LEGAL & GENERAL - TOP 10 FUTURE LEADERS
ANGELINA ABEL
Abel currently leads the governmental Environment Agency’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic network. She is truly proud to be part of a group of distinct individuals that care and deliver with a purpose. Abeel was born in Angola and raised in Portugal. She has lived in Sheffield for the past 16 years. Her passion for languages brought her to the UK and her natural interest in connecting with others led her to vast experience in volunteering for a wide range of community organisations in Sheffield.
CHRISTINE ONDIMU
Ondimu led HSBC’s WPB Network Diversity and Inclusion team. She has built a cohesive D&I ecosystem to connect, support and inspire senior leaders and 5,500+ branch colleagues where none existed before. Her contribution has been revolutionary, restoring confidence and increasing the engagement of ethnically diverse colleagues. She developed the award-winning Step Forward Sponsorship Programme, which drove 350+ ethnically diverse colleagues into career sponsorship. Ondimu was an architect of the Infinite Ability Programme for colleagues with a disability whose aim is to break down barriers for career progression. She supports the Department of Work and Pensions by running mentoring circles in HSBC and at DWP job centres.
JACOB GIBSON
Previously a full-time athlete, Gibson joined Lloyds Banking Group’s graduate scheme in 2017. He currently works as a Sourcing Manager, leading and working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams geared towards driving value and innovation from third-party spend. Jacob is hugely passionate about D&I and is active in this space. In 2020 he was invited to sit on Lloyds’ inaugural Race Advisory Panel, who are charged with shaping the group’s overarching strategy. He is dedicated to enhancing Lloyds’ sourcing and supplier management processes, with the ultimate aim of developing the D&I standards across a wider supply base and increasing the visibility of minority-owned suppliers.
JOSEPHINE NZURUBA
Nzuruba joined the London Stock Exchange Group in early 2018 as a specialist in the compliance team before moving into risk management. She has spent 16 years working within the financial services industry. As a qualified lawyer she has worked for various organisations including UniCredit and Bank of America and within her various roles has worked on a range of regulatory initiatives. Nzuruba is passionate about diversity and inclusion and uses her experience and expertise in the legal field to help others gain access to justice. Outside her main role, she volunteers for a number of non-profits including the Waterloo Legal Advice Centre providing free legal advice. Nzuruba was elected as the Global Co-lead of the LSEG BEING (Black Employee-Inspired Network Group) and, as a neurodiverse black woman, she also works with various organisation to promote and encourage positive conversations about ethnic minorities with neurodiverse conditions. Josephine was recently voted one of the top 50 most influential woman in neurodiversity by Women Beyond the Box.
KALM PAUL-CHRISTIAN
Paul-Christian is currently a Strategy Manager at NatWest Group leading on digital transformation across the bank. Prior to this he was an investment banker within the NatWest Markets Financial Institutions Advisory practice, where he received early promotion to Vice President at just 27. He was a founding member of the Black Professionals Network (BPN) at NatWest Markets and he also sits on the DEI Committee advising the Senior Leadership Team on inclusion practices. Paul-Christian is a graduate in history from the University of Oxford and while there he founded the first Black, Asian and minority ethnic-focused access conference, which has now reached more than 1,000 students and resulted in his formal appointment as an Advisor to the University on the widening participation agenda. Kalm has been a D&A advocate and has served several roles including advisor to the East London Business Alliance Parity Project supporting black men into finance.
LYNETTE KEBIRUNGI
Kebirungi is an ambitious aerospace engineer who is passionate about empowering others and changing the world one act at a time. She was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, before moving to the UK where she became the country’s first aerospace engineer with an MSc when she graduated from Imperial College. She then joined Rolls-Royce plc where she has worked across control systems, civil and defence while shaping and transforming company culture and policies with efforts in D&I for both genders and ethnic minorities. She has not only enhanced the ERG’s reach but transformed its ways of work by establishing strong new leadership, governance and external partnerships. The ERG won two Top 10 awards under her leadership.
NASIR AHMED
Starting as a Digital Workplace Consultant at Atos, which creates digital solutions, Ahmed led the development of offerings to support mental health and accessibility and authored the company’s Digital Vision for Wellbeing. This commitment to wellbeing and inclusion led to Ahmed working as a Social Value Lead where he is responsible for researching and developing solutions to support wellbeing and disability inclusion. Outside of his role, he is co-chair of the Adapt Network (disability inclusion) and an active member of the Together Network (cultural diversity). Through both of these networks he has led on initiatives such as a series of talks exploring physical/mental health and has facilitated sessions to explore anti-racism. Outside of work, Ahmed is also a crisis text-line volunteer, supporting people who are struggling to cope.
RACHEL HENRY
Working at Boots for four years and counting, Henry started on the online team before moving to marketing. Taking on the role of DE&I lead, she has worked to ensure all customers feel represented and celebrated. Leading on the first external creative diversity audit and being a reverse mentor to the MD (18 months and counting), she uses her platform to continue the conversation and push boundaries. Leading the business with its first ever Black History Month campaign and working with stakeholders to bring in company record-breaking Black-owned brands, Henry continues to use her lived experience to amplify the voices of marginalised communities.
SAMIR MANEK
Shaping attitudes and structures that enable diversity of thought to flourish is a passion that runs alongside Manek’s career as a regulatory legal adviser. He advises HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s taskforce to boost socio-economic diversity in UK financial and professional services. At Mishcon de Reya, Manek sits on the Race Equity and Social Mobility Committees. In 2021, the firm was ranked in the Social Mobility Foundation Index and 58 per cent of its trainee solicitors came from diverse backgrounds. His work is close to his heart and award-winning.
SHAHID ZAMAN
Zaman has made the ultimate U-turn: from a life of crime to leading supplies to the UK’s biggest infrastructure project. Growing up in Small Heath, a rough area of Birmingham, Zaman was exposed to the harsh reality of ever-present criminal activity on the streets, which led to several custodial sentences. Zaman’s astonishing U-turn has led to him now being recognised as a rising star at joining Tarmac, ‘the UK’s leading sustainable construction solutions business’. Being offered a job at Tarmac was a blessing and he has not looked back since. From being a general operative Zaman has worked his way up to a supervisor role in record-breaking time and now is considered a major figure on site, highly regarded within the organisation.