Taskforce Members

Barry is SVP General Counsel (UK & EMEA) at Meggitt plc. He also sits on the Board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and founded the Employer’s Social Mobility Alliance (ESMA). In 2014, with the help of a number of law firms and corporates the Legal Social Mobility Partnership (LSMP) was created offering places to 20 students in London. In 2017, Barry secured the financial backing of 23 organisations to evolve the LSMP in to a registered charity and broadened its scope to showcase law and accountancy side by side with business – a first in the UK. In doing so, SMBP will facilitate over 700 places across 25 clusters in 17 different locations nationwide in 2021.

Chris is CEO, The Investment Association.

Chris grew up on a council house estate in West Yorkshire in the 1970s and 1980s. He was fortunate enough to receive a grant and became the first in his family to go to university. While there he was handed a leaflet – ‘How the City Works’ – which included details of two days’ work experience in London. It opened his eyes and, when he graduated, it opened doors that he’d always thought were closed to someone like himself.

His direct experience of social mobility is part of the reason why he is so passionate about upward social mobility and the work of this taskforce. 

Chris is a Partner, EMEIA Financial Services Regulation Leader and Chair of EY’s Global Regulatory Network at EY .

Prior to EY Chris had a 25-year career in public service, the last eight of which were as an executive director and board member at the Financial Conduct Authority where latterly he was also interim chief executive. He has also held senior roles at Ofcom, the BBC and in the Civil Service, and is a Sloan Fellow of London Business School. Chris grew up on council estates in South East London and attended a local comprehensive before becoming the first member of his family to study at university.

Daniel became Group Head, Post Trade of LSEG in January 2020. He has been Chief Executive Officer of LCH Group since October 2017.

Daniel joined LCH in 1999 and during his career at LCH and LSEG has held a variety of senior roles, including responsibility for risk and default management, product management and regulatory strategy. He started and built out LCH's North America operations and led SwapClear's client clearing franchise. Next, Daniel took on the role of Global Head of SwapClear, with responsibility for LCH's ForexClear and Listed Rates services, and the initiation of LCH's SwapAgent service. In 2016, Daniel was appointed LCH Group COO. He was also responsible for the successful trading and unwinding of Lehman Brothers' LCH-cleared bond and repo portfolio.Daniel was appointed to the Board of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in April 2018 and appointed as Chair of the Board of CurveGlobal Ltd in May 2020.

David has been Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship, at the FRC in May 2014. He was previously a civil servant in BEIS for nearly 30 years and held a number of posts dealing with a range of business sectors and policy issues.

From 2001 - 2011 David was Assistant Director in the Corporate Law and Governance Directorate with policy responsibility for directors’ remuneration, shareholders’ rights and corporate governance, including European and international negotiations on these issues.

Emma Reynolds is Managing Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Research at TheCityUK. Prior to this, she was the Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton North East, during which time she held various shadow ministerial positions including, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Shadow Housing Minister and Shadow Europe Minister. Emma was also a member of the House of Commons Health and Exiting the EU Select Committees.

Emma previously worked in government as a special adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Chief Whip’s office. She also worked as a public affairs consultant and spent several years working in Brussels representing SMEs, and subsequently in the European Parliament. Emma is a member of the Council of Management of The Ditchley Foundation and of the Council of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

I. Stephanie Boyce is the Director of Stephanie Boyce Consulting Limited, advising on the management and governance of not-for-profit organisations.  

I. Stephanie is the Law Society’s sixth woman president and the first person of colour to hold the post.

I.Stephanie comes from a single parent, working class background, and is a British born daughter of Caribbean immigrants. I. Stephanie was the first person in her family to stay in education post-16, went to a comprehensive school and worked in a variety of jobs before embarking on law degree.

I. Stephanie was admitted as a solicitor in 2002 and has experience in corporate governance, regulatory frameworks and professional regulation. She holds a Master of Laws in public law and global governance from King’s College, University of London.

I. Stephanie has spent most of her career working in complex environments with challenging governance arrangements, from central and local government.  She is an experienced general counsel and company secretary who is used to working in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. 

Jon is Group Head of Government Relations​ at Barclays. 

Jon was born and grew up in Walsall in the West Midlands, attending a comprehensive school before studying politics at The University of Hull. Jon's father was unemployed when he went to university and he won a local authority bursary to enable him to spend a year in Westminster, as part of his degree, working for his local MP.

Appointed Chief Executive in 2006, Michael’s leadership has seen ICAEW embrace a vision of building a world of strong and sustainable economies, transforming itself into a professional accountancy body with a truly global identity and reach. ICAEW co-founded and now chair Access Accountancy, a peer network supporting social mobility within the accountancy profession. Michael regularly meets ministers, policy-makers and regulators from around the world, and is a frequent media commentator on economic and business issues. He has recently led the institute’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, providing ICAEW members with insight and guidance to support their businesses and themselves in practice. He also passionately believes that the wider emerging forces which are already changing the nature of work – such as technological disruption - present ICAEW Chartered Accountants with many more opportunities than threats, and is committed to helping the profession meet these challenges.

Nik is Chief Executive of the Bridge Group and Lead Partner at More Partnership. He has led many of the Charity’s research programmes, including in the legal, financial and real estate sectors. 

He has particular expertise in quantitative research methods, and in translating research findings into practical policy recommendations. Nik has recently been commissioned to work with the BBC, the University of Oxford, Linklaters and KPMG; he has also advised the government on equality, diversity and inclusion and regularly presents Bridge Group findings to senior audiences across sectors. He has also published on these topics (most recently, in 'The Class Ceiling' and in ‘Access to Success’ and 'Social Mobility Through Higher Education').

Nik is a trustee of the UNITE Foundation and a Research Associate and Fellow at the University of York

Richard the Vice Chair adn Partner at KPMG. Richard is a is a tax and financial services expert with over 21 years of experience, having joined KPMG in 2000. As well as a strong tax background, Richard also has legal expertise having worked for a city law firm as a Solicitor and prior to moving to the UK, he practised as a Barrister in Nigeria. Currently, Richard supports financial institutions with the day-to-day intricacies of their indirect tax affairs, including advising on transactions, VAT recovery and understanding the boundaries of the VAT legislation. As a Vice-Chair, he is responsible for supporting businesses and broader society on key issues. With diversity and inclusion being close to his heart, Richard is the partner sponsor for KPMG’s African and Caribbean network. Through this, he supports and mentors Black heritage colleagues and plays a key role in shaping and driving KPMG’s diversity and inclusion strategy.

Sarah is Executive Director for UK Deposit Takers Supervision at the Bank of England.

Sarah is responsible for the supervision of the UK’s banks, building societies and credit unions. She also has oversight of the Bank of England’s work enhancing the financial system’s resilience to climate change.

Sarah grew up in suburban Manchester, attended the local comprehensive, joined the Bank of England from university and is still there now. She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and believes it is fundamental to developing the best leaders and ensuring opportunities for all. She was co-chair of the Bank’s women’s network for eight years and is now the executive sponsor of the LGBT+ Allies network. She was honoured to have been recognized as an OUTstanding Top 50 LGBT+ Executive Ally Role Model in 2020.

Sheldon was appointed Executive Director, Consumers and Competition of the FCA in December 2020. He was previously the Interim Executive Director of Strategy and Competition. Previously, as Senior Director at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Sheldon had overall leadership responsibility for the delivery of UK merger control across the entire economy and for the strategic design and implementation of the new UK State Aid regime. He is a qualified solicitor and prior to joining the CMA he practised law at King & Wood Mallesons and Jones Day, counselling a range of UK and international clients in antitrust and competition law. Sheldon Mills holds undergraduate and postgraduate law degrees from King’s College, London and was born and raised in Cardiff, Wales.

Yvonne is Director of Policy, Long Term Savings and Protection at the Association of British Insurers.

Yvonne has a strong personal interest in improving social mobility. She was the first in her family to go to university directly from school. Her father studied at university as a mature part-time student, whilst continuing in his day job. He had to work incredibly hard to understand “the system”. Since emigrating here, Yvonne has also drawn on the experiences of her partner (an Oxford graduate from a working-class background). She feels it is incumbent on those who have progressed the “hard way” to use that experience to drive change. 

Caren Thomas is a leading international multi-sector HR Director with over 20 years experience across a broad range of industries including media, sports, manufacturing, professional services, property, gaming and consumer durables. With line management experience within a leading international media organisation prior to a career in HR, and a passion for great HR, Caren is a strong strategic and operational operator with the capability to identify and deliver sustainable solutions. 

Dipi joined Fidelity International in 2019 as the Global Head of First Line Risk and Regulatory Solutions and is a Board member. She has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry and has held senior roles at the FCA, Barclays and Deutsche Bank. She also has a background in delivering transformational change as a Management Consultant with PA Consulting and Capco across the globe. Dipi is an advocate for Diversity and Inclusion, and was the Executive Champion for Race at both the FCA and Deutsche Bank. At Fidelity International she has recently been appointed as the co-Sponsor for Social Mobility. Dipi holds degrees in Law (LLB) and Psychology (BSc) and has a MSc in Occupational Psychology. She is also a product of a disadvantaged background, having attended a London inner city comprehensive from a first-generation immigrant family, leaving school at 16 and working full time while obtaining her degrees part time. Dipi aspires to operate as a role model sharing her own experiences and often mentors young females from backgrounds like her own who want to work in financial services.

Georgina is the Senior Advisor to the FCA on the Public Sector Equality Duty, and has a track record at the FCA of encouraging higher standards in financial services, through roles such as Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight (during which time she chaired IOSCO’s Committees responsible for delivering the Credible Deterrence report and the new MMoU), Chief Operating Officer and Chair of the Executive Diversity and Executive Operations Committees. Georgina cares about social mobility not just at an intellectual level but also at an instinctive and even visceral level.

Georgina is an immigrant and the daughter of a cook and a seamstress. Georgina lives in Stratford, in the middle of an economically challenged but vibrant and multi-ethnic community, and is the Chair of Stratford Arts Trust, offering accessible cultural enrichment to the local community.

John is the Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer of Santander UK.

John grew up in Halifax attending local schools and then the University of Hull, the first member of either side of his family to obtain a degree. He worked for a year in London whilst at the same time studying by distance learning before attending the College of Law in York and then returned to London as a trainee lawyer in 1990. He has subsequently worked in multiple banks, having previously served as the Deputy General Counsel and General Counsel of RBS and before that in the same capacities for ABN AMRO. In John's current role he is responsible for leading a group of multiple disciplinary teams totalling approximately 500 people covering a range of activities across Legal, Compliance, Regulatory Affairs, Governance and Financial Crime. He is a member of the Executive Committee of Santander UK, is the Executive Sponsor of the Santander Social Mobility Committee, is on the Board of the Santander Foundation and externally he currently chairs the UK Finance Economic Crime Product & Service Board.

Louise Watkins is MD and Head of Enterprise Risk Management Framework (EMEA) at Blackrock. Louise leads the local enterprise risk functions of Operational, Third Party Risk, Technology Risk, Model Risk and aspects of Regulatory Risk, including Prudential Risk. Louise is a member of various committees including the EMEA Executive Committee, and co-chairs of the BGL Executive Risk Management Committee. Ms Watkins spent 12 years in Investment Risk, where she was most recently Head of RQA Multi-Asset Strategies in EMEA. Ms Watkins started her career on the Financial Services Authority's graduate program, where her roles included market monitoring and risk based economic research. Ms Watkins earned a BSc (1st Class Honours) in Mathematics at UMIST (Manchester University), and an MSc. in Financial Economics at Cardiff Business School.

Louise co-leads BlackRock's UK Socio-Economic Mobility Taskforce and has a personal connection to the topic. Coming from an ex-mining town in Wales, she took the advice of her maths teacher who encouraged her to attend university and seek out different opportunities. 

Mark is the founding Chair of the Financial Services Skills Commission and led the Financial Services Skills Taskforce that highlighted the need to improve the sector’s diversity and inclusivity. 

Mark has a portfolio career in financial services: chairing Flood Re, the Jersey Financial Services Commission and Pay.UK. 

Between 2001 and 2015, he was the MP for Fareham and a minister between 2010 and 2013.  Prior to his political career, he worked for PwC and is a Chartered Accountant. 

Mark’s own story is a great example of social mobility in practice. He is the comprehensive school educated son of a former miner and was born in a council house in Co Durham. 

Michael is a Managing Partner and the founder of Barrington Hibbert Associates, a leading talent acquisition, leadership development and diversity advisory company which specialises in financial services. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in New York.

He is a leader in the field of diversity awareness and equality and is an active contributor to press and television media on executive recruitment   practices   and inclusivity.  His   tireless   and on-going work as a mentor, such as the Government backed REACH role model program has been recognised by the ‘Powerlist’ a comprehensive compendium of the most influential black people in Britain today.

He is a co-founder of the recently launched ‘10,000 Black Interns’ initiative which has gained the support of the likes of David Cameron and Baroness Amos and has been a recipient of The Lord Mayor’s Dragon Awards for Social Impact, the Black British Business Awards for Entrepreneur of the Year and named by the Financial Times as one of the UK’s most influential Black British Leaders.

Sarah is CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation – a charity that makes practical improvements in social mobility for young people from low-income backgrounds. It achieves this through programme work; the Social Mobility Employer Index; and its advocacy and campaigning arm, the Department for Opportunities. Previously, Sarah was Director for Strategy, Policy and Communications at the Charity Commission from 2014–2019. Her background is in corporate communications and policy. Before joining the Commission as head of corporate affairs she held roles at Nationwide Building Society and in public affairs consultancy. Sarah’s non-executive experience includes membership of the Charity Tax Commission and board roles at Endometriosis UK, the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years, and Womankind Worldwide. She is a Leadership Fellow at St George’s House, Windsor and a mentor on the Leaders Plus fellowship programme.

Suneel became President & CEO of Mizuho International plc in January 2019.

Suneel joined from London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), where he served as CEO of LCH Group, the global clearing house majority owned by LSEG, for four years until October 2017. He retains strong links with LSEG where he continues to serve as honorary Chairman of LSEG’s International Advisory Groups.

Prior to the position at LCH, Suneel was President & CEO, Citigroup Global Markets, Japan. Suneel spent more than 30 years at Citigroup, working in multiple asset classes across Trading, Banking and Risk Management and was a member of Citi’s Management Committee. During his career he has lived and worked in Europe, North America, Asia and Middle East.

Suneel has been a Governor of the Royal Ballet School in London from 2014 until 2019, and earlier, from 2011 until 2012. He is a keen student of Indian philosophy.

Tracy was appointed CEO of AXA Health in 2019 and has been leading the transformation of this already successful business. A senior executive with 19 years in Financial Services, she has experience including largescale operational management in the Europe and Middle East regions, along with business acquisition, integration and technology leadership. Tracy was named in the 2017 FTSE and Cranfield School of Management “100 Women to Watch” Board Report. Tracy serves as the Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion for AXA UK & Ireland, where she has spoken publicly about her passion to ensure a workplace is created where everyone can succeed and flourish, being themselves and bringing their whole self to work.

As a leader, inclusion has always been at the core of everything she does, and she has a particular interest in furthering social mobility, as a result of her own life and career experiences, which saw her leave education aged 17 to take on full time family caring responsibilities for her younger siblings after the death of their mother. Her entry to the workplace was at a very junior level in customer services, from where she has worked her way up.

Commenting on her achievements and her appointment to the Taskforce, Tracy reflects “Whilst counting my blessings (and giving thanks to numerous mentors and sponsors) for what has been possible in my life, I am forced to ask myself whether it would be possible today. This is why I am passionate about supporting this taskforce.” Tracy plays a leading role in making AXA UK & Ireland a place in which everyone, regardless of who they are, or where they have started, can reach their true potential.

Chris has several years of experience in the Financial and Professional Services. Most recently, he was a Director of the Financial Services Skills Commission. He is a former Managing Director for the EMEA region and Global Director of Corporate Development at First Sentier Investors, a global asset management business.

Chris is a Trustee of the Bradfield Youth Club, a registered charity and social facility supporting more than 500 young people in North Peckham, South East London, an area that faces significant, ongoing social and economic challenges.

Chris is an active and firm believer in the importance of cultivating a fair and highly inclusive company and industry culture. He is committed to playing his part to drive change by reaching people from a far broader range of backgrounds and experiences, and so attract a more diverse pool of talented individuals into the financial services sector.

Euan Blair is the Founder & CEO of Multiverse, a tech start-up changing what’s possible in education and work. Multiverse is on a mission to create an outstanding alternative to university, and a radically better approach to corporate training. Euan is passionate about social mobility and the opportunities apprenticeships provide to democratise access to top careers, and provide individuals with the life-long learning, coaching and community support to continually grow and progress in their careers. In January 2021, Multiverse secured the largest-ever venture raise by a UK EdTech company and, over the past 12 months, tripled the number of apprentices it trains to more than 3,000. In Europe, Multiverse works with over 300 clients including Facebook, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Kantar, Citi and Microsoft - and with a rapidly growing US footprint.

Liz is a long-term campaigner on the importance of everyone benefitting from digital technology.  She is CEO of FutureDotNow, a business to business coalition focused on accelerating the UK’s digital skills at scale.  Prior to that, she led BT Group’s digital and social inclusion strategies and cross-sector collaborations with government, civil society and other leading businesses.

Liz is Chair of the Good Things Foundation, the UK’s largest charity focused on supporting digitally and socially excluded people to improve their lives through digital, and a trustee of the London Transport Museum.  She sits on the Board of the Government’s Digital Skills Partnership and was appointed as a social mobility commissioner by the UK Government in 2018.  

Liz was awarded an MBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to digital literacy and social inclusion.  In 2020 she was named by Computer Weekly in the top thirty most influential women in UK IT and was a finalist for the Women in Telecoms Awards at the World Communications Awards.

Mandy focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion and other elements of corporate culture that are critical to sustainable value creation. As Chief Strategist of City Hive, an independent organisation which helps the investment industry to meet their sustainability responsibilities in creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive corporate culture. Mandy is technical author of a British standard on Responsible and Sustainable Investment Management, and a member of the BSI’s Strategic Advisory Group for Sustainable Finance and is Chair of the independent Shell Sustainability Report Review Panel. Prior to co-founding City Hive, she was part of the leadership team at the UNPRI As Director of Reporting, Assessment and Accountability, she was responsible for enabling and improving global investor disclosure on the incorporation of ESG factors into investment practice and developed reporting for service providers (including investment consultants and research providers).

Peter is  EMEA Managing Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Peter co-chairs the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee alongside EMEA Chair Farmida Bi. Coming from a state school education and being the first generation in his family to attend university, social mobility is a priority for Peter and he is a senior sponsor of Advance, the new UK social mobility network at Norton Rose Fulbright. Peter is also a leading antitrust and competition lawyer who focuses on all areas of contentious antitrust work, where he has represented clients including HSBC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vodafone, Santander and Mercer.

Philip Quirk is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley based in London. He is the General Counsel for Morgan Stanley Investment Management and the International General Counsel covering EMEA, APAC and Japan. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2001. He sits on the MSIM Operating Committee, is a Co-chair of the EMEA Franchise Committee and Deputy Chair of the Global Franchise Committee. ​

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Before taking up his current role with Morgan Stanley in London, he held similar general counsel roles in Japan and Hong Kong for the Firm. He has spent over 20 years in Asia, mostly in Japan and more recently Hong Kong. He moved to London in 2011.​

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Philip was the first in his family to attend university and is a graduate of Leicester University in the UK. He qualified as solicitor in England in 1986. In 1992, he was made a partner in the English law firm Wilde Sapte. During his time in private practice, he specialised in litigation and international banking and finance - representing investment banks and financial institutions.

Rupal is a Partner at global management consultancy, Oliver Wyman. She works across financial services and in the Oliver Wyman Forum: a diverse community of private, public and third sector influencers engaging together to co-create ideas and practically test solutions to shared global challenges. Rupal also co-leads Oliver Wyman’s UK Social Impact team, serves as a strategic advisor at the 30% Club globally and in the UK. All of these roles focus on the power of the corporate to drive positive social impact. She also serves as a Board Trustee for the Lullaby Trust and has co-founded two social mission movements: Mission INCLUDE driving inclusive culture at corporates and GenGive igniting the social conscience in families.

Stephen joined the IFoA as CEO in January 2020. Since then he has worked with the IFoA’s governing bodies to define an ambitious new 2020-24 strategy to champion the benefits of a globally diverse and inclusive profession. Before joining IFoA Stephen was Group CEO at the Police Mutual Group, serving nearly 500,000 people in the police and military families, many of whom would not otherwise have access to mainstream financial services and a Board Director for the Aviva UK businesses with responsibility for strategy and business services. Stephen has also been Chair of Aviva’s With Profits Committee and UK retail investment business, a non-executive director at ALICO UK and the independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee at The College of Policing.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and The Pensions Management Institute, a trustee of The Police Arboretum Memorial Trust and started his career as a solicitor in private practice in the City.

Ulla Pitha is Head of Strategy and Chief of Staff for State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) EMEA.

Ulla founded SSGA EMEA’s sponsorship programme and chairs State Street’s Professional Women’s Network. Ulla has been involved with socio-economic diversity programmes in both the UK and US. She is an active member of the Diversity Project, which aims to improve the diversity of the UK investment management industry. Ulla co-led Momentum, a cross-company mentoring programme sponsored by SSGA and Citi Global Markets which provides mentoring for university students from East London.

Yasmine is a Partner at capital markets think tank New Financial, leading its diversity and culture programme. New Financial contributed data to the government-backed Gadhia Review of senior women in UK financial services, and works with HM Treasury to monitor the progress of signatories to the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter.

Yasmine has been a driving force behind the strategic development of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter since its inception, work for which she was awarded an OBE in 2020. Yasmine is also vice chair of the Women in Finance Charter Industry Board. New Financial firmly believes that diversity in its broadest sense is not only an essential part of running a sustainable business but a fundamental part of addressing cultural change. New Financial's latest research topics include a project on Accelerating Black Inclusion, a Diversity Toolkit for Investors, and a thought paper series on Radical Actions to drive a step change in diversity across financial services.