Mala Panchasara

Mala is a leader within Wells Fargo’s Commercial Real Estate team in EMEA, directly managing a team, while indirectly developing and mentoring many others. Her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has grown over recent years, making her a vocal advocate for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. Mala formally mentors five individuals, while informally supporting many more, all while managing a significant commercial real estate loan portfolio in the region.

She is actively involved in three DEI committees and councils—two internally and one externally—and is a dedicated member of Wells Fargo’s Asian, Women, and Black team member networks. Mala is a strong believer in allyship, inclusivity, and understanding, and has played a key role in driving cultural change within her team by initiating open conversations around diversity and encouraging others to engage.

A few years ago, she pioneered the concept of Discussion Sessions, where team members debate and share views on important topics such as racism, bystander intervention, and culture. This initiative has helped foster a more inclusive environment within her team, inspiring others to take part in the DEI conversation and contribute to positive change.

How does it feel to be nominated for the Mentor of the Year Award?

I was really surprised when I heard the news because I look around me and see so many amazing men and women in our industry that are doing such incredible work (mostly on the side of the desk, let’s face it!). I don’t mentor for the recognition but it’s really nice nonetheless.

Can you share your experiences as both a mentor and mentee, and how these roles have influenced your growth?

I’ve participated as a mentee and mentor in 1:1 programmes, group programmes, formal and informal relationships and each has been unique and memorable. I hope that I have helped each and every mentee, after all that is the genesis of mentoring. However, I have also personally benefited a lot from the discussions because it not only makes me consider how I can be a better leader and develop my team but it also reminds me to continue to work on my own development. For example, in my last group mentoring session we talked about the importance of building a strategic network which prompted me to consider my own strategic network – always good to have a little reminder now and then!

You pioneered the concept of Discussion Sessions within your team. Can you tell us more about them and what inspired you to start them?

During the pandemic, when we were all working from home, I was asked by Leadership to facilitate a discussion on Unconscious Bias. At first I was a little sceptical about the suggestion particularly since the concept of unconscious bias has been challenged by some industry experts and it leads to general discussions on DE&I which can be sensitive depending on the audience. However the discussion was an absolute success, people opened up and showed their vulnerabilities, they asked questions, they challenged one another in a respectful way and most importantly they listened to one another. We learnt more about one another at a much deeper level on a zoom call than anyone ever could have expected. That led to us thinking that perhaps there were other topics that we should discuss and debate so we rolled out of these Discussion Sessions where we have discussed all sorts of topics including culture, racism in football and bystander intervention. Not only has it meant we have got to know each other at a deeper level but it has helped tighten the bond.

You’ve participated in and organised speed mentoring events. How do these types of events differ from traditional mentoring, and what do you think makes them effective?

When we hosted the Speed Mentoring evening it was the first ever such event for CREFCE and furthermore it was primarily delivered to support people from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Whilst usually I would say that speed mentoring events are great for giving mentees access to leaders across our industry and expand their networks, this particular event was important for one other very important reason. It was an opportunity to meet role models across the industry, people who “looked like them” and came from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Never underestimate the power of role modelling.