In this update:
– new board members
– our new vision and purpose
– our diversity and inclusion programme
– nominate for the Leasing Foundation Future Leaders programme 2018
– apply now for the MA in Leasing and Asset Finance
– join our Young Business Finance Professionals Network
– our industry certification programme for 2018
– get involved
Since our last conference event, THINK/FORWARD, we’ve been busy working on our programmes in education and development.
For those those of you who have become involved, thank you. For those of you would like to get involved, we welcome your suggestions, comments, ideas – and of course help and support.
Here’s a quick overview of what we have been working on.
OUR BOARD
We’ve added new people to our board to help us develop and implement our programmes. The Leasing Foundation board composition is now:
Peter Alderson, LDF
Jonathan Andrew Siemens Financial Services
Sharon Butler, Ricoh Europe
Graeme Chisholm, CBCRS
Carl D’Ammassa, Aldermore Bank
Jo Davis, Locke Lord
Andrew Denton, Alfa^ plc
Rev. Dr. K. Bill Dost, D&D Leasing
John Hooper, Independent
Ian Isaac, RBS
Nathan Mollet, Metro Bank
Carol Roberts, Independent
Mike Randall, Simply Asset Finance
Paul Slapa, Wesleyan
Ian Smith, 1pm plc
Gavin Wraith-Carter, Hitachi Capital Business Finance
OUR FOCUS AND PURPOSE
Vibrant, open and passionate discussions around our board table led us to the realisation that industry bodies such as the Foundation need to constantly focus on the future. As Walt Disney said:
“In this volatile business of ours, we can ill afford to rest on our laurels, even to pause in retrospect. Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.”
There is no doubt that digitalization is changing the nature of finance, leading to a future where the products and services matter less for customers than solutions to business problems.
We have therefore broadened our remit from only focusing leasing and asset finance to ‘business finance’, and we think we can best serve the industry by attracting the brightest talent and building a diverse, world-class community of professionals of the highest calibre.
All of the programmes we are now working on are aligned with that aim. You can learn more about all of the programmes by visiting:
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Our Diversity and Inclusion programme, led by Carol Roberts, Jo Davis at Locke Lord and Emma Thomas at Siemens Financial Services and supported by a team of industry champions, held its first event at Metro Bank in London on the topic of Unconscious Bias. The event was chaired by Emma with contributions from Sasha Scott, MD of the Inclusive Group, Deborah Henley of Vivacity Consulting, and Barry T. Whyte, founder oVeero and Series Q.
Key takeouts from the event, attended by over 70 industry professionals, were the need for open and transparent discussion on diversity and inclusion, the effects of quotas and targets, the need to leaders’ awareness of the importance of building inclusive cultures, and the need to highlight successes and best practices.
Diversity and Inclusion also held its first industry engagement session, where our new research project was discussed. The research, led by The Foundation and supported by Aldermore Bank, Hitachi Capital Finance, Locke Lord and LDF, aims to understand the current state of play in diversity and inclusion and identify barriers, opportunities, best practices, and interventions. The research will involve deep-dives with thought-leaders and a baseline survey on current practice to provide us with the insights to develop new interventions in collaboration with companies and industry bodies.
This will be a valuable piece of work for the industry as a whole, so please get involved, as a participant or co-sponsor, by contacting carol.roberts@leasingfoundation.org
FUTURE LEADERS
Our leadership development programme, The Leasing Foundation Future Leaders, will be entering its fifth cycle in November 2018. This unique programme represents a cost-effective way to build your organisation’s leadership competencies at a fraction of the cost of traditional leadership development training.
This year we would like to bring 20 outstanding individuals into the programme. They will be welcomed at a Leadership Summit in November hosted by Metro Bank, where they will be able to meet alumni, the delivery team and learn about the programme elements. along with activities on the theme of ‘people and leadership’.
You can learn more about the programme at
http://futureleaders.leasingfoundation.org
I encourage you to identify outstanding people from your organisation now and get in touch with me at peter.thomas@leasingfoundation.org to discuss their participation in the programme.
Future Leaders is described by Andrew Denton, CEO of Alfa^ like this:
“The Future Leaders programme is a unique, world class professional development environment for the best young talent in our industry. As a Foundation director, I am extremely proud of it. As a leader with responsibility for developing my successors, I am very grateful it exists.”
THE MA LEASING AND ASSET FINANCE
The MA Leasing and Asset Finance, the only postgraduate degree for the industry, focuses on innovation, disruption and change in business finance and provides the most up-to-date high-level learning and development opportunity for professionals who want to influence change in finance.
We are constantly evolving the degree to meet the emerging needs of a changing industry. Digitalization is changing the nature of finance. Customers expect faster and more efficient online services and more flexible and innovative solutions. Faced with increased regulation, competitive pressures from new entrants, consolidation in the market and tighter margins, the industry is turning to new technologies such as blockchain, AI, cloud computing, big data analytics and mobile platforms.
To do this, we have appointed a group of Expert Industry Curators, all experienced professionals, to provide up-to-the-minute content for our students. This group of experts, which will grow each year, ensures that we continue to expand the horizons of talented people as they apply their learning to strategic, highly disruptive projects in their organisations and provide those organisations with a fresh perspective to prepare for the impact of fintech and to drive growth and evolution.
The MA is a cost-effective approach to solving some of the most strategically important challenges,equips students to understand and exploit the latest disruptive trends in business finance and leads to an internationally recognized qualification.
The next course starts in SEPTEMBER 2018, and so it is important to apply now. You can find more details of the course at
http://leasingfoundation.education
The application process is easy, quick and flexible. Those students who have appropriate experience or qualifications (such as the Professional Certificate in Banking or the FLA Diploma in Asset Finance) can be awarded credit through the APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) or APL (Accreditation of Prior Learning) processes, so reducing the time needed, and the costs, of completing the Masters degree.
Carl D’Ammassa of ALdermore Bank, who sponsored one of the students in our first cohort, said of the MA:
“This industry focused programme has delivered significant return on our initial investment.”
YOUNG BUSINESS FINANCE PROFESSIONALS
Young Business Finance Professionals is our network for high-calibre young business finance professionals. The focus is on accelerating career development through advice, support and making connections with peers.
The network holds events throughout the UK, and recently held an event in London attended by 90 young professionals. It was organised by Nathan Mollett from Metro Bank and Graeme Chisholm from CBCRS and featured a Q&A with Jon Maycock from Hampshire Trust Bank, who gave the audience insight into his career, followed by informal networking.
The aim is to help expand the personal networks of young professionals, to talk about career aspirations and challenges in a relaxed setting and to meet Fellows from the Leasing Foundation. The network is developing a Young Business Finance Professionals LinkedIn group which will include profiles of young movers and shakers and established industry leaders.
You can read more about the event at
Please contact Graeme Chisholm at graeme.chisholm@leasingfoundation.org or Nathan Mollett at nathan.mollett@metrobank.plc.uk to learn more about events for the network in 2018.
As Nathan says about the network:
“Young Business Finance professionals is a great way to meet people especially when you are new to the industry. The networking opportunities that the events provide are great and can’t be found in the industry conferences or elsewhere. I’d recommend anyone who wants to make contacts and learn about the industry to come along.”
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
Long overdue for a rapidly changing industry is a programme that recognises the professional status and competence of business finance professionals.
We are now developing the framework for this programme that will deliver career enhancing benefits including recognition of a wide range of education, development and professional and personal experience, valuable connections with a community of professionals and access to tailored professional development resources.
A small design group is working on the programme and we will open our work for wider consultation this summer. For more details of the programme and how to get involved, please contact me at peter.thomas@leasingfoundation.org
GET INVOLVED
We believe that a vibrant modern industry organisation needs committed, enthusiastic and aligned participation. I invite you to think about which of our initiatives best suits your interests, needs and level of commitment and let me know how you would like to be involved.
You can follow our LinkedIn company page and share updates with your network. We maintain pages for Diversity and Inclusion, Young Business Finance Professionals and The Leasing Foundation Future Leaders which you might like to review and join.