I was one of the first openly gay CEOs in the UK financial services sector, and I’ve spent over 30 years in leadership using my platform to champion inclusion – not as a side initiative, but as a core business strategy. Since becoming CEO of LV= in 2022, I’ve worked to embed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into the heart of our business: into our culture, policies and performance.

My leadership is grounded in five principles: embedding inclusion in strategy, setting the tone through communication, empowering colleagues, encouraging allyship and taking action when exclusion is observed. We see the impact in our metrics: more colleagues are sharing their diversity data, our senior team is more balanced and colleague sentiment (eNPS) is above industry benchmark and continues to rise.

I believe that everyone who is willing to put in the effort deserves a fair chance to excel. That belief is rooted in my own experience. I was one of only three people in my school year to go to university. I’ve always seized opportunities – even those that weren’t part of the original plan – and I’ve worked across the finance sector, always placing equal importance on business performance and people. My varied background has given me a deep appreciation for the importance of fairness, hard work, and decency.

Those values (equality of opportunity and decency) are what I want to define my legacy. I was fortunate that doors weren’t closed to me, but they easily could have been. That’s why I’m determined to keep the door open for others. I’ve led with these values for over three decades, and I know that strong relationships built on mutual respect are the foundation of any successful organisation.

At LV=, my strategy has led us to become signatories to the Race at Work Charter, achieve our pledge to the Women in Finance Charter a year ahead of plan, reach Disability Confident Level Two Employer and change our recruitment process to increase equality of opportunity, through blind CVs and gender-neutral recruitment language. I’ve championed colleague voices through five thriving colleague networks (Respect, Pride, Balance, Diversability, and Wellbeing) and ensured they are backed by executive sponsors. They continue to deliver impactful campaigns and support structures that make a real difference to our people.

Beyond LV=, I speak globally on inclusive leadership, support community initiatives and have mentored future leaders. I’ve delivered keynote talks at international conferences, contributed to DEI programmes as Chair of HomeServe UK and supported many organisations through my former trustee role at the UK Foundation. My work has been recognised for many years in three of INvolve’s global role model lists (Empower, Heroes and Outstanding) and by Attitude, Fortune and the British LGBT Awards. In 2025, I was honoured to be named FT Adviser Diversity Champion of the Year, and under my leadership, LV= was recognised as one of The Times Top 25 Employers in the UK.