PRESS RELEASE: WIBF 2012 Award Winners Announced

Today Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) helps shape the world of financial services employment by endorsing and showcasing female talent. The career advancement, full contribution and influence of women are not “nice to have” they are “must haves”, especially in these times of ongoing economic turmoil.

The WIBF annual awards ceremony highlights individuals who demonstrate authentic leadership, are dynamic and daring and who live the values of accountability, responsibility and long-term commitment to their clients and communities. The business success of these professionals and the examples they set will help drive the future of Britain’s financial services.

The Awards Luncheon was sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland and supported by Champagne Lanson.

This year’s winners are: WIBF Award for Achievement – Liz Bingham, Managing Partner, People and Talent, Ernst & Young; WIBF Young Professional – Jennifer Wan, Treasury Sales Officer, Bank of America Merrill

Lynch; WIBF Champion for Women – Charlotte Sweeney, Head of Diversity and Inclusion (EMEA), Nomura.

Commenting on the awards, WIBF President and one of the judges on the panel, Sylvana Caloni, said:

"In this, our fifteenth annual awards ceremony, WIBF plays a vital role in highlighting role models for emerging talent; ensuring that female success and accomplishment are no longer seen to be beyond the grasp of young women with commitment, ability and ambition. The awards recognise those who have made a significant impact on their firms; making visible a larger pool of capable women who can take up more senior roles in the financial services industry and the community. The awards also honour those who have led networks or implemented practices to enable and sustain female talent".

The awards ceremony saw an audience of over 300 executives attending from a wide cross section of city firms.
 

Angela Knight, CBE, Chief Executive Officer of the British Bankers’ Association and keynote speaker at the Awards Ceremony added:

" WIBF is instrumental in helping women develop and move up in organisations of all sizes and types within or servicing the financial services sector. Today we are showcasing the success of some and celebrating the

achievements of many more. Women are excelling in roles across the economy as more and more companies are finding that diversity at all levels strengthens the performance of the organisation as a whole - and especially in these difficult times"
 

The essential network for women in the financial services sector, WIBF is a not for profit organisation founded in 1980 and largely run by volunteers. It reaches thousands of professionals nationwide. WIBF provides a forum for members to meet, learn new skills, share experiences and best practice, make useful contacts and to fulfil their individual potential. In addition to the annual awards lunch, WIBF runs a regular programme of training and networking events with a focus on personal and professional development. It is part of The International Alliance for Women.

1.Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) is a not for profit network founded in 1980 and staffed primarily by voluntary Executive and Management Committees. WIBF is funded by individual membership and the sponsorship of global financial services companies, major banks and firms servicing the industry. Through our partnership with our sponsors’ internal networks and our individual members WIBF reaches thousands of professionals across the UK and Ireland. WIBF organises a variety of valuable and highly sought after events that address the needs and aspirations of our members and sponsors to develop, showcase and retain female talent and contribution. These events include the annual awards for achievement luncheon, personal development workshops, networking, distinguished speakers, public speaking and programmes for senior executives and corporate/public boards. Based in London, WIBF has affiliates in Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. Further information is available on www.wibf.org.uk 

2. The 2012 WIBF awards and award winners are:

a. WIBF Young Professional – Jennifer Wan is a Treasury Sales Officer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She has become one of the youngest sales officers within Global Treasury Solutions and pioneered the role of building out the Asian portfolio within EMEA.

Previously she worked at Bank of America Business Capital Europe as a Senior Collateral Analyst. She quickly made her mark by instigating and implementing new initiatives, primarily driving efficiency and restructuring the setup of multicurrency deals. She moved to a role that gave her responsibility for managing some of the largest multinational relationships in the region. She was instrumental in building and managing these relationships; taking on additional responsibility for producing the group’s revenue reporting and

working on projects to further develop the capability of the group. She has not only raised awareness of cross regional capabilities but added global value to clients; navigating this effort across cultural challenges. Jennifer has participated in the Community Garden Project for the Wapping Women’s Centre in Tower Hamlets and actively supports Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Intern Programme. She has recently been nominated to participate in ‘Creating the Edge’, an upcoming female leadership programme at the bank.

b. WIBF Award for Achievement – Liz Bingham is Managing Partner, People and Talent at Ernst & Young. She is not a graduate, in a business largely staffed by graduates. She is a woman in a profession notoriously short of senior women. Liz is an authentic leader unlike others who might use their position in the hierarchy to drive change. In 2001 Liz was promoted to Director and asked to lead a restructuring team generating £2-3m in business. She grew that business to £10m and in 2004 became a partner. In 2006 she

was asked to lead London Restructuring and in 2009 to lead the national Restructuring team. When she took it on it was a £50m business and it became an £80m business employing 350 people. This achievement earned her a leadership team position as Managing Partner, People and Talent. During Liz’s career she has constantly been watching for barriers and removing them – for non-graduates, for women, for parents, for flexible workers and for gay people. Her current Leadership Team position reflects the respect that she commands in her firm for both her business leadership and her people skills. 

c. WIBF Champion for Women – Charlotte Sweeney joined Nomura International PLC in April 2009 as Head of Diversity and Inclusion (EMEA). She was brought in to develop and implement Nomura’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy and embed it into the culture of the firm. She has had a number of major achievements in this role, including creating and gaining  executive commitment to the first diversity strategy, developing and launching the emergency and permanent care solutions programme, creating the ‘Parental

Transitions’ Programme that is recognised as industry leading and creating ‘career pathways’ that focuses on profiling role models at all levels of the firm. She is a Non-Executive Director for a number of not for profit organizations including the President of the London Chapter of European Professional Women’s Network, Board Member for City HR Association and Advisor to WOB UK. She works closely with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, FSA, advises Government on inclusion strategy and speaks at a number

of MBA courses specifically on cultural change, diversity and inclusive leadership. Charlotte writes for a number of professional publications globally and presents at both national and international conferences. She was awarded the 2010 Global Diversity Leadership Award in the US.

3. The WIBF awards were inaugurated in 1998 and are awarded annually. Members and sponsors of WIBF are eligible to make nominations for the awards. This year out of 21 nominations, 15 women were shortlisted across three categories:

a. The WIBF Award for Achievement celebrates a woman who has achieved success within a senior role and who displays the qualities of dynamism and daring. Nominees should have excelled in their professional life and also shown that they have an ability to use their skills outside of their own career by either serving on boards of other organisations that affect public life or are involved in furthering the interests of women in the workplace. A successful nominee is likely to have set up a division or implemented new processes, created a new product or increased the firm’s customer base and satisfaction.

b. The WIBF Young Professional Award celebrates a woman, of less than 35 years of age, who is making a significant impact. Her contribution, thus far, makes her “the one to watch” as she shapes her organisation, both in terms of financial success and as an example to others. She is also likely to be involved in charities or community work.

c. The WIBF Champion for Women recognises a senior executive who through personal commitment, application and dedication, continuously promotes and inspires women in the workplace to reach their full potential. A successful nominee is likely to have created or served on the steering committee of a women’s network. She or he will have helped increase the profile and career opportunities for women, liaised with other external networks, organised events and mentored young aspiring women leaders.

This year’s judges were: Sylvana Caloni, President of Women in Banking & Finance; Verena Charvet, Legal Counsel Invesco;

Noreen Doyle, non-executive director on the board of Credit Suisse Group, Baroness Rennie Fritchie DBE; E. Noel Harwerth nonexecutive director on the board of Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Company; Simon Hayes, Head of the Financial Services Board Practice at Odgers Berndtson and Christine Lawrence, Past President of Women in Banking & Finance.

4. Sylvana Caloni. With over 15 years in the Financial Services Industry, Sylvana is the President of Women in  Banking and Finance where she is responsible for building effective strategic relationships with corporate sponsors and principal partners, for budget and governance, and for ensuring the delivery of WIBF programmes to a high standard. Sylvana runs her own Leadership Consultancy, SC Executive Coaching. She provides executive coaching, group facilitation, executive team alignment and 360° Leadership Values Assessments. Her areas of expertise are leadership and vision; management of staff, including appreciation of individual differences & working styles; communication of feedback, motivation and team cohesion; and leadership grooming and career enhancement. Previously Sylvana was an Executive Vice President at Bankers Trust Financial Group and has experience in funds management, equity analysis and bond dealing.

5. Angela Knight, CBE is currently the Chief Executive of the British Bankers' Association. She is also a non-executive director on the boards of Brewin Dolphin plc, Tullett Prebon plc and a board member of the Financial Skills Partnership. In 2011 she joined the Inaugural WIBF Advisory Board. After leaving Bristol University with an honours degree in chemistry, Angela worked for Air Products Ltd. She went on to set up and was Chief Executive of a specialist contract heat treatment company, Cook & Knight Metallurgical

Processors Ltd. From 1987 to 1992 she was Councillor and Chief Whip on Sheffield City Council. Angela entered Parliament in 1992 as MP for Erewash and was Economic Secretary to the Treasury between 1995 and 1997. She was the Chief Executive of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers from September 1997 to December 2006.

6. The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) serves as the global umbrella organisation that unites, supports and promotes professional women and their networks to work together, share resources and leverage ideas. Located primarily in the Americas, Asia and Europe, TIAW members include both individuals and associations representing more than 50,000 members worldwide. Further information is available on www.tiaw.org.

7. Photos of the award winners will be available on www.wibf.org.uk after 3pm. For further information and interview opportunities, please contact WIBF Executives:

Sylvana Caloni, President WIBF 07952 068133, sylvana.caloni@wibf.org.uk

Justine Cooper, Head of Operations WIBF, 07890 310529, justine.cooper@wibf.org.uk