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INvolve Heroes 35 Advocates Role Models 2022

The Heroes Women Role Model Lists supported by Yahoo Finance showcase leaders who are championing women in business and driving change for gender diversity in the workplace.

The following male advocates have been honored for their support and initiatives towards progress for women.

As with previous years, we’ve ranked the top 20 executives who’ve made an impact in their field, with the remaining also recognized for their significant contributions.

1.) Andrew Williams, Halma Plc Group Chief Executive

Andrew Williams, Halma Plc Group Chief Executive
Andrew Williams, Halma Plc Group Chief Executive

Andrew is Group Chief Executive of Halma, the FTSE 100 global group of life saving technology companies. Halma is committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture throughout the Group and has been a member of the 30% Club since 2017.

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Andrew’s work to improve the gender balance in leadership positions at Halma has resulted in more diversity at all levels of the organisation. As of March 2022, Halma’s plc Board and Executive Board were 50% and 60% women, including two of the three Sector Chief Executives who lead its portfolio of companies. Female representation on all Halma company boards was 26%, an increase from 18% in 2020, and targeted to be 40%+ by 2024 supported by a range of initiatives, including Halma’s graduate programme which is 55% female.

As Halma’s CEO Andrew is personally committed to ensuring that this progress lasts and to build further on other dimensions of diversity.

2.) Ronald O'Hanley, State Street Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Ronald O'Hanley, State Street Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ronald O'Hanley, State Street Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Under Ron's leadership, State Street has continually focused on increasing female leadership in the companies in which it invests, including by launching the Fearless Girl initiative, which helped spur female corporate board member appointments.

Ron also introduced STT company-wide diversity goals that are tied to executive compensation, diverse talent slates for all open positions, and introduced State Street’s “10 Actions Against Racism and Inequality,” the firm’s commitment to taking strategic action in the IDE space. In 2021, Ron added two women to State Street’s Management Committee, bringing female representation to 28%, with 36% of promotions at Managing Director level and above being women.

State Street has been featured on Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies and Best Companies for Dads, and the Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index. For seven consecutive years the firm has earned a 100% on the HRC Equality Index.

3.) Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas

Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas
Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered CEO, Corporate, Commercial & Institutional Banking and CEO, Europe & Americas

As Global D&I Council Chair for Standard Chartered, Simon has accelerated the pace of change, resulting in Inclusive Leadership workshops for over 16,000 leaders and in CEOs taking more accountability for the delivery of local D&I plans and objectives.

Simon has overseen the introduction of a global Fair Pay Charter; the disclosure of the Gender Pay Gap in key markets; and the implementation of safety and security initiatives in 21 markets to support female colleagues living and working in countries with a history of heightened violence. He recently oversaw the launch of landmark research on menopause in the workplace, in collaboration with the Financial Services Skills Commission.

Simon’s approach has resulted in positive metrics including female representation in senior roles, which increased from 27.7% in 2018 to 31.19% today, and employee inclusion index scores, up from 78% in 2019 to 80.65% in 2021.

4.) Christoph Schweizer, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Chief Executive Officer

Christoph Schweizer, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Chief Executive Officer
Christoph Schweizer, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of BCG, Christoph has made diversity, equity & inclusion a key priority for the firm. Women hold several critical leadership positions across global functions and regions – in particular leading BCG’s businesses in some of the world’s largest economies: the United States, United Kingdom, and China.

Christoph has set clear goals related to the hiring, promotion, and retention of women, working closely with leaders and teams to advance this critical agenda. The firm has seen a rise in the percentage of women new joiners globally, from 44% in 2020 to 48% in 2021. BCG also continues to uphold equal retention rates for women and men at all levels, with the aim to further increase women representation.

Christoph is known for creating a truly inclusive workplace, emphasizing widespread awareness through regular trainings for all 26,000+ BCGers to ensure all live up to the firm’s DE&I ambitions and business ethics.

5.) Jacob Aarup-Andersen, ISS Group CEO

Jacob Aarup-Andersen, ISS Group CEO
Jacob Aarup-Andersen, ISS Group CEO

Jacob has encouraged all 30 countries in which ISS operates, to sign the UN charter of Women Empowerment Principles, strengthening ISS’s commitment to advance gender equality. He set a new target to reach at least 40% of gender balance within all corporate leadership levels by 2025 – a target already reached at the Board of Directors.

Over the last 12 months, Jacob successfully implemented leadership programmes to attract and develop female talent, with the number of women at Executive Group Management (EGM) level increasing from one to four. In addition, the Global Management Trainees are gender balanced, ensuring a strong pipeline of future leadership talent. Jacob, as the Gender Balance Employee Resource Group sponsor, empowers the team to drive continued awareness and initiatives globally, and explore global partnerships to drive further action. Jacob ensures that DEI is high on the EGM agenda and a new strategy, policies and frameworks ensure a fairer, more equitable workplace.

Outside the organisation, Jacob has joined the Danish Diversity Council. Alongside other prominent CEOs, Jacob will host the council focussing on DEI initiatives and future challenges.

6.) Luke Ellis, Man Group CEO

Luke Ellis, Man Group CEO
Luke Ellis, Man Group CEO

As CEO of Man Group, Luke oversees the firm’s DE&I strategy alongside the Group COO and General Counsel. Together they re-launched Drive, the internal DE&I network, which today is comprised of the gender balance network Women at Man alongside several others.

Luke also oversees the Senior Executive Committee, who are responsible for championing DE&I at the firm and leading Drive’s employee networks. Luke is the executive sponsor of Man Group's commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, and the firm has seen the proportion of women in senior roles increase from 16% in 2016 to 27% in 2022, which is aligned with efforts to support and develop women within the firm.

The firm’s consistent efforts to support and develop women have now led to increased targets to reach 30% female representation in senior roles by 2024, whilst the board achieved gender parity in 2020.

7.) David Schwimmer, London Stock Exchange Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

David Schwimmer, London Stock Exchange Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
David Schwimmer, London Stock Exchange Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

David has set a clear vision for a diverse culture where inclusion is a constant practice. He has established priorities against which to measure the Group’s progress globally; LSEG employs 23,000 people, more than half of whom are based in Asia Pacific.

In 2022, one of LSEG’s strategic objectives is to ‘foster a diverse, inclusive culture’, a goal embedded throughout the organisation. David has introduced senior leadership gender and race/ethnicity targets aiming to achieve 40% women in senior leadership roles by the end of 2022, 20% underrepresented groups in senior leadership roles by the end of 2023 and 25% by the end of 2025.

With great pride, LSEG was shortlisted for the "Company of the Year" category at the British Diversity Awards in 2022 and awarded “Large Brand of the Year” in the Bank of London Rainbow Honours 2022. LSEG continues to build momentum in advancing its diversity, inclusion, and belonging agenda.

8.) Claudio Gienal, AXA CEO AXA UK and Ireland

Claudio Gienal, AXA CEO AXA UK and Ireland
Claudio Gienal, AXA CEO AXA UK and Ireland

Claudio has placed gender equality as a key, strategic priority for AXA UK&I, and his actions have resulted in AXA being listed as a coveted 2021 and 2022 Times Top 50 Employer for Women and helped to significantly reduce the gender seniority gap.

Under Claudio’s leadership AXA UK&I have improved the female representation on the executive committee from 19% in 2018 to 44% in 2022. Claudio has also improved women in executive roles from 32% in 2020 to 40% in 2022. Claudio regularly participates in D&I initiatives, during 2022 these have included external panel discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day with Liverpool Football Club and an internal virtual speed mentoring event hosted by our network.

Claudio also uses his LinkedIn platform to celebrate international women’s day through Break the Bias post and sharing recent conversations he had with participants in the AXA Global IWD mentoring initiative. Claudio is also an active participant of the Swiss Embassy’s YPG Mentoring Programme which sees Claudio mentor and coach future generations of female business leaders.

9.) Ivan Menezes, Diageo Chief Executive

Ivan Menezes, Diageo Chief Executive
Ivan Menezes, Diageo Chief Executive

Since becoming Diageo’s Chief Executive in 2013, Ivan has championed Inclusion and Diversity across the whole of the organisation, as well as the wider drinks and hospitality industry.

As well as ambitious 2030 goals to increase the representation of women in Diageo leadership roles and the percentage of suppliers from female and minority-owned businesses, Diageo is amongst the first companies to have created a clear link and direct accountability for ESG commitments with its senior management community, meaning that ever senior leader is incentivised to make progress on this agenda.

This year the firm has continued to empower women and to lean into often taboo subjects: its Global Menopause Guidelines are now live in over 40 countries and it introduced Domestic and Family Abuse Guidelines to foster a working environment that promotes safety and respect.

10.) Mark Read, WPP CEO

Mark Read, WPP CEO
Mark Read, WPP CEO

As CEO of WPP, Mark appointed a new Chief People Officer and a Global Head of Culture, to continue to improve diversity and build an open and inclusive culture at the firm. Women now make up 51% of senior managers and 40% at the most senior executive level.

Last year, WPP launched an updated online ethics training, including unconscious bias modules which are mandatory for all staff, and a new Conscious Inclusion training program to embed DE&I into hiring processes, performance management systems and leadership development.

For the third year running the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index has listed WPP, and last year Forbes ranked the company sixteenth in its Top 20 Best Employers for Women List. In 2020, of a total $94 million had been spent by the firm on diverse suppliers, 64% of which went to women-owned business enterprises and 14% to minority women-owned business enterprises.

11.) Howard Ungerleider, Dow President and Chief Financial Officer

Howard Ungerleider, Dow President and Chief Financial Officer
Howard Ungerleider, Dow President and Chief Financial Officer

As President and Chief Financial Officer, Howard is a vocal advocate for a safe, inclusive and supportive workplace for all employees. He has served as Executive Sponsor for the Women’s Inclusion Network ERG since 2017, supporting over 9,000 participants through programs such as EY’s POWER UP, Sponsor to Success, and Catalyst MARC Workshops.

He has a track record of enforcing expectations for recruiting gender-diverse talent across all levels, including transparently posting all roles internally, and he has cultivated a strong female talent pipeline across the organization by providing external coaches for female employees globally.

As Executive Sponsor of the Total Rewards Assessment program, Howard has reinforced Dow’s commitment to offer equitable opportunities by establishing a global minimum standard of 16 weeks paid time off for new parents – birthing, non-birthing and adoptive, regardless of gender.

12.) Andrew Eisen, S&P Global SVP, Head of S&P Market Intelligence Software Solutions

Andrew Eisen, S&P Global SVP, Head of S&P Market Intelligence Software Solutions
Andrew Eisen, S&P Global SVP, Head of S&P Market Intelligence Software Solutions

Andrew Eisen is the head of S&P Global Market Intelligence Software Solutions business, which provides industry leading solutions across enterprise data management, syndication, investment management and asset servicing.

Andrew and the leadership team launched three new Women’s Career Development and Retention programs which saw hundreds of women enroll for mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching. In addition to directly mentoring 10 women, Andrew has also placed a focus on building recognition of female members of his team and encouraging them to take on a more public persona.

In 2021-22, IHS Markit (now S&P Global) has seen a significant increase in female promotions at the VP level and SVP level. 2022 is also seeing an increase in female hires, specifically in the intern program that reached an all-time high of female representation. These outcomes have received public recognition from Mogul Top 100 Workplaces, the Rewards & Benefits Association and Forbes’ list of America's Best Employers for Women.

13.) Christian Kinnear, HubSpot Chief Sales Officer

Christian Kinnear, HubSpot Chief Sales Officer
Christian Kinnear, HubSpot Chief Sales Officer

Christian Kinnear is the Chief Sales Officer of HubSpot, where he leads the company’s global sales strategy and organization across North America, Latin America, EMEA and JAPAC.

Since joining HubSpot in 2016, under his leadership, HubSpot expanded its footprint with global operations in Ireland, Germany, France, UK, Spain and the Netherlands.

Christian has also been instrumental in building HubSpot’s award-winning culture, championing various global Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging efforts

14.) Malcolm Palmer, Fidelity International Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services

Malcolm Palmer, Fidelity International Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services
Malcolm Palmer, Fidelity International Chief Operating Officer, Investment Solutions & Services

As the Accountable Executive for the UK Women in Finance Charter, Malcolm supervises the company’s progress toward achieving gender balance targets: going from 29.4% women in senior roles and 53% women in the overall workforce in April 2022 to 27% and 52% respectively in April 2021.

He is also Chair of the COO ISS D&I Working group - championing all aspects of diversity within his business area and encouraging leaders to take accountability and ownership towards improving diversity and inclusion.

Malcolm is actively engaged with the Women in Finance Charter Blueprint creation and communication as well as a member of the Taskforce. Blueprint is an industry-first blueprint to accelerate gender diversity across financial services. He is an active mentor. Additionally, he was a keynote speaker for Fidelity's internal celebration event for featuring on The Times Top 50 Employers for Women List 2022.

15.) Jon Holt, KPMG UK Chief Executive

Jon Holt, KPMG UK Chief Executive
Jon Holt, KPMG UK Chief Executive

Since being elected as Chief Executive of KPMG in April 2021, Jon has put Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) at the heart of his strategy. He is responsible for the firm's progress against IDE targets, as well as pay gaps and action plans, and he ensures that these are regularly discussed and challenged by the Executive Committee in order to drive action and progress.

He also sets the tone for all people processes, making sure that colleagues apply a gender and ethnicity lens to achieve the right outcomes and drive sustainable change. In his previous role as the Head of Audit, Jon developed IDE goals for all Audit Partners and Directors, and initiated IDE awareness sessions for all 7,000 of Audit’s employees.

Since 2017 Jon has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board, which serves to challenge the firm on progress and bring in external views regarding best practice.

16.) John Rohde, RES (Renewable Energy Systems) CEO, RES Americas

John Rohde, RES (Renewable Energy Systems) CEO, RES Americas
John Rohde, RES (Renewable Energy Systems) CEO, RES Americas

John believes all women are supported in the work environment, and one of the first things he did as CEO of the Americas was to sign RES up to the Business Coalition for the Equality Act. He has supported the LGBT+ network in implementing the gender affirmation policy and creating a workplace ally guidance document.

On his leadership team, he has increased diversity from one female to three within his first nine months of work. This Pride Month, the company’s Americas head office is attending Denver Pride for the first time and has arranged for trans speakers in the UK and Australian head office.

Globally the firm is also reviewing its HR processes, including recruitment and career progression, to ensure there are no barriers to advancement for those from underrepresented groups, including women and non-binary people. John advocates for DEI by joining panels and organizations and by speaking publicly about DEI to try and influence everyone to do more.

17.) Michael Roberts, HSBC Chief Executive Officer US and Americas

Michael Roberts, HSBC Chief Executive Officer US and Americas
Michael Roberts, HSBC Chief Executive Officer US and Americas

Michael is an advocate and Sponsor for all HSBC ERGs, including Balance (gender equity). Michael supports the Balance ERG by sponsoring a partnership with the United Nations. This partnership brings together an intimate group of the most ambitious leaders from across government and institutions who will spearhead transformative change across countries, companies, and communities, inspiring many others to follow suit and demonstrate the value of allyship.

The Inclusion & Culture Team, newly formed under Michael Roberts in 2020, supports, develops, and implements programs and processes to progress the US Inclusion and Culture strategy.

As a result, in 2021, an increase was achieved in women's representation in Senior Management. In November 2021, two women were appointed to the HNAH, HUSI, and HBUS Board of Directors, moving the profile of women to 36.4% of the Board.

18.) Christian Edelmann, Oliver Wyman Managing Partner for Europe

Christian Edelmann, Oliver Wyman Managing Partner for Europe
Christian Edelmann, Oliver Wyman Managing Partner for Europe

First and foremost, Christian is a father. He has two young children and took significant time out of his career after each birth to enable his wife return to full-time work.

As Managing Partner for Europe, Christian is the most senior role-model for other men in the region. By talking openly about his parental leave he has reduced the stigma around it. As a result, many more men now take longer breaks. Following his parental leave, Christian was one of the architects of a revised parental leave program, which for the UK now includes 26 weeks of equal parental leave.

Fathers taking on greater childcare responsibilities will help address some of the inequities women experience in the workplace, something Christian is cognizant of as Global Sponsor of the employee group Women at Oliver Wyman. Christian also personally oversees all efforts to meet the firm’s diversity targets in Europe.

19.) Pierre Sarrau, BlackRock Co-Head and Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions

Pierre Sarrau, BlackRock Co-Head and Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions
Pierre Sarrau, BlackRock Co-Head and Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions

Pierre is a senior co-sponsor of BlackRock’s "Women in Investment" initiative in EMEA. The initiative looks to nurture and facilitate the development of women within BlackRock's investment teams and attract women's talent to new roles and opportunities.

Thanks to the commitment of Pierre and his team, the representation of women within BlackRock's European Investment platform has grown significantly. He is also the senior Sponsor of Big City Bright Future, a program founded by BlackRock in 2015 and was created in partnership with IntoUniversity, a UK charity focused on education, to increase economic mobility and help students from underprivileged backgrounds gain work experience.

As a Managing Director, Pierre is actively involved in BlackRock's internal diversity network and is a senior sponsor of landmark industry initiatives fostering social inclusion and gender diversity. Furthermore, he is a mentor and advocates for helping women from all kinds of backgrounds to grow careers in the workplace, especially in financial services.

20.) Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R Global Chief People Officer

Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R Global Chief People Officer
Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R Global Chief People Officer

Ronnie Felder, VMLY&R’s global chief people officer, oversaw the promotion of two women to global executive co-directors of DEI in 2020. The team has since grown to a global roster of 10 women. More recently, Ronnie was a key player in the promotion of three women into executive or leadership roles and hiring of nine more women into leadership roles.

Ronnie is also involved in the development of policies and provision of benefits, many of which are vital to employees who identify as women. For example, VMLY&R offers employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave for child birth, adoption, or foster placement, including in the case of surrogacy. VMLY&R also pays up to $8,000 per child in adoption expense reimbursement and offers educational resources to assist with adoption and assisted reproductive technologies.

Ronnie is dedicated to ensuring VMLY&R is the best place to work for everyone and committed to elevating as many women as he can into leadership positions within the agency.

Kevin Hogarth, KPMG UK Partner – Chief People Officer UK

Kevin Hogarth, KPMG UK Partner – Chief People Officer UK
Kevin Hogarth, KPMG UK Partner – Chief People Officer UK

In his role as Chief People Officer at KPMG in the UK, Kevin has executive accountability for the firm’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity strategy and policies, and has set clear expectations about the proportionality of all promotions, and the outcomes of performance reviews and reward processes.

Since joining he has initiated a review to ensure that annual IDE targets and the associated plans are sufficiently stretching, and that KPMG in the UK are on target to achieve their publicly quoted gender targets. As well as requesting the organisation develop more ambitious gender targets that go beyond current 2022 goals, Kevin has also required a IDE review of all new policies being implemented as part of the transition to hybrid working, to ensure there will be no adverse gender impact.

He has been a member of the KPMG Inclusive Leadership Board since starting at the firm, and along with the CEO and Chair sets the agenda for this group of external advisers.

Jorge Arce, HSBC CEO HSBC Mexico

Jorge Arce, HSBC CEO HSBC Mexico
Jorge Arce, HSBC CEO HSBC Mexico

Jorge promotes gender equality within HSBC Mexico by actively participating in the ERG Balance activities. He signed the WEP's from UN Women to support gender equity actions within the organization and has worked with authorities of the financial system to reinforce gender balance actions. Also, Jorge promotes a DEI agenda with ABM (Mexican Bank Association).

This year, under his administration, HSBC Mexico launched "Mujeres al Mundo", an initiative from Argentina focused on products and services for women. As a result, HSBC Mexico has increased the number of women in leadership positions from 22% in 2017, to 30% in 2021, above the regional goal and 13% above the national average. In addition, women in succession plans of the Executive Committee increased from 68 to 92% in the last five years.

Before working at HSBC, Jorge participated in launching Women in Wall Street in NY.

Jig Ramji, London Stock Exchange Group Group Head of Talent

Jig Ramji, London Stock Exchange Group Group Head of Talent
Jig Ramji, London Stock Exchange Group Group Head of Talent

Jig leads the global Talent and DEI Function and sets the DEI strategy, owning the four priorities around which the strategy is based: create a culture that fosters belonging, build a diverse leadership team, accelerate the progression of underrepresented talent, particularly ethnically diverse women, and shape inclusion in our industry.

As Group Head of Talent, he is heavily involved and ultimately responsible for ensuring the hiring of diverse talent across the company. Jig also ensures that every leader has an objective centred on DEI in their performance to help drive the representation of senior women. He created a new leadership development strategy, with inclusive leadership at its core, to support the career development of women company-wide.

In addition, he also initiated the Belonging & Inclusion index from LSEG engagement surveys and an Employee policy review to mitigate bias and psychological safety.

Lou Maiuri, State Street Corporation President and Head of Investment Services

Lou Maiuri, State Street Corporation President and Head of Investment Services
Lou Maiuri, State Street Corporation President and Head of Investment Services

From 2017 - 2021, Lou served as the Executive Sponsor of State Street's Professional Women's Network (PWN), an Employee Resource Group providing professional development opportunities for women across the company. He regularly encourages colleagues and peers to participate in the network’s events, as he strongly believes that networking and conversations are critical to help to foster a strong pipeline of female talent.

As well as launching and continuing to lead the PWN's Global Advisory Board, which advises on policies that drive diverse hiring and promotional practices, Lou has made a number of female leadership appointments at the Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President levels.

In 2021, the firm reached 32.4% female representation across leadership roles, and approximately 36.4% of promotions at Managing Director level and above were women. PWN initiatives Lou has led have included authoring a blog on “Allyship and Equal Pay Day for Black Women” and hosting an event focused on Women in IT.

Matthew Norris, Standard Chartered Bank Global Head, Standard Chartered Global Business Services

Matthew Norris, Standard Chartered Bank Global Head, Standard Chartered Global Business Services
Matthew Norris, Standard Chartered Bank Global Head, Standard Chartered Global Business Services

Matthew is actively championing Diversity and Inclusion with a commitment to build a safe and inclusive environment in Standard Chartered Bank. Through the use of data and better understanding of unconscious bias, he introduced new perspectives that were effective in hiring more women across the board.

Matthew worked tirelessly to advance representation of women leadership across various committees – specifically at the Board Director level, women representation went up to 50% from 20% and in the Executive Committees to 25%. He lobbied to appoint 24 women leaders to local Leadership Councils.

Matthew has been a personal mentor for women colleagues across different levels of seniority since 2015. He is an active sponsor of IGNITE, a coaching programme for junior women talents. As part of “SheReturns” initiative, Matthew was instrumental in the collaboration between the Bank, government agencies and NGOs to empower women who wish to resume work after a career break.

Gregory Jones, InterContinental Hotel Group - IHGVice President, Global Head of Business Service Centre

Gregory Jones, InterContinental Hotel Group - IHGVice President, Global Head of Business Service Centre
Gregory Jones, InterContinental Hotel Group - IHGVice President, Global Head of Business Service Centre

A natural approachable and inclusive leader, Greg has worked and collaborated with HR and Talent acquisition partners to create a more balanced gender ratio of workers in India’s Global Service Centre employees to 48% male: 52% female – spearheading and bringing to life IHG’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion agenda in India, championing a diverse culture where everyone can thrive.

He’s also actively creating career opportunities for women to move into roles of increasing responsibility, and believes that investing in women's talent and having diverse leadership and development initiatives is pivotal to the hospitality industry.

For a long time Greg has supported organizations such as Jack and Jill (formed during the Great Depression by African American mothers) and 100 Black Men of America (a mentoring organization changing the lives of children through education) which has influenced his drive to make positive and inclusive cultural changes. For example, he recently hosted gender/transgender equality engagement sessions in the office featuring Kalki Subramaniam, an Indian transgender speaker.

Dean Curtis, LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX)Group Managing Director

Dean Curtis, LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX)Group Managing Director
Dean Curtis, LexisNexis Risk Solutions (RELX)Group Managing Director

The third year on the HERoes role model list, Dean passionately believes that diversity is the best way for a business to succeed, as the most effective, inclusive cultures bring a depth of background, thought and experiences leading to innovation and the best business decisions.

All D&I targets are published, and metrics have improved significantly during his tenure at LexisNexis Risk Solutions Group and in the businesses he leads. Dean is an executive supporter of the company’s Employee Resource Groups and sponsor of the Female Ignite and Accelerate program, an initiative where he mentors and supports several female colleagues.

A strong ally, Dean regularly speaks advocating for diversity and sits on numerous internal and external panels for events such as International Women’s Day, and arranged the company’s first external D&I forum in the Energy and Petrochemical industry. Dean is also a trustee of a charity which commissions research measuring progress and providing case studies of best practices for inclusion and equality.

Ajoy Menon, AccentureSenior Managing Director, Cloud First Lead, Advanced Centers in India, Accenture

Ajoy Menon, Accenture Senior Managing Director, Cloud First Lead, Advanced Centers in India, Accenture
Ajoy Menon, Accenture Senior Managing Director, Cloud First Lead, Advanced Centers in India, Accenture

As the Cloud First Lead at ATCI, Ajoy is committed to helping women achieve their full potential by conceptualizing, sponsoring, and driving programs for maximum impact. Previously, as the lead for the largest ATCI market, Ajoy drove the diversity ratio to 48.3% (2% above ATCI average) and it further increased to 50% in 2022. His notable contribution as a program sponsor sees Ajoy conceptualize the Cloud Career program to help women technologists transform their careers and create the Cloud X Hackathon event.

With over 7,000 participants, 4,000 entries, and 136+ prototypes, the event generated ideas for an Accessible & Inclusive Environment. In addition, Ajoy has been building tech expertise with the Go-Higher hackathon, which has helped 500+ women at AM level and above build a brand of knowledge through hands-on cloud learning and an innovation contest.

Furthermore, he has enabled PwDs – a Sign language training for 190 people, of which 126 are now certified, and the #Horizon>Together mentoring program for PwDs.

Naoto Kubo, Boston Consulting GroupManaging Director & Partner

Naoto Kubo, Boston Consulting Group Managing Director & Partner
Naoto Kubo, Boston Consulting Group Managing Director & Partner

Naoto is Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and has been responsible for hiring women talent for the Japan office. He has conducted several events for women to expand the candidate pool and join BCG to increase gender balance within the firm.

Naoto is a core member of BCG's Financial Institutions, People, and Organization practices. He has worked closely with clients, mainly in financial services, and much of his work involves development of corporate and business strategies, transformation, group management, digital transformation, and post-merger integration.

Omar Boulos, AccentureSenior Managing Director - Resources Industries US South

Omar Boulos, Accenture Senior Managing Director - Resources Industries US South
Omar Boulos, Accenture Senior Managing Director - Resources Industries US South

For Omar, DEI is at the heart of everything he does and is crucial for the company's success.

In early 2021, he shaped and implemented the "New Business DEI Initiative" that reviews the gender and ethnic diversity of team structures in proposed work to embed DEI into the fabric of the business he leads. The initiative is increasing opportunities for the firm’s diverse workforce, helping them to progress with their career. Since the initiative began, 242 programs have been reviewed, triggering 46 deep dives with leaders to either re-shape the teams immediately or identify actions to correct them in the immediate future.

Additionally, he made sure that this initiative became a pre-requisite to any new business being discussed for approval and a mandatory approval step in the management process. Omar also actively mentors and sponsors women at all levels in his business and across Accenture, formally and informally, to grow their careers.

Julian Granger-Bevan, Oliver WymanPartner, Digital Practice

Julian Granger-Bevan, Oliver Wyman Partner, Digital Practice
Julian Granger-Bevan, Oliver Wyman Partner, Digital Practice

Since the start of 2022, Julian has sponsored an initiative to certify Oliver Wyman Australia as a Family Inclusive Workplace™.

In addition, he has sponsored the Australia-wide Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), ensuring that key ERGs are well led and supported, sponsoring cross-ERG initiatives, sharing best practices within groups, and providing visibility of the ERGs to the market senior leadership team. Since 2019, Julian has actively participated as a Women at Oliver Wyman mentor, meeting regularly with junior women consultants to provide them with an additional perspective on their career pathway and growth.

Julian’s ambition is to role model inclusion and belonging through everyday actions inside and outside his work. This includes dedicating his time to ensuring that talented colleagues are supported throughout their careers, calling out opportunities for the firm to have a broader range of perspectives, and continuing to actively sponsor the ERGs in Australia, which play an essential role in advocating for and supporting allies across IDB.

Christian Hyldahl, BlackRockHead of Continental Europe

Christian Hyldahl, BlackRock Head of Continental Europe
Christian Hyldahl, BlackRock Head of Continental Europe

Christian has consistently advocated for DEI at BlackRock by strengthening regional efforts to mitigate potential bias in the hiring process, identify women's talents and help accelerate their career growth through training, leadership programs, and mentorship.

As a member of BlackRock's Global Human Capital Committee, he has been committed to building, developing, and retaining a diverse talent pipeline where women from all backgrounds can build long-term careers fulfilling their potential. His efforts led BlackRock to have 45% of employees across Continental Europe (CE) being women.

In addition, Christian prioritized concrete actions to foster women's talents at all levels, including senior management. As a result, he has been able to increase the share of female Country Managers in CE from 37% to 63% over 2 years. He also promotes women leaders in key regional roles, such as the recently appointed COO for Continental Europe.

Luke Adebiyi, Capital International GroupBusiness Development Manager, Banking

Luke Adebiyi, Capital International Group Business Development Manager, Banking
Luke Adebiyi, Capital International Group Business Development Manager, Banking

Luke is Group Mental Health Lead at Capital International Group and an Advisory Board Member for The InsideOut Mental Health Charter, which demonstrates leadership engagement in and commitment to the mental health agenda by signing up to several actionable principles. Luke was previously a Company Director at the Isle of Pride and is in charge of organizing the first-ever Isle of Man Pride in history, promoting equality on the Island.

Luke is also an ambassador for reboot, which is tackling racial inequality in the workplace. In addition, is a Trustee of InspireUK, a Mental Health Charity to support the overwhelming NHS, and other mental health providers throughout the pandemic.

More recently, Luke has supported Unmind with videos to share his wellbeing story, globally.

Adam Kerfoot, CBRE, Global Workplace SolutionsUK Commercial Director

Adam Kerfoot, CBRE, Global Workplace Solutions UK Commercial Director
Adam Kerfoot, CBRE, Global Workplace Solutions UK Commercial Director

Adam has worked to build the largest, most effective Commercial team in the industry, and his reporting line is now 50/50 male/women.

In addition, Adam has been an advocate for change and diversity, making opportunities available for women who may have felt overlooked in the industry. He and his team have made key workplace adaptions to retain and develop returning Mothers within CBRE, who may not have otherwise been able to return due to new family commitments. By developing a program to welcome returning mothers, they have removed the uncertainty and anxiety some women have experienced on MAT leave. This program has also created opportunities for returning Mothers to advance their careers shortly after returning, recognizing their hard work and talent.

Furthermore, Adam has been a mentor to and helped develop two women members of the team who have been selected for the firm’s High Potential program, recognizing them in the top 0.001% of CBRE talent.

B. Pagels-Minor, YWCA of Metropolitan ChicagoSecretary, Board of Directors

B. Pagels-Minor, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago Secretary, Board of Directors
B. Pagels-Minor, YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago Secretary, Board of Directors

B sits on the Board of Directors of the YWCA, an organization whose entire purpose is to empower women.

In 2020, B and their team acquired an additional YWCA location that was in danger of closing, ensuring that women and children in a more suburban area of Chicago had their programs maintained. The YWCA also acquired Streetwise, an organization that allows individuals to become independent workers and develop their own income. With COVID, those individuals were given additional training that supported programs like vaccination registration, food assistance programs, and childcare. The YWCA also stepped up and provided 1000s of meals to Chicagoans who had lost their jobs due to COVID, as well as providing grants to support housing assistance.

Outside of the YWCA, B speaks nationally and internationally on gender diversity and women's inclusion including talks with companies such as British Airways, McMaster University, and Crunchyroll so far in 2021.