inclusive gender network. In 2017 Accenture were recognised as one of The Times Top 50 Companies for Women, and a finalist for the BITC Responsible Business Award for Gender Diversity. Under Olly’s leadership Accenture have put a huge focus on the STEM agenda, and led Europe’s largest STEM event in February 2017 for c.2,000 11-14 years old girls. They also sponsor 14 University Women’s Societies and 46 school events, and have mentored over 80 SME women CEOs through business mentoring programmes. Externally, Olly is a member of the CBI President’s Committee, and a trustee for Movement to Work, and sits on the board of directors for the Business Disability Forum and for the Tech Partnership.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Paul Rawlinson

Global Chair
Baker & McKenzie

Paul Rawlinson chairs one of the world’s largest law firms and is unequivocal in his desire to further Baker McKenzie's global focus on diversity. Locally Paul has been actively supporting the London office's high profile HeForShe campaign, with over 70% of male partners becoming HeForShe ambassadors. Playing a prominent role in the launch of LIFT (Leaders investing for Tomorrow)  - a sponsorship programme across Baker McKenzie's 77 offices worldwide partnering women attorneys with senior sponsors, he is ensuring women have access to all the tools and support they need, in order to rise up through the ranks. Recently Paul was the sole private sector representative at the United Nations launch event for “Champions of the Global Equal Pay Coalition”, to talk about the role that professional services firms can play in bridging the gap in equal pay. Closer to home, Paul is an active supporter of the 30% Club in the UK, recently speaking on the panel at their "Shifting the Needle" Leadership Forum. Paul doesn’t see gender equality as a “women’s” issue – it’s a business issue and is very aware that while progress is being made, there is still much to do before we reach a true gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Vittorio Colao

CEO
Vodafone Group plc

Throughout his career, Vittorio has dedicated significant time, energy and resources to gender equality. He has externally declared his intention for Vodafone to become the best employer of women in the world by 2025. Vittorio has personally supported a number of initiatives within Vodafone, including increasing the number women in Director roles from 14% to 26% in 2017. He pioneered a global maternity policy across 26 countries to support women returning to work. This provoked a global conversation and several other multinationals to follow with new policies. Vittorio also launched the world’s largest recruitment programme to bring women who have taken career breaks back to work. Vodafone will seek to technologically and financially enable 50 million women in emerging markets and have also made a commitment to champion the education of refugee girls through an innovative Instant Network Schools program. He is also a champion of the HeForShe campaign, and has ensured that 100% of Vodafone senior leaders undergo unconscious bias training.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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David Sproul

Senior Partner and Chief Executive, Deloitte North West Europe and Deloitte UK
Deloitte

In his role of Senior Partner and Chief Executive, David has made the establishment of a truly inclusive culture one of his priorities for Deloitte. As part of this focus, David has put gender equality at the forefront of UK firm’s agenda, and set the ambitious target of achieving 25% female partners by 2020. In the last few years Deloitte UK has launched various programmes to support senior women in the workplace, such as their WorkAgility strategy, and the launch of Deloitte’s Return to Work and Working Parents Transition programmes. In 2015, Deloitte was one of the first large firms to publish its gender pay gap voluntarily. David is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its ‘Male Agents of Change’ list. He also received the United Nations 2016 Women’s Empowerment Principles award for his commitment to gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Bester

Group Director & CEO, Commercial Banking
Lloyds Banking Group

Andrew Bester is Lloyds Banking Group’s Executive Sponsor for Inclusion & Diversity, the Group Executive Sponsor for Gender and is heavily involved with supporting the Group’s women’s network, Breakthrough. Andrew chairs the I&D Operational Committee, which tracks monthly progress against the Group’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan. He is passionate about creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues, regularly fronting campaigns across the organisation to ensure colleagues and leaders see inclusion and diversity as business imperative. Andrew sponsored an organisation-wide requirement that all shortlists for senior-level hires should evidence gender diversity. He also personally mentors women both within Lloyds and externally. Andrew has conducted focus groups with women and men at different grades to understand their issues and challenges, and has spoken publically both internally and externally about the role men have to play in advancing gender equality. Andrew champions the Women of the Future Ambassadors Programme, and gave the keynote speech at the annual reception event in April. He has taken part in a number of media interviews and global panels on gender diversity, and was recently named in the 2017 Management Today ‘Agents of Change’ list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Peter Harrison

Group Chief Executive
Schroders

In May 2016, under Peter’s leadership, Schroders introduced an initial target of at least 30% female representation in senior management roles, with senior management compensation linked to achieving this goal. In his first year as Group Chief Executive, Schroders made strong progress. It increased female representation in senior management roles from 25% to 31%, and is well on its way to reaching its target of at least 33% by the end of 2019. Peter is also overseeing initiatives to combat the lack of job applications received from women, including introducing a 50/50 gender split at the entry-level assessment centres for candidates. Just a month after becoming Group Chief Executive, Peter led Schroders’ move to become one of the first signatories to the Women in Finance Charter. He is also one of a group of senior leaders who recently formed the Diversity Project, an initiative that aims to accelerate progress towards an inclusive culture across the investment and savings industry.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Paul Polman

CEO
Unilever

Today, 46% of Unilever managers are female – up from just 38% when Paul joined the company in 2009. This has been achieved in a holistic and strategic way by addressing the recruitment, development and progression of women across the organisation. Under Paul’s leadership, Unilever has worked hard to create the right conditions to drive gender balance – such as agile working policies, improved maternity and paternity programmes, increased focus on addressing unconscious bias, and mentoring programmes. Paul established and chairs the Global Diversity Board, which gives visible leadership and drives action. Over the last year the company launched the ‘Unstereotype initiative’ to help change how people – especially women - are portrayed in advertising, which is now being extended across the value chain. Unilever works to ensure that 50% of sustainable farming providers are women and is working with partners to provide training to increase income and improve livelihoods – for example digital financial inclusion for small scale retailers. Paul is a UN Women HeForShe Champion working to secure the commitment of a billion men to support gender equality around the world, and a UN Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals – with Goal 5 aiming to achieve gender equality everywhere by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Jeff Conway

EVP - CEO EMEA Region
State Street

As CEO of State Street EMEA since 2015, one of Jeff’s first priorities was to form and chair a regional diversity council to develop a framework to improve gender diversity regionally. He embedded strong advocacy of female talent through balanced promotion and hiring pipelines, and over two years has increased females on his management team from 20% to 35%. The senior team has also seen a 6% increase in female representation under Jeff’s tenure. It is essential to Jeff’s agenda for State Street that all country leaders are held accountable for the progress of gender diversity, and are given specific actions to address challenges unique to their locations. Externally, State Street promotes community engagement, and Jeff is a mentor as part of the 30% Cross Company Mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Roger Carr

Chairman
BAE Systems

Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of BAE Systems plc, where he has set gender diversity as an integral part of Board policy.  In addition, he promotes gender diversity through various speaking engagements and mentoring schemes which are intended to encourage and support women in the pursuit of senior executive and non-executive roles.  He is a founder member of 30% Club and was major advocate for diversity whilst President of the CBI. Throughout his career he has served on a number of external committees including the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, the Manufacturing Council of the CBI, The Higgs Committee on Corporate Governance and Business for New Europe.  He is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, a Companion of the Institute of Management, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He was knighted for Services to Business in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2011.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Matt Elliott

People Director
Virgin Money

Virgin Money aim to make 'Everyone Better Off', an ethos based on fairness to all their stakeholders they have been pursuing for 10 years. Matt leads from the front on this agenda in the company. In relation to gender equality, they have committed to achieving balance at all levels of the company, which includes increasing male representation in more junior levels and increasing female representation in senior positions. Their target is to be 50/50 by 2020 at all levels. He focuses on creating a culture which encourages flexible working, enhances capability of managers, and delivers enabling technology. Innovative approaches such as a new policy committed to matching existing flexible working practices of senior applicants to attract female talent, and introducing a “Baby App” enabling colleagues on maternity leave to keep in touch, are just two examples of Matt’s work. He has been integral to developing Virgin Money’s leading approach to reporting and addressing the gender pay gap. Maternity mentoring has also been introduced under Matt’s leadership - he was the first mentor to sign up to the programme. Externally, he speaks at a variety of events and regularly contributes to articles on the importance of gender parity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Win Bischoff

Chairman
FRC

The FRC has achieved 30% female board members and 50% Executive Committee targets. In his capacity as Chairman, he recently spoke at the House of Lords on the importance of an inclusive culture. He was one of the two founding chairmen supporters of the 30% Club and recruited other Chairmen to join the 30% Club.  He is a regular mentor to female executives in other organisations.  He supported the step Lloyds Bank took to set a 40% female target in their senior management layer by 2020, which was then at 23%. Sir Win was knighted in the 2000 honours list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Dominic Christian

CEO, UK
Aon

Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of Aon Business Resource Groups, including the Women’s International Network, and the lead of the Diversity Council. He encourages managers to recognise the necessity of diverse management approaches, and promote a culture of inclusiveness. As part of the Sponsorship Programme which champions the careers of high potential female talent, he mentors three senior females on a regular basis. In November 2016 Aon hosted a HeForShe event with high profile speakers, and at that event Dominic made his personal HeForShe Pledge to speak at a school/university/college once a month on gender equality. He has hosted a dinner at Aon for the Insurance Supper Club, a body of senior females in the insurance industry, and also hosted an event for Philanthropy Impact to encourage investment in women’s charities and causes. Outside Aon, he is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, and was instrumental in the launch of the DiveIn Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which, in 2016, saw 66 events take place in 10 countries. Last year he was President of the Institute of London and spoke at Mansion House to 400 high profile city figures on the importance of gender inclusion in the City of London.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Lawson

EVP, EMEA
Salesforce

Throughout his career at Salesforce, Andy has been an active ally for driving equality. He is also a firm believer that everyone in the industry has a responsibility to encourage young people to pursue the range of exciting career opportunities the tech industry has to offer. Andy championed the first “Women in Leadership Summit” at Salesforce’s World Tour London event in 2014, an initiative which has since been rolled out across Salesforce events in other countries. He is a mentor to women both inside and outside his own team, and continually works to raise awareness of women’s issues in the workplace. For instance, all Salesforce’s European offices now have employee resource groups for gender equality and celebrate International Women’s Day. Andy is also an active supporter of #HeForShe, regularly writing and tweeting about why it’s important for men to speak up for what's right when it comes to workplace equality. He has also ensured Salesforce supports women in business and tech education initiatives that encourage more girls to pursue a career in tech. Andy was also named one of “30 Male Agents of Change” in Management Today’s 2017 list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Robert Swannell

Chairman
Marks & Spencer

Robert has been a key supporter and champion of the formation and development of M&S Women’s Network, to ensure M&S continue to develop and inspire their female workforce. Externally, he is a formal mentor to two senior women, and informal mentor to many others at varying levels of seniority. He is a founder member of Chairman’s Advisory Group of  30% Club and recruited many Chairmen to the cause. He regularly speaks on the importance of women in business, whether through the 30% Club or on other panels. During his tenure as Chairman, M&S appointments have been more than 50% female. As Chair of UK Government Investments Robert promoted and supported an innovative scheme to bring women onto Boards of HMG owned bodies through shadow roles. He is also an investor in and supporter of an all-female venture capital body, which invests solely in women-led businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa UK

As CEO, over half of David’s direct reports in the UK Executive Team are women and he has proactively focused on addressing gender balance and pay among these senior leaders. In his previous role, all four of the key regional operational roles were (and remain) occupied by women, and the level below is almost two thirds female. He has been instrumental in developing a strong future pipeline both in current and former roles, with 75% of “key performers” on the UK talent plan being female. David is a regular mentor, and the most senior Bupa trustee of the independent grant-giving Foundation, giving him the platform to drive and support gender diversity in the group’s membership. He has also successfully launched Bupa’s new Code of Conduct in all the UK businesses, which strongly outlines policies for gender diversity, for present and future stakeholders. Under David’s leadership, Bupa UK is also involved with BITC gender campaigns and DiverCity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Peter T. Grauer

Executive Chairman

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, tasking all business leaders with the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg launched its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index in 2016, a first-of-its-kind index to measure how companies are addressing gender equality in the workplace. He is a champion of the Bloomberg Women's Community, which hosts global efforts focused on recruiting female talent, increasing leadership development and driving business impact. Peter is also the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, which currently consists of 67 members, including Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg and Larry Fink.  Under Peter's leadership, public company members of the U.S. 30% Club have achieved an average of 29% women on their boards, up from 21.9% when the Club launched. Peter serves as a mentor with Catalyst's Women On Board program. He is also a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and serves on its Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services and Gender Parity Board of Governors.

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Cate Luzio

Global Head of International Subsidiary Banking

Cate is Senior Executive Sponsor and founding member of HSBC North America Women’s Connections initiative. She hosts women’s panels on everything from the importance of being clear on what you want from your career to influencing others, and the vital role of sponsors and mentors. During these engagements, she brings together women across sectors and industries, HSBC, the media as well as key clients. As she travels around the world, Cate hosts roundtable discussions with groups of talented females across the bank where they discussed topics like how to tackle difficult conversations with management as well as how to manage work-life balance. She has also held many similar events across EMEA. In the US, she is senior sponsor of ‘Balance’, HSBC's employee resource group, dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development, enhancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce within HSBC. Outside of HSBC, Cate moderated the “Build Your Business, Build Your Brand” event, focusing on women’s career insight and networking. She is active in various national level charities and participates in many International Women’s Day events. In addition to her charity leadership, she was named one of the Top 25 Women to Watch in the American Banker awards.

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Heidi Toribio

MD and Global Head, Banks & Broker Deals

Heidi is Chair of the Corporate & Institutional Banking’s (CIB) Diversity & Inclusion Council, driving development of the D&I strategy framework for CIB. She is also a working group member of Standard Chartered’s Global Women’s Network, has participated in numerous global forums/ discussions regarding the work being done with CIB and shared personal experiences and development guidance with the Global Women’s Network. She has hosted external, joint sessions with clients discussing gender diversity, opportunities, and paths for advancement and challenges in various markets and regularly takes on mentees of varying levels of seniority. Heidi has participated in analyst programs to discuss the importance of gender diversity and provide insights into professional development. She is part of the Goal Employability and Entrepreneurship Fund Panel, that assesses and funds innovative projects aiming to enable young women from low-income communities to generate their own incomes. Heidi has held leadership positions on various internal D&I boards, and is regularly featured in the company’s internal communications on D&I.

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Miki Tsusaka

Senior Partner and Managing Director

During her 30 years at BCG, Miki has consistently championed women within the organization. As the leader of the Women@BCG program in Asia Pacific, she was responsible for running sponsorship, mentorship, training and affiliation initiatives to support the success and satisfaction of BCG’s women. She remains a member of the global Women@BCG Steering Committee. She has authored multiple global studies on women in the workplace on topics such as women’s engagement, ambition and diversity spend. She is a formal mentor to five female partners as a member of the firm’s executive committee, and an informal mentor to many others. Miki has spoken on a panel at the Global Summit of Women in Tokyo, and sat on a “She-Suite” panel at Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit in New York City, focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing women at the top. She was a panelist at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Conference in Hong Kong and gave a workshop on women’s engagement and inclusion at TEDWomen. At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meetings in Davos Miki has participated in a number of forums focused on enhancing success and opportunities for women in business.

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Claudia Parzani

Managing Partner for Western Europe

As a member of Linklaters global executive committee Claudia is the global champion for gender, sponsor of the Female Leadership Programme and through various other initiatives, such as Breakfast@linklaters, supports the enhancement of female talent. She is also a member of the International Board of Women for Expo and for 3 years was President of Valore D. She contributed to the development of “In the Boardroom”, the programme which trained 300 women for board positions and “The CEO School” for women on executive boards. This year, together with Valore D, she launched as ambassador in Italy “Inspiring Girls”, an international program connecting female role models and young girls. In 2017, Claudia was awarded “Lawyer of the Year – Equity Capital Markets” at the Legal Community Awards and was listed first among 30 female Italian leading lawyers by Legal Community. Additionally, she is ranked as “Star Individual” by leading global directory Chambers. Claudia is also Chair of Allianz Italia and Deputy Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange as well as an external member of Politenico Di Milano, the largest technical university in Italy.

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Jean Wynn

Managing Director, Head of Corporate Banking & Public Finance, Global Client Management

Jean is a founding member of BNY Mellon’s award-winning Women’s Initiatives Network and served as its Co-chair from 2013 through 2016. She promoted the development of WIN’s global Mentoring and Reverse Mentoring programs, serves as a mentor, both formally and informally, for a number of colleagues, and engages BNY Mellon men to become actively involved with WIN as male allies. She led BNY Mellon’s global focus on International Women’s Day, which has become WIN’s annual marquee event, and shares her career journey at internal events sponsored by WIN. She actively participates as a member of the company’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. Jean is a co-founding member of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance, bringing together senior women’s group leaders in the financial services industry to share best practices, and pilot a new WSWA Cross-company Mentoring Program. She introduced BNY Mellon to the Smart Women Securities organisation across multiple university campuses and frequently speaks at campus events about leadership and her career journey. Jean is a member of the President’s Council at Fordham University and was a former co-chair of  Women United in Philanthropy for the United Way in New York City.

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Sheri Mullen

Vice President - US Immunology

Sheri invests a great deal of time in mentoring and coaching colleagues, leading by example in managing work-life balance. She works closely with HR to ensure that the best female talent is being given the chance to come through; her own team is comprised of almost two-thirds female employees. She has been involved with the Women’s Leadership Initiative since it was an informal network in the 1990s, right through its formalisation, and became one of two executive sponsors in 2011. Sheri has been a member of the Healthcare Business Association for over ten years, and has served in an industry advisory nature. She has also shared her perspective in a red carpet interview at the Women of the Year Event and continues to support the development of women through their programming efforts. She participates in and leads initiatives with international charity Dress for Success which helps women with one of the most fundamental barriers to success – what you wear. Similarly, she has focussed on enhancing interview skills with other not-for-profit organisations aimed at developing and supporting women, including GenHERation and Girls on the Run. She has spoken on various panels on gender diversity, and the professional and personal development of female employees.

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Rana Ghandour Salhab

Talent & Communications Partner

Rana was elected to the board of directors of Deloitte in the Middle East region in 2015, and is a member of the regional Executive Committee. She is one of the first two women admitted as partner in the history of the firm of over 90 years in 2006, and the first to be elected to its board. She led the creation of a Deloitte women advancement program DRAW in 2007, which is still frequently profiled by global diversity leaders as best practice. It resulted in an increased ratio of women in the firm across Arabian Gulf and other Middle East countries. Rana is an active champion and frequent speaker on women advancement and gender parity in the Middle East and has presented in many other global summits and roundtables. She was appointed by a presidential decree to the National Commission for Lebanese Women, which advises ministries in Lebanon on gender equality laws and practices, and she was elected to its Executive Board. She sits on many advisory boards of leading universities and NGO’s in the region, and is a member of the steering committee for the 30% Club – GCC which aims at increasing the number of women on leadership boards, and on the advisory board of Reach, a non-profit organization in Dubai for mentoring and supporting professional women in the Middle East region.

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Marc Benioff

Chairman and CEO

Salesforce launched its first equal pay assessment in 2015 to determine if men and women were paid equally. It found that some salaries needed adjustment—for both men and women—so Salesforce spent $3M to eliminate statistically significant differences in pay. After a year of record growth, the company ran another pay assessment in 2017 and spent $3M more to close the gap. Marc pledged to evaluate compensation on an ongoing basis to ensure employees are paid consistently. Salesforce also aims to advance high-potential women into leadership roles by requiring 30% of the attendees of every company meeting be women. On behalf of Salesforce, he signed the White House Equal Pay Pledge furthering his and Salesforce’s commitment to equal pay. In April, Marc brought together business, government, and nonprofit and community leaders to honour equality champions at Salesforce’s first ever Equality Awards. The company has also been recognized as a top employer for women on career sites such as Glassdoor and InHerSight.

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Teresa Ko

Partner, China Chairman

Teresa Ko has spoken on many platforms, from the firm’s women’s events celebrating the London Olympics, to the firm's second ever Global Women Partners Conference when she called for "a mindset change" amongst male colleagues. Her efforts to highlight gender inequality and to champion women and inclusiveness in the workplace are global, having spoken in New York, Hong Kong, and Dusseldorf, to name a few. She regularly coaches aspiring female colleagues with work, career and life issues to help them realise their fullest potential. Teresa also spearheaded the first ever Asia Women Partners Conference in Tokyo this year and helped organise the largest ever women's networking event in theTokyo office. She is an executive sponsor of the Asia Women’s Network, and hosts female colleagues and client events to mark International Women’s Day.  As the first woman to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Listing Committee, she initiated the disclosure requirement of listed companies on diversity policies. She was the first to sign up as a founding member, and is on the steering committee, of Hong Kong’s 30% Club, she collaborates often with The Women’s Foundation, and speaks regularly on gender equality.

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s strategy. In the UK, they have set a target of 40% senior management roles held by women by 2020, with similarly stretching targets in all other 15 markets. They are a founding signatory of the Women in Finance Charter.  Last year, Sarah launched a programme for 45 women across the globe to develop Aviva’s future female talent – by helping them grow their influence, confidence and leadership. Sarah believes in 1000 small degrees of change, in 2016 she put in place a policy globally for parents to take half a day off to support their child’s first day at school. She champions and speaks at Aviva global Women’s Network events and encourages the business to get behind iconic moments such as International Women’s Day. She asked Aviva’s people globally to make their ‘#Beboldforchange’ pledge, including the Chairman, Board and CEO. Sarah sits on the 30% Club steering committee, and mentors and coaches several women internally and externally on their career paths. She speaks on many panels and contributes to the gender conversation in the media. She also champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards and Asian Women Achievement Awards.

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner EMEA

Tamara has been active in, and has ensured that RS is visible in, community, industry and global initiatives to champion women, including through involvement with organisations such as Women Corporate Directors, Boardwalk, Asian Women of Achievement, and the International Women's Forum. She also started some herself, including Women in Structured Finance and Women in Corporate Trust. Tamara has worked for years with the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) at Reed Smith, is a founding member of the 30% Club, and has been instrumental in the development of the “Paradigm for Parity”, designed to accelerate the achievement of gender parity in business. Tamara is a member of C200, an invitation-only organisation of the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators, and is the London School of Economics Court of Governors Sponsor for LSE Power (the female staff network).  She also led a group of donors in support of the LSE’s acquisition of the Women’s Library and she currently chairs the Cancer Research UK initiative “Women of Influence”.  She is a regular speaker at conferences and professional meetings focusing on closing the gender gap and frequently writes on women in business.

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Rachel Lord

Head of Global Clients for ETFs & Index Investing at BlackRock, and the Head of the European EII business.

Rachel Lord, Senior Managing Director, is head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BlackRock and a member of the Global Executive Committee. Prior to assuming her current role in September 2017, she was EMEA Head of iShares and Head of Global Clients, ETF and Index Investments. During the time in her former role, Rachel was Global Inclusion & Diversity lead for iShares and achieved 100% diverse slates in recruitment at all levels since 2014. She also championed global minimum maternity policies.  As a result, there is 50% gender diversity at analyst and associate levels in iShares. Rachel is a member of the Women's Initiative Network advisory council, and has been Global Executive Sponsor since early 2017. She leads on International Women's Day European client and internal events, is a powerful advocate and role model for women leading major businesses at BlackRock. Rachel regularly mentors women, both internally and externally, and is often asked to attend and speak at events for senior women in business. She is a speaker at industry-wide recruiting and educational events for women at university, and girls at school, and actively engages with other women's networks at major financial firms in Europe to encourage cross-firm collaboration.

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Helen Rose

COO

TSB was created to bring more competition to UK Banking and make banking better for UK consumers. Creating a different, inclusive culture has been key to success, with Helen driving TSB’s long-term commitment to gender diversity. Helen led TSB’s Gender Balance Matters campaign, pioneering a transparent approach to gender pay gap reporting, and calling on others to follow TSB’s lead and come clean on causes of their gender pay gap, and what they are doing to fix it. Helen regularly promotes gender diversity through media interviews and speaking events like CBI’s First Women, Management Today's Inspiring Women, and an Equalities Office seminar for SMEs. She also led TSB’s sponsorship of the Women’s Equality Party’s first conference, participated in forums for HMT Gadhia and Hampton Alexander Reviews and was shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards. Helen ensures TSB's policies are gender neutral, championing activities supporting parental leave, flexible working and encouraging women to return to financial services. Throughout her career, she has mentored women and she introduced a programme for TSB’s executive committee to champion female partners. This is all on top of her ‘day job’ which includes co-leading TSB’s transformation programme, migrating to a new IT platform.

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Harriet Green

General Manager, Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education

Harriet is an active IBM executive leader, mentor and sponsor of several women diversity groups. She has spoken at and hosted a variety of women in business events, internally and externally, discussing women’s leadership and how to drive transformation. She also regularly blogs internally on diversity and leadership communities, reaching 300,000+ IBMers. Harriet regularly speaks with women’s groups, university programmes and individuals worldwide to coach, mentor, and share her leadership views. She is a proud supporter and advocate of championing women through the Peaceworks Foundation, to help foster understanding, tolerance and co-existence in regions of conflict. In May, she was named one of the most Creative People in Business for 2017 by Fast Company and last year won the Women in Technology Institute award and was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame for her contributions to technology in business and her commitment to support and mentor women and girls worldwide. Harriet was recognized as the UK Business leader of the Year and Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year for 2014 and ranked 23rd in the Fortune Top Global Businesspeople list.

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President of Strategic Sales

At Brightstar Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, and champions the subject through speaking engagements at various forums within the business. These include team briefings, segments on the quarterly global webcasts, as well as feature pieces in internal publications. She acts as a mentor to women across the business at different stages of their careers and set up the Brightstar Breakfast Club where talented women at all levels have the opportunity to connect, contribute and grow. Emer is a member of the UK Government’s Women’s Business Council (WBC), and represented the UK at the UN “Annual Commission on the Status of Women Globally” in New York. She was also appointed as the Co-Chair of the “Men as Change Agents” board which is a key project of the WBC, and was a keynote speaker at this year’s Mobile World Congress session on Women4Tech. Most recently, Emer was honored in New York by Women’s eNews, as one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” for her work on promoting gender equality – the only European female to feature on the list this year. Emer is also a Non-Executive Director of PaddyPower Betfair plc.

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Carolyn McCall

CEO

The biggest challenge for women in business is the lack of women in senior management roles. Carolyn has sought to create an environment in which women can build a career, by actively encouraging and supporting women as they progress. EasyJet make it easy for people to have flexible working including part-time working, working from home and job sharing. Women now make up over half of the executive team and a third of the senior management team, while one in seven of the world’s female airline captains already fly for easyJet. Carolyn has a regular programme of speaking and Q&A sessions with groups of women both in easyJet and outside, in particular young women who are starting their career. Recent events have included Speakers for Schools, and speaking to the women’s network of their engineering partner GE and LVMH. She has been involved with "Women in Advertising and Communication " and chaired Opportunity Now from 2005 to 2009, continuing to be involved in the activities of both. Carolyn has been recognised a number of times for her gender diversity and management efforts, including a Damehood in 2016.

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive

Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the government’s Women in Finance Champion. In 2015, HM Treasury invited Jayne-Anne to review and report on the representation of women in senior managerial roles in the Financial Services industry. The Review recommended that financial services companies should set targets for gender diversity in senior management and publish progress against those targets annually. The Review also recommended progress against the targets should be explicitly linked to variable pay for the Executive team. Jayne-Anne’s report led to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter – a commitment by firms to work together for gender equality in financial services. The Charter has been a huge success with over 140 signatory firms, covering over 560,000 people - equal to over half of the employees in the financial services sector. Whilst recognising there is more to be done, Jayne-Anne believes the Charter will make a real difference in improving culture, make firms more female-friendly, and offer the opportunity to have a successful and rewarding career.

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Melanie Richards

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.

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Vice Chairman

Gigi Chao is the executive vice-chairman of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) [HKSE 0131].  She is also an avid aviator, a passionate member of the community, and a voice for the LGBTQ community in Hong Kong. Gigi graduated from the University of Manchester in Architecture with Honours. Besides a background in architecture and construction, her multi-faceted experience in management and service was acquired from over a decade in marketing and retail services in Hong Kong and China, during which she handled key accounts such as Rolex, Audemars Piquet, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mont Blanc, L'Oreal, and Ball Watch. In 2008, she founded Faith in Love Foundation with a vision for service in humility and yearning for simple giving and currently acts as the first female President of Hong Kong Aviation Club. As a writer, Gigi has published two books and contributed to many others.  She was previously a regular op ed columnist for Sing Tao Daily and Apple Daily, and now her columns can be found in Ming’s in Ming Pao.

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Mellody Hobson

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.  

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Helena Morrissey

Head of Personal Investing

Helena is one of the best known women in the City. She is Chair of the Investment Association, whose members manage more than £5 trillion. She also chairs The Diversity Project, a cross-business initiative aimed at improving diversity across all dimensions within the investment and savings profession. Helena was CEO of Newton Investment Management for fifteen years before stepping down last August. She will be joining Legal and General IM in May. In her new role she will be focusing on personal investors, aiming to make investing more engaging and accessible. In the meantime she is writing a book, ‘A Good Time to be a Girl’.  In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a business-led campaign to improve gender balance in the boardroom. The proportion of female directors on UK listed company boards has more than doubled and there are now ten 30% Clubs throughout the world. Helena also chairs Business in the Community’s Gender Equality campaign. Helena is a Fellow of London Business School and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cambridge University in 2016. She was awarded the CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for her contribution to the role of women in business and has been named one of Fortune magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.  Helena is a Philosophy graduate. She is married to a Buddhist priest and they have nine children.

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Suki Sandhu

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Carola Hoyos

Editor of the Executive Appointments section

Carola Hoyos started as a journalist at the FT in the late 1990s when she became United Nations correspondent in New York, covering the diplomatic consequences of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the run up to the war in Iraq. As soon as diplomacy died and US war planes crossed the Iraqi border, Carola moved to the UK to cover the geopolitics of oil and gas and the sector's biggest companies, which then led to a stint as defence correspondent. She became the editor of FT Executive Appointments and editor of the FT's Non Executive Directors' Club in 2014. Carola holds a dual degree in economics and international relations from Tufts University.

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Abhishek Tomar

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam

Michele’s organization has 70% female representation with 45% in leadership roles. As chair of the Vietnam’s people’s agenda, the focus on DEI, Wellness, CSR and New Ways of Working resonates across the organization of 1,550 employees with ~30 events throughout the year. Michele is senior sponsor of SCB’s global coaching program – IGNITE that target mid-level female leaders. The program has coached 1,165 senior females (35.8% of total female population) across 45 countries. She also pioneered the MOU signing with State Bank to implement gender equity across banking sector, contributing to overall financial market success. For the Vietnamese community, SCB’s commitment of female empowerment through various local partner NGO’s, Chambers of Commerce and vendors impact ethnic minority students to executive/ entrepreneurs providing thought leadership, toolkits and financial education that augments female participation in society and business. Michele is Top 100 women in Fintech 2022 and Heroes for the 3rd consecutive year. She is featured on Vietnam National TV Channel for Hero Women award – promoting women development journey.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Paley

President, North America
Haleon

Lisa Paley is the President, North America at Haleon. Committed to achieving gender parity in leadership roles by 2030, she has driven gender equity in her U.S. leadership team, with over half of her direct reports being women. Lisa also actively mentors and sponsors young women, supporting their career growth and promoting flexibility. As the Executive Sponsor of the U.S. DEI Council, Lisa leads a cross-functional team to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion at Haleon. Additionally, she was crucial in championing the CHPA Diversity Initiative, promoting inclusivity, and supporting diverse talent in the consumer health industry. Outside of work, Lisa is a board member of WE, an organization focused on expanding women's voices in health and wellness. Her dedication to advancing women in the workplace has garnered significant media attention, highlighting the importance of building an inclusive business model where women can grow and thrive as critical drivers of business performance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nilhan Onal Gökçetekin

CEO
Hepsiburada

Nilhan, CEO of Hepsiburada, is a transformative leader who fosters diversity, empowerment, and innovation. She started her career as an entrepreneur in the textile industry at the age of 17. Then with a 25-year career, including roles at P&G and Amazon, Nilhan has championed gender equality and women's entrepreneurship. At Hepsiburada, she's led groundbreaking initiatives to uplift women within the organization and the e-commerce ecosystem. Under her guidance, Hepsiburada established the Hepsinspire platform, promoting mentorship and career development for women colleagues. She's shattered the glass ceiling, elevating women to executive positions, and cultivated a balanced hierarchy. Nilhan's commitment to well-being programs, flexible work schemes, and training initiatives highlight her focus on holistic growth. Her visionary leadership enabled the Technology Empowerment for Women Entrepreneurs program, impacting thousands of women and raising the share of women merchants in Hepsiburada's Marketplace. Additionally, she's driving significant social impact through a post-earthquake program, supporting SMEs, tradespeople, and women entrepreneurs. Throughout her career, she took part in numerous tech and women related forums as a founder or a member.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Geraghty

CEO
Landor & Fitch

Jane is the CEO of Landor & Fitch, a division of WPP. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, brand and communications, Jane is the driving force behind Landor & Fitch’s evolution to become the world’s leading brand and design specialist, creating transformative brands, by design. Focused on building a business that is truly equitable, Jane has successfully achieved gender equality at Landor & Fitch with 52% of leadership positions held by females and 59% of all employees being female. Jane is an active member of WPP forums such as Menopause Champions, WPP Inclusion Council, WPP Roots, and WPP Unite, where she serves as the U.K. Executive Lead for LGBTQ+ initiatives. Beyond her role at Landor & Fitch, Jane is also an advisor to Women Political Leadership (WPL), aiding women's empowerment in government and business. Jane is also a Reykjavik Global Action Advisory Board member.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Diamond

Global Head of Claims
Beazley

In January 2020, Beth joined the Executive, taking on the global Group Head of Claims role, reporting to Beazley's CEO. She is responsible for the development, management, and operational efficiency of a high-performing global team who she committed to a culture valuing inclusion, friendliness, approachability, and creativity. Throughout her career, Beth has been devoted to developing junior talent through mentorship, helping many achieve promotions because she is passionate about empowering others to accomplish their objectives, maximize their opportunities, and stretch their development. Since she took the helm, Beth was able to double the number of People of Color on the team and materially increase the number of managers who are People of Color, as she recognizes development and promotion are crucial markers of change. Beth also played a key role in extending parental leave to 6 months paid leave, honoring equality in family responsibility while materially enhancing a staff benefit.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner, Chief Diversity Officer
Boston Consulting Group

In addition to being a leader within BCG’s Technology and Digital Advantage practice, Nadjia serves as BCG's Chief Diversity Officer. Nadjia helps drive BCG's internal diversity agenda and foster an equitable and inclusive environment across the firm. In 2023, Nadjia's team successfully launched the firm's BLISS (Bias-Free, Leadership, Safety, and Support) Index, which is used to quantify the employee experience of inclusion and ensure everyone can bring their authentic selves to work – creating a happier, more motivated, ambitious workforce. With a focus on gender diversity, Nadjia assists BCG in maintaining equal retention rates of men and women across all cohorts, resulting in women representing 46% of BCG's global workforce and leading BCG's businesses in some of the world's largest economies. Nadjia's unwavering passion for driving BCG's DEI agenda is only matched by her dedication to family. This year, she was overjoyed to welcome the arrival of a healthy baby girl.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Michelle Crossan-Matos

Chief Marketing Officer
Ulta Beauty

Michelle Crossan-Matos, Chief Marketing Officer at Ulta Beauty, is a trailblazing ally and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her leadership shines during Women's History Month, where she led fireside chats, sharing her journey and empowering others to persevere. Michelle's commitment to celebrating diversity is evident in her support for colleagues with unique backgrounds, amplifying their stories and leadership, and fostering an inclusive environment transcending race, sexuality, and education. Moreover, by collaborating closely with store associates, Michelle underscores the significance of every individual's contribution, emphasizing the collective impact in achieving the company's mission.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Toner

Head of Strategy & Transformation - GB Independents
Diageo

Rachel is the Co-Chair of Diageo’s Spirited Women Network in the UK, the firm's Employee Resource Group established to engage, retain, and develop female employees. Rachel plays a leading role in the creation and running of engagements for the UK Network, which recently includes a virtual event with 'Fertility Matters at Work' to educate and support male and female employees regarding the topic in the workplace. As well as her work with Spirited Women, Rachel is also a member of Grocery Girls, an Employee Resource Group from Co-op created to acknowledge the lack of female representation across the grocery industry. Rachel is a true champion of Diageo's commitment to nurturing the most inclusive and diverse culture, and is dedicated to educating herself and her colleagues on topics regarding gender equality and the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Susan Cole

Community Engagement Marketing & Membership Manager
NAM aidsmap

Susan is an award-winning health activist, broadcaster, writer and public speaker. She spearheads the community engagement and broadcasting initiatives for the HIV information charity NAM aidsmap, including producing and hosting the live broadcast series aidsmapLIVE for a global audience of people living with HIV, and Health & Power the UK’s monthly show on health inequality. Beyond her role, Susan's advocacy reaches global platforms. As the keynote speaker at the International AIDS Society Conference she highlighted global inequities and women's inclusion. In the UK Parliament Susan discussed COVID-19 and HIV's impact on women and people of colour. Her recognition is far reaching, from UK Parliament's International Women's Day debate to the Royal Society of Arts fellowship for her impact in tackling inequalities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Khushboo Pandey

Lead Digital Strategist
National Grid

Khushboo, a Lead Business Strategist at National Grid, champions the Women in National Grid (WiNG) group, leading impactful initiatives that drive positive change. Khushboo's focus areas within the WiNG group exemplify her commitment to fostering an equitable workplace. She has spearheaded the Pay-Gap Initiative, researching gender pay disparity and working towards pay parity. Her dedication to inclusivity extends to advocating for fair representation of women of color, neurodiverse individuals, those with unique abilities, and LGBTQ+ members. Beyond her role at National Grid, Khushboo's advocacy extends to her work with government initiatives and policy design. She was a policy advocate and mentor for start-ups and incubators, contributing to policies that empower and include women in nation-building. Her efforts have led to impactful changes, such as championing special incentives for women in start-up policies and advocating for women's inclusion in government-funded incubators.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chloe Howe

Head of Central Operations - Installations
Wickes

Chloe launched the Wickes Balance for the Better Network in 2019 and continues to co-chair it. She mentors three colleagues internally and uses the network to amplify women's voices and drive equity and equality. Chloe has worked with the senior leadership team to understand their role as gender allies and sponsors of female talent, launching the Gender Ally program which is open to all colleagues. Since launching in September 2021, they now have over 140 allies across the company. In December 2021, Chloe launched Wickes’ period positive campaign which aimed to normalize conversations on the topic, remove the stigma around it and make period products available free of charge to all Wickes colleagues who need them. Wickes is trialling flexible working for Retail Managers. By providing greater flexibility in leadership roles, Wickes believes that they can retain and attract great female talent.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Vanessa Marrou

Global Product Manager - Claims
Liberty Mutual

Vanessa Marrou is a Global Product Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance, she is also the National Co-Chair of Amigos, an ERG dedicated to the Hispanic and Latino Community.  Vanessa supported the launch of a Mentorship Program, growing it 2.5 times since its 2021 start. With a total of 224 members, the program has a 79% Net Promoter Score demonstrating its success among the community participating. Vanessa was also fundamental in launching a Language Exchange Program that brings together over 500 participants globally, promoting language skills and cross-cultural networking with more than half of the participants being women. Vanessa's commitment to cultural events is evident in her orchestration of Hispanic Heritage Month keynotes, doubling participation in two years. Vanessa is proud of directly mentored two Latina women on her team, leading to their recent promotions. Beyond work, Vanessa volunteers as a coach in the Celtics Little League, empowering young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shareeka Meadows

Vice President, Divisional Merchandising Manager
Dollar General Corporation

Shareeka is the Vice President and Divisional Merchandising Manager at Dollar General Corporation. As former President and now Executive Sponsor of DG's African-American Employee Resource Group (AAERG), she fosters an inclusive culture that fuels growth and success. Shareeka oversees AAERG's initiatives, including enriching Lunch & Learn sessions, impactful Days of Service, and the annual AAERG Gala celebrating Black History Month. A pivotal member of DG's Diversity and Inclusion Council, Shareeka played a vital role in reforming the company's commitment to investing in diverse teams through empowerment and inclusion. With more than 80% of her team being women, she exemplifies her belief that inclusion enriches both employees' lives and the communities they serve. Recognized on Mass Market Retailer's Most Influential Women list, Shareeka's influence extends beyond her role. She participates in career fairs, symposiums, and community partnerships, attracting diverse talent, sharing her journey, and advancing Dollar General's D&I efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Simon Cooper

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

Megan Clarken is the Chief Executive Officer at Criteo, the global commerce media company. Since joining in 2019, Megan has been instrumental in Criteo’s transformation. Today, the company operates a robust Commerce Media Platform that connects 22,000 marketers and thousands of media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences. Prior to Criteo, Megan served as Chief Commercial Officer of Nielsen Global Media, where she spent over 15 years in a variety of roles leading initiatives that allowed the 90+-year-old company to adapt and prevail in a time of change. Before she was dubbed one of the “most important figures in media” by Adweek, Megan was an Olympic class athlete, using her perseverance and resilience to pivot into a successful career in technology. With vast awards under her belt, Megan continues to be recognized for her ability to transform businesses, while championing underrepresented groups in media.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marlene Olsavsky

SVP International Higher Education
Pearson PLC

Marlene Olsavsky has been the SVP of International Higher Education at Pearson PLC and previously the Executive Sponsor of Pearson's Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) group. Marlene empowers women, encourages dialogue on well-being, and advocates for gender equality. She also supports professional development initiatives and mentorship programs for women's advancement in leadership roles. She serves as Executive Sponsor for Pearson's Truth & Reconciliation Committee in Canada, where she fosters meaningful conversations and integrates Indigenous perspectives in literature. Beyond Pearson and as Chair of the Canadian Publishers Council, Marlene established a DE&I plan. She initiated partnerships, including scholarships for Indigenous students and the Doors Open Publishing event, promoting inclusivity in the industry. Her dedication to diversity and equity drives transformative change in education and publishing.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah Diamond Morandin

Global CEO & Global Diamond Wing & Author
Entrepreneurs Paradise Pty Ltd & Diamond Empire Global

Deborah, the Global CEO & Global Diamond Wing of Entrepreneurs Paradise Pty Ltd based in Australia, is a visionary leader committed to empowerment and inclusion. Over the last twenty years, Deborah's passion for promoting women's DEI has led her to create "YOUniversal-Inclusion-Mentoring," a groundbreaking strategy that decodes life and fortifies businesses by embracing diverse perspectives. She also convened Diamond-Power Summits, empowering thousands of women, and facilitated The Butterfly-Experience Alumni Group, elevating 10,000 women. Her philanthropic endeavors include preserving pristine forests in South Africa and establishing education, skills training, and healthcare initiatives for local communities. Deborah has shared her insights on "YOUniversal inclusion" and "Shine Bright Like A Diamond" at prestigious events globally, including those hosted by Sir Richard Branson. Deborah inspires and uplifts countless individuals through her curated world trips filled with unique opportunities and Diamond mentoring. Getting the message out through media campaigns, mentorship, and published work with her book Shine Bright Like a Diamond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny is responsible for Aviva’s DE&I strategy, which supports women through initiatives including: simplifying job adverts resulting in more female candidates; including diversity targets in Executive reward; monthly reporting on gender diversity; inclusive leadership training; Aviva’s own Licence to Hire training (covering non-inclusive behaviours and recruiting underrepresented candidates); extending sponsorship programmes for underrepresented talent (including women); and engaging 1,000+ part-time colleagues (87% female) to understand their challenges around progression resulting in a new parental leave coaching programme. Danny personally champions the female agenda in many ways, including by encouraging businesses to consider the potential long-term impact of hybrid working on women, carers and the future gender pay gap. Aviva’s approach includes equal parental leave, paid carers leave, menopause and domestic abuse support, for which Danny is co-executive sponsor. Danny is also the co-executive sponsor of Aviva’s Pride community and has contributed to several external articles, and events, championing women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Denise Gibson

Co-head of the Global Leveraged Finance Group
Allen & Overy

Denise, Co-Head of the Global Leveraged Finance Group at Allen & Overy, is a driving force for gender equality and diversity in the legal field. Denise has played a crucial role in recruiting women partners across the firm's global operations, resulting in an impressive 45% women partners in her practice. She also revitalized the London Women Partners Network to enhance senior women's representation. Her dedication to fostering women talent spans initiatives like A&O Women Making their Mark and Emerging Leaders programs. Denise's tenure on the A&O Board saw the introduction of gender targets, aiming for 50% women at the highest echelons. Her collaborations include partnering with The Female Lead on their Women at Work Report and championing Womankind Worldwide as an advocate and fundraiser, raising over £1m 2023 for women's rights. Denise's innovative approach extends to hosting gender-inclusive client events, creating lasting impact within her profession.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather White

Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Genpact

Heather White is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Genpact. She serves on Genpact’s Leadership Council, and leads all legal, compliance, and corporate governance functions for Genpact. She brings more than 20 years of broad legal experience to the company and played a key leadership role in the company’s initial public offering in 2007. Heather also serves as head of Genpact’s Corporate Social Responsibility team, where she sets the strategy for the company’s global giving and volunteering programs. Genpact believes deeply in making a positive contribution to the communities in which we live and operate. She is also head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, driving programs and policies that foster an innovative and inclusive culture. Prior to joining Genpact, Heather was a member of the corporate department at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, serving clients out of their New York and London offices. Heather holds a juris doctor degree from New York University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Cornell University.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Thamina Stoll

Women@ LinkedIn Global External Network Lead & Senior Client Solutions Manager
LinkedIn

Thamina Stoll is a Women’s Advancement & Diversity Advocate, B2B Marketing & Sales Expert, Podcast Host, Board Member, Angel Investor, and Speaker. By 28, she had generated and influenced 8 figures in revenue for LinkedIn and was appointed the youngest Women@ LinkedIn Global Leadership Team member. As Senior Client Solutions Manager, she strategizes for a Fortune 30 client on Corporate Reputation, Employer Branding, and Customer Acquisition in New York City. Thamina hosts the Give Her Dollars Podcast, helping women build wealth and reclaim economic power. After being diagnosed with a chronic illness and premature fertility decline in her 20s, she’s become a vocal advocate for women's health. Thamina is on the advisory board of several female-founded companies and serves on the DukeNY Women’s Forum Executive Committee. Featured in global outlets like Thrive Global and Nasdaq, Thamina was named one of Germany's “100 Women of the Year” in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One nearly five years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead and International Lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, and pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; the launch of regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marissa Guiang

Vice President, Asia-Pacific Active Investments Platform Strategist
BlackRock

Pioneering the Weekly Asia-Pacific Investor Meeting, Marissa Guiang, Vice President at BlackRock, brings 200+ participants together on a regular basis to spotlight the diversity of investment professionals and their insights. As the driving force behind BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group Pathfinders Program in Asia, she shapes training, mentorship, and career opportunities for junior talent, many of whom are from underrepresented groups. Marissa also co-leads the Communications Pillar within BlackRock’s Women's Initiative Network (WIN) in Hong Kong, initiating impactful office-wide publications showcasing female professionals. Marissa’s early engineering of the Fundamental Equities "Investing in Investors Program" shows her global influence, which places career-switchers from diverse backgrounds into investment roles in the US and UK. Marissa extends her influence beyond BlackRock, mentoring with Built By Girls to empower young women in technology. Her guidance has propelled mentees to internships, jobs, and top graduate programs.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Comms, GroupM Italy - PR & Marketing Director, WPP Italy
GroupM

Paola is Operations Director in Italy for Stella project, the global networking group whose purpose is to inspire and enable WPP women to maximize their potential and fuel WPP growth through increased diversity. It collaborates with some industry big players to create initiatives dedicated to DEI. Some of the projects Paola has been responsible for organizing have included a ‘Fast Forward Women’ training with Meta, inspiring women in their careers; a WPP ‘#IAmRemarkable’ workshop with Google Italia; pro-bono activities for women entrepreneurs in the world of technology and to create adv campaigns for associations that support women in troubled countries (e.g. Afghan women). Paola is a mentor for the young generation of marketers, she has been invited to join as speaker to external events, such as WomenXImpact, an event dedicated to women empowerment where she had the chance to be a role model for marketing community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Senior Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a business support manager for the Consumer, Business & Wealth Management Technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion (D&I) for almost a decade, she received the Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2019 and 2021. She puts her passion for inspiring and mentoring women to work supporting several bank efforts, including as a panelist a Diversity Series during Women's History month; and as a speaker for multiple Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women events promoting finding your Authentic Voice and Domestic Violence Awareness. Dipti also helped organize a bank-hosted D&I Courageous Conversation in partnership with the Asian Leadership Network, Black Professional Group and Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement. Externally, she has led a Mentoring Circle event on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and mentors young professional women to help them navigate their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee

Team Lead and Product Owner
BAE Systems

Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee is a multi-award-winning chartered aerospace engineer and STEM Ambassador working as a Team Lead and Product Owner at BAE Systems. As a steering group member of the company's Gender Equity Network Employee Resource Group (ERG), she is involved in orchestrating impactful events. Beyond BAE Systems, Krystina actively engages with organizations through her participation as a speaker, mentor, STEM ambassador, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering council member and as a cluster coordinator for the Merseyside Women's Engineering Society, exemplifying her dedication to fostering connections and empowering women engineers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Huijie Ma

AAD Lead Software Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

Huijie is Chair of the Inclusion Council and holds leading forces from all networks in promoting D&I, created a forum for Gender Equality, Women in Engineering, and REACH network members to raise their issues and deliver improvements. She also constructed and maintained a DEI website to promote inclusion, unity forces, and drive actions. She delivered the Mother Nature Lockers initiative, which supplied free sanitary products, menopause support for all women in the factory; the project has rolled out to all plants. She presented multiple Lunch & Learns, i.e., Awards for women's work, and discuss Colourism. She gave public talks in D&I events. She also actively runs the Name Campaign, using her own story, to promote respect for a person's real name in breaking down barriers between people. She leads a women in engineering Career Progression work group. She also visits schools to provide career aspirational talks to tap into future talents.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Darren Entwistle

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Teresa Ko

Hong Kong Senior Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has been a staunch advocate for gender diversity for over a decade. As the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee, Teresa has been a leading voice on greater board gender diversity in Hong Kong. Teresa is known for her commitment to clients and believes in using her position as a trusted advisor to encourage systemic change. She is dedicated to developing Freshfields colleagues, both professionally and personally to maximize their potential. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa mentors and sponsors female associates, helping them to hone their business development skills, connecting them to key contacts, and nurturing them to become future leaders. She is also a strong advocate for ISSB’s global baseline sustainability standard as trustee and co-vice chair of the IFRS Foundation, and believes that individual as well as collective efforts count. She was named in IFLR1000 Women Leaders 2022 - an elite ranking for the most prominent women lawyers globally and in Forbes’ ‘Asia's Power Businesswomen’ list 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alisha Alaimo

President of Biogen, North America
Biogen

Alisha is responsible for developing the strategy and driving growth for Biogen’s North America Organization. Over her 25-year career, her focus on creating a diverse and inspiring culture—where people achieve more than they thought possible—has consistently led to strong business results in organizations up to $7B in annual revenue. Alisha serves as Executive Sponsor for Women's Impact Network, an employee resource group designed to create opportunities for empowerment and advancement. At Biogen, she created programs to accelerate the readiness and visibility of mid-level women and non-white people for senior roles. As a board member of The Biogen Foundation, she advocates for supporting access next generation of leaders in underserved communities. Her career spans a wide spectrum of global leadership roles where she has led major acquisitions, strategic partnerships, restructurings, and the commercialization of breakthrough therapies for cardiovascular, Alzheimer’s, postpartum depression, multiple sclerosis, ALS, rare diseases and more.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne Erni is the Chief People Officer at Audible where she leads the People and Places team, which comprises Human Resources, Workplace Real Estate and Facilities, and Newark neighborhood-making. Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘Impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. Anne is an internationally recognized thought leader on workplace innovation and a champion for equitable hiring and professional development practices.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ritu Sharma

Executive Director – Boeing Global Enterprise Services, India
Boeing

Ritu Sharma is the Executive Director of Boeing Global Enterprise Services, where she serves as the Executive Champion for Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership & Boeing Employee Ability Awareness Association. Her initiatives promote women's representation and professional development, making gender diversity a critical/important success criterion at Boeing. Under her leadership, with initiatives like the Women Safety Policy, Mothers' Rooms and Women Safety App, Boeing saw a remarkable rise in women's diversity ratio from 17% to 26%. Beyond Boeing, Ritu participates in organizations like CoreNet, IFMA and WiREnet, advocating diversity, inclusion, and ESG. Recently, Ritu was recognized as the Global Environmental Sustainability Champion in Boeing. Her collaboration with NGOs and local governments showcases her commitment to community wellbeing, as seen through her work supporting underprivileged children and establishing healthcare facilities in remote areas. Ritu's passion for change has made her a sought-after speaker and panelist, highlighting the importance of diversity and women's inclusion in various industries.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Pallas Partners LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer and one of only a few women to set up and lead a London/New York firm. She launched Pallas Partners in February 2022, starting out as a majority female led firm with diversity integral to the wider strategy; Pallas has pledged to achieve diversity parity by 2025. Natasha has signed-up and committed Pallas to the Law Society’s Women in Law pledge, the Equal Representation in Arbitration pledge and the Menopause Workplace pledge. She has also launched Pallas’ first Employee Resource Group for Women, to provide the team with a safe space to share experiences and discuss challenges and success. Natasha has been leading the way on innovation in the legal sector for years and in the past year was listed by Financial News as one of the 50 Most Influential Lawyers and as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Yurko

Chief Legal Officer
Bridgewater Associates

As Chief Legal Officer, Operating Committee Member, and Partner, Tracey is among the most senior leaders at Bridgewater. Her work spans initiatives designed to promote equality for all employees as well as DEI programs within the legal department. Under Tracey's leadership, Bridgewater instituted pay equity audits by a third-party and is one of the only alternative asset managers to disclose pay equity data for underrepresented groups on our public website. In partnership with others on her team, she established the firm's first Pro Bono program, creating opportunities for attorneys to provide services to organizations that reflect their and Bridgewater's values. Tracey is also executive sponsor for Bridgewater’s “Women’s Influence Network”. Beyond Bridgewater, she is Board Chair for Make-A-Wish Connecticut. Under Tracey’s leadership, the Board formed a DEI Committee looking not only at the board itself, but also at the team and volunteers to ensure they reflect the families they serve.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Imade Iyamu

Asset Management and Wealth Management
Goldman Sachs

Imade Iyamu is the first Nigerian alumni President of Junior Achievement Africa, an organization that has reached and impacted over 1 million young Africans and whose global body was nominated for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. As an MBA candidate at Columbia University, Imade initiated a scholarship for African women from underrepresented backgrounds in business and acts as a peer adviser and student representative. Having joined the Asset and Wealth Management division at Goldman Sachs this year, Imade has joined the women’s network. She was also an instructor at Yale University under Yale Young African Scholars, where she mentored young African girls to make a meaningful impact in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aya Harb

Former Director, Investor Relations
S&P Global

Aya is a board member for her WINS chapter, striving for an equitable world where women have strong representation, role models, and recognition at S&P Global. As the lead for the Washington DC office, she helps connect other women-focused organizations and speaking engagements to build a platform for elevating women on a global level. Beyond S&P Global, Aya is an advisory board member for the ASHERAH foundation, enabling underprivileged women globally to further their education through providing scholarships and raising awareness of the worldwide need for accessible post-secondary education. In her early career, Ms. Harb worked with international municipalities in regions like Nepal and Lebanon, training local municipalities and youth centers in non-violence and conflict rehabilitation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Director of Consumer Equality
Ogilvy Consulting

Shelina is Director of Consumer Equality at Ogilvy Consulting, pioneering an industry paradigm shift to tackle 'consumer inequality' facing Minority Ethnic groups, to drive business growth. An award-winning business leader, she’s also Ogilvy's Vice President of Islamic Marketing, and has worked to engage Muslim audiences with some of the world's biggest brands and exciting start-ups. Shelina is a passionate advocate for businesses and brands to reclaim their creative and commercial superpowers for business growth and societal impact. She’s a board member for IMPRESS, the UK's only charter approved press regulator. She is a bestselling non-fiction as well as a children's author, including her memoir 'Love In A Headscarf' and her most recent kids' book about the British Empire "Story of Now: Let's Talk About the British Empire". As a podcaster, op-ed writer, and sandwich generation carer, she is working hard as a polymath-in-progress to create social and cultural change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Muneebah Quyyam

Senior Engineer
AtkinsRéalis

Muneebah is an award-winning Senior Engineer, specialising in Systems Engineering and is working for AtkinsRéalis in the Transportation sector. Muneebah works front-line with clients, providing her expertise in optimising, analysing, and transforming their complex systems. Muneebah champions ED&I at all levels within the company. She co-created an ED&I questionnaire, and its use has been instrumental in the selection of diverse suppliers. Muneebah gave a thought provoking ‘Allyship in the Spotlight’ interview, published on the company’s World News, which sparked a company-wide allyship week. Muneebah mentors young professionals & senior leaders and delivers keynote speeches to promote women’s diversity and inclusion. Muneebah is also recognised externally as an influential role model and is a member of the WISE Young Professionals Board; she creates national STEM competitions and collaborates with International Publishers spotlighting women role models in educational books. Furthermore, she was appointed as a national judge for external ED&I industry awards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chimuka Muyovwe

Director, Business Planning Manager to Regional CEO, Europe and Global D&I Council Secretary
Standard Chartered Bank

Chimuka is the Director and Business Planning Manager for the office of the Regional CEO for Europe and Americas, Standard Chartered Bank and based in London. She is also the Global Diversity & Inclusion Council Secretary, working in close collaboration with the Group Diversity & Inclusion team to improve representation of women in senior leadership positions. Her relentless dedication is testament to her unwavering commitment to gender equality and inclusion efforts. Outside of work, Chimuka is also a Director for When Females Lead, an NGO dedicated to empowering ambitious women in Africa through mentorship and career guidance. Her advocacy for underrepresented women of colour is commendable and reflects a commitment to fostering positive change in her community and beyond. Chimuka also chairs Agova, a women-led business development consultancy, and serves on the Board of Directors for Copper Rose Zambia, a leading youth led organization driving change in gender and health.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Geeta Gupta

Director, Application Development Manager
BNY Mellon

Geeta Gupta, a Senior Group Manager at BNY Mellon, passionately advocates diversity and skill development in the tech industry. With over a quarter of her team being women, Geeta actively fosters an inclusive environment while mentoring talented women and attracting more women talent. As a member of the Leadership Team for the Women in Engineering New York Chapter, Geeta leads communications and engages senior leaders to create an inclusive atmosphere. Beyond her role, Geeta mentors students in BNY Mellon's intern program, empowering them with essential skills and insights into corporate culture. Her impact also extends to community involvement, where she's volunteered since 2008, teaching Hindi and programming languages to children from diverse backgrounds, promoting cross-cultural awareness, and enhancing students' science and mathematics performance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sabina Phillips

Payments Product Manager
The Co-operative Bank

Sabina Phillips, a Payments Product Manager at The Co-operative Bank, also serves as Chair of the Access Network, a group supporting colleagues with disabilities, mental health challenges, and caregiving duties. Under her guidance, the Access Network tackles various topics monthly, creating awareness, providing resources, and advocating for policy changes. Initiatives include discussing pregnancy loss, fertility challenges, menopause, mental health support, caregiving responsibilities, period stigma, endometriosis awareness, and neurodiversity. Sabina's proactive approach extends beyond discussions; she trained 16 Mental Health First Aiders to ensure comprehensive support for all colleagues. Addressing challenges women face, Sabina emphasizes the importance of caring responsibilities. Her commitment to cultivating inclusivity and support showcases her dedication to gender equality and well-being within the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Andrew Bester

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'.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Helen Mets

President and CEO
Ahlstrom

Helen Mets has been the President and CEO of Ahlstrom since January 2023, previously serving in executive leadership roles at DSM, Pon and Avery Dennison. She strongly advocates for diversity and inclusion, championing women's leadership through balanced teams and fostering a culture of inclusivity. Helen is responsible for setting the company strategy and places strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion and sustainability, and has doubled employee engagement in her first six months as CEO. She sponsors Ahlstrom's NICE program (Nurturing, Inclusive, Collaborative, and Equal), where she personally mentors future women leaders in navigating their leadership journeys. Helen also served as an executive sponsor for DSM's I&D strategy and was a member of the Advisory Council WIN Global. Helen also advocates for equal opportunity, and is a sought-after public speaker, using her experiences to inspire others. Her inclusive purpose-led and performance-driven leadership has been recognized through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Leading Women Award.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Kantar Profiles
Kantar

Kantar is a world-leading market research agency shaping the brands of tomorrow by better understanding people everywhere. As a Global CEO, and part of Kantar's Executive Team and I&D Steering Committee, Caroline is committed to developing a culture and society that embraces all intersections of diversity. She holds herself accountable to increasing female representation and ensuring senior roles in Kantar achieve gender parity by 2025 by being an authentic ‘see it, be it’ role model, sponsor, and mentor to Kantar’s ~12,000 women across the globe. Caroline also serves as Global Executive Sponsor and Ally for Kantar’s Pride Employee Resource Group supporting 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and partnering with DIVA Media and Stonewall to drive better awareness and understanding of unique challenges LGBTQIA+ women, transgender women, and non-binary people face. She is also a founding member of Chief UK, the $1.1b private network supporting and driving more women into positions of power.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dimitra Manis

EVP, Chief Purpose Officer
S&P Global

Dimitra, Executive Vice President and Chief Purpose Officer for S&P Global, leads the People, Marketing, Communications, Corporate Responsibility, and DEI functions for 35,000+ colleagues. Dimitra is a trailblazer and fierce advocate who is focused on creating a people first experience at S&P Global through global initiatives and benefits including: 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all parents, unlimited bereavement leave, career coaching, fertility coverage, and cancer and menopause support. Under her leadership, S&P Global has been recognized by Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index, Newsweek’s Greatest Workplaces, and other prestigious awards. She serves on a public board, as well as the S&P Global Foundation, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (an S&P Global and CME Group joint venture) and chairs the Nominating and Compensation Committee of the BritishAmerican Business Association and the Advisory Committee for the World Wellbeing Movement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Miller

President of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking & Lending
Bank of America

Sharon Miller is the President of Small Business and Head of Specialty Banking & Lending at Bank of America. As a Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion Council member, she actively shapes an inclusive culture while chairing the Corporate Benefits Committee and co-sponsoring the Women's Executive Development Program. Sharon's influence extends to mentoring small business owners, providing invaluable support to ventures like Chica Beauty, which she elevated through platforms like the Jennifer Hudson Show. Her dedication shines through initiatives like the annual Women & Minority Business Owner Spotlight, shedding light on their unique challenges. Sharon's affiliations with institutions like the Bank of America Institute for Women's Entrepreneurship at Cornell and the National Association of Women Business Owners underscore her commitment to empowering entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melanie Kalmar

Corporate Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer
Dow

Melanie Kalmar is the Corporate Vice President, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Digital Officer at Dow. With a steadfast focus on gender diversity, Melanie has driven a remarkable 41.5% women’s representation, including 50% women’s leadership representation, within Dow's CIO organization. As the executive sponsor of the Prime Employee Resource Group, she advocates for an age-inclusive workforce that values experience. Melanie actively supports the POWER Up program, aiding the career development of thousands of Dow's employees. Her leadership extends to the tech community as an advisory board member of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology, earning recognition as their 2021 Woman of the Year. Acknowledged by various prestigious awards, including Forbes' 2023 CIO Next honoree and Technology Magazine's Top 100 Women in Technology, Melanie inspires change and innovation in the technology landscape.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Zena Couppey

Chief Executive Officer
Altum Group

Zena wears many hats, as a professional, mom, wife, philanthropist and, at Altum Group, CEO. She is the first female CEO the business has seen since its establishment. Under her leadership she saw the business grow from $11 to $32 billion AUM, triple in size and expand in three new locations. Zena implemented a shared ownership scheme and advocated for the launch of Altum’s Philanthropic Trust. Today, Altum has 60% female representation with 60% on the TopCo Board. With 24 years of experience, Zena is responsible for Altum’s strategic vision, organic growth and oversees the delivery of quality services to clients while nurturing an open and collaborative culture. Other policy changes she’s implemented is flexible work, self-development and cultural collaboration, equal paternal leave, and she launched a lasting ESG and CSR manifesto aligned with the UN SDGs. Altum are IoD DEI Charter Signatory’s, joined the UN Global Compact and achieved carbon neutrality under her leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Frances Holmes

Client Technology Lead
Microsoft

At Microsoft, Frances is one of the founding members of the Pregnancy, Maternity and Returner (PMR) UK Public Sector (PS) program and is an accessibility champion for the PS Disability ERG. She has championed the introduction of pregnancy parking and pumping facilities, which have now been implemented in the head office of Microsoft UK. Externally, Frances is the founder and CEO of Speak Out Revolution, an award winning not-for-profit disrupting the conversation on D&I in the workplace using data-driven insights. She is driving transparency on less discussed workplace inclusion topics, using open source technology that enables organisations to access intelligent insights to optimally address the challenges within their sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lorna Ive

Programmatic Executive
GroupM Nexus EMEA

Lorna is the Programmatic Executive within the Nexus EMEA Programmatic Team. As the Chair of the Gender Employee Resource Group, she organized a 'Women in Tech' event, which led to a series addressed to schools to encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM. As a member of WPP's Menopause SteerCo, she actively involved her network to educate men and younger generations of women at work. The first event resulted in a policy change across WPP, bringing Menopause support under BUPA benefits. Lorna also built an award-winning grassroots campaign to start conversations around menopause. Furthermore, she is an Ambassador for the Visible Start Programme, raising awareness through social media video interview campaigns for greater inclusion of midlife women in the industry, and a member of 50:50, a Network supporting women's progress into politics.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Adela Nano

Medicinal Chemistry Research Scientist
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

As an active member of Vertex’s IWILL (Inspiring Women in Leadership and Learning) Employee Resource Network (ERN), Adela strives for more excellent representation of functional and racial diversity, contributing to advancing underrepresented voices. She currently serves on the ERN’s Women in Science Committee and previously served on its Steering Committee. Recognizing the importance of showcasing women leaders, among others, Adela contributes to organizing panel discussions highlighting the achievements of women professionals from various functions and backgrounds within the company, and seminars with external speakers to promote skill development. More recently Adela initiated and is the co-lead of a Women in Chemistry group, providing a platform for women to address challenges faced while working in chemistry and engaging with leadership on pertinent issues. Her dedication extends to the Graduate Women in Science Association, where Adela evaluates fellowship proposals and manages evaluations to support early-career women scientists.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Shree

Data Analyst Manager
NatWest Group

Divya is a Data Analyst Manager at NatWest Group. Her commitment to fostering awareness led to the creation of 'BLOSSOM,' an impactful initiative addressing menstrual health and difficult conditions like PCOS, Endometriosis through informative videos. As the Women In Big Data community owner within her area in D&A, Divya facilitates a platform for women's growth and collaboration. Her leadership extends to supporting women on maternity leave and their return to work, through various proposed initiatives(Maternity Checklist, Veteran Mummies group). She has received recognition from senior executives (including group CEO) for her dedication. Divya's passion for mentoring is evident through her work with NatWest employees and her free LinkedIn Mentorship group. A finalist for both WiT Excellence, WiF award and a driving force behind digital tools for reporting online abuse as part of the UN women CSW67 group, Divya is dedicated to promoting resilience, skill development, and equal representation for women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Neal

Project Manager
BP

Lauren is a Project Manager at bp, where she co-chaired one of bp's regional Women's International Networks. Within two years, under her guidance, network membership surged from 12 to over 200 participants, encompassing both genders. She mentors several young professional women, offering guidance and networking opportunities. Her role enables women to visit construction sites with industry leaders like OneSubsea and GE, fostering exposure to lesser-known sectors. Lauren's impact extends to organizing events on psychological safety and unconscious bias, sparking global dialogues. As a leader in LeanIn Equity and Sustainability, she shapes workplace cultures. Her speaking engagements empower women, including the "EveryWoman in Tech Forum," sharing career transition advice. A multi-award winner, Lauren's accolades include WeAreTheCity Rising Stars and WeAreTechWomen awards. Her podcast appearances and upcoming book, "Valued at Work: Shining a Light on Bias to Engage, Enable and Retain Women in STEM," demonstrate her commitment to fostering inclusive workplaces.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ayesha Afzal

Researcher
Erlangen National High Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU)

Ayesha Afzal, a Researcher at the Erlangen National High-Performance Computing Center (NHR@FAU), has secured first place in the Ph.D. Forum Award at ISC HIGH PERFORMANCE and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications, showcasing her outstanding work in high-performance computing. Awards such as the WearetheCity’s Global Award for Achievement 2023 and her consistent contribution in international conferences as a co-chair, committee member, reviewer, and active speaker highlight her commitment to advancing women in STEM. Ayesha's passion for inclusive technology shines through her mentorship efforts and involvement as an ambassador and advisor in initiatives promoting diversity in STEM. Ayesha also inspires scientists and continually promotes technical women by providing them with opportunities and guidance. Her advocacy, interviews, and networking amplify her impact in encouraging women to excel in STEM fields.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Zaria Parvez

Senior Global Social Media Manager
Duolingo

Duolingo's Global Social Media Manager, Zaria, has redefined social media strategies with her unique insights and intersectional background. As the youngest member of the marketing team, she catapulted Duolingo's TikTok following from 20K to an impressive 6.6 million. Her creative freedom and expertise transformed a test-and-learn initiative into Duolingo's most successful social buzz. Beyond Duo, she advocates for young, diverse talent in marketing, delivering inspirational talks at various organizations. Her presence at industry events like SXSW, OMR, and Vidcon sheds light on her experience as a young, first-gen Pakistani Muslim, showcasing the power of her identity in shaping her impactful work. Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Zaria was awarded AdAge Social Marketer of the Year, Adweek Creative 100, and Forbes 30 Under 30. Zaria's journey exemplifies her dedication to uplifting underprivileged communities and reshaping marketing narratives

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Howard Ungerleider

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Debra Crew

Chief Executive Officer
Diageo

Debra Crew was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Diageo in June 2023, making history as the company's first woman CEO in its 25-year existence. The firm has continued to make strides in accelerating gender equality within its business, with the company receiving high acclaim in 2023 for its gender equality efforts including ranking #1 for women’s representation at board level in the FTSE Women's Leaders Review and #2 global and #1 U.K. ranking in Equileap's Equality Global Report. Over the past year, the firm has also launched several progressive policies and employee initiatives that further its commitment to empowering women. The company launched Pregnancy Loss Guidelines across 34 markets, as well as Fertility Support Guidelines in the UK, complementing its existing policies and guidelines such as Parental Leave and ‘Thriving through Menopause’. Under Debra’s leadership, Diageo is committed to being a champion of Inclusion and Diversity across everything it does.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Global CIO
WPP

Through a complete redesign and relentless focus on equality through our recruitment process, Rachel improved the female intake into the WPP IT organization from 11% to 38% over the past 12 months. Through the firm's operating and organizational model redesign and by establishing a new people design authority to govern internal and external appointments, she has improved the representation of women in the top 3 layers of leadership in WPP IT. Before joining WPP, she was the founder and executive sponsor of the multi-award-winning TechWomen program in her previous job. During her final year leading the program in 2020/1, Rachel delivered a year-long development journey for 450 women across BT and supported an alumni network of 2,300 women. The program was enormously successful, dramatically improving participants' confidence, with 67% of them moving into more prominent roles, and addressing the local cultural barriers to women's progression in India and Malaysia.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mei Chen

Vice President and GM International - Alibaba Group; Board Member and Chair of Investment Committee - Innovo Group
Alibaba Group; Innovo Group

Mei Chen is the Vice President and GM International at Alibaba Group and Board Member and Chair of the Investment Committee at Innovo Group, where she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering talent and empowering underrepresented groups. Mei has mentored and sponsored numerous junior staff members of Chinese backgrounds in the U.K. and China. She has spearheaded initiatives like 'Women@Alibaba,' a program that has created a supportive network for women leaders within Alibaba Group across the globe. Through her leadership, Mei has organized mentoring programs, industry dinners, and initiatives aimed at addressing gender disparities and championing the underprivileged and LGBTQ+ communities. Acknowledged with the Alibaba Outstanding Female Leader Award, Mei's dedication to equality and inclusion is exemplary. She has shared her story and insights at top industry events and academic institutions (INSEAD, LBS, HBS), leaving an indelible mark on the tech and business landscape. She was recently named in 'Inspiring Fifty Winner 2021' - an elite ranking for the most prominent trailblazing women in tech, and 'Drapers’ Power 100 2022'.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maral Kazanjian

Chief People Officer
Moody's

Maral Kazanjian became Moody's Chief People Officer in February 2022 after working as an employment lawyer at the company earlier in her career. In her current role, Maral actively fosters an environment of empowerment and equality across Moody’s. She has led conversations with employees around fertility support, career growth, fair compensation, and meaningful recognition. Under her guidance, Moody's has been acknowledged for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, earning spots on Diversity Inc.'s list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the Pinnacle Inclusion Index by Seramount. As the Executive Sponsor of the RISE program at the company, Maral has boosted women's leadership development, leading to transformative outcomes for many people. An Armenian General Benevolent Union alum, she remains actively engaged in supporting global women's advancement, showcasing her commitment to leading positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leanne Wood

Chief HR Officer
Vodafone Group

Leanne has been driving gender equity and inclusion for over 20 years across technology, fashion and FMCG industries. At Vodafone, Leanne is an Executive Committee Member and Sponsor of its Employee Networks including the Women's Network. She led Vodafone's #CountMeIn diversity data capture initiative, enabling an intersectional approach to DEI and further strengthened women's inclusion and representation with the launch of the Reciprocal Mentoring program to encourage senior leaders to connect with minority groups and ensure the lived experiences of women inform the future of Vodafone. Leanne equalised parental leave at Vodafone to support diverse parents and families so that responsibilities can be shared, with more than 2,300 women and 1,600 men benefiting from April 2022 – April 2023. In her role as Trustee of Vodafone Foundation, she championed the Apps Against Abuse initiative to help connect 2.4million people to support to date, including women facing domestic abuse.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Managing Director
Jomas Associates (Engineering & Environmental)

UK’s first Black Female founder of a seven-figure turnover engineering company serving the construction sector, Roni combines being CEO of Jomas with campaigns championing women. Graduate of Portsmouth University with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management from Exeter University. A Chartered Engineer and Chartered Geologist, she has worked on major construction schemes including the widening of the A406 and M25, and various buildings and structures across the UK. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (2019), was appointed Honorary Fellow of RIBA (2020), and conferred with a Honorary Doctorate by University of Portsmouth (2023) for exceptional contribution to the Construction sector. She is Construction Policy Chair for FSB. Multi award winner, international speaker and dedicated mother to three boys, Roni is passionate about diversity, social mobility and volunteers her time to mentor many.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dawn Carter

Enterprise Data Architect
BAE Systems Plc

Just six months after joining BAE Systems, Dawn became Co-Chair of the company’s Gender Equity Network, a voluntary Employee Resource Group dedicated to providing an equity of opportunity to all genders. Her commitment to empowering women in the workplace saw her take the lead in forming a brand partnership with Women in Data, an organisation whose mission is to increase diversity in data careers. Dawn continues to be a role model, whether organising and co-hosting BAE Systems International Women’s Day conference at Bletchley Park, reviewing company policies such as maternity, fertility and menopause, or promoting data literacy across the analysis and architecture communities. She has also facilitated critical conversations & provided support for those seeking guidance on gender equity issues. Out with BAE Systems, she’s also a trustee with Epilepsy Scotland, is an active member of Bolton Deaf Club and even donated 16” of hair to The Little Princess Trust.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

EMEAI Commercial Director, Dow Consumer Solutions
Dow

Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group in 2020. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. In 2023 the 3rd edition of the Female Talent Sponsorship program will be run, to continue the focused efforts in developing Dow Female talents across the organization. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Joe

Head of FICC Research Engagement & Quantitative Innovation
TD Securities London

Rachel is a dynamic force driving diversity, equity, and inclusion at TD Securities London. Leading the European D&I Mentoring program for four years, she pairs women mentees with senior leaders, boosting confidence and fostering career growth. Rachel also founded the European Colleague Experience - Connect D&I group, enabling networking and job shadowing opportunities. She introduced Generation Success to TD, offering diverse young talent internships and employment chances. Beyond her corporate role as Head of FICC Research Engagement & Quantitative Innovation Rachel is a qualified executive coach and National Council for Psychotherapists member, mentoring students from diverse backgrounds. She's received recognition, including the WiBF Volunteer of the Month Award and a Women in Bank & Finance 2022 Shortlist: Future Leader Award. As a corporate partner and strategic advisor for WIBF, she initiated the WIBF Leadership Academy, a pioneering program with a gender lens approach.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Vivian Falcão

Senior Labor Lawyer
Mattos Filho

As a devoted advocate for women's rights, Vivian, Senior Labor Lawyer at Mattos Filho, leverages her unique perspective as a mother to champion improved guidelines and benefits for working mothers in her firm, showcasing her commitment to fostering a more inclusive work environment. Vivian's dedication extends beyond her firm, as she actively engages in initiatives promoting women's presence in the legal field. Her impact has earned her recognition, featured in various categories in a prominent women-focused ranking. Vivian's leadership shines through events she has organized, addressing the challenges faced by women in the workplace and featuring distinguished speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Zaina Alhejin

Head of Communication Saudi Arabia
Boeing

Zaina Alhejin is the Head of Communication at Boeing Saudi Arabia. Her passion for equity, inclusion and empowerment prompted her to lead since 2019, the Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL) Business Resource Group, for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia region; a group aimed at building equity and developing both men and women in the enterprise. Her main tasks are focused on promoting women leaders both internally and externally, while emphasizing the concept of Allyship. Zaina also leads Boeing Global Engagement efforts in the Kingdom, in which she develops and grows partnerships with non-profit organizations like AlNahdah, Rofaida, and Mawada to support educational awareness, health initiatives, and financial independence for women. Her active participation in initiatives like SheInspires, exemplifies her dedication to women's empowerment in information technology, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiatives. Zaina enjoys creating engaging learning environments enabled by diversity and inclusion to tackle future challenges with creativity and innovation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Najiyah Chowdhury

Senior Manager Audit - Wealth & Asset Management
Ernest & Young

During her tenure as an Audit Manager at Deloitte, Najiyah championed change through her active involvement in two critical networks. In the Women's Network, Najiyah created forums for women to address challenges hindering their progression and advocated for organizational changes to promote the retention and recruitment of women. She facilitated interactions between women senior leaders and interns, sharing experiences that inspired and empowered them. As a member of the Working Parents Network, Najiyah pioneered flexible working arrangements for staff with children, fostering a supportive work environment. Her influence extended beyond her profession, as she engaged with students to inspire careers in science and accounting. She guided aspiring accountants through mentoring, including a successful placement at a Big 4 firm. Najiyah's commitment reaches beyond her field, exemplified by her talks and mentoring for minority students. Her journey as a Muslim British Bangladeshi woman inspires others to overcome obstacles and excel.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Emma Jaeger

Associate Director, Programmatic at Mindshare
Mindshare

Emma Jaeger, Associate Director, Programmatic at Mindshare, was pivotal in launching Mindshare Women's Private Marketplace (PMP), uniting women-owned and women-centered publishers into a single inclusion list. Emma's work enables Mindshare's investment teams to allocate advertising funds to women-centric publishers, addressing vital topics such as civil rights, healthcare, and news. Emma helped launch the PMPs with clients such as TJX and Tyson Foods, empowering women-centered publishers while yielding results for clients. A passionate advocate, Emma fosters a supportive environment and serves as a mentor for women pursuing careers in programmatic advertising. Her dedication to her team is evident; in her guidance to a junior employee on their work in growing Mindshare's LGBTQ private marketplace. Emma also conducts learning and development sessions, enhancing the expertise of new hires on the programmatic team.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sanjeev Chatrath

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jill Schnarr

Chief Social Innovation, Communications and Brand Officer
TELUS

Jill, Chief Social Innovation, Communications, and Brand Officer at TELUS, is a driving force behind diversity and inclusion initiatives. As a founding Connections member, the TELUS women's network, she empowers over 6,000 women and allies with mentoring and networking opportunities. Her commitment to diversity reflects in her leadership team, where 75% are women. Jill also launched the TELUS CHLOE Awards, honoring women leaders, and achieved 40% women’s representation on the executive team and 45% on the board. Passionate about social impact, Jill established the TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good, investing $100M in companies led by women, Indigenous, and racialized founders. Beyond TELUS, Jill speaks at events and supports organizations like the Prosperity Project. Jill's initiatives address mental health, support Indigenous women, and combat violence against women and children. Her dedication fosters meaningful change and empowers communities

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Erin Platts

CEO
HSBC Innovation Banking UK

Erin is a strong advocate for gender equity and is passionate about shining a light on the diversity challenges that the innovation ecosystem faces – she is also committed to help solving them. Under Erin’s leadership HSBC Innovation Banking UK has increased its proportion of women in senior leadership to 38%. This has been achieved in part by taking a laser-like focus to senior leadership hiring, where in 2022, 50% of all new senior leaders joining the bank were women. Erin sponsors ‘ChangeUp’, a disruptive leadership development programme for high-potential women aspiring into senior leadership roles. She has spoken at numerous industry events on gender diversity and mentors and sponsors multiple women, internally and externally. Erin's ambition is to increase the number of women and other overlooked talent in the innovation ecosystem and to create an environment where all people can thrive and bring their authentic selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Farberger

Board professional in Financial services, Investor, G7 Advisor, Keynote speaker
Wellstreet

Caroline, Board professional, Investor and Keynote speaker, has championed DEI initiatives across a vast sphere of influence. As an experienced CEO, in both large corporations and startup environments, Caroline has dedicated herself to ESG and DEI, leading training sessions for executive teams and large company audiences. Her efforts have ensured that these companies embrace DEI practices as an integral part of their organizational culture. Her unique experience of having worked both as a male and female CEO gives her the great advantage to offer inspirational, powerful and engaging keynotes. Her thought-provoking insights and expertise have resulted in over 100 speaking engagements, including significant conferences across Europe and the U.S. Caroline's dedication to promoting diversity has earned her recognition and accolades. She has received the Swedish LGBTQ Person of the Year Award, the Danish Womenomics Leadership Award, and the Swedish Kerstin Hesselgren Award.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melíosa O'Caoimh

Country Head, Ireland
Northern Trust

As Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for all its asset servicing business conducted from Dublin and Limerick supporting fund managers and institutional investors worldwide. Under her leadership, female representation at senior level has moved from 37% in 2019 to 44% in 2022. Meliosa led the firm’s signatory of the Women in Finance Charter in Ireland, setting a target of improving senior female representation from 44% to 48% by 2025. Meliosa has led a number of notable initiatives across the Irish community to help underrepresented groups obtain work experience. Meliosa is the chair of the 30% Club in Ireland. Since taking on this role, Meliosa has committed to ensuring the network is fully inclusive of diverse groups, recognizing the additional challenges underrepresented women face. She is planning to expand the network’s reach, recognising the talent in regions beyond Dublin, and ensuring the network is accessible to all.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Brock

CEO
OpenUK

Amanda supports the initiatives of several organizations and leads one of the most diverse organisations in tech. OpenUK has Diversity at its core and its first Sate of open Con tech conference had 44% non male speakers and almost 40% female delegates . For IWD Day in 2022 she organised an event at the House of Lords with Baroness Kennedy and the Judges rescued from Afghanistan and in 2023 at BT Tower brining almost 100 women together.  She’s been a Judge at We are the City's Rising Stars Program, speaks at many organizations' diversity events and mentors a number of young women. She successfully nominated one of them as the winner of Woman of the Year Next Gen in the UK this year. She also led the creation of two OpenUK Kids Camps in 2020 and 2021, designing courses for kids learning tech and gave away over 8000 digital gloves to young people, particularly targeting the digitally excluded to allow them free participation. 

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anushka Sunder

Head of Healthcare Private Equity North America
Blackstone

Anushka Sunder is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Private Equity North America at Blackstone. She is also actively involved in technology, media, and consumer opportunities. Ms. Sunder joined Blackstone in 2013 and is a Director of Advarra, Precision Medicine Group, Medline, HealthEdge, Candle Media, TeamHealth, and Optiv and previously served as a Director of Blue Yonder. She has also been actively involved in Blackstone’s investments in Signature Aviation, NCR, and InComm. She is Executive Sponsor of Blackstone’s Women’s Initiative and on the Blackstone Charitable Foundation Leadership Council. Before joining Blackstone, Ms. Sunder was at TPG Capital and at Goldman Sachs in the Financial Institutions Group. Ms. Sunder received her B.A. from Harvard College, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is also a member of the Corporate Leaders Program at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending, Transaction Management and Mujeres al Mundo
HSBC Bank

Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating the economic inclusion and empowerment of women, based on 4 pillars: training and networking, mentoring, international connectivity and financial services. To date, HSBC Argentina has disbursed more than US$500 million in loans for women-led SMEs. Over 19,000 SMEs, entrepreneurs and executives have already signed up as part of MAM community, which has been expanded to Uruguay and Mexico, consolidating a regional strategy to unlock the potential of women’s market, highlighting the important role they play in the economy with a comprehensive proposition to help them thrive. For MAM, Melisa trained +100 relationship managers and developed an ambassadors network to embed gender perspective in the business. Melisa chaired HSBC’s Balance ERG for three years (2017-19). She is women’s mentor at Vital Voices and Cherie Blair Foundation and co-chair of DEI committee at BritCham.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Director, Corporate Banking
HSBC Innovation Banking UK (HINV)

Catherine is a Director in HINV’s Corporate Banking team and a strong DE&I advocate for 8+ years. She sits on the DE&I ERG Leadership Committee and in 2022, Co-Founded HINV’s EMEA Gender-ERG, spearheading the launch of six working-groups to engage 650+ colleagues in advancing the gender-balance agenda and increasing HINV female senior leadership to 50% by 2030. She also collaborates on intersectional-ERG initiatives to improve representation beyond gender. For IWD ‘23-‘22, Catherine chaired multiple NPS leading internal & public events to 400+ people, promoting DE&I in the Technology/Finance sectors. Catherine is Founder of the Women in Business Society, a global non-profit professional development community serving 1000+ women. She is also a member of the House of Commons Business and Parliament Forum, influencing new governmental policies to support female entrepreneurs. In line with her mission of supporting the next-generation, Catherine delivers coaching, mentoring and masterclasses to help women obtain leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Akua Opong

Senior Analyst
LSEG

Akua Opong is a Senior Analyst at LSEG, where over the past two years, she has facilitated conversations on women's safety, health, and career advancement for women in STEM. Akua also organizes monthly women's career series talks, covering essential topics from gender equality to tech advancement. Akua's accomplishments include implementing menstrual health initiatives, Wellbeing, mentoring and youth engagement initiatives. She's been a fervent advocate for neurodiversity in the workplace as well, actively participating in discussions and fostering innovation. Beyond LSEG, her commitment to mentorship and empowerment is evident in her engagement with various networks, such as Cajigo, LMF Network, Global Tech Advocates Black Women in Tech and WeAreTheCity. She is passionate about raising the profile of Women in STEM, as a STEM ambassador. She was a UN Women UK Delegate for CSW67 during IWD 2023. Akua's dedication has earned her accolades, including Brummell’s One to Watch 2023 and Women in FinTech Power list - Standout 45 (Technology Category).

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

Head of UK&I Chief Risk Office
AXA UK

Caroline chairs AXA’s Balance Network, which focuses on gender equality and supporting working families. Over 2 years, Caroline has supported the release of a Home School Hub, to support parents home-schooling their children during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the launch of a Women’s Wellbeing Hub, to provide a supportive resource for women and help educate those across the organisation. During this time, over 15 ‘People Like Me’ vlogs have been released, spotlighting those who don’t let prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. In addition, over 5 Virtual Speed Mentoring sessions have been run which connect mentees and mentors to have conversations around career progression, networking and interview skills. Caroline also supported with the update of the Menopause Policy and the creation of a Domestic Abuse Policy and Hub, with the aim of increasing awareness and creating a safe and supportive environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rochelle Samuel

Sustainability Manager, CertainTeed Roofing
Saint-Gobain North America

Rochelle Samuel is the Sustainability Manager for CertainTeed Roofing at Saint-Gobain North America, where she co-founded LEAD (Leading Efforts for Ancestral Diversity) in 2017, fostering an open culture for employees of all backgrounds. Her two-year board membership enhanced SGNA's inclusivity through training, events, and development. Rochelle is one of leads for the Women's Network Steering Committee, partnering with businesses to attract, develop, and retain talented women across 13 North American hubs. Passionate about women and minorities in engineering and sustainability, Rochelle promotes inclusion in historically underrepresented fields. Rochelle's commitment extends beyond SGNA. With the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), she is a mentor and speaks on sustainability and career development. With the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), she connects professional development opportunities with local colleges and universities. Her dedication builds a roster of talented engineers and furthers diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Linda Lim

Compliance Services, APAC Head
Barclays Bank PLC

With a passion for people development, Linda - Compliance Services APAC Head at Barclays - has become a beacon of change by actively mentoring young women. As co-chair of WIN Singapore, Linda orchestrates initiatives that attract, empower, and advance women across all levels of the organization. Through leadership sessions, panel discussions, mentoring, and speed networking, she shapes a supportive environment for achieving gender equality. Linda's influence extends beyond Barclays as she advocates for diversity and growth. Leading the inaugural pioneer Women in Compliance Sponsorship program in APAC, Linda addresses the underrepresentation of women in leadership by identifying and nurturing their potential and the program has successfully elevated colleagues to achieve their career aspirations. Her dedication resonates in her role as a mentor for the pioneer batch of the Singapore Leadership Network mentoring program, sharing experiences that inspire others.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Damien Mooney

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Martina Cheung

President, S&P Global Ratings
S&P Global

Martina Cheung is the President of S&P Global Ratings and Executive Sponsor for ESG at S&P Global. As Executive Sponsor of WINS (Women's Initiative for Networking and Success), she advocates for equity and inclusion, providing support and sponsorship opportunities for women across regions the company’s global workforce. With over 7,000 members and 23 chapters worldwide, WINS focuses on industry-specific networking, skill-building, and impactful mentorship programs. Furthermore, as the first woman of color Asian woman to hold the position of President at S&P Global Ratings, Martina models diverse leadership leads with excellence. She received the Women's Bond Club Merit Award and is a prominent speaker at global forums and events, including the World Economic Forum at Davos and Politico Women Rule. Martina also champions gender diversity research on gender diversity through the S&P Global Diversity in the Markets Research Lab, to raise awareness of the progress being made as well as the challenges on the path to gender equality in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos

Co-founder, President and COO
Flag Luxury

Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos is an accomplished developer of luxury hotels and land-based retail entertainment projects. She is known for her exceptional leadership and visionary approach to real estate development. As the co-founder and President/COO of Flag Luxury Group, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of luxury hotels, boutique hotels, and retail development in prominent cities such as Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, and New York City. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Dayssi has consistently pushed boundaries and set new standards in the industry. Her keen eye for identifying untapped potential and transforming spaces into extraordinary destinations has garnered widespread acclaim. Beyond her professional achievements, Dayssi is also the Co-Founder of the Woman's Day Power Breakfast, a groundbreaking initiative celebrating women in business. Together with her daughter Sophia Kanavos, she has created a platform to empower and inspire women from all walks of life.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Quest

Head of UK & Ireland
Oliver Wyman

Lisa Quest is committed to using her leadership platform to drive system and culture change from within to serve all. As UK&I market leader Lisa championed the introduction of our Sustainable Performance framework which enables conversations about work-life balance whilst delivering great client impact. As Co-Head of Public Sector Europe, Lisa has built Oliver Wyman’s fastest growing, most diverse practice on gender equity principles. And as Executive Sponsor of Women of Oliver Wyman, Lisa has long championed flexible working and was pivotal to introducing equal maternity and paternity leaves at 26 weeks in 2022. Lisa has also been a visible leadership role model, who operates as a commercial partner, and plays an active family role. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa is on the board of the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of the Green Hat Foundation, both organisations focused on supporting people from diverse backgrounds to thrive in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Partner, Linklaters
Linklaters

Always passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity, Claudia serves as sponsor many initiatives and acts as a mentor to support female talent. Since 2022, she is Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange, the first woman in this position. She founded Breakfast@Linklaters, the largest Italian female business community, is the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls and a Special Friend of UNHCR in Italy, supporting the campaign for the instruction of refugees focusing on young women. She was President of ValoreD, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion and contributed to create InTheBoardroom. She published “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues and “Si vince solo insieme” on the value of diversity, sustainability, human capital. She frequently speaks at conferences on various topics, including gender issues and is a member of the most important juries granting awards to leading companies and eminent individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

International Chief Customer Officer
American Express

Charlotte Duerden is a true advocate,  consistently championing women’s inclusion; driving the conversation forward as well as initiatives and action.  In her former role as UK Country Manager at American Express, Charlotte pledged to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management under HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, a target achieved in 2022. As current chair of Executive Women’s Network representing all senior women across EMEA at American Express, she has driven membership, created greater engagement bringing together senior leaders and allies to enable women’s ambition and has advocated for, and influenced changes in women’s health and menopause support at the company. In addition, she is proud to be an advocate for women in payments in the industry as a regular speaker at events to inspire women to be ambitious including to a new generation of women leaders at the inaugural Women in Open Banking event earlier this year.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Paula Capuzzo

President, Africa Eurasia Division
Colgate-Palmolive

Maria Paula Capuzzo, President of the Africa Eurasia Division at Colgate-Palmolive has been a strong proponent of equity diversity and inclusion through her positions in Latin America and Africa Eurasia Middle East. She relaunched Colgate Women's Network (CWN) in both Africa Eurasia and Brazil, fostering a dynamic cross-regional-functional mentorship program that matches pairs for leadership development. She conducted studies, hosted webcasts, and LinkedIn Live sessions on pertinent topics for her 55% women Africa-Eurasia team. Maria Paula has also led transformational efforts beyond her region, relaunching CWN during her tenure as president of Colgate in Brazil. Under her leadership, Colgate received recognition for fostering diversity and inclusion, including a United Nations award for ethnic diversity practices. She also scaled the oral care educational program Bright Smiles, Bright Futures expanding its reach to engage teachers, nurses and parents. This Colgate program reaches over 1.6 billion children globally. Her dedication extends to volunteer work, including mentoring low-income students and piloting leadership programs for African talent. Maria Paula's visionary leadership continues to drive positive change and impact within Colgate and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Connie Peng

Director
BlackRock

From 2018 to 2022, Connie served as Chairperson for BlackRock's Women & Allies Network (WIN), retiring from the role in 2023 to encourage the next generation of leadership but continuing to shape and support the organization as a member of the Board of Directors. In recognition of her leadership, Connie was honored with the APAC Passion for WIN award this year. Externally, Connie is a committee member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative, a subsidiary organization of the Urban Land Institute promoting gender equity and the professional development of women within China’s real estate industry. With the WLI, Connie spearheaded an initiative to sponsor underprivileged women students in rural China to complete their high school education. She also donates time through the Urban Land Institute’s mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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O'Brien Kalumba

Director, CEO Office & Client Coverage
Standard Chartered Bank

Throughout her 12-year international career across Zambia, the UK, and Germany, O'Brien has fervently advocated for diversity and inclusion (D&I). She championed these values at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and externally, with a focus on elevating female leaders and minority ethnic groups, enabling their full potential and advocating for the critical role that mentorship, sponsorship and coaching has on one’s career. At SCB, she serves on the Europe D&I Council. In July 2021, she was among the 20 Black Leaders at Standard Chartered, amplifying their voices through shared life experiences on Black Leaders Awareness Day. O'Brien is deeply committed to women's empowerment, volunteering on When Females Lead's Board of Directors. This nonprofit empowers confident women leaders across Africa through mentorship, career guidance (mentoring 300+ young female professionals), and uplifting vulnerable children.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claire Pascaud

Global HR Talent Manager
CAPGEMINI

Claire is a Global Talent Director at Capgemini and co-chair of the Women@Capgemini Employee Resource Group (ERG). In 2017, Claire co-created the 'Women for the Future' in Bordeaux France and pioneered the awards, a groundbreaking initiative spotlighting women's talents across all organizational levels. This program's international deployment, which she has led since 2021, has grown exponentially, celebrating 3331 nominees and 275 winners from 17 countries. Claire also onboarded Capgemini University and Diversity & Inclusion teams, fostering cross-leadership learning cohorts involving five women networks. This initiative highlights women's achievements, strenghtening their development and growth. Under Claire's leadership, Women@Capgemini's mission has flourished through international mentoring, coaching, learning & development programs, and well-being workshops. Claire's passion for fostering talent's experience aligned to business priorites, shines through her engagement in highlighting women role models in tech through portraits and storytelling endeavors.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Karen Taluskie

Senior Manager Vapor Deploy
Reynolds American

Karen Taluskie, Senior Manager of Vapor Deploy at Reynolds American, is the organization's Women's Employee Resource Group (ERG) Co-Lead. Under her leadership, the ERG's membership grew by 15%, becoming the company's largest ERG. Karen plays a pivotal role in shaping the ERG's strategy, vision, and monthly activities, fostering a culture of awareness, professional development, and community service. Her commitment extends beyond Reynolds American. Karen is an engaged alumna of WOMEN Unlimited Inc., where she mentors and actively participates in initiatives promoting gender parity and inclusiveness. She also serves her community as a volunteer with The Parenting PATH, working to prevent child abuse and neglect, and LEAD Girls, empowering at-risk preteen girls through education and support.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tejal Shah

Global Head, Talent Development
Kantar

Tejal relaunched and Chairs the Global Women at Kantar ERG from 2022.  In 2023, she led Kantar’s best IWD celebrations yet which engaged thousands of colleagues with global intersectional events including a “Disruption Talk” on Embracing Equity, and an internal and external campaign that went viral about what Embracing Equity meant to Kantar colleagues. Membership to the ERG skyrocketed by 45% with new ERG chapters launched for Women in Tech and in North America. Tejal led leadership talent reviews using D&I data and led production of a video setting out key themes from the lived experience of Women at Kantar resulting in better awareness at Exec level and creation of ambitious leadership gender targets. She has also led the launch of our most inclusive Global Mentoring Programme, which gives priority access to ERG members and also offers reverse mentoring, to help all colleagues learn from each other and realise their potential.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jeramie Sutton

Healthcare Sales Leader - South
Microsoft

Jeramie, Healthcare Sales Leader at Microsoft, is a member of the company's leadership teams for the race and ethnicity Employee Resource Group (ERG) EMBRACE and the women's ERG. Jeramie is pivotal in fostering an inclusive environment, leading external partnerships for EMBRACE, and demonstrating her commitment to creating positive change beyond the organization. Jeramie's influence extends to mentoring early-in-career women colleagues within Microsoft, providing guidance and support that has resulted in enhanced responsibilities and improved team interactions. Beyond Microsoft, she is a mentor for Urban Synergy, contributing to youth empowerment, and serves as a trustee for Kernow Learning, a multi-academy trust. She actively contributes to external initiatives and programs such as TC4RE, Change the Race Ratio, and Black Tech Nexus, collaborating with industry leaders to drive DEI improvements across the tech sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dean Curtis

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Nilema Bhakta-Jones

Group General Counsel
Kantar

In just two years, Nilema built one of the most diverse teams in Kantar, expanding the global team and increasing ethnic, female and LGBTQ+ representation including 13 women, 9 of colour in her London team alone. Working with Multiverse, Obelisk, Accutrainee and Flex Legal, Nilema is breaking down barriers of privilege in the legal industry by working with women founded businesses whilst providing opportunities to trainees and paralegals from varied socio-economic backgrounds to enter the profession. Kantar joined the Interlaw Diversity forum to ensure transparency in DEI reporting among law firms. Beyond her professional role, Nilema founded the Courageous Leaders Event, donating ticket fees to support marginalised girls in Zimbabwe to access education. She also serves as a Board Adviser for Empathy Week, a startup that teaches empathy in school children to create a more inclusive and equitable society. Through mentorship and advocacy, Nilema works to impact others' lives positively.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stefany Bello

Senior Vice President- Digital Partnerships, Retail and Commerce
MasterCard

Stefany Bello is the Senior Vice President of Digital Partnerships, Retail, and Commerce for Mastercard Latin America, where she mentors more than 25 women and actively engages with the company’s Women Leadership Network through internal and external speaking engagements. Passionate about women's education in technology, she supported the launch of "The Belle Block," empowering women and non-binary individuals in Web3 technology and crypto. Beyond Mastercard, she serves on the board of CodeArt, supporting young girls in STEM. Stefany also was a crucial mentor in the Mastercard's Start Path Empodera program, supporting women startups in the fintech and commerce sectors across the Andean region. Recognized for her leadership, Stefany was also selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, named one of the top women in Web3 across Latin America by Crypto Conexiones, and received the Top Rising Talent in the U.S. award from the Women's Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix-Broom

UK Chief Executive Officer
Canada Life

Throughout her career, Lindsey has been a passionate advocate of women’s inclusion and ensuring women have the right environment to prosper. In the last year, Lindsey has set up leadership development programmes to support women in gaining the necessary skills and experience to grow and ultimately improve the leadership talent pipeline. She has also: advocated for Canada Life to become an accredited living wage employer; supported the role out of our new menopause policy/tools; committed to 35% women in senior leadership roles by 2023; championed hybrid working for all colleagues; and set out clear actions to reduce the gender & ethnicity pay gap. Gender diversity has also always been at the top of her agenda, and that is why she has also continued to remain committed to raising its profile publicly through joining the 30% club, discussing its importance in the media, and supporting the local communities we operate in.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Managing Director and Vice President of Amazon Web Services, Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Amazon Web Services

Tanuja Randery, Managing Director and Vice President of Amazon Web Services, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is responsible for setting EMEA strategy and guiding the company’s growth across the region. She leads multi-country, cross-functional teams who work closely with customers, from startups through to the world’s largest enterprises. Tanuja has more than 25 years of strategic, commercial and operational experience. She joined AWS in 2021 from McKinsey & Company, where, as a Partner, she led enterprise transformation projects in the technology and industrial sectors. Prior roles include CEO, UK & Ireland for Schneider Electric, CEO of UKI and Benelux for Colt, and head of strategy for EMC in North America. She founded the PowerWomen Network—a cross-industry network for senior women business leaders, and hosts a podcast, PowerWomen Speak, on what it takes for women to be successful in business.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Edwarde

Partner
Slaughter and May

Jane is the lead Partner of the Real Estate group and is a Diversity and Inclusion Partner at Slaughter and May. As a champion for inclusion, she creates a legacy of impact through the strategic oversight of inclusion initiatives, leading the gender balance working group, and acting as a Sponsor Partner for the firm’s Gender Equality Network. Jane has been instrumental in firmwide changes with the launch of the flexible working pilot, championing fair parental leave and sponsoring training aimed at facilitating a ‘speak-up’ culture. Jane’s efforts go beyond the firm as she works in collaboration with the Black Solicitors Network, and as a mentor with Real Estate Balance and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW). She is also a speaker at a variety of events including an International Women’s Day panel with NOTICED. Jane looks forward to continuing to further diversity and inclusion within the firm and the wider community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eva Andren

VP Head of Operations Country Manager Egypt
Ericsson

Eva Andren is the V.P. Head of Operations and Country Manager for Egypt at Ericsson, where her dedication to women's career development is evident in her initiatives to sponsor and support graduates, elevating their growth within the company. Beyond Ericsson, Eva is a prominent advocate for gender equality. As a member of the 30% Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, she drives the inclusion of women in leadership roles across various industries, and her efforts have earned recognition, including the Inclusive Leader of the Year award in 2020. With a six-year career in Africa's telecom industry, Eva has paved the way for women leaders in a predominantly male field by mentoring, coaching, and sponsoring women to excel in impactful operational roles. Eva's influence has also extended to Saudi Arabia, where she has broken barriers by promoting women employees and creating infrastructure to support their growth.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudette Whyte

Senior Compliance Officer / Director of the Compliance Institute Ireland
JP Morgan

Claudette is a strong advocate and outspoken voice for DE&I and works as a Senior Compliance Officer at JP Morgan Ireland. She is also a Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the Compliance Institute. She has been championing DE&I initiatives and raising awareness to collectively drive change in attitudes towards gender balance and identify ways to progress equality. Claudette has served as a panel member at various DE&I-focused events, where she provides perspective on fostering a sense of belonging to under-represented groups, pushing to create greater equality for all. Claudette has made it her mission to open doors for people across various backgrounds and walks of life through mentoring, volunteering, raising awareness and raising her voice in combating discrimination on the grounds of age, race, ethnic origin, religion, faith or lack thereof, disability or sexual orientation. Claudette fosters a diverse and inclusive environment, allowing everyone to feel welcome, valued and respected.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gill Hardy

Head of Executive Talent EMEA
WPP

Gill is Head of Executive Talent EMEA at WPP. In 2015, she co-founded and launched ‘WPP Stella’, to tackle barriers to Women's career success through extensive programing. Gill also led WPP Propeller, a coaching-led program for WPP's high potential Women. In 2022, Stella became an open community for all WPP Women and allies, which increased women's representation in senior managers and executive leaders’ roles globally. WPP ranked sixth in the FTSE 100 for gender representation among senior leaders and at the board level and was recognized in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth year in a row. Through WPP Stella's programming, Gill also leads the corporate membership of Women on Boards, a not-for-profit aiming to increase the representation of women on all types of boards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs

Lin is a multi-award winning thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and behavioral science. Alongside her role at Goldman Sachs, she has created talk series such as “Diversity – From Awareness to Action” focusing on behavioral science and how changes happen both internally and partnering with clients and driving changes in the industry. She articulates East Asians' experience and leads discussion on Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She created the “How to find your voice” series to empower women, especially as working parents. Her Tedx talk - The Art of Being Different - is inspiring for ethnic minorities and future generations.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanja Velling

PSL Counsel
Slaughter and May

Since becoming the Gender Equality Network (GEN) Chair in 2017, the network has grown to over 100 members and organized various events. These include a panel consisting of four women partners discussing career journeys and the legal industry, co-hosted by Macfarlanes and NOTICED for International Women's Day (IWD), a talk by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi, authors of Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change, co-hosted by the Diverse Network in 2021 and a roundtable with Angela Darlington for IWD, co-hosted by the LGBTQ+ network, on workplace inclusion of lesbian and bi women. Tanja also organized the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that offered free breast examinations by a nurse and helped put together a podcast series for International Day of Families that shares the experiences of having children. She has also been mentoring with the 30% Club supporting mentees with career planning and the King's College Women in Law Society Mother-Daughter mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda Paris

Senior Manager, Global Workforce Consulting
Deloitte Tax LLP

As a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Global Workforce Consulting practice, Amanda helps transform multinational organizations’ talent mobility programs, including mobility strategy, policy, and service delivery. In alignment with her personal passions, Amanda is also the Deloitte Women & Allies Midwest Hub leader, representing and empowering over 4,000 women across the region. With a passion for fostering community and self-advocacy, Amanda organizes events and initiatives focused on leadership, empowerment, intersectionality, and nonprofit engagement. For approximately 2.5 years, Amanda has held this impactful leadership position, leveraging her skills to make a difference. Drawing on her nonprofit background, she volunteers with organizations like the YWCA and Girl Scouts, teaching Deloitte’s Business Chemistry to enhance collaboration and leadership skills. Her involvement spans a decade, reflecting her commitment to advancing women and diverse communities. Amanda's efforts extend beyond gender equity, as she liaises with various Inclusion Council communities to broaden the impact of diversity initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Obonu Rachael Davies

Senior EMA GTM Program Manager
GoTo Technologies

As a trailblazing founder and seasoned business consultant, Obonu brings an unparalleled depth of expertise to the world of multinational programs. With an illustrious career, she has consistently harnessed innovation, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to excellence to drive transformative change on a global scale. Beyond her day-to-day role, Obonu is a sought-after thought leader and speaker, gracing international stages and publications with her insights on the future of global business, innovation, and leadership. Notably, she orchestrated a multi-faceted International Women's Day celebration, empowering upcoming generations, honouring leaders, and fostering allies. She serves as the Country Lead for Black Girls in Tech Ireland, creating a safe space for women in tech to connect, support, and uplift each other. Her dedication has been recognized by Digital Business Ireland, The Irish Centre for Diversity, and IMAGE magazine, nominating her as a next-gen leader.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louis Maiuri

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Hanneke Smits

Global Head
BNY Mellon Investment Management

Hanneke Smits is the Global Head of BNY Mellon Investment Management. A strong advocate for inclusivity at BNY Mellon and beyond, Hanneke takes every opportunity to share her insights and guidance with employees. Within the industry at large, Hanneke serves as Global Chair of the 30% Club, expanding the campaign's international reach and aiming for gender parity in the boardrooms and C-Suite. Her leadership at BNY Mellon IM prompted one of the most significant independent global studies, "Pathway to Inclusive Investment," examining gender differences in investment attitudes, aiming to improve the engagement of women with the financial industry and developing partnerships with organizations like Inspiring Girls International. Hanneke has been widely acknowledged as an industry leader, most recently recognized by Financial News' as one of the “20 Most Influential in Fund Management”, and by LGBT Great as one of their 2023 “Top 50 Executive Allies.”

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paola Garbini

European Head of Marketing
Oliver Wyman

Paola, European Head of Marketing at Oliver Wyman, spearheads mentoring initiatives within and outside the company, supporting colleagues and young talent in their professional journey across different geographies. She also actively participates in Oliver Wyman's Refugee Hiring Program, promoting opportunities for refugees in the marketing department. Externally, Paola is the visionary Founder of the NOI Club, an international community of over 4,000 women across 30 countries dedicated to connecting and uplifting women in business, where she curates impactful initiatives, including virtual sessions and partnerships, empowering women to exchange skills and achieve their goals. Paola's commitment extends to academia, where she co-founded Her Innovation Collective with the University of Warwick, empowering young women students through workshops and mentorship. Moreover, as a founding member of Brussels Binder Beyond, she advocates for women experts, contributing to innovative toolkits and empowering women's voices on a larger scale.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Managing Partner
Reed Smith

On April 1, 2023, Casey Ryan became the Global Managing Partner of Reed Smith, the first woman to lead the firm in its 147-year history. Prior to assuming the top leadership position, for eight years Casey was the Global Head of Legal Personnel overseeing the firm's DEI Program, Women's Initiative Network, and recruiting, retention and hiring programs for lawyers. In 2021, she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; a family forming benefit with a leading global fertility benefits provider, and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Starr

Global Head of Impact
Carlyle

Megan, the Global Head of Impact at Carlyle, is a trailblazer driving change within the private equity industry and Carlyle's portfolio. Megan has pioneered innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, catalyzing transformative impacts. Under Megan's leadership, Carlyle has embarked on DEI endeavors, including the ESG Data Convergence Initiative - a groundbreaking partnership uniting 300+ general and limited partners to standardize ESG reporting metrics, including diversity and women on boards. Megan's support of diversity's positive correlation with profitability was instrumental in establishing Carlyle's $8B ESG-linked credit facilities, focusing exclusively on Board diversity. Moreover, as a mentor and advocate, Megan actively contributes to Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program and Women's Employee Resource Group, fostering inclusion within the firm and the community. Megan's contributions have garnered widespread recognition and media coverage, from private markets forums to Bloomberg and PEI Responsible Investment Forum, where she delivers keynote speeches on pioneering ESG initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, overseeing the network’s 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets. She is passionate about building diverse teams and giving people the confidence to be their authentic selves – that’s how you create outstanding ideas and make a positive impact on society. Under Mel’s leadership, Wunderman Thompson has become one of the most awarded networks for creativity and innovation, winning Cannes Lions Grands Prix in 2021, 2022, and 2023, crowned Campaign’s ‘Global Integrated Network of the Year’ and named to Ad Age’s A-List in 2023. Mel has featured in Campaign’s A-List, The Drum’s Digerati, HERoes Women Role Models, and Ad Age’s European Women to Watch. In 2023 she was named Business Woman of the Year in Marketing and Communications at the European CEO Awards, and Agency Leader of the Year at the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards. Mel lives in London with her husband Rich, her children, Honor and Mack, and their dog Whiskey.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Liz Benison

Chief Executive Officer
ISS UK & Ireland

Liz Benison, CEO of UK & Ireland at ISS, played a crucial role in establishing the Global Employee Resource Group for Gender Balance, a critical initiative fostering gender equality and an inclusive environment across regions. Liz's visionary leadership extends to developing a comprehensive playbook, guiding gender equality efforts throughout the organization. This playbook highlights strategies, policies, and best practices that empower women and promote diversity and inclusion. Liz's dedication to advancing women's representation in leadership is evident through mentorship programs, leadership development initiatives, and inclusive hiring practices. Under her guidance, ISS has successfully increased the number of women leaders, creating a diverse and inclusive leadership team.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Naomi Tsuru

Executive Officer, Head of Human Resources
Fidelity International (Japan)

Naomi at Fidelity International (Japan) leads the APAC Gender Balance Network with 8 leaders across different locations. In her role, she also leads APAC regional collaboration initiatives and supports initiatives to raise awareness on the importance of gender balance, unconscious bias, role models and mentoring. Her initiatives raised the senior women's ratio through comprehensive talent reviews and development actions and created a more gender-balanced organization. This resulted in the organization earning an "Eruboshi" certification, which the Japanese government awards to companies as a recognition of the company's efforts to promote women's inclusion. Naomi has also been involved in 7 organizations outside of her full-time position at Fidelity International to encourage gender diversity, including the Japanese government's working group and various volunteer groups. In addition to her work for women's inclusion, she has been actively involved in DEI initiatives for LGBTQ+, Enable, Culture, and Social Mobility.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Senior Vice President, Business Development
Teleperformance Philippines

Michelle is Teleperformance Philippines Senior Vice President for Business Development and a fierce advocate for women empowerment in the workplace and everywhere. From the moment she joined TP, Michelle has been a catalyst for positive change and a fierce advocate for women's rights, leading TP Women initiatives, driving women inclusion in leadership, and attracting programs that highlight women empowerment to all employees. A passionate champion of Filipina excellence, she takes every opportunity to showcase women leadership at TP in all geos she caters to and promotes gender equity in the industry. She also actively leads TP for All, the company’s new impact sourcing program, forwarding innovative intersectional strategies for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Bock

Senior Consultant
Oliver Wyman

Catherine Bock, a Senior Consultant at Oliver Wyman, drives gender diversity and positive change. Leading initiatives for International Women's Day, she orchestrated panel discussions, interviews with high-achieving women and tackled complex topics like income inequality and unconscious bias. Catherine's leadership with the Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW) team facilitated transparent communication among women, fostering open dialogue and support. She supported efforts to address unconscious biases in recruiting and shifted into an APR co-lead role, collaborating on implementing a regional gender strategy. As the Oliver Wyman for Society Lead, Catherine championed a pro bono project with Dress for Success Perth, enhancing their social impact measurement. Her coordination of volunteering initiatives further highlights her commitment to social inclusion beyond the firm, reflecting her dedication to fostering meaningful change. Catherine is currently on a Leave of Absence from Oliver Wyman, pursuing an MPhil in Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nadia Radulovich

Head of Utility Services
HSBC Bank Argentina

Nadia is the Head of Utility Services at HSBC Bank Argentina. In 2017, she became a member of the local HSBC Balance ERG, empowering colleagues globally to achieve gender balance. She rapidly progressed within the ERG, co-championing the Networking Workstream in 2020 and becoming the Local ERG President in 2021. Under her leadership, the ERG delivered over 45 initiatives promoting leadership, sustainability, networking, coaching, allyship, and cancer awareness targeting the Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay ERG members. Beyond HSBC, she is part of the Vital Voices South Cone network, where she participated as a mentee in the Vital Voices South Cone "Women Leaders Program" and engages in different activities. Nadia's dedication to women's advancement is evident as she completes the cycle by serving as an HSBC Mentor, guiding colleagues and her team in their career progression.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Isabel Elvira Molina

Domain Tech Lead Shared Services developement in TDI division (Technology, Data & Innovation)
Deutsche Bank Spain

Ana is a Domain Tech Lead for Shared Services development in the TDI division at Deutsche Bank Spain. She's a technical expert and a Founding Member of WiB Spain (Women in Banking), advocating for diversity in the banking sector. WiB Spain, endorsed by multiple banks, including Deutsche Bank, aims to elevate women's presence in decision-making positions. Ana fosters collaboration between WiB Spain and Deutsche Bank Spain, empowering women talent and inspiring new generations through role models. Ana actively contributes to WiB Spain's expansion, growing from 7 to 16 banks with over 100 women. As a Steering Committee member, she shapes the strategy and actions. Her engaging #WibTalks connect women experts in banking. Ana works on creating WiB as an association, conducting a market study on women in Spanish banking, and curating a directory of women leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocio Del Mar Cárdenas

Scrum Master, Product Owner & Technical Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions S.A.

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals either in and out the company. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable workshops and managed to teach online with other companies workshops this year to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition, she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Wael Sabra

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO Europe Cluster and Member of Group Executive Committee
Vodafone Group

Serpil Timuray is the CEO of Europe Cluster at Vodafone Group since October 2018 and a member of the Group Executive Committee since January 2014. She also oversees Vodafone’s interest in joint ventures in Netherlands, Australia and India and is responsible for Vodafone’s Partner Markets in 48 countries. Since 2013, Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which leads a pioneering agenda to improve diversity and inclusion. Serpil has championed the development and launch of specific apps and services to support women – such as the domestic violence app, and drove a target of connecting an additional 20 million women in Africa. In March 2020, Serpil launched Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative which led to the creation of the #ChangeTheFace Alliance, bringing leading global tech companies and organisations together to collaborate on accelerating diversity and equality. In February 2022, Serpil received the Diversity In Tech Outstanding Achievement Award at Mobile World Congress.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer & Global Head of Relevance
EssenceMediacomX

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at EssenceMediacomX, and EM including, sponsorship of the Women’s ERG; the Belonging Council. The author of two best-selling books on diversity at work: “Belonging, the key to transforming and maintaining diversity, equality and inclusion at work”; “The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business”. In September 2022 she spoke at United Nations General Assembly week in NYC on the role that media can play in making the world a better place for women and girls. Sue is a fellow of the IPA, and is one of the ilist, inclusion champions for the industry. She blogs for Campaign magazine, where she champions inclusion. She won the Cannes Lions 2022 creativity for good competition for a campaign designed to deliver gender equality for business startups.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aysem Sargin

Managing Director
Boeing Turkey

Aysem, Managing Director at Boeing Turkey, has substantially contributed to fostering an inclusive environment at Boeing and beyond. As a member and sponsor of BWIL METACA since 2019, she has driven women's empowerment initiatives. She's a proactive contributor, delivering presentations that offer a global perspective on diversity and inclusion. Aysem's impact expanded as she concurrently served as Executive Sponsor for BWIL METACA and BWIL Europe in 2020, enabling her to share best practices across regions. Beyond Boeing, Aysem serves as Chair of the International Investors Association and a Board Member of the American Chamber in Turkey, where she champions women's empowerment in the workforce, STEM education, and women's entrepreneurship. Aysem's collaboration with NGOs and academic institutions further exemplifies her dedication. She promotes women's participation in engineering and aviation careers by partnering with organizations like the Turkish Women's International Network and engaging with universities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Managing Director
Bain Capital Private Equity

Sarah, Managing Director at Bain Capital Private Equity, joined other women leaders at Bain Capital in creating the inaugural women's leadership event and network, fostering an environment of support and empowerment. Sarah's mentorship extends across diverse career stages, propelling women to achieve their fullest potential. Sarah also initiated and sponsored the portfolio company CEI Community of Practice, driving transformation in a challenging landscape. Sarah's commitment extends beyond Bain Capital, as evidenced by her role on the global 30% steering committee since 2017, catalyzing the growth of boards to an impressive 41% diversity. As a dedicated Women of the Future advisory board member, she contributes to developing impactful programs and awards. As a speaker and mentor, Sarah extends her reach to schools, the industry, and professions, fostering the next generation of diverse talent and ensuring a more inclusive future.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francia Sales

Head of CSC
Manulife

Francia is a highly accomplished professional serving as the Head of CSC at Manulife. She holds the position of Executive Chair and Sponsor of the Global Women's Alliance (GWA), where she has made significant contributions. Under her leadership, GWA has witnessed remarkable growth in membership and has successfully implemented impactful initiatives like #IamRemarkable Workshop series. With a deep commitment to women's empowerment, Francia has been a passionate advocate for gender equality. She has represented the Philippines and APAC in various Diversity and Inclusion workshops and has actively participated in Women Leadership discussions. Francia's outstanding achievements have earned her recognition as one of the Top 100 most influential Filipino Women on LinkedIn in 2023.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joon Heem Kham

Country Chief Operating Officer
Barclays Bank Singapore

Joon Heem Kham, Country Chief Operating Officer at Barclays Bank Singapore, ensures that Employee Resource Groups, including the Gender ERG WIN, effectively drive the DEI agenda. Her commitment to gender diversity is evident through her focus on implementing best practices in hiring processes, promoting women candidates and interviewers. She also ensures that Singapore's efforts are aligned with the global targets for women's representation in leadership positions. Beyond her role, Joon Heem is a dedicated mentor and supporter of women. As a Female Champion for FWA Singapore, she empowers women to excel professionally and personally, fostering change in her organization and the wider society. Her engagement as a mentor for the FWA Advancing Women in Finance Mentoring Program underscores her dedication to guiding mid-career women in the banking and finance industry toward professional growth and development.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Hazel Lising

Delivery Manager
IBM

Jessica co-leads two of IBM’s BRGs for ASEAN+Korea, where she is involved in numerous initiatives, including providing support for breastfeeding moms to deliver breast milk from the office to home, providing a mother's wellness room, developing a transgender bathroom policy, and introducing first-of-its-kind coverage for gender affirmation treatment. Externally, Jessica has joined Philippine Financial & Inter-Industry Pride (PFIP), advocating for women who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies. From Jessica's work with IBM’s BRGs, IBM won the Asia CEO Awards among the most diverse companies in Asia Diversity. Company of the Year in 2019 and Circle of Excellence Awardee for the Diversity Employer of the Year in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stefanie Carpenter

Relationship Director
Fidelity International Limited

In addition to her role as a Relationship Director, Stefanie has taken on leadership positions that directly contribute to promoting Gender Balance and inclusivity on a broader scale. As the Gender Balance Strand Lead, she supports the global DEI strategy and Gender Balance action plan by focusing on the internal lack of women's representation in sales roles. This has involved reviewing data, discussing challenges and opportunities with business leaders, and scoping the next steps. As the UK Gender Balance Network Co-Lead, she worked on building a sense of community, creating an inclusive culture through discussion groups and awareness-raising events. Through collaboration with leaders and stakeholders, this network has developed and implemented activities and programs that foster Gender Balance locally and globally. Stefanie has also been the Chair of a performance netball club for the past six years, creating an environment that promotes equity, celebrates diversity, and ensures that all players, regardless of their backgrounds, can participate and thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Cusdin Harris

Retailer Experience Journey Lead
JLR

Jane leads JLR’s Gender Equality Network, passionately driving for gender balance in an organisation where only 20% are female. Her notable achievement is the 'Be the Change' campaign, promoting gender balance's business benefits and actionable steps. These engagement efforts, including a conference with over 500 attendees, have been instrumental in driving positive change for gender equality. Jane’s motivation arises from personal experiences. Over the last two years, she has embraced her voice and has tackled difficult topics by sharing her own stories of peri-menopause and mental health. She seeks to engage an audience outside of a D&I community and bring men into the journey of gender equality. Jane’s commitment extends to nurturing a supportive workplace culture for women to become role models and trailblazers. She highlights how gender balance fuels business success and amplifies change agents within the organisation. Her leadership is marked by kindness and integrity, leaving a lasting impact.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Corina Callan

Principal Engineer
Oliver Wyman

Corina Callan, Principal Engineer at Oliver Wyman, is the leader of our London women’s network and the driving force behind the new women's network for the Digital practice at the firm, fostering support and collaboration among women globally. She works to close the confidence gap, providing practical guidance before year-end reviews to enhance review writing and self-promotion skills. As a mentor, Corina supports colleagues across consulting and tech, leveraging her experience to guide them through various processes. She is also instrumental in the International Women's Day initiatives, collaborating with different women's networks. Her leadership extends to organizing panel events on critical topics like career progression and women in leadership. Corina is also a member of the tech talent charter, a speaker at industry conferences, and an attendee of diversity and inclusion awards events.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikeisha Beckford

Group Director of Client Engagement
VMLY&R

Nikeisha Beckford, Group Director of Client Engagement at VMLY&R, leads the agency’s Detroit office. As Office Lead and former Fluorescent Co-chair, VMLY&R's Black employee resource group, she has championed inclusion and belonging within the organization's 18 nationwide offices, particularly for Black women. She co-produced and co-hosted VMLY&R's 2022 Just Ad Flava conference, engaging employees and client partners in conversations about Black health, wellness, and culture in advertising. A true advocate for women's well-being, Nikeisha co-produced community conversations and fireside chats for Just Ad Flava, touching on navigating the healthcare system and prioritizing mental and emotional wellness. She's also a co-founder of The Level, a vodcast dissecting cultural, corporate, and industry issues, and she's featured at "Wednesday Wellth" discussions by Hue, a nonprofit amplifying BIPOC voices and careers. A founding member of Detroit's Black Girls Social Club, she's dedicated to sisterhood, community, and mentoring, exemplifying her commitment to uplifting women.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mallory Allen

Product Manager
WizeHive

Mallory Allen, a Product Manager at WizeHive, is a driving force behind establishing the company's Women in Tech employee resource group. Mallory has set innovative goals and actively improved the work environment through consistent check-ins and personalized guidance. Her commitment to empowering individuals to find their voice and communicate effectively has cultivated a supportive and inclusive work environment. Mallory's impact extends to strategic initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across the organization. Leveraging data-driven insights from employees, she has successfully built buy-in from the Executive team, resulting in several internal DEI initiatives, including an Annual Culture Celebration Event, Employee Resource Group Charters and a proper reporting process with HR.. Outside of work. Mallory's dedication to social justice is evident through her involvement in the Rockford Women's Club, where she supports initiatives like the NWVU Rockford SheVets Philanthropic Project.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Parminder Kohli

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Reshma Kewalramani

CEO and President
Vertex Pharmaceuticals

As CEO, Reshma leads Vertex’s mission of investing in scientific innovation to transform the lives of people with serious diseases — like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, type 1 diabetes and more. Under Reshma’s leadership, Vertex fosters a strong culture of inclusion, diversity and equity and supports four thriving employee resource networks that strengthen community and belonging for women, racially and ethnically diverse employees, LGBTQ+ employees, and veterans and first responders. Reshma works to make careers in science, technology and biopharma approachable to more people. She implemented a skills-based approach to hiring, removing academic degree requirements where appropriate — to make jobs accessible to anyone with the relevant skills. Reshma is also passionate about supporting biomedical innovation, the next generation of scientists, and her community. Outside of Vertex, she serves on the Boards of Year Up and the Biomedical Science Careers Program, organizations committed to closing the opportunity gap for women and underrepresented groups.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and is an active leader of local and national communities. In addition to her work for State Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting over 3,000 women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn. Yvonne is also the co-founding Chair of Milagros para Niños, a board at Children’s Hospital in Boston, which has raised more than $20 million in funds for Hispanic children who cannot afford medical care. In addition, Yvonne was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey to serve on the state’s Latino Empowerment Commission Board. Most recently, Yvonne was appointed to the Board of Directors of Reading Cooperative Bank and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Taylor

Chief Compliance Officer for Citibank, N.A & Banking and International
Citi

As Co-Chair of Citi's EMEA Women Affinity Steering Committee, Jennifer spearheaded the creation of initiatives, including the "Power Walk," bringing women and male allies together to walk in pairs, sharing stories in a mentoring conversation. In 2023, 400 employees across 23 locations participated, with plans to expand in 2024. Jennifer is an advocate for gender diversity; hiring a number of high-profile women, improving her department's gender diversity globally and at senior levels. She is a mentor to several women and sponsors talent within Citi and pan- industry. Prior to joining Citi, Jennifer was the Co-Chair of EMEA D&I Council at a top-tier investment bank, where she executed a global D&I strategy, oversaw mentoring programs and panels, and drove progress toward representation targets. Furthermore, Jennifer was invited to ring the closing bell at the NYSE in celebration of International Women's day in 2022 in recognition of her diversity efforts. Jennifer also sits on the board of Vital Voices, a non-profit organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kelly Burtenshaw

Head of Finance
British American Tobacco

Kelly is the Head of Finance at British American Tobacco. With a global perspective, Kelly has been a driving force behind enhancing working conditions, parental arrangements, and career pathways for women's talent within BAT. As the first woman Finance Director in PTC's history, Kelly leads a diverse team, recognizing her pivotal role in promoting an inclusive culture. She also initiated the first flexible working policy at BAT Australia, emphasizing work-life balance and inclusivity. As a catalyst for change, Kelly leads the Women Inclusion Network in Pakistan, fostering open dialogues and creating safe spaces for growth and learning among women in the workplace. Her dedication to empowering women leaders extends beyond her organization. Kelly has shared her insights on diversity, innovation, leadership, and career development through keynote speeches and presentations at various conferences. She also mentors and advocates aspiring women professionals, providing guidance and encouragement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Fernihough

Chief People Officer
KPMG

Lisa is the Chief People Officer and Partner at KPMG UK. With executive accountability for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (IDE) strategies, Lisa champions the firm's commitment to 40:40:20 representation, promoting a minimum of 40% women and 40% men in leadership roles and fostering an environment where everyone thrives. Lisa's advocacy shines through her sponsorship of award-winning mentorship programs like RaiseYou, nurturing a diverse talent pipeline, and I.T.'s Her Future, a ground-breaking network for women in technology. She actively contributes to the Women in Leadership community, sharing insights and inspiration with peers. Her contributions to the industry earned her recognition from organizations like Women in Banking Finance, the MCA, and in the recently published book, “Women in Leadership: 500 Lessons to our Younger Selves.”

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Corinne Ripoche

CEO
Capita Experience

Corinne Ripoche is the CEO of Capita Experience, having joined the business in October 2022. Corinne is a passionate advocate of female leadership and empowerment and is a diversity and inclusion activist. More broadly, as an intentional leader, Corinne believes in unlocking the potential of all people through empowerment and the provision of opportunity, actively mentoring in startup companies in the HR technology space. As the executive sponsor of the Capita Gender Equality Network and a regular participant in the Capita RISE program, Corinne leverages her insight and expertise to support underrepresented groups and promote development. Her positive influence extends to the industry, speaking on panels, at events, and in the media, advocating for women in the C-suite, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Recognitions such as membership of the Fortune Most Powerful Women community, and her role as a board member of C200 underscore her impactful contributions to shaping a more inclusive world.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ekta Narula

Director Operations
Barclays

At Barclays, Ekta has led in translating the global DEI strategy into actions for ERGs across India, which are brought together through a DEI network established by Ekta. She is also involved with the WIN gender ERG, which focuses on attracting, recruiting & retaining diverse talent, achieving gender ambitions, and improving the employee value proposition as an inclusive organization. The group has organized impactful development programs to progress women at Barclays and has introduced sponsorship and mentoring initiatives. Externally, Ekta has developed partnerships with gender-focused partners to amplify women’s progression and drive employer value propositions.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sanjana Chhantyal

Investment Analyst and Relationship Manager
Avasar Equity Limited

A Fulbright Scholar and MBA graduate from Emory University, Sanjana Chhantyal utilizes her finance and investment analysis expertise to organize training workshops for early-stage entrepreneurs, with a particular focus on women and youth entrepreneurs. She is the co-founder of the Stree-Shakti Project, which aims to encourage and prepare young women to take on leadership roles in Nepal's Energy sector by increasing access to information, mentorship and networking opportunities. She has conducted training sessions for young Nepali women on Circular Economy, Entrepreneurship, Clean Energy, Innovation, and raising equity investment. Sanjana also founded the Next Steps Project: she designed a higher education research toolkit and has conducted mentorship sessions in schools and colleges to help students, especially young girls and first-generation students, to make informed academic decisions. She is a member of the UN Women Asia and the Pacific’s 30 for 2030 Youth Network, USAID Youth Excel's Global Youth Advisory Council and serves as the YSP Deputy Project Lead at SDSN-Youth, program of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bamidele Farinre

Pathology Quality Manager/Governance Lead
Whittington Health NHS

Bamidele Farinre, Pathology Quality Manager/Governance Lead at NHS, has cultivated an inclusive culture by fostering open communication, mentorship programs, and resource groups. She has heightened awareness, visibility, and innovation as a Freedom to Speak Up ambassador and BAME Forum staff representative. Bamidele's commitment to equity is evident through her contributions to policy reviews and her efforts to celebrate diversity within the organization. Committed to personal development, Bamidele invests in others and actively mentors aspiring scientists. Her leadership roles, including deputy chair of the Institute of Biomedical Science's Virology Special Advisory Panel and committee involvement, showcase her dedication to inclusive decision-making. As a Black woman senior leader, she ensures diverse perspectives are heard and valued. With numerous affiliations, such as being a WISE campaign role model and STEM Ambassador, her expertise is showcased through published works, podcasts, speaking engagements, and roles in recognizing excellence within healthcare science.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

Technical Leader and North Europe STEM Champion
3M

Sarah initially trained in ballet until an inspirational teacher steered her towards a rewarding career in STEM, a story she recently shared in a TEDx talk entitled “Why we need STEM role models who are a bit less brilliant” which challenged the genius scientist stereotype. A Technical Manager at global science-based technology company, 3M, and working parent, Sarah is a role model and champion for diversity in STEM. She chairs the 3M EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum which has delivered #IAmRemarkable workshops to over 500 people and was recently appointed as North Europe STEM Champion enabling her to take her STEM volunteering to a new level and support 3M’s pledge to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025. A governor at Farnborough College of Technology, she was recognised as a ‘Rising Star in Education’ in the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lara Jewinat

Engineering Director
Orsted

Lara, Engineering Director at Orsted, was elected as Co-Chair for the Gender Inclusion network in Region Europe where she has led impactful initiatives to support Orsted's EDI aspirations. In her capacity, Lara has spearheaded various initiatives. Among them, a Gender Inclusion global newsletter that highlights talent and sheds light on the challenges women face in the workplace, and showcasing senior management perspectives and support on the topic. Lara's dedication to positive change is palpable through her orchestration of awareness workshops, which tackle bias, promote healthy money habits, and address bullying, harassment, and discrimination. She championed a campaign aimed at unraveling personal biases, fostering awareness of internal predispositions. Additionally, she initiated a Coffee Roulette, fostering networking and dismantling barriers throughout the organization. Collaborating with Monika Izydorczyk, VP Partnerships, Professional Women Network in Copenhagen, Lara co-created the empowering "Women in Energy breakfast" series, facilitating connections, shared experiences, and the fortification of diversity and inclusivity within the energy sector.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shivani Naveen

Associate Director, Professional Services
MoEngage

Shivani, Associate Director of Professional Services, spearheaded impactful initiatives at MoEngage, collaborating with HR to launch the Menstrual Leave Policy, creating a more inclusive environment for women by pitching to install sanitary napkin dispensers, and promoting gender balance through strategic women hiring. Shivani's commitment to elevating women's voices is showcased in her high-profile speaking engagements. She organized a session featuring Dr. Kiran Bedi (24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, first Indian woman to be appointed head of the United Nations Police) discussing women's empowerment and self-care. Additionally, she curated a panel discussion featuring accomplished women leaders, delving into career development and leadership. Recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion, Shivani orchestrated internal DEI awards at MoEngage. Moreover, her dedication to social responsibility shines through her efforts in conducting donation drives for various essential items, benefitting NGOs like Mahila Daskhata Samiti, Bangalore, India.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Lindberg

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Laura Jordan Bambach

Former President & CCO
Grey London

Laura Jordan Bambach is the President and Chief Creative Officer at Grey London. At Grey, she introduced a charter that promotes greater equity, inclusion, and representation in clients' organizations, helping to foster positive change in the advertising industry. Laura's commitment goes beyond her role at Grey, and as the Founder of SheSays, Laura empowers women in the creative sector, with over 90,000 members across 55 cities. She also launched The WEI, a personal development plan for women mid-career, and OKO, a mentoring app for underprivileged young adults. She actively supports DEIR initiatives with WACL and mentors rising star women in the industry. Laura advocates for gender parity through events like Funny Women and IAA Creativity4Better. Moreover, as a Jury President at Eurobest 2022 and Film Juror at Clio 2023, she continues to make a significant impact in the creative world.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmen Bodden

Vice President and General Manager, CertainTeed Roofing
Saint-Gobain North America

Carmen is Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Roofing at Saint-Gobain North America and is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion within the manufacturing and construction industries. Her team exemplifies her leadership within the organization, where women hold multiple vital roles. Carmen also serves as the Executive Advisor of the company's Women's Network, championing initiatives that empower women. She mentors women colleagues and collaborates with organizations like the Manufacturing Institute's Women Make America program to foster a pipeline of women talent. Passionate about her field, Carmen takes leadership roles outside her company, contributing to the National Women in Roofing (NWIR) organization and its Philadelphia Chapter. She promotes women's advancement through events, education, and advocacy, contributing to the DEI committee to drive nationwide change. As a speaker at trade shows like the International Roofing Expo, Carmen also facilitates discussions on the value of women in the roofing industry.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Boeri

President, SAP Latina America South
SAP

Claudia Boeri, President of SAP South Region, fostered a genuinely inclusive workforce representing over 18 nationalities. Since taking the helm in September 2018, she has orchestrated remarkable growth in the percentage of women in the company and management positions, with rates reaching 51% and 50.5%, respectively. Her advocacy for diversity has materialized through groundbreaking initiatives like an inclusive parental leave policy and the promotion of women leaders in key positions, including Argentina and Peru. Beyond her SAP role, Claudia is deeply engaged in various leadership positions and board memberships, including Women Corporate Directors, Junior Achievement Argentina, and IDEA. Her accolades include being ranked #1 in the "Women Leadership 25" and participating in impactful events like TEDxBarrioSanNicolás and the Gender Equality event. Claudia's dedication extends to mentoring women within SAP's Business Women's Network, further solidifying her commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yolanda Seals-Coffield

Chief People Officer
PwC US

Yolanda Seals-Coffield is the PwC US Chief People Officer. As a principal who has been with the firm for over 12 years, Yolanda has worked with teams across every aspect of the employee experience. In 2022, Yolanda launched My+, the firm’s biggest and boldest reimagination of its people experience. Before joining the US Leadership Team, she was the firm’s Chief Employment Counsel and also previously served as president of the PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc. Outside of work, Yolanda is an active leader in the Stamford Norwalk Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc. and the Fairfield County Chapter of The Links Incorporated. Yolanda received her JD from the Boston University School of Law where she was a Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow and a staff editor of the Public Interest Law Journal. She is a proud graduate of Howard University, where she received her BA.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather Mitchell

Chief Risk Officer, Head of EMEA and the firm's global General Counsel for Investments
Carlyle

As Chief Risk Officer, Head of EMEA, and the firm's global General Counsel for Investments, Heather Mitchell drives Carlyle's commitment to fostering diverse and inclusive teams. Heather's advocacy goes beyond words, as she sits on Carlyle's DEI Council, a pioneering initiative within the investment management sector, and is a vital member of the ESG Committee, assessing ESG-related risks. Heather also plays a crucial role in Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group, fostering an inclusive environment. Her contributions have garnered recognition, including being named in lists like Private Equity News' Twenty Trailblazing Women and Financial News' Fifty Most Influential in P.E. The Financial Times and the Legal 500 GC Powerlist have acknowledged her role in risk management and impactful initiatives. Heather's transformative leadership extends beyond Carlyle; she founded Law-G, a charity supporting Afghan legal professionals, and serves on the board of Cornell Law School.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Corinna Refsgaard

Group Chief People & Culture Officer
ISS

As the Group Chief People & Culture Officer at ISS, Corinna has supported the D&I team at ISS, offering guidance, resources, and encouragement to implement initiatives that foster a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Her mentorship and advocacy ensure that the team's efforts are recognized and championed at all levels. Corinna's collaboration with H.R. departments has led to gender parity in recruitment and talent management processes. She has also played a pivotal role in developing programs and policies focusing on gender equality, such as flexible work arrangements, mentoring initiatives, and leadership development opportunities for women. Moreover, Corinna shared her experience as a speaker at the Female Young Leader event at ISS HQ in 2023. Her inspiring speech resonated with soon-to-be-graduated female students from Danish universities, offering insights into her career journey and motivating them to pursue leadership roles in business.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elisha Rios

Director, Merck Manufacturing Division Integration Lead
Merck & Co.

Elisha is a thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and engineering. Alongside her role at Merck, Elisha spearheaded the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) group at Merck, where she leads a global team of 20 to enable Merck’s company goals around four strategic pillars: talent acquisition, talent development, advocacy and outreach, and communications. Under her leadership, SWE at Merck launched the Re-Invent program, a returnship program for experienced employees who have taken a 2+ career break, piloted an ‘on the spot’ hiring program at the SWE conference and has grown to 300+ members. Elisha served as the DE&I Program Manager for Merck's US-Human Health Division in 2022, supporting the organization with strategic planning and creating a best-in-class DE&I metrics dashboard to drive accountability for representation and development. In 2023, Elisha co-led the DE&I strategic team for the Global Science, Engineering and Commercialization organization within the Merck Manufacturing Division.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Blagorodna Stoycheva

Associate Director, Business Excellence
Xaxis (GroupM)

In 2020, Blagorodna co-founded the Rise Women Network within Xaxis to identify pressing issues and build an understanding and sense of community for a more equitable environment. Through this Network, they held numerous training sessions and networking events, which raised awareness of grassroots charity organizations and how people can support them. Most recently, they raised awareness for Guria India, a charity fighting sex trafficking and supporting the reintegration of victims into society. These initiatives spotlight Women across the organization, ensuring they are invited to speak on panels and events. In addition to her work at Xaxis, Blagorodna is also a member of the Advisory Board and volunteer as Marketing Lead with Springboard Youth Academy, providing innovative and comprehensive educational programs to newly arrived young refugees and asylum seekers aged between 13 and 17.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maria Isaza

Global Head of Investment Operations
Man Group

Maria Isaza is Global Head of Investment Operations at Man Group and co-chair of the firm’s Women at Man (WAM) network. Under her co-leadership, WAM underwent a restructuring, introducing network pillars such as Women's Health, Allyship and Mentoring Circles. Maria has led the network’s activities, organising events with industry leaders and building partnerships with Girls Are INvestors and SEO London to enhance diversity in the workforce and showcase career pathways for those from underrepresented backgrounds. Maria also champions DEI within the Product and Client Operations department, organising speaker events with accomplished female leaders within and outside the firm. Maria’s commitment to DEI extends beyond Man Group – she is a mentor for the Women's Societies Alliance Mentorship Programme and participates in speaking engagements at schools and within the industry. She strives to be a guiding light and role model for young women and other diverse groups pursuing careers in finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anne Marie Elona-Lainez

Learning Consultant
IBM

Anne is a Learning Consultant at IBM and a Co-Lead for IBMHer ASEAN+Korea Women's Business Resource Group, driving initiatives and programs for women empowerment, DEI, wellness, and volunteering. She played a key role in the IBMHer IWD 2023 Celebration and spearheaded the closing celebration, Embracing Equity Through Corporate Social Responsibility, that celebrated the intersectionality of IBMHer, EAGLE, PwDA BRGs and IBM CSR. Anne's dedication to spreading awareness and promoting learning drove major contributions towards the creation and management of the IBMHer website. She’s also a core contributor to Women in the Corner Office and a catalyst for global learning events, mentoring sessions, and workshops, covering topics like allyship and financial independence. Anne’s a certified #IAmRemarkable facilitator, challenging perceptions on self-promotion and improving skills for women and underrepresented groups. She also works with other organizations to promote STEM education and technology trends. Her unwavering dedication continues to empower women and foster diversity within IBM and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jill Chrencik

Principal Scientist
Merck

Jill Chrencik is the Principal Scientist at Merck. Over two years as co-lead of the SSF Women's Network, she initiated inspiring talks spotlighting women in science. She launched the impactful #IAmRemarkable campaign, expanding its reach globally within the organization. Jill's unwavering commitment extends to gender balance within her department. As the driving force behind the CSC Women's Committee, she introduced campaigns fostering support, public speaking skills, and diversity awareness. Her initiatives have been pivotal in creating a more inclusive environment. Jill's impact reaches beyond her organization. She spearheads diversity initiatives at conferences like SACNAS and NOBCChE, advocating for the next generation of scientists. Active within the HBA, she empowers women, and her engagement with local schools and Girl Scouts exemplifies her dedication to inspiring STEM interest in young minds.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melissa McLean

Senior Manager - Product Data Management
Reynolds American

Melissa McLean, Senior Manager of Product Data Management at Reynolds American, is the Co-Lead of her organization's Women's Employee Resource Group (WERG). Through this group, Melissa has led panels on various topics, from celebrating cultural heritage to fostering authenticity in the workplace. Her dedication led to her recognition as an "Embrace Equity" award recipient for Women's History Month 2023. Melissa's advocacy goes beyond the workplace. Overcoming a low-income background, she passionately mentors young girls in Guilford County Public Schools, tutors in STEM, and volunteers with Senior Services Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to senior citizens. She also contributes to the annual FIRST Robotics Competition, inspiring high schoolers in STEM journeys. She helps lead fundraising efforts for LEAD Girls’ annual LEAD-A-THON, and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake. A proud member of the REACH Women's Network, Melissa radiates positivity and serves as a sponsor for her teams and colleagues.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christoph Schweizer

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jon Holt

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Brenda Tsai

Global Chief Marketing Officer
State Street Corporation

Brenda Tsai is the Global Chief Marketing Officer at State Street Corporation. She is passionate about advancing diversity in business and is an executive sponsor of State Street's Asian Professionals Alliance Community, empowering Asian American employees with resources for personal growth and professional development. She collaborated with Ascend on the "The Other Side" campaign, highlighting challenges faced by AAPI professionals in corporate America. As an executive member of Ascend Leadership, Brenda supported over 60,000 business professionals and in 2023 was named an Ascend A-List honoree for her achievements and leadership. Outside of State Street, Brenda participates in leading business and industry associations, advocating for diversity and inclusion, where she is a driving force in marketing, diversity, and leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Former Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith

Tamara Box is a partner and immediate past (July 2023) Managing Partner, EME at Reed Smith LLP. Tamara is a non-executive director on the Boards of Interpath Advisory and Hanover Investors, a Trustee of Chartered Management Institute and Chair CMI Women, a trustee of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal, an Advisory Board member of charity Theirworld, an Advisory Board member of LSE’s The Inclusion Initiative and a founding member of the Steering Committee of 30% Club. Tamara has twice been named a Financial News “50 Most influential Lawyers” (2022, 2023) and was Law Firm Leader of the Year – Large Law Firm at Women and Diversity in Law Awards, 2023. Tamara is a passionate advocate for the women at Reed Smith and for gender balance generally. Several women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted/ winners of female leadership awards from Rising Star, Women of the Future and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sheetal Acharya

Director of Operations, Global Transformation Office
National Grid

Sheetal is the Director of Operations Global Transformation Office at National Grid, where she also is the Executive Sponsor of the Women in Networks Employee Resource Group and has orchestrated impactful initiatives to promote gender parity and empower women. Her commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace is evident through her leadership of the 1st Annual Women's Summit, which brought together over 100 women for networking and learning. Sheetal's focus on pay equity is marked by hosting events like the "Unhappy Hour" on Equal Pay Day and facilitating the WiN Pay Equity Panel to raise awareness about gender pay gap issues. Beyond her professional endeavors, Sheetal was the Opening Speaker for President Biden's Cancer Moonshot Launch, sharing her inspirational story of overcoming Stage 1 breast cancer. Sheetal's dedication to breast cancer awareness and supporting women's health underscores her commitment to making a positive impact both professionally and personally.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Grosvenor

Chief Engagement & Growth Officer
GroupM

Katie is the Chief Engagement & Growth Officer at GroupM. Passionate about gender equality, she sponsored and led the Gender ERG at IAS EMEA, fostering an inclusive environment for gender-related conversations. As an Executive Sponsor, she champions the Unite ERG, supporting LGBTQIA+ members. Katie's impact extends to mentorship and sponsorship programs, elevating underrepresented talent to leadership positions and held the position of COO for the women’s network, Bloom, in 2021. She actively endorses the Visible Start program, aiding women in reentering the advertising field after career breaks. Through media appearances and speaking engagements, Katie uses her voice to address workplace inequalities, retention, and mentorship. Beyond the workplace, she collaborates with Business in the Community's Cost of Living Taskforce to alleviate employees' financial challenges. Katie's accolades include being recognized as one of Management Today's 35 Under 35 and one of the U.K.'s 50 Most Influential Women in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mohita Sajwan

Chief Operating Officer - Consumer and Healthcare
Genpact

Mohita Sajwan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) - Consumer and Healthcare at Genpact, leads initiatives that drive progress in gender diversity and has fostered supportive environments like the 'Women in Insurance' group. Her championing of sponsorship through the Pay It Forward program empowers women to succeed by pairing them with influential leaders, resulting in remarkable growth from 32 to 3075 sponsor-protégé pairs in nine years. Mohita's efforts have significantly increased gender diversity in the Consumer Goods & Healthcare vertical, as well as in the Insurance vertical that she previously led as the COO. Her influence extends beyond Genpact as she engages in meaningful conversations with client leaders to foster awareness and support for inclusion. Passionate about mentoring, Mohita actively engages with youth groups, guiding them toward fulfilling their potential and becoming change-makers.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Jeronimo

CEO
Gaingels

As CEO of Gaingels, Inc, Jennifer Jeronimo launched the WAVE program (Women Accessing Venture Equality). This transformative 6-month initiative empowers women and gender-diverse individuals to engage and thrive in the venture economy. This innovative initiative combines education on venture investing with networking opportunities. Beyond Gaingels, Jennifer's influence extends to the CEOX networking group, where she works with senior women throughout many industries to help women's advancement to C-suite positions through peer collaboration. A trailblazer in promoting diversity within venture capital, Jennifer's participation in industry panels, discussions, and events sets her apart. Her contributions range from powerful insights at HSBC's Women's BRG group to discussions on Invest in Her podcast and The Los Angeles Angels podcast.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sabrina Browne

Vice President, Corporate Affairs and North America ERG Lead
BCW

As a Vice President and North America ERG Lead, Sabrina works to elevate women across the region through client counsel, internal programs and events, and various speaking engagements. She has been counseling Fortune 500 clients on strategic communications, national campaigns, and ways to provide access to capital to women and minority business owners. Additionally, Sabrina empowers Black employees to enhance their personal and professional development skills through her oversight of BCW's African American Employee Resource (AAER) Group, of which more than 50 percent of members are Black women. She also served as a WPP NextGen Pod Leader, managing a 10-week immersive learning program designed to introduce early talent to WPP. Outside of BCW, Sabrina is a Partner at The Flow Initiative, a national organization committed to ending period poverty in the United States, and Global Board Chair at Pandemic Periods, the leading menstrual health collective operating in over 25 countries worldwide.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Solange Cunha

Lawyer
Mattos Filho

In 2021, Solange - a Lawer at Mattos Filho - introduced a transformative Book Club at her law firm, emphasizing literature by women authors. This platform delves into discussions about feminism, motherhood, career, race, and class, fostering a safe space for shared experiences and inspiring conversations. A year later, CNN invited her for an interview, shedding light on workplace sexism and showcasing initiatives to inspire other companies to follow suit. Currently, Solange spearheads a mentoring program for women lawyers and interns, addressing the challenges faced by women in corporate environments. Beyond Mattos Filho, Solange has participated in initiatives that promote diversity, including "Leia Mulheres," a nationwide Brazilian book club spotlighting literature by women authors to foster understanding of gender issues, and Maritime SheEO, an international community dedicated to advancing diversity and innovation within traditionally male-dominated industries.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yeniva Massaquoi

Associate
Latham & Watkins

Yeniva is a senior associate at Latham & Watkins with extensive experience advising multinational clients on raising capital in high value cross-border transactions. Yeniva is also a member and previous Global Leader of Latham’s Women Lawyers Group (WLG), which has over 1500 members globally. As Global Leader, Yeniva drove the WLG’s mission to recruit, retain, and progress women lawyers by spearheading professional development training, mentorship, and community building, including by organising retreats, launching women-focused networks, furthering mentoring schemes, and moderating panel discussions on gender equity and progression. Prior to WLG, Yeniva was Chair of Latham’s Black Lawyers Group in London followed by two years as Global Chair of the group during which she established a number of diversity initiatives. Yeniva is also active in gender and broader DEI related pro bono work, including supporting The Windrush Legal Initiative – a free legal clinic helping applicants navigate the UK’s Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dionne Condor-Farrell

Application Development Manager - STEM
Transport for London

Dionne is an Application Development Manager at Transport for London (TfL). As Co-Lead of TfL's Women in Tech Community, she co-leads a team of 13 volunteers, spearheading coding workshops, advice sessions, and tech talks for a thriving community of over 200 individuals. Her passion for nurturing women's tech careers shines through as she facilitates shadowing, work experience and mentoring opportunities. As Career Development Lead for TfL's RACE SNG, Dionne tackles diversity gaps directly, orchestrating events like the "Journey To Your Career Success" series and empowering 125+ attendees with insights from senior professionals. In 2022, she launched Techfidence, a career coaching service offering the Confidence Coaching Programme that allows women to transition into tech roles with remarkable results. Dionne's impact extends to published works like "Black and Great" and "The Voices In the Shadow" and recognition on the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in Tech UK Tech 2022 and 2023 long list.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Allison Endara

Head of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Investment Solutions
UBS Financial Services

Allison is the Head of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Investment Solutions at UBS Financial Services. As a mentor, Allison has guided rising women leaders in the Wealth Management division, imparting skills to advocate for themselves and pursue leadership roles. Serving as Co-Chair of the Pride Americas Network, she has played a pivotal role in driving LGBTQ+ allyship and advocacy across divisions through impactful programming, events, and workshops. Allison's impact extends beyond UBS. She partnered with UCLA School of Law to host an event on the implications of Roe v. Wade, shedding light on its effects on marginalized communities. Her recognition by "100 Women in Finance" underscores her dedication to promoting gender equity and diversity of thought within the finance sector. Outside of UBS, Allison actively supports grassroots women's health and social justice organizations, further exemplifying her commitment to positively impacting women and communities

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samrudhi Vaghmare

Senior Consultant
EY

Samrudhi, a Senior Consultant at EY, is the Co-Lead of EY's Data & Analytics DEI Team. Samrudhi champions diversity within the practice, and crafts recruitment and retention strategies – driving gender, race, and other diverse representation across 700+ employees. As a Strategic Partner for EY's DEI Recruiting team, she elevates underrepresented voices. Hosting 150 students from Out for Undergrad’s (O4U) MOSAIC Program, she garnered recognition for her impact from EY senior leadership. Samrudhi's influence shined as Conference Director at the 2023 O4U Business Conference. Orchestrating an exceptional event, she prioritized intersectionality within the LGBTQ+ community and facilitated connections with HBCUs and Women's Colleges. Samrudhi also mentors at Correlation One, where she empowers young women in data fluency through the DS4A Program, amplifying representation in tech, consulting, and finance.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dominic Blakemore

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sean Hagerty

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global CEO, VMLY&R COMMERCE and NY CEO, VMLY&R
VMLY&R

Beth Ann serves as Global CEO, VMLY&R COMMERCE and NY CEO, VMLY&R. She has led company and cultural transformation, bringing together world-leading capability and talent to provide unmatched expertise for clients including The Coca-Cola Company, SC Johnson, Mazda, General Mills and more, at a time of unprecedented global growth in Commerce. Her belief that Commerce holds the most untapped creative potential to grow brands and people has led to delivery of new and innovative creative commerce experiences that harness data and technology to build brands and sell products across channels. Her experience spans all areas of retail, brand, sales, and marketing, as a founding member of a successful startup purchased by Omnicom, Global CMO of Westfield Corp, CEO for Kantar Consulting Americas, and the first female CEO at TracyLocke during its one-hundred-year history. She is an AdAge Women to Watch, has judged the D&ADs, EFFIEs, and, in 2022, was Cannes Lions Jury President for the newly launched Creative Commerce jury.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Efe Ukala

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel
JP Morgan

Efe is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan. In addition to her role as in-house counsel, she’s involved in the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts that have resulted in hiring and retaining diverse talents. Her passion for inclusiveness transcends her day job. Efe is also the Founder of ImpactHER, a non-profit that cultivates environments within which African female-led small businesses not only survive but thrive. Under her leadership, ImpactHER has provided pro bono business advisory support and directly trained over 76,100 African women entrepreneurs from 53 African countries, connected them with investors, and converted 39,444 non-technologically enabled businesses to technologically enabled businesses. Her work helped African women-led businesses from permanent shutdown during the COVID pandemic, and is actively changing the narrative of disenfranchised female business owners on the Continent; allowing women to crash through glass ceilings and re-define the face of successful entrepreneurs in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jen Tippin

Chief People & Transformation Officer
NatWest Group

As Chief People & Transformation Officer and executive sponsor for LGBT+, Jen co-chairs NatWest’s One Bank Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee, bringing together key stakeholders (including employee-led networks) to share best practice and drive positive change. Jen builds a culture of inclusivity where everyone can thrive, working with the Gender Network to ensure women's voices are heard. Jen pushes for constant improvement, e.g., by updating NatWest’s parental leave policy, introducing enhanced menopause support and improving business travel policies to enhance colleague safety. Jen relentlessly holds leaders to account for attracting and retaining diverse talent and building strong sustainable pipelines. Externally, Jen is a proactive ambassador, speaking at events to facilitate change, and supports campaigns such as 25x25, an initiative to help to increase the number of female CEOs in the UK FTSE. Jen is also a founding sponsor of the Bain led Stratos Academy for female talent and leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mirjam Staub-Bisang

Head of BlackRock Switzerland and member of the EMEA Executive Committee
BlackRock

Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Head of BlackRock Switzerland and member of the EMEA Executive Committee advocates for diversity within the financial industry and a recognized leader in sustainable investing. Leading a team of about 120 employees, she shapes BlackRock's presence in Switzerland while serving as a non-executive director of the global shoe retailer Bata and contributing to prominent boards like the Asset Management Association Switzerland and Swiss Sustainable Finance. Mirjam also co-sponsors Elevate—a program nurturing emerging women talent within BlackRock's Women's Initiative & Allies Network (WIN). As an active Black Professionals & Allies network member, she fosters meaningful opportunities for Black professionals. Mirjam's legacy extends beyond the workplace, as she founded and chaired the "MBA for Women Foundation," providing financial aid for women pursuing MBAs. She endowed the "Mirjam Staub-Bisang Research Fund for Sustainable Investing" at INSEAD and earned recognition as one of the "Top 100 Women in Business" in Switzerland.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Louise Prashad

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Louise was appointed Chief HR Officer in January 2022 and is the Executive member responsible for the design and implementation of Diageo's Inclusion and Diversity strategy. In her previous role as Global Talent Director, Louise led the creation of Diageo's Thriving Through Menopause guidelines to raise awareness and understanding of menopause throughout the business. The guidelines are live in over 40 countries and in June 2022, Louise championed Diageo to become the first global company to make the balance+ menopause app available to all employees. Since Louise’s appointment, Diageo has introduced a variety of further guidelines and policies to assist its ambition of creating the most supportive and inclusive environment, with the company launching in 2023 Pregnancy Loss Guidelines globally and Fertility Support Guidelines in the UK. Louise is committed to ensuring Diageo drives change across society, with the company for example having ambitious goals to increase its Supplier Diversity spend with minority-owned businesses, including female-owned, to 15 percent by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arungalai Anbarasu

Chief Technology & Strategy Officer
Waygate Technologies

Arungalai is mother to a 8-year-old daughter, fierce gender-balance advocate and a member of the Women's Network Group within her company, and she has been coaching and mentoring gender-diverse employees to succeed in their careers so that she can create more gender-diverse teams in a high-tech business. Arungalai has been promoting roles in STEM with school and university-level students and is a thought leader in Forbes Technology Council and on Gender Balance & Working Mothers. She was featured in the Top 100 Women in Technology Leaders by Technology Magazine in 2021, in the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by National Diversity Council in 2021, and in the 10 Most inspiring women leaders to follow in 2022 by Insights Success in 2022 & 40 under 40 by CDO Magazine in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natsayi Mawere

Partner
Reed Smith

Natsayi is the Co-Chair of Reed Smith’s NYC office’s DEI committee, has helped to develop the office's Racial Equity Action Plan and is also a liaison for the office’s Women’s Initiative Network (“WINRS”). In 2020, she introduced an annual virtual Career Day program to NYC WINRS that connects low-income and homeless women served by the NYC Coalition for the Homeless’ “First Step Program” with lawyers and professional staff in NYC WINRS. NYC WINRS attendees assisted First Step students with resume development, mock job interviews, and discussed issues women face (in the context of a job search). As part of the NYC office's REAP, Natsayi worked with colleagues to develop a pilot Associate Buddy Program in 2021, which she took the lead in taking global in 2022. She is dedicated to investing in the well-being and advancement of others, especially women facing systematic barriers to employment.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lexie Toorock

Wealth Management Solutions
Bridgewater Associates

Lexie Toorock joined Bridgewater in 2012, and today she is a lead relationship manager and marketer for the firm’s wealth and distribution practice, reporting directly to the Global Head of Wealth and Distribution. Lexie is a founding member of Bridgewater’s “Women’s Influence Network,” the firm’s largest affinity network and currently serves as its co-Head. She has consistently mentored women and others throughout the firm, while also hosting various firmwide discussions on business and leadership. Beyond Bridgewater, she serves on the board and is Chair of the Development Committee of LSA Family Health Service, a 65-year old nonprofit focused on assisting families and children in East Harlem, and she is a significant contributor to fundraising efforts and strategy for Grameen America, the largest microfinance nonprofit in the US. Lexie holds a B.S. in Strategic Management and Economics from Babson College.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Malgorzata (Gosia) Lesniak

Global Head of Talent Acquisition
AMS

Gosia Lesniak is Global Head of Talent Acquisition for the talent solutions business. Since 2020 she has led the AMS Women ERG, a platform for discussion and support, capturing women voices from regions across the world and emphasising intersectionality in its initiatives. Gosia is a passionate advocate for women’s issues, ensuring personal development, well-being and career advancement opportunities for AMS women in keeping with the company’s diversity goals. Over the past year, she has led the establishment of the AMS Career Centre in Poland, providing refugees, primarily women, from Ukraine with essential support to integrate into the Polish workforce. This initiative supports those displaced from conflict in finding jobs and offers psychological support through workshops and meetings, creating a supportive community. Gosia elevates the voices of the women and allies she inspires through internal events, external speaking opportunities and partnerships and through her support of local refugee and women initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sharniya Ferdinand

Enterprise Community Strategy Director
NatWest Group

Sharniya, Enterprise Community Strategy Director at Natwest Group, is dedicated to advancing gender equality and fostering intersectional empowerment. Appointed in October 2021 to drive collaboration across networks, Sharniya's impact has been remarkable. She orchestrates events of profound implications, including 'Black Female Excellence' and 'The Power of Black Femininity,' engaging hundreds in discussions on intersectionality. Sharniya's commitment to mentorship is evident through her work with graduate colleagues, supporting them to secure permanent roles and promotions. She has also created a Black Female Colleagues' Network that provides a safe space for connection. Moreover, she champions women's recognition through external awards and shapes dialogues on entrepreneurship, gender balance, and empowerment through hosted events and webinars.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eugenia Linares Traiman

HXM Global Business Partner
SAP

The HXM Global Business Partner at SAP, Eugenia, created innovative and impactful panel events that brought attention to the experiences and challenges faced by various groups. From topics on diverse families and lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women, her events provide platforms for sharing stories, promoting allyship, and fostering understanding. She also champions education, coordinating English and Computing lessons for transgender women. As the leader of the Pride ENG for Latin America and the Caribbean, Eugenia fosters an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ employees. At the same time, her involvement with other ENGs advances gender equality for women. Her mentorship extends beyond her organization as she helps women from other companies establish their own ENG to support women in technology. Eugenia also volunteers at NGOs supporting transgender women and women with mental health issues, actively participating in fundraising, reintegration programs, and awareness campaigns.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jessie Chen

Head of Marketing Deployment, APMEA North
British American Tobacco

Jessie Chen, the Head of Marketing Deployment, APMEA North at British American Tobacco, is the first woman Country Manager for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Her leadership exemplifies how women can drive business growth and influence the organization. Her contributions include active participation in International Women's Day workshops, DEI activities, and leadership-sharing sessions. Jessie's involvement in the Workplace Culture Focus Group showcases her dedication to fostering an inclusive environment. She's made strides in recruitment, training, coaching, as well as successfully mentoring other female talents into leadership positions. Jessie's commitment extends to community engagement outside BAT through mentorship programs and campus recruitment events. Her efforts have been recognized with awards, including being named a Top Employer, receiving the Golden Torch Award, and earning accolades for BAT's commitment to employees through HR Asia and Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Hynam

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Osman Ershad Faiz

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Karen Blackett

WPP, UK President
WPP

Karen is a proven business leader with a track record in creating vibrant cultures, energising teams, and consistently delivering business growth and success. She is UK President for WPP, the world’s largest marketing services group and responsible for driving growth in WPP’s second largest market of 12,000 people. Karen is dedicated to advancing women's careers. She is the Executive Sponsor of Stella, a WPP Employee Resource Group supporting women's opportunities and gender diversity. She also launched Elevate, a programme for high-potential Black female employees. Karen champions WPP's Propeller programme, fostering diverse leadership pipelines with 2,633 participants across 71 countries. It has resulted in 33 promotions to CEO-level roles in four years. As CEO of Mediacom, Karen also elevated women in senior management to 44%. Karen is a single to a beautiful teenage boy, Isaac. The daughter of 2 Bajan parents, Karen regularly returns to her spiritual "home" Barbados and spends her weekends enjoying the outdoors and walking her two adorable dogs Bob Marley and Missy Elliot.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marjorie Dickman

Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
BlackBerry Limited

Marjorie joined BlackBerry in 2020 as a corporate officer and the company's first Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, making her one of the few female Global Government Affairs/Public Policy C-suite leaders worldwide. As the top advisor to BlackBerry's Executive Chairman and CEO on worldwide government affairs and technical standards decisions, Marjorie role models gender diversity and women's inclusion across the company. She endeavors to ensure that all voices and perspectives are considered in corporate decision making, and remains steadfast in her commitment to mentoring women across the technology and government affairs sectors. Her multi-decade history of advocating for and mentoring the next generation of women leaders and promoting STEM education and careers for women, has inspired an entire cohort of women (and men) at BlackBerry, who have joined Marjorie in promoting gender diversity and women's inclusion throughout the company and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President Global Communications
Philip Morris International

A veteran communicator and trendspotter, Marian makes smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Through regular bylines, interviews, and keynote addresses, she advocates for the equitable advancement of women. A member of the PRWeek Hall of Femme and Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, she has been honored with AWNY/She Runs It’s Changing the Game Award and has served on the board of directors of Venture for America. Within Philip Morris International, Marian promotes change through two employee resource groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN). Her latest book, The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption (Penguin Random House, 2022), examines changing gender mores and the role female leaders can play in addressing critical societal issues.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alessia Falsarone

Executive in Residence
The University of Chicago

Alessia, Executive in Residence at The University of Chicago, and independent director of private and public companies, has fostered diversity within various spheres. As the Women in Circularity network convener, Alessia was pivotal in achieving equal representation in the Circular Economy and Sustainable Business Management executive program. Her dedication resulted in a 50:50 gender participation rate across diverse sectors and countries. Alessia's influence extends to the global Women in Green Hydrogen network, where her impactful policy engagements in Australia, the U.S., and Germany have contributed to shaping gender-inclusive energy transition conversations. Her recognition as a Global Woman in Leadership Awardee by the SheInspires Foundation underscores her commitment to inclusive growth and climate justice, as demonstrated through her work in designing the first private sector investment for COVID relief programs. Her book "The Impact Challenge" showcases her dedication to creating inclusive networks, aligning business ownership with sustainability, and prioritizing women's well-being.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Wade

Global Chief Marketing Officer
VMLY&R

Beth Wade is the Global Chief Marketing Officer at VMLY&R. Inspired by the impactful careers of her grandmothers, she champions gender equality within VMLY&R. Beth has facilitated meaningful change and growth as a founding member, chair, and executive sponsor of Lumina, VMLY&R's employee resource network for women. With more than 500 members and a growth rate exceeding 50% in 2022, Lumina delivers valuable programming and initiatives, including support for nonprofits, safe space discussions, policy enhancements, and a Buddy Program. Beth has created captivating content, including her "Innovators Chat" LinkedIn interview series, which highlights inspirational stories of entrepreneurial women, and her former podcast, "VMLY&R Women Around the World," which highlighted diverse career paths. She's created VMLY&R’s Re/Imagine client event series, hosted industry panels and received prestigious awards, including 2023 Ingram's CMO of the Year and 2022 Top 50 Women Leaders in Missouri.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Enna Jimenez

Business Transformation and Quality Leader
IDEMIA

Enna is a Founding Committee Member of Women in IDEMIA Network, WIN, facilitates WIN Circles in Boston, giving women a chance to come together in a safe space, and supported the launch of WIN's first Mentor/Mentee program. She spearheaded on-boarding recruiting vendors based in Puerto Rico to increase diversity for its Engineering roles and led the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, raising awareness of Latinas and their influence in collaboration with LatAm colleagues. Enna created a partnership between IDEMIA and ALPFA, to bring our TSA Precheck enrollment to their Annual Convention for 2-years in a row. Enna has been an active public speaker, speaking at over 40 organizations, conferences, and workshops, raising awareness of Afro-Latinas in Technology, leading as a woman, sponsorship, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Franklin

Chief Human Resources Officer
Moderna

Tracey Franklin, Chief Human Resources Officer at Moderna, is an exceptional leader who puts belonging first when it comes to driving workplace innovation. In 2021, Tracey pioneered the 12 Moderna Mindsets, uniting the culture and empowering teams to overcome obstacles collaboratively. Amid Moderna's growth from 1,300 to 3,900 employees at the end of 2022, she championed gender and pay parity globally, with 41% of high-level leaders being women, elevating employee engagement. Tracey's influence extends beyond Moderna. Her insights shared at platforms like the Forbes Future of Work Summit highlight purpose-driven leadership and employee experience. Acknowledged as a Leader to Watch by N2 Growth and an INSIDER Top H.R. Leader, she's committed to driving inclusivity and change. Moderna's recognition as a Disability:IN Best Place to Work and one of Forbes World's Top Female-Friendly Companies reflects her impactful leadership, shaping a culture of belonging and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susannah Stott

Low Carbon Fuels Integration Analyst
Shell PLC Ltd

As part of Shell’s Balance Network, Susannah founded and led the 50:50 Ops initiative to improve DEI in operations at their onshore and offshore facilities. Through this initiative, she held focus groups with women across operations, created a Facility GAP analysis survey to identify and track improvement actions around focus areas, gained buy-in from the VP of Upstream and Facility Managers, created "The Balance Badge" to reward facilities for good DEI performance, and led a committee focusing on broader improvement initiatives. Outside of Shell, Susannah helped kick start the Axis Network, Inclusive Offshore Working Group (IOWG), to promote Women's inclusion and gender diversity across the energy industry more broadly. She used this network to conduct a cross-industry survey to develop an informed understanding of the micro inequalities.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Namita Singh Thakur

Sr.Manager - Global Strategic Accounts
LinkedIn UK

Namita Singh Thakur is a leader within the Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn in EMEA. She has also been a Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA between 2020-22. LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving parity across all levels of the organization. Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her passion for the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. Outside of her formal role, she is passionate about arts & democratization of art through her foundation Art Curio & regularly supports emerging artists and artists within under-represented racial groups as a patron, art-collaborator and collector. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate/social life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tasnika Goorhoo

Sr Specialist in Technical Research
S&P Global

Tasnika, a Sr Specialist in Technical Research within Upstream Solutions, Commodity Insights at S&P Global, is a WINS Southern EMEA chapter board member, representing South Africa. Tasnika has orchestrated impactful events, at times extending to global panels, on career development, imposter syndrome, career coaching, and cultural and gender diversity. As a leader of the ladies' network for the Club of Engineers, Tasnika forges connections among women in engineering, creating a supportive environment and opportunities. She has also stepped in the role as a Cape Town ambassador for Future Females, driving the mission to amplify women’s entrepreneurship and success stories. Tasnika's dedication to mentoring extends to the WomEng, where she empowers high school girls. As a Chemical Engineer, Tasnika is an equality advocate determined to ensure female empowerment and sustainable progress in the energy sector, leading her to delivering a TEDxYouth@CapeTown talk on the topic.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sindhura Kola

IT Manager
Boeing India Pvt. Ltd.

Sindhura Kola, an IT Manager at Boeing India Engineering Technology Centre, is the Co-Chair of Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership (BWIL) Bangalore chapter. Since its inception in 2020, she has spearheaded initiatives that empower women and allies to thrive at Boeing. Under her leadership, BWIL's strategies have provided access to networking, business alignment, professional development, and community outreach opportunities, contributing to personal and professional growth. Beyond BWIL, she initiated the informal networking group 'Sakhi' during the pandemic, evolving into the flagship program My3(pronounced as Maitriye) with the support of other Women Leaders, fostering connections, storytelling, and mentorship among women employees. Her dedication to diversity and inclusion earned her the Quarterly Diversity & Inclusion Spotlight award twice. Sindhura's promotion of external affiliations and emphasis on recognizing D&I efforts has transformed the culture, amplifying the voices of those championing diversity and inclusion within Boeing and the broader community.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jordan Pearson

Senior Design Analyst
Lloyds Banking Group

Jordan is a Senior Design Analyst at Lloyds Banking Group who is extremely passionate about encouraging women and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to embrace opportunities in technology. She recently worked to develop and deliver Lloyds Banks' inaugural virtual work experience program, where she introduced 11-14-year-olds to the world of data. Her dedication to youth development extends beyond this initiative, having volunteered with over 1,000 young people to date. Jordan's impact goes beyond her workplace, she founded Jordansgirlcode.com, a platform to support women's career journeys in tech, data, and coding. She shares valuable insights through blogs, tutorials, and community-building activities. She has also spoken at conferences and workshops, emphasizing the significance of STEM education for girls. By mentoring through organizations like Brightside, she has guided young women through critical career decisions. Jordan's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive tech industry is evident in her efforts to inspire the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Priscila Cruz

Leaf Services, Technology and Capabilities manager
British American Tobacco

Recognizing the need for change, Priscila - Leaf Services, Technology and Capabilities Manager at British American Tobacco - spearheaded the creation of a women managers' group aimed at identifying gender disparities and fostering awareness. This initiative led to the establishment of "Inspiring Change," a dynamic cross-functional team that evolved organically, transcending hierarchical boundaries. As a key figure in "Inspiring Change," Priscila facilitated a SWOT analysis, crafted a comprehensive action plan, and galvanized leaders to support the movement. Her impactful work has left an indelible mark, with "Inspiring Change" expanding its scope to encompass overall diversity under the name "Inspiring People." Priscila's unwavering commitment is evident through her engagement in various corporate gender diversity groups at local, regional, and global levels, where she has served as a leader, co-responsible member, advisor, and board committee contributor.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nick Mackenzie

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Malcolm Palmer

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.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jette Nygaard-Andersen

CEO
Entain

Jette Nygaard-Andersen is the CEO of Entain, prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the organization. Under her leadership, a diverse ExCo was formed, and she spearheaded initiatives like Reboot@Ivy, empowering women returning to work in technology roles. She brokered a returnship program with McLaren, reigniting careers for women in STEM. Jette also launched the Women@Entain network, fostering inclusion for women colleagues. Committed to promoting women in STEM, Jette partnered with Girls Who Code and established technology scholarships with global universities. Recognized as one of the "25 People to Watch" by Global Gaming Business Magazine, she advocates for positive industry change, emphasizing the significance of diversity and encouraging women in STEM careers. As a personal and professional supporter of Global Gaming Women, Jette actively mentors senior women, highlighting the importance of mutual business support.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey McMurray

CEO
Pollen Street Capital

Lindsey McMurray is Pollen Street Capital's CEO and a member of the ESG Committee leading on DEI. The ESG Committee launched a DEI and Engagement Survey and formed a working group with the Chief People Officer to drive the diversity agenda. Moreover, challenging traditional recruitment biases, Lindsey ensured over 50% of new hires in the past year were women. Under her management, Pollen Street sponsors Level20 to enhance gender diversity in Private Equity and fosters social mobility, with 66% of the team educated in state schools. Through her work with CIFE, Lindsey promotes investing in women entrepreneurs, contributing to guidelines on Diversity and Inclusion in the investment industry. Her dedication earned her recognition, including the FT Adviser Diversity Champion of the Year and the Trailblazer Award at the Women's Private Equity Summit Europe. Lindsey strives to share her experiences and ethos in a male-dominated industry to drive meaningful change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eliza Casinather

Global Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
TMX Group

Eliza is an internationally recognized and award-winning leader known for her experience in strategic consulting, digital innovation, and human capital management across technology, retail banking and capital markets. She has influenced financial services organizations in driving revenue and business results through authentic leadership, inclusive talent management and innovative client experiences that strengthen these organizations’ commitment to diversity and inclusion. To further champion change within Canadian Capital Markets, Eliza, formerly Director, People and Culture, CIBC Capital Markets, took on the role of Global Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the TMX Group, an integrated, multi-asset class exchange group which includes the Toronto Stock Exchange. Eliza currently serves on the CARE Canada Board of Directors, advises the Canadian Paralympic Games Human Resources Committee, and actively partners with Women in Capital Markets. Her influence also extends beyond Canada's borders to supporting young women in sub-saharan Africa and minority entrepreneurs in Australia.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Cope

Commercial Director - Defence Digital
Ministry of Defence

Victoria, Commercial Director at Defense Digital in the Ministry of Defense, sponsors the Government Commercial Function RISE program, nurturing ethnically diverse and women professionals to excel as leaders. Her efforts have led to the promotion of candidates who benefitted from the program's development initiatives. As a commercial professional, working parent with a disability, and a woman leader, Victoria is a prominent advocate for underrepresented individuals. She encourages diversity within the profession through workshops, speeches, podcasts, and articles. Her leadership within the charitable sector has transformed lives, increasing the diversity of entrants into sustainable careers, particularly among vulnerable women and girls. Victoria's commitment extends to the tech sector, where she contributes to the Inspiring Leadership Foundation as NED and Chair of the Audit Risk and Assurance Committee. Her ambassadorial roles with organizations like WISE and the Royal Aeronautical Society also showcase her dedication to empowering women in technology and engineering.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Hall

VP Operations, Supply Chain & Procurement
Shell

Catherine is the Vice President of Operations for Supply Chain & Procurement at Shell, where she also chairs Balance@Shell, the gender ERG for 6000 UK employees, delivering a strategy of inclusion, enabling all to progress and a balanced ‘future of work’. She inspires and engages the network through events like International Women's Day, the Senior Women's Network, fostering role models and introducing innovative external coaches. She actively creates allies among her male colleagues, promoting critical conversations. Catherine influenced progressive changes, such as policies on menopause and extended Partner Leave. During her ERG leadership, Shell has achieved recognition as a Times Top 50 Employer for Women in 2022 and 2021. Externally, Catherine sits on the Gender Leadership team of Business In the Community (BITC) and the Women's Network Forum. Across her roles in Shell, Catherine has been a role model for inclusive leadership and promoted an environment where all can thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elaine Grell

Chief People Officer UK and EMEA
Ogilvy

Elaine has over 20 years’ experience leading strategic human resources; shaping and delivering people and culture solutions in global FTSE100 and SME scale-up businesses in Europe and the US. She has led transformative people initiatives that reflect her dedication to fostering a culture of equality and empowerment. Elaine champions women's diversity and inclusion through strategic actions such as supporting Employee Networks like "Parents & Carers” and sponsoring programmes like Elevate to advance Black women's leadership and 30for30 which empowers and develops women across the EMEA region. Outside of Ogilvy, she actively participates in initiatives that promote gender diversity and inclusion. Elaine's mentorship roles with organizations like PWN, WiHTL, and CIPD demonstrate her commitment to uplifting women and guiding aspiring leaders. She has also lent her expertise to podcasts, panel discussions, and conferences, sharing insights on topics ranging from non-traditional career paths to hybrid working environments.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kate Tinsley

CEO
MKM

Kate Tinsley, CEO at MKM, is committed to promoting fairness throughout the organization, from the warehouse to the boardroom. Under her leadership, MKM employs over 550 women, constituting 18.3% of the workforce—exceeding the industry average. Kate's vision extends to the future, evident in the apprenticeship scheme that boasts a remarkable 40.6% female participation, showcasing her commitment to fostering diverse talent. Kate's influence goes beyond MKM. She actively collaborates with #YesSheCan, driving inclusivity across sectors. Moreover, as a Non-Executive Director of the Football Association, she champions grassroots football and supports women's football growth, reflecting her dedication to positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Executives

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Fiona Cameron

Senior Leraning and Development Business Partner
GroupM

In the past year, Fiona has developed EMPOWER, a women in leadership development program aimed at progressing women in media and supporting gender pay gap reduction. She leads the YourBridge mentoring initiative and apprenticeship programs at GroupM. As newly appointed Chairperson of Lifetimes, an intersectional and intergenerational Employee Resource Group (ERG), she champions inclusivity and diversity within the workplace. Fiona is a trained GroupM Menopause Champion, and through Lifetimes has secured WPP's continued support against age-related gender bias and promotion of Menopause awareness. She's a vital team member of the Visible Start Programme, a WPP driven initiative designed to encourage inclusion for women aged 45+ to re-enter the industry. Externally, Fiona has actively contributed to the Bloom women's network for six years, initially on the leadership team. She later revitalised the mentoring programme, introducing skill-sharing and coaching to promote women's career advancement and equality in the communication industry.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suzie Nolan

Head of Property
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC

Suzie is the Co-chair of Aviva Ireland's (Gender) Balance network and she is also on the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Suzie takes a broad approach to DEI, supporting initiatives such as ‘Free to Be Me’ Children’s Libraries, regularly speaking at industry events promoting gender balance and using her role as property fund manager to provide rent-free or reduced rent access to commercial properties for the benefit of the minority groups in Ireland, including registered charities such as ‘Dublin Pride’, Neurodiversity Ireland and Sightsavers. Suzie is an active participant in Aviva’s ‘Women Tackle Finance’ campaign through which female experts share their financial and investment knowledge in a way that is more relatable for women. Suzie is a Council member of the 30% Club and recently took on the role of Chair of the Financial Services Group, working with senior leaders across Ireland to collectively drive change to accelerate gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sophie McHale

External Communications and Sustainability Manager
The Co-operative Bank

Sophie, External Communications and Sustainability Manager at The Co-operative Bank serves as the Chair of the Elevate (Gender) colleague network, where she drives initiatives to empower women and promote gender equality across the business. Sophie's leadership has elevated the network's impact, fostering progress in critical areas. She spearheaded efforts to promote women's health, resulting in the implementation of supportive policies and the distribution of free and environmentally friendly period products. Sophie's commitment extends to addressing societal issues and supporting survivors of domestic and economic abuse through partnerships with organisations like Refuge. Her strategic collaborations with the Bank’s suppliers promote diversity in tech, and she regularly organises career inspiration sessions for colleagues to combat gender pay disparities. Recognised for her efforts, Greater Manchester Digital has featured Sophie's work, and she continues to lead seminars to share best practices on inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maryse Gordon

Partnerships and Business Development Manager
RepRisk

Maryse Chairs the RepRisk’s DEIB Committee and has helped build the strategy following years of experience as Vice Chair New York Women's Inspired Network (WIN) and Co-Chair Black Employee Network at LSEG. Maryse supported over 100 members in bringing opportunities to enhance career and personal development, through workshops, networking, and speaker events to address topical issues from parenthood and well-being to financial independence and leadership. At RepRisk, Maryse is tasked with embedding DEIB as a core pillar for the 300+ strong employee base, bringing education, resources and opportunities for personal and career development. Maryse is on the advisory board for the Criminal Justice Alliance, Defy Ventures and the Raphael Rowe Foundation, bringing the subject of diversity and inclusion to the formerly incarcerated community and bridging the gap between corporates and those who require a second chance

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yosr Hamza

Director, Legal & Compliance - Middle East
Gartner

Yosr Hamza, Director of Legal & Compliance - Middle East at Gartner, co-leads the Legal & Compliance Inclusion Council, where she has spearheaded initiatives that leave a lasting impact. From establishing internship programs to launching mentorship programs, Yosr's commitment shines through. Moreover, Yosr's individual to over 15 individuals, supporting recent graduates and senior professionals across multiple countries. She advocates for women's empowerment and champions fellow women in the legal field, challenging gender norms, advocating for authentic leadership, storytelling and fostering equitable opportunities to lift one another. Outside Gartner, she contributed to the LexisNexis Middle East Arab Women in Law book. She initiated DEI themed Coffee Chat series for ACC Women in the House, fostering open dialogue and creating a diverse, inclusive, and supportive network.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tamanna Gupta

Senior Solution Architect
Fidelity International Limited

Tamanna Gupta is a Senior Solution Architect at Fidelity International Limited. Tamanna's dedication to inclusivity shines through her involvement in the Uplift Programme, where she has played a pivotal role in discovering and nurturing talented delegates from diverse backgrounds. Her efforts have transformed the hiring landscape, enabling talented individuals, especially women from marginalized backgrounds, to thrive. Passionate about mentorship, Tamanna actively participates in programs such as MentorHer and the GNDP flagship initiatives , guiding and empowering women within the organization to achieve their fullest potential. Beyond the workplace, she champions empowerment on a larger scale through her LinkedIn group, "Shatter the Ceiling and Rise Up." Through this platform, Tamanna offers valuable guidance, addressing career inquiries and fostering skill development for aspiring professionals in technology.

Can be viewed on: 2023 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alison Lomax

Managing Director
YouTube UK & Ireland

Alison started her career in the public sector working for government departments including M15 and Foreign Office, before moving to the advertising industry. Over the last 11 years at Google, she has led numerous commercial and creative teams and is now Managing Director of YouTube UK & Ireland. Inside and outside of Google, she is a diversity champion, a member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications, Leadership), Director of Trans in the City and a Trustee of Berkhamsted Raiders Football Club, England’s largest girls youth football club.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Ronald O'Hanley

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma Plc

Andrew is Group Chief Executive of Halma, the FTSE 100 global group of life saving technology companies. Halma is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the Group and has been a member of the 30% Club since 2017. Andrew’s work to improve the gender balance in leadership positions at Halma has resulted in more diversity at all levels of the organisation. As of March 2022, Halma’s plc Board and Executive Board were 50% and 60% women, including two of the three Sector Chief Executives who lead its portfolio of companies. Female representation on all Halma company boards was 26%, an increase from 18% in 2020, and targeted to be 40%+ by 2024 supported by a range of initiatives, including Halma’s graduate programme which is 55% female. As Halma’s CEO Andrew is personally committed to ensuring that this progress lasts and to build further on other dimensions of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michael Roberts

Chief Executive Officer US and Americas
HSBC

Michael is an advocate and Sponsor for all HSBC ERGs, including Balance (gender equity). Michael is supports the Balance ERG by sponsoring a partnership with the United Nations. This partnership brings together an intimate group of the most ambitious leaders from across government and institutions who will spearhead transformative change across countries, companies, and communities, inspiring many others to follow suit and demonstrate the value of allyship. The Inclusion & Culture Team, newly formed under Michael Roberts in 2020, supports, develops, and implements programs and processes to progress the US Inclusion and Culture strategy. As a result, in 2021, an increase was achieved in women's representation in Senior Management. In November 2021, two women were appointed to the HNAH, HUSI, and HBUS Board of Directors, moving the profile of women to 36.4% of the Board.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Luke Adebiyi

Business Development Manager, Banking
Capital International Group

Luke is Group Mental Health Lead at Capital International Group and an Advisory Board Member for The InsideOut Mental Health Charter, which demonstrates leadership engagement in and commitment to the mental health agenda by signing up to several actionable principles. Luke was previously a Company Director at the Isle of Pride and is in charge of organizing the first-ever Isle of Man Pride in history, promoting equality on the Island. Luke is also an ambassador for reboot, which is tackling racial inequality in the workplace. In addition, is a Trustee of InspireUK, a Mental Health Charity to support the overwhelming NHS, and other mental health providers throughout the pandemic. More recently, Luke has supported Unmind with videos to share his wellbeing story, globally.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jennifer Bell

CEO, North America
Aon plc

As Co-Chair of the Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Jennifer drives the group’s efforts to provide advice, recommendations and accountability for I&D strategy and actions at Aon plc. Her achievements in the role have included the formation of a new Aon plc sub-committee to the board for I&D, which she now regularly reports to, and the launch of a global ‘I&D Scorecard’ which has clear goals for gender diversity and is linked to leadership renumeration. Part of Jennifer’s work with the board sub-committee led to the recent announcement of a 50:50 gender balance within the Aon Executive Committee. She has also worked hard to ensure that female representation on her leadership team is higher than average, and she remains connected with Aon’s Business Resource Groups in order to drive equity at all levels of the firm, not just at senior leadership. Over recent years she has mentored a number of female colleagues and clients.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jen Tippin

Chief People & Transformation Officer
NatWest Group

As Chief People & Transformation Officer and executive sponsor for LGBT+, Jen co-chairs NatWest’s 'One Bank Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Committee’, bringing together key stakeholders, including employee-led networks, to share best practice, drive impact and positive change. Jen strives to build a culture of inclusivity where all women can thrive, working with the Gender Network to ensure women's voices are heard. Jen pushes for constant improvement, recently initiating a review of women’s safety, the company’s parental leave policy and introducing enhanced menopause support. Jen relentlessly holds leaders to account for attracting and retaining diverse talent and building strong sustainable pipelines. Externally, Jen is a proactive ambassador, regularly speaking at external events to help to facilitate change across UK plc, and supports several campaigns such as female executive development, the 30% club and 25x25, an initiative to help to increase the number of female CEOs in the UK FTSE.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan LaMonica

Chief Human Resource Officer
Citizens

Susan LaMonica is the Chief Human Resources Officer & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and serves on the bank’s executive committee. She is responsible for developing and driving people strategies to further Citizens’ growth plans while working to enact sustainable and systemic change leading the company’s ESG efforts. As the Executive Sponsor of Citizens’ Business Resource Group, Women’s Impact Network, she understands the challenges that exist for female colleagues, customers and community members while advocating for efforts to attract, retain and support women inside and outside of Citizens. She led the development of initiatives aimed at increasing accountability in Citizens’ hiring process and the deployment of programs such as TalentUp which focuses on talent acquisition, reskilling/upskilling, and expanding the talent pipeline. Outside of Citizens, Susan is a board member of Oasis, a non-profit whose mission is to change the lives of women and children by breaking the cycle of poverty.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Seymour

General Manager, President & CEO
HSBC Bank Canada

Throughout her career with Canada’s leading international bank, Linda has been a passionate advocate for gender diversity and women's inclusion. Over the last two years, Linda continued to use her position of influence to create meaningful change. She championed D&I by making it a key priority in HSBC's strategy approved by the Board in November 2021 and supported the creation of a D&I Dashboard, including targets for women leaders, to drive accountability and measure progress. Linda endorsed improvements to employee benefits supporting women, including flexible/hybrid work, market-leading maternity benefits, parental leave, and family-building benefits. Additionally, she set a 50% promotion target for women in senior leadership, which was achieved in 2020. Furthermore, Linda has been mentoring and sponsoring female talent, actively hosting exchange sessions and other employee-led meetings on challenges experienced by women, and challenging her leadership team to increase women's representation in their respective succession plans.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director & Co-Head of US Buyout and Growth
Carlyle

Carlyle's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council launched in 2013 as one of the first of its kind in the investment management industry. As well as being a leader on this council, Sandra plays a pivotal role in ensuring at least half of the firm's incoming classes are diverse. In the past year, she led the charge in re-evaluating and refining Carlyle's portfolio board diversity goals, which now includes ensuring that 30% of all directors on boards of Carlyle portfolio companies are diverse by 2023. As an active leader in Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program, which has had over 1,000 pairings globally since its inception in 2015, Sandra oversees more than 100 employees, 61% of whom are diverse (female or ethnic minority). She is a long-time Executive Sponsor of Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group, which creates inclusive environments for women to advance their skills and leadership potential through connection, mentorship and discussion.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Justine Anderson

Chief Operating Officer for EMEA
BlackRock

Justine is an active participant within BlackRock's Women's network, Black Professionals Network, Women in Investments network, and the Administrative Professional network. As COO of EMEA BlackRock, her biggest focus is to normalize the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in the firm's every action, to challenge and create a subtle change in the day-to-day. Justine’s role provides her with dozens of daily decisions that impact employees across the region. She approaches all of these with DEI as one of the core pillars—for example, bringing in parental leave coaching and supporting an internal program to develop and retain women, as well as a development program for Black professionals. Justine is also a Sponsor for BlackRock's participation in Black Women in Asset Management, a non-profit organization promoting the advancement of Black women working in asset management.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzie Nolan

Head of Property Fund Management
Aviva

Suzie is the Co-chair of Aviva Ireland's (Gender) Balance network. She has created opportunities for the network to educate colleagues about all genders, gender discrimination, stereotyping and allyship. In addition, she has escalated a review of the company’s equal parental leave policy to provide equality for all parents. Suzie is also on the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and has addressed the gender imbalance at senior levels at Aviva by promoting the need for diversity of thought at all decision-making forums. She supports gender conversations across the organization, encourages the elimination of 'manels' (male-only panels), and has established a mentor circle program that has helped women mentees be successful in progressing their careers further and faster. Suzie has also been working as a Council member of the 30% Club with senior leaders of organizations across Ireland to collectively drive change in companies' attitudes towards gender balance and identify ways to progress gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Selma Music

Head of Global Banking Sales - Global Trade and Receivables Finance
HSBC

As Head of Global Banking Sales at HSBC, Selma supports gender inclusion within different groups and committees inside the bank, has mentored upcoming women within HSBC since 2019, and has been establishing partnerships with stakeholders to advance gender inclusion. Selma is an ally of the LGBT+ community and a co-founder of a start-up that created a blind recruiting app, to avoid discrimination in the recruiting process, accelerating the diversity agendas of corporates in Europe. In addition, she has moderated interviews with female executives who support diversity efforts in their organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

Head of ESG Client Experience
BlueBay Asset Management

Koycheva contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s women’s forum, which she subsequently restructured to bring greater intersectionality. Now, as co-chair of the RBC BlueBay Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Forum she works on creating a DEI vision and strategy, organizing various work streams and establishing a diversity data initiative. She actively collaborates with the Employee Resource Groups of BlueBay's parent company, RBC, and other financial organizations. In addition to spearheading the firm’s partnerships with GAIN, 100BlackInterns and SEO London, Elena has led BlueBay's International Women’s Day events over the years. Elena is a member of the RBC BlueBay Corporate Responsibility Committee, Charity Forum, and RBC’s RWomen ERG. Externally, Koycheva leads the CFA UK Job Profiles working group and is a member of the CFA UK Volunteering and  Networking Steering Committees. She promotes greater D&I awareness as the CAIA London chapter head. Koycheva is a member of the 100 Women in Finance MidCareer Committee, mentors in cross-industry mentoring programs and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Senior Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a business support manager for a global technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion for almost a decade, she was the recipient of Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019 and 2021. She put her passion for inspiring and mentoring women to work in 2021 through her active support and participation in several events such as the "Innovation Challenge" to promote innovation, as a panelist for the "Diversity Series" in celebration of Women's History month, as a speaker at LEAD's (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women) "The Power of Your Authentic Voice" event, and as one of the organizers of an enterprise event, "Courageous Conversation: Coming together against racism," in partnership with the Asian Leadership Network, Black Professional Group and Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement. She also mentored young professional women to help them advance in their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Filiz Besler

Director of Product and Platform Operations
Xaxis

Filiz co-founded and co-chairs Xaxis UK's Rise Women Network with a mission statement that aims to create networking opportunities for Xaxis Women. There has been an enormous response and enthusiasm for Rise amongst women in Xaxis. After getting their feedback, Filiz and her team put together a plan on the most burning topics such as financial advice, salary negotiation, Imposter Syndrome, returning from Maternity leave and more. Whilst there are a growing number of women in leadership at Xaxis, Filiz plans to continue strengthening Rise with a vision one day to make it a fully inclusive workplace where women have equal opportunities. Outside of work, she is very active in human rights, including supporting several charities such as Nadia's Initiative, which works to rehabilitate the Yezidi community in Iraq.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ria Pandit

Cyber Security Engineer
DWS

Every day, through her work and outreach activities, Ria tries to create an inclusive environment within technology. She is a Gold Tier Facilitator as part of Google's #IamRemarkable initiative, which aims to provide women and underrepresented groups with self-promotion skills. In addition, she is part of various Employee Groups such as Women in Technology, the UK&I D&I Council, the Junior Network, and the D&I Retention Pillar. During her time working with these groups, she has organized, led, and participated in many initiatives, including training on bias within hiring, manager community drop-in sessions, and 'Share the Tech' talks. Furthermore, Ria has participated in graduate recruitment events, including speaking at various universities, on panels, and through 1:1 mentoring, aiming to encourage more BAME students (primarily women) to apply for roles within Technology and Finance. She is also a mentor with the Stemettes, an organization that enables women and non-binary individuals between 11 and 25 to partake in STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ronald O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

Under Ron'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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christian Edelmann

Managing Partner for Europe
Oliver Wyman

First and foremost, Christian is a father. He has two young children and took significant time out of his career after each birth to enable his wife return to full-time work. As Managing Partner for Europe, Christian is the most senior role-model for other men in the region. By talking openly about his parental leave he has reduced the stigma around it. As a result, many more men now take longer breaks. Following his parental leave, Christian was one of the architects of a revised parental leave program, which for the UK now includes 26 weeks of equal parental leave. Fathers taking on greater childcare responsibilities will help address some of the inequities women experience in the workplace, something Christian is cognizant of as Global Sponsor of the employee group Women at Oliver Wyman. Christian also personally oversees all efforts to meet the firm’s diversity targets in Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Adam Kerfoot

UK Commercial Director
CBRE, Global Workplace Solutions

Adam has worked to build the largest, most effective Commercial team in the industry, and his reporting line is now 50/50 male/women. In addition, Adam has been an advocate for change and diversity, making opportunities available for women who may have felt overlooked in the industry. He and his team have made key workplace adaptions to retain and develop returning Mothers within CBRE, who may not have otherwise been able to return due to new family commitments. By developing a program to welcome returning mothers, they have removed the uncertainty and anxiety some women have experienced on MAT leave. This program has also created opportunities for returning Mothers to advance their careers shortly after returning, recognizing their hard work and talent. Furthermore, Adam has been a mentor to and helped develop two women members of the team who have been selected for the firm’s High Potential program, recognizing them in the top 0.001% of CBRE talent.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Cristina Palmaka

President, SAP Latin America & Caribbean
SAP Latin America &Caribbean

Cristina Palmaka is president of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since July 2020. With more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry, she is known for creating inclusive conditions that allow diverse teams to thrive and achieve extraordinary results. SAP LAC has more than 6,000 employees throughout Latin America and Cristina believes in the power of their diversity to unlock business value and social impact. She brings to the table people from different races, genders, sexual orientations, and backgrounds to broaden perspectives and make decisions educated by different viewpoints. Cristina is part of the company's D&I council and its main sponsor. Under her leadership, women in the workforce at SAP LAC increased from 35.6% to 38%, and women in leadership went from 28.8% to 33%. Also, SAP LAC's employee network model grew substantially, thanks to an executive sponsorship program that promotes their work and increases visibility.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Remling

Global Chief People Officer
WPP

As WPP's Global Chief People Officer, Jennifer Remling is laying the groundwork for unlocking the creative potential in all 109,000 employees within the WPP network. Central to that is ensuring DE&I is embedded in all aspects of the People strategy – from talent acquisition and total rewards to employee engagement and leadership development. Jennifer has a wealth of experience building high-performing teams in agency environments in roles at Essence, R/GA, AKQA, 360i and most recently GroupM. There, she transformed the People team to deliver a world-class People proposition that ensured a fair, equitable and inclusive workplace for all 36,000 employees in 80 markets. Jennifer is passionate about helping people find meaning and purpose in what they do, no matter their background. That’s why she published “Carve Your Own Road: Do What You Love and Live the Life You Envision” in 2009 and has made it her lifelong ambition to help as many people as possible reach their full potential

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Manz

Chief Financial Officer
London Stock Exchange Group

Over the past 18 months, Anna has engaged in several initiatives to promote D&I. She has led the cultural change aspects as Exco Sponsor for the D&I Committee, focused on 'creating a culture that fosters belonging' to embed the concept and enabling policies across the group. She held an 'employee board listening conversation' with colleagues from North and Southeast Asia, and spent time with the Indian teams discussing culture, diversity, and inclusion in various formats to understand the challenges. Anna is committed to coaching and developing leaders of all backgrounds by sharing her career path, views, and experiences at women’s networking and D&I events. She has taken an inclusive approach to developing her Finance Leadership team, ensuring diversity. In 12 months, she reached 36% ethnic diversity from a baseline of almost no diversity, with seven of the 13 being female.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Brock

CEO
OpenUK

Amanda supports the initiatives of several organizations. She is a Judge at We are the City's Rising Stars Program, speaks at many organizations' diversity events, and in 2022 organized an IWD Day event at the House of Lords with Baroness Kennedy and the Judges rescued from Afghanistan. Amanda leads an organization with Diversity at its core and supports diversity at every turn in her work. She also led the creation of two OpenUK Kids Camps in 2020 and 2021, designing courses for kids using a digital glove based on Imogen Heap's software glove, with which Arianna Grande toured. This has encouraged young women into developing digital and coding skills. OpenUK gave away over 8000 gloves to young people, particularly targeting the digitally excluded to allow them free participation.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Enna Jimenez

Business Transformation and Quality Leader
IDEMIA

Enna is a Founding Committee Member of Women in IDEMIA Network, WIN, facilitates WIN Circles in Boston, giving women a chance to come together in a safe space, and supported the launch of WIN's first Mentor/Mentee program. She spearheaded on-boarding recruiting vendors based in Puerto Rico to increase diversity for its Engineering roles and led the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, raising awareness of Latinas and their influence in collaboration with LatAm colleagues. Between 2020 and 2021, Enna launched a partnership between IDEMIA and the Boston Greater Chamber of Commerce, where she sent three employees to their Women's Leadership program yielding 2 of the women to be promoted internally, with one to a director-level position. She is also part of the global company's Ambassadors social media group to help elevate the voice of employees internally and externally. Enna has been an active public speaker, speaking at over 40 organizations, conferences, and workshops, raising awareness of Afro-Latinas in Technology, leading as a woman, sponsorship, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Taylor

Chief Compliance Officer, Institutional Clients Group & Citibank, N.A.
Citi

As Co-Chair of Citi's EMEA Women Affinity Steering Committee, Jennifer spearheaded the creation of initiatives, including the "Power Walk," bringing women and male allies together to walk in pairs, sharing stories in a mentoring conversation. In 2022, over 200 employees participated in 11 locations globally, with plans to expand in 2023. Jennifer is an advocate for gender diversity; hiring a number of high-profile women, improving her department's gender diversity globally and at senior levels. She is a mentor to several women and sponsors talent within Citi and pan- industry. Prior to joining Citi, Jennifer was the Co-Chair of EMEA D&I Council at a top-tier investment bank, where she executed a global D&I strategy, oversaw mentoring programs and panels, and drove progress toward representation targets. Furthermore, Jennifer was invited to ring the closing bell at the NYSE in celebration of International Women's day in 2022 in recognition of her diversity efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Lin is a thought-leader in delivering the intersection of business, diversity and behavioural science. Alongside her role at Goldman Sachs, she has created ground-breaking talk series such as “Diversity – From Awareness to Action” focusing on behavioural science and how changes happen, to create inclusive cultures both internally and partnering with clients and driving changes in the industry. She articulates East Asians' experience and leads discussion on Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She created “How to find your voice” series to empower women, especially as working parents. Lin believes that inspiration alone isn’t enough, we need to accelerate learning to equip individuals and organisations. She regularly shares her insights with internal teams, and industry groups such as CFA, ICAEW & Lean-in. She influences via leadership positions at Diversity Project, UK Chinese Women Connect, and Rising Network, and is recognised by multiple awards for her work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director of Sustainability
Dow

Alongside her role as Corporate Director of Sustainability, Eunice actively mentors across Dow’s ten Employee Resource Groups. Specifically, the Women's Inclusion Network’s (WIN) +5 program, matches up-and-coming female employees with potential mentors. For this affinity network, she has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions and regions including Supply Chain, Purchasing, Commercial, R&D and Manufacturing. Through these engagements, female leaders have successfully been able to position themselves for broader accountability within their current roles as well as for promotions. As the keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, Eunice actively shared her personal experiences throughout her career as an African American woman, wife and business leader. As a result of authentically telling her story, many young female leaders asked Eunice to serve as their mentor for her to coach them through challenging business and personal situations, whilst male leaders in attendance recognized the importance of allyship.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Senior Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah is a member of the firm-wide Women's Affinity Group, which plans and hosts a number of events each year to promote leadership training and mentoring. As well as being a member of the Hiring Committee and helping to give platforms to diverse women candidates, she also serves, through the firm's formal mentoring program, as a link with new associates, meeting them on a frequent basis in order to ensure their success, and making introductions to partners and other associates. As part of the firm's pro bono program, Sarah has worked with numerous organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Youth About Business, and Street Law. Sarah also leads the Credit Abuse Resistance Education program in the Atlanta area. Externally, she is a member of the Junior League, which helps to promote voluntarism, develop women leaders, and inspire people to positively impact the community. Moreover, Sarah works directly with victims of sex trafficking through a Junior League partnership with Wellsprings Living.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Diane Chan

Director, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

As Director at BNY Mellon, Diane is an empathic leader and a change agent who goes above and beyond in transforming Women's leadership at BNY Mellon. She is IMPACT's (which supports DEI) Co-Chair and a leader with the Women In Technology NY. Having always advocated for gender equality, Diane, through company-wide meetings and events, leads three significant initiatives to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. The first initiative includes her and tenured employees sharing career journeys and advice to new employees and interns. Through COVID, these events helped employees create a network of mentors. The second initiative focuses on Women's Career Advancements to provide career planning and coaching sessions and internal website posting of photos and stories to advocate for more women in technology and careers. The third initiative celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Months through sharing the different Asian cultures and hosting events featuring Asian American leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anusha Pache

Organisation Design & Operating Model Consultant
(formerly PwC)

At PwC Anusha set up and ran a ‘Forward from Maternity Leave’ networking group to support new mothers returning from maternity leave. Returning from her second maternity leave she was acutely aware of the difficulties in transitioning back into the world of work and using her experiences she developed the objectives, set up sessions to focus on core topics, including confidence building and flexible working, and successfully helped to connect women of different grades across the organisation. Anusha is passionate about supporting women of colour in the workplace and has coached and mentored over 20 more junior colleagues providing advice, guidance, and support with career progression. Outside of work Anusha is an Advisory Group member for the Action for Trustee Racial Diversity (ATRD) and is currently using her experience to advise on the establishment of a mentoring scheme for new and existing trustees to share experiences; she is also a mentor for the Girls Network since 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Pooh Vichidvongsa

Vice President, Division Merchandise Manager
Dollar General Corporation

Pooh values inclusion and ensures each team member in the company is 'seen,' exposed to other areas of the business, and participates in cross-function meetings. She develops working relationships between teams to ensure critical synergies and partnerships. Pooh also encourages and supports her team's involvement in Dollar General's various Employee Resource Groups and meets with her mentees at least every month to talk through challenges, career advice, and how to navigate DG. Furthermore, Pooh helps coach minority and women-owned businesses and recruits and hosts female and minority interns from several colleges, serving as a mentor and providing counsel, experience opportunities, and career skills. She is a member of WPN: Women's Professional Network and IGNITE that strive to cultivate and further an inclusive and empowering women's network, supporting leadership development and workplace transformation to achieve gender quality and NextUp Nashville which advances all women, growing business and transforming workplaces through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Simon Cooper

CEO, 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 31.19% today, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 80.65% in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Pierre Sarrau

Co-Head and Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions
BlackRock

Pierre is a senior co-sponsor of BlackRock’s "Women in Investment" initiative in EMEA. The initiative looks to nurture and facilitate the development of women within BlackRock's investment teams and attract women's talent to new roles and opportunities. Thanks to the commitment of Pierre and his team, the representation of women within BlackRock's European Investment platform has grown significantly. He is also the senior Sponsor of Big City Bright Future, a program founded by BlackRock in 2015 and was created in partnership with IntoUniversity, a UK charity focused on education, to increase economic mobility and help students from underprivileged backgrounds gain work experience. As a Managing Director, Pierre is actively involved in BlackRock's internal diversity network and is a senior sponsor of landmark industry initiatives fostering social inclusion and gender diversity. Furthermore, he is a mentor and advocates for helping women from all kinds of backgrounds to grow careers in the workplace, especially in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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B. Pagels-Minor

Secretary, Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B sits on the Board of Directors of the YWCA, an organization whose entire purpose is to empower women. In 2020, B and their team acquired an additional YWCA location that was in danger of closing, ensuring that women and children in a more suburban area of Chicago had their programs maintained. The YWCA also acquired Streetwise, an organization that allows individuals to become independent workers and develop their own income. With COVID, those individuals were given additional training that supported programs like vaccination registration, food assistance programs, and childcare. The YWCA also stepped up and provided 1000s of meals to Chicagoans who had lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as providing grants to support housing assistance. Outside of the YWCA, B speaks nationally and internationally on gender diversity and women's inclusion including talks with companies such as British Airways, McMaster University, and Crunchyroll so far in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Siew Choo Soh

Chief Information Officer, Asia
Metlife Asia

As a Chief Information Officer for Metlife Asia, Siew Choo serves on the Global T&O Diversity Council and is a sponsor of the Asia Women in Tech group. Prior to MetLife, Siew Choo was Managing Director at DBS Bank in Singapore and was the sponsor for the DBS Gender Diversity agenda, where she drove many initiatives including DBS Women in Tech Hiring that helped increase by 4% representation of women in tech in a single year. She is a Board Member who champions gender diversity at the School of Science & Technology in Singapore and the National University of Singapore - High School of Maths & Science. Siew Choo was recognized in 2020 as one of Singapore’s Top 100 Women in Tech. In 2019 and 2021, she was recognised by IBM for the Top 40 Women in AI awards. Furthermore, she is a mentor at the Financial Woman Association in Singapore and a Core Team Member of Web3 Women in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Samina Jafree

Managing Director - Head of Advisory & Sales, Wealth Management Middle East & Turkey
Credit Suisse AG

As a managing director and internally Head of the Middle East & Turkey Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Board, Samina focuses on highlighting the strategic role that D&I plays in achieving business goals, as well as implementing several initiatives that promote an equal opportunity landscape within her region, centered around three ongoing D&I Priorities. To build women's representation, Samina implemented female talent mentorship programs, set gender aspiration and hiring targets through ongoing monitoring, reviewed the gender pay gap, and set up a Women's Network. Additionally, Samina focuses on fostering an inclusive culture through awareness. She also focuses on age by using the generational gap as an advantage and implementing some strategies like reverse mentoring. As a senior female leader at Credit Suisse in the Middle East, Samina co-hosted Women's Events in Saudi Arabia in 2019 and Qatar in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has been a staunch advocate for gender diversity for over a decade. As the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee, Teresa has been a leading voice on greater board diversity in listed companies. Teresa is known for her commitment to clients and believes in using her position as a trusted advisor to encourage systemic change. She is dedicated to developing Freshfields colleagues, both professionally and personally to maximise their potential. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa mentors and sponsors female associates, helping them to hone their business development skills, connecting them to key contacts, and nurturing them to become future leaders. As well as being recognised as a HERoes Executive Role Model. She was recently named in IFLR1000 Women Leaders 2022 - an elite ranking for the most prominent women lawyers globally and in Forbes’ ‘Asia's Power Businesswomen’ list 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President, Global Communications
Philip Morris International

A veteran communicator and trendspotter, Marian makes smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Through regular bylines, interviews, and keynote addresses, she advocates for the equitable advancement of women. A member of the PRWeek Hall of Femme and Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, she has been honored with the Changing the Game Award from AWNY/She Runs It and serves as a mentor for Brown Women in Business. Within Philip Morris International, Marian promotes change through two employee resource groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN). Her latest book, The New Megatrends: Seeing Clearly in the Age of Disruption (Penguin Random House, May 2022), examines changing gender mores and the role female leaders can play in addressing critical societal issues.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith

In her position as the Global Head of Legal Personnel at Reed Smith, Casey oversees the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program, Women's Initiative Network, and Recruiting, Retention and Hiring Programs for lawyers. In 2021, she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Meanwhile the Family Support Initiative, which was launched in 2020 to address COVID-19 family challenges, was also enhanced. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; a family forming benefit with a leading global fertility benefits provider, and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns. Of the firm’s partner promotions in 2021, 42% have been women and 22% have been ethnic minorities.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Owen

Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Commercialization
Bristol Myers Squibb

Catherine Owen was recently appointed to SVP and General Manager, U.S. Commercialization. In this role, she has responsibility for Cardiovascular, Immunology and Oncology Commercialization at Bristol Myers Squibb. Prior to her current role, Catherine was SVP Major Markets at Bristol Myers Squibb and oversaw 19 global markets. Each market has an active B-NOW (BMS Network of Women) chapter focused on ensuring all women at BMS have equal opportunities to develop and advance their careers through programming, development, and mentorship. BMS has achieved gender parity across the company and is on track to achieve gender parity at the executive level by the end of 2022. Catherine is a mentor to many women leaders across BMS and an advocate for supporting wellbeing at work, as well as expanded family care leave so that working parents can thrive in their personal and professional roles. Catherine also mentors colleagues from previous roles, and is on the board of the Philadelphia Conference for Women, a non-profit professional and personal development program where she advises on women's leadership initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Eunice Zhu

Director, Head of Derivatives XVA Trading
SMBC Nikko Capital Markets Ltd

At Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)’s Nikko Capital Markets, Eunice is an active committee member of the BALANCE network, a group which supports gender balance and aims to empower all female and male colleagues. Through BALANCE, Eunice hosted the ‘Learning from Leaders’ session where she interviewed the CEO of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in front of an audience of 200 colleagues. Eunice’s other work championing diversity has seen her actively mentoring and tutoring for the “Young Women into Finance” programme and Career Lead to help develop the female talent pipeline for the finance industry, as well as participating in D&I initiatives such as multiple women’s networking and support groups. Outside of SMBC Eunice founded and now leads the Lean In (Women in Banking & Finance) circle, connecting and empowering women who have career ambitions in finance. She runs monthly and sometimes bi-monthly events for the circle’s 400+ members.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leigh Kelly Andrews

Content Marketing Manager, Middle East & Africa
Kantar

As Content Marketing Manager for the Middle East and Africa and Chairperson of the South African Transformation & Sustainability Forum, Leigh works closely with the company’s regional I&D champions to ensure I&D is woven into cultural DNA. She has crafted communications about South African results from the WFA’s first census into diversity, equality, and inclusion issues in the global marketing industry and industry-specific Kantar findings on gender diversity and the power of inclusive portrayal. As Communications & Engagement Lead of the Women at Kantar Employee Resource Group (ERG), she ensured their relaunch tied in with the global International Women's Day 2022 theme #BreakTheBias with a live internal Disruption Talk session. Externally, Leigh partners with Women in Research (WIRe) and has served as advisor for the Women in Marketing Africa chapter since being panel moderator for their ‘Female representation in the media: who controls the narrative’ continental launch at Loeries 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lucy Cohen

Co-Founder
Mazuma

Lucy is Co-Founder of Mazuma, has led a women's management training program and has been actively promoting women in tech. She also led a campaign to improve female healthcare in the UK, which resulted in the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health updating their guidelines and the NHS reviewing training. The petition reached almost 35,000 signatures. Lucy’s campaigning for better minor gyno care hit the headlines, and she appeared on BBC Breakfast, and ITV on numerous radio channels, as well as being featured in Vogue, The Daily Mail, and the BBC. Lucy was also involved in writing the Women's Health Plan for Wales.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocío Del Mar Cárdenas Coronilla

TSTS Associate Technical Service Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions S.A.

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable campaign, and managed to teach online workshops this year even with the difficulties presented by the pandemic, to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women. Rocío has also had the opportunity to collaborate externally with other companies, and made an inspirational presentation ‘Hangout’ for people from both Fujitsu and other companies to learn about all the activities she is undertaking. For International Women’s Day this year, Rocío was involved in putting together events including inviting a female Spanish scientist to give a speech to inspire the company’s employees.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bianca dos Santos Waks

Pro bono senior associate
Mattos Filho

Bianca has conceived and implemented a pro bono service in favor of the defense of human rights, with focus on women's rights, the rights of immigrants and refugees, the LGBTQIA+ community and racial justice, promoting lawyer's training to deal with these issues. She works with a team of 10 talented and dedicated people who are part of a reference pro bono practice in Brazil. They were recently awarded the Chambers pro bono recognition for their work inspiring other women in the firm to achieve their goals through meaningful work and have also been recognized by Latin Lawyer and Lumen Award. In addition, she has supported and participated in the initial constitution of some of the firm's affinity groups, especially of LGBTQIA+ and racial inclusion, and is the point of contact for conversations on a professional career and personal development.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chimmy Ngoma

Sales Enablement Associate
Calastone

Chimmy believes that in the workplace, we must actively create inclusive and empathetic environments so that employees are comfortable sharing and bringing their different life experiences. For this reason, in 2020, thanks to Chimmy’s advocacy and engagement with senior leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) became part of the corporate objectives, and Calastone made unconscious bias training mandatory throughout the company. The same year, she organized a panel entitled Stereotypes of Technology, which allowed women across the organization to share their experiences and barriers faced within the industry. Chimmy also decided to create a resource page to educate employees on gender equality and empower women by raising awareness of various charities, podcasts, books, and videos. In 2021, she started work on an initiative to teach coding to female students as well as leadership, teamwork, presentation, and CV skills.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christoph Schweizer

Chief Executive Officer
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

As CEO of BCG, Christoph has made diversity, equity & inclusion a key priority for the firm. Women hold several critical leadership positions across global functions and regions – in particular leading BCG’s businesses in some of the world’s largest economies: the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Christoph has set clear goals related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with leaders and teams to advance this critical agenda. The firm has seen a rise in the percentage of women new joiners globally, from 44% in 2020 to 48% in 2021. BCG also continues to uphold equal retention rates for women and men at all levels, with the aim to further increase women representation. Christoph is known for creating a truly inclusive workplace, emphasizing widespread awareness through regular trainings for all 26,000+ BCGers to ensure all live up to the firm’s DE&I ambitions and business ethics.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ronnie Felder

Global Chief People Officer
VMLY&R

Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R’s global chief people officer, oversaw the promotion of two women to global executive co-directors of DEI in 2020. The team has since grown to a global roster of 10 women. More recently, Ronnie was a key player in the promotion of three women into executive or leadership roles and hiring of nine more women into leadership roles. Ronnie is also involved in the development of policies and provision of benefits, many of which are vital to employees who identify as women. For example, VMLY&R offers employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave for child birth, adoption, or foster placement, including in the case of surrogacy. VMLY&R also pays up to $8,000 per child in adoption expense reimbursement and offers educational resources to assist with adoption and assisted reproductive technologies. Ronnie is dedicated to ensuring VMLY&R is the best place to work for everyone and committed to elevating as many women as he can into leadership positions within the agency.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Yvonne Greenstreet

Chief Executive Officer
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

As CEO at Alnylam, Yvonne has advocated for the development of measurable benchmarks to hold the company accountable, leading a cross-functional global team to create an action plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that after establishing a set of guiding principles to inform their work, it led to Alnylam's first-ever Corporate Responsibility Report for 2021. Alnylam is committed to supporting women in the office and at home and creating a work environment that allows staff to balance work and family. Alnylam’s Employee Resource Networks (ERNs) enable global networking, education, advocacy on gender diversity, and promotion of equity and inclusion both internally and externally. In 2021, the company initiated The Athena Project, which focuses on enhancing women's leadership skills at the Director and Senior Director levels. As a board member of the Biomedical Science Careers Program, Yvonne advises and supports initiatives to provide academic opportunities to underrepresented individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and serves as Executive Sponsor of the firm’s Latino Professional Affinity Group. Under her leadership State Street earned a spot on Working Mother Magazine's “100 Best Companies” and “Best Companies for Dads” lists, as well as the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index and the “Top 10 Companies to Work For” by Latina Style Magazine. In 2020, Yvonne helped to define the firm’s 10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality, and in 2021, she supported the addition of two women to State Street’s Management Committee, bringing the balance to 28% women. In addition to her work for Slate Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara Box is the Managing Partner, EME and a member of the global board at Reed Smith LLP. Tamara is a founding member of the Steering Committee of the 30% Club, an influential group seeking to enlist Chairs and CEOs to bring more women into senior management and onto boards. Tamara is also a non-executive director on the Board of Interpath Advisory, a member of the Board of the Chartered Management Institute, a trustee of gynaecological cancer charity Eve Appeal, a member of the Advisory Board of children’s charity, Theirworld and an Emeritus Governor of the London School of Economics. Tamara is an active and passionate advocate for the women at Reed Smith and for gender balance more generally. Several Reed Smith women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted or winners of female leadership awards including from Rising Star, Citywealth PowerWomen, and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at MediaCom. These include serving as Executive Sponsor of the Gender ERG and serving as a member of the new Global Belonging Council, a diverse mix of senior people from different areas of the business who meet on a regular basis to drive sustainable change in all areas of DE&I. She is also actively involved in the company's Leadership Reverse Mentoring, a program which sees junior employees act as mentors to senior global leaders. Sue has been a frequent participant in, and promoter of, the company’s ongoing learning initiatives around allyship and microaggressions and is also the author of two best-selling books on diversity in the workplace, “Belonging, the key to transforming and maintaining diversity, equality and inclusion at work” and “The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business”.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Founder & Managing Partner
Pallas Partners LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer and one of the few women to set up and lead a City law firm. Natasha launched Pallas Partners in February 2022, starting out as a majority female firm with significant representations of ethnic minority background and LGBTQ+ colleagues. Diversity is integral to the firm-wide strategy she introduced, with the firm pledging to achieve diversity parity by 2025. When launching Pallas the vast majority of the partners, associates and staff from Boies Schiller Flexner’s London office joined her. That office, which Natasha founded, was ranked #1 for the highest proportion of U.K lawyers identifying as LGBTQ+ by Law.com, and #1 in AmLaw’s UK A-List for diversity and female equity partner representation in 2020. She further won plaudits for overhauling BSF’s diversity programme when she was the Deputy Chair there, securing the firm Mansfield Rule Certification. Natasha sits on the Changemakers Board at The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for under-privileged candidates.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Yurko

Chief Legal Officer
Bridgewater Associates

As Chief Legal Officer, Executive Committee member, Operating Committee member, and a Partner, Tracey is among the most senior leaders at Bridgewater. Her work spans initiatives designed to promote equality for all employees and a department-level D&I program. Under Tracey's leadership, Bridgewater instituted third party pay equity audits and is one of the only alternative asset managers to disclose pay equity data for women and people of color on their public website. In partnership with others on her team, she established the firm's first Pro Bono program, creating opportunities for attorneys to provide services to organizations that reflect their and Bridgewater's values around diversity. In addition, Tracey built a database of D&I industry memberships and conferences and established a development budget for each department member to attend. Furthermore, she promoted awareness and education by requiring diversity information from outside law firms and service providers and organizing department-wide D&I training within and outside the company.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Najoh Tita-Reid

CMO
Logitech

Najoh Tita-Reid is Logitech's CMO and an ambassador for the company's efforts to enable all people to pursue their passion in a way that is good for the planet. Previously she held senior roles at Hero AG, Bayer, Merck, GlobalHue and P&G. Throughout her career, Najoh has worked tirelessly to drive change and results, inspiring women to stand in their unique power and do the same. This includes driving equality of women’s representation, equal pay, and opportunities for career advancement. She has implemented psychological safety training and practices to establish environments that are safe for all employees, and women, to work and contribute fully. She is a mentor to over 20 women, coaching them to overcome barriers in achieving their career goals. Additionally, Najoh is a founder member of the first organization for Black CMOs that advocates for the next generation of talented and diverse women. Finally, she is an active speaker who shares advice on women's leadership to attract top female talent to join her organization and pursue their ambitions across sectors.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Samantha Merwin

Head of Markets Advocacy for ETF & Index Investments
BlackRock

Samantha is the Head of Markets Advocacy for ETF & Index Investments at BlackRock. In addition to this role, Samantha co-chairs the firm’s Associate Development Program (ADP), which helps Associate women at BlackRock develop their personal impact, executive presence, and leadership skills to achieve their career goals. After completing ADP in 2017, Samantha chaired its Alumni program for two years before taking leadership of ADP in 2020. 170 women across BlackRock’s Americas offices have participated in ADP, over 50% of whom have been promoted at least once since completing the program. Samantha also serves as a mentor, formally in BlackRock’s mentorship programs for underrepresented groups, and informally throughout different parts of the firm. Since 2019, Samantha has been an active member of the Women’s Bond Club (WBC), whose mission is to advance women in financial services and shape the industry’s future; she received the WBC Rising Star Award in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Karen Anne Hutton

Head of Repowering & Life Extension
RES

Karen Anne’s a founding member of RES' Global Gender Affinity Network, which promotes gender equality in RES across 11 countries and which was recently awarded the Culture Change Award at the Scottish Renewables Young Professionals Green Energy Awards. In addition, she’s the Leader of the Career Progression workstream that aims to eliminate barriers to progression that different genders face. Karen Anne’s currently leading a review of Gender Pay Gap Reporting (GPGR) to identify opportunities for improving RES' GPGR. She’s also been mentoring, and advised on changes to the internal communications campaign that resulted in a 75% increase in female mentors this year and improved the gender diversity in RES' internal mentoring program. Since 2022, Karen Anne’s been working on an internal sponsorship program that addresses the under-sponsorship of women and non-binary people, alongside a return to work program which will support people of all genders to return to work after an extended career break.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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O'Brien Kalumba

Director, Business Manager
Standard Chartered Bank

Throughout her 10 year international career working across Zambia, UK and Germany, O’Brien has been an advocate and champion of D&I both at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) and externally with a focus on increasing representation of female leaders and minority ethnic groups. At SCB, she is the co-chair of the Gender Network in Germany and has played a significant role in advocating for important role that mentorship, sponsorship, coaching has in one’s career. In July 2021, was nominated as one of the 20 current and future Black Leaders at Standard Chartered, amplifying their voice by sharing life experiences, knowledge, and advice as part of Black Leaders Awareness Day. O'Brien is passionate about women empowerment and is also a Director at When Females Lead, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower and raise confident women leaders across the African continent and beyond through Mentorship & Career Guidance (mentoring over 200 young female professionals) and uplifting vulnerable children.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Harris

Global Vehicle E-Commerce Manager
Jaguar Land Rover

Since becoming Vice Chair and Event Lead for Jaguar Land Rover Gender Equality Network, Jane has focused on women's development and health requirements by raising awareness, empowering people, and advocating for change in the workplace. In March 2021, she designed and developed a company-wide virtual events platform to which she invited internal and external experts to educate, storytell and role model. In addition, Jane created multiple series of events on topics such as self-development and growth, health and wellbeing, and confidence and ways of working. She also led a Menopause Awareness Campaign, events on men's mental health for International Men's Day, and delivered an inspiring Break the Bias programme for International Women's Day. Her work has helped, grow the Network by 40% to over 1,400 members, and by providing feedback and insights, has successfully influenced business priorities within the D&I agenda. Jane is a changemaker and continuously innovates to create a workplace where women are visible.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kay Malcolm

Senior Director of Database Product Management
Oracle

Kay is a member of Oracle's ERG, Alliance of Black Leaders for Excellence. Dedicated to using technology to make a difference, Kay partnered with the Oracle Diversity and Inclusion team to support their work with HBCUs and HSIs. She leads a team dedicated to helping customers build innovative solutions on Oracle Database, in the cloud and on-premises and is the creator of Oracle LiveLabs, a platform to increase access to Oracle Cloud technologies with 3M+ views. Her team launched an Applied Database Systems course at Howard University that taught modern data management topics, working with several Oracle Database PM weekly guest lecturers. Kay hosts the podcast Lashes.Love.Tech and uses every opportunity to pursue her passion for increasing minority and women representation in STEM careers – both at Oracle and the tech industry at large. Her goal: to create a more robust, diverse talent pipeline into the engineering organizations at Oracle.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ciara Ros

Senior Associate
Vinson & Elkins

Ciara has been a London office lead for the Firm's Diversity Team Committee for seven years and is a stream leader for two sub-committees of the Women's Initiative. She uses her diverse experiences and kind, giving nature to inspire a future generation of disputes lawyers to take on the construction and engineering worlds. Ciara's commitment to driving DEI is evident through her mentoring junior colleagues, her role as communications chair for Young ITA, her development of women contacts in business and law, and the low-key and generous support and encouragement she offers women and diverse attorneys on a day to day basis around the firm. Additionally, Ciara is an active member of Arbitral Women, attending events, contributing to the newsletter, utilizing her role as Young ITA Communications Chair to ensure gender diversity on panels, and championing female reporters for events.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jacob Aarup-Andersen

Group CEO
ISS

Jacob has encouraged all 30 countries in which ISS operates, to sign the UN charter of Women Empowerment Principles, strengthening ISS’s commitment to advance gender equality. He set a new target to reach at least 40% of gender balance within all corporate leadership levels by 2025 – a target already reached at the Board of Directors. Over the last 12 months, Jacob successfully implemented leadership programmes to attract and develop female talent, with the number of women at Executive Group Management (EGM) level increasing from one to four. In addition, the Global Management Trainees are gender balanced, ensuring a strong pipeline of future leadership talent. Jacob, as the Gender Balance Employee Resource Group sponsor, empowers the team to drive continued awareness and initiatives globally, and explore global partnerships to drive further action. Jacob ensures that DEI is high on the EGM agenda and a new strategy, policies and frameworks ensure a fairer, more equitable workplace. Outside the organisation, Jacob has joined the Danish Diversity Council. Alongside other prominent CEOs, Jacob will host the council focussing on DEI initiatives and future challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Kevin Hogarth

Partner – Chief People Officer UK
KPMG UK

In his role as Chief People Officer at KPMG in the UK, Kevin has executive accountability for the firm’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity strategy and policies, and has set clear expectations about the proportionality of all promotions, and the outcomes of performance reviews and reward processes. Since joining he has initiated a review to ensure that annual IDE targets and the associated plans are sufficiently stretching, and that KPMG in the UK are on target to achieve their publicly quoted gender targets. As well as requesting the organisation develop more ambitious gender targets that go beyond current 2022 goals, Kevin has also required a IDE review of all new policies being implemented as part of the transition to hybrid working, to ensure there will be no adverse gender impact. He has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board since starting at the firm, and along with the CEO and Chair sets the agenda for this group of external advisers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

As the Chief Executive of Fidelity International and Chair of Fidelity’s Global Operating Committee, Anne is responsible for setting the firm’s corporate and strategic initiatives with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, Enhanced Parental Leave Policy was introduced, allowing fathers/secondary carers to take equalised paid leave as mothers/primary carers regardless of sexual orientation or working location. Another policy provided all employees with caring responsibilities with up to five additional days paid leave per calendar year. In 2020, Fidelity achieved their target of 30% women in global senior management roles and set a new target to achieve 35% women in senior roles by December 2023. Under Anne’s leadership, Fidelity also piloted a female leadership program which resulted in a direct increase in female recruitment to senior roles in India, and expanded the firm’s successful New Horizon Returnship Program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farmida Bi CBE

Global Chair
Norton Rose Fulbright

As Norton Rose Fulbright LLP’s first female Chair, Farmida is committed to further increasing the representation of women in management positions and closely supports the firm’s ambitious global gender diversity targets. She has also long been a sponsor and steering group member of the firm's women's network. Farmida personally reorganised the firm’s CSR programme and, alongside the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) Managing Partner, implemented initiatives addressing gender and wider diversity and inclusion issues. This included a bursary programme to improve access to the legal profession and a Race & Ethnicity Strategy, which involved setting targets and launching a learning and development programme to increase BAME representation. Farmida leads the firm’s EMEA partnership with Save the Children (STC), which tackles the disruption COVID-19 caused to education, providing pro bono and volunteering support. She also drives the firm’s 2022 Global Charitable Initiative with STC, helping communities affected by climate change.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens Financial Group

Jessica has served in several leadership roles in the Citizens Business Resource Group, Women's Impact Network (WIN), since its inception in 2017. From 2019 to 2021 she served as the Chairperson of the group, growing the organization to reach 2,000 members, aligned under the mission to help women advance their careers through professional development and networking opportunities. Jessica also helped initiate the development of the Women in Commercial Banking Group, an internal organization at Citizens that provides networking opportunities and encourages local connections in the Greater Boston area and across Citizens' footprint in North America. Externally, Jessica serves as Board Director for the Center for Women and Enterprise, a 501C3 organization that provides education and support to female and minority business owners throughout New England and in 2021 she co-chaired the Boston chapter of 50/50 Women on Boards, a global advocacy organization that promotes gender diversity for corporate boards.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aditi Javeri Gokhale

EVP, President of Retail Investments
Northwestern Mutual

Aditi is the executive sponsor of Northwestern Mutual's African American ERG and has spearheaded strategy development with leaders and advocated for resources required for the group's mentorship program, talent development, and robust programming for its 700+ members. In 2019, Aditi championed the company's first-ever Women's Initiative, which aims to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women at the company. Since then, she and her colleagues have created programs that support women through leadership development and coaching. As a result, women recruitment grew by 60% over the last five years, and women in leadership positions increased by 57% in the previous three years. Aditi, with her team, championed the Northwestern Mutual's Women's Field Association, a first-of-its-kind industry group, which supports the growth, development, and relationship building of the women advisors in the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Cornett Bertram

Global Head, Technology, Media & Telecommunications
S&P Global

Maria is a leader in S&P Global women's PILOT program, a skill-based program targeting mid-career women. She participates actively, leading panels, sharing expertise, and coaching women throughout the duration of the program. Maria has successfully raised the profile of women leaders by participating in a 2-year program on women sponsorship at the executive level, thereby highlighting the contribution of women in leadership at the company. She has also been an active mentor for years, and thanks to her coaching, many women successfully moved into leadership roles. Furthermore, she mentors graduates in programs from the Brandeis International Business School, Miami University and other institutions, helping them to identify areas of career direction and find internships and employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzanne Rich Folsom

Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Philip Morris International

Suzanne is a leader in the global corporate, government, and NGO communities whose multi-decade focus on—and support for—emerging female leaders sets her apart. With a compelling strategic vision and sustained commitment, she actively supports mentoring and sponsoring the next generation of leaders around the world. Owing to the breadth of her experience—from working for multiple heads of state to her work with the United Nation’s Decade for Women Conference and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to her corruption-fighting role at the World Bank, to serving as General Counsel and a trusted business adviser for a range of multinational companies, to her myriad board roles—Suzanne’s leadership is a model for how progress can be achieved. She continues to emphasize the critical role corporate governance engagement plays over the long term—all with the recognition that achieving meaningful change takes time and a champion to drive it forward.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ruulke Bagijn

Head of Carlyle's Global Investment Solutions
Carlyle

Ruulke is an active leader and a member of Carlyle's DEI Council, founded in 2013 as one of the first DEI initiatives of its kind within the investment management industry. She is an advocate for diversity and passionate about increasing the representation and leadership of women in private equity. Under her management, 45% of entry and mid-level employees are women, and 27% of senior leaders are too, which is an 8% increase since 2021. Since 2018, Ruulke has played an active leadership role as the Inaugural Chair of the Dutch committee of Level 20, the not-for-profit body established to inspire women to join and advance in the private equity industry. In addition, she focuses on attracting and retaining women into the private equity industry across the Netherlands, supporting women to reach the most senior levels, and organizing and running networking events and initiatives to connect women across the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Genevieve Esguerra

Content Operations Manager
London Stock Exchange Group

As a member of the D&I Committee, Genevieve’s goal is to share the voice of her colleagues and push the DEI agenda. In 2021, she was elected Global Co-Chairperson of LSEG Women Inspired Network (WIN) and has worked closely with the Executive Sponsor & D&I team to push for a more gender diverse and racially diverse company. To help attain the company’s leaders' goals, Genevieve holds monthly meetings with WIN Chapter leads across the globe and sets objectives, works on initiatives such as mentoring, leadership development training & sharing updates to ExCo and D&I. In addition, she has worked with the talent team on focus group discussions to understand the slow progress of talent in Asia. As a result, she partnered with various networks in the Philippines and Co-founded the Women Inter-industry Network to push the D&I agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One over two years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, as well as serving on the UK Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Partners forum which pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; running regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Fuller

Customer Journey Developer
NatWest Group

At the NatWest Group Gender Network; Lauren has taken on the role of Initiatives & Partnerships Lead and sits on the Leadership Team board. Her DEI work includes building an award support hub including an Awards Pairing Programme to encourage more women at NatWest to nominate themselves for awards. As a result, since 2020 the bank has seen almost 100 women being shortlisted for awards externally. Additionally, she developed Woman’s Worth to support c.2000 women with managing their finances, and the Lean In Circles she launched currently has 30 circles running with 400 people involved. Other initiatives Lauren has kickstarted include Google’s #IamRemarkable with 30 facilitators delivering workshops to over 1500 colleagues 13 months. Also launching MentorHER; a Gender-based reciprocal mentoring programme with over 350 matched colleagues. Lauren was a winner of the bank’s 2021 Amethyst Award for Gender Inclusion and is a finalist in the Women’s Recognition Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Deepa Raj

Service Delivery Associate Director
Accenture

Deepa has demonstrated passion for driving gender equality in leadership through various programs. She is the Founder-Lead of Women Leads of Future program, and Program Advisor for the Women Leadership Development Program for which she helped conceptualize and design the structure and construct. She has exceeded the overall gender diversity target and has increased women leads in her span. She executes various engagement and retention programs for women in Accenture Chennai Life Science team. As a part of CSR @ Operations, Deepa leads projects that support education for underprivileged; through one of the school adoption programs, she helped schoolgirls participate in state and national sports tournaments. Deepa is a recipient of young scientist award from the Indian Science Congress Association and the Van Slyke International Travel Grant Award from the American Association of Clinical Chemistry. Being a passionate leader, she invests quality time in mentoring and coaching budding women leads.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Justine Tabarin

Senior Manager, Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Criteo

Justine is a trusted advisor and sponsor of Criteo’s Employee Resource Groups: Women, Pride, BIPOC, Critenable, Education, Parents, and Green. When she joined Criteo's Comms team, she instantly gravitated towards initiatives around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), diversity, inclusion, and environmental sustainability – which led to her promotion to CSR lead. In her role, she developed a strategy for Criteo’s CSR program and Criteo Cares, the employee engagement branch which aims to develop empowerment and leadership. In 2021, Justine helped lead Criteo's signatory to L'Autre Cercle – an LGBTQIA+ charter that outlines the firm’s commitment to an inclusive environment. She also led the launch of Criteo’s global GIVING platform, which focuses on volunteering and charitable projects for employees to participate in. Furthermore, in 2022, Justine launched IMPACT week, where employees volunteered in clean-ups for Earth Day. Today, she is working to enrich Criteo's environmental sustainability strategy

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Harriet Kuzemko

Manager - FS Strategy
KPMG

Since joining the team, Harriet has worked hard to create the infrastructure to help promote gender diversity. She is a founding member and Co-Chair of SheCan, a network within KPMG, and has organized internal events on topics including healthy masculinity, financial planning, and career coaching. The committee also releases a monthly newsletter, has a workstream focusing on improving allyship, and a group identifying tangible change initiatives to share with the broader team. Harriet felt the need and took the opportunity, thanks to her expertise in building a network, to create an umbrella network where she and other networks can work together and utilize increased scale to widen their focus areas. She has also been involved in several external recruitment initiatives promoting diversity in deals and opportunities in the FS Strategy Team as she believes that building a strong and diverse recruitment talent pool is key to increase and maintain diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Luke Ellis

CEO
Man Group

As CEO of Man Group, Luke oversees the firm’s DE&I strategy alongside the Group COO and General Counsel. Together they re-launched Drive, the internal DE&I network, which today is comprised of the gender balance network Women at Man alongside several others. Luke also oversees the Senior Executive Committee, who are responsible for championing DE&I at the firm and leading Drive’s employee networks. Luke is the executive sponsor of Man Group's commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, and the firm has seen the proportion of women in senior roles increase from 16% in 2016 to 27% in 2022, which is aligned with efforts to support and develop women within the firm. The firm’s consistent efforts to support and develop women have now led to increased targets to reach 30% female representation in senior roles by 2024, whilst the board achieved gender parity in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jorge Arce

CEO HSBC Mexico
HSBC

Jorge promotes gender equality within HSBC Mexico by actively participating in the ERG Balance activities. He signed the WEP's from UN Women to support gender equity actions within the organization and has worked with authorities of the financial system to reinforce gender balance actions. Also, Jorge promotes a DEI agenda with ABM (Mexican Bank Association). This year, under his administration, HSBC Mexico launched "Mujeres al Mundo", an initiative from Argentina focused on products and services for women. As a result, HSBC Mexico has increased the number of women in leadership positions from 22% in 2017, to 30% in 2021, above the regional goal and 13% above the national average. In addition, women in succession plans of the Executive Committee increased from 68 to 92% in the last five years. Before working at HSBC, Jorge participated in launching Women in Wall Street in NY.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered bank (Vietnam) limited

Michele’s organization has 70% female representation with 45% in leadership roles. As chair of the Vietnam’s people’s agenda, the focus on DEI, CSR and New Ways of Working resonates across the organization of 1550 employees that participated in 30 events through the year. More broadly, Michele is also senior Bank sponsor of SCB’s global coaching program – IGNITE that target mid-level females as they progress their leadership journey. The program has coached 650 females (21% of total female population) across 53 countries. For the Vietnamese community SCB’s commitment of female empowerment through various local partners NGO’s, Chambers of Commerce, clients and vendors impact ethnic minority students to executive / entrepreneurs providing thought leadership, toolkits and financial education that augments female participation in society and business. Michele is vocally advocates for all DEI through media and panel discussions and is recognized by Top 100 women in Fintech 2022 and Heroes for the 2nd consecutive year.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rebecca Glashow

CEO Global Distribution
BBC Studios

Since joining BBC Studios in June 2020, Rebecca has recruited a senior leadership team with talented women leaders in key roles that are helping to grow BBC Studios' commercial business around the world. Furthermore, she has been at the forefront of creating and championing BBC Studios' flexible work environment that allows all employees to find balance in their lives while still making an impact. She is a member of the Women's Forum of New York, a network of women leaders representing the highest levels of professional achievement across all sectors, industries, and spheres of influence in New York City. Rebecca previously served on the board of WICT, an organization dedicated to helping women in media, entertainment and technology advance, and she is also the global executive sponsor of the Pride network at BBC Studios, an employee group dedicated to providing support, advice and community to LGBTQ+ team members and allies.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Global CIO
WPP

Through a complete redesign and relentless focus on equality through our recruitment process, Rachel improved the female intake into the WPP IT organization from 11% to 38% over the past 12 months. Through the firm's operating and organizational model redesign and by establishing a new people design authority to govern internal and external appointments, she has improved the representation of women in the top 3 layers of leadership in WPP IT. Before joining WPP, she was the founder and executive sponsor of the multi-award-winning TechWomen program in her previous job. During her final year leading the program in 2020/1, Rachel delivered a year-long development journey for 450 women across BT and supported an alumni network of 2,300 women. The program was enormously successful, dramatically improving participants' confidence, with 67% of them moving into more prominent roles, and addressing the local cultural barriers to women's progression in India and Malaysia.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Lilley

Chief Executive Officer
Federation of Small Businesses

As CEO at the UK’s largest business group, Julie founded a new cross-organization Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group, which includes both leading staff and a set of elected FSB volunteer members, including female business owners and staff. As the leader of the business, Julie has overseen a majority female Board of Directors, and a majority female Senior Management Team – empowering women to put themselves forward, and sending the message throughout the organization that women succeed at FSB, and reach the very top. Most recently, Julie has signed FSB up to the Menopause Workplace Pledge, starting a conversation with the small business community (collectively – the UK’s largest employer) to address 900,000 women that have left work because of periods, fertility struggles, pregnancy or menopause.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

Independent Non-executive Director
Scottish Power Energy Networks Holdings Ltd

In her previous role of CEO HSBC Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Sue was the Lead Executive Sponsor of the D&I Allies Group. Through this role she raised the profile of the group’s work and helped to cement an inclusive culture at the bank. In by-monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ townhalls hosted and sponsored by Sue for over 1,200 colleagues, she regularly raised issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, actively encouraging people to discuss and ask challenging questions about gender bias in the workplace. For the last 4 years Sue has been a Global Ambassador for BALANCE, HSBC’s gender diversity Employee Resource Group, made up of over 48,000 members. For International Women’s Day this year she hosted a virtual panel event and wrote a thought leadership article about gender equality, sharing her own experiences of trying to climb the executive career ladder in a historically male dominated sector and highlighting the struggles women still face today.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Public Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Goldman Sachs

As a passionate believer that diverse teams outperform, Katie is at the forefront of leading Goldman Sachs diversity efforts and is a champion for women at the firm and across the industry. She has built and leads one of the industry’s most gender diverse investing teams where over 50% of the team’s $330bn AUS is managed by female portfolio managers. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Asset Management Division’s D&I Council and is the firm’s sponsor for the ‘Girls Who Invest’ program. Over the past four years, Katie has evolved the firm’s proxy voting policy to push for greater levels of diversity on public company boards and has seen significant improvement, with 68% of all-male boards voted against in 2019 having added at least one woman director. Externally, Katie serves on the Board of the Toigo Foundation, which seeks to advance inclusive leadership within finance and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible, Inc.

As Executive Sponsor of Women@Audible, Audible's largest global impact group with chapters in the US, UK and DE, Susan champions women in business and guides future leaders in their commitment to career development. In leading Audible in nine marketplaces outside the US, Susan and her team have been intentional and purposeful with their responsibility as a content creator. In the past year, they increased their multi-million dollar fund designed to identify, produce and elevate local, diverse voices. Every International Audible marketplace delivered highly-rated, award-winning Original titles under this initiative. In addition to her work for Audible, Susan serves as Executor of the Christine Schneider Scholarship, part of NYU Stern’s Breakthrough Scholars Leadership Program. This four-year undergraduate initiative helps make college accessible to students from a diverse range of backgrounds, and offers cohort-based leadership workshops that complement extracurricular support and career development resources.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Comms - Italy, GroupM - PR & Marketing Director - Italy, WPP
GroupM

Paola is Operations Director of the Winspire leadership team, a cross-agencies WPP Italy project inspired by the WPP Stella Project, whose aim is supporting female talents and leadership with internal/external audiences and stakeholders. It collaborates with some industry big players to create initiatives dedicated to DEI. Some of the projects Paola has been responsible for organizing have included a ‘Fast Forward Women’ training with Facebook, inspiring women in their careers; a WPP ‘#IAmRemarkable’ workshop with Google Italia; pro-bono activities for women entrepreneurs in the world of technology and to create adv campaigns for associations that support women in troubled countries (e.g. Afghan women). Paola is a mentor for the young generation of marketers, she has been invited to join as a speaker to external events, such as WomenXImpact, an event dedicated to women empowerment where she had the chance to be a role model for marketing community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Heather Reisner

Product Development & ESG Sr. Associate
WisdomTree Asset Management

Heather leads WisdomTree’s Women's Initiative Network (WIN) and has been actively involved since the group was founded in 2019. She developed an internal mentoring program launched in 2022 to connect women at WisdomTree with leaders who can help them achieve their career goals. Heather joined WisdomTree in 2018 as part of the firm’s Product Development team focused on managing the launch of new exchange traded funds (ETFs) and overseeing relationships with key service providers. As of February 2022, Heather also began co-leading the firm’s Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiative. Outside work, Heather serves on the Associate Board for Rising Ground, a charitable organization that supports children and families in the NYC-area. At her previous firm, BNY Mellon, she was an active member of the firm's women’s network.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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MiRan Park

Managing Director, Strategy, M&A and Partnerships
S&P Global

In addition to her role leading the Content Partnership team within the Strategy, M&A and Partnerships function at S&P Global, MiRan is a UK-based member of the Women's Network. She mentors women, supporting their continued development and professional advancement to strengthen the diversity of SPGI’s talent pipeline. She also served as a co-mentor to IHS Markit's CEO, Lance Uggla, in 2021 under its inaugural Collaborative Mentoring program whose objective was to allow participants to exchange personal experiences and perspectives while respectfully sharing information that challenges biases and assumptions through a structured program. She supports early career programs such as SEO London through mentoring and interview programs to drive diversity and inclusion. In addition, MiRan amplified people resource groups around mental health and participated in panel discussions to raise awareness. Outside of S&P Global, MiRan is a board member and ambassador at Outstanding Global, an executive coaching and leadership development program provider, where she spoke in events designed to support women's leadership development.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hannah Ryan

Associate Director, Business Development
The Business of Fashion

Hannah set up BoF’s Female Empowerment Network with the mission to cultivate a workplace where women feel nurtured, empowered, equally represented, and heard. Hannah and her Network stand for career advancement, support, education, and the development of women. The network works to dismantle any structures that prevent women from progressing in their roles. She organised a monthly speaker series inviting outstanding women in their field, ranging from women's health experts to C-level executives and founders. The series opened up conversations on race, fertility, anxiety, micro-aggressions, and violence against women. These successful events brought the women of the company closer together, helping them to highlight and address what work still needs to be done within the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carlotta Zorzi

Partnerships Manager
Shopify

Carlotta is dedicated to having a positive impact on society through helping more women and underrepresented groups access roles in tech and growing in the industry. An advocate for social mobility and equitable opportunities, Carlotta holds multiple positions in addition to her Partnerships role at Shopify. On top of her contribution as Communication & Operations Lead on the Women at Shopify Leadership team where she creates content that goes out to nearly 3000 women globally, Carlotta also regularly facilitates #IamRemarkable sessions that help women and underrepresented groups learn the importance of advocating for their achievements. Outside of Shopify, Carlotta is a mentor for women-focused networks like Bloom UK and a Tech Career Coach for School16, a NYC-based startup that helps individuals from all over the globe get into tech no matter their background. Carlotta is also a Visiting Professors at Sussex University, a career development speaker and a 2021 TechWomen100 award winner.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, Connections
Anheuser-Busch InBev

As Senior Director of Connections at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), Stephanie is a female leader in a male-dominated industry, one of a select group of female partners at the company. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive space within the beer industry for all. Her efforts to advocate for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry include working with recruiting teams to ensure a minimum of 50% of candidates for new positions on her team are diverse; partnering with external agencies to ensure the teams supporting the organization are diverse; and recruiting on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Stephanie has worked to promote and develop female leaders within the company by providing one-on-one mentoring to six women and hosting informal group mentoring through Women in Beer get-togethers and career panels. She also serves as a ‘Captain’ for the Network of Executive Women within ABI, an educational non-profit committed to advancing all women through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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David Schwimmer

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
London Stock Exchange Group

David has set a clear vision for a diverse culture where inclusion is a constant practice. He has established priorities against which to measure the Group’s progress globally; LSEG employs 23,000 people, more than half of whom are based in Asia Pacific. In 2022, one of LSEG’s strategic objectives is to ‘foster a diverse, inclusive culture’, a goal embedded throughout the organisation. David has introduced senior leadership gender and race/ethnicity targets aiming to achieve 40% women in senior leadership roles by the end of 2022, 20% underrepresented groups in senior leadership roles by the end of 2023 and 25% by the end of 2025. With great pride, LSEG was shortlisted for the "Company of the Year" category at the British Diversity Awards in 2022 and awarded “Large Brand of the Year” in the Bank of London Rainbow Honours 2022. LSEG continues to build momentum in advancing its diversity, inclusion, and belonging agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jig Ramji

Group Head of Talent
London Stock Exchange Group

Jig leads the global Talent and DEI Function and sets the DEI strategy, owning the four priorities around which the strategy is based: create a culture that fosters belonging, build a diverse leadership team, accelerate the progression of underrepresented talent, particularly ethnically diverse women, and shape inclusion in our industry. As Group Head of Talent, he is heavily involved and ultimately responsible for ensuring the hiring of diverse talent across the company. Jig also ensures that every leader has an objective centred on DEI in their performance to help drive the representation of senior women. He created a new leadership development strategy, with inclusive leadership at its core, to support the career development of women company-wide. In addition, he also initiated the Belonging & Inclusion index from LSEG engagement surveys and an Employee policy review to mitigate bias and psychological safety.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO Europe Cluster and Member of Group Executive Committee, Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group plc

Since 2014 Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which has led a pioneering agenda towards colleagues, customers and communities to improve diversity and inclusion. Serpil has championed the development and rollout of specific apps and services to support women in markets where Vodafone operates – such as the domestic violence app, and drove a target of connecting an additional 20 million women in Africa and Turkey, achieved four years ahead of schedule. In March 2020, Serpil led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative – a call for action based on ground-breaking research into the lack of racial, gender, age diversity within the technology industry. This evolved into the #ChangeTheFace Alliance where leading global tech companies and organisations collaborate on accelerating diversity and equality in the technology sector. In February 2022, Serpil received the Diversity In Tech Outstanding Achievement Award at Mobile World Congress.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Yaccarino

Global Chairman, Advertising & Partnerships
NBCUniversal

As global chairman, Linda is an advocate of BOLD, an initiative created by NBCUniversal with a mission to influence, inspire and develop the next generation of Global Advertising & Partnerships leaders. Linda's extensive championing of BOLD's mission has driven transformational change for the initiative, including the creation of new opportunities in leadership and diversity, with BOLD Vets, the group's program to honor and engage veterans within NBCU, and BOLD Spotlight, a series of inspirational conversations with internal and external leaders from diverse backgrounds and careers. Externally, Linda uses advertising to advance equity through a variety of partnerships including the #ShesMy campaign, which champions the ways women break down barriers in both the professional and personal spheres; Target’s Scene in Color, which elevates emerging BIPOC creatives in film; and a partnership with Telemundo to release a Latina-centric storytelling guide as well as external partnerships around Telemundo’s exclusive coverage of the Women’s World Cup in 2023.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny champions the female agenda by encouraging business to consider the potential future impact of hybrid working on women, carers and the future gender pay gap. Danny is responsible for Aviva’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which supports women through initiatives including: simplifying all job adverts to encourage more female candidates; including diversity targets in Executive reward; monthly reporting on gender diversity metrics; inclusive leadership training; Aviva’s own Licence to Hire training (covering non-inclusive behaviours and recruiting underrepresented candidates); extending sponsorship programmes to advance the careers of underrepresented talent (including women); and engaging 1,000+ part-time colleagues (87% female) to understand challenges around development and progression. Aviva’s employment policies include equal parental leave, paid carers leave and domestic abuse support, the latter of which Danny is co-executive sponsor of. Danny is also the co-executive sponsor of our Pride community, and has also contributed to a number of external news articles championing women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ilse van Gasteren

Partner/Lawyer
Clifford Chance LLP

Since joining Clifford Chance in 2001, Ilse has advocated for gender parity within the Amsterdam office and the Global Firm, ensuring that diversity is at the very top of the agenda. From 2020 to 2022, Ilse co-led a project with Harvard's gender and behavioral science expert, Paola Secchi Dimeglio, to perform an AI data-driven "body scan" of the Amsterdam office appraisal and promotion systems to find nudges to improve the gender balance and enhance retention numbers in the longer term. The research outcome has been used to implement changes in the Amsterdam appraisal and collaboration systems and heavily contributed to increasing the number of women partners from 2 to 5. Under Ilse's leadership, Clifford Chance Amsterdam launched their chapter of the global gender parity group Accelerate in 2020, and she also organized a high-profile women leadership program for women associates.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Partner
Linklaters

Always hugely passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity at every strand, Claudia serves as sponsor many initiatives and programmes and has participated to mentorship projects to support female and young talent. She is the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, an important female business community in the country and the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls, a project launched in Italy with the Ministry of Education. As Special Friend of UNHCR in Italy, she is supporting the campaign for the instruction of refugees focusing on young women. In the past she was President of Valore D, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion. In 2020 Claudia published with Il Sole24Ore the book “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues, young women and talent. In 2022, she has been appointed as Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange, the first woman to take this position.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maria Glasscock

Executive Director, People
Selfridges

As Executive Director of People, Maria champions the representation of women within Selfridges by focusing on the cross-sectional data of female talent and creating more inclusive opportunities for female team members, particularly those from underrepresented and minority groups. In 2021, Maria set a target to increase female leadership in 'Director positions' to 50%, which was surpassed in 2022 (hitting 51%), while also increasing the number of female leaders from ethnic minorities in leadership roles. In 2021 and 2022, she created educational training for managers on Inclusivity, Menopause, and Mental Health. In March 2022, she hosted team panel discussions with 'Fertility Matters at Work' and launched the 'Fertility and Neonatal loss policy.' Furthermore, Maria has introduced new D&I Terms of Business for all partner recruitment agencies, where every candidate shortlist must be 50% female. Moreover, she has been sponsoring careers events that promote Black women within the Tech space and has mentored on Diversity in the Retail's Global Female Leaders program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ishita Dhamani

Partner, Supply Chain Competency Leader, EY ASEAN
EY

After these past two years of the pandemic, Ishita’s focus is to push forward equitable policies and a safe work environment to drive gender equality. As the Supply Chain leader at EY, she has ensured that 50% of candidates considered for any role should be female. In addition, she has furthered EY’s culture of flexible working hours which could help young mothers manage work and childcare commitments. Ishita also has organized monthly sharing sessions by women leaders and has been a mentor to young women within the company. Thanks to her efforts, her team has 40% gender diversity, with 60% of managers being women. Additionally, Ishita strives to create a better working world outside her company, so she engages with the professional and start-up community in Singapore to promote gender diversity through inspirational speaking, collaboration, support, and mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Margherita Fontana

Europe, Middle East, Africa and India Commercial Director Dow Consumer Solutions
Dow

Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group in 2020. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. In 2023 the 3rd edition of the Female Talent Sponsorship program will be run, to continue the focused efforts in developing Dow Female talents across the organization. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Juliana Puntel

Senior associate of the Charities, Social Business & Human Rights practice
Mattos Filho

Juliana is a lawyer at Mattos Filho, an international Law Firm based in Brazil, and part of 4Women, a group that works to boost gender equity and promote women to leadership positions through training, mentoring, and the creation of an increasingly strong and welcoming professional network. In 2019, the 4Women program was recognized by Valor Econômico and Women in Leadership Latin America (WILL) in the ‘Women in Leadership’ category, and in 2022, it was one of our internal programs that has granted us with the “Work-life balance” recognition by Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Awards. Juliana is a feminist lawyer who is concerned with promoting gender equality and inclusive environments in her team, in her relationship with stakeholders and in the legal solutions she proposes to clients. Recently, Juliana became a mother and has carried out actions aimed at a more inclusive motherhood and integrated into the corporate environment. Juliana is also involved in pro bono initiatives offered by the firm to feminist and women’s organizations in Brazil, such as Instituto Alziras, Instituto AzMina, Me Too Brasil, Casa Sueli Carneiro ( an important institution that honors Sueli’s black feminist activism).

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sonia Silva

Executive Director- Regional Head, Financial Markets Client Management
Standard Chartered Bank NY

Sonia is a member of the Gender Equality Network and has a leadership role at BOLD, the Black Organization Leadership and Development network. Through Mentorship and her network, she shines the light on talented women that are yet to be given an opportunity to showcase their talent and potential by creating support lean-in circles within the firm to allow women to get advice and guidance. Sonia also created a platform called For Women by Women, an educational platform that aims to encourage, support, and elevate Women across the globe through different experiences. Furthermore, she delivered workshops and Masterclasses on Leadership, Imposter Syndrome and Personal Brand and actively engaged in events that elevate women. However, Sonia also brings difficult conversations to the table, such as panel discussions on career paths for Women and Women of Color, on "Women by Banking," or as a board of advisor for WOMENICE.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda (Jane) Rodriguez

Retail Account Manager
Benefit Cosmetics (LVMH - Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton)

Amanda championed DEI by raising awareness about 'National Arab American Heritage Month' in 2021 with Benefit Cosmetics/LVMH to promote a more inclusive and diverse company culture. This positively impacted LVMH senior executives as she was given the opportunity to present on the positive influences of Middle Eastern culture and her personal testimony as an Arab-American. She joined and collaborated with the EllesVMH Resource Group to bring awareness to NAAHM and was featured in EllesVMH Newsletter and LinkedIn to encourage female empowerment and D&I. Amanda also joined the ‘LVMH New Moon APAHM Closing Celebration’ as a panelist to commemorate Asian Pacific American traditions and shed light on how allies can help support underrepresented cultures and communities. Additionally, Amanda participated in EllesVMH AllyLunch! a pilot program that provides LVMH employees with community and mentorship opportunities; her feedback and suggestions to the creators helped expand the program and drive mentorship for future executives.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Irene Henriksen McGillivray

Senior Account Lead
Yahoo!

Irene, AuDHD, is the Global Lead for the company’s Neurodiversity ERG, working on creating a more inclusive workplace for neurodivergent employees while collaborating with all ERGs to cover intersectionality. The ERG looks at each office to see how it can be more inclusive of Neurodivergent people and reimagines their structure to become more Neuro friendly, and it also ensures recruitment, hiring, interview, and onboarding processes are inclusive. In addition, the Neurodiversity ERG, creates awareness in the company by hosting events related to Neurodiversity. Previously the ERG hosted a panel for Parents and Caregivers called: A Community of Care: Caring for our Autistic families and caregivers. Irene tirelessly works to educate the company on Neurodivergences and how to be more inclusive and recently did an event for Autism in the Workplace where we had the amazing Joan McDonald in to talk about how we can be allies to Autistic people.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Krystle McGilvery

Founder
Mind Over Money

Krystle has been empowering women through mentoring for over ten years and actively encourages financial independence. She is the Board Director of an all-women board of not-for-profit organization Abianda, which supports women and girls connected with gang violence and county lines. Krystle has actively hired women within her organization, Mind Over Money, and provides financial education and training as a benefit. Krystle is a mentor at Women of Colour Global Network and Like-Minded Females and runs her female-only personal and financial development community The Growth Assemble. In 2022, she was added to the D-List platform as a diverse entrepreneur. Krystle has been an active advocate for women by being a panelist at several events within the last two years, including the Female Founders Lead Today Shape Tomorrow Flagship event, The Female Lead and AllBright: The Road to a Shecovery and the Hatch Presents - Women in Business Achieving Economic Empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claudio Gienal

CEO AXA UK and Ireland
AXA

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

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Lou Maiuri

President 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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Global Board Chair
Deloitte

Sharon has spent over three decades on boards and held several executive roles including Deputy CEO of Deloitte North South Europe. She actively promotes and is a sought-after public speaker on diversity and inclusion, mental health/wellbeing, and sustainability. Sharon works with Deloitte’s leadership to set and meet ambitious goals for the representation of women in leadership globally. She is an advocate for allyship and sponsorship in the workplace, for example through her involvement with Deloitte's Women in the Boardroom report. Sharon established Deloitte’s UK diversity networks in 2007, and champions the Deloitte Global Gender Balance network, the Deloitte UK Neurodiversity network, and the Deloitte Global LGBT+ network. She personally sponsors and mentors several people, and actively participates in external forums such as The 30% Club. Sharon regularly meets with groups of women at Deloitte and externally to share her experiences, understand theirs, and encourage them to pursue their career ambitions.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracy Garrad

CEO AXA Health
AXA Health

Tracy is the Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion across AXA in the UK and Ireland, and as part of this role she chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Board, which is comprised of senior leaders from across the business. Over the past year successes have included getting AXA UK&I listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, developing and executing an Ethnicity Action Plan, and launching an allyship program which has been engaged with over 2,000 times to date. Additionally, Tracy was able to strengthen senior leadership commitment to D&I by ensuring all leaders have two performance-related D&I objectives, as well as making D&I a quarterly standing agenda item at Executive Committee meetings. To celebrate 2021 International Women's Day, Tracy starred in a global AXA Group panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on gender equality, which was watched by over 3,000 employees across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar

Kantar is a world-leading market research agency, inspiring growth by understanding people. As a Global CEO, and part of Kantar's Exco and I&D Steering Committee, Caroline is committed to ensuring a culture that embraces all intersections of diversity. She holds herself accountable to increasing female representation by being an authentic ‘see it, be it’ role model to Kantar’s ~12,000 women, which includes being a mentor and sponsor for Kantar’s Aspire programme empowering females across the globe progress their careers by building strong, authentic, influential personal brands. Caroline also serves as Global Executive Sponsor of Pride@Kantar, the Employee Resource Group inspiring Kantar’s 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and allies flourish at work by embracing and celebrating their individuality, and co-founded Kantar’s 360 Mentorship Program with Special Olympics athletes, to support people with intellectual disabilities build successful careers in paid jobs. She also represents the ‘Agency’ voice on the Market Research Society’s DI&E Council.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leanne Wood

Chief HR Officer
Vodafone

Leanne has been driving gender balance, diversity, and inclusion for over 20 years across tech-comms, luxury and FMCG industries. At Vodafone, Leanne is an Executive Committee Member and Sponsor for its Employee Networks, including the Women's Network, and led Vodafone's #CountMeIn diversity data capture initiative to enable an intersectional approach to DEI and strengthen women's inclusion and representation. She launched the Reciprocal Mentoring program enabling senior leaders to connect with minority groups and, in 2019, equalised parental leave to support parents and families so that responsibilities are shared. In 2022, as part of Vodafone's support of Ukrainian refugees, she led the Ukraine Employment Programme providing those displaced with employment and resettlement, with 61% of applicants being women. Additionally, Leanne launched Vodafone's hybrid working model to provide flexibility, including 20 days of remote working from any location to attract and retain diverse talent.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

International Chief Customer Officer
American Express

While leading the UK Business as Country Manager, Charlotte pledged American Express’ commitment to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management under HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, a target which was reached earlier this year. As an Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Networks, Charlotte has championed the Company’s ‘Ambition Project’ as a means of raising awareness of the role ambition plays in women's professional success. She has also overseen initiatives including the roll out of self-identification amongst colleagues to help drive D,E&I changes across the company and the introduction of training to over 5,000 colleagues in order to combat unconscious bias. As colleagues moved towards working from home during the pandemic, American Express also initiated a range of company-wide internal communications and initiatives intended to support colleagues, particularly those shouldering caring responsibilities. Under her leadership American Express has been recognized over the past two years as a top employer by the Financial Times, LinkedIn, Working Families and Glassdoor.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I); Asia Pacific oversight
Dow

Jane is president of the Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure operating segment within Dow. With annual sales of $16 Billion, this segment provides innovative solutions to global markets including infrastructure, consumer, construction, mobility, and energy. Jane leads a diverse global leadership team comprised of 40% women, underscoring inclusion as a top business priority. As a member of Sadara Chemical Company’s and Stanley Black & Decker’s Board of Directors, Jane advocates for female representation in the workforce. Jane is also the Executive Sponsor of Dow’s Veterans Network Employee Resource Group focused on attracting, retaining, and mentoring active service members and military veterans. A true champion for gender equality, Jane’s executive-level speaking engagements have included: a notable keynote speech at the 2019 P.O.W.E.R. Up leadership development conference, co-sponsored by EY; and an executive-level industry panel at the March 2019 AFPM International Petrochemical Conference on "How Inclusion Ignites the Workforce in the Petrochemical Industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Neha Rajesh

Marketing Lead - Chrome Enterprise EMEA
Google

Neha works at Google and has been championing DEI initiatives through mentoring and coaching for 8+ years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neha launched a platform called WonderWoman to connect young girls with women mentors in the tech space to support each other on their journeys. Through this initiative Neha has helped several women globally progress their careers, find new routes to employment and grow their skills. She also runs regular school visits for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to introduce them to the world of work, and to inspire the next generation of female leaders to pursue a career in technology. Born in India and immigrating to the UK at the age of 20, Neha has made it her mission to open doors for women across various backgrounds and walks of life through mentoring, volunteering, providing job opportunities and raising her voice.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ricole Tan

Partner & Director, Regional Lead, Financial Restructuring & Sustainable Financing
Boston Consulting Group

Ricole is a committee member of SEA Women@BCG Network and leads the Women@BCG Network in Singapore. She organized internal and external events to promote gender equality, such as International Women's Day celebrations, mothers’ appreciation, and panelist discussions with senior women business leaders on career navigation. Ricole encourages internal women affiliation and support through creating open and transparent communication channels amongst all women staff in BCG Singapore. She collaborates with the recruitment team to ensure women hiring and acts as a mentor to younger women colleagues of BCG. Furthermore, Ricole has participated in various seminars and discussions on gender equality and inclusions within the industry, such as women in shipping, demystifying gender in restructuring, the role of men in mentoring women, and personal branding for professional women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Siona Lamble

Treasury Business Partner and Co-chair of Gender Network
NatWest Group

Siona has been Co-chair of the Gender Network since 2021 and oversaw a review of the Male Allies Network in early 2022, providing scope, coaching, and supporting review leaders, re-launching it with new aims and objectives in May 2022. Siona also directed the re-launch of the recruitment process for volunteers to give more people the opportunity to be involved in the network. This led to the publication of 36 vacancies in May 2022 alone, with most of these filled by people new to volunteering, enhancing their professional development opportunities. Furthermore, she championed change for the maternity returners process, collecting feedback and liaising with the Family & Carers network and senior leaders. This has provided HR with the direction to enable change. Lastly, Siona aims to create cultural change through influencing for policy reviews, including, for example, women's safety when traveling.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Martina Satherlund

Senior Director - Global Head Market Data
Fidelity International

Martina is a Senior Director in Fidelity’s ISS COO office. Within her department, she plays a key role in embedding D&I and is the business sponsor of Fidelity’s Returner Programme. She authored the article “Breaking bias and building balance” and in April presented “Breaking the Bias” at a primary school to act as a female role model along with her fellow rising stars. She coined the acronym SHOW - a concept that highlights the need to encourage women to join and stay within STEM by ‘SHOW’ing them how. It stands for School, Home, Office, and Workplace. At Fidelity, she is implementing unconscious bias training and the “shifting the dial 2022/2023” gender-balance focused programme to help develop talent in ISS COO. Externally, she was part of the Women in Finance Summit 2022. Leading FISD women’s group and participating in and moderating panels across the industry about gender balance and D&I initiatives. Martina is part of mentoring schemes and facilitates workshops for Fidelity’s menopause support policy.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maryse Gordon

Partnerships and Business Development Manager
RepRisk

Maryse’s work supporting the development of RepRisk’s D&I strategy comes from her years of experience as Vice Chair New York Women's Inspired Network (WIN) at LSEG. Maryse supported over 100 members in bringing opportunities to enhance career and personal development, in parallel to LSEG Benefits Committee, Charity Committee, and Black Employee Network. This work enabled her to fully understand the needs of women throughout the organization and target advocacy and activities to support them. During the pandemic’s lockdown, she ensured that LSEG women still received career development opportunities through networking, learning, and development in the virtual space. Maryse organized workshops, networking, and speaker events to address topical issues such as parenthood and well-being and linked in other employee networks for cross-pollination. Her platform within the WIN helped her launch the Black Employee Network in 2020, which added a new lens on the need for all Women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanya N. Blocker

Director and Assistant General Counsel
National Grid

Besides her Director and Assistant General Counsel responsibilities, Tanya is the co-chair of the National Grid DEI committee in US Legal. Playing a vital role in driving the diversity agenda in the General Counsel Group, Tanya organized a trial reenactment of the historic case James Meredith vs. Ole Miss, spotlighting the achievements of Constance Baker Motley, the first black woman attorney on the Southern District of New York (SDNY) federal bench, for the group’s global Black History Month Program. Tanya spearheads and is a frequent speaker on DEI as well as employment law panels on pay equity, parity and gender bias. Recently, she spoke for the SDNY Federal Bar Association’s – “Grab Them by the Workplace: Understanding Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era” program as well as for the NYC Bar Association’s "Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment Post Cuomo” program. Tanya is currently a 2022 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity fellow.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Bampfylde

Director - Wealth
Redington Ltd

Since joining Redington in 2021, Laura has been a very active and engaging mentor both in and out of her firm. She has been mentoring and coaching young women within her company to help them gain confidence in navigating the financial services industry. She is passionate about increasing the number of women and other diverse talent representing the industry at conferences, running initiatives to build public speaking skills. In her previous role at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Laura was also a mentor, guiding students in the JP Morgan School's Challenge – an initiative encouraging young people to think about careers in STEM while starting to build professional networks. It was an excellent opportunity to showcase the range of roles within financial services and the different skillsets needed. Additionally, she mentors through the charity Migrant Leaders, specifically helping an A-Level student by introducing him to the different facets of the finance world.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Since becoming Diageo’s Chief Executive in 2013, Ivan has championed Inclusion and Diversity across the whole of the organisation, as well as the wider drinks and hospitality industry. As well as ambitious 2030 goals to increase the representation of women in Diageo leadership roles and the percentage of suppliers from female and minority-owned businesses, Diageo is amongst the first companies to have created a clear link and direct accountability for ESG commitments with its senior management community, meaning that ever senior leader is incentivised to make progress on this agenda. This year the firm has continued to empower women and to lean into often taboo subjects: its Global Menopause Guidelines are now live in over 40 countries and it introduced Domestic and Family Abuse Guidelines to foster a working environment that promotes safety and respect.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Matthew Norris

Global Head, Standard Chartered 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. Through the use of data and better understanding of unconscious bias, he introduced new perspectives that were effective in 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 50% from 20% and in the Executive Committees to 25%. He lobbied to appoint 24 women leaders to local Leadership Councils. Matthew has been a personal mentor for women colleagues across different levels of seniority since 2015. He is an active sponsor of IGNITE, a coaching programme for junior women talents. As part of “SheReturns” initiative, Matthew was instrumental in the collaboration between the Bank, government agencies and NGOs to empower women who wish to resume work after a career break.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Alisha Alaimo

President
Biogen U.S. Organization

Alisha is responsible for driving growth and people development for Biogen’s U.S. Organization. Leadership to Alisha is about inspiring people to achieve more than they thought possible, embrace change, and seek diverse perspectives to deliver extraordinary results. She created new development programs including "Women on the Rise" and "PROPEL" to accelerate the readiness and visibility of mid-level women and non-white people for senior roles. She also serves as Executive Sponsor for Biogen's Women's Innovation Network, an employee resource group designed to create opportunities for empowerment, advocacy, and advancement. As a board member of The Biogen Foundation, she advocates for supporting access to science education for diverse populations. Her career spans a wide spectrum of leadership roles in strategy, sales, marketing, market access, key account management, advocacy, and medical functions in the U.S. and internationally.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Quest

Partner – Co-Head of Public Sector - Europe
Oliver Wyman

As leader of the Public Sector and member of the European Leadership Team supporting over 1,500 employees in Europe, Lisa is committed to using her platform to drive diversity and inclusion through core commercial operations. An Executive Sponsor of Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW), Lisa’s goal is to achieve gender equality; therefore, she has built out her team on this principle resulting in being the only one that is gender-balanced at all levels. Her teams have achieved results through their deep understanding of public institutions and their ability to bring together diverse skills to solve complex problems. Long before the pandemic, Lisa was pivotal in championing the option of fully flexible working and job shares and campaigned for equal maternity and paternity leaves at 26 weeks. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa is a member of the Board of Trustees for Best Beginnings and co-founder of the Green Hat Foundation, both charities focused on supporting people from diverse backgrounds to thrive in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Stern

EVP, Chief Legal Officer and Global Head of Strategic Resources
FactSet

Passionate about D&I, Rachel has promoted gender diversity since she started at FactSet in 2001. As the company's first general counsel and sole female executive leadership team member for over 15 years, she fought for women to be included and promoted to higher ranks of management globally. Rachel is responsible for introducing the first female director to FactSet's board and including three more after her. Rachel has formally mentored and informally sponsored women who are now part of the company's leadership. As an Executive Sponsor of FactSet's Women's BRG, Rachel furthered programs around the world designed to bring women together to support each other. Furthermore, Rachel founded and led a 20/20 Women on Boards chapter to achieve at least 20% women directors on boards of public companies, and has supported the Thirty Percent Coalition. Additionally, Rachel is a Mentor, WOMN, LLC, mentoring women law partners in New York since 2014.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melíosa O'Caoimh

Country Head - Ireland
Northern Trust

As Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for all its asset servicing business conducted from Dublin and Limerick supporting fund managers and institutional investors worldwide. Under her leadership, female representation at senior level has moved from 37% in 2019 to 44% in 2022. Meliosa led the firm’s signatory of the Women in Finance Charter in Ireland, setting a target of improving senior female representation from 44% to 48% by 2025. Meliosa has led a number of notable initiatives across the Irish community to help underrepresented groups obtain work experience. Meliosa is the chair of the 30% Club in Ireland. Since taking on this role, Meliosa has committed to ensuring the network is fully inclusive of diverse groups, recognizing the additional challenges underrepresented women face. She is planning to expand the network’s reach, recognising the talent in regions beyond Dublin, and ensuring the network is accessible to all.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead McIlkenny

Vice President Global Product Delivery
Fiserv

Mairead has always been a keen advocate for Diversity and Inclusion and has sponsored a number of ERG’s in her previous companies and participated in several discussion panels and working groups in Ireland and globally. Since joining Fiserv, she became a Committee member of the Disability Associate Council, of the Women's Impact Network, and an ally of the LGBTQ+ Leadership Council Unity. Her commitment sees her participating at DEI events, in mentorship programs, discussions, and driving engagement externally with local community women's events. Mairead takes a servant leadership approach with her teams and her stakeholders, ensuring that as a leader, she creates an environment of diversity and inclusion, where diversity of thought is encouraged and where everyone has a voice and where that voice is listened to. She is also always driving her recruitment partners to ensure they bring in gender-balanced and diverse candidates and have diverse interview panels with closed feedback loops to remove unconscious bias in the selection process.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Helen Shan

Chief Revenue Officer
FactSet Research Systems

As the Chief Revenue Officer of FactSet, Helen is a committed advocate for driving equality and empowerment across races and genders. She is the company’s executive sponsor of the Asian Business Resource Group, a member of the Global Diversity Council, and an executive member of the Women’s Business Resource Group. Helen strongly believes in creating personal sponsorships and sharing advice on how to leverage differences into strengths. In addition to being an active speaker at FactSet, Helen has been a panelist at several external corporate events, such as the Women@Amazon’s "Achieving Gender Parity in AWS Partnerships” in 2020, EPAM's IWD 2021 "Lessons in Leadership" panel and HSBC's Latin American Women's conference that same year. As a result, she brings greater visibility to senior female executives, not only in a corporate area but also on the revenue-generating side.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marie Hemingway

Principal Asset Management Consultant
Atkins

Marie is a principal consultant helping the Defence enterprise transform their approach to strategic investment decision making with expertise in technology adoption, asset management best practice and people-centric change. Her part-time and fully flexible role at Atkins enables her to apply her skills and experience to additionally support ED&I work around her primary role, for which she is particularly passionate.Marie is the founder and Chief Technology Officer for Speak Out Revolution, an award winning non-profit on a mission to cancel the culture of silence on workplace harassment and bullying in pursuit of truly inclusive workplaces. She led the development of the Speak Out Dashboard - novel, open source technology which transparently presents global workplace challenges for people who experience non-inclusive behaviours so organisations can access intelligent insights to optimally solve the problem within their sector. Marie regularly delivers talks, workshops, training, and consulting to organizations, institutes, and member groups who dare to make a difference for more inclusive workplaces for all.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rainie Pan

Principal
Oliver Wyman

In addition to her role as a Principal in the firm’s Financial Services and Digital practices, Rainie leads the Hong Kong chapter of Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW), an employee resource group focused on promoting, supporting, and empowering gender diversity both within the firm and for the local community. An advocate for coaching, mentoring, and learning, Rainie is passionate about crafting sustainable career paths for young women as well as driving broader education, D&I and social impact initiatives in and outside of Oliver Wyman. She also serves in various volunteering capacities at not-for-profit and/or public sector organizations, including the Hong Kong PropTech Association, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, the Hong Kong Blockchain Society, and the Cherie Blair Foundation, providing coaching and mentorships to female entrepreneurs and students.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ashlee Williams

Vice President, Data Operations & Client Services
S&P Global

Ashlee founded Women in Maritime, a women’s networking group in the Maritime and Trade business line at S&P Global. Under Ashlee’s leadership, IHS Markit (now S&P Global) was the seventh company to gain Charter certification by Maritime UK for efforts to address gender fairness, equality, and inclusion within the maritime sector. The company actively achieved a 50/50 gender split through its Early Careers program for the Maritime & Trade business for the past three years, and Ashlee’s team comprised of 40% women in 2021. Additionally, Ashlee is a global board representative of WINS Global (Women's initiative for networking and success) at S&P Global, responsible for communication strategies, raising awareness, ensuring the value of diversity in the workplace is understood and communication is inclusive. Externally, Ashlee is a volunteer and mentor for the 'Y's Girls program', an early and effective mentoring initiative in East Surrey for girls aged 9-14 years.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chloe Howe

Head of Operations Trading & Implementation
Wickes

Chloe launched the Wickes Balance for the Better Network in 2019 and continues to lead it. She holds colleague listening events, mentors two women internally and uses the network to amplify women's voices. Chloe has worked with the leadership team to understand their role as gender allies and sponsors of female talent, launching the Gender Ally program open to all colleagues. Since launching in September 2021, they now have over 120 allies. In December 2021, she launched Wickes’ period positive campaign aimed to normalize conversations on the topic, remove the stigma around it and make period products available free of charge to those who need them. Wickes is also trialling flexible working for Retail Managers. In May of this year, she was recognized in the 2022 Role Models for Inclusion in Retail Index for her contribution to Inclusion in Retail by working with companies that have signed their charter to drive their gender diversity and make meaningful changes for women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Julia Jones,PhD

Software Developer
Credit Suisse

Julia is a career changer and people person dedicated to philanthropic endeavours, holding committee seats for Credit Suisse Inspire, the Credit Suisse BAME Network and Credit Suisse Financial Inclusion Advocates Network. She has an effervescent, endearing spirit that shines through in all that she does and the connections she forges with others. She willingly gives her time and effort to causes large and small. Her ethos is to give back and build a better society for all. In her two and a half years at Credit Suisse, Julia has impacted the lives of numerous individuals, from primary school children, school leavers to mature returners, encouraging them to take STEM careers. She is involved in impactful and strategic changes projects, value creation, that aligned to the long-term vision and success of the firm. Julia is also the founder of Aray Wellbeing CIC, a personal & career development charitable organization and Nerve2Serve, a community food bank, as well as a Charity Trustee for CORE Clapton.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Barbara Bernstein

Wealth Management Advisor
Northwestern Mutual

Barbara serves as the Education & Community Outreach Chair of the Northwestern Mutual Women's Council in Los Angeles that seeks to elevate women of all tenures and roles by acknowledging their unique strengths and challenges as they strive for academic mastery and career excellence. It fosters ways to achieve optimal work/life balance in pursuit of personal, professional, and financial goals through formalized programs, events, educational opportunities, and philanthropic efforts that attract ideal candidates and clients. Under Barbara's leadership, the council has created an environment to build bonds between women across the six network offices in Southern California and Nevada, starting with the Big Sister Program, which connects all women joining the network with a woman mentor to help bring them into the fold. Barbara's role is to help women articulate their goals and connect them to the tools available to bring those goals to fruition.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram

Advocat, head of pro bono department
Clifford Chance

As a human rights lawyer, Sylwia believes in and fights for diversity, equity and inclusion, especially in the LGBTQ+ community, which she represents in court. For example, she has successfully brought a motion to a Polish court which ordered the conservative newspaper Gazeta Polska to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers (acting together with attorney Michał Wawrykieiwcz) Another instance sees Sylwia representing both at the police station and in court LGBT activists arrested for confrontation with the police during the protest against the arrest of the LGBT activist argot in Warsaw in august 2020. Sylwia also received the award Badge of Advocacy for the Distinguished from the Polish National Bar Association and the award from the "Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka Foundation" for outstanding achievements in representing minority rights and combating discrimination on the grounds of age, race, ethnic origin, religion, faith or lack thereof, disability or sexual orientation.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

As CEO of WPP, Mark appointed a new Chief People Officer and a Global Head of Culture, to continue to improve diversity and build an open and inclusive culture at the firm. Women now make up 51% of senior managers and 40% at the most senior executive level. Last year, WPP launched an updated online ethics training, including unconscious bias modules which are mandatory for all staff, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed DE&I into hiring processes, performance management systems and leadership development. For the third year running the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has listed WPP, and last year Forbes ranked the company sixteenth in its Top 20 Best Employers for Women List. In 2020, of a total $94 million had been spent by the firm on diverse suppliers, 64% of which went to women-owned business enterprises and 14% to minority women-owned business enterprises.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Gregory Jones

Vice President, Global Head of Business Service Centre
InterContinental Hotel Group - IHG

A natural approachable and inclusive leader, Greg has worked and collaborated with HR and Talent acquisition partners to create a more balanced gender ratio of workers in India’s Global Service Centre employees to 48% male: 52% female – spearheading and bringing to life IHG’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion agenda in India, championing a diverse culture where everyone can thrive.He’s also actively creating career opportunities for women to move into roles of increasing responsibility, and believes that investing in women's talent and having diverse leadership and development initiatives is pivotal to the hospitality industry. For a long time Greg has supported organizations such as Jack and Jill (formed during the Great Depression by African American mothers) and 100 Black Men of America (a mentoring organization changing the lives of children through education) which has influenced his drive to make positive and inclusive cultural changes. For example, he recently hosted gender/transgender equality engagement sessions in the office featuring Kalki Subramaniam, an Indian transgender speaker.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

Megan Clarken is the Chief Executive Officer at Criteo, the global commerce media company. Since joining in 2019, Megan has been instrumental in Criteo’s transformation. Today, the company operates a robust Commerce Media Platform that connects 22,000 marketers and thousands of media owners to deliver richer consumer experiences. Prior to Criteo, Megan served as Chief Commercial Officer of Nielsen Global Media, where she spent over 15 years in a variety of roles leading initiatives that allowed the 90+-year-old company to adapt and prevail in a time of change. Before she was dubbed one of the “most important figures in media” by Adweek, Megan was an Olympic class athlete, using her perseverance and resilience to pivot into a successful career in technology. With vast awards under her belt, Megan continues to be recognized for her ability to transform businesses, while championing underrepresented groups in media.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Efe Ukala

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel
JP Morgan

Efe is Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan. In addition to her role as in-house counsel, she’s involved in the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts that have resulted in hiring and retaining diverse talents. Her passion for inclusiveness transcends her day job. Efe is also the Founder of ImpactHER, a non-profit that cultivates environments within which African female-led small businesses not only survive but thrive. Under her leadership, ImpactHER has provided pro bono business advisory support and directly trained 46,806 African women entrepreneurs from 53 African countries, connected them with investors, and converted 16,432 non-technologically enabled businesses to technologically enabled businesses. Her work not only helped African women-led businesses from permanent shutdown during the covid shutdowns but is also actively changing the narrative of disenfranchised female business owners on the Continent; allowing women to crash through glass ceilings and re-define the face of successful entrepreneurs in Africa.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rebecca Henderson

CEO, Randstad Global Businesses and Executive Board Member
Randstad

Rebecca is one of two women on Randstad's executive board and the executive sponsor of Randstad's Global Diversity Council, which represents 15 business-led workgroups such as inclusive leadership, the Business Resource Group for Women, diverse hiring programs, equal pay, and the Pride Business Resource Group. Rebecca is a founding sponsor of Women in Randstad Empowering Development (WIRED), which empowers Randstad women to develop themselves as leaders and to achieve exceptional results through collective inspiration, sharing of knowledge, and giving back to the community. Furthermore, she is a sponsor and mentor to Randstad's Hire Hope apprentices, which provides career-readiness training and job-placement services to underserved and at-risk women. As a global executive at Randstad, Rebecca actively explores ways to advance gender parity issues and change policy in all areas of work. She also works with partner organizations like the Female Quotient to raise awareness and effect change to help working women advance their careers

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Debbi Vandeven

Global Chief Creative Officer
VMLY&R

Over two decades, Debbi has built VMLY&R into a creative force — experiencing unprecedented growth and recognition. In May 2021, under Debbi's leadership, Campaign magazine named VMLY&R as Global Creative Network of the Year. Additionally, in 2021, Debbi's leadership helped earn yet another year of growth for the nearly $2B agency, which bookended the year with renewal wins of two of VMLY&R's long-standing and notable clients. Debbi drives her teams around the world to create advertising that makes a difference, particularly in the crusade for gender equality. She was named 2020 Ad Age CCO of the Year, as well as being featured on Adweek's Creative 100, Business Insider's "30 Most Creative People in Advertising," and Campaign's Female Frontier Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Diamond

Group Head of Claims
Beazley Group

In January 2020, Beth joined the Executive, taking on the global Group Head of Claims role, reporting to Beazley's CEO. She is responsible for the development, management, and operational efficiency of a high-performing global team who she committed to a culture valuing inclusion, friendliness, approachability, and creativity. Throughout her career, Beth has been devoted to developing junior talent through mentorship, helping many achieve promotions because she is passionate about empowering others to accomplish their objectives, maximize their opportunities, and stretch their development. Since she took the helm, Beth was able to double the number of People of Color on the team and materially increase the number of managers who are People of Color, as she recognizes development and promotion are crucial markers of change. Beth also played a key role in extending parental leave to 6 months paid leave, honoring equality in family responsibility while materially enhancing a staff benefit.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Lynch

Former Chief Business Officer
Sandoz

Carol was an executive sponsor of the Sandoz resource groups Women in Leadership and GLOW, where she had the opportunity to amplify the voices of and actively support underrepresented groups at Sandoz. By helping to bring awareness to GLOW issues, Sandoz has seen positive momentum, including raising its first Pride flag on the Holzkirchen, Germany campus and creating "all-inclusive" bathrooms. She is a globally experienced, values-based leader. She was a member of the Sandoz Executive Committee and served as co-chair of the Sandoz Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council, promoting diversity and inclusion across the organization to create an equitable and representative culture. Carol also endorsed Sandoz's sustainable programs and policies, which support minority and underrepresented groups with, for example, extended parental leave and flexible work, executive sponsorships, and DE&I training.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natsayi Mawere

Senior Associate
Reed Smith

Natsayi is the Chair of Reed Smith’s NYC office’s DE&I committee, has helped to develop the office's Racial Equity Action Plan and is also an Associate Liaison for the office’s Women’s Initiative Network (“WINRS”). In 2020, she introduced an annual virtual Career Day program to NYC WINRS that connects low-income and homeless women served by the NYC Coalition for the Homeless' "First Step Program" with lawyers in NYC WINRS, who assisted First Step students with resume development, mock job interviews, and discussed issues women face (in the context of a job search). As part of the NYC office's REAP, Natsayi worked with colleagues to develop a pilot Associate Buddy Program in 2021, which she took the lead in taking global in 2022. She is dedicated to investing in the well-being and advancement of others, especially women facing systematic barriers to employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Senior Vice President for Business Development
Teleperformance Philippines

Michelle is the new SVP, Business Development of Teleperformance. In her previous organization, Accenture, Michelle led the company’s Women’s Network in the Philippines, with a group objective to make women and women advocates feel empowered, connected, and valued. Key initiatives she spearheaded included the monthly Women’s Talk and the #SELFMADE TALK SERIES – a quarterly podcast that features inspiring and #SelfMade women. For Accenture in the Philippines’ International Women’s Day 2022, Michelle and the community ran the Designing for Inclusion virtual learning session. Since March 2021, she has also served as a sponsor for Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative that strives to empower women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments and promote themselves to others, breaking gender-related modesty norms. Michelle is grateful for the opportunity to drive her I&D advocacy in her previous org and looks forward to making an impact in Teleperformance.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

Legal Manager, Disputes
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes is an experienced Disputes lawyer in the Alternative Legal Services (ALT) team at Herbert Smith Freehills. She was integral in the set-up of ALT Johannesburg in 2017, which forms part of an innovative team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 global locations. As well as serving on the "Pro Bono" and "Race Champions" Committees, Plaxedes was instrumental in setting up ALT's Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health Committees. In addition to managing complex cross-jurisdictional projects, Plaxedes’ responsibilities include recruitment of legal analysts, as part of the market-leading International Legal Development Programme. Plaxedes champions individual uniqueness and diversity and as a result, more than half of the legal analysts recruited in 2021 were women. Outside of work, Plaxedes founded "Pink Power", a charity raising funds for breast cancer patients' treatment. She has also fundraised to enable a Biokinetics student to complete her second year of studies.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Clark

IT Program and Portfolio Leader
Corteva Agriscience

Lauren has been the Global Leader of the Women's Inclusion Network since 2021 and has managed to grow membership by over 20% in the last year. She expanded representation by a growing number of chapters, including the installation of a virtual chapter in North America, and has hosted events around advocacy and allyship but also hosted the first global International Women's Day celebration in 2022. Lauren and her teams are assessing how Corteva can become a preferred employer choice for women by setting up focus groups and developing recruiting best practices. In addition, many initiatives are taken outside of Corteva to directly impact local communities across the globe, including toiletry drives for women's shelters and partnerships with local STEM organizations for girls and girl scouts. In 2021, WIN members volunteered more than 300 hours of their time, benefiting 21 external organizations with 31,000+ people impacted.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Esther Federspiel

Senior Management Support
Credit Suisse AG

Despite an already challenging work-life driving operative and strategic initiatives across the Middle East with her team of 4, Esther stepped up to the Business Area Middle East & Turkey D&I Board, helping to define the DEI Mission Statement: “No fear – to look different, speak different, think different. Difference creates opportunity. Inclusion creates value.” Esther understands that difference creates opportunity and inclusion creates value. Her priority is to increase women's representation at the senior level, and she established a Female Talent Coaching Program and, with HR support, launched a Women Network. She also contributed to the re-launch of the Employee Recognition Program and organized various Panel discussions. Esther is responsible for 4 DEI newsletters annually and presents DEI themes as part of the "Welcome day" for new joiners in Switzerland. Esther sees the advantages of reverse coaching where the young generation coaches the older and initiated a pilot program in this area.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Magdalena Szymczak

Office & Corporate Communication Manager
Fiserv Polska S.A.

Magdalena is an active member of the Women's Impact Network community in Poland. As the PR & Communication Manager, she pays special attention to promoting women in the technology industry by delegating experts working for Fiserv Poland to the media and internal communication. In addition, she created an Employer Branding strategy, which some of its strong points are, among others, positioning women in the organization as industry experts and mentors, support for women in the recruitment process, and a partnership program for female students of technical universities. Furthermore, Magdalena organizes webinars for women in her organization, aiming to give them motivation and courage to reach for more, acquire new skills, and develop personally and professionally, as well as nurture their self-confidence and appreciate their talents.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Heather Quinn

Financial Advisor
Northwestern Mutual

Although her career background is in the entertainment industry, she developed an interest in financial planning and now works at Northwestern Mutual as a Financial Advisor. Heather strives to help as many women as possible by guiding financial planning so that women can take control of their financial future. With an exhaustive knowledge of the financial services industry, and a compassionate, person-centered approach, she helps clients feel secure, educated, and in control. She once produced an ABC special called "Un-broke: What You Need to Know About Money" alongside Mellody Hobson. She saw firsthand how the entertainment career could have many phases, shifting from short-term contracts to loan-outs to vested corporate positions, making it much harder to map out personal financial plans. Hence, her goal is to guide people, especially women, in taking control of their finances to plan for the future.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Howard Ungerleider

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 9,000 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 by providing external coaches for female employees globally. As Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment program, 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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director
LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX)

The third year on the HERoes role model list, Dean passionately believes that diversity is the best way for a business to succeed, as the most effective, inclusive cultures bring a depth of background, thought and experiences leading to innovation and the best business decisions. All D&I targets are published, and metrics have improved significantly during his tenure at LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group and in the businesses he leads. Dean is an executive supporter of the company’s Employee Resource Groups and sponsor of the Female Ignite and Accelerate program, an initiative where he mentors and supports several female colleagues. A strong ally, Dean regularly speaks 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 also a trustee of a charity which commissions research measuring progress and providing case studies of best practices for inclusion and equality.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Masami Katakura

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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Gilder

CEO
Colt Technology Services

Keri founded Colt's first Inclusion & Diversity Council and chairs the TM Forum's Diversity & Inclusion Council, the aim of which is to make the telecommunications sector more diverse and inclusive. In response to 2020's Black Lives Matter protests, Keri held listening sessions with a cross-section of employees from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to find out what was on their minds and gain an understanding of what Colt could do to support them. The insights she gathered led to a collaboration between HR and the YOUnited employee network group, aiming to ensure that Colt was focused on removing any biases inherent within its systems, processes and structures, and that all employees, including those who identify as BAME, had a fair chance to join and develop at the firm. Over the past year, under Keri's support, Colt has sponsored 12 employees through the Black British Business Awards Talent Accelerator programme.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Passionate about creating opportunities for women, evolving inclusion in tech is a key priority for Tanuja. At AWS, she has sponsored empowerment initiatives such as Leadership Circles, a monthly open forum focused on learning and development. She is a member of the AWS ID&E advisory board and championed the Inclusion Ambassador program – active change agents across genders. She is an avid GetIT advocate, an AWS program for young students especially girls to encourage them into tech and re/Start which started in the UK and is a free 12 week classroom training program for unemployed and underemployed individuals. In 2013, Tanuja founded PowerWomen Network, a peer-to-peer network of 150 C-level women across sectors and functions focused on building the next generation of female talent. She also hosts a podcast called PowerWomenSpeak, where she has conversations with senior female leaders. More recently, she started the Next Gen Power Women network, a group of high potential women who are actively mentored by PowerWomen members.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Angela Yang

General Counsel of BlackRock Taiwan
BlackRock Taiwan

Angela, one of the 3 representatives from APAC sitting on the global Talent Development Committee from 2018 to 2021, has successfully promoted 89 females within the global Legal & Compliance function to the next level of their corporate title. Since 2020, she has been serving as the sponsor for the VP Village and the Associate Arena for BlackRock, social networks for colleagues with junior to mid-level corporate titles. Through these social networks, Angela has been mentoring young female colleagues and assisting them in navigating their careers in the firm. She has coached more than ten female colleagues across different functions and geographical areas, resulting in 2 of them being promoted to VP and Director roles in 2021. She has been conducting career advancing sessions for colleagues in BlackRock Taiwan since 2019 and served as the WIN Chairperson from 2012 to 2019, holding quarterly events to promote gender diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Associates(Engineering & Environmental)

UK’s first Black Female founder of a seven-figure turnover engineering company serving the construction sector, Roni is a trailblazer and role model, combining being CEO of Jomas with campaigns championing women in industry. Roni is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Geologist. Graduate of Portsmouth University with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management from Exeter University. She has worked on major construction schemes including the widening of the A406 and M25, and various buildings and structures across the UK. She is Construction Policy Chair for FSB. She received the highly prestigious presidential invitation to Fellowship of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in 2019 and was appointed Honorary Fellow of RIBA in 2020. Multi award winner, international speaker and dedicated mother to three boys, Roni is passionate about diversity, social mobility and volunteers her time to mentor and coach many.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Renata Zuccolo

Partner Antitrust Practice
Mattos Filho

In 2016, Renata, along with other colleagues, founded the 4Women's Program, aimed at discussing and supporting the career development of all women at the firm. Since then, she continues to participate in discussions to bring new initiatives, such as the collective mentoring for women lawyers. She is highly involved in several others mentoring programs and has started to dedicate part of her time to other entities outside the firm. Renata is an active member of a female network called "Woman in Antitrust" (WIA) which gathers female lawyers, economists, and government officials in Brazil. She is currently participating as a mentor in the program organized by WIA and also on an initiative named "elas no jota," which has the aim of promoting and spreading the opinion of female lawyers by encouraging the publication of articles on law and economics for a Brazilian legal newsletter called "Jota."

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Namita Singh Thakur

Sr.Manager- Global Strategic Accounts (EMEA)
LinkedIn

Namita Singh Thakur is a leader within the Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn in EMEA.  She has also been the  Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA for the last 2 years.  LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving parity across all levels of the organization. Throughout the year, Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her formal involvement in the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. Outside of her formal role, she is passionate about arts & democratization of art & regularly supports emerging artists and artists within under-represented racial groups as a patron, art-collaborator and collector. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate/social life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Meghan Flannery Hayes

Research and Development Engineer
The Pennsylvania State University - Applied Research Laboratory

Meghan co-founded the Women’s Strategic Synergy Group at ARL Penn State, which identifies issues and advocates for positive change. Efforts under her leadership include hosting events to build employee retention, promoting a positive and inclusive work culture, facilitating listening sessions for women, and successfully advocating for parental leave. Within WSSG, she helped develop a new mentorship program for all new employees who started remotely due to COVID, and mentored three women across two different mentorship programs. She also advises on action plans to increase workforce retention and diversity in recruitment. In 2021, she served as a panel member on a DEI-focused empowering women Intelligence National Security Alliance event, where she provided perspective on fostering a sense of belonging to underrepresented groups, including women in technical fields and leadership positions. She is a vice-chair of the Board of Directors for Centre Safe, a not-for-profit that empowers survivors of domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yasmine Alani

Senior Creative Learning Lead
Media Zoo

Yasmine is passionate about creating safe and supportive spaces for women, and has hosted workshops on 'Exploring the Female Experience' for IWD, as well as chairing Allyship events to enable male employees to become better allies to women. Yasmine has developed training to ensure recruiters remove biased language in the recruitment process, to encourage female applicants. She has also championed a company-wide showcase that celebrated unsung women and their contributions. She set up and now leads the Inclusion Group at Media Zoo. Yasmine developed the first parental coaching program while working at News UK. This enabled women to quickly reintegrate into the workplace, reducing anxiety and imposter syndrome. Furthermore, she set up the first internal business-wide mentoring program, with a particular focus on championing women to mentor other women. Yasmine was the Gold winner of the Rising Star Award in 2021 for the impact of her Diversity and Inclusion work

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelley O'Connor

Business Change Manager
Bank of England

As co-chair of LGBTQ+ Staff Network, Shelley has stood up as an ally for all her colleagues. She has worked on the Trans Equality Policy and Transitioning at Work guidance with the Networks Trans reps, standing up for Trans colleagues in senior management meetings and pushing for change. Shelley is a vocal ally for women in the Bank and frequently calls out microaggressions. She led the project team for the Stonewall WEI submission 2022, which resulted in the Bank moving up 100 places to 57th. The work has supported the Bank to become a more inclusive place to work in and for women of all kinds to be themselves. Shelley has been part of the Gender Network for five years, sitting on the steering committee and driving intersectional change. She has also worked with the Disability Network, creating management guides and training with HR.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Huijie Ma

ADAS Lead Software Quality Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

Huijie is Chair of the Inclusion Council and holds leading forces from all networks in promoting and delivering D&I projects. She hosts regular meetings with (GEN + WiE&A) and REACH Network members, creating a forum for their issues to be raised and delivering projects to improve them. She also constructed and maintained a DEI website to promote business, unity force, and drive action. Furthermore, Sophie planned and delivered the Mother Nature Lockers initiative, which supplied free sanitary products, menopause support, and personal care items for all women in the factory; now, the project is being rolled out to all plants. She created and presented the Network Lunch & Learns on Awards to promote women's work and discuss colorism, to promote understanding and inclusion of people from different ethnicities. Additionally, Huijie has been leading a Pregnancy & Maternity focus group, creating a process and materials to streamline actions and turn pregnancy into a development privilege.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gillian Lyng

Managing Director
Deutsche Bank

Since 2016 Gillian has supported maternity leave returners, sharing her experiences as a returner through her internal blog as a Mental Health First Aider by co-hosting quarterly maternity returners meet-ups, building a community amongst working parents. Over 50 maternity returners have been supported through this initiative in the UK & it's now extending to other locations globally. In 2021, Gillian took on a volunteer role as a program leader for the Diversity pillar of Technology, Data & Innovations People Strategy. She has supported women in technology by championing inclusion and educating staff about how to work inclusively. She created a new regular employee-led cross-division speaker series sharing tips on how to make meetings inclusive & having inclusive conversations. She is also raising awareness of violence against women through employee-led events, promoting allyship, and inspiring colleagues, especially male colleagues, to become active bystanders, challenge peer culture & support survivors.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Andrew Eisen

SVP, Head of S&P Market Intelligence Software Solutions
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 and the leadership team launched three new Women’s Career Development and Retention programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching. In addition to directly mentoring 10 women, Andrew has also placed a focus on building recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona. In 2021-22, IHS Markit (now S&P Global) has seen a significant increase in female promotions at the VP level and SVP level. 2022 is also seeing an increase in female hires, specifically in the intern program that reached an all-time high of female representation. These outcomes have received public recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, the Rewards & Benefits Association and Forbes’ list of America's Best Employers for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ajoy Menon

Senior Managing Director, Cloud First Lead, Advanced Centers in India, Accenture
Accenture

As the Cloud First Lead at ATCI, Ajoy is committed to helping women achieve their full potential by conceptualizing, sponsoring, and driving programs for maximum impact. Previously, as the lead for the largest ATCI market, Ajoy drove the diversity ratio to 48.3% (2% above ATCI average) and it further increased to 50% in 2022. His notable contribution as a program sponsor sees Ajoy conceptualize the Cloud Career program to help women technologists transform their careers and create the Cloud X Hackathon event. With over 7,000 participants, 4,000 entries, and 136+ prototypes, the event generated ideas for an Accessible & Inclusive Environment. In addition, Ajoy has been building tech expertise with the Go-Higher hackathon, which has helped 500+ women at AM level and above build a brand of knowledge through hands-on cloud learning and an innovation contest. Furthermore, he has enabled PwDs – a Sign language training for 190 people, of which 126 are now certified, and the #Horizon>Together mentoring program for PwDs.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Burcin Ressamoglu

CEO
Sodexo Engage

Burcin has been a member of Sodexo's global women advisory board (SoTogether) since 2017. The board sponsors inclusion and gender balance initiatives in the company and partners with local NGOs to advance women's representation. She collaborates with Sodexo leadership teams on HR processes, the embedding of DE&I strategy, and how to improve the measure of KPIs. Burcin is also a mentor to women in Sodexo and across the world, encouraging and advising them on building their careers through Sodexo Together initiatives. Her commitment to gender equality and inclusion has resulted in 59% of the management community and 45% of the senior leadership community in Sodexo being represented by women. Furthermore, in 2022, the company was awarded an Investors in People Gold Award – a recognition that only 17% of firms achieve. Additionally, Burcin is part of several NGOs leading on gender equality and actively mentoring young Turkish women through TurkishWIN, a global community of women with cultural, professional, or family ties to Turkey

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dipi McKernan

Chief Operating Officer, Fidelity Holdings Limited, Global Head of First Line Risk and Regulatory Solutions
Fidelity International

For over a decade Dipi has passionately championed D&I in the financial services sector at a senior level. Within Fidelity she is an Executive Board member, sits on Fidelity’s Global D&I Leadership Council and is Executive Co-Sponsor of Fidelity’s Social Mobility Strand. She is also a role model and mentor, particularly to women in the industry and has contributed to the City Hive mentoring programme and The Investment Association’s Investment20/20 programme. Dipi is also a Director and Steering Group Member of “Progress Together” – a membership body that drives socio-economic diversity at senior levels across UK financial services. Chosen to be part of a group of 30 industry leaders - she was instrumental in the development of Progress Together - promoting social mobility across the UK financial and professional services sector. In 2022, she received the Freedom of the City of London in recognition for her exceptional contribution to the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Brown

Partner, Financial Services
Oliver Wyman

Catherine’s leadership priorities at Oliver Wyman Australia focus on upholding its unique culture and values. During her time in Australia, the company jumped to #5 in "Most Prestigious Consulting Firms in Asia Pacific" in the 2022 Vault rankings, and the Australian office has been certified as a Family Inclusive Workplace. She has helped increase women hired by 11% since May 2021. In 2016 she pioneered Oliver Wyman’s European BOOST program, which provides sponsorship and support for individuals taking parental leave. In 2021 she introduced BOOST in Australia, with a 100% success rate to date. She is a mentor to over 25 incredibly talented women, and a senior stakeholder for Women of Oliver Wyman. She has been a sponsor of the company's Inspiring Leaders program since 2015. In addition, through her pro-bono work she supports organisations that promote gender diversity. Her motivation: I would rather women don’t have to think about it.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Erin Platts

Head of EMEA & President of the UK Branch
Silicon Valley Bank

Erin has been Executive Sponsor for SVB’s global gender network since 2021 and established a local EMEA chapter in 2022. Five years ago, she created the first EMEA women's network and under her leadership the team implemented significant enhancements to the company’s family-friendly policies by extending enhanced pay for maternity, shared parental and adoption leave from 12 to 30 weeks; making it available from day 1 of employment. In addition, introducing 'Special Parental Leave' that provides any FTE 12 weeks fully paid. Her commitment to women’s inclusion has seen her exceeding internal targets to achieve 50% women in senior leadership hires and promotions. She mentors and sponsors numerous women, internally and externally. Erin's ambition is to dramatically increase the number of women and other overlooked talent in the innovation ecosystem and to create an environment where all people can thrive, build with purpose, and bring their authentic selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rhonda Taylor

Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Dollar General Corporation

Rhonda has leadership responsibility for legal, risk management, public relations, government affairs, global compliance, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy, and internal audit. As one of three female C-suite leaders at the Fortune #106 company, she values diversity and inclusion as well as the mentorship and development of all talent. Rhonda mentors several individuals, both formally and informally, connecting one-on-one with future leaders of the Company and offering counsel and advice. She also is a mentor to her team, leading by example as a good business partner while proudly celebrating the accomplishments and successes of her colleagues. She also helps spearhead D&I efforts at Dollar General to guide and support the Company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, mission and goals. Additionally, Rhonda is a member of the Women's Professional Network Employee Resource Group, which strives to cultivate and further inclusivity and empowerment through networking, leadership, educational opportunities, and experiences.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anissa Dhouibi

Managing Director, Global Head of Equities Quantitative Analysis
Citi

Since joining Citi, Anissa has been actively involved in increasing women’s representation in Markets, particularly in MQA (Markets Quantitative Analysis), an area of Wall Street in which women are traditionally underrepresented. At Citi, women's representation in Anissa’s group has meaningfully increased since she joined. She is also an MD sponsor for RISE, the women’s affinity network in Markets North America. The group organizes events ranging from mentoring, speaker series with women leaders, product teach-ins roundtable discussions, and regular networking events for women. Additionally, Anissa is a mentor to several junior women in Markets and a regular speaker and organizer of networking and career advancement events for women and has been a regular mentor also with Streetwise Partners for multiple years. She was one of the mentors in their first women-only mentorship program aimed at providing unemployed or underemployed women with professional mentorship, skills, resources, and access to networks they need to secure and maintain employment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tiffany Garland

U.S. Head of Sales, Rare Disease
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

As a founding member of Alnylam's Employee Resource Network (ERN) for women, iThrive, Tiffany engages leaders at Alnylam to promote gender diversity and strengthen career growth for staff through advocacy and mentorship. Outside her role as Head of Sales, she sits on the DE&I leadership team, a cross-functional, employee-driven group supporting internal DE&I objectives and workstreams. Tiffany works closely with the talent acquisition team to understand how they can refine their hiring process by developing internal talent and communications and recruitment guidelines for gender diversity. In addition, she is an ambassador and an active participant in the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA). This women-run organization furthers the advancement of women in health care globally. She is also a member of her local chapter of the National Sales Network (NSN), a national non-profit focused on supporting the professional development of sales professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Woods

Head of International Disputes - Europe
Vinson & Elkins

Louise is the president of Arbitral Women and is the office lead for the Women's Initiative (WI) at Vinson & Elkins, placing her at the forefront of the WI's activities in London. Her responsibilities have included organizing internal skills training and client events; writing on the topic of diversity; spearheading a cross-office senior female networking and mentorship program; mentoring women colleagues herself both formally and informally; and acting as talent lead for her practice group. She is also the office lead for the Practice Group Talent/Diversity Team, a role which has seen her drive D&I efforts including a schools outreach mentoring program; internal training on topics such as implicit biases and DISC assessment; cultural and religious celebrations; and a London office Book Club to discuss race and gender issues. Together with Human Resources and graduate recruitment teams Louise has worked to ensure the diverse hiring, retention and promotion of lawyers at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jacquie Van der Veur

Senior Manager, Communications
VMLY&R

Jacquie is co-chair of Lumina, an internal employee resource group for those who identify as women, that creates an environment where all people are valued and treated equally. It promotes engagement in policy creation, forward-moving education, opportunities to connect, personal development, professional recognition, and support. In March 2022, Jacquie spearheaded a movement to change VMLY&R's bereavement policy to allow for pregnancy loss to be included and available for both parents to use. In 2022, Jacquie has been an outspoken voice for gender diversity and women's inclusion. In March, she was a speaker on a panel about "Motherhood and Bias," and in May, she assisted in running multiple panels about Reproductive Healthcare. The sessions, available for all U.S. agency employees, provided 650-plus attendees with education and a safe space to share concerns about the leaked supreme court ruling.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dharma Laloobhai

Head of EMEA ETF Portfolio Management
BlackRock

As a member of the Women In Investments EMEA Committee, Dharma partnered with the global sponsor to launch the APAC (2021) and AMRS (2022) chapters which have the primary objective to retain women investors, grow careers and facilitate networks. Some examples are several panels in the past two years two of which Dharma hosted, including one on Internal Mobility and another on the Women Development Programs. Dharma also partnered with WIN Japan to launch the WIN for Men initiative after co-leading this for EMEA in 2018. She also co-led the ‘Taking the Stage’ program in 2019. Furthermore, she directly and indirectly always contributed to promotions for women through mentorship and sponsorship and, in the past two years, appointed several women team leaders. Outside of her firm, Dharma has served as a mentor on the Migrant Leaders Mentoring Program and CityHive Mentoring, launched on the back of the #TalkAboutBlack campaign.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Chief Administrative Officer
State Street

Marion strongly believes in the power of education and visibility when it comes to making the workplace more inclusive. She therefore acts as a role model for LGBTQI+ women, regularly appearing on panels to discuss the specific issues faced by this part of the LGBTQI+ community in the workplace. This has included featuring on the EUROUT Conference’s “Corporate activism: the second full-time job” panel and the LBTQIA Women’s Visibility in Business conference organized in Gdansk, Poland in November 2021. In 2019, Marion founded Women of Interbank, a women’s group within Interbank, the network of LGBT+ networks for financial services firms in the UK. In this framework, she regularly organises educational and networking events with a view to increase women representation and visibility within the network and ensure there is a safe space for LGBTQI+ women in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Molly Gray

Senior Account Executive
FiscalNote

Every day Molly meets with companies to help them report on their DEI initiatives and ESG goals. She also supports them in tracking the diversity of women on their board, the diversity of their suppliers, their governance policies, and labor practices. Molly strongly believes that companies must be focused and committed to reporting on, diversity, inclusiveness, and belonging within their organizations. She meets with global sustainability leaders, ESG directors, DEI officers, and inclusion directors to help track the great work they are responsible and accountable for, so they can report on what they are doing to create an inclusive culture and company. Additionally, from 2020 to 2021, Molly was a volunteer coach and mentored for Girls on the Run for girls from 3rd - 5th grade.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christian Kinnear

Chief Sales Officer
HubSpot

Christian Kinnear is the Chief Sales Officer of HubSpot, where he leads the company’s global sales strategy and organization across North America, Latin America, EMEA and JAPAC. Since joining HubSpot in 2016, under his leadership, HubSpot expanded its footprint with global operations in Ireland, Germany, France, UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Christian has also been instrumental in building HubSpot’s award-winning culture, championing various global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging efforts

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Naoto Kubo

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Naoto is Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and has been responsible for hiring women talent for the Japan office. He has conducted several events for women to expand the candidate pool and join BCG to increase gender balance within the firm. Naoto is a core member of BCG's Financial Institutions, People, and Organization practices. He has worked closely with clients, mainly in financial services, and much of his work involves development of corporate and business strategies, transformation, group management, digital transformation, and post-merger integration.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global Chief Executive Officer
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is the Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, a network built to inspire growth for ambitious brands. She oversees 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets.A catalyst for business transformation, Mel is recognized as a leader with a proven record of helping marketers anticipate and navigate change. At WPP, Mel successfully led the global brand transition to Wunderman Thompson whilst continuing to expand the agency’s client relationships with Ford, HSBC, Microsoft, Nestle, Pfizer, Unilever, and more. Most recently new clients have included The Coca-Cola Company, Snap and Kyndryl. Mel is recognized as one of the most influential people in digital marketing and advertising, having been featured in Campaign’s A-List, The Drum’s Digerati, HERoes Women Role Models, and Ad Age’s European Women to Watch.Mel currently lives in London with her husband, Rich, and her two teenage children, Honor and Mack.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

CEO
Bank of Ireland

At Bank of Ireland Francesca set D&I targets to achieve a 50:50 gender balance in management and leadership appointments and introduced dedicated female accelerator and development programmes . In 2021 the percentage of women represented in senior appointments was 45%, up from 38% in 2017, and by H4 2021 this figure had risen to 51%. Under Francesca’s leadership a number of initiatives were introduced including a policy whereby colleagues having a baby via a surrogate can take paid leave in line with maternity benefits; a Recruitment Charter for hiring diverse talent; and a domestic abuse leave policy providing a range of supports to colleagues who may be experiencing domestic abuse. Additionally, Bank of Ireland is the only Irish bank to proactively publish their Gender Pay Gap Report ahead of legislation, and during the pandemic colleagues unable to work due to childcare and caring commitments continued to receive a full salary.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Apiramy Jeyarajah

Co-founder of the Intersectionality workstream at the Diversity Project & Head of UK Wholesale Aviva Investors
Aviva Investors

As co-founder of the intersectionality workstream at the Diversity project, Member of the Inclusion Steering Committee at Aviva Investors, Mentor to women, Apiramy consistently and tirelessly works to drive DEI within the company and the industry. She challenges outdated business practises to contribute to creating a more gender-balanced company. She drives discussions on how Aviva can create a culture of belonging for all to thrive and has helped implement Inclusive leadership approaches within organisations to focus on getting middle managers on the inclusion journey to flex their management style to the individual in their teams. Apiramy’s goal is to create a culture of "add," not "fit," and a leadership team and style that has, at its core, empathy and curiosity for its employees. She is keen to inspire the next generation into work, pass on the knowledge to navigate the industry, and empower others with the soft skills required to succeed.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Sweet Zavaglia

SVP & US General Counsel
National Grid

Keri is helping National Grid, The Energy Transition Company, implement its vision for a fossil-free future while delivering safe, reliable, and affordable service to its more than 7 million customers across New York and Massachusetts. Keri is committed to helping women thrive in the energy industry. She serves as the Executive Sponsor of National Grid's PRIDE Employee Resource Group- which advocates for, invests in, and sponsors LGBTQ+ employees to ensure everyone is treated fairly, respected, and empowered to achieve their full potential. Keri is a member and former Executive Sponsor of the Employee Resource Group WiNTR, focused on supporting women in field, engineering and technology roles. She has incorporated diversity metrics in personal and team objectives and promoted women to leadership roles. She has been a speaker for WiN, an ERG focused on supporting and sponsoring women in the organization, and a mentor through Executive Connections with the Alliance of Black Professionals ERG.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix

Chief Executive Officer
Canada Life UK

Throughout her career, Lindsey has been a passionate advocate of women's inclusion, whether through significant mentoring and support provided to women during all stages of their careers or through setting up dedicated accelerated leadership programs to broaden further and accelerate women's opportunities. As a CEO, Lindsey has been able to ensure Canada Life UK has committed to offering fully flexible working to all 1500 of its colleagues. Additionally, she has put Family Friendly Policies under review to ensure that they have a robust D&I lens and has championed the rollout of Menopause support & guidance. Under her leadership, the company released an annual report to publicly set out Canada Life's commitment to reducing the pay gap and has committed to having 35% Women in Senior Leadership Roles by 2023. Lindsey is currently a key mentor to several women looking to achieve senior executive positions in financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Meyseng SE TCHAO

Head of Future Vehicle and Mobility Services - Vice President at DEKRA
DEKRA

With a background of over 20 years in the Automotive industry, Meyseng considers it a part of her mission to mentor and sponsor the next generation of women in the workplace, providing confidence and opportunities for their own journeys. She is taking part in two Mentorship programs for women, one at DEKRA and one for the WAVE (women and vehicles in Europe) association. With another colleague, she created a small initiative called Women Circle @DEKRA aiming to promote gender diversity within the company. Furthermore, she strongly supported an HR initiative to create a dedicated budget for salary equality in France that has been in place for a few years. Outside of DEKRA, she is also an active member of the Lean-In Network. She is known within her team and peers as a woman who stands up for other women and dares to speak out for women’s equality and gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Diana Velarde

Delivering Deal Value Director
PwC Mexico

In addition to her commercial role, she is also the Director of the Firm's first D&I Staff Council. As part of her work within the council, she leads the gender inclusion efforts to reduce gaps, stereotypes, and unconscious bias both inside the Firm and within our process, through conversations with senior leaders. She promotes initiatives to support women who suffer, or are at risk of suffering, any forms of gender-based violence by providing tools and a support network. Diana co-founded the Deals Women Network (DWN), which promotes networking and skills development for women. Another program she co-founded was Women in Mergers & Acquisitions Consulting. Her involvement in this project includes speaking in online forums focused on inviting female students and graduates to apply to Deals' open positions.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Senior Vice President (SVP)
Silicon Valley Bank

Catherine is a strong advocate for DE&I and this year Co-Founded SVB’s first EMEA Gender Employee Resource Group (ERG), engaging with over 500 colleagues to drive change towards a gender-balanced, inclusive and equitable workplace. Alongside Senior Leadership, Catherine led the launch of 6 Gender-ERG working-groups: Talent, Inclusion, Ecosystem, Working-Families, Comms/Events and Allyship, with KPIs aimed at moving the needle for female senior leadership representation to 50% by 2030. She also collaborates on cross-ERG initiatives to improve representation, beyond just gender. For IWD, Catherine chaired multiple NPS leading internal & public events to over 400 people, promoting gender equality among clients/employees in the Finance & Technology Sectors. Catherine is Founder of The Women in Business Society, a free global community serving over 1000 women, providing opportunities to share knowledge, network & create connections. She also mentors women and delivers masterclasses in addition to publishing a monthly magazine including professional development resources.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Gould

Head of PR and Campaigns
NOW: Pensions

Samantha has DEI at her core, and she is a member of several groups, including the Diversity Project and internal D&I Steering Committee and the Working Parents And Carers Network, of which she is also the founder. In addition, Samantha is a member of the Pride network, Race and Culture network and Gender Inclusion Network. Since 2019, she has been campaigning to raise awareness of pension wealth inequality. She has produced four industry-leading reports since 2019, which have gained international media coverage, reaching an audience of 2 billion +. For years, Samantha has been promoting DEI activities within and outside of her organization and pushing to create greater equality for all. As a recently qualified financial adviser, Samantha is passionate about helping women to understand their pension gaps and how they might close them to reach their retirement goals.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hadia Sheerazi

Program Manager Carbon Management Research Initiative
Center on Global Energy Policy

As an interdisciplinary researcher and practitioner, Hadia has been an active proponent of mainstreaming gender-equity and social justice in climate action, sustainability and national disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy-making, and highlighting the lived experiences of women and minorities on the front lines of energy poverty and climate change in academic research and flagship reports. Most recently, Hadia was one of 10 employees at Columbia University selected to help search for Columbia Climate School’s first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Bias who will play an instrumental role in shaping the DEIA culture and influence key hiring decisions at this new school. Hadia has also served as an Ambassador for Girl Rising, was named a "Global Champion for Women's Economic Empowerment" by UN Women’s EmpowerWomen team, and invited to the first United State of Women Summit by The White House Council on Women and Girls as a "Nominated Changemaker."

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Richa Pathak

Group Vice President
Avigna Group

At Larsen and Toubro, Richa supported the CSR's activities surrounding both internal and external communications and also had a crucial role in devising programs such as Digital Sakhi (for women) for the company on financial inclusion to people at the grassroots levels. Richa has always been an active speaker. She was invited as a guest speaker for the national conference organized by We Citizen Foundation on Girls' education and leadership under the aegis of the Government of India, on the topic "How Laws, Security and Safety can impact girl education?". She was also a speaker at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal to speak on 'Role of GC in corporate governance and beyond…' specifically targeting the inclusion of women on board. Richa also has worked for the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in a pro-bono legal aid capacity, helping underrepresented and underprivileged women to understand their fundamental rights.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jess Gosling

Senior Innovation Policy Advisor
UK Government

Jess has used her diversity and inclusion ambassador role to recognize the intersectionality of culture and gender across the British Government. She was responsible for organizing the rollout to over 400 colleagues across the Government of the #IAmRemarkable training, a Google initiative encouraging women to speak openly about their accomplishments. She has also supported broader D&I practices by volunteering to be on recruitment panels at all levels, ensuring that a diverse and inclusive culture was being realized across a number of Departments. Through utilizing a positive, proactive, and solution-focused view, Jessica has also managed to commit to several pro-bono initiatives in her spare time, including launching both, The Standard Brain, a platform designed to challenge the perceptions faced by under-represented groups around self-promotion, unconscious biases and imposter syndrome and Yogi Bants, a global community changing the narrative of inclusion in wellness with laughter.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Malcolm Palmer

Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services
Fidelity International

As the Accountable Executive for the UK Women in Finance Charter, Malcolm supervises the company’s progress toward achieving gender balance targets: going from 29.4% women in senior roles and 53% women in the overall workforce in April 2022 to 27% and 52% respectively in April 2021. He is also Chair of the COO ISS D&I Working group - championing all aspects of diversity within his business area and encouraging leaders to take accountability and ownership towards improving diversity and inclusion. Malcolm is actively engaged with the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint creation and communication as well as a member of the Taskforce. Blueprint is an industry-first blueprint to accelerate gender diversity across financial services. He is an active mentor. Additionally, he was a keynote speaker for Fidelity's internal celebration event for featuring on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women List 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Omar Boulos

Senior Managing Director - Resources Industries US South
Accenture

For Omar, DEI is at the heart of everything he does and is crucial for the company's success. In early 2021, he shaped and implemented the "New Business DEI Initiative" that reviews the gender and ethnic diversity of team structures in proposed work to embed DEI into the fabric of the business he leads. The initiative is increasing opportunities for the firm’s diverse workforce, helping them to progress with their career. Since the initiative began, 242 programs have been reviewed, triggering 46 deep dives with leaders to either re-shape the teams immediately or identify actions to correct them in the immediate future. Additionally, he made sure that this initiative became a pre-requisite to any new business being discussed for approval and a mandatory approval step in the management process. Omar also actively mentors and sponsors women at all levels in his business and across Accenture, formally and informally, to grow their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Karen Blackett OBE

WPP U.K Country Manager & GroupM U.K CEO
WPP & GroupM

As the GroupM UK CEO and WPP UK Country Manager, Karen has launched the Visible Start Program, which has trained 300 midlife female returnees in digital media, and provided confidence building, soft skills, networking, and mentoring. Since 2020, she has supported a Sponsorship Program benefiting 30 Black and ethnically diverse employees and launched best-in-class mandatory DEI training on Allyship and Conscious Inclusion. In addition, she has been championing training for senior management in understanding all structures of oppression and helped build and launch the Inclusive Leadership Learning Experience to help mid-level managers foster a culture of belonging for their teams. As a result, WPP UK was named 9th best performer in FTSE100 gender diversity ranking in Senior Leadership and on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for transparency in gender data for four consecutive years. Karen is also a founding trustee of the Black Equity Organization; a new national Charity focused on dismantling systemic racism.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne Erni is the Chief People Officer at Audible where she leads the People and Places team, which comprises Human Resources, Workplace Real Estate and Facilities, and Newark neighborhood-making. Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘Impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. Anne is an internationally recognized thought leader on workplace innovation and a champion for equitable hiring and professional development practices.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Wesley LePatner

Global Chief Operating Officer, Core+; Chief Operating Officer, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT)
Blackstone

Wesley has served as Chair of Blackstone's Women's Initiative since 2019. Under her leadership, the Initiative has driven many programs focused on developing employees' careers, fostering connectivity across businesses, encouraging organic mentorship relationships, and helping shape Blackstone's recruiting strategy. Wesley also created the Working Parents initiative in the U.S. for the firm. She is a mentor and champion for other women and is deeply committed to hiring and retaining top women talent. Over the past few years, Blackstone has also evaluated its benefits to ensure they are comprehensive and competitive. The firm offers primary and secondary caregiver leave, adoption leave, phased back to work, fertility coverage, and backup childcare, to name a few. It also recently introduced family planning benefits for US employees, such as enhancing infertility benefits to include cryopreservation and extending primary caregiver leave to 20 weeks.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicolina Andall

Senior Corporate Counsel
Atlas Copco

Since 2020, Nicolina has been a member of the UK D&I committee and was spotlighted globally for her support for women and diversity within this global Nasdaq listed company. As one of the few diverse members of the senior leadership team at the top of the Holdings group within the UK, she is often approached to encourage and mentor those within the organization. Nicolina is involved with the rollout of the new mentoring program for young women at university to build an understanding of STEM careers and join the innovative global engineering sector. Furthermore, she is an Ambassador, presenter, and mentor for Women On Boards UK and sits on the Racial Equity Committee of International Women’s Forum UK. In 2022, they set up a mentoring scheme to link ethnic women with high-profile women leaders to help them on their senior leadership journeys.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arungalai Anbarasu

Chief Technology & Strategy Officer
Waygate Technologies

Arungalai is mother to a 7-year-old daughter, fierce gender-balance advocate and a member of the Women's Network Group within Baker Hughes, and she has been coaching and mentoring gender-diverse employees to succeed in their careers so that she can create more gender-diverse teams in a high-tech business. Arungalai has been promoting roles in STEM with school and university-level students and is a thought leader in Forbes Technology Council and on Gender Balance & Working Mothers. She was featured in the Top 100 Women in Technology Leaders by Technology Magazine in 2021, in the 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology by National Diversity Council in 2021, and in the 10 Most inspiring women leaders to follow in 2022 by Insights Success in 2022 & 40 under 40 by CDO Magazine in 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marie-Jeanne (MJ) Deverdun

CFO of Deutsche’s Investment Bank
Deutsche Bank

MJ joined the CFO team in 2019 and is responsible for business aligned activities including strategy and planning, performance management, resource allocation and management reporting. She is also the COO for Fixed Income and Currencies.Since joining Deutsche Bank in 2010 MJ has held a number of positions, starting in Risk running Credit Operations, moving to Portfolio Risk Management focusing on the optimisation of financial resources across CIB and holding various COO roles in Structured Finance, GCT and Fixed Income. MJ holds an MBA from Audencia Business School and is Mum to a six year old boy.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lexie Toorock

Marketing Associate
Bridgewater Associates

Lexie Toorock joined Bridgewater in 2012, and she is a relationship manager, focused on business development and sales, reporting directly to the co-Head of Client Service. Lexie is a founder of Bridgewater’s Diversity and Inclusion Council in Client Service, a member and early builder of Bridgewater’s Women’s Network, and a leader in the firm’s central DEI efforts. She has consistently mentored women and others throughout the firm, while also hosting various firmwide discussions on business and leadership. Beyond Bridgewater, she serves on the board of LSA Family Health Service, a nonprofit focused on assisting families and children by meeting their basic needs for food, healthcare, education, and a safe home, and she is a significant contributor to fundraising efforts and strategy for Grameen America, the largest microfinance nonprofit in the US. Lexie holds a B.S. in Strategic Management and Economics from Babson College.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending, Transaction Management and Mujeres al Mundo
HSBC Bank Argentina

Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating the economic inclusion and empowerment of women, based on four pillars: training and networking, mentoring, international connectivity and financial services. From 2021-to date, HSBC Argentina has disbursed US$350million in loans for women-led SMEs. Over 4,000 businesswomen/entrepreneurs have already signed up as part of MAM community, which has recently been expanded to Uruguay and Mexico, consolidating a regional strategy to unlock the potential of women’s market, highlighting the important role they play in the economy with a comprehensive proposition to help them thrive. For MAM, Melisa trained +125 relationship managers and developed an ambassadors network to embed gender perspective in the business. Melisa chaired Balance ERG for three years (2017-19), engaging +100 colleagues to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace. She is women’s mentor at Vital Voices and Cherie Blair Foundation and member of DEI committee at BritCham.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy Consulting

As one of the few high-profile women of color at Oglivy Shelina plays an active role in pushing the company’s D&I agenda, sitting on the Inclusion boards of both Oglivy and WPP. As well as chairing key public and internal sessions, such as industry discussions on unconscious bias and women, Shelina has represented Ogilvy at International Women's Day events. In the past she has hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme, and today she mentors junior talent herself with a focus on women and women of color. She is the bestselling author of the memoir Love in a Headscarf about her experiences as a Muslim woman. Her children’s book debut was ‘The Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams’. In May 2022 she published “BeYOUtiful” an illustrated book for empowering girls to understand what it means to be beautiful and to decide for themselves.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Daniela Gauntlett

Learning & Development Manager, GroupM University
GroupM

For the past two years, Daniela has been the Chair of GEN GroupM's gender ERG and has worked with fellow ERG Unite, representing LGBT+ employeed to raise awareness of gender diversity, including trans and nonbinary. She also has been supporting the Visible Start returners program that welcomed 45+ women from diverse backgrounds back into work or a first career. She is currently working with two of these women in her team. Daniela will continue to champion the program, work on the launch of the next iteration and serve as an ally to challenge ageist attitudes and those against parents, carers, and disabled people, to create opportunities for those underrepresented in the industry. Daniela also pitched and designed a Listening Project, qualitative 1-on-1 interviews providing insight on barriers to gender parity, and the annual WPP Belonging Survey data, which provides key insights. Furthermore, Daniela is a member of the Bloom women's network as a mentee, enabling her with confidence, gravitas, and the skills to build a network of allies to push for gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tejal Shah

Head, HR Strategy and Transformation
Kantar

Tejal chairs the Women at Kantar ERG globally which she re-launched on International Women’s Day in 2022 with a “Disruption Talk” on Breaking the Bias and spotlighting employees who were breaking the bias at Kantar. She has developed the Women at Kantar strategy focusing on promoting gender equality in the workplace and building an inclusive community of women and allies by creating safe spaces for sharing experiences and learnings to help create an environment where women are comfortable bringing their whole self to work. Women at Kantar now has 750 members with chapters for Women in Tech and Women in Retail. Tejal is passionate about hardwiring positive change into Kantar’s DNA to improve its workplace for women through increasing data transparency to bring more impactful focus and providing input on people policies to ensure they are inclusive. Tejal mentors underrepresented minorities inside and outside work helping them realise their full potential.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanna Haslam

Design Director
Snap Finger Click

Joanna takes an active role in recruitment, ensuring job adverts appeal to a diverse audience. As a result, Snap Finger Click is 40% women, well above average in Technology. At Snap Finger Click, they create games designed to appeal to a diverse audience outside of hardcore gamers; Joanna is responsible for the design of these games. When she arrived at the company in 2017, she helped create a flexible working policy so that staff could work from home, choose their hours, and choose to work part-time. This new policy benefits, especially parents. Joanna promotes Limit Break, a mentorship for underrepresented groups (including women), to the staff and encourages them to apply as mentors and mentees and has been a mentor herself since 2020. Furthermore, she has worked with the social media manager to create content promoting the work of women employees and dispelling myths about women in games.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jon Holt

Chief Executive
KPMG UK

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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Bank PLC and HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is a passionate supporter of driving gender diversity and inclusion. She strongly supports the creation of a nurturing and sustainable inclusive culture, where differences are acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged. This helps individuals thrive, supports innovation and makes the organisation a better workplace. Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor of HSBC Balance (an Employee Resource Group promoting gender diversity with over 50,000 members across 48 countries) and HSBC Digital Business Services (DBS) on 'Inclusive Culture’. Terecina also sponsors #Inclusive Europe, an Employee Resource Group covering over 10,000 colleagues across 21 countries. Alongside sponsoring female talent under HSBC’s talent programmes, Terecina also mentors colleagues around the world and participated in various external events in Europe and Asia supporting wider female talent growth in the community.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Johnson

Group General Counsel
London Stock Exchange Group

As Executive Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion and chair of LSEG’s D&I Working Group, Catherine brings together leaders who own, drive and oversee change within their business units and regions. In her collaboration and overarching leadership of the LSEG Inclusion Networks, Catherine's focus on diverse female talent drives these networks' realignment and overall strategy to increase awareness and allyship. Catherine’s consistent visible leadership and promotion of internal activities and events in support of LSEG Inclusion Networks that represent diverse groups and talent are evident in her attendance, promotion, and speaking engagements at specific activities such as International Women's Day – No Woman Left Behind panel discussion, which discussed how to drive genuinely equitable opportunity for all women, across all backgrounds and demographics. She accelerated the progression of underrepresented talent by launching Women's Mentoring Circles in collaboration with LSEG's Women Inspired Network, and in 2020, she spearheaded LSEG's reverse mentoring program for black colleagues and senior leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

In addition to her main job, Nadjia chairs DE&I for BCG's largest region covering Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. She oversees the regional networks: Women@BCG, Pride@BCG, Accessibility, and Ethnic & Cultural Diversity with a focus on gender, driving the mission internally to step-change BCG gender diversity, especially women’s representation, particularly at senior levels across the region. Nadjia has been driving the change across Recruiting, Sponsorship; Career Support, Bonding; Policies, and External Engagement. She has ensured the company’s policies have maintained equal retention rates of men and women across cohorts, resulting in a 10% increase in the number of junior female consultants in the last two years and this year, a 5% increase in experienced women hires. Nadjia's involvement with DEI goes beyond BCG by being a Trustee of the charity Women for Women International UK, which helps women affected by war and conflict to rebuild their lives and communities through a holistic curriculum of social and economic empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Head of Preferred Lending
Bank of America

At work and in her communities, Shim is a tireless advocate advancing women’s careers, mentoring and developing women leaders, and working to dismantle barriers built by unconscious bias. She is often invited to speak at various forums, panels and events, and has served as a keynote speaker addressing global audiences on the topic of inclusion and empowerment of women. She is an executive sponsor for Bank of America’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy & Development for Women employee network, with 44,000 members in 25 countries. She is founder of the company’s Consumer Investments Women’s Forum and founder and executive sponsor of the Preferred Banking Executive Women’s Forum, bringing together executive women and providing them exposure to education, expansion and advancement opportunities. She has been named to the 2022 and 2020 EMpower Top 100 Executives Role Model list, and the 2021 and 2020 “INDIA New England News” list of Outstanding Women.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Louise Prashad

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Louise was appointed Chief HR Officer in January 2022 and is the Executive member responsible for the design and implementation of Diageo's Inclusion and Diversity strategy. In her previous role as Global Talent Director, Louise led the creation of Diageo's Thriving Through Menopause guidelines in 2021 to raise awareness and understanding of menopause throughout the business. The guidelines are live in over 40 countries and in June, Louise championed Diageo to become the first global company to make the balance+ menopause app available to all employees. Under Louise's leadership as Global Talent Director, she helped to foster a culture with inclusion and diversity at its heart and developed Diageo's approach to talent development and acquisition. During her time in this role, she worked to drive the representation of women in leadership roles from 28% in 2016 to 42% in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Gretchen Berlin

Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company

Gretchen has been the co-lead of McKinsey’s DEI efforts in North America in an official capacity since October 2021 and previously for the Mid-Atlantic office. She launched the Women and Families initiative to drive an integrated effort on gender equity across multiple dimensions. Gretchen also advocated for improvements to the parental leave and return from leave re-boarding programs, resulting in an enhanced offering designed in a manner inclusive of all family structures/types. In her career at McKinsey, she has always been very committed to people leadership and passionate about being an ally and sponsor for all under-represented colleagues.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farrah Ekeroth

Head of Employer Brand
EY

For over two years, Farrah, alongside her day job, has served as Co-Chair of the EY Women's Network. In this role, she has led EY's largest ERG with 3,500+ members across 25 UK locations. She co-leads a team of volunteers to accelerate gender parity at EY through various initiatives with 70+ events delivered in the last two years covering body positivity, intersectionality, everyday sexism, allyship, and menopause topics. The network also runs a Conversation Series with women role models across the firm in fireside chats. She has led EY's International Women's Day celebrations for the last two years. In addition, Farrah hosted, developed, and led EY's largest IWD Awards to date, receiving a record-breaking 600 nominations across the firm celebrating women role models and allies. Furthermore, Farrah launched EY's EMEIA Women in Technology Program with the United Nations to mark International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carol Fergus

Director, Global Travel, Events and Ground Transportation
Fidelity International

In 2021, Carol developed and launched a certificate-accredited two-year apprenticeship scheme for young adults from minority groups, collaborating with Fidelity suppliers within the Corporate Property Services (CPS) business area. She is proactively involved in promoting intersectional D&I within Fidelity and being a role model by supporting the Social Mobility strand and Cultural Diversity Network Focus Group. Carol has also been a panellist on various internal webinars on D&I topics, especially promoting and championing mental health and invisible illness inclusion, and Black History Month. Additionally, she has featured in the internal “Senior Leaders going back to Grassroots” campaign to promote diversity and inclusion in CPS. She is a TAMS Diversity Equity and Inclusion Advisor and founding member and Advisory Board member for LEVEL all Women's Travel network.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amal Khatib

Project Manager at Oliver Wyman Dubai
Oliver Wyman

Amal co-led Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW), the employee resource group for gender equity, at the India and Middle East office. In 2021, she led a team of 14 to organize a large program around International Women’s Day which lasted for 30 days and offered talks and discussions and semi-weekly newsletters. The program saw increased engagement compared to previous years, tripling the number of event attendees. Outside Oliver Wyman, Amal worked with Nama Women Advancement Establishment in the UAE. This included moderating two panel discussions on business and entrepreneurship, coaching upcoming Emirati women entrepreneurs, and delivering workshops on business ideation to 200+ women. Amal’s first work on gender was creating a dance installation around gender roles which she performed at the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival 2012. Amal’s inspiration is her mother, who dedicated her life to support women in Palestine and is working relentlessly to champion women in legislation and society

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Natasha Pinto

Manager, Culture and Wellbeing | Global Co-Lead - LSEG Accessibility Network
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)

Natasha is a strong advocate of Diversity & Inclusion and is involved in enabling, supporting, and promoting a disability-inclusive environment. She has been invited to speak at several industry events to share best practices, and has advised many corporates, NGOs and individuals, focusing on redefining, and breaking stereotypical mindsets of what the disabled community can achieve. She initiated and rolled out a people leaders handbook to creating a disability inclusive workplace. She has played a significant role in contributing towards the wellbeing of the disabled community through many inclusive initiatives, such as ensuring subtitles in global corporate videos as well as focusing on digital and physical accessibility. Natasha received the prestigious NCPEDP-Mindtree Helen Keller Award-2021 and was a Finalist for the D&I Champion of Change Award-2020 by Community Business. She was a speaker at FICCI -Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Innovation Summit,2022, focusing on creating diversity in organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Allison Wolf

Senior Associate, Invention+
Mindshare

Allison is the U.S. communications lead for Mindshare Collective, an employee group that drives intersectional diversity within Mindshare and clients' media plans, with identity groups including the LGBT+ community, women, Latinx, and more. She drives numerous events year-round in partnership with media companies like Paramount and senior leaders that highlight women/minority voices and create a sense of belonging for people at Mindshare. Allison also worked on the launch of Mindshare's Latinx private marketplace that drives clients' ad dollars to support the voices of Hispanic & Latinx journalists and content creators across the U.S. She was instrumental in working with media vendors and Mindshare's programmatic & planning teams to create a catalog of sites that prioritize and amplify LatinX journalism. Thanks to Allison's work, thousands of dollars were donated to nonprofits that support women and other marginalized communities on behalf of Mindshare.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Adelle Wainwright

Regulatory Policy Manager
National Grid (Electricity System Operator)

Adelle is passionate about creating an environment of belonging at National Grid. She has been part of the Women in National Grid (WiNG) leadership team since 2019, helping the ERG grow to serve its 900 members. She now co-Chairs the group leading 50 diverse volunteers to challenge stereotypes and promote equal opportunities for female professional development and personal success. Through her roles in WiNG she has enabled support for the female talent pipeline through launch of WiNG’s mentoring programme, a development planning support package, leadership talks, networking opportunities, and professional qualification events. She also mentors a diverse group of women and advocates for inclusion in the organisation. Her work enables WiNG’s inspiring events and social media campaigns for key celebrations including International Women’s and International Men's Day, alongside targeted campaigns including a series on gender-based violence and a newly launched menopause initiative, helping colleagues bring their whole selves to work.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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John Rohde

CEO, RES Americas
RES (Renewable Energy Systems)

John believes all women are supported in the work environment, and one of the first things he did as CEO of the Americas was to sign RES up to the Business Coalition for the Equality Act. He has supported the LGBT+ network in implementing the gender affirmation policy and creating a workplace ally guidance document. On his leadership team, he has increased diversity from one female to three within his first nine months of work. This Pride Month, the company’s Americas head office is attending Denver Pride for the first time and has arranged for trans speakers in the UK and Australian head office. Globally the firm is also reviewing its HR processes, including recruitment and career progression, to ensure there are no barriers to advancement for those from underrepresented groups, including women and non-binary people. John advocates for DEI by joining panels and organizations and by speaking publicly about DEI to try and influence everyone to do more.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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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, such as the recently appointed COO for Continental Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Bina Mehta MBE

Chair
KPMG UK

In 2021, Bina was appointed KPMG UK’s first female chair in its 150-year history. As well as chairing KPMG’s UK Board, Bina also chairs the firm’s Inclusive Leadership Board, a forum for independent experts to provide challenge to ensure the organisation is embedding inclusion, diversity and equity within the business strategy. She uses her prominent role to champion the need for organisations to create inclusive, supportive, and diverse cultures that enable people from all backgrounds to thrive. Bina won the Hammer Award at the 2022 GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, awarded to an individual who has broken through the glass ceiling, and was awarded an MBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours list for supporting female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Robyn Grew

Global COO & GC, Head of ESG, Head of Man Group US
Man Group

Robyn leads ‘Drive’, Man Group's global DE&I network, and chairs its Steering Committee, overseeing Man Group's DE&I activity globally. She is the senior executive sponsor of Man Group's BEAM (Black employees and allies) and PRIDE (LGBT+) employee networks and has been driving "Paving the Way," the firm’s campaign to diversify the "pipeline" and encourage a broader range of talent, especially women, to enter the company and industry. Alongside the CEO, Robyn led Man Group's signing of the Women in Finance Charter and has been working to meet the targets set by this. Man Group now has 56% women representation on its board. She spearheaded the inclusion of gender pronouns across WorkDay, Slack and emails and has been leading HR and Talent in Diversity-focused recruitment, graduate engagement policies, and initiatives. Furthermore, she championed a Women Returners program, which helps highly-skilled women return to the workforce following a career break, and also worked on expanding the firm’s mentoring program to include peer mentoring through the "Power of 10" program, which is led by Robyn and other women from the Executive Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachael Asonibare

Chief Information Officer
Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria & West Africa

Rachael Asonibare is the Chief Information Officer for Nigeria and West Africa at Standard Chartered Bank. Rachael is an advocate for employee development, and she is an active member of the Bank’s Network of Women (NOW). She champions an annual awareness program on health, wellness and fitness. She is a career mentor to several women both in and outside of the Bank and is committed to helping them upskill their capabilities to take advantage of the new evolving professional roles within the professional industry. Racheal is passionate about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially on education and the empowerment of women and youths. Most recently, she sponsored a CSR program on Climate Change to create awareness and enable the behavioural and societal support required for the achieving the global net zero agenda. Rachael consistently works towards inspiring young girls in Information Technology and Cybersecurity through ELICIT, an NGO she co-founded.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Arnold

Regional Head of Learning, UK & EMEA
GroupM UK Ltd

Sandra has been an active ally and advocate of women’s inclusion. Through the Visible Start women 45+ “returnship” program, she has supported the production and delivery of mid-life women returners training program, helping to build/rebuild confidence, learn new skills, and recognize and appreciate their existing transferable skills. The full program resulted in 20 women being hired within the Group, around a quarter of those into senior roles. Sandra also designed, developed, and launched an internal sponsorship program, requiring senior leaders to actively and intentionally advocate for and seek out the opportunity to grow and develop the careers of minority ethnic employees (60% women), resulting in 50% promotions overall (of which 60% were women). Additionally, she is a member and co-chair of Lifetimes (Generation) ERG promoting multi-generational workforce benefits with a particular focus on women 45+. Sandra organized numerous menopause lunch and learns, drop-in sessions, and set up a menopause champion group.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marjorie Dickman

Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer
BlackBerry Limited

Marjorie joined BlackBerry in 2020 as a corporate officer and the company's first Chief Government Affairs and Public Policy Officer, making her one of the few female Global Government Affairs/Public Policy C-suite leaders worldwide. As the top advisor to BlackBerry's Executive Chairman and CEO on worldwide government affairs and technical standards decisions, Marjorie has role-modeled gender diversity and women's inclusion across the company. She proactively endeavors to ensure that all voices and perspectives are considered in corporate decision-making and has mentored many women across the technology sector. Her multi-decade history of advocating for and mentoring women and promoting STEM education and careers for women has inspired an entire cohort of women (and men) at BlackBerry, who have joined Marjorie in promoting gender diversity and women's inclusion throughout the company and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Donna Milrod

Executive Vice President and Lead Acquisition Integration Executive for the Brown Brothers Harriman Investor Services Business Integration
State Street Corporation

Donna is a member of State Street's Professional Women's Network, an employee resource group (ERG) that focuses on networking, coaching, and professional development opportunities for women; and also of the State Street Management Committee, which serves as the company's most senior strategy and policy-making teams, including implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, Donna serves as a mentor in "Leading Women," a group of State Street's top female executives established to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization. Donna has a leadership role in State Street's 10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality, established in 2020 to help drive DEI issues both within the firm and beyond. As a Workstream Sponsor for Action #8: Representation Across the Industry, Donna and her team leverage partnerships across the industry and educational networks to advocate for industry representation and career opportunities for Black and Latinx talent, in addition to the creation of college and graduate internship programs designed to attract diverse talent to the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanja Velling

Senior Professional Support Lawyer
Slaughter and May

Since becoming the Gender Equality Network (GEN) Chair in 2017, the network has grown to over 100 members and organized various events. These include a panel consisting of four women partners discussing career journeys and the legal industry, co-hosted by Macfarlanes and NOTICED for International Women's Day (IWD), a talk by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi, authors of Taking Up Space: The Black Girl's Manifesto for Change, co-hosted by the Diverse Network in 2021 and a roundtable with Angela Darlington for IWD, co-hosted by the LGBTQ+ network, on workplace inclusion of lesbian and bi women. Tanja also organized the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that offered free breast examinations by a nurse and helped put together a podcast series for International Day of Families that shares the experiences of having children. She has also been mentoring with the 30% Club supporting mentees with career planning and the King's College Women in Law Society Mother-Daughter mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

Head of UK&I Chief Risk Office
AXA UK

Caroline chairs AXA’s Balance Network, which focuses on gender equality and supporting working families. Over 2 years, Caroline has supported the release of a Home School Hub, to support parents home-schooling their children during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the launch of a Women’s Wellbeing Hub, to provide a supportive resource for women and help educate those across the organisation. During this time, over 15 ‘People Like Me’ vlogs have been released, spotlighting those who don’t let prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. In addition, over 5 Virtual Speed Mentoring sessions have been run which connect mentees and mentors to have conversations around career progression, networking and interview skills. Caroline also supported with the update of the Menopause Policy and the creation of a Domestic Abuse Policy and Hub, with the aim of increasing awareness and creating a safe and supportive environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

EMEA Application Engineering Manager & North Europe STEM Champion
3M

Sarah initially trained in ballet until an inspirational teacher steered her towards a rewarding career in STEM, a story she recently shared in a TEDx talk entitled “Why we need STEM role models who are a bit less brilliant” which challenged the genius scientist stereotype. A Technical Manager at global science-based technology company, 3M, and working parent, Sarah is a role model and champion for diversity in STEM. She chairs the 3M EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum which has delivered #IAmRemarkable workshops to over 500 people and was recently appointed as North Europe STEM Champion enabling her to take her STEM volunteering to a new level and support 3M’s pledge to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025. A governor at Farnborough College of Technology, she was recognised as a ‘Rising Star in Education’ in the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2022.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Gill

Well Delivery Lead, Shearwater Asset
Shell UK Ltd.

Caroline is a role model because she tirelessly works to empower individuals within her team and the wider company. She leads by example to encourage an environment where there is trust, respect, and freedom of speech. Caroline always appreciates the diverse development needs of others, always looking for opportunities to elevate and recognize, whether through their work, through visibility and opportunities to present at internal or external meetings, or through award nominations for the team and individual members, ensuring everyone feels valued. She encourages flexible working for those with childcare commitments. She fosters a diverse and inclusive working environment, allowing team members to feel welcome, valued, and able to perform at their best. Caroline has been an active member of OEUK's Diversity and Inclusion Task group since 2019, which brings together senior leaders and D&I champions to promote and develop best practice within the energy industry.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lucy Straker

Deadly Weapons Protection and Political Violence underwriter
Beazley

Lucy founded Beazley Families Network and it’s committee to ensure working parents feel supported and empowered at Beazley both taking parental leave and successfully returning to the workforce. Following maternity leave she interviewed 40 women from across her company about their experiences around parental leave. Additionally, Lucy interviewed 10 external companies to ascertain what their internal protocols were and how Beazley compared. Using the initial research she then led a working group that identified a formal structure for pre and post-leave, designed internal communication plans, internal web pages, a parental handbook, a buddy system and manager training. She also set up the network and engaged with HR, D&I, and communications to ensure a minimum standard is adhered to. The whole process is accessible to all. In May 2022 she was able to present it to the executive committee and successfully got it formally agreed with an annual review signed off.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sinead Maxwell

EMEA Corporate Citizenship Program Manager
Fiserv

One of the ways Sinead has pushed to create an environment that celebrates inclusion in the workplace has been through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She is an active member or ally of all the ERGs in region and continuously looks for ways to support and promote them. The ERGs she is involved in include the LGBTQ Community UNITY, the Asian Leadership Council, the Women's Impact Network (WIN), the Young Professional Leadership Council and the Black Leadership Council. Together with some colleagues, Sinead is also leading an initiative to form groups across EMEA called Culture Circles, based on a tried and tested model first established in Ireland. The aim is to bring employees from all backgrounds together to network, have fun, celebrate different cultures and festivals and educate others along the way. Within the last 18 months five Culture Circles have been set up in office locations across EMEA under Sinead’s guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2022 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lou Maiuri

Chief Operating Officer
State Street Corporation

Since 2017, Lou has served as Executive Sponsor of State Street's Professional Women's Network, 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, who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices, Lou has made a number of female leadership appointments at the Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President levels. In 2020, the firm reached 30% female representation across leadership roles, and approximately 68% of promotions at Manager Director level and above were women. PWN initiatives Lou helped with in 2020 included authoring a blog on ‘Allyship and Equal Pay Day for Black Women’ and hosting an event focused on Women in IT.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Georg Beyer

Managing Director & Senior Partner and People Team Chair of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East
Boston Consulting Group

Under Georg’s leadership over the past 2 years, BCG has defined a clear business case as to why gender diversity is important for BCG, and has ensured that this is constantly communicated to leaders and to all staff. As well as setting goals on the hiring and retention of female talent, Georg and his team have stated their ambition to continue to advance BCG’s women representation in the region. The programs they have implemented include family support, extended paternity leaves, women leadership programs, and participation in external thought leadership publications. Georg personally oversees the retention and career progression of CEMA’s senior women including a strong focus on female share in succession planning for leadership roles. Alongside that commitment he also sponsors 14 senior women to ensure they are successful in advancing through the ranks, by making regular check in calls and advocating for them internally.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Kevin Hogarth

UK Chief People Officer
KPMG

In his role as Chief People Officer at KPMG Kevin has executive accountability for the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy and policies, and in this capacity has set clear expectations about the proportionality of all promotions, and the outcomes of performance reviews and reward processes. Since joining he has initiated a review to ensure that annual D&I targets and the associated plans are sufficiently stretching, and that KPMG are on target to achieve their publicly quoted gender targets. As well as requesting the organization develop more ambitious gender targets that go beyond current 2022 goals, Kevin has also required a D&I review of all new policies being implemented as part of the transition to hybrid working, to ensure there will be no adverse gender impact. He has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board since starting at the firm, and along with the CEO he sets the agenda for this group of external advisers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David Stone

Partner, Global Head of Intellectual Property
Allen & Overy

David is an active force in promoting D&I at A&O. In 2019, David established a Women in Intellectual Property initiative amongst partners and staff globally. The group, which David still sponsors, hosts events for women clients; runs CPE sessions with women-only speaker panels; encourages women to publish thought leadership; and promotes women's achievements within and outside the firm. As a result, lawyers at Allen & Overy have felt empowered to take the spotlight and talk on topical IP issues in front of clients and peers. The group also runs a mentoring program connecting female lawyers across offices and seniority levels, which benefits not just the junior staff but also the mentors, who gain valuable experience and insights. David was also responsible for organizing a study of the language used in quotes for legal directories. With the findings he published guidance on avoiding gendered language when providing feedback on barristers, which is now used across the firm’s London Litigation department.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Matthew Krentz

Managing Director and Senior Partner, Global DE&I and Leadership Chair
Boston Consulting Group

Matt is the DEI and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group. He is responsible for the firm’s global Women@BCG program whose purpose is to increase the recruitment, retention, advancement, and satisfaction of women. The program is focused on outreach, increased flexibility and mobility offerings, bias reduction, pipeline planning, and customized professional development. Under Matt’s leadership BCG has increased women as a percentage of entry level hires from 29% to 42% and has retained men and women at equal rates over the last eight years. The number of female Managing Director & Partners at the firm has also grown at three times the rate of male MDPs, resulting in the percentage of female MDP representation doubling since 2013. In order to support caregivers at BCG during the pandemic, Matt worked with his team to develop a flexible work model that has provided caregivers with a 70% salary while working at 60% capacity across all cohorts and levels of the company.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Osman Ershad Faiz

Chief Information and Operating Officer
AMTD Digital Inc

Continues his relentless effort across Singapore, Bangladesh as well as his new company, AMTD Digital Inc. through his advocacy to those 'men of position' and the HeForShe platform. Osman also leads the D&I Council. He personally mentors several mid-career women leaders within the Banking and FinTech industry and serves as Sponsor for the Women in FinTech initiative, which offers graduating students educational visits and internships to FinTech's to connect them with other women in tech and access to AMTD Digital SpiderNet ecosystem. Bangladesh was one of the first Muslim markets to launch a HeForShe network through Osman, and the Singapore HeForShe network he kickstarted currently has over 200 senior male leaders committed to helping hundreds of female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. In addition to the HeForShe networks, Osman has been supporting the Lead the Women initiative in Singapore, which reviews the hiring of women at each grade and identifies opportunities to drive progress towards a target of 30% women in key leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Lee Moore

Midwest Market Unit Lead
Accenture

Lee serves as Senior Managing Director and Midwest Market Unit Lead at Accenture, and has been a driving force behind the company's partnership with Women in Cloud (WiC), a community-led economic development organization dedicated to advancing gender equity in the technology industry. In addition to sponsoring and empowering a female Managing Director at Accenture to serve on WiC's Board of Directors, Lee serves on a core team of advisors and influencers helping the not-for-profit organization drive its mission to generate $1 billion in net new global economic access for women entrepreneurs by 2030, through partnerships with corporations, community leaders and policy makers. He spearheaded the creation of Accenture Midwest’s partnership with The Mom Project to provide career opportunities for people from that organization, and is also a champion of Accenture's Women's Employee Resource Group with nearly 6,000 members who participate in networking, work/life balance, recruiting and community access opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Huibert Vigeveno

Downstream Director and member of Shell's Executive Committee
Royal Dutch Shell

As a passionate advocate for D&I, believing that diverse teams are better in conversation, decision and outcome quality, Huibert has set clear expectations with his leadership for creating gender balanced teams, with lasting improvements to gender diversity increasingly evident across his organization of 32,000 people. Operating in 150 countries, with revenues of $150 billion in 2020 and net earnings of $7 billion, women now hold almost half of all senior roles in Downstream: 44% up from 23% in the 18 months since Huibert was appointed. Under his leadership, women now run many of Shell’s leading and largest businesses, including Lubricants, Aviation, Marine, Low Carbon Fuels, Customer Operations and several Trading divisions. Further, women also lead the Mobility retailing businesses in Europe and the US as well as some of Shell’s largest and most complex chemicals plants and refineries in Asia and the US. Huibert’s other actions have included pushing Shell's brand campaigns to advocate for greater personal mobility for women, with messages of empowerment, support and celebration for achievements.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mahesh Zurale

Senior Managing Director, Lead - Accenture's Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI)
Accenture

As the Executive I&D Sponsor for Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India, Mahesh has taken bold steps to create an inclusive and barrier-free culture. In order to champion continuous learning and help women technologists achieve fulfilling careers, Mahesh spearheads several strategic women-centric initiatives across ATCI. He is deeply committed to is achieving a gender-balanced workforce and growing the percentage of women directors in the team to 30% by 2025. Mahesh believes in technology being an equalizer and has been instrumental in developing pathbreaking programs, such as the Apex Leadership Crescent Program, Cloud Elevate, Grow Women in Leadership Program, Quantum Impact and High-Tech Women Edge, which are collectively geared towards enabling 25,000 women across career levels to build their technology skills and become stronger leaders of tomorrow. As the Accenture Technology Accessibility Co-Sponsor, Mahesh has also launched a virtual Accessibility Center; a dedicated place with a suite of assistive technologies to empower colleagues with disabilities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Colin Passmore

Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has used his 10 years a senior partner at Simmons & Simmons to ensure that improving gender diversity is a key business priority for Simmons & Simmons with a focus on progressing women through to the partnership and into senior management positions. In those ten years, he has sponsored two female Managing Associates in their route to partnership; chaired quarterly gender balance meetings; sponsored the cost of two film screenings to mark the centenary of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act; supported the launch of email signature guidelines for the inclusion of personal pronouns; and started reverse mentoring with the firm’s female race and ethnicity partner lead to gain an insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by ethnic groups across the firm. Since Colin became a partner the percentage of firmwide female partners has increased from 11% to just below 25%. This year, six of the thirteen new partners at the firm were female. More recently, Colin has been a lead male advocate for demystifying the female menopause.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Edward Chidsey

Partner and Senior Vice President
IHS Markit

At IHS Markit, Ed is Lead Advisor to the DEI team and a participating Sponsor within the Women's Sponsorship Program. As well as contributing to the Program’s panel events, he has sponsored a budget in 2021 supporting the launch of three new Women’s Career Development & Retention programs covering almost 300 women across all titles. These programs have since contributed to a meaningful increase in female promotions. In addition, Ed also plays an active role in early careers and IHS Markit’s campus recruiting programs, which have led to encouraging results including in some of the highest female representation in IHS Markit’s 2020 intern class. Ed and his team’s efforts have resulted in numerous Diversity & Inclusion awards for IHS Markit, including recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, Human Rights Campaign, and Forbes. Outside of IHS Markit, Edward is an active participant as a coach, teacher and fundraiser with several organizations focused on improving educational programs and career development opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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B. Pagels-Minor

Vice President, Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B sits on the Board of Directors of the YWCA, an organization whose entire purpose is to empower women. In 2020, B and their team acquired an additional YWCA location that was in danger of closing, ensuring that women and children in a more suburban area of Chicago had their programs maintained. The YWCA also acquired Streetwise, an organization that allows individuals to become independent workers and develop their own income. With COVID, those individuals were given additional training that supported programs like vaccination registration, food assistance programs, and childcare. The YWCA also stepped up and provided 1000s of meals to Chicagoans who had lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as providing grants to support housing assistance. Outside of the YWCA, B speaks nationally and internationally on gender diversity and women's inclusion including talks with companies such as British Airways, McMaster University, and Crunchyroll so far in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Larry Tomei

Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC Bank Canada

Larry Tomei is a passionate advocate for Diversity & Inclusion. As a first generation Canadian, Larry knows the challenges faced by newcomers, and it was this experience which led to his devotion to promoting D&I. Larry is a strong supporter of empowering women in the workforce. At HSBC Bank Canada, he has achieved a 50% gender balance on his leadership team and has championed three-year diversity and gender promotion objectives. Within WPB, Larry created a platform for female leaders to raise their profiles. He often designates women leaders to represent him in business and speaking engagements, and leverages communication channels to promote women as role models for upcoming employees. Larry mentors and sponsors women, ultimately leading to career advancement and transition into more progressive, important and impactful roles. He hosts “Women Only” exchange sessions to facilitate their feedback and to identify opportunities not only for improvement, but also for creating a pipeline of top talent

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director
LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group (part of RELX)

Dean believes an inclusive culture is a true differentiator and a fundamental pillar of a high performance organisation, overseeing two organisations which together have a 45.7% female representation across the workforce, and a 50/50 gender balance at leadership level. Dean has championed D&I initiatives including unconscious bias training for employees, gender balance leadership, psychological safety along with mentoring and sponsorship initiatives for women, all of which have driven employee engagement, retention and employee satisfaction. Dean believes that for diversity to be sustainable, first you must have inclusion. The diversity of backgrounds, experiences and beliefs drive the best decisions, innovation and results as the business continually strives for everyone to bring their best authentic selves to work. Dean regularly sits on panels and promotes the business’ Employee Resource Groups and is currently working with industry leaders to set up a D&I forum for the Energy and Chemical markets.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Andrew Eisen

SVP & Partner, Financial Services Solutions
IHS Markit

This year, Andrew and the rest of the executive leadership team at IHS Markit launched and sponsored three new Women’s Career Development and Retention programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring and 1:1 coaching. In addition to directly mentoring ten women as a participant in those programs, Andrew has also placed a focus on building recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona. In 2020-21, IHS Markit has seen a significant increase in female promotions at the VP level and SVP level. 2020 also saw an increase in female hires, specifically in the intern program that reached an all-time high of female participation. These outcomes have received public recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, the Rewards & Benefits Association and Forbes’ list of America's Best Employers for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

As CEO of WPP, created two new roles of Chief People Officer and a Global Head of Culture to continue to improve diversity and build an open and inclusive culture at the company. Women now make up 51% of senior managers and 40% at the most senior executive level. Last year, WPP launched an updated online ethics training, including unconscious bias modules which are mandatory for all staff, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed DE&I into hiring processes, performance management systems and leadership development. For the third year running the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has listed WPP, and last year Forbes ranked the company sixteenth in its Best Employers for Women in the US List. In 2020, of a total $94 million had been spent by WPP on diverse suppliers in the US, 64% of which went to women-owned business enterprises and 14% to minority women-owned business enterprises.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David McCormick

Chief Executive Officer
Bridgewater Associates

David is the CEO of Bridgewater Associates and has spearheaded the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion initiative as a top priority since 2017. David appointed Bridgewater’s first Chief Diversity Officer and full-time team, reporting directly to him. Under David’s leadership, the firm instituted pay equity reviews; launched affinity networks, including the Women's Influence Network; implemented equal parental leave; publicly released representation and pay equity data; ensured gender representation was a key consideration in designing a new governance structure; and increased the number of women in senior leadership. Throughout David’s career the advancement of women has been deeply personal to him – as a public servant focused on getting the best out of his team, as a business executive responsible for developing the next generation of leaders, and as a father of six daughters with his wife Dina Powell McCormick. David is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, has a Ph.D. from Princeton, and is a veteran of the First Gulf War.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sean Fan

Partner/Managing Director, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited, Co-Head China Investment Banking Division
Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Company Limited

Sean’s actions to foster workplace diversity at Goldman Sachs include serving as a member of the Asia Pacific Inclusion and Diversity Committee, where he focuses on developing and implementing D&I strategies across the region; ensuring the inclusion of women during recruitment and promotion processes; hosting roundtable sessions with diverse vice presidents including women to enhance visibility and connectivity with leadership; and serving as an active sponsor for high-potential professionals across Asia to ensure the progress of diverse representation. He also sponsors the China Diversity Network, where he is a frequent speaker at women empowerment events, such as ‘When Women Lead – Perspectives on Women in Business’ and the ‘Lean in China Young Leaders’ Program’, where he shared his belief in gender equality. Sean also played a key role in driving Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity’s incremental diversity hiring results.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Simon Cooper

CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas
Standard Chartered Bank

As Global D&I Council Chair for Standard Chartered Bank, Simon has initiated a major shift in the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion agenda. His leadership 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 also overseen the introduction of initiatives such as 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, in order to support female colleagues living and working in countries with a history of heightened violence. David’s approach to engage the organization has resulted in a positive trend across several indicators, including female representation in senior roles, which increased from 27.7% in 2018 to 30.14% today, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 82% in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ron O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

Under Ron's leadership, State Street has continually focused on female leadership in the companies it invests in, including by launching a Fearless Girl initiative which saw more than 860 companies appoint at least one female board member where they previously had none. Within State Street, Ron has introduced company-wide diversity goals which are tied to executives’ compensation, and diverse talent slates for all open positions including on the board. Three women have been added to State Street’s Management Committee by Ron, bringing female representation to 29%, and last year approximately 68% of promotions at Managing Director level and above were women. State Street has featured on Working Mother's 100 Best Companies and Best Companies for Dads, as well as on the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. For seven consecutive years the firm has received a score of 100% on the HRC Equality Index.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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David Kenny

CEO
Nielsen

David’s achievements as CEO of Nielsen include launching Gracenote Inclusion Analytics in order to identify, including by gender and sexual orientation, groups on TV and in the audiences watching. He heads a leadership team in which four of the nine members are women, and this year he appointed a female Chief Diversity Officer. In light of the additional pressures being placed on women due to COVID, David launched a mental health and self-care program including Mental Health Days Off and a spotlight on childcare and counselling benefits. As well as launching a company-wide e-learning session, ‘From Witness to Advocate’, on allyship and recognizing microaggressions, David also gave a keynote speech at Nielsen’s Women’s History Month where he spoke about challenging bias and encouraging women at all levels to take on leadership roles. For the third consecutive year, Nielsen has featured on Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Howard Ungerleider

President and Chief Financial Officer
Dow

Howard has served as Executive Sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network ERG since 2017, a role which involves supporting over 7,000 participants. As well as sponsoring a POWER UP program and career portfolio toolkits with over 1,300 Dow women, Howard has also championed Sponsor to Success in Finance, advancing women and U.S. minority talent development by pairing participants with a senior leader advocate who enhances exposure and visibility. 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 by providing external coaches for female employees globally. In another of his roles, as Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment program, Howard has reinforced his commitment to offer equitable opportunities by establishing a global minimum standard of 16 weeks paid time off for new parents regardless of gender.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Luke Ellis

Chief Executive Officer
Man Group

As CEO of Man Group, Luke oversees the D&I strategy alongside the Group COO. Together they re-launched Drive, the internal D&I network, which today is comprised of the gender balance network Women at Man alongside several others. In his position on the Senior Executive Committee, which is responsible for championing D&I, Luke pushed for the implementation of a policy to incorporate a systematic review of diversity within talent and succession planning reviews. Man Group's commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, for which Luke serves as Executive Sponsor, has seen the proportion of women in senior roles increase from 16% in 2016 to 25% in 2020, meeting their Charter target. The firm’s consistent efforts to support and develop women have now led to increased targets to reach 30% female representation in senior roles by 2024, whilst the board achieved gender parity in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Robert Fairbairn

Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of Human Capital Committee
BlackRock

As the Co-chair of the Human Capital Committee and Talent Sub-Committee, Robert has led and sponsored a number of initiatives aimed at increasing gender equality in the workplace. He helped launch BlackRock’s Women Leadership Forum, established extended maternity/paternity leave and a flexible time-off policy, and sponsored numerous senior women, through investing in helping them find broader, more impactful careers at BlackRock. As Interim Global Head of HR, Robert expanded adoption assistance and new surrogacy and egg freezing benefits for all employees. Robert is also one of the founders of the first chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network based on the East coast. As one of BlackRock Women's Leadership Forum Chairs, Robert has been a Global Executive Committee sponsor of the program for many years and has been instrumental in involving other Global Executive Committee members as sponsors of women in the program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Adrian Warr

CEO, Hong Kong , Taiwan and Thailand
Edelman

Adrian serves as CEO of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand for Edelman, and a founding member and Co-chair of Male Allies, a charity under The Women’s Foundation. The raft of policy changes and engagement initiatives introduced under his leadership have led to a reduced turnover from 35% in 2017 to 19% in 2021. The firm has also seen an increase in the percentage of women on the leadership team from 30% up to 50%, and on the management team from 40% up to 55%. Pay has also been equalized, and 100% of working mums have been retained for the third year running. The many DEI initiatives Adrian has overseen have included a dynamic working policy for all; increased holiday allowances; balanced panels for hiring and reviews; the replacement of paternity and maternity benefits with primary and secondary carer benefits; and a partnership with The Women’s Foundation that provides mentoring and training.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christoph Schweizer

CEO-Elect and Chairman of Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Managing Director & Senior Partner
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

In his current role as Chairman of the Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East (CEMA) region at BCG, Christoph Schweizer has made Women@BCG one of his four top priorities. Christoph has set clear goals related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with leaders and teams in the region to advance this critical agenda. Not only has there been a rise in the percentage of female entry level hires for BCG in CEMA, from just over 30% in 2019 to over 40% in 2021, the firm also continues to uphold equal men and women retention rates, with the ambition to continue to advance BCG’s women representation in the region. In May 2021, Christoph was elected as BCG’s next CEO, effective October 1, 2021, and diversity, equity & inclusion in particular is a strong pillar of his global agenda going forward.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma

Andrew’s work to improve the gender balance in leadership positions at Halma has resulted in more diversity at all levels of the organization. From July this year, the Executive Board will be made up of 78% women, including one Black woman. Additionally, 46% of graduates in the last four years have been women, and more than 50% of Halma’s senior leadership team are women, including on the plc Board, the Executive Board and the Divisional Chief Executives. As part of Halma’s commitment to building inclusive businesses, last year the firm launched its first ever global paid parental leave policy to support new parents to look after their new family, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or the market in which they live or work. The policy aims to remove career impediments for mothers, and to enable fathers to enjoy more time with their new family.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Christian Edelmann

Managing Partner Europe
Oliver Wyman

When promoted to Managing Partner Europe earlier in 2021, Christian enacted two policy changes. The first was aimed at talent acquisition, allowing business leaders to go beyond their hiring targets if they managed to attract female talent. This initiative allowed Oliver Wyman to hire five additional highly talented female colleagues. The second policy, which was implemented after a strong correlation was observed between the sponsorship of women and their career progress, asked each member of the European Leadership Team to sponsor two female colleagues. Christian has also been working closely with the HR team to ensure Oliver Wyman creates a ‘back to office work’ policy which allows employees to retain the benefits of hybrid working. The Men4Change program he co-founded two years ago has run workshops with many clients on the topic of gender balance, as a forum to share experiences and as an opportunity to get to know like-minded peers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Claudio Gienal

CEO
AXA UK & Ireland

Claudio has placed gender equality as a key, strategic priority for AXA UK&I with the result that the organization has been listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, and the gender seniority gap has been significantly reduced. Under his leadership female representation on the Executive Committee has increased from 19% in 2018 to 50% in 2021, and the percentage of women in executive roles has risen from 32.1% in 2020 to 39.9% in 2021. Claudio is actively involved in the sponsorship of female talent across the AXA Group, and on International Women’s Day 2021 he used his LinkedIn platform to spotlight three AXA female future leaders he is currently supporting. He regularly participates in internal D&I initiatives, which in 2021 have included an internal panel discussion to celebrate International Women's Day and a virtual speed mentoring event hosted by AXA UK&I’s gender equality network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Keith Barr

CEO
IHG

As Chief Executive Officer, Keith has been instrumental in defining IHG’s culture as one of inclusion, and to the sense of belonging colleagues feel and the freedom they have to be themselves. A commitment to champion a diverse culture where everyone can thrive is at the heart of IHG’s ‘Journey to Tomorrow’ 2030 Responsible Business plans, and the company has a set of targets to help achieve this, including driving gender balance and a doubling of under-represented groups across our leadership. Throughout the pandemic, recognising the pressures it has placed on all IHG colleagues, Keith has ensured that colleagues can prioritise wellbeing and manage family and work needs, including with the introduction of new global flexible working guidelines and recharge days to allow colleagues to recuperate.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Julio Bruno

Chief Executive Officer
Time Out Group plc

Throughout his career and at Time Out Group, Julio has always surrounded himself with a team of mixed genders, races and ethnicities. The leadership team Julio currently heads at Time Out has a 50:50 gender split. In addition, 58% of the whole workforce is female and there is no gender pay gap. The company’s HR recruitment process involves practicing blind recruitment, to avoid unconscious bias around hiring men over women, and insisting on a 50% minority candidate long list from any agencies used. During 2020, in response to the issues faced by working parents over the pandemic, Time Out created a family resource center as a support to help with mental health and the time off needed while working and caregiving simultaneously. Every year Time Out celebrates International Women's Day, both internally and through the company’s media megaphone, and Julio actively encourages his editorial team to spotlight female owned businesses as well as minority-owned businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Shinbo Won

Head of Asia ex-Japan, BlackRock Investment Stewardship
BlackRock

Shinbo is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of BlackRock Singapore's Male Allies program, a role through which he is tasked with growing the pool of male champions who advocate for the empowerment of female colleagues. The position also involves supporting the broader Women's Initiative Network (WIN) in fostering diversity, equity and inclusion. The Male Allies program is focused around building awareness of biases and behaviors that act as barriers to achieving gender equity in the workplace, while sharing experiences and practices that help build a more inclusive culture. In his role at BlackRock’s Investment Stewardship, Shinbo and his team have strengthened the expectation of board diversity, including gender diversity, by newly implementing a voting policy in 2021 which BlackRock holds existing members accountable for a lack of women on the board by voting against the re-election of directors. Outside of BlackRock, Shinbo has been appointed as Male Champion of the Financial Women's Association (FWA) of Singapore.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Jon Holt

Chief Executive
KPMG

Since being elected as Chief Executive of KPMG in April 2021, Jon has put Inclusion and Diversity at the heart of his strategy. He is responsible for the firm's progress against Inclusion, Diversity and Social Equality (IDSE) 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 IDSE goals for all Audit Partners and Directors, and initiated IDSE awareness sessions for all 7,000 of Audit’s employees, and since 2017 he 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.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Since becoming Diageo’s Chief Executive in 2013, Ivan has championed Inclusion and Diversity across the whole of the organization, as well as the wider drinks and hospitality industry. As well as ambitious 2030 goals to increase the representation of women in Diageo leadership roles and the percentage of suppliers from female and minority-owned businesses, Diageo is also amongst the first companies to have created a clear link and direct accountability for ESG commitments with its senior management community. In February 2021, Diageo announced 20% of the Diageo Long-term Incentive Plan will be linked to ESG measures, including Inclusion and Diversity, ensuring that every senior leader is incentivized to make progress on this agenda. This year the firm has continued to empower women and to lean into taboo subjects: in March 2021 Global Menopause Guidelines were launched to offer strengthened support and flexibility and to encourage employees to build their understanding of how the menopause impacts individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Gerald Yao

Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder
FiscalNote

As Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at FiscalNote, Gerald has driven a number of initiatives to improve gender diversity at the company. Last year, after speaking with over 25 DEI experts on how to shape the company’s programs, he launched the first Diversity and Inclusion company-wide survey and led the creation of the 2020 State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Report released internally to the entire international organization. Gerald also built the structure and recruitment of the company’s DEI Task Force. Furthermore, he organized Senior Leadership Team enablement sessions around DEI, integrating incentive goals for leaders. This year has seen him sign onto the CEO ACTION for Diversity and Inclusion, bring women onto the Advisory Board, and coordinate with the Head of CSR to create monthly themes related to DEI.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 35 Advocate Executives

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Sneha Shah

Founder & CEO
Curaty

Over the last two years Sneha has built a database of over 3000 artists, 72% of which are female. She has created paid opportunities for female artists to show their work across the commercial sector, and curated an all-women exhibition of recent art-school graduates titled ‘Resilience’ in the prime location of Oxford Street. One service Sneha and her team launched for their art rental client businesses was curated collections of artwork for the walls of workplaces, commenting on the importance of diversity and inclusion. The artworks stood as a daily reminder to employees and visitors of the company's commitment towards this goal. Over 30,000 individuals have experienced, interacted and engaged with these exhibitions and art programs. Sneha has personally mentored over 40 female artists on their public image and on pricing their artwork, after it was proven discovered that female artists tend to undervalue their works in comparison to their male counterparts.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sinead Maxwell

EMEA Corporate Citizenship Program Manager
Fiserv

One of the ways Sinead has pushed to create an environment that celebrates inclusion in the workplace has been through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She is an active member or ally of all the ERGs in region and continuously looks for ways to support and promote them. The ERGs she is involved in include the LGBTQ Community UNITY, the Asian Leadership Council, the Women's Impact Network (WIN), the Young Professional Leadership Council and the Black Leadership Council. Together with some colleagues, Sinead is also leading an initiative to form groups across EMEA called Culture Circles, based on a tried and tested model first established in Ireland. The aim is to bring employees from all backgrounds together to network, have fun, celebrate different cultures and festivals and educate others along the way. Within the last 18 months five Culture Circles have been set up in office locations across EMEA under Sinead’s guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Virginia Mayo

Distinguished Engineer
IBM

As a recently appointed technical executive and the first Filipino-American Distinguished Engineer at IBM, Virginia joins an elite group of innovators and pioneers of today’s modern digital infrastructure built for the future. In her technical leadership role, Virginia acts as a mentor to many up-and-coming top female technical talents, both within her own IBM business organization and outside it. She believes in 'outcome-based mentoring' is most effective, so she works with her protégés on achieving specific career goals rather than meeting for the sake of meeting. A frequent speaker on diversity in senior leadership roles at IBM, Virginia was the Keynote Speaker for the IBM Innovation Centers' 2021 International Women's Day in Hungary, Czech Republic, and South Africa. The event was attended by over 1,000 professionals ranging from entry-level employees to senior professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Woods

Partner
Vinson & Elkins

Louise is the Office Lead for the Women's Initiative (WI) at Vinson & Elkins, placing her at the forefront of the WI's activities in London. Her responsibilities have included organizing internal skills trainings and client events; writing on the topic of diversity; spearheading a cross-office senior female networking and mentorship program; mentoring women colleagues herself both formally and informally; and acting as talent lead for her practice group. She is also the Office Lead for the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, a role which has seen her drive D&I efforts including a schools outreach mentoring program; internal training on topics such as implicit biases and DISC assessment; cultural and religious celebrations; and a London office Book Club to discuss race and gender issues. Together with Human Resources and graduate recruitment teams Louise has worked to ensure the diverse hiring, retention and promotion of lawyers at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Swastika Somaddar

Programme Manager, Risk Functions
Standard Chartered Ltd.

Swastika is an active contributor to the fourth Pillar of Standard Chartered Bank’s new Global Functions initiative: People. The People pillar includes both Diversity and Inclusion, primarily focusing on retaining, attracting, developing and engaging female talent, and Championing Wellbeing, a workstream which concentrates on awareness, mental health and wellness sessions held by expert external agencies. Since becoming part of the Women on Work, and Wellness teams in early 2021, Swastika has been mentoring upcoming women leaders within the organization, and has also been involved in supporting and empowering Risk Functions women at all stages of their career. Outside of Standard Chartered Bank Swastika is Co-Founder of a community 'Livia and it’s Events' in Singapore, which organizes activities, whether a trek, a talk show or cultural events, to bring out awareness among races. Swastika strongly believes that these creative and cultural events are the best way of spreading the right message in communities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kyoshia Jackson

Compliance Paralegal
LVMH-Moet Hennessy USA

Kyoshia has been a driving force in raising awareness of the Black experience at Moët Hennessy USA (MHUSA) and reinforcing the company’s commitment to foster a more inclusive workplace. Over the last four years, she has organized cultural celebrations and thoughtful discussions to help celebrate diversity and increase the visibility of underrepresented populations, specifically women of color while working to drive policy change that focuses on equity. Her influence has extended beyond MHUSA and has permeated throughout LVMH. She was a panelist during one of LVMH's D&I events and a founding member of the MH Noir Assemblage, MHUSA’s ERG, that advocates for the inclusion and advancement of Black employees at MHUSA/LVMH. In December 2020, she was the recipient of MHUSA’s Spirit & Stars Award and was nominated for the Women at MHUSA’s Everyday Inspiring Women award. Most recently, Kyoshia was selected by EllesVMH, LVMH’s women’s ERG, to participate in their pilot allyship program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Southall

Senior Sales Manager, Small and Medium Business
Vodafone UK

Caroline assumed the role of the Chair of the Women's Network at Vodafone UK at the end of 2020, with the purpose of re-invigorating an inactive network by engaging a broad and diverse workforce. To date she has established an operating model; recruited 40 voluntary roles to form the network committee; and held sessions with the CEO and the Network’s Executive Sponsors, to gain support and to highlight how the company can better support its women employees. Under Caroline’s leadership the Women’s Network has gathered feedback from its membership and defined a program of activity in 2021 based on their insight and input. This has involved taking an intersectional approach with other D&I networks and using events to target key topics such as imposter syndrome, the menopause, and striking a work-life balance throughout COVID. Caroline has also worked with HR and the D&I Team, highlighting 'gaps' in Vodafone's employment policies and support materials relating to women and working in collaboration to develop and launch new support tools.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Zhu

Director, Head of XVA Trading
SMBC Nikko Capital Markets (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation)

At Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s (SMBC) Nikko Capital Markets, Eunice is an active Committee Member of the BALANCE network, a group which supports gender balance and aims to empower all female and male colleagues. Through BALANCE, Eunice organized and hosted the Learning from Leaders session in September 2020, where she interviewed the CEO of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets in front of an audience of more than 150 colleagues. Eunice’s other work championing diversity has seen her actively mentoring and tutoring for the “Young Women into Finance” programme and Career Lead to help develop the female talent pipeline for the finance industry, as well as participating in D&I initiatives such as women’s networking and support groups. Outside of SMBC Eunice founded and now leads the Lean In Circle for Women in Banking & Finance, connecting and empowering women who have career ambitions in finance. She runs monthly and sometimes bi-monthly events for the Circle’s more than 230 members.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Waters

Head of Investment Management Technology
Man Group

Rachel became Co-Chair of Women at Man (WAM) in 2020. Under her leadership, engagement in the WAM working group has improved and a focus has been placed on retention and personal growth, empowering women at the firm to reach their full potential. The Mentoring Circles she introduced provided women with an opportunity to share their varied experiences on topics like 'Getting Out of your Own Way' in a facilitated environment, whilst the Development Workshops focused on offering support in areas commonly highlighted as gaps for women, starting with impact, authority and presence. In addition to running interview sessions with Man Group’s three new female board members, whose presence took the board to gender parity, WAM has also been investigating the ways it can build ally support from male colleagues, and how this can lead to sponsorship opportunities for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suman Sidhu

Investment Consultant
Lane Clark & Peacock LLP

Suman is a Committee Member of Lane Clark & Peacock’s Women’s Network and helped lead the firm's ‘Let's talk about Gender Equality’ four-week educational program covering a range of topics such as ‘The History of Women's Rights’, ‘Celebrating Differences’, ‘Women in the Workplace’ and ‘Legislation and the Gender Pay Gap’. Information was shared internally and discussed with the rest of the firm in weekly discussions. In addition, Suman and her team have now held three Women's Talent Academies which are unique mentorship schemes giving undergraduates access to women working within investment consulting with the aim of improving gender diversity in the investment industry, in pensions and at LCP. Suman also sits on the Gender Equality workstream of the Diversity Project and has recently set up a podcast called “Spotlight on Women in Investment” which offers female students a chance to voice their opinions on D&I related topics such as the Imposter Phenomenon and EQ vs IQ.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sherena Masharani

Business Integration Manager
Centrica plc

At Centrica Sherena is the Head of Communications and Engagement for the VOICE Network, a role through which she works to care for all colleagues, including female ethnic minority women. In this role she led the Network’s relaunch, creating a distinct platform as a forum for colleagues to support one another. This included promoting a 'Hidden Figures' event, which focused on allowing female ethnic minority colleagues to be heard across the organisation. Sherena has also brought a fresh perspective to conversations including gender diversity by producing the 'Amplify' newsletter to promote a message of inclusion, share best practices, and encourage readers to engage with the conversation. Sherena helped co-ordinate the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion event for Centrica’s Legal function. This event facilitated the discussion on how the future of the legal industry could be more inclusive, especially for women. This event, featured within industry magazines, committed 14 leading law-firms to initiatives providing more inclusive workplaces for employees.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ankita Gupta

Head, Model Risk Management, Risk technology
Standard Chartered Bank

Following the launch of Standard Chartered Bank's Diversity and Inclusion strategy in 2018, Ankita has continually raised awareness of D&I within the organization through means such as hackathons, virtual trainings, and D&I forums. She founded the Women on Work (WOW) team which aims at supporting teams to improve their gender balance so that they can contribute to the Bank's overall female ratio target, as well as identifying allies, promoting inclusivity, and conducting virtual trainings to address cultural gaps. In addition to her work with WOW, Ankita is one of the mentors for the Bank’s ASCEND program, which aims at creating and enabling a platform for learning, mentoring and coaching in order to nurture future senior female leaders in the Technology and Innovation space. As someone active on both internal and external professional networking sites, Ankita made a LinkedIn video for International Women’s Day 2021 promoting diversity in all its forms.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Vice President
State Street

Marion strongly believes in the power of education and visibility when it comes to making the workplace more inclusive. As Co-Chair of the State Street UK Pride Network and Chair of the Interbank’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, she acts as a role model for LGBT+ women, regularly appearing on panels to discuss the specific issues they face. This has included featuring on the “Corporate activism: the second full-time job” panel organized in the framework of the 2020 EUROUT conference, and the “Inclusivity in the workplace” event organised by Out in Business. She has also been responsible for organizing events herself, for instance featuring women’s stories from the birth of the modern LGBT+ movement at Stonewall to the present day. Marion is also credited for setting up a diversity committee within Interbank, the network of LGBT+ networks for financial services firms in the UK. Tremendous progress has been made in women representation and visibility in the wake of this initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Preeti Singh

IT Audit Assistant Manager
KPMG LLP UK

Preeti was a graduate when she joined the IT's Her Future programme in 2017, an initiative to improve gender diversity at KPMG. As part of the programme, she dedicated herself to driving inclusion for women, both within and outside KPMG. Since 2019, Preeti has led the Juniors workstream which is aimed at younger women outside of KPMG, to help tackle the gender diversity issue within technology. Preeti leads various events for students aged 10-18, such as bespoke primary school technology workshops, insight events with a long-term mentoring scheme and reunion events to ensure that students are kept engaged. Preeti has also supported and promoted the national roll-out of the internal KPMG mentoring for IT audit females. Preeti is an inclusion and diversity ambassador at KPMG, training and advocating existing and new D&I workstreams and supporting IT’s Her Future’s mission, which, in the past 5 years, has seen its efforts result in an increase in female headcount from 26% to 42%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Frances Holmes

Head of Technical Innovation
Thales UK

Working in Engineering, Frances is very aware of the severe under-representation of women in the sector. At Thales she speaks out to advocate for flexible working and for adapting the workplace environment to become truly inclusive for all. Most of Frances’ work in aid of gender diversity and women's inclusion, however, has been done externally through the non-profit she founded, Speak Out Revolution. Speak Out Revolution has a mission to cancel the culture of silence on workplace harassment and bullying. Frances and her team decided that the best solution to these issues was to create the 'Glassdoor' of workplace harassment and bullying: a place to provide insights for individuals to help them navigate the poor systems in place, and to spotlight the challenges faced by different people. The non-profit has now launched their Speak Out Survey and Speak Out Dashboard designed to capture and present data on these behaviors, to raise awareness and drive positive change.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Haydi Adel El Lamey

Regional Head of Customer Experience – Wealth & Personal Banking EMEA
HSBC

After almost 20 years of experience in the industry, Haydi noticed that the inclusivity of women in the workforce has been an ongoing battle. Once in a managerial role she felt she had the capability of making a change, and now leads an all-female team. Within the last two years she has received women from the global graduate program on to her team so that they can learn and move up the ladder of success, with her priority being to make sure that they have a voice and are heard. Haydi has also been driving and managing a transformational Customer Experience Strategy at the bank for the last two years, in an attempt to encourage a culture shift across all layers of the organization. She is driving this change through the SMILE Program (Service Magic through Innovation, Listening & agile Execution) and has already started seeing signs of success in the first two years of the program.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

EMEA Application Engineering Manager
3M

As a well-respected, full-time Technical Manager at a global science-based technology company, Sarah is a role model for women in STEM careers. As a manager, she has always championed flexible working and leads by example as the mum of two young children. Sarah was appointed Co-Chair of the EMEA Technical Women's Leadership Forum after returning from maternity leave and has led many campaigns to support diversity and inclusion, such as facilitating #IAmRemarkable workshops for more than 200 people, mostly from underrepresented groups. Her work as a Gold level #IAmRemarkable trainer and recruitment of new facilitators to support the roll-out was recognised at 3M’s internal International Women’s Day event. 3M has pledged to create five million unique STEM and Skilled Trades learning experiences for underrepresented individuals by the end of 2025 and this is something that Sarah is wholeheartedly supporting through her award-winning STEM volunteering and advocacy work. Sarah mentors numerous female colleagues and is also a mental health first aider.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amy Bird

Senior Associate
Clifford Chance

Amy took over as Co-Chair of the UK arm of the Accelerate Gender Parity network in February 2021, and since then has implemented a number of initiatives including running an International Women's Day month of events to drive forward discussions and educate colleagues on achieving cultural change; influencing the content of the firm's new Code of Conduct, including principles around inclusive environments and respect for flexible working; and calling for enhancements to family leave/benefits, to embrace shared parenting culture. She also created a working group on work culture and campaigned to adopt true agile working. She was instrumental in establishing the firm's principle of up to 50% home working, serving on the steering committee with senior management to drive through this cultural change, with the potential for generational impact. Since autumn of last year Amy has also been on the firm’s ESG Board and as an employment lawyer works with clients to maximise the impact of their own D&I work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

Legal Manager, Disputes, Alternative Legal Services
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes is an experienced Disputes lawyer in the Alternative Legal Services (ALT) team at Herbert Smith Freehills. She was integrally involved in the set-up of the Johannesburg ALT team in 2017, which forms part of a market-leading, innovative global team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 international locations. As well as serving on the Johannesburg Pro Bono Committee and the Regional Race Champions Committee, Plaxedes was also instrumental in setting up the Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health Committees. In addition to managing complex cross-jurisdictional international disputes projects, Plaxedes’ responsibilities include the recruitment of legal analysts as part of the market-leading International Legal Development Programme. When recruiting, she ensures that she and her colleagues are championing individual uniqueness, and that the teams they recruit are diverse. As a result, more than half of the legal analysts recruited in January 2021 were women. Outside of work, Plaxedes has raised funds for a breast cancer patient who could not afford treatment and for a Biokinetics student to be able to register for her second year of studies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

ESG Institutional Portfolio Manager
BlueBay Asset Management

Koycheva contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s women’s forum, having led the restructuring of the forum’s activities to become the diversity and inclusion forum, building greater intersectionality. She has contributed to a D&I vision and strategy and organised working groups on data, volunteering, and interview practices. As vice chair of the D&I Forum she sets its agenda and chairs its meetings while collaborating with the Employee Resource Groups of BlueBay's parent company, RBC, and other financial organisations. In addition to spearheading BlueBay's participation in the inaugural summer internship programs with GAIN and 100BlackInterns, Elena led BlueBay's International Women’s Day panel with senior females from across the business. In 2021 she became a member of the BlueBay Corporate Responsibility Committee, Charity Forum, and RBC’s RWomen ERG. Externally, Koycheva leads the CFA UK Job Profiles working group and supports greater D&I awareness as the recently appointed CAIA London chapter head. Koycheva mentors in cross-industry mentoring programmes and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kathryn Mattox

Lead Technical Project Manager
Nestle

In 2019, Kathryn re-launched the Nestle USA Women in Engineering (WiE) Network, growing membership and attendance 300% in the first year. She leads a team of nine women with two executive sponsors to organize multiple development and connection events per month. The number of event offerings per year has risen from 1 prior to 2019 to 35 in 2021. Kathryn also led the WiE support of the Nestle Black Employee Associates by launching 10 trainings and listening sessions on allyship over the summer of 2020. In 2021, Kathryn developed an Unconscious Bias and Allyship workshop for the senior leaders of the Nestle USA engineering team. Kathryn’s success with WiE meant her team set the global benchmark on how to create Women in Engineering Employee Resource Groups, and she was invited to present their results to the global Engineering Chiefs. In addition to her other activities Kathryn acts as a one-on-one mentor to multiple WiE members.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Robles

Director of global client development
GroupM I Xaxis

During her time at GroupM, Stephanie has been involved in numerous diversity initiatives. She participated in WPP’s award-winning global female empowerment program Walk the Talk, which has been rolled out to GroupM and WPP globally, and engaged over 10,000 women to increase the number of senior female leaders. Stephanie stayed involved in many diversity programs by being responsible for global communications working together with WPP’s senior leaders. With her gained experience, she rolled out other local initiatives. She co-founded the Future of Work program to drive change by setting up Employee Resource Groups focused on gender, sexuality and ethnicity. The aim was to build better teams, to enrich talent pools, and to create more inclusive and diverse strategies together with clients. Another role Stephanie is committed to is Chair of Gender Equality Network (GEN), where she creates awareness for the gender gap and takes actions accordingly, making sure it’s each and everyone's responsibility to build a gender equal business.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Rose

Head of Salesforce Platform
Centrica

After being an active member of the Centrica Women's Network since 2018, Joanne became Co-Chair from September 2020. One of her focuses is on ensuring an intersectional lens is applied to everything the Network does. For International Women’s Day 2020, the Network commissioned articles from diverse female Centrica employees sharing their experiences, whilst the main event featured a panel of women from different ethnic backgrounds. At a joint event with Centrica’s ethnic minority network, Joanne spoke about the importance of being an ally to BAME women. Other efforts Joanne has undertaken include introducing the Google #IAmRemarkable program in 2020, for which she facilitated workshops for over 180 people, as well as co-drafting and championing the 2021 D&I objectives with key targets cascaded as measures through the Technology directorate. Joanne has served as a main stage speaker at both the London Women of Silicon Roundabout and the Panasonic Toughbook Innovation Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yanique Williams

Technologist & Founder
Young Ambitious One

As a Technologist and the Founder of Young Ambitious One (YAO), a learning and career development company, Yanique also serves as an advocate and mentor for women in business, technology, and entrepreneurship. She is deliberate about creating pathways and opportunities for success that develop and promote women leaders, adopting the motto ‘empowered women, empower women’. The annual women empowerment workshops Yanique and her team co-created, are called ‘Ambitious Women In The Workplace’ and ‘Women At Work’, both have impacted over 1500 attendees in the past four years. The programs aim to accelerate professional and career development, and enhance the technical skills of aspiring diverse women leaders. Several attendees have landed jobs, secured promotions, and started businesses. Yanique specializes in information security and data privacy, over the past five years she has served as a guest instructor and career advisor at several universities, MPACKU.org, and the National Association of Black Accountants’ Eastern Region Student Conference, to co-lead these impactful YAO workshops.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Burns

Senior Manager, Talent Development
London Stock Exchange Group

Jennifer joined LSEG to support Talent Development in the Americas, but quickly stepped forward to offer support to the Women’s Inclusion Network and broader D&I efforts. In 2019 Jennifer established a partnership with the Ellevate Network, securing over 50 memberships for LSEG women in 2020, which allowed them to participate in hundreds of career development events, including cross-company mentoring. Her other biggest achievements have included co-developing a global Breaking the Bias course, which featured women’s stories of bias as course audio recordings; identifying women for executive coaching and leadership development programs, which led to promotions or expanded roles in several instances; and serving as the global Workplace Choice Co-Lead, a role through which she developed flexible working policies with a particular focus on attracting and supporting female talent. After serving as a mentor to several women at LSEG, Jennifer was nominated in 2020 for the Inspirational Mentor of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gunjan Sharma

Client Service Delivery Senior Manager
Accenture India

Gunjan is currently leading a Diversity & Women Retention initiative for Software & Platform client businesses under Accenture India Operations. Her efforts in this role include creating Location Wise Women Retention Champions, to strengthen women’s engagement networks and activities and to engage with high potential women employees expressing their desire to quit; launching a Women Retention Roadmap across all India sites; and creating business-wide visibility around weekly, monthly and year-to-date Diversity and Women Attrition Gap numbers to further create awareness and develop mitigation plans. She has also been engaging with Internal Staffing Teams to find alternate career opportunities for female employees quitting due to relocation or the nature of their work. The other programs Gunjan has driven forward include a mentorship program, a platform to support women employees to speak about their challenges and seek help, and a Women Centric Engagement Survey to empower females employees to voice out their opinions about their experience at work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Patrícia Souza

Senior Consultant
EY

As part of the D&I TaskForce within EY Luxembourg, Patrícia has been working to promote inclusion and equality amongst the workforce. Beginning back in February 2020 with the advent of the Covid pandemic, the TaskForce asked its employees to share their views on D&I. Then on International Women's Day 2021 women within the organization were asked to share the successes they enjoyed throughout their careers. Patrícia is currently involved in the committee organizing the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, to ensure equal representation and raise awareness of LGBT+ inclusion. She and her team are also organizing a diversity day event, where they will share with their external community the ways they have been supporting companies throughout Europe to move the dial on their inclusion agenda. The TaskForce is also working together with EY’s talent team to prepare D&I metrics and a roadmap to measure their work.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aimee Sykes

Business Liaison Manager
UWE Bristol

At the University of the West of England, Aimee’s achievements in promoting gender equality include spending a year as a Co-ordinator for the Women’s Forum, where she implemented and managed their social media. During her tenure, membership almost doubled and event attendance tripled. Aimée facilitated a partnership with the Red Box Project resulting in every campus hosting a donations box. She contributed to UWE's Engineering Our Futures and Inclusivity and Diversity blogs. Aimée hosted sessions at other campuses to ensure a cross-campus approach and organised collaborative events with the Disabled Staff Forum and the Parents’ Network, to promote intersectionality. Aimée founded and manages the Aurora Alumnae Network. Outside of work Aimée wrote articles for the City Girl Magazine, providing careers guidance, leading to the creation of a Careers segment. Aimée spent a year as Head of Communications & Engagement for the Women’s Higher Education Network, where she contributed to a significant increase in social media following and recruited many volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Steinwall

Head of Sales Enablement and Business Management for iShares Canada, BlackRock Asset Management
BlackRock Asset Management

Divya was Chair of the Canadian Chapter of BlackRock's Women's Initiative Network from 2015 to 2020. During this period, network membership grew by 23% overall, with male membership increasing by 83%. Over her tenure Divya placed a deliberate focus on providing educational opportunities to support career advancement. Divya’s primary contributions to the network included piloting a two-year facilitated training program focused on developing important tools in career progression such as building influence, enabling engagement and presenting effectively. She also made sure the network continued to offer virtual programming to support its members over the COVID pandemic, including a three-part wellness series focused on Nutritional and Physical Health while working from home and a session on achieving Financial Wellness. In 2020, Divya piloted a career and personal development program for working mothers called ‘The Sophia Project’, and in 2021 she transitioned to the role of DEI Business Lead for the Canadian office.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Maya Welford

Behavioural Finance Specialist
Barclays

Maya is dedicated to having a positive impact on society and championing inclusion. She does this in various ways at work and beyond, such as through her podcast, That's My Name, which focuses on lived experiences of bias related to names and identity, leading LMF Network's Social Mobility programme, and mentoring young people to raise their aspirations. Maya has multiple leadership roles within Barclays' Gender Network, Win. She is Founder and Leader of the Charity Mentoring Programme, one of Win's flagship offerings, which supports the professional development of network members and staff at charities. In 2019, the programme formed 43 mentor partnerships which ran formally for 6 months. This grew to 257 partnerships and 19 charity partners in 2020. The programme has had a positive impact in developing the leadership and coaching skills of over 500 mentors and mentees. Maya also co-leads Win's community-focused committee, which develops campaigns to raise money for charity partners and skills-based volunteering.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Martina Satherlund

Programme Director - Market Data
Fidelity International

Martina co-founded the Fidelity Women in Technology Network so that women in all stages of their career could come together and discuss relevant topics such as STEM, personal branding and women in leadership. She is currently active in setting the strategy and driving the group, including organizing webinar discussions of topics such as personal branding, mentoring and career journeys which have reached thousands of people, and establishing career roundtables in which groups of 15 men and women meet senior female leaders to learn how careers are not linear. The ‘Let's get ready to rumble’ article Martina wrote for WiT addressed the importance of having a gender balance in the Technology sector, and in 2020 she won the network’s Technology award. Since 2017, Martina has actively enlisted both male and female mentors to support women, a scheme which has led to more women progressing to senior roles.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Valerie Henninger

Managing Director
Mindshare

At Mindshare, Valerie has led a number of client campaigns promoting gender diversity and inclusion. In the Chicago office she works to keep the Director level community, which is 80% female, connected through peer mentorship, training opportunities, knowledge sharing, and support. In light of the pandemic and remote working, she launched a monthly series to this effect, keeping Directors across different teams better connected, and uplifting future women leaders across the office. She also personally mentors and guides junior-level women in their careers at the agency, developing and implementing plans to help them succeed. Valerie’s work with General Mills has resulted in programs that drive diversity and women's empowerment across the media industry and society at large. In the past year, her work won in the Multicultural and Social Good categories at the MMA's Smarties, and was shortlisted for the Inclusive Campaign of the Year category at the Festival of Media Global.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shivani Tannu

Analyst, Institutional Sales Fixed Income
JP Morgan Chase

Shivani has recently started a new role at JP Morgan & Chase, coming from an Investment Banking Associate role at Avendus Capital. Shivani goes beyond her everyday work in order to sign up for initiatives to improve gender diversity in investment banking. She has volunteered for every campus recruitment fair and careers fair that Avendus Capital attends, so that she can address some of the concerns that young women have regarding banking as a career and demonstrate that there are women working in these domains. Shivani has also mentored an intern, who was struggling to network as the only female intern at her previous organisation. She had an informal chat and shared some of her workplace experiences to put her mentee at ease, acknowledging the struggles that exist for women within the industry. This year Shivani was selected as an ‘Ambassador of Change’ by Women in Private Equity, a not-for-profit helping to create more opportunities for women and pioneering a platform to transform mindsets in favor of gender diversity in the PE industry.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ngozi Emeagi

Senior Consultant
Powerscourt Group

In her previous role at MS Amlin, Ngozi initiated the first celebration of International Women's Day, organizing for the Chairwomen and Chief People Officer to talk about why the day was so important and what it meant to them, and encouraging others in the organization to do the same. Believing it was important for women to be known for being excellent at their day job as well as for being D&I champions, Ngozi started a women's visibility PR programme to externally promote the work that senior female leaders were doing outside of the D&I area. She also organized a number of journalist meetings with the Chief People Officer in order to actively promote the company’s emerging policies aimed at helping women work more flexibly and encouraging equality in the workplace. In her current position at Powerscourt Group, Ngozi continues to be responsible for addressing gender and diversity issues. She is also currently Vice President of Women in PR.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah is a member of the firm-wide Women's Affinity Group, which plans and hosts a number of events each year to promote leadership training, mentoring, advocacy, and inclusion. As well as being a member of the Hiring Committee and helping to give platforms to diverse women candidates, she also serves, through the firm's formal mentoring program, as a link with new associates, meeting them on a frequent basis in order to ensure their success, and making introductions to partners and other associates. As part of the firm's pro bono program, Sarah has worked with a number of organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Street Law. Externally she is a member of the Junior League, which helps to promote voluntarism, develop women leaders, and inspire people to positively impact the community. Her role in the organization is to help with fundraising, leadership trainings, and other educational and community service events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hannah Farmer

Associate Director
CBRE GWS

Hannah was appointed Co-Chair of the Proud Network at CBRE GWS 12 months ago, and has already grown the network to over 500 members in that time. This year the network is focusing on underrepresented subjects such as trans awareness and allowing conversations to happen in safe spaces , and aspiring to be a role model for employees to come out at work. To help progress this agenda Hannah published an online interview with a male colleague and his trans son, who transitioned female to male. The interview went out to 30,000 employees and represented a huge advancement within the business as something which had never been tackled before. Hannah’s proudest moment so far is hearing the volume of people who have now come out at work, , as well as having three employees who will be transitioning following the education, awareness, and freedom promoted by the Proud Network. Hannah is also involved in the Executive Steering Committee supporting the wider DE&I action plan for CBRE GWS.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocío Del Mar Cárdenas Coronilla

Associate Technical Services Engineer
Fujitsu Technology Solutions

As a volunteer and organizer of the Diversity and Inclusion group at Fujitsu, Rocío actively collaborates on activities and awareness-raising proposals. She is a facilitator of Google’s #IAmRemarkable campaign, and managed to teach online workshops this year even with the difficulties presented by the pandemic, to help empower women and minority groups to break the glass ceiling. In addition she has put together a Spotlight blog and prepared a Brave, Bold & Brilliant podcast together with Tulia Lopes to inspire and help other women. Rocío has also had the opportunity to collaborate externally with other companies, and made an inspirational presentation ‘Hangout’ for people from both Fujitsu and other companies to learn about all the activities she is undertaking. For International Women’s Day this year, Rocío was involved in putting together events including inviting a female Spanish scientist to give a speech to inspire the company’s employees.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jessica Gosling

Senior International Policy Adviser
UK Government

Jessica has used her role as a Diversity and Inclusion ambassador in her directorate to recognize the intersectionality of culture and gender. She was responsible for organizing the rollout to over 400 colleagues across government of the #IAmRemarkable training, a Google initiative that encourages women to speak openly about their accomplishments. She has also supported wider D&I practices by volunteering to be on recruitment panels at all levels, ensuring that a diverse and inclusive culture was being realized within the broader department. Through utilizing a positive, proactive, and solution-focused view, Jessica has also managed to commit to several pro-bono initiatives in her spare time, including launching both Growth & Grace Collective, a global community changing the narrative of upskilling, learning and development, and Gosling & Co., a platform designed to challenge the perceptions faced by under-represented groups around self-promotion, unconscious biases and imposter syndrome.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tamara Makoni

Senior Communications Specialist
Deloitte

As a volunteer member of the Panel & Proposal Promise team at Deloitte, Tamara pushed for all panels and teams to have at least 40% women, 40% men and 20% people from underrepresented groups. For one of the team’s events, Tamara created promotional text and materials and developed the event flow and content, including putting together questions and discussion points for panelists. She also created 'How to' guides, highlighting everyday inclusion actions. Another of Tamara’s D&I efforts this year has been voluntarily delivering Inclusive Leadership labs to senior leaders, involving over 100 attendees to date. During these labs she shares proven approaches to increase gender diversity and inclusion, giving participants time to reflect, share stories and create action plans, and sharing insights with trainers from other geographies so that they can run their own local labs. Since 2018, Tamara has also been leading the public speaking training initiative she co-founded, offering special programs tailored to female colleagues

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Teneeka Mai

Senior Analyst
Oliver Wyman

Teneeka joined Oliver Wyman as Digital specialist in Data and Analytics in 2019 after graduating with a degree in Physics from the University of Oxford. She founded the Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW) Digital group in late 2020, where she leads a team which focuses on three core pillars: development, inspiration and community. To drive these initiatives, she has organised a variety of events including speaker events, networking sessions, discussion groups, and working with the global team on reverse mentoring. The group regularly engages with senior stakeholders and colleagues across the Digital practice, spanning multiple offices across three continents and collaborating with other I&D groups within the firm. Outside of work, Teneeka has an interest in social impact and has volunteered her skills with an organisation that supports other charities to generate operational insight from their existing data. In 2021, she was also recognised as a Rising Star in Digital by WeAreTheCity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Dal Pozzo

Performance Leader
KPMG

After joining KPMG’s Network of Women (KNOW) in 2014, Sarah became the National Co-Chair in 2021. She is also the Chair of the Leeds network, where she drives events covering important but often overlooked topics such as impostor syndrome and the menopause, as well as tackling issues around women's safety. Sarah represents KNOW on the MyLeeds committee which runs events for International Women's Day, International Men's Day and Mental Health Awareness Week. She hosted KPMG's flagship International Women's Day 2021 event which saw over 800 attendees globally. In her Performance Leader role, Sarah actively challenges leadership to consider diversity, leading to the recent promotion of three women to Director roles, where previously there was no female representation. She was also responsible for arranging for KPMG Leeds to support Smart Works, a national charity which helps women to re-enter the workplace after an absence or due to difficult background circumstances by providing clothing, coaching and interview preparation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Chidi Onyeche

Associate
Latham & Watkins

Chidi has successfully led Latham's award-winning Black Lawyers Group (BLG) in London for two years. Based on this success and on her track record as an associate, Chidi made history as Latham's youngest affinity group global leader. In this role she has been instrumental in the recruitment, retention and promotion of Black women. Her efforts have included mentoring and training each group of BLG trainees since 2017; hosting events focusing on Black female excellence; assisting in creating safe communities and housing for orphans impacted by the Rwandan genocide; establishing an internal system within the London Women Lawyers Group to nominate exemplary female attorneys for awards; co-founding The Ultimate Guide Group to empower and educate the Black community on careers, finances, wellness and property; and assisting the expansion of Latham’s pro bono partnerships with organisations supporting the Black community, including the Making of Black Britain and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to help individuals impacted by the Windrush scandal.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mamaa Duker

Associate Director, Business Development
WPP

Mamaa has led Roots, WPP's Ethnic and Cultural Diversity employee network since 2019. The group actively amplifies ethnic minority voices within the business, particularly those of ethnic minority women. Mamaa’s work to expand Roots and embed inclusive thinking throughout the global network has led the community to grow by over 400% since 2017, with 160% more agencies participating. In 2020, Roots expanded to Amsterdam and Canada, with ongoing expansions into Australia and Asia. Rallying WPP’s people and leaders to support women in the business through times of distress and grief has been another of Mamaa’s priorities. In response to Sarah Everard's murder, rising Asian hate crimes and India's COVID Crisis, Mamaa built and hosted educational resource libraries and held safe room discussions to encourage judgement-free conversations. She is committed to ensuring female voices are overrepresented both at Roots events and in speaker nominations for WPP townhalls.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Gonzalez Malloy

Investment Associate
Bridgewater Associates

Elena Gonzalez Malloy is an Investment Associate at Bridgewater Associates, a team lead in the group that runs and develops systematic strategies for investing in Commodity Markets and is a founding member of the firm’s Hispanic/Latinx Network. Elena helps advance Bridgewater’s D&I initiatives by working with Bridgewater's investment recruiting team to help engage previously untapped pools of minority talent, with a particular focus on women STEM candidates. She regularly represents Bridgewater at recruiting conferences where she advises on how to prepare for careers in the financial services industry, covering topics like application processes and finding mentorship and how to create immediate impact when starting a new role. Elena has led efforts to examine Bridgewater's investment training program to ensure it was optimal and inclusive for all. Externally Elena is a volunteer with the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs where she helps immigrant members of the Hispanic/ Latinx community through educational programs on their legal rights and available pathways to citizenship.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Alice Kirby

Senior Director, Inventory Accounting
Dollar General Corporation

Mary Alice served as the first President of Dollar General's Women's Professional Network (WPN), one of five Employee Resource Groups that work to leverage differences and build a more inclusive culture consistent with the Company’s mission and core values. The WPN strives to cultivate an inclusive and empowering women's group through networking, leadership, and educational opportunities, as well as partner with national and regional chapters of the Network of Executive Women. Mary Alice also launched ‘Ignite’, a women’s development program designed to boost WPN participants’ career progression and was instrumental in expanding the WPN company-wide. Additionally, Mary Alice promoted support for women in the workplace through an internal #ChoosetoCelebrate campaign during the 2021 Women's History Month, empowering and inspiring women and their allies. She also regularly participates in a mentorship program, providing guidance to upcoming female leaders at Dollar General.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anne Collins

Senior Associate - Dispute Resolution
Clifford Chance LLP

At Clifford Chance Anne is responsible for helping to ensure the firm is targeting pro bono support towards issues that particularly affect women and girls. She jointly led a global team of lawyers on a pro bono project for an international NGO in support of its campaign for the reform of national laws and practices regarding protections against violence and harassment at work. These efforts were significant in promoting engagement across Clifford Chance's global gender parity Accelerate>>>> network. For the past two years Anne has also acted for a not for profit sporting organization which supports women and girls, seeking protection and justice for female players alleging systemic sexual abuse by officials. Last year Anne was a finalist in both the Inspirational Women Awards in the Under 35 category and the Law Works Pro Bono Awards in the Best Contribution as an Individual category.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amandeep Khasriya

Senior Associate / Founder
Moore Barlow / Women Back to Law

As Co-Founder of Moore Barlow's Women in Leadership group, as well as Co-Chair of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Amandeep played a key role in the firm's application to a gender pilot program run by the Law Society for its Diversity and Inclusion Charter. In the process, she secured senior buy-in; created a 'self-assessment' team; and helped to prepare a submission which involved collecting, analysing and presenting gender diversity data, in addition to researching benchmarking statistics from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Her contribution is now helping the Law Society to develop a final version of the Charter and the firm has since then celebrated a milestone at leadership level, with its equity partner female to male ratio now sitting at 50:50. Outside of Moore Barlow, Amandeep plays an active role as a Committee Member of the Law Society's Women Lawyers Division and as a mentor within the Reignite programme, and has been heavily involved in high-profile projects that promote gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director, Environment, Health & Safety and Sustainability
Dow

Alongside her role as Corporate Director of Environment, Health & Safety and Sustainability, Eunice is actively engaged in the Women's Inclusion Network’s (WIN) +5 program, which matches up-and-coming female employees with potential mentors. For this scheme she has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions including Supply Chain, Purchasing, Commercial, R&D and Manufacturing. Through these engagements, female leaders have successfully been able to position themselves for broader accountability within their current roles as well as for promotions. As the keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, Eunice actively shared her personal experiences throughout her career as an African American woman, wife and business leader. As a result of authentically telling her story, many young female leaders asked Eunice to serve as their mentor for her to coach them through challenging business and personal situations, whilst male leaders in attendance recognized the importance of allyship.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ligia Lima Godoy

Senior Associate (Lawyer)
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Since 2019 Ligia has been one of the three leaders of the Women of the Arbitration and Litigation Team, a support group of 80 whose main purpose is to provide a space of comfort, encouragement and debate about the main challenges that women face within society and the legal business. Besides having conversations where women of different levels of seniority share their personal experiences, Ligia also brings outside guests to speak to the group. She is particularly responsible for coordinating the monthly meetings, suggesting topics of common interest, and inviting speakers who can contribute to the gender diversity and women's inclusion discussion. Since the group was created in 2019, Ligia and her team have noticed a deeper engagement of all associates, including men, and a greater commitment to gender equality within the organization. They have also recognized an increased in the number of female associates hired, now representing more than 50% of the Litigation and Arbitration Team.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jane Green

Chair and Champion advocate
Sussex EDS and Hypermobility Group

Jane promotes accessibility issues in all areas, including with a gender lens. She believes we need 360-degree insight into accessibility issues, which has been particularly relevant during Covid. Jane designed Covid19 alert cards, free, as all the main charities were in lockdown and unable to help. They now sit on the DHSC. Also online cards so women could be fully included in virtual meetings by offering different means of communicating. Jane founded and Chairs the multi award winning charitable social enterprise and chronic ill/disability group mainly for all women, plus theAutismConnected for autistic/neurodivergent adult women and non-binary, who have historically been left out of any support or belief. The first autistic Trustee for the Social Care Institute for Excellence, sits on the DEI Gender Equality, Diversity Steering and co-production group. Recently, CoChair for the National Institute of Health research, policy lead for autism health training medical students, leads the content on the new hypermobility SchoolToolkit UK and oversees health strategies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Hepworth

Business Manager
LSEG

At LSEG Sarah participates in and promotes all the Women Inspired Network’s internal and external events, ensuring new joiners are connected to this network if they wish to be. During the pandemic and the summer of the Black Lives Matter protests, Sarah and her team swiftly recognized the impact external events were having on Black colleagues and their experience working in the city. They sourced relevant external partners to support coaching and counselling for Black colleagues, and following a successful pilot they have now had approval to develop this into the current Employee Assistance Program, which ensures Black, Asian and other ethnic minority colleagues have a counsellor or coach they can relate to and connect with. In 2020 Sarah facilitated a virtual panel event with LSEG’s COO and the COO of their external partner City Mental Health alliance, where they talked about mental health, race, and Diversity and Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Professor Gerardine Doyle

Associate Dean of the UCD College of Business, Director of the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and Professor of Accounting and Taxation
University College of Dublin

As Director of the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Gerardine was responsible for leading the School's first dedicated female recruitment campaign, which is aiming to increase the number of women on MBA and MSc Finance programs up to 40% within three years and 50% within five years. Since 2018, the percentage of women in these programs has already increased from 49% to 54%. As well as creating a new Executive MBA program designed specifically with women in mind, in order to address key barriers including flexibility, confidence and cost, Gerardine also established three new scholarships for women and one new EDI scholarship, the first of its kind in an Irish Business School. Additionally, the Smurfit Women Inspiring More initiative founded by Gerardine was designed to raise awareness of challenges that women face when transitioning from education to a professional environment, and to form a network where these topics can be safely discussed.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Price

Head of client solutions - RPOne
Morson

Samantha is the Founder of the Morson Group Diversity Champions. Her achievements in promoting gender equality include launching a series of reverse mentoring sessions for directors from the company’s population of future female leaders formalizing a partnership with Women in Rail including sponsoring its Big Rail Diversity Challenge and its mentoring program; and extending the group-wide Diversity Champions network to ensure it is gender balanced and includes all under-represented groups. She was also responsible for launching a Women Leaders in Transport network together with telent, Siemens, Crossrail and TfL. Most recently Samantha has introduced an ‘inclusion moment’ for every meeting, put in place plans for inclusive meeting training, and finalized and promoted the BAME Inclusion Report. Her work on gender inclusion within the Morson Group and its client base played a pivotal role in their awards recognition, receiving the accolade for the Best Diversity and Inclusion Strategy by the Firm Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lara Byrne

Director, Global Digital Commerce
Fiserv

Lara is Director, Global Digital Commerce and Head of the Women's Impact Network (WIN) in EMEA at Fiserv. She has overseen the launch of WIN in Ireland, the UK and Poland, with Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands launching later this year. Under Lara’s leadership the network is dedicated to building gender equality by empowering, supporting, developing and advancing the careers of women, and cultivating an environment where women are represented at every level and in every corner of Fiserv. Lara’s activities are primarily focused on building a platform for networking and career development; partnering with external organizations to support women-owned businesses; spotlighting topics previously taboo in the workplace like menopause, fertility and maternity; and funding women-specific development programs. Lara has always been passionate about empowering women in her industry and making a difference to women's enjoyment of their work and their belief in their ability to develop, progress and thrive both professionally and personally. WIN provides a forum for women to discuss challenges and share experience without judgement, and to relate to and support one another in a meaningful way. Lara also mentors five associates at Fiserv, with the objective of making an impact on others which lasts even in her absence.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Communications, GroupM and PR & Marketing Director, WPP - Italy
GroupM

Paola is the Operations Director on the Winspire leadership team, a cross-agency WPP Italy local project whose aim is to support female talent into leadership positions, build gender balance, and undertake D&I activities with internal and external audiences and stakeholders. After WPP’s participation in the Female Employment Manifesto, organized by Valore D, Paola mentored through ‘Quick Fix Training: speed mentoring for colleagues to discuss how to become a future leader’. Moreover, Paola was instrumental to organize a series of activities, such as the training program for WPP women carried out with industry player as Facebook Italia and called ‘Fast Forward’, and she implemented a ‘I’m Remarkable’ workshop with Google Italia. Paola has been collaborating with numerous associations within the industry to develop D&I strategy and activities and embedded into the company. Externally, she has been invited to join as speaker to industry events and she has contributed to the ‘Women4Women: Hack your campaign’ bootcamp on digital media, among other initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sabrina Pyneeandy

Project Manager
Aon

At Aon Sabrina is Co-Chair of both the Gender Inclusion Network and the Gender IQ Business Resource Group. She has played a pivotal role in Aon UK's mission to strive for gender parity by running events for International Women's Day, International Men's Day and Non-Binary Day across the UK. As well as developing key D&I goals and initiatives, Sabrina has been working with HR on the gender pay gap and women's issues, particularly women's safety. She has spoken out about men’s rights, toxic masculinity, the andropause and menstrual leave, and has changed the narrative at Aon for non-binary colleagues, including by sharing how this narrative change could benefit clients. Sabrina’s work running the industry-wide Gender Inclusion Network has seen her create a gender strategy from ideation through to execution. She has helped use the network’s position within the sector to offer insightful events and informative content to advocates, allies and mentors.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sophie Salway

Geomatics Consultant
Shell

Sophie’s achievements as Chair of Shell’s Balance Employee Network have included delivering programs to develop female talent with the overall goal of achieving gender balance. The mentoring scheme had 52 joiners to 5 mentoring circles, and the staff development program resulted in reviews of career development plans of over 60 employees. Sophie’s teams' initiatives to retain female STEM talent included a dedicated session on 'Accelerating Technical Careers’ and two panel sessions on International Women’s Day and International Women in Engineering Day. Likewise, Sophie served as a focal point for female staff after long career breaks in the government 'Return to Work' program. In order to take further steps to transform company culture, Sophie and her team organised the 'Role Model Awards', where 412 staff voted to recognised their D&I Champions, and celebrated International Men's Day, creating 200 information packs on men's health. Collectively these initiatives contributed to Shell's application to become a Times Top 50 Employer for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Namita Singh Thakur

Business Manager
LinkedIn UK

Namita Singh Thakur leads Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions in UK. She is also Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA, co-leading the operations across ten countries in EMEA where LinkedIn has a presence. The ERG's mission to create an inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers whilst being their authentic selves. LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving gender parity across all levels of the organization. Throughout the year and across EMEA, Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her formal involvement in the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys. This has enabled her to help & create impact for women around her.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lillian Bijl

Senior Director, Account Management
FiscalNote

At FiscalNote Lillian co-founded the DEIB Task Force, which, among a number of initiatives, facilitates cross-company discussions around equity and gender diversity in the workplace. As well as actively seeking women candidates for open roles as a hiring manager, Lillian has mentored younger women professionals on career development, supporting two internal promotions. She has also pressed senior leadership to expand the Board of Advisors/Directors to include more women, with the addition of two new female members. Externally, Lillian is a member of the DC Young Leaders Council of Vital Voices, the local chapter of a global organization which invests in the women leaders who are taking on the world's greatest challenges. She also served as a judge on the WE Empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Challenge, assessing applications to help advance participants to the next round in an international competition for funding for women entrepreneurs. Lillian is also a sustaining member of the centre for Feminist Foreign Policy.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aisha Adedeji

Digital Engagement Manager
Barclays Bank

Aisha is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council of Barclays, as well as the Black Professional Forum and the Women’s Inclusion Network. She has hosted various events including ‘Women In Business’ conferences held at the head office of the bank. These events were hosted internally but open to external female entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. The impact of the events on the bank’s reputation and income included on-boarding over 20 new female business clients who were impressed by the offering. Aisha is also part of an initiative titled ‘Ethnically Diverse Founders’, a program launching in 2021 aimed at educating businesses on a variety of things including access to finance, digital engagement and growth. She has pioneered the program to ensure that the selection process includes a 50:50 male to female ratio. Externally Aisha runs a Youtube channel titled ‘The Hustle Table’ which aims to empower young women in their career aspirations.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sultana Tafadar

Barrister
No 5 Chambers

Sultana is a human rights, international law and criminal justice barrister. She is the first Chair of the new Religious Discrimination Task Force at the Bar Standards Board, supporting the delivery of the BSB's statutory objectives to improve equality of outcomes for those in the profession. As a hijab wearing female from an ethnic minority background, Sultana has consistently encouraged candidates from diverse backgrounds to enter the legal profession, speaking at dozens of events every year to promote diversity, including at universities and other institutions. Sultana has mentored scores of aspiring barristers throughout her career, most often female mentees from diverse racial, ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. As Chair of the Muslim Lawyers Action Group, Sultana is spearheading a mentoring program for the hiring, retention and progression of minorities in the legal profession, including a new program for increasing the number of Judges and QCs from racial, ethnic and faith minorities, with a particular emphasis on supporting gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nina Ma

Technology, Data & Analytics Senior Associate
PwC

At PwC Nina is an active member of the Midlands' committee and the national communications team of the Gender Balance Network (GBN), where she regularly contributes to the weekly digests and monthly newsletters to talk about gender-related issues. She has organized many successful events to raise awareness of gender equality within the firm and also with clients, including International Women's Day events, Discussion Clubs and Everyday Sexism initiatives. Nina is also part of the Women in Technology, Data & Analytics (WiTDA) team, which aims to create an environment where everyone feels empowered, inspired and supported to bring their authentic self to work. The special initiative she supports within WiTDA helps women at the manager level break the glass ceiling and progress further in their careers. Nina has spoken at many internal and external events and conferences, including for the Diversity Network, Generation Success, Females of the Future and Women in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rebekah Bostan

Director of Research and Insight
InsTech London

Rebekah joined InsTech London in July 2021 having previously worked for almost 15 years for IHS Markit. One of the key features of Rebekah's time at IHS Markit was a focus on proactively seeking out opportunities to progress female talent within the organization, in partnership with HR. During her time at IHS Markit, she mentored senior leadership on issues that predominantly affect women, such as the menopause and flexible working, culminating in the implementation of global awareness programs focused on both those issues and an award from TimeWise in recognition of her efforts. As Chair of Parents@IHSMarkit, Rebekah worked with HR to launch a Global Parental Leave Support program and Global Parental Leave Buddy Scheme. She was also an active mentor for the latter, as well as the Women in Tech program. Additionally, as co-lead of the Innovation Month she was able to facilitate a 50% increase in the representation of female and minority groups in the program over 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Blanch Israel

Managing Director & Partner
BCG

In addition to her role as a partner in the firm’s Consumer practice, Caroline leads Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Women@BCG for BCG Australia & New Zealand. In 2019, BCG Australia moved to equalize leave for all new parents regardless of gender or caregiver status. Under Caroline’s leadership, the program has grown to over 90% participation from eligible staff. Caroline has championed the de-gendering of working parenthood, with 20% of female and 10% of male managers working on flex models. To complement existing Women's and Pride networks, Caroline amplified employee action groups around Culture & Ethnicity, First Nations and Disability Inclusion. They run intersectional programming and affiliation activities such as a ‘True Colours’ storytelling series where diverse individuals are invited to share their lived experiences with colleagues, and a Women@BCG conference with over 150 attendees. Under Caroline’s leadership the local diversity network has more than quadrupled, with over 100 employee champions across 6 engagement pillars driving grassroots change.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Fuller

Customer Journey Developer
NatWest Group

At the NatWest Group Gender Network Lauren has taken on the roles of Strategy Committee Lead, East Regional Lead, and Comms & Marketing Deputy Lead. Her D&I work includes building an internal awards support hub to encourage more women at NatWest to nominate themselves for awards. As a result in 2020 the bank saw an uplift of over 40 women being shortlisted for awards externally. In addition the financial capability program she developed to support women with closing financial gaps helped almost 1000 women with managing their finances, and the Lean In program she launched currently has 13 circles running with 200 people involved. Other programs Lauren has kickstarted include Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative, which involved 31 facilitators delivering workshops to over 400 colleagues in less than three months. As well as being an Inclusion Champion, Lauren was a winner of the bank’s 2021 Amethyst Award for Gender Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Caroline Spence

UK Risk Reporting Manager
AXA UK

Caroline chairs the AXA Balance Employee Network, which focuses on gender equality supporting and working families. In 2021, the network released a flexible working hub designed to help employees understand what flexible working arrangements were available; to normalise taking advantage of them; to empower employees to start conversations with managers; and to escalate issues. Caroline also supported the creation and launch of a Women's Wellbeing Hub, to allow men and women across the organisation to understand and engage with the issues faced by women in the workplace, and to provide a supportive resource for women. A 'People Like Me' vlog series was also created, spotlighting those living the life they choose and not letting prejudice, stereotypes or perceived shortcomings prevent them from achieving their goals. Later this year, the domestic abuse policy and hub that Caroline has helped to design will go live, with the aim of helping employees to normalise conversations and create a safe environment for anyone suffering.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Candice Tse

Managing Director - US head of Market Strategy within the Strategic Advisory Solutions team in Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Goldman Sachs

Candice is a dedicated manager, mentor, diversity recruiter, and advocate for women, committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment throughout the firm. She developed an investing framework titled ‘EMPOWER the Female Investor’, in order to help women gain confidence in investing and take control of their finances, and she conducted, produced, and published research for the firm on the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on the gender gap. As the Co-Head of the Asian Professionals network, she ensured that the group took an intersectional approach to its programming so it would address issues specific to women within the Asian Community, such as breaking the bamboo ceiling and addressing the model minority myth. Candice also participates in mentorship pods supporting Asian women, promoting their continued development and professional advancement, and strengthening the diversity of Goldman Sach’s talent pipeline. She leads diversity recruiting efforts for the Asset Management Division.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olivia Maguire

Portfolio Manager
J.P. Morgan Asset Management

At J.P. Morgan Asset Management Olivia instituted and chaired EMEA Women on The Move in Asset Management, and EMEA Women on The Move in Fixed Income. The ‘Innovate & Inspire’ conference series she organized for internal and external attendees included ‘Investing in your Connections’ - designed to encourage the building of networks - while ‘Investing in your Future’ highlighted mentoring, ESG, technology and being 'board-ready’. The fourth annual ‘Defining Success’ panel facilitated an opportunity for junior employees to hear from senior female and male leaders, including the CEO, and a parental leave discussion held with male leaders aimed to increase awareness and encourage male take-up. Olivia is a partner for the ‘Male Ambassador Program’, a cohort of 50 senior male Managing Directors committed to being allies for female employees, mentoring young emerging female talent, and encouraging their teams to do the same. Externally Olivia chairs the CFA UK Inclusion & Diversity Committee and is personally committed to various diversity initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yasmine dong

Senior Policy Advisor
department for business energy and industrial strategy (BEIS)

In her role as joint Head of Events, L&D and Volunteers for the Women Empowered Network at BEIS, Yasmine has raised the profile of the Network internally and externally by aligning Gender equality initiatives with departmental strategy and increasing collaboration with cross-government and private sector allies. Throughout the pandemic, Yasmine revamped the Network’s events offer to accommodate new ways of working with a focus on community. This involved creating a bespoke programme called 'Elevenses', which provided safe spaces to discuss challenging issues including Gender pay gap and returning to work while breastfeeding. She also led the Network's delivery of the first 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, where she curated thought-provoking sessions on topics ranging from sexual harassment in the workplace to victims’ safe access to justice. Externally, she provides pro-bono legal advice at the Waterloo Action Centre where she particularly focuses on representing victims of domestic violence and those affected with respect to their legal rights.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jeanette Gitobu

Project Developer
Windlab

In November of 2019, Jeanette joined Windlab as the only Black female Project Developer working on Africa’s first of its kind renewable power project, Meru County Energy Park. The $150 million project is an innovative 90 MW power project that combines wind turbines, solar PV technology, and battery storage capabilities. The multimillion-dollar project involves over 1,700 landowners with approximately 27% of the owners being women who will receive income over the lifetime of the project. Jeanette has successfully worked with senior management to ensure that women empowerment and women led companies are given preferential procurement during feasibility and construction phases, in addition to ensuring that women’s voices will be represented in the Community Trust which is responsible for developing projects in Education, Health, Agriculture, and Access to Clean Water. This year, Jeanette was chosen out of 200 candidates to represent the Kenyan emerging market at this year's Women in Wind Global Leadership program hosted by the Global Wind Energy Council.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikki Jamieson

Transformation Manager
NatWest Group

Currently a Transformation Manager at Natwest Group, Nikki has taken on additional roles to progress the D&I agenda. She is an Inclusion & Gender Champion, Lead for the Intergenerational Workforce, member of the Gender Balanced Steering Group and as LGBT, Disability, Ethnicity & Neurodiversity Ally. She’s coached and mentored many women including Executives, Senior Managers, Software Engineers and Graduates. These experiences led to opportunities to speak “Women in Technology” events, including ‘Neuroscience during Covid-19', and ‘Resilience and Positive Mental Health in Women’. In both the all-female ‘Bereavement Café’, and in a panel looking at ‘Mental Health in Women and the Return to the Office’, Nikki shared her advice and experience of loss. During lockdown, she took two additional female graduates onto her team, coaching them on soft skills and strategies they’ll need to succeed in a complex and largely male environment. Lastly, she is coaching ‘women with Autism’ - having (finally) disclosed she has Aspergers as well as Multiple Sclerosis.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti is a business support manager for the Consumer, Small Business and Wealth Management Technology team. As a decade long advocate for diversity and inclusion, she received Bank of America’s Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019. A member of the bank’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development for Women employee network, she was a panelist at their ‘The Power of Your Authentic Voice’ event to inspire women to raise their voice and recruit male allies. She mentors young, diverse female talent through many bank partnerships to encourage their interest in and pursuit of careers in technology. Other efforts to promote gender equity include Dipti: championing the inaugural Chief Operating Office Innovation challenge to continue to promote inclusive workspaces and foster innovation, as well as her involvement in organizing the ‘Courageous Conversation: Coming together against racism’ event cohosted by the Asian Leadership Network, the Black Professional Group, and the Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership and Advancement at Bank of America.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amanda Scott

Managing Director
Willis Towers Watson

Amanda is a senior leader at Willis Towers Watson and advises clients on organisational transformation, gender equity, inclusion and diversity, climate, talent management, rewards and leadership. Amanda launched an I&D programme within the firm to drive employee experience and a culture of inclusivity. The programme includes ‘diverse diversity’ to encourage broader thinking about diversity, an educating matters series, promotion coaching, mentoring scheme, diversified hiring processes, recognition, and community impact through a partnership with Inspiring the Future. Amanda is passionate about mental health issues, a gender balanced workforce, environmental, social and governance issues. Amanda founded the mental health charity, Mike’s Mates and sits on the board of Global Women 4 Wellbeing. Amanda regularly publishes industry thought leadership, provides commentary to the UK press and social media and is an active public speaker. Amanda recently led a lecture masterclass series across Europe communicating key issues about the future of work to tens of thousands of delegates.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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René Lumley-Hall

Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

As Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Technology, René has made a tremendous impact so far in her four-year tenure at BNY Mellon, to include hiring and coaching 11 women of varying ethnic, educational and professional backgrounds in support of the firm’s Digital and Product Management efforts. She successfully promoted high performing women on her team, ensuring their compensation was commensurate with their contributions, and has advocated for and mentored women on a formal and informal basis. René also sits on the invitation-only IMPACT Black Leadership Forum (BLF), a group of senior Black leaders across BNY Mellon who serve as catalysts for promoting a diverse and inclusive

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Vice President
Bank of Ireland

Catherine is Co-Chair of the Bank’s Corporate & Markets Gender Balance Network and also Chair of the UK Network where she is involved in managing a number of initiatives, including organising I&D focussed events, whilst engaging with key stakeholders to grow the bank's inclusive culture. As part of International Women's Day, Catherine spearheaded a series of high-impact Women in Business & Finance webinars with a diverse group of industry leading panellists, including female Chairs and CFO’s across the corporate sector, achieving the highest NPS of any bank event. Catherine formally mentors upcoming women within the organisation and is also a UK Representative of the Psychological Safety working group, where she has been developing ideas and taking action to help women feel psychologically safe. Externally, Catherine supports and empowers millennial women through bespoke mentorship and coaching. In 2021, she founded The Women in Business Society, a global membership community providing opportunities for professional females to share knowledge, network & create impactful connections.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs

Lin is a multi-award winning thought leader, keynote speaker, an original thinker in delivering the intersection of diversity, culture and psychology to business. Alongside her Executive Director role at Goldman Sachs, Lin informs management about East Asians’ experiences, led a Lunar New Year event for the Asian Pacific Network, where she delivered the keynote on ‘China – A Personal Journey’, and a ‘What did you hear me say?’ diversity session, where she partnered with senior female clients to drive changes across the industry. She articulates East Asian professionals' experience and leads discussion on Stop Asian Hate and Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, focusing on intersectionality of gender and race. She has created ground-breaking talk series such as “If the World listens to China” to inspire vital curiosity about China and the influence it will have, and “How to find your voice” to empower more women. She influences via leadership positions at Diversity Project, UK Chinese Women Connect, and Rising Network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rabi Wilson

Head of Business Case and Benefits – Help to Grow Digital
Department for Business

At the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Rabi initiated and set up working groups to address issues on allyship, women's health, and women's safety including sexual harassment. After developing a program of work to engage colleagues, and in particular men in Senior Leadership positions, to better understand gender equality, the Women Empowered Network saw an increase in membership from allies. Rabi was also responsible for launching 'Allies Hours', which invites a diverse range of speakers to discuss effective allyship to women and individual actions to promote gender equity, in cross-thematic conversations related to women in business and women in STEM amongst others. In 2020, Rabi had strategic oversight of the network’s first interactive 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence across the department. Rabi champions a safe space for awareness-raising discussions focused on women's health, aiming to better equip staff to have honest conversations about conditions that predominantly affect women and the impacts in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Seema Bansal

Partner & Director
Boston Consulting Group

As only the second woman to be recruited into Boston Consulting Group India, Seema pioneered the Women@BCG India program, driving a rigorous agenda from recruiting to retention as well as mentorship and enablement. As the group’s membership has increased, the focus has now evolved into supporting women to aim for larger leadership roles, an objective orchestrated through bold aspiration setting and individually focused mentoring. Today, BCG has over 35% female representation including over 20% at leadership levels - significantly higher than BCG's peer group and directly comparable to the best-in-class in India. Seema is also the Asia Pacific Leader for the Social Impact practice at BCG. This leadership position sees her regularly deliver lectures, host discussions and be a part of senior panels within and outside BCG – inspiring scores of women via these channels. Seema’s biggest focus externally has been on inspiring young female students – to this end she speaks at more than 10 Indian University campuses every year.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Gillian Russell

Senior Program Manager, Global Military Affairs
Amazon

Gillian is a Royal Navy veteran and military spouse who joined Amazon three years ago with the objective of increasing military hiring at the company. When she arrived she immediately realized that solely increasing the number of veteran hires would do little to impact diversity, so she instigated specific measures to attract female candidates and those with different backgrounds and education. Working with recruiters and hiring managers, she dispelled myths regarding the perceived lack of transferable skills that military personnel, and their spouses, bring to business. In addition to designing and executing tailored events, some exclusively for women, to ensure that military leavers understood the breadth of roles available at Amazon, Gillian also managed Amazon’s sponsorship of the Women's Army and Navy rugby game at Twickenham in 2018, highlighting the company's commitment to the female military community. In 2020, 33 female veterans joined the company, making up 11% of hires.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bola Adesina

Senior Systems Analyst (Co-Chair, Culture Club network)
LGIM | Legal & General

Bola has worked tirelessly to empower women and ethnic minorities both in the Tech sector and within the workplace. As a member of the C-suite led Women in Technology (WIT) forum, she has represented the company at cross industry events such as the Women of Silicon Roundabout, where networking opportunities are promoted and best practices and insights shared. Her appearances at these events have encouraged other junior women in Tech to stay put and to look to their role model for guidance as they navigate a male-dominated industry. Bola is also Co-Chair of Culture Club (Ethnicity workstream) where she works to ensure an inclusive workplace by collaborating with stakeholders at all levels, gaining buy-in, and aligning D&I initiatives with overall business strategy. Her experiences with Culture Club have led her to mentor and coach other ERG Leads, to build an effective intersectional D&I outcome.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leya Teo

Vice President
Edelman

An advocate for coaching, mentorship and learning opportunities, Leya has chaired the Global Women's Equality Network (GWEN) China at Edelman since 2017 - an internal initiative with a mission to continue to foster an environment where women and men of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed in and beyond Edelman. She was Global lead for Mentorship programs, APAC representative at International Women’s Forum (IWF) World Leadership Conference Milan and China Lead for APAC DE&I Council. Amongst the initiatives Leya has launched to engage more than 200 GWEN members was a SHERO Showcase, where strong female leaders in China are invited to Edelman offices to inspire colleagues. Achievements so far include helping Edelman reach 49% gender parity amongst senior leaders compared to 30% three years ago in this region. Leya is named HERoes 100 Women Future Leaders List 2020 and shortlisted in Top 5 for Women Empowerment Awards in China - Outstanding Woman Leader of the Year 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

When Jennie joined Capital One over two years ago, it was with the understanding that she would continue to drive a gender lens in the Financial Services sector. She is currently the UK Chapter co-lead for the internal gender Business Resource Group empowHER, as well as serving on the UK Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Partners forum which pushes for progress with initiatives such as getting more women into senior leadership roles. She brings a gender lens to all activity and conversations including those within the REACH ethnicity network, and frequently takes part in collaboration between REACH and empowHER such as Career Pathways to build community support outside of the organization, actively engaging in local school career sessions. Some of the key initiatives Jennie has been responsible for have included establishing safe space meetings to discuss key challenges; running regular bite-sized sessions where senior women share their five guiding principles; and expanding the mentoring program to include reciprocal mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rhonda Childress

Business Information Security Officer
IBM in support of Kyndryl

Whilst security organizations typically have 8-12% women, Rhonda's direct reports are 50% women and across the herentire organization 24% of employees are female. Rhonda is the Executive Sponsor of the Women in Security Excelling (WISE) network, which boasts over 400 members, and has been an active mentor to more than 30 women holding various positions throughout IBM, with 50% of these women achieving their primary outcome. Furthermore a third of women recently appointed to the role of Distinguished Engineer, the second highest technical rank, were directly mentored by Rhonda, as were 25% of the women appointed to the highest technical rank of IBM Fellows. Externally, Rhonda mentors girls in a computer class at a high school in Austin, where her positive impact has included successfully encouraging a student to enrol in community college. For the Austin Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, Rhonda serves as Social Media Leader and helps organizes events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, Connections
Anheuser-Busch InBev

As Senior Director of Connections at Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI), Stephanie is a female leader in a male-dominated industry, one of a select group of female partners at the company. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive space within the beer industry for all. Her efforts to advocate for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry include working with recruiting teams to ensure a minimum of 50% of candidates for new positions on her team are diverse; partnering with external agencies to ensure the teams supporting the organization are diverse; and recruiting on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Stephanie has worked to promote and develop female leaders within the company by providing one-on-one mentoring to six women and hosting informal group mentoring through Women in Beer get-togethers and career panels. She also serves as a ‘Captain’ for the Network of Executive Women within ABI, an educational non-profit committed to advancing all women through the power of community.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katy Goodrich

Business Manager, Strategic Growth
Adobe

As Global Executive Co-Chair of Women at Adobe, Katy launched the group’s Strategic Pillars within UK&I, including establishing 23 women across tiger teams with a lens on Professional Development, Recruitment, Social Impact, Women's Health and Communications. Each team has set a strategy and KPIs to help move the dial on key indicators of diversity in the business and its leadership. After accepting the Executive Co-Chair role in May this year, Katy has been partnering with stakeholders to advance the mission of women at Adobe globally. Another way Katy has advanced the group’s mission has been through a Women at Adobe Speaker Training, which saw 25 women participate in a three-month training to enhance their skills and gain opportunities for internal networking. Each participant filled out a profile, which were then referred to Adobe’s marketing and communications teams, expressing their interest in participating in future internal and external speaking opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melanie Cook

Vice President, Assistant General Counsel - Employment
Dollar General Corporation

At Dollar General, Melanie is Executive Sponsor of the Women's Professional Network Employee Resource Group (WPN), which aims at empowering female colleagues and allies within the company. She has been instrumental in the company-wide rollout of WPN and has led quarterly events to highlight women and the impact they can make at DG and beyond. Additionally, she has moderated panels including one of male executives who spoke on the significance of being an ally for workplace diversity and another for the company's largest annual internal meeting where board members and senior leaders discussed the importance of female leadership. As well as leading an all-female team, Melanie has served as a mentor to female colleagues and contributes to the formation of the company's Diversity and Inclusion strategy, mission, and goals at quarterly Diversity Champions committee meetings.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Janelle Reiko Sasaki

Director, Brand, Marketing & Communications
EY Japan

Janelle Sasaki leads the strategy and initiatives of EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) for 200 women athletes and entrepreneurs globally, which has received several external recognitions. With her 10-year experience as a gymnast, she addresses the needs of businesses to find diverse talent and women athletes on realizing their leadership potential in the business world. As a well-known expert on gender diversity, Janelle is invited to speak at international events including the American and British embassies in Tokyo. Most recently, as an ally of LGBT+ community, Janelle facilitated a WABN workshop at Pride House Tokyo. Internally, she is a Committee Member of EY’s Women. Fast forward Steering Group. As the group’s leader for Asia-Pacific, Janelle manages campaigns and provides skill-building workshops for high potential female managers. Janelle is a third generation Japanese American. Prior to EY, she served as the D&I Leader for a technology company in Asia-Pacific, where she launched the company-wide D&I strategy and addressed workplace challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

EMEAI Region Purchasing Director
Dow

This year, Margherita was named the Global Leader for the Dow Women's Inclusion Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group. For four years prior to this she led Dow WIN in the EMEAI Region, helping to move the needle for female representation at leadership levels to 50%. Margherita was responsible for developing and implementing the group’s strategy, including setting up a Female Sponsorship Program. Established in partnership with INSEAD Business School, it was the first ever sponsorship program for female talent in the EMEAI region. Within 18 months 50% of the female talent who participated had been promoted to leadership roles. Last year Margherita developed the second cohort of the program, which is aiming to help promote 80% of the 36 women participating within 24 months. Other initiatives she has headed up have included attaining an Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland and sponsoring the role model stories of Dow’s ‘Hidden Heroes’.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Michelle O. Manalo

Client Experience Operations Senior Manager
Accenture

Michelle leads Accenture Women’s Network (AWN) of Accenture in the Philippines’ Client Experience Operations. The group’s objective is to make women and women’s advocates feel empowered, connected and valued, something that Michelle pushes for through a number of key initiatives such as the monthly Women’s Talk events, which average between 100 and 150 attendees, and provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences. Other initiatives have so far covered themes around working parents, men championing women, and mental health and wellness. For International Women’s Day 2021 a special Stand Up and Stand Out event was held, which challenged gender misconceptions, and had an attendance of nearly 350 people. Since March 2021, Michelle has also served as a sponsor for the Google’s #IAmRemarkable initiative that strives to empower women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments and promote themselves to others, breaking gender-related modesty norms.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marilyn Lin

Interim Head of MuleSoft Global Customer Support.
Salesforce

Having always been an advocate for gender equality, including being the co-founder of Salesforce Women’s Network (the Company’s first ERG), Marilyn recently shifted her DEI focus to address the challenges and struggles faced in the workplace by those who identify as belonging to more than one underrepresented group. Over the last two years she has started shining a spotlight on intersectionality in one-on-one discussions with Executive Leaders at Salesforce, helping them understand the importance of having representation up and down the organization beyond just gender. In light of recent events, Marilyn has shared her experiences of anti-Asian hate as an Asian American woman through company-wide meetings and external events. Both in and outside of Salesforce, Marilyn serves as a mentor and coach to several individuals each year, including former direct reports, and she is often contacted via her social network to share her career journey and to guide women on how to navigate their own career changes.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margaret Gribben

Performance Manager
Irish Life

Margaret leads several gender equity initiatives at Irish Life, including the Women@Work Gender Networking Group, the Women@Work Steering Group and the Female Leader Development Group. She has successfully instigated Gender Balance Targets, winning Board approval for her approach and managing an action plan that not only delivered these targets but exceeded them. Subsequently, Margaret has gone on to create Irish Life’s inaugural Gender Dashboard, which now includes recruitment data, and has authored board papers highlighting the progress made. Her other achievements include raising the engagement and attendance on the company’s flagship Women@Work Programme with 80% of female employees actively participating; leading International Women’s Day company celebrations; working with cognitive diversity assessments to understand leader preferences; introducing group-wide mentoring and reverse mentoring programs; and mainstreaming D&I into Talent Management. All of which has contributed to a substantial increase in the inclusion score within Irish Life’s annual engagement survey.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ramat Tejani

Programme Lead
Amazon Web Services

At Amazon Web Services (AWS) Ramat leads the AWS GetIT education programme in the UK and Ireland. It is designed to inspire young students aged between 12 and 13, especially girls, to consider a career in tech, by challenging them to design an app which could help their school or local community. AWS GetIT simultaneously empowers female talent within the business to build confidence and leadership skills through a 10-month executive speaker training program. The women, known as AWS GetIT ambassadors, go on to use some of the skills they learn to mentor students at the schools involved in the school stream of the AWS GetIT programme. This year Ramat increased the total number of AWS GetIT ambassadors to over 150 women, from across a variety of business units. For Amazon UK’s Black Employee Network, and in collaboration with the Women@AmazonUK, Ramat curated a series of financial wellbeing workshops, after recognizing the importance of financial literacy especially for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Juliana Puntel

Lawyer
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Juliana is a lawyer at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados, an international Law Firm based in Brazil, and part of 4Women, a group that works to boost gender equity and promote women to leadership positions through training, mentoring, and the creation of an increasingly strong and welcoming professional network. In 2016, the 4Women program was named by Chambers and Partners as ‘Best Gender Diversity Initiative’ and in 2019, the same program was recognized by Valor Econômico and Women in Leadership Latin America (WILL) in the ‘Women in Leadership’ category. Juliana is involved in several pro bono initiatives offered by the firm to feminist and women’s organizations in Brazil, such as Instituto Alziras, Instituto AzMina, Me Too Brasil (that is starting in Brazil), Reprograma, Mulher em Construção, Mães na Luta, LeME (Leite Materno na Escola), DIVAM (Debates Integrados pela Valorização e Atendimento das Mulheres), Empodera and Coletivo O Berço. All these projects are focused on women’s rights or offered to vulnerable women. Among them, Juliana contribution to the creation of Casa Sueli Carneiro should be highlighted, since it is an important institution that honors Sueli’s black feminist activism.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Diana Velarde

Delivering Deal Value Director
PwC Mexico

In addition to her commercial role, she is also the Director of the Firm's first D&I Staff Council. As part of her work within the council, she leads the gender inclusion efforts to reduce gaps, stereotypes, and unconscious bias both inside the Firm and within our process, through conversations with senior leaders. She supports women who suffer, or are at risk of suffering, any forms of gender-based violence inside PwC and her communities by providing tools and a support network. Diana co-founded the Deals Women Network (DWN), which promotes networking and skills development for women. To reduce female turnover in the DWN group, she advocates improving existing benefits for working mothers too. Another program she co-founded was Women in Mergers & Acquisitions Consulting. Her involvement in this project includes speaking in online forums focused on inviting female students and graduates to apply to Deals' open positions.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Ozdinec

Senior Technology Strategist, Corporate Technology
BNY Mellon

Jennifer is BNY Mellon’s Sr. Technology Strategist, Agile Transformation Lead. She has been instrumental in developing the Women in Technology (WIT) brand, serving as the Americas lead and overseeing programming for New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and LATAM. In June 2020, she was recognized as a DEI Champion at BNY Mellon for her efforts launching the #SitWithMe internal campaign, focused on driving awareness of WIT through conversations about global diversity. Most recently, Jennifer organized a virtual mobility event for hiring managers to meet directly with the WIT talent pool to increase diverse hiring and improve the attrition of women technologists at BNY Mellon.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amrit Teja

Operations Manager, Digital Acceleration
National Grid

Amrit Teja is an Operations Manager in the Digital Acceleration team at National Grid. Over the past eighteen months Amrit has driven the Inclusion agenda within National Grid, was appointed as Co-chair of the Women in National Grid (WiNG) employee resource group and embarked on her current role helping to shape National Grid’s digital future.Co-led by Amrit, WiNG promotes gender equality and the professional development of Women. The diverse Steering Committee spans eight teams delivering projects across the business. The network has 400 members with 650 on Yammer and a further 150 in the Families Group.Whether it’s offering training and development, professional accreditation support, events, networking, mentoring, lean in circles, Allyship or Inclusive Culture; WiNG is a powerhouse network. During the pandemic, working full time and home schooling her children, Amrit ensured the continued success of WiNG and is now excited to focus on future projects around women in science, technology and the green workforce of the future.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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KC Boas

Vice President
BlackRock

KC’s achievements to promote gender equality at BlackRock include founding the Women in RG network; establishing a next generation leadership development program; and placing a focus on bridging the retirement gender savings gap through career development, community building and industry engagement. Over the last few years KC has had the responsibility of leading BlackRock’s global campaign for International Women’s Day, engaging thousands of employees in a gender equality pledge, orchestrating regional events, and curating the firm’s social media presence. She has also spearheaded 23 small-group discussions, which generated more than 1,000 ideas on developing female leaders at BlackRock. In 2021, KC was the inaugural recipient of BlackRock’s DEI Leaders Award, which recognizes employees for their dedication to DEI outside their day job and is awarded based on impact achieved within the firm. Her work on DEI initiatives has also previously won KC the Heart of BlackRock award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Lending TM and MAM Argentina
HSBC Bank Argentina

For three years (2017-19), Melisa chaired the BALANCE network at HSBC Argentina, engaging over 100 colleagues to drive change towards a gender-balanced, inclusive and equitable workplace. As well, Melisa is Co-Founder of HSBC’s Mujeres al Mundo (MAM), a program aimed at accelerating women's economic inclusion and empowerment by way of providing training, networking, mentoring and financial services to female customers. For MAM, Melisa has trained over 100 relationship managers and developed a network of 30 women ambassadors to embed gender perspective in business positions. Up to date, over 2,000 businesswomen and entrepreneurs already signed up as part of MAM community, from which they have free access to an online training program of 21 masterclasses on key business topics, along with mentoring days and networking meetings. Also, from March’21 to date, as part of MAM financial proposal, HSBC disbursed USD 40 million, with lower interest rates, to boost female-owned commercial projects. MAM is certainly changing the way we talk about gender across the financial system.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy

As one of the few high-profile women of color at Oglivy Shelina plays an active role in pushing the company’s D&I agenda, sitting on the Inclusion boards of both Oglivy and WPP. She has served as a panelist next to the WPP CEO and the WPP UK CEO to discuss anti-racism and allyship in an internal WPP-wide 'safe room’. As well as chairing key public and internal sessions, such as industry discussions on unconscious bias and women, Shelina has represented Ogilvy at International Women's Day events. In the past she has hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme, and today she mentors junior talent herself with a focus on women and women of color. In August 2020 Shelina published a children's book called ‘The Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams’, serving to highlight strong female role models. In the same year she received Advertising Week's Future is Female award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alison Kessler

Product Director
IHS Markit

Alison founded Women@Englewood in order to help women at IHS Markit arrive at their full potential; to identify and connect with supporters of women at the firm; and to break barriers in the realm of Diversity and Inclusion. Attendance of the group has now grown to over 50 participants each month, with increased awareness, braver discussions, and a strong enthusiasm for the space to learn. Each meeting intentionally 'shares the mic' with women that might not have visibility, and intersectionality is emphasized through partnerships with other affinity groups. Women@Englewood’s work prompted the publication of gender diversity stats at each level in the company, and led to discussions about the need for systemic changes. In another role as Americas Region Champion for the whole of the Women's Network, Alison has helped collaborate on activities across North and South America, including working on global programming such as the celebrations for International Women’s Day, which over 400 people attended.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Helen Redfern

Group HR director
Kier

As a leader at Kier, Helen has been instrumental in promoting Diversity and Inclusion as a strategic imperative, resulting in full, active support from senior management, who are committed to making a real difference and driving change across the industry. Her achievements in this position have included appointing Kier's first head of D&I; upskilling and mentoring women to encourage career progression; and leading the creation of the Kier Inclusion Network. The Future of Work workstream Helen sponsors aims to drive an agile approach in a historically traditional employer, encouraging more flexibility in working patterns for those with caring responsibilities. As well as chairing the Kier D&I committee, where she helps to steer the agenda at the company while championing employee voices, Helen is also the Executive Sponsor of the firm’s newly created Gender Inclusion Network, and was heavily involved in the introduction of Kier's first D&I audit.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Ofek

Founder
World Crisis Forum (WCF)

Danielle is a tech and social entrepreneur and a champion of inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond. Danielle advocates and supports the recruitment and retention and engagement of a diverse body of talent, mentors colleagues globally and organises company-wide initiatives to drive inclusion. As the founder of WCF she puts the values of DEI at the forefront of any activity and as a constructive value from day1. Outside of WCF, Danielle founded Parliament51, a non-profit organization which inspired the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to publish a statement pushing for gender equality and the alleviation of discrimination in the workplace. Following further guidance from Parliament51 the MFA later published an implementation guide. Danielle is working to ensure that the partner companies of P51 are a model employer for women through the hiring, retention and promotion process, as well as the provision of support on best practices designed to create an inclusive workplace. Danielle hopes that this will pave the way for more companies and other governmental and international organizations to follow their lead and adopt the same approach towards creating an equal and safe working environment for women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Founder & CEO ET Solutions, Board/Advisor, Non-Executive Director, Co-Chair UK Government Diversity & Inclusion Board, Military Ambassador
ET Solutions

Emer was very proud to receive an OBE in the recent Queen’s birthday honours for her services to Equality and Diversity. Emer is Co-Chair of Leaders as Change Agents, a UK Government Diversity and Inclusion Board, which represents the FTSE 350 Chair’s and CEO’s as well as the 150 largest privately owned businesses, to lead the change in promoting diversity and inclusion across all businesses. At ET Solutions, Emer leads the Women's Mentor and Sponsorship program. During COVID-19, she allocated time every week to host internal and external calls and workshops.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Mascolo

President Shell Aviation
Shell

Anna is responsible for Shell's global sales of fuels and lubricants to the Aviation industry. Anna ‘s career spans a wide spectrum of leadership roles and she is an inclusive and inspirational leader with international experience. Anna serves as a mentor and has been an active participant to a number of Women’s Networks, she has spoken at events to raise awareness on gender issues and to share her personal experience (most recently at the International Transport Forum during International Women's Day 2021). Anna has had a positive impact on mentees’ next career choices, their chances at promotion and their work-life balance. She has inspired many women within Shell and beyond to be confidence that change is possible. Anna takes pride in leading gender balanced leadership teams and has taken courageous steps to drive gender balance throughout the organisations she has led.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sara Michael

VP & GM, Verywell Health
Dotdash

Sara's main contribution to Diversity and Inclusion at Dotdash has been as the Chair of the Events Committee for the organization’s Women's Council. Sara has helped see this group through its infancy, growing from 30 to nearly 160 members in under two years. One of her roles within the Council has been to lead monthly roundtables on a range of topics relevant to women, including exploring imposter syndrome; the impact of COVID-19 on women in the workplace; how women can better support each other; and a recent panel in collaboration with the Dotdash Pride ERG around family planning, which centered the experience of trans women and folks. As a result, women have been provided with an empowering space to connect, raise their voices, and share experiences. The discussions have established a forum for women's perspectives that wasn't present at Dotdash before, and has helped carve out a meaningful model for DE&I programming across the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Patricia Furtado Alvim

Chief Financial Officer, LATAM
BNY Mellon

As Chief Financial Officer, LATAM, Patricia leads a high-performing team made up of 70% women. Her efforts to further gender equality have included leading the LATAM chapter of BNY Mellon’s Women's Initiatives Network (WIN), as well as serving as a member of the LATAM DEI Council and the DEI Champions Award Council. Patricia has also acted as a mentor for women as part of the Finance Mentoring Program, which supports the development of younger professionals from different regions to include LATAM, EMEA and APAC. Externally, she has represented BNY Mellon in such groups as BE TOGETHER that focus on increasing female inclusion and empowerment in the Brazilian financial

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bo Zhou

Partner & Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Account Management Team
IHS Markit

Partnering with IHS Markit Academy and the Marketing & Communications teams, Bo Zhou initiated the global IHS Markit Academy ‘Women in Leadership’ series. This series invite external female leaders to dialogue with IHS Markit internal female leaders and male advocates. Since its inauguration in December 2020, the series has had over 50 external and internal D&I advocates involved globally. Bo’s other roles include serving as a sponsor of IHS Markit’s internal leadership discussions and initiatives such as mentorship and sponsorship programs. In addition, her position as a woman in one of the top posts at the organization has allowed her to serve as a role model for other women at the firm. This year, Bo has served on the judging panel of the event ‘Kindness and Leadership - 50 Leading Lights in Asia Pacific’, in order to support the broader Diversity and Inclusion conversations happening in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Revell

EMEA Deputy Chair and General Counsel
BNY Mellon

Susan is the EMEA Deputy Chair and General Counsel and serves as the Global Co-Chair of BNY Mellon’s Women's Initiatives Network (WIN) having previously been its EMEA Executive Sponsor. She is responsible for developing and executing the strategy for furthering the WIN mission of advancing female potential. In 2020, Susan initiated the EMEA Business Inclusion Council at BNY Mellon, and she currently sits as its Executive Sponsor and Chair. The council brings together over 30 volunteers to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are at the core of the firm’s talent experience and embedded in all strategies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Dovaston

Partner; co-Chair of Firmwide Diversity Committee
Boies Schiller Flexner

Since joining Boies Schiller Flexner in early 2020, Tracey has played an integral role in bringing inclusion, equity and diversity to the very center of the firm’s business strategy. She has led on multiple initiatives in the past year, including committing BSF to the Law Society Women in Law pledge, which involved setting meaningful and sustainable targets that will address issues relating to gender equality within the firm; committing BSF to the Equal Representation in Arbitration pledge to promote women's appointments as arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis; and developing the BSF women in law video series in order to promote and assist women rising up through the legal profession. In addition to initiating monthly meetings for all BSF women, Tracey has also arranged spotlight panels for women from different backgrounds across the firm to talk about their career aspirations, and has organised fireside chats and presentations with senior female clients and renowned motivational speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alicia Arias

Vice President Wealth Sales
BlackRock

Alicia is Co-Founder of Mujeres en Finanzas, (MEF) the first network of women in the financial industry in Mexico. A non-profit organization with the aim of empowering women to achieve a more diverse, inclusive and equitable Mexican financial sector. Over the past 8 years Alicia, at BlackRock her former employer, led the efforts of Women’s Initiative Network and Allies Network for the Latin America region. In this capacity, she has helped launch numerous initiatives enabling women to advance their careers. The group’s efforts have expanded outside the firm too, connecting with the local community. Last year, through the launch of a sustainable local fund, the business and WIN donated around $1.3 million to a local organization focusing on women’s development, which funded technical training for 250 Mexican women. She is currently pursuing a new adventure in Fin-tech, she believes that through technology more people can experience financial well being.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cassandra Illidge

Vice President, Partnerships
Getty Images

For the last five years, Cassandra has grown Getty Images’ Content Partnership business to add authentic, diverse and inclusive content, so that all communities are accurately represented in the visual content on gettyimages.com. In June last year, as Getty Images grappled with how to address systematic racism in support of the Black community, Cassandra worked tirelessly, taking a leadership role to support employees. She received the Getty Images Leadership Principle Award, nominated under the principles ‘We are inclusive of different voices, perspectives, and experiences’, and ‘We care, are kind, courteous, and respectful’. Cassandra is Co-Chair of Getty Images' first Employee Resource Group, The Multiculture Network which is open to those who are considered a minority based on race or ethnicity within the country they reside. The group was formed last summer as a grassroots effort to build a community of support for those who were impacted by racism or discrimination.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Preferred Lending & National Operations Executive
Bank of America

At work and in her communities, Shim has built an exceptional track record for advancing women’s careers, mentoring and developing women leaders, and working to dismantle the barriers built by unconscious bias. She founded the Preferred and Consumer Banking & Investments Executive Women's Forum in 2020, bringing together senior executive women from across the country, providing them exposure to education, expansion and advancement opportunities. She has served as executive sponsor of the company’s Consumer Banking & Investments Employee Engagement and Inclusion Council, and founded the Consumer Investments Women's Forum where she served as executive sponsor for two years. Widely known for her passion for women’s parity and gender equality, she has addressed global audiences and has served as a keynote speaker at various forums and events to discuss inclusion and women’s empowerment. In 2021, she was named to the “INDIA New England News” List of Outstanding Women and in 2020 to the EMpower/Yahoo Finance Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model List.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cate Luzio

Founder and CEO
Luminary

Cate founded and self-funded Luminary in 2018 with the mission to uplift, upskill, and propel women forward through all phases of their professional journeys. In order to achieve its purpose of gender diversity and women's inclusion, Luminary has led more than 1,500 events, sessions and workshops; built a digital library with over 400 hours of downloadable content; and set up a work and social space in New York, together with a virtual platform, so that members can connect. The company has grown to include more than 2,500 individual members in 36 countries, as well as boasting over 40 corporate members. Luminary also runs a Fellowship Program which supports both women-owned businesses and women impacted by the 'She-cession'. Last year the company acquired Declare, a premier leadership platform for women, and partnered with Bolster, to make it possible for more women to join private boards.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Ward

President
Man GLG

Carol is an active member of Drive, Man GLG’s D&I network; WAM, the Women at Man network; and Pride@Man, the LGBT+ network, which she co-chairs. During 2020 she introduced Man Group to Girls Are INvestors (GAIN), which resulted in the firm supporting their first internship program and a number of colleagues to speaking at their events. As a panelist at Drive's event on leadership, which featured the firm's female COOs, Carol shared insights on what makes a good leader, how to lead teams through difficult times, and the importance of diversity. In 2020 she held a firm-wide virtual talk based on LGBT+ facts and figures which resulted in increased engagement with the internal Pride@Man networking channel. As well as leading the Diversity and Inclusion efforts aimed at hiring, promoting and retaining talented, diverse individuals, Carol also serves as a mentor to two women as part of Man Group's mentorship program, an initiative which aims to develop the talent of high-potential female individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vaishali Rastogi

Global Head- Technology, Media, Telecommunication Practice
Boston Consulting Group

As BCG's Global Leader of TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications) Practice, Vaishali is passionate about creating a gender-balanced business world and has been intentional in recruiting and retaining female talent. 25% of her global leadership team, and 25% of TMT Managing Directors and Partners in Asia are female. During Vaishali’s tenure as BCG's Head of Southeast Asia, the number of women hired increased by 40% and the female attrition rate dropped by 10 percentage points. Vaishali is proud to have enabled an environment which allows employees (male and female) to manage their work-life balance, with more women taking up flexible working hours under her leadership. Her position as part of the global Executive Committee at BCG has seen Vaishali mentor senior women across the organization, and in 2018 she formally set up the Women@BCG Sponsorship Program for Southeast Asia, a program in which over 30 senior women have participated in over the last 2 years.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Casey Ryan

Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith

In her position as the Global Head of Legal Personnel at Reed Smith, Casey has responsibility for the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program; the Women's Initiative Network; and Recruiting, Retention and Hiring Programs for lawyers and staff. In 2021 she oversaw the launch of the Family Network, which included the introduction of benefits such as childcare, tutoring, and peer to peer networking, as well as resources to achieve a work-life balance across all family stages. Meanwhile the Family Support Initiative, which was launched in 2020 to address COVID-19 family challenges, was also enhanced. Other policies implemented under Casey’s leadership include a global flexible working policy to provide for agile work; expanded maternity and adoption leave policies; and a Declared Pronoun policy focused on communicating preferred pronouns. Of the firm’s partner promotions in 2021, 42% have been women and 22% have been ethnic minorities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Meliosa O'Caoimh

Country Head - Ireland
Northern Trust

As the Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for driving strategy across the business. Under her leadership the Executive Gender Balance Group (a subset of the executive leadership group focused on ensuring gender parity) have developed a number of programs and interventions to support female development and to remove biases from all levels of the employment lifecycle. As of May 2021, 51.85% of the Irish workforce was female, along with 40.4% of senior leadership. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Meliosa has connected regularly with the firm’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council to share advice on how women can continue to progress their career and network effectively whilst working from home. In addition, recognizing the challenges that diverse women face, Meliosa is driving an initiative via Northern Trust to support refugee and immigrant women who are looking to obtain employment within financial services.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens

Jessica has served in leadership roles in the Citizens Business Resource Group, Women's Impact Network (WIN), since its inception in 2017. From 2019 to 2021 she served as the Chairperson of the group, growing the organization to reach 2,000 members, aligned under the mission to help women advance their careers through professional development and networking opportunities. Jessica also helped initiate the development of the Women in Commercial Banking Group, an internal organization at Citizens that provides networking opportunities and encourages local connections in the Greater Boston area and across Citizens' footprint in North America. Externally, Jessica is involved with the Center for Women and Enterprise, a 501C3 organization that provides education and support to female and minority business owners throughout New England and she is co-chair of the Boston chapter of 50/50 Women on Boards, a global advocacy organization that promotes gender diversity for corporate boards. This year Jessica was named by FinTech Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in FinTech.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Eggerton

Chief Marketing Officer
BigCommerce

As well as serving as the Executive Sponsor of BProud, BigCommerce's Employee Resource Group (ERG) supporting LGTBQ+ employees, Lisa is actively involved in the women's ERG BEmpowered, where she has spoken to the group about the value of diversity and the importance of investing in mentorship and sponsorship relationships. Lisa has also played an integral role in shaping the company's approach to diverse recruiting: she routinely looks for ways to attract more diverse candidates -- one of her first moves at BigCommerces was to have her team remove education requirements where possible for candidates applying to marketing roles, a decision which significantly broadened the pool of qualified candidates. Additionally, Lisa served as a core member of the team that built out the DEI framework for the company. She is a frequent speaker on issues of passion for her. As a parent of a transgender child, she is increasingly involved in organizations that support LGBTQIA teens.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Global Business Development and Marketing Partner
Linklaters

Always hugely passionate and supporter of the value of the diversity at every strand, within Linklaters Claudia acted as global champion for gender and has sponsored internal initiatives and programmes to support female talent. In 2021, Claudia ran for the role of Senior Partner for the Firm, representing an example for women inside and outside her organisation. Claudia is the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, considered by many the largest female business community in the country and the Italian Ambassador of Inspiring Girls, a project launched in Italy with the Ministry of Education. In the past she was President of Valore D, the largest Italian association of companies for gender inclusion. Claudia serves as sponsor, mentor and role model for women and young people and she is often invited to deliver inspirational speeches to support and motivate. In 2020 Claudia published with Il Sole24Ore the book “Meravigliose. Tour guidato all’interno di noi stesse” dedicated to gender issues, young women and talent.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsay Pattison

Chief Client Officer
WPP

Lindsay sits on WPP’s Inclusion Council, a body which gives a voice to under-represented groups, advises on appropriate DE&I goals, recommends new systems and strategies and identifies barriers to progress. The group’s impact has included introducing DE&I goals into the annual bonus plans of leaders across WPP, a critical step forward in the push for gender equality at the top of the industry, which is expected to have a ripple effect through all levels of seniority. Lindsay also sits on WPP’s Diversity Review Subcommittee, which set up an alert mechanism for WPP's 100,000+ employees to report harmful stereotyping, and also created the Inclusivity Playbook, a best practice industry guide for marketers. Since 2007 Lindsay mentors between five and ten women annually, and in June 2020 she launched WPP’s inaugural Next Gen Internship Program with a talk on gender equality. The program reached 850 participants, and over 50% of applicants were women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Data & Intelligence, Canada & Latin America
Edelman

A marketing, communications, and media research industry veteran, Catherine oversees research, analytics, and performance & paid media teams that drive business intelligence, activation, and impact. Catherine is passionate about supporting women in the workplace, volunteering as a member of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) global steering committee that helped the firm achieve parity of senior women leaders. Catherine also leads GWEN regionally, promoting events and initiatives across Canada which help women from all backgrounds lead and succeed. In 2021, Catherine volunteered to champion a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative for Edelman’s global Data & Intelligence unit of 400 employees, establishing a new DE&I vision, team, and plan to promote equality across four strategic pillars: Education, Community & Inclusion, Recruitment, and Retention. Catherine is also a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Council Working Group for Women’s Advocacy, bringing the voice and perspectives of women to national policies and advancing the gender equality agenda to drive meaningful action.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Engineering & Environmental

As CEO of Jomas, Roni is committed to ensuring her employees achieve their full potential, and that the company provides an inclusive environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive and excel, irrespective of who they are. She recently set up an internal buddy system, which aims to support new graduates as they build their careers with the company. The system is particularly commended by women who receive mentoring and support by other women who are further along in their careers. Roni also offers herself as a mentor, and has created strict company policies ensuring there is no discrimination and that the recruitment process is not biased. Her other efforts to promote diversity include running events and getting heavily involved in outreach programs. Roni’s approach has resulted in a 40% female workforce at Jomas, in a sector where only 12% of the workforce is female.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lanaya Irvin

Chief Executive Officer
Coqual

Lanaya is the CEO of Coqual, a 17-year-old global think tank that conducts research and advises corporate companies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Coqual’s research aims to bring visibility to the barriers and inequity faced by women and other underrepresented groups in the workplace. A global thought leader, Lanaya promotes gender diversity and inclusion outside of the organization as well. Not only do they serve as co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Advisory Council, they also sit on the Advisory Board of the Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Inclusion, the Board of Directors of Outright Action International and the Board of Lesbians Who Tech. Lanaya’s thought leadership has been featured in Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Marketplace, and Business Insider.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Fleury

Global Vice President of Cloud Services
SAP

As a fierce advocate for equality, Jennifer served until 2020 as the Global head of SAP’s Business Women’s Network, an Employee Resource group, boasting more than 14,000 members and over 85 chapters. She is a member of North America Diversity & Inclusion council and mentor for SAP’s Corporate Social Responsibility pro-bono programs. Jennifer helped foster economic equity for Black-owned businesses and worked to fight poverty and build capabilities with vocational training institutes to skill the youth of Uganda. Her accomplishments in these roles include encouraging children and women in the poorest countries to join STEM; increasing the number of women in leadership roles; and expanding the impact and influence of women across the company. In her current organization, Jennifer has increased female talent from 9% to 23%. Jennifer is also a mentor for the Global Give Back Circle. In this role, she provides at-risk adolescent girls with support to move from a mindset of marginalization, to one of empowerment.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

General Manager, Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK
HSBC UK Bank PLC

Appointed as HSBC UK’s first female Head of Commercial Banking in 2017, Amanda has initiated a number of gender diversity programmes which have since thrived. This includes the re-design of job adverts to ensure that they now attract both men and women, changing the recruitment process so that there is a requirement for gender-balanced interview panels, and embedding a new practice whereby the shortlist for every senior role includes both male and female candidates. Amanda has also focused on HSBC UK’s Employee Resource Groups, which she considers instrumental in opening up awareness of the issues that impact colleagues and creating a more inclusive workplace. Meanwhile, UK Commercial Banking’s flagship cultural programme continues to promote the benefits of a gender inclusive workforce and the importance of developing colleagues so that they can be at their best and over the last 12 months, more than 100 female colleagues across UK Commercial Banking have achieved promotions

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner EME
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara is a member of Reed Smith’s WinRS Business Inclusion Group. She has chaired two Female Legal Leader roundtables for General Counsel as well as the opening panel of Reed Smith’s 2020 DEI Summit. Tamara is responsible for the firm’s gender pay gap reporting, and in 2019 she made Reed Smith the first UK law firm to voluntarily report its equity partner pay gap. It was also one of the few firms to report that the mean pay for female equity partners was actually greater than for men. As well as serving as an active advocate, mentor, and sponsor for the career advancement of female associates, counsel and partners, Tamara has been instrumental in achieving a 40% female Executive Committee and 50% female representation in Senior Management. Several Reed Smith women Tamara has nominated have been shortlisted or winners of female leadership awards including from Rising Star, Citywealth PowerWomen, and Asian Women of Achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Naina Bhattacharya

Chief Information Security Officer
Danone

Naina is the Chief Information Security Officer at Danone where she is responsible for developing cybersecurity strategy and delivering transformation. She is the co-sponsor of Inclusive Diversity for the IT & Data team and has worked with the CIO, IT Leadership and HR to develop the first-ever transversal strategy for diversity for IT & Data with a strong focus on getting leadership roles to gender parity. For the first time, inclusiveness targets have been a part of the annual leadership team objectives, and an ‘Inclusive Diversity Engine’ is being developed to drive forward this global initiative. Naina is also the winner of the Financial Times, 30% Club and Henley Business School Women in Leadership Award, 2020. Before arriving at Danone, Naina was the founder of the Cybersecurity D&I initiative for EMEA at EY. There, she set up a new network of Diversity Champions in each region for cybersecurity. This work earned her the EY Inspirational Role Model Award in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Seema Bains

Partner & Head of D&I Leadership Group
DWF

Seema is one of just thirteen female partners at the highest tier of DWF, and she is the first person from an ethnic minority to hold this position. Seema is also a Partner Director on DWF's Plc Board. Over the past two years Seema has grown the D&I Leadership Group into a global group with over 50 members across all DWF's offices. She has pioneered D&I best practices, such as the implementation of blind CVs and inclusive hiring training, to increase the recruitment of underrepresented groups. In addition, she has designed and obtained board approval for gender and ethnicity targets for the Plc Board, the Executive Board and the senior leadership team. For her intersectional approach to advancing women's careers, Seema’s gender equality roundtables were recognised by The Times Top 50 Employers for Women report, and in March 2021 she was invited to speak at the United Nations live conference ‘Target Gender Equality, Target Ethnic Diversity’.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Marcil

Managing Director and Senior Partner, Chief Marketing Officer & Global Chair of the Client Team
Boston Consulting Group

In 2000, Sharon became the first ever head of the Boston Consulting Group’s Women's Initiative. Working hand in hand with the firm’s leadership, including the CEO, she set a global ambition for women's inclusion and promotion. This included leading fundamental research regarding why women stayed at BCG and why women left, with the findings resulting in increased training and support for women as well as gender bias coaching for male colleagues. As a consequence of setting clear recruitment and retention targets, and developing a strong female talent pipeline, 23% of the BCG's leadership are now women, with the number of female managing directors and partners growing at three times the rate of male managing directors and partners over the past five years. 2020 marked the 10th year that BCG has retained women and men at equal rates at all career steps in the consulting team.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

UK Managing Director
American Express

As an Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Networks, Charlotte has championed the Company’s ‘Ambition Project’ as a means of raising awareness of the role ambition plays in women's professional success. She has also overseen initiatives including the roll out of self-identification amongst colleagues to help drive I&D changes across the company and the introduction of I&D training to over 5,000 employees in order to combat unconscious bias, As colleagues moved towards working from home during the pandemic, American Express also initiated a range of company-wide internal communications and initiatives intended to support colleagues, particularly those shouldering caring responsibilities during the pandemic. By signing the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter, Charlotte pledged American Express’ commitment to achieving a 50:50 gender balance in senior management, a target which was reached this year. Under her leadership American Express has been recognized over the past two years as a top employer by the Financial Times, LinkedIn, Working Families and Glassdoor.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mariquit Corcoran

Group Chief Innovation Officer
Barclays

Mariquit is a Senior Steering Committee Member of the Women in Technology group at Barclays, a group whose aim is to recruit, retain and empower women in technology across the company. In this role, she hosts both large- and small-scale talks and events to inspire the female population across Barclays to progress in their careers, and leads a workstream to identify opportunities for external recognition of female talent at Barclays, including helping leadership identify top candidates. Her representation of WIN externally includes speaking regularly at events where she actively supports efforts at recruiting female talent. Mariquit is also Executive Sponsor for Barclays and Anthemis’ Female Innovators Lab which has a mission to identify female founders at the earliest stage of their journey, provide them with an initial investment, and match them with the resources and mentorship required to bring a business concept to market.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Christiana Riley

Member of the Management Board, and Americas CEO
Deutsche Bank

Christiana is a leader of the Schneider-Lenné Cadre at Deutsche Bank, a group of senior women at the firm who are selected to act as role models, drive cultural change, and help develop diverse talent. Her actions to promote gender equity have included announcing equal parental leave for primary and non-primary caregivers, signing the CEO Action Diversity & Inclusion pledge and the UN Principles of Responsible Banking, and implementing changes in hiring practices with immediate results. In a reflection of the changes Christiana has pushed for, Deutsche Bank's regional graduate intake for this year was 41% female and 10% Black, a 13 and 6 percentage point increase from last year respectively. Deutsche Bank’s other recent D&I efforts include partnering with 11 minority-, woman- and service-disabled veteran-owned underwriters to issue a $750 million D&I bond to help finance the business in the US.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lucy Dimes

Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer
Virgin Money PLC

As a member of Virgin Money’s Balance Network and its Gender Balance Committee, Lucy has participated in numerous internal events, ranging from podcasts to focus groups, deep dives, jams, inclusion events, discussions and panels. In addition to mentoring and coaching a long list of senior women at the company, she has also sponsored female rising star talent across different functions. Her active involvement in promoting diversity has led to the deployment of targets for gender and ethnic minority inclusion on Executive and Business Unit scorecards, as well as several significant internal promotions for talented women, and an external hiring process for ethnically diverse female talent. Outside of Virgin Money, Lucy has been passionately and actively involved in a long list of groups, events and actions addressing gender inequity for over 20 years.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mayra Souza

Global Head of Trade
Solvay SA

Mayra has been part of numerous gender diversity initiatives at Solvay SA. These include Solvay-X, an Employee Resource Group aimed at improving the culture of DEI, by ensuring the company attracts, retains, and enables women; Solvay One Dignity, a program that sets ambitious DEI targets; and the former Women Leaders@Solvay, a group responsible for developing proposals aimed at strengthening the visibility of female talent. Externally, Mayra is the Belgium Leader for the Harvard Kennedy School Women's Network, which aims to enable community building, to advance the understanding of local issues, and support the work of women and gender nonconforming individuals. In February 2021, Mayra hosted a conference on leadership with Solvay’s CEO, in which they discussed the role of women at Solvay and beyond. In addition, Mayra is an instigator at Trade Experettes, a global network with over 200 individuals committed to shining a light on women working in trade, whilst also aiming to empower them to achieve their goals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aisling Ryan

Managing Partner and Global Consulting Principal at The Sustainability Practice
Ogilvy

Since 2020, Aisling has been the Managing Partner of Ogilvy Growth and Innovation’s Sustainability Practice. Alongside this commitment she has been heading WPP’s relationship with the United Nations and acting as the WPP Executive Sponsor for UN Women. For the past year she has led the Ogilvy team in working with UN Women and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop #ActForEqual, the official campaign for the Generation Equality Forum, which brings together cross-sector stakeholders to secure commitments to gender equality. Aisling was also responsible for coordinating the process to make WPP a GEF Commitment Maker, specifically to champion diverse voices in media through technology innovations. Since 2012, she has mentored a number of female CEOs of conservation and climate NGOs and advised them on strategy, communications, fundraising, career development and maximizing their impact. For the past two years she has spoken at the Women in Smart Energy Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aimie Chapple

Chief Executive Capita Experience Division
Capita

As an Executive Committee member at Capita, Aimie takes mentoring seriously, supporting many leaders including the mentoring of women in our organisation. She is co-sponsor of Capita’s wellbeing network and has highlighted topics such as mental health and support through the menopause. In addition to her work for Capita, Aimie also advises start-ups such as TechPixies, a digital learning organisation that helps women to change jobs or start businesses using digital technologies. Aimie has previously been recognised as a Business Woman of the Year 2012 and Kindness & Leadership, 50 Leading Lights from Women of the Future in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner and Co-Head of Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

As a senior woman leading an investing team at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Katie organizes a lot of her time and efforts around ensuring that more women will have the opportunity to lead investing businesses in the future. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Asset Management Division Diversity and Inclusion Council, where she has responsibility for substantially improving the diversity of senior hires, and she has been successfully pushing for more diverse representation in the C-Suite and on the boards of companies in Goldman Sachs Asset Management portfolios. Additionally, Katie sits on the Advisory Board of Launch With GS, a $1 billion capital commitment from Goldman Sachs to invest in diverse entrepreneurs and fund managers. Katie is a passionate believer that diverse teams outperform, and has consequently built and led one of the industry’s most gender diverse investing teams: female portfolio managers in the Fundamental Equity group manage 40-50% of assets under management, up from 30% in 2016 and compared to an industry average of 11%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sally Moore

Executive Vice President - Head of Corporate Development and Strategic Alliances
IHS Markit

Sally founded the Women’s Affinity Network at IHS Markit 10 years ago. Her efforts to improve gender equity at the firm include maintaining a 50% female gender balance in the Strategic Alliances business line she manages, in accordance with firm-wide recommended KPIs. The company saw female promotions at VP level rise by 7% in 2020, whilst those at SVP level increased by 3%. As well as participating in Collaborative Mentoring as a partner mentee, Sally has chaired the VP Promotions Committee for the last two years, with a specific focus on equal opportunity promotions. During Sally’s time in her role, IHS Markit has been recognized as a top employer by Mogul, the Human Rights Campaign and Forbes, who included the firm on their list of America’s Best Employers for Women. Outside of IHS Markit, Sally is a member of an informal CEO female leadership group which helps promote gender representation in finance.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible, Inc.

As Executive Sponsor of Women@ Audible, Audible's largest global impact group, Susan has had the opportunity to guide future leaders in their commitment to career development. In addition to the US and London-based chapters, this year the group grew stronger after launching a Berlin-based chapter, Women@Audible EU. In heading up Audible in nine marketplaces outside the US, Susan and her team have been intentional and purposeful with their responsibility as a content creator. In the past year, they established a multi-million dollar fund designed to identify, produce and elevate local, diverse voices. Despite the challenges of producing under COVID-19, every international Audible marketplace delivered highly-rated titles under this initiative. In addition to her work for Audible, Susan is Co-Chair for the NYU Alumni Association's Awards Committee, a role in which she oversaw the implementation of a D&I metric for awards deliberations, and updated the language in materials to take representation into consideration.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead Nayager

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

As the Executive member of Diageo responsible for the design and implementation of the company’s Inclusion and Diversity strategy, Mairéad has been instrumental in driving numerous gender diversity initiatives. Diageo’s 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' ten-year sustainability plan included the bold target of having 50% female representation across leadership positions by 2030. In addition, for the first time the organization’s Long Term Incentive Plan included gender diversity as one of its selected measures, ensuring every senior leader is incentivized to make progress on the D&I agenda. Under Mairéad’s leadership Diageo has also improved the balance of its executive leadership team: whilst eleven years ago, Diageo's Executive Committee was all men, it is now made up of 38% women. In March of this year, Mairéad led the introduction of Menopause Guidelines, which offer strengthened support and flexibility and encourage all employees to build their understanding of how the menopause impacts individuals.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan LaMonica

Chief Human Resource Officer
Citizens

Susan LaMonica is the Chief Human Resources Officer & Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and serves on the bank’s executive committee. She is responsible for developing and driving people strategies to further Citizens’ growth plans while working to enact sustainable and systemic change leading the company’s ESG efforts. As the Executive Sponsor of Citizens’ Business Resource Group, Women’s Impact Network, she understands the challenges that exist for female colleagues, customers and community members while advocating for efforts to attract, retain and support women inside and outside of Citizens. She led the development of initiatives aimed at increasing accountability in Citizens’ hiring process and the deployment of programs such as TalentUp which focuses on talent acquisition, reskilling/upskilling, and expanding the talent pipeline. Outside of Citizens, Susan is a board member of Oasis, a non-profit whose mission is to change the lives of women and children by breaking the cycle of poverty.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Debbi Vandeven

Global Chief Creative Officer
VMLY&R

Debbi credits VMLY&R’s 2020 revenue increase in part to the strong female creative teams she has built. In December, she added two female CCOs to her ranks, each charged with leading one of the agency's most important and high- profile accounts, the latest in a long list of senior female appointments she has made. As well as being a champion of creativity and a mentor for women across VMLY&R and the industry, Debbi is proud to serve as a founding member of ‘Time'sUp/Advertising’, leading and paving the road for women in her industry. She consistently drives her teams to create advertising that makes a difference, particularly in the crusade for gender equality, and has been recognized by Ad Age as their 2020 Chief Creative Officer of the Year. She has also featured on Business Insider's 30 Most Creative People in Advertising and Adweek’s Creative 100.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Page

CEO, Aon UK Limited
Aon

Through her position on the Aon Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Julie drives the company’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Her belief in the importance of a diverse workforce is reflected in the gender diversity of her leadership team, which she continues to build upon with senior female appointments, including most recently to the position of Chief Broking Officer. By sponsoring and coaching other female leaders in her team, Julie has supported them to grow and realize their potential, helping them into external roles on the Board of BIBA and the CBI London Committee supported and enabled them to extend their influence across the industry by taking up external roles with business influencing bodies and associations. The implementation of a diversity dashboard based on aggregated, anonymized colleague self-identification data has been a game changer for Aon, allowing the company to identify and improve opportunities for diverse talent. Julie further contributes to these efforts through regular touch points with leaders in the business, introduced to identify and support high potential female talent.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanne Ross

Director of Group Strategy, Corporate Brand & Reputation
Centrica plc

Having too often been the only woman in the room in a male dominated industry, Joanne cares about improving diversity and inclusion, both at Centrica and more generally. Having always admired the great work done by the Centrica’s Women’s Network to support women and drive change, Joanne was delighted when she was asked to become the group’s Executive Sponsor earlier this year. Since then she has taken part in a panel event for International Women's Day as well as participating in the CWN ‘Empower’ series, where she spoke about her own personal career and life journey. Joanne has mentored three women in Centrica over the past three years and has also been a mentee as part of a reverse mentoring programme, from which she learned a lot about the challenges some women face which can hinder their development and career progression. Outside of Centrica Joanne has served as a mentor for the 30% Club and also has been a strong advocate of the importance of mental health awareness and support in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jaine Mwai

Chief Information Officer
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd

Jaine is a champion of diversity within the Standard Chartered Bank in Kenya and also within the Technology Function. In Kenya, she serves as a member (and former Leader) of the Women's Employee Resource Group, a position which has seen her mentor many women throughout the organization resulting in more women being promoted into senior roles. In the last two years she has been active in ensuring her team continues to hold virtual events to enhance career progression and improve colleagues’ wellness and work-life balance. Within SCB’s Technology Function, Jaine has supported increasing African female talent, including championing 12 women from the region to join female leadership programs since 2020. Last year Jaine became the first woman to be voted as East Africa's CIO Of The Year at the 2020 annual CIO100 Symposium and Awards, an accomplishment which served as a major coup for women technologists in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marian Salzman

Senior Vice President, Global Communications
Philip Morris International (PMI)

As a long-time advocate of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Marian has made smart use of her global platform to advance positive change. Notably, she been active in two PMI Employee Resource Groups: EMBRACE Global (focused on racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity) and the Women's Inspiration Network (WIN). One of her roles within these groups has been hosting and serving as a panelist on several company-wide webcasts devoted to DEI issues, including in November 2020 an EMBRACE Global Inclusive Conversations event ‘Delivering on Race Delivers Results’. At the company's Women Who Lead event, Marian and three other female members of the Senior Management Team discussed their personal journeys, offered advice, and shared their visions for gender equity and diversity. Another means by which Marian promotes the advancement of women in business is through regular local and international bylines, interviews and columns for Forbes and Medium, offering her insights and guidance for the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vivienne Artz

Chief Privacy Officer
London Stock Exchange Group

As Gender Sponsor at Refinitiv, part of the London Stock Exchange Group, Vivienne supports all aspects of the organization’s D&I strategy regarding gender. She has been responsible for leading for Legal & Compliance on the new global Inclusion initiative, and was successful in securing Refinitiv and then LSEG as one of the three HMT Women in Finance Charter sponsors. As well as providing leadership, sponsorship and privacy advice on a new initiative to collect and analyze D&I data globally to enable deliberate interventions, she has also been involved in supporting and speaking at Gender Network events, including contributing to a series of senior leader role model stories for International Women’s Day. Outside of LSEG, Vivienne is an Advisory Board member and ex-CEO of Women in Banking and Finance, a nationwide, not-for-profit organisation connecting, challenging and inspiring individuals and institutions across the industry to increase women's visibility, participation and engagement in financial services at all levels.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Morag Watson

senior vice president digital science and engineering, bp
bp America

Morag is the Executive Sponsor for the bp America Women’s International Network and the global Women in IT Network, as well as serving as a member of the D&I Steering Committee. She mentors numerous women at bp, offering them practical and tangible actions to advance their career progression, and was a key leader in the inspiration and creation of the bp Group Disability Forum, an assistive technology portal providing technologies to increase productivity for workers of all abilities. Morag’s team is one of the most gender diverse in bp, with 50% women in leadership positions and a high percentage of women across the wider team. Morag is a founding member of the Women's Innovation Council and Curated Pathways, which developed a web-based app designed to create an opportunity for students, particularly for young women and minorities, to unleash their potential to pursue careers in STEM and Computer Science.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has been involved in a number of major initiatives to drive greater gender diversity and equality at MediaCom. These include serving as Executive Sponsor of the Gender Employee Resource Group and serving as a member of the new Global Belonging Council, a diverse mix of senior people from different areas of the business who meet on a regular basis to drive sustainable change in all areas of DE&I. She is also actively involved in the company's Leadership Reverse Mentoring, a program which sees junior employees act as mentors to senior global leaders. On International Women’s Day, Sue hosted a Safe Room discussion, and she has been a frequent participant in, and promoter of, the company’s ongoing learning initiatives around allyship and microaggressions. MediaCom’s work on gender equality has had the result of bringing their gender pay gap down to 3.08% compared to 6.59% a year previously, and against a national average of 15.5%.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julie Lilley

Chief Executive Officer
Federation of Small Businessses

At the Federation of Small Businesses, Julie founded a new cross-organization Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Steering Group, which includes both leading staff and a set of elected FSB volunteer members, including female business owners and staff. Last year she created a new full-time EDI Coordinator role, which means that for the first time FSB has a specific person charged with looking after each diversity strand and community, advising the elected board and supporting staff, volunteers and members. Meanwhile Julie has also been building a program of activity across the business which involves collecting data, drawing together what internal reforms are required, and deciding what policy work should be looked at externally. Julie is proud to lead a majority female senior management team, recognizing that this sends the message throughout the organization and beyond that women succeed at FSB, and reach the very top.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmel McKinney OBE

Chairperson and Non Executive Director
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

Carmel drives the gender diversity agenda within the Service. She is also an Equality Commissioner for NI. Carmel spearheads the NIFRS Equality sub Committee which is chaired by her board member colleague who is committed male Ambassador for the Equality Diversity and Inclusion agenda. Carmel's profile as a female role model ,has involved close collaboration with her colleagues and has resulted in NIFRS achieving the Diversity Chartermark and receiving a nomination at the 2021 National Diversity Awards. Carmel has also won numerous accolades nationally internationally for her work as an inspirational female leader who promotes and encourages others to reach their full potential. Her other activities include serving as a member of an internal NIFRS working group, which aims to promote a female pipeline of aspiring leaders through mentoring and coaching. In her capacity as an Ambassador with Women in Business (WIB), she is a volunteer coach and mentor to a number of rising star female entrepreneurs and leaders, and she was recently recognized for her work by winning the 2021 WIB’s Mentor of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Marissa Andrada

Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer
Chipotle

Marissa has always prioritized inclusion and fostered a culture of well-being at Chipotle. The listening sessions she conducts across the organization help with understanding how Chipotle could evolve as a company and provide equal opportunities for all. She helped develop its Multicultural ERG called UNIFIED (United Network of Influencers Furthering Inclusion and Ethnic Diversity), is activating a company-wide minority mentorship program, conversing with inspirational speakers for her Real Scoop series, developing partner relationships with aligned mission and values, organizing roundtables, leveraging data for change and ensuring compliance and communication around diversity and inclusion training. Marissa has also spearheaded a partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to build a pipeline of diverse talent, and has expanded the debt-free degree program to include a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Paul Quinn College. Marissa was this year named one of Business Insider's Most Innovative HR Leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Rademaker

Executive Vice President - Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

Jennifer is Executive Sponsor and Co-Developer of a women’s mentoring program at Mastercard which aims at developing junior female talent. Now in its second year and with 2000 participants, the Mastercard Women's Mentoring Series is delivering statistically significant improvements in the retention, promotion, development, and engagement of participating mentees. The men and women who serve as mentors in the program also report higher levels of engagement as a result of their participation. Jennifer also leads work to support the advancement of more senior women at Mastercard, including a drive towards flexible work locations for senior roles. Providing women (and men) with the opportunity to advance without requiring a physical move opens more potential career paths, supporting growth and retention. In addition to these initiatives, Jennifer sponsors and participates in several business resource groups, a women's leadership development series, and a program that readies women for non-profit board seats. Outside of Mastercard she regularly speaks about gender issues at external events.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO, HSBC, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
HSBC

Sue is the Lead Executive Sponsor of the D&I Allies Group at HSBC. Through this role she raises the profile of the group’s work and helps to cement an inclusive culture at the bank. In by-monthly ‘Ask Me Anything’ townhalls hosted and sponsored by Sue for over 1,200 colleagues, she regularly raises issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, actively encouraging people to discuss and ask challenging questions about gender bias in the workplace. Since 2018 Sue has also been a Global Ambassador for BALANCE, HSBC’s gender diversity Employee Resource Group, made up of over 48,000 members across 20 countries. For International Women’s Day this year she hosted a virtual panel event and wrote an internal thought leadership article about gender equality, sharing her own experiences of trying to climb the executive career ladder in a male dominated sector and highlighting the struggles women still face today.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division, Kantar
Kantar

As part of Kantar's most senior Inclusion and Diversity Steer Committee, Caroline is responsible for ensuring a culture that embraces diversity. In her senior executive leadership team, she has increased senior female representation by over 40%, and tripled ethnic minority representation - including recruiting Kantar's first Black, female C-suite leader in the UK. Caroline is also a senior mentor for Kantar's 'Empowering Growth For Women' Mentorship Program, which sits at the heart of the I&D strategy, supporting and empowering Kantar women across the globe to positively progress in their careers by building a strong, authentic personal brand in the workplace. Caroline also serves as the Global Executive Sponsor of the Pride@Kantar Employee Resource Group, inspiring Kantar’s 700+ LGBTQIA+ employees and allies across the globe to flourish at work by embracing and celebrating their individuality. She is also a founding member of Kantar’s 360 Mentorship Program with Special Olympics, supporting people with intellectual disabilities to build successful careers in paid jobs.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melissa Di Donato

CEO
SUSE

Melissa is SUSE’s first female CEO and has driven transformational change for the company since her appointment in August of 2019. In addition to becoming the first woman in the 21st century to take SUSE, a multibillion-euro company public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, representing the largest software IPO in Europe in 2021, Melissa has focused on enhancing SUSE’s inclusive culture. As a passionate supporter of D&I, Melissa created two employee resource groups, the Women in Technology Network and Pride @ SUSE, to foster inclusion at the company. She has also made a concerted effort to increase female representation in leadership positions in addition to focusing on developing and nurturing the growth of SUSE’s employees. Beyond her work as CEO, Melissa is the co-founder of inner wings, a charity she created to help girls aged 6-12 build confidence, to create a world with more determined women, and more gender balanced leadership. She is also the author of three children’s books.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Frances Taplett

Chief People Officer
The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

When the pandemic resulted in childcare and many offices shifting to remote work, Frances realized that working parents would suffer and that working mothers would disproportionately shoulder the burden. Partnering with Bright Horizons and their own clinical testing lab, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard opened a childcare facility for all employees and affiliates. By testing all teachers and parents every three days for Covid-19 they were able to run the childcare center all summer with zero transmission. The fees were heavily subsidized in light of the fact that many parents had other childcare costs they were still paying. In addition to providing flexible working models and a supportive culture to keep women in the workforce throughout the pandemic, the organization has also been looking at promotion decisions and pay equity to ensure that women are not disproportionately impacted. Externally, Frances speaks regularly on the topic of D&I and particularly on women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Global Head of Strategic Investor Group Sales
Standard Chartered Bank

When Souad first joined Standard Chartered Bank she was the first female head of Financial Markets in the UAE. Despite the fact that all her peers and superiors were male, she set herself the aim of increasing the absolute number, as well as the influence, of women at the organization. Souad achieved this goal in part by chairing talent reviews, implementing career sessions, and becoming a mentor to over 25 female colleagues. Her efforts saw the percentage of female MENA Financial Markets promotions rise to a record 54%, and Souad’s suggestions for diverse interview panels and exit interviews when women resign were both implemented globally. Souad is a regular speaker at global events, and often intentionally chooses to use her voice on topics typically considered ‘male’: at SCB’s 2021 CreditConference she moderated an entirely male Islamic Finance panel. Amongst numerous external engagements, Souad serves as a girls’ STEM role model for the non-profit GLAM.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

partner and China chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa has long been a leading proponent of diversity including gender diversity in all walks of life. After initiating the process that led to mandatory disclosure of diversity policies by listed companies while serving as the first female to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Committee in 2009, Teresa recently issued a call for gender quotas for the boards of Hong Kong listed companies. She continues to lobby for mandatory diversity requirements to help accelerate the pace of change. As executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asia Women's Network, Teresa is passionate about supporting and developing Freshfields’ colleagues both professionally and personally to maximise their potential. She is also a staunch believer in using one’s influence to bring about positive change, whether as trusted advisors to clients or mentors to colleagues and business partners. Teresa is a co-Chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee, a vice-chair of the IFRS Foundation, a founding member and steering committee member of The 30% Club Hong Kong as well as a member of the advisory board of Women in Law Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lily Xiong

Head of Corporate Solutions Asia Pacific
BlackRock

Sitting in the Talent and Culture Taskforce at BlackRock, Lily has been leading efforts to achieve gender equity for the Asia Pacific region via three key pillars: hiring, developing and retaining talent; developing a culture of female sponsorship at all levels, from early career to executive; and upskilling managers to equip them with essential tools. As an Executive Sponsor for BlackRock’s Analyst Ally and WIN China, Lily sponsors several women’s development and career growth programs. This includes ‘Taking the Stage’, an activity which helps Female Directors and VPs build confidence around public speaking and developing a leadership voice. In 2019, Lily created a program called the WIN Power Hour, which features the most talented and accomplished leaders from across the industry with the aim of forming a roundtable for them to share their industry knowledge and career advice, and how they drive gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer
Compass Group

Since joining Compass in May 2020, Sarah has sponsored and led the activation of a number of programs and interventions to promote gender diversity and women's inclusion. As well as introducing the LBS scholarship for senior executive women in June 2020, she also launched ‘Babies with Love', which helps Compass colleagues celebrate new mothers and also offers support to a childcare charity. The initiative was introduced alongside a new annual maternity leave policy to help new mothers in their first year back after birth. For International Women's Day 2021, Sarah encouraged hundreds of colleagues in 45 countries globally to demonstrate their support of women, publishing the results both internally and externally, and also led a conversation on women’s gynecological health to educate the organization’s leaders at all levels. As an active member of the 30% Club, Sarah this year introduced the network’s mentoring program at Compass.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Keri Gilder

CEO
Colt Technology Services

Keri is CEO of Colt and a champion for inclusion and diversity. On her very first day at Colt, she hosted an event for the women's network, Network 25, and she’s been a strong supporter of the network and its events ever since. Becoming CEO in May 2020, Keri has built Colt’s inclusion and diversity strategy and placed it front and centre. Under her leadership, Colt has launched initiatives such as company-wide inclusivity and bias training, a new mental health and wellbeing policy, and a domestic abuse support policy. The business has signed up to the Race at Work charter and introduced ally training for the LGBTQ+ community. Keri was responsible for forming Colt’s Inclusion and Diversity Council, bringing together all employee groups to drive real change. In 2020, Keri was made Chair of the TM Forum's Diversity and Inclusion Council, a global collaboration project focused on making the telecommunications industry the most diverse and inclusive it can be.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicola Shaw CBE

Executive Director, UK
National Grid PLC

Nicola’s efforts to drive gender equality at National Grid include progressing women into senior roles, including our Electricity division, where women now outnumber men on the executive team. She is an advocate of the Women in National Grid Employee Resource Group, and has championed initiatives including Strategies for Success, a development program helping women navigate the unwritten rules in business, managing the political landscape and maximizing career success; and Lean-In circles where women collaborate to share experiences. In addition, Nicola encourages regular dialog between ERGs and the Executive, participates in diversity lunches to hear directly from women on the challenges of working at National Grid, and is a role model in storytelling sessions for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. Nicola also mentors senior and middle ranking women within the energy and rail industry, and in the police, and also appears regularly on discussion panels and at conferences discussing the merits of diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ana Dutra

Board Director
CME Group

Throughout Ana’s career she has been an advocate, mentor and sponsor for women, immigrants, Latinos, leaders of color and LGBTQ+ people. She was the Board Member Sponsor for the first Women’s Employee Resource Groups at CME, and today sits on the board of the Women Business Collaborative, where she chairs the Women of Boards initiative, the Latino Corporate Directors Association, the Latino Corporate Director Educational Foundation, and the Women’s Empowerment Network. She has previously served on the boards of the International Women's Forum and the Committee of 200, and remains very active in these organizations to this day. Ana is also a frequent speaker on women and DE&I at organizations like the Federal Reserve Bank, Beta Gamma Sigma, Kellogg business School and others. She has published dozens of research-based articles on topics such as women’s empowerment, leadership development, innovation, succession planning, DE&I and culture transformation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Rainbird

Chief Executive
Financial Services Compensation Scheme

As the CEO of FSCS, Caroline sponsors and supports the firm’s work on gender diversity and women's inclusion including the Women@FSCS group and the RISE Women's Development Program. In 2021, FSCS was listed as one of The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Women in recognition of the organisation’s commitment to gender equality and was Highly Commended in the FT Adviser Diversity in Finance Awards for Championing Women’s Equality. By signing the Women in Finance Charter, Caroline committed FSCS to promoting greater gender diversity and setting internal targets for progression. The firm exceeded its first target by reaching 60% women at board level this year and 75% at executive level, making the board and the executive team predominantly female for the first time ever. The RISE Women's Development Programme is another FSCS initiative sponsored by Caroline. Now in its second year, the program enables delegates to articulate their strengths and contributions and explore the challenges they face that hold them back.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stephanie von Friedeburg

Senior Vice President, Operations
International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Improving diversity and inclusion has been a top priority for Stephanie throughout her 30-year career at the World Bank Group. A passionate advocate for advancing women in information and technology, Stephanie has founded two global women’s IT networks to further that goal. Under Stephanie’s leadership, IFC has made steady progress in diversifying its workforce at all staff levels, increasing the number of females in managerial and technical roles, and also in boosting the number of female nominee directors on boards where IFC is a shareholder. While she served as IFC’s interim Managing Director and Executive Vice President, the organization appointed Respectful Workplace Advisors and launched the hiring process for IFC’s first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion manager. Stephanie serves as Co-Chair of IFC’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, is an active advisor in IFC’s Sponsorship program, and participates in IFC’s Reverse Mentoring scheme, which has a strong focus on developing millennial staff and boasts 65 percent female participation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Throughout the pandemic, Aviva continued to pay colleagues, regardless of hours worked, supporting parents balancing work with childcare and home-schooling. And, as people return to offices, Danny has championed the female agenda in Aviva and externally; encouraging business to consider the potential future impact of hybrid working on carers and especially women. Aviva’s D&I strategy includes many initiatives supporting women. From its Equal Parental Leave policy and advertising all roles with flexible working to including diversity targets in Executive reward and monthly reporting on gender diversity metrics. Danny sponsors and champions several initiatives including Aviva’s approach to domestic abuse for colleagues and customers, Aviva’s Menopause Support Group, the introduction of the Peppy menopause app for colleagues and their partners, and also its Pride Network. She is a mentor for the 30% Club, and was, until recently the Co-Executive Sponsor of the Aviva Carer’s Community - a global network of predominantly women who support each other to balance working with caring responsibilities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine 'KitKat' Mijares

Head of HR Operations Asia, Manulife
Chairperson

Kitkat considers Gender Diversity and Women's Inclusion as key to achieving any organizations' purpose. In 2015, with leaders from ANZ, Thomson Reuters, HSBC, Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank, they established the Women’s Inter-Industry Network (WIN) believing that a much bigger impact could be made if organizations all worked together. Kitkat co-founded this network to foster a corporate industry that would enable and support women’s inclusion and empowerment. The network has grown from 5 organizations in 2015 to over 50 organizations today, and it continues to expand creating an environment where more people will have the opportunity to be involved and take action.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief Human Resource Officer
Unilever

As Chief Human Resource Officer at Unilever, Leena is an executive sponsor on the Global Diversity Board. In this position she has proudly helped the Unilever achieve its goal of a 50:50 gender balance in managerial roles globally, using historical data to set targets for business functions. In partnership with Harvard University, the company has also launched a metric called the Gender Appointment Ratio, to present senior leaders with their gender appointment track record and provoke meaningful conversations about gender biases. Other initiatives sponsored by Leena include MAPS, Unilever’s flagship Maternity and Paternity Support program, which has achieved a 24% reduction in attrition by supporting employees going through the transition to parenthood. Outside of Unilever, Leena sits on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work and on the Leadership Council at the International Centre for Research and Women.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO, Europe Cluster, Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group plc

Since 2014 Serpil has chaired Vodafone’s global Inclusion for All Committee, which has led a pioneering agenda to improve employee rights. The global domestic violence policy the committee launched in 2019 offers affected colleagues HR support, specialist counselling and up to 10 additional days' paid leave, and has been adopted in 27 markets. This year the committee launched a package of support, assistance, training and awareness to help Vodafone employees feel comfortable seeking support when going through the menopause. Serpil is also passionate about increasing the proportion of women in Vodafone's workforce and management, and she has set a target of reaching 40% female leadership by 2025 in the European Cluster countries she manages. In March 2020, Serpil led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative, which saw the company publish groundbreaking research into the lack of racial, gender and age diversity within the technology industry.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

In her role as Chief People Officer at Audible, Anne has consistently partnered with the CEO to drive diversity in the leadership team, including reaching 55% female representation in the executive team in 2021. Thanks to Anne’s work to intentionally grow women into leadership roles, the proportion of women at VP level and above has risen by 11 percentage points from 2020 to 2021. As well as informing the creation of a D&I strategy which includes targeted, bespoke plans for each business, Anne encouraged the formation of formal affinity groups, renamed ‘impact’ groups, with one key aim being to increase diverse representation in Audible's content offerings. In April 2021, Anne spoke at the Human Resource Development Virtual Summit and highlighted the large number of women who lost jobs or left the workforce due the pandemic, and the critical need for advocacy and policy to address the problem.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah O'Neill

Partner, Head of UK and Ireland Digital
Oliver Wyman

Deborah is the Executive Sponsor of Oliver Wyman’s Digital Women's Network and, is one of Oliver Wyman’s certified Inclusion and Diversity Champions. She was responsible for leading and sponsoring Oliver Wyman's inclusion in the Tech Talent Charter which resulted in the executive team increasing data collection and monitoring of gender diversity progress, and implementing a targeted female recruitment approach. The flagship sponsorship program Deborah is a sponsor for, Inspiring Leaders, works with employees from historically under-represented communities over 12 months to deliver a leadership spotlight project, and has been successful in helping participants secure promotions. Meanwhile another program led and sponsored by Deborah is Oliver Wyman’s relationship with WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen, which has resulted in the recruitment of more women to the firm through connections made via conferences and awards ceremonies, as well as creating more opportunities for the women on the current team to gain exposure and experience.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street Chairman and CEO, Global Head of Internal Communications, and Head of Global CEO Experience Program
State Street Corporation

Yvonne sits on State Street’s Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (ID&E) Council and serves as Executive Sponsor of the firm’s Latino Professional Affinity Group. Under her leadership, State Street earned a spot on the ‘Top 10 Companies to Work For’ by Latina Style Magazine. In 2020, Yvonne helped to define the firm’s 10 Actions Addressing Racism and Inequality. In addition to her work for State Street, Yvonne is the Chair of the Association of Latino Professionals for Advancement (ALPFA) Advisory Board, and the Executive Director of Small Business Strong, a coalition of leading firms in Massachusetts supporting women and minority-owned businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic downturn. Yvonne also serves on the Advisory Board for the Greater Boston Chamber’s Women’s Network.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of few women running a major international law firm, and the only British woman currently running a US law Firm. As is reflected in the London office Natasha built from scratch, she cares passionately about equality – the office topped AmLaw’s UK A-List for diversity and female equity partner representation and was named on the 2021 Global Inclusion Index. Diversity is integral to the firm-wide strategy Natasha introduced last year. She has formed a Diversity Council and appointed a dedicated DEI officer and external consultants to ensure cohesion in addressing DEI at the firm, setting firm-wide diversity targets and introducing a budget to ensure these are achieved. Mandatory diversity training for all staff, and bias interrupter training for evaluations and promotion have also been introduced under her leadership. Natasha supports The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for disadvantaged candidates. She has been invited to join the Changemakers Board from September 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I) + oversight for Dow Asia Pacific
Dow

Jane leads a diverse global leadership team at Dow, comprised of 30% women. She has used her senior role to set clear expectations about the importance of I&D, emphasizing inclusion as one of the top priorities in the business segment. As Executive Sponsor of the Veterans Network Employee Resource Group she has provided advocacy for Dow's active service members and military veteran population, and in her previous position as Executive Sponsor of the Women's Innovation Network (WIN) she advanced the group’s strategic pillars and conducted town halls globally. Jane’s other speaking engagements have included: a notable keynote speech at the 2019 P.O.W.E.R. Up leadership development conference, co-sponsored by EY and attended by over 200 women; an executive-level industry panel at the March 2019 AFPM International Petrochemical Conference on "How Inclusion Ignites the Workforce in the Petrochemical Industry"; and a company-wide special event, ‘Women and Financial Wellness: Demand More from Your Money’, which she co-hosted.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr Bijna Kotak Dasani MBE, FRSA

Executive Director
Morgan Stanley

Through her leadership on more than a dozen committees internally, Bijna makes impact with a focus on age, gender, ethnicity, race, LGBT, social mobility, mental-health, domestic abuse, intersectionality, empowerment – her effort spans the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Bijna advocates consistently to raise awareness of the Diversity, Equity and & Inclusion (DE&I) agenda and to bridge maturity across different regions in order to obtain consistency in the firm’s approach across the verticals. Forming strong alliances with external partners has been a creative means for Bijna to proactively strengthen awareness and focus across the DE&I umbrella. Externally, to support DE&I strategies, Bijna serves the Boards of The Inclusive Companies Network, Generation Success, Cajigo and Restorative Justice for All. Bijna is featured in the following books: Aspire To (2021), The Ultimate Professional Networker's Guidebook Volume 1 (2019) and Women Kind: Unlocking the power of women supporting women (2018). In 2020, Bijna received an MBE for services to Diversity and Inclusion in Financial Services.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Geraghty

Global Chief Executive Officer
Landor & Fitch

Jane is a member of WPP’s Stella network, which aims at addressing barriers that could prevent women from progressing their careers to senior levels within the Group. As well as founding the Building to Belong community, a group within Landor & Fitch designed to promote an inclusive workforce, Jane is a regular participant in London's 'Design Doula' group, a community of mothers from within the firm’s London-based team. In each of the leadership roles Jane has taken on at Landor and Fitch, she has put mentoring in place to support women across the company, prioritized leadership training for women, and actively sought to redress the gender balance through the active recruitment of female talent. She has also promoted internal and external campaigns to celebrate International Women’s Day. Today there is a gender balance across all levels of the company including within global, regional and local leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Bell

CEO, North America
Aon

As Co-Chair of the Global Inclusive Leadership Council (GILC), Jennifer drives the group’s efforts to provide advice, recommendations and accountability for I&D strategy and actions at Aon plc. In her role, Jennifer regularly reports to the newly formed Inclusion & Diversity Sub-Committee of the Aon plc Board. Jennifer’s leadership and commitment to Aon has been instrumental to laying the foundation for the recent announcement of a 50:50 gender balance within the Aon Executive Committee. She has also worked hard to ensure that female representation on her leadership team is higher than average, and she remains connected with Aon’s Business Resource Groups in order to drive equity at all levels of the firm, not just at senior leadership. Over recent years she has mentored a number of female colleagues and clients.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global CEO
VMLY&R Commerce (was formerly Geometry)

Beth’s actions to promote gender equality on behalf of WPP include serving on the firm’s ‘SeeHer’ committee, mentoring across the organization, and sponsoring Black women as part of the Safe Space program. Within VMLY&R, Beth ensures commitment to pro-bono work supporting women-run businesses, and works hand-in-hand with the HR department to ensure that there is always a focus on gender diversity across the hiring and promotion of talent. The World Woman Hour she created, showcasing 60 female stories for one minute each, received millions of views on Facebook Live and You Tube where they aired, whilst VMLY&R’s partnership with Luminary has produced content allowing women to hear from others and learn from their stories. During the pandemic, the organization took a very personalized and flexible approach to work hours and locations, and in doing so achieved its goal of retaining women and talent disproportionately impacted.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Annette Rippert

Group Chief Executive - Strategy & Consulting
Accenture

As a Group Chief Executive at Accenture, Annette has sponsored and been closely involved in scaling the company's apprenticeship program to provide under-represented groups access to digital economy jobs. She actively works across the industry to advance Accenture's agenda with key organizations looking to bring change for women in STEM fields. As part of her efforts to take an active role in helping women shape their careers and enlist the support they need to excel in the workplace, Annette introduced Accenture’s 16-week Return to Work program, which assists ‘relaunchers’ with training and an opportunity to sharpen leadership skills as they return to a professional environment. Annette marked Springboard Enterprises' 20th anniversary in October 2020 by honoring four female CEOs for their technological innovation as ‘Women Transforming Industries’. Her ongoing collaboration with Springboard through Accenture Ventures helps advance their mission of accelerating the success of women-led tech businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Canney

Chief People Officer
ServiceNow

Jacqui Canney is Chief People Officer for ServiceNow, the digital workflow company making the world of work, work better for people. Jacqui joined ServiceNow in July 2021 and leads all talent strategies for its rapidly growing global workforce of more than 14,000 employees. Prior to ServiceNow, Jacqui served as the Global Chief People Officer for WPP, a creative transformation company that builds better futures for its clients. In this role, she was responsible for WPP’s global talent organization, making WPP the destination for the industry’s top talent and for leading all aspects of people strategy, rewards, talent management, recruiting, and leadership development and learning. Prior to joining WPP, Jacqui was Walmart's Chief People Officer, where she was responsible for attracting, retaining, and developing talent for one of the world’s largest private employers. Before Walmart, Jacqui worked at Accenture for 25 years where she played a pivotal role in helping support the rapid growth of the business. Jacqui currently serves on the boards of the American Marketing Association and Project Healthy Minds, and on the Board of Trustees at Boston College.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

As the Chief Executive of Fidelity International and Chair of Fidelity’s Global Operating Committee, Anne is responsible for setting the firm’s corporate and strategic initiatives with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, an Enhanced Parental Leave Policy was introduced, allowing secondary carers to take as much paid leave as primary carers regardless of gender, sexual orientation or working location. Another policy provided all employees with caring responsibilities with at least five additional days paid leave per calendar year. In 2020, Fidelity achieved their target of 30% women in global senior management roles and set a new target to achieve 35% women in senior roles by December 2023. Alongside these achievements Anne also piloted a female leadership program which resulted in a direct increase in female recruitment to senior roles in India, and expanded the firm’s successful New Horizon Returnship Program resulting in 23 female returners.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director & Co-Head of US Buyout
The Carlyle Group

Carlyle's Diversity & Inclusion Council launched in 2013 as one of the first groups of its kind in the investment management industry. As well as being a leader on this council, Sandra plays a pivotal role in ensuring at least half of the firm's incoming classes are diverse. In the past year, she led the charge in re-evaluating and refining Carlyle's portfolio board diversity goals, which now includes ensuring that 30% of all directors on the boards of Carlyle portfolio companies are diverse by 2023. As an active leader in Carlyle's Global Mentorship Program, which has had over 800 participants globally within the last four years, Sandra oversees nearly 100 employees, 50% of whom are diverse. She also started Carlyle's Women's Employee Resource Group to help create inclusive environments that support and encourage women to advance their skills and leadership potential through connection, mentorship, collaboration and discussion.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Suzanne Rich Folsom

Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Philip Morris International (PMI)

In July 2020, Suzanne joined Philip Morris International as its most senior female executive. As an active member of the women's Employee Resource Group (ERG), the Women's Inspiration Network (WIN), she participates in company-wide interactive webcasts to discuss gender equality and integrity in the workplace. At the Women Who Lead conference in March 2021, the first WIN event, Suzanne engaged with employees, sharing her personal journey, advice, and vision. She has also been vocal in her support for gender equality, through PMI’s Leaders of Change website. Suzanne considers it a part of her life’s mission to mentor and sponsor the next generation of women in the workplace, providing opportunities for their own journeys. She has also made a mark on her department, and corporate governance, by hiring female and minority talent to her leadership team, as well as promoting and showcasing the contributions of a diverse team to other senior leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

As CEO of a public company that employees over 2500 people across the globe, Megan is committed to using her platform to shine a light on diversity, equity and inclusion. This year, she has led two major initiatives to help foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. The first was a Pay Parity Action Plan launched in March which closed the pay gap to zero and committed to regular gender pay equity analyses for full pay parity across the organization. The second initiative launched this year was a parental leave policy updated to include additional paid time tailored for both parents, ensuring that new parents can spend quality time with their growing families regardless of gender. In the spring, Criteo hired its first head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to help it build a more robust global strategy, and the organization now has seven active Employee Resource Groups to support its diverse communities.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

Group Chief Executive
Bank of Ireland

At the Bank of Ireland Francesca set D&I targets to achieve a 50:50 gender balance in management and leadership appointments by 2021. In 2020 the percentage of women represented in senior appointments was already at 41% and by the second half of the finance year this figure had risen to 47%. Under Francesca’s leaderships a number of initiatives were introduced including a policy whereby colleagues having a baby via a surrogate can take paid leave in line with maternity benefits; a female mentoring pilot to improve the visibility of female talent and support professional development; and the launch of a Recruitment Charter for hiring diverse talent. Additionally, Bank of Ireland is the only Irish bank to proactively publish their Gender Pay Gap Report ahead of legislation for second year running, and during the Covid-19 pandemic colleagues unable to work due to childcare or other caring commitments have continued to receive a full salary.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Osborne Ross

U.S. CEO
Edelman

Lisa’s impressive achievements at Edelman include setting DE&I metrics for all U.S. offices, which resulted in women and people of color making up 48% of Edelman’s senior hires since May 2020. Whilst serving as Edelman’s COO, Lisa achieved her goal of having 50% of senior leadership positions occupied by women by 2020, and her efforts to increase the gender diversity of the Washington D.C. office Executive Committee resulted in a team of 67% women and 33% men, reversing the original balance. As well as serving as a member and advocate of Edelman's internal women's group, GWEN, Lisa mentors and sponsors women at all levels throughout the organization and is considered one of Edelman's top external spokespeople on diversity, including gender diversity. Beyond Edelman, Lisa co-created the E3 Network (Empower, Elevate and Engage) to address the lack of diverse women in the C-suite of communications agencies.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia San Pedro

President
SONIC Drive-In

In 2018, Claudia became the first woman and first Latina to serve as President of SONIC Drive-In, a role she is using to foster a culture with more opportunities for diverse talent. Not only does SONIC Drive-In have many women on its leadership team, but there is gender parity at the level of operators and supervisors within individual franchises too. Claudia frequently shares her experiences and insights on D&I with others in the industry, including being featured in Executive Women's Forums (EWF) International, where she shared her journey and the lessons she learned along the way to help inspire other women. In December 2020 she was named the 2020 LATINA Executive of the Year by LATINA Style Inc., in recognition of her leadership, commitment to the community, impact to the company bottom line, and her ability to build an environment where employees are encouraged to succeed and reach their full potential.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Executive Vice Chair
MasterCard

Ann leads Mastercard’s Gender Steering Committee, presiding over D&I initiatives including a Mentoring scheme, Relaunch Your Career program and enhanced gender-neutral parental leave. She is sponsor of Mastercard’s Boards for Impact scheme matching female executives with NFP boards - now extended to black US executives. She champions Girls4Tech, committed to educate 5million girls in STEM by 2025 and Mastercard‘s lead in a $100m early-stage venture fund focused on one female equity holding executive. Ann is active with UN Generation Equality, where Mastercard pledged to reach 25million women-led SMEs by 2025 as part of their drive to include an extra 1billion people into the financial system. Outside Mastercard, Ann is Global Chair of the 30% Club, a campaign in over 20 countries committed to boosting female representation at board/executive level. She is also Chair of Financial Alliance for Women, working with banks/Fintechs on the SHEeconomy. Ann is the lead director of BEIS, the UK government department for enterprise, net zero and innovation.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel began her role at Wunderman Thompson by recruiting female talent, and she now proudly leads a gender-balanced Executive Committee. Not only is Wunderman Thompson the only major marketing agency with women in the global CEO, CFO, CMO, and IE&D Officer positions, it is also the first global network to launch an Inclusive Experience Practice, the aim of bringing inclusive design and accessibility to the marketing landscape. Wunderman Thompson also launched the WT Inspire initiative, including a diagnostic tool, the Inspire Score, which ranks the top 100 inspiring brands in the world today. In 2020, further cementing Wunderman Thompson's commitment to inclusion and diversity efforts, Mel hired Ezinne Okoro as Global Chief Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Officer. The same year saw her speak to Meio se Mensagem, a leading Brazilian advertising and media publication, on the network’s actions for diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Michele Wee

CEO
Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam

Michele has focussed strongly on improving gender representation in front-line banking jobs whilst driving a holistic inclusive D&I culture. She chaired the D&I Council at Financial Markets Singapore across 40markets and member of country D&I. Under her stewardship, the first Financial Markets LeanIn circle in 2019 was born. The coaching program for 50 female directors to support their journey to become Executive Directors achieved 24% senior leadership in front office from 19% in 2019. Michele’s other achievements include introducing ‘balanced hiring’ for FM early careers program and a balanced interview panel / candidate slate. Financial Markets annual MARC awards recognized male colleagues who are true advocates of female leadership to escalate momentum. Outside of her work at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore, Michele has also coached and mentored women on career progression and navigating markets for the Singapore Institute of Management MBA program, and served as an advocate for women on the Executive Committee of the Financial Markets Association SG

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is a passionate supporter of driving gender diversity and inclusion. She strongly supports the creation of a nurturing and sustainable inclusive culture, where differences are acknowledged, appreciated and encouraged, as this will help individuals thrive, support innovation and making the organisation a better workplace.. Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor of HSBC Balance (an Employee Resource Group promoting gender diversity with over 50,000 members across 48 countries) and HSBC Digital Business Services (DBS) on 'Inclusive Culture’. #Inclusive Europe, an Employee Resource Group covering over 10,000 colleagues across 21 countries was also launched in Europe earlier this year. Alongside sponsoring female talent under HSBC’s talent programmes, Terecina also mentors colleagues around the world and participated in various external events in Europe and Asia supporting wider female talent growth in the community.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bina Mehta

Chair, KPMG UK
KPMG LLP

In 2021, Bina made headlines both in the UK and overseas by becoming the first woman to be appointed as Chair of KPMG in the firm's 150-year history. Since taking on the role, she has hosted ‘In Conversation’ sessions with colleagues in multiple networks, including BREATHE (the firm's LGBT network), the African and Caribbean Network and the Muslim Network. Since 2014, Bina has led KPMG's relationship with Women of the Future, ensuring representation from the firm at the annual summit from a diverse group of females across the global network. She was also responsible for initiating KPMG’s first reverse mentoring scheme, which initially focused on junior female staff, but was so successful it was later expanded to include a scheme focused on Black Heritage colleagues too. Last year she was made a Member of the Advisory Group for the Fawcett Society focused on the Pay and Progression of Women of Colour.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kathy Reardon

Executive Vice President - Chief People Officer
Dollar General Corporation

As one of the female executive officers at Dollar General Corporation, Kathy is an active member of the Women's Professional Network (WPN) Employee Resource Group having previously served as its executive sponsor. Serving as chief people officer to the company’s workforce, which is 68% female, Kathy helped to launch a new female leadership program in 2021, participates in lunch and learns with female leaders to share empowering experiences and mentors numerous individuals. Her leadership to advance Dollar General’s diversity and inclusion journey extends throughout the organization and is evidenced by the development of a company allyship guide that helps employees play an active role in creating a more inclusive environment. Thanks to Kathy’s leadership and the Company’s efforts, Dollar General was featured on Professional Women’s Magazine’s list of top LGBTQ+ Friendly Companies in 2020 and was also recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for ongoing workplace inclusive efforts in support of LGBTQIA+ employees in 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors
Deloitte

Sharon works closely with Deloitte’s leadership to set and meet ambitious goals for the representation of women in leadership roles. She actively promotes and is a sought-after public speaker on the topics of diversity and inclusion, mental health/wellbeing, and sustainability. Sharon is a vocal advocate for allyship and sponsorship in the workplace, for example through her involvement with Deloitte's Women in the Boardroom report and Deloitte’s global 2021 Pride campaign. In 2019 Sharon sponsored the launch of an internal sponsorship initiative designed to develop the talent pipeline and bring more Deloitte women through to senior leadership positions, and she personally sponsors and mentors a number of women. Sharon champions the activities of a variety of internal networks and groups, for example the Deloitte Brazil Women’s network, the Deloitte UK Neurodiversity network and the Deloitte Global LGBT+ network. She regularly engages with groups of women around the world both at Deloitte and externally to share her experiences, and understand theirs, and encourage them to pursue their career ambitions.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tricia Griffith

President and Chief Executive Officer
The Progressive Corporation

When Tricia was the Chief Human Resource Officer at The Progressive Corporation she began focusing on the firm’s D&I efforts through the establishment of several Employee Resource Groups. Fifteen years later, Progressive has nine ERGs deeply embedded in its culture, and Tricia’s commitment to D&I has continued in her new position as CEO. The firm ended 2020 with 45% of its leadership represented by women, as well as having increased the representation of people of color. As an active member of Progressive’s Network of Empowered Women, Tricia works to raise awareness of the unique values women bring and the challenges they may face during their career. Through her position on the board of the Business Roundtable, Tricia actively works with other CEOs to help promote change at a higher level, encouraging leaders in corporate America to step up to the challenge of promoting diversity by providing greater transparency on their diversity metrics.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

Chairwoman & CEO
EY ShinNihon LLC

Since being elected as Chairwoman and CEO at EY ShinNihon in 2019, Masami has accelerated her efforts in developing and appointing female talents and nurturing flexible work system. For example, there are four female board members at EY ShinNihon effective July 2021, making up 25% of the board, compared to 7.6% when Masami first joined in 2016. The firm’s recent people engagement survey has shown that female engagement was up 16 percentage points from 2019. Masami also demonstrated the power of diversity in leadership. On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, she reiterated the importance of being oneself regardless of gender and expressed her genuine commitment to be an ally of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Masami has served as a member of EY Global Diversity and Inclusiveness Steering Committee, using the group as a means of advancing D&I efforts worldwide.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susanne Schaffert, Ph.D.

Global President, Novartis Oncology
Novartis

As an Executive Committee member at Novartis, Susanne is a driver of the company’s goal of gender balance in management by 2023. Steady progress has been made, with women in management at Novartis rising to 45%. As well as serving as a member and sponsor on Resource Groups such as Empowering Women to Impact Novartis (eWIN) and Women in Leadership (WIL), Susanne co-sponsors the firm’s Gender Equality Project and its Disability Equity commitment. In 2020, she joined an eWIN event focussed on 'The Power of Inclusive Leadership', where she shared her perspectives and experiences of inclusion. Earlier this year, she launched the Novartis Switzerland second-generation Healthcare Businesswomen's Association ambassador group, where she encouraged the community to check personal biases, find the courage to speak up, and unlock inner potential through self-awareness and self-belief. Passionate about creating inclusive workplaces, Susanne wants everyone to feel safe, respected, and able to be their true selves.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracy Garrad

CEO
AXA Health

Tracy is the Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion across AXA in the UK and Ireland, and as part of this role she chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Board, which is comprised of senior leaders from across the business. Over the past year successes have included getting AXA UK&I listed as a coveted 2021 Times Top 50 Employer for Women, developing and executing an Ethnicity Action Plan, and launching an allyship program which has been engaged with over 2,000 times to date. Additionally, Tracy was able to strengthen senior leadership commitment to D&I by ensuring all leaders have two performance-related D&I objectives, as well as making D&I a quarterly standing agenda item at Executive Committee meetings. To celebrate 2021 International Women's Day, Tracy starred in a global AXA Group panel discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on gender equality, which was watched by over 3,000 employees across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2021 Top 100 Women Executives

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Beth Ann Kaminkow

Global, CEO
Geometry Global

Beth Ann is the Global CEO of Geometry, WPP’s Creative Commerce agency. Women’s initiatives remain a priority for her. Recently, she expanded WPP’s Stella program to NA recognizing the need for mentorship. Beth Ann is on the board of Geometry’s IE&D Council supporting efforts to globalize programs like WPPRoots to champion greater ethnic and cultural diversity and inclusion. She sponsors high potential talent across the organization. Working with World Woman Founder, Rupa Dash, a program has been conceived to share 60 inspiring leadership stories. Externally, Beth Ann serves on the board of Newhouse at Syracuse University where she mentors and provides a scholarship. Additionally, Beth Ann is on the National Board of Back on My Feet, an organization that uses running to address Homelessness. An advocate in the creative industry, Beth Ann is working to set new models that are fitting of a woman leader and relevant for today's challenging world. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rocki Howard

Operations Director
Resource Solutions

In addition to heading the US region for Resource Solutions, Rocki heads the organization’s Global Diversity Council. She has fostered a culture of inclusion and acceptance through diversifying recruitment, mentoring promising talent and leading initiatives to entrench gender equality in the workplace. Her goal is to create cultures that open diverse career opportunities for bold, brilliant career women and advocate for the promotion of women into leadership and entrepreneurial roles. She has single-handedly launched an online platform for women over 40 to support their personal and professional development. Rocki even hosts a podcast that highlights the accomplishments of women. Over the years, she spoken at numerous events and written dozens of articles that advocate for respect and acknowledgment of women in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Seema Bains

Partner and Head of Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Group
DWF

Seema is the head of DWF’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Group and is 1 of 8 women, and the first ethnic minority to hold the position of a Career Level 1 Partner. Seema has been appointed as a Partner Director on DWF's Plc board with effect from 22 October 2020. Seema has been instrumental in creating an inclusive culture at DWF and promoting gender diversity, and has grown the Leadership Group into a global board, designed trailblazing gender and ethnicity targets across all levels of the business and pioneered D&I best practice to increase the recruitment of a diverse body of talent. Seema serves as a Senior Sponsor to women and BAME professionals and promotes inclusion through industry leading initiatives by the Gender Inclusion Network for Insurance and Women in Hospitality Travel and Leisure. Seema has been quoted in numerous legal and business publications, including the Sunday Times.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

CEO & Founder
Jomas Associates (Engineering)

As the CEO and Founder of Jomas Associates (Engineering), and a rare Black woman CEO in the construction industry, Roni is blazing trails for women in business and beyond. She champions diversity and inclusion across the company through strict policies, an unbiased recruitment process and as a mentor to staff members. She also spearheads the D&I campaign across business sectors and the construction industry, sitting on several advisory boards. Named as the Best Consultant & Most Distinguished Winner at the European Women in Construction & Engineering Awards, Roni was the National Lead for Women in STEM at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and is now the Policy Chair for Construction, representing small businesses across the UK, while also promoting the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Liburd MBE

Non Executive Director
Abstract

Sue champions the importance of diversity and inclusion in all that she does. Sue serves as the Non-Executive Director at ABSTRACT where she works in collaboration with the Board of Directors to deliver the gender equality strategy. This work is focused on increasing the numbers of female and minority associates moving into higher positions. With the support of her efforts, 30% of ABSTRACT's ACCELERATE programme delegates have been promoted or seconded into more senior roles, and 34% of delegates have developed wider roles and responsibilities. Sue also serves as the National BAME and Gender Diversity Lead for NHS England Armed Forces Public Patient Voice Advisory Group. She recently curated an annual TEDx Women event in the City of Lincoln, as well as leads senior women in business forums with female business leaders attending from across Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Natasha Harrison

Managing Partner
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Fostering, advancing and accelerating diversity is core to Natasha’s business strategy and at the heart of the London office of Boies Schiller Flexner, which she built from scratch. Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of few women to head up a major international law firm, and the only UK woman to be running a US law Firm. She has built a UK team with more than 40% female partners and is a supporter of The Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for candidates from diverse and under-privileged backgrounds. As part of her strategic vision for the firm, Natasha has appointed a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion officer, introduced a firm-wide diversity budget and targets for female and minority representation in leadership positions. Committed to the development of young female lawyers, Natasha has made a public stand about how firms can bridge the issue of inequality. Externally, Natasha mentors a number of high-flying women looking to return to the workplace. She has also counselled women through discriminatory dismissals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Kamel Hothi OBE

NED & Trustee
TLC Lions

An ex-banker with 40 years’ experience and architect of numerous initiatives, Kamel is a NED for TLC Lions and Trustee to a number of charities and organisations. She chairs the TLC Lions Club in Westminster hosted by UN Chair for women UK, helping over 180 companies to collaborate on Inclusion challenges. Is passionate about mentoring and coaching senior businesswomen across industries and an Ambassador to Alzheimer Society helping reach out across the BAME community and the impact of being a carer. She is an advisor to Her Majesty Queen’s Commonwealth Trust supporting 53 countries to find solution to social problems in particular gender challenges. In 2019, Kamel was invited to Chair the Bloomberg summit round table with UN Women in Mumbai and is a regular speaker globally on gender and inclusion. Kamel was awarded an OBE for diversity across banking in 2017

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Canney

Global Chief People Officer
WPP

As WPP’s Global Chief People Officer, Jacqui is responsible for the company’s global talent organization and making WPP the destination for the industry’s top talent. Passionate about inclusivity and diversity, Jacqui is creating an integrated talent team that will work with leaders throughout WPP to help build a culture that empowers people to do their best work. She serves on WPP’s Executive Committee and is the Chair of WPP’s Charity Committee. Jacqui is a Board member of the American Marketing Association, and she is active in organizations at her alma mater, including the Council for Women of Boston College and the Boston College Women in Business Network. Throughout her career, Jacqui has driven large-scale, people-centered business transformations and she is motivated by the journey to workplace inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claire Dykta

Head of UK Strategy
National Grid

Claire is a member of the Senior Challenge Group for Women in National Grid and a strong advocate of gender diversity both within and outside the organization, Claire’s primary objective is to help individuals, who are relatively early in their career, identify their aspirations and work at an organizational level to remove barriers to progression and help them succeed. In 2019, Claire introduced a series of external speakers within her organization to provide relatable role models and inspiration to early-career women. She coaches and mentors women inside and outside the organization and is currently establishing an industry wide network to provide support, inspiration and role models to early career women. In addition, she is regularly invited as a role model herself to networking sessions tackling issues regarding equality. Claire has assisted people in gaining confidence to apply for and secure promotions and identify avenues to success within their organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairéad Nayager

Chief HR Officer
Diageo

Mairéad leads Diageo’s I&D strategy which has seen Diageo exceed its 2020 target for women in leadership roles and rank first on the Equileap Gender Equality Index. Today, 50% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women. In 2019 Mairead spearheaded an ambitious parental leave policy, offering all female employees globally six months fully paid maternity leave and offering the same benefit to men in a majority of markets. Since launch, the average number of paternity leave days taken by men increased from 23 to 105. Diageo is working to increase the number of women in STEM roles through apprenticeships, returnships and a scholarship at Herriot Watt University for female brewers, distillers, and mechanical engineers. Mairead is Diageo’s Executive Sponsor for race, and supports Spirited Women, Diageo’s gender equality employee group. She is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at events focused on gender equality in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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May Tai

Managing Partner, Asia
Herbert Smith Freehills

May is the first woman to become Asia Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehill, leading a team of approximately 600 people across nine offices in Asia. She is the partner sponsor of the Gender Equity Matters (GEM) Network and plays an integral part in creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment at her firm, and promoting and protecting individual rights in Hong Kong. May represented Herbert Smith Freehills’ Hong Kong office to sign the Fair Hiring Pledge, encouraging employees in Hong Kong to hire domestic workers fairly. Under May’s leadership, the firm signed a government-led Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation in 2018. This code was to facilitate self-regulation on the part of employers to eliminate the discriminatory practices. In addition to this, May has been teaching “International Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific region” at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Shimna Sameer

Head of National Operations & Northeast Division
Bank of America

Shim is a role model for women par excellence! At work and in her communities, she has built an exceptional track record for advancing women’s careers, and mentoring and developing women leaders. She serves as executive sponsor of the company’s Consumer Banking & Investments Employee Engagement and Inclusion Council. Widely known for her passion for women’s parity, she has addressed global audiences and has served as a keynote speaker at various forums, panels and events to discuss inclusion and women’s empowerment. She is a tireless promoter of gender equality, and is committed to dismantling perceptions and barriers built by unconscious bias. In 2020, she was named to the “INDIA New England News” List of Outstanding Women and to the EMpower/Yahoo Finance Ethnic Minority Executive Role Model List that honors global leaders who are champions for diversity and inclusion in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cristina Palmaka

President of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean region
SAP Brasil Ltda.

Cristina is an Ambassador of the Employee Network Group and Member of the Business Women Network (BWN) and Black Employee Network (BEN) at SAP Brasil. Under Cristina’s guidance, SAP reinforced the importance of their inclusive employee network models and the number of women at the firm has grown to 35% in two years. As well as being a seasoned panelist and speaker, Cristina is a Board Member of Arcos Dorados and Junior Achievement and is a passionate advocate for women and their professional advancement across industries.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jo Whitfield

Co-op Food CEO
Co-op

The CEO at Co-op, Jo champions women's inclusion and gender diversity through colleague networks. Jo served as the Aspire Executive sponsor which is a community of colleagues who believe that all women in Co-op have a right to equality. Recently she has become the new Respect Executive sponsor which support LGBT+ workers at the Co-op. Jo founded the Grocery Girls Network, a trailblazing initiative bringing women together to share experiences, career journeys and inspiration. Jo serves as the Ambassador of Girls Out Loud, a non-profit organization focusing on developing young female talent. Moreover, Jo is the member of Women’s Business and Manchester International Festival. In 2019, Jo was awarded Veuve Clicquot Business Women of the Year award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danielle Ofek

Founder
Genddex

Danielle is the Founder of GenddeX, and champions gender inclusion in the workplace and beyond. She has created and developed new accelerator programs for minorities to enhance their great ideas advancement and works to implement and measure gender equality in work through tailored recruitment, retention and promotion. Danielle founded WCF (World Crisis Forum), a non-political community of global-leaders who gather to identify solutions to global critical challenges operating in the spirit of inclusion, equality and diversity, and she serves at the IVLP- Leadership Program Alumni of the U.S. Department of State. In addition, she is an advisor at the Ministry of Science and Technology to promote women in science. Danielle is Co-Founder at GreenOn Startup encouraging the usage of green transportation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tea Colaianni

Senior Independent Director
Watches of Switzerland

Tea is also the Founder and Chair of WiHTL - Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure. Tea’s approach towards D&I includes conducting research, supporting industry collaborations and sharing, and creating tangible action to root inclusion as a core principle within businesses across hospitality, travel and leisure. Tea has implemented cross-company mentoring programmes for women with over 300 participants, a reverse mentoring programme, and in 2020, Tea launched and chairs the Race and Ethnicity in HTL Committee made up of 28 leaders with 57% from a BAME background. The Committee focuses on the creation of best practices, tools, webinars content as well as raising awareness and improving educational programmes. Tea's work is making a positive difference to 2 million people across the industry, and is building great momentum to achieve WiHTL's mission to positively impact 5 million women and people from ethnic minorities across hospitality, travel and leisure by 2025. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hiltrud Dorothea Werner

Member of the Board of Management
Volkswagen AG

Hiltrud serves as the Member of the Board of Management for Volkswagen AG. She is the Women’s Forum internal Mentor for Future Female Leaders at Volkswagen Management Association. Hiltrud is the Member of Initiative Women into Leadership, Women Leaders Global Forum and Women Corporate Directors. She made a great impact for application of young females to work in the automotive industry and for Volkswagen. She was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Conference. A champion advocate for gender equality in the workplace, Hiltrud is the recipient of "Mentor of the Year’ for advancing the careers of women in Compliance in Germany.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aisling Gannon

Partner, Head of Healthcare
Eversheds Sutherland Ireland

Aisling is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation department at Eversheds Sutherland Ireland and head of the firm’s Healthcare unit. Aisling Chairs Eversheds Sutherland’s CSR Committee and sits on the Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee. She was a member of ESW (now known as Pathways) – the firm’s gender diversity committee. Recently, Aisling was involved in spearheading the adoption of the firm’s Gender Identity in the Workplace policy. Aisling is also a committee member and Director of Irish Women Lawyers Association (IWLA). Seen in various print mediums and a regular speaker on D&I topics, Aisling has passionately advocated for equality in the workplace throughout her career. Aisling is currently shortlisted in the Insurance category of The Women in Business Law Europe Awards 2020. Aisling was delighted to feature on the HERoes Role Model List 2019.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Gomez

Chief Financial Officer
Leo Burnett Group

Accountant by trade, accidental author and Chief Financial Officer of Leo Burnett Group—Anna Gomez’s story is all things inspirational. Originally from the Philippines and mother of three, Anna continuously elevates those around her, pushing for gender diversity inside—and outside—work. At Leo Burnett, Anna is the Executive Sponsor of Shades, an ERG for black colleagues and allies as well as the Executive Sponsor of Sages, an ERG for employees 45+, providing resources essential for colleagues to address challenges of ageism. Outside work, she’s on the Board as Treasurer of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Organization, which provides leadership development opportunities to youth, and a Board Member of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, where she supports the next generation of young women entrepreneurs. Most recently, she was a keynote speaker in the 2020 Illinois CPA Society Young Professionals Leadership Conference.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Reshma Ramachandran

Vice President
Hitachi ABB Power Grids

The Vice President of Hitachi ABB Power grids , based at their headquarters in Switzerland, Reshma is a D&I keynote speaker and a member of the D&I council. As the Head of Engineering, Reshma has increased the number of women on the leadership team significantly and she also serves as the Founding Member of Divershefy. Reshma coaches and mentors several young women in universities that encouraged them to opt for STEM careers and minority ethnic groups to help them advance in their careers. As an advocate for women in STEM, Reshma actively champions the business benefits of employing an effective diversity strategy and has been a voice of change both inside and outside of the organization.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Meliosa O'Caoimh

Country Head, Ireland
Northern Trust

As the Country Head for Northern Trust Ireland, Meliosa is responsible for driving strategy and has championed gender diversity in the implementation of firm-wide policies. She establish the Executive Gender Balance Group at Northern Trust and have achieved their target gender balance ahead of time, diversifying the talent pipeline and recruitment efforts. A regular speaker, though leader and expert in her field. Meliosa is the Deputy Chair of the 30& Club’s Financial Services sub-group, completing ground-breaking research that provided a benchmark for women’s representation in Ireland. Developing the careers of women in leadership is core to Meliosa’s mission and as an educator, she is deeply committed to creating inclusive businesses across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Jurevics

EVP, Head of International
Audible

Susan is a Member of Moms@ Audible and the Executive Sponsor of Women@ Audible, the largest employee impact group in the US with growing global chapters. Susan is focused on fostering women leadership talent with an expanding remit to include minority voices. A recipient of the NYU Stern Women in Business (SWIB) award, Susan is also a Board member of BRIC Arts & Media and is working to take sustained action to make diverse cultural programming accessible and elevating artistic expression from women and minorities. Susan is a champion of inclusion in the workplace and beyond and has advocated for women throughout her career.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cate Luzio

Founder & CEO
Luminary

Cate is the Founder and CEO of Luminary, a global collaboration hub focused on advancing women through community and content. With inclusion at the core of its philosophy, Cate has built a community with thousands of individual members and over 30 corporate members like Goldman Sachs, WW, and MasterCard to elevate women in business across the world. Named as a Top 100 Female Founder by Inc Magazine (2019), Cate sits on the National Board for Girls Inc, the Advisory Board for Pomp and Whimsy, a woman-founded gin brand, as well as WaterAid. Cate’s mission in life is to advance the careers and businesses of women globally and is committed to gender inclusion and equity in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Chin

Director, EU Retail
Amazon

Jacqui is the Founder and Leader of UK’s Women@ Amazon and has provided thousands of employees with resources to progress across all levels of business. She has steered the delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines in 2017 implemented across six countries and has lead Amazon’s mentoring schemes. Winner of the Worldpay Everywoman in Retail Ambassador Award, Jacqui supports Amazon’s Cambridge Development Centre and is the Co-Chair of the International Women’s Day Leadership Forum. Through the latter, she has facilitated forums as part of the Women in Silicon Roundabout (WISE) campaign for gender balance in science and engineering.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Arati Deo

Lead – Data, Artificial Intelligence, and Inclusion & Diversity, Advanced Technology Centers in India
Accenture Solutions Private Limited

Arati is the Sponsor of Accenture’s Inclusion and Diversity Programme for Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI) with which she has designed and executed training programmes and initiatives for women. She is the Creator and Lead of the Grow Women in Leadership Programme and the Creator of High-Tech Women and has overseen the virtual Parents@Work support program seeing a 99% retention rate of mothers returning to work. Passionate about driving gender equality in the workplace and beyond, Arati has been recognized in the Top 10 Women in Tech List by VoiceNData for International Women’s Day 2020. She is the Programme Chair of Grace Hopper Celebration and is a committed Mentor to women technology professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Simone Roche MBE

Managing Director
Events 1st

Simone is the Founder of Northern Power Women, Global Power Women and Northern Power Futures. Simone is committed to accelerating equality across all levels of business and through her role has diversified talent pipelines, built mentoring schemes that have supported hundreds of women professionals and she is vocal advocate for inclusion. A recipient of an Honorary Teaching Fellow at Lancaster University, Simone is also a Project Champion for BBC 5050 with which she has driven the charge for fairer and increased minority representation in the media. She is also a judge for the Asian Power List and a Champion of the Women’s Business Council and has been named as the first and only woman Honorary Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Purchas

Partner, Head of People
KPMG

Anna is a Member of the Inclusive Leadership Board, Chair of the Black Heritage Working Group and a mentor to the Chair and regular contributor the KPMG Network of Women. She has spearheaded initiatives that have advanced women’s professional careers across all levels of KPMG and beyond and instills in them the confidence to move up the career ladder. A passionate advocate for creating inclusive workplaces, this year, Anna has been a member of the ICAEW Leadership and Professional Development Board, a Judge for Changemakers, Women in Software and a member of the Forward Institute. Additionally, Anna is a coach to women across industries and is committed to actively championing gender equality in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nadjia Yousif

Managing Director & Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Nadjia is the UK Diversity and Inclusion Lead and Head of Women@BCG UK at the Boston Consulting Group. She focuses on gender diversity and works to entrench inclusion within her organization through recruiting, mentoring, offering career support and creating inclusive policies. A regular speaker on D&I topics, she was selected to speak at TED as a role model for women in STEM. Nadjia is the Founder of Diversity Drivers, which curates expertise of top D&I leaders for smaller organizations. She is a member of the Women’s Forum Daring Circle for STEM and a supporter of Women For Women International and has dedicated her professional and personal life to driving inclusion across the world.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO, Channel Islands and Isle of Man
HSBC Bank plc

Sue promote gender diversity within HSBC globally and locally in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. She is a Global Ambassador for HSBC BALANCE which promotes gender diversity across the firm and has 50,000 colleague members in 20 countries. In the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, Sue is HSBC’s executive ambassador for International Women’s Day and the lead executive sponsor of the D+I Allies group who work to cement an inclusive culture in the workplace. In the community, Sue is the corporate sponsor of The Diversity Network in Jersey and has recently been appointed as sponsor and guest lecturer for Jersey College for Girls’ International Finance Programme,  developing the next generation of women professionals in the finance industry. Sue has also been shortlisted for the British Diversity Awards ‘Diversity Ally of the Year’ 2020 and is an dedicated mentor to both women and men.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sabrina Lynch

Senior Vice President
Taylor Strategy

Co-leading Taylor Executive committees, Sabrina supports programs and initiatives that further gender equality, diversity & inclusion in workplace. She acts as a vocal and visible role model for staff across all levels of the business and co-steers Taylor ERG groups and external workshops that educate the industry on better equity practices. She is Chair of the Parsons School of Fashion’s D&I Committee, being instrumental in the evolution of the School’s approach to D&I across syllabi, experiences and culture. In addition, she is a member of the UN Foundations Communications Corp and was chosen as Pitch Magazine’s 2019 ‘Super Woman’, profiling influential women working behind-the-scenes in the creative industry. Sabrina was handpicked by Macy’s as a panelist to provide counsel on the importance of women and ethnic minority representation in Fashion to their staff and retail partners.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sandra Horbach

Managing Director, Co-Head of US Buyout
The Carlyle Group

Sandra is a leader of the Carlyle Group’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and plays a pivotal role in ensuring that 50% of the firm’s incoming classes are diverse. She is a leader of Carlyle’s Global Mentorship Programme, which has over 800 participants globally and is the Founder of Carlyle’s Women Employee Resource Group to support and aid in women’s career progression through connection, collaboration and mentorship. Named as one of Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance (2020), Sandra is also a Trustee at Wellesley College, and through her work as Member of the Toigo Foundation Breakers Ground Women in Leadership, and Former Chair of the Stanford Graduate School of Business is inspiring the next generation of leaders to embrace and create an inclusive way of working.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lanaya Irvin

President
Coqual

A true champion of equality for women in the workplace and beyond, Lanaya is the President of Coqual (formerly Center for Talent Innovation), a global think tank conducting rigorous research and advising companies on diversity, equity and inclusion. Bringing a global lens and undeniable passion for equity, she leads a diverse team of researchers, storytellers, consultants and data analysts to build more equitable workplaces. Prior to Coqual, she spent over a decade on Wall Street in global banking and markets. A regular speaker, Lanaya is also the Co-Chair of the Human Rights Campaign’s, National Business Advisory Council where she collaborates with a forum of leaders from Fortune 500 companies to advance HRC equality goals.  Her thought leadership has been featured in Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Fast Company,

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jessica Rascionato

Executive Vice President, Head of Underwriting & Portfolio Management
Citizens Bank

Jessica is the Chair of the Citizens Bank’s Women Impact Network (WIN), leading a 2,000-person strong organization that helps women advance through professional development and networking opportunities. Under her leadership, WIN has sponsored and/or hosted dozens of internal events for colleagues and some that benefit the broader community including the Center for Women in Enterprise, Dress for Success, Girl Scouts and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is also a coach and mentor to numerous women both inside and outside the Bank. Jessica is passionate about providing professional and personal support to help facilitate the success of others and is committed to advocating for gender equality in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Isabelle Roux-Chenu

Group Head of Commercial & Contract Management, Senior Advisor to the Group Chairman
CAPGEMINI

Isabelle is the Founder and Worldwide Lead of Women@Capgemini with the objective to enhance gender balance and accelerate business. Passionate about inclusion and fostering innovation, Isabelle is a regular speaker on gender balance issues. She has appeared on podcasts, spoke at the Global Summit for Women in Switzerland and the US to talk about gender pay gap and share tips for negotiations of salaries and promotions. Isabelle was also speaker at the 4th Annual Women in leadership Global Summit (2018) in London to discuss how to promote gender balance in the workplace. She is an active member of the EDGE Foundation, the Global Summit of Women, Women in Leadership Europe and Will India and is committed to playing an active role in driving the change for inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsey Rix

Chief Executive Officer, UK Savings and Retirement
Aviva

Lindsey is one of the most senior females in the UK Savings and Retirement industry and is a pioneer in making a profound difference to the careers of women. Lindsey recently established the Commercial Leadership Initiative to broaden the opportunities for women within Aviva, by setting up two smaller businesses within her teams to enable women to experience the full breadth of running a business at an earlier stage in their career. Lindsey is an experienced mentor and has mentored over 20 women during the last 5 years; most notably as a lead mentor for the Aviva Women in Leadership Programme which strengthens the learning and development pathway for high potential women. Lindsey is also passionate about creating the right environment for women to prosper and is a lead voice on the Mid-Life MOT campaign externally, which supports over 45s with their work, wealth and wellbeing.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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KiKyeong Lee

Head, Distribution Network & PB Segment
Standard Chartered Bank Korea

KiKyeong is a champion for Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee’s Gender Team, Chair of the Bank’s Female Talents Academy and Chair of the Female Network. Through her work she has advocated for inclusion by fostering women talent, creating an environment conducive to a work-home balance and has raised the profile of the importance of gender equality within the organization’s culture. KiKyeong sponsored the ScaleUp Program of KVBWA, providing career development for 40 start-up women CEOs. KiKyeong serves as the Coach of Mentoring at the Graduate School of International Studies Yanbian University for women students and is a speaker at mentoring program 'youth to work', which is led by "Future Makers', SCB's social contribution activities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mariquit Corcoran

Head of Barclays Ventures US and Global Rise FinTech Platform
Barclays

Mariquit is an active and vocal champion for firm-sponsored initiatives focused on D&I.  She is on the Senior Steering Committee for Women in Technology (WiT) and is focused on recruiting and retaining women talent in technology at Barclays. In addition to organizing company-wide events, Mariquit launched the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis, a new program based in New York which invests in early stage companies led by women and is aimed at helping female entrepreneurs launch new companies.  She takes part in fireside chats and mentoring for Encore, a 12-week fellowship programme aimed at helping professionals who have taken career breaks return to work. She has been featured in numerous internal and external communications featuring her work to drive greater diversity.  Her work within Barclays and extensive public profile has significantly increased inclusion within the firm and beyond. Recognized in NYC FinTech Women’s Inspiring Females of 2019, keynote speaker for the 2020 WeAreTechWomen global conference and recipient of the Jes Staley CEO Award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda McKay

Quality & Assurance Director
Balfour Beatty Major Projects

Amanda serves as Co-Chair of the Gender Equality Network and chair of LGBT+ Network at Balfour Beatty, promoting women within the business and working to achieve gender parity within construction. Amanda supported Balfour Beatty’s work for International Women's Day and a member of the delivery team. Through her work she has increased the number of women in technical and engineering roles, supported the development and delivery the firm’s Women in Business course and aided in women’s career advancement. A regular speaker on D&I topics, Amanda is also an Ambassador and Mentor at Women in Nuclear. She is the National Executive Member and Chair of the Central Scotland Building Equality group and is committed to building an inclusive construction sector. A champion for inclusion in the workplace and beyond, Amanda’s work has been key to fostering inclusion in business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mirjam Staub-Bisang

Country Manager, Switzerland
BlackRock

Mirjam is Co-Sponsor of Elevate, an education programme within BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative & Allies Network (WIN) for emerging female talents. She is a committed mentor and has helped women to overcome professional challenges and supported their career advancement. Named as one of top 10 Business Women and one of the top 50 finance professionals in Switzerland by leading Swiss business magazines and laureate of “GenerationCEO”, she serves a visible role model and actively championing women to excel in their careers. Mirjam is the Founder and Chair of “MBA for Women Foundation”, a charity providing loans and scholarships to women enrolled in MBAs. Mirjam is invested in entrenching inclusion in the workplace and beyond and breaking down barriers to access and success for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Bijna Kotak Dasani

Executive Director
Morgan Stanley

As an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, Bijna is committed to enabling women gain the tools to lead and thrive within their careers. She is Co-Chair of the bank’s divisional Diversity Steering Committee in-country and is a member of its in-country Diversity Action Council. Bijna has actively supported the professional advancement of women throughout her career by championing agile-working programmes. She speaks regularly on diversity & inclusion (D&I) topics globally and mentors women in the workplace. In addition, Bijna is a strong promotor of gender and ethnic-minority social mobility and the career development of women in under-represented STEM professions. She serves as an Advisory Board member with various similarly dedicated organisations including Generation Success, Cajigo and CIONET Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Regional Managing Partner, Global BD & Marketing Partner
Linklaters

In her capacity as Regional Managing Partner at Linklaters, Claudia is the Global Champion for Gender within the Executive Committee. Through this she has sponsored many internal initiatives, championing specific programmes aimed at attracting and retaining female talent, participating in numerous internal events and organizing initiatives to galvanize the mission for equality. Named by the directory IFLR1000 as one of the Women Leaders, Claudia is the ambassador in Italy of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (chaired by Claudia from 2013 to 2016) and the founder of Breakfast@Linklaters, a networking forum for the senior female business community consisting of regular breakfasts recently transformed into weekly virtual meetings further to COVID-19 outbreak. She is often invited to speak at conferences, clients’ roundtables and TV programmes on financial matters and diversity issues and to deliver inspirational TedEx speeches for female and young audience.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

CEO, Europe Cluster
Vodafone Group Services Ltd

CEO of Europe Cluster and a member of the Group Executive Committee at Vodafone she also chairs the Inclusion for All Committee at Vodaphone. During her tenure, several successful global initiatives including a groundbreaking Global Maternity Policy. Serpil is passionately committed to increasing the proportion of women in our workforce and in management roles at Vodaphone through coaching, creating pathways to success and spaces to create meaningful change. Externally, Serpil mentors numerous senior women and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association’ (WBAT Turkey). Additionally, Serpil regularly speaks at global events to champion D&I. She has led the development and launch of Vodafone's #ChangeTheFace initiative in March 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kathryn 'Katie' Koch

Partner & Co-Head, Fundamental Equity
Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)

Having benefitted from mentorship, networking and sponsorship in the past, Katie is now passionate about providing other women with access to these advantages. She connects the dozens of women she manages and mentors with each other and with industry leaders and seeks to raise the profile of high-potential women at the Firm. Katie has sought to hire and promote women at GSAM for more than a decade: 43% of assets under management within the GSAM Fundamental Equity business are managed by female portfolio managers, substantially more than the industry average. Additionally, Katie has mentored and coached women through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women initiative. Externally, Katie has led a successful effort to increase female representation on corporate boards at companies globally where GSAM is a shareholder. She is also a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia Muir is the CEO of Gaia Innovation, and Founder of the Automotive 30% Club; a network of 42 CEOs and MDs aiming for minimum 30% representation of diverse women in key roles by 2030. She specialises in enabling women to achieve their potential, encouraging male allies, and inspiring young women to join automotive. Julia organises the Inspiring Automotive Women Awards and the Inspiring e-zine and Super-Network to motivate women to progress; and leads the Inspiration for Innovation Network of volunteers engaging with schools to dispel career stereotypes and inform youngsters about D&I. She is the leading voice on gender-balance and women's inclusion in UK automotive, is on the steering committee of the Global 30% Club, and is a Gender Equality and Diversity Ambassador for the Silverstone Technology Cluster. Her book, “Change the Game: A leader’s route map to a winning, gender- balanced business” will be published in March 2021.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amani Duncan

SVP Music MTV
ViacomCBS

Amani is the Executive Sponsor of ViacomCBS Women's ERG Here@Viacom and has served as a catalyst to help develop key D&I initiatives across the organization as well as mobilizing and moderating several panels for the group. Amani is the Founding Member of Chief, a club for women at the VP and C-Suite levels to work together and elevate each other into becoming strong leaders in the workplace and beyond. She is a skilled Mentor and author of an upcoming book and has partnered with Catalyst on their #BiasCorrect campaign which supports show juries in becoming 50:50 gender balanced. A true champion of inclusion, Amani is a strong advocate of equality across business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Paula Lindenberg

President - BU West
AB InBev

Paula is the Lead Ally for Women in Beer, an internal Business Resource Group at AB InBev and spearheads initiatives to attract, develop and empower women in the workplace, recruiting for the future by building a solid, diverse pipeline and advocates for the representation and inclusion of women within the beer industry. Paula is a committed mentor and encourages nad promotes women into senior Leadership, a feat that has been recognized in the trade press. Paula has overseen and launched a consumer-facing campaign designed to reorient the way in which women are portrayed in beer advertising and has signed Budweiser for its first-ever sponsorship of women’s football. Paula is a skilled advocate who is passionate about inclusion across the business sphere and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Megan Clarken

Chief Executive Officer
Criteo

With industry recognitions including the 2019 National Organization of Women’s Women of Power and Influence Awards, Megan Clarken continues to be recognized for her ability to transform and maintain businesses – while also remaining a champion for underrepresented groups in media. Prior to becoming CEO of Criteo, she spent 15+ years at Nielsen helping the company adapt and prevail through change. In addition to her role as CCO of Nielsen Global Media, she led a strategic partnership with GLAAD that expanded reporting capabilities so Nielsen’s national TV panel would count same-sex spouse and partner audiences. As Criteo's first female CEO, Megan remains committed to shining a light on D&I. In her short time at Criteo, Megan led awareness initiatives around International Women's Day and PRIDE month, and most recently appointed two internal D&I Program Leads, who will dedicate six months, fully paid, to building a more robust global strategy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Pallavi Verma

Senior Managing Director, responsible for North America Quality & Risk and Accenture’s Boston Office Managing Director
Accenture

Pallavi was named to Crain’s Chicago Business’s Most Powerful Women in Business (2019) and Better Chicago’s 25 Most Powerful Women (2019). Since joining Accenture 30+ years ago, Pallavi has built a reputation as a someone who promotes gender diversity--both internally and externally. In addition to leading Accenture’s Apprenticeship program in North America which connects underserved groups, including women with innovation economy jobs, Pallavi is the executive sponsor for the Planning for Success Program which matches Black & Hispanic managing directors with a sponsor. A committed champion for inclusion, Pallavi was the Executive Sponsor of International Women’s Day in Chicago and a member of The Chicago Network where Pallavi was instrumental in developing member programing. She has served as a sponsor and mentor to hundreds of women over the course of her career.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Funke Abimbola MBE

CEO
The Austen Bronte Consultancy

As a C-suite healthcare executive within the global pharmaceutical industry, Funke supports women entering their careers and is a skilled mentor and sponsor to her mentees. She acts as executive sponsor for D&I initiatives focusing on the advancement of women and has established gender equality initiatives, running workshops and establishing reverse mentoring and bursary schemes to enhance success. She is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire (recognising contributions to social and corporate diversity), a skilled public speaker and diversity campaigner and was the only black female member of the Law Society’s Women in Law Group, contributing to the group’s far-reaching successes. She regular features across a range of media outlets including the BBC and supports inclusive leadership as a business committee member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Governance and Inclusive Leadership. Funke has been instrumental in entrenching inclusion in the business world and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar

Caroline strives to be a ‘see it to be it’ role model for women in Tech and the C-suite, and an active ally for underrepresented groups. She is Kantar's Global Exec Sponsor for the Pride@Kantar safe community supporting LGBTQI+ employees across the globe, and is an ambassador for Ethnicity Mentoring Programmes, providing sponsorship and mentoring for both Kantar employees and young individuals externally who don’t get the support or opportunities in business they deserve. Caroline recently became a Sponsor for Leaders Plus, a social enterprise supporting women leaders with babies and young children stay in the career progression pipeline, and is also part of the Market Research Society D&I Council responsible for the Industry’s UK Manifesto for Inclusion & Opportunity and CEO Pledge, endeavouring for an industry representing the diverse world it serves and an authentic voice for the industry, brands and society on issues of representation, equality and accountability.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cecile Frot-Coutaz

Vice President, EMEA
YouTube

Cecile is actively involved in promoting gender diversity and inclusion within YouTube and Google, both as Executive Sponsor of YouTube EMEA's Women@ Employee Resource Group and as a speaker and panelist for a range of internal communities. She recently launched a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion speaker series within YouTube EMEA and is a committed mentor. Cecile has previously worked with the Big Brother Big Sister Programme in Los Angeles, and embraces being a positive role model who reinforces that women are more than capable of being successful on their own terms.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Cole

CEO
Wunderman Thompson Argentina

An inclusion champion, Victoria is the CEO of Wunderman Thompson Argentina and the Latin American for Pass It On, a programme aimed at senior women within the organization. She regularly hosts events for women to share best practice, knowledge to advance career development, has organized gender perspective trainings and accessibility trainings that entrench an intersectional approach to inclusion within her organization. Victoria is a member of the WEF (Women Economic Forum) Argentina Delegation with which she attended an annual event in Egypt to further equality and she is the Gender Perspective Director for Argentina’s AD Council.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cindy Hoots

Chief Digital Officer & CIO
AstraZeneca

As an exceptional woman in technology, Cindy has evolved her leadership programme to an outstanding 56% women. Together with Dell Technologies, she has established a Talent Exchange Programme across many global corporations and in her capacity as Chief Digital Officer and CIO mentors early and mid-career women around the globe. Committed to inclusion in the technology industry and beyond, Cindy has notably delivered a keynote speech at Unilever’s Women in Tech campaign and as one of few women in her freshman class, is a passionate advocate for changing this industry dynamic.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Danny Harmer

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Danny is the Chief People Officer at Aviva. She promotes diversity across all communities and is a strong advocate for inclusion. She is the Co-Executive Sponsor of the Carer’s Community, Executive Representative on the Global Inclusion Committee and Co-Executive Sponsor of the Domestic Abuse Working Group which has introduced training to support customers and colleagues. She was also a strong supporter of women and inclusion in her previous business, Metro Bank. Danny drives inclusion in organisations by delivering key interventions across the employee life cycle - whether broad or focused.  She also sponsors and speaks at events on topics like Menopause and writes articles on issues such as caring and working parents. Outside work Danny mentors several women, supports career development activities at her daughters’ school and is a past Master of the Guild of HR Professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Demet Ikiler

GroupM EMEA CEO, WPP Country Chair Turkey
GroupM

Demet is a strong, skilled gender equality advocate who is passionate about creating opportunities for women in the workplace and beyond. Demet is VP and Board member of UNGC TD which she was instrumental to the establishments of inclusion policies and its dissemination. Demet is a mentor with WPP’s Women Empowerment Mentorship Programme & one of the mentees in GroupM’s “The Bridge; ethnic and cultural inclusion initiative and she is a skilled member of the WPP Global Inclusion Council. Demet is the Project Leader of WPP Turkey Culture Projects which explore barriers to entry and success that women face in the professional world. As well as addressing gender inequality in the workplace, Named among the ‘Women to Watch’ in Turkey and listed by Fortune in the top 5 Most Powerful Women in Turkey for the last 5 years and was ranked in 25th in the Fast Company Turkey’s “50 Businesswomen Friendly Leaders” list.”

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Rainbird

Chief Executive Officer
Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Caroline has been FSCS CEO for 18 months and brings a wealth of global experience from a career spanning 30+ years within financial services.   Previously Caroline held several senior positions at, amongst others, RBS Plc and ABN AMRO where she gained extensive knowledge in regulatory, strategic, commercial, operational, change and client led roles. She is a working parent and a strong advocate for women at work.  FSCS is a signatory of the Women in Finance Charter and aims to have a 50/50 split across its leadership by 2022.  Caroline has already seen this achieved at Board level which is predominantly female for the first time in FSCS’s history.  Outside of work Caroline has given her time to the community by providing help and support to girls from an Academy in a very disadvantaged area of London where typically only 1% of A-level graduates have left school for Russell Group Universities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Natalie Daghles

Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP

Natalie is the Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins LLP’s Global Women Enriching Business Steering Committee, whose mission is to promote the long-term success of women lawyers and empower them to become industry leaders. As well as hosting events, mentoring, and increasing the visibility of women, Natalie is a Member of the Global Diversity Leadership Committee overseeing the implementation of firm-wide inclusion strategies. Listed among the best lawyers for M&A and corporate law in Germany, Natalie is the Co-Founder of the Women into Leadership Initiative which was built to establish a cross-mentoring programme for successful women professionals to attain C-Suite roles. She is the creator of a seminar series for women board members and a skilled Mentor with the University of Düsseldorf.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqueline de Rojas CBE

President
techUK

Jacqueline is the President of techUK, where she formed the Skills and Diversity Council to push for diversity and inclusion in all its forms. Seeking to promote girls into STEM careers and encouraging women back to work after a career break, Jacqueline is also the Chair of the Institute of Coding, which has its own diversity board. An advocate for inclusion, Jacqueline has been included in high profile lists, most recently in the top 100 BAME Leaders Inclusive Boards. In addition, Jacqueline is a Board Advisor to accelerateHER which exists to redress the under representation of women in tech, Tech Ambassador to Girlguiding Association, The Youth Group’s Board Advisor and a Board Advisor to Cajigo a learning platform empowering girls and women into STEM and leadership careers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Erni

Chief People Officer
Audible

Anne activates caring at Audible by driving a culture that embraces all the glories of the human spectrum. She introduced the D&I function to three organizations – Lehman Brothers, Bloomberg, and now Audible. Anne founded and co-chaired Audible’s Activate Caring Committee, which addressed racial issues pertaining to the company’s content offerings, and the Audible Workplace Taskforce, which addressed psychological safety, intersectionality, race and hate debates, and gender equity. She is a mentor in W.O.M.E.N. In America (WIA), a development program for high potential women, with a focus on women of color. She has also supported Johns Hopkins University’s efforts to drive diversity in its faculty. An effort that Anne is most proud of is pioneering “Encore”, the first “back to work” program for women who had left the workplace for extended periods to care for their children, which launched at Lehman Brothers in 2005 and thrives nationally in the US today.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon Thorne

Deloitte Global Board Chair
Deloitte

Throughout her career Sharon has championed D&I across all levels and industries, and has long advocated for Deloitte’s ambition to achieve higher representation of women in leadership globally. In 2019 she launched an internal sponsorship initiative designed to give women the experience, exposure, and advocacy needed to accelerate their careers, and in 2020, she increased the representation of women on the Deloitte Global Board to 33%. Sharon recently convened a group of senior women Chairs and Executives to share best practice and further the representation of women in leadership across industries. During her tenure as Deloitte UK’s Talent Partner, she established a number of diversity networks including the Gender Balance network. Sharon speaks openly about her experiences with imposter syndrome, and she mentors several future women leaders. She is a member of the 30% Club, the A4S Advisory Council, the Social Progress Imperative Board of Directors, and the WEF Stewardship Board for the Future of Equality and Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carmel McKinney OBE

Chairperson
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

Carmel is the first female chairperson of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue .She is deeply committed to ensuring a pipeline of aspiring female leaders for the future and in March 2020 she was appointed as an Equality Commissioner for Northern Ireland .Carmel is a multi-award winning professional for her highly acclaimed work on Diversity and Inclusion including coaching and mentoring programmes, and key note speaker at local national and international events. Carmel was also appointed April 2020 by the Minister for Justice as an Independent member of the Policing Board. Carmel is a former Independent Assessor for the Commissioner for Public Appointments and is currently working alongside the Commissioner to design and deliver a range of short courses to encourage females to enter public life. Carmel is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a strong supporter of the work of Women in Business in NI.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Group Chief People Officer
Compass plc

A long term committed advocate for equality in business, Sarah is bringing her extensive expertise and experience to refresh and lead Compass’ global I&D strategy.  She was invited to speak to the Women in Business Council in Turkey, the British Consular equality conference in Zagreb and the Royal Navy annual conference on how to improve gender equality at all levels. She is a Member of the Global Steering Committee for 30% club and Co-Chair of the Best Practice Group. Highly though of as a mentor and sponsor, Sarah has demonstrated her ability to deliver successful change that has levelled the playing field.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sari Granat

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel
IHS Markit

Sari is an Executive Sponsor across IHS Markit in promoting gender diversity and inclusion and founded the Women in Technology Global Affinity Group at the company. Sari developed and launched IHS Markit’s innovative Board Development Programme to support diversity in public company boardrooms by providing boardroom executive experience to diverse board candidates who have not yet sat on a public company board. She is also currently sponsoring the first ever IHS Markit 16-week structured mentoring program for high potential female employees. Sari was one of 2018’s three honorees to receive the Legal Momentum’s Aiming High Award and is an active Board Member and fund raiser for Opening Act, a New York City-based urban educational organization. Sari is committed to elevating and inspiring others to push for self-advancement and is a valued mentor to women professionals within and outside her role at IHS Markit.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue leads the Glass Wall Network at MediaCom, the largest and most inclusive group in this industry. Named for her book ‘The Glass Wall’ Sue is committed to creating successful strategies for women to succeed in the workplace and beyond and within her role, has helped to secure the policy for 50:50 candidate shortlists globally.  Sue is an active member of Hive Learning People’s Leaders Network, and has delivered an empowering keynote speech at Management Today’s Young Women In Business Conference in 2019. Sue is a dedicated professional with vast, success in entrenching gender equality and inclusive principles within business. Belonging, her major new book on diversity and inclusion is published in October. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Data & Intelligence, Canada & Latin America
Edelman

A marketing and communications research industry veteran and role model, Catherine oversees research, analytics, and performance teams that drive business intelligence, activation, and results.  Catherine is passionate about supporting women in the workplace, volunteering as a member of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) global steering committee that helped the firm achieve parity of senior women leaders.  Catherine is also the regional Edelman GWEN leader, promoting events and initiatives across Canada which help women lead and succeed and support BIPOC.  Catherine is recognized as a Canadian Women of Inspiration Global Executive Leader, volunteering on multiple boards to drive the research and analytics industry forward and support diversity and inclusion in the business community. Catherine is a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Council Working Group for Women’s Advocacy, bringing the voice and perspectives of women to national policies and advancing the gender equality agenda to drive meaningful action.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claire Gillis

International CEO
WPP Health Practice

Claire is a member of WPP STELLA and a supporter of Women in Creative Healthcare, a global programme to promote women in creative fields. She’s an executive director for InHer Space, a platform for women challenged by key life transitions – e.g. divorce, bereavement, menopause and eating disorders. Claire’s was awarded ‘Leader in Creating Change in Heath and Wellness’ from Women-In-Marketing. She was the Non-Executive Director for In Med, a US charity to create pathways for disadvantaged families. Claire has supported the Bigger Bounce aimed at women suffering from Breast Cancer and has helped to promote the Advanced Breast Cancer Global Charter and Alliance, by calling for better care for woman suffering from the disease. She installed a full time in-house councillor within her London office and, more recently, she led a team to support the work of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Teresa Ko

Partner and China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa is the Executive Sponsor of Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer’s Asian’s Women’s Network. Through she has mentored and sponsored several women associates and aided in their professional development. Among the first to commi to Freshfields’ Every Day Gender Equality’ initiative (EDGE), Teresa is actively part of creating an inclusive and equal culture at her firm. Teresa is a frequent panelist and speaker and as authored an op-ed in the Financial Times discussing gender diversity in Hong Kong that issued a call for gender quotas on boards of Hong Kong listed companies. In addition, Teresa is the Co-Chair of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee, Founding member and Steering Committee Member of the 30% Club Hong Kong as well as being an Advisory Board Member of Women in Law in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farmida Bi

Chair, EMEA
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Farmida is the Chair (EMEA) of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, and a partner specialising in capital markets and Islamic finance transactions. As Chair of the firm’s Partnership Committee and Audit Committee as well as a steering group member of the firm’s Women’s Network (WIN), she has worked to recruit more women to management positions, created spaces for meaningful discussions and organized successful inclusion-focused events. Externally, Farmida has sponsored and hosted Mosaic’s mentoring programme for girls and their mothers. Farmida speaks frequently about diversity, most notably as a panellist at a ‘Women and the Law’ discussion at the House of Lords. As a leading figure in the Islamic finance  industry, she has also organised networking events for women at the annual World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain. A global advocate for women’s equality, Farmida is paving the way for inclusion in business and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue McLean

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

A steering group member of BakerWomen, Baker McKenzie’s London Women’s Network, Sue has harnessed her vast professional experience to further the mission for gender equality in the workplace. She Co-Chair’s the London Office’s Internal Engagement Committee for Baker Women (BWIE) and has organized events, run a He For She session and presented at regional Women’s groups. Recognized in the Innovate Finance Women in FinTech Power List 2019 and shortlisted for the TechWomen100 Champion Award 2019, Sue is the Founder and Chair of SCL Women in Tech Law which helps to advance and celebrate women in the tech law sector. Additionally, she is a Committee Member for the Law Society of England and Wales Women Lawyers Division.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Founder & CEO
ET Solutions

In 2019, Emer founded ET Solutions, providing professional services and strategic engagement programs to global clients and venture capitalists. Emer is also a FTSE NED, Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group and the Co-Chair of Leaders as Change Agents. This is a UK Government backed board, aimed at intensifying the campaign of great diversity at senior levels in business. This board is focused across the FTSE 350 and 150 of the largest privately owned companies and Emer works with Global CEO’s and Board chairs in this role engaging on all aspect of D&I within their companies. She has hosted and spoken at many conferences both nationally and internationally, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Duerden

Managing Director UK
American Express

Charlotte is the Executive Sponsor of American Express’ Women’s Interest Network and has rolled out transformational D&I training, spearheaded the UK launch of the company’s ‘Ambition Project’, and has signed AmEx UK to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter. Charlotte has oversight of the company’s UK Gender Pay Gap stats and is constantly creating opportunities to level the playing field for women both with the organization and externally. Charlotte is a Board Member and Diversity Lead for UK Finance and the Chair of Women in Payments Awards Committee where she has used her adept skills to drive change across the banking and finance industry. She is a trustee of Friends of Sr. Marcellin’s Children and advocates strongly for creating better futures for disadvantaged youth.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith LLP

Shortlisted for ‘Woman of the Year’ at the British Legal Awards, Tamara is a committed advocate for gender equality and inclusion across all levels of business. In her capacity as Managing Partner at Reed Smith LLP, Tamara is involved with WiNRs, Reed Smith’s internal Women’s Initiative and the 30% Club’s mentoring scheme. An instrumental voice for women in leadership, Tamara regularly speaks at industry events and sponsors the career advancement of women associates and partners internally and externally. In addition, Tamara is a Founding Member of the 30% Club and Steering Committee Member, a Sponsor of the PowerWomen Network and Chair of Women of Influence, which mentors and fundraises for women fellows. Tamara is also a founding member of Paradigm for Parity, a gender balance campaign that has secured support from CEOs of major, global corporations to increase gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Group General Manager, Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC UK Bank PLC

Amanda is HSBC UK’s first female Head of Commercial Banking and is committed to driving equality and inclusivity, across all levels of business. She is the Executive Sponsor for the Female Development Programme and an Executive Sponsor of Balance UK, having provided tailored development initiatives with success. She has led on HSBC UK’s first ever open initiative on Menopause leading to a review of how the Bank can better support colleagues going through Menopause. In addition, Amanda hosts the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and has partnered with SheEO, an organization aimed at connecting women entrepreneurs. Amanda aims to create an environment that enables all women to achieve their ambitions. During her tenure women in senior roles in the Commercial Bank at HSBC UK have risen to 30% in 2020 and her Senior Executive Team is now 50% gender balanced.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Hussey

Partner
Arthur Cox

Rachel is the founder of Arthur Cox’s Women in the Firm Initiative and is a member of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.  The firm has accelerated inclusion objectives, cemented key strategies to further gender equality and, in 2019, appointed its first woman Chair. A regular speaker and panellist at universities, 30% Club Ireland events and a regular columnist on diversity issues in the accountancy profession in Ireland, Rachel is a committed advocate for equality. She is the Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, Chair of the recently established Governing Authority of Dublin City University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee and a member of the Lex Mundi Women’s Initiative Task Force. Her work has had a strong, impact within businesses in Ireland with fantastic wide-reaching success cementing Rachel’s position as an inspiring, force for change.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bina Mehta

Partner
KPMG

Bina has over 20 years’ international experience in Corporate Finance and Restructuring, is Chair of KPMG UK’s Emerging Giants practice and a member of KPMG UK’s Board.  She is a role model with a strong voice who actively promotes inclusivity and is a regular speaker at events and quoted in the media. She champions KPMG’s Global Diversity and Inclusion agenda taking a leading role with Women of the Future as well as with KPMG’s India Club, bringing together diversity networks to promote inclusion and recognise intersectionality. Included in India Inc’s Top 100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations, Bina is also a Member of the HM Treasury and BEIS co-sponsored Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs and is an Ambassador for Code First: Girls. She is passionate about inspiring diverse talent to consider careers in technology and mentors junior female and BAME colleagues at the firm as well as entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Robyn Grew

COO and General Counsel
Man Group

Robyn is COO and General Counsel at Man Group. She sits on the steering committee of Drive, the firm’s D&I network, and is responsible for progressing and shaping its initiatives. She is also the senior sponsor of Man Group’s Pride (LGBT+) and BEAM (Black employees and allies) employee networks. Robyn has been a key force behind the firm’s Paving the Way campaign, which seeks to create a pathway for diverse candidates to enter the financial services industry. Robyn proudly embraces her responsibility in leading the firm, and global initiatives, on diversity and inclusion – she is a regular speaker at internal and external events, championing the importance of inclusion, belonging and allyship. She has led various industry initiatives, including as Chair of the Alternative Investment Management Association’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group which in 2019 launched the “Perspectives” paper outlining practical actions firms can take to foster diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

Executive Vice President Global Marketing
Unilever

As Unilever’s Chief D&I Officer, Aline has lead Unilever’s Unsterotype Initiative, which focuses on eradicating stereotypes and works to advance the professional progression of everyone. Having reached a 50% gender balance at a management level, under Aline’s leadership Unilever has implemented the Global Maternal Wellbeing Standard and have launched the successful Gamechangers for Gender Equality campaign. Aline is the recipient of the Catalyst Award for D&I (2019) and, independent of Unilever, is a Board Member for the Effie UK Council, WACL and the Creative Equals Accelerate Programme and she is focused on creating systemic change in the industry through research, driving gender balance in UK organizations and is a committed Mentor with the Mentoring Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Global Head Strategic Investor Group Sales, Financial Markets
Standard Chartered Bank

Souad is a Member of the Financial Markets Diversity and Inclusion Council and a Member of the Africa Middle East CCIB Diversity and Inclusion Council as part of her role at Standard Chartered Bank, where she is also a Board Member at Standard Chartered Saudi Arabia. A committed Mentor and advocate for gender equality in the workplace and beyond, Souad has aided in implementing diverse talent pipeline and recruitment, speaks regularly, as seen in Arabian Business Magazine, Financial News London and as part of a Bloomberg business panel, t0 share best practice and strategies with global organizations. Souad is an Advisor to Munathara, a non-profit organization promoting the voices of young people, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public sphere and is passionate about creating opportunities for disadvantaged communities across the world,

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Managing Director of IT
BT plc.

Rachel is passionate about securing the future of women in technology careers for generations to come.  She is the Founder and Executive Sponsor of BT TechWomen, Executive Ally of the BT Gender Network and champions gender equality and inclusive design globally for BT.   BT TechWomen provides a year-long development programme and supportive network that has delivered a tangible impact to the careers of its 2,550 alumni.  Rachel’s work with TechWomen has transformed BT’s agenda for women in key technology, commercial and operational roles.  She also acts as cohort Mentor for BT India TechWomen and has personally supported 126 women in furthering their careers this year. Rachel is Board Chair of FACT, a digital arts charity, and her work has seen over 2,800 women across all backgrounds receive access to digital, media and tech training helping to transform their lives and those of their communities. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julietta Dexter

Founder and CEO
The Communications Store

Julietta is the Founder and CEO of The Communications Store (TCS) and has ensured that inclusion is at the core of her business, As a member of the Board of Directors and Diversity TaskForce, Julietta has a formal board level of responsibility for sustainability and diversity, and she is engaged with TCS grassroots staff group to discuss and lead workplace initiatives in an open forum. With Julietta’s rigorous work on B Corp assessment TCS has become a purpose-driven company legally obliged to deliver positive environmental and social impacts, as well as profit. In addition, Julietta is an Executive Board Member of CEW (Cosmetics Executive Women) and an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust campaign, Women Supporting Women, the latter of which she helps nurture, empower and inspire young women to build their own dream futures.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hannah Grove

EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Member of the Management Committee
State Street Corporation

Hannah is the CMO at State Street and a Founding Member of State Street’s Leading Women Group, established to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization, having aided over 3,500 women since its inception. Named by American Banker in their list of most powerful Women in Banking, Hannah is also on the Global Advisory Board of State Street’s Professional Network aiding in optimizing it’s strategy and advancing State Street’s internal inclusion. Additionally, Hannah is a Board Member of Fund for the Boston Public Library and has been instrumental in raising over $4 million to support critical programming. She has previously served as a Board Member for the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and as a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, reads in public schools to inspire the next generation of young women to enter STEM track careers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr. Jennifer R. Jackson

President
Capital One Canada

As President of Capital One Canada, Dr. Jackson is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and operations in Canada. Within Capital One, she champions diversity, serving on the Advisory Board for the Black employee resource group and mentoring many women throughout the organization. This year, Dr. Jackson was the keynote speaker at Boss Women Media's 100 Women Sitting at the Table in the U.S. celebrating women in leadership and was one of 20 Canadian leaders selected for the global mentorship program CEOx1Day, giving university students the opportunity to learn directly from top executives. As a member of the Executive Leadership Council and a Board member and committee chair of the BlackNorth Initiative, she works to advance the Black community in business, finance, and leadership across Canada and the U.S. Dr. Jackson served on the Advisory Board for Elevate, a not-for-profit offering tech, innovation, and sustainability programming.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Brenda Trenowden

Partner
PwC

Brenda leads the Inclusion and Diversity community with PwC’s Workforce Strategy and Culture team. Through her strong advocacy, she has encouraged new partners to join the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme, has created a regular D&I forum and has spearheaded a new initiative for bias awareness trainings within the firm. Externally, Brenda was the Global Chair of the 30% Club and current Advisor and Steering Committee Member, is an advisor to the national Hampton-Alexander Review and has recently been named a Trustee on the Board of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Brenda’s work in advisory capacity to the 25x25 Initiative has seen the 30% Club’s goal of a 30% increase in the representation on the FTSE 350 ahead of time. A true leader in D&I, Brenda is committed to driving inclusion in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Executive Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann is a champion of inclusion in the workplace and is committed to driving the charge for equality in business. As Chair of Mastercard’s Gender Steering Committee, Ann has spearheaded the introduction of unified parental leave, rolled out a company-wide mentoring programme and solidified Mastercard’s financial inclusion commitment. Ann is Chair of the Financial Alliance for Women, aiding in an exponential growth of their global membership, and as Chair of the 30% Club has increased the number of global 30% Club chapters as well as creating a global advisory group. Ann is one of UN Women’s 282 leaders for Generation Equality and has participated as one of the high-level Champions of Gender Equality hosted by Melinda Gates.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vivienne Artz

Chief Privacy Officer
Refinitiv

Alongside her role as Chief Privacy Officer at Refinitiv, Vivienne is a Global Business Sponsor for Gender at Refinitiv and the Sponsor and Mentor for the Refinitiv Women’s Network. Championing inclusion in business and beyond, Refinitiv has achieved its 40% target for gender equality at executive leadership level and Vivienne has successfully collaborated with external networks to amplify messages and work regarding gender inclusion. Vivienne has helped accelerate the recruitment process by creating a pool of women candidates and ensuring the visibility of a slate of outstanding diverse talent. Named as WeAreTheCity’s Rising Star ‘Editor’s Choice’, externally Vivienne is President and CEO of Women in Banking & Finance which connects, challenges and inspires individuals with institutions and applies a gender lens across the industry. She has doubled membership, launched an incredible digital offering and has shared best practice and improved strategies to ensure long-term gender equality is reached.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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June Felix

CEO
IG Group

Since becoming CEO of IG Group in 2018, June has shown herself to be a passionate believer in meritocracy championing gender diversity and women’s inclusion across the global jurisdictions in which IG operates. She is one of only 14 women in the CEO role of a FTSE 350 company, and uses her position to act as a role model for women. She has been instrumental in reshaping attitudes around the qualities and qualifications of CEOs in the finance and trading sector. Under her leadership, IG has increased female representation in the business by almost 5% and introduced the ‘One IG Goals’ initiative, which includes setting ambitious regional targets to challenge local leaders and drive women’s representation and retention in the organisation. June is the Regional Co-Chair of the Committee of 200 (C200) Diversity Council, supporter of the Blossom Awards, which recognises the contribution of those of Chinese and Asia-Pacific heritage to the UK, and last year, was a finalist in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief HR Officer
Unilever

Leena is the Chief HR Officer at Unilever and has championed inclusion across all levels of business and beyond. She has implemented a flagship Parental Support programme, customized leadership development programmes to accelerate the progression of women talent by over 25% and is a regular speaker, having notably delivered the keynote speech at One Young World (2019). Leena is a Steering Committee Member of The Future of Education, Gender and Work within the World Economic Forum, a Leadership Council Member for the International Centre for Research on Women, a Steering Committee Member of the Global Future Council on New Social Contract and leads a programme called ‘Shakti’ in South America which empowers women in rural areas with the tools to set up sustainable distribution businesses. Leena’s successful efforts in bridging the gender inequality gap has created tangible opportunities for women across the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

Chairwoman & CEO
EY ShinNihon LLC

Masami is the first woman Chair and CEO of a Big 4 accounting firm in Japan. As one of the Founders and steering committee members of WindS, a 2000-person strong women’s association, Masami has mentored employees and regularly speaks at internal and external events. Featured in the Nikkei Asian Review and Vogue Japan, Masami is a champion of gender equality and is key to driving change within her organization and beyond. In her capacity as Executive Director at NPO J-Win’s Executive Network and as an Advisory Board Member for Catalyst Japan, Masami has elevated the visibility of women in Japan and has created numerous opportunities for cross-company collaboration. EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program in Japan and efficaciously compered its event in Tokyo to aid women entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific develop networks with further entrepreneurs, stakeholders and the community.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Antonia Romeo

Permanent Secretary and Civil Service Gender Champion, Department for International Trade
UK Civil Service

Antonia is Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade (DIT). Prior to joining DIT, Antonia was the first woman to be appointed Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York. As Civil Service Gender Champion, Antonia has worked with colleagues to create an inclusive culture within the wider Civil Service. Antonia serves as a mentor and coach to women across the Civil Service and beyond, and is a regular speaker at internal and external events. Antonia was recognised in the 2018 Women in Fintech Powerlist for her continued advocacy for gender equality in financial services, and in the 2019 Most Influential Women in UK-India Relations list.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Christiana Riley

CEO, Americas
Deutsche Bank

Serving as the first woman Deutsche Bank Management Board Member, and first woman CEO of DB Americas, Christiana was named one of "Ten People Set to Shape Wall Street in 2020" by the Financial Times in 2020. Committed to driving inclusion in the workplace and beyond, in her role at Deutsche Bank she has worked to entrench equal parental leave and has set and achieved gender equality objectives for its US headquarters. As a member of the Partnership for New York City, Christiana spearheaded work on Covid’s impact on diverse communities. As a Board Director for DB Americas Foundation, Christiana supports various initiatives aimed to promote and elevate women in society including through partnerships with the nonprofits Hot Bread Kitchen, The Young Women's Leadership Schools, and the Center for Women's History. Serving as the first woman CEO in the company's 150 year history, she has added to study on women in leadership under the direction of McKinsey and Oliver Wyman.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Lord

Senior Managing Director, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
BlackRock

A champion of inclusion and diversity in the workplace and beyond, Rachel is the Global Executive Sponsor of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative and Allies Network and Chair of BlackRock’s EMEA Executive Committee (EEX). Among her achievements is hiring and retaining a diverse body of talent, creating development opportunities for women across all levels of the business and increasing women’s representation within the EEX to 42%. Named as one of 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance, Rachel also sits on the board of the Investment Association, regularly speaks at events for senior women in business and delivered the keynote speech at the Credit Suisse Women’s Financial Summit. Rachel is a passionate advocate for creating businesses that are for everyone to be their full, authentic selves.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Terecina Kwong

Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Europe
HSBC

Terecina is the Global Co-Sponsor for HSBC Balance Worldwide, and serves as Co-Chair for Balance China since launching the initiative in 2018 during her time as Chief Operating Officer, HSBC China. A committed advocate for equality and equitability in the workplace and beyond, Terecina supports the recruitment and retention and engagement of a diverse body of talent, mentors colleagues globally and organizes company-wide initiatives to drive inclusion. Terecina is actively involved in wider woman network within Asia and beyond and has aided in sharing best practice regarding how Covid-19 has transformed the D&I Landscape, driving tangible change for women in the workplace. Having regularly spoken at panels and been the subject of various internal and external interviews, as one of few Asian female leaders in a well-known international bank, Terecina is keen to see additional ethnicity and gender diversity at senior level. Having been COO for HSBC China since 2018, Terecina has recently been appointed COO for HSBC Europe.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yvonne Garcia

Chief of Staff to State Street CEO
State Street Corporation

Yvonne Garcia serves as Chief of Staff to State Street’s CEO, Ron O’Hanley and as Global Head of Internal Communications. Previously, Yvonne served as Director in Marketing and Distribution Strategy for Liberty Mutual and as Vice President for Bank of America’s China Construction Bank Program. Yvonne served as the Chairwoman for the largest Latino Professional Organization in the country, ALPFA. Yvonne is the co-founding Chair of Milagros para Niños at Boston Children’s Hospital. She serves on Massachusetts’ Latino Advisory Commission Board and also as Chairwoman for Greater Boston Chamber’s Women’s Network. Yvonne has been named one of Fortune’s Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas in the US three years in a row and in Boston Business Journal’s Power 50. Yvonne holds an MBA from Boston University and a BA from SUNY Albany and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a graduate of the ARMY R.O.T.C. program at Siena College.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Penny James

Chief Executive Officer
Direct Line Group

The CEO of Direct Line Group, Penny became a member of DLG as the only woman on the Executive Committee which has grown in numbers since her appointment. She is a signatory to the Women in Finance charter which companies pledge to increase female leadership representation. She was a panellist at Progressive Marketing, co-hosted by the Financial Times and Kantar, who generated #whatwomenwant - encouraging constructive gender representation in brand communications in November 2019. Penny participated in the HM Treasury panel 'Women Rising: a conversation with women at the top' and is a speaker at the Leadership Pipeline 'Topflight' programme, designed for women to excel in their careers. A WeQual sponsor for two consecutive years to embolden numerous women to enter the C-suite level, Penny has a strong record of advocating for gender equality and inclusiveness in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jane Palmieri

President of Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure (II&I); Dow Asia Pacific Oversight
Dow Inc.

Jane is president of Dow’s Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure, one of three business operating segments within Dow. With annual sales of $13 Billion, this segment provides innovative solutions to global markets including infrastructure, consumer, construction, mobility and energy. As a member of Sadara Chemical Company’s Board of Directors and the first and only woman board member, Jane advocates for female representation in the workforce. She is also the Executive Sponsor of Dow’s Veteran’s Network and the former Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Inclusion Network. A true champion for gender equality, Jane has taken part in executive-level industry panels, diversifying recruitment talent pipelining and has advanced the development of service members and veterans through providing education and community service opportunities. In her position as the first woman to Co-Chair the Board of Directors at the Alliance to Save Energy, Jane has been recognized for her ongoing contributions to sustainability and diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anne Richards

Chief Executive Officer
Fidelity International

Anne has demonstrated a passion for driving gender equality in business. In her capacity as Sponsor and Speaker of Fidelity Women in Tech and Sponsor and Host of Fidelity Senior Women’s Network, Anne advocates for inclusion at a strategic level reinforcing real-life applications, flexible operating and reducing the gender pay gap. Anne is an ambassador for Women on Boards UK and has developed a partnership with the 30% club to boost women career development through involvement in a cross-company mentoring program and has reinforced the launch of Women & Money campaign through four countries – speaking and empowering women clients to take charge of their monetary futures. In 'Women and Money Labs' influencers from industry, government and media were unified to uncover tangible solutions.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Dr Paula C H Franklin

Chief Medical Officer, Bupa Group & Chief Medical and Risk Officer, Bupa Global & UK
BUPA

As the Chief Medical Officer at Bupa, Paula champions equality in business across its many levels. As the Executive Sponsor for Bupa’s global Diversity & Inclusion agenda, Bupa has signed up to the Women in Finance Charter, have committed to ethnic pay gap reporting and exceeded their target for women representation on the Board and among senior management. Paula regularly takes part in panel discussions, podcasts and webinars and works to elevate Bupa’s global profile. As a Trustee of the UK Bupa Foundation and Trustee of the Youth Sports Trust, Paula has implemented support for deprived communities in across the UK and supports women in career development and mental health management.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Morag Watson

Senior Vice President Digital Science & Engineering
bp America

Morag is the Executive Sponsor for the BP America WIN and Global Women in IT networks. She is a member of the D&I steering committee at BP, where she led the creation of the BP Group Disability Forum. Morag was honored by BIO Houston for displaying exceptional leadership in STEM, motivating and empowering the next generation. She is a founding member of the Women's Innovation Council, where senior women in technology across the world come together to advance gender balance in the workplace. She is also a founding member of Curated Pathways to Innovation, a web-based app which guides and incentivizes students’ success through gamification, to create opportunity for students to pursue careers in STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Yonca Dervişoğlu

Chief Marketing Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa
Google

As CMO for Google EMEA, Yonca has created a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan for EMEA Marketing and is its Executive Member. A long-time vocal advocate for gender equality and Google and beyond, Yonca Co-founded Grow with Google which provides free digital training to millions globally with 47% of those trainees women with EMEA. As Executive Member of the DEI committee, Yonca has initiated region-wide DEI programmes, Co-founded Google Pride Day and is also a Co-Founder of EMEA’s Racial Equity Working Group, working to find long term intersectional solutions for equality. Additionally, Yonca is an Advisory Board Member for accelerateHER, created to address the under-representation of women in technology and is a previous member of the Board of Heineken. Yonca is the Executive Sponsor of #IamRemarkable, empowering women and underrepresented groups to speak candidly about their triumphs in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sinead Lynch

Chair
Shell UK

Sinead is the executive sponsor of many internal D&I Networks as well as for the Shell UK ‘Race at Work Charter’. She is a passionate advocate for inclusion across all levels of business and has spearheaded policy changes that have embedded it within the company’s culture. This leadership has resulted in Shell UK exceeding its near-term target for an increase in female senior leaders. They are also ahead of plan on their 2025 ambition. Sinead began her career as a Geophysicist for BG Group before undertaking a variety of roles including Economist, VP Commercial for BG Nigeria, and EVP Safety and Sustainability. She joined Shell in the role of Chair, UK in 2016. Through her work as a founding Board Member of the Energy Leaders Coalition, and a Sponsor at POWERful Women org and This is Engineering, Sinead is playing a leading role in shifting the gender balance towards equality by sharing best practice with other companies.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Executives

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Garrison Gibbons

Head of People
Knotch

As Head of People, Garrison oversees recruiting, talent, and performance management at Knotch and has helped double the company’s size and increase the female to male ratio at the company with 43% now female-identifying. He has rolled out several new policies including flexible time off and lengthy parental leave and transition back to work policies. As a vocal advocate he has spoken on several panels around women's rights and women in the workplace and has ensured corporate support for several different organizations including the Memorial Slone Kettering Cancer Centre.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Rob Mukherjee

Director
EveryCloud Security

Rob leads the “EveryCloud Everyone” inclusion network – ensuring support from board level through strong internal communications, events and social media. In 2019 he enhanced EveryCloud's Inclusion & Diversity Policy to commit to even greater active support for women and has championed increased flexible working including a flexible 4 day week and reversed work location – so home working became the accepted norm and office working the exception. He is one of only two men on Northern Power Women’s ‘Power Board’ and has been a speaker at various Northern Power Women events as well as a judge for the Northern Power Women Awards. Prior to joining EveryCloud Security, Rob’s work for gender inclusion at Vodafone across the North of England culminated in him receiving the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) ‘Male Mentor of the Year’ and Northern Power Women ‘Agent Of Change’ Award.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Edward Chidsey

Partner and Senior Vice President
IHS Markit

Edward is an active member of Women At IHS Markit and was a senior sponsor of IHS Markit’s first ever Return to Work program for primary care givers who left the workforce and were looking to return after a career break. As a vocal advocate he has participated in ELLEVATE panels to discuss gender diversity and sponsorship as well as being involved in numerous UNITY week activities as the Partner Sponsor for the panel on Diversity & Inclusion. Edward has personally sponsored several senior women to help coach and support them for promotion to Executive Director and Managing Director levels. He has also provided company space to Path Forward and participated on a panel with several other companies to discuss views on D&I and to showcase Path Forward opportunities for over 100 returnees.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director
Accenture

Globally Andrew is one of Accenture’s cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures and ethnicities. He is the Executive Sponsor for Accenture’s African-Caribbean Network, and works with global leadership to open and grow opportunities for future women MDs. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organizations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Christoph Schweizer

Chairman, Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East, Managing Director and Senior Partner
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Christoph is a member of BCG’s Executive and Operating Committees and in this capacity shares responsibility for ensuring that the Women@BCG program (to recruit, retain, and advance women at BCG) is meeting aspirations and closing the gap when it comes to gender equality. He has played an important role in establishing new forums to acknowledge and celebrate women in the Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East (CEMA) region. Christoph personally reviews the business’s female leadership pipeline twice a year to develop a shared action plan to ensure each woman has the support needed to continue to advance at BCG and to find a successful commercial platform. During the COVID-19 crisis, he advocated for a creation of a new flexibility and compensation model which was designed specifically for caregivers who have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis. This program is a critical resource for many female—and male—employees.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dickson Hoi Keung Lee

Chief Financial Officer
Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited

In his role of CFO of Standard Chartered Bank in China, Dickson is dedicated to creating an environment of gender diversity and women's inclusion. His efforts to promote opportunities for women is reflected in the fact that approximately 72% of Standard Chartered Bank China staff are women.  Dickson also provides full support for a series of events across various branches to promote gender equality including the CEO sharing forum with colleagues on International Women's Day. He advocates for wellbeing at work and is currently leading a project to revamp the future work model to ensure that work can fit each colleague's needs, especially those of women. Dickson also works closely with other senior executives to ensure that Standard Chartered Bank China continues to provide financial support and education for female owned business and engages actively with female clients through events covering financial planning, next generation education, and volunteering.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Christian Edelmann

Co-Head EMEA Financial Services
Oliver Wyman

Christian is the Executive Sponsor of Oliver Wyman's women's network, WOW, a role he has held for over four years. He carries out female-focused recruiting events globally and leads a number of communication initiatives to profile female leaders. Since 2015, approximately 50% of entry-level consultant appointments have been women and Christian assisted in establishing firm-wide gender targets to ensure that this gender parity is better carried through to more senior roles. In 2018, he co-founded Men4Change with the aim of increasing the number of male allies at Oliver Wyman. Men4Change has significantly improved the quality of dialogue on gender topics within the firm and created a network of like-minded leaders beyond the firm. Most recently, Christian has been leading conversations around intersectional issues, particularly the experiences of Black women and what white men need to do better to be better allies to them, specifically.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Sanjeev Malik

Managing Director,  APAC Head of Technology & Operations
BlackRock

Sanjeev has mentored dozens of women across all levels at BlackRock, as well as sponsoring emerging talent to ensure they receive the exposure and visibility they deserve at appropriate leadership forums.  He champions participation by male colleagues in BlackRock WIN events to gain broader perspectives from female participants.  In partnership with HR, He has led by example, on both recruitment and promotion processes to ensure diverse slates with women candidates and diverse interview panels, as well as data and facts driven promotion decisions that meet our principles and  free of bias. As a technologist, Sanjeev has championed and supported women technologists in APAC Hackathon events. He is also the Inclusion and Diversity Executive Committee Sponsor for Technology and Operations in APAC and founded the Singapore chapter of Forum for Asset Manager ecosystem (FAME) with industry partners equally passionate about  Sharing,  Learning & Development of Talent across all levels  , where he promotes and encourages women leadership and participation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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B. Pagels-Minor

Board of Directors
YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago

B. is on the Board of Directors of YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, an organization whose every aspect of work is to promote and empower women. Some of the critical programs provided by YWCA include child care and parenting services, DEI training for Chicago organizations, and a WOMN ETF, which is the first ETF curated with companies that support women's empowerment efforts. B. is also on the board of Howard Brown Health, which helps provides culturally competent healthcare to the LGBTQ+ community. B. works as a senior product leader at a large media technology company and has worked at some of the world's most recognized and respected companies. B. is also a nationally and internationally recognized speaker specializing in DEI, building effective teams, personal development, and scaling products that delight customers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ingo Perizonius

People Development Director
EDF

Having worked for many years with EDF in France, Ingo, a proud father of four daughters, was used to many more women in senior leadership prior to working in the UK so has proactively pushed for greater equality. While at EDF, he has ensured that the senior leader talent process is 50% female and has laid the foundations and encouraged the organization to run a female only cohort through their talent development process in 2020. His team has helped to set challenging gender balance ambitions at EDF to have 40% female representation at all levels in the business and hold people to account for achieving those ambitions. To help achieve this, he as built inclusive leadership into all of their leadership development programs to create the right environment where everyone is welcome and can thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Harkness

Partner
Clifford Chance LLP

David is Chair of Clifford Chance’s UK Inclusion Committee and has championed a series of initiatives to promote gender inclusion and diversity including publishing pay gap data beyond the statutory minimum, designating partners at every remuneration meeting to ensure gender equality is respected, and creating a network of “Inclusion Advocates” to support those at the receiving end of any sexist behaviour or unconscious bias. He encouraged the relaunch of Accelerate>>> as a global gender parity group and the introduction of a new target of 30% women UK partners by 2025. David is also a member of the Development Board at Tender; a charity dedicated to reducing domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Krentz

Managing Director & Senior Partner
BCG

Matt is Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and leads the Women@BCG program with the purpose of improving women's recruiting, retention, advancement and satisfaction at the firm. Under his leadership Boston Consulting Group has increased women as a percentage of entry level hires from 29% to 40% with the number of women partners growing at three times the rate of male partners. Matt has also been responsible for developing BCG's DE&I offering for clients, advising Chief Executives on their DE&I strategies. Outside of BCG, Matt is on the Advisory Board for Catalyst, the Business Roundtable’s (BRT) Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and WEF Community of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers (CDIOs).

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Eisen

SVP & Partner, Financial Services Solutions
IHS Markit

Andrew is heavily involved in a number of groups at IHS Markit dedicated to gender equality, including Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Forum, member of the IHS Markit Ally Network and member of the Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Executive Working Group. As a Sponsor for Women in Tech, he has helped develop a mentoring program that nurtures women’s leadership skills, empowering participants to own and drive their careers and build confidence to have crucial career development conversations with their managers. As a long-term advocate, Andrew has also been involved in dozens of internal and external D&I committees and initiatives focused on the issue of gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dominic Christian

Global Chairman Reinsurance Solutions
Aon

Dominic is the Chairperson of Aon’s Diversity Council and sponsor of the Gender IQ Business Resource Group which was renamed from the Women’s International Network in 2019 to encourage more men to get involved and champion gender equality. In addition to Aon, Dominic is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyd’s and was instrumental in the launch of The Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2019 saw events take place in 60 cities across 32 countries, with over 10,000 attendees. Dominic played a significant role in launching a cross-industry Inclusive Behaviors in Insurance Pledge, asking films in the industry to sign up and demonstrate their commitment to a culture where inclusive behaviors are the norm. Dominic is also involved with a women’s non-profit organization “Lift as You Climb” which promotes and advises women on career advancement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Joe Duffy

Head of Global Client Management EMEA
BNY Mellon

Joe is on the Steering Committee for WIN (BNY Mellon’s Women’s Employee Resource Group) as a Male Ally and has for many years been a vocal advocate for the promotion of diverse talent. As a result his EMEA Global Client Management Team has a gender split of 56% women to 44% men. He has actively supported the 30% Club Ireland including the launch of its expanded 2018 Executive Education Scholarship Program. Through Joe, BNY Mellon have also sponsored the Women in Management Report for the previous five years witnessing the progress that has been made in improving the gender balance in business leadership across Ireland.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Hill CBE

Chairman
Keller Group plc

As Chairman of Keller Group, Peter has reviewed and changed the composition of the Board increasing representation of women from 25% to 66%. In 2019, he was responsible for the appointment of Keller’s first Non-executive Director for Workforce Engagement whose remit includes the encouragement of the diversity and inclusion agenda at Keller. In addition to this, Peter has been supporting the role creation and appointment of Keller’s first Group Head of Talent and Diversity. Peter has also encouraged diverse board membership and diverse organisations in his role of Chairman at other companies including Petra Diamonds, Volution Group plc and the Royal Air Force.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Larry Tomei

Executive Vice President and Head of Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC Bank Canada

Larry Tomei is a passionate advocate for Diversity & Inclusion. As a first generation Canadian, Larry knows the challenges faced by newcomers; it was this experience which led to his devotion to promoting D&I. Larry is a strong supporter of empowering women in the workforce. At HSBC Bank Canada, he has achieved a 50% gender balance on his leadership team and has championed three-year gender promotion objectives. Larry created a platform for female leaders to raise their profiles. He often designates women leaders to represent him in business and speaking engagements, and leverages communication channels to promote women as role models for upcoming employees. Larry mentors and sponsors women, ultimately leading to career advancement and transition into more progressive and impactful roles. He hosts “Women Only” exchange sessions to facilitate feedback and identify opportunities for improvement and creating a pipeline of top talent. Larry leads participation in International Women’s Days.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Steve Murrells

CEO
Co-op

Under Steve’s leadership at Co-op Group, gender diversity in senior hires has increased from 33% women in 2017 to 56% women in 2020. The executive team recruited by Steve has women leading two of the biggest business areas as well as the roles of Chief Finance Officer, Chief People Officer, and Group Secretary and Legal Counsel. Steve has developed a strong D&I agenda at the organization with aims for increasing inclusion and representation at all levels of the businesses. Since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Steve became the first major UK business leader to call for an increased commitment for tracking racism in the workplace and commissioned new work within the Co-op Group to address their own issues of cultural and institutional discrimination.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Patrick Street

Managing Director
Goldman Sachs

Patrick promotes gender diversity in hiring and champions initiatives to attract women talent from diverse backgrounds, specifically into roles not historically marketed towards women. These initiatives include co-running the spring and summer intern program for Global Markets with over 50% of hires being women over the last 3 years. He has also supported the implementation of the Women's Trader Academy; women in their penultimate university year learn about being a trader. The program has contributed towards an increase of 150% in women analysts joining trading and met the aspirational goal of hiring 50% women traders at junior levels over the last 2 years (from less than 20% before implementation). Outside of Goldman Sachs, Patrick is actively engaged with social mobility organizations to support their mission of helping students from less-advantaged backgrounds to secure jobs. He is a Trustee of CityHarvest – a fresh food rescue and redistribution charity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Robert Fairbairn

Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of Human Capital Committee
BlackRock

As the Co-chair of the Human Capital Committee and Talent Sub-Committee, Robert has led and sponsored a number of initiatives aimed at increasing gender equality in the workplace. He helped launch BlackRock’s Women Leadership Forum, established extended maternity/paternity leave and a flexible time-off policy, and sponsored numerous senior women, through investing in helping them find broader, more impactful careers at BlackRock. As Interim Global Head of HR, Robert expanded adoption assistance and new surrogacy and egg freezing benefits for all employees. Robert is also one of the founders of the first chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network based on the East coast. As one of BlackRock Women's Leadership Forum Chairs, Robert has been a Global Executive Committee sponsor of the program for many years and has been instrumental in involving other Global Executive Committee members as sponsors of women in the program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has been an active force in promoting gender balance and equality and has helped Simmons & Simmons achieve an 11% increase in the percentage of female partners. He is a Senior Ally for the Allies Network and has worked towards improving gender diversity by focusing on helping more women progress through to partnership and into senior management positions. He chairs quarterly gender balance meetings and has started a reverse mentoring partnership with his female BAME partner lead to gain a personal insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by diverse colleagues across the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Michael Miebach

President and CEO-Elect
MasterCard

As President and CEO-Elect, Michael understands that ending gender discrimination isn’t just a matter of basic human rights; it’s eradicating a barrier to accelerating sustainable development. Promoting women’s leadership in driving economic growth and galvanizing their willpower isn’t just about enriching economies—it’s about building a more just, equitable global society. During the course of Michael’s 10 years at Mastercard, he has been a visionary who kickstarted much of the work behind their financial inclusion journey. Recently, Mastercard has expanded its commitment to financial inclusion, pledging to bring a total of one billion people and fifty million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025, with a direct focus on supplying twenty-five million women entrepreneurs with solutions to help them grow their businesses. Outside of Mastercard, Michael is part of the Accion Board of Directors; providing support to two billion adults across the world lacking financial services. In 2018, MasterCard and Accion launched a partnership, bringing Mastercard’s worldwide networks and resources together to transform millions of underserved micro and small businesses while focusing on the cultivation of female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Babu Thiagarajan

Former Country General Manager and Head of Technology, India
Fidelity International

Babu is Executive Co-Sponsor of Fidelity International’s Global Gender Network as well as a member on the Global Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. In that role he has brought a formal focus to effectively address the gender imbalance at all levels of the organisation. Externally, as a member of the industry association, NASSCOM, he has sponsored, championed and facilitated their first D&I focused conference in northern India. He continues to champion his teams’ involvement with AnitaB.org and their sponsorship of a Delhi regional chapter to help drive the agenda of women in technology. To engage with their communities on the same objective, Fidelity International in India have successfully skilled over 1000 women from marginalised communities to enable them to take first steps towards employment and empowerment. They have also worked with schools in under privileged areas to enable over 700 girls to stay in school and complete their schooling.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Atsushi Egawa

Japan Market Unit Lead
Accenture Japan Ltd

As Japan Market Unit Lead of Accenture, Atsushi initiated Project Pride – a workstyle reform initiative with the aim to create a working environment which is practical, equal for everyone, and free from discrimination. The outcome of this initiative has been reduced overtime work, greater employee retention, and an increased use of paid holiday time. Since launching Project Pride, the number of women working at Accenture Japan has increased from 21% to 35%, with 44% of new hires now women. Following this transformative work, Atsushi speaks regularly at events on the importance of diversity and inclusion, as well as advises other organizations in Japan on adopting work practices which promote and support gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jim Brown

Chief Executive Officer
Sainsbury's Bank

Through his life and work experiences, across multiple continents, Jim has seen first-hand the benefits that diversity brings to both the workplace and society.  As CEO for Sainsbury’s Bank, and Board Sponsor for Gender at Sainsbury’s, Jim is focussed on moving the dial on diversity and is committed to promoting an inclusive culture where colleagues from all backgrounds are able to reach their full potential.  Jim championed the recent launch of Sainsbury’s Gender Network, INSPIRE, and is actively engaged in the network’s plans and events.  Under his leadership at Sainsbury’s Bank, diversity and inclusion is a key component of the organisational goals with all of the Executive team actively involved in specific colleague initiatives including: sponsorships of mentoring circles and a development programme for Women, launch of an Inclusion Working Group and, overseeing commitments made to the Women in Finance Charter.  Outside of Sainsbury’s, Jim is a Be Inspired Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Osman Ershad Faiz

Chief Information and Operating Officer (CIOO)
AMTD Digital Inc (a subsidiary of AMTD Group) 

Osman launched the HeforShe network Singapore in 2018. The network currently has over 150 senior male leaders who are committed to helping hundreds of mid-level female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. He also launched the HeforShe Network in Bangladesh, making it one of the first Muslim markets to have a HeForShe network. Alongside this, Osman has been a supporter of the Lead the Women initiative in Singapore which reviews the hiring for women at each grade and identifies opportunities to drive the target of 30% women in key leadership roles. He is also Sponsor of the Women in Tech initiative which offers university students educational visits to Banks to connect with other women in tech. Osman has recently joined AMTD Group as the Chief Information and Operating Officer (CIOO) for AMTD Digital Inc.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Lou Maiuri

Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Management Committee
State Street Corporation

Lou is Executive Sponsor of State Street’s Professional Women Network (PWN) providing professional development opportunities for women across the company. He launched and continues to lead PWN's Global Advisory Board – a group of senior executives who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices. As a Mentor and Executive Sponsor, Lou regularly presents on career management and talent management within State Street to give women the tools they need to advance their careers. He also supports the Esperanza Academy in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a tuition-free, independent middle school welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races and cultures.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Dean Curtis

Group Managing Director – Reed Business & Analytics (Division of RELX plc), CEO & President ICIS
Reed Business & Analytics (Division or RELX plc) & ICIS

Dean is a strong advocate for inclusion and oversees an organization which has a 50/50 gender balance across the entire workforce, as well as within the leadership team. Dean has driven D&I initiatives including unconscious bias training for employees, gender balance leadership and mentoring programmes and sponsorship initiatives for women , all of which improved employee engagement, retention and employee satisfaction rates. Dean believes that for diversity to be sustainable, first you must have inclusion. From a background in sport he understands that all high performing teams have inclusion as a pillar of their culture, where members can be the very best version of themselves. Dean regularly sits on panels and promotes ICIS’ ERG groups and is currently working with others to set up a D&I forum for the Energy and Chemical industry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Charlie Nunn

CEO, Wealth and Personal Banking
HSBC

Charlie is the Sponsor for Wealth and Personal Banking’s Accelerating into Leadership (AiL) program targeted at women with the aspiration to progress. Benefits of the program includes increased confidence, a focus on strengths, visibility with senior leaders, and the opportunity of meeting a wider group of high-performing and motivated peers. He also led the creation of the Executive Committee Gender Dashboard which provides visibility to the weighting of men and women at senior leader level for each of the teams aligned to Executive Committee members. In his role as CEO, Charlie has supported and taken part in many engagements and initiatives related to gender inclusion including the Wealth and Personal Banking Graduate Program, the EXPLORE leadership development program, and the Accelerating Female Leadership program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Francois Rigou

Managing Director, Head of Engineering in Asia Pacific
Goldman Sachs

Francois is a member and Gender Strategy Lead for the Asia Pacific Inclusion and Diversity Committee (APIDC) at Goldman Sachs ensuring there is an inclusion of women during both recruitment and promotion processes. He is also a Sponsor of the Asia Pacific Women in Engineering Network (APWE) and Managing Director Ally of the APAC Women's Network. As Head of Engineering in Asia Pacific he has expanded gender-focused initiatives and been involved in developing the next generation of women engineers through his support of The Women's Foundation's (TWF) Girls Go Tech program and their bi-annual STEM Competition and Awards Ceremony. He is a member of TWF's Male Allies Initiative, where he works with other senior male leaders from across industries and within Goldman Sachs to further gender equality in Hong Kong.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ron O'Hanley

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

As CEO of State Street Global Advisors, Ron called on corporate boards to make gender diversity a priority to promote better decision-making and launched the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street, which promptly became a global symbol of the need for more women in leadership. Under his own leadership, State Street introduced company-wide diversity goals tied directly to executive’s compensation, and were included on the Working Mother 100 Best Companies List as well as the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. As well as being Executive Sponsor for State Street's Black Professionals Group, Ron is also a member of the Boston Foundation Board of Directors: a prominent community foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Ron has recently launched the Small Business Strong initiative, a partnership of leading businesses in Massachusetts with the aim of supporting women and minority-based businesses negatively affected by the COVID-19 associated economic downturn.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Howard Ungerleider

President & Chief Financial Officer
Dow Inc.

Dow President and Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider is a vocal advocate for a safe, inclusive and supportive workplace for all employees. Since his appointment to the position in 2014, female direct reports to the President and CFO increased from 0% to 35% in 2020, and Finance Leadership Team female representation increased from 13% to 40% in 2020. Ungerleider serves as the executive sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) – Dow’s employee resource group for the equality and advancement of women in the workplace. In this role, Ungerleider has helped provide a framework to share experiences, find mentors, seek professional development, and find routes to senior leadership. His work also includes supporting Dow’s partnership with Forte, sponsoring the EY POWERUP program to empower women, hosting MARC Workshops in partnership with Catalyst to engage men as allies, and championing Sponsor to Success to advance women and U.S. minority talent development.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Koichi Tsuji

Chairman & CEO
EY Japan

Koichi is a Committee Member at the EY Global Diversity & Inclusiveness Steering Committee and is a strong advocate for increased flexible working. This has included the introduction of both flex-time systems and improved childcare programs to support women in the workplace. EY ShinNihon, the Assurance practice within EY Japan, won the J-Win Diversity Award in 2018 under his tenure as Chairman & CEO; awarded by NPO J-Win, an organization dedicated to empowering Japanese women. Koichi supported the declaration on action by a group called (translated) "A Group of Male Leaders Who Will Create a Society in which Women Shine"; an initiative supported by the Cabinet Office. As Chairperson & CEO of EY Japan, he is also supporting a program called Entrepreneurial Winning Women to foster female entrepreneurs, and a program called Women Athletes Business Network to assist retired young female athletes transition into business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jimmy Etheredge

CEO – North America
Accenture

Jimmy Etheredge is deeply committed to accelerating equality for all and takes seriously his responsibility as an ally and advocate.  Under his leadership, Accenture is on its way to achieving a bold goal of a 50/50 gender-equal workforce by 2025.  He has ensured a thriving women’s Employee Resource Group, sponsored a Women in Technology development initiative, and led programs to accelerate senior women to leadership roles. In 2019, Jimmy was appointed to the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, to pursue equality, wage peace, fight disease and build hope.  Dedicated to creating new pathways to tech jobs for underrepresented groups, Jimmy is overseeing the expansion of the company’s pioneering apprentice program.  More than 700 apprentices in 20 cities have participated in the program, which provides paid training and the opportunity to join Accenture in a technology role.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Jeremy Darroch

CEO
Sky

Jeremy is a vocal advocate and has championed gender equality to help make Sky a company of choice for women. Over a number of years, he has driven and supported a range of initiatives, including; a 'Women into Leadership' programme to help strengthen Sky’s talent pipeline; a 15 week 'Get into Tech' initiative to increase representation of women in technology, and the Sky Returner Program, a paid six-month placement to help senior level people who have taken a 2+ year career break return to full time careers. With Jeremy’s support Sky now has a well-established Women@Sky employee network and has partnered with The WBC and Management Today to spotlight Britain’s “Agents of Change” – male allies supporting women in business. Alongside his role at Sky, Jeremy is Chair of Business in the Community where he inspires, engages and challenges organisations to make business a force for good in society.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Cooper

CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking
Standard Chartered Bank

Since becoming the Chairman of the Global D&I Council, Simon has been responsible for Standard Chartered Bank’s focus on engaging all genders. His 2018 global D&I strategy resulted in shifting accountability to the businesses’ CEOs for the delivery of local D&I plans and objectives, delivery of Inclusive Leadership workshops, and the introduction of enablers such as global Fair Play Charter and Gender Pay Gap disclosure in key markets. His extensive and integrated approach to D&I has ensured a positive trend across several indicators, including representation of women in senior roles. Simon has also driven gender equality beyond the workplace including the “Men Advocating Real Change” program in the UK, India and Singapore. He has also advanced the Impact Investment Exchange Singapore with their second Women’s Livelihood Bond (a multi-country listed gender bond), creating sustainable livelihoods for 250,000+ underserved women in the region.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Kenny

CEO and CDO
Nielsen

David is the current CEO and CDO at Nielsen, founding partner of Leading Executives Advancing Diversity (LEAD) Network, and council member of Advancing Diversity Leadership Council. Under his leadership, Nielsen have signed the LEAD Network Pledge to increase women in leadership from 39% to 46% by the end of 2021. They have also introduced a number of other initiatives which have put D&I at the center of the company including tying executive incentives to D&I targets, implementing Executive Leader representation for ERGs, adding D&I contributions into company annual performance reporting, and adding an inclusion index into the employee engagement survey. On conducting a Women in Leadership study in 2019 Neilson learned that they have equality for women in advancement, career movement, bonuses and performance reviews. David also helped launch a Wise up to Women research project which shapes how companies can rethink their approach to marketing, innovation and designing their services for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Marc Benioff

Chair and CEO
Salesforce

Under Marc’s leadership as Chairperson and CEO of Salesforce, the company undertook a comprehensive study of remuneration to ensure women were paid equally for comparable work to men spending nearly $3 million to eradicate differences in salaries in this first ever equal-pay assessment. Salesforce have continued to undertake this company-wide assessment on a yearly basis spending over $12 million to guarantee equal pay for equal work. He has been a strong advocate for the Salesforce Women's Network which is the company's largest equality group and strengthens the development of women in each step of their career journey. This group concentrates on expert and personal growth, allyship, accommodating networks, and working towards gender equality. It also has content and activities designed to support the values of empathy, reliance, welfare, and advancement of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Brittin

President, EMEA Business & Operations
Google

Matt is the Executive Sponsor of Women@google and Board Member of the DEI council where he takes responsibility for DEI across EMEA covering over twenty thousand employees. He has also been working for two years as the Executive Sponsor for the regional Women@google community which is the largest employee network throughout 36 countries. Matt initiated #itsuptome - a program to ensure every colleague works to build a more inclusive workplace culture and managers become responsible for progress as part of their quarterly objectives. Matt’s other work includes hosting the initial EMEA Women@google leadership summit, sponsoring the Google State of Black Women summit in EMEA in 2019, and sponsoring of the Women's Forum; a prominent platform for women’s STEM education. He is also an active mentor and sponsor for #IamRemarkable - a worldwide Google initiative that empowers women and underrepresented groups to celebrate successes in the workplace and beyond.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ajay Banga

Chief Executive Officer
MasterCard

Under Ajay’s leadership, Mastercard has become a company where inclusion, opportunity and empowerment for women are global priorities. He has always believed that ending all forms of gender discrimination and fostering women’s participation in the global economy isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s also good business. Mastercard has become a leader in products designed for women and his support in helping them get access to finance and funding shows up in many of the company’s programs, including a $250 million commitment to support small businesses globally and linking identification to payments to benefit the millions of women globally who lack formal ID. Ajay also provided the pioneering vision for Girls4Tech™, the award-winning education program developed to teach STEM foundations and principles to girls around the world. Beyond Mastercard, Ajay is involved in global initiatives and organizations which encourage and empower women financially. He has partnered with World Bank to help women in under-developed areas, and regularly speaks to executive groups and student groups on the importance of inclusion and decency.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Keith Barr

CEO, IHG
IHG

Keith founded and currently chairs IHG's Global D&I Board. He supports IHG’s employee networks and has fostered representation of women on the Executive Committee. Keith also oversaw the introduction of new worldwide flexible working guidelines, and has purposefully promoted and hired women to leadership roles. Under his leadership, IHG has been named in the top 10 companies promoting women in managerial roles in the Hampton-Alexander Review for the past three consecutive years. Keith is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, the leading CEO-directed business pledge to encourage diversity in the workplace. Being a member of the Advisory Board for Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure in 2020 as well as the WiHTL, he has initiated master classes on subjects such as upskilling women to prepare for Executive Committee roles.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Roberts

Chief Executive Officer
Sainsbury's

Simon is the Chief Executive Officer at Sainsbury’s. He has made gender equality an essential element in creating a truly inclusive culture with targets set for increasing diversity at a senior level. He has implemented positive initiatives for gender equality which work across recruitment, retention and promotion. These initiatives include; gender balanced shortlists for senior positions, senior leadership mentoring and sponsorship, the creation of diverse talent pipelines, featuring visible role models in communications and raising awareness around the opportunities for flexible and agile working. As a voice for the industry, Simon recently featured in the Diversity in Grocery report highlighting the importance of diversity, inclusive leadership and the challenges within inclusion that the industry faces.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

As Chief Executive of Diageo, Ivan has taken strong measures to support gender balance within the business, where 50% of its Board and 40% of its Executive Committee are currently women. This includes setting targets for gender balance in senior leadership and insisting on diverse shortlists for external hires. In 2019 Diageo launched an ambitious parental leave policy offering all female employees globally six months fully paid maternity leave and offering the same benefit to men in a majority of markets. Since launch, the average number of paternity leave days taken by men increased from 23 to 105. While speaking at the 2019 Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) Inclusive workplace conference, Ivan drew attention to the need for greater diversity while calling for more employers to come together and become ambassadors for change. In 2018, Ivan was honored with the Men As Change Agents Award from the Women’s Business Council.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Williams

Group Chief Executive
Halma

Andrew is Group Chief Executive of Halma, a FTSE100 global group of life-saving technology companies. He has been steadily improving diversity and gender balance in executive leadership positions within what was previously regarded as a traditional engineering and manufacturing business. This has resulted in Halma’s Executive Board now having five women, representing 63% of Board positions, compared with it being all-male until 2014. There is also significant increased gender balance in the leadership pipeline to ensure sustainability. This includes appointing five female Divisional Chief Executives, who Chair Halma’s companies, in the last two years and targeting for all 45 company boards to be between 40% and 60% gender balanced. To help achieve this target, Halma has encouraged increased diversity of the roles on Boards and recently launched a new global inclusion program to support their continuing efforts to build a truly inclusive culture.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Greg Case

CEO
Aon plc

As CEO of Aon, Greg has put a firm focus on gender equality and aims to achieve 30% women in their most senior role levels globally. In 2019, he set a target for their global Executive Team to sponsor female or ethnic minority colleagues to help create a strong network of future leaders and is actively involved in sponsoring and mentoring as part of this rewarding program. Greg is also personal sponsor of the Women’s International Network (WIN), Aon’s global Business Resource Group to support gender equality. Aon has a comprehensive supplier diversity strategy (Aon Diversity Solutions) that champions women-and minority owned businesses and Greg was one of the first signatories of The Equity Pledge which holds a commitment to working toward achieving gender equity in leadership roles by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Adrian Warr

CEO Hong Kong, Taiwan & Thailand and APAC Employee Experience Leader
Edelman

To drive inclusion, collaboration and equality, Adrian created #WeStepUp at Edelman; an initiative which includes an independent study of pay equality, sponsorship of The Women’s Foundation (TWF), balanced panels for hiring and performance reviews, new flexible working policies and external coaching for returning parents. He is a founding member and the Co-Chair of the Male Allies, a charity under TWF dedicated to tackling gender equality through senior male business leaders. Adrian has played a crucial role in promoting the Male Allies initiative to the wider community and has worked on a key piece of Male Allies research that focuses on the need for male allies in Hong Kong and explores the barriers to men being more engaged in tackling gender inequality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Read

CEO
WPP

Mark has been working hard to continue to improve diversity and build an inclusive culture at WPP. Women now make up 50% of WPP’s senior managers and at the Board level, 50% of Board members are now women. They have launched their updated online ethics training, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed inclusion and diversity into hiring processes. As part of their anti-racism commitments, Mark also announced the launch of a new Global Inclusion Council to ensure they are meeting their diversity commitments. In 2020, WPP were also named in the 2020 Bloomberg Gender-Equity Index. Mark is a member of Male Champions of Change Global Tech Group, where he has called on male leaders to help improve gender equity in the technology sector and made a public commitment not to appear on male-only panels. WPP’s partnership with UN Women has also resulted in multiple campaigns to amplify the voice of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa Global & UK

Through his role as CEO, and as sponsor of Bupa’s global leadership development programme, David has championed diversity and inclusion. He has launched Bupa’s code of conduct, including the “Be you at Bupa” commitment, which ensures all colleagues are supported and comfortable in being themselves at work. Last year, he became the first signatory on the government-backed pledge “Leaders as Change Agents” to drive diversity in business and was a signatory for Bupa on the HM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter. He also oversaw the introduction of anonymised CVs to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment. Outside of Bupa, David is the Chairman of HomeServeUK. With his support, HomeServeUK was recently voted one of the Best Workplaces for Women in the UK.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Alan Jope

CEO
Unilever

As a business leader, Alan is resolute in his vision to make Unilever a beacon for diversity and inclusion. Part of this is building a gender-balanced workforce, and a wider value chain that helps to empower women. Alan chairs the Unilever Global Diversity Board and is active in all parts of its work, including supporting interventions in traditionally male dominated 'hot spots’ within the business. Already, Unilever has reached its ambition of 50/50 gender balance among its management population of 14,000. Wider progress is driven through programs like Shakti, which trains women in rural areas in new skills and helps them grow into micro-entrepreneurs through selling Unilever products within their local villages. Also through its portfolio of purposeful brands – like Dove, which has taught Self-Esteem workshops to over 35 million girls – and initiatives like #Unstereotype, which focuses on eradicating harmful stereotypes from advertising and advancing progressive portrayals of everyone.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter T. Grauer

Chairman
Bloomberg LP

Peter is a leading force behind advancing gender equality and diversity in the workplace. Under his leadership, Bloomberg’s Gender Equality-Index, which tracks the financial performance of public companies committed to supporting gender equality, saw a >40% increase in companies included in 2020 vs. 2019. In 2020, Bloomberg expanded “Girls take Finance” to London to provide career opportunities to women in business, finance and technology. Bloomberg also provided corporate support for “This Changes Everything,” a documentary which dives deep into the topic of gender equality and pay equity in Hollywood. With Peter's help, Bloomberg’s Buy-side Network was launched, becoming the first community for women in the asset management industry in Asia. Outside of Bloomberg, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, creating initiatives focused on increasing the pipeline of female talent, and he has served as a mentor with the Catalyst Women On Board initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 50 Advocates

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Denise Best

Associate Project Manager
Euromoney Institutional Investor

Denise co-chairs the Race Faith Diversity & Inclusion group at Euromoney Institutional Investor (EII), and has organized numerous events promoting diversity and inclusion. As a member of the EII Charity Committee, EII Cares, Denise works with organizations to support women, such as Iris House, a Harlem-based women’s support organization, and Bottomless Closet, which empowers NYC women in need to enter the workforce and achieve success. EII has participated in clothing drives, resume and interview preparation, safe sex kit preparation and toy drives. Last year, EII hosted the Euromoney@50 awards, where Denise won over $10,000 for Bottomless Closet. Denise is also the creator of the ‘I Am’ empowerment movement, honoring women who are a credit to their community or industry. The group is currently running a series called ‘The State of the Black Woman’, and is starting a mentoring program for young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katy Goodrich

Customer Success Director
Adobe

At Adobe, Katy is a Customer Success Director and co-lead for Women at Adobe and Social Impact Teams for the UK. As part of her Customer Success role, she works with Adobe’s largest Financial Services customers as a trusted advisor towards their digital transformations. Her Women at Adobe and leadership of Social Impact teams involves creating internal programs and community partnerships to promote causes top of mind for Adobe employees, such as championing gender diversity in tech. Her recent accomplishments include co-organizing and hosting Adobe’s first Women in Marketing speaker training program to bring more diverse voices to marketing and financial marketing conferences. She also founded and leads Adobe’s Financial Services Executive Women’s Roundtable, promoting networking and knowledge-sharing among female leaders in Adobe’s customer base. Recently, she co-launched an EMEA Adobe for All Book Club, a space for ongoing reading and ideas to encourage a more inclusive environment for conversation.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Masumi Ichimoto

Associate Director, Accenture Technology
Accenture Japan Ltd

Masumi is involved in the Japan Inclusion & Diversity Initiative at Accenture Japan, where she developed a program for working parents to help them continue working without stress after returning to work, with a focus on career development and a healthy work-life balance. The program focuses in particular growing working mothers’ career opportunities, challenging the misconception that returning mothers are limited by less flexible working hours. It also focuses on unconscious bias around parenting, and is inclusive of working fathers. Masumi’s program has contributed to Accenture being ranked in the top ten of Nikkei Dual’s ‘Best Companies for Working Parents’ in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Wright

Relationship Manager
Bank of Ireland

Catherine is the UK Representative for the Gender Balance Network, supporting Bank of Ireland’s Inclusion & Diversity Team. She represents the UK Corporate Banking division in idea generation, and engaging with decision-makers and key stakeholders internally, with an aim to grow the culture of inclusivity within the bank. This year, Catherine has spearheaded a series of inclusive programs, including a Woman in Business & Finance initiative in partnership with Deloitte, leading high-impact webinars with a diverse group of panellists. Catherine mentors upcoming women within the organisation and externally, is involved in supporting and empowering millennial women at all stages of their career, through bespoke mentorship and coaching whilst also offering opportunities to broaden their network. She is a member of The Women's Chapter and 100 Women in Finance; where she actively participates in sessions promoting D&I by sharing best practices to create a ripple effect and close the gender gap.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ranu Sharma

Head of International Operations and Technology Finance
MasterCard (VocaLink)

Ranu sits on the MasterCard Women Leadership Network, heading up the London Operations and Technology guild, whilst also advocating for young working mothers from minority ethnic backgrounds within a male-dominated industry. Ranu was instrumental in Introducing the concept of ‘Reversed Balanced Mentoring’ program to Senior Management, whereby less senior colleagues mentor executives within the organization, whilst ensuring the program maintains a 50:50 gender balance. Outside of this, Ranu leads women’s forums and coaching sessions across the AAPAC region, and shares best practices and experiences to encourage women to lean in and step up, to be more confident and to grow. She has helped transform the lives of young youths through her own Podcast Series and other influences.  

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carol Reddy

Manager, Client Services
Northern Trust

Carol is a Client Service Delivery Manager at Northern Trust. In addition to chairing the business’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council in Ireland, Carol participates in the Ireland Executive Gender Balance Group; a sub-committee of Northern Trust's Ireland management team solely focused on ensuring gender parity across its workforce in Ireland. While recognising the intersectionality of women, Carol has championed a female-focused cohort of an internal mentoring programme to support the development women in the early-to-mid stages of their professional life, introduced role modelling initiatives to enhance the visibility of senior females, and driven an increase in male ally-ship through inclusive engagement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Musidora Jorgensen

Head of UK Energy & Utilities
Salesforce

As an ally and speaker for the Salesforce Women’s Network, Musidora has been a strong advocate of promoting gender diversity within her career, and is one of the UK leadership team on Salesforce’s internal working group focused on more inclusive hiring. She coaches, mentors and sponsors women both internally at Salesforce but also externally across the wider STEM industry. She's also regularly involved with the Women In Sales Awards Europe; an organization created to recognize excellence in sales across a very male dominated industry. Musidora has spoken on gender diversity as a keynote speaker for the Salesforce Women’s Network, at the Women in Sales Conference, at the PwC Women’s Network, and is due to speak at the House of Commons in February as part of the Gamechangers Women's Network. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mira Niswonger

Senior Program/Project Manager
Capital One Bank

Mira is a member of the leadership and coordination team for the Diversity Inclusion & Belonging Council at Capital One Bank. In this role she helps to shape and drive the bank’s D&I strategy and also collaborates to form alliances and develop strategy with other diversity groups and networks at Capital One; creating a culture of allyship with an enhanced understanding of the importance of intersectionality. Within the EmpowHER business resource group she leads conversations beyond race and gender to include other identities that influence the experiences of working moms and which can create barriers to advancement and authenticity at the workplace. Mira has designed and led development programs for Capital One promoting both career mobility and career development, therefore helping individuals to bring more of their talents and potential to their work.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mamaa Duker

UK, Business Development Associate Director
WPP

Mamaa was born and raised in Ghana and has lived and worked across four countries including the UK, US and Hong Kong. She is the lead for WPP Roots - WPP's ethnic & cultural diversity employee network which plays an active role in amplifying the voices of ethnic minority leaders within the company and creating platforms for ethnic minority women to share their experiences. She has actively worked to embed inclusive thinking throughout WPP’s global network – leading Roots’ expansion, and successfully launching a workshop called “Covering in the workplace”, which explores how ethnic minority employees cover aspects of their identities in order to fit in. She also created an Anti-Racism Resource Pack following George Floyd’s death featuring support resources for Black women. As well as providing informal mentoring for junior colleagues at WPP, Mamaa provides mentorship to young female students at Aves International Academy in her hometown of Tema, Ghana.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kristin Parris

Senior Manager, Talent Development
Essence

Kristin is the North American lead for POC@Essence, an employee resource group focused on supporting people of color within the agency. She oversees initiatives across six offices to support women of color, spearheading over 10 women-led programs in the last two years with topics including industry thought leadership, wellness and media resources. She has partnered closely with the leads for Womxn@Essence, the agency’s gender-diversity group, to launch the Essence Immersion Program; a pipeline program giving underrepresented groups virtual networking opportunities and increased visibility within the advertising industry. In July 2020, Kristin was selected by the Advertising Club of New York to participate in the i'mPART Women’s Fellowship executive training program.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kyoshia Jackson

Legal & Compliance Paralegal
Moët Hennessy USA

Kyoshia is actively engaged in Moet Hennessy’s diversity and inclusion efforts — first, as a member of the former Polycultural committee, and now, organizing and leading Moet Hennessy USA’s first Black employee resource group. In 2019, she organized the company’s first Black History Month celebration, and then co-authored its IDE strategy. Most recently, she was the catalyst for the company‘s discussion of racial bias and systemic injustices that affect Black Americans. Kyoshia‘s personal mission is to ensure upfront presence of more Black professional women in her industry, and her leadership, insight, and confidence have inspired her peers to join her efforts.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Louise Hennessey

Senior associate
Allen & Overy

Louise was appointed Chair of A&O’s women’s network, WiN, in November 2018, and was tasked with revitalising the network and formulating the shape and strategy of the committee. Since then, WiN has organized numerous successful events and seminars to promote gender equality in the firm, including collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, and discussion groups profiling recently promoted women partners to inspire junior women associates and to make male sponsor allies aware of the valuable role they play in this process. Louise was also involved in the development of a quarterly program to support and develop the careers of A&O’s junior women lawyers, is participating in a program aimed at supporting mid-level women lawyers, and has contributed to a paper presented to the board which helped shape the firm’s gender strategy and targets. Externally, Louise mentors diverse female students, is a champion for Women for Women International, and has helped co-ordinate donations with the Hygiene Bank among other causes.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Noble

Director
Deloitte MCS

Sarah started Women at the Wheel in 2016 as a networking group to drive positive change by supporting women on their automotive career journeys. As a Director in Consulting and working with clients across the industry, she was struck by the lack of diversity in the top roles and the desire to inspire women to grow and succeed in the industry. Women at the Wheel is guided by three main tenets; to inspire women to achieve their top potential, to encourage collaboration towards gender equality across the industry, and to strengthen women’s careers through providing regular events and a platform for discussion of key issues impacting women. The group now has over 850 members including both men and women drawn from 150 organizations across the UK automotive sector including all the major manufacturers. As well as leading Women at the Wheel, Sarah coaches others across industries to set-up similar organisations, is a mentor and sponsor across her own network, works with the Automotive Council UK on the diversity & inclusion committee, and is a frequent speaker on diversity in business at conference and client events.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eugenia Planas

Head of Digital Services
Bank of England

Since returning from maternity leave in 2018, Eugenia has co-chaired the Technology Inclusion Council at the Bank of England. This year, the council has been responsible for mandating diverse interview panels for recruitment at senior grades and unconscious bias training for people managers. Eugenia mentors talented women from across the bank, and undertakes career conversations with top talent, recognizing that women continue to be underrepresented in technology. Within the Technology Leadership team, Eugenia acts as a sponsor and advocate for gender diversity, ensuring the subject gets regular and deliberate focus. She is at the forefront of the Bank’s efforts to embrace flexible working and supporting technologies.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eileen Bax

Pathways Development Manager
AXA PPP Healthcare

Eileen has been involved in promoting and supporting the Ways of Working policy at AXA, providing key stakeholder insight from different geographical areas and a range of business areas across a broad demographic. This has included women with responsibilities for elderly or sick family members, women with health vulnerabilities, women seeking work-life balance to improve their overall wellbeing, and working parents. Discussions in this area included men and very senior colleagues, proactively encouraging them to think outside the norms and stereotypes, and to role model change. Eileen is passionate about ensuring fairness for all and empowering managers to handle cases consistently while still recognizing the importance of individual circumstances.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Carolina Vaccaro

Total Rewards Senior consultant LAC
SAP

Carolina is the regional leader for the Business Women’s Network at SAP. Last year, as a result of joint efforts from HR and D&I, she collaborated in the update of the ‘Back to Work’ parental leave policy for Argentina, inclusive of all families and absent of gendered language; and they created a regional gender violence campaign to raise awareness. This year, the ‘Back to Work’ policy was expanded throughout the region, and Carolina and the BWN team work on gender violence has extended to a COVID-19 protocol, compiling data from locations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, listing internal and external channels for reporting domestic violence. Together with an employee assistance program, the group now has a code to report cases, which is only shared with women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Silbert

VP + GM, The Balance
Dotdash

As Vice President and General Manager of The Balance, Lauren has worked to make finance topics accessible to everyone, and brought female representation and leadership into a notoriously male-dominated sector. She oversees a predominantly female team of writers and editors covering topics from banking and credit, to the economy and investing. In 2019, Lauren was named a “Corporate Champion” in Folio’s Top Women in Media Awards. Lauren has been a long-time member of The Wing, an organization devoted to providing working and community spaces for women, and regularly contributes to Dotdash's monthly community Diversity and Inclusion meetings. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lydia Brookes

Senior Director - EMEA Syndications
Mizuho Bank

Lydia founded the Mizuho Gender Network in 2017, which has since been enlarged through merging with the gender networks of Mizuho subsidiaries. Lydia, who now co-leads the network, has organized speaker events, driven policy change, with a focus on parental leave, and supported the re-launch of the mentoring scheme. She has secured funding for an external events program with high-profile speakers, targeting imposter syndrome, careers, performance, mindset and resilience. With a focus on policy change, Lydia is now helping the bank understand the need to collate and analyze employment data, and how to use this to impact decision making. She is also focused on tackling the flexible working policy and expanding paternity leave. Lydia mentors women within Mizuho and through Women in Banking & Finance, and represents the bank at external networks, including WIBF and the Network of Networks.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Felicia Ofori-Quaah

Senior Associate
Milbank LLP

Felicia is active member of the Women's Initiative Group, Family Focus Group and Heritage Group (which relates to underrepresented minorities) within Milbank and also acts as a mentor to younger women associates; especially those on their maternal journey. She has been focused on improving the experience of women lawyers who return from maternity leave, including advocating for more effective ‘Return to Life’ procedures and maternity coaching as well as emergency care benefits for carers within Milbank. She has featured as a panel member at Thomson Reuters' Transforming Women's Leadership in the Law conference and was named as a “Mover and Shaker” by The Glass Hammer; an online career resource for professional women in law, finance, technology and business.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Brenda Hudson

EMEA Commercial Finance Manager
GroupM EMEA

Brenda founded The Bridge this year to amplify inclusion and belonging to the current diversity programs across WPP in GroupM EMEA. The group works to target those who are at the intersection of race and gender with the aim of providing traditional mentoring and sponsorship, as well as facilitating reverse mentoring to encourage challenging conversations on race and intersectionality with leadership in order to break barriers and create allies. Externally, Brenda set up an informal training program, The Kitchen Table, which she launched in response to work that her grandmother was doing to support a small group of women with financial literacy. The program equips women with vital financial skills to support themselves and their children.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Anderson

UI/UX Designer
RobustWealth Inc.

Rachel Anderson is the Founder and Host of the RobustWealth Roundtable; an interview series for the awareness, advocacy, and advancement of women in finance. She has also led Women by Women; a program created in recognition of International Women's Day and Women's History Month which displayed artwork depicting women created by female artists. Among other initiatives outside of RobustWealth, Rachel founded the Future Financial Planners Community for rising finance professionals and Newbee Community which supports women entering technology. She is also a frequent speaker for initiatives advocating for women and presented at the Seattle Design Festival. Rachel is an active member of 100 Women in Finance and Females & Finance, as well as a top contributor on TechLadies where she shares material on women’s leadership and financial empowerment. This year, Rachel was featured as a Reinvented Magazine STEAM Dreamers Role Model and nominated for Woman of The Year. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Legge

Head of Cyber Behaviour Change
BP

Joanne chairs bp WIN IT&S, the internal network for women in information technology at bp, developing and implementing a strategy to increase women’s participation, progression and recognition in IT roles. This includes ownership of the company Yammer tool to promote internal and external opportunities, running network sessions, driving nominations for external IT awards, providing mentoring opportunities for both women and men at all levels, and engaging with bp’s senior leadership to ensure female talent is recognized globally. Externally, Joanne is a judge for the FDM/Everywoman Women in Technology awards, judging several categories including ‘Leader of the Year’. Joanne achieves this on top of her role as Head of Cyber Behaviour Change, driving cyber security awareness and education programmes across the Company.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rocio Cárdenas

Informatic Technician
Fujitsu Technology Solutions

From November 2019, Rocio is participating in the Fujitsu Radar program, a year-long Program designed to learn tech streams and find future leaders. Through it, Rocio has volunteered with Fujitsu’s D&I group and has participated in a #IamRemarkable workshop in partnership with Google. In April, Rocio became a certified #IamRemarkable facilitator, and carries out these workshops to demonstrate empowerment, finding satisfaction in seeing others benefit and more proactively seek out career development opportunities. Rocio’s #IamRemarkable sessions are fully inclusive, exposing the many struggles women and other underrepresented groups face in business on a daily basis. The initiative aims to give a voice to women and minority groups to talk about their achievements with pride. Furthermore, Rocio is being among the top positions in the Radar Program every month so far. Additionally, she just has started studying a degree at university to keep motivated herself outside the company as well.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Marion Bentata

Vice President
State Street

Marion co-chairs the State Street UK Pride Network, where she acts as a role model for gay women. She regularly appears on panels to discuss the specific issues faced by LGBT+ women and she organizes events with a strong focus on women. In the last two years, Marion has organized two book launches at State Street, one dedicated to the lives of older lesbian and bisexual women, and the other dedicated to the former Press Officer to two Prime Ministers who shared her views on gender equality and the LGBT+ community. Marion always looks to increase diversity when hiring new talent and reminds the management team of this imperative. Within Interbank, where she was the second female co-chair, Marion continues to work tirelessly to increase the representation and visibility of women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leah Kimata

Information Security Risk Officer
Standard Chartered Bank

In her previous role at KPMG, Leah mentored women in her unit towards becoming senior members of the firm. At Standard Chartered, she is one of the senior management team, and mentors women in the T&I unit on various elements of cyber security. She has also volunteered for initiatives targeting girls and women in technology. Externally, Leah is a member of African Women in Fintechs, and has been involved in panel discussions on payment security and discussions on women in Fintech.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joyce Cheng

Assistant Director
Edelman Hong Kong

Joyce leads the Edelman GWEN (Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network) initiative in the Hong Kong office. She formed the #WeStepUp employee campaign to encourage greater inclusiveness. Her voice is heard on the issues that matter – workplace diversity, equality, employee welfare, team dynamics and delivering the best possible work for clients. She has introduced initiatives on career development and training, work-life balance policies and improved benefits to reward retention and more. In her five years at Edelman, she has forged a stand-out reputation among peers and senior management through leading by example and action. As a result, she constantly inspires and guides junior colleagues around her. Joyce is currently a leading member of the #BetterTogether, an evolution of #WeStepUp covering wellness, D&I, improved HR policies and unconscious bias training at all levels. #WeStepUp and #BetterTogether contributed to Edelman Hong Kong winning the HR Asia Awards Best Companies to Work For 2019.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Patricia Souza

Senior Consultant
EY

Patricia is a member of the EY Luxembourg D&I task force, which oversees the implementation of the D&I balanced scorecard firmwide. Furthermore, as a part of her goal to drive Inclusion amongst her team members, she developed a successful training session on inclusion and belonging, which is now under consideration to be scaled up for other areas and service lines. In addition to her contributions to the D&I task force, Patricia has actively brought together her People Advisory Services team, initiating a running group to bring together women and men in her team promoting an inclusive atmosphere with allies at all levels. She is also co-creating D&I within Workforce Advisory (WFA) at EY Luxembourg and EY Belgium. Outside EY, Patricia is building a D&I network of experts to tackle the issues this community is facing and promote a more inclusive and equitable society in Luxembourg. Additionally, she is also working as a member of the Hacking HR Luxembourg to promote debates on human topics, including D&I.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Christina Mallon

Global Inclusive Design Lead
Wunderman Thompson

Christina is a member on five inclusion boards (WPP DEI Council, WPP Culture Council, WPP Sustainability Council, WPP Innovation Council, and Wunderman Thompson DEI Council) where she advises on women's issues and their intersection with disability. On the Wunderman Thompson DEI Council she created an Inclusion framework and scorecard for individual disciplines to give everyone the steps and measurement to a more inclusive culture. She created the Inclusive Experience Practice which uses Inclusive Design Methodology to create inclusive products and experiences for her clients' customers. This methodology forces the creator to ask who they are leaving out of the experience that they are creating and pushes them to take the time to learn from the groups that they're leaving out. Christina is the Chief Brand Officer of a non-profit, Open Style Lab, which is an inclusive design education hub which teaches women and girls with disabilities about STEM through adaptive fashion design.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kai Deveraux Lawson

Global Director of Community Engagement
WPP

At WPP, Kai’s role has allowed her to highlight top women and leaders of color throughout the network. She supports all employee resource groups, providing marketing, financial, and membership support. She works to provide a platform to showcase WPP’s diverse employee talent and retain a strong pool of talented women and people of color. Externally, Kai co-hosts and produces the Mixed Company Podcast, where she advocates for cultural issues, especially those affecting women in advertising. She has spoken on various panels to bring the importance of diverse representation in advertising to the forefront. Additionally, Kai leads the Fishbowl Women in Advertising Bowl.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelley Tiltman

Employee Experience & Inclusion Senior Manager
Cognizant

Since joining Cognizant in 2019, Shelley has been instrumental in re-energising UK&I Women Empowered, recruiting 24 new and active committee members, to drive inclusion and empowerment. Combined with her role as Engagement and Inclusion Lead, she has organized and hosted number of events to educate develop and support employees. She is part of the team looking at the gender pay gap and shares recommendations to enhance attraction, retention and development. Shelley is a driving force behind other Affinity groups including Embrace, the LGBTQ+ Ally network and promotes trans rights. She is core member of global diversity & inclusion network spanning 52 countries. Shelley’s broad external network helps to bring insights to the internal networks, always sharing food for thought. Shelley is extremely proud of the sense of community and support the Affinity groups bring to colleagues. Shelley writes thought leadership articles on many aspects of diversity and tirelessly campaigns for equality.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

ILDP Manager (Legal, Disputes)
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

Plaxedes joined Herbert Smith Freehills in 2017 when the Johannesburg Alternative Legal Services (ALT)  practice group was launched. ALT Johannesburg forms part of a market-leading, innovative global team of 350 lawyers, technologists and legal analysts operating across 11 locations.  Plaxedes, a qualified lawyer, practices as a Disputes Manager specialising in managing complex document reviews, on large international and local matters,  She also manages the International Legal Development Programme (ILDP), which offers high-performing legal graduates the opportunity to gain work experience as a Legal Analyst through a structured learning and development programme. During the ILDP recruitment process and in day-to-day interactions, she encourages the team to be mindful of racial, cultural and gender diversity. She was instrumental in establishing the ALT Johannesburg, Social, Diversity, CSR and Mental Health, and Awareness committees. Personally, Plaxedes founded Pink Power, a breast cancer awareness initiative to raise funds for patients who cannot afford treatment.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Suki Heather

Creative Director
AKQA

Suki was part of the initial Women's Global Council that brought together senior women across the AKQA network. The council introduced several initiatives in their local studios including, unconscious bias training designed to help build a more representative workplace, returnships designed to attract back into industry those who've most likely left to be a parent, and apprenticeships to encourage entry level hiring from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. During her time at AKQA, Suki has worked with management to introduce free feminine care products in all female toilets of the London studio. Suki’s work has been featured in prominent publications that focus on women in design including Hidden Women of Graphic Design, Women of Graphic Design, Femme Type (TYPE01) and Graphic Burd - all of which have highlighted her work to draw more attention to visibility of women in the creative industry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hope Ditlhakanyane

Venture Partner
MEST Africa

In her previous role at A.T. Kearney, Hope co-led the Women’s Network, hosting numerous programs aimed at improving women’s safety, access to opportunities and general workplace experience. This included organising women’s breakfasts, self-defense workshops and diversity & unconscious bias training for all staff, backed by the leadership team. Externally, she founded the Superwoman Hub, a 1,000+ strong community of high-impact African women. The community’s mission is to connect women and empower them to take on leadership roles, through awareness and advocacy. Superwoman Hub regularly hosts leadership programmes, advocacy initiatives such as the #50FacesOfWomenIn Africa series, as well as events such as the Women in Africa conference to connect women leaders across the continent. Over the next year, she will be launching a fund aimed at supporting and scaling women-owned businesses across Africa. 

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Bjial Majithia

Assistant Director
EY

Bijal is an ambassador and mentor for 'The Girls Network,' which seeks to empower girls from disadvantaged communities. She is also an ambassador and educator for 'Binti International' with a mission to provide menstrual dignity to all girls all over the world. She has been featured on BBC Radio 2 'Pause for Thought' to represent the Hindu voice on topical issues as well as a panellist for Women on the Wharf, the BBC, Tempo recruitment and Lloyds Banking Group. At EY, she has helped to drive and deliver strategic D&I initiatives as well as highlight the conversations of ethnicity, gender and faith within the workplace. This includes championing campaigns and hosting events to discuss taboo topics and create a culture of openness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Léna Elisabeth David

Principal
Boston Consulting Group

Last year, Léna took charge of the Women@BCG initiative in Switzerland as a co-head with a male Managing Director and Partner. Together, they introduced a set of new diversity policies and a retention and advancement program for women in Switzerland. Through their work, the office in Switzerland became the first BCG office worldwide and one of the first employers in Switzerland to introduce a fully paid gender-neutral parental leave. The new program furthermore includes revised flex-time and part-time working models, a support process for returning mothers, and sponsored access to childcare support. It also includes improved sponsorship models for senior women, mentoring for junior women, unconscious bias training for all staff and a speaker series on diversity topics. Léna presented the BCG Swiss diversity journey at a regional Women@BCG conference covering Europe, Africa and South America, and leads senior officer meetings to raise awareness and to discuss solutions to advance diversity at the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Parris Brown

Relationship Manager for Canada
Audible

Parris is a Board member of the Women@Audible Impact Group and the Lead for the group's Global Membership & Engagement Committee. She has worked with Cornerstone, a hiring initiative Audible created in partnership with the city of Newark. Working as an Ambassador she engaged with a local job resource group to identify and support candidates from the community including college students, recent graduates, and those with work experience, but lacked some skills employers seek. Parris also volunteers as a Leadership Coach with Braven, a nonprofit founded with a mission to empower first-generation minority college students, where she assisted many of the young women, beyond the Braven program. Parris is a proud member of Eureka Grand Chapter Prince Hall Order Eastern Star, Inc., State of New York, Alpha Chapter No.1. This organization prides itself on serving communities with charitable events, especially for women and children, all while uplifting women in achievement.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yusra Hussain

IT Advisor - Asset Management, New Energies
Shell

Yusra has taken part in many different projects in the past 2 years supporting women from diverse backgrounds. This includes an E-mentoring program for children aged 14-16 in an East London school and a STEM mentoring program for Shell women in the early part of their careers. This initiative was set up to connect young women in STEM with senior women and men interested in helping them develop professionally, with a specific lens on STEM and the challenges associated with it. Yusra launched the inaugural Women in STEM @ Shell awards and hosted Shell’s largest Bring Your Child to Work Day, with 150 children between the ages of 9-15, taking part in STEM workshops, talks and showcasing both female and male role-models. In response to COVID19, Yusra is working with Robogals as a special program lead to bring online STEM content to girls across the world.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jagjeet Doheley

Learning Services Manager
British Retail Consortium

Jagjeet co-leads a project to inspire inclusion within retail environments and is partnering with the Centre for Inclusive Leadership to hold Inclusion Dialogues with industry leaders to inspire change. She leads personal branding sessions for women in leadership and has helped women leaders and business-owners build confidence to move up the ladder and to solidify their brand. In her previous role, Jagjeet ran mindfulness sessions to encourage wellness practices based around gender and energy levels.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Claire Foster Chart. PR, FCIPR

Senior Manager - Corporate Affairs
Direct Line Group

Claire champions diversity at every opportunity with a specific focus on paying it forward. She helped create the ‘My Life’ parental leave transparency and flexible working policy at Direct Line Group, launching it externally to set an example across business. Her research in this area was used in support of a Parliamentary Bill led by Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Jo Swinson to make all large organisations publish their parental leave and pay policies. Claire is a former Vice President of Women in PR, helping women reach their potential through mentoring, events and championing gender issues. Claire has now joined the Executive Board of Global Women in PR, an organisation dedicated to supporting female talent in the PR industry. Despite being on maternity leave in 2019, Claire won the PRCA’s City and Financial Professional of the year and became a Fellow at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Primrose

Associate
King & Spalding LLP

Sarah Primrose is a member of the Financial Restructuring group at King & Spalding. Her practice focuses on representing debtors, lenders, and  creditors in Chapter 11 reorganization cases along with other bankruptcy-related litigation throughout the country. Sarah is part of the firm’s Women's Affinity Group where she helps promote both internal and external events supporting women and fostering professional development. As a member of the King & Spalding Hiring Committee, she recruits new hires and serves as a formal mentor for summer associates along with first year associates. Externally, Sarah’s commitment to gender equality includes current and past service as a member of the United Way Young Professionals Board for Greater Atlanta, as a Board Member for the International Women's Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation-Georgia Network, as part of the Junior League of Atlanta promoting women’s leadership development, and as a Wellsprings volunteer working directly with victims of sex trafficking.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kenesa Ahmad

Partner, Co-founder
Aleada

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. In 2017, Kenesa co-founded Aleada, a boutique information privacy and security consulting firm based in San Francisco. She started the company with her two fellow co-founders of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), a non-profit organization established in 2014. Kenesa’s objective with Aleada is to put into practice the WISP mission: to advance women in the converging fields of privacy and security. Aleada has made a commitment to recruit and hire individuals from diverse backgrounds seeking to enter or transition into the privacy field. Aleada specifically focuses on providing career opportunities for individuals re-entering the workforce from caretaking or family rearing roles, second career job seekers, and new graduates.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Danner

Sr Director, High End Brands
Anheuser-Busch InBev

Stephanie is a women leader in a male-dominated industry and one of only a handful of female partners in US Sales at Anheuser-Busch. She is constantly advocating for gender diversity in advertising and employment within the beer industry. She has worked to promote and develop women leaders within the company, providing mentoring to 5 women who are currently progressing in their careers. Stephanie has recently joined the Make a Play Foundation where she will supporting a group of under-represented student athletes in career-building activities and projects.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Akansha Goyal

Vice President, Product Control
Barclays

At Barclays, Akansha is part of the department's diversity and inclusion initiative where she has been involved in mentoring and talent development. She has also been engaged on initiatives around female talent review, development and retention with a focus on providing guidance on career progression to top talent within the department. As an ambassador for Masters in Finance at London Business School for more than five years, Akansha has been involved in interviewing candidates for the program across the globe and personally guided and mentored several prospective candidates from diverse backgrounds. She is passionate about female education and has worked with multiple small schools to promote and encourage female education by providing mentoring to female students.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sueli Nascimento

Senior Product Manager
SAP Brasil Ltda.

Sueli leads the Black Employee Network at SAP Brasil, has previously led the Business Women’s Network, and is now a member. She has run monthly sessions with internal VPs and external guests on gender equality, personal experience and successful projects, and she has developed a close relationship with the Communications and HR departments, participating in programs and processes to showcase and champion the company’s women. Under her direction, SAP Brasil signed the ‘Women’s Empowerment Principles’ with the United Nations, and she brought men into the gender discussion through her introduction of the UN ‘HeforShe’ program. She is coaching numerous women for leadership positions, and is involved in talks at universities and other companies on gender equality and women in technology careers. Sueli helped to introduce a mentoring program for returning mothers, and created a room for breastfeeding at the São Paulo office. Externally, Sueli is a member of ‘Ser Mulher em Tech’.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Yvonne Luu

Senior Communications Officer
Peabody

Yvonne is co-chair of Peabody’s Gender Network and established their inaugural reverse mentoring programme which includes several Board members and Directors as the first tranche of mentees. Her success in involving members of the Board and senior leadership team has not only given this initiative significant profile but has also provided the potential to effect real change at the very top echelon of the organisation. Yvonne also led the planning and delivery of Peabody’s largest ever International Women's Day celebrations which included a high profile panel event held in collaboration with five other large housing associations at which three Chief Executives joined the speaking panel. She is a Young Women’s Trust Champion which is a charity supporting young women struggling to live on low or no pay.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sally Keane

Head of Sales
LinkedIn

Sally co-founded Parents At LinkedIn UK, an ERG working with managers to understand the experience of colleagues returning to work after having children and offer appropriate support. Sally creates a safe space to have open conversations about difficult topics by sharing her own experiences with infertility and miscarriage. She offers mentoring to female talent across different levels of seniority both within LinkedIn and outside of her network. Sally has been a member of Bloom since 2017, holding several leadership positions, and is the president for 2020. In the past 6 months, Sally and her team have brought over 200 women into the organization, launched a mentoring program for over 600 women, and introduced Bloom Boost, a bridge between the mentee program and a mentor partnership in association with the Believe charity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Rachel Welch-Phillips

Associate
Bird & Bird LLP

Rachel is the Founder and Chair of Embrace, Bird & Bird's inaugural intersectional BAME network. The network achieved many successes in a very short period of time through social media campaigns, community outreach and a series of internal events to engage with key stakeholders and improve representation, retention and attitudes to intersectional diversity within the legal profession. These successes were recognised when Embrace won the Outstanding Multicultural Employee Network award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards 2019. Embrace has maintained a strong focus on community engagement and dedicates hundreds of hours to uplifting youth in BAME communities, particularly BAME women and girls who often have the fewest doors of access and opportunity open to them. Alongside her work with Embrace, Rachel is an active mentor through formal and informal channels to high school and university students, trainees, and other women who aspire to become lawyers in the City.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nina Ma

Technology, Data & Analytics Senior Associate
PwC

Nina is a member of the national comms team for PwC’s Gender Balance Network, and is a committee member for the Midlands. She is also a member of the Women in Tech team in the Midlands, which organizes office-wide Lunch & Learn events to attract and retain female talent in the tech sector. As a core member of the Women in Technology Data & Analytics team, Nina aims to create an environment where everyone feels empowered, inspired and supported to bring their authentic self to work, allowing greater career progression. Nina is also a #IamRemarkable trainer, a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond. Last year, Nina was a member of the advisory board for GirlDreamer, a charity aiming to empower millennial and GenZ women of color and provide them with life-changing opportunities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Agbesanwa

Management consultant
PwC

Mary joined PwC on their Women In Business program and has been involved in a campaign to encourage more young women to apply to PwC through sharing her experiences and inspirations. She delivered a Level Up Workshop focusing on promotions, sponsorship and relationship building to members of the Gender Balance Network and is a mentor in the firm’s diversity mentoring scheme. Outside of PwC, Mary is Co-founder of the Now You’re Talking Network for professional women millennials and has conducted a series of inspiring Instagram Live Series with female entrepreneurs and professionals covering topics from communicating confidently on camera, tapping into your emotional intelligence, and developing a positive money mindset. In May she was selected from over 6900 applicants across EMEA to be a McKinsey Next Generation Women Leader.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Lin Yue

Executive Director
Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Lin is a thought leader on decoding cultural, gender and generational differences and how it impacts career strategies. Across industries, she is a highly sought-after speaker and she’s an advocate for women to find their own voice by building awareness of their unique experience and help them achieve not just equality, but equity. Within the firm, Lin works with Chinese and Asian professionals groups, addressing differences between Asian professionals and tailoring their career strategies. Lin is the President of the Rising Women’s Network in London. She is also a founding member of UK Chinese Women Connect, which helps women in breaking the glass and bamboo ceilings. She is also an executive member for Chinese Women in the City. Lin has pioneered a diversity session for Chinese professionals in light of recent racial injustice events. She is also active in Charities work especially for BAME communities, and a mentor with Migrant Leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Freddie Cormack

Assistant to the Chief Information Security Officer
BP

Freddie is the Co-chair of the Transgender Group at BP which has transformed transgender awareness within BP globally. This includes creating senior management engagement resulting in many public shows of trans support from leaders including BP’s new CEO. Freddie has developed many "Safe Space" training sessions and is also an active member of BP's Women in Industry group advocating equality for women in BP. Outside of BP, Freddie is a Founder and Committee Member for "Trans in the City", a collaboration of over 75 organizations to actively promote corporate transgender awareness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kam Dhillon

Head of Services Marketing NWE
Fujitsu

Kam has over 20 years of global experience in key leadership roles, developing go-to-market strategies focused on accelerating revenue growth and driving customer value. Throughout her career, Kam has been a champion for gender equality. She has been the Co-chair of the Women’s Business Network for over three years, where she has worked on a range of initiatives, including Gender Pay Gap, female mentoring and development programmes, and running events to encourage young women into STEM. As a result of initiatives such as these, Fujitsu was named Times Top 50 Employer for Women. Kam works collaboratively with other women’s business networks from Fujitsu’s customers, partners and third party organizations to share best practice and drive awareness.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Katherine 'Katia' Ramo

Associate - Technology, Media, IP & Competition
CMS

Katherine is the Founder & Chair of CMS ENABLE (disabilities & wellbeing) Network, a member of the UN Stakeholders Group for Persons with Disabilities, & Co-chair InterLaw Diversity Forum disAbility Network. She is a member of CMS Women, BAME and an ally to LGBT+ Networks. She is a core member of CMS equlP, helping technology start-ups scale & supporting women tech entrepreneurs. Katherine leads substantive impactful global conversations, mentoring, advocacy, media, writing and speaking engagements to champion equality for women and disabled talent. Katherine is always called upon internally, and externally by clients, diversity organizations, the UN, and regulatory bodies, to provide advice regarding disability, often with a specific gender lens. She introduced monthly mindfulness sessions at CMS to build resilience and mental wellbeing and in CMS’ film of the Lord Mayor’s appeal, ‘This is Me’, destigmatizing mental health. She is in the First 100 Years Project, celebrating Women in Law.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Abisola Barber

Vice President, Markets Business Manager
Barclays Bank PLC

For two years, Abisola sponsored a bespoke investment banking internship program targeting women from wider university and subject pools to further increase diversity of both gender and background in the bank. Through Barclays’ gender network, Win, Abisola annually delivers networking and mentoring offerings to over 300 interns across the Barclays Group. She has stewarded new external partnerships for Barclays, launching last year to an audience of 61% female and 84% ethnic minority students and graduates from across the country. In the wake of the pandemic, Abisola spearheaded a strategic pivot: transforming her development program offering into a virtual platform whilst continuing her focused support for diversity in the talent pipeline. Outside Barclays, Abisola collaborates with universities, student societies and other organizations to advance female talent, and for the last five years has been delivering insight and confidence workshops on personal development, personal brand, and commercial awareness at top UK universities.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Smridhi Gulati

Partner
Dechert LLP

As an active member of Dechert’s Global Women's Initiative (GWI) in London, Smridhi is a champion for gender equality, helping organize major events for the group and oversees a female focussed "soft-skills" training and development program. Smridhi is involved in the firm's global Sponsorship and Sustained Support program, which helps senior women associates navigate the path to partnership. Her pro bono and charity efforts are diversity focussed: having handled the UK piece of a global pro bono project relating to the fair and equal treatment of female professional athletes; supporting Inspiring Girls International, an organisation seeking to raise the aspirations of young girls by connecting them with female role models; and helping organize a clothing drive for the "Dress for Success" charity in London providing support (including professional attire) for underprivileged women looking to get into work. Furthermore, Smridhi serves as an ambassador for Aspiring Solicitors which supports underrepresented individuals get into law.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Kim Rowell

Assistant Editor, BBC News & BBC Three
BBC

Kim seeks to promote diversity and inclusion in all her work, alongside clients, collaborators and contributing parties, as well as amongst her team and fellow employees. Her work as a leader, mentor, hiring manager and volunteer in this respect saw her achieve a 'Women of the Future' award in 2018. Kim has extensive experience in the mental health arena, in particular working with journalist Bryony Gordon at the Telegraph, creating three series of a hugely popular podcast which attempted to break down the stigma attached to mental health. Kim now hosts the Women of the Future podcast, featuring alumni from the Women of the Future Program. Her intention is that these women's stories will allow the audience to gain insight to aid them on their own paths. Her children's book 'Townie Spider' published in 2019, and was named in the 'Top 7 Books for Children's Mental Health' by Motherdom, a magazine for parental mental wellbeing.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Dipti Kulkarni

Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager
Bank of America

Dipti Kulkarni is a Business Support Manager for the Consumer, Small Business & Wealth Management Technology team at Bank of America. An advocate for diversity and inclusion for almost a decade, she received the Bank of America Global Diversity and Inclusion award in 2019. An active member of the bank’s Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) for Women group, she recently spoke at their Domestic Violence awareness event to encourage and inspire women to speak up against domestic violence. She actively mentors young female talent from multiple universities to pursue careers in technology. As a recognized artist and poet, Dipti works on one subject every year and writes a poem inspired by her artwork from the series ‘Women's Rights and Empowerment’ that depicts challenges women may experience throughout their lives. Dipti recent interviewed with GirlTalkHQ about her effort to create awareness around human trafficking through her recent art and poetry.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennifer Lee

Head of Technical Innovation
Audible

Jennifer was on the Leadership Board for Girl Develop It Boston thru 2019 and continues to be very active with the Women/Girls in Tech Community. She organized a 3-day Hackathon hosted at Audible and has established a relationship between Audible and Resilient Coders, a nonprofit that trains people of color for careers as software engineers. In 2019, Jennifer advocated for establishing an Ally Group at Audible and as part of the pilot has held monthly meetings and worked with HR to create a roadmap for diversity initiatives and for holding the company accountable on D&I ambitions. The group's advocacy led to their latest class of interns having majority women for the first time. Jennifer is a co-lead for Amazon Web Services Boston Meetup group and leverages her position to lead by example and inspire greater female membership.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Amandeep Khasriya

Senior Associate
Moore Barlow

Amandeep is Co-founder of the Women in Leadership Group and Diversity and Inclusion Committee at top 100 law firm Moore Barlow. She spoke at the annual Partners conference on gender diversity in 2018 and was a keynote for the Diverse Law legal conference on gender. As well as being the Founder of Women Back to Law, Amandeep is a committee member at the Law Society Women Lawyers Division and has worked on many projects promoting gender diversity. These included speaking at their menopause resource launch event, researching into the impact of Covid-19 on women and ethnic groups, and presenting to Open University students on gender diversity. Amandeep also volunteers at Hillingdon Women Centre, providing workshops on CV and interviews - helping women gain financial freedom following domestic violence.  She has recently been invited to participate in the Oxford Faculty of Law inspiring woman lawyer project which aims to create an oral history of inspiring women lawyers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alpha Mae Arias

Client Services Manager
IBM

Alpha has been with IBM Cognitive Process Services for 11 years supporting Clients in transforming their HR processes using Analytics, Automation and Enterprise Cloud platforms. Apart from delivering client value with her US Payroll Profession, she also volunteers in leading Business Resource Groups earning her "Be Equal" and "LGBT+ Allyship" Badges.  She locally introduced IBM Global programs "Nursing Mom Breast Milk Delivery service",  #Pinktober Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and launched the "Unleashing Your Leadership Potential" training to help increase women representation in Management. A regular speaker during Women's Month and LGBT+ PRIDE event celebrations, she collaborates with external HR leaders thru Forums and IBM Design Thinking workshops. Working for a 100-year-old company with rich history, Alpha's journey tells how working with technology and diverse minds could out THINK anything.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Joanna Obstoj

Managing Director
Goldman Sachs

A Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in Poland, Joanna sponsors the Women’s Network in Warsaw. When the Warsaw office first opened, Joanna was passionate about hiring female talent at all levels, and co-founded the Women’s Network to provide members with a platform to enrich leadership skills. She has been instrumental in orchestrating the Network’s success by inviting external speakers to events, offering one-to-ones and formal mentoring to members, and helping leaders to be creative in this forum. In 2017, the IT for SHE program was launched in partnership with Goldman Sachs, with the aim of helping talented women studying technology enter the job market. As part of this award-winning program, Joanna has been involved in Europe’s biggest themed camp for young women in IT, ‘Women Tech Camp’, as a formal mentor to encourage girls to learn programming. Joanna is also sponsor of the Warsaw LGBT Network.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Tanisha Sharma

Junior Business Analyst
News UK

At News UK, Tanisha is a member of the steering committee for Women in Tech, where she will be presenting on ‘Expressing Accomplishments’ at the upcoming event, and hosted 12 year old school girls at News UK to give them Tech insights and promote women’s inclusion in STEM. Tanisha has participated in a GenZ forum event discussing gender balance, age barriers, and women’s inclusion in the media; and she engaged in a Women in Agile meet-up, influencing women from outside News UK to promote diversity and STEM careers. Externally, Tanisha founded SHEisRARE, a non-profit dedicated to break down barriers to women’s inclusion, instil passion for STEM careers in young women and to see more women in leadership roles. She featured in the 1 Million Women in STEM campaign, volunteers as a STEM Ambassador with STEM Learning UK, and has participated in high profile interviews and media engagements discussing gender diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Stephanie Ramos

Events Manager
Internet Creations

In 2017, Stephanie led the successful effort to implement comprehensive paid family leave at Internet Creations with equal access to men and women. She went on to found and co-lead the women’s ERG, WomenSurge, aiming to allow women and their allies to come together and support each other through life transitions, personal and professional development, and career challenges. The group have achieved high engagement with both women and ally members through monthly educational programming which speaks to improved conflict resolution, promoting speaking opportunities, and holding social gatherings to promote fellowship. Externally, Stephanie served as a vote captain for TheSkimm, where she helped to increase millennial voter turnout in the 2018 U.S. Midterm election. She has also served as a mentor and advocate for PaidLeaveUS, and participated in the first-ever Ways & Means Committee hearing at the House of Representatives on Family Leave.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Preeti Mascarenhas

Head of Product & Strategy
Mindshare

Preeti was instrumental in the development and delivery of GroupM’s ‘Walk the Talk’ initiative, designed to empower women to identify and achieve their purpose by providing the tools to confront barriers and create a more balanced vision for the future through sharing experiences and learning to become more effective leaders. This year, Preeti was honoured at the Women Leading Change Campaign Asia Awards for her leadership in fostering innovation in the media and marketing industry. One of many campaigns headed by Preeti which sought to bring change was NAYI SOCH, designed to challenge stereotypes and build new role models in India, which was shortlisted at Cannes. Previously, Preeti headed a campaign with Indian cricketers to question why they shouldn’t have their mothers’ names on their jerseys, which was well-received across the country.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Mairi Dean

Engineer
Buro Happold

Mairi co-founded and chairs FAIR (Fairness, Awareness, Inclusion, Respect), which aims to promote intersectional dialogue, understanding and action at Buro Happold. FAIR leverages the voices and achievements of women and minority groups in the business, launched a bookclub to promote broader engagement on issues faced internally and externally, and acts as a sounding board for HR and leadership on inclusion strategy. This year, Mairi and her team expanded FAIR across Buro Happold’s UK offices and are in discussion with colleagues setting up FAIR in Europe and the Middle East. Mairi is also a co-lead on a WomEng collaboration, where she develops STEM workshops for girls and trains colleagues to become WomEng Ambassadors. The team reached over 200 students this year and aim to reach 400 by December. Mairi’s team developed an online workshop to be delivered during lockdown, and engages with parents and teachers to encourage girls into STEM.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shelina Janmohamed

Vice President, Islamic Marketing
Ogilvy

Shelina is a member of the Ogilvy UK and WPP UK Inclusion Boards. She has chaired key public and internal sessions, such as an industry discussion on unconscious bias in the gender space. Shelina has represented Ogilvy at their International Women’s Day celebrations, and hosted a women’s speed mentoring scheme last year. In addition to her work on gender diversity, Shelina is a member of Ogilvy Roots, focused on ethnic diversity, and is on the steering committee of WPP Roots. Externally, Shelina is a Board Member for IMPRESS, the UK press regulator, and is an Advisor for the AMAL Foundation, an arts body encouraging investment in Muslim art and culture. She is serving as a judge for this year’s Gerety Awards, celebrating women’s work in advertising, she is a judge for New Blood at the D&AD awards, and regularly contributes to industry press discussing women’s experiences through an intersectional lens.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margherita Fontana

Purchasing Director EMEAI
Dow Chemical Inc.

Over the last four years, Margherita led the Dow Women’s Inclusion Network, WIN,. Under her leadership, the WIN ERG has helped move the needle for representation of women at leadership levels. Margherita developed and implemented a strategy for the EGR which introduced bold initiatives, such as sponsorship of female talent in partnership with INSEAD Business School, an equal pay initiative with EDGE to gain Equal Pay Certification for Dow Switzerland, a role model stories initiative to showcase Dow’s hidden heroes, and the MARC Catalyst workshops to promote male as allies in driving gender equality. Margherita has engaged with the European Chemical Industry Council and the European Petrochemical Association on devising D&I best practice to be shared across the chemical industry in Europe. She is one of the founding members of  ETH Zurich Circle, to promote women role models in STEM education, and mentors young MBA women graduates through the INSEAD Women in Business Club.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Debbie Phillips

Head of Campaigns
NatWest

Debbie is the Global Chair of NatWest Women’s Network, and in the last year she has introduced a global speed mentoring program, launched a book club, created a global calendar of activity and hosted the bank’s top 100 leadership conference to encourage leadership engagement with challenges in gender inclusion. She advocates for the network and for the bank at external fora to share best practice on D&I. As Head of Campaigns, Debbie applies a gender lens to her day job, supporting the CEO’s communications, and leading PR campaigns designed to resonate with a female audience, such as the Women in Business campaigns addressing women’s investment. Additionally, Shelley established The Breakfast Club, initially conceived to create more women-friendly networking opportunities, but now tackling issues that disproportionately affect women in the workplace. Externally, Debbie is a communication committee member for WACL, a member of Bloom, and a Brownie Guide Leader.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jess Gosling

Senior International Policy Advisor
UK Government

Listed as one of the UK’s Top Most Influential Women in Tech, Jess champions intersectionality at every opportunity. She used her role as a Diversity & Inclusion Ambassador in her Directorate to recognise the intersectionality of culture and gender, organising the rollout of #IamRemarkable training for 100+ colleagues across government, a Google initiative that encourages women to speak openly about their accomplishments. Externally, Jess co-founded the Growth & Grace Collective, a global professional platform changing the narrative of upskilling and development with a focus on women’s issues, like the gender pay gap. Over their first year, they upskilled 2500+ people across 70 events focused on social mobility, women’s issues and D&I, hosted events with a truly global attendance and won the UK Social Mobility Honour Role in 2019. She has spoken at many global events, conferences and leadership sessions, and has built her network to 5,000 women globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Paola Maffezzoni

Head of Marketing & Communications
GroupM Italy

Paola is the Operations Director on the Winspire board, a cross-agency WPP Italy local project whose aim is to support female talent into leadership positions, build gender balance, and undertake D&I activities with internal and external audiences and stakeholders. After WPP’s participation in the Female Employment Manifesto, organized by Valore D, Paola mentored through ‘Quick Fix Training: speed mentoring for colleagues to discuss how to become a future leader’. Moreover, Paola was instrumental to organize a series of activities, such as the training program for WPP women carried out with industry player as Facebook Italia and called ‘Fast Forward’, and she implemented a ‘I’m Remarkable’ workshop with Google Italia. Paola has been collaborating with numerous associations within the industry to develop D&I strategy and activities and embedded into the company. Externally, she has contributed to the ‘Women4Women: Hack your campaign’ bootcamp on digital media, among other initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hanne Tuomisto-Inch

Head of Chrome and Web partnerships EMEA
Google

Hanne chairs Women@Google UK, and has previously led the ItsUptoMe allyship campaign to energise leaders, managers and employees, which resulted in the implementation of inclusive hiring practices and a culture of inclusion. With Women@, Hanne co-led the UK part of global walkout to end forced arbitration, increase transparency, and launch a sexual harassment investigation report and an investigation care support program. A key Women@ focus for 2020 is the gender pay gap, and the network is challenging leaders to focus on progression and setting ambitious goals, with recommendations now incorporated into the UK DEI market plan. Women@ has launched a career conversation series with the Black Googler Network, reintroduced Stretch training in the UK, run a ‘How to Own the Room’ future female leadership pilot, and a three month Grow Your Career Your Own Way program. Externally, Women@ hosted the first Each for Equal summit this year, among other impactful initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Koycheva

Senior RFP Writer
BlueBay Asset Management

Elena contributed to the establishment of BlueBay’s Women’s Forum, and has since been elected Co-Vice Chair, where she led a proposal to restructure the Forum’s activities to become the Diversity and Inclusion Forum, building greater intersectionality. She has contributed to a D&I vision and strategy, and has worked on strategic projects, such as organizing working groups on data, volunteering, and interview practice. Elena has also supported the inclusion of BlueBay’s female portfolio managers in the 100 Women in Finance FundWomen initiative, and backed the participation of BlueBay’s employees in the Women in Investment Festival 2020. Externally, Elena leads the CFA UK Careers in the Investment Sector Working Group, and supports greater D&I awareness as a CAIA London Chapter executive. Elena mentors in the CityHive, Women in Banking and Finance, and the CFA UK cross-industry mentoring programs and is a Diversity Project Ambassador.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Sarah Chapman

Technical Manager
3M

Sarah is the Founder and Lead Events Orgniser for the Bracknell Wellbeing and Inclusion Forum, which hosts speakers discussing topics impacting women, such as unconscious bias, managing maternity, mindfulness, menopause, confidence, mental health, self-promotion, mentoring, and personal brand. Sarah won the WISE Outreach and Engagement Award, and featured in 3M’s success in winning the prestigious Catalyst award. As a role model for women in STEM, Sarah is a successful Technical Manager in a traditionally male-dominated industry, championing flexible working, wellbeing and inclusion through her role as a mentor and champion for female colleagues. She has appeared on the BBC, including as a guest on Sunday Politics, and has spoken at the House of Lords. She has spoken about how diversity drives innovation at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, and her STEM Supper Club featured in the Kids Zone of the 2020 WeAreTechWomen Conference.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Leya Teo

Director
Edelman Shanghai

Leya leads Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) APAC, a global initiative dedicated to fostering an environment where women of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed within and beyond Edelman. She began by initiating ‘Lean-In Circle’ sessions and a cross-market talent mobility program in Beijing. In 2018, she was selected as Edelman APAC’s representative at the IWF World Leadership Conference. Leya was later elected Global Lead for mentorship programs and APAC Lead for GWEN. She created ‘SHERO Showcase’ to invite inspiring women leaders to speak in Edelman offices and ignited a new mentorship program across 3 China offices. Over the years, Leya has represented GWEN in partnering with external organizations to drive a broader impact in business and the community. With more than 500 engaged members across APAC, Leya continues to work with the GWEN committee, committed to ensuring women feel motivated and empowered.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Alice Jefferis

Senior Associate – Global Financial Markets
Clifford Chance LLP

Alice is co-founder of the global gender parity group Accelerate >>> and chairs its UK arm. She led on design and delivery of a reverse mentoring scheme, collaborates with other affinity groups to ensure intersectionality and incorporates diverse feedback to ensure inclusivity. Alice helps support and launch Accelerate>>> in unrepresented offices across Clifford Chance's network and actively promotes gender parity internally and externally through a targeted strategy. Over the last two years, she has successfully campaigned for and helped deliver the signing of the Law Society's Women in Law Pledge, the introduction of time-specific diversity and inclusion targets and equalisation of shared parental leave. She has also worked with Spark21, a charity aimed at raising visibility of women in law, and following the onset of COVID-19, persuaded Clifford Chance to allocate funds to enable the London Black Women’s Project to open a new refuge required due to increased domestic violence.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Camila Davoglio

Head Underwriting Centre Brazil
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Camila is a local ambassador for Swiss Re’s D&I group, Impact, organizing local meetings and discussions. Camila has acted as a member of the committee dedicated to gender equality, Women in Leadership. She co-founded the Associação das Mulheres do Mercado de Seguros (AMMS), a women’s association in the Brazilian insurance market. AMMS champion women’s inclusion through events, sponsorship, a podcast, and live webinar sessions. Camila’s role is to procure sponsorship, prepare strategy, choose topics for discussion across the year, and create a set of best practices for the industry. This year, Camila will appear in a book telling the story of 30 women in the insurance market.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Nikki Jamieson

Business Support Lead for Chief Digital Information Officer
NatWest Group

Within the NatWest Group, Nikki acts as a gender champion in Technology & Digital, and is a member of the NatWest/RBS Women ELN, NatWest Gender Employee Led Network (ELN), the Women in Technology ELN and as an ally in the Rainbow ELN. She promotes intersectional D&I in all aspects of her work, bringing together gender, LGBT+, ethnicity, disability and multigenerational age groups to foster greater inclusion. Additionally, Nikki is a member of Enable, the disability ELN, and is an MS Ambassador both internally and externally. She mentors numerous women across the group, including through the CEO-4 Female Talent programme, which she attended herself last year. She is currently helping the Families and Carers ELN to find solutions for those juggling caring responsibilities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nikki has supported an all-female cohort through the ‘Determined Leader’ development programme, and assisted many women technology graduates on the necessary soft skills to succeed in a largely male-dominated working environment.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Anoushka Mehta

Head of Gender Lens Finance, Americas
HSBC

Anoushka recognized that HSBC could play a larger role in promoting gender equality with its clients and the communities where it operates. This realization led her to successfully propose and then lead Gender Lens Finance (GLF) at HSBC. GLF is a formal, business-led initiative that aims to leverage HSBC’s position and products to extend financing and resources to women globally. GLF has become a part of HSBC’s business strategy by addressing gender equality as both a social and business imperative. Anoushka also founded the “Coaching Circles” program within the firm’s gender equality Employee Resource Group. Participants in Coaching Circles receive group coaching from senior managers on career development. Based on its success in the US, Coaching Circles is being rolled out to HSBC markets globally. Anoushka has represented HSBC on WeConnect International’s “Council Scaling Women-Owned Businesses” and currently serves as a global board member at Women for Women International.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Innocentia Dogbe

Head of Credit Cards
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana

Innocentia is Council Secretary for the Standard Chartered Bank Diversity & Inclusion Council, and has been involved in the formulation of a D&I Country Plan for the past three years, alongside working with the various ERGs to activate programs in line with the country plan. Innocentia began a partnership with Mentoring Women Ghana, an offshoot of Vital Voices, which focuses on providing young women with the opportunity to learn from more experienced women. Last year, she was selected by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana to participate in Fortune-U.S. Department of State Women’s Mentoring Program. Through her work as an alumna of The Ark Foundation Ghana’s Women’s Leadership & Human Rights Institute, Innocentia has trained women in rural areas on financial literacy, economic empowerment, and domestic violence. During her tertiary education at the Takoradi Polytechnic, she served as Women’s Commissioner, aiming to get more women interested in leadership roles.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Divya Steinwall

Director, Head of Sales Enablement & Business Management for iShares Canada
BlackRock Asset Management

Divya is the chair of the Canadian Chapter of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative Network, where she focuses on providing educational opportunities to support career advancement. During her tenure, network membership has increased by 23% and male membership by 83%. The network has piloted a local two-year facilitated training program to develop important skills for career progression, encouraged participation and leadership involvement in an annual program for female associates, and coordinated events with external partners to hear from senior industry leaders and expand professional networks, among many other initiatives. Divya has mentored through the Women in Capital Markets’ UniConnect Mentorship Program, and is an Executive Committee Member for the Toronto Chapter of 100 Women in Finance, where she co-heads the education subcommittee. She is also a Board Member for the Canadian Chapter of Women in ETFs, where she co-heads the Mentorship Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Michelle Morgan

Associate Director
Mindshare

As Associate Director at Mindshare, Michelle has been working with Dove/Unilever on breakthrough advertising campaigns around women’s self-esteem, alongside cultivating gender diversity within Mindshare itself. As the Events Lead of Mindshare’s ERG, The Collective, Michelle has created experiences which bring women’s and minority voices to the forefront. With Dove, she led an award-winning campaign to reframe the concept of beauty, working with Hearst editors from Cosmo, Harper’s Bazaar, O Magazine and others to integrate powerful images of diverse beauty and change young girls’ perspectives on antiquated beauty standards. Michelle was also involved in a panel for Dove’s Self Esteem Project, an educational curriculum developed to strengthen girls’ self-esteem. She has also been involved in a mentoring program which pairs young professionals with teenagers to provide advice and encouragement through their high school years.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Head of Sales
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A.

For three years, Melisa chaired the BALANCE ERG at HSBC Argentina, which is dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. She has built a team structure with four working groups and designated champions to execute multiple initiatives simultaneously, creating new leadership and development opportunities. Main initiatives carried out during her mandate includes workshops with parents and children, meet-ups with senior executive women, workshops for female entrepreneurs in low-income neighborhoods alongside credit support to boost their projects, and training on unconscious biases and domestic violence. Melisa is also co-founder of ‘Mujeres al Mundo’, HSBC program aimed at accelerating women’s inclusion by providing training, networking, mentoring and financial services, which has already impacted on more than 400 businesswomen. Through her work, she believes each day is taking a step to fulfill a greater purpose, contributing to create an environment in which everyone has equal opportunities and rights.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jo Moffatt

Practice Director
Atkins

Jo is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. She co-chairs the Transportation ED&I Leadership Team at Atkins, where she champions part-time and flexible working, having hosted a ‘power part-timers’ event last year, inspiring women to consider flexible working and helping to challenge line managers’ views. She founded an internal coaching program and is currently trialling a two-way mentoring program. This June, Jo launched a Senior Women’s Network, providing support and momentum to women across the Transportation business in Atkins, and Jo is leading Women in Rail and International Women in Engineering Day involvement. She is Deputy Chair of the Chartered Management Institute’s CMI Women Board, who have delivered events encouraging sponsorship of women, with themes around BAME, finance and STEM. Jo has been instrumental in the Institute’s Covid-19 response events and is also planning events reflecting on 50 years since the launch of CMI Women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Shubha Polisetty

Associate Director - Technology Delivery Lead
Accenture Solutions Private Limited

At Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centres in India (ATCI), Shubha leads the Returning Mothers Program, the Parents@Work and the AnitaB.org relationship. She enabled 1400+ women to jumpstart their second-innings at work with mentorship, training and staffing support. Shubha ensures that new mothers are offered technology roles with customized learning, re-skilling and growth opportunities. She focused her efforts to retain/re-staff returning mothers, leading to a drop in attrition. Additionally, she launched the ‘I-for-Inclusion’ campaign, engaging 30,000 employees and their children during the pandemic. Shubha is the ACTI AnitaB.org relationship lead and has established chapters in Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, and Chennai. She jointly led the I&D Council for a global Consumer Goods client, driving conversations across countries. Shubha leads technology delivery for APAC clients. She started her career in an electrical power plant where she was the only woman on the shop floor. Since then Shubha has been relentlessly advocating to make workplaces better for women.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ramat Tejani

Programme Lead
Amazon Web Services

Ramat leads AWS GetIT an Amazon Web Services’ skills and gender diversity programme, which aims to empower female talent and build confidence and leadership skills, and to encourage more young people, especially girls, to consider a career in technology. Ramat also sits on the board of the Amazon Black Employee Network (BEN) in the UK. She is responsible for developing and executing strategies to support the professional development of BEN UK members in areas such as employability and realising their potential.  Beyond AWS, Ramat has coached almost 100 women in the last two years, utilizing her mentoring and confidence coaching skills through The Inspiration Box, a personal development platform. She is also part of The Mentor Circle, which was set up during the pandemic to combat widening inequality in the UK for young people.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olaide Olumide

Assistant Director
Department for Business

Olaide Co-Chairs the Women Empowered Network, where she has re-launched and re-branded the Network to emphasize gender equality as a collective issue and recruited a senior male Champion to lead 'WE Allies'. She led the network’s first International Women's Day Leadership Conference for 200 women championing intersectionality and public and private sector collaboration to tackle gender equality. Olaide spearheaded the development of the first BAME Women Working Group successfully influencing seniors to commit to delivery through the departments trailblazing Race Action Plan. She was featured in the Government Equalities Office #WomenWhoInspiresMe series celebrating women who have challenged gender stereotypes. As a member of the UKsec Steering Committee, Olaide advocated for a session to address gender diversity challenges in the cybersecurity sector. Externally, Olaide runs Shades of Success, an online network for BAME women, mentors women within the Civil Service whilst volunteering in outreach activities through Inspiring the Future & Urban Synergy.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Margaret Gribben

Performance Manager
Irish Life

Margaret chairs the Women@Work and alumni network, and heads the steering group. Over the last two years, the network and other initiatives she leads have achieved numerous recognitions as industry leading best practice. These initiatives have significantly progressed the agenda with senior leadership & boards, both approving gender targets and a new gender dashboard to provide data and board papers to track progress. Externally, Irish Life is recognized as industry best practice in Diversity & Inclusion following a number of D&I audits. Margaret is Program Director for the LifeCareers Mentoring Program and chairs the steering group. This program has become a benchmark, spawning national and international mentoring initiatives. Margaret is the internal network lead of the 30% Club Ireland Financial Services network, mentors through Pathways in Technology, and instigated and leads a partnership with Skillnet Ireland’s Women TechStart & ReBoot Program, supporting women with technology skills to return to work.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Larissa Dudley

Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Engineering Asia Pacific
Goldman Sachs

Larissa co-chairs the Hong Kong Women's Network at Goldman Sachs, where she planned the firm’s International Women’s Day conference, featuring prominent internal and external women leaders, and sessions with senior leaders on resilience, career development and leadership. She was instrumental in Goldman Sachs’ sponsorship of The Women’s Foundation and Girls Go Tech, including a STEM competition for female students. Within the Engineering Division, Larissa has organized four roundtables with divisional leadership to hear from women engineers, organized roundtables for women engineers with senior visiting engineers, presented at recruitment events targeting women, and spearheaded a volunteer event with the Women Entrepreneurs Network, among other initiatives. Externally, Larissa is part of a 12-person team who will trek 150km across Kyrgyzstan over eight days to raise funds for Women for Women International.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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KC Boas

Vice President
BlackRock

KC co-founded the Women in Retirement Group in her department at BlackRock, which focuses on career development and community building for its members. She leads programming across five offices, alongside a team that seeks to strengthen male allyship and gender diversity across the business. KC is also the Global Strategy Manager for BlackRock’s Women’s Network, and spearheaded a global campaign for International Women's Day where she engaged thousands of employees across 63 offices in a gender equity pledge. Last year, she was asked to join the firm’s Global Mosaic Leadership Team as an inaugural member – working in concert with BlackRock’s Inclusion & Diversity Team to cultivate and advance diversity, equity and inclusion at the firm and in the communities in which it operates. Outside BlackRock, KC is an ambassador for Girls Who Invest and an associate board member for the Council for Economic Education.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Price

Head of client engagement
Morson

Samantha is the Founder and a current Board Member of the Morson Group’s Diversity Champions. The group continues their #gendersnobarrier campaign, and has formalised a partnership with the Northern Power Women. The Morson Group Diversity Champions support The Girls' Network with strategic support and events which have included a rail industry experience day. Samantha has supported the Morson Group in the initiation of a series of reverse mentoring sessions for directors from Morson’s population of future women leaders. As a co-founder of the Women Leaders in Transport Network and helping to formalise a partnership with Women in Rail, sponsoring its Big Rail Diversity Challenge she has formalised the Morson Group’s outward facing gender inclusion programme within the rail industry. Additionally, across the Group’s strategic client portfolio she works with each organisation to understand their current inclusion practices and to provide a diversity improvement road map for the group’s service to them.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Olivia Maguire

Portfolio Manager
J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Olivia is an advocate of diversity and inclusion (D&I), both within J.P. Morgan and at industry level. She collaborates with internal business resource groups to help foster leadership and networking opportunities and advance the firm’s commitment to diversity and community involvement, including chairing EMEA Asset Management’s Women on the Move, and partnering with Black Organization for Leadership Development and Voices for Employees that Served). Olivia has mentored colleagues and supported entrepreneurs and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through the firm’s philanthropic initiatives and charity partners, including the Female Founders Accelerator Program, The Schools Challenge and The Service Corps (Detroit and Dublin). Externally, Olivia participates in D&I focused forums, panels and roundtables and is a member of the CFA UK Inclusion & Diversity Committee, the Bank of England’s Money Market Committee and SONIA Stakeholder Advisory Group. She also chairs the Investment Committee for the Institutional Money Market Fund Association.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Perez

Senior Director Consulting
Oracle

Ana chairs OWL (Oracle Women in Leadership Network) where she has developed and curated an improved program of events and increased membership from 100 to over 600. She has created a peer network for senior women leaders through a program of women-only dinners for senior executives. She has expanded the program to include participation in the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme, and has also developed OWL’s membership of Women on Boards to provide access to external opportunities. Ana is also a trustee and company secretary of Smart Works Reading, a charity that provides interview coaching and suitable clothing for women, through which she has supported over 800 women in the Thames Valley.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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JiHye Bae

Head of Credit Cards
Standard Chartered Bank Korea (SCBK)

JiHye is a senior leader for the SCBK D&I Council Gender Charter, where she takes the lead in implementing gender diversity programs, and has organized a special Balance for Better lecture series for staff. She also ran programs on career development, mentoring, and a lecture series linked to external institutions as Retail Banking Leader for SCBK's Women's Network. JiHye and the Network conduct regular meetings on leadership, overcoming unconscious bias, and international finance, and she promoted the activities of the Network through media engagements. Externally, JiHye has conducted economic education and cultural events for migrant women from multicultural families in conjunction with SCBK and the Jongro-gu Multicultural Family Support Center. She has also been instrumental in the implementation of the Women’s Venture Scale Up Program, in partnership with the Korean Women Venture Association.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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René Lumley-Hall

Director, Product Management
BNY Mellon

In her leadership position within BNY Mellon, René has hired and coached women into her team to support large scale, high profile digital and product management efforts. She spearheaded a global Women’s Initiatives Network image consulting event to support women in the workplace with stylists and shoe retailers to provide appropriately-priced, yet polished options for professional women. René has been an Advisory Board Member of the Student Leadership Network for 10 years, a network of all girls schools intended to equalize education and success. She established a Yoga Instruction and Wellness Education practice to provide tools to encourage women and Black and indigenous people of color to thrive through holistic health and wellness. René is a Case Writer, Presenter and Judge for multiple cohorts of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, who work to transform career trajectories of thousands of Black, Hispanic and Native American women and men.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Eunice Heath

Corporate Director, EHS & Sustainability
Dow

Through the WIN+5 program, Eunice has provided mentoring and coaching support for women across functions at Dow. Through these engagements, women leaders have been able to position themselves for broader accountability in their roles and for promotions. Eunice has been a panelist and keynote speaker for Dow WIN’s partnership with EY, EY PowerUp, sharing experiences as a successful African American woman in business. Beyond WIN+5, Eunice mentors many women in the business, and was appointed MBA Leadership Development Program Director last year, focusing on accessing top talent from prominent MBA schools and diversity conferences. Among many other high-profile speaking engagements, Eunice spoke at FAMU College of Engineering’s Freshman and Sophomore Engineering Program, with an emphasis on what it takes to be a successful woman in engineering. Consistent speaker on special panels for women in business from student leaders at the FAMU School of Business to GreenBiz women leaders in sustainability.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Emily Hanson

Marketing Director
Finecast

Emily chaired GenderM, where she and her team highlighted International Womxn's Day by bringing women from different parts of GroupM and varying seniority to the spotlight.  Emily ensured the content aimed to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary people, women of colour, women with disabilities and all other marginalised genders. She and her team also championed successfully for free sanitary products to be available in toilets. Last year, Emily stepped into a leadership position at Bloom UK facilitating events with inspiring speakers and workshops. She also took part in The Exchange, a pilot reverse mentoring program between senior men and women to break down the gender divide. This year, Emily remains on the leadership team at Bloom, looking after how the network expands globally.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Hayley Kahn

Senior Brand Manager of BABE Wine
Anheuser Busch

Over the past four years, Hayley has co-led Anheuser-Busch’s largest ERG, Women in Beer & Beyond. Here, she has fostered a community for women and allies to connect, share, and grow within an industry that has traditionally leaned more male-centric. She has organized speaker series with female executives, networking events, and coffee chats for colleagues to foster relationships, as well as recruited on college campuses to attract more women into the company. Hayley is passionate about enhancing the portrayal of women in advertising. As a founding member of Anheuser-Busch’s Culture Collective, Hayley reviews marketing creative across brands to prevent potential unconscious biases, reduce negative stereotyping, and elevate inclusion and diversity. Outside of Anheuser-Busch, Hayley founded The Supper Series (@thesupperseries), a speaker series that brings together women over dinner to learn from female entrepreneurs across various industries and donates all proceeds to the Food Bank for New York City.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Aimée Sykes

Business Liaison Manager
University of the West of England

Aimée spent a year as a Co-ordinator for the Women’s Forum at UWE, where she implemented and managed a social media presence. During her tenure, membership almost doubled and event attendance almost tripled. Aimée’s efforts formed a partnership with the Red Box Project, leading to each UWE campus hosting a donations box, and additionally the forum raised finds for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and CoppaFeel. Aimée encouraged collaboration with other staff networks at UWE, to ensure an intersectional approach. Aimée also founded the Aurora Alumni Network at UWE. Outside of work Aimée has written regular article for the City Girl Magazine, providing guidance to young women on careers that led to the magazine creating a Careers segment. Last year, Aimée was appointed Head of Communications & Engagement for WHEN (Women’s Higher Education Network). Since then she has contributed to a large increase in social media following and recruited many volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Jennie Koo

Head of Operations Risk Management
Capital One

Jennie is the UK Chapter Lead for Capital One’s gender BRG, empowHER, and brings a gender lens to the REACH ethnicity network. On joining Capital One 18 months ago, Jennie focused on increasing visibility and awareness within her leadership team, quickly getting appointed to lead empowHER’s UK chapter. In the midst of a global pandemic, Jennie joined forces with a newly formed parents network to drive increased awareness of the pressures of lockdown and the danger of the current situation setting gender conversations back years. As such, she has been driving focused policy change opportunities around increased working flexibility. With intersectionality in mind, Jennie has taken on the work stream of community engagement and role modeling within schools and charities which focus on social mobility. She also volunteers on the board of Women in Banking and Finance, establishing a regional presence to support women in the Midlands & North regions.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Justine Zwerling

Head of Primary Markets Israel
London Stock exchange

Within the Women’s Inspired Network (WIN) at the London Stock Exchange, Justine has launched and forged partnerships with many organizations to promote gender diversity and women’s inclusion and empowerment throughout the world of finance. She founded the Jewish Women’s Business Network at London Stock Exchange Group, which supports gender and neuro-diversity throughout the City and internationally. Justine volunteers with numerous organizations, with Clare Josa and Joy Burnford to combat imposter syndrome and to raise confidence. Board Advisor to Israel Bonds. Board of Sahi, supporting the lives of young people at risk through building communities and giving. She encourages diverse hiring from grassroots to board director-level, supports interns from the U.S., U.K. and Israel to gain summer placements and mentoring. Advises SafeUP, helping women in distress globally 24/7 with safe guardians for virtual support and physical help. Founding member of the UAE Israel Business council, cultivating friendships and impactful business partnerships.

Can be viewed on: 2020 Top 100 Women Future Leaders

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Midlands Regional Chairman

Karl has championed creating an environment where everyone flourishes and has particularly focused on female talent in his two and a half years as Midlands Regional Chair. He created and delivered the firm’s ‘What shadow do we cast?’ programme to inspire all partner and director groups to consider their role as leaders and try new ways of working to create an inclusive environment. He sponsors KPMG’s Network of Women, hosting sessions to discuss challenges to I&D, and mentors potential women partners. Karl also created a female partner/director community specifically working together to help each other and to inform him on how to remove barriers to their progression. He has driven the roll out of his team’s Beliefs, Biases and Behaviours Training programme and launched a ‘Shadow Board’, 50% of whom are female, to be a sounding board and challenger group for the Midlands Leadership Team. Externally, Karl has sponsored the creation of a Women in Business external network comprising of female leaders and top talent from some of the largest and fastest growing businesses in the region. The Hampton Alexander Review, sponsored by KPMG, is a key platform around female progression for the firm, and Karl has assisted in promoting and hosting events in the Midlands to share learning with clients and others.

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President & Managing Director
Toyota GB PLC

Under Paul’s leadership, Toyota GB have launched flexible working guidelines for all staff, adjusted language used in job profiles to avoid deterring women and have sent targeted communications to female placement students to explain opportunities in the industry. Toyota GB actively participates in the 30% Automotive Club, offering an external mentoring scheme for thirty female colleagues, and their ‘Women in Business’ networking sessions enable women to learn from each other and understand the career journeys of senior female leaders. Recently, Paul’s team launched a ‘Women on the Verge of Brilliance’ programme, helping women to take control of their professional development, with discussion and tools around managing perception with critical audiences, building a personal reputation management campaign, emotional resilience and mental toughness. The Company Diversity and Inclusion Strategy is fully endorsed by the TGB Board, and Paul now hopes to influence Toyota’s European Head Office to follow their lead. Externally, Paul is a member of the 30% Club and founder member of the Automotive 30% Club, whose conferences he sponsors and regularly participates in as a panel member and speaker. This year, Toyota sponsored Autocar’s “Great British Women, Top 100 list, rising stars” awards and through their involvement with the Automotive 30% Club, TGB are also sponsoring “Inspiring” - a new digital magazine aimed at creating a super network of women in the automotive industry that can share best practices, tips, advice and generally learn from each other.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 40 Advocates

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Chief Investment Officer, EMEA

Mark is responsible for the execution of Columbia Threadneedle’s ‘Gender Action Plan’, aiming  to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. This has resulted in 45% of the company board, 42% of the regional Executive Committee and 20% of senior management being women. Mark’s team has also launched an inclusive women’s network, ‘Aloud’. One of the main initiatives that Mark has spearheaded with the network is the formation of mentoring circles which allow junior/mid-level women to reverse-mentor senior leaders within the organisation whilst also being mentored themselves. Mark is proud that Columbia Threadneedle Investments EMEA became the first European asset manager to disclose gender data in 2015 and acted as a founding signatory of HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter. Externally, Mark is a trustee of Access Sport, a charity which aims to harness the proven power of sport to tackle social exclusion, inactivity and obesity, and is Chairman of LIFEbeat, which aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of young people.

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Partner

Michael was the Executive Committee’s Gender Champion for the last three years, during which time he acted as a role model to partners and lawyers across the firm. He took responsibility for ensuring that the firm and the Division for which he was responsible met its target of electing 30% new female partners over the past two years. Michael launched and led the firm’s HeForShe group, organising events, campaigns and internal efforts to promote the group to the largest audience possible, resulting in 212 male staff signing up in the UK alone. For International Women’s Day, Michael canvassed the firm’s most senior male partners across the globe to get their thoughts on the HeForShe programme and secured their commitment to press for progress in gender equality as HeForShe supporters. He also sponsored Stepping Forward, the firm’s newest talent development programme for more junior female associates. Externally, Michael has been a powerful industry voice speaking out on this topic across multiple high level fora exchanging views, experiences and best practice with other business leaders introducing gender related initiatives within their own organisations.  Within the legal industry he has been a vocal champion for greater gender equality and opportunity, helping to lead discussions with other senior partners from law firms across the City. He is a frequent and committed mentor, keynote speaker and industry champion for diversity.

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UK Technology Consulting Lead Partner

As leader of the Deloitte technology consulting practice, Stephen has promoted and created a respectful and inclusive culture which allows everyone to flourish. Over the last 18 months, he has sponsored and championed a Respect and Inclusion programme within technology consulting, aligned to Deloitte’s firm-wide respect and inclusion agenda. Related initiatives have included Stephen setting performance goals and gender diversity targets for his leadership team, and ensuring all leadership team members also mentor women in their teams, particularly at the manager and senior manager grades where there is most leakage of female talent. He has created improved gender balance for visible leadership roles across the technology practice and challenged the recruitment team to make sure there are a diverse range of candidates applying for the roles and under his leadership. Stephen also sponsored personal brand training for Deloitte Women in Technology members as well as a number of female Women in Technology conferences. Externally, Stephen was delighted to be able to speak and present at the WeAreTechWomen awards earlier this year. He raises the topic of respect and inclusion with his clients and has championed the firm’s respect and inclusion framework for use on projects. Stephen has also championed and sponsored a number of the external initiatives that have been led by the Women in Technology network including the CoderDojo girls-only dojos which are helping to drive awareness and hope to increase the number of girls considering technology as a career in the future.

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UK Managing Partner

Ray has ensured that D&I is a central pillar of Osborne Clarke’s 2020 business strategy and continues to be important for their emerging 2025 strategy. Through diversity in recruitment, development and progression strategies, Osborne Clarke’s partner pay gap has dropped by 13% since last year and 43% of the Executive Board are now women. Ray commissioned a review of the firm’s lawyer progression framework, resulting in a relaunch with critical changes to some senior roles and the promotion process, making them more attractive, attainable and sustainable for all the firm’s lawyers. The firm has established a women’s network, with a high response rate from both male and female partners who want to lead the network. Ray’s team launched a generous parental package and enabled agile and flexible working styles. Externally, Ray was recently announced as an "Agent for Change" by Management Today and he is a member of the 30% Club. Last year, he participated in the Dads4Daughters campaign, which brings together fathers and their daughters to discuss key issues faced by contemporary working women. He is a trustee of the Social Mobility Business Partnership, and is also involved in supporting Bristol’s SteppingUp Programme, which aims to encourage more people from BAME backgrounds into senior leadership roles across Bristol.

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Chief Executive Officer

Rod has ensured that inclusivity is engrained into FDM’s corporate values. The company embraces the differences that make them stronger as one and Rod has always focused on instilling a culture of acceptance that fosters innovation from the day he founded FDM. With 80+ nationalities and cultures working together today and a healthy pipeline of senior female management, FDM is leading by example. FDM regularly hosts panel discussions, thought leadership sessions, breakfast events and networking sessions for women, and Rod supports and participates in these events, alongside mentoring several women throughout the business. FDM has almost 50% women on the management team and 30% women globally, with a 0% median pay gap for the last two years, as well as being ranked first in the Women on Boards and Leadership rankings in the tech industry. FDM has a robust partnership with Everywoman and hosts the FDM Everywoman in Tech Awards on an annual basis. These awards exist to recognise, reward and celebrate the achievements of women at all levels in tech. FDM welcomes girls (largely from disadvantaged schools) into centres around the world every year to showcase what a career in tech could look like for them in the future. Rod regularly advocates for women’s inclusion through external media, making public statements in the Telegraph, City AM, Management Today and European CEO amongst other media outlets.

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Managing Director and Senior Partner

Matthew is the Diversity & Inclusion and Leadership Chair for Boston Consulting Group, and leads the Women@BCG program, which aims to improve women’s recruiting, retention, advancement and satisfaction at the firm. Under Matthew’s leadership, BCG has increased the proportion of women in entry level hires from 29% to 35%, women and men are retained at equal rates and the number of female partners has grown at three times the rate of male partners. He is involved in a number of organisations that promote women in business including Catalyst’s Board of Advisors, and The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In 2016 and 2017, Matthew led TEDWomen workshops focused on promoting women’s inclusion and men’s role in advancing gender diversity, and frequently sits on panels on the topic. He has also authored many publications which have been shared in the press, with clients and in women’s forums including ‘How AI Could Help—or—Hinder Women in the Workforce’ (BCG May 2019), ‘Diversity Is Just the First Step. Inclusion Comes Next. (BCG April 2019)’, ‘Lightening the Mental Load that Holds Women Back (BCG April 2019)’ and ‘What Diversity and Inclusion Policies Do Employees Actually Want? (Harvard Business Review February 2019)’, among others.

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Senior Partner

During his tenure as Senior Partner, Colin has ensured that improving gender diversity is a key business priority, leading the firm to greater positive action to progress more women through to partnership and into senior management positions. Under Colin’s leadership the percentage of female partners has increased from 12% to 22%, and the firm has experienced its second consecutive year of 40% plus internal partner promotions for women. Colin sponsors two female Managing Associates in their route to partnership, and chairs quarterly gender balance meetings with the firm’s gender balance partner lead, steering committee and the co-chairs of the firm’s women’s Network, The Number One Club. Externally, in June, Colin spoke on the panel of a Women’s Business Alliance event at Morgan Stanley to mark the first 100 years of female solicitors in the UK, where he discussed the steps that Simmons & Simmons have taken towards increasing gender diversity. He has also been involved in a charity called Sport Gives Back, the brainchild of a former UK athlete Connie Henry, aiming encourage social mobility through sport.

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Group Chief Financial Officer

Andrew is proactive in challenging inequality, and establishing and embedding strategic support to create a more inclusive working environment where diversity thrives. He has worked closely with the Group CEO to establish a leadership goal for all appointments to senior management and leadership to reflect a 50:50 gender ratio by 2021. He has built awareness and understanding of the importance of gender diversity through encouraging his team to lead by example, through educational support including unconscious bias training and by speaking passionately internally and externally and communicating regularly with all colleagues. Andrew also published the ‘Group Finance Maternity Charter’, a leadership commitment to supporting the needs of expectant and new working mothers, and regularly hosts lunches with colleagues who are returning from maternity leave to network and build confidence. He commissioned a return to work pilot scheme, actively engages men in gender diversity and hosts a regular ‘Role Model’ networking series with senior female leaders. Externally, among other initiatives and engagements, Andrew established the Gold Sovereign award. Until 1972, when Ireland joined the EU, upon marriage, women were required by law to leave employment and ‘return to the home’, and were presented with a gold sovereign on their departure. Andrew repurposed the gold sovereign, presenting them to people who are driving the I&D agenda in the organisation and in wider society.

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Leader, Amazon Business UK

Dave has made a hugely positive impact on boosting diversity across Amazon through his work leading the policy workstream for Women@Amazon, one of Amazon’s employee affinity groups. In this role, he works closely with Women@ members and HR to develop policies and workplace practices that are applied, not only in the UK, but across Europe. He was a key driver of Amazon’s Flexible Working guidelines, providing informal guidance to help managers and employees more effectively use informal and occasional flexible working. The guidelines were launched on International Women’s Day in 2016, initially in Amazon’s London corporate office. Since then however, they now apply across five EU countries. Dave is also passionate about mentoring women at all levels of the business, currently mentoring four women, two of whom have subsequently been promoted to senior management positions. He also speaks frequently at Amazon events, championing diversity across the business and gathering feedback from female employees which he then feeds back for the consideration of the policy working group. Most recently he spoke at the Women@ Annual Summit and the Amazon UK Graduate/MBA All Hands meetings to talk about how Women@ and the company are working to ensure a great and diverse workplace for employees.

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Chief Operating Officer, Singapore

Osman was instrumental to the launch of HeForShe at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore in 2018, which has now evolved into a global network at Standard Chartered Bank Group. HeForShe currently has over 150 senior male leaders who are committed to helping hundreds of mid-level female executives pursue their personal and professional ambitions. Osman also helped launch HeForShe in his home country, Bangladesh, making it one of the first Muslim markets in Standard Chartered Bank Group to have a HeForShe network. He is a key advocate of D&I at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore and of the corporate target of 30% women in key leadership roles. He has always ensured a fair representation of women on interviewing panels and candidate slates in Information Technology and Operations functions, leading to 55% of his 400 employees being women. Externally, Osman supports HeForShe Singapore and mentors a group of 10 high potential women. He is also a sponsor of the ‘Women in Tech’ initiative, which offers university students educational visits to Standard Chartered Bank. Osman recently hosted a visit by 26 students from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business to learn about how technology is changing the future of banking.

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Managing Partner

Since becoming a Managing Partner at Mattos Filho in 2015, José Eduardo has worked hard to promote gender equality. His first initiative was the Women’s Programme, in which he shared practices from other law firms abroad with a group of women partners and encouraged them to create an affinity group, now called 4Women. Following concentrated research into understanding women’s perception of Mattos Filho’s workplace, José Eduardo and 4Women built a plan of action which is now being implemented. Under José Eduardo’s leadership, Mattos Filho have become supporters of the UN’s HeForShe movement, and José Eduardo has signed the CEO’s Declaration in Support of the Women's Empowerment Principles. More recently, José Eduardo and his team are developing the ‘Building Together’ initiative within 4Women to consider men’s opinions on how to build and improve initiatives for gender equality in the firm. Additionally, José Eduardo introduced unconscious bias training for all partners and, in partnership with KPMG, introduced non-harassment training for all Mattos Filho employees. Externally, José Eduardo is very active in sharing his experiences and possible strategies with clients and NPOs.

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Chief Executive

During Lee’s tenure as Managing Partner and now Chief Executive, Eversheds Sutherland has elected its first female Chair and met its initial target of having 25% female partners in the business one year ahead of the set timescale. The new target is 30% by 2021. Lee personally leads on Eversheds’ D&I strategy and appointed its first Gender Champion and Diversity & Inclusion Partner Sponsor in 2019. He was the first member of Eversheds’ Gender Network, which is currently working to engage male champions across the business as part of the #balanceforbetter campaign. Every year International Women’s Day is celebrated across the firm, with the day kicking off with a personal video or message of thanks from Lee and a celebration of the talents and contributions of female colleagues. He also launched Eversheds’ Development Plus programme to support career progression of women at the firm. Externally, Lee is a frequent speaker and panellist at legal industry conferences on D&I and is often quoted in the legal industry press.

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Chief Operating Officer EMEIA

Following his analysis of some unfavourable data regarding gender balance, Gavin became the new Chair of the D&I Council, creating a gender action plan which is unequivocal in its approach and clearly aligned to the business strategy. It is a personal challenge for Gavin to eradicate the gender pay gap in the next 3 years. Gavin’s hard work has contributed to drastic improvements in gender diversity throughout the region. Gavin has made monthly calls on progress, challenging the under-representation of women at higher levels. He is taking decisive action to address gender parity in recruitment, demanding and enabling balanced shortlists and bias-free processes. Beyond Business, Gavin has given a personal commitment not to appear on external all male panels. He promotes STEM subjects for girls in schools and has published several articles on LinkedIn and external blog pages outlining his views on targets and tokenism. He is determined to create an attraction and retention culture so women can thrive. He coaches a phenomenal disabled woman, Kate Nash OBE, to grow her business @PurpleSpace which is creating employee networks; promotes International Women’s Day using #SheInspiresMe asking LBT+ women to share inspirational quotes and regularly speak out on women’s equality. Amongst his many efforts to support D&I, Gavin also supported a trans woman manager, featuring as a Values Champion in a video about inclusivity, where she highlighted the importance of colleague-support through her transition.

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Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs International

Richard sponsors the EMEA Inclusion & Diversity Committee (IDC) at Goldman Sachs, which is responsible for maximising the potential of GS’ talent, is accountable for diversity in hiring and progression and has a mandate to drive positive cultural change. Richard has led the firm’s efforts to shift the needle on its culture, including creating an annual IDC Townhall, with quarterly updates on progress, achievements and opportunities in the D&I space; monthly ‘Chats with IDC’ hosted by IDC members; an internal panel series acknowledging both progress made and remaining targets; and a ‘partner cascade’ series, encouraging self-reflection on acts which can enhance or erode inclusion. Richard has also sponsored the Affinity Network Fair, hosted breakfast for nearly 50 GS women partners, clients and graduates of GS’ 10,000 Small Businesses UK, endorsed the firm’s support of the Diversity Project and championed ‘Launch with GS’, a £500m investment in women-led businesses. Beyond GS, Richard hosts the annual ‘When Women Lead’ event at London’s Serpentine Pavilion, gathering over 600 women to celebrate the achievements of women from a host of industries. He supports the Cambridge Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre and was instrumental in GS becoming headline sponsors of their 2019 conference. He was also involved in the firm’s sponsorship of the Women of the Square Mile Conference.

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Partner

David has made it his mission to change the culture at Clifford Chance. He chairs a group aiming to address the firm’s diversity issues relating to gender.  The group persuaded the firm’s management to publish all pay gap data, including partners, plus data on ethnicity, sexuality and disability pay gaps as well as gender. David has championed a series of initiatives to promote diversity, including a successful pilot of reverse mentoring; designated partners at every meeting where pay or promotion is discussed, charged with ensuring gender diversity is respected; a network of ‘inclusion advocates’ trained to help and support those facing harassment issues; equalising the firm's shared parental leave package; and refreshing and relaunching the firm’s women's group as a global gender parity network.  David has spoken at a series of partner events to make sure that every one of Clifford Chance’s 150+ London partners is aware of the importance of D&I and of the great damage that sexist behaviour and harassment can present. Externally, David supports and encourages academic research in D&I, particularly Jill Armstrong of Murray Edwards College Cambridge. He has attended many events promoted by Women's groups to try and deliberately be the only man in a room full of women, in order to understand the minority experience and promote male advocacy. David also supports Tender, a charity dedicated to reducing domestic violence.

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UKI Chairman and Country Director

Under Olly’s leadership, Accenture has embedded diversity across all HR processes; recruitment, development and performance. He is a coach and mentor to several senior women and in recent years has overseen many initiatives to support women’s development in the workplace. These include refocusing Accenture’s Women’s network to an inclusive Gender network, resulting in greater engagement from men in Accenture-run programmes, and normalising their market-leading Shared Parental Leave (SPL) provision in 2015, which has seen 350+ applicants since its inception. He also championed the creation of Accenture’s 50:50 gender-equal culture. Olly is highly committed to the success and promotion of Accenture’s Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, which have seen over 100K users of the firm’s Skills to Succeed Academy and taken more than 840 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through their Movement to Work Programme since 2014. All employees are encouraged to contribute to their local communities, with 3,250 UKI employees using 42,000 volunteering hours in the last financial year. Under Olly’s leadership, Accenture has put a huge focus on the talent agenda; sponsoring 14 University Women’s Societies, 46 school events and mentoring over 80 SME women CEOs through their business mentoring programmes.

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CEO HSBC Argentina

Gabriel has a very strong commitment to HSBC’s global diverse workspace strategy, as the main sponsor of Argentina’s 4 HSBC ERGs. In 2018, he signed up to the UN Women and UN Global Compact WEPs (Women’s Empowerment Principles) agreement on behalf of HSBC Argentina, and since then has been involved in different aspects that make gender balance and equality a priority on the company's agenda. In 2019, Gabriel led HSBC Argentina’s ‘No means No’ campaign to raise awareness about gender violence and harassment, as well as to make women aware of their own rights. It was the first time that a brand used a characteristic feature of the business – the ATM – to deliver diversity messages in Argentina. Under Gabriel’s leadership, more than half of HSBC Argentina associates are women, with women’s representation in senior roles increasing to 30% from 22% over the last four years. Externally, Gabriel was one of the 12 CEOs to undertake and sign the Leading Men for Change initiative of Upward – Uniting Professional Women Accelerating Relationships & Development. He is one of the five Argentine leaders invited to participate in the INADI (National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism) debates, to share experiences, challenges and achievements in diversity management in the workspace. Gabriel was also Vice President of IDEA (Institute of Entrepreneurship Development of Argentina), which gathers CEOs and owners of many enterprises in Argentina in an annual Colloquium where Gender balance was included in the agenda for the first time.

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Managing Director

Globally Andrew is one of Accenture’s cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures and ethnicities. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, within his remit as Operations MD it is Andrew’s duty to look at ways in which the company creates an inclusive environment that champions women in the workplace. Andrew is the Executive Sponsor for Accenture’s African-Caribbean Network, and works with global leadership to open and grow opportunities for future women MDs. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations. Andrew is also a Non-Executive Director at Kingston University, looking in particular at how to include gender diversity in the academic staff, and a mentor at Harringay Secondary School, supporting young women as they start their journey into future careers.

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Group Chief Executive

At Schroders, Peter has introduced 50/50 gender splits at entry-level assessment centres and ensures that the firm only uses executive search firms signed up to the Voluntary Code of Conduct on Gender Diversity. Among many other effective initiatives to build gender diversity, Peter has introduced diversity targets linked to individual pay outcomes for senior management, and ensured Schroders was the first FTSE 100 firm to publish its gender pay gap data. Parental leave policies and global flexible working policies have been reviewed and improved under Peter’s leadership, a trans policy has been introduced, a mentoring scheme launched and unconscious bias training rolled out. Peter has introduced ambitious targets for female representation at Schroders, which the company is on track to meet by 2020. Beyond Schroders, Peter is Chair of the Investment Association and holds positions on the advisory boards of the Diversity Project, CFA and CityUK, where he champions D&I. He led Schroders in signing up to the Women in Finance Charter, and supports Schroders’ initiatives to improve financial education at school level through to apprenticeships and work experience, among other outreach initiatives. Under Peter’s guidance, Schroders has proudly sponsored numerous awards recognising women in STEM careers and investment.

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Senior Partner and Chief Executive

As part of David’s ongoing focus on ensuring Deloitte provides a truly inclusive culture, he has rolled out innovative agile working and return-to-work initiatives, targeted career development training, and reviewed all recruitment processes to ensure they are free from bias. Deloitte has also created development programmes for high-potential female practitioners; including each member of the Executive team sponsoring a female senior manager. David has taken personal ownership of progress towards achieving the target of having 25% female partners by 2020 in the UK, rising to 40% by 2030. He has also been a keen advocate of increasing pay gap transparency: Deloitte was one of the first large companies to voluntarily report their gender pay gap in the UK in 2015 before it was mandatory, and has reported it annually ever since. In order to further increase transparency, David was passionate about voluntarily calculating Deloitte’s ‘total earnings gap’ which they have now committed to publishing each year. Externally, he is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its Agents for Change list last year. Over the last few months, David has given interviews to national media and written about the importance of committing to changing cultures in organisations, generating significant media coverage. He uses platforms outside Deloitte including CBI and London First but also schools and other groups to argue the case for a truly inclusive workplace and for gender equality in the workplace.

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Chief Executive

Ivan is extremely proud that Diageo has been recognised by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, ranked fourth in the Thomson Reuters Global Diversity and Inclusion Index, and by Equileap as the best company for gender equality in the UK. Ivan has led his team in introducing many gender initiatives at Diageo, including ambitious family leave policies that equalise maternity leave globally, and in many markets see new fathers employed by Diageo able to take 26 weeks of fully paid paternity leave including the UK, across Europe, North America, Thailand and the Philippines. Today 44% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women, and Ivan has placed targets at 40% female representation in senior leadership roles by 2025. Externally, Ivan has spoken at an event hosted by the Women’s Business Council, outlining why diversity is a ‘business imperative’, which requires a commitment from the top and action at all levels to create an environment where everyone can achieve their potential. He has spoken at numerous events on the importance of D&I, and has been recognised for his efforts with a plethora of awards. This year, Diageo became an official sponsor of Creative Equals’ Returners programme, to help women return to work in the creative industries following a career break. They also recently celebrated one year on from pledging to ‘Free the Bid’, an initiative to promote equal opportunities for women in the advertising industry.

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Chief Executive Officer
easyJet plc

Johan is extremely proud of the work he and his team are doing to make easyJet an inclusive airline. easyJet plc’s Board is 30% female, with Johan’s direct reports being 50% women. When Johan joined easyJet as CEO, he demonstrated his personal commitment to equal pay and equal opportunity for women and men, asking the easyJet Board to reduce his pay to match that of easyJet’s former CEO, Carolyn McCall, when she was at easyJet. The airline is on track to meet their ambitious target that 20% of its new cadet pilots will be female by 2020 and rates of pay are equal and standardised based on role and rank. As part of easyJet’s pioneering Amy Johnson initiative to encourage more girls to consider becoming a pilot, the company has launched a mentoring programme for Britain’s youngest pilot, Ellie Carter (16), with Training Captain Zoe Ebrey. easyJet supports Girlguiding’s aviation badge, and in FY18, easyJet pilots undertook over 100 visits to schools, youth and aeronautical organisations. easyJet’s commitment to integrating D&I into their policies is demonstrated by the ITV documentary about trainee pilots at easyJet, ‘Inside the Cockpit’.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 40 Advocates

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Chief Executive Officer

During his tenure leading State Street’s asset management arm, State Street Global Advisors, Ron’s stewardship team focused on gender diversity on boards, following research linking gender diversity to better business outcomes. In 2017 Ron and his team called on boards to ensure they were focusing on gender diversity as a reflection of board quality and overall cognitive diversity. They committed to voting against the member slates of those boards that had no women and no plan in place to add women. On the eve of International Women’s Day in 2017, Ron’s team placed the Fearless Girl statue in the centre of Wall Street as a symbolic call for more women on boards. Fearless Girl ignited a global conversation about the power of women in leadership and inspired companies around the world to add women to their boards. Since launching the campaign, 445 companies of the 1,265 identified have responded to the call to action by either adding a female director or committing to do so. As the CEO of State Street, Ron continues to be laser-focused on gender diversity, introducing company-wide diversity goals and comprehensively diverse talent slates, among other initiatives. Externally, Ron is a frequent speaker at important corporate governance/gender diversity events, and is a member of the 30% Club and the Boston Foundation Board of Directors.

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Chairman & Co-CEO

Marc Benioff is Chairman, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Under Benioff's leadership, Salesforce is the fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally. Benioff was named “Innovator of the Decade” by Forbes and is recognized as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, Benioff has been honored by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award. A member of the World Economic Forum ("WEF") Board of Trustees, Benioff serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF's Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. Benioff received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees.

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Executive Partner

This year, Justin championed the introduction of a market-leading shared parental leave policy which is available to the firm's employees across its nine Asia offices, supporting all parents, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or other circumstances. The policy creates a ground-breaking “sharing” arrangement that allows working parents to organise their families as they see fit rather than being cast in typical “maternity” and “paternity” gender roles. Justin is also focused on breaking down barriers that prevent women from reaching the highest levels, advocating for the introduction of gender targets in the firm, resulting in 33% women in the Asia partnership. He was instrumental in the introduction of new, stretch global targets in May 2019, stating that women will comprise 35% of the global partnership and partner leadership roles by 2023. Justin is also a personal sponsor and mentor to numerous high-performing women across the firm, and Executive Sponsor of the firm’s IRIS (LGBT+) Network, and led the development of the firm's Asia Multicultural Network in 2018. Beyond Herbert Smith Freehills, Justin is a member of the 30% Club HK as well as BritCham's HK Women in Business Committee, through which he acts as a vocal ally and champion of gender equity across Hong Kong.

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CEO

Keith became IHG’s CEO in July 2017 and is a passionate advocate and believer that a balanced workforce is critical to the company’s success. Under Keith’s leadership, IHG’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) agenda has gone from strength to strength. In 2018, he established a D&I Board which he Chairs, to reinforce IHG’s ambitions in this space and to prioritise areas where the company can make a real impact, including addressing an under-representation of females in senior leadership roles. Since becoming IHG’s CEO, female representation on the company’s Executive Committee (EC) has increased to almost a third, and nearly 40% of the EC and their direct reports are women. This is in addition to the 36% female representation IHG has at Board level. IHG also has an external target to increase the percentage of diverse Senior Leaders (in terms of gender & nationality/ethnicity) and the percentage of females working in General Manager and Operations roles in managed hotels. To meet these goals, the company has launched initiatives including conscious inclusion training for the entire organisation, and a mentoring programme called RISE, which supports women who aspire to become hotel General Managers. Keith is a founding member of the Advisory Board for Women in Hospitality, Travel and Leisure 2020 group, and is a member of the 30% Club. He speaks regularly on the importance of D&I and uses social media and his internal blog to discuss the importance of D&I at IHG, and has hosted events dedicated to celebrating and championing D&I.

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Director of Transformation

Having fundamentally changed the focus on gender inclusion at Vodafone across the North of England - culminating in receiving the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) ‘Male Mentor of the Year’ and Northern Power Women ‘Agent Of Change’ Award – Rob left Vodafone in October 2018 to join the board of EveryCloud Security. In his first month in the new role, Rob teamed up with EY and Northern Power Women to have EveryCloud engage in the Northern Power Futures programme, aimed at inspiring and engaging more women into tech careers. As part of EveryCloud’s 2019 recruitment plan, Rob spent International Women’s Week engaging with a number of women who had recently been made redundant in the North of England. In addition to recruiting female talent into EveryCloud, he was able to help coach other women to find new roles elsewhere that suited their talents and ambitions. He has championed flexible working initiatives and encouraged female colleagues to attend the Institute of Directors annual “Enterprising Women” conference. Beyond EveryCloud, Rob works closely with Northern Power Women, judging the 2019 and 2020 annual awards and working to encourage more senior male support. He has mentored and sponsored many women who have been made redundant this year, and speaks regularly on panels to promote gender inclusion, among many other similar effective activities.

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President and Chief Executive Officer

Ajay has forged a company and culture at Mastercard where inclusion, opportunity and empowerment for women are global priorities. He’s made gender equality a central, guiding theme – not only for our diversity, inclusion and hiring efforts, but in Mastercard’s business strategy in general. Under Ajay’s guidance, Mastercard has created a global female leadership development programme to identify next generation talent and ensure they have the opportunity to develop the necessary skills for broader roles within the company. Additionally, Mastercard’s Women’s Leadership Network has expanded to 31 chapters around the world, supporting the growth and development of 3,500 members. Ajay’s vision of Mastercard becoming a leader in products designed for women and his support in helping them get access to finance and funding shows up in many of the company’s programmes, including supply chain financing for microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in markets where women represent a large, underserved segment; and linking identification to payments to benefit the millions of women globally who lack formal ID. Ajay provided the pioneering vision for Girls4Tech™, the award-winning education programme developed in conjunction with top engineers and technologists to teach STEM foundations and principles to girls aged 8-13 around the world. Beyond Mastercard, Ajay is involved in global initiatives and organisations that encourage and empower women financially. He is an investor in Ellevest, has partnered with World Bank to help women in under-developed areas, and regularly speaks to executive groups and student groups on D&I.

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Managing Director

Richard believes in positive, direct action led by empowered individuals. He was named one of thirty ‘Male Agents of Change’ challenging gender inequality by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today. At Centaur Media, Richard enjoys working with an Executive Committee featuring 60% female representation, including the CEO and COO. The overall workforce is balanced across genders, with many taking advantage of flexible working policies, including senior executives. Richard and his team implement enhanced maternity and paternity leave, actively encourage returnship where over 4 out of 5 return to work, and ensure all London-based employees are paid above the London Living Wage. Within Xeim Advise, Richard motivates his teams to directly impact diversity and inclusivity through pro-bono time and connections with fifteen diversity and inclusivity organisations he has supported for many years. The team have supported the ‘Be Awesome Night School’ for women; operationally support Creative Equals’ events and accelerator programmes for female professionals, contribute to Badass.Gal, build a new guard of talent in schools through BIMA & The Ideas Foundation, and mentor across the industry through NABS and WhosYourMomma. Externally, Richard sits on the leadership teams of pioneering networks such as Creative Equals, Token Man and SheSaysUK, among others. He regularly speaks on D&I at conferences and has mentored dozens of women through various schemes.

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Chairman

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, holding the company’s business leaders accountable for the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg expanded its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index in 2018 to launch its first sector-neutral version. The success of last year’s inaugural Bloomberg Equality Summit, part of the company’s cross-platform editorial initiative focused on supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workforce, has led to further events in New York, London and Mumbai. Bloomberg News’ New Voices initiative aims to increase the representation of women sources in both online and on-air content. Last year, Peter launched a ‘Chairman’s Challenge’, a firm-wide competition to encourage the development of innovative D&I initiatives. Externally, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, creating numerous initiatives focused on increasing the pipeline of female talent. Initiatives include a cross-company mentoring programme, a partnership with theBoardlist, and a Future Female Directors programme. Peter also serves as a mentor with Catalyst’s Women On Board programme.

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Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL), Shazad is committed to creating an inclusive environment which leverages colleagues' diverse strengths and positively impacts clients and communities. Under Shahzad’s leadership, SCBPL has made significant strides towards becoming an inclusive gender balanced organisation. Presently, 27% of SCBPL’s workforce is female in contrast to 2014 whereby the female participation rate was 21%. During Shahzad’s tenure, SCBPL has embedded flexible working practices, revised parental leave benefits, introduced mentoring and wellness sessions for women and most importantly increased focus on hiring, retaining and promoting women. In addition, SCBPL launched Inclusive Leadership Programme which is designed to support over 550 People Leaders in understanding the importance of developing an inclusive work environment by equipping them with the essential skills to drive change and mitigate bias. Shazad sits on the Standard Chartered Global D&I Council, responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the D&I strategy which covers gender equality as well. He is also the member of SC Global Community Programmes Steering Group championing the GOAL programme. The programme aims to empower adolescent girls become integral economic leaders and has benefited over 6,000 girls in Pakistan alone. SCBPL also supports female entrepreneurs in Pakistan via its #SCWomenInTech programme. Shazad is an advocate of increasing female representation in senior roles and enabling a discrimination free reward and performance decision-making, principles emanating out of SC Group’s commitment to UK HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and the Fair Pay Charter. Externally, Shazad chairs the board of directors for Developments in Literacy (DIL) in Pakistan which primarily focuses on providing educational opportunities for girls.  Furthermore, Shazad is a great ambassador for gender equality and regularly speaks and participates as a panellist and keynote speaker at external events to bolster change.

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Global Chairman Reinsurance Solutions

Dominic has personally signed up to the 30% Club, signed Aon’s Gender Pay Gap Report, and signed Aon up to the Women in Finance Charter. Aon has also signed up to The Diversity Project, which drives gender parity in the investment sector, and is keenly involved in the programme. Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of all seven Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and the lead of the Diversity Council at Aon, whose extremely active gender network recently changed its name to Gender IQ to encourage male participation. Dominic mentors eight women, and as part of the Sponsorship Programme, sponsors three senior females on a regular and engaged basis. He also mentors a female actuary, who is a rising star at Aon, and is reverse mentored by a female apprentice. Aon’s target is to reach 30% female representation on their senior leadership team by 2020, and they have a number of strategies in place to support this, such as an inclusive early careers programme. Externally, he is the Chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, a committed group of senior individuals from across the insurance industry who champion diversity and inclusion. He was instrumental in the launch of the Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2017 saw 80 events take place in 17 countries and 32 cities. On International Women’s Day, Dominic hosted various events at Aon, and an industry-wide one, with Inclusion@Lloyds.

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UK Country Manager & Vice President, Marketing Solutions EMEA & LATAM

In 2015, Josh set a goal of achieving 50/50 gender balance across the LinkedIn EMEA advertising business. This goal has been achieved, with 50% of roles across all functions being held by women. Josh has introduced a gender aware recruitment process across the whole UK business, which has seen significant movement towards achieving gender balance. Last year, Josh drove the roll out of unconscious bias training for all 300+ LinkedIn employees in the UK office, and he mentors numerous female leaders inside and outside of LinkedIn. He supported the creation of robust leadership programmes focused on developing the next generation of leadership talent amongst women and under-represented groups, including Women’s Initiative (WiN), where he acts as a mentor and sponsor. He has also ensured that LinkedIn has been a positive influence on other businesses in its role as a tool to source and hire diverse talent. Outside of the company, using LinkedIn’s gender trends data, Josh regularly talks about the benefits of D&I in the press, as well as sharing specific actions that companies can take to create a more inclusive environment at industry conferences, including ISBA, the IoD and CBI. He has also spearheaded important gender research leveraging LinkedIn’s data and in-conjunction with WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications London) initiated workshops on D&I for senior male leaders in the Media, Marketing & Communications sector.

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Chief Executive of Bupa Global & UK

In 2019, Bupa has committed to taking three important steps towards gender diversity: continuing to build a strong pipeline of female talent; working towards more balanced gender representation in recruitment; and doing more to support people returning to work, and with parental and caring responsibilities. Last year, David launched the ‘Everyone’s Welcome’ pledge and the ‘Be You at Bupa’ initiative, celebrating a positive and fully inclusive working environment. He is Global Sponsor for Bupa Advance, a development programme with around 50% women participating. He is also Global lead for both health care management and aged care, with the majority of those in aged care being women. Bupa is a signatory of the Women in Finance Charter and member of the 30% Club. They are the first UK-owned company to extend health cover for employees to include gender dysphoria, and have a successful mum’s returners’ network. David led the launch of a new Code of Conduct focused on inclusivity, and provides CEO sponsorship for Bupa’s DiverCity network. Externally, David has been involved in many inclusion initiatives and programmes, including mentoring several women, and acting as a Trustee for the Bupa UK Foundation, primarily supporting carers, mid-life mental health and young adults living with health challenges.

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Chief Operating Officer

Lou is currently the Executive Sponsor of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network (PWN), an ERG providing professional development opportunities to women across the company. As part of his work with PWN, Lou launched and continues to lead the PWN’s Global Advisory Board – a group of senior executives who advise on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices. He also encourages colleagues and peers to participate in PWN events as he strongly believes that networking and conversations will help to drive a strong pipeline of female talent through the organisation. To help change the face of financial services, and make sure that the organisation reflects the communities where employees live and work, Lou is also an active champion of diverse hiring practices, and actively encourages his teams to bring in diverse slates of talent when making hiring decisions, which has resulted in hiring of several women for key leadership roles across State Street. Lou often presents on career management and talent management to give women the tools they need to advance their careers. He mentors many women throughout State Street, and is an active supporter of the Esperanza Academy, a tuition-free, independent middle school welcoming girls of diverse faiths, races and cultures in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

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Executive Chairman

Iain sponsored Cicero to become the first communications company to join the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and set ambitious targets for a 50/50 gender balance in their first year of recruitment, which has been surpassed. Cicero is also part of the 30% Club and actively participate in their mentoring programme. Cicero has supported the City of London's initiatives around women at work in the City, and has provided pro bono support to the Diversity Project for the asset management sector. Cicero has recently been awarded the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association) Workplace Champions award for their work in supporting diversity at work. Cicero supports LGBT+ women at work with OUTstanding and supports the Women in Public Affairs network. Iain has been named as one of the PRCA 50 for 50 champions of diversity, he has appeared on BBC Question Time this year speaking about the importance of diversity and has worked with the 10 Downing Street business liaison team to support the Diversity Project. He is a Non-Executive Director of the global Fintech body Innovate Finance, where he chairs the Fintech Strategy Board. The Board has launched key initiatives in 2019 around women in finance, including a schools’ careers programme, and support for the Rose Review.

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CEO

Since becoming CEO in September 2018, Mark has made culture a cornerstone of WPP’s new strategy. His commitment to create a more inclusive WPP has led to an increase in the proportion of women at the most senior levels: the number of women on WPP’s board has increased to 42%, and the number of women leading WPP’s 20 biggest global brands has doubled under his leadership. Mark continues to champion WPP’s Stella, Propeller and Walk the Talk networks, which provide mid-level and senior women with networking, coaching and help with increasing their internal and external profiles. He and his team have introduced new guidelines for best-practice maternity, paternity and flexible working policies, and made unconscious bias training part of WPP’s ethics training for all staff. Mark has been vocal about the need for WPP and the wider industry to reflect the diversity of society to help clients better connect with consumers. In January, through his membership of the Male Champions of Change Global Tech Group, he called on male leaders to improve gender equality in the technology sector. Mark sees pay gap reporting as a positive move, forcing businesses to act faster and think harder about what can be done to achieve the ultimate goal of equal representation in executive leadership. He shared WPP’s own challenges at the launch event of the Women in Advertising and Communications report into the industry’s gender ‘leadership gap’, speaking of a need for a generational and cultural shift in leadership to better understand what women need to succeed.

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Chairman

As Chairman of AFME, Michael has been instrumental in driving forward diversity and inclusion initiatives. One key example is through the formation of AFME’s Diversity group and Women’s Network, where Michael has helped to shape the groups’ strategy and deliverables to ensure AFME’s diversity and inclusion policies are relevant and achievable. Michael has encouraged AMFE to support inclusive organisations by hosting events and urging staff to attend D&I sessions. Over the last year, Michael also joined the Women in Banking in Finance (WIBF) as Patron. Through his leadership, he has encouraged AFME to become an associate WIBF member and all staff now have access to the women’s networking events and resources on offer. Michael is also a passionate advocate of ensuring diversity on panel representation at AFME’s 40 annual events and conferences across Europe. Externally, Michael mentors under the 30% Club programme and the Mission INCLUDE programme, where he sits on the steering committee. He is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, LGBT+ rights, mental health, and is an active supporter of City Mental Health Alliance. He is a regular panellist and keynote speaker on all things diversity and inclusion.

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Corporate Communications Director

Christina co-leads Women @ MHUSA, Moet Hennessy USA’s internal initiative and the most celebrated pillar of MHUSA’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. The program is based on three pillars – personal and professional development, creating meaningful connections (both internally and externally) and giving back to the community. In 2018, Women @ MHUSA organised and hosted 350+ participants at over 30 events and programmes in New York and across the United States. They also launched a Women in Leadership Speaker Series and created monthly author and panel discussions and networking events with best-selling authors in conversation with a diverse group of panellists about poignant and relevant topics. They have elevated their partnership with Women of the Vine and Spirits, and continued to foster Dress for Success corporate partnership for eight professional women’s group events. Christina is an active member of the nationally recognised Dress for Success organisation, and has participated in annual clothing drive collections as well as served as mentor during their Professional Women’s Group meetings; sharing insights and learnings about her own career to benefit the women who are part of the Dress for Success network.

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Head of primary markets Israel

Justine is the head of Primary Markets Israel and a proud mum. She founded the Jewish Women's Business Network, which is part of the London Stock Exchange Group’s Women’s Inspired Network (WIN), connecting over 250 women globally from the UK, Israel, Gibraltar, Europe, the USA and South Africa. The network has positively contributed to developing job prospects, mentoring opportunities, business connections, communities and philanthropic efforts for its members. She is also on the board of directors for Vibe Israel, who support professionals globally to understand and share Israel’s brand. She is part of the SAHI Youth Organisation, who work to support neglected youth, and is an Executive Board Member and mentor for parents with Autistic children. Additionally, Justine volunteers for the Forum of Jewish Leadership, supporting university students to be placed in corporates and tech companies for summer internship programmes in the UK and Israel.

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Senior Project Manager

Joanne is the D&I lead for the IBM UK & Ireland laboratories . She and her team run special gender diversity programmes supporting women’s career and skills advancement. She runs internal events involving mentorship programmes where women share experience and inspire others. Running "Women in Technology Interconnects" twice a year which bring together women from all over the UK and Ireland with themes covering ‘Press for Progress’ & "Be Equal".  Attendees hear from a range of inspiring IBM and external role models which provide participants with an insight into the technologies that are transforming businesses today, inclusion in society, and career hurdles and how to overcome them. Joanne also co-developed a course called ‘Developing Your Technical Career’, aimed at encouraging female employees on a technical career path through engaging role models and recognising that sometimes technical people face unique challenges. She runs internal lunch and learn sessions for the ConnectingWomen@IBM initiative, among many others. Externally, Joanne empowers young women to pursue careers in STEM through IBM’s educational outreach events and programmes. She also runs Women in Technology days for university women to highlight IBM’s work and its diversity credentials.

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Head of Client Engagement

Across a Group of historically male-oriented businesses, operating in traditionally ‘white-male’ sectors, Sam has successfully embedded D&I into the company’s DNA, ensuring it remains top of the agenda and is driven by passionate people, at all levels, who embrace it and learn from it. She has been instrumental in establishing the Morson Group’s commitment to double the number of female engineering contractors by 2020. Sam has achieved significant success in helping to reduce unconscious bias in recruitment decisions, delivering on-site training together with blind auditioning and CV anonymisation. Male-oriented language has been eliminated and recruiters work more closely with candidates to ensure CVs fully reflect skills, suitability and attitudes. Sam has also been instrumental in introducing gender-balanced panels, increasing gender balanced representation and breaking down stereotypes. Externally, Sam helped to launch The Girls’ Network’s Salford division, where she is also a mentor and role model. Bridging the gap between education and business, Sam organised a group of Year 10 and 12 Girls’ Network mentees from St Ambrose Barlow RC High & 6th Form in Manchester to get a taste of what a career in rail and engineering can offer them. The #CareersOnTrack event aimed to address skills shortages and the lack of diversity in the industry by shining a spotlight on the exciting careers and pathways, whilst breaking down the stereotypes that prevent women from entering.

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IT transformation Director Solutions and Digital

Anna established and leads the ‘ITs Her Future’ (IHF) Programme at KPMG, which tackles gender diversity in technology by transforming how KPMG attracts, recruits, promotes and retains women. 34% of the women on the IHF mentoring scheme have secured promotion since joining, and the attrition of women in tech consulting has dropped by 10%. The scheme has been adopted by KPMG Global firms, and recently the scheme has been taken to clients; driving a wider change and impact. Within KPMG, Anna mentors and sponsors several women and leads schemes serving a wide community of women. The mentoring programme she founded now supports 300 women in developing and enhancing their careers, including the opportunity to serve on Boards. She is also supporting the wider community through the Future Leaders Technology Programme for Girls targeting Years 5-10. The programme has seen great results such as 95% of the girls seeing themselves working in tech in the future in comparison to 30% at the beginning. She is developing a white paper focused on how children can best be equipped for the technology-centric workplaces of the future, and how we can make sure girls are fully engaged at every education stage. Anna is also passionate about community volunteering, and regularly dedicates time to mentoring children from challenging socio-economic backgrounds.

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Senior Director, Oracle Consulting

Three years ago, Ana became UK chairperson for Oracle Women’s Leadership (OWL) programme, an internal network for women to support the growth and development of current and emerging women leaders. OWL runs around eight events a year, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Ana has increased OWL’s membership from 100 to 500 members due to a much improved communications programme. She has created a peer network for senior female leaders by establishing a program of women-only dinners for senior female executives from Oracle and their customers and partners. She has also improved the gender diversity of the consulting team by insisting on gender-equal candidate lists for the graduate assessment days resulting in more gender balanced intakes. Additionally, Ana expanded the Oracle Women Network program to include participation in the 30% Club cross-company Mentoring Scheme, and promoted Oracle’s corporate membership of Women on Boards to provide Oracle women with access to external opportunities. Externally, Ana is a founding trustee and company secretary for Smart Works Reading, a charity that supports women to return to employment, having helped over 400 women to date. She has also run a fundraising project to take professional headshots of men and women in exchange for a charitable donation, and is a member of the TechUK Skills and diversity council focused on diversity initiatives.

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Principal Accessibility Marketing Lead

KR has been a fierce advocate and leader for connecting underrepresented groups with disabilities throughout the technology industry. At Amazon, her passion is to continue to drive inclusion and awareness for people of all backgrounds with disabilities to have a voice to create change. Prior to Amazon, KR advised Google on several projects that focused on tech innovation in accessibility. Her main project, Live Caption was announced at Google I/O 2019 by Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. KR is on several boards such as, the Consumer Technology Association Foundation, Deaf Kids Code, and the World Wide Hearing Foundation, and SXSW to drive disability inclusion in product design and culture. She has been awarded a U.S. Congressional award; Silicon Valley's Top 40 Under 40 and 2017 Women of Influence; and 2015 Women on the Move by Women's Business Journal for her advocacy and accessibility work in technology and policy.

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Talent & Performance Manager

Since May last year, Margaret has delivered a flagship Female Leadership Development Programme, focused on equipping women with the skills to take centre stage in their careers and progress to leadership. The programme has resulted in numerous promotions, expanded and more varied roles, and more involvement in senior leadership teams, boards, and networking groups. An alumni group has been formed to foster learnings and Margaret has mentored women leaders to deliver the programme going forward. In partnership with INSEAD, Margaret undertook a programme to drive gender balance, developing a business case, researching hidden challenges for women, conducting diagnostics and working with senior leadership teams to implement solutions. She is a founding partner and inaugural speaker for the Female Networking Group, and has led the rollout of Breaking Bias training for over 1,000 staff over 6 months. As part of this training rollout, Margaret initiated and managed a research project with Dublin City University to conduct rigorous academic assessment to measure programme outcomes. She also developed the company’s inaugural mentoring programme, exceeding gender balance targets. Externally, Margaret spreads the gender diversity message during speaking engagements at key events, sharing her experiences establishing various initiatives and programmes focused on gender diversity. She is beginning a journey with the Women ReBOOT programme, an innovative initiative that supports women with technology sector skills and experience to return to work after a career break.

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CEO

Shruthi has established diversity and inclusion among the baseline values for Adapt Ready. Despite being a startup, she believes that establishing such values at the beginning will blend into the culture of the company. Last year, Shruthi’s team made a conscious decision to have women represent 50% not only on the board, but also among employees. The board goal has been met and the organisation is close to reaching the same ratio among employees. She believes that no matter how good the policies and governance are within companies, in order for them to effectively work, every organization has a responsibility to go further - and hence, at Adapt Ready, Shruthi also established a system of governance to constantly challenge biases towards gender, race, even functional roles among other diverse characteristics to influence change beyond the company. Despite being a startup, Adapt Ready is designing workforce policies to simplify the hiring and retaining of such talent, such as flexible hours and 50% remote work. In addition to championing these within the organisation, Shruthi took the initiative in sharing best practices with a community of startup founders and other organisations and communicating it to Adapt Ready’s advisors and board to create a ripple effect and close the gender gap. As a thought leader, Shruthi is frequently invited to speak on diversity & inclusion. She regularly mentors other women, particularly those thinking of starting their own business, and was recently named ‘Champion for Action’ by Grant Thornton International.

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Sales Leader

A Sales Leader within LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions business, Rebecca also leads Women@LinkedIn in London, an ERG aimed at engaging, inspiring and empowering women and allies in the workplace. She has hosted a series of events to celebrate both International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day to ensure LinkedIn are as inclusive as possible. She is also a member of GenderNetworks.com which brings together the heads of gender networks in the UK. She has mentored young women through LinkedIn’s mentoring programme, and often speaks at events on diversity in the workplace to drive positive change. Rebecca has been instrumental in hiring diverse talent into LinkedIn and advising companies on how they can attract and retain diverse talent within their own organisations. She actively creates and curates content on LinkedIn on all things related to diversity and inclusion.

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Managing Director, Head of Americas Equity iShares Portfolio Engineering

Amy has been committed to helping and supporting women throughout her career, serving as a mentor and sponsor to many women at BlackRock. Over the last 10 years, she has also developed influential programming for the women at BlackRock and has been co-head of BlackRock’s Women’s Initiative on the West Coast since 2018 year, providing programming to well over 560 members across four locations. The programming includes 14 discrete committees which promote engagement, connection, and aims to empower and inspire members. Six years ago, Amy co-developed a program called Women in Focus, which created a framework for direct dialogue with senior men across BlackRock and helps to provide insight into the challenges that women face in advancing their careers.  Women in Focus is currently developing a video to scale and share the content with managers and employees globally. Externally, Amy is a member of 100 Women in Finance and Women in ETF's, participating in several panel events on Diversity and Inclusion.

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Senior Associate

MaameYaa acts as a reverse mentor for the Global Managing partner of Allen & Overy, a relationship she uses to submit recommendations to the board of A&O on changes that can be made to increase the number of women at senior levels. She presented 10 ideas to the board and received overwhelming support for these ideas to be implemented. She uses reverse mentoring to improve conditions for those who might not be able to have a voice in such forums. MaameYaa offers mentoring to younger women in the profession and regularly hosts lunches for new parents at A&O. Externally, she has assisted a number of Saudi organisations in recruiting women into positions of influence. She regularly conducts interviews and reviews CVs, and holds bi-annual dinners for Saudi women professionals in Riyadh. She also holds bi-weekly catch up calls with a number of Saudi females with the aim of pushing and progressing talent. Additionally, she established a programme in London called Raising Aspirations, aiming to inspire young talented deprived BAME women and men in Tower Hamlets and beyond.

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Founder

In January, Lucie launched her own advertising and branding agency, The Inclusive Branding Agency, with a mission to help brands be more inclusive and representative in their workforce and marketing. She selects clients based on the company’s gender make-up and on the inclusivity impact of the projects. Prior to this, she spent two years working for Brides do Good, a social enterprise that sells wedding dresses to fund charities fighting child marriage, where she was in charge of marketing and also worked on recruitment. At Brides do Good, Lucie cast ethnic minority models and ensured there was LGBT+ representation in online and social media assets in an industry which typically lacks diversity. She developed language to be inclusive of all sexual orientations, and she implemented a fair process of intern recruitment. Five years ago, while working at Burberry, Lucie founded Women in Foreign Policy, an organisation that provides career advice and access to girls and women who want to pursue and develop a career in foreign policy, which she still runs today. As of 2018, the organisation has helped at least 500 women find jobs in foreign policy, including graduates from underrepresented backgrounds. The community has grown to over 100,000 since expanding to cities including Washington, Delhi, Toronto and Sydney. Additionally, Lucie works as En Marche’s representative in Northern Europe. She is also part of an internal working group on strategies to encourage women to run for office and devises ways to support them once they are campaigning.

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Associate

As a trainee and the only black female fee earner at the firm at the time, Rachel quickly targeted ethnic minority women’s representation as a need she was going to address at Bird & Bird. Rachel founded Bird & Bird’s first ethnic minority network, Embrace, which she now chairs. Since its founding, Embrace has hosted workshops, community events, film screenings, a book signing client event on D&I, and several social media campaigns showcasing diversity, with an emphasis on intersectionality across diverse strands. Through this role, Rachel began collaborating with several partners and HR on improving gender representation at the firm with an intersectional approach to also tackle improved ethnic minority, LGBT+, disability and social mobility representation. Externally, Rachel dedicates time to engaging with those who aspire to law. She mentors university students and is a Professional Ambassador in the Aspiring Solicitors programme, while also actively engaging in informal mentorship with students and trainees. Rachel is also a regular volunteer at the South Westminster Legal Advice Clinic, a free legal drop-in advice service helping those on low incomes many of whom are ethnic minority women.

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Former Joint Heads of Content Planning

Sam and Dee operated a job share arrangement as Head of Content Planning, Digital Communications & Employer Brand, within HSBC’s Global Communications function. Having both successfully worked for many years in an ambitious team at HSBC, Sam and Dee became mothers and decided to enter a professional job sharing arrangement in order to be successful employees and the best possible carers for their children. To overcome the challenges of job sharing, Dee and Sam sought out other flexible working colleagues, a large but invisible community. Over 600 colleagues responded, with over 90% expressing an interest in joining a flexible working network to promote and raise the visibility of the issue inside of HSBC UK; giving rise to HSBC Flex. Since its inception, HSBC Flex has amassed over 1,300 members, gained senior sponsorship at Group Management Board level and recruited a team of champions to lead its events and activities. Externally, Sam is the Communications Consultant to Leaders Plus, who run a fellowship programme designed to support leaders with babies to progress in their careers and to tackle one of the root-causes of the gender pay gap. She gained backing from HSBC for any member of Communications interested in participating. Now as they approach their second year of the programme, HSBC has also offered mentors to the programme to help support mothers develop in their leadership careers.

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Co-founder and Partner

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. In 2017, Kenesa co-founded Aleada, a boutique information privacy and security consulting firm based in San Francisco. She started the company with two fellow co-founders of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), a non-profit organization established in 2014. Kenesa’s objective with Aleada is to put into practice the WISP mission – to advance women in the converging fields of privacy and security. Aleada has made a commitment to recruit and hire diverse individuals seeking to enter or transition into the privacy field. Aleada specifically focuses on providing career opportunities for individuals re-entering the workforce from caretaking or family rearing roles, second career job seekers, and new graduates.

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Director, Talent Solutions

With over 26 million members in the UK and 645+ million members globally, LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. As Director of LinkedIn’s UK Talent Solutions leadership team, Janine is focused on helping businesses attract, find and develop the talent they need to succeed and grow. Janine has over ten years’ experience building and leading diverse teams at LinkedIn, having joined the company in its infancy in 2008 when she helped to grow its Marketing Solutions business. Passionate about technology, diversity and talent, Janine has led LinkedIn's global Women's employee resource group focusing on creating an inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers and is currently leading a women’s investment program for high potential women leaders at LinkedIn. As a vocal advocate for gender parity and equality, Janine champions diversity, inclusion and belonging both internally and externally through hiring and performance management practices and in speaking engagements. In 2017, she completed a master’s degree in Consulting and Coaching for Change at INSEAD.

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National Partner

Karen spearheaded the efforts of the Dechert Global Women’s Initiative (GWI) in London in order to create an internal support network for women at all levels at the firm. This involved organising events that enable female lawyers and business service professionals to meet and interact with more experienced colleagues. She organised a number of speaking events in London to showcase female talent, and devised a monthly training programme for female professionals at Dechert. Karen has also organised a number of sessions to develop lawyers’ and business service professionals’ technical skills and soft skills to provide women with the tools to develop and progress within the ranks of the firm. Throughout her career, Karen has provided mentoring services to more junior women to encourage people from different backgrounds to pursue professional careers. Pro bono matters have remained high on Karen’s agenda since the start of her career. She is currently supporting an NGO to analyse sexual offences laws in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to advocate for legislative changes to improve the rights of the LGBT community. She drafted a report for the Centre for Reproductive Rights to supplement the report of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo scheduled for review by the Human Rights Council. She also volunteered with the Advocates for Human Rights to assess the implementation of domestic violence laws in Serbia and has worked with Oxfam on a similar project in Kenya which was commended by the Financial Times in 2014.

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ILDP Manager (Disputes)

Plaxedes is proud to work in both a firm and practice group that places a great emphasis on diversity, inclusivity and equality in the workplace. Being in the management team has enabled her to have an active role in establishing committees and networks that strive to make the practice group more welcoming and inclusive, not only for women but for all employees. This includes the establishment of the ALT Johannesburg Diversity Committee and the ALT Johannesburg Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Plaxedes strives to foster an inclusive business culture by championing individual uniqueness. As a member of the interview panel for her team, Plaxedes is mindful of unconscious biases and is always sure to circumvent them. Recently, she was appointed to the firm’s pro-bono committee. Externally, Plaxedes is a powerful advocate for breast cancer awareness and treatment funding. She recently hosted a fitness day, Pink Power, to raise funds for a breast cancer patient who could not afford treatment.

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Associate Director EMEIA Restructuring

Since arriving in London three years ago, Laura has made a significant impact in advancing women in business. She has worked alongside senior executives to influence mindsets and behaviours and has become a visible role model for changing the environment for women in finance. She has spoken regularly on the importance of gender parity and has been featured in several global campaigns at her firm. Her experiences have provided valuable guidance to support the advancement of younger women, including one of her mentees, who recently spoke at the Houses of Parliament. Among other forms of recognition, Laura has received EY’s “Inclusion Ally” award for her work on improving the diversity of project staffing. Outside of work, Laura is active in supporting women through social and business organisations. She mentors 6th form students through the ThinkForward volunteer programme, providing insights into career opportunities and helping them instil self-confidence and belief. She is a frequent public speaker who has delivered personal development talks focused on the intersection of personal empowerment and achieving gender equality. In 2019. Laura was a featured guest speaker at the business seminar, Power to Achieve, where she shared her experiences as a woman in finance with an audience of over 1,000 professionals. Laura’s work was recently profiled in The Bold Woman Guide, a book showcasing 20 women who are making a contribution to gender parity in business, cultural and civic organisations. She is currently pioneering a personal development programme to help women navigate the personal and professional challenges of succeeding in business.

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Head of Liabilities and Balance Sheet Management

For the past three years, Nikki has been the global co-chair for the RBS Women’s Network, which now has around 13,000 members from across the bank. She brought together a multitude of gender networks across the bank to form RBS Women setting a clear strategy which helps drive positive cultural change, as well as launching a Male Allies. Nikki’s focus on strategic alignment across the network and across the Bank is based on close collaboration with the Bank’s D&I team and with Senior Leaders and she provides regularly updates the Bank’s Executive Committee on the work that the network undertakes. Initiatives led and supported by Nikki include annual International Women’s Day celebrations including an internal awards programme, the launch of a global development programme, development of a Mentor Matching Tool and hundreds of events. She has also instigated, coordinated and participated in various Graduate Schemes, Returners Programmes, and Career Days. Externally, Nikki is a Community Governor at her local primary school and a volunteer for NatWest Moneysense, which supports financial education offerings in schools. Additionally, she mentors university students on the Springboard Mentor programme and has attended and spoken at various D&I events organised by industry associations.

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Global Director

Over the past two years, with her involvement on the Executive Team for the Women@Hyatt West DBRG, Ana has facilitated training topics such as ‘owning your seat at the table’ and ‘caregiving for others while caring for yourself’. She led the Women@Hyatt West Mentorship Matchup, bringing together 60 associates to create organic connections, and assisted in planning a Rejuvenate event to help members focus on mindful leadership and wellbeing. Most recently she co-coordinated a three day Women’s Leadership Development and Wellness Forum in San Diego with over 330 associates from all brands within the Hyatt portfolio, focusing on the power of storytelling, networking and personal as well as professional development. Externally, Ana has recently been asked to appear as a panellist for a Women's Empowerment Series in Washington DC aimed to guide young women professionals, and she continues to mentor young professionals outside of Hyatt and the hospitality industry. She also participated in Grant Thornton’s annual Women in Business campaign this year, which is focused on creating a global conversation to drive change for women in senior leadership. With this goal in mind, Grant Thornton identified ‘Champions for action’ to provide input about this topic and what can be done to elevate women in leadership roles. Grant Thornton approached Hyatt with the opportunity for Ana to lend her voice to the campaign which was featured during International Women's Day.

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Senior Engineer - Welding

Within National Grid, Kirsty supports the Women in National Grid (WiNG) Employee Resource Group. For last year’s International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), she organised an internal event with attendance from women and men, engineers and non-engineers from across the business. This event brought together a new network of colleagues to share stories on their routes into engineering, barriers they have faced and how they have overcome them. This year, Kirsty has a team of event organisers to make INWED even better, and she has engaged with technical institutes to support the day to help engineers become professionally registered with the engineering council. Externally, Kirsty has been on the Young Members Board for the Women’s Engineering Society, who reach out to young people through working with schools and universities to encourage more girls into Engineering careers. One project she was involved in was #LottieTour which worked with Lottie Dolls on a social media campaign showing a Lottie Doll in an engineering role to broaden the thinking of young girls and allow them to understand engineering isn’t a ‘men’s job’. Kirsty has also presented at a number of sessions, such as an all girls school in Manchester at a ‘Challenging Stereotypes’ event, explaining her career route and how anyone can do her type of role if they choose to.

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Partner

As BCG’s Global People Senior Director from 2013 through 2018, Frances spearheaded an agenda that included the Women@BCG program, work sustainability, and engagement topics. She developed priorities and set, implemented, and tracked BCG’s HR strategy across more than 90 offices around the world. As a result, the number of women partners at the firm increased at three times the rate of male partners, while men and women were both retained at the same rate. Frances was recently promoted to Partner, and is using experiences from the US and Saudi Arabia to Germany and Latin America to collaborate with clients in the People & Organization practice to refine D&I strategies. Frances regularly presents BCG’s gender diversity research on the firm’s recruiting, retention, and advancement rates for women at the firm’s women’s conferences, annual partner meetings, and client meetings, as well as to BCG’s Executive and Operating Committees. She has also co-authored numerous articles for the press focused on D&I research and initiatives. Externally, Frances has worked with clients around the world in driving an increase in their diversity & inclusion (from Saudi Arabia, to Latin America to the US) and has presented workshops and shared BCG’s research at TEDWomen, MassChallenge, the International Bar Association, and G-7 events. She also works with women in business schools at various universities, sponsoring or mentoring them and sharing knowledge and research.

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Senior Multinational Client Executive

Niamh works in AIG’s Multinational & Global Fronting department. She is also a Committee member and Charity Collaborations partner of GEM - Gender Equality Matters - a UK-based Employee Resource Group within AIG, which advocates a gender-balanced approach in the workplace. Her role involves identifying and pursuing partnerships with various charities in order to coordinate specific fundraising or volunteer events, longer term schemes and support opportunities. In 2018-19, she has worked to organise events such as SheCanBe (in association with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal), International Womens’ Day, mixed gender sporting events, professional-wear clothing drives and Mentorship programs designed to make opportunities in the professional environment available to students from underprivileged backgrounds. Externally, Niamh informally mentors and has a reputation for helping others to drive their own career progression. She has personally supported several charities, aimed at promoting the wellbeing of young females in developing countries.

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Data Science Delivery Lead

Emma champions diversity and inclusion at Aviva leading a number of high profile initiatives primarily focused on technology and gender. Creator of Tech Talks, covering all aspects of diversity, Emma brought to attention toxic masculinity for international men’s day and balance of the home for international women’s day. Co-lead for #Iamremarkable UK wide pilot, working with Google and volunteers across the country to help women and underrepresented groups better self-promote. Beyond Aviva, Emma advocates and volunteers for Smartworks, supporting women that are less fortunate into work by giving them confidence, coaching and a professional wardrobe.

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Associate Business Director

Following a gender pay gap announcement, Emily compiled a business case for the creation of a women’s network at her organisation and its partner agencies, outlining her vision for the network to be a platform for inspiration, support, encouragement and an opportunity to make new and more meaningful connections. The Women’s Network hosted 6 events in the first 7 months, including workshops, speed networking, coaching training and talks. In 2016, Emily also helped launch a new consultancy within her organisation called Female Tribes, looking to change the way the world works for women, starting with more diverse representation in the media. Since launching, Female Tribes has raised awareness and facilitated change within many client corporations around how they communicate to women. Emily and the Female Tribes team are now working with tech company Connectt to launch Female Tribes as a social network: a place for women to create, connect and be inspired. In 2018, Emily won the WACL Future Leaders Award, and has since supported other women across the organisation to apply too. She also helps to organise NPP Women in Marketing, a word-of-mouth, peer-to-peer network with a diverse mix of women from both agency and client side, providing greater insight into the challenges faced by women across the industry.

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Client Services Lead, Bloomberg Media Group

Charlie Leech is a Client Services Lead within Bloomberg Media Group. Across the business she is an advocate for diversity, proactively sharing knowledge and insight on company initiatives with her peers, such as the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index. Charlie is an active lead of the Media Diversity and Inclusion SWAT team in EMEA, leading showcase events to engage media executives in topical conversations. Charlie also makes a significant contribution to the business as Leadership Development Lead for the EMEA Women’s Community delivering a range of programming for members including: inspirational talks, group mentoring sessions, networking events and skill training workshops. On International Women’s Day for the last 3 years Charlie has volunteered for Media Trust as a communications expert, advising charities on their marketing strategies. Charlie is a Millennial Coach for the Thrive Career Mentoring scheme at the University of Reading, which was awarded the AGCAS Research Informed Practice Excellence Award in 2018. She has directly mentored undergraduates over the last 4 academic years and regularly speaks at the University as a Guest Lecturer for The Professional Track; advising the next generation of leaders. Due to her ongoing voluntary commitment to the University, she was selected by the Vice Chancellor as a Senior Ambassador for the IMAGINE programme, focussed on creating solutions to real-world problems. Charlie was also recognised as a Rising Star in Media and Journalism by WeAreTheCity in 2018.

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Vice President Risk Engineer

Prior to becoming VP of Risk Engineering at Marsh, Samantha worked in the offshore oil and gas industry for over 20 years, actively and vocally advocating for women in a heavily male-dominated environment. Now at Marsh, Samantha developed and delivered the concept of the Marsh & McLennan Companies ‘#InThisTogether’; an Intersectional Diversity event aimed at engagement, education and empowerment and focused on diversity including gender, ethnicity, disability, and mental health. She is passionate about inclusion within all aspects of diversity no matter where in the world she travels with work; being a visible senior woman role model in places such as South America, Africa, India, Middle East, Far East and countries where diversity is limited and visibility is low. She has spoken at MMC’s Global Colleague Resource Group leadership summit in New York and at the at the Dive In festival in London, attended Out & Equal in Orlando, Philadelphia and Seattle and OutLeadership events in London as a champion for all elements of diversity. She has presented at events on D&I, gender equality, LGBT+ and Trans womans issues for: the Vanguard Network; GLOW ‘Gender Identity and Trans Inclusion’; Mercer’s ‘Unbundling Gender Identity & Sexuality’; the Royal Society’s very first Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event; AIG's 'Bring your whole self' event; the Financial Times 'How to be an Ally'; and EY’s ‘Making It Real: Driving inclusion' to name but a few.

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Management Consultant

Margarita joined Oliver Wyman as a Management Consultant in 2016, having previously worked at BlackRock and Morgan Stanley. She lead high impact engagements, focusing primarily on clients in the Public Policy and Wealth and Asset Management domains. Margarita also serves as the Global Co-Chair and London Lead for the Women at Oliver Wyman (WOW) network. Since taking on the role of London Lead in March 2018, committee membership has grown by 50% and network membership by 25%. She has launched training initiatives to help women self-evaluate in order to overcome stereotypes and embed confidence; led internal and external events at Oliver Wyman to help coach others and build their professional networks; launched sessions with career coaches; and organised panel discussions. As Global Co-Chair, Margarita is launching ‘Men4Change’, a global initiative engaging men and other allies to encourage awareness, dialogue, and action to decrease gender disparities. Beyond these roles, Margarita is a role model with a high profile at Oliver Wyman, hosting D&I sessions, publishing research in the World Economic Forum on increasing the agility of company boards and presenting at conferences. She will be going back to her school in the Autumn to discuss her career path with students. While studying part-time for a Masters in Finance at LBS, Margarita served as treasurer of the Women in Business Club.

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UK Consulting Inclusion Lead

Sheree is listed as one of the UK's Top Most Influential Women in Tech and is an international multi-award winner for her services to Diversity & Inclusion in the Tech industry. She is the UK Technology Respect & Inclusion Manager at Deloitte, founder of I Am Lanka, a board-appointed Global Ambassador for Women Who Code and a contributor to Forbes. Leading the Respect, Diversity & Inclusion strategy in the Consulting practice at Deloitte, Sheree has rolled out sponsorship programmes for senior women in the firm, created internal and external partnerships which shift the dial in gender diversity through showcasing the need for women in industry and supporting those organisations which are readily making a difference, delivering specific training to underrepresented groups in the firm to ensure all are aware of the need for their voice being heard and more. She has spent time across Deloitte North West Europe with many member firms, helping senior leaders develop their diversity and inclusion strategies. Externally, Sheree is a global tech outreach leader and, as a passionate advocate for gaining/retaining women in the tech industry,  launched and led the award-winning UK expansion of Women Who Code. She has spoken at many global events, conferences and leadership sessions, and has built her network from nothing to over 9,000 women across the UK.

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Associate - Financial & Strategic Investors Group

When she joined Standard Chartered in 2016, Kemi joined the Bank’s Gender Engagement Network, a key employee resource group focused on gender issues.  As a representative of the international graduate population, she has since played a critical role in discussions with decision-makers and key stakeholders internally, on improving gender balance in our internship and graduate programs. She represented her global graduate class of almost 300 to pitch the benefits of having a more diverse cohort, as well as ideas on how to attract and retain the appropriate female talent pool, to the senior management team, leading to a commitment from the firm to address the imbalance. Kemi was recently invited to join the Diversity & Inclusion Council for Standard Chartered, Americas to proactively contribute to projects, initiatives and conversations that would create a more inclusive and diverse working environment for all colleagues. In collaboration with other council members, Kemi designs, implements and executes local programmes to help women connect, learn and grow; including: formal and informal mentoring, networking opportunities, panel discussions, training workshops, roundtable forum sessions. Externally, Kemi launched two initiatives last year, GLOW UP and Fempire Professional Network. GLOW UP works to empower female orphans and provide children in Africa and the United States with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be economic leaders in their communities. Fempire Professional Network is an international community of female professionals of colour across several professions and sectors, creating a support system and providing a platform of opportunity.

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Head of Operational Risk Management

Jennie balances her day job with a mixture of volunteering work namely Women in Banking & Finance (not for profit, members organisation), where she founded and now chairs the regional branch in Birmingham. Through this, she supports a far wider audience and multiple organisations with their gender agenda through providing personal development workshops, access to influential senior leaders, and mentoring and networking opportunities. She is also driving an initiative to bring male ambassadors on board by hosting International Men’s Day to further the agenda of inclusivity and showcase the male ambassadors we have to leverage the support of others. Jennie is also an advisory board member to the Aston University Enactus team, and mentors with the Prince’s Trust where she proactively supports the pipeline development and challenge of social mobility into Financial Services. Jennie’s recent move to Capital One was partly driven by their internal D&I programme and their proactive presence through Women in Tech alongside their Corporate & Social Responsibility programmes. Since joining Capital One, Jennie has supported in the continued development of their inclusion agenda with an intersectionality lens. She hosted an Inclusion session for her leadership team to start a wider consideration of inclusion such as culture and age crossed with gender; enabling leaders to think differently about potential biases. She has also recently been appointed as the UK lead for their Women’s Resource Group - EmpowHer.

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Senior Campaign Manager

Having joined the gender employee resource network at Virgin, Stephanie has led the launch of inclusive recruitment guides that are used alongside advice the People team give, to ensure that female applicants are on a level playing field. Recommendations included checking language, such as using gender neutral terms, removing exaggerated descriptive words and ‘desirable’ skills, highlighting unconscious bias, ensuring a gender balanced shortlist, and stating the salary range. The document has been well received, and hirers confirmed they could see this improving diversity at the company. Externally, Stephanie is President of women’s network, Bloom UK, which supports the media and marketing industry. Through collective action, Bloom UK’s members champion and encourage realness, vulnerability and honesty to drive genuine change for women. Their Real Voices strategy rests on three core pillars: future-proofing women’s careers via training, mentoring and networking; spearheading industry change with events and the Booth of Truth - a platform for collecting anonymous truths; and paying it forward for the next generation with a mentoring programme for female rising stars and support for their charity partner Women’s Aid. Under Stephanie’s leadership in 2019, they’ve brought more male allies into the equation through a partnership with The Book of Man, and a cross-mentoring pilot with senior industry men, The Exchange

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Senior Account Manager

Charlotte is a vocal champion for gender equality at Cicero, regularly reminding senior leadership of the need to do better in terms of the gender balance of the team and pointing out examples of unconscious bias. She has challenged all-male panels at events and actively participated in efforts to improve the recruitment process; working with HR to improve  the language in job adverts and descriptions, and pressing for more gender balanced shortlists and interview panels. This has led to a more balanced selection of candidates and a more diverse range of hires. Charlotte has used her position as a Women in Public Affairs (WiPA) Committee member to encourage Cicero to host more events specifically on issues of gender equality and has been involved in planning broader events on this issue; for example a successful panel event on equality in the workplace to coincide with 2017’s International Women’s Day. She has taken a leading role in organising social events specifically for women in the business including company-wide networking events. She also mentors junior women within Cicero. As part of the WiPA committee, Charlotte has helped to deliver a full range of events from networking to training for members. She also acted as a mentor for WiPA’s recent speed mentoring session. Beyond WiPA, Charlotte is involved in numerous other initiatives to support D&I across the financial services sector.

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Corporate Counsel

Before joining Salesforce, Nilufar co-led a 900-member strong women’s network at a global energy company, advising on and supporting the company’s policies for attracting, developing and retaining female talent. At Salesforce, she champions the Women’s Network and has supported  internal initiatives to discuss and empower employees to redress gender equality challenges inside and outside the organisation. Nilufar is also a mentor to women inside and outside Salesforce, and showcases her pro bono and Trustee work internally to inspire others to likewise use their skillsets to make impactful contribution within charities. Externally, Nilufar is Trustee of Cruse Bereavement, a charity providing bereavement support through a network of 5,000 volunteers. She is also Chair of the Board for #techmums, an award-winning social enterprise that empowers mums, their families and communities through teaching key technology skills. As Chair for the past three years, Nilufar has devised a hyper-growth strategy to reach one million mums by 2020; developed community-based solutions to increase tech skills amongst mums; helped grow the charity from three trustees and a volunteer to an inclusive board of five trustees and three staff; and implemented improved governance standards and processes. She and the #techmums founder were pivotal in the charity being selected by Nominet Trust to participate in the MUMSCONNECTED initiative; which she and the team successfully rolled out empowering  socially and economically disadvantaged young mums nationwide with new-found tech skills and confidence. Nilufar has supported the charity in achieving funding grants and strategic corporate partnerships enabling growth of product reach and staffing. Nilufar is also regular speaker and panellist at D&I events, and is also Founder and Chair of London Legal Ladies, a women’s development programme.

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Head of Services Marketing EMEIA

Kam Dhillon is Head of Services Marketing EMEIA at Fujitsu. She has over 18 years of global experience in key leadership roles, developing go-to-market strategies focused on accelerating revenue growth and driving customer value. Throughout her career, Kam has been a champion for gender equality. As Co-Chair of Fujitsu’s Women’s Business Network (WBN), Kam supports the recruitment, development and empowerment of over 1,500 women within Fujitsu UK. Her role involves developing and creating plans with customers, partners and D&I networks (internally and externally) for short and long term initiatives that will have a positive impact for women. Kam conducted research with members of the WBN to understand what the network needed to do to support members. From this, the WBN launched mentoring and development programmes for women at different stages within their careers. For example, “Future Me”, a programme helping to develop women in the early stages of their careers. Kam supported Fujitsu’s Gender Pay Gap initiative by influencing the action plan; resulting in an improvement of 1.5% within a year and continues to advocate and support the eradication of the Gender Pay Gap. WBN also run events for young girls, encouraging them to build STEM skills and consider STEM careers. Kam is also a role model to women from ethnically diverse backgrounds and has been involved with numerous initiatives to champion women beyond Fujitsu on the topic of The Power of Diversity.

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Executive Director

Lin has championed women and diversity throughout her career and has spoken at many events outside of the firm, including for the MuLan Foundation, at the Wo+Men Conference at Cambridge University, firms such as EY and Linklaters, and before the House of Lords. Lin is currently in the process of establishing a network which aims to connect Chinese and Western women to address her larger goal of breaking the glass and bamboo ceilings. Lin was the winner of the “Excellence in Banking” award at the Chinese Business Leaders Awards 2016 and was recognised in Brummell’s 2017 list as one of the most inspirational women in the City of London. In 2019, she is listed as one of the 50 Ethnic Minority Future Leaders by EMpower. Lin has authored a widely-acclaimed presentation based on her personal journey growing up in mainland China, highlighting the lives of three generations of Chinese women - from Lin’s grandmother who lived through a Japanese colony to her mother who grew up during the Cultural Revolution, to Lin who is a millennial after the one child policy. She pioneered a Diversity Conference decoding how unconscious bias, in particular cultural influences, can impact behaviour and how to transform existing stereotypes in the workplace. At the Goldman Sachs Young Professional and Future Leaders Conference, Lin shared insights on the uncovered similarities between Western and Chinese millennials.

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Product Analyst

Having recently joined AND Digital, Lola founded AND She Can; an initiative to raise awareness, inspire, support, educate and facilitate the transition of young girls into a career in technology. Since founding this initiative, she has hosted an education discovery workshop with education specialists who have provided their input into how AND She Can could be successful. She has been able to attract 17+ AND Digital employees to gain STEM ambassador training and this year defined a roadmap for 2019/2020 to ensure that the initiative is engaging and building long term relationships with schools. Additionally, the initiative has joined the Tech She Can chapter founded by PwC to ensure girls are at the top of the agenda. Beyond AND, Lola founded thinkHER ambition, an organisation aiming to upskill 14-19 year old girls. Since its founding last year, thinkHER ambition has impacted over 500 young women and partnered with organisations such as Google, YouTube, Accenture, EY and IBM. thinkHER ambition curates workshops and events to ensure that every girl who walks through the door has an actionable takeaway and has been provided opportunities that they may not otherwise have had due to circumstances such as their location, their school or even their social capital. The organisation raised £5,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, and aims to use this to launch upskilling academies in London. Lola also co-leads Now You’re Talking, a millennial women’s community connecting like-minded future leaders to opportunities and resources.  

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Director of AI, Data & Industry Solutions in Financial Services, Global Data Centre of Excellence

Over the last 10 years, Sarah has been helping to change the stereotypes of FinTechs and AI organisations from being male dominated and actively encourages women and other minority groups to get into STEM, FinTech and consulting through her work on the Executive boards; of DevelopHer, Cass Global Women's Leaders Programme and running events and training through EY Women in Tech (EY WIT). In EY WIT, Sarah helps provide technical bootcamps which train people to code in various languages and software. Sarah has spoken at numerous events to train people on Data, AI and Ethics, and moderated a panel discussion on the rise of women in AI. Last year, Sarah trained five EY employees in building virtual agents, who then trained 200 colleagues alongside Sarah. On International Women’s Day 2019, Sarah received the EY Change Maker award for her efforts to support women and champion those in the LGBT+ community. In her external work on executive boards, Sarah continues to change stereotypes. Through the Cass Global Women’s Leadership Programme, she helps to provide scholarships to women globally for university qualifications, with access to mentoring and networking. With DevelopHer, Sarah runs mentoring, coaching and coding events to help the 12,000+ women in the community into STEM. Sarah is also an advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI, where she promotes D&I.

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Head of Sales, Global Liquidity and Cash Management

Now in her third year as Chair of HSBC’s gender ERG, BALANCE, Melisa is working hard to support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Membership has tripled over the course of a single year, with a new team structure, working groups and the involvement of men. Melisa is proud of the new opportunities brought about by these changes, including leadership development for those heading up the new working groups and the ability to execute multiple effective initiatives simultaneously. Some of the group’s more recent initiatives include a ‘Balance for Better’ walk through the city to raise awareness for gender equity on International Women’s Day; a breakfast for employees and their sons and daughters; inspirational meet-ups with senior executive women at HSBC; workshops with women entrepreneurs in low-income neighbourhoods alongside a credit support initiative to support their projects; and a workshop with more than 80 students to discuss the gender pay gap and inclusivity in the workplace. Melisa is also mentoring and sponsoring a young professional woman at HSBC. Last year’s HERoes recognition encouraged her to help launch ‘Mujeres al Mundo’, Women to the World, to connect businesswomen with new markets and opportunities, taking advantage of HSBC’s international footprint. Alongside milestone successes with Mujeres al Mundo, Melisa participates in local female networks. In addition, she is involved as a mentor in an international mentoring program with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

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Associate in Technology, Media, IP & Competition

Katherine champions diversity across every channel, leading diversity networks, mentoring, writing and speaking at events. She is called upon both internally and externally by clients and diversity organisations, and by the UN and regulatory bodies, to provide advice regarding diversity issues, particularly surrounding gender and disability. Katherine is the Founder and Chair of CMS Enable Disability & Wellbeing Network and is an active member of CMS Women in Business, BAME and an ally to LGBT+ Networks. She has given keynote speeches on International Women’s Day, addressing women across the organisation regarding her journey and promoting gender diversity. Katherine introduced monthly mindfulness sessions to combat stress at her firm, and participated in the Lord Mayor’s Appeal campaign, ‘This is Me’, with her Guide Dog for the Blind, to destigmatise mental health as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. In her international development career, Katherine championed women’s career development in the projects she undertook domestically and globally. Externally, Katherine spoke on diversity and intersectionality at the Women in Law Summit in May 2019, receiving a standing ovation. She was also a panel speaker at The Law Society International Symposium: The power of gender equality to transform the business of law in June 2019.  She has participated in the First 100 Years Project, celebrating 100 years of Women in Law, recorded a podcast for the Law Society’s inspirational women series,  a short film for the Solicitors Regulation Authority on ‘Why a disability inclusive workplace makes a difference’ , and is a regular speaker at diversity and inclusion events.

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Field Vice President

Magdalene has served as Head of GSK’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) for the past four years, and has led significant change to build a more balanced organisation within GSK. During her tenure, WLI’s membership has grown from 1,500 to over 6,500 and from six chapters to 22 with members across over 40 different countries. Annual survey results demonstrate that WLI members overwhelmingly feel that WLI benefits the company overall and helps them perform better in their day jobs. To supplement WLI’s work at a grassroots level, Magdalene worked with key stakeholders within GSK last year to construct a Global Gender Council, which aims to progress gender diversity at all levels in within the company. Magdalene sits on the Global Gender Council as the voice of WLI. Through WLI, Magdalene’s team was able to persuade GSK to sign on as one of 11 founding companies of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s (HBA) Gender Parity Collaborative. Independently of GSK, Magdalene has held several board positions within the HBA, a non-profit dedicated to the leadership advancement and impact for women in healthcare. Magdalene drove the HBA’s establishment in the UK and has helped to establish the organisation across Europe. She has also been involved with the UK Government’s Women’s Business Council’s work to support the attraction, retention and promotion of women in to STEM careers in the UK.

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Vice President, Islamic Marketing

Shelina takes an active role in organisational events, those both directly related to women as well as more general events, in order to ensure there is an upfront presence of women demonstrating leadership, insight and confidence, and is one of the most referenced spokespeople at Ogilvy in the media. She has written for the Guardian about her experiences as an ethnic minority at Ogilvy, and represented the company at their International Women’s Day event last year. Shelina is part of the Roots diversity group within Ogilvy, and is on the steering committee for WPP Roots, as well as sitting on WPP’s Inclusion board and Ogilvy’s Inclusion board. A visible role model, Shelina works to informally mentor upcoming women through the organisation, sharing her own experiences of developing a flexible parent-friendly career. She has pushed for change at her company to accommodate flexible working, and insisted that her daughters travelled with her for business when they were young. Externally, Shelina has written for numerous publications and appeared in TV and radio to highlight the challenges facing women in business, and to encourage women to step into new spaces, especially in the various sectors of the creative economy. She has served as a D&AD New Blood Award Judge and is working with the BFI to tackle the structural challenges for Muslim women in the industry. She has judged the Young Muslim Writers Awards and written two books about Muslim Women’s experiences and representation, Love in a Headscarf and Generation M.

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Director, Digital Lead

Lejla has been actively engaged in BNY Mellon’s Diversity and Inclusion programmes for over 10 years, first as a member, then a mentor, and now a leader at the regional and global levels. She currently chairs BNY Mellon Pittsburgh IMPACT BRG focused on the recruitment, promotion and retention of multi-cultural employees. She is also the Global COO providing executive support and governance for IMPACT globally. Lejla continues to mentor employees with IMPACT and the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN). She co-created the WIN GROW, a seven month mentoring programme focused on promoting women to leadership positions. Lejla participated as a panellist in BNY Mellon’s WIN 2019 International Women’s Day Pittsburgh event to speak about her experiences and thoughts on how the company can “Balance for Better”, highlighting the importance of gender-balanced boardrooms, politics and education, and the significance of intentional actions. She’s particularly focused on intentionality as it relates to women of colour. Externally, Lejla mentors middle school refugee girls from Nepal, Thailand and Africa through SHIM, where she is also a board member. She works to encourage girls into the STEM field through innovative exercises, and has organised women speakers from diverse cultures to further inspire the girls. She and the other mentors discuss the challenges of navigating the world as an ethnic minority woman, and many young women who go through the programme end up in higher education.

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Director, Consulting Technology

Shilpa leads Deloitte’s Alternative Delivery Models agenda and programme and is passionate about Respect and Inclusion. She leads the award winning Women in Technology (WiT) network at Deloitte and is an active member and supporter of the Multi-Cultural Network (MCN). Shilpa has spoken at many WiT and MCN events to inspire members and clients and those from ethnic minority backgrounds to reach their full potential. Shilpa has mentored over 100 individuals within Deloitte and externally. She also mentors and speaks with students, including 100 women from India sponsored by the UK British Council to undertake their Masters at UK universities. Shilpa has appeared on BBC Radio London and Radio 4’s Women’s Hour discussing diversity and will be speaking at the upcoming Alpbach forum on ‘Unleashing Europe’s Digital Potential’. She is a Board member of the Institute of Coding’s Industry Advisory Board, focussed on widening participation and improving the industry relevance of computer science degrees. To inspire future BAME STEM talent she has sponsored and driven Deloitte’s participation in ‘Your Future, Your Ambition’ at the Emirates Stadium for six years. She has delivered ‘People Like Me’ training to inspire young girls to consider Physics A Level and has worked with CoderDojo to help children to learn coding skills.

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Managing Consultant

Harjinder leads on PwC’s gender work, including all gender proposals and programmes. She is passionate about gender equality in the workplace, and ensures that gender is integrated and mainstreamed in the business. She works as an advisor to the PwC and Strategy Gender Balance Network and Talent and Inclusion team to help position PwC as a lead on gender and diversity. She has delivered numerous training sessions on gender across PwC to increase awareness and understanding, and has produced thought leadership pieces and given presentations on the topic. Externally, Harjinder has spent over 15 years undertaking mentoring and voluntary work for UK and international women’s organisations. She has volunteered as a Board Director for two domestic violence organisations, Eaves and the Domestic Violence Intervention Project, and for a further two years a researcher and refuge worker for a domestic violence refuge (North Kent Women’s Aid). She has also volunteered with organisations such as the GREAT Initiative which aims to challenge stereotypes of masculinity and to engage men and boys in the movement towards gender equality. Harjinder has spent time working with and advising gender and child-based charities in Asia and Africa. She has also mentored up to fifty young women nationally and internationally, including through the Women of the Future programme.

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Trading Business Manager

Abisola works as a Trading Business Manager within Barclays’ Investment Bank, responsible for bespoke Trading desks of various expertise. Abisola also co-chairs the ‘Recruit and Retain’ committee of Barclays’ Gender Network, WIN, which exists to engage all genders across the organisation to attract, develop and retain women at all levels. Abisola focuses specifically on early recruitment of highly capable and talented women into the Bank, engaging them through University outreach events, social media insights, and external co-partner events. Her particular passion is ensuring the next generation are empowered and encouraged to be the best version of themselves, with the appropriate support and guidance they require early in their careers. Through the bespoke first year female internship programme Abisola sponsors, to the networking and mentoring offerings her team deliver for full-time interns, and new partnership external events for students and graduates, Abisola has the opportunity to empower and engage young women. Outside of Barclays, Abisola frequently engages alongside Universities, student societies and other organisations to advance female talent. She returns on an annual basis to her two alma mater universities to deliver confidence workshops and private seminars, leaning on her own experience progressing through the Banking industry. She offers follow-up online and in-person coaching sessions with attendees, understanding their motivations and development points, and supporting them through applications and interviews – regardless of industry. She is also involved in the Women of Brummell, Women in Banking & Finance and WeAreTheCity, sitting on a host of conference panels and interviews.

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Internal Engagement Manager

At the outset of her career, Anna was one of fifteen employees selected to work with the Chef Operating Officer to launch AXA’s UK Diversity Forum to promote a culture where women feel supported, respected and valued for their differences, improving their representation in senior roles, attracting more job applications from those with disabilities, and introducing a formal process to request flexible working to support working parents. She spearheaded the launch campaign for Bristol Women’s Network to drive localised activity for 3,000 employees and stood in a nationwide election to lead Aviva Balance, winning the most votes to Chair the UK community. Anna’s steering committee of ten acts as Aviva’s voice for gender equality and provides qualitative insight into issues affecting women, which she has supported other organisations with and spoken about at the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers’ annual conference. She works closely with Aviva’s other D&I Networks to ensure an intersectional approach, so women who identify with multiple groups are all represented. On International Day of the Girl, she joined 100 underprivileged schoolgirls and 100 professionals in an event led by June Sarpong and Beyond the Classroom. Alongside her day job, she was shortlisted as a ‘Women in Marketing’ Changemaker and achieved a Grade A in Marketing Week’s Mini MBA. Whilst on maternity leave, Anna maintained her impact by becoming a ‘QuinnyCaster’, road-testing baby products and creating content to review them for social media. She now creates opportunities for the next generation of girls to develop less traditional skills, including her daughter becoming a Toy Awards judge and reviewing STEM toys for a leading publication.

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Management Consultant

Alongside senior leaders, Mary became one of the PwC Gender Balance Network's #PressForProgress champions, being featured due to her work supporting and encouraging women in the workplace. She hosts informal lean-in sessions for peers to discuss careers and workplace challenges, and shared her thoughts on being a woman in the corporate world through her blog, A Millennial’s Diary, discussing topics such as Shine Theory. Mary mentored four young women in PwC’s women in business programme, a work experience shadowing programme for female university students. She also co-led the relaunch of the PwC Financial Services Next Generation network which provides a fun environment to share knowledge about financial services in a judgement-free zone. She has used her role as Co-Chair of the Multicultural Business Network (MBN) to recognise the intersectionality of culture and gender, organising the rollout of #IamRemarkable training for 100+ MBN members, a Google initiative that aims to encourage women to speak openly about their accomplishments. Externally, Mary founded and runs a millennial women’s community, Now You’re Talking, which now consists of 250+ predominantly ethnic minority women. The group connects like-minded future leaders to opportunities and resources and organises a wide range of events focused on personal and professional development. She also actively mentors students via the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick Women in Consulting mentoring schemes to provide career direction and guidance.

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Managing Partner, The Corporate Practice
WPP

The Corporate Practice that Aisling leads at WPP is a committed agitator for positive impact. As well as championing diversity among clients, Aisling is involved in a wide range of mentoring and training for women of all levels and functions at WPP. She personally supports female colleagues through training, career development, conflict resolution, challenges returning to work from time off, and salary negotiation. Aisling also contributes to WPP’s formal mentoring programmes, such as their X Factor programme which prepares women for the next level of executive leadership. Aisling herself is an alumnus and shares what she learned with the women she manages and mentors. Aisling negotiated free office space for the WOW Foundation, the organisers of the annual Women of the World Festival. Beyond WPP, Aisling is passionately involved in wildlife conservation, supporting numerous NGOs. She advises and mentors many women who are senior in these organisations, and in August she hosted some of them in her home.Recently, Aisling joined the Board of Trustees of CSL (Conservation South Luangwa) an anti-poaching and wildlife rescue NGO based in Zambia. As the WPP lead for the United Nations, Aisling has been an advisor to the UN Women. Aisling also helped create The People’s Seat campaign with the UN and UNFCCC. The People’s Seat gave people the opportunity to have their voice heard directly by world leaders. Launched at the 2018 UN Climate Change Conference, Aisling interviewed Greta Thunberg, amplifying the inspirational activist’s voice on the global stage.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Practice Group Head of Human Resources and Pensions
Eversheds Sutherland LLP

In addition to her role as the Global Head of the Employment, Labour and Pensions legal practice, Diane is the firm’s first Gender Champion and the Diversity and Inclusion sponsor across Eversheds Sutherland’s international business.  She is working to increase diversity in all areas and to drive change and embed a culture where women have opportunities to progress their careers. Last year, she spearheaded the launch of the firm’s new Development Plus programme, which invited 130 female participants from countries across five continents to join four sessions across the year designed to aid their career progression, with some excellent feedback and outputs. As leader of the Gender Network, Diane has co-ordinated focused activity around career and skills development, flexible working, raising awareness of parental leave, tackling unconscious bias, providing access to role models and personally worked to mentor others and supported colleagues to act as champions of change. Externally, Diane has worked on an initiative in the further education sector to increase the number of female college governors across England. She has supported the women’s development programme network at a major financial institution for a number of years, and as part of that programme worked with around 40 talented women in their business group. She has championed equality, diversity and inclusion issues, with a focus on gender diversity for many years, by speaking at events, including the Women’s Leadership Network.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Planning Officer
Kinetic

Throughout her time at Kinetic, Nicole has dedicated herself to helping both male and female staff understand the challenges faced by women in the workplace. Using her extensive network of industry peers, she regularly arranges for speakers to present to the business on a broad range of diversity and inclusion topics, whilst also championing a dedicated training programme for female staff on topics such as leadership, effective communication and empowerment. From her experiences returning to work following maternity leave, Nicole has worked with Kinetic’s Talent team to develop a programme to help returning mothers settle back into the workplace – she also wrote a blog for IWD on this subject. In 2017, Nicole broadened her focus to help improve working conditions for women across the wider industry. She established “Balance”, a diversity and inclusion network for Out Of Home advertising, with the ambition of inspiring women to stay in the sector longer and attract a more diverse range of talent. Balance regularly publishes on a range of topics, and has also hosted three industry conferences focused on educating leaders and senior managers on how to understand unconscious biases and the impact of improving processes and business cultures to create a more diverse and empowering workplace. Looking ahead, a new event is planned, aimed at breaking the silence on some of the more challenging issues specifically faced by women in the workplace, such as miscarriage, infertility and menopause – overcoming taboos and showing our industry how to better support women in order to keep them succeeding.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Co-Head of Economic Crime Risk
Oliver Wyman

Lisa is a Global Executive Sponsor for Oliver Wyman’s Inclusive Leadership Initiatives, encouraging global programmes which increase gender diversity. This includes setting ambitious gender balance targets across senior teams at the firm. She also sponsors work with an advisory firm aimed at increasing the number of female partners in leadership positions. Lisa is Executive Sponsor for Women of Oliver Wyman (WOW), where she leads the team to promote gender diversity, supporting the firm’s UK gender pay gap response, reviewing parental policies, establishing a ‘Men4Change’ programme and leading a ‘sharing stories’ initiative. In addition, Lisa is UK&I Executive Committee Sponsor for D&I, where she ensures all D&I activities are brought to the leadership team. Beyond Oliver Wyman, Lisa sponsors various organisations and mentoring schemes. She is a board member of Best Beginnings, a charity focused on helping new parents give every child in the UK the best start in life; the Green Hat Foundation, a charity focused on helping individuals re-enter the workforce. She also regularly speaks at events and published articles on female inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Senior Managing Director
Alliance Bernstein

Kim is Executive Sponsor of Women of Wealth, a group within Bernstein Private Wealth designed to add additional training and mentorship for skills development of next generation women. She sits on the Global Culture Committee for the CEO to design a workplace of inclusion, diversity and individual/corporate success. She is also National Leader for Diversity and Culture, designing better recruitment and retention strategies to enhance the firm’s workforce for future business success. Externally, Kim is Executive Sponsor of Thinking Out Loud, supporting events for UHNW women to explore traits of highly successful women, designed to inspire women to take calculated risk, to push for higher plateaus, to advocate for equality and to build a community that can support and lift each other up. She is also Development Chair for Sheltering Arms, raising awareness and money to support disadvantaged children and families, with an emphasis on fundraising to sponsor young girls’ education, increasing confidence and advancement.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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VP Digital Transformation & Innovation
Fujitsu

As the UK Executive sponsor for the Women’s Business Network, Wendy is focused on helping women succeed in Fujitsu – a workplace that has featured in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women for the second consecutive year.  She has improved recruitment processes, built two female development programmes and gained board level investment and sponsorship, affording specific development programmes to 80 Fujitsu women in the UK and driving positive gender balance on the leadership team. She created and hosted a House of Commons event on the power of diversity and is leading a Gender Pay Gap Action Plan which aims to eradicate the pay gap to 0% by 2021. Externally, she has been re-elected to sit on the techUK Diversity and Skills Council for the third year, and last year successfully led the techUK Returners programme, giving it a more inclusive image and improving the content to make it more useful for returners and other organisations. Wendy also mentors men and women outside of Fujitsu, and provides over 10 hours of coaching each month.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Head of Legal Personnel
Reed Smith LLP

As the Global Head of Legal Personnel, Reed Smith’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative and the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) report directly to Casey, providing a great opportunity to innovate and drive positive change.  Reed Smith was an inaugural signatory to the Mansfield Rule, through which Casey and her team guided the firm’s efforts to ensure women and diverse attorneys comprise at least 30% of the candidates for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions. Casey also has introduced innovative initiatives to address demands on working women, including an online course assisting pregnant women to plan for leave and to return to work; a breast milk storage and shipping service to assist breastfeeding attorneys who are travelling for work; a ‘Ramp-Up/Ramp-Down’ programme, allowing attorneys on extended absences to ramp up and down from 60% of expected hours to full time over 16 weeks with no impact on their compensation; and an Associate Life initiative, aimed at providing business skills and an overall positive experience at work.  Externally, Casey has co-chaired the United Way of Allegheny County’s Women’s Leadership Council, during which time the number of members in the WLC increased to more than 2,000 and significant finances were raised for women’s causes. She has also been a long-time supporter of the Girl Scouts, who have recently honoured her for her efforts as Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania’s Woman of Distinction in Government & Law.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CFO & business service director
Stella McCartney

Given that the workforce at Stella McCartney is 80% female, Sandra guides women through nurturing and supporting them in the workplace. She actively supports women in the organisation to complete core hours, ensuring a beneficial work-life balance. She is actively supporting women’s emotional intelligence in the workplace, helping them to grow and nourish their talents and build careers to be proud of. Externally, Sandra acts as a mentor for The Girls Network, helping to guide young women with the direction of their career and to make worthy business choices. She has been collaborating with the Istituto Marangoni and has recently joined the INvolve mentoring programme as a mentor. Sandra regularly speak on panels, sharing her mentoring experiences and helping to empower young, ethnic minority women. Sandra has also judged on the panel at the Barclaycard ‘Every women in retail’ awards, where she supported other women who share her hard work ethic. Alongside this, Sandra joined the financial times as a speaker at the CFO dialogues in November; where she guided aspiring CFOs on the importance of changing the workforce, and talent management.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of Fuse
Allen & Overy LLP

In 2017, Shruti launched tech innovation space Fuse, which is designed to help lawyers to touch, feel and understand the impact of technology. As an Asian female partner, she is acutely aware of the lack of diversity on the tech sector generally as well as specifically in LawTech. She seeks to redress this balance by providing opportunities for females within A&O. Examples include hosting and participating in a Women in Derivatives session on tech innovation and organising Code First: Girls to teach coding  to emerging female leaders at A&O alongside their counterparts at a key client. As a school governor at Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls in Elstree, Shruti is on the strategy committee, on which she has a focus on ensuring that the young women leaving school are well prepared for the future. She is also an active member of the all-female fundraising committee of the charity, Noah’s Ark Childrens Hospice. Shruti participates in female mentoring, including through the LegalGeek network. She works hard to support female entrepreneurs and women in STEM careers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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General Partner
Street Global Venture Capital

Alysia founded and is a General Partner at Street Global Venture Capital where an appreciation for diversity’s value is embedded in her firm’s strategy, engagement with the market and standard operational behaviour. Practically speaking, Alysia’s firm engages with more women in business, science and finance than is typical, finds more opportunities because they are diversity-friendly and capitalises on more opportunities because they engage with a wide range of people. Alysia invests globally to improve financial freedom, health, entrepreneurial productivity and economic security, a group of investing themes for empowering women. The firm reinforces embracing diversity in their brand articulation and public media presence. The firm has also done philanthropic outreach and education via online media and public speaking. Externally, Alysia is a UN Global Champion for Women’s Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. She created a radio show that democratised access to advice on entrepreneurship, technology and investing. She advises government ministers from a globally diverse group of countries, both in private and in public forums and has one-on-one relationships with key people and leaders in governments in Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, the UK, the US and Canada. Alysia also speaks before officials at development forums on economic development and empowerment, and at educational institutions and general public education forums.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vice President of Operations
Nicor Gas

Throughout her 27 years with Nicor Gas, Christa has acted as a prominent role model for women in the energy industry. She is a founding member and executive sponsor of Nicor Gas’ ERG Inspire, an inclusive network focusing on women’s issues, working to inspire women to fulfil their personal and professional potential. Christa regularly speaks at Inspire events. Other Nicor Gas ERGs have benefitted from Christa’s experience through presentations and panel discussions. Christa makes herself available for one-to-one meetings with employees to discuss career progression. She has encouraged women in the workplace to step up into leadership positions within their boards, ensuring they have an opportunity to develop professionally outside of the company. She is board chair of Voices for Illinois Children, an independent, nonpartisan advocacy organisation that champions strong public policies and investments for all Illinois children. She brings her leadership and mentorship to the classroom where she regularly presents on “The Future of Energy” to high school students. Christa is also a founding member of the Women’s Energy Network and third president of the Chicago chapter, an organization which educates girls on STEM careers and seeks to attract, retain and promote women in the energy industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer, Americas
Standard Chartered Bank

Nancy has been the Chair of Standard Chartered Bank’s Gender Engagement Network (GEN) in the Americas for the last five years. When she took over the leadership of the network, she successfully spearheaded the effort to change its name from ‘Women’s Initiative Network (WIN)’ to the ‘Gender Engagement Network’, recognising the imperative to include men in the conversation. The rebranding in the Americas region led to a swift tripling of membership over the course of the first six months. Nancy campaigned for the network’s UK counterparts to do the same, which has also resulted in significant growth! In 2018, GEN undertook over 45 events, both internal and client-focused, with activities including a client recognition award in honour of International Women’s Day, a movie screening of and conversations around RBG, a Meet and Eat series with senior management, creation of Lean In Circles, and a number of career building and networking workshops. GEN also led the charge to have Standard Chartered publish an Influencer Statement for International Women’s Day 2019 in support of #BalanceforBetter. Nancy also ensures that graduate recruitment has ample female representation through participation in the steering committee. Externally, Nancy is an active member of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance Governance Board and participates in a number of formal and informal mentoring relationships with women covering different aspects of their career within Standard Chartered, plus involvement in many other efforts to drive gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM//McCann

Nicky is leading the diversity charge in the marketing industry, with the board at her agency MRM-McCann boasting a 50:50 gender split, including the recent hire of a female Chief Financial Officer. The agency has also become a founding supporter of the Creative Equals Returnship programme, welcoming women back in to the industry following a significant absence. MRM-McCann continues to invest in retaining female talent, sending 4 women to the Global Web Summit in Lisbon and maintaining their Flexy Forty programme, allowing women to ‘work work’ around their lives and family commitments without judgement. Externally she has been working with NoMore, the charity working to end domestic and sexual violence against women, creating work that will use voice technology to highlight the warning signs of verbal abuse – a common precursor to physical violence. She has also worked with the Miscarriage Association on their Cards of Acknowledgement project, allowing the charity to, quite literally, put help in the hands of those who need it most. She was also President of the Direct Jury at the Cannes Lions Festival 2019, the most prestigious industry awards show in the world.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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MD
Pinch Point Communications

Sarah is committed to diversity and runs Spring Forward, an annual conference encouraging women to think about leadership positions and providing life and career inspiration. In 2019 the conference explored the theme of authentic leadership and 100% of delegates said they would recommend it to a friend. In February 2019, Sarah published a white paper titled The C Words: culture, confidence and choice, Women in the Boardroom. The paper draws on research from the inaugural Spring Forward conference and makes a number of recommendations for women and employers; including introducing Rosie’s Rule, calling on organisations to interview at least one competent and qualified women for every senior leadership position. Sarah is exploring the launch of a mentoring programme in 2020 and continues to mentor a number of women within the fields of PR and communication and beyond. She was appointed Chair of the Taylor Bennett Foundation in 2017, and is a Non-Executive Director at the HSE - their youngest board appointment. Externally, Sarah has joined the charity Speakers for Schools, delivering talks on PR, journalism and being a woman in business. She has also been appointed as an independent advisor to the Welsh Assembly Commission and Chair of their Workforce, Engagement and Remuneration Committee.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder & CEO
Genddex

Danielle has more than 15 years of experience in business development in various industries, and from the age of sixteen alongside her career, she's always had social activities.  She's passionate about innovation, Tech, and communications. Within her artificial intelligence and data-driven startup, Genddex, Danielle has committed to numerous initiatives to bring about gender parity. Danielle is also Co-Founder and the Leader of Parliament51 ('P51'), a social impact venture aiming to achieve gender equality and equal opportunities for women in the workplace. Parliament51 have established a close international community of influential top executives in their fields in London, Berlin, Melbourne, Tel Aviv and New York. P51 are working with companies to narrow gender gaps through their Statement of Principles Women in the Workplace Standard, currently working with more than 50 companies in Israel and more companies abroad covering 350,000 employees. Danielle created a unique methodology called: "Design Equality", which uses a number of innovative tools and applications including cross-company, cross-industry and cross-cultures working groups, knowledge and information sharing, guidance and mentoring. P51 works first within companies, then uses these organizations as role models for other companies and industries. Danielle mentors women extensively throughout the industry and around the globe.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Google Israel’s business
Google

Einat is a senior member of Google Israel’s management and is constantly striving for gender equality, promoting women to senior positions and acting as a very visible female role model. As a member of Parliament 51, she has signed Google up to the statement for gender equality. Externally, Einat is a mentor to many women at different stages in their careers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief People Officer
Metro Bank plc

As Chief People Officer, Danny encourages diverse applicants to vacancies at Metro Bank through specific wording on job adverts and transparent salaries for all positions. She has introduced a gender balance check as part of the annual reward review recommendations to help leaders understand the gender impact of decisions during the reward process, and a requirement for diverse longlists for all jobs, especially more senior hires. Danny speaks at and supports events and panels for the Metro Bank Women on Work ERG and signed up to the Women in Finance Charter alongside many other initiatives, leading to one of the lowest gender pay gaps in banking, an increase in women in senior leadership roles and more women appointed to the Board. Danny is passionate about making sure that men and women are included in conversations on gender and Metro Bank offers equal shared parental leave to all colleagues regardless of their gender.  Danny is Master of the Guild of HR Professionals.  She mentors several women and attended the BBC 50:50 initiative to have more women included in the media.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director and Partner
Boston Consulting Group

Nadjia is the Diversity & Inclusion lead for BCG UK, overseeing all four diversity networks: Women@BCG, Pride@BCG, London Black Network and Family@BCG. This is in addition to her client service role in helping banks, central banks, payments providers and insurers fundamentally change their technology systems, organizational structures and digital customer experiences. A passionate advocate for empowering individuals and technology in the workplace, Nadjia is heavily involved in shaping and progressing both BCG’s own diversity agenda, and those of other organisations and society more broadly. She heads up the local Women@BCG network, through which she drives gender inclusion through recruiting, mentoring, career support, bonding, policies and external engagement. She has co-authored various research pieces on diversity, the findings of which have helped to drive BCG’s internal policies and the work the group does with clients. Externally, Nadjia is an advisor to a number of organisations on their diversity policies, particularly those related to gender. She strives to act as a mentor and role model both within BCG and with external networks. Nadjia launched Diversity Drivers, an external network of leaders from across industries who are passionate about D&I to create a platform for other organisations to replicate successful models. She is a member of the Women’s Forum Daring Circle for STEM, which aims to increase the number of women in STEM roles. Outside of work, Nadjia is a supporter of the charity Women for Women International, helping female survivors of war rebuild their lives.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, Head of Group Innovation Partnerships, Programmes and Rise FinTech Platform
Barclays

Mariquit is setting an example as an active and vocal champion for firm-sponsored initiatives focused on D&I. She has led fireside chats and mentored with Encore, a 12-week paid fellowship programme aimed at helping professionals, primarily women, return to work. She has also participated in panels with the firm-wide women’s network, WIN, focusing on career progression and supporting initiatives to promote professional growth. Mariquit is leveraging her network to help women at all levels increase their experience in the FinTech space, expand their network and grow their skills. Mariquit drives ‘Women in Technology’ initiatives, and recently moderated a panel comprised of female senior business executives and entrepreneurs at an event in which Women’s Bond Club scholarships were awarded to remarkable young women graduating high school. She has been asked to represent Barclays at the 2019 Grace Hopper event, where she will share insights on the firm’s focus to support women in technology. Mariquit is also currently leading the development of a flagship programme to back female entrepreneurs. Externally, Mariquit led the launch of ‘Female Executives in FinTech,’ which aims to develop an engaged community of executives and investors focused on established, growth-stage and early-stage companies led by women, ultimately working towards levelling the playing field. She also regularly participates in gender diversity-focused events as a keynote speaker and panellist.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy Director Marketing International
Warner Music Central Europe

Nina is a strong advocate for equal rights and equal pay. She ensures that mothers on her team are offered more flexibility in their contracts to allow them to balance work and family. She has created a training programme for interns, many of whom are women, to enable them to develop their potential, help them build their confidence and to support them in their next career steps. The programme has led to an increased number of young professionals being offered long-term jobs at Warner Music Central Europe after successful internships. Nina keeps closely connected with all her female former employees to offer support and networking opportunities. Externally, Nina was a member of the Board of Trustees and speaker at the newly-founded Recorded Music Summer School in 2018. Alongside designing modules and lectures on the course, Nina held a lecture with two other female marketing experts in Music, providing a great opportunity for young female professionals to gain more insight into the Music industry, to get a clearer idea of potential employers and to find female mentors to guide them on their career paths.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO Europe, Middle East & Africa and Bank Distribution
Zurich Insurance Company Ltd

Amanda is passionate about driving gender equality in the workplace and has introduced a number of initiatives, both as CEO of AXA UK & Ireland and in her most recent role as CEO of Zurich EMEA. When recruiting for senior leadership positions, gender-neutral language is embedded into job descriptions, candidate lists for senior management positions are gender balanced, coaching is offered on presentation and interview techniques and targets are set for increasing female representation in senior positions.  To share first hand experiences with others, she talks of frequently being the only woman in the boardroom, holding open-mic sessions with women in business and writing online blogs about balancing being a CEO with having a family. Amanda also often uses her own network to advocate women for roles in other organisations which helps to develop careers and ensures barriers to women’s progression are tackled. Amanda signed the Women in Finance Charter for Axa UK and became one of the global executive sponsors of the Zurich Women’s Innovation Network. Externally, Amanda was the first female Chair of the Association of British Insurers, the first female Chair of The Insurance Fraud Bureau and the second female President of the Chartered Insurance Institute. As Chair of the ABI she supported the September 2018 ABI Gender Report which identified tangible actions to ensure women’s career progression. She has taken part in the House of Commons’ Treasury Select Committee on Women in Finance and regularly speaks at industry events and to the press to raise awareness and act as a catalyst for change. Amanda is also involved with ‘Speakers for Schools’; a non-profit aiming to “end educational inequality by giving young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools.” She chooses to try and make a difference at schools located close to her family roots in the Rhondda Valley in Wales.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Macquarie Bank

In her previous roles such as at UBS Investment Bank and AIG Asset Management, Carolyn has organised regular meetings where women Managing Directors or senior leaders speak to other women about their careers and listen to their female colleagues’ issues. These meetings are a great networking opportunity for more junior women to build relationships with those in senior positions. When she noticed that her firm did not have a mentoring program in place, Carolyn found mentors for her staff herself. Now at Macquarie, she is part of the steering committee of Balance EMEA, its women’s network, and continues to organise intimate ‘non-corporate’ brunches in private houses to create a strong bond between the few women working in front office, leading to better retention of female staff through support and sponsorship. Externally, Carolyn volunteers with The Girls’ Network, spending time with teenage mentees over coffee, lunch or museum and cinema trips, and inviting them to her office and introducing her to colleagues. Carolyn also volunteers both  at committee level and on the ground with the Junior League of London a women-only charity that aims to promote voluntary service, develop the potential of women and improve the London community through the effective action and leadership of its trained volunteers.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer
Diageo

This year Mairead led the transformation of Diageo’s parental leave policies globally – offering female employees globally a minimum of 26 weeks fully paid maternity leave. Diageo also set a global minimum standard of four weeks fully paid paternity leave, with a majority of Diageo’s businesses adopting 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including the UK, North America, Europe, Thailand, Philippines, Colombia and Australia amongst others. The new policy is the latest move to achieve a senior leadership team which is 40% female by 2025 which includes a commitment that 50% of hires to Diageo’s global graduate programme are women. Mairead has worked to galvanise each Managing Director of Diageo’s 21 markets to establish both a diversity and inclusion plan and local goals. Through her ownership of succession planning to the most senior roles she has supported the promotion and acquisition of women into a significant number of critical roles. Today, 44% of Diageo’s Board and 40% of Diageo’s Executive Committee are women. Additionally, Mairead has worked with the Board and their advisors on considering a diverse group of candidates for NED appointments.  Externally, Mairead is a vocal advocate of Diversity and Inclusion in business – speaking at major conferences and putting her support behind key campaigns including the 30% Club, the Race at Work Charter, Free the Bid and Open for Business.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Jomas Associates Ltd

Starting her career as a graduate engineering geologist, Roni was the rare woman on the construction site, with no visible female role models in the industry. After years of working in Industry, she founded Jomas Associates in 2009, working for land developers across the UK. As a result of her own experiences climbing the ladder, Roni is determined to reduce gender disparity in the construction and engineering industry. Roni employs and mentors women both in and outside of Jomas, and enjoys watching them excel in their careers. She is a regular speaker on the topic of engineering, construction, diversity and inclusion. Roni is passionate about parity and social mobility, having initiated and participated in several initiatives empowering women and mothers. She is part of the Federation of Small Business Women taskforce, where she is National Lead for Women in STEM. She is a member of committees and advisory boards, with focus on social mobility. She also volunteers for, and is a trustee for the YMCA, empowering young women to get back on track. She is an active part of the Women in Engineering Society, and has spoken to many girls at primary and secondary schools. She took part in the women mentoring programme for the Geological Society of London. Roni has also written articles for numerous media outlets on women in engineering and construction. She is a multi-award winner, named Black British Business Person of the Year in 2018, as well as Natwest Athena Inspiration Woman, Best European Female Consultant in Construction and Engineering, amongst others.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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President and CEO
Cossette

At Cossette, Mélanie encourages her team to embrace everyone’s natural leadership style and works hard to advocate for women’s empowerment. As a result, women hold 47% of senior and 45% of management roles in the agency. Mélanie reinforces the importance of D&I at every occasion, from within the executive team to meetings with all staff. She has also made diversity training mandatory for every leader across the country. As a member of the executive team of Vision7 International, a global agency network, and its Diversity, Individuality and Inclusion (D&I2) committee sponsor, Mélanie has championed the roll-out of a D&I2 benchmarking survey that enables network agencies to track the evolution of their team makeup over time. Externally, Mélanie has shared her views on changing the way we understand leadership qualities in Canada’s leading newspapers, on panels, and in a book called ‘Your Turn: Powerful Thoughts from Today’s Women to the Next’ which compiled advice from 150 of Canada’s leading women to those of tomorrow.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Pearson Canada

As the first female Managing Director, Marlene is making Pearson Canada a welcoming and inclusive place for women. She has ensured female representation is present on her leadership team, with 60% direct reports being women, and that women at Pearson and in the education space are prominently featured at internal and industry events. Marlene has championed opportunities for flexible working and celebrates International Women’s Day by hosting employee engagement events. She also sponsors team members to attend women’s conferences in leadership, and established the first chapter of the ERG for gender at Pearson outside of the US. Beyond Pearson, Marlene champions diversity and inclusion across the industry through her work with the Canadian Publishers Council. She mentors aspiring female leaders at Pearson and on the Pearson Student Advisory Board, and coaches educational female social entrepreneurs in the MaRS Discovery District. Marlene has spoken about her experiences as a woman in leadership at community and school events, and is training for a martial arts black belt, where she is mentored by experienced women and passes that on to younger female students, including her daughter.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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China Chairman
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Teresa is executive sponsor of Freshfield’s Asian women’s network, through which she hosts activities, International Women’s Day celebrations and sponsors initiatives by members. She regularly mentors female associates, guiding them in their work and strategic thinking and helping them to navigate the world of M&A and IPOs. She supported the women’s network’s ‘Every Day Gender Equality’ initiative (EDGE), a set of ten everyday actions that everybody in the firm can take to demonstrate gender inclusion and to break down the current unequal status quo. The actions include championing women as a fundamental part of business success, making sure everyone can fully participate and be heard, calling out inappropriate behaviour and representing these values to clients. Teresa ensured that maternity and paternity leave entitlements are substantially above market norms for Asia, promoting a better work-life balance. Externally, Teresa is a leading voice in combatting Hong Kong’s board culture, where women represent only 13% of directors. She is a founding member and steering committee member of the 30% Club Hong Kong and is an active supporter of The Women’s Foundation. Teresa was the first female chair of Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange Listing Committee, where she introduced initiatives to promote board diversity throughout Hong Kong’s listed companies.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Country Chairperson and CEO respectively
WPP Turkey & GroupM Turkey

Across the 28 WPP agencies for which Demet is responsible in Turkey, she is committed to supporting diversity in recruitment policies, workplace culture and office facilities. She was instrumental in implementing the ‘Walk the Talk’ initiative across WPP Turkey, an award-winning equality movement positively impacting the lives of hundreds of women across GroupM and WPP. WPP launched the WPP Culture Project in April 2019 to address our approach to a scope of issues including gender equality, and Demet remains very active in this area. Demet has ensured that WPP offers one of the most comprehensive parental packages in Turkey, and she launched the GroupM Mother Support Programme, which provides returning new mothers with a one-to-one mentor for the first three months back at work. Externally, Demet is Vice Chairperson of the UN Global Compact Turkey roundtable of CEOs. She is also an ambassador to Unilever and the Advertising Association for their gender equality and female stereotype initiatives. Demet has entered into a partnership with Yanındayız (We Are With You), an association tackling gender inequality based on the principals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Co-founder
Contracts IT recruitment Consulting

As CEO, Naheed ensures recruitment is inclusive and is a strategic partner of The Tech Talent Charter. An Alumni of the Mayors International  Business Trade Programme she has championed inclusive recruitment in tech and business globally  for 20 years, emanating from her background as a human rights lawyer and her dedication to social inclusion, equality and justice. She has built strategic partnerships with organisations who share these values, and created a diversity recruitment plan, leading to 60% female representation, with all staff regularly trained on D&I. As a result, Contracts IT Recruitment Consulting have won accreditations and awards for D&I. The company uses numerous resources, including advances in technology, to ensure they are attracting and sourcing a larger percentage of women through their activities than their peers. Externally, Naheed is Vice Chair of the London and South East leadership team for the Prince’s Trust. She has been heavily involved in the primary girls’ and mothers’ mentoring programme to support with cultural barriers to progression for girls and their mothers within BAME communities. Naheed is also the UK advisor for The Wonder Women Tech Foundation US and an ambassador for Diverse In. She also chairs TLA Pakistan, a working group of Tech London Advocates and Global Advocates.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner - Greater China
Herbert Smith Freehills

May, the first female managing partner in Asia, has been instrumental in creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment at her firm, and promoting and protecting individual rights in Hong Kong. In 2018, May led the firm to sign up to a Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment on the Grounds of Sexual Orientation. She has simplified and updated the firm’s agile working policy to allow more flexible and efficient ways of working for employees. The firm has also seen improvements in terms of maternity and paternity leave policies under May's leadership. May represented the firm's Hong Kong office to sign the Fair Hiring Pledge, committing the firm to encouraging their employees in Hong Kong to hire domestic workers fairly. Externally, May is passionate about nurturing new generations of legal talent including a number of young female lawyers-to-be, and she leads the firm's efforts in developing home-grown PRC lawyers under the firm's PRC Scholarship Programme.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner, London
Boies Schiller Flexner (UK) LLP

Fostering, advancing and accelerating diversity is core to Natasha’s business strategy and at the heart of the London office of Boies Schiller Flexner, which she built from scratch. Natasha is a leading international disputes lawyer, one of the UK’s only female managing partners and one of the firm’s first women to be elected to the executive committee. Natasha has built a team with two women partners out of six, 50% women associates, 75% female staff and all three senior managers are women. Boies Schiller Flexner UK support the Brokerage, a charity creating internship opportunities for high calibre candidates from diverse and under-privileged backgrounds. Natasha has personally made a public stand in the press against the billable hour and how it holds back female lawyers. Externally, Natasha mentors a number of high-flying women looking to return to the workplace, matching them with the right coach. She has also counselled women through discriminatory dismissals when they have found themselves dismissed following pregnancy or children, put them back on their feet and helped them find new roles.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Board Member Integrity and Legtal Affairs
Volkswagen AG

Hiltrud is an active mentor to numerous women both within and beyond VW, within Germany and internationally. She has been involved in national and international groups active in the field of diversity for many years, such as Women Corporate Directors, the G(irls)20 Summit and the Women Political Leaders Forum. Hiltrud is passionate about helping young women to break the glass ceiling, raising awareness of gender issues and equal pay, and advocating for women whenever possible. As a board member, Hiltrud also gives interviews and participates in panel discussions on issues surrounding diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Dechert LLP

Abbi has strived to create opportunities for women since becoming a partner at Dechert in 1992. She has chaired Dechert’s Global Women’s Initiative (GWI) since its establishment in 2013, connecting and supporting Dechert’s women attorneys at all levels, across practice groups and 28 offices. The initiative now has dedicated local or regional chapters around the globe, which hold meetings, events and activities, and offer skills training and development as well as opportunities for internal and external professional and social interactions. Abbi also helped develop and implement the firm’s Sponsorship and Sustained Support (SASS) programme which focuses on supporting the firm’s most senior female associates, counsel and national partners in navigating the path to partnership. As of July 1, 2019, Abbi was appointed Dechert’s partner in charge of Diversity and Inclusion globally, representing the interests of all diversity affinity groups and women attorneys at the firm and ensuring maximum inclusion across all groups. Dechert today counts 4 women on its policy committee, 5 women office managing partners, 8 women practice group or industry sector leaders, and the firm has added more than 15 female lateral partners in the past year. Beyond Dechert, Abbi sits on the Dean’s Council for Penn Law Women as well as the Board of Managers for the Penn Law Alumni Society and regularly mentors students in both capacities, alongside mentoring women lawyers in the wider legal community. She also holds a number of leadership positions in organisations focused on targeting social injustices.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global CEO
Wunderman Thompson

Mel Edwards is the Global CEO of Wunderman Thompson, the largest advertising agency in the world today, employing more than 20,000 creatives, data scientists, technologists, and storytellers across 90 markets. Mel came to Wunderman UK as the CEO in 2012 and soon built a reputation for recruiting great talent and empowering people to do the best work of their careers. In 2015, she was named CEO of Wunderman EMEA and in 2018 Global CEO of Wunderman. She then successfully led the agency's transition to Wunderman Thompson, a global agency designed to inspire growth for the world’s leading brands. Today, some of the agency’s largest clients include Shell, Best Buy, Samsung, BT, EE, Duracell, and HSBC. Mel has a true passion for inclusion and is recognized globally as a leader seeking to address the historical imbalances in the advertising industry. At Wunderman Thompson, she has implemented a strong female leadership team, making it the only major agency today with females as CEO, CFO, and Chairman. She spearheaded Pass It On, a programme that provides space for reflection and access to other women who serve as mentors and help grow careers. She also created the Female Tribes programme, which is changing the narrative around women in the industry by finding great female role models in content, culture, and society. For all of these efforts and more, Mel has been named one of Ad Age’s European Women to Watch, a group of 20 executives making a difference in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
EY

Joanna led the women’s network at EY for 10 years, handing over responsibility in July this year. She continues to run EY’s FTSE women’s group which brings together women who are or aspire to be FTSE directors.  She has been a steering committee member of the 30% Club in the UK since its inception and led the creation of the 30% Club cross-company mentoring scheme which has now seen over 2000 mentees pass through the programme in the UK alone. She is currently Co-Vice Chair of the Women's Network Forum (WNF) which brings together the broadest of industries, from tech to retail to business services to PR, to work together to showcase and share best practices that are driving change in the gender space.  WNF recently released a research report ‘Fuelling Gender Diversity - Unlocking the impact of the next generation on the workplace’, an important look at how much ground we can gain by adapting working practices for all to recruit and retain the next generation.  Joanna leads the Entrepreneur Of The Year programme at EY and works to support female entrepreneurs through mentoring scale up entrepreneurs and bringing together a peer group of over 100 female entrepreneurs to share experiences and support each other.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer
Compass

Maëlle is an executive advocate for the Women at Compass group, where she engages with other women in the organisation and within the industry. She hosts a monthly Women in Tech meet-up for female tech talent to have a safe space for open discussions. Externally, Maëlle has been a panellist at Fortune Most Powerful Women, and won the Inspiring Fifty award, which aims to make female role models in tech more visible. She spoke at the Global Agents of Change conference organised by the Consulat Général de France à New York, Consulate of Canada in New York and the New York Stock Exchange. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Fortune's 40 Under 40 and one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. As more doors are opened for Maëlle, she is able to open more doors for other women, helping them to find their way through the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Equity Partner, Dispute Resolution
Baker & McKenzie

Joanna has been part of the BakerWomen Leadership team since 2010, and spearheaded the launch of the original BakerWomen Client Event Programme which provided a networking forum for senior business women. These targeted events have helped to shift the culture of the firm – talking and thinking about gender diversity is no longer just "the right thing to do", but it’s commercially critical for building stronger relationships with clients. Joanna championed the development of granular gender reporting at the firm. From evaluation, promotion and retention statistics, to recruitment and salaries; these tangible statistics have enabled the BW leadership to raise awareness of the issues, and facilitated BakerWomen to develop a clear plan of action, identifying key areas that need to change. As a direct result, initiatives such as agile and flexible working have been promoted in order to support women in their careers. Joanna also mentors women throughout the firm, both informally and formally through the firm's Career Guidance Scheme. Externally, Joanna is part of the King’s College London Alumni group and is involved in the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership. She spoke at the inaugural event ‘Gender Equality: what's holding back greater change?’ event, celebrating the achievements of the impressive King’s alumnae community and showcasing the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Quality Director Major Projects
Balfour Beatty

As Woman with a Trans* history and a senior leader within Balfour Beatty, Amanda supports her female colleagues and works to demonstrate that Balfour Beatty is a diverse, inclusive and accepting employer. She is Co-Chair of Balfour Beatty’s Gender Equality network and Chair of their LGBT+ network, both of which she promotes internally and externally through public speaking, running internal events and workshops, contributing to internal media and communications and acting as support and mentor to 3 female staff members and reverse mentoring a female apprentice. Amanda is a member of Balfour Beatty’s D&I working group and has been one of the leads for the company’s approach to International Women’s Day since 2015. She has supported and provided input to  for the company’s Empower course, which helps build confidence and skills for women across the organisation, where she is also a Fairness, Inclusion and Respect ambassador. She is actively involved in the development of policies and guidance in relation to D&I, and regularly contributes to leadership and business unit conferences, speaking on women’s issues and STEM recruitment for women in the organisation. She has also helped many other organisations in their approach to gender equality. Externally, Amanda supports gender equality and women’s rights though mentoring, coaching, public speaking and community work. She is currently mentoring several women and is part of the HERoes mentoring scheme, among others. She has won numerous awards for her work in diversity and advocates passionately for LGBT+ and women’s policing groups.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, Head of the Retirement Group
BlackRock

A seasoned senior executive with over 30 years of experience, Anne is committed to empowering and advancing other women in financial services – and beyond. Throughout her career, she has devoted significant time to mentoring and sponsoring women – frequently speaking on career-building panels and advocating for gender equality in the workplace. Anne’s proudest achievement was co-founding BlackRock’s first employee affinity group, the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) in 2009. Since its launch, she has helped grow the network to over 4,000 members across 63 offices, impacting the careers of thousands of BlackRock women. Most recently, Anne has served as head of WIN for the Americas and as Chair of the Global WIN Executive Committee, working to accelerate the network’s mission at scale. Anne also contributed significantly to the creation of the Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF), a state-of-the-art and successful development program for high-performing women. She was also instrumental in the creation of Leadership, Excellence and Development (LEAD), a development program for under-represented populations at BlackRock, including women of color. Outside the firm, Anne has been honored by the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders, as well as the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW), and was awarded the Women’s Bond Club 2018 Merit Award. Currently, she is developing content in partnership with Girlboss, an online and events-driven female community, to empower millennial women to take control of their financial futures.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
JCURV

Until January 2019, Payal was the first woman in a commercial executive position in a FTSE 250 Bank, which had previously gone through a number of turbulent years.  Payal spearheaded the group D&I strategy to combat this, which included the Bank joining HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and bringing about change in the bank’s recruitment policy by ensuring gender parity on shortlists. Payal also initiated a D&I Speaker Series, bringing key women working in the D&I space into the Bank to provide powerful female role models. Both the CEO and Chairman have championed and participated in the Speaker Series. Having left the bank, Payal is proud that the D&I agenda is now firmly embedded into the strategy. Externally, Payal is Chair of Women in Data (WiD), a not-for-profit organisation that is seeking to achieve gender parity in data and technology roles, especially at senior levels. Under her leadership, the network has grown from 125 in 2015 to 28,000. She co-opened the latest annual conference with Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who recognised the WiD network as an influential group that’s creating change in the data and technology industry. Within the last 12 months, Payal has attended forums at Downing Street and has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences raising awareness of the importance of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded the social enterprise Gaia Innovation to inspire young people from less affluent backgrounds to aim higher and to equip themselves with the skills for the jobs of the future, and to escape the poverty trap of low skilled insecure employment. She employs women through spotting their potential and their transferable skills rather than relying on evidence of past performance or specific job experience, and encourages them to believe in themselves and their abilities. She achieves a high level of productivity and employee engagement in the business through flexible and agile working, and many of her team are women returners with caring responsibilities who are trusted to fit their work around these responsibilities and deliver high quality output.  Externally, Julia founded the UK Automotive 30% Club and is on the steering committee of the Global 30% Club. As a result of Julia’s work, 33 of the largest UK automotive companies have set the ambitious gender diversity goal of achieving a 30% female representation in their key roles through all organisational levels, by 2030. She designed the four phase “30 by 30” strategy that the companies have adopted, to encourage the effective hiring, retention and promotion of women in the automotive sector. Each year she runs an Inspiring Automotive Women Day, bringing 100 girls to meet women in the sector, and sending 60 volunteer “real model” women into 30 schools across the country. This year also saw her launch the Inspiring e-zine - a digital magazine aiming to create a grassroots movement to inspire women to progress, and the inaugural Inspiring Automotive Women Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director, UK & Ireland Coverage
MUFG

Sarah co-founded Balance, MUFG’s gender diversity network with a male colleague in 2016 and currently performs an advisory role supporting the new co-chairs. Since its launch, her leadership has seen the group go from strength to strength, with a balanced membership base of both men and women who regularly interact with its campaigns and initiatives, plus the launch of several network chapters across MUFG’s EMEA region. Her ability to engage male champions in the gender agenda has been a catalyst to organisational change, with MUFG making its first public gender diversity declaration in 2017 when it signed the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter. This saw several internal changes to policy and practice to support the progression of gender diversity at the firm. Sarah is a leading figure in MUFG’s senior women’s networking forum and was a member of the Director Promotion committee this year. Sarah mentors a number of women externally and frequently attends thought leadership forums which address gender diversity in order to expand her network. She has been involved in a programme to demystify the finance sector for female sixth-form students and participates in a Senior Women’s Network hosted by KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Sue is a member of the executive committee of Baker McKenzie’s women’s network BakerWomen, aiming to proactively engage with the firm’s leadership, to serve as a think tank regarding gender issues and to create a networking community. Recent initiatives include creating programmes for returners, introducing expert allies and inclusion champions and increased use of capacity managers for work allocation. BW’s current focus is increasing partner accountability for D&I. BW’s previous efforts have led to a huge increase in agile working and take up of paternity leave. Sue is also a Partner Sponsor for the Baker G.E.N. (Gender Equality Network), working group which brings together women lawyers, business professionals and allies. At her previous firm, Morrison & Foerster, Sue founded and chaired MoFo Women and was on the global Women’s Strategy Committee. Sue coaches three junior women in her department, alongside colleagues in other male-dominated teams. Beyond Baker McKenzie, Sue is a trustee of the Society for Computers and Law (SCL) and founded the SCL Women in Tech Law Network to help advance, celebrate and connect women in the technology law sector. She is a member of the Law Society's Women Lawyers Division executive committee. She has focused her pro bono efforts on social enterprises aimed at improving the life chances of girls and young women, supporting You Make It, Techmums and Stemettes.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
Slaughter and May

Sara was one of the founding partners of Slaughter and May’s Women’s Network and continues to champion the network’s activities. Since organising the firm’s first International Women’s Day event, Sara has sponsored a number of high-profile events including inspirational talks from the likes of Deborah Frances-White, Laura Bates and Annie Lennox. She has also supported the introduction of speed networking events, which aim to provide women trainee lawyers with access to a diverse range of female role models, and helped to organise an event to celebrate 100 years of women in law. She is passionate about progressing women throughout the talent pipeline, and is a sponsor of the firm’s Female Leadership Development programme, now running for six years. Sara also devised and sponsored a series of drinks and discussion evenings in 2018, hosted by female partners for female associates and trainees. Sara is a visible role model has mentored a significant number of women lawyers and other employees, both formally and informally. Externally, Sara was lead sponsor of the firm’s innovative partnership with The Old Vic, promoting Sylvia, a hip-hop musical detailing the suffragette movement. She is a member of the 30% Club, through which she mentors high-potential women as part of their cross-company mentoring scheme, and trustee of School-Home Support. Sara has also supported The Lawyer’s Circle, a network of female lawyers from across the UK, in addition to organising a number of women in tax events.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder and CEO
Luminary

Last year, Cate left a senior career in finance, where she was a powerful supporter of women’s inclusion, to focus on advancing and connecting women across all industries, ages, levels and backgrounds through her new company, Luminary, a collaboration hub for professional women and women-identified to advance their careers, further develop their skills and expand their networks. At Luminary, Cate is committed to nurturing and advancing women’s careers, businesses, economic opportunities and aspirations, while also welcoming male allies. Luminary offers a robust 10 for 1 scholarship programme and partners with many non-profits and organisations across NYC. Cate has driven her organisation’s partnership with other spaces and communities throughout the US to deliver greater collaboration, including Ellevate, The Well, Six Degrees Society as well as WE.NYC, where she acts as a Mentor, and Girls Inc., where she is a National Board Member, a Board Member for WaterAid, and on the Advisory Board for Girls Inc NYC. Cate enjoys mentoring dozens of young women, helping them to start and scale their businesses as well advance their careers for those in the corporate workforce. She recently started a Female Founders Support Group, and holds ‘office hours’ open to women. She is a regular event speaker on gender diversity and often writes pieces on leadership and D&I for the press including Fast Company and Forbes.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Founder & CEO
Northern Power Women

During her role at People 1st, Simone led and grew the Women 1st campaign to increase women in senior positions in the hospitality industry by creating a community and support framework delivering an annual conference, awards and establishing an active and organic mentoring platform reaching over 300 relationships. In 2015 she created Northern Power Women (NPW) to accelerate gender equality from the North of England by recognising, celebrating and showcasing role models. NPW engages all genders across the Northern Powerhouse including the launch of a reverse mentoring pilot and a monthly, live recorded podcast and annual awards. Simone has recently created Northern Power Futures to discuss the future of the world of work, designed by the generation of future leaders. She has also been working with leading business schools to incorporate a student engagement programme to help students connect with business, gain exposure to the NPW community, and access mentoring opportunities. Externally, Simone is licensee for TEDxWhitehallWomen, sits on the advisory board for World Merit, the Gender Network and is a committee member for the Women of the World Festival. She is a regular judge at diversity awards, and often speaks in the media on the importance of gender balance. Simone is also Leader in Residence at Lancaster University and part of the round table for British Council for 100years, Chinese Delegation of Women Leaders with Gov Equalities Office and judge for Queens Awards for Innovation and also We Are the City Rising Stars, NW Charity Awards and Top 100 Asians in Tech.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Country Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC Bank Argentina S.A.

Patricia is executive sponsor of BALANCE, HSBC’s ERG dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. BALANCE gained enormous visibility last year as many initiatives materialised into concrete actions with impressive results. Patricia is actively working to strengthen mentoring and sponsorship relationships and has challenged BALANCE to organise monthly meet-ups with executive leaders. This initiative is underway, with video conferences including diverse senior female leaders to act as visible role models. Patricia is also inviting women from across HSBC to join her at monthly roundtables as a way of supporting professional development globally. She is mentoring two future women leaders and continues to sponsor top performing women in her area to take leadership programmes in recognized institutions. In addition, Patricia launched the ‘Mujeres al Mundo (Women in the World)’ initiative, aiming to connect businesswomen with new markets and opportunities. As part of the initiative, Patricia included ‘Female Leadership’ as a category in the HSBC-La Nación SME Awards, with over 400 applications from women leading Argentine companies. She also led the first ‘Women in Business’ chapter in a commercial mission to the UK, organised by the British Argentine Chamber of Commerce. She often speaks at events on gender diversity and participates in panels and roundtables.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Commercial Banking, HSBC UK
HSBC

Amanda is a passionate and visible role model, responsible for almost 1 million commercial banking customers. She has led HSBC UK Commercial Bank in the drive to improve gender balance with a core focus on female representation at senior to mid-management level roles. Amanda launched a Female Talent Development programme for high potential colleagues, focusing on core leadership and behavioural capabilities, generating 22,000 hours of development opportunities for women at the bank. Amanda also launched the Engage programme targeted at nearly 600 people leaders to build a more inclusive working environment. As a result of these programmes and other efforts, HSBC UK Commercial Bank now boasts 50% female representation. Amanda is also executive sponsor of HSBC’s BALANCE UK ERG. Externally, Amanda champions female entrepreneurs and businesswomen through mentoring and other support. She mentors female talent at HSBC through the CEO’s involvement in the 30% Club CEO Campaign to reach 30% women senior leaders across the bank by 2020.  She speaks at numerous external D&I-focused events, and recently led a talk on sexual orientation and gender diversity to property professionals.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Outgoing Chief People Officer

At Irish Life Group and in the wider sector, Simone has taken a root to branch approach to stamping out gender bias in financial services and beyond. She established the Achieve Your Potential ERG to drive gender balance across Irish Life; she introduced policies allowing both parents to share responsibilities more equally; she rolled out unconscious bias training to over 800 people managers, with 83% of staff reporting heightened D&I awareness as a result; she introduced a full parenting support pathway with workshops and resources; she established a female leadership programme; and she undertook a complete review of recruitment practices and policies to remove any bias from the process and ensure a wider pipeline of diverse candidates for the future, among many other successful initiatives. Externally, Simone developed Irish Life’s involvement with Irish government-launched P-Tech, promoting social inclusion of young people in the north east inner city of Dublin. She is a member of the financial services working group of the 30% Club and has been instrumental in the development of the new Girls in Financial Services Schools’ programme. Simone is also a board member of Business to Arts, and is a regular keynote speaker at events in Ireland and internationally, fostering a sense of belonging for women in financial services.

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Director, EU Consumables
Amazon

Jacqui launched and leads Amazon’s Women@ employee affinity group in the UK, providing thousands of employees with resources and activities to develop skills, manage their career and expand their network.  She leads teams of Women@ employee volunteers to create and deliver initiatives that support gender diversity in recruitment, policy, community and learning and development. She advocated for and steered delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines, which are today in place across five EU countries.  Across the last 12 months, she championed the development and launch of updated UK Parental Leave Guidelines.  Jacqui initiated and led growth of Amazon mentoring schemes, including One-to-One Mentoring and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Groups, where she steered automation of P2P mentoring management enabling increased participation by over 150% in 2019 to involve thousands of employees.  She led Women@ input to launch the Amazon Amplify programme to increase the number of women working in tech and innovation and to inspire the next generation of women innovators.  Amplify includes initiatives such as the Amazon Web Services Return to Work programme, which gives people who have not been in work a chance to come back to full-time employment with training and coaching on new cloud technology skills.  Her leadership of such initiatives helped Amazon to be recognized as Female Tech Employer of the Year in the 2019 Women in Tech Awards, and supported Amazon’s first place ranking in the LinkedIn UK Top Companies 2019 list.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Financial Officer
Aer Lingus

Four years ago, Rachel joined Aer Lingus as the first female executive board member and only the second woman at executive level in 83 years. She is responsible not only for all areas of Finance including actionable financial insight to drive business performance, but also for the technology functions, covering day to day operations across all systems, cyber security and development of new technology solutions. Rachel acts as a powerful and visible role model for women in the sector. She has developed diversity from an initially uncomfortable conversation to a regular point of discussion. She sponsors the LIFT (Let’s Inspire Female Talent) network, enabling a 9% improvement in women at senior management level in the last three years. As a result of Rachel’s commitment to diversity, a number of positive changes have been introduced, including annual International Women’s Day all female flights; and the engagement of the company’s first female engineering apprentices. Rachel allocates time to act as a mentor and sponsor to women at all levels across Aer Lingus and the IAG Group. She also participates in panels at events and conferences, such as Hackathon – The Levers of Change, the 2018 Women in Tech conference and the 2019 Dublin Tech Summit. Furthermore, Rachel has supported the launch of the first Irish Girl Guides Aviation badge.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Creative Director (UK & EMENA)
Wunderman Thompson

Jo is a creative director, which is rare given that only 12% of creative directors in advertising are female. A large part of this imbalance stems from a lack of female role models in the creative industries because, as the saying goes: if you can't see it, you can't be it. Therefore, Jo is an outspoken advocate for female talent and regularly mentors female creative teams. She also regularly speaks at events, on panels, podcasts and in industry press, and hosts in-house events with an equal representation of female role models. Externally, Jo collaborated to create an exhibition called 'There's a Good Girl' which celebrated and showcased 20 women artists (the first all-women exhibition), including Alison Jackson, Sara Pope, Pam Glew and Hattie Stewart. The exhibition received wide-ranging press attention, featuring in The Independent, The Sunday Times Style Magazine, and on BBC Radio amongst others. For the past four years Jo has run the popular, non-profit event called ‘Good Girls Eat Dinner’ which has one simple mission: provide kick-a$$ female role models across the creative industry and beyond. Speakers to date include Cathy Newman (CH 4 News), Amanda Foster (Hollywood Stuntwoman), Lisa Smorsarski (Editor in Chief, Stylist Magazine) and many more.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice President, Insights & Analytics
Edelman

Catherine has been with Edelman for 4.5 years, leading the growth of the Insights & Analytics practice and team of 17 research professionals in Canada, and is a member of the Toronto leadership team.  Catherine has 25 years of research and analytics experience, is a Canadian Advisory Council Member of the Insights Association, and has been recognized for industry leading insights, winning 4 Research Excellence Awards.  Catherine is a member of the global steering committee of Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN), where she leads and supports global initiatives designed to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm. She led the development of new global and regional scorecards and KPIs to track corporate progress and insights towards Edelman’s goal of achieving equal female representation at the most senior levels of the firm.  Catherine also developed a plan and led the launch of a global Instagram channel on International Women’s Day last year, broadening awareness of the network and profiling Edelman’s women leaders in the market. Catherine is Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN)’s leader in Toronto, championing a volunteer team of women to drive local initiatives such as Lean in Circles, mentoring sessions, celebrations of International Women’s day, panels, and other community events designed to support a culture that helps women lead and succeed.  Catherine mentors numerous women in and outside of Edelman, and supports organisations who help women in business management and women and girls in the wider community.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director of IT
BT

Rachel designed, delivered and now sponsors BT TechWomen, which in its 4th year has delivered a year-long development journey for 970 women across BT and has created an alumni network of 1,595 women. 67% of the participants have moved into bigger roles and local cultural barriers to women’s progression in the UK and India are being addressed. A core element of BT TechWomen is their 2-way pact, with more experienced members mentoring more junior women, engaging in STEM outreach initiatives in schools and university, and supporting the recruitment of female apprentices and graduates. Rachel also launched the Reignite programme with TechWomen India, focussed on building confidence and helping women return to work after a career break. Beyond BT, Rachel is Chair of the board of FACT, the Foundation of Arts & Creative Technology that has a strong diversity policy and social engagement programme. 45% of the board are now women and FACT have recently appointed their first female CEO. FACT runs a number of learning and engagement programmes providing access to digital art, media and tech skills for over 2,800 women for 1,600 young girls each year.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer & Chief of Staff
O2 (Telefonica UK)

As O2’s Chief HR Officer Ann has led the business in achieving a majority female board, ensured gender parity across its annual apprentice and graduate recruitment programmes and ingrained a flexible working culture into O2’s DNA. Ann has been instrumental in leading key initiatives encouraging gender parity and driving positive change at O2, including increasing paid paternity leave to 14 weeks for all permanent employees, for heterosexual and same-sex couples and partners welcoming a baby via adoption or surrogacy. She led O2’s development of a Career Returners programme which saw 100 percent of its latest cohort of women accepting offered roles at O2. Ann is an advocate for getting young women into challenging roles early in their careers. As a result, she was appointed a trustee of Step up to Serve, providing opportunities for millions of young people and giving them the skills to be successful in their careers. Ann is also passionate about improving social mobility in the workforce. Ann is both Chair of the Advisory Board and Visiting Professor of HRM & Employability at Sheffield University Management School, and is a trustee of research charity Breast Cancer Now.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Co-head Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM)
Goldman Sachs

Having benefitted from mentorship, networking and sponsorship in the past, Kathryn is now passionate about providing other women with access to these advantages. She connects the dozens of women she manages and mentors with each other and with industry leaders and seeks to raise the profile of high-potential women internally within senior management, with clients, with industry leaders and in the media by delegating speaking roles of panel participation to them. Kathryn has sought to hire and promote women in her division for more than a decade. 43% of assets under management within the Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) Fundamental Equity business are managed by female portfolio managers. Kathryn has mentored and coached women through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and 10,000 Women initiative. She has been involved in research efforts which led to the first global financing facility dedicated to women, and she is champion of the Launch with GS capital commitment to invest in female investment fund founders and managers. Externally, Kathryn is actively involved in building a strong pipeline of female talent through the ‘Girls Who Invest’ programme. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Patton’s Veterans Project, and works with a number of clients and competitors who have asked her to mentor and coach high-potential women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director UK
American Express

As Managing Director of American Express in the UK, Charlotte has launched and championed a number of incremental internal initiatives to continue to build a more inclusive work environment where women are encouraged to speak up and take control of their own careers. She signed American Express UK up to the Women in Finance Charter and invested in transformational Diversity and Inclusion training for 120 of the company’s most senior leaders. Charlotte is executive sponsor of the Women’s Interest Network and regularly participates in internal diversity panels and events for employees. Combined with an active talent strategy, these measures have helped Amex to increase the number of women in senior roles from 36% to 41%. Externally, Charlotte is involved in a number of organisations where she works to motivate and inspire other women. She is a UK Finance Board Member and diversity lead, and an awards committee member of professional network Women in Payments UK . She regularly talks publicly about important topics affecting women in the workplace at industry events and in the media. Charlotte also sponsors the American Express UK Leadership Academy which helps develop emerging leaders in the not-for-profit sector.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Director
Accenture Research

Barbara leads Accenture’s global programme on equality in the workplace – ‘Getting to Equal’. Her research investigated challenges behind the gender gap in career advancement and pay, providing encouraging and actionable news about equality in the workplace, helping Accenture to cultivate a more inclusive environment. Under her direction, the research, surveying over 22,000 people across 34 countries, identified 40 factors that are statistically shown to influence advancement of women, including 14 that are most likely to effect change. Since publishing her study, Barbara has reached hundreds of HR professionals and business leaders internally and externally with her findings. Barbara is a particularly passionate advocate for BAME women, LGBT+ women and women who experience mental health difficulties, lending her support to numerous inclusion initiatives, including as executive sponsor for mental health where she has driven forward a programme that has trained over 2000 mental health allies. Barbara has also launched a development programme for female managers in her team, through which she mentors a number of women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Products Group Operating Officer
Accenture

Jean has championed gender equality throughout her time as Finance Director and now Products Group Operating Officer at Accenture. In 2017, she became Products D&I lead, aiming to achieve greater impact in creating a culture of transparency, belonging, and stewardship. She has enlisted Accenture’s Products leadership team and elevated the D&I agenda throughout the organisation. During Jean’s tenure as D&I lead, significant improvements have been made in culture and D&I metrics, including an increase in gender mix at leadership level and overall, improvements in the female leader attrition gap, proper sponsorship of women up for promotion to managing director and above, and the establishment of an active D&I leadership network across 43 countries. Jean has personally coached over 100 women leaders, launched a Diverse Referral Cultivation programme, required D&I metrics be added to leadership performance objectives, led the Products Women’s Network, collaborated with clients on joint initiatives to further their mutual D&I agenda and required a diverse gender slate for every position recruited in Products. Externally, Jean has dedicated countless hours to championing women’s issues through her involvement with the Society of Women Engineers at Portland State University, Assistance with Grief Board, Women’s Vision Foundation, WiseWomen Council and the University of Colorado Engineering Advisory Council among many others.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner and Head of International Arbitration, London
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Sylvia is a role model at the firm and beyond, particularly in the international arbitration community. Sylvia founded the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge to improve gender diversity in the world of arbitration, in particular the appointment of female arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis. The Pledge now has more than 3,500 signatories from over 110 countries, including 672 organisations. Sylvia also influences the visibility and appointment of female arbitrators through her membership of various arbitrational institutions. Her role as founder and now  Co-Chair of the Global Pledge Steering Committee opens the door to wider involvement of people within the firm in this important gender diversity initiative. More broadly within the firm, Sylvia is a key promoter of the associate-led Every Day Gender Equality (EDGE) commitment, acts as a sponsor for the Global Sponsorship Programme for high-performing women associates, and as a mentor in the Dispute Resolution mentoring scheme. She has trained as a Mental Health First Aid Champion to increase dialogue and break down stigma in this area. Sylvia also plays a role in the firm’s D&I Committee for Dispute Resolution and speaks at internal events and on panels about diversity and inclusion, including hosting an internal global training session regarding the Pledge. Externally, she ensures D&I (including EDGE and the Pledge) is on the agenda at client relationship meetings, has spoken on various panels at industry-wide events and has published on these topics.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors
Deloitte

In 2006, Sharon was the first woman to join Deloitte’s UK executive and since then her energy and passion for making the workplace more welcoming for women has grown. She is the first woman to be appointed as Chair to the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. Sharon is a passionate advocate for inclusion with a focus on gender. In 2007, Sharon established Deloitte UK’s diversity networks including the Women’s Network. She also established a ‘Women in Leadership’ group which comprised some of the most senior male and female partners in the organisation with the aim of increasing the number of women in leadership through tangible actions such as identifying the pipeline of women, mentoring and sponsoring. She also introduced flexible working arrangements, childcare support and maternity coaching. Since 2008, the number of women in Deloitte UK’s top 100 leaders has trebled. Sharon champions and speaks at firm-wide development programmes, such as the Female Manager Development Programme and Women’s Network events, in addition to participating in external engagements and conducting media interviews. She mentors women across the organisation, many of whom are now in senior roles, and is a senior sponsor to Deloitte’s LGBT+ network. Sharon speaks publicly about gender inclusion at events around the world, including in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. She speaks openly about her experience of imposter syndrome. Sharon established a cross-organisation Women’s Network in Manchester in 2008 and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Social Progress Imperative.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO, Europe Cluster
Vodafone Group

Serpil champions women’s inclusion across Vodafone’s markets as the chair of the global Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee. She is committed to helping to increase the proportion of women in management and leadership roles by helping build a pipeline of talent, specifically through initiatives such as Vodafone’s pioneering ‘Global Maternity Policy’ and ‘ReConnect’, the world’s largest recruitment programme for talented women on career breaks. In March 2019, a new initiative was introduced to support colleagues affected by domestic violence and abuse. Vodafone has built credibility already in this space helping thousands of people via Vodafone Foundation’s TecSOS, Easy Rescue app in Turkey and the UK’s Bright Sky app. Inspired by the work of the Foundation, Serpil’s team has launched a new global HR policy and specialist manager training to support employees affected by domestic abuse. Vodafone Europe has already exceeded their 2020 female leadership target, currently at 31%, and aims to reach 40% by 2025. Externally, Serpil mentors numerous senior women and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association’ (WBAT Turkey). She is also mentoring female undergraduates studying in rural parts of Turkey as part of the ‘A New Leader Association’ initiative. Additionally, Serpil regularly speaks at global events to champion D&I.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Outgoing Chief People Officer
Aviva

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s strategy. She led the introduction of Aviva’s new global parental leave policy, offering equal parental leave to men and women regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how an individual becomes a parent. Since the launch, she has advocated continually to help others take a step in the same direction. She also sponsored the Aviva Balance Community, regularly talking at events and holding ‘listening lunches’ to encourage a bottoms up engagement and approach. A regular voice on the topic, she has recently spoken to senior leaders at Changeboard, Vote 100, and SAID Business School, as well as at Sheffield Academy through Speakers for Schools. She is a member of HRH Women Network Forum, the 30% Club global steering committee. Additionally, Sarah has championed Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards, and the Asian Women of the Future awards. Sarah mentors and coaches a number of talented women across industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO and Founder
Intelligent Ethics Limited

As a PwC Partner, Tracey established and led the Gender Balance Network UK & sat on the Leadership Council for Talent & Diversity. This involved overseeing the development and delivery of a 2-day leadership development module on unconscious bias as well as sponsoring a number of D&I initiatives. At PwC she was an active sponsor of Women & Girls in Cricket, the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2016, Women in Compliance, Women on Boards and The Enjoyable Life Series 2017, alongside being a founding member of PwC GLEE network and establishing the PwC Network of Networks trade fair series. Tracey has been a regular mentor and coach to professional services women looking to develop their careers in the City, both internally at PwC and externally. Tracey is a Board Member of City Women Network (CWN) and an Advisory Board Member for Gender Networks (WeAreTheCity). A prevalent speaker on diversity in the workplace, she has delivered a TEDx Talk as part of Whitehall Women in 2015, and has been interviewed in trade journals and the press on diversity and inclusion, including by BBC News 24 celebrating 100 years of the vote. Tracey is also a business partner with the BBC 50:50 Project, focusing on increasing the number of women online, digital and on air.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Financial Markets MENA - Managing Director
Standard Chartered

At Standard Chartered Bank, Souad has focused her activities in several areas to reach maximum impact. Since Souad joined SCB in 2017, 80% of graduates hired into Financial Markets (FM) UAE have been female. She has pushed for the promotion of existing female talent, running confidential 1:1 career sessions for all front office female staff in FM MENA, leading to 54% of FM MENA front office promotions being female. She gave a presentation at the launch of the SCB ‘GOAL’ programme in Dubai to inspire young girls to positively shape their own futures. Souad is a member of the MENAP D&I Council, influencing SCB MENA’s hiring procedure by suggesting more diverse slates for senior roles, which has also been implemented by the global FM D&I Working Group. Souad has ensured exit interviews are carried out with all outgoing senior front office women, and has implemented a reverse mentoring programme with senior male colleagues, among many other internal initiatives. Externally, Souad spoke at the Dubai Bloomberg D&I lunch in April and was interviewed on the power of diversity by the Arabian Business Magazine. She was also selected as one of the 50 most influential women in ME Finance by FN London.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of People
KPMG

Anna champions leadership accountability for increasing the diversity of KPMG’s workforce. She led the setting of KPMG’s publicly declared targets to increase representation of female talent through to 2022. This clear focus on gender parity has increased executive membership to 33% female. Anna ensures transparency over pay gaps and works with KPMG’s women’s network to lead popular pay gap workshops across the country to generate ideas and drive KPMG’s response. She support’s KPMG’s programme to support working parents, has championed numerous return to work programmes for women and is leading a project on agile working. Anna proactively supports female promotion candidates and KPMG’s GROW programme, from which 44% of female delegates were promoted at least one grade in FY18. Anna also promotes positive change beyond KPMG. She appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018, sharing KPMG’s approach to parental leave. In February this year, she was asked to give evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee on the best practice use of settlement agreements. She published a letter in March 2019 offering advice to young women on self-confidence in salary negotiation. She has spoken with the Department for Transport about job sharing, is an active fellow of the Forward Institute, is chair of Access Accountancy and is on the Learning and Professional Development Board of the ICAEW.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Co-founder
Akoni

Felicia’s startup, Akoni, has committed to maintaining a minimum gender balance within the firm’s employees through the Tech Charter, restates this commitment in any grant funding applications and actively pursues a gender balanced recruitment approach. Felicia mentors young women in business and supports a range of public initiatives including speaking relating to Innovate Finance’s Schools and Girls initiatives. She actively promotes women in business with Hambro Perks, a startup hub which directly engages entrepreneurs and is a role model for younger team members as a way to actively encourage young girls and women to enter into the tech and startup space. Externally, Felicia speaks on panels and podcasts about gender equality. She has been featured in Forbes on normalising female leadership and on Women in Business radio hour discussing issues around the lack of diversity in the workforce. Earlier this year Felicia won the FDM Everywoman in Tech Woman of the Year award, adding to a list of prestigious awards for women in fintech. She is also Co-founder of a group which helps mentor younger female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann champions gender diversity from the top at Mastercard, working with the full management committee to make gender balance a reality. Her work includes advocating for gender balanced slates for every senior appointment; sponsoring women’s executive training; sponsoring Mastercard’s Gender Steer Co, focused on People, Market and Society; sponsoring and mentoring top female leaders and bringing in more female executives; getting more women into external board seat appointments; sponsoring focus groups to understand the key issues women at all career levels face; and driving and sponsoring company-wide strategy and narrative on gender equality. Ann advocates for STEM and has set a goal to reach one million girls aged 10-13 around the world with Mastercard’s signature Girls4Tech™ programme by 2025. She also promotes global standards in parental leave policies. Beyond Mastercard, Ann is the new co-chair of the 30% Club, looking to campaign for greater representation of women in and beyond the board. She is a member of the UK AI Council, hoping to eliminate bias in algorithms. Ann also chairs the board of the Financial Alliance for Women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chairwoman
WPP Taiwan

WPP Taiwan’s culture of diversity has led to a 70% female workforce, and 60% of WPP Taiwan’s leadership are women. Therefore, Shenan’s focus has shifted to supporting her female staff members. In 2018, Shenan and her team established the Stella Community, composed of nearly 40 senior women leaders. Shenan also joined an organisation of female leaders, the Taiwan Women on Boards Association (WOB), becoming Supervising Director of the Executive Board. WOB’s key missions are to raise Taiwanese society’s awareness of the substantial business contributions of female leaders; to influence the government on a wide range of policies; to increase the percentage of women on boards of directors; and to build international networks. WPP Taiwan supported WOB in hosting an anniversary forum in Kaohsiung this year, attended by city government officials and female business leaders. Shenan was a keynote speaker at this successful event, which will now tour major cities around the island. Shenan’s team will present the 2019 Taiwan WPP Thought Leadership event on “Women in the Digital Age” on August 20th in Taipei. WPP’s most recent survey, on how Taiwanese women use digital devices in their lives, finds that technology empowers them to be confident and pragmatic, but they are concerned about privacy. On May 17, 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage.  As Taiwan’s leading communication group, WPP Taiwan gave impetus to LGBT rights in our inaugural thought leadership campaign on the subject of Millennials in Taiwan in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CMO
Diageo

On Diageo’s executive committee Syl has supported policies which support gender equality in the workplace, such as flexible working practices and equal parental leave. Diageo’s global executive committee is 40% women, and the company is aiming for 40% women on senior leadership teams across the 180 countries Diageo operates in by 2025. Syl has led Diageo’s work on gender balance in advertising, sharing their framework broadly with other companies. Diageo were one of the first signatories to the UN Unstereotype Alliance and to Free the Bid, aimed at driving gender equality for directors in advertising. Syl has held Diageo’s agencies across the world to account, calling on them to commit to advancing gender equality in advertising. To back this up, Diageo sponsored the Creative Equals Returners programme, supporting women returning to work. Syl also drives change through her position as President of the Marketing Society, where she has supported an agenda on ‘Brave Leadership’ that has raised the profile of and championed many issues linked to the success of women in business. Syl regularly speaks on gender equality and gender portrayal in advertising, and often appears on panels and steering committees, alongside mentoring numerous women and being a board member for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair & CEO, Canada and Chair, Latin America, Edelman
Edelman

Lisa has sat on the Steering Committee for Edelman’s Global Women’s Equality Network (GWEN) since its inception, and took on the role of global chair in 2017. GWEN is an internal initiative with a mission to continue to foster an environment where women of all backgrounds can enjoy equal opportunities to grow, lead and succeed in and beyond Edelman. When GWEN began in 2011, women represented 33% of the company’s most senior leaders. As of June 2019, this number has climbed to 47%. Through GWEN, Lisa has championed the introduction of two mentorship programmes, based on group mentoring and peer coaching, a global pay analysis, and the inclusion of male and female candidates for senior roles. Externally, Lisa devotes a significant amount of time to engage in speaking and editorial opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, on subjects ranging from the importance of diversity on boards, to boosting self-confidence. Recent engagements include participation in a #MeToo debate at Women’s Forum Canada and a panel discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace organised by the Canadian Club, the most preeminent business forum in the country. She continues to support future leaders through mentorship programmes with various women’s organisations. Lisa is also a member of the UN Women’s Empower Advisory Group.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner, Head of Business Development
Arthur Cox

In 2009, Rachel founded the Women in the Firm initiative within Arthur Cox. This involved bringing the women partners together to formulate a strategy to empower women in the firm. The initiative included training for women partners and associates on a range of subjects, as well organising talks and presentations by external speakers on key issues. Arthur Cox was the first Irish law firm to introduce maternity coaching. For the past seven years, the firm has hosted a lunch event for 200 women clients on International Women’s Day. Rachel also played a key role in bringing the Catalyst programme, Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) to the firm, running over two days and fostering inclusive leadership through understanding privilege. 33% of the firm’s partners are now women and in May the firm’s first female chair was appointed. Externally, Rachel is currently the Deputy Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, and co-heads the club’s Professional Services Firms’ Group. She is a regular speaker in various fora on women in the workplace – she recently spoke about gender diversity in the legal profession at the Annual Conference of the Society of Young Solicitors, she was a panellist for Dublin City University Law Society, and she spoke at a Grant Thornton-hosted event on Women in Tax. Rachel is also a member of the committee of the Irish Chapter of the International Women’s Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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President, Data Practice
Epsilon

In 2017, Stacey co-founded Epsilon’s first ever Women in Leadership initiative, which is now available to female associates across the international organisation. A champion for female representation and leadership, Stacey makes it a priority to reach a hand back and help pull other female leaders forward, having not had a mentor to lean on herself. A working mother of two children, she understands the importance of women in the workplace and promotes a culture that fosters confidence, inclusion and positive outcomes for women. She regularly mentors up and coming female associates each year from across the business. In her local community, Stacey is actively involved in supporting Leadership Ascent, a Denver not-for-profit that helps to support women in leadership. The programme provides education to women in leadership roles in business that focuses largely on emotional intelligence, how women and men approach business differently and how to ‘reach a hand’ back to help other women as they progress in their careers. Stacey also serves on the Board of Directors for a local not-for-profit called Denver Urban Scholars, and is an active speaker and thought leader in the industry, having spoken this year at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Women’s Visionaries conference to an audience of over 600 women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Digital Transformation
Lloyds Banking Group

Since completing her Masters thesis exploring the gender gap at c-suite within the UK Financial Services sector, Bijna has advocated exercises to help establish ‘new ways of working’ and to re-skill staff, and female colleagues in particular, so they are equipped for jobs of the future. One example was the development of a Data Science Lab, which she championed internally in 2016. She invested in video content, seminars and training to develop existing female staff within the division, and to attract other women into STEM roles internally. Bijna also mentors women internally, and through Lloyds’ accelerator programmes, mentors women CEOs in Fintech. Externally, Bijna serves on Advisory Boards for FinTech Connect, CIO Net, CDO (Chief Data Officer) Exchange Series and the Inclusive Companies Network. Through her various roles, she advocates for equal opportunities for women in the workplace. She has also been a presenter for the Women in Business (WIB) TV show and has appeared on Disruptive TV, where she discussed key statistics, research on women in the workplace and associated topics. Recently, she has been interviewed for three international publications, including Forbes, and is championing the importance of women in the workplace and gender parity in the boardroom. She has also been mentoring for Women in Technology in London for three years and has filmed a series of leadership videos for their new mentoring-on-the-go app, ‘Cajigo’.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner, EME
Reed Smith

Tamara leads by example, working with Reed Smith’s active women’s network (known as WinRS) for years. Now, as the firm’s most senior person in the EME, she uses her influence to leverage the sponsorship of young women aspiring to partnership. She has been instrumental in the promotions of dozens of women across all areas of the firm. Viewed as a role model for young lawyers, she is active in firm-wide recruitment and seeks to inspire all women to achieve their potential. With WinRS, Tamara hosted an event this year called ‘The Art of Success’ and moderated a panel on gender balance in financial services at the ‘Deal Us In’ event in New York. Externally, Tamara is generous with her time and contacts. She is heavily involved in a number of organisations, including the 30% Club Steering Committee, founding member of Paradigm for Parity, C200 Membership Committee, and a sponsor and judge for Asian Women of Achievement Awards. She also works closely with universities and international organisations, advancing the pipeline of talented female leaders. Additionally, Tamara is a sponsor and co-founder of the Women in Corporate Trust Network, and founder of the Women in Structured Finance Network.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global CEO, Profiles Division
Kantar (Lightspeed)

Caroline is a powerful and vocal agent for change, refusing to be seduced by ‘progress’, advocating instead for urgent and committed change. Over the past 12 months, Caroline has focused on three major initiatives. She has pushed to implement a Zero Tolerance Policy on any discriminatory or harassing language or behaviour. She has also undertaken pro bono work to support Kantar’s Reykjavik Index for Leadership, which was created by Kantar and Women Political Leaders to support the journey of gender equality through substantial and meaningful research, and is now rolling out across all G20 countries. Caroline also plays an active role in Kantar’s partnership with the Special Olympics, supporting 5 million people in 170 countries by driving the ‘Inclusion Revolution’ and ‘Unity in Diversity’. Meeting the Special Olympics Athletes, presenting medals to the female Power Lifters, and being the keynote speaker at The Global Youth Summit whilst she attended the Special Olympics 2019 World Games inspired Caroline to get intellectual disabilities on to the agenda of the world’s Top 500 brands and help develop a 360 mentorship programme between senior leaders at Kantar and Special Olympics Athletes. Externally, Caroline mentors a diverse mix of inspiring women at different career levels across the globe, supporting them to flourish in their professional lives and ultimately progress to senior roles. She is Kantar’s Exec sponsor for Pride in the UK, she continues to do pro bono D&I work for the Marketing Research Society, and she is working with CEOs of other leading organisations to drive a CEO pledge of commitment to creating an environment where the only barriers to progress are personal choice and professional competence.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Trustee, Advisor & Non Executive Director
TLC Lions

Dr Kamel Hothi OBE has been breaking glass ceilings in the banking world for over 4 decades from cashier to director, having been strategist and designer of numerous initiatives that have changed the banking industry. She championed the cause for Asian businesses who complained that access to finance was difficult by developing the banks Asian strategy which included designing & delivering her own cultural diversity training, influencing the first high street bank Sharia Business Account as well as creating an interactive communication campaign sponsoring over 35 national events such as Asian Jewel Awards and The Asian Women of Achievement Awards; which resulted in numerous corporates also pursuing the community. Her passion for diversity and a level playing field included the founding of the Women’s and Ethnic Minority networks, resulting in increasing recruitment, retention and mentoring initiatives thus helping the bank winning numerous awards. The decades of dedication were awarded by an OBE for diversity in banking by the Queen in 2017. Since retiring Kamel has been invited to sit on several boards as advisor and Non Exec to such organisations as the Queens Commonwealth Trust support 53 countries, Teenage Cancer Trust, Alzheimer’s Soc to name a few. Her knowledge and expertise as a Corporate banker and diversity champion has helped support TLC Lions in her capacity as a NED to assist over 65 companies on their inclusion & Wellbeing challenges. In the past she chaired the Government task force to improve their procurement process for supplier diversity resulting in supporting the 2012 Olympic bid and has spoken internationally on inclusion & leadership challenges and been interviewed on screen and in print.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Head of Derivatives - Legal and Transaction Management (EMEA) 
Daiwa

Miranda has worked on driving diversity with senior management across numerous organisations and has participated in mentoring, media interviews and public speaking, resulting in an increase in diverse recruitment. She has spoken out internationally in support of young people and diversity on TV, radio and in the press. Her work across the UK has helped her to close diversity gaps in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, the US and Scotland. Miranda has also given speeches on diversity and inclusion at a number of events, conferences, seminars, schools, universities and venues across the UK and Globe. More recently, Miranda gave a talk to Pakistan's first and only female university being the first UK speaker to speak to their female students on STEM and diversity. In 2018, Miranda launched a women’s empowerment scholarship via the multi-award winning Miranda Brawn Diversity Leadership Foundation, which was launched in January 2016 to help increase all forms of diversity including gender diversity. This year, Miranda has launched women of colour in tech and engineering scholarships. Her foundation has helped over 50,000 young people to date and has attracted the support of highly influential individuals across the Globe. Miranda has also been a board member for various organisations and charities, such as Cancer Research UK Women of Influence, helping to raise £1m and mentor female scientists who are new to leadership positions. Her Tedx Women Modena Talk in December 2018 highlights some tips on how together we can close the diversity gap.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Head of Client Service Directors (Asset Servicing)
BNY Mellon

This year, Carol’s focus has been mentoring and developing women leaders, participating in several mentoring programmes (both internally and externally), including a reverse mentoring programme. She uses her position of influence to further advance female potential, particularly at senior levels, and to act as a proactive ambassador for gender parity both within and outside BNY Mellon. Carol led the BNY Mellon partnership with the 30% Club in Ireland to co-sponsor the ‘Women in Management’ report, now in the fourth year of this five year survey, with results showing increased participation rates of women at all levels in the management hierarchy. She supported the implementation of BNY Mellon focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report, seeking to identify hidden tensions within workplace cultures that may explain why UK employers are struggling to create a more gender-balanced workforce. Externally, Carol is a co-founder of the 30% Club in Ireland and is currently country lead for the Ireland chapter.  Under her leadership, the 30% Club in Ireland has grown to 250 Chairs and CEOs of Ireland’s largest businesses committed to better gender balance in senior decision making.  The 30% Club Ireland’s cross-company mentoring programme has supported more than 700 women and in 2019 will offer 22 executive education scholarships.  Carol is also personally supporting, the ‘Balance for Better Business review’ under the leadership of the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, which will set voluntary gender targets for Irish Business.  Carol is a Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) and holds an MSC in Business Practice from the Irish Management Institute / University College Cork.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Managing Partner Western Europe, Global BD and Marketing Partner
Linklaters LLP

As a member of the global executive committee of Linklaters, Claudia is the global champion for gender and promotes internal initiatives supporting the enhancement of women’s talent. Currently she is working with the HR department on a new action plan to accelerate progress on gender diversity. She has championed a number of successful initiatives within Linklaters’ network such as Breakfast@linklaters; the Linklaters’ Women Leadership Programme and the Stepping Forward programme for developing talented women at Linklaters. Externally, Claudia has been an ambassador of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (the first association of large Italian companies supporting women’s leadership) and was President from 2013 to 2016. She has also contributed to the development of In The Boardroom and The CEO School for women on executive boards. She is often invited to speak at conferences, roundtables, seminars and courses on financial matters and diversity issues, and has been interviewed by national and international media on such topics. This year, Claudia has been interviewed by DiverCity, a new Italian magazine on inclusion and innovation, and held a masterclass and released an interview for FREEDA, the first Italian social media platform for young women.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Operating Officer, HSBC China
HSBC

Alongside being COO of HSBC China, Terecina established the BALANCE network in 2018 to drive gender diversity and support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Through the network, Terecina organised a series of themed events, inviting keynote speakers and panellists from internal senior executives and external advocates. She has facilitated knowledge exchange sessions with high potential female talent and mentors colleagues from around the world. As of May 2019, the percentage of women in senior leadership positions at HSBC China has reached 46%. Beyond HSBC, Terecina has participated in corporate sustainability activities, with a focus on equipping underprivileged women and teachers with financial management knowledge and supporting the learning and growth of local women and children in underprivileged locations. She is passionate about equipping these groups with knowledge to increase their competitiveness in cities, and leads a donation of computers to remote parts of China to aid education. She also works with external professional women’s communities, participating in and speaking at events aimed at bringing about balance in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO, Visa Europe, Visa Inc
Visa

Charlotte is an active role model in business, advocating for better inclusion of women at all levels across the business. She has been involved in numerous events aiming to challenge assumptions, prejudices and biases about women. She hosted a Leadership Forum in Europe, bringing women from different organisations together to inspire and learn from one another, leading to the creation of a network. Charlotte is co-lead for Visa’s global Gender Inclusion Council, focusing on accelerating progress around inclusion and representation of women. Initiatives include mandatory diverse candidate slates for recruitment. She has committed all European managers at Visa to complete Inclusive Leadership Training this year, raising awareness around barriers to inclusion. Recently, Charlotte has strongly advocated for the creation of part-time roles and flexible working initiatives. Externally she supports NowTeach, an organisation that exists to help career-changers who’ve already made a success of one profession to retrain as teachers.  She is a regular speaker at events to champion women in business, including to external networks such as the Mentoring Foundation, Adelaide Group and Women in Finance in the UK and Europe. She is a vocal advocate for women in FinTech, passionate that Visa should take the lead developing more female leadership talent in the payments sector.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO & Chairman, IBM Asia Pacific
IBM

Harriet is a key executive sponsor of Women@IBM, IBM’s own 90,000-strong social community for women. The community directs women to the training, resources and materials they need to progress their careers, and creates a network of women who can share tips, insights and support. Within one month of starting work in Asia Pacific Harriet championed the “Advancing Women’s Leadership” initiative in India to improve diversity and inclusion. In January, Harriet was appointed to Singapore’s Economic Development Board, becoming the first female industry board member and resourcing committee member. Harriet pioneered the second annual inclusive suite of events in Singapore around International Women’s Day, under the theme #BeEqual. Harriet led a live-streamed panel session to 2,500 IBMers to answer tough questions, leading to overwhelmingly positive feedback on attendees’ trust in IBM’s support of an equal and inclusive workplace. Externally, Harriet regularly speaks at events focused on women in business, including Australia’s very first International Women’s Forum event, addressing the role of AI in the advancement of diversity and inclusion and the elimination of unconscious bias. A regular commentator on LinkedIn and in live media, Harriet has drawn attention to women-specific issues including gender diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief HR Officer
Unilever

In Leena’s tenure, Unilever’s female representation at managerial levels and above, has moved from 38% to 49% in the last 8 years. Their ambitious programme includes metrics-led governance and a robust repeatable model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. Their holistic efforts have been recognised by multiple bodies including by BITC and they consistently feature on the Times Top 50 Employers for women in the UK. Some of the key initiatives that have made this possible focus on investing in the development of their people, maternity and paternity support, agile working policies, putting a focus on women in STEM, and minimising bias through integrating behavioural science. Externally, Leena’s personal mission is to inspire 5 Million women with the message of what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women and business leaders on the importance of inclusion. She has driven the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign and they are one of the 10 Impact ambassadors for the programme. Leena also serves on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Marketing Officer
State Street Corporation

Hannah is a founder of Leading Women, a group established nine years ago comprising State Street’s female executive vice presidents. Their mission is to advance and sponsor senior women across the organisation with the proviso that they pay it forward to junior colleagues. Additionally, she is a global advisory board member of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network, the company’s largest employee resource group. As a member of State Street’s Management Committee, its most senior policy making and strategy group, she has advanced new multi-year gender diversity goals with the objective of making the company best in class for diversity. Externally, Hannah served as a board member, and ultimately president, of the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and children in Boston. While there she established a library and resource centre for guests to access job skills and career support. She is a decade long supporter of the Massachusetts Conference for Women, and speaks regularly at events to share career advice and advocate for more women in the finance industry. As a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, she reads in public schools to encourage young women to enter STEM track careers. Hannah regularly speaks at events and publishes blogs encouraging companies to evaluate candidates on capabilities more than on experiences in an effort to improve female representation in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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CEO
Webpals Group

As CEO of Webpals Group, Inbal has ensured that 50% of the 400-strong team is female, which grows at senior management level to 67%. Inbal’s team works with partner organisations to connect female candidates to Hi-tech companies. Webpals measure and present their gender equality figures internally to the entire staff and externally through a variety of media encouraging other companies to make gender parity an important issue on their agendas. Inbal’s team works hto ensure women are supported on returning from maternity leave, often receiving a promotion and new challenges to look forward to. Inbal has recently shared Webpals’ story as a case study on cracking gender equality in the private sector at the Commission on the Status of Women in the United Nations. Inbal has partnered with Parliament 51 to share Webpals’ success and influence others, leading to Nokia Israel adopting the Webpals model of promoting women during pregnancy. Inbal has also taken part in various events, sharing her personal story to inspire young women from different backgrounds in the high-tech sector, with Israel Mass-challenge, Intango, Tsofen, LeadWith and more.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Executive Vice President - Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

As an executive woman leading a global technical function at Mastercard, Jennifer is responsible for the end-to-end technical implementation of Mastercard’s products and services worldwide.  She is an active advocate for advancing women globally.  Upon joining Mastercard in 2007, she established an internal European Women’s Leadership Network to drive career advancement for European women. Reaching women in 18 offices across Europe, she led a programme of events to educate and empower women.  Now located in the United States, she focuses her efforts on developing and empowering the technical women in her organisation. She established a global ‘Women in Delivery’ group, to provide coaching to technical women to help them succeed in largely male-dominated environments, and to build a support network. Outside of Mastercard, Jennifer serves as a mentor for the 30% Club, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross in Greater New York, where her work includes mentoring a high potential American Red Cross female employees. She also represents Mastercard externally as an advocate for women, speaking at the 2018 Women in the World event in New York and Chatham House forums on gender and economic growth.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie works with her fellow board members to drive KPMG’s strategic direction and works alongside KPMG’s highest-profile clients and key stakeholders, including regulators, industry bodies and the public sector. She has personally driven a wide range of programmes designed to advance inclusion in the workplace. Melanie chairs KPMG’s Inclusive Leadership Board (ILB), which includes external representation and provides a check and challenge to the executive teams and works to ensure that the firm embeds inclusion and diversity into its strategy. She is the senior sponsor for ‘GROW’ – KPMG’s award-winning leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups, including women, to senior positions. In addition, Melanie continues to mentor women both within and outside the firm, sharing her knowledge and helping them to build their networks and progress their careers. Externally, she has driven KPMG’s Senior Business Women Network for over 10 years – a market-leading group of successful women who gather frequently to discuss business issues and build networks. Melanie is one of the founding members of the 30% Club Steering Committee, and member of the Hampton-Alexander Review steering committee. Melanie uses her platform as a business leader to make equality a reality not just within KPMG, but across society more broadly too.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Partner
PwC

Brenda has more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, investment and relationship banking, with sector expertise in financial institutions. She is also a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognised with several awards for her global campaigning for greater gender balance across organisations as a voluntary, business-led imperative. In her previous appointment at ANZ Europe, she led Responsible Business efforts for Europe and the Americas and all gender diversity initiatives. In 2015 Brenda was appointed Global Chair of the 30% Club, where she works closely with leading Chairs and CEOs around the world to increase the representation of women in senior roles and throughout organisations. For the last two years she has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance by Financial News, and is also a regular contributor to the FT City Network, a panel of 50 of the City of London’s most influential individuals. Brenda is also an advisor to the UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women in the executive level of the FTSE 350. She is a trustee of the EY Foundation and a non-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board. Brenda has recently taken up a new role within PwC’s People & Organisation consulting practice.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has driven change internally, and MediaCom has introduced gender equality targets for recruitment, promotion and appointment boards. MediaCom’s median pay gap has dropped significantly, and Sue continues to fight for its eradication. In the last year, Sue’s Glass Wall Network for diversity and inclusion has had 4 very highly attended events, including a cross-industry panel entitled ‘Where are all the men?’. As co-host of the MediaCom Connected Podcast, Sue ensures that they feature strong female leaders in interviews, including all of their internal female leaders and inspirational women from outside MediaCom. She has also launched a transformation consultancy, Theobalds Road Consulting, staffed exclusively by women. In 2016 Sue wrote a book with co-author Kathryn Jacob: ‘The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business’. It is a business book best seller, now reprinted in a new edition. Since publication she has given over 200 talks at businesses, and published numerous blogs on LinkedIn. Sue has now created a new proposal for a book aimed at driving the equality agenda still further, this time aimed at men as a guide to championing diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Group Chief Executive
Bank of Ireland

Shortly after joining Bank of Ireland as CEO in October 2017, Francesca articulated her ambition to enable customers, colleagues and communities to thrive by supporting a D&I agenda. She appointed the CFO as executive sponsor for D&I, thereby demonstrating her commitment with both Executive Directors fronting the diversity agenda. Francesca launched a 50:50 public commitment for all senior appointments by 2021, which has also heralded a sense of ambition for upcoming female talent. The bank has delivered a female talent accelerator programme, and Francesca has introduced ‘Modern Ways of Working’, allowing greater flexibility to those with outside responsibilities. She initiated a returners’ network and has spoken at the bank’s Role Model lunch series on gender diversity. Outside of her regular work, within the last year Francesca has given the keynote speech at the 30% Club annual conference, also ensuring that the Bank of Ireland actively supported and embraced the pilot ‘Board Ready Programme for Senior Female Executives’ run by the 30% Club. She has supported a number of ‘100 Women In Finance’ events, welcomed the ‘Fearless Girl’ to the Bank of Ireland, penned an OpEd for the Irish Independent and welcomed the Minister of Finance to the bank to present the Balance for Better Business first annual report.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chief Marketing Officer & President Strategic Sales
Brightstar

Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, consistently making it a positive regular board level agenda item. She allocates time to act as both a mentor, and importantly a sponsor, to women at all levels to ensure a healthy pipeline of successful female talent. She does this through networking events, ensuring gender balanced shortlists for prominent roles, raising the profile of talented women and speaking regularly at events. She works with SoftBank Vision Fund to deliver their strategic engagement programme and support entrepreneurial women. Emer also uses her position to encourage more young women to work in IT, opening them to the possibilities of a STEM career. She replicates this work in PaddyPower Betfair PLC where she is a Non- Executive Director and also as an Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group. A member of the UK government Women’s Business Council since 2013, Emer has represented the UK at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Globally in NYC in 2014, and has been asked to address the UN again in 2019. She created the Men as Change Agents (MACA) board in 2015 and, this year, designed the MACA Academy professional development programme for senior businesswomen who have the potential to fill a CXO role within the next 3 years.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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General Counsel
Cycle Pharmaceuticals Limited

Funke is the most senior black lawyer within the UK’s pharmaceutical industry. She joined Cambridge-based Cycle Pharmaceuticals in July, becoming a member of the global leadership team with strategic responsibility for providing legal and compliance leadership of the company’s global operations. She is a global diversity champion. In March 2019, Funke was appointed as a Champion for Action as part of Grant Thornton International’s global diversity campaign, challenging gender-based barriers to career progression including recruitment bias. As part of the Law Society’s Women in Law Group, she contributed to the success of the largest ever international survey of its kind, resulting in the Law Society’s ‘Influencing for impact’ report with practical recommendations for increasing gender diversity across the global legal profession. Funke provides mentoring and sponsorship to support a pipeline of diverse talent and holds a number of non-exec roles within the diversity space. She has a grassroots approach to driving change and provides talks to approximately 2,000 school children annually. A regular media contributor for the BBC, Funke has been filmed for the First 100 Years Project celebrating 100 years of achievements by prominent women in law. She is also a notable alumni of her alma mater, Newcastle University, and was awarded an MBE for services to diversity in the legal profession and to young people in 2017. In September 2019, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire, recognising her significant contributions to corporate and social diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deputy CEO, NatWest Holdings CEO, Commercial & Private Banking
RBS

Alison is passionate about achieving gender balance at RBS and is executive sponsor for the bank’s employee-led networks, including those for women. Alison is championing action on RBS’s target to achieve gender balance by 2030 through development, networking and performance support. RBS’s networks have delivered unconscious bias training and Alison has introduced programmes supporting women returning to work. Alison has insisted on a 50:50 gender split on each of RBS’s regional boards and she frequently engages with government officials and MPs on diversity. Alison is also involved in an RBS initiative in which Women in Business specialist bankers offer bespoke mentoring, networking and professional business advice to women-led and owned SMEs. In September 2018, Alison led a review on behalf of the UK Government to identify barriers faced by women when starting a business and most importantly what can be done to overcome them. She set out a series of recommendations designed to deliver significant and co-ordinated action to ensure female entrepreneurs across the UK have ample opportunity. As a result, the Prime Minister set out the government’s ambition to increase the number of female entrepreneurs by 50% by 2030, and numerous leading financial institutions are reviewing policies and products, and developing further investment opportunities for female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Vice President, Facebook EMEA
Facebook

Nicola has been instrumental in creating an inclusive culture at Facebook across the EMEA region by bringing awareness to Facebook’s impactful diversity and inclusion initiatives and programmes. She advances the work highlighted in the annual Diversity Report 2019, now in its sixth year, and increasing recruitment of people from underrepresented groups, through initiatives such as ‘Diverse Slate’ recruitment and internal resource groups. Nicola promotes flexible working and launched BackHer, designed in partnership with Creative Equals, which supports women returning to work. She implemented Managing Bias training and Be the Ally courses across her region and launched, and is executive sponsor of, Facebook EMEA’s Business Resource Groups (BRG), Women@ and Black@. Nicola has also built a successful women in leadership development programme across EMEA. This programme reaches out to staff, charities, school children and partner organisations through events, such as Balance for Better, celebrating women in Dubai. Externally, Nicola launched #SheMeansBusiness in seven markets across EMEA  to empower women to start their own businesses by giving them access to advice, support networks, partnerships and events.  Previously, Nicola chaired the Women’s Aid Development board and was the first female president of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, where she launched the Women of Tomorrow awards and the Creative Pioneers apprenticeship programme. She also served as director for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Global Special Advisor on Inclusion
Deloitte

In her previous role as Managing Partner for Talent, Emma’s activities internally focused on changing the culture of the workplace, the gender pay gap, increasing the number of female partners and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all. Since being appointed to the UK Executive Committee, she has driven significant change within the firm on gender parity. Emma led the design and implementation of Deloitte’s approach to agile working, including the award-winning Time Out programme and the firm’s gender balance action plan. She also launched the industry-leading ‘Return To Work’ internship programme which to date has enabled almost 50 women to re-enter the workplace after a career break. Emma established Deloitte’s approach to Respect & Inclusion, including devising and commissioning the multi-award winning film Ask Yourself… She also created the Respect & Inclusion Advisor role, a group of 39 senior leaders from across the firm who provide all employees with a safe space to confidentially raise concerns and call out inappropriate behaviour. Emma acts as a formal and informal mentor and sponsor to many women, both within and outside the firm. Externally, Emma is a regular speaker at events around gender diversity, the gender pay gap, and social mobility. She sits on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership Committee, and has been recognised as Ambassador of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards 2018. Since judging, Emma has become Deloitte’s Global Special Advisor on Inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia
Norton Rose Fulbright

Farmida is a debt capital markets and Islamic finance partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, and has been European Head of Islamic Finance since 2011. In May 2018, she became Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (responsible for Europe, Middle East and Asia) after being elected by her peers, the first woman and the first ethnic minority to hold this position. Her responsibilities include chairing the firm’s Partnership and Audit committees and reviewing the firm’s global business plan, but she has also taken the lead on developing the firm’s D&I initiatives and is partner sponsor and steering group member for the firm’s women’s network and a mentor in the firm’s Career Strategies Programme (which aims to improve retention of female and ethnic minority associates and encourage them to enter the partnership) as well as being involved in its LGBT+ and faith networks. Farmida continues to do fee earning work in debt capital markets and Islamic finance, and has been active in promoting the firm’s pro bono work (after advising on the world’s first Humanitarian Impact Bond for the International Committee of the Red Cross in 2017, which was done on a pro bono basis). Externally, Farmida is involved in many initiatives promoting inclusion for women, including participating in the Prime Minister’s roundtable on diversity at 10 Downing Street; participating in the Law Society’s Women in Law Leadership Symposiums; and sponsoring and hosting the mother/daughter mentoring programme for Mosaic (part of the Prince’s Trust).

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Group CEO
BUPA

Evelyn has long had a passion for helping people reach their full potential and believes that championing diversity and inclusion in the workplace makes huge business sense. In 2019, Bupa committed to building a strong pipeline of female talent; working towards more balanced gender representation in recruitment; and doing more to support people returning to work, particularly those with care responsibilities. In her time as Bupa’s Group CEO, female representation on the Bupa Board is 41.6% and the Bupa Executive Team is 45% female; both above the 33% set by the Women on Boards, Lord Davies review. Bupa is also a signatory of the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and The 30% Club; global campaigns for a better balance of women at all levels. Bupa has a global footprint. In creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, Evelyn believes that Bupa’s workforce must reflect the global reach and needs of its customers. In 2018, the ‘Be you at Bupa’ pledge was launched, encouraging its people to bring their whole selves to work. In 2019, the internal engagement campaign, #together, celebrates an inclusive culture. Evelyn spent two years as a Non-Executive Director of Opportunity Now and is now Non-Executive Director for the Bank for Ireland and London First, supporting their diversity and inclusion agendas. She is also a member of the Insurance Supper Club, and regularly speaks at events to support women in their careers, including The Times CEO Summit, Opportunity Now’s ‘Same But Different’ Summit, the International Women’s Forum and Pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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WPP UK Country Manager
WPP

Karen is an established leader who champions diversity of all types. In 2012, Karen launched an apprenticeship scheme for 18-24 year olds at MediaCom, the first of its kind in the industry. Karen developed Inclusion@MediaCom, where external speakers are invited to share life stories, acting as role models. Karen championed a Women Returners programme with the organisation Successful Mums, and launched Project Blend with the help of Open Blend, focusing on helping everyone reach their true potential blending work with life. Karen introduced a female empowerment programme at MediaCom in 2014 with Shine4women. Karen is a mentor, both internally and externally, as well as taking part in reverse mentoring schemes. Karen helped launch the Our Time initiative, a mentoring programme for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan at City Hall. She is a member of Women in Advertising and Communications London (WACL) and part of their Gather committee. In her new role as WPP Country Manager, Karen is helping to drive through change by creating a UK Inclusion Board with programmes focused on reverse mentoring, cultural inclusion and a leadership exchange programme. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service. Karen is also a Business Ambassador for the Department of International Trade. In the past year, Karen has been named as one of the most influential women in Britain by Vogue 25 and as the Prime Minister’s Race at Work Champion.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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EVP Global Marketing and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Unilever

Aline continues to lead Unilever’s Unstereotype internal change programme, aiming to remove all stereotypes from Unilever’s advertising and branded communications, and includes unconscious bias training, best practice sharing and inspirational examples to help marketers challenge bias and harmful stereotypes. During Aline’s time as Chief D&I Officer, representation of women in managerial levels at Unilever has increased from 46% to 49%. In 2017, the Global Maternal Well-Being Standard was introduced, enabling greater attraction and retention of women across all countries Unilever operates in. In 2018, this was built upon with the Global Paternity Leave Standard. Last year, Aline launched the ‘Gamechangers for Gender Equality’ campaign to celebrate male and female employees who are breaking stereotypes and driving positive change. Working with UN Women, Aline is the Vice Chair for the Unstereotype Alliance, bringing together a powerful and growing global coalition of leading industry players with the common goal of eliminating gender bias and harmful stereotypes from their advertising by 2020. She also plays an active role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focusing on driving gender balance in UK corporates. Aline is also an active member of the 30% Club, and a mentor with The Mentoring Foundation on its FTSE Next Generation Women’s Leaders Programme which helps companies develop their talent pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2019 Top 100 Women Executives

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Masami Katakura

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Rachel Pashley

Head of Female Tribes Consulting
J Walter Thompson London

Having become frustrated with the narrow lens through which women were represented in popular culture, Rachel developed Female Tribes- a global insight study, a book and a business consultancy. Rachel defined and qualified the term ‘Female Capital’ – the value that women bring to the world as women. In March 2018, Rachel was personally awarded Female Future Leader IPA. Rachel has championed many varied initiatives aligning with this agenda, including a 4-part documentary, ‘Her Story: the female revolution', with BBC World News., #drawaline with UN Women to end violence against women.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Shruthi Rao

CEO
Adapt Ready

Shruthi Rao is CEO of Adapt Ready, an early stage business in the InsurTech space. Under her leadership, the company has won major industry awards for its innovative risk intelligence platform, including “Risk-Modelling Technology of the Year”, “Excellence in Technology”, and “Best Customer Service Product”. As a longtime proponent of “women-in-tech” (and gender equality in general), Shruthi was featured in major publications for International Women’s Day in 2018. Diversity is one of the top agendas at her company, from 50% board representation to advisers and team. She is a firm believer that “good business” and “good for businesses” do not have to be mutually exclusive. Shruthi began her career as a software engineer, later moving onto management consulting. She holds a BE in electrical engineering and an MBA.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Bianca Cole

Entrepreneur, Author & CEO
The Be Group & Bianca Miller London

As the CEO of The Be Group, Bianca ensures that their personal branding workshops and keynote talks inspire others to be their best, futureproof their careers and work towards achieving their long term goals. Bianca works with a number of Gender/BAME networks as she is passionate about diverse talent, specifically helping women and gender parity. Bianca is also CEO of diverse hosiery brand ‘Bianca Miller London’ which provides a nude ‘skin tone’ shade for every woman. Bianca’s accolades include being listed on Forbes Lists 30 under 30, being a bestselling author of Self Made: The Definitive Guide to Business Start Up Success, being one of Richtopia’s top 100 Most influential Entrepreneurs and a LinkedIn’s Power Profile, as one of the most influential people out of 20 million members.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Shuchi Sharma

Global VP & Head of Gender Intelligence
SAP

Shuchi leads Gender Intelligence for SAP globally, and is charged with ensuring SAP is attracting, retaining, and promoting women to achieve a goal of 30% women in leadership by 2022. She is currently helping SAP renew its EDGE certification and implement action plans in over 12 countries where 80% of our population resides that will help us ensure gender equality. In addition, she is spearheading initiatives designed to enhance sponsorship, create flexible working arrangements, and a culture of male allies that understand gender diversity is good for everyone, not just for women. Shuchi also speaks at global conferences on gender equality and is active with UN Women helping to drive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that address gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Wallis

Head of EU Withdrawal Unit
Bank of England

Laura co-chairs the Bank of England’s women’s network, and has recently created an Allies pillar within the network, to broaden engagement particularly with men. Using her position as co-chair, together with a colleague she recently run a project on gender progression, looking at both data trends and colleague’s perceptions. Laura also co-organised a flag-ship international conference on gender progression in economics. On top of all of this, Laura is a mentor to up and coming talent at the Bank of England.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sayli Chitre

Associate (Manager)
Oliver Wyman

Sayli co-led Empowered UK – Oliver Wyman’s network for racial, ethnic & cultural diversity with a view to fostering inclusion and enhancing the culture of the firm. In her capacity as the co-lead, she has driven a variety of initiatives for the network across graduate recruiting, internal community building through various discussion events and upwards mentoring to senior management to communicate the challenges faced by women of colour. She is also a formal mentor to a number of junior women consultants within the firm.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Kenesa Ahmad

Partner & Co-Founder
Aleada Consulting

Kenesa Ahmad is an attorney and risk advisor, widely recognized as a leading expert in privacy, data protection and information security. She is co-founder and partner at Aleada Consulting, a Silicon Valley based  business consulting firm, where she advises a diverse portfolio of clients including cloud service providers and financial technology companies, among others.  She is also co-founder, board member and the former Chair of Women in Security and Privacy (WISP), and is frequently a featured speaker at industry events around the world.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Siva Karthikeyan

Senior Finance Business Partner
Aon

As Chair of Aon’s Multi-cultural network, Siva leads the inclusion and equality agenda focussing on raising the profile of the unique challenges faced by BAME women within the Insurance and Financial Services sector. The network recently launched a speaker series focussing on C-Suite executives sharing their success stories on building diverse teams, driving collaboration and ultimately business results. Siva has a passion mentoring, and currently mentors entrepreneurial women through her involvement in community networks and provide them with the guidance and strategic advice to achieve growth within their business. In 2017, Siva won the Rising Star Award within Investment Management as part of the We Are The City initiative.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Rochelle Parry

CEO
Wealth of Knowledge LTD

Being CEO at Wealth Of Knowledge, gives Rochelle the opportunity to hire and give women opportunities to grow and manage their own businesses. She personally coaches women through our leadership program, aiming to open doors for them, and show them more of the world of business. She works with a charity In Greater Manchester and often gives talks to children and young adults at their events on getting women into business and the fight to be female leaders. She also has connections with local schools and works alongside them to help encourage girls in to business. Rochelle is a leader at a local Girl Guiding Unit, she work with Girls ages 5-11 and helps them think about where they want to be and encourages a girls can do anything attitude, her girls are working in the new term to start a simple Girl guiding business/ charity drive and the hope is that this will help instil the belief that they want more, as many of them have C-level aspirations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Elena Elkina

Partner/Co-Owner
Aleada Consulting

Elena is a partner and co-founder of Aleada Consulting, a minority and female owned business - one of the first privacy and data protection consulting firms in Silicon Valley. Elena also co-founded a non-profit organization called Women in Security in Privacy to advance women in the fields. She serves as a Board Member for WISP spreading awareness and building champions for women across different industries. Up until recently, she served on the Board of LWT, a non-profit organization that empowers women to grow their knowledge, leadership skills & networks for greater professional & personal impact. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Katherine (Katia) Ramo

Associate - Technology, Media & Telecommunications
CMS

Katherine (Katia) Ramo is an Associate in Technology & Media at CMS. She is also the Founder and Chair of CMS’ ENABLE Network (disability and wellbeing) and supports the other internal diversity networks (Women, BAME and LGBT+). Katherine acquired visual, hearing and other disabilities as an adult due to a civilian tour of duty in Afghanistan and diagnosis of an elusive genetic condition. Katherine uses her disabilities, legal and business acumen as a platform to break down barriers and challenge stereotypes and misconceptions associated with disability to progress the agenda for disabled talent. Her unwavering spirit and determination make her a role model for all.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Plaxedes Makura

ILDP Manager
Herbert Smith Freehills South Africa LLP

In South Africa particularly, given its racial history and patriarchal culture, it is extra-ordinarily difficult for a black woman to be in a senior management role. Plaxedes Makura, through hard work and an unparalleled perseverance, has risen through the ranks of the South African legal fraternity to be appointed as the most senior lawyer in the Johannesburg ALT practice group at the global law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP (Johannesburg). She runs a department of approximately 18 legal analysts, and deals with work that is cross-border, large-scale and commercially complex. . She encourages diversity of all types, has an open-minded and respectful approach to her team and their work style. She is a remarkable woman with a work-ethic next to none, who always encourages her team to reveal the strengths of their nature regardless of the stresses of the job.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pippa Murray

Founder
Pip & Nut

Pip champions gender equality in the workplace – two thirds of Pip & Nut’s small team are women. Pip strongly believes in nurturing talent from within. In the past year Pip has given over 20 talks about her experiences. Pip has been awarded 30 awards during Pip & Nut’s 3 years of trading. Highlights including 2016 Natwest Everywoman Award, First Women Young achiever Award 2017. Startups.co.uk Women in Business Award 2017, The Grocer Top Talent 2017, Regional HSBC Forward ladies winner 2017 and Listed in Forbes 30 under 30 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pauline Wong

Senior Vice President, Head of Global Services, Hong Kong
State Street

Pauline leads State Street’s asset servicing business in Hong Kong and is a champion for diversity in all its forms. She is the executive sponsor of State Street’s Hong Kong PRIDE network, which creates a safe networking environment for LGBT+ employees and their allies. Previously she was also the executive sponsor of the Bank’s Hong Kong Professional Woman’s Network. Externally, Pauline is a member of the steering committee of Women’s Foundation’s Life Skills Programme. Together with some friends, she also set up a social enterprise that brings together young designers to design upcycling products produced by women from minority groups. Finally, Pauline has been a mentor to many female mentees within and outside the company.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Smita Joshi

Energy & Infrastructure Lead
Edelman India

At Edelman India, Smita has instituted several informal knowledge building platforms for women members willing to expand their sectoral knowledge and thus open career path in otherwise male dominated sectors within India. She personally mentors close to 10 women members of different teams, and has setup informal cross-gender reciprocal mentorships between varied team members aimed at nurturing skill and career development across practices and skillsets. In 2015, Smita co-founded a social development organisation JanmFoundation.org which is presently operational in two Indian states of Uttarakhand and Haryana, creating financial inclusion for women in rural communities of these states.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Akansha Goyal

Vice President, Product Control
Barclays Bank

Akansha is an international mentor, successfully steering women to achieve strategic goals and unlock their potential. She carries this with her both inside and outside the workplace. At work, she is helping drive the campaign for diversity, leading a team where women hold 80% of roles across various levels. Outside the workplace Akansha engages with schools to help improve literacy for young women in India. She was a part of the Women Leadership development program in Barclays, and was awarded the CFO award in Fidelity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Val Risk

Client Executive
Fujitsu

The 2018 BITC Gender Champion and previously chair of the Women's Business network, Val has created a clear Gender Strategy and Action Plan embedding change so women can succeed, close the gender pay gap and increase the representation of women especially in leadership, technical and customer facing roles. Val represents the company in the 30% Club, sits on the Everywoman Industry panel, supports Women in Automotive and was a non-executive Director for six years for an NHS Health Trust championing patient equality and chairing a health charity. A role model for diversity and its impact on business success Val was awarded the Global President’s Award 2017 and the Top Performers Award for her work on customer digital transformation and co-creation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Tanveer Nandhra

Executive Principal; Head Financial Market Sales Kenya
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya

Tanveer is part of the working group for the Africa Financial Markets Women Agenda. The broad agenda is to develop a mentorship framework for the female talent; promote career development and leadership base via Short Term & Long Term assignments across the SCB footprint. Tanveer is currently coaching a female graduate on expressing her interest to join the global Foreign Exchange trading team. On International Women’s Day Tanveer celebrated women in Financial Markets East Africa by conducting a session focused on #Pressforprogress motivating the wider community to be gender inclusive. Outside of work, Tanveer is part of Ramgharia Youth Association volunteering on social and welfare programs. Prior to this she was part of  the mentorship program at Kibera School for Girls under the Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Melisa Turano

Corporate Sales Team Leader
HSBC Argentina

In 2017, Melisa was selected Chair of Argentina’s BALANCE Group, HSBC’s ERG dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development and engagement of colleagues, managers and senior leaders in driving towards a gender-balanced workforce. The Group has undertaken many activities to promote dialogue on gender diversity challenges and progress, including workshops, breakfasts with employees and their daughters and monthly networking walks. Last year Melisa, along with Argentina’s BALANCE members, carried out a challenge of innovation and inclusion in partnership with Junior Achievement: One-day activity with high school students working together in developing ideas for a more inclusive workplace. Melisa has been in charge of Corporate Sales Team for the last three years. Throughout her career in Commercial Banking, she notes that business and finance have historically been men’s areas. She believes it is time to challenge the current paradigm. “If there are some inhibitors taking women away from decision-making positions, we all have to take action to bring them closer, because this is the only way we will be laying the foundations for a sustainable future”, she says.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ana Battung

Global Director
Hyatt Hotel Corporation

Ana is currently on the Executive Leadership team for the Women@Hyatt West Chapter which encompasses 10 cities with 300 members. Their mission is to provide resources, learning & networking opportunities for our members to grow both personally & professionally. Ana has also been asked to be on the panel for a Women's Empowerment Series in Washington DC aimed to guide young women professionals. Ana was recently appointed to oversee global Inclusion and Diversity Sales for Hyatt globally and is also the Membership Chair for the Hyatt Asian-Pacific Islanders DBRG Corporate Chapter.  

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Coleen Mensa

Trainee Solicitor
EY

Coleen created a video for EY’s global website to shine a light on amazing women in the workplace whilst encouraging other females to join EY. She is also the founder of a focus group which is dedicated to bringing females in law together who share the same desire to excel at work. Coleen mentors 12 young women, assisting them with getting with entry level law positions or trainee solicitors roles in FTSE 250 companies. Coleen is a regular speaker at diversity and inclusion events and often speaks on the importance of this in the workplace. Coleen hosts quarterly roundtable masterclass sessions for her mentees which mainly focuses on the tips she learned through her own journey. In addition, Coleen is the co-founder of Power Up – an initiative which helps women get into their chosen career paths. This is done through “power dinner” events where individuals can connect with others who are excelling in their field.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Katja Butler

Partner, Private Equity
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Katja regularly acts as a mentor to junior attorneys at Skadden and has been heavily involved in women’s initiatives both at Skadden and at her previous firm. She was recently appointed co-head of the Skadden Women Attorneys Network (SWAN) and as a member of the Firm's Global Women's Initiative Committee, both of which work to help connect, support and sponsor women firm-wide, as well as within the legal and business communities.  Katja regularly plays an active role in mentoring junior lawyers from outside of her organisation to help support them in their own careers. One of her mentees is now in a senior in-house role whilst another is running for partnership at an international law firm this year. Katja also participates in a number of industry events, which offer opportunities for her to take part in candid discussions about improving gender diversity in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Anna Stables

Digital Innovation Manager
Aviva

Anna supports Aviva in working with innovative technology startups. She finds ways for them to collaborate and solve customer problems through technology. She’s also on both the Digital Diversity & Inclusion working group, and the Global Inclusion Committee, to promote diversity and women in to technology roles. This year, and five years in to her career, Anna was named in the 'Top 25 Women in Tech 2018' by Code First: Girls. She hopes to support them in achieving their goal of training 20,000 women in coding by 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Kathryn Cripps

Partner
Knight Frank

Kathryn sits on Knight Frank’s People Board and is a member of their Gender Focus Group where she has been positively championing gender diversity and an improved working environment for working parents. Kathryn has regular 1:1 sessions with young women in the business, acting as an informal mentor. Outside of Knight Frank Kathryn provides advice to several aspiring women across the industry and is a mentor for the OBREMS network. Kathryn is a member of Real Estate Balance, an association focussed on addressing the gender imbalance and Women Talk Real Estate. She was shortlisted in 2016 for ‘Young Property Person of the Year’ at the PROPS awards, the longest running UK industry awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Samantha Nelson

Vice President Risk Engineer
Marsh

By openly and honestly sharing the story of her extraordinary journey, transitioning in the male-dominated workplace of oil rigs, Samantha serves as a role model to the diversity community and helps people better understand the power of inclusion. Samantha developed the concept of the Marsh & McLennan Companies #InThisTogether an Intersectional Diversity event held at the Tower of London in September 2017 aimed at Engagement, Education and Empowerment focused on topics which looked to unbundle diversity, covering Gender, Race, Disability and Mental Health through discussion and developing understanding as to why these topics are still relevant today. She has presented at events on D&I, Gender Equality, LGBT+ and Trans*Womans issue, for the Vanguard Network, GLOW ‘Gender Identity and Trans Inclusion’ , Mercer ‘Unbundling Gender Identity & Sexuality’, the Royal Society’s very first Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) event, AIG's 'Bring your whole self' event and the Financial Times 'How to be an Ally' to name but a few.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Helen Baker

QA Director Interim Director of Payroll and Services for UK & I Product Engineering
Sage

As an LGBTQIA+ woman, Helen takes an intersectional approach to gender equality. Helen champions diversity initiatives in her sector alongside her role at Sage. She mentors up and coming talent, and regularly takes part in the Women in STEM Accenture annual event where she hosts a Sage stand to encourage girls to get curious about tech and open their minds to the skills and roles available. She repeats this exercise at numerous colleges and local digital events every year.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Anderson

Counsel
Allen & Overy LLP

Catherine is a champion for part-time working parents within the firm and was named in 2017 on the Power Part Time Ones to Watch List. She has been the senior partner’s reverse mentor for 18 months and several initiatives to support the firm’s gender diversity strategy have been implemented as a result of this experience. Catherine is an active role model within the firm, participating in the firm’s womens’ network and taking part in a Q&A session which was filmed and shown at female talent programmes taking place around the global network. In the last year, Catherine has been promoted to Counsel, recognised as a key individual in the trade and commodities sphere by Legal 500 and has led on developing ground-breaking and innovative structures in her product area, winning several industry awards for her practice and for key deals from four major trade and commodity finance publications.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Mary Oare

Senior Vice President, Head of US International Banking Center
HSBC Bank USA

Mary Ellen Oare is the Executive Co-Chair of Balance in the U.S., which is HSBC’s largest employee resource group focusing on gender parity to drive meaningful conversations, influence policy and make an impact on gender issues. In this capacity, Mary Ellen spends her time educating both internally and commercially on the benefits of gender balance, encouraging a shift in attitude, conduct and culture throughout our business. She advocates for recruitment processes, promotion procedures and advancement opportunities that deliver a gender-balanced workforce. Externally Mary Ellen is a featured workshop facilitator at Woman Up conference held in Buffalo, NY speaking on Executive Presence and Personal Branding. She has presented to Women in Management club at University of Buffalo focusing on Unlocking Your Potential and initiated a partnership with the West Side Bazaar in Upstate NY which enables immigrant and refugees to pursue their dreams of small business ownership.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sherah Beckley

Sustainability Specialist and Editor, Thomson Reuters Sustainability Site
Thomson Reuters

Sherah Beckley is Sustainability Specialist for Thomson Reuters, as part of their global Corporate Responsibility & Inclusion team. Sherah is the Editor of the Thomson Reuters Sustainability site and supports global corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts for the business. As part of her role, Sherah also leads a network of environmental ambassadors called “Green Teams” across their global office locations. Born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, Sherah has a diverse and international background both studying and working in Ghana, Finland, and the UK and has a passion for international development particularly in Africa. Sherah has previously worked in third sector, NGOs and financial services, and holds a BA Honours degree in Politics & International Relations from the University of Kent.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sharon Malhi

Senior Associate - Antitrust, Competition and Trade
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Sharon is a senior associate in the London Antitrust, Competition and Trade team. She has experience of assisting clients with complex multi-jurisdictional mergers, competition law litigation and broader behavioural, strategic competition law matters. She is a founding member and former co-chair of the Freshfields London Women’s Network where she helped to co-create an online cross-departmental mentoring scheme for female associates and co-founded the London Women’s Network client speaker series. Externally, Sharon has been a trustee non-executive director of Rosa – the UK Fund for Women and Girls, since October 2015.  She is also the founder of a soon-to-launch women’s ethical fashion label.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ashlesha Vaishampayan

Manager, Consultant Relations
Russell Investments

Ashlesha leads the Gender Equality Network for EMEA at Russell Investments, and is a member of the EMEA Diversity & Inclusion committee. She chaired and organised a panel event for International Women’s Day with 3 prominent industry speakers to educate and spread awareness of key issues. On top of this, she is organising a ‘Gender Equality Skills Based Training Week’ with multiple workshops/events, which will be taking place in September.  Outside of work, Ashlesha is a committee member of the Diversity Project, sitting on the ‘Gender Equality’ working committee. Mentoring up and coming talent is also important to Ashlesha – she mentors 3 women in the asset management industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Catherine Yuile

Executive Vice President, Insights & Analytics
Edelman

Catherine has been with Edelman for 3.5 years, leading the growth of the Insights & Analytics practice in Canada, and is a member of the Toronto leadership team.  Catherine is also a member of the global steering committee of Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN), where she advises on and leads global initiatives designed to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm.  In 2017, Catherine led the development of new global and regional scorecards and KPIs to track corporate progress and insights towards Edelman’s goal of 50/50 representation of women in leadership positions.  In early 2018, Catherine developed a plan to create and launch a new global Instagram channel for Edelman GWEN. To support this launch, Catherine formed a global team of women community managers across different regions to develop content that helps highlight local GWEN activities, women leaders, and their champions.  Under Catherine’s leadership, the GWEN team has organized regular local office events, such as lean-in circles, to help create a culture where women can lead and succeed.  Catherine is passionate about her mentorship of women in the communications, marketing, and research communities, supporting them to successfully manage their career development.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Carolyn Porretta

Head of Portfolio Services
AIG Asset Management Europe

At AIG, Carolyn actively encourages a focus on Diversity & Inclusion. She has regularly helped organise sessions where senior leaders talk to employees about their careers and listen to feedback. Outside work, Carolyn is a volunteer mentor with The Girls’ Network, which aims to inspire and empower teenage girls from the least advantaged communities by connecting them with a network of positive female role models for mentoring. Carolyn is also a mentor with Women in Banking and Finance. In addition, she volunteers with the Junior League of London, a charity that aims to promote voluntary service, develop the potential of women and improve the community through effective action and leadership from trained volunteers. Carolyn is due to speak at the European Women in Finance conference in Amsterdam in November, and was recently invited to the House of Commons for the inaugural Game Changers senior female networking event.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Ngaire Moyes

Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Brand Marketing
LinkedIn

Ngaire leads LinkedIn's EMEA employee resource group, Women at LinkedIn and helped drive initiatives for International Women's Day. She regularly hosts and takes part in internal panels and workshops on issues related to gender equality, including most recently a panel in Dublin with an audience of 140 people. Ngaire mentors a number of women inside and outside of LinkedIn, and has taken part in a scheme by the Inspiring Women Campaign where professional women visit schools and speed mentor girls. On LinkedIn, Ngaire writes on gender equality and women in the workplace, and has been interviewed for the ‘Human Experience’ podcast on gender equality and the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Niamh Carty

Senior Multinational Client Exeutive
AIG Europe

Niamh works in AIG’s Multinational department, and is a Committee member of GEM - Gender Equality Matters - a UK-based Employee Resource Group within AIG. GEM advocates a gender-balanced approach in the workplace both externally, through events and partnerships, and internally, through the support of AIG’s senior leadership. In 2018, Niamh  helped drive a clothes collection campaign at AIG in collaboration with the charity Smartworks, which offers training and career support services for unemployed women from deprived backgrounds. Niamh also mentors colleagues and peers in the industry, and in 2017, was named a ‘Rising Star in Insurance’ as part of the ‘WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards,’ which recognise emerging female talent across multiple sectors of industry. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Insurance, as well as a BA in International Insurance and Risk Management

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Amma Mensah

Founder & Executive Director
Beyond the Classroom

Through her work as founder and executive director of Beyond the Classroom (BTC), Amma provides leadership-skills, mentoring and work experience opportunities to girls as young as 11.  BTC’s Girlhood to Womanhood programme is unlocking a well-equipped pipeline of diverse talent, enriched by the resilience and determination forged through difficult life circumstances.  As a trustee of Business Launchpad (BLP), Amma supports thousands of young people launch and grow their own businesses, 85% of BLP clients are still trading after two years. Amma is also the youngest trustee of UnLtd, the UK's foundation for Social entrepreneurs, where she is responsible for a £100 million endowment.  Not content with activities in the UK, Amma has been commissioned to help steer the UK arm of the Senegal based Kemi Malaika  school and Foundation (KM). One of the key objectives behind KM is to create awareness among parents about the importance of educating young girls and to promote the role of women, as essential drivers of development through education.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Tiffany Poeppelman

Head of Sales Productivity, EMEA
LinkedIn

At LinkedIn, Tiffany blends her daily leadership of core business initiatives like the 2018 opening of a new company office in Berlin, with service as both a culture ambassador and mentor to young women across the enterprise. She has coached dozens of young women to pursue leadership positions in technology, tackling deep-rooted imbalances in the sector. Tiffany also served as a board member of Women at LinkedIn, an employee resource group focused on developing female leaders. Tiffany spends much of her time outside of work as a thought leader in the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, serving as a mentor to young professionals new to the field, and writing a quarterly column on the subject. She actively promotes diversity by participating in mentoring sessions and developing “personal branding” events. She also showcases her business leadership through outlets like: Training Industry Magazine; speaking on podcasts; and keynote talks at many events internationally. Most recently, she was a featured speaker at Vodafone’s International Women’s Week, and at the Ericsson Women network resource group.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Angela Lungati

Director of Community Engagement
Ushahidi

Angela Oduor Lungati is a technologist, community builder and an open source software advocate who is passionate about building and using appropriate technology tools to create impact in lives of marginalised groups. With over 7 years experience, she currently serves as Director of Community Engagement at Ushahidi, providing support and building programs for Ushahidi’s diverse global community of users and contributors.  At Ushahidi, Angela  serves as a mentor to several female colleagues, in her capacity as the Director of Community Engagement at Ushahidi, and has been part of a team that has developed progressive policies that allows for a flexible work-life balance of all employees. In April 2010, Angela co-founded AkiraChix, along with a group of friends working in the tech industry.  AkiraChix is a non-profit organisation that nurtures generations of women who use technology to develop innovations and solutions for Africa. AkiraChix provides technical training for young girls from low income areas, high school students and primary school children, with the goal of increasing technical capacity of women, and ultimately increasing the number of women working in the tech industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Jayashree Mitra

Head, Global Regulatory Portfolio Management, Information Technology & Operations
Standard Chartered Global Business Services Private Limited

Jayashree heads the Gender Diversity & Inclusion programme for Standard Chartered Bank Technology, India. She has led campus recruitments in women’s colleges across India, designing a programme to demonstrate that IT engineering roles can be interesting and fulfilling. She created a global programme promoting leadership for high potential women in the historically male- dominated field of IT Infrastructure. Jayashree also mentors junior women building networks and enabling to promote themselves positively. To recognise women doing amazing things in the field of technology, Jayashree launched a company newsletter featuring them, circulated globally and instituted awards for recognising Women talent and achievements. At Standard Chartered Jayashree has led the creation of parenting circles, and is working on in-house creches and family networks to support children while the mother is working.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Lauren Gemmell

Manager, Software
Amazon

Lauren plays a key role in the progression of women at Amazon. For the past four years, she’s led Amazon’s Women in Engineering Group at the Edinburgh Development Centre, an internal group which supports female engineers through mentoring, networking and identifying new career progression opportunities. Lauren is also mentor for Claire Doherty, one of the Amazon Women in Innovation Bursary participants, providing her with advice on how to pursue her career in tech. She regularly organises and speaks at diversity events, and her most recent panel discussion was broadcast to hundreds of employees across the UK for International Women’s Day. Lauren is the lead sponsor for Amazon’s Early Insights Scheme, a community outreach programme in Scotland designed to encourage more young girls to study STEM subjects. Overseeing strategic direction and finances for the programme, the Scheme helped build confidence in the technical skills of the participants, and encourage a career in technology through workshops, talks, social events and a ‘hackathon’ for 12 female early years students. Lauren has also hosted workshops for Women Who Code Edinburgh, a global non-profit inspiring women to excel in technology careers, and Scotland Women in Technology.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Susan Robson

Principal Consultant
National Grid

Since 2015 and in parallel with a full time role, Susan has been involved in the National Grid gender diversity employee resource group, becoming chair in 2016. She has the raised the profile of the gender diversity network internally through visibly aligning initiatives to the business strategy and creating a much more robust framework for the activities. Susan is committed to raising visibility of  National Grid’s gender diversity commitment externally and has presented at a Westminster Briefing, an Inclusive Employers conference and an UN Global Compact summit. Susan led National Grid’s sponsorship of a European Women in Energy Leadership Conference earlier this year in London, hosting the final panel session of the conference. Building on the success of the female Remarkable Role Model book, Susan co-led the production of a second volume to showcase role models across all minority groups at National Grid, demonstrating a broader commitment to equality. Maintaining close relationships with key partners including the Women’s Engineering Society and the POWERful women, Susan works to promote development partner opportunities to women in National Grid. This year, Susan is leading the design and delivery of a new programme to encourage men to become more active in the gender diversity debate and is mentoring two sixth formers as part of the Future Mentors programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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MaameYaa Akoto

Senior Associate
Allen & Overy LLP

MaameYaa is an active participant in the firm’s female development programme and is often sought as an informal mentor/role model to junior associates. She has undertaken various speaking engagements at schools and universities, discussing a career in law. MaameYaa regularly speaks at female universities in Saudi Arabia such as Dar El Hekma with the aim of inspiring female law students. She is also working with a number of Saudi government agencies to implement Saudi Arabia’s vision of increasing the amount of females in the work place. She also hosts career insight days at A&O for young black girls from a local school interested in a career as city lawyers and took part in a graduate recruitment event for prospective trainees discussing both the firm’s gender strategy and BAME initiatives. She spearheads the firm’s BAME initiatives and is a founding member of the BAME network.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Lucinda Wakefield

VP, Principal, Administration & Planning
BNY Mellon

Throughout Lucinda’s 3 year leadership of BNY Mellon’s largest business resource group, the Women’s Initiative Network, EMEA (WIN EMEA), she has been a visible and vocal advocate for diversity in the workplace. Lucinda has enabled 45 female employees to be mentored by external senior executives through the 30% Club Cross Company Mentoring Scheme. On International Women’s Day, Lucinda joined a panel at BNY Mellon’s Manchester offices and spoke about the important role we can all play in moving the needle around gender equality. She blogs to raise awareness about significant political milestones that have furthered gender equality and on the importance of men’s involvement in our gender equality mission. In January 2018, BNY Mellon gave Lucinda a Spotlight Award for developing talent by supporting ex-Military Interns who went on to secure permanent roles with BNY Mellon. Since being nominated, Lucinda has been promoted to Director, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, EMEA, BNY Mellon)

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Tynan

Manager EMEIA Restructuring
EY

At EY, Laura’s focus has been largely on cultivating female leadership. She serves as a mentor for a number of women in the firm including Lena Forster, winner of EY’s inaugural Corporate Finance Woman of the Year 2018 award, supporting her in navigating through difficult decisions. Aside from these individual efforts, Laura is the co-lead of EY’s ‘Gender Debate’ initiative, an important part of the firm’s effort to elevate the discussion around women’s issues. In this role, she organised and chaired EY’s inaugural ‘Profitability of Parity’ event, where gender parity was discussed as a critical business issue that impacts the long-term success of the firm. Outside of EY, Laura coaches a number of women, helping them navigate through career challenges, and build their confidence in order to overcome setbacks.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Sue McLean

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Sue is a member of the executive committee of BakerWomen, Baker McKenzie's women's network and supports the firm's Senior Female Peer Network. She also leads Baker McKenzie's women in tech initiative, BakerWomen in Tech. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Sue founded and chaired MoFo Women and was on Morrison & Foerster's global Women's Strategy Committee. On top of this, Sue provides pro bono legal support to You Make It and Techmums, two social enterprises focused on empowering women. Outside of work, Sue is an Inspiring the Future mentor, Modern Muse mentor and mentor under the GSA mentoring scheme. Recently, Sue co-founded and chairs a Women in Tech Law network with the Society of Computers and Law. On top of this. Sue regularly host events for various women's networks, such as UPWARD and Precious.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Emma Summerfield

Digital Product Manager
Aviva

At Aviva, Emma took a leading role in organising International Women’s Day events across London; particular focus was taken on the Women in Tech event at Aviva’s digital office. Emma formed a working group in order to deliver the event and department wide communication; utilised senior network of contacts to source speakers and gain sponsorship. Now the driving force behind a programme of events across all diversity characteristics including gender as part of her role in the global D&I working group. Utilising previous experience as women’s network chair in previous organisation to share best practice in Aviva.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Khalia Newell

Vice President
Barclays

Khalia is deeply passionate about diversity and sits on The Black Professionals Forum and also the Chief Controls Office Junior Think Tank - part of the Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) at Barclays. As part of the Junior Think Tank initiative she is working to improve the number of female Directors and Managing Directors within the Chief Controls Office; with a focus on progression for women of colour. In addition to this, Khalia has devised Director/Managing Director Leadership training across the Barclays Group to help promote diverse senior leaders and she continues to mentor many women from underprivileged backgrounds along her journey. Her work has been recognised by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall where she received an invitation to meet Prince Charles at St James’ Palace and also an invitation to assist the Advisory Board for an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM in 2018 following her TEDx Talk in 2017 ‘Why Diversity Initiatives Fail’. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including: Black British Business Awards, Rising Star in Financial Services (2016); We are the City, Female Rising Star (2017) and was listed as Top 3 EM Power Future Leaders in the Financial Times (2018).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Joanne Borrett

Senior Software Development Release Project Manager
IBM UK Ltd

Joanne is a Senior Software Development Release Project Manager in IBM UK.  In addition to this role she is the Diversity & Inclusion lead supporting the IBM UK Laboratory's in the UK & Ireland, where she leads, coordinates and runs many gender related initiatives.   She has played a pivotal role in the organisation, development, delivery and leadership across a number of initiatives and special gender diversity programs, in order to support women’s career and skills advancement in IBM.  She leads many Women in IT events  where the theme was ‘Press for Progress’ – progress in careers, progress in technology and progress in diversity.  She is the co-founder and launched a pilot program to support women with their careers -  Developing Your Technical Career.  Joanne has been a key sponsor of a number of programs at IBM including the UK wide Connecting Women @IBM where she is involved in running events to encourage women to network across the organisation. She is a powerful advocate and role model regularly being a guest speaker or running events for local schools, colleges and universities  to encourage more women through the use of STEM workshops to join the IT industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Pamela Jones

Operational Change and Integration Manager
TPICAP PLC

Pamela has been instrumental in forming ICAP’s Women’s Network, of which she is Co-Chair. Founded in 2009, she has delivered events for employees introducing female speakers such as Michelle Mone and Eve Pollard to illustrate Entrepreneurship and representation of women in male dominated roles. As a result of the network, Pamela has been able to form mentoring relationships with women internally to manage their career progression and navigate the corporate. Pamela is a Board member and Director at WILD (Women in Listed Derivatives), and chairs the Mentoring Committee. Pamela has been an active mentor and coach at Central Foundation Girls School in Bow  spending one hour mornings a month for the academic year working with year 10 and 11 girls. The demographic make- up of the school is 95% Punjabi. Alongside this, Pamela is looking to work with Dr Claudette Bailey Morrisey to create a programme of mentoring focusing on BME girls. Pamela is a committee member of TP ICAP’s global ‘connect’ diversity committee and looking to play an instrumental part in the set- up of the TP ICAP’s first Ethnic Minority and cultural Backgrounds  committee too. She is an Advisory Board member and Brand Ambassador for Dress for Success who work to empower and mentor women back into the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Parisa Namazi

Head of Talent
Cicero Group

Parisa was responsible for signing up Cicero Group to 30% club and women ahead mentoring scheme, and gave all female employees the opportunity to sign up to mentoring. Throughout the process she encouraged male allies, with approximately 35% of mentors being male. She led Cicero through joining Women in Finance Charter, and as a result of this, has held events on International Women’s Day to empower female employees, maintained a level of 50% female new hires,  led focused training sessions and has signed employees up to industry specific women’s networks. Elected in 2016, Parisa is one of 12 to sit on HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter Industry Board to represent SME and professional service signatory firms, and returns to her university to give talks on career progression and provide advice for those who have not been placed on a graduate scheme to consider other options and to be a role model for those looking to enter HR.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Women Future Leaders

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Laura Meyer

Chief Information Officer
HarperCollins Publishers

As HarperCollins UK’s CIO, Laura oversees the company’s technology division, and has oversight for Distribution and Production, which includes the company’s distribution centre in Glasgow. She believes passionately in redressing the existing gender imbalance by championing women in technology and emphasising the message that women can enjoy enormously interesting and rewarding careers in the sector. Laura sits on HCUK’s Executive Committee and regularly interviews colleagues at all levels up to and including CEO as a leadership resource for HarperCollins intranet training hub, speaking at and sharing best practise at trade and technology events and conferences. She also sits on the employee led diversity and inclusivity council where she supports and helps promote progressive initiatives across the business. Mentoring is a key passion of Laura’s and something she has been actively involved in for over fifteen years. As well as mentoring female employees within HarperCollins she has acted as an external mentor for two mentoring organisations, SWIMM and WING. WING is a cross-industry organisation that helps mentor women in the workplace, which she co-founded whilst at Time Warner, and now includes businesses such as Oracle, Condé Nast, MVF Global, News UK, and of course HCUK.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kimberley Hunt

VP Commercial Excellence EMEA & Americas
GSK

Having herself benefitted from the support and mentorship of colleagues in developing a highly successful career in the fields of Sales and STEM, where women have traditionally been underrepresented, Kimberley has been keen to pay this forward to the next generation of up-and-coming women. In particular, she is a strong advocate of mentoring, having mentored approximately 50 people over the course of her career, the majority of whom have been women. In addition to being a mentor herself, Kimberley has also encouraged others to do the same, by becoming a sponsor of GSK’s mentoring programme in the US. Externally, Kimberley sponsored the partnership with the LEAD Network (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity), which has a mission to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development. Kimberley prioritised investment from her operating budget to support the enterprise partnership with LEAD, ensuring GSK were one of the early ‘Gold’ sponsors of the network. Most recently, Kimberley has also supported LEAD by producing an ‘Inspirational Journeys’ video, which showcases her own success story and was circulated to LEAD’s 2,700 members, as well as being available to all to view on their website.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Noiana Marigo

Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

At all opportunities Noiana endeavours to act as a role model for diverse lawyers and women in the firm. As US partner for gender diversity, she guides women lawyers in their careers, works for smarter workplace policies, and thinks more broadly about the firm’s strategy to increasing gender diversity at senior levels. Additionally, she has served as a mentor on the US Women’s Mentoring program and has been asked to act as a partner, as well as acting as sponsor on the firm’s Global Sponsorship Program, a bespoke 12-month talent development programme for high potential mid-level/senior women associates. Externally, Noiana helped establish, and sits on the steering committee of, Equal Representation in Arbitration, a group of professionals committed to improving the profile and representation of women in arbitration, particularly in the tribunals themselves. This initiative has gathered over 3000 signatories worldwide, including law firms, corporations, arbitral institutions and arbitration practitioners, all of whom are committed to achieving gender balance in international arbitration.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Merelina Monk

Parter Student Property Team
Knight Frank

Merelina is an active member of the Women in Real Estate Organisation. She runs focus groups and speaks at regular internal panels and debates to tell her story in Knight Frank, but also to enable Women to speak to her as a role model. She specifically runs the graduate scheme, with a focus on providing women entering the profession with support and direct guidance. She runs the commercial graduate scheme at Knight Frank, liaising with circa 50 graduates this year and assisting with interviews, mocks and APC preparations. This also includes the recent innovation of starting a pioneering internship scheme for the first time in Knight Frank’s history. Merelina regularly mentors interns and graduates personally, and takes a hands on approach to advising and nourishing the next generation of real estate professionals. She has already supported 90 graduates from interview stage through to APC. She is a Registered APC councillor and this year became an official RICS trained APC assessor. She has also been part of a panel event at the Hotels and Alternative Conference, speaking confidently and knowledgeably on the student sector with her peers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicci Take

CEO
m|62 vincis

At her firm, Nicci’s vision statement is "Making D&I Win!" with a special lean towards gender diversity. They look for clients that have a good D&I attitude and support them in favour of their less diverse competitors. Specifically they have declined to work for organisations where the board or management team is All Straight White Male. Vincis is 75% Female. They have two recently returned to work mothers and have adapted contracts and practices designed to make this easy. They are also supporting 3 apprenticeships, where 2/3 are females and they are currently paying for and supporting one young lady to complete her bachelor’s degree on day release. Externally, Nicci presents about D&I and in particular gender diversity. One of her standup shows, “Prey", is about raising awareness of Domestic and sexual abuse of women and children. She supports a national trans charity, and has recently been appointed as the Head of Diversity for "Wings" which is one of the largest International Scout camps taking place every 4 years, the next is in 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Katie Koch

Partner, Goldman Assessment Management - Fundamental Equity Business
Goldman Sachs

Katie spends many hours mentoring the women within her own group and across the Firm. She strongly encourages the women she mentors to take a seat at the proverbial table, to be transparent about their own ambitions, and to invest in both knowledge and networking. In the group she leads, more than half the assets are run by women portfolio managers, and she makes efforts to formally and informally connect women to one another, and to other influential leaders in the industry. Additionally, she has conducted various research efforts at the firm that focus on women’s roles in the global economy. One of her studies helped create the first global financing facility dedicated to women, conducted in partnership with the International Finance Corporation. Outside of the firm, Katie is very dedicated to building the industry-wide pipeline of female talent, through investing in the programs and resources to encourage female undergraduates to pursue careers in finance and investing. She is actively involved in the “Girls Who Invest” program both through Goldman Sachs and her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Runa Alam

Co-founder and CEO
Development Partners International

Within DPI itself, Runa prides herself in promoting equality across every level of the business. Three of the six current company partners are women, putting DPI well ahead of the industry average. This diversity is apparent across all levels of the firm – over 40% of the firm are women and she actively supports DPI’s staff in their professional development through mentoring. DPI invests in the emerging middle class in Africa, where women are increasingly influential, looking after investments based in 27 countries. Externally, Runa played a role in the establishment of AVCA, the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, where she was chairperson and remains an active director. She is also the Chair of the AVCA Sustainability Committee, a Board and Africa Council Member of EMPEA and a steering committee member of PEWIN, the pre-eminent organisation for senior women leaders in private equity, where she has been instrumental at driving the organisation’s growth and regularly host and contribute to events aimed to promote and support women in private equity. In 2016, she was invited onto the board of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rakhi Kumar

Senior Managing Director- Head of ESG Investing & Asset Stewardship
State Street Global Advisors

Rakhi has been a key speaker at the firm's Professional Women's Network (PWN) events in various geographic locations. She met with female employees in Boston, Tokyo and London offices in formal and informal settings to discuss her personal challenges in managing work-life balance, particularly as a mother. She is trying to highlight the need for more awareness on the role of organizational, team and societal culture in facilitating gender diversity. She is pushing for more accountability at the individual manager level and greater exploration of team culture to better understand which practices are helping or hindering achieving gender diversity at all levels. Additionally, Rakhi helped develop and implement the engagement and voting guidelines behind SSGA’s Fearless Girl campaign that calls on companies that have no women on their boards to enhance gender diversity within their organization. Through her association with the Fearless Girl, she serves as both a spokesperson and role model in the industry on matters related to gender diversity. In honor of International Woman’s Day, she addressed the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, and called on companies to disclose gender data across their entire businesses to build more diverse leadership pipelines for the future.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Douthwaite

Managing Director
Santander Business

Sue has made much progress in establishing a culture which embraces gender balance in the workplace, striving for gender parity in the leadership team and always working hard to seek out talent. She co-founded the Santander Women in Business network to inspire, educate and recognise women across the bank and it now has nearly 3,000 members. She also mentors 8 women internally. Given her extensive network of external contacts, Sue has organised trade missions; launched business education programmes; and given female business leaders access to high profile business women who can help them transform their business. She has also worked with partners including Cause 4, Blooming Founders, Enterprising Women, Forward Ladies, Prelude and PRECIOUS. She has also sponsored and spoken at events and awards that celebrate female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Biola Alabi

CEO
Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment

At Biola Alabi Media and Entertainment, from the beginning they committed to economically empowering women. The company is has over 75% female staff and the leadership is all women. Externally, Biola is the founder of Grooming for Greatness, a foundation committed to the development of future leaders . The organization makes a concerted effort to select 70% women for each cohort. Every week on her TV show, she interviews, showcases and highlights female entrepreneurs. She is also a regular speaker at Female leadership events across Nigeria : Wimbiz, WeConnect, iWOW, Ladies in Business. Biola is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a Yale Greenberg World Fellow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Liao

Senior Partner & Managing Director
The Boston Consulting Group

As the leader of BCG in Greater China, Carol is responsible for four offices and over 500 staff members. In the past three years, 11 women have been elected partners in China—one-third of their partner group in the region. Through investment in recruiting, women comprise more than 50% of the entry-level cohorts in the region. Carol leads a cross-functional committee dedicated to providing career support to women, including programs focused on sponsorship for mid-level and senior women and flexible working arrangements. Externally, she is involved in a number of organizations that promote women in business, including the Mu Lan Club, an organization of female entrepreneurs sponsored by China Entrepreneur magazine. The group comes together to discuss topics impacting women in business. In 2017, she attended Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Conference in Hong Kong, and has spoken on gender-equality issues at the Women of Our Time conference, sponsored by the South China Morning Post. In addition, she co-authored the BCG research paper Creating the Diverse Organization: How to Thrive in a Complex World (April 2016), in which they advocated that a diverse workforce is imperative for meeting the demands of diverse customers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Finnegan

Head of HR EMEA
LinkedIn

Over the last two years, as she met with candidates, talked to hiring managers, and shared experiences with fellow HR professionals, Lisa became increasingly focussed on the problems preventing potential talent from reaching the stage of making an application. As a result of lengthy discussions, she started looking at ‘returnship’ models that have emerged elsewhere, but saw the chance to go further. LinkedIn’s programme, ReturnIn, would be real, full time jobs, not work experience. It would have a unique recruitment process, additional help with onboarding, family friendly features and specialist help, and mentoring from people who understand the circumstances. Last November at the All Hands event, at which CEO Jeff Weiner was present, they officially launched LinkedIn’s ReturnIn programme. Lisa also speaks regularly internally and externally on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, including hosting CWIT (Connecting Women in Tech) events and International Women's Day at LI.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ebru Pakcan

Head of Treasury and Trade Solutions, EMEA
Citi

Following her appointment as head of TTS, Ebru also joined Citi’s executive committee (ExCo) for the region. She is one of four women out of 22 members to sit on the board. In January 2017, Ebru also joined the Board of Directors of Citibank Europe Plc. She is heavily involved in the talent development and diversity agenda, and actively promotes and supports development of female diversity and inclusion as a senior leader through mentorship and coaching. She is a regular speaker at Citi run ‘women in leadership’ events throughout the region, speaking to audiences comprising of both senior women as well as junior talent. She is also currently working with senior colleagues globally, to create a formal women’s network specifically designed for the TTS business. Externally, Ebru has been invited to speak at a number of industry events championing women in the workplace, including the Women in Treasury conference sponsored by Treasury Today, keynote speech at Financial News FN100 dinner as well as participating and speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 2017 ‘Momentum’ program. Ebru has encouraged a number of her senior management team to participate in this particular program over the past years as mentors themselves.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bukola Adisa

Managing Director, Head of Risk and Controls Framework, Design & Execution
Barclays

At each of the places she has worked, Bukola has actively championed the progression of women by ensuring that women are aware and are prepared for opportunities that exist. She sponsors the careers of several junior women within Barclays and has done the same at other banks she has worked at. She is an executive sponsor for the EMBRACE multicultural network and through this work, she speaks and acts as a champion at several inclusion events. At a previous bank, she helped design an accelerator program that saw junior women undergo training that will move them from the branch network to corporate roles in head office. She also dedicates several hours a month mentoring and advising women across Barclays. Externally, Bukola is a very vocal advocate for women progression in the workplace. She actively mentors numerous high potential women across all industry sectors. Through her work with her non-profit enterprise which was set up in 2015 to enable the career progression of women and ethnic minorities, she has been able to positively impact and inspire countless women, several of whom have gone on to change roles, negotiate better pay and outcomes and secure promotions as a result of her guidance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mazuin Zin

Managing Director
Edelman

Mazuin in a career spanning two decades has built an industry reputation of playing a business transformation leader. Having led three successive business turnarounds for Malaysia’s leading international Marketing Communication Groups in Edelman, MullenLowe and Leo Burnett, she brings with her the tenacity and rigor required to influence the business trajectory. An avid proponent of ‘playing a meaningful role in the Clients’ business journey’, Mazuin today is one of the very few women business leaders in Malaysia who continue to invest in nurturing and building a startup based corporate culture that shines light on young talent. A natural mentor at heart, she continues to take immense pride in creating entrepreneurial abilities across workforce, as she continues to steer Malaysia’s leading Reputation Management Consultancy with over 70% women as part of the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Helene Silverman

SVP, Client Relations
Lightspeed Research

Helene believes that supporting women’s professional development and advancement is crucial to the success of an organization, and relies on fundamentals of role models, mentors, connections and support. She has made addressing these fundamental needs a central part of her career, and was a founding member of the Women’s Mentor Program at Information Resources. This group established mentorship best practices, identified mentor pairings, and provided ongoing support to mentees through one-on-one sessions, group workshops and inspirational yet practical guest speakers. She brought this experience with her to future employers and continues to play a role in formal mentor programs. At Lightspeed, she is currently a mentor in the LEAP program, which pairs influential senior women with high potential women in other parts of the company. She is currently developing a program to bring one-on-one mentorship to a broad group of employees, to go beyond existing invitation-based mentoring. She is often sought out as a mentor and coach, particularly in the areas of communication, employee engagement, and difficult conversations, and has developed mentoring relationships both internally and externally.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Holly Villiers

Managing Director, Head of UK, Ireland & Nordics Corporate Banking
MUFG

Holly is an active supporter, sponsor and role model of gender diversity at MUFG, and is a critical enabler to its success. She was a key player in driving the development and launch of MUFG’s EMEA Inclusion and Diversity strategy in 2015 and is a founding member of the EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Steering Committee. She was influential in the establishment in MUFG’s employee network for gender-balance, which launched in 2016, She also took on a key role in leading in the development of the proposal and securing buy-in to the signing of the Women in Finance Charter in July 2017, the first public commitment for MUFG in the gender diversity space worldwide. Holly exemplifies the company culture being built through her mentorship of many employees, sharing her knowledge and expertise to enable and empower others to drive change, and mentoring other women throughout her career. Holly’s mentorship extends beyond her business role, as a volunteer with Working Chance, an award winning charity partner of MUFG committed to getting female ex-offenders back into employment This programme provides careers advice and interview practice to equip female ex-offenders with invaluable skills and to ultimately help them secure jobs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Payal Vasudeva

Human Capital & Diversity Executive Sponsor
Accenture

Payal is a managing director who sits on the Accenture United Kingdom & Ireland (UKI) Board with singular accountability for Inclusion & Diversity, and leads the Talent & Organisation UKI practice. Payal is the sponsor of a coordinated programme around the recruitment, development, progression and retention of female employees. In her capacity as a People Advocate, she has overseen the establishment of Accenture’s market-leading Shared Parental Leave provision, and is a key contributor to many of Accenture’s events aimed at promoting female progression, including the annual flagship International Women’s Day celebrations. Externally, Payal is a Trustee on the Board of East London Business Alliance and part of the Business in The Community (BITC) Gender Equality Leadership Team, with a focus on intersectionality and challenging gender norms. Payal has been recognised in prominent global diversity rankings, and is regularly invited to speak at conferences such as Critical Eye CEO Retreat, CBI, European Business Summit, STEM Gender Equality Congress as well as senior leadership forums on the topic of the future workforce and inclusion. She has founded a scholarship program in Mumbai for under-privileged girls, and is co-founding a ‘not for profit’ helping youth from disadvantaged backgrounds build life and leadership skills.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jill Gwaltney

Founder
Rauxa

In 1999 Jill launched Rauxa, which has grown to become the largest independent women-owned agency. She has maintained Rauxa’s culture of being “upside down” from the start with 70% of the leadership team being female. Jill has prioritized mentorship with an internal program to lift younger women and increase their chances of visibility within the industry. She also supports industry mentorship programs including that of longtime client with Verizon AdFellows. She is outspoken in the industry, penning a call to action for Campaign U.S. to champion women in the workplace. RauxaGives is Jill and Rauxa’s give-back program aimed at giving back to its communities. They partner with local non-profits to give time and money. She hosts a quarterly "RauxaGives Day of Service” where organized activities are set up in each major office for employees to participate in – from beach clean ups, to toy drives, painting classrooms or making signs for marathon runners. They also created a “Build Your Brand” workshop that aims to help youth understand how to build and own their brand (professionally and socially) as it relates to who they are, what they stand for and what they want to accomplish.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Kerry Sinclair

VP of IT Enterprise Application Delivery (Global)
Sage Group PLC

Kerry Sinclair leads a team of technology specialists at Sage – one of the UK’s largest technology companies. She is mindful that a career in technology development and delivery hasn’t historically been a favoured career choice of women.  To help address the challenge of gender diversity in her field, Kerry is involved in a number of Sage, industry and educational programmes. Kerry helped build a leadership programme to support high potential females in technology, a yearlong programme that focuses on women in STEM. She speaks at industry events such as the North East Chamber of Commerce and has worked with local schools and in order to change mind-sets amongst young women considering their career options. At Sage Kerry coaches women through the Women@Sage programme, designed to support talented females through their careers. She also works across various programmes including: return to work, diversity training, unconscious bias awareness and much more.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lea Paterson

Executive Director Human Resources
Bank of England

Lea has been a long-standing sponsor, mentor and champion of female colleagues in the workplace. In her current executive role she has initiated a number of diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at further embedding the Bank’s inclusive culture. This includes launching the Bank’s first pilot sponsorship programme for diverse talent. She co-chaired the Bank’s gender network for 3 years, and led a professionalization of the network – expanding its membership, influence, effectiveness and impact. Achievements included the establishment of a parents’ network, a strengthened training offering for managers of maternity leavers/returners, and the establishment of an ‘Allies’ pillar to facilitate the inclusion of male colleagues in the push for greater gender diversity. She has also been involved in social media campaigns, via the Bank's channels, to champion women in the Bank and celebrate international women's day. Additionally, she has had numerous mentoring and sponsorship relationships with female colleagues over the years. Externally, Lea maintains a number of informal mentoring relationships, and regularly attends roundtable discussions on how to support gender progression.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

Vice Chairman
MasterCard

Ann has led many initiatives that improve the lives of women and girls at Mastercard. These include the creation of GiveMe5, Mastercard’s umbrella programme for all gender diversity initiatives, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal Number 5, the empowerment and enablement of women and girls. She has driven initiatives to ensure a balanced pipeline of future women leaders is in place, focusing on entry-level recruitment, and ensuring balanced candidate slates at entry level in every country. She is the main sponsor of Mastercard’s returnship programme, which helps employees return to mid-senior level management positions after an extended career break. Externally, Ann has led partnerships around the world with UN Women to advocate for and develop digital identities for women. She has led the creation of partnerships between Mastercard and organisations including the Vietnamese Women Union and the China Women’s Development Foundation. She also created the global networking initiative Leave a Legacy, a coming together of senior women executives from around the world to create a community designed to promote and create legacy initiatives for the next generation of women leaders. Additionally, she regularly speaks at global organisations dedicated to closing the gender gap and promoting empowerment of women.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Deborah Baker

Group Director for People
Sky

As a Director in HR, Deborah’s team is responsible for several initiatives that fall within the Women in Leadership (WiL) programme. Activities have included upskilling programmes for high potential women, introducing gender-balanced shortlists for all job vacancies, and implementing inclusion training. She is also building Sky’s reputation as a leading employer for women through targeted recruitment events and media coverage. As a result of the Women in Leadership programme, Sky announced that nearly 40% of their senior leaders are now female, up from 31% since the launch of the initiative 2 and a half years ago. Their aim is to move this to half by 2020. Externally, Deborah has been involved in speaking platforms such as The Women in Media Awards and also in press articles talking about what they are doing at Sky in the gender diversity space and to create a more inclusive culture, and how other organisations can learn from this, for example in ‘HR magazine’.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Wendy Warham

VP Hybrid Infrastructure Services and Networks & Telecoms, EMEIA, DTS
Fujitsu Services

As the UK Executive sponsor for Women in Business, Wendy has a clear strategy with measurable goals to ensure women can succeed in Fujitsu. She has been key to driving the gender pay gap actions, which included getting an external audit to address any issues. She mentors women internally, and externally, to help them find confidence and realise their ambitions. She championed a new way of writing role descriptions so that they could eliminate male orientated language and encourage more women applicants, which resulted in an increase in the number of females who applied and who were appointed to senior roles. She has also been hosting the Fujitsu Women in Technology event for Fujitsu customers where they bring the latest thinking and insight to the senior customer base. Externally, she has been re-elected to sit on the techUK council and has been leading a work package promoting a Returners programme which can be accessed via the techUK portal. She also wrote a blog for International Women’s day which was published on the techUK portal called Press for Progress. She has been collaborating with customers and partners to share the latest thinking on how women can succeed.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanna Ludlam

Partner
Baker & McKenzie

Joanna co-leads the London office’s gender initiative, Baker Women, which aims to ensure that there are no barriers to career progression for women at the firm. They have introduced agile working, mentoring circles, maternity coaching for leavers and returners, sponsorship programmes for high performers and reviews of data to understand when and why women leave the firm. She has also introduced a programme of female client networking events and are active supporters of HeforShe. Externally, Joanna is actively involved in the King’s College London Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and participated in its launch event panel with Chair, Julia Gillard. She mentors King’s College London female law students, and speaks regularly at industry events on the subject of gender equality and the challenges faced by the legal profession. Joanna is one of GIR’s 100 Women in Investigations, and is listed in the Who’s Who for Investigations 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Warson

Head of Citi Private Bank North America
Citi

Since 2015, Tracey has been the Co-Chair of Citi Women, a global effort designed to empower and promote women at Citi. In this role, she has had the privilege of receiving feedback from women across the globe and escalating appropriately, one important example, Citi signing the UK Women in Finance Charter. In partnership across Citi, Tracey has driven multiple initiatives in support of women, such examples include Pay Equity, Girls’ Education, and increased female representation across Citi. Earlier this year, Tracey made the business case at the United Nation Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum that sourcing from women owned businesses is important globally and promoted for the UN/Citi created guide which emphasizes The Power of Procurement. Leading by example, female representation on her Leadership Team is at 40%, and taking into account other diversities, ethnic and LGBTQ, the team is 60% diverse. With this diversity of thought and experience, her business has achieved double-digit growth YoY since 2014. By understanding this business imperative, Tracey has led trainings for her staff to communicate, educate, and help women align their investment objectives with their life goals. Under her leadership, Citi Private Bank will soon be launching a gender lens investment offering to clients.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mairead Nayager

Chief Human Resources Officer
Diageo

Mairead has ensured Diageo has a holistic plan in place which will result in the business achieving a senior leadership team which is 40% female by 2025 and has committed to ensuring that 50% of hires to Diageo’s global graduate programme are women. She has worked to galvanise each Managing Director of Diageo’s 21 markets to establish a diversity and inclusion plan that meets these targets as well as locally relevant goals to ensure the business reflects local consumers. Through her ownership of succession planning to the most senior roles in the company, as well as partnering with the CEO and Presidents on hiring decisions, she has supported the promotion and acquisition of women into a significant number of critical roles. Externally, Mairead is a vocal advocate of Diversity and Inclusion in business – most recently writing an opinion piece for City AM on the subject. She has put her support behind key campaigns championing women in business, and diversity and inclusion more generally, including the 30% Club, Free the Bid and Open for Business.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Elizabeth Raffle

Head of Finance, Legal & Strategy Community
Lloyds Banking Group

Elizabeth leads a cultural change programme with targets including 40% female leaders by 2020. It upskills colleagues to value diversity and inclusion and be aware of unconscious bias. She runs an Inclusion & Diversity working group, a women’s leadership programme, and contributes to the Group’s women’s network, Breakthrough. She mentors female colleagues and role models best practice. She speaks at internal and external events, and hosts visits from organisations to promote the benefits of an empowering, inclusive culture. Externally, Elizabeth has spoken at conferences such as PwC’s Finance Leaders’ Summit, its Women in Finance Network, and Deloitte’s Shared Service Forum, about the value in empowering, inclusive working practices, and is participating in a panel discussion on gender pay. She talks to girls at schools, supports with work placements, and has won an award for work with local charities.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicole Lonsdale

Chief Planning Officer
Kinetic

Nicole believes empowering her colleagues is critical to success, so she ran a companywide workshop for all female staff and male managers that openly addressed the unique challenges women face in the workplace – from not speaking up in meetings and going for promotions, to the importance of supporting other women and creating a work/life balance that actually works. She was then invited into other companies she works with to present the session to their teams. She also worked with her team to promote International Women’s Day, involving inspirational speakers inside and outside the business promoting their successes and the importance of creating a personal brand. Externally, in 2017, Nicole started work creating a Diversity and Inclusion network – Balance - across Out of Home advertising to drive more balanced representation in all companies. She has signed 10 businesses up to Balance, who are now actively involved and making real change happen. The network is open to everyone who works in Out of Home advertising and provides information, training and advice to inspire women and BAME employees to stay in the sector longer while attracting new diverse talent.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Diane Sullivan

Partner, Litigation Department
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Diane knows first-hand how transformative the mentoring experience can be, and in turn has worked hard to promote and mentor young women lawyers. She has demonstrated how they can excel as jury trial lawyers in “bet the company” cases and helped talented litigators develop the strengths and skills to be top trial attorneys. Also, as a member of Weil’s Management Committee, she advocates for women at the highest levels of leadership and has helped address firm wide issues, including the retention and advancement of women attorneys. Externally, she has been an active supporter of organizations such as Coastal Volunteers in Medicine and Womanspace, which offer critical support for women and families in need. She was also proud this year to work on a pro bono matter in the interests of academic freedom, securing asylum in the U.S. for a female Syrian professor who was fired and tortured for speaking out against the Assad regime and for aiding victims of the conflict in Syria.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Hussey

Partner, Head of Business Development
Arthur Cox

In 2008, Rachel founded the Women in the Firm initiative within Arthur Cox. This involved bringing the women partners together to formulate a strategy to empower women in the firm. The initiative included training for women partners and associates on a range of subjects including Mastering the Unwritten Rules of Work and Developing a Personal Brand, as well organising talks and presentations by external speakers on key issues. Arthur Cox was the first Irish law firm to introduce maternity coaching. For the past five years, the firm has hosted a lunch event for 200 women clients on International Women's Day. Rachel also played a key role in bringing the Catalyst programme, Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) to the firm which was attended by partners over two days in Dublin in September 2017.  Externally, Rachel is currently the Deputy Chair of the 30% Club in Ireland, and co-heads the club’s Professional Services Firms’ Group. She is a regular speaker in various fora on women in the workplace - she has recently chaired an event for the Irish Society for European Law and has been invited to give the key note address at the Society of Young Solicitors' conference in November.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Carroll

Managing Director, Corporate Banking
MUFG

Sarah is a driving force behind Balance, MUFG’s gender diversity network, which she co-chairs with a male colleague. Since its launch, her leadership has seen the group go from strength to strength, with a balanced membership base of both men and women who regularly interact with its campaigns and initiatives, plus the launch of several Network chapters across MUFG’s EMEA region. Her ability to engage male champions in gender agenda has not only contributed to a sea-change in company culture, but has also been a catalyst to organisational change, with MUFG making its first public gender diversity declaration in 2017 when it signed the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter. This saw several internal changes to policy and practice to support the progression of gender diversity at the firm. This also saw MUFG listed as a finalist in the 2017 Women in Banking & Finance Awards for Team of the Year. As a mentor to a number of women at MUFG and other organisations, Sarah utilises her extensive network to assist women seeking new roles, particularly post-redundancy. Sarah has also been involved in a programme, which saw her visit sixth form female students to promote the finance sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Raquel Florez

Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Raquel regularly takes opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, including speaking on panels for the Global Sponsorship Programme, a bespoke 12-month talent development programme for high potential mid-level/senior women associates, and featuring in the firm’s internal campaign for International Women’s Day which profiled 27 women across 5 regions sharing their #pressforprogress statements. As part of the “Stronger Together” network, she encouraged partner firms to promote diversity, and tries to influence decisions on speakers. Externally, Raquel is an active member of the Women Partners Forum in Spain, which aims to promote gender diversity in law firm partnerships. She hosts events for external attendees, including men, covering topics such as how best to support talent pipelines, flexible working arrangements and modernising perceptions of legal institutions. She is an active member of a Senior-Women group for members to the International Bar Association, and organises a now traditional group lunch at the IBA’s global conference.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lauren Kisser

Director, AWS S3
Amazon

Lauren is Director for Amazon Web Services S3 based at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cambridge, U.K. She is the executive sponsor of the Diversity Working Group at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cambridge, which aims to create and foster a diverse workplace. Under Lauren’s leadership the Diversity Working Group focuses on: building the recruiting pipeline to get more women into key positions; fostering internal knowledge and skill building; and inspiring young women to get into the STEM field. She has been named 100 Women to Watch in 2018 and was awarded the 2017 everywoman in Retail Ambassador of the Year awards for her dedication to addressing the gender gap in retail and technology. Lauren has led outreach efforts to inspire girls to continue studying STEM subjects at school by inviting them to Amazon’s drone lab in Cambridge and regularly visited schools as a Prime Air STEM and AWS Cloud Computing Ambassador. She is also a STEM Ambassador for Connect Education and Business since October 2016, where she is a role model and mentor to women and mothers looking to return to work. She often speaks at events to inspire women to embark on a career in technology.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Cristina Ferreira

Head of Regulatory Solutions and Innovation
State Street

As a member of State Street’s EMEA diversity council, Cristina is in charge of developing and driving initiatives that affect gender diversity at State Street, in Luxembourg specifically. To raise awareness and engagement, several breakfast sessions have been held with female managers to understand their career aspirations, as well as the challenges and opportunities when developing more diverse teams. In addition, as part of State Street’s ‘Speak up / Listen Up’ initiative, which aims to support and create an open and inclusive culture, Cristina facilitated training sessions to Assistant Vice Presidents and above, providing them with tools and strategies to improve communication and dialogue within their teams. She has also been an active member of the Luxembourg chapter of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network (PWN) for several years, and became its Chair in 2017. Externally, Cristina takes part in a number of speaking opportunities, including panels at the German Women’s Network “Fondsfrauen” regional meeting, and the Swedish-Nordic Chamber of Commerce conference. She is also a member of the “Gender Diversity Lobby”, which is a group of companies in Luxembourg driving change and creating an environment attractive to female talent to further economic competiveness and social progress.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leigh Ayer

Human Resources Director
Enterprise Rent-A-Car UK & Ireland

Leigh is the Chair of the UK/Ireland diversity team and founded a ‘Mum & Tots’ group, allowing women and men to bring babies into the office when on leave. She launched Enterprise’s first women’s networking group ‘Enterprising Women’ and developed an award-winning ‘Diversity Scorecard’ – a company-wide benchmarking tool. She also created the internal gender diversity magazine ‘DRIVE’ and Twitter page to engage leaders/customers/universities and profile successful women in the business. Additionally, she helped sponsor #inpursuit, an Enterprising Women’s annual customer event focusing on diversity and inclusion, attracting 100+ customers. Externally, Leigh was appointed to the BITC Leadership Team for Gender Diversity, championed BITC’s #EqualLives research, and is a regular speaker at conferences, in HR press, and at events on gender diversity, recently speaking on inclusion at DEFRA. She is a sponsor of the Women of the Future and Asian Women of Achievement Awards, and championed the BITC Race At Work Survey 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Stacey Hawes

President, Data Practice
Epsilon

Stacey is an executive co-chair of Epsilon’s first ever Women in Leadership initiative, which she helped establish in 2017. The initiative is now available to female associates in 25 offices including Toronto and Bangalore. A champion for female representation and leadership, Stacey makes it a priority to reach a hand back and help pull other female leaders forward after not having a mentor to lean on herself. A working mother of two children, she understands the importance of women in the workplace and promotes a culture that fosters confidence, inclusion and positive outcomes for women. She regularly mentors “up and coming” female associates each year from across the business. In her local community, Stacey is actively involved in supporting Leadership Ascent, a Denver not-for-profit that helps to support women in leadership. The program provides education to women in leadership roles in business that focus largely on emotional intelligence, how women and men approach business differently and how to “reach a hand” back to help other women as they progress in their careers. Stacey also serves on the Board of Directors for a local not-for-profit called Denver Urban Scholars, and is an active speaker and thought leader in the industry.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Abi Wright

Managing Director and Co-founder
SpaBreaks.com

Abi has taken Spabreaks.com from a two person business in 2008 to 80 members of staff today (the majority of which are women), with a strong focus on ensuring that all employees feel appreciated and have the chance to progress in their career. She recently opened a second call centre in Brighton to encourage more women to be able to be able to return to work. This shows in the company's near perfect 4.8 score on Glassdoor. Abi has won numerous awards since launching Spabreaks.com 11 years ago including the European Business Award for Leading Woman in Business for Inclusivity and Diversification, the First Women in Travel and Leisure Award in June 2017, and she won the Natwest and Everywoman Female Entrepreneur of the Year in November 2017. Abi works with a number of women within her industry to improve opportunities for women and to help improve women’s work opportunities, as well as their confidence, health and wellbeing.  She has also recently joined the board of the CEW. She pioneered Recovery Retreats for people with cancer in 2008, working alongside other leading women in the spa industry has broken down prejudicial barriers against cancer patients and other individuals in spas.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Farah Foustok

CEO- Gulf
Lazard Asset Management

As CEO of LAM’s business in the Middle East, Farah internally connected Lazard asset management (LAM) to the 30% Club in the UK, US, Australia & Singapore to launch diversity initiatives. Subsequently, LAM hosted the 30% Club US mentoring program in 2016, and Farah has actively mentored women at LAM in US, UK, Australia, China and Middle East. She recommended an amendment to the LAM HR handbook in Middle East to enhance maternity leave, in line with global standards, and has enrolled all female staff and senior male directors in a regional mentoring program (Reach). Externally, Farah co-founded Reach, which has mentored over 300 professional women in the UAE, Lebanon, Bahrain & Saudi Arabia since launch in 2013. She also co-founded the 30% Club GCC in 2015 and currently chairs steering committee, with over 150 member firms.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emma McGuigan

Group Technology Officer, Communications, Media & Technology at Accenture
Accenture

Emma has spent many years championing women in Accenture from running early stage networks 15 years ago to sponsoring global attainment programs today. With a focus on retention, progression and recruitment in her former role, she increased the percentage of women at every level, exceeding the global targets. She pioneered Accenture’s outreach work with Stemettes, a program which started with 14 school girls in London in July 2014 and today reaches >4,000 girls in over 8 countries annually. Externally, Emma sits on the advisory board of Digital Leaders, CBI Innovation Council, and is Treasurer of Orchid Project. She recently stepped down from board of techUK as the sponsor for diversity. She is a regular speaker and panellist pushing the agenda for women in business, from keynote at the GSMA Women4Tech Summit at MWC Barcelona 2018 to speaking at local schools. She is also on the Women in Business board for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, is a Godmother Stemette and acts as a judge for several UK women in business awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Miriam Gonzalez

Partner, Co-chair of the International Trade and Government Regulation practice
Dechert LLP

Within Dechert, Miriam has championed the Global Women’s Initiative, which provides opportunities for development, advancement and leadership for women within the firm. She works on the Sponsorship and Sustained Support (SASS) programme, which helps senior female associates navigate the path to partnership. Participants receive individual and small-group support, skill-appropriate training, individualized attention from Dechert partners, access to consultants and advisors, and networking opportunities with other programme participants and Dechert partners. She is also a Local Women Liaison, a network of women located in Dechert offices in the United States, Europe and Asia who host welcome receptions for new women associates and organize business and legal community events, including networking events for International Women’s Day. Externally, Miriam founded and currently chairs Inspiring Girls International, a charity that helps girls build self-confidence. Together with Melanie Hall QC, a barrister with Monckton Chambers, Miriam also co-founded the Lawyers’ Circle, a 100-strong association of female lawyers who channel their legal skills, networks and resources to furthering women’s rights. She is a prominent thought leader and forthright speaker, regularly exploring gender equality and related issues in the world’s print and broadcast media, including the Telegraph and the Guardian, GQ magazine, and BBC Radio 4.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Simone Roche

CEO
Events 1st Ltd

During her role at People 1st, Simone led and grew the Women 1st campaign to increase women in senior positions in the hospitality industry by creating a community and support framework delivering an annual conference, awards and establishing an active and organic mentoring platform reaching over 300 relationships. In 2015 she created Northern Power Women (NPW) to accelerate gender equality from the North of England by recognising, celebrating and showcasing role models. NPW engages all genders across the Northern Powerhouse including the launch of a reverse mentoring pilot and a monthly, live recorded podcast and annual awards. Simone has recently created Northern Power Futures to discuss the future of the world of work, designed by the generation of future leaders. She has also been working with leading business schools to incorporate a student engagement programme to help students connect with business, gain exposure to the NPW community, and access mentoring opportunities. Externally, Simone is licensee for TEDxWhitehallWomen, sits on the advisory board for World Merit, the Gender Network and is a committee member for the Women of the World Festival. She is a regular judge at diversity awards, and often speaks in the media on the importance of gender balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Mel Edwards

EMEA CEO
Wunderman

Over the past year, Mel has strengthened Wunderman’s reputation across EMEA as a leading global digital agency. With the courage and commitment to lead 4,500 people towards the future, Mel has spent much of her time focusing on creating a strong culture and building diverse leadership teams within Wunderman. Responsible for 72 offices across 23 markets, Mel recognises the importance of recruiting great talent and then empowering people to do the best work of their careers. Throughout her own career, she has developed industry-leading, future-ready programmes for both clients and staff. For Wunderman, she helped develop ‘Pass It On’ a global initiative designed to provide women with a structured programme to enhance leadership skills, including 1:1 mentoring and direct access to senior executives throughout WPP. Mel is regularly named as one of the most influential people helping to shape the world of digital. She features in some of the most respected awards line-ups, including Campaign’s A List, The Drum’s Digerati and BIMA 100. Most recently, Mel was named one of Ad Age’s European Women To Watch, as well as earning a spot on the Steering Committee for Gender Parity for the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Bijna Dasani

Head of Group Architecture, Strategy and Innovation
Lloyds Banking Group

Since completing her Masters thesis exploring the gender gap at c-suite within the UK Financial Services sector, Bijna has advocated exercises to help establish ‘new ways of working’ and to re-skill staff, and female colleagues in particular, so they are equipped for jobs of the future. One example was the development of a Data Science Lab, which she championed internally in 2016. She invested in video content, seminars and training to develop existing female staff within the division, and to attract other women into STEM roles internally. Bijna also mentors women internally, and through LBG is a Mentor to the CEO of a global RegTech. Externally, Bijna serves on advisory Boards for CIO Net, CDO (Chief Data Officer) Exchange Series and the Inclusive Companies Network. Through her various roles, she advocates for equal opportunities for women in the workplace. She is also a presenter for the Women in Business (WIB) TV show and has appeared on Disruptive TV, where she discussed key statistics, research on women in the workplace and associated topics. She has also been mentoring for Women in Technology in London for three years and has filmed a series of leadership videos for their new mentoring-on-the-go app, ‘Cajigo’.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Pinch

Managing Director
Pinch Point Communications

This year, Sarah has appointed a female Non Executive to her company, to advise on growth plans - but also to underpin the company's commitment to diversity. In May she launched Pinch Point’s inaugural conference - Spring Forward - aimed at women who want to run the show and are looking for inspiration in their careers and lives. She continues to mentor a number of women, including cementing her relationship with Anne-Marie Lacey, from Filament PR, by becoming the first NED for Filament PR. She was also appointed Chair of the Taylor Bennett Foundation in 2017, and is the youngest board member to be appointed to HSE. Externally, Sarah has been a volunteer with One Million Mentors, and mentored a young women who has now, with her support, taken the leap to move city and industry. Sarah continues to dedicate a lot of time to mentoring and coaching young women in PR, including assisting with a complaint of sexual harassment. As a past President of the CIPR she still speaks out on issues of diversity and unequal treatment of women; recently chairing debates and discussions, and talking at conferences and events.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer DeSilva

President
Berlin Cameron

Jennifer has long recognised the need for equal opportunity, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. She launched Girl Brands Do It Better (GBDIB), a Berlin Cameron division, to empower female entrepreneurs through connections and creativity. GBDIB touts Chromat, The Other Festival and Kidfund amongst its impressive roster. In addition to GBDIB, Jen instituted “Side Hustle Days”, where employees are allowed one additional PTO day per month to work on their passion projects. Once a quarter, the agency discusses potential collaborations, and some staffers’ brands have even made their way to GBDIB. While many leaders shy away from “vulnerability”, Jennifer spearheaded industry-shifting research this year on workplace standards and found that 96% of respondents feel that they learn more from a leader who shows vulnerability than from one who doesn’t. She is a frequent thought leader, appearing on stage at the Women’s Convention, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and more, as well as in print in outlets like The Huffington Post and Adweek. Jennifer sits on the boards of advisors for the National Kidney Foundation and global leadership development initiative Girl Up. Through Girl Up, she’s been able to directly encourage young girls to take action and empower each other.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Susan Revell

Deputy Chair and General Counsel EMEA
BNY Mellon

Susan is an Executive Sponsor of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiatives Network (WIN) EMEA, and has played a critical role in furthering the WIN mission of ‘advancing female potential’, acting as a bridge between WIN and senior leadership. She regularly participates in internal panels and writes internal blogs to share her passion for this subject, as well as motivating aspiring women and emerging leaders. Most recently, she was the executive delegate at an employee forum on ‘Gender equality and culture’, where she tackled important questions around the gender pay gap approach and broader inclusivity. Susan has also leveraged her network to set up the Senior Women’s breakfast group. Acting as an informal think tank, the group use collective experiences, connections and leadership skills to support the advancement of female leaders and drive corporate diversity strategies. She has led the creation of the EMEA Legal Department’s Legal Citizenship network which consists of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), Community and Pro Bono streams, and championed a “Male Allies” programme, to raise awareness of the important role we can all play in furthering gender equality efforts. Externally, Susan is an advocate and participant of mentoring programmes that support diversity, including the 30% club mentoring programmes.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tracey Groves

Founder & Owner
Intelligent Ethics

Tracey established and led the PwC Gender Balance Network UK & sat on the PwC UK Leadership Council for Talent & Diversity, as a former PwC Partner. This involved overseeing the development and delivery of a 2-day leadership development module on unconscious bias as well as sponsoring a number of D&I initiatives. At PwC she was an active sponsor of Women & Girls in Cricket, the WeAreTheCity Rising Star Awards 2016, Women in Compliance, Women on Boards and The Enjoyable Life Series 2017. Tracey has been a regular mentor and coach to professional services women looking to develop their careers in the City, both internally at PwC and externally. Tracey is a Board Member of City Women Network (CWN) and an Advisory Board Member for Gender Networks (WeAreTheCity). A prevalent speaker on diversity in the workplace, she has delivered a TEDx Talk as part of WhitehallWomen in 2015, and has been interviewed in trade journals and the press on diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Victoria Fox

CEO
LIDA

As global executive sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion Victoria leads the drive for equality and inclusion across the group. At a global level they have defined a vision and mission to challenge the status quo, inspire the global board and give different perspectives. They published their gender pay gap figures in April 2018, after Victoria pushed for greater visibility and accountability. She has been spearheading a programme in the UK to improve the results, involving mentoring, coaching, pulling out future female leaders and investing in them. Externally, Victoria is on Executive Team for WACL (Women in Advertising London) and will this year be chairing the Future Leaders Awards which offers bursaries to over 30 women in the industry to further themselves and boost their chances of reaching leadership positions in next 5 years. For past 3 years she has been on the committee organising WACL Gather, a training event for 500 women in the communications industry, the next generation of women leaders. She also sits on the WACL partner committee, working with 10 organisations that are affiliated with WACL. As a committee they offer support, advice and community to these groups so they can collectively drive towards equality. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Souad Benkredda

Head of Financial Markets Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan Sales
Standard Chartered Bank

Souad is currently with Standard Chartered Bank in the UAE and manages a team of approx. 120 people. She is very passionate about identifying, nurturing and promoting female talent especially in the Financial Markets business which historically had a low female front office representation. Souad is a member of the Standard Chartered MENAP Diversity & Inclusion Council and has been instrumental in introducing new processes aiming to attract more females into the Bank. Under her leadership, 75% of the 2017 and 2018 Financial Markets UAE graduate hires were female. Throughout her career, Souad has mentored many women from different divisions and countries. She also takes time to provide guidance to male colleagues who ask for advice on various aspects of diversity. She is a regular speaker at universities and conferences. She was also a panellist at the first ever Arab-German Women Leaders Forum in Berlin. Souad holds a Master from the University Paris Dauphine and a Master from the Frankfurt University with specialisation in Financial Engineering. Souad is originally from Algeria and speaks five languages (Arabic, German, English, French, Italian). She is married with two young children. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Estelle Brachlianoff

Chief Operating Officer
Veolia

Veolia is now entering a new phase, and to lead it, Estelle has been chosen as part of the new generation of leaders who have a deep knowledge of Veolia's businesses, its culture and its people. Since application Estelle has moved to Paris to be part Global team (the only female). Estelle leaves behind a vast legacy to champion women which will continued. Her highlights have included hosting the 2018 Women in Leadership programme in UK and Ireland, a Veolia initiative that takes place over a nine-month period, designed to help bolster high-potential, current and future women leaders within the business. She also worked with Employer Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei) to develop a proposed ‘Inclusion Strategy’ for 2018-20 and build a priorities action plan. Estelle believes in building and retaining a diverse workforce that is resilient, innovative and inclusive. She is committed to women in STEM and has partnered with the Government to help encourage more female students into STEM. She has always internally championed younger women, employing 300 apprentices, and works to upskill the future workforce. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Fox

CEO
M&S Bank

Sue understands that unconscious bias - both in recruitment and management - is still a challenge in many industries. As such, she believes in having strong female role models and mentors, and relevant training, which has included sponsoring female leaders to attend 'Women on Board' training, supporting their leadership development. M&S Bank have an equal 50:50 gender split at the most senior management level, with 65% of other managerial roles held by women, and the lowest gender pay gap in the industry (2%). They have also done a lot to break down taboos, like talking openly about fertility struggles and enabling new parents to bring their baby in to work to attend events/roadshows, making it easier for them to stay connected and feel less isolated. Sue has also implemented a D&I committee - covering five strands, including Gender, Ability & Well-being, LGBT, BAME and Faith. Externally, she is an advocate of mentoring and firmly believes that empowered women really do empower women and that you can learn a huge amount from the experience of others. She also regularly gives her time to speak on the importance of inclusion at both national and regional events and in the media.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Hannah Grove

Chief Marketing Officer
State Street

Hannah is a founder of Leading Women, a group established nine years ago comprising State Street’s female executive vice presidents. Their mission is to advance and sponsor senior women across the organization with the proviso that they pay it forward to junior colleagues. Additionally, she is a global advisory board member of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network, the company’s largest employee resource group. As a member of State Street’s Management Committee, its most senior policy making and strategy group, she has advanced new multi-year gender diversity goals with the objective of making the company best in class in terms of diversity. Externally, Hannah served as a board member, and ultimately president, of the Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for disadvantaged women and children in Boston. While there she established a library and resource centre for guests to access job skill and career support. She is a decade long supporter of the Massachusetts Conference for Women, and speaks regularly at events to share career advice and advocate for more women in the industry. As a Big Cheese Reader with Boston Partners in Education, she reads in public schools to encourage young women to enter STEM track careers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sara Luder

Partner
Slaughter & May

Sara is head of Slaughter and May’s Tax Practice.  She was one of the founding partners of the firm’s Women’s Network and continues to champion the network’s activities as one of their supporting partners. Since organising the firm’s first International Women’s Day event, Sara has sponsored a number of high-profile events including inspirational talks from the likes of Deborah Frances-White, Laura Bates and Annie Lennox. She has also supported the introduction of speed networking events, which aim to provide women trainee lawyers with access to a diverse range of female role models. She is passionate about progressing women throughout the talent pipeline, and is a sponsor of the firm’s Female Leadership Development programme, now celebrating its fifth anniversary. Sara is a visible role model has mentored a significant number of women lawyers and other employees, both formally and informally. Externally, she is a member of several organisations that aim to further gender equality, including the 30% Club, through which she mentors high-potential women as part of their cross-company mentoring scheme. Sara has also supported The Lawyer’s Circle, a network of female lawyers from across the UK, in addition to organising a number of women in tax events.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Nicky Bullard

Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM-Meteorite

Nicky has introduced ‘FlexyForty’ at her agency, MRM-Meteorite, in order to retain and invest in a talented female workforce. Through this, employees need to be in the office for their core hours [10-4] but can work the rest around them. Freeing mums up to drop-off or pick up their kids up, without guilt or raised eyebrows. She has also given two young female creatives the opportunity to work on every new business pitch this year. There are only three female Creative Directors in Ireland, so on International Women's day Nicky took a day off work and flew to Dublin to speak about what it's like to be a female creative leader. Externally, she is a regular speaker on the importance of diversity. At Eurobest, she gave a personal account of her journey and how not to let the buggers get you down. At the WACL Gather conference, she did a talk entitled 'I am not Sheryl Sandberg' to 250 young women. She is on the Creative Equals Advisory Board and the Women for Women International marketing board; the charity that helps women affected by the horrors of war start their own businesses and thrive.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Heather Melville

Head of Financial Inclusion, Corporate & Private Banking
Royal Bank of Scotland

Heather founded and led the RBS women’s internal network for over 12 years, and has now assumed an advisory role to ensure the strategy of the network supports the delivery of RBS gender targets. She mentors a number of women across the different franchises, and engages front line staff around the gender & ethnicity agenda. She organised and sponsored the 2017/2018 Women in trade , WINTRADE conference for 200 plus global female entrepreneurs representing RBS/Natwest. Externally, Heather is the Chair & Trustee of CMI Women, which has a membership of 16,000 members. She is also an NED for Enterprise Enfield, and is involved in an initiative which is focused on coaching & mentoring 80 young black girls in supporting their aspirations. She was invited to speak at the UN Spring summit in Washington, on behalf of the World Bank, IMF, UN & Global Banking Alliance, in the presence of HRH Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. She has also been invited to participate in a round table of Dutch Bankers to share best practise around the WIB proposition for Female entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Joanna Santinon

Partner
EY

Joanna has been partner sponsor for EY Women's Network for eight years, doubling its membership in that time and extending its reach to all offices. The network runs a variety of learning and development events to help women be the best version of themselves, alongside events that showcase inspirational role models. The network has created a best in class International Women’s Day Celebration and awards programme where they presented 22 awards across the UK last year. She also takes part in mentoring and sponsorship of up and coming female talent both formally and informally. Under the banner of the Women’s Network Joanna runs a full external programme with events for different groups. They have a market leading group for women on boards of FTSE companies to discuss current business topics. Separately she has brought together a group of female entrepreneurs providing a forum for them to learn from each other. She has been a member of the 30% club steering committee for 7 years, and was instrumental in creating the cross company mentoring scheme and running the pilot at EY. She currently mentor two female entrepreneurs in the early stages of their start up journey.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

Chief Executive
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded the social enterprise Gaia Innovation to inspire young people from less affluent backgrounds to aim higher and to equip themselves with the skills to escape the poverty trap of low skilled insecure employment. She employs women through spotting their potential and their transferable skills rather than relying on evidence of past performance or specific job experience, and trains and encourages them to believe in themselves and their abilities. She achieves a high level of productivity and employee engagement in the business through flexible and agile working, and her team are women returners with caring responsibilities who are trusted to fit their work around these responsibilities and deliver high quality output. Gaia Innovation runs the Inspiration for Innovation programme that is free of charge to state schools and funded by employers, universities or altruistic donors. Within the programme, they facilitate meaningful interactions between female students and employers in male dominated sectors such as automotive, engineering and technology in order to raise the students' awareness of all the opportunities available to them. Externally, Julia is also an adviser to The 5% Club, a steering committee member of the 30% Club, and founder of the UK Automotive 30% Club.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sigga Sigurdardottir

Chief Customer and Innovation Officer
Santander

Sigga has passionately tied the innovation agenda of the bank to the diversity and inclusion ambitions, linking innovation and business results to a more diverse workforce. She is UK Executive Sponsor for the Global Santander D&I Council and, having completed Santander UK's unconscious bias training, over 50 of her immediate team have also completed the workshop. Her role on the global diversity and inclusion steering committee sees her influence and challenge her peers and the wider leadership teams on raising awareness of all diversity challenges, including gender parity at senior levels. Beyond Sigga's contribution at steering committees, she regularly identifies opportunities and leads best practice for Santander UK. Externally, she has championed mentoring circles, regional events, round table discussions and outreach to other organisations to create a culture of learning and best practice sharing. Sigga's drive to address diverse and female talent within workplaces is not restrictive to just Santander UK, and she also champions diversity at industry events and sits on the Business in the Community Race Equality Board. She regularly attends external speaker events/talks/discussion, and as a speaker, about diversity in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Roni Savage

Managing Director
Jomas Associates Ltd

Roni is an Engineering & Environmental Geologist, working for clients in the Construction Industry. She is hugely passionate about diversity and inclusion, and speaks regularly within her company, and the institution boards/committees that she is part of, on the importance of not making preconceived adverse decisions against candidates based on their gender. She empowers women to believe in themselves and to go for opportunities that they would normally feel insecure to go for. In her previous employment as Associate Director of a major UK Engineering Company, her team comprised a good mix of men and women. In her own business, she has a diverse team who are recruited based on their technical abilities. Externally, Roni has both initiated, and partakes in, initiatives empowering women and mothers. She is part of FSBWomen taskforce, helping to raise profile and support women in business across the UK. She is a volunteer for the YMCA, working to get young women who have lost hope, back on track. She is also part of the Women in Engineering society, helping to raise profile of engineering and construction as a suitable career for women. Additionally, Roni is a regular speaker, coach and mentor.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Catherine Luzio

Founder and CEO
Luminary

Prior to founding her own company in 2018, Cate spent the last sixteen years in financial services leading various efforts around women internally and externally. She led the internal employee women’s group at both HSBC (North America) and JPMorgan (EMEA) respectively and spearheaded the development of the Women’s MD Forums at both. Cate has been an Advisory Board member of her organisation's respective D&I committees representing women for the last 10 years, building and launching the HSBC - Girls Inc. National Mentoring Program. Given her global role, Cate had the opportunity to lead panels, sessions and events around the world with female, and male, employees focused on gender diversity and parity. She was regularly asked to champion women's initiatives and act as spokesperson for HSBC. Externally, Cate is an executive sponsor of the Women in Finance Mentoring Program for the University of Maryland as well as Adele’s Circle of Women. She is a member of the American Banker Young Women’s Leadership Award Advisory Board and has spoken at numerous events and organizations globally in support of women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Patricia Bindi

Head of Commercial Banking Argentina
HSBC

Patricia is executive sponsor of “Balance”, HSBC’s employee resource group dedicated to support the recruitment, development and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. She has been involved in several activities to empower women, focusing on the importance of building relationships for career development, and looking for mentors and sponsors. Balance organize monthly networking walks, as a new way to expand personal networks and strengthen ties. For the last International Women’s Day, Balance organized a workshop for HSBC talented women, where Patricia held a panel with Inés Bertón and Gabriela Arias Uriburu, with the aim to sharing thoughts and experiences to inspire women. In addition to Balance sponsorship, she hosts roundtable discussions with female employees across the Commercial Banking area, to encourage and support their professional development, providing them with greater internal and external exposure to accelerate their careers. Outside the workplace, Patricia attends women’s roundtables and workshops organized by the Argentine Institute of Financial Executives, sharing HSBC’s diversity and inclusion work, and encouraging others to take action. This year, Patricia was also sponsor of Ring the Bell for Gender Equality (Argentina), to raise awareness of the pivotal role the private sector can play in advancing gender equity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rachel Higham

Managing Director of IT
BT

Rachel designed, delivered and now sponsors BT TechWomen, which in its 3rd year is delivering a year-long development programme for 385 women across BT. This is different to similar gender focussed initiatives, in that is both a network and a development programme for talented women in under-represented roles across our business. Development topics include personal brand, courageous speaking and purposeful teams, leading change in self and others, building confidence and impact, and politics and networking. By vocalising the issues facing women in technology and demonstrating the impact that targeted investment can have, it has influenced BT’s broader Diversity and Inclusion agenda and transformed the careers of 635 women in our business. Externally, Rachel actively shares the design and learnings from TechWomen with partners and corporate customers through our NextGen CIO events in order to spark and generate momentum to address the technology gender gap. She has recently supported events at the BBC, CMI and Imperial College London celebrating women in business and promoting her approach. She has also visited schools to promote STEM careers and recently launched the 2018 Step into STEM programme mentoring young girls in Sixth Form colleges across London.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

EVP for Global Marketing
Unilever

As Executive Vice President for Global Marketing, championing gender equality in the workplace and advertising is a top priority for Aline. In the last two years, she has been responsible for leading Unilever’s gender balance efforts, aiming to increase female representation in management. On International Women’s Day, Unilever launched the ‘Unstereotype-Changing Mindsets’ programme that aims to remove the limiting power of stereotypes and unconscious bias in the workplace. Aline works with external organisations including INSEAD and Harvard to study the market for the most progressive ways of working to incorporate into Unilever’s policies. Recognising the power of partnerships to accelerate progress, Aline led an initiative with United Nations Women to unite industry leaders to tackle the widespread prevalence of stereotypes in the advertising industry. In 2017, 24 global companies including Facebook, Google and Diageo, came together to make Unstereotype a reality cross-sector and to create impact at scale. She also plays an active role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focussing on driving gender balance in UK corporates. Aline is a mentor with The Mentoring Foundation on its FTSE Next Generation Women’s Leaders Programme which helps companies develop their talent pipeline.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Siobhan Moriarty

General Counsel
Diageo

Siobhan is one of two executive committee sponsors for Diageo’s Diversity and Inclusion goals, responsible for ensuring the business achieves its aim to have more than 35% of female senior leaders by 2020 and 40% by 2025. To achieve these goals she has worked with her co-executive sponsor and market teams to establish multi-year talent plans with built in gender diversity actions and milestones. She is also executive sponsor and an active member of the employee-led ‘Spirited Women’s’ network which aims to celebrate everyone’s individuality and exchange ideas. Externally, Siobhan has been a part of the Speakers for Schools organisation for 5 years. She gives talks to pupils who are at the point of identifying potential careers, and focuses on inflection points that drive career choices, women in the law and opportunities for women in business. She has also spoken at a number of law events on gender equality in the legal industry, including to the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel and, most recently, at the London Irish Lawyers Association. Siobhan also co-hosted Diageo Singapore and the Singaporean chapter of ‘Lean In’ at their “#PressForProgress” International Women’s Day event.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Pips Bunce

Director / Head of Global Markets Core Engineering Strategic Programs
Credit Suisse

Pips is a key proponent for many of Credit Suisse’s gender focused initiatives and regularly promotes the importance of intersectionality. This spans the LGBT & Ally Program, which she co-leads, the European Women’s Network and the IT Women’s Council where she is a ‘Champion of Women in IT’, designed to promote the changes needed to build the pipeline of female and non-binary talent in the workplace by being a visible ambassador. Externally, Pips regularly speaks at external high profile gender network  events to promote the importance of gender equality & parity. She uses these as a platform to promote the good work being done and to articulate why such initiatives are so key, what good looks like and how firms can improve their support for a more diverse gender workforce where there is the parity, equal representation and equality across all 3 genders. Recent events include Women of the Square Mile Diversity Conference, the ‘Sit With Me’ campaign from the National Centre for Women & Information Technology coalition, and the Diversity In Technology conference – other examples include presenting to the Lords in the Houses of Parliament on topics such as non-binary/gender fluidity and changes sought to the Gender Recognition Act.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Maggie Stilwell

Dispute Services Partner, EY (previously Managing Partner for Talent until June 2018)
EY

In her role as Managing Partner for Talent, Maggie has championed gender and other diversity at EY. She has given her sponsorship and personal presence not just to the EY Women’s Network, but to many diverse Network events. She has built a strong intersectional viewpoint – and an appreciation that women have different ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientation, faith and mental health issues. She led EY’s early disclosures under Gender Pay Gap legislation, effecting additional voluntary disclosures on ethnicity and partner remuneration. She has also been persistent in driving up the numbers of women to the profession and to EY, a top ten UK employer in size, both in terms of transforming the student recruitment process and championing the Women Returners Campaign. She is a mentor to many women. Maggie is a regular speaker at conferences and in the last year one of EY’s top 3 most quoted spokespeople. She also blogs and speaks openly about being a flexible working champion. In her client work within the Forensic & Integrity services team, she is a recognised accountancy and finance expert, being listed in the Who’s Who for her specialism.  Maggie was recently ranked in the Accountancy Age Top 5 Women in Finance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lindsay Pattinson

Chief Transformation Officer, WPP and GroupM
WPP

Concerned by the lack of senior female peers, Lindsay launched a global gender strategy in GroupM, beginning with “Mind the Gap”, an initiative reviewing external barriers to women; pay, flexible working and parenting policies. She then launched Walk the Talk, a global programme aimed at helping senior women identify and overcome any internal barriers. They saw amazing results: accelerated promotions, heightened confidence and ambition, and a powerful women’s network across the agency globally. This success led to change at scale and it is now a global initiative at WPP level. She is now focused on ensuring that women are (at least) shortlisted for all senior roles at WPP, and she personally mentors women of all levels across the WPP network. Externally, Lindsay is an active member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications London) serving 5 years on the ExCo and a term as President. Our purpose is to accelerate gender equality in communications and marketing. Alongside programs to accelerate gender equality, they provide inspiration to aspiring female talent via Gather, the annual conference, and quarterly mentoring sessions. She regularly appears on public platforms to champion the importance of gender equality, and writes extensively on the subject.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emma Codd

Managing Partner for Talent
Deloitte

Emma’s activities internally focus on changing the culture of the workplace, the gender pay gap, increasing the number of female partners and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all. Since being appointed to the UK Executive Committee, she has driven significant change within the firm on gender parity. During her tenure, senior female appointments, promotions and retention rates have all increased, and the most recent engagement survey showed women as 2% more engaged than their male counterparts. She also launched the industry-leading ‘Return To Work’ internship programme which to date has enabled 37 women to re-enter the workplace after a career break. Emma is a vocal advocate of gender pay gap reporting; she led Deloitte’s approach to voluntarily reporting its gender pay gap in 2015, and championed the firm’s involvement in the GEO ‘Trailblazing Transparency’ report in 2016. She also acts as a formal and informal mentor and sponsor to many women, both within and outside the firm. Externally, Emma is a regular speaker at events around gender diversity, the gender pay gap, and social mobility. She is a member of the Patron Group for Access Accountancy and also sits on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership committee.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Denise Gibson

Partner
Allen & Overy

Denise is the partner champion for "A&O Women Making their Mark", a training programme designed to engage with women earlier in their career around gender issues and building a successful career. She is also part of a focus group to refresh the firm’s recently launched gender strategy. Additionally, she is a speaker on various internal panels and a mentor to a number of female associates across the business. Externally, Denise has participated in a number of diversity ‘think tank’ sessions with investment banks, and hosts an annual networking event for female investment bankers at Goldman Sachs to encourage women to build networks early in their careers. She is a committee member for the 2018 inaugural Gala Dinner for Womankind Worldwide and a member of London Women's Forum, a network for senior female leaders in London’s Financial Services. She is ranked as a top lawyer for finance in Chambers, and this year was awarded Lawyer of the Year at the Legal Business Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Laura Barrowman

Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Security Officer
Credit Suisse

Laura is not only a technologist, she is a trailblazer in promoting and empowering women in IT. As the global sponsor of Credit Suisse’s IT Women’s Council (ITWC), Laura works with colleagues around the globe to attract and retain female tech talent and fuel the pipeline for the future. Programs and initiatives within ITWC are intended to increase promotability of deserving female staff, impart career skills, and more fundamentally, bring together diverse voices to create a real community and powerful social network for women at Credit Suisse. Recently, Laura’s efforts have led to a change in job descriptions to remove gender-specific language or biases, and to promote programs that help women progress. Externally, Laura is a big proponent of STEM education for girls – and advocates on its behalf whenever and wherever possible. Earlier this year, she met with members of the UK government to discuss STEM education for young girls, and was asked to participate in a panel event at EPFL in Lausanne with other STEM advocates and business leaders. Laura is also the Credit Suisse Champion for Million Women Mentors – which strives to build the global number of volunteers and mentors driving girls toward future STEM ambitions and careers.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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HyonJoo Park

Executive Vice President
Standard Chartered Bank Korea

As a Chairperson of Diversity and Inclusion Committee of Standard Chartered Bank Korea and now a member of Global D&I Council, HyonJoo has promoted Advancing Women’s Leadership by influencing Korea HR, Executive Committee and CEO to offer a variety of advancement programs and policies. These include Women Development & Leadership, Unconscious Bias Training for line managers, succession planning of key positions, and an on-site Day Care Centre at head office. She launched a Parents & Caregivers Network to support work life balance of working parents, and hosted #BeBoldForChange, #PressForProgress and #HeForShe Gender Equality Forums. Externally, HyonJoo has served as a Steering Committee Member of Korea Network of Women in Finance since 2014, and has driven various industry wide women initiatives including hosting local forums and International Women Conference with influential speakers. The Conference served as a breakthrough occasion for Korea to change gender perception and learn from advancing institutions like Standard Chartered. Beyond her industry, with the support of SCBK Women Network, HyonJoo launched SoongEui Girls’ Highschool mentoring program and has arranged several corporate tours and career coaching sessions, with the aim of instilling social and economic skills in less privileged teenage girls.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Operating Executive
Apax Partners

Recently appointed as Operating Executive at APAX, Tanuja advises Apax portfolio CEOs and teams on accelerating business and organisation performance. She leads the Human Capital Practice for Apax and is responsible for putting in place the methodologies to develop and retain the best management talent across the portfolio. Tanuja is also a Non Exec Director at Proximus Group, and was CEO UK & IR for Schneider Electric. Tanuja is a champion of women in business and founded PowerWomen Network in 2015, a network of and for senior women leaders committed to advancing women in leadership roles and developing the next generation of female talent. The network operates as a non-profit, hosting quarterly events with leading business and academic leaders to share perspectives on themes such as Digital Transformation, Strategy + Culture, Innovation and Risk, among others. In addition, Tanuja is a supporter of a strategic philanthropy foundation, Dasra focused on supporting vulnerable adolescent girls 10-19 and eradicating child marriage. Tanuja is frequently called on to speak on Diversity & Inclusion at conferences, for senior management teams, and in the press, and has published blogs on social media and in We are the City. She was also ranked #23 in FT & HERoes 2017.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jacqui Chin

Director, Baby & EU Programmes
Amazon

Jacqui launched and leads Amazon’s UK Women@ employee affinity group, providing thousands of employees with resources and activities to develop skills, manage their career and expand their network.  She leads teams of Women@ employee volunteers to create and deliver initiatives that support gender diversity in recruitment, policy, community and learning and development. She advocated for and steered delivery of Amazon’s Flexible Working Guidelines, which are today in place across five EU countries.  Jacqui initiated and led growth of Amazon’s UK mentoring schemes, including Peer-to-Peer Groups and One-to-One Mentoring.  She steers other employee teams of Women@ volunteers working on a range of initiatives including paternity leave, return to work support and female recruitment candidate support.  Externally, Jacqui has mentored female residents of the Centrepoint charity, to help women in making the steps from living on the street to independent working and living in their own home.  As head of Women@, Jacqui speaks and encourages members to speak regularly at external events such as Women in Silicon Roundabout. She also provides support to Amazon’s Cambridge development centre Diversity affinity group, who amongst other initiatives have established a program for schoolchildren to visit, engage and be inspired about learning and working in STEM. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Anna Purchas

Partner, Head of People
KPMG

As KPMG’s Head of People, Anna has put Inclusion and Diversity at the heart of their People strategy. Her action plan focusses on many activities to champion women in the workplace, most recently involving developing and setting equality targets, developing a firm-wide narrative about levelling the playing field, and designing content for an inclusive behaviour session for the Executive Committee. She champions multiple parental and return to work programmes, and hosts a range of internal events, from firm-wide discussions on gender pay gap, to smaller focused events for specific groups such as Women in Consulting or the Future Leader Technology Programme, our work experience programme for Women in Technology. Externally, Anna meets regularly with clients and other businesses to debate how best to further women in business, and share best practice. Most recently she lead a discussion with senior head hunters and recruiters on this topic. She often visits schools to talk to girls about the opportunities to them, particularly in STEM, and sits on the Learning and Professional Development Board for the ICAEW.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jennifer Rademaker

Executive Vice President, Global Customer Delivery
MasterCard

As an executive woman leading a global technical function at Mastercard, Jennifer is responsible for the end-to-end technical implementation of Mastercard’s products and services worldwide.  She is an active advocate for advancing women globally.  Upon joining Mastercard in 2007, she established an internal European Women’s Leadership Network to drive career advancement for European women. Reaching women in 18 offices across Europe, she led a programme of events to educate and empower women.  Now located in the United States, she focuses her efforts on developing and empowering the technical women in her organisation. She established a global “Women in Delivery” group, to provide coaching to technical women to help them succeed in largely male-dominated environments, and to build a support network. Outside of Mastercard, Jennifer serves as a mentor for the 30% Club, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross in Greater New York, where her work includes mentoring a high potential American Red Cross female employee. She also represents Mastercard externally as an advocate for women, speaking at the 2018 Women in the World event in New York and Chatham House forums on gender and economic growth.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sharon McCooey

Head of LinkedIn Ireland
LinkedIn

Sharon has always strived to recruit diverse teams, with her current team at Linkedin in Dublin being 50/50 male/female balanced. She mentors up to 20 people at any one time, men and women, and encourages diversity by supporting both men and women succeed equally. She also advocates and sponsors women as part of the internal promotions process, as a result of sitting on the European and global leadership teams, to ensure they are not only recruiting but promoting women. External to her role, Sharon is also the executive sponsor and external spokesperson for a Linkedin initiative to recruit people who are relaunching their careers after taking time out to care for children or parents. It is a pilot program in Ireland in 2018, with hopes of a global launch later. As part of the external launch campaign she is encouraging other companies to look at this untapped and talented talent pool. She has also worked to change the board composition of the American chamber of commerce from 2 females and 10 males to 6 female and 6 male, while improving all the chamber operating and strategic objectives.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Lisa Kimmel

President and CEO
Edelman

Lisa has sat on the Steering Committee for Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN) since its inception, and took on the role of chair in 2017. GWEN champions programs and policies to help Edelman reach its global target of 50/50 gender parity at the most senior ranks by 2020. GWEN was conceived to increase the presence of women leaders at the most senior levels of the firm, and to create an environment where women are encouraged to lead and succeed. When GWEN began in 2011, women represented 33 percent of the company’s most senior leaders of the firm. As of April 2018, this number has climbed to 47 percent. Externally, Lisa devotes a significant amount of time to engage in speaking and editorial opportunities to advocate for women in the workplace, on subjects ranging from the importance of diversity on boards, to boosting self-confidence. Recent engagements include participation in a #MeToo debate at Women’s Forum Canada and a panel discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace organised by the Canadian Club, the most preeminent business forum in the country. She continues to support future leaders through mentorship programs with various women’s organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer, Aviva Plc
Aviva

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s company strategy. She was key to Aviva’s new group-wide parental leave policy, launched last year, offering equal parental leave to men and women regardless of gender, sexual orientation or how an individual becomes a parent. Since the launch, she has been vocal on the benefits when speaking to the press, peers and Aviva partners. She encouraged Mark Wilson, Group CEO, to sign up to the Executive Committee commitment outlined by the 30% Club. She also advocated publishing their Gender Pay Gap Reporting early, and sponsors the Aviva Balance Community, regularly talking at events and holding ‘listening lunches ‘ with members in all the different markets. A regular voice on the topic, she has recently spoken to senior leaders at Changeboard, Vote 100, and SAID Business School, as well as at Sheffield Academy through Speakers for Schools. She is a member of HRH Women Network Forum, the 30% Club global steering committee, and regularly holds breakfast meetings to encourage CEOs to sign up to the 30% Club commitment. Additionally, Sarah champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards, and the Asian Women of the Future awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Linda Friedman

Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Astellas Pharma US

As part of the globalisation of Legal, Linda became the first global General Counsel and first women to sit on the Executive Committee. Linda launched the WLN (Women’s Legal Network) to bring women in Legal and IP together focusing on education, networking, mentoring and resources to address work life balance. WLN is the first global women’s network in the company, and was officially launched on March 8th to coincide with International Women’s Day. The launch included a program where influential women in Japan, Chicago and London presented their own inspirational stories. She has also developed and Co-Chairs the first network in Japan for senior women to come together. Externally, Linda is a mentor with WOMN LLC, and is a member of the Healthcare Business Women’s Association, both with the aim of furthering the advancement of women in business. She also regularly participates on GC and Leadership Panels at the American Conference Institute Annual Women in Life Sciences Conference. In April 2018, Linda was selected as Pepper Hamilton LLP’s 2018 Champion of Diversity, recognising her work in promoting diversity in the legal profession.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue has driven change internally including gender equality targets for recruitment and promotion, and for appointment boards. She is co-creator and sponsor of MediaCom’s inclusion network for employees, and features as a panelist in annual Women's Day events in March. In May 2018 they launched The Glass Wall network specifically for driving change internally and for clients. As co-host of the MediaCom Connected Podcast, Sue ensures that they feature strong women leaders in interviews, including all of their internal women leaders and inspirational women from outside MediaCom. In 2016 Sue wrote a book with co-author Kathryn Jacob: "The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business" which is a business book best seller. Named the year’s most significant addition to the debate on gender diversity at work - its a collection of success strategies for women, and an invaluable guide book for businesses that want to develop the women who work for them. Since publication she has given over 80 talks at businesses, and published numerous blogs on LinkedIn. She is on the key supporters group for Women's Aid, and has appeared three times on Women's Hour to discuss gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Carol Andrews

Managing Director, Global Head of Service Directors, Client Experience
BNY Mellon

Carol serves on the Leadership Committee for BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiative network (WIN), the largest and longest running ERG with over 4,000 internal members. Under her leadership, BNY identified a gap in information on women in management, and co-sponsored the “Women in Management” research. Furthermore, she supported the implementation of internal focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report. The report alongside the focus groups, ultimately led to an internal media campaign featuring a video of BNY’s Chairman dispelling myths around agile working. Carol also began the company’s Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility programme and continues to support local efforts. Externally, she is one of the co-founders of the 30% Club in Ireland and currently the country lead for the Ireland chapter. In this role, she was part of the 30% Club 4th Annual Chair and CEO conference, showcasing research on gender diversity in the financial services and the importance of engaging men. Carol is also in the process of completing the final stages of her Master’s degree at the University of Cork (IMI). As a senior female business leader, she has entered academia again to develop the skillset needed to interface with diverse people and inspire their success.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Alison Nimmo

Chief Executive
The Crown Estate

At The Crown Estate, Alison ensures they’ve got the basics right on issues like equality of pay, hiring and promotion, and building a strong pipeline of female talent. They have “family friendly” policies such as extended paternity leave, adoption and care leave, and emergency care support. She recently appeared on Bloomberg TV to discuss the GPG statistics and champion momentum for change, after The Crown Estate published figures showing that women in the organisation are paid marginally more than men. Externally, Alison is an active champion of Pathways to Property; an internship and mentoring programme, which supports young people from diverse backgrounds to get into property. She speaks at a huge number of events, and was keynote speaker at Bisnow’s inaugural women in property event, the awards dinner hosted by Women in Property. She also supports Real Estate Balance; Chicks with Bricks; The Mentoring Foundation; the Honour Chapman memorial lectures and RICS Inspirational speaker series. Alison has mentored and coached several women over the years, including the only current female CEO of a construction company.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Funke Abimbola

General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance
Roche

Whilst at Roche, Funke was the most senior black lawyer in UK pharmaceuticals and was the Roche UK diversity champion. A global female role model, she extensively mentored and sponsored her Roche colleagues and established a summer work experience and internship scheme for students. She regularly presented on the importance of D&I to all 2,000 Roche UK staff and new joiners and partnered with local and global D&I teams to progress D&I across 100,000 Roche staff globally. Following UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, she also engaged with strong male champions of diversity. Externally, Funke is an Advisory Board Member of Women in Law London (WILL), and Aspiring Solicitors. She is heavily involved with First 100 Years and the Precious Awards, as well as being the Founder of the global network, Women Leaders in Life Sciences Law. Funke regularly provides free inspirational diversity in leaderships talks to over 2,000 school and University students annually, as well as engaging with mentoring and sponsorship opportunities. She has been a commentator on gender for the BBC, and regularly campaigns on gender issues in the media and in the government. Among many accolades, in 2017, Funke was awarded an MBE for services to diversity and young people. Funke left Roche in July and is currently a post graduate student at Cambridge University before embarking on the next chapter of her career.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner Europe & Middle East
Reed Smith LLP

Tamara leads by example, working with Reed Smith’s active women’s network (known as WinRS) for years. Now, as the firm’s most senior person in the EME, she uses her influence to leverage the sponsorship of young women aspiring to partnership has increased. She has been instrumental in the promotions of dozens of women across all areas of the firm. Viewed as a role model for young lawyers, she is active in firm-wide recruitment and seeks to inspire all women to achieve their potential. Externally, Tamara is generous with her time and contacts. She is heavily involved in a number of organisations, including the 30% Club Steering Committee, founding member of Paradigm for Parity, C200 Membership Committee, and a sponsor and judge for Asian Women of Achievement Awards. She also works closely with universities and international organisations, advancing the pipeline of talent female leaders. Tamara has won many awards for her legal expertise, including Euromoney’s “Best in Structured Finance”, as well as for her activities around diversity including Women of the Future’s Mentor of the Year, and being featured as on of Brummell’s 30 Inspirational Women Champions of Diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Evelyn Bourke

Group CEO
BUPA

As one of the first two women in Ireland to qualify as actuaries, Evelyn has always supported and encouraged women to take on new challenges in their careers. She believes that championing the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace makes huge business sense. Evelyn is proud of the fact that Bupa currently has 50% female representation on its Board, and 41% of its executive team is female, and says it is her personal mission to ensure talented women continue to take on key roles across Bupa. During her time as Bupa’s Group CEO, the company has signed the UK HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter and joined The 30% Club. In 2017, Evelyn hosted the annual International Women’s Forum Jean Denton Lecture at Bupa, bringing together high-profile speakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities for women in the workplace. Externally, Evelyn spent two years as a Non-Executive Director of Opportunity Now, and she regularly speaks at events which support women in their careers, including delivering a speech at The Pipeline: Top Flight, an executive leadership programme, founded by Baroness McDonagh, designed to help women with potential to take the final difficult step to Executive Committee and CEO roles.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Brenda Trenowden

Head of Financial Institutions, Europe
ANZ

Brenda has more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, investment and relationship banking, with sector expertise in financial institutions. She is also a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognised with several awards for her global campaigning for greater gender balance across organisations as a voluntary, business-led imperative. In 2015 Brenda was appointed Global Chair of the 30% Club, where she works closely with leading Chairs and CEOs around the world to increase the representation of women in senior roles and throughout organisations. For the last two years she has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance by Financial News, and is also a regular contributor to the FT City Network, a panel of 50 of the City of London’s most influential individuals. Brenda is also an advisor to UK Government’s Hampton-Alexander Review for increasing the representation of women in the executive level of the FTSE 350, and she leads the Financial Institutions Group in Europe for ANZ Bank and is a member of the UK Management Board. She is a trustee of the EY Foundation and a non-executive director of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Head of Commercial Banking UK
HSBC

Amanda is committed to building an inclusive culture and has driven a number of initiatives to create a workplace where people feel they can be themselves and realise their potential. Amanda is a mentor to many colleagues and is the Executive Sponsor for BALANCE UK, promoting a gender-balanced workforce within HSBC. Outside of HSBC UK, Amanda plays an active role in championing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and regularly speaks at events designed to share best practice and help them succeed in business. She was keynote speaker at the, “EQ vs IQ in the Workplace” event, and a panellist at an event sponsored by Robert Walters PLC & Women in Banking & Finance, “Empowering Women in the Workplace”, where she shared her experience of the benefit of having mentors and sponsors. In addition to involvement with International Women’s Day events externally, Amanda also hosted several BALANCE events at HSBC UK and established a series of female development events in the Commercial Bank.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive
Virgin Money

As CEO Jayne-Anne has taken executive sponsorship for gender balance at Virgin Money. Under her leadership they have publically committed to achieving a 50:50 gender balance by 2020 at all levels in the company, and to closing their gender pay gap. She has made diversity and inclusion a key strategic priority for the company. Internally she brings the topic to life through sharing examples in her weekly all colleague email, regularly talking about the topic at colleague gatherings and recognises D&I achievements in their EBO stars awards. The Jayne-Anne sponsored gender equality plan at Virgin Money is based on progressing the top three findings to achieving gender equality identified through extensive research during the ‘Women in Finance’ review. Externally, Jayne Anne was asked by HM Treasury to lead a review into the lack of female representation in senior roles in the financial services industry. The resulting ‘Women In Finance Review’, published in March 2016, recommended setting/publishing targets, aligning remuneration to achieving those targets, and ensuring senior sponsorship. Since publication, she has been appointed the Government’s business champion for gender equality, speaking extensively about the importance of gender equality in business. In July 2018, HM Treasury announced that since publication of the ‘Women In Finance Review’, a further 68 firms have signed the Women in Finance Charter, taking the total number to 273 firms across the financial services sector and covering over 760,000 UK financial services employees.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Caroline Frankum

Global CEO
Lightspeed

Caroline’s inclusion journey started with sharing her own personal story with everyone in the business, when she first took on the role of Lightspeed’s Global CEO. Since then, her proactive approach has seen her increasing the female representation on the Board of Directors from 27% in 2016 to 44% in 2017. She has introduced a 3 Year Plan of Transformation for the business, including new transformation-focused global values, which encourage everyone, especially women, to be bold in their careers. She regularly encourages the business to take time out to the celebrate important landmark anniversaries for diversity e.g. International Women’s Day, Black History Month, and Mental Health Awareness Week. Not only has her work lead to implementations of policies on agile working and addressing the gender pay gap, Caroline also makes time to mentor female colleagues. Externally, Caroline has been hugely involved in conducting pro bono research to provide an initial baseline view of ‘what the Market Research Industry truly looks like when it comes to Inclusion and Diversity’. Results from the research led to a large number of projects and policies to address the lack of female representation at senior levels.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Melanie Richards

Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie is KPMG’s senior sponsor for inclusion and diversity, and has been championing women in the workplace for over a decade. She has personally driven a wide range of programmes and activity to make progress in this field. Thanks to her efforts, KPMG took the ‘industry first’ step of publishing a detailed diversity profile of KPMG’s workforce in 2014. She has since hosted a panel on KPMG’s published gender pay gap, hosted a session on Disruptive Leadership for International Women’s Day, and championed internal research on social mobility, gender and race. Melanie has been instrumental in establishing KPMG’s Inclusive Leadership Board (ILB), and is the sponsor for ‘GROW’ – KPMG’s 360 degree leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups, including women, to senior positions. In addition, Melanie continues to support mentor women both within and outside the firm, sharing her knowledge and helping them to build their networks and progress their careers. Externally, she leads KPMG’s Senior Business Women Network – a market-leading group of successful women who gather frequently to discuss business issues and build networks. Melanie is one of the founding members of the 30% Club Steering Committee, and she and KPMG are major supporters of the Hampton-Alexander Review.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Charlotte Hogg

CEO, Europe
Visa

Charlotte brings 25 years of experience in financial services, bank operations and management consulting to Visa, which she joined as CEO Europe in October 2017.  She has been leading the charge on ensuring gender balance and a culture of inclusion and recently signed the company up to HMT Women in Finance Charter.  She co-leads Visa’s Global Gender Inclusion Council, is an Executive Sponsor for the Visa Young Professionals network, and has recently been involved in International Women’s Day activities, supporting the new Return to Work programme and is a mentor in the company-wide mentoring scheme. Externally she supports NowTeach, an organisation that exists to help career-changers who’ve already made a success of one profession to retrain as teachers.  She is a regular speaker at events to champion women in business, including most recently a client event in Paris bringing together 26 female policy leaders from banking and retail . She is a vocal advocate for women in FinTech, passionate that Visa should take the lead developing more female leadership talent in the payments sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President Enterprise and Strategic Sales
Brightstar / PaddyPower Betfair

Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality by consistently making it a positive regular board level agenda item. She allocates time to act as both a mentor, and importantly a sponsor, to women at all levels which ensures a healthy pipeline of successful female talent. She does this through networking events, ensuring gender balanced short lists for prominent roles, raising the profile of talented women and speaking regularly at events. She replicates this work in PaddyPower Betfair PLC where she is a Non- Executive Director and also as an Ambassador for the Royal Marines Business Liaison Group. A member of the UK government Women’s Business Council since 2013, Emer has represented the UK at the UN Commission on the Status of Women Globally in NYC in 2014, and has been asked to address the UN again in 2019. She was appointed Co-Chair of the Men as Change Agents (MACA) board and, with the support of the Home Secretary and Number 10, MACA launched a toolkit to the Chairmen and CEOs of the FTSE 350 and 150 privately owned companies on how to achieve gender balance in business leadership and thus close the gender pay gap.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Serpil Timuray

Group Chief Commercial Operations and Strategy Officer
Vodafone Group

Serpil has championed a women’s inclusion programme across Vodafone markets, serving as the Chairwoman of Vodafone Group’s “Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee”. She is committed to helping to increase the proportion of women in management and leadership roles by helping build a pipeline of talent, specifically through initiatives such as “50/50 female/male graduate recruitment”, Vodafone’s pioneering “Global Maternity Policy” and “ReConnect”, the world’s largest recruitment programme for talented women on career breaks. Serpil also launched the ‘Connect’ initiative in 2017, a commitment at Vodafone to provide 50 million unconnected women in emerging markets with access to mobile technology, thereby narrowing the gender connectivity gap by 2025. This initiative is designed to provide specific products and services for women that enable financial inclusion, build skills and promote entrepreneurship, improve health and wellbeing. To date, the programme has reached more than 15 million women; 33% of the target. She also launched ‘Women First’ in Turkey, in partnership with the Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Affairs. She is a regular mentor to a number of senior women professionals at Vodafone, and served as a selected mentor for the ‘Women on Board Association” (WBAT Turkey).

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Rana Salhab

Talent & Communications Partner
Deloitte Middle East

Rana is a former member of the Board of Directors, and sits on the regional Executive Committee of Deloitte in the Middle East. She leads a women advancement program (DRAW- Deloitte Retention and Advancement of Women), frequently profiled by global diversity leaders as a best practice in building an inclusive culture and accelerating gender diversity. Externally, Rana is active in championing economic and political participation of women in Arab countries. Rana serves on the advisory boards of organizations such as Reach (Mentoring NGO for women in finance registered in the Dubai International Financial Centre) and the 30% Club – GCC. She is also on the Executive Board of the National Commission for Lebanese Women, and the Middle East Advisory Board of the American University of Beirut’s OSB Business School. Rana has spoken at a wide number of international events, and was invited by UN Women to participate in the Consultation Workshop the Union for the Mediterranean Headquarters in Spain for a "flagship" project in the MENA region. She was then invited to participate as a speaker in the UfM-UNIDO Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum: ‘Promoting Women Business Partnership in the Mediterranean’ as part of the “Women for Mediterranean” Conference in Portugal in October 2018. 

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Karen Blackett

Country Manager
WPP

Karen is an established leader who champions diversity of all types. In 2012, Karen launched an Apprenticeship Scheme for 18-24 year olds at MediaCom, the first of its kind in the industry. Karen developed Inclusion@MediaCom, where external speakers are invited to give life stories, acting as role models. Karen championed a Women Returners programme with the organisation Successful Mums, and launched Project Blend with the help of Open Blend, focusing on helping everyone reach their true potential blending work with life. Karen introduced a female empowerment programme at MediaCom in 2014 with Shine4women. Karen is a mentor, both internally and externally, as well as taking part in reverse mentoring schemes. Karen helped launch Our Time initiative, a mentoring programme for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan at City Hall. She is a member of Women in Advertising and Communications London, (WACL) and part of their Gather committee. In her new role as WPP Country Manager, Karen is helping to drive through change via creating a UK Inclusion Board with programmes focused on reverse mentoring, cultural inclusion and a leadership exchange programme. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service. Karen is also a Business Ambassador for the Department of International Trade.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Francesca McDonagh

Group Chief Executive Officer
Bank of Ireland Group

Francesca joined Bank of Ireland as Group Chief Executive in October 2017. Since joining the Group, Francesca has articulated the ambition to make Bank of Ireland the National Champion bank in Ireland. Francesca joined HSBC as a graduate in 1997, rising through the ranks to become one of the youngest Group General Managers in 2014. In HSBC, Francesca worked in investment banking, private banking, retail banking and wealth management in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Before leaving HSBC, Francesca was Regional Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, UK and Europe. In this role Francesca led the largest retail network in the HSBC group, was a member of the UK and European leadership teams as well as a member of the Global Retail Banking and Wealth Management team. Francesca is a member of the PRA Practitioner Panel and sits on the board of IBEC, the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. She has previously served on the Board of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), where she was Deputy Chair and on the Board of the National Centre for Universities and Business in the UK. In 2017 she was awarded an OBE for services to banking.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Harriet Green

CEO & Chairman, IBM Asia Pacific
IBM

Harriet is a key executive sponsor of Women@IBM, IBM’s own 90,000-strong social community for women. The community directs women to the training, resources and materials they need to progress their careers, and creates a network of women who can share tips, insights and support. Within one month of starting work in Asia Pacific Harriet championed the “Advancing Women’s Leadership” initiative in India to improve diversity and inclusion. The programme continued in India throughout June, with Harriet reaching over 6,000 Indian employees through a series of speeches, fireside chats and roundtables addressing inclusion and innovation. Harriet pioneered an inclusive suite of events in Singapore around International Women’s Day, under the theme #pressforprogress. Over 300 people, including men and women, attended panel sessions showcasing best practice and encouraging discussion around inclusion and women in the workplace. Externally, Harriet regularly speaks at events focused on women in business. Most recently, she addressed Australia’s very first International Women’s Forum event, addressing the role of AI in the advancement of diversity and inclusion and the elimination of unconscious bias. A regular commentator on LinkedIn, Harriet has drawn attention to women-specific issues including gender diversity and inclusiveness in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief HR Officer
Unilever

In Leena’s tenure, Unilever’s female representation at managerial levels and above, has moved from 38% to 47% in the last 7 years. Their ambitious programme includes metrics led governance and a robust repeatable model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. Their holistic efforts have been recognised by multiple bodies including by BITC and they consistently feature on the Times Top 50 Employers for women in the UK. Some of the key initiatives that have made this possible focus on investing in the development of their people, maternity and paternity support, agile working policies, and putting a focus on women in STEM. Externally, Leena’s personal mission is to inspire 1 Million women with the message of what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women, attending over 100 external diversity related engagements in 2017 alone. She has driven the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign and they are one of the 10 Impact ambassadors for the program. Leena also serves on the World Economic Forum Steering Committee on the Future of Education, Gender and Work.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Claudia Parzani

Milan Capital Markets Partner and WEELEG Managing Partner
Linklaters

As a member of the global executive committee of Linklaters, Claudia is the global champion for gender, the sponsor of the Female Leadership Programme and promotes internal initiatives supporting the enhancement of women’s talent. Currently she is structuring an innovative mentoring programme connecting Linklaters senior people with female top clients and has championed a number of successful initiatives within Linklaters’ network such as Breakfast@linklaters, breakfast forums for the female business community. Externally, Claudia is the ambassador of Inspiring Girls, an international programme launched in Italy by the association Valore D (the first association of large Italian companies supporting women’s leadership) and was President from 2013 to 2016. She has also contributed to the development of In The Boardroom and of The CEO School for women on executive boards. She is often invited to speak in conferences, roundtables, seminars and courses on financial matters and diversity issues, and has been interviewed by national and international media on such topics. Claudia was included in the Forbes classification of most powerful women in Italy and in the last three years she was ranked as “Star Individual” by Chambers. Claudia is also Chair of Allianz Italia and Deputy Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 100 Women Executives

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Matthew Norris

Global Head, Standard Chartered Global Business Services
Standard Chartered Bank

Matthew’s passion for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has  led to the launch of the Women’s Network at Standard Chartered Global Business Services (GBS).  He has personally mentored talented female leaders in 2017 as part of the organisation’s Women Mentorship Initiative.  Through his leadership, GBS has witnessed effective roll-outs of Group-level policies that significantly improve gender balance and maximise the potential and retention of female employees.  This included flexible working hours, prolonged maternity leave, Return-to-Work programme amongst others.  Matthew sits on the Standard Chartered Global Diversity & Inclusion Council and is also the chairperson of the D&I Council for the Bank’s Information, Technology  and Operations function.  He is now spearheading the Unconscious Biasness Training Programme in GBS, making GBS the first area of the Bank to pilot this programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Alex Atzberger

President, SAP Customer Experience
SAP

Under Alex’s leadership, a D&I council was created to shape the diversity agenda for SAP. The purpose of the council is to build and execute diversity and inclusion programs and priorities within the organization. Comprised of five individuals from around the globe, representing diverse geographies and ethnicities, the council advises his leadership team and him on how to further drive and promote diversity in the workplace. In addition, he is the executive sponsor for the SAP Business Women’s Network, which helps women advance their careers by sharing best practices, education and experience. Lastly, Alex is committed to filling 50% of all new leadership positions with women and minority candidates, and has actively set strategic goals to do this. Externally, he is also an active sponsor of Planned Parenthood.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Seamus Smith

Executive Vice President, Global Payments & Banking
Sage plc

Throughout the past year, Seamus has been a key mentor in the Women@Sage Mentoring Program , with both mentees assuming new roles during this period. As a mentor, Seamus offers advice, insights and perspectives to female executives to help them develop their careers. As well as this, half of his senior team in the payments, banking and technology area is made up of women – when historically these have been sectors dominated by men. Externally, Seamus has been a strong diversity champion as part of his role as Trustee of leadership development organisation Windsor Leadership over the last 6 years. He also actively addresses issues of diversity and equality regularly on social media.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Burgess

Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer
Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Mark is responsible for the execution of Columbia Threadneedle’s “Gender Action Plan”, a plan which aims to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. Mark personally act as a mentor to the female graduates that he hires in the Investments team through Columbia Threadneedle’s partnership with Investment 2020. This early intervention in their careers provides them with the necessary platform and support to set them up for success and opens up a range of opportunities to gain knowledge and experience.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Simon Linares

Group Human Resources Director
Direct Line Group

Simon joined the Executive Committee of DLG in 2014 as HR Director, and set about developing the people strategy which would support the company's mission to make insurance easier and better value for customers. Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Simon saw this as a key part of making the strategy sustainable for the future, and he was instrumental in raising the debate around this to the top table over the last 2 1/2 years, while also accelerating a range of tactical activity to drive immediate benefit, and which built on the organisations pre-existing Diversity Network Alliance activity. In 2016, Direct Line Insurance Group was the first insurer to sign up to the Government’s Women in Finance Charter, underpinned by further investment in their female talent through a series of specific development programmes designed to support the growth and promotion of our female leaders throughout the organisation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Heighton

Head of UK Real Estate Team
CMS

As supporter of CMS’ gender initiatives, Mark encourages and supports the development of female lawyers (mentoring and supporting a number of female colleagues), encouraging an inclusive culture and involving clients to support gender initiatives, including organising clients to participate in gender initiatives including the firm’s annual International Women’s Day Master Class for female students delivered in partnership with Career Ready. He advocates for flexible working and maternity coaching and in nearly 8 years of managing the Group, two thirds of Partners appointed were female. Externally, Mark is also a CMS Real Estate representative for Real Estate Balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

During his tenure as Senior Partner, Colin has made gender diversity a priority business issue, leading the firm to greater positive action to progress more women through to the partnership and into senior management positions. Under Colin’s leadership the percentage of female partners has increased from 12% to 18%, and 33% of the elected members on Simmons & Simmons’ Board are female. He is also championing the roll out of firm wide, mandatory Inclusive Leadership & Unconscious Bias training. Colin is the partner sponsor for 3 female partners and mentors 2 trainees. Externally, in March, Colin spoke on a panel at the 2nd annual Women in Finance conference. The session was entitled: “What next? …practices to effectively engage men in implementation of your gender diversity programmes.”, where he used the platform to discuss steps that Simmons & Simmons have taken towards gender balance.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Karl Edge

Midlands Regional Chair
KPMG

Since Karl’s return to the Midlands and promotion to Senior Partner, he has personally led the way in championing female talent and crucially has brought the wider partner group along with him. His ‘What Shadow Do We Cast ?’ program has inspired all of the partner and director group to implement new techniques for inspiring and leading their teams. His focus on creating an environment where females can be successful including personal mentoring of female partner candidates has already led to 3 female partner appointments in Watford/Milton Keynes and the strong positioning where by the end of 2019 the Midlands partnership will move from 4 to 10 females. He has led on the female partner mentoring programme as well as driving an external network of senior females in the region to drive opportunities from our Women In Business forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Keith Weed

Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Unilever

Keith has been a champion of women’s empowerment and diversity throughout his whole career. Since becoming CMO of Unilever in 2010, he led the creation of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), pioneering new ways of integrating sustainability into the business and increasing Unilever’s positive social impact. The USLP includes a commitment to empower 5 million women by 2020 as Keith is a strong believer that a world where women are economically empowered will be a fairer, happier and more prosperous place to live – and that society and business will flourish in it. To achieve this Keith has been a strong advocate for building a gender-balanced organisation – including mentoring Unilever’s top female executives, promoting safety for women in communities where Unilever operates, enhancing access to training and skills for women and expanding opportunities within Unilever’s retail value chain. Keith is also passionately committed to tackling stereotypes in advertising – gender and beyond – through Unilever’s #Unstereotype initiative and is the architect behind the #Unstereotype Alliance, co-created with UN Women, bringing together 24 companies to remove the portrayal of unhelpful stereotypes from their advertising by 2020. His commitment to UN Women also extends to other programmes such as HeforShe.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Murtaza Ahmed

Managing Director
Artistic Milliners

Since joining the company in 2008, Murtaza has set out to use his factory floors as agents of social change. Under the umbrella of the campaign Women at Milliners, he has led projects such as HERhealth, Adult Literacy program, Micro-finance Literacy and Gap Inc. P.A.C.E. Program (Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement) for worker women. Murtaza has encouraged women in his company to Lean In and currently, 50% of the top management at Artistic Milliners is female- the highest in any manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Externally, he is a vocal supporter of women’s economic participation and has worked with UNDP on a Youth Employability program. Through this venture, women who have never worked before were taught employability skills by UNDP staff in Artistic Milliners’ factories and subsequently the women were hired by the company as full time employees. In March 2018,Sportswear International, a leading media brand, cited Artistic Milliners as an example for the global denim industry on women empowerment. Murtaza has also spoken at forums of Pakistan Business Council and IFC, World Bank on issues of gender equity and is a #HeforShe advocate and a signatory of UN Women Empowerment Principles.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Richard Robinson

Managing Partner
Econsultancy

Richard believes in positive, direct action led by empowered individuals. He was named one of thirty 'Male Agents of Change' challenging gender inequality by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today. He actively motivates his team to directly impact diversity through pro-bono work across fifteen diversity & inclusivity organisations including: managing the ‘Be Awesome Night School’ for women; helping scale up the Women’s Sport Trust; and supporting Creative Equals many events for female professionals. Externally, Richard creates time to champion women, with pioneering networks such as Creative Equals, Token Man, and as an advisor to the Women’s Sports Trust and BAME2020. SheSays, the ground-breaking global network for women in creativity & tech invited him to become their first male SuperMomma, and he is an Ambassador for The Marketing Academy Foundation. Richard speaks at industry-leading conferences to champion women such as Creative Equals Leaders and both Management Today’s Inspiring Women conferences in Edinburgh and London. He mentors over a dozen people at any one time through WhosYourMomma, NABS, SheSays and Magnificent Generation, while further afield he champions and upskills creatively gifted school students struggling in mainstream education as Vice-Chair and Trustee of the award-winning Ideas Foundation.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Josh Graff

EMEA Vice-President of Marketing Solutions and UK Country Manager at LinkedIn
LinkedIn

Josh has led the way in creating not only awareness and focus on the need for diversity at his leadership team, but he took action and held all his managers accountability for ensuring that women were hired, promoted and developed into management. He mentors a number of female leaders in LinkedIn, supporting them in various developmental areas such as executive presence, prioritisation, communicating to executives as well as helping them figure out how to develop their professional brands. Outside of LinkedIn, Josh regularly talks about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the press and at conferences as well as sharing specific actions that companies can take, including at the ISBA conference, at the launch of Evolve, The Institute of Directors annual conference and frequently in the broader press.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Roger Carr

Chairman
BAE Sysytems

Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of BAE Systems plc, where he has set a corporate board policy of gender diversity, and promotes gender diversity through various speaking engagements, mentoring schemes and board appointments. Roger has deliberately instructed his search firm to look at varied sources to find a broader pool of experienced female candidates.He is a founder member of 30% Club and was major advocate for diversity whilst President of the CBI. Throughout his career he has served on a number of external committees including the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, the Manufacturing Council of the CBI, The Higgs Committee on Corporate Governance and Business for New Europe.  He is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, a Companion of the Institute of Management, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He was knighted for Services to Business in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2011.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Rob Mukherjee

North West Regional Chair
Vodafone

Rob inspired the creation of Vodafone UK’s first-of-a-kind “ReConnect” event, helping women on a career break get back to work. He also drove the introduction of a Northern Women’s Network, engaging that network to support local communities of women and girls. He regularly mentors, and actively seeks out female talent to guide through their career. Rob has spoken passionately about diversity and inclusion at events such as “Northern Power Women Live”, “Guys That Get It” and “The Northern Powerhouse Business Summit” at the Great Exhibition Of The North.  In recognition of his work in this area, Rob is the current holder of the Women In Sales Awards (Europe) “Best Male Mentor” Award and the Northern Power Women “Agent Of Change” Award.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Tom Casteleyn

Managing Director, Global Head of Custody Product Management
BNY Mellon

Tom has been at the forefront of BNY Mellon’s regional efforts to drive greater gender parity, using his position of influence to garner the support of fellow leaders and significantly, BNY Mellon’s male employees. As well as acting as regional co-chair for our internal Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), BNY Mellon’s largest employee resource group, Tom has proactively championed gender parity across digital platforms, through participation in panel events and through the production of information resources. His blog on the importance of male support in gender parity was viewed more than 600 times which is a testament of his bold commitment and influence in moving the needle around this crucial topic.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa UK

David champion’s strong female representation at all levels. During his time with Bupa, he’s led the launch of a new Code of Conduct in the UK, helping ensure Bupa is an inclusive organisation that welcomes everyone and nobody is treated differently. David has overseen Bupa’s initiatives to support women, including the mums’ returners’ network and Tommy’s pregnancy membership as standard in our maternity offer. David has also encouraged participation in the cross-company Women Ahead mentoring scheme which aims to develop and retain women. Under David’s leadership, Bupa UK also partnered with Business in the Community on the 'Same but Different' project to celebrate women from different teams and backgrounds.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Hammerstein

Head of Barclaycard UK & Retail Lending
Barclays

A huge advocate of supporting and promoting women within Barclays UK, Matt annually sponsors a progression coaching programme designed to create our future female leadership talent. He regularly and actively engages with all participants, with over 50% having since been promoted to new roles, a direct impact of his passion and dedication. He understands the benefits of a diverse workforce, making sure half of the seats around his leadership table are filled by females. A true advocate for women, he regularly attends external events so that as a thought leader he can bring an alternative perspective back into the business.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Daniel Kramer

Executive Vice President, Chief Client Experience Officer, Asset Servicing
BNY Mellon

Dan Kramer is an Executive Committee member of BNY Mellon’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) and has been instrumental in the establishment of WIN’s Male Allies Program. Dan has shown tremendous commitment as an ally, advocate and sponsor for the firm’s efforts towards gender-parity and the advancement of women at the organization. At the top of the list of things Dan values as a champion are “to listen to women’s concerns, perspectives and ideas, shine a light on women’s talents and achievements, foster an environment of respect for all and inspire and enlist colleagues to do the same.”

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matt Elliott

People Director
Virgin Money

Matt leads the company approach to D&I and is responsible for delivery of the plan and achieving their ambitions. VM has led from the top, with a 50/50 Board and the only all female Chair/CEO Team. Under Matt’s leadership, they adopted the Women in Finance recommendations established by HMT. He has driven a plan based on equality in hiring & progression, and removing barriers through greater flexible working, capability of managers, and enabling technology. VM’s first Returners Programme enabled experienced women who have been out of the workplace to update their skills and knowledge and transition back into the workplace. Matt introduced equalising parental leave pay with maternity pay 3 years ago, and led VM’s approach to Gender Pay Gap reporting, which has led the way in the UK. Having introduced maternity mentoring to VM, Matt was the first mentor, and continues to mentor a number of women both within and outside of VM. Externally, he has spoken about building careers at all women events, has spoken at various events supporting gender equality, and supported the Government’s roll out of gender pay gap by speaking at their Welsh roadshow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Matthew Krentz

Senior Partner and Managing Director, Global People Chair

Matthew leads the Women@BCG program, which aims to improve women’s recruiting, retention and advancement at BCG. He is involved in a number of organizations that promote women in business including Catalyst’s Board of Advisors, and The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In 2016 and 2017, Matthew led TEDWomen workshops focused on promoting women’s inclusion and men’s role in advancing gender diversity, and frequently sits on panels on the topic. He has also authored many publications which have been shared in the press, with clients and in women’s forums including Measuring What Matters in Gender Diversity (April 2018), How Millennial Men Can Help Break The Glass Ceiling (November 2017), and Getting the Most from Your Diversity Dollars (June 2017), among others.

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Dominic Christian

Global Chairman Aon
Aon Benfield

Dominic has personally signed up to the 30% Club, signed Aon’s Gender Pay Gap Report, and signed Aon up to the Women In Finance Charter. They have also signed up to The Diversity Project, which drives gender parity in the investment sector, and are keenly involved in the programme. Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of all seven Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and the lead of the Diversity Council at Aon, and they have an extremely active Women’s Group (Women’s International Network). Passionate about engaging men in the gender debate, he mentors eight women, and as part of the Sponsorship Programme he sponsors three senior females on a regular and engaged basis. Aon also hosted a HeForShe event with high profile speakers, where Dominic made his personal HeForShe Pledge. Externally, he is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, which is a committed group of senior individuals from across the insurance industry who champion diversity and inclusion. He was instrumental in the launch of the Dive In Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which in 2017 saw 80 events take place in 17 countries and 32 cities. On International Women’s Day, Dominic hosted various events at Aon ands an industry-wide one, with Inclusion@Lloyds.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Osman Faiz

Chief Information Officer, Singapore
Standard Chartered Bank

Osman is a key sponsor of the Women’s Network and the HeForShe network at Standard Chartered Bank Singapore. HeForShe network connects senior leaders in the bank to support women in their pursuit of professional and personal development at work and in life. Osman currently mentors 10 high potential women at Standard Chartered Singapore to prepare them for future leadership roles. Externally, Osman mentors 3 high potential women, and champions the "Girls in Tech" initiative by sponsoring educational visits to Standard Chartered for university students.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Mark Read

CEO & COO
Wunderman & WPP

Mark has become a prominent voice on the need to improve gender balance within the communications services industry. Addressing a packed Girls’ Lounge session at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, he spoke about how vital it is for WPP to attract talent that reflects the society in which we live, and he has written to all 130,000 of WPP’s people on the importance of respectful, inclusive workplaces. Within Wunderman he has championed programmes like “Pass It On”, a global initiative to get more women into senior leadership roles, and led the expansion of the company’s Parental Leave policy. His ambition for WPP and beyond was made clear at a recent Wunderman town hall meeting, where employees were invited to submit questions during a live webcast. When asked to fill in the blank, “Advertising needs more _____”, Mark replied simply, “Women”. Since judging, Mark has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, WPP.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Joerg Ambrosius

Executive Vice President
State Street Bank

Jörg is co-chair of State Street’s EMEA Diversity Council, and has been instrumental in creating and supporting the regional inclusive and diversity strategy, helping to drive local activity aligned with local challenges. He engages with leaders across the region to actively drive positive change. He has served on the Global Advisory Board of State Street’s Professional Women’s Network and was recently invited to join the organisation’s Leading Women group to support initiatives designed to create a more inclusive culture.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Rakesh Kapoor

Chief Executive Officer

Rakesh is the Board sponsor for RB’s DARE programme, which was launched in 2015 and is focussed on Developing, Attracting, Retaining and Engaging talented women at RB. Their ambition is to double the number of women in senior management positions, a key strategic objective for him and his management team. In 2017, 24% of their senior managers were female, up from 20% in 2016. A series of DARE initiatives are already contributing to this change and include an RB Parental leave policy, a ‘Working From Home’ policy, and also a ‘Stay In Touch’ policy, so that mums can keep in touch with the company during maternity should they wish. 400+ mothers joined RB’s Maternity Webinars in 2017, a support network which was Rakesh’s original idea. He has sponsored a mentoring program, and champions Lean-In circles for women, where they can share and grow together. This year he is launching the ‘HE Dares, SHE Dares’ RB initiative, which encourages RB males to be allies for their female colleagues and champion women’s development.

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Omar Ali

UK Financial Services Managing Partner
EY

In his role of Managing Partner, Omar has made the establishment of a truly inclusive culture the number one priority for EY. As part of this focus, Omar has put gender equality at the forefront of UK firm’s agenda, and set the ambitious target of achieving 30% female partners and 50% female graduate recruitment. In the last few years EY FS has launched various programmes to support women (and BME talent) in the workplace, such as the launch of EY’s Return to Work, EY Reconnect, and Career Watch, aimed at female and BME Managers. In 2018, EY was the first of the Big Four firms to publish its gender pay gap, including their Partners, voluntarily. Omar is an active supporter of the Her Majesties Treasury Women in Finance Charter and was one of the first signatories to make a commitment to women in the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director-Operations
Accenture

Andrew has been a prominent feature in promoting Accenture’s Inclusion and Diversity initiatives throughout United Kingdom and Ireland. Globally he is one of Accenture’s Cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, this is an integral role when dealing with women in the workplace. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Johan Lungren

CEO
easyJet

Since joining easyJet Johan has renewed the airline’s commitment to being a company in which women are supported to fulfil their full potential. One of his first actions was to establish a project to develop the diversity and inclusion strategy, including a focus on women at easyJet. This strategy will build on the existing initiatives that focus on championing women at easyJet, such as the Amy Johnson Initiative to encourage more women to become pilots. As a result of the initiative, last year easyJet recruited 49 female new entrant co-pilots. That's a 48% increase on the previous year and takes the proportion of easyJet new entrant female pilots to 13%. Earlier this year, as a way to show his personal commitment to equal pay and equal opportunity for women and men, he asked the easyJet Board to reduce his pay to match that of easyJet’s former CEO, Carolyn McCall, when she was at easyJet.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Iain Anderson

Executive Chairman
Cicero Group

Iain sponsored Cicero to become the first communications company to join the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and set ambitions targets for a 50 50 gender balance in thier first year of recruitment, which has been surpassed. He is a key part of the Diverse City initiative working with Dame Helena Morrissey to support diversity charities, with a special emphasis on women in work. He has also worked with the 10 Downing Street business liaison team to drive the Prime Minister's support for the initiative. Additionally, he sponsored and hosted an investor breakfast at Cicero Group with the Home Secretary to champion women in business across the Commonwealth as part of CHOGM 2018. As one of the few SMEs to become part of the 30% Club, Iain acts as a mentor to several women in business. Cicero now hosts the regular Women in Public Affairs events and his team members are part of the decision making structure and governance. He has also personally supported the Diversity Project on a pro bono basis with strategic communications advice, designed to bring more women into the asset management sector.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ajay Banga

President & CEO
MasterCard

At Mastercard, they are investing in people and creating an inclusive environment where the best people choose to be. It is Ajay’s goal to hire and retain the best and brightest talent, and ensure they feel valued and respected. His commitment to gender equality is ongoing, continuing to listen to employees and to take actions aligned with Mastercard’s commitment. The three pillars of their efforts include, creating opportunities for teams by expanding their skills and experiences; working to support the development of future leaders through programs like thier Women in Technology effort and Girls4Tech STEM education program; and bringing balance and equal access to products and solutions. Externally, Ajay and Mastercard are involved in a number of external partnerships and programs designed to facilitate gender diversity. For example, the Board Chairman and other Mastercard management are members of the 30% Club and 25% of the board of directors are female. Among many accolades, Ajay was recently listed among the best-performing CEOs in the world by Harvard Business Review, and awarded 'Business Leader of the Year' at the 7th Annual Asian Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ivan Menezes

Chief Executive
Diageo

Under Ivan’s leadership, women currently make up 50% of the Board and 40% of the Executive Committee at Diageo. In the last year Diageo has been recognised by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, ranked fifth in the Thomson Reuters Global Diversity and Inclusion Index, named third in the Hampton-Alexander review and named joint first for FTSE 100 companies with female executive directors by Cranfield School of Management. Externally, Ivan became a signatory of the 30% Club, aiming to develop a diverse pool of talent and commit to better gender balance at all levels of his organisation. He is an active speaker on the importance of diversity in the workplace, recently appearing at the Confederation of British Industry Inclusive Workplace Conference. On International Women’s Day Ivan was ranked by Management Today as one of their top male Agents of Change pushing for parity in the workplace. Additionally, he is Chairman of Movement to Work, which offers opportunities to thousands of unemployed young people, allowing them to develop the skills and confidence they need to find a job.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Chris Wei

Global Chairman Aviva Digital, Executive
Aviva

Christopher is the group sponsor of Aviva Balance, which focuses on gender diversity and promotes opportunities for women across the group. He is a mentor to several senior executive women at Aviva, actively sponsors Aviva’s global leadership development program for women and spends time with students to help them understand career choices across gender boundaries.. He is also a vocal advocate of “inclusive diversity”, across all dimensions of identity, which vary across the multiple geographies in which Aviva operates. Through corporate participation and personal sponsorships, he has influenced corporates, think tanks and interest groups on the importance of diverse workforces. Externally, Christopher has spoken at multiple industry and business events on the importance of inclusive diversity and how it impacts business favourably, and has published articles on the topic on LinkedIn. He sponsors the “Woman Leader of the Year” at the Asia Insurance Industry Awards, a new category for 2018, and was named“Personality of the Year” at the 2017 Asia insurance Industry Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Ron O

President & COO
State Street

Starting his early career at McKinsey, Ron became very involved in various programs to develop, mentor, and retain women, and championed several women who went on to become senior partners at his firm. At State Street, he has led the corporate governance activities of State Street Global Advisors. State Street’s corporate governance research demonstrates that companies with gender diverse leadership deliver better long-term results. Therefore, in 2017 State Street issued additional principles on board gender diversity. For 2017 International Women’s Day, Ron’s team placed the Fearless Girl statue in the center of Wall Street as a symbolic call for more women on boards. Since the Fearless Girl’s placement, 152 US companies identified as lacking a single woman director have added a woman to their board and another 34 have pledged to do so. This year, State Street’s call for increased board diversity has been expanded to Canada and Japan. Fearless Girl’s phenomenal success is catalysing discussions and actions on gender diversity. Externally, Ron is a frequent speaker at important corporate governance/gender diversity events, and is actively involved in the 30% Club. He is also on The Boston Foundation Board of Directors, a leading community foundation committed to diversity and inclusion.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Christopher Stirling

Global Chair, KPMG Life Sciences
KPMG

Christopher has been driving KPMG’s Exceptional Women in Life Sciences initiative to promote female talent and gender parity internally and in the industry. He has supported the development of women’s networks within KPMG, and recently sponsored a global study to explore innovative solutions to the barriers to progression women are facing. This enabled the women in the Life Sciences sector to engage with Leadership, and he has since observed an increase from 13% to 35% of women in leadership roles in the Life Sciences practice in the past year. Externally, Christopher set up an advisory board to discuss gender diversity and inclusion issues with Global Life Sciences companies and academia. He is an annual sponsor of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Woman of the Year award, and encourages HBA membership across KPMG and industry contacts. With Christopher’s encouragement, the HBA has become a platform for leadership development at KPMG, as women colleagues have adopted volunteer HBA leadership roles that have raised their visibility and influence at KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Marc Benioff

CEO
Salesforce

Marc Benioff is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Salesforce and a pioneer of cloud computing. Under his leadership, Salesforce is the fastest-growing top-five enterprise software company and the #1 provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software globally. Marc was named “Innovator of the Decade” by Forbes, ranked #3 on Fortune's 2017 "Businessperson of the Year" list, and recognized as one of the World’s 25 Greatest Leaders by Fortune and 15 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review. For his leadership on equality, he has been honoured by GLAAD, the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and Variety Magazine with its EmPOWerment Award. A member of the World Economic Forum ("WEF") Board of Trustees, Marc serves as the inaugural Chair of WEF's Forum Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. He also serves as Chair of Salesforce.org, which redefined corporate philanthropy by donating 1% of Salesforce's equity, product and time to its communities. Additionally, Marc received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he is on its Board of Trustees.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Jim Cowles

EMEA CEO
Citi

Jim is global co-chair for the Citi Women’s Affinity. In this capacity, he has set a new strategy and direction in order to drive greater gender parity across Citi. The strategy focuses on: hiring, promoting, and retaining more women; creating an inclusive work environment; leveraging Citi’s diversity of thought to drive value for clients; and embedding the value of diversity into business practices. Jim has been instrumental in driving this change for all employees and firmly communicating to senior leaders that they are accountable for achieving gender results. The focus has included initiatives such as implicit bias education and tools, actions around male advocacy and engagement, and reverse mentoring, all underpinned by a strong communications strategy which Jim is personally involved in. He was instrumental in Citi’s signing of the UK Women in Finance Charter, which sets a target of at least 30% of women in senior roles by 2025. Jim regularly lends his voice to an external audience via leading media outlets pushing the agenda of gender parity. He has also contributed to the Financial Times diversity series discussing a variety of topics in the gender diversity space.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Vittorio Colao

CEO
Vodafone

Vittorio is driving Vodafone’s ambition to become the best employer of women in the world by 2025. He has championed a number of programmes across Vodafone, including placing targets on the number of women in senior roles, pioneering a new maternity policy and launching the world’s largest recruitment programme to bring women back to work who have taken career breaks last year. Externally, as a UN Women HeforShe Impact Champion, he is one of 10 CEOs actively supporting gender equality externally and working on bold commitments to support gender equality. He signed up to the #MentorHer programme led by LeanIn and sponsored Vodafone’s membership of the Womens Business Council and worked with the UK Government to shape its Returner programme.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Liao

President & CEO
HSBC Bank China

David has established gender balance data and monitoring of work force at all levels, and regularly reviews progress as a standing item in the People's Committee. Under his leadership, HSBC China provide extra care for female employees including a dedicated nursing room, and a half day on International Women’s Day. They also host lectures organized to address women leadership, wellbeing, etc, and ensure female candidates in the shortlist of recruitment and internal promotion for senior leader roles. David advocates for gender equality in client meetings and in membership forums, and is externally a member of the Beijing CPPCC, and the Young President Organization. Additionally, HSBC has won multiple awards under David’s leadership, including Asiamoney’s Best international Bank in China, and 51Job’s Top Graduate Employer.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Michael Fontayn

Chairman
AFME

In April 2017, BNY Mellon was named to The Times “Top 50 Employers for Women” list, an achievement that would not have been possible without Michael’s allyship and engagement in the company’s efforts to progress women in the workplace. He oversees BNY Mellon’s EMEA Diversity and Inclusion Council, playing a key role in shaping the regional strategy and supporting groups to ensure diversity and inclusion priorities are relevant and culturally appropriate to each office. Through his support, BNY Mellon proactively signed the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter in July 2016 to make the company’s workforce commitments public and inspire others to openly share their own strategies. Since retiring from BNY Mellon, Michael continues to champion Inclusion and Diversity, mentoring under the 30% Club programme, joining the steering committee of MissionInclude and mentoring under the MissionInclude programme. He is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, LGBT rights, mental health, and is an active supporter of City Mental Health Alliance. Additionally, he has spoken at external events such as the Women’s Forum of British American Business, the Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Programme and The Economists’ Pride and Prejudice Conference, and is joining Women in Banking and Finance as a Patron.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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David Sproul

Senior Partner & Chief Executive
Deloitte

As part of David’s ongoing focus on ensuring Deloitte provide a truly inclusive culture, he has rolled out innovative agile working and return-to-work initiatives, targeted career development training, and reviewed all recruitment processes to ensure they are free from bias. They have also created development programmes for high-potential female practitioners; including each member of his Executive team sponsoring a female senior manager. David has taken personal ownership of progress towards achieving the target of having 25% female partners by 2020 in the UK, rising to 40% by 2030. He has also been a keen advocate of increasing pay gap transparency: Deloitte was one of the first large companies to voluntarily report their gender pay gap in the UK in 2015 before it was mandatory, and has reported it annually ever since. Externally, he is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its Agents for Change list earlier this year. Two years ago he also received the United Nations 2016 Women’s Empowerment Principles award for his commitment to gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Steve Varley

UK Chairman
EY

Earlier this year Steve made the decision, with the support of his leadership team, to go beyond the UK Gender Pay Gap Regulations and publish EY’s Partner pay gap. The decision was recognised by the Financial Times and set best practice across the industry. EY has a firm focus on diversity and inclusion (D&I) and increasing the representation of women and ethnic minorities at all levels, with many initiatives in place. These include, setting public diversity targets, developing a returnship programme, and focusing on supporting high potential female talent through their careers. They have also delivered inclusive leadership training to over 2,000 business leaders in the UK to help drive cultural change in the organisation. Steve chairs EY’s UK D&I Steering Group that brings together EY’s four business units based in the UK, to ensure that they focus collectively on the D&I outcomes that matter. He also actively sponsors a number of women within the organisation to counsel and advise them on their careers. Externally, he has been an active supporter of the 30% Club since its inception.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Oliver Benzecry

UKI Chairman and Country Director
Accenture

Under Oliver’s (Olly’s) leadership Accenture has embedded diversity across all HR processes; recruitment, development and performance. He is a coach and mentor to several senior women and in recent years has overseen many initiatives to support women’s development in the workplace. These include refocusing Accenture’s Women’s network to an inclusive Gender network, resulting in greater engagement from men in Accenture-run programmes, and normalising their market-leading Shared Parental Leave (SPL) provision in 2015, which has seen 250+ applicants this financial year. This year alone, Accenture has been named again in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women, received a Gender Game Changer Award in recognition of their SPL provision, was a finalist for the BITC Responsible Business Award for Gender Diversity and has seen several senior women business leaders recognised in individual external awards. Accenture continues to focus on the STEM agenda and leads Europe’s largest STEM event annually for girls aged 11-14. They also sponsor 14 University Women’s Societies and 46 school events, mentor 80+ SME women CEOs through business mentoring programmes and introduced their Tech ‘Breakthrough’ Returners programme this year. Olly is also a passionate champion of Accenture’s goal to have a 50/50 gender-balanced workforce by 2025.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Brian Cornell

CEO
Target

The representation of female and diverse leaders across the business is a source of pride for Brian. His desire for a diverse team extends all the way up to the Leadership Team and Board of Directors. One of the areas where Target has focused on engaging and advancing women is STEM. Programs for the team include Target Women in Science and Technology, which helps foster connections, inspiration and knowledge sharing. The Engineering Management Immersion Program is a 12-month global leadership development program that offers immersive and personalized experiences to increase participants’ leadership ability. Externally, Brian signed the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion pledge, which aims to create a more inclusive society where all perspectives and experiences are welcome. He is the co-chair of NEW’s Future Fund, which provides meaningful tools and training that women can use to advance their careers in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries. He also recently joined Catalyst’s board of directors, to play an active role in accelerating the progress of women’s inclusion in the workforce.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Andrew Penn

CEO
Telstra

Under Andrew’s leadership, Telstra sets clear targets for gender representation, with the current Telstra CEO Leadership Team being 50% female. There is also a huge focus on gender pay equity, and comparing like-for-like roles, the gender gap as at 30 June 2017 is 2%. In March 2017 they also introduced a requirement that interview shortlists include at least 50% female representation. Tesltra encourages different ways of thinking about gender equality through ‘Brilliant Connected Women’, a network of almost 3,000 Telstra women and men who champion gender diversity and equality. Andrew is a passionate advocate for women in business through Australia's longest running women's awards program – the Telstra Business Women's Awards. Externally, he is a member of Male Champions of Change, an initiative for male CEOs to step up beside women to ensure a sustained increase in the representation of women in leadership. This year their major project is an examination of the Future of Work, Technology and Implications for Gender Equity. He gave a keynote speech for AustCham in Hong Kong focussed on the role of diversity and inclusion in corporates and recently participated in a panel session for the Women in Rotary Breakfast celebrating International Women’s Day.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Harrison

Group Chief Executive
Schroders

Shortly after joining Schroders, Peter introduced an initial target of at least 30% female representation in senior management roles. The firm made strong progress and has now increased its target to at least 33% by the end of next year, and 33% at Board level by 2020. He is a founding member of the Diversity Project, an initiative by a group of senior leaders to accelerate progress towards an inclusive culture across the investment and savings industry. Peter is overseeing initiatives to address the issue of fewer job applications from women, including introducing a 50/50 gender split at the entry-level assessment centres; reviewing maternity, parental leave and flexible working policies; and pairing the top 10% of female talent with a senior sponsor. Schroders was the first FTSE 100 firm to publish its gender pay gap data, almost a full year ahead of most firms. He has led the firm’s move to become one of the first signatories to the Women in Finance Charter and was nominated a leading executive LGBT+ ally by OUTstanding, the professional network for LGBT+ executives, leaders and allies. He continues to drive improvements across the firm, including measures to increase black and minority ethnic job applications.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Paul Rawlinson

Global Chair
Baker & McKenzie

As global chair of Baker McKenzie, Paul leads the charge on the conversation around gender attrition, pay, and overall satisfaction of women in the workplace. In his previous role, as London Managing Partner, he appointed the firm’s first ever Diversity & Inclusion Partner, a role unique to city law firms at that time. He recently launched the global commitment to the UN's HeForShe movement on International Women's Day 2018, and is about to launch a second sponsorship program to help elevate and give access to the tools women need to progress into leadership roles. Externally, Paul has actively supported a number of external bodies which champion women in business. At the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos he attended a celebration of Forbes 100 most powerful women, and represented the private sector at a United Nations event in New York, to talk about the role that the industry can play in bridging the gap in equal pay. Last year, he also became an ambassador for the International Trade Centre's #shetrades campaign; to highlight women's economic empowerment. Closer to home, he actively supports the 30% Club UK, and spoke on the Panel at the 30% Club's Shifting the Needle Leadership Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Les Matheson

CEO, Personal & Business Banking
RBS

As executive sponsor for gender, Les has worked with the Bank’s Executive Committee members to introduce a formal target to have >30% women in their most senior roles by 2020, and to have full gender balance at all levels by 2030. The targets are supported by a positive action approach, tailored by business area, according to the specific challenges they face. Externally, Les is a great ambassador for gender equality and regularly speaks and participates as a panellist at external events to help facilitate change. He was a keynote speaker at the London Women's Forum in Whitehall; the Global Banking Alliance (GBA) Women Summit and a panellist at the Citi Women Event, on International Men’s Day. Later this year, Les will host an external roundtable with fellow CEOs, ministerial representatives, analysts and academics, to broaden the discussion on how to create a sustainable culture across UK plc, that supports gender equality, by allowing participants to share their own or their organisation’s stories, experiences, outcomes and practices so that others can benefit from them. He also leads the women in business initiative, where they have over 400 trained Women in Business specialists who nurture and support the business women of tomorrow.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Wim Dejonghe

Senior Partner
Allen & Overy

Wim was elected to Senior Partner in 2016 and immediately introduced diversity as one of 5 strategic priorities for the firm. He established the Gender Advisory Committee and is heavily involved with supporting the firm’s women’s network, WiN. Under his leadership the firm has developed and launched a refreshed gender strategy in 2018. The strategy focuses on partner accountability, allocation of opportunities, alternative career paths, parental support and a supportive work environment. In all their initiatives, Wim is keen that the firm “thinks outside the box” to ensure actions stretch the boundaries and make visible changes. He has overseen the introduction of initiatives such as piloting a hub office in Vauxhall to help people balance the demands of work with their personal responsibilities and interests. Wim advocates for better gender diversity externally in the industry press and at events to ensure that Allen & Overy is part of the debate on gender diversity. He also regularly takes part in panel discussions which include questions on diversity. Two examples from this year are a State of the Global Legal Industry panel at the Asia Pacific Legal Executive Briefing in Hong Kong and an IBA Law Firm Leaders panel.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Paul Polman

CEO
Unilever

Under Paul’s leadership, Unilever has made significant strides in moving to a gender balanced and inclusive organisation. Today, 45% of Unilever’s non-executive directors are female and 47% of all Unilever managers are female, up from 38% when Paul joined as CEO in 2009. Unilever’s world leading policies on recruitment, development and retention of women have helped to achieve this. A global maternity leave policy of 16 weeks and global paternity leave standard of three weeks have significantly helped employees transitioning to parenthood, leading to a 24% reduction in women leaving the organisation after having a child. The global “Unstereotype” campaign is a key initiative to support women’s empowerment and gender equality. As an important part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the company is making steady progress in its aim to empower five million women throughout the value chain, including improving the livelihoods of 800,000 women smallholder farmers. Unilever has begun to roll-out a financial inclusion programme with a goal to help empower up to 1.5 million female small-scale retailers, and Unilever’s Last mile distribution models are creating entrepreneurship opportunities for over 150,000 women through skills development and training. Externally, Paul is a HeforShe Impact Champion, and supported the Women Rising 2030 initiative. He is part of the UN Women Private Sector Leadership Advisory Council and a member of the 30% Club, for which he gave a speech at the launch of the new gender diversity index from FTSE Russell at the London Stock Exchange.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Peter Grauer

Executive Chairman
Bloomberg

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, holding the company's business leaders accountable for the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg expanded its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index to launch its first sector-neutral Gender-Equality Index in 2018. Peter also co-hosted Bloomberg's inaugural Business of Equality Summit in April, part of the company's cross-platform editorial initiative focused on supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workforce. Externally, Peter is the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, and serves as a mentor with Catalyst's Women On Board program. Peter is also a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and serves on its Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services and Gender Parity Board of Governors. He is founding Chairman of the Community of Chairmen at the World Economic Forum.

Can be viewed on: 2018 Top 50 Advocates

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Harriet Arnold

Assistant Editor, Special Reports

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Michal Berkner

Partner
Skadden

Michal founded the Skadden Women Attorneys’ Network (SWAN). Having worked at Skadden as an associate for several years, she had recognised the need for an internal forum specifically designed to support women in their professional lives. SWAN was the first such group in the entire Skadden global network. It has evolved into a major force for championing women, both within the Skadden business and externally. Each of the firm’s 22 offices globally participates in the programme, hosting a multitude of events and networking opportunities. The European SWAN group regularly hosts intimate roundtable events for women in the business community. In addition to SWAN, Michal has recently played an active role in the roll-out of a ‘Women in Leadership’ programme at Skadden. Aimed at supporting women in the firm reach senior levels and partnership, the course offers one-on-one training to provide the tools needed to help them become partners. Michal is an active participant in the female business community, regularly participating and speaking at conferences and industry events specifically targeted at women, and mentoring more junior women in the sector. She has also mentored women with ambitions to work in government as well as in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emma McGuigan

Global Group Technology Officer, Communications, Media & High Tech
Accenture

Under Emma’s leadership, Accenture were able to make significant progress with the recruitment, progression and retention of women technologists. This success involved implementing a number of programmes to out-perform the estimated c.15% women in the UK talent pool more than two-fold in their recruitment activity. In 2013, Emma was made a fellow of The Chartered Institute for IT. In 2015 and 2016, Emma was named as one of the 50 most influential women in UK IT by Computer Weekly magazine, and was listed in Computer Business Review’s 10 most successful women in UK technology; her other accolades include being the National Women in Business STEM category winner 2016 with Forward Ladies. Emma is regularly in the national media and a regular speaker at industry events from Wonder Women in Tech & the National Digital Conference to most recently appearing at the Salesforce World Tour 2017. Emma is a prominent feature in STEM and she regularly is contacted to act as a mentor within this rapidly growing field. Emma currently serves as a board member of techUK, is an advisory board member of Digital Leaders, and a trustee for the Orchid Project.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Siobhan Moriarty

General Counsel
Diageo

Siobhan has been co-leading on internal D&I initiatives to achieve a goal of 35% female leadership by 2020 and 40% by 2025. Each business unit now has a multi-year talent plan with gender diversity actions and milestones, sponsored by the business head. She is also an active sponsor of the women’s network “Spirited Women” and the LGBT Rainbow Network. In her own legal function, females hold 55% of roles across the team. She also ensures, when reviewing relationships with law firms, that they look at diversity statistics, not just gender, but also ethnic origin, LGBT+ diversity, and social mobility. Siobhan led the initiative for #IWD2017 to make #BeBoldForChange a rallying cry in and outside Diageo. This involved the organisation of panel discussions and events, and the use of internal media to promote her activity. She has spoken on many occasions about the benefits of having an open and inclusive workforce and acts as a senior agent of change in the business. Externally, Siobhan encourages girls to enter the legal profession and young female lawyers to strive to achieve their goals, through talking about her career journey and decision points along the way.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Julia Muir

CEO
Gaia Innovation Ltd

Julia founded Gaia Innovation Ltd to build positive links between schools, employers and universities, in order to encourage children to aim high, equip themselves with creativity and technology skills, and seek careers in the growth industries associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution. These industries tend to be male dominated, and so she uses successful female role models in all activities to demonstrate to both male and female students that women can perform at the highest level in industry and academia. In 2016, Julia founded the UK Automotive 30% Club, a group of progressive CEOs and MDs of the UK automotive industry. The goal she has set is to achieve 30% of key leadership positions in member organisations to be filled with women by 2030, and she has devised a 4 phase "30 by 30' strategy in order to make this happen. She has also recently launched a "303030" Campaign in collaboration with the charity Speakers for Schools which will see 30 senior automotive executives go into 30 schools to give inspirational speeches, and then provide 30 executive work shadowing placements to girls where they will spend a week with the senior leadership team of that business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Runa Alam

CEO
Development Partners International

Runa Alam is one of the most influential women in private equity, being one of few women CEOs managing over US$1 billion. Within DPI, Runa prides herself on promoting equality across every level of the business. Three of the six partners are women, while a 2015 study from Harvard Business School found that the typical number of women in senior positions in Private Equity is 5%. This diversity is apparent across all levels of DPI – nearly half the professionals are women. Runa believes that the top quartile returns of DPI’s funds are due to the talent and diversity of its team. Externally, Runa played a role in the establishment of the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, where she served as the Chair and is currently the Chair of the Sustainability Committee. She is also a Board and Africa Council Member of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, a steering committee member of PEWIN, an organisation for women leaders in private equity, as part of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Runa has over 35 years’ experience in private equity, entrepreneurship, investing, investment banking, and is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Leigh Lafever-Ayer

HR Director UK & Ireland
Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Leigh has been co-chair of Enterprise’s UK/Ireland diversity team since 2007, where she started a ‘Mum and Tots’ group, launched Enterprise’s first women’s networking group, ‘Enterprising Women’, and developed an award-winning, company-wide benchmarking tool. She created the gender diversity magazine ‘DRIVE’, which is distributed to employees, customers and universities. Leigh drives employee awareness through Twitter and has also introduced a number of events, both client and customer facing, to showcase diversity at Enterprise. Under Leigh’s leadership, Enterprise was shortlisted for Corporation of the Year by Women of the Future in 2016, been included in the Times’ Top 50 Companies for Women for the last 12 years and has increased the number of females in senior management positions by 58% and women holding director positions by 83%. Externally, Leigh is a member of the BITC Leadership Team for Gender Diversity. She is a regular speaker at conferences, in the HR press and at events on gender diversity. Enterprise is a sponsor of Women of the Future and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards. Leigh has also held positions on multiple advisory boards and organised International Women’s Day conferences with influential guest speakers.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jill Shedden

Group HR Director
Centrica

Jill has been sponsor of a number of programmes at Centrica, involving many events, networking and online resources to champion gender diversity. She is also the founder and sponsor of the Centrica Women's Network, which was built around the question ‘how can diversity and inclusion help Centrica achieve its strategy?’ She has also been heavily involved in the launch of pilot returnship programme, to support experienced professionals to get back to work after a career break. Centrica made a pledge to Powerful Women during international women’s day and national apprenticeship week to increase the number of female engineers by supporting at least 50 females on career development and mentoring. Externally, Jill is a member of the Women’s Business Council, set up by the Government in 2012 to advise ministers on how to maximise women’s contribution to the future economic growth of the country. She has spoken at local school events about women and careers based on her own experiences and success, and was awarded an MBE in this year's New Honours list for her services to women in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jay Hunt

Chief Creative Officer
Channel 4

Jay has been leading our content strategy at Channel 4 for the past 6 years and has led us to an unprecedented level of creative recognition and audience success. Under her leadership Channel 4 has twice been made Channel of the Year at the Edinburgh TV Festival and has also been recognised in genres as varied as news, documentaries, comedy and drama. Jay is an inspiring leader to both men and women having developed an innovative approach towards peer review at Channel 4. She sets high standards but has also nurtured a new generation of talent both behind and in front of the screen.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Heather Melville

Director of Strategic Partnerships & Head of Women in Business
RBS

Heather founded the RBS Women’s Network, to support the development, growth and attraction of female talent. The network has since been used to help support the change of culture needed to engage their leaders, peer employers and clients. Through her leadership, RBS engaged an executive sponsor and funding which allowed the creation of a wide range of development programmes and events, which complimented the technical training offered to staff. Heather has also launched the Focused Women’s Awards, which have three key categories recognising men, women, and clients who act as role models for gender diversity. She has mentored, and still supports, the two chairs in an advisory capacity. Externally, Heather is an NED for Enterprise Enfield, is on the board for CMI, and is the Chair of CMI women, which has 16,000 members across industry. She hold various advisory board positions, and is a visiting lecturer at University of Westminster for the Women on Boards programme. For the last 5 years, she has been a guest speaker at Chelmsford Girls High School, where she provides business coaching and mentoring. She also has six female business owners as mentees, and mentors 26 women from school age through to their corporate careers.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Janet Pope

Chief of Staff, Group Director Corporate Affairs
Lloyds Banking Group

Janet’s work encompasses all aspects of enabling women to achieve their full potential, from women on shortlists to agile working and action on domestic violence. She worked with the CEO to set the first FTSE 100 target for women in senior management (40% by 2020), and is a regular speaker at Lloyds’ Women’s Breakthrough Network, the largest in the FTSE. She mentors four women and has established a ground breaking internal programme to propel the careers of high potential women, tackling issues such as authentic leadership and creating aspirational role models. As a Camden Councillor Janet was heavily involved in equalities issues including the rights of women in employment, housing and education. She has been involved for 20 years with the Camden School for Girls, founded by Suffragettes in 1871, pioneering the drive for girls’ education. The school straightforwardly shows girls what they are capable of achieving and equips them with the skills to get there. She has chaired the governing body for the past five years, having previously chaired the finance committee. She is also a regular contributor to events organised by EY, KPMG, Egon Zehnder and others to promote the role of women in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Maggie Pedersen

Chief of Staff, Pharma R&D
GSK

When Maggie started to realise the potential impacts of unconscious bias in society, she was inspired to drive change through taking on the role of Global Head of GSK’s Women's Leadership Initiative. Leveraging her role, she has led a strategy for global growth, developing the WLI presence from two countries to over forty. She has held regular senior stakeholder engagements, with a focus on gender balance, collaborating with external not-for-profits, providing networking opportunities and 50% membership growth. When Maggie relocated to the UK from the US, she found that the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association lacked a presence in London, so she drove the establishment of the UK division; now it is one of the strongest and fastest growing regions of the European Chapter. Maggie has since progressed through various roles, culminating in becoming President of the European Chapter in January 2017. She is responsible for leading the Board to deliver strategic and profitability objectives, centred on advancing the leadership impact of women in healthcare. Maggie is now planning her next initiative; working with expert organisations to develop a secondary school curriculum on beekeeping in Western Africa. This will empower women to be economically independent and provide extra income for families.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jacquelyn Guderley

Founder
Salomé

Jacquelyn is a gender equality advocate, social entrepreneur and change-maker, and listed as one of the UK's most influential Women in Tech in 2017 by Computer Weekly. She began her career as a management consultant in the technology sector, at Accenture, where she played a key role in company-wide gender initiatives, including piloting and launching Accenture's Girls in Tech programme. She went on to become co-founder of Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise that inspires girls and young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM), working with over 10,000 girls and young women over three years to change their perceptions of the STEM industries. She is now Founder and CEO of Salomé, the literary magazine for emerging female writers, a platform that aims to tackle gender inequality in publishing. Jacquelyn is also on the steering committee, and a member of the management team, for the Tech Talent Charter, which brings together industries and organisations to drive diversity and address gender imbalance in technology roles. In 2016 she stood as a political candidate for the Women's Equality Party, particularly focusing her campaign on equal education (in STEM) and opening up access to business investment for women.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Deborah Baker

Group Director for People
Sky

Deborah worked with the core Women in Leadership team to create initiatives designed to empower women in the workplace. These include programmes to upskill high potential women, introducing gender-balanced shortlists for all job vacancies, delivery of unconscious bias training, targeting women-only recruitment events to actively diversify the talent pipeline, and offering family friendly policies surrounding care and leave. Deborah also actively champions gender diversity at Sky, by speaking internally about her career journey, challenges she has faced and why she supports the Women in Leadership initiative. She is focused on engaging the leadership team, and making them accountable by regularly reviewing targets and recruitment shortlists so that business areas can be updated.  She has been integral to the development of the Women@Sky network, and the GetIntoTech training programme. Deborah is an active mentor, both internally and externally, and often engages with speaking platforms such as The Women in Media Awards, and in the press.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Aline Santos

EVP Global Marketing
Unilever

In Aline's current role as Executive Vice President for Global Marketing and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, championing gender equality in the workplace and in advertising is a top priority. She has been key to the #Unstereotype initiative; a movement to eliminate outdated stereotypes from advertising. Aline made the ‘Unstereotype’ commitment public in 2016, and has since been advocating for industry-wide change. 2017 saw the launch of the Unstereotype Alliance with UN Women– an industry wide collaboration to make Unstereotype a reality cross-sector and create impact at scale. Along with leading Unilever’s steady march towards Gender Balance, with current female representation in management at just under 46%, Aline places equal emphasis on building inclusion. On International Women’s Day, Unilever launched the “Unstereotype-Changing Mindsets” program that aims to remove the limiting power of stereotypes and unconscious bias in the workplace. They have also been working to create global standards for wellbeing, including maternity and paternity leave policies, and Aline has been focusing on business areas that have traditionally low female representation. She also plays an active leadership role in the Women’s Network Forum, chaired by Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, focusing on driving gender balance in UK corporates.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Nicky Bullard

Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer
MRM-Meteorite

Nicky regularly mentors many young women, both in her own business and externally. One thing which may seem small but she believes can make a big difference, is the championing of women in business, singing their praises at any given opportunity. As the first female and creative Chair of a UK marketing agency, she evidences that women can lead a business, not just work for it. Externally, Nicky has chaired the IPA's Women of Tomorrow awards and filmed an experiment which highlighted the difference in confidence between men and women in the workplace, and gender inequality in general. She is on the Creative Equals Advisory Board and is a member of WACL. She is also on the Fundraising and Marketing Committee for ‘Women for Women International’, a charity that helps women in worn torn countries get back on their feet and live independent lives through starting their own small businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Pips Bunce

Head of Global Markets Technology Core Engineering Integrations Components
Credit Suisse

Pips took the conscious decision to be ‘out’ at work as gender fluid to embrace and advocate the importance of authenticity as well as to shine a light on the power and diversity of women in the workplace. Multiple aspects of our identity, including gender identity/expression, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation,  disability and religion  influence our experiences at work. Our sex or gender may be the same, but our identities, our successes and our struggles are different and it is for this reason why Pips is proud to be a female champion in business. She is a member of the European Women’s Network/IT Women’s Council and had many external publications relating to gender equality published. Additionally, she has been integral in providing reverse mentoring to management board members of the firm and is co-lead of the LGBT & Ally program at Credit Suisse where she places much importance on intersectionality and how the voices of all types of women and our allies need to be heard to drive forward gender equality – our differences make us stronger and diversity should be celebrated, not tolerated. Pips is also a regular panellist/speaker on gender equality, and often interviewed by external publications on the topic.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Wendy Warham

VP Head of Network and Telecoms EMEIA
Fujitsu

As Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Business Network in Fujitsu Wendy has created a new strategy to make Fujitsu the IT company where women can succeed. She is a regular mentor.  She has set the ambition for them to become a Times Top 50 Women’s Employer within two years, and is personally driving the action plan to address the gender pay gap issues within Fujitsu. She often shares her very truthful and personal story at internal and external women in business events, including Fujitsu’s Ada Lovelace Day, to speak on the importance of building good networks, and help inspire others to achieve their own success. Externally, Wendy sits on a variety of women in business panels discussing the variety of careers available in tech, and giving practical tips and advice to attendees. She has also recently enrolled onto ‘Inspiring the Future’, affording her the opportunity to connect with, and encourage, young girls.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Lucy Clayton

CEO
Community Clothing

Community Clothing is a social enterprise with a mission to sustain and create jobs in the UK textile and garment manufacturing industry, where many of the workforce at risk from the closure of factories are women. Together with Founder Patrick Grant, Lucy has focused on delivering the company’s social impact, collaborating with organisations working with vulnerable women and the long-term unemployed, many of whom live in underprivileged communities. The team at Community Clothing is 75% women, and Lucy is a fierce supporter of working parents, as many of the women in the team at Community Clothing work non-traditional schedules. Passionate about discovering and supporting female talent, Lucy continues to mentor young women who no longer work with or for her, helping them to transition back from career breaks or to move into different industries.  Having successfully returned to work after a career break herself, Lucy is looking to share her experience and promote the voice of working women. Lucy gives talks in schools, regularly speaks on industry trends and the future of work at events including WGSN, AdWeek Europe, and will deliver a forthcoming TEDx talk on Community Clothing’s ethos and ambition in 2018.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Payal Vasudeva

UKI Human Capital & Diversity Lead
Accenture

In her role as the Accenture UK & Ireland Human Capital & Diversity Sponsor, Payal has single accountability for employee engagement, leadership development and is responsible for all Inclusion & Diversity initiatives for the workforce. She is a senior executive sponsor for the ‘Accent on Gender’ employee network, providing an environment where Accenture’s people to drive towards greater gender equality at all levels, through sponsorship, mentoring, and coaching initiatives. Payal was the compere and keynote speaker for an internal International Women’s Day event focused on gender through the lens of social mobility. Externally, Payal speaks regularly at conferences such as Critical Eye CEO Retreat, European Business Summit, STEM Gender Equality Congress as well as senior leadership forums on the topic of the gender inclusion and diversity. Alongside this, Payal sits on the Business in the Community (BITC) leadership team for gender where she works with other senior business leaders to shape and drive the BITC agenda. She is a Trustee on the Board of East London Business Alliance (ELBA), and mentors CEOs as part of the Accenture Diverse Supplier Development Program. She has also founded a scholarship program for under-privileged girls in Mumbai, India.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Tanuja Randery

Zone President UK & I
Schneider Electric

Whilst at Schneider, D&I was a top strategic priority for Tanuja and her senior executive team, and she personally reviewed progress against key goals monthly. She is also an advocate of the HeForShe UN initiative and Schneider is one of 10 companies– with 28,000 men globally who have signed this commitment. She also launched the PLUS ONE initiative encouraging hiring managers to add one more woman to their team. Tanuja regularly monitors female talent and proactively reviews their progress, as well as ensuring each of them is assigned a mentor and proposing women talent for promotions and key projects. Externally Tanuja is an active advocate for D&I and Women in Technology, and frequently speaks on industry panels, at schools, and in the media on the topic. When Tanuja joined Schneider, she founded PowerWomen a network of senior female leaders committed to developing the next generation of female talent and advancing women’s roles in leadership. This group meets quarterly to discuss the topic of D&I, how they encourage women into their industry, especially in commercial roles and at executive level. She has recently moved to Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, and continues to be a champion of diversity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Wendy Murphy

Senior Director HR (EMEA)
LinkedIn

Wendy is passionate about ensuring gender diversity at all levels across LinkedIn and champions this through the EMEA Leadership Team, ensuring that the topic remains front and centre as the business grows. As a result of this effort, and the programmes associated with it, LinkedIn has almost 50/50 gender parity across the region. She initiated LinkedIn’s partnership with Connecting Women in Technology, an initiative aimed at attracting and retaining women to the technology sector, and she is also the executive sponsor for the Employee Resource Group (Women@LinkedIn, or WIN) focused on developing top female talent. Externally, Wendy is a volunteer mentor for a number of women helping them to reach their potential. So far she has helped three young women make important career moves, with a fourth in the works. She is also on Board of Junior Achievement Ireland, which promotes entrepreneurial skills to young people. On the board she has focused her attention on getting female engagement in STEM subjects.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Katie Bickerstaffe

Chief Executive, UK & Ire
Dixons Carphone plc

Katie believes that, without setting specific gender targets, companies should always employ the best person for the job. The attitude has seen a steady increase in the number of senior team members who are female. They attract and then support women with genuine opportunities to work more flexibly: from home, from out-based locations, or flexible hours for example.  Externally, Katie is an active supporter of the annual ‘Power Part Time’ List, which garners immense interest and national coverage. The list promotes flexible working for men and women. Having been listed herself four years ago, she is now a judge and speaker at the event. Dixons Carphone are sponsoring more of this going forward and, through connections made on the Power Part Time List, they’re founding members of ‘Be Inspired’, the retail change programme to encourage more women to join the industry. She has also spoken at her daughters’ school on valuing difference in the work place. Additionally, she is also non-executive director of Scottish and Southern Energy plc.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Carroll

Managing Director, Global Multinationals, Corporate Banking Division EMEA
MUFG

Sarah is a driving force behind Balance – MUFG’s gender diversity employee network. Balance has seen employee engagement and awareness gather significant momentum since its launch. Sarah’s ability to engage male champions of the gender agenda has also led to a sea change in company culture, with employees understanding that male inclusion is a key factor to successfully progressing gender diversity effectively.  Sarah has built a gender-balanced leadership team alongside an impressive network of supporters by being a visible, outspoken and active ambassador for gender diversity. Sarah has make a concentrated effort to mentor other women in financial services. She has also worked to raise awareness of diversity issues in her previous roles at JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. As a mentor to a number of women at MUFG and other financial institutions, she actively utilises her extensive network to assist other women in seeking new roles, particularly post redundancy. Sarah has also been involved in a programme which saw her visiting sixth form female students and promoting the finance sector, and takes part in a Senior Women’s Network hosted by KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Amanda Murphy

Head of Commercial Banking
HSBC

Amanda dedicates a lot of time supporting women in business within HSBC. She is a mentor to many of her female colleagues, and she has also created a female talent development programme to help more women working in Corporate Banking to rise through the ranks. At a global level, Amanda is a sponsor of Balance – HSBC’s largest employee network resource group, which promotes gender diversity across the bank and reaches around 44,000 colleagues in 45 locations around the world. Outside of HSBC, Amanda plays an active role in championing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and regularly speaks at events designed to share best practice and help them succeed in business. HSBC is also partnered with Forward Ladies, the UK’s largest business support network for empowering women in business – the only women’s network with a regional and national reach across the UK and beyond. As an avid supporter, Amanda speaks at their networking meetings and events. With women accounting for more than half of the increase in self-employed workers since the recession, Amanda joined forces with Anya Hindmarch to create The Entrepreneurs Exchange, a nationwide programme designed to connect successful British business founders with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emma Codd

Managing Partner, Talent
Deloitte

Since becoming Managing Partner for Talent in 2013, Emma has led significant change on culture and gender diversity at the firm. She designed and implemented an action plan against which Deloitte measures progress – focusing on culture and targeted interventions designed to address key challenges. Their relentless focus on culture has included embedding agile working (including the design and implementation of their award winning ‘Time Out’ programme) and ensuring that the workplace is truly inclusive. Specific interventions have included a female manager development programme and a Return to Work internship. Externally, Emma regularly speaks publicly and to clients about Deloitte’s focus on gender diversity, including being an advocate for gender pay gap reporting. She regularly comments on these topics in the national press and broadcast media. She championed the early, voluntary reporting of Deloitte’s gender pay gap in 2015 and was a private sector representative spokesperson for the GEO during the recent gender pay gap legislation launch in April 2017. In addition, she has been on the Business in the Community Gender Equality Leadership team since 2016. In 2015, Emma was named Woman of Achievement by Women in the City.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Leena Nair

Chief Human Resources Officer
Unilever

Leena led the Diversity and Inclusion agenda at Unilever from 2012 to 2016 as Global Head of D&I, and continues to be involved as a member of the Global Diversity Board. With the vision of getting to gender balance, they put together a comprehensive framework, metrics led governance, and a robust model to drive the recruitment, development and retention of women at Unilever. There are number of programmes which have aided in this aim, by supporting women going through maternity transition, providing agile working and leadership development programmes, and mentoring. They have also introduced balanced slates in recruitment which ensure that they create a level playing field while adhering to the principle of meritocracy. Leena’s personal mission is to "ignite the human spark in everyone to build a better business and a better world”. She has set a target to inspire 1 million women by showing them what is possible when they apply themselves to their dreams. She speaks at every possible opportunity to groups of young women across the world, and drives the participation of Unilever in the HeforShe UN campaign.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sue Unerman

Chief Transformation Officer
MediaCom

Sue holds a key role in defining how MediaCom evolves, and is an important part of the company’s drive to establish strong women leaders, in which MediaCom has led the industry over the last 10 years. She helped set up the "Inclusion Network" at MediaCom to ensure that the culture of inclusiveness is open to everyone. Project Blend is another new initiative at MediaCom to encourage and ensure that everyone can manage their own work life balance. She also mentors women, both within MediaCom and across their client base. One of her focuses is gender diversity at senior levels, which is why she has written and published The Glass Wall: success strategies for women at work and businesses that mean business. Since publication, she has given many talks and run workshops both at MediaCom and across their client base, for example, at Tesco, Sky and Ebay. The book has since been called the most significant addition of the year to the debate on gender diversity at work. It has been featured and extracted widely in the media including features in the Times, the FT, the Daily Mail, the Mirror, Good Housekeeping, Grazia, Mumsnet, and BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Kirsty Roth

Global Head of Operations, Group General Manager
HSBC

Since joining HSBC in 2016, Kirsty has spearheaded a number of initiatives to advance gender equality across the bank’s international network. Within Operations, a function employing more than 40,000 colleagues in 59 countries, Kirsty has increased the proportion of women in leadership roles to one in three. She has doubled the maternity leave entitlement from 12-24 weeks for colleagues in India and Sri Lanka. This year, a new internship programme to bring undergraduates into HSBC’s Global Service Centres (GSC) had a 100% female intake. The GSC in Kolkata has been awarded the NASCOMM ‘Highest Percentage of Female Employees in IT/ITES’ award three times. In March, Kirsty led the introduction of HSBC’s ‘Take Two’ programme to bring women back into the workplace in India – with the aim of hiring 30 women into management positions each quarter. Kirsty also invests a lot of personal time into championing women in business. She was part of the team that established the City Women’s Club in 2004, which recently merged into the London Women’s Forum (LWF). She also mentors and sponsors a number of aspiring female leaders in other organisations, helping to coach them through their work and life challenges.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Pinch

Managing Director
Pinch Point Communications

As a board member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations from 2013-2016, Sarah tirelessly worked to support the women in the industry, establishing a young communicators forum, speaking out regularly on the gender pay gap, supporting female leaders and commissioning detailed quantitative research into the experience of women in PR. That research was published in 2017 along with an action plan. In the New Year, she will launch a mentoring programme to support female managers who want to become leaders.  She takes time to mentor women in business, and actively promotes her own company as a female owned and led business. As a non-executive director of the HSE, she also talks to and sponsors aspirant female NEDs who are seeking a public appointment. Sarah is frequently asked to talk to schools, groups of girls and young women about being a leader in business. She also spoke at a debate of the Parliamentary debating group on the issue of new legislation calling for reporting of gender pay statistics. She led a session at The Fawcett Society conference on the same topic and now regularly speaks to groups of women about the opportunities the publication of this data will afford women

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Marie O

Partner
PwC

As the first woman to become a partner at PwC in Ireland, 30 years ago, Marie has promoted, sponsored and supported hundreds of women in their careers since. She leads PwC’s Asset Management sector, with over 50% of the partners in that area being women.  Externally, over the last three years, Marie has lead the 30% Club in Ireland; a group of Chairs and CEO’s who are committed to accelerating gender balance in their organisations through voluntary action.   They are an active part of the Global 30% Club, with 170 CEO/ Chair supporters from leading business in public, private and multinationals in Ireland.  Their activities include information sharing on best practices, research on Women in Management, cross company personal mentoring, and scholarships to promote further education. They are complementary to individual company programmes and other networks, adding to these through support and the development of targeted programmes where gaps exist. Marie received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Ireland-US Council in June 2016, and was honoured by Irish America Magazine as one of its Inaugural Top 50 Women in July 2016. She was also an honouree of University College Dublin at their Alumni Dinner in New York.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Debbie Wosskow

Co-Founder & Chairman
AllBright

Debbie has always believed in the importance of championing women in the workplace. In her latest venture, she implemented 1:1 mentoring of each of their female employees, personally taking on the majority of mentees. She also organised a quarterly afternoon tea for all female employees to have an open and honest conversation about the workplace. Additionally, she has set up monthly fireside chats by high profile entrepreneurs - ensuring that the majority of speakers are female founders. Debbie is well known for her activism around the importance of women in the workplace and on the challenges faced. She is a regular speaker on panels on this topic and is an active mentor outside work, often running one-off sessions through her network. Alongside this, she is a keen investor in female companies and a contributor to the government on women in business, actively engaging in policy-making. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2016, she was awarded an OBE for services to business. She was also a participant on the Silicon Valley 2 UK scheme, an invitation-only initiative that sends Europe's most promising female entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley to help scale up their businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Melanie Richards

Deputy Chair
KPMG

Melanie works with KPMG’s Chairman and Board to set the firm’s strategic direction and determine major policy positions.  Melanie is a Partner in the Debt Advisory practice and has more than 30 years of experience in Financial Services, with expertise in banking, lending and debt restructuring. She is KPMG’s senior sponsor for inclusion and diversity, and leads the firm’s external Senior Business Women’s Network. Under Melanie’s direction, KPMG published a detailed diversity profile of its workforce, looking at under-represented groups throughout the organisation. This move was an industry first and demonstrated the importance of this issue both to colleagues and to the wider market. 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 leadership development programme, designed to advance minority groups to senior positions. She has personally supported, mentored and coached women 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’s experience in the workplace. She sits on the steering group of the Hampton-Alexander Review, which aims to increase the number of women in senior positions in FTSE 350 companies and is joint Vice-Chair of The Eve Appeal and a member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board. In June 2016, Oxford Brookes University awarded Melanie an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration for her achievements in business and her promotion of gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Victoria Fox

CEO
LIDA

Victoria believes diversity is critical to business success and has created a 50/50 management team within M&C Saatchi owned customer experience agency LIDA, and is leading a committee defining diversity strategy globally for M&C Saatchi Group. They are building more flexible working options into their approach at LIDA to ensure they keep brilliant talent returning after maternity leave and fully support shared parental leave. LIDA also run speed mentoring for all women in the organisation bi-annually, giving female talent access to advice and inspiration from senior female management. She writes a Huffington Post blog on 'authentic leadership', and is an active member of WACL (Women in Advertising London) working on two committees focused on up and coming female talent. Firstly, she is a member of WACL Gather committee, an annual training event giving advice, inspiration and mentoring to 500 women. Secondly, she sits on the partnerships committee working closely with all organisations that are supporting younger females in the industry. They are currently working on a plan to promote ‘equal pay day’ Friday 10th November. Victoria is a school governor at South Hampstead High School for Girls, helping the next generation make great strides towards equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive
Virgin Money

Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the government's Women in Finance Champion. In 2015, HM Treasury invited Jayne-Anne to review and report on the representation of women in senior managerial roles in the Financial Services industry. The Review recommended that financial services companies should set targets for gender diversity in senior management and publish progress against those targets annually. The Review also recommended progress against the targets should be explicitly linked to variable pay for the Executive team. Jayne-Anne's report led to HM Treasury's Women in Finance Charter - a commitment by firms to work together for gender equality in financial services. The Charter has been a huge success with over 140 signatory firms, covering over 560,000 people - equal to over half of the employees in the financial services sector. Whilst recognising there is more to be done, Jayne-Anne believes the Charter will make a real difference in improving culture, make firms more female-friendly, and offer the opportunity to have a successful and rewarding career.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Elizabeth Raffle

Head of Finance Community
Lloyds Banking Group

Elizabeth leads a cultural change programme, transforming Finance and targeting 40% female leaders by 2020. The programme upskills leaders to value diversity and inclusion, support agile working and be aware of unconscious bias, as well as empowering colleagues, giving them a greater voice and helping them achieve their potential. One of the elements is a talent programme which gives aspiring, female leaders the opportunity to develop their skills through a broad range of activities. Elizabeth speaks regularly at internal conferences and hosts visits from other organisations to promote the benefits of an empowering, inclusive culture. She role models best practice within her own team, including a job share and flexible work patterns. Outside work, Elizabeth has spoken at conferences such as PwC’s Finance Leaders’ Summit and its Women in Finance Network, as well as talking to other financial institutions and local organisations. She supports many charities, including women’s charity, One25, through fundraising and building their management skills. She has a particular interest in the impact of technology on women in the workplace and is in dialogue with Bristol academics about potential research in this, and other, areas.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Carolyn McCall

CEO
easyJet

The biggest challenge for women in business is the lack of women in senior management roles. Carolyn has sought to create an environment in which women can build a career, by actively encouraging and supporting women as they progress. EasyJet make it easy for people to have flexible working including part-time working, working from home and job sharing. Women now make up over half of the executive team and a third of the senior management team, while one in seven of the world's female airline captains already fly for easyJet. Carolyn has a regular programme of speaking and Q&A sessions with groups of women both in easyJet and outside, in particular young women who are starting their career. Recent events have included Speakers for Schools, and speaking to the women's network of their engineering partner GE and LVMH. She has been involved with "Women in Advertising and Communication " and chaired Opportunity Now from 2005 to 2009, continuing to be involved in the activities of both. Carolyn has been recognised a number of times for her gender diversity and management efforts, including a Damehood in 2016.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Abi Wright

Co-Founder and Managing Director
SpaBreaks.com

Abi Wright launched Spabreaks.com in 2008. Her aim, to change the perception of spas from purely hair and nails to highlight their role in health, wellbeing and body confidence; making them more accessible, and opening up the industry where people had been marginalised before i.e. Cancer and Disability. Today she has a culturally diverse team of 85+, was number two in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 in 2012, won numerous awards relating to her role in diversification and inclusivity in the workplace and has taken turnover from £250k to £20m+ in 2016. The London based call centre hopes to attract more women into a male dominated world of sales and as a result her skilled senior management team is 98% female. In 2017 the company introduced its first female apprentice, and she has recently introduced a part-time home working programme for parents wanting flexibility.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President of Strategic Sales
Brightstar

At Brightstar Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, and champions the subject through speaking engagements at various forums within the business. These include team briefings, segments on the quarterly global webcasts, as well as feature pieces in internal publications. She acts as a mentor to women across the business at different stages of their careers and set up the Brightstar Breakfast Club where talented women at all levels have the opportunity to connect, contribute and grow. Emer is a member of the UK Government's Women's Business Council (WBC), and represented the UK at the UN "Annual Commission on the Status of Women Globally" in New York. She was also appointed as the Co-Chair of the "Men as Change Agents" board which is a key project of the WBC, and was a keynote speaker at this year's Mobile World Congress session on Women4Tech. Most recently, Emer was honored in New York by Women's eNews, as one of the "21 Leaders for the 21st Century" for her work on promoting gender equality - the only European female to feature on the list this year. Emer is also a Non-Executive Director of PaddyPower Betfair plc.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Carol Andrews

Head of AIS Client Service
BNY Mellon

Carol serves on the Leadership Committee for BNY Mellon’s women’s network and is also an internal mentor to five women. In 2016, she co-led BNY Mellon’s co-sponsorship of the “Women in Management” report, which enhances the evidence base for addressing workplace gender inequality in Ireland. She supported the implementation of internal focus groups following Business in the Community’s Project 28-40 report, which ultimately led to an internal media campaign featuring a video of their Chairman dispelling myths around agile working. She also began the company’s Ireland CSR programme in 2006 and continues to support local efforts. Externally, Carol founded the 30% Club Ireland Chapter and, two years later, 169 member organisations have pledged to make a meaningful difference to the way women participate in the Irish workforce. She currently co-chair the Financial Services group and has recently become the Ireland chapter lead in July. She was the former Director of Junior Achievement in Ireland, believing that empowering women in the workplace begins with the development of young children, and encouraging education at a very early age. Gender equality is not just about women, but men as well, and she is dedicated to fostering cultural change that inspires diversity of thought.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Karen Blackett

Chairwoman
MediaCom

Karen started the Inclusion@MediaCom initiative, holding sessions covering 'Authenticity', 'The Glass Wall' and 'Mental Health and Wellbeing'. MediaCom also supports Women Returners to Work and launched Project Blend, which focuses on helping everyone reach their true potential, and ensuring the next generation of leaders are empathetic, intuitive, successful, and most importantly - happy. MediaCom also uses Shine for Women, a coaching course designed for women to give support, goals and focus to allow more women to reach the boardroom. This International Women’s Day Karen spoke in Dublin at the IAPI Doyenne Awards, she also mentors many women in and out of her role. She has also spoken at various events on the impact the female workforce can have on gender equality. Karen was also the first women to be interviewed for the new ‘Women in Business’ segment for BBC Breakfast News. Karen was appointed as one of four external advisors to help diversify the Civil Service and is President of NABS. She is a member for WACL and part of WPP Stella. Recently Karen became the Chancellor for Portsmouth University and was named one of 20 ‘Women to Watch’ throughout Europe by Ad Age, and was one of three women honoured by Hearst UK & Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Harriet Green

General Manager, Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education
IBM UK Limited

Harriet is an active IBM executive leader, mentor and sponsor of several women diversity groups. She has spoken at and hosted a variety of women in business events, internally and externally, discussing women’s leadership and how to drive transformation. She also regularly blogs internally on diversity and leadership communities, reaching 300,000+ IBMers. Harriet regularly speaks with women’s groups, university programmes and individuals worldwide to coach, mentor, and share her leadership views. She is a proud supporter and advocate of championing women through the Peaceworks Foundation, to help foster understanding, tolerance and co-existence in regions of conflict. In May, she was named one of the most Creative People in Business for 2017 by Fast Company and last year won the Women in Technology Institute award and was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame for her contributions to technology in business and her commitment to support and mentor women and girls worldwide. Harriet was recognized as the UK Business leader of the Year and Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year for 2014 and ranked 23rd in the Fortune Top Global Businesspeople list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Helen Rose

COO
TSB

TSB was created to bring more competition to UK Banking and make banking better for UK consumers. Creating a different, inclusive culture has been key to success, with Helen driving TSB’s long-term commitment to gender diversity. Helen led TSB’s Gender Balance Matters campaign, pioneering a transparent approach to gender pay gap reporting, and calling on others to follow TSB’s lead and come clean on causes of their gender pay gap, and what they are doing to fix it. Helen regularly promotes gender diversity through media interviews and speaking events like CBI’s First Women, Management Today's Inspiring Women, and an Equalities Office seminar for SMEs. She also led TSB’s sponsorship of the Women’s Equality Party’s first conference, participated in forums for HMT Gadhia and Hampton Alexander Reviews and was shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards. Helen ensures TSB's policies are gender neutral, championing activities supporting parental leave, flexible working and encouraging women to return to financial services. Throughout her career, she has mentored women and she introduced a programme for TSB’s executive committee to champion female partners. This is all on top of her ‘day job’ which includes co-leading TSB’s transformation programme, migrating to a new IT platform.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Rachel Lord

Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa
BlackRock

Rachel Lord, Senior Managing Director, is head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BlackRock and a member of the Global Executive Committee. Prior to assuming her current role in September 2017, she was EMEA Head of iShares and Head of Global Clients, ETF and Index Investments. During the time in her former role, Rachel was Global Inclusion & Diversity lead for iShares and achieved 100% diverse slates in recruitment at all levels since 2014. She also championed global minimum maternity policies.  As a result, there is 50% gender diversity at analyst and associate levels in iShares. Rachel is a member of the Women's Initiative Network advisory council, and has been Global Executive Sponsor since early 2017. She leads on International Women's Day European client and internal events, is a powerful advocate and role model for women leading major businesses at BlackRock. Rachel regularly mentors women, both internally and externally, and is often asked to attend and speak at events for senior women in business. She is a speaker at industry-wide recruiting and educational events for women at university, and girls at school, and actively engages with other women's networks at major financial firms in Europe to encourage cross-firm collaboration.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner Europe and Middle East
Reed Smith

Tamara has been active in, and has ensured that RS is visible in, community, industry and global initiatives to champion women, including through involvement with organisations such as Women Corporate Directors, Boardwalk, Asian Women of Achievement, and the International Women's Forum. She also started some herself, including Women in Structured Finance and Women in Corporate Trust. Tamara has worked for years with the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) at Reed Smith, is a founding member of the 30% Club, and has been instrumental in the development of the “Paradigm for Parity”, designed to accelerate the achievement of gender parity in business. Tamara is a member of C200, an invitation-only organisation of the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators, and is the London School of Economics Court of Governors Sponsor for LSE Power (the female staff network).  She also led a group of donors in support of the LSE’s acquisition of the Women’s Library and she currently chairs the Cancer Research UK initiative “Women of Influence”.  She is a regular speaker at conferences and professional meetings focusing on closing the gender gap and frequently writes on women in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer
Aviva

Under Sarah's leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva's strategy. In the UK, they have set a target of 40% senior management roles held by women by 2020, with similarly stretching targets in all other 15 markets. They are a founding signatory of the Women in Finance Charter.  Last year, Sarah launched a programme for 45 women across the globe to develop Aviva’s future female talent – by helping them grow their influence, confidence and leadership. Sarah believes in 1000 small degrees of change, in 2016 she put in place a policy globally for parents to take half a day off to support their child’s first day at school. She champions and speaks at Aviva global Women’s Network events and encourages the business to get behind iconic moments such as International Women’s Day. She asked Aviva’s people globally to make their ‘#Beboldforchange’ pledge, including the Chairman, Board and CEO. Sarah sits on the 30% Club steering committee, and mentors and coaches several women internally and externally on their career paths. She speaks on many panels and contributes to the gender conversation in the media. She also champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards and Asian Women Achievement Awards.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Estelle Brachlianoff

Senior EVP - UK & I
Veolia

Estelle's vision is to build a more diverse company with a diverse management team and, as part of this, 30% of Veolia UK & Ireland’s ExCo is now female. To ensure this continues, she has created a diverse executive pipeline with support from Veolia’s Women in Leadership initiative and a series of executive training programmes. She is also one of two sponsors of Veolia Group’s Gender Diversity Network ‘WEDO’, to influence gender balance throughout the 163,000 employees worldwide. Internally, Estelle has also held a Coaching Circle to give guidance in addition to a live Q&A to answer business questions from female leaders across the entire Veolia network. Externally, she is involved in several networks promoting gender balance in the workplace, including being the chair of the French Chamber of Commerce’s Women's Business Club. She also often meets groups of young women at the start of their careers and has spoken to female engineers at various events such as those held at HEC Paris – the European business school that holds events in London. On International Women’s Day, Estelle has also taken part in several annual events, including those led by Accenture to inspire young female leaders.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Funke Abimbola

General Counsel & Head of Financial Compliance
Roche

Funke is the most senior black lawyer in pharma, the only such leader in Roche globally, and a multi award-winner. She was appointed as Roche UK diversity champion, as a strong, visible female role model, who mentors, coaches, and sponsors female colleagues. She regularly presents on importance of diversity and inclusion to all 2,000 new joiners, and is filmed for transmission globally. In line with the UN HeForShe campaign, Funke engaged strong male champions of diversity, and supports the UK General Manager in achieving diversity goals. She established a summer work scheme, and an annual paid school leaver internship, changing trajectories of over 30 students from a range of backgrounds. She is also executive sponsor of a company-funded University bursary scheme to support students from underrepresented groups, specifically female graduates. Externally, Funke holds numerous voluntary leadership roles with strong gender equality campaigning focus, and grass roots approaches to removing barriers for women in the workplace. She also provides free diversity in leaderships talks, and has mentored thousands of individuals, impacting both men and women. Funke is one of the few female world news reviewers regularly presenting on BBC 1, and is a regular speaker and campaigner on gender diversity issues.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Caroline Carr

Chief HR Officer
Permira

Caroline leads the talent strategy internally and across Permira’s portfolio companies, including a focus on maximising diversity of recruitment, optimising development initiatives and ensuring HR strategy is designed to align with business agenda. Though not having been with Permira long, Caroline has a strong history of engaging with diversity issues throughout her career, including the establishment of a cross-company network for women in law and compliance during her over 11 years at Goldman Sachs as a lawyer and HR professional. She is a founding steering committee member of the 30 % Club, founded by Helena Morrisey. During the set up of the group a number of law firms and accountancy firms asked to work with the 30 % Club to help them achieve better gender balance at partner level.  In response to that Caroline founded and has chaired for the last five years the professional services firms' group they then set up, ultimately consisting of 22 law firms and accountancy/consultancy firms conducting research and evidence based initiatives.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Ann Cairns

President International Markets
MasterCard

Ann has looked in detail at the Mastercard hiring process at a managerial level to make sure that they have qualified women among the candidates. This year, the women intake in this category as well as the number of high potential females in her division has increased by 22% and 20%, respectively. She is the executive co-sponsor of “GiveMe5”, an initiative launched to advance the gender balance agenda within Mastercard as well as in the societies and markets they operate in. Through this initiative, she supports projects that engage, enable and empower women. GiveMe5 builds on the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5; achieve Gender Equality. She is also a sponsor of the work Mastercard are conducting with World Food Program, and is connected with UN Women to advocate for and develop digital identities for women around the world. Additionally, Ann is a sponsor of the production of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs launched in 2017.  Moreover, she has just launched the Let Her Shine platform, where female leaders will be gathered from various industries to reflect on what legacy the women leaders of today can create to excite and inspire the next generation.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Alison Nimmo

Chief Executive
The Crown Estate

At The Crown Estate, Alison makes sure they have the basics right on issues such as equality of pay, the way they hire and promote, and how they ensure a strong pipeline of female talent.  She supports employees with “family friendly” policies – such as extended paternity leave, adoption and care leave, and emergency care support.  Two out of the three of her Executive Committee colleagues are female and 30% of the Board Commissioners are female. Their bespoke leadership programme (comprised of the executive committee, directors and other senior staff) includes recognising unconscious bias and creating the right workplace culture.  Alison is a very visible supporter of diversity charities, and regularly hosts talks from inspiring individuals to encourage diverse thinking within business. The Crown Estate has achieved the RICS Inclusive Employer standard, which gives them a framework to evaluate and celebrate what the business does well, highlights areas for improvement and helps them learn from the best practice of other businesses.  Alison worked on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for 8 years, starting on the bid.  As the only female director, it was critical that she built a highly diverse team – across many different backgrounds, genders, sexual orientation and disabilities.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 50 Women Executives

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Richard Beaven

Distribution Director
Swinton Insurance

Richard has been a driving force behind equality and diversity in the workplace. As part of a restructure he displaced all three layers of mostly male senior leaders in the business, the outcome of which was an almost 50% mix of male and women in the leadership team. The basis for selection wears entirely meritocratic but they use a very robust process to select around both skills and competencies, in particular behaviours. He is a regular speaker on panels, and internally, about the importance of gender diversity. Most recently he was on a panel with Liz Bingham OBE with the British American Business Women's Network, where he spoke to an audience of around 200 senior women about diversity in the workplace, and how both companies and individuals have a responsibility.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Christopher Stirling

Global Chairman, Life Sciences
KPMG

Chris has more than 20 years’ experience advising clients in the Life Sciences sector across the globe, including overseeing large, complex transactions. Chris is passionate about creating an environment where women thrive, and raising awareness of the benefits of an inclusive business. Chris has been central in driving the firm’s Exceptional Women in Life Sciences initiative, raising the profile of female talent in the firm globally. He is passionate about accelerating career progression for the best talent, and he coaches and mentors men and women at all levels at the firm to ensure that gender parity is reflected in his team and the wider firm. He has also been key in the development of women’s networks and events within KPMG.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Mark Burgess

Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer, Chief Investment Officer, EMEA
Columbia Threadneedle Investments

Mark has overall accountability for improving gender diversity and inclusion in Columbia Threadneedle’s EMEA business. He is responsible for achieving the gender targets set out in their “Gender Action Plan”, which aims to drive improvement in gender balance across the business through a combination of advocacy, training and development, new recruitment policies and flexible working guidelines and support. He has made great strides in this area, with 33% of the company board, 29% of the regional Executive Committee and 29% of the investment professionals being female. Externally, Mark is a trustee of Access Sport, which aims to harness the proven power of sport to tackle social exclusion, inactivity and obesity in areas where help is most needed. He is also a trustee of LIFEbeat, which aims to improve the emotional wellbeing of young people – giving them the skills and inspiration to overcome challenges and lead confident, healthy and purposeful lives.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Chris Allington

Regional Head, Financial Markets, West (Head FM)
Standard Chartered

Chris is an active sponsor for both the UK and US Women's Networks and provides support, mentorship and direction to the committees. He is also a passionate champion for gender equality and was instrumental in rolling out improved Parental and Maternity Leave Policies across the bank to ensure employees could access the same benefits across the globe. His active engagement has encouraged a number of men to get involved in the Women's Network and pushing the gender equality agenda further. He regularly speaks at both internal and external events on the importance of a strong gender mix to an organisation and is part of the Corporate and Institutional Banking management team, actively pushing to ensure they have higher numbers of women in senior positions in Financial Markets. Externally, Chris also speaks at events and to special interest groups on the importance of gender equality, as well as regularly taking part in mentoring.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Pearce

Managing Director
Accenture

Andrew has been a prominent feature in promoting Inclusion and Diversity initiatives throughout United Kingdom and Ireland. Globally he is one of Accenture’s Cross-cultural leads, tasked with educating and setting best practice examples for working across cultures. With most Accenture Operations employees based in India, this is an integral role when dealing with women in the workplace. Accenture is committed to building an inclusive environment for its employees that has mutual respect at its foundation and empowers individuals to seize opportunity. It is Andrew’s duty to look at ways in which they create an environment that champions women in the workplace and continues to grow an inclusive culture. Andrew is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has been actively engaged in a number of the events and initiatives that the UK chapter are running. He often speaks on diversity, and encourages senior managers to support coaching and volunteering efforts with local communities. He is committed to offering a platform for female leaders to thrive within a business environment and currently mentors three professional women outside Accenture, providing career guidance and helping them to maximise their potential within the challenges of their diverse organisations.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Colin Passmore

Senior Partner
Simmons & Simmons

Colin has implemented an aspirational target that women will make up 30% of all their Managing Associate and partner promotions each year. He has also amended the Partner Remuneration process to ensure a greater emphasis and accountability for people development. Colin was central to setting up the mentoring scheme, in which all Managing Associates are matched with a partner sponsor who acts as a guide to support and champion them in the workplace. He currently has two mentees, one female and one male, and is focused on providing them with equal opportunities. Externally, the firm is involved with a sector-wide female mentoring scheme, and Colin volunteered to be one of three senior mentors. He is also involved with external diversity committees, and ensures that gender diversity is always on the firm’s agenda.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Julian Pritchard

Partner, Corporate
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

While managing his firm’s US practice, Julian developed a programme with the ambitious goal of making the firm the most attractive law firm for women to work in, and to drive great gender diversity outcomes. The programme was comprised of a variety of factors, including new mentoring and sponsorship programmes for women, unconscious bias training, women’s lunches, workshops and client events, part time and flexible working initiatives and other initiatives designed to drive inclusion. In that period, 70% of recruits into the firm’s US practice were women, and they had a relatively high proportion of women elected into the partnership. Julian is now co-sponsor of the firm’s global gender diversity efforts, and one of two partners assigned to assess and interrogate the firm’s partnership candidate pipeline to ensure better gender diversity outcomes. Externally, Julian regularly participates in diversity events ensuring that he is part of the debate. He has driven a project to obtain statistical information that can inform internal discussions on women in the workplace, and has led offsite presentations focussed on behavioural changes that will lead to more inclusive leadership.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Michael Keegan

Chairman UK & I, Head of Product Business EMEIA
Fujitsu

Michael is a vocal champion of gender diversity in the Fujitsu EMEIA leadership team, and to workplace colleagues. He secured funding for gender diversity initiatives enabling Fujitsu to join Everywoman and other networking events, and supported the deployment of unconscious bias training for all Fujitsu UK hiring managers. He has supported senior female colleagues attending important networking events, for example, the Global Female Leadership summit May 2017. He is a mentor to several talented women, both inside and out of Fujitsu, and helped to support the establishment of a Fujitsu gender diversity group in their Germany business, encouraging others by speaking at the launch event. Michael is an ambassador for Everywoman and a frequent speaker at industry events and contributor to media articles on the of gender diversity. He regularly uses his social media reach to promote gender diversity campaigns in the workplace.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Stefano Toffolo

Managing Director, Global Head of F2B and Compliance QA
Credit Suisse

Stefano actively encourages diversity and flexibility, as demonstrated by establishing a Women’s Network to support the development, advancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce. Stefano has initiated many initiatives and policy changes to increase gender diversity within his own significant area of influence. Since 2014, six female professionals joined Stefano’s team to re-enter the workforce through the bank’s “Real-Returns Program” and he offers his professional experience as a mentor to many employees. Stefano participates in a variety of events, both internally and externally, aimed at promoting gender diversity and encouraging the advancement of women. He also holds attended an advice seminar for Liverpool University, at their London campus, and offers advice to female students on developing their career paths.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Simon Linares

Group HR Director
Direct Line Group

Simon is committed to the progression of talented women at all levels through an inclusive culture. He has developed Direct Line Group’s people strategy to support the company's mission to make insurance easier and better value for customers. Diversity and inclusion is at the heart of making their strategy sustainable for the future, and they have raised the profile of this debate at Board and Executive level over the last 2 years, while also accelerating a range of tactical activity to drive immediate benefit. They are signatories of the Women in Finance Charter and members of the EveryWoman Network.  Direct Line Group focus on everyone being able to 'bring all of yourself to work' as a key value.  Simon is also a voluntary advisor of the Leadership Pipeline, which promotes women progressing in business.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Joshua Graff

UK Country Manager & Vice President Marketing Solutions
LinkedIn

Josh took action and held all his managers accountable for ensuring that women were hired, promoted and developed into management.  He set an aspirational goal of 50/50 gender parity at every level of seniority within LinkedIn's EMEA Marketing Solutions organisation, which was successfully hit this year through a variety of diversity and inclusion efforts. He did this through a programme involving sponsorship, mentoring, breaking bias training sessions, and insisting on diverse hiring slates & interview panels. He is also a sponsor for several future female leaders, and Executive Sponsor and host of a diversity evening at LinkedIn which brought together senior clients and D&I leaders with an appetite for driving change. Josh is a mentor to female leaders in the US, UK, and across EMEA & APAC. He frequently talks to the media about the importance of diversity in the workplace and the opportunities to drive more senior female leaders.  

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Olly Benzecry

UKI Chairman and Country Director
Accenture

Olly has championed a programmatic approach to the recruitment, development, progression and retention of women which has resulted in increased representation at all levels of the organisation. He is a coach and mentor to a number of senior women and has introduced a number of new initiatives in the last two years that have championed women in the workplace, including refocusing the Women’s network to an inclusive gender network. In 2017 Accenture were recognised as one of The Times Top 50 Companies for Women, and a finalist for the BITC Responsible Business Award for Gender Diversity. Under Olly’s leadership Accenture have put a huge focus on the STEM agenda, and led Europe’s largest STEM event in February 2017 for c.2,000 11-14 years old girls. They also sponsor 14 University Women’s Societies and 46 school events, and have mentored over 80 SME women CEOs through business mentoring programmes. Externally, Olly is a member of the CBI President’s Committee, and a trustee for Movement to Work, and sits on the board of directors for the Business Disability Forum and for the Tech Partnership.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Paul Rawlinson

Global Chair
Baker & McKenzie

Paul Rawlinson chairs one of the world’s largest law firms and is unequivocal in his desire to further Baker McKenzie's global focus on diversity. Locally Paul has been actively supporting the London office's high profile HeForShe campaign, with over 70% of male partners becoming HeForShe ambassadors. Playing a prominent role in the launch of LIFT (Leaders investing for Tomorrow)  - a sponsorship programme across Baker McKenzie's 77 offices worldwide partnering women attorneys with senior sponsors, he is ensuring women have access to all the tools and support they need, in order to rise up through the ranks. Recently Paul was the sole private sector representative at the United Nations launch event for “Champions of the Global Equal Pay Coalition”, to talk about the role that professional services firms can play in bridging the gap in equal pay. Closer to home, Paul is an active supporter of the 30% Club in the UK, recently speaking on the panel at their "Shifting the Needle" Leadership Forum. Paul doesn’t see gender equality as a “women’s” issue – it’s a business issue and is very aware that while progress is being made, there is still much to do before we reach a true gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Vittorio Colao

CEO
Vodafone Group plc

Throughout his career, Vittorio has dedicated significant time, energy and resources to gender equality. He has externally declared his intention for Vodafone to become the best employer of women in the world by 2025. Vittorio has personally supported a number of initiatives within Vodafone, including increasing the number women in Director roles from 14% to 26% in 2017. He pioneered a global maternity policy across 26 countries to support women returning to work. This provoked a global conversation and several other multinationals to follow with new policies. Vittorio also launched the world’s largest recruitment programme to bring women who have taken career breaks back to work. Vodafone will seek to technologically and financially enable 50 million women in emerging markets and have also made a commitment to champion the education of refugee girls through an innovative Instant Network Schools program. He is also a champion of the HeForShe campaign, and has ensured that 100% of Vodafone senior leaders undergo unconscious bias training.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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David Sproul

Senior Partner and Chief Executive, Deloitte North West Europe and Deloitte UK
Deloitte

In his role of Senior Partner and Chief Executive, David has made the establishment of a truly inclusive culture one of his priorities for Deloitte. As part of this focus, David has put gender equality at the forefront of UK firm’s agenda, and set the ambitious target of achieving 25% female partners by 2020. In the last few years Deloitte UK has launched various programmes to support senior women in the workplace, such as their WorkAgility strategy, and the launch of Deloitte’s Return to Work and Working Parents Transition programmes. In 2015, Deloitte was one of the first large firms to publish its gender pay gap voluntarily. David is an active supporter of the Women’s Business Council and was included in its ‘Male Agents of Change’ list. He also received the United Nations 2016 Women’s Empowerment Principles award for his commitment to gender equality.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Bester

Group Director & CEO, Commercial Banking
Lloyds Banking Group

Andrew Bester is Lloyds Banking Group’s Executive Sponsor for Inclusion & Diversity, the Group Executive Sponsor for Gender and is heavily involved with supporting the Group’s women’s network, Breakthrough. Andrew chairs the I&D Operational Committee, which tracks monthly progress against the Group’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan. He is passionate about creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues, regularly fronting campaigns across the organisation to ensure colleagues and leaders see inclusion and diversity as business imperative. Andrew sponsored an organisation-wide requirement that all shortlists for senior-level hires should evidence gender diversity. He also personally mentors women both within Lloyds and externally. Andrew has conducted focus groups with women and men at different grades to understand their issues and challenges, and has spoken publically both internally and externally about the role men have to play in advancing gender equality. Andrew champions the Women of the Future Ambassadors Programme, and gave the keynote speech at the annual reception event in April. He has taken part in a number of media interviews and global panels on gender diversity, and was recently named in the 2017 Management Today ‘Agents of Change’ list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Peter Harrison

Group Chief Executive
Schroders

In May 2016, under Peter’s leadership, Schroders introduced an initial target of at least 30% female representation in senior management roles, with senior management compensation linked to achieving this goal. In his first year as Group Chief Executive, Schroders made strong progress. It increased female representation in senior management roles from 25% to 31%, and is well on its way to reaching its target of at least 33% by the end of 2019. Peter is also overseeing initiatives to combat the lack of job applications received from women, including introducing a 50/50 gender split at the entry-level assessment centres for candidates. Just a month after becoming Group Chief Executive, Peter led Schroders’ move to become one of the first signatories to the Women in Finance Charter. He is also one of a group of senior leaders who recently formed the Diversity Project, an initiative that aims to accelerate progress towards an inclusive culture across the investment and savings industry.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Paul Polman

CEO
Unilever

Today, 46% of Unilever managers are female – up from just 38% when Paul joined the company in 2009. This has been achieved in a holistic and strategic way by addressing the recruitment, development and progression of women across the organisation. Under Paul’s leadership, Unilever has worked hard to create the right conditions to drive gender balance – such as agile working policies, improved maternity and paternity programmes, increased focus on addressing unconscious bias, and mentoring programmes. Paul established and chairs the Global Diversity Board, which gives visible leadership and drives action. Over the last year the company launched the ‘Unstereotype initiative’ to help change how people – especially women - are portrayed in advertising, which is now being extended across the value chain. Unilever works to ensure that 50% of sustainable farming providers are women and is working with partners to provide training to increase income and improve livelihoods – for example digital financial inclusion for small scale retailers. Paul is a UN Women HeForShe Champion working to secure the commitment of a billion men to support gender equality around the world, and a UN Advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals – with Goal 5 aiming to achieve gender equality everywhere by 2030.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Jeff Conway

EVP - CEO EMEA Region
State Street

As CEO of State Street EMEA since 2015, one of Jeff’s first priorities was to form and chair a regional diversity council to develop a framework to improve gender diversity regionally. He embedded strong advocacy of female talent through balanced promotion and hiring pipelines, and over two years has increased females on his management team from 20% to 35%. The senior team has also seen a 6% increase in female representation under Jeff’s tenure. It is essential to Jeff’s agenda for State Street that all country leaders are held accountable for the progress of gender diversity, and are given specific actions to address challenges unique to their locations. Externally, State Street promotes community engagement, and Jeff is a mentor as part of the 30% Cross Company Mentoring program.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Roger Carr

Chairman
BAE Systems

Sir Roger Carr is Chairman of BAE Systems plc, where he has set gender diversity as an integral part of Board policy.  In addition, he promotes gender diversity through various speaking engagements and mentoring schemes which are intended to encourage and support women in the pursuit of senior executive and non-executive roles.  He is a founder member of 30% Club and was major advocate for diversity whilst President of the CBI. Throughout his career he has served on a number of external committees including the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group, the Manufacturing Council of the CBI, The Higgs Committee on Corporate Governance and Business for New Europe.  He is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufacturers & Commerce, a Companion of the Institute of Management, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. He was knighted for Services to Business in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2011.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Matt Elliott

People Director
Virgin Money

Virgin Money aim to make 'Everyone Better Off', an ethos based on fairness to all their stakeholders they have been pursuing for 10 years. Matt leads from the front on this agenda in the company. In relation to gender equality, they have committed to achieving balance at all levels of the company, which includes increasing male representation in more junior levels and increasing female representation in senior positions. Their target is to be 50/50 by 2020 at all levels. He focuses on creating a culture which encourages flexible working, enhances capability of managers, and delivers enabling technology. Innovative approaches such as a new policy committed to matching existing flexible working practices of senior applicants to attract female talent, and introducing a “Baby App” enabling colleagues on maternity leave to keep in touch, are just two examples of Matt’s work. He has been integral to developing Virgin Money’s leading approach to reporting and addressing the gender pay gap. Maternity mentoring has also been introduced under Matt’s leadership - he was the first mentor to sign up to the programme. Externally, he speaks at a variety of events and regularly contributes to articles on the importance of gender parity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Win Bischoff

Chairman
FRC

The FRC has achieved 30% female board members and 50% Executive Committee targets. In his capacity as Chairman, he recently spoke at the House of Lords on the importance of an inclusive culture. He was one of the two founding chairmen supporters of the 30% Club and recruited other Chairmen to join the 30% Club.  He is a regular mentor to female executives in other organisations.  He supported the step Lloyds Bank took to set a 40% female target in their senior management layer by 2020, which was then at 23%. Sir Win was knighted in the 2000 honours list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Dominic Christian

CEO, UK
Aon

Dominic is the overall executive sponsor of Aon Business Resource Groups, including the Women’s International Network, and the lead of the Diversity Council. He encourages managers to recognise the necessity of diverse management approaches, and promote a culture of inclusiveness. As part of the Sponsorship Programme which champions the careers of high potential female talent, he mentors three senior females on a regular basis. In November 2016 Aon hosted a HeForShe event with high profile speakers, and at that event Dominic made his personal HeForShe Pledge to speak at a school/university/college once a month on gender equality. He has hosted a dinner at Aon for the Insurance Supper Club, a body of senior females in the insurance industry, and also hosted an event for Philanthropy Impact to encourage investment in women’s charities and causes. Outside Aon, he is the chairman of Inclusion@Lloyds, and was instrumental in the launch of the DiveIn Festival – an annual celebration of diversity which, in 2016, saw 66 events take place in 10 countries. Last year he was President of the Institute of London and spoke at Mansion House to 400 high profile city figures on the importance of gender inclusion in the City of London.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Andrew Lawson

EVP, EMEA
Salesforce

Throughout his career at Salesforce, Andy has been an active ally for driving equality. He is also a firm believer that everyone in the industry has a responsibility to encourage young people to pursue the range of exciting career opportunities the tech industry has to offer. Andy championed the first “Women in Leadership Summit” at Salesforce’s World Tour London event in 2014, an initiative which has since been rolled out across Salesforce events in other countries. He is a mentor to women both inside and outside his own team, and continually works to raise awareness of women’s issues in the workplace. For instance, all Salesforce’s European offices now have employee resource groups for gender equality and celebrate International Women’s Day. Andy is also an active supporter of #HeForShe, regularly writing and tweeting about why it’s important for men to speak up for what's right when it comes to workplace equality. He has also ensured Salesforce supports women in business and tech education initiatives that encourage more girls to pursue a career in tech. Andy was also named one of “30 Male Agents of Change” in Management Today’s 2017 list.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Robert Swannell

Chairman
Marks & Spencer

Robert has been a key supporter and champion of the formation and development of M&S Women’s Network, to ensure M&S continue to develop and inspire their female workforce. Externally, he is a formal mentor to two senior women, and informal mentor to many others at varying levels of seniority. He is a founder member of Chairman’s Advisory Group of  30% Club and recruited many Chairmen to the cause. He regularly speaks on the importance of women in business, whether through the 30% Club or on other panels. During his tenure as Chairman, M&S appointments have been more than 50% female. As Chair of UK Government Investments Robert promoted and supported an innovative scheme to bring women onto Boards of HMG owned bodies through shadow roles. He is also an investor in and supporter of an all-female venture capital body, which invests solely in women-led businesses.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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David Hynam

CEO
Bupa UK

As CEO, over half of David’s direct reports in the UK Executive Team are women and he has proactively focused on addressing gender balance and pay among these senior leaders. In his previous role, all four of the key regional operational roles were (and remain) occupied by women, and the level below is almost two thirds female. He has been instrumental in developing a strong future pipeline both in current and former roles, with 75% of “key performers” on the UK talent plan being female. David is a regular mentor, and the most senior Bupa trustee of the independent grant-giving Foundation, giving him the platform to drive and support gender diversity in the group’s membership. He has also successfully launched Bupa’s new Code of Conduct in all the UK businesses, which strongly outlines policies for gender diversity, for present and future stakeholders. Under David’s leadership, Bupa UK is also involved with BITC gender campaigns and DiverCity.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Rakesh Kapoor

CEO
RB

Rakesh successfully sponsored the launch of Project DARE (Developing, Attracting, Retaining and Engaging talented women @ RB) to implement a more systematic approach to ensure the number of women at middle management and senior levels more closely mirrored the population of women across the business. He has introduced extended parental leave and working from home policies to allow for flexible lifestyles, and a ‘stay in touch’ programme, whereby employees who go on maternity leave can stay in touch with the company. For parents to be, he promoted webinars before and after maternity leave, to help with balancing a family and a job.  In addition, he has sponsored a mentoring program, to allow talented women in the organisation to have a mentor to support and sponsor them. He also promoted fair gender representation for external hires, so that there is mandated diversity in candidate lists. As a father of a girl, Rakesh is very committed to tackling unconscious bias and championing women in and outside of the workplace, and has set a company target to double the number of talented women at RB by 2020.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Richard Robinson

Managing Partner
Oystercatchers/Econsultancy

Richard was named a ‘Male Agent of Change’ by the Women’s Business Council & Management Today and a 'Campaigner for increased diversity in the industry' by The Huffington Post. He mentors a dozen people at any one time, with a simple philosophy: Never mentor someone who looks or sounds like him. This principle has since been adopted by Centaur Media’s mentoring programme. He regularly writes and speaks about empowered inclusivity and was the only man asked to contribute to Engine Group’s industry-leading white paper “21st Century Woman” released on International Women’s Day 2017. He was a key panellist at Advertising Week Europe 2017 on Diversity as well as at the Marketing Agencies Association #doDifferent Conference 2017. Richard is active as a Board member of Creative Equals and the first male SuperMomma for SheSays. A regular speaker and columnist on the topic of gender diversity, he is also an external mentor to 25 students from Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Chris Stylianou

Chief Operating Officer UK & Ire
Sky

Chris Stylianou is the Executive sponsor of Sky’s Women in Leadership (WiL) programme. He leads on the vision to enable female talent within Sky, and reach our target of a 50:50 gender balance. To do this, Chris worked with the core WiL team to create a wide variety of initiatives to encourage gender parity and female advancement. Chris also actively champions gender diversity at Sky by speaking internally and regularly holding executives accountable to their departmental targets with regular reviews. He also sponsors a number of women, and has 12 women in high profile leadership roles. Externally, Chris is a ‘Male Agent of Change’ and sits on the Women’s Business Council, as well as taking on a number of speaking engagements focusing on how big business can drive change internally and in their communities. Chris was a finalist in the Business in The Community Gender Champion Award, and has also just led and advised on the vision and objectives for the newly formed Women@Sky network.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Michael Cole-Fontayn

EVP, Chairman EMEA
BNY Mellon

Under Michael’s leadership, BNY Mellon was named to The Times “Top 50 Employers for Women” list. He oversees BNY Mellon’s EMEA Diversity and Inclusion Council, playing a key role in shaping the regional strategy and supporting groups to ensure diversity and inclusion priorities are relevant and culturally appropriate to each office. His impact is felt across EMEA, notably through holding senior leaders accountable to the company’s commitment to diversity and his active engagement with BNY Mellon’s six Employee Resource Groups. Through his support, BNY Mellon proactively signed the HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter in July 2016 to make the company’s workforce commitments. Michael is actively involved in opening the conversation around women’s workforce equality, mental health, and LGBT+ rights in the workplace. He has spoken at external events such as the Women’s Forum of British American Business, the Cambridge Rising Women Leaders Programme and The Economists’ Pride and Prejudice Conference. At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos in January 2017, Michael launched BNY Mellon and the UN Foundation’s ‘Return on Equality: Investment Opportunities to Help Close the Global Gender Gap’ report.

Can be viewed on: 2017 Top 30 Advocates

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Claudia Parzani

Managing Partner for Western Europe

As a member of Linklaters global executive committee Claudia is the global champion for gender, sponsor of the Female Leadership Programme and through various other initiatives, such as Breakfast@linklaters, supports the enhancement of female talent. She is also a member of the International Board of Women for Expo and for 3 years was President of Valore D. She contributed to the development of “In the Boardroom”, the programme which trained 300 women for board positions and “The CEO School” for women on executive boards. This year, together with Valore D, she launched as ambassador in Italy “Inspiring Girls”, an international program connecting female role models and young girls. In 2017, Claudia was awarded “Lawyer of the Year – Equity Capital Markets” at the Legal Community Awards and was listed first among 30 female Italian leading lawyers by Legal Community. Additionally, she is ranked as “Star Individual” by leading global directory Chambers. Claudia is also Chair of Allianz Italia and Deputy Chair of the Italian Stock Exchange as well as an external member of Politenico Di Milano, the largest technical university in Italy.

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Jean Wynn

Managing Director, Head of Corporate Banking & Public Finance, Global Client Management

Jean is a founding member of BNY Mellon’s award-winning Women’s Initiatives Network and served as its Co-chair from 2013 through 2016. She promoted the development of WIN’s global Mentoring and Reverse Mentoring programs, serves as a mentor, both formally and informally, for a number of colleagues, and engages BNY Mellon men to become actively involved with WIN as male allies. She led BNY Mellon’s global focus on International Women’s Day, which has become WIN’s annual marquee event, and shares her career journey at internal events sponsored by WIN. She actively participates as a member of the company’s Diversity & Inclusion Council. Jean is a co-founding member of the Wall Street Women’s Alliance, bringing together senior women’s group leaders in the financial services industry to share best practices, and pilot a new WSWA Cross-company Mentoring Program. She introduced BNY Mellon to the Smart Women Securities organisation across multiple university campuses and frequently speaks at campus events about leadership and her career journey. Jean is a member of the President’s Council at Fordham University and was a former co-chair of  Women United in Philanthropy for the United Way in New York City.

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Sheri Mullen

Vice President - US Immunology

Sheri invests a great deal of time in mentoring and coaching colleagues, leading by example in managing work-life balance. She works closely with HR to ensure that the best female talent is being given the chance to come through; her own team is comprised of almost two-thirds female employees. She has been involved with the Women’s Leadership Initiative since it was an informal network in the 1990s, right through its formalisation, and became one of two executive sponsors in 2011. Sheri has been a member of the Healthcare Business Association for over ten years, and has served in an industry advisory nature. She has also shared her perspective in a red carpet interview at the Women of the Year Event and continues to support the development of women through their programming efforts. She participates in and leads initiatives with international charity Dress for Success which helps women with one of the most fundamental barriers to success – what you wear. Similarly, she has focussed on enhancing interview skills with other not-for-profit organisations aimed at developing and supporting women, including GenHERation and Girls on the Run. She has spoken on various panels on gender diversity, and the professional and personal development of female employees.

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Rana Ghandour Salhab

Talent & Communications Partner

Rana was elected to the board of directors of Deloitte in the Middle East region in 2015, and is a member of the regional Executive Committee. She is one of the first two women admitted as partner in the history of the firm of over 90 years in 2006, and the first to be elected to its board. She led the creation of a Deloitte women advancement program DRAW in 2007, which is still frequently profiled by global diversity leaders as best practice. It resulted in an increased ratio of women in the firm across Arabian Gulf and other Middle East countries. Rana is an active champion and frequent speaker on women advancement and gender parity in the Middle East and has presented in many other global summits and roundtables. She was appointed by a presidential decree to the National Commission for Lebanese Women, which advises ministries in Lebanon on gender equality laws and practices, and she was elected to its Executive Board. She sits on many advisory boards of leading universities and NGO’s in the region, and is a member of the steering committee for the 30% Club – GCC which aims at increasing the number of women on leadership boards, and on the advisory board of Reach, a non-profit organization in Dubai for mentoring and supporting professional women in the Middle East region.

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Marc Benioff

Chairman and CEO

Salesforce launched its first equal pay assessment in 2015 to determine if men and women were paid equally. It found that some salaries needed adjustment—for both men and women—so Salesforce spent $3M to eliminate statistically significant differences in pay. After a year of record growth, the company ran another pay assessment in 2017 and spent $3M more to close the gap. Marc pledged to evaluate compensation on an ongoing basis to ensure employees are paid consistently. Salesforce also aims to advance high-potential women into leadership roles by requiring 30% of the attendees of every company meeting be women. On behalf of Salesforce, he signed the White House Equal Pay Pledge furthering his and Salesforce’s commitment to equal pay. In April, Marc brought together business, government, and nonprofit and community leaders to honour equality champions at Salesforce’s first ever Equality Awards. The company has also been recognized as a top employer for women on career sites such as Glassdoor and InHerSight.

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Teresa Ko

Partner, China Chairman

Teresa Ko has spoken on many platforms, from the firm’s women’s events celebrating the London Olympics, to the firm's second ever Global Women Partners Conference when she called for "a mindset change" amongst male colleagues. Her efforts to highlight gender inequality and to champion women and inclusiveness in the workplace are global, having spoken in New York, Hong Kong, and Dusseldorf, to name a few. She regularly coaches aspiring female colleagues with work, career and life issues to help them realise their fullest potential. Teresa also spearheaded the first ever Asia Women Partners Conference in Tokyo this year and helped organise the largest ever women's networking event in theTokyo office. She is an executive sponsor of the Asia Women’s Network, and hosts female colleagues and client events to mark International Women’s Day.  As the first woman to chair the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Listing Committee, she initiated the disclosure requirement of listed companies on diversity policies. She was the first to sign up as a founding member, and is on the steering committee, of Hong Kong’s 30% Club, she collaborates often with The Women’s Foundation, and speaks regularly on gender equality.

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Peter T. Grauer

Executive Chairman

Peter has been the leading force and champion of diversity and inclusion efforts at Bloomberg, tasking all business leaders with the development and execution of business-specific diversity and inclusion plans. Under this leadership, Bloomberg launched its Financial Services Gender-Equality Index in 2016, a first-of-its-kind index to measure how companies are addressing gender equality in the workplace. He is a champion of the Bloomberg Women's Community, which hosts global efforts focused on recruiting female talent, increasing leadership development and driving business impact. Peter is also the Founding Chairman of the U.S. 30% Club, which currently consists of 67 members, including Warren Buffett, Sheryl Sandberg and Larry Fink.  Under Peter's leadership, public company members of the U.S. 30% Club have achieved an average of 29% women on their boards, up from 21.9% when the Club launched. Peter serves as a mentor with Catalyst's Women On Board program. He is also a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and serves on its Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services and Gender Parity Board of Governors.

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Cate Luzio

Global Head of International Subsidiary Banking

Cate is Senior Executive Sponsor and founding member of HSBC North America Women’s Connections initiative. She hosts women’s panels on everything from the importance of being clear on what you want from your career to influencing others, and the vital role of sponsors and mentors. During these engagements, she brings together women across sectors and industries, HSBC, the media as well as key clients. As she travels around the world, Cate hosts roundtable discussions with groups of talented females across the bank where they discussed topics like how to tackle difficult conversations with management as well as how to manage work-life balance. She has also held many similar events across EMEA. In the US, she is senior sponsor of ‘Balance’, HSBC's employee resource group, dedicated to supporting the recruitment, development, enhancement and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce within HSBC. Outside of HSBC, Cate moderated the “Build Your Business, Build Your Brand” event, focusing on women’s career insight and networking. She is active in various national level charities and participates in many International Women’s Day events. In addition to her charity leadership, she was named one of the Top 25 Women to Watch in the American Banker awards.

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Heidi Toribio

MD and Global Head, Banks & Broker Deals

Heidi is Chair of the Corporate & Institutional Banking’s (CIB) Diversity & Inclusion Council, driving development of the D&I strategy framework for CIB. She is also a working group member of Standard Chartered’s Global Women’s Network, has participated in numerous global forums/ discussions regarding the work being done with CIB and shared personal experiences and development guidance with the Global Women’s Network. She has hosted external, joint sessions with clients discussing gender diversity, opportunities, and paths for advancement and challenges in various markets and regularly takes on mentees of varying levels of seniority. Heidi has participated in analyst programs to discuss the importance of gender diversity and provide insights into professional development. She is part of the Goal Employability and Entrepreneurship Fund Panel, that assesses and funds innovative projects aiming to enable young women from low-income communities to generate their own incomes. Heidi has held leadership positions on various internal D&I boards, and is regularly featured in the company’s internal communications on D&I.

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Miki Tsusaka

Senior Partner and Managing Director

During her 30 years at BCG, Miki has consistently championed women within the organization. As the leader of the Women@BCG program in Asia Pacific, she was responsible for running sponsorship, mentorship, training and affiliation initiatives to support the success and satisfaction of BCG’s women. She remains a member of the global Women@BCG Steering Committee. She has authored multiple global studies on women in the workplace on topics such as women’s engagement, ambition and diversity spend. She is a formal mentor to five female partners as a member of the firm’s executive committee, and an informal mentor to many others. Miki has spoken on a panel at the Global Summit of Women in Tokyo, and sat on a “She-Suite” panel at Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit in New York City, focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing women at the top. She was a panelist at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Conference in Hong Kong and gave a workshop on women’s engagement and inclusion at TEDWomen. At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meetings in Davos Miki has participated in a number of forums focused on enhancing success and opportunities for women in business.

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Sarah Morris

Chief People Officer

Under Sarah’s leadership, inclusive diversity is now a fundamental part of Aviva’s strategy. In the UK, they have set a target of 40% senior management roles held by women by 2020, with similarly stretching targets in all other 15 markets. They are a founding signatory of the Women in Finance Charter.  Last year, Sarah launched a programme for 45 women across the globe to develop Aviva’s future female talent – by helping them grow their influence, confidence and leadership. Sarah believes in 1000 small degrees of change, in 2016 she put in place a policy globally for parents to take half a day off to support their child’s first day at school. She champions and speaks at Aviva global Women’s Network events and encourages the business to get behind iconic moments such as International Women’s Day. She asked Aviva’s people globally to make their ‘#Beboldforchange’ pledge, including the Chairman, Board and CEO. Sarah sits on the 30% Club steering committee, and mentors and coaches several women internally and externally on their career paths. She speaks on many panels and contributes to the gender conversation in the media. She also champions Aviva’s sponsorship of the Women of the Future Awards and Asian Women Achievement Awards.

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Tamara Box

Managing Partner EMEA

Tamara has been active in, and has ensured that RS is visible in, community, industry and global initiatives to champion women, including through involvement with organisations such as Women Corporate Directors, Boardwalk, Asian Women of Achievement, and the International Women's Forum. She also started some herself, including Women in Structured Finance and Women in Corporate Trust. Tamara has worked for years with the Women’s Initiative Network (WINRS) at Reed Smith, is a founding member of the 30% Club, and has been instrumental in the development of the “Paradigm for Parity”, designed to accelerate the achievement of gender parity in business. Tamara is a member of C200, an invitation-only organisation of the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators, and is the London School of Economics Court of Governors Sponsor for LSE Power (the female staff network).  She also led a group of donors in support of the LSE’s acquisition of the Women’s Library and she currently chairs the Cancer Research UK initiative “Women of Influence”.  She is a regular speaker at conferences and professional meetings focusing on closing the gender gap and frequently writes on women in business.

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Rachel Lord

Head of Global Clients for ETFs & Index Investing at BlackRock, and the Head of the European EII business.

Rachel Lord, Senior Managing Director, is head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for BlackRock and a member of the Global Executive Committee. Prior to assuming her current role in September 2017, she was EMEA Head of iShares and Head of Global Clients, ETF and Index Investments. During the time in her former role, Rachel was Global Inclusion & Diversity lead for iShares and achieved 100% diverse slates in recruitment at all levels since 2014. She also championed global minimum maternity policies.  As a result, there is 50% gender diversity at analyst and associate levels in iShares. Rachel is a member of the Women's Initiative Network advisory council, and has been Global Executive Sponsor since early 2017. She leads on International Women's Day European client and internal events, is a powerful advocate and role model for women leading major businesses at BlackRock. Rachel regularly mentors women, both internally and externally, and is often asked to attend and speak at events for senior women in business. She is a speaker at industry-wide recruiting and educational events for women at university, and girls at school, and actively engages with other women's networks at major financial firms in Europe to encourage cross-firm collaboration.

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Helen Rose

COO

TSB was created to bring more competition to UK Banking and make banking better for UK consumers. Creating a different, inclusive culture has been key to success, with Helen driving TSB’s long-term commitment to gender diversity. Helen led TSB’s Gender Balance Matters campaign, pioneering a transparent approach to gender pay gap reporting, and calling on others to follow TSB’s lead and come clean on causes of their gender pay gap, and what they are doing to fix it. Helen regularly promotes gender diversity through media interviews and speaking events like CBI’s First Women, Management Today's Inspiring Women, and an Equalities Office seminar for SMEs. She also led TSB’s sponsorship of the Women’s Equality Party’s first conference, participated in forums for HMT Gadhia and Hampton Alexander Reviews and was shortlisted for Woman of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards. Helen ensures TSB's policies are gender neutral, championing activities supporting parental leave, flexible working and encouraging women to return to financial services. Throughout her career, she has mentored women and she introduced a programme for TSB’s executive committee to champion female partners. This is all on top of her ‘day job’ which includes co-leading TSB’s transformation programme, migrating to a new IT platform.

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Harriet Green

General Manager, Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education

Harriet is an active IBM executive leader, mentor and sponsor of several women diversity groups. She has spoken at and hosted a variety of women in business events, internally and externally, discussing women’s leadership and how to drive transformation. She also regularly blogs internally on diversity and leadership communities, reaching 300,000+ IBMers. Harriet regularly speaks with women’s groups, university programmes and individuals worldwide to coach, mentor, and share her leadership views. She is a proud supporter and advocate of championing women through the Peaceworks Foundation, to help foster understanding, tolerance and co-existence in regions of conflict. In May, she was named one of the most Creative People in Business for 2017 by Fast Company and last year won the Women in Technology Institute award and was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame for her contributions to technology in business and her commitment to support and mentor women and girls worldwide. Harriet was recognized as the UK Business leader of the Year and Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year for 2014 and ranked 23rd in the Fortune Top Global Businesspeople list.

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Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer and President of Strategic Sales

At Brightstar Emer acts as an advocate for gender equality, and champions the subject through speaking engagements at various forums within the business. These include team briefings, segments on the quarterly global webcasts, as well as feature pieces in internal publications. She acts as a mentor to women across the business at different stages of their careers and set up the Brightstar Breakfast Club where talented women at all levels have the opportunity to connect, contribute and grow. Emer is a member of the UK Government’s Women’s Business Council (WBC), and represented the UK at the UN “Annual Commission on the Status of Women Globally” in New York. She was also appointed as the Co-Chair of the “Men as Change Agents” board which is a key project of the WBC, and was a keynote speaker at this year’s Mobile World Congress session on Women4Tech. Most recently, Emer was honored in New York by Women’s eNews, as one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” for her work on promoting gender equality – the only European female to feature on the list this year. Emer is also a Non-Executive Director of PaddyPower Betfair plc.

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Carolyn McCall

CEO

The biggest challenge for women in business is the lack of women in senior management roles. Carolyn has sought to create an environment in which women can build a career, by actively encouraging and supporting women as they progress. EasyJet make it easy for people to have flexible working including part-time working, working from home and job sharing. Women now make up over half of the executive team and a third of the senior management team, while one in seven of the world’s female airline captains already fly for easyJet. Carolyn has a regular programme of speaking and Q&A sessions with groups of women both in easyJet and outside, in particular young women who are starting their career. Recent events have included Speakers for Schools, and speaking to the women’s network of their engineering partner GE and LVMH. She has been involved with "Women in Advertising and Communication " and chaired Opportunity Now from 2005 to 2009, continuing to be involved in the activities of both. Carolyn has been recognised a number of times for her gender diversity and management efforts, including a Damehood in 2016.

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Chief Executive

Jayne-Anne Gadhia is the government’s Women in Finance Champion. In 2015, HM Treasury invited Jayne-Anne to review and report on the representation of women in senior managerial roles in the Financial Services industry. The Review recommended that financial services companies should set targets for gender diversity in senior management and publish progress against those targets annually. The Review also recommended progress against the targets should be explicitly linked to variable pay for the Executive team. Jayne-Anne’s report led to HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Charter – a commitment by firms to work together for gender equality in financial services. The Charter has been a huge success with over 140 signatory firms, covering over 560,000 people - equal to over half of the employees in the financial services sector. Whilst recognising there is more to be done, Jayne-Anne believes the Charter will make a real difference in improving culture, make firms more female-friendly, and offer the opportunity to have a successful and rewarding career.

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Melanie Richards

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.

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Vice Chairman

Gigi Chao is the executive vice-chairman of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) [HKSE 0131].  She is also an avid aviator, a passionate member of the community, and a voice for the LGBTQ community in Hong Kong. Gigi graduated from the University of Manchester in Architecture with Honours. Besides a background in architecture and construction, her multi-faceted experience in management and service was acquired from over a decade in marketing and retail services in Hong Kong and China, during which she handled key accounts such as Rolex, Audemars Piquet, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mont Blanc, L'Oreal, and Ball Watch. In 2008, she founded Faith in Love Foundation with a vision for service in humility and yearning for simple giving and currently acts as the first female President of Hong Kong Aviation Club. As a writer, Gigi has published two books and contributed to many others.  She was previously a regular op ed columnist for Sing Tao Daily and Apple Daily, and now her columns can be found in Ming’s in Ming Pao.

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Mellody Hobson

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.  

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Helena Morrissey

Head of Personal Investing

Helena is one of the best known women in the City. She is Chair of the Investment Association, whose members manage more than £5 trillion. She also chairs The Diversity Project, a cross-business initiative aimed at improving diversity across all dimensions within the investment and savings profession. Helena was CEO of Newton Investment Management for fifteen years before stepping down last August. She will be joining Legal and General IM in May. In her new role she will be focusing on personal investors, aiming to make investing more engaging and accessible. In the meantime she is writing a book, ‘A Good Time to be a Girl’.  In 2010, Helena founded the 30% Club, a business-led campaign to improve gender balance in the boardroom. The proportion of female directors on UK listed company boards has more than doubled and there are now ten 30% Clubs throughout the world. Helena also chairs Business in the Community’s Gender Equality campaign. Helena is a Fellow of London Business School and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Cambridge University in 2016. She was awarded the CBE in the 2012 New Year’s Honours list for her contribution to the role of women in business and has been named one of Fortune magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.  Helena is a Philosophy graduate. She is married to a Buddhist priest and they have nine children.

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Suki Sandhu

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.

Can be viewed on: Judging Panel

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Carola Hoyos

Editor of the Executive Appointments section

Carola Hoyos started as a journalist at the FT in the late 1990s when she became United Nations correspondent in New York, covering the diplomatic consequences of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the run up to the war in Iraq. As soon as diplomacy died and US war planes crossed the Iraqi border, Carola moved to the UK to cover the geopolitics of oil and gas and the sector's biggest companies, which then led to a stint as defence correspondent. She became the editor of FT Executive Appointments and editor of the FT's Non Executive Directors' Club in 2014. Carola holds a dual degree in economics and international relations from Tufts University.