#MaximiseTeamPerformance Speakers
Introducing the Speakers
Natalie Gill - Head of DEI Strategy & Industry Engagement, PGIM
I am a white, British, cis-gender woman, born to an RAF pilot and a language teacher in Lincolnshire. Because of my dad’s job, I was fortunate to spend several years of my childhood living in Europe, which is where my interest in and respect of different cultures was ignited. I studied economics and business management at Newcastle University, specialising in economics of inequality and poverty, and development economics. Following a fulsome 16-year career in Investment Banking across treasury, market infrastructure relations and regulatory reform, I transitioned full-time into the DEI space in 2016. Over the last 9 years, I have held senior DEI roles at Santander UK, SMBC Group and most recently joined PGIM in 2022 as Head of DEI Strategy & Industry Engagement. Here, I’m responsible for driving the continued evolution of PGIM’s global DEI strategy, with a focus on developing global research and thought leadership, and partnering with industry bodies to effect positive change across the sector. In addition, I have regional DEI leadership responsibility for EMEA & APAC.
Nasreen Kasenally - Global COO and UK CEO, UBS Asset Management
I am the Global Chief Operating Officer for UBS Asset Management globally, CEO of UBS Asset Management UK, and co-lead of the integration of the Asset Management businesses of UBS and Credit Suisse, and hold external board positions at the Investment Association Board and the FCA Practitioner Panel. Previously, I held senior Risk roles across different divisions at UBS both in the US and the UK, and most recently, I was the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) for UBS Asset Management, for UBS Group EMEA region and for Group Sustainability. I am an active champion of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at UBS, with external interests in mentoring female social entrepreneurs tackling microfinance in developing countries. It is a very important topic for me! I live in London with my husband and our 2 children and I love keeping fit by exercising.
Helena Morrissey DBE - Chair, Diversity Project
I am white British, went to a co-ed comprehensive school and then to Cambridge University, where I read Philosophy. I joined Schroders’ graduate programme and went straight out to their New York office to learn about fixed income for two years, before returning to the London headquarters as a global bond fund manager.I joined Newton in 1994 and became CEO in 2001, stepping down in 2016. I was chair of the Investment Association from 2014 – 2017. I founded the 30% Club in 2010.I am now chair of two companies, Fidelis, a specialist insurance company listed on the NYSE and Altum Group, a fund services company based in Jersey. I also chair Eton College Endowment Fund and sit on the board of McKinsey Investment Office.I am married, my husband and I have nine children and four grandchildren.
Alex Edmans - Professor of Finance, non-executive director, author, TED speaker
Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley.Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk "What to Trust in a Post-Truth World" and the TEDx talks "The Pie-Growing Mindset" and "The Social Responsibility of Business" with a combined 2.8 million views. He serves as non-executive director of the Investor Forum, on the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Responsible Investing, on Royal London Asset Management’s Responsible Investment Advisory Committee, and on Novo Nordisk’s Sustainability Advisory Council. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.Alex’s book, "Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit", was a Financial Times Book of the Year and has been translated into nine languages, and he is a co-author of "Principles of Corporate Finance" (with Brealey, Myers, and Allen). He has won 26 teaching awards at Wharton and LBS and was named Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants in 2021. His latest book, "May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It" was published by Penguin Random House in April 2024.Alex's research aims to apply rigorous academic tools to investigate questions of relevance to practitioners and policymakers. He is particularly passionate about communicating complex ideas in non-technical language to a general audience.
Tord Stallvik - CEO, Redwheel
My mission at Redwheel is to grow the business in a sustainable way considering the interest of all stakeholders. Prior to Redwheel I worked for both large companies like Merrill Lynch and Schroders and specialist alternative asset managers.Outside of Redwheel I serve as a consultant for the Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In this role I work with entrepreneurs in frontier market economies to help them scale their businesses.
Arun Kelshiker - Advisory Board, Asset Owner Diversity Charter
I am a British Asian, born and brought up in London, who genuinely feels like a global citizen, having spent many years living and working in a number of different cities both in Europe and Asia.Over the past twenty years, my professional journey has been on the investment side, having worked with leading asset managers and banks in both management and investment roles; these have included Allianz Global Investors / Allianz Group as a portfolio manager / Country CIO and Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Asset Allocation and Portfolio Strategy. I’ve also benefitted immensely from studying together with international cohorts during my Masters degrees at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and SDA Bocconi. Embracing our diversity while working towards common goals helped us gain meaningful life experiences and lasting friendships.Alongside my professional roles, I’ve been an enthusiastic volunteer with a number of non-profit organisations. I’ve been volunteering with CFA over the past fifteen years in different countries and in various roles including as a board member and committee chair. One of my most rewarding experiences has been volunteering with AIDHA, a non-profit organization focused on empowering foreign domestic workers in Singapore to plan and execute personal businesses, with the goal of ultimately enriching their local communities back in their home countries. Foreign domestic workers would give up a large part of their only free day every week to come and study for courses on Sunday at AIDHA. For the years that I was volunteering there, I always felt tremendously privileged to spend time with people on my courses and learnt so much from their rich perspectives.I currently volunteer with CFA UK in the following areas: Inclusion & Diversity Committee, ESG Group and the Pension Expert Panel. I also volunteer with the Blockchain and Climate Institute, given my current focus on sustainable finance, ESG and climate risk which present some of the key opportunities and challenges of our time.I value spending quality time with family and friends across a variety of different interests. I really enjoy both playing and watching sports including tennis, golf, football, cricket and cycling among others and am a lifelong supporter of a premier league team whose anthem of triumph over adversity has and always will resonate with me … You’ll Never Walk Alone…
Steve Butler - Managing Director, Pension Potential
I grew up in the New Forest in a happy middle-class family in the 1970s, I spent my teenage years enjoying rock climbing and mountaineering and after some very dismal A-Level results started my career at 18 as an office junior with AXA Equity and Law.I have worked in financial services and investment management for over 30 years and I was appointed CEO of Punter Southall Aspire in August 2015.I am a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and I gained my Master’s in Business Administration from Solent University. I am currently studying for a Doctorate in Business Administration at Winchester University. I live in Richmond with my wife and seven children / step children aged 17 to 23, although the majority are away at university during term time.
Rio Stedford - Head of Financial Planning, FINURA
I am a mixed-race woman. Jamaican Christian on my father’s side and Jewish of Polish descent on my mother’s.Growing up on the border of Surrey, Hampshire, and Berkshire, I lived under one roof with my parents and maternal grandparents. Although our home was a melting pot on the inside, outside the front door was a very different story. My upbringing was shaped by my grandparents, particularly my grandfather, who played a pivotal role in my early years.Despite excelling academically, I bypassed university to step directly into the world of wealth management. My drive and entrepreneurial spirit led me to become fully qualified by age 21, become a Chartered Fellow at 25, and the Founding Managing Director of my own financial planning firm at 26. Now, with over a decade of wealth management experience, I have risen to a senior leadership position, where I lead commercial strategy, build high-performing teams, and steer growth initiatives across FTSE-backed firms.Currently, I am the Head of Financial Planning on the Finura Leadership Team alongside the founding partners. I am also pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration at Coventry University.Throughout my journey, I have become increasingly aware of the underrepresentation of women of Black or mixed Black heritage in executive and senior roles. This awareness drives my dedication to fostering an inclusive environment within the industry and is the driving force for my doctorate.
Dinésha Mendis - Global Portfolio Strategy - RFP Writer at Allspring Global Investments
Dinésha Mendis joined the asset management industry in 2001 and has since acquired a wide range of experience in marketing roles from leading investment houses including Russell Investments, Lombard Odier, HSBC Asset Management, Newton Investments and Invesco. A fluent German-speaker, she specialised as an RFP Manager working on new business opportunities in the DACH markets. She holds a BA (Hons) in Politics and a MA (Hons) in History of Art from the University of London.Dinésha has (to date) travelled to 96 countries on six continents and once took a 2-year sabbatical through Latin America, Africa and the South Pacific. She has fundraised and campaigned as volunteer activist for children’s rights with NSPCC.org.uk since 2009. Passionate about yoga and mindfulness, she is also a certified Hatha and Restorative yoga teacher.
Matt Cameron (he/him/his) - CEO, LGBT Great and Board Member of the Diversity Project
Matt Cameron (he/him/his) – Chief Executive Officer at LGBT Great, Board Member of the Diversity Project Matt is the Chief Executive Officer of LGBT Great and founded the company in 2019 with the vision to make every company LGBTQ+ friendly inside and out. Through LGBT Great’s programmes, Matt and his team are working to empower 1 million by 2030. Matt is responsible for overseeing the development and growth of the company’s membership, advisory and careers services across organisations around the world.Originally from a low social-economic background in Lancashire, northern England, Matt achieved a BA (Hons) degree in Modern & Medieval History from the University of Birmingham and was the first in his family to go to university. Matt started his career within recruitment and executive search and moved to the bright lights of London in 2009 with nothing but a suitcase and a Ford Fiesta.Today, Matt is an experienced talent management, diversity and organisational development leader and advises boards and businesses of financial and professional services organisations. Matt’s experience brings a proven track record building communities, developing strategies and building partnerships. Matt is also an established public speaker, master of ceremonies and facilitator.Alongside his work at LGBT Great, Matt was appointed to the UK Diversity Project Board in 2021 and was awarded the 2019 Diversity Champions Award for his contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion within the investment and savings industry. In 2023, Matt was selected onto the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Programme in partnership with the University of Oxford. LGBT Great was recently recognised in the Worldwide Finance Awards as Most Inclusive Finance Sector Community. Matt was also personally awarded Best Financial Services Inclusivity Leader in the SME Awards 2023.
Faisal Javaid - Head of External Alpha Investment Risk, Man Group
I am a financial professional, a son of Pakistani immigrants, a failed engineer, a family man, a Muslim, an amateur basketball player (very amateur), awful cook, and a petrolhead.I’m a strong believer in the power of a good education and positive role models – as I benefited from both.I studied Engineering with Business Finance jointly at UCL and LSE. I left university with dreams of being an F1 aerodynamicist – but actually landed at Goldman Sachs. I thought I’d stay there a year, and then go back to university to further my studies. I actually spent 8 years there, mostly in the Market Risk team, before moving over to asset management where I have spent the last 7 years. I am now the Head of Investment Risk at Man FRM.
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#MaximiseTeamPerformance: The Diversity Project’s Annual Event 2024
29/11/2024
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