WIBF President – Our patron becomes chair of the BBA | Diversity champions honoured

It has been a month of recognition of the hard work and inspirational accomplishments of our members. These women all go out of their way to help each other and to help our industry.

“We are thrilled that our patron, Noreen Doyle, has been appointed as the new chair of the British Bankers’ Association. She is the first woman to chair the BBA and the first to come from the wholesale banking side of the membership. Currently Chair of the Board of Credit Suisse International and Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd, and Vice Chair of Credit Suisse Group, Noreen’s banking career has spanned both sides of the Atlantic and she has a wealth of industry experience which will help banking navigate the challenges of these next years.

Brummell Magazine has published its annual list of Inspirational Women, and this year the list focused on City Champions of Diversity. We were very proud to see WIBF Vice President, Melanie Seymour – Head of DC operations, BlackRock in her day job – listed there and her extensive achievements praised.

“She is passionate about developing the next generation of leaders and mentors a number of men and women both internally and externally. Seymour is currently involved in industry-wide initiatives to retain female talent and increase social mobility within the City.” Brummell Magazine on WIBF Vice President Melanie Seymour

Our pride increased to see WIBF Advisory Board member, Mei Sim Lai OBE, also on the list. Brummell Magazine praised Mei Sim Lai for having “championed diversity for more than three decades through her extensive work with various networks, charities and government initiatives addressing race, gender and inclusion.” Congratulations to them all.

Thanks to the hard work and commitment of Simona Fionda, Head of our Personal Excellence Programme (PEP), we will see, for the first time, a PEP event broadcast nationally from London to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Northampton, Birmingham, and in another first for WIBF, broadcast internationally, to South Africa. We are incredibly grateful to our corporate member, Barclays, for making this happen through their enthusiasm and technological support. This event takes place on 12th October.

No matter where you live and work it is getting easier to access all that WIBF can give you. We are constantly striving to improve access to all our programmes. Our events are worth it. And so are you, our members. As you can see, WIBF keeps getting better and our executive board is focused on helping this continue. At our annual strategy day, held last month, we met and thought about the orgainisation’s long-term plans. The future is looking bright and while I cannot give details of all the developments, I can tell you that we have a vibrant new look and feel on the way that will be launched early next year. This refreshed WIBF brand is bold and different – and reflects how we are as an organisation. I am really excited about it and can’t wait to unveil it in the New Year.

– Janet Thomas, WIBF President”