1 June 2020 – The Leasing Foundation today announced that it has exciting projects in the pipeline for when lockdown finishes and we start getting used to the ‘new normal’ in the latter part of 2020 and beyond. With a refreshed purpose that will focus on driving growth and change across the business finance industry, the Foundation will provide a vital role in supporting individuals within it as well as helping businesses in the UK access the finance they need.
Developments include:
- A new chair – Mike Randall, CEO of Simply – to lead the Foundation over the next year
- The rebrand of the Young Business Finance Professionals into the Next Generation group
- Busy and beneficial programmes for the Innovation Initiative, Next Generation and Diversity channels, involving:
- Further breakfast seminars focusing on how customer and employee experience is of key importance to business growth, and how innovation is crucial to this (Innovation Initiative)
- Launch of the ‘Industry Insights Programme’, a cross-industry initiative focussed on attracting and developing young talent in the business finance sector. The programme aims to enable high-potential individuals to gain exposure to businesses outside of their own organisation as part of their professional development (Next Generation)
- A series of events to help companies in the asset finance industry understand the business benefits of diversity and help them embed inclusion into hiring, performance/succession management, leadership development and learning (Diversity and Inclusion)
- A formalised partnership with the AF-PA Trust to add a charitable element to the Foundation
- Working more closely with the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) on numerous initiatives, including those in the diversity, future talent and innovation spheres
- The creation of a team of ‘ambassadors’ in each of the three programmes who will help lead activity, broaden their scope and keep a constant stream of events in the calendar. This structure will replace the Fellowship.
Mike Randall, chair of the Leasing Foundation, commented: “I would like to thank Andy Denton for all the hard work he has put in during his tenure as chair. He remains on the board as a non-exec and I look forward to his valuable input over the next year. We’ve been very busy over the last 18 months, consolidating our endeavours under three key channels. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, from the four incredibly successful breakfast debates organised by the Innovation Initiative in 2019 through to the Next Generation networking evenings and diversity and inclusion events. Above all, we’ve been honing our purpose and ensuring everything we do is relevant and useful to our industry. The industry is changing at pace, especially during the current pandemic, and we want to be at the forefront of the new era that is evolving. Our key priority is to serve the sector and the people within it and we are excited about our partnership with the Finance and Leasing Association. In the spirit of getting things done, if anyone wants to join one of the groups, we’d love to hear from them.”
If anyone would like to be an ambassador for any of the three channels, please do get in contact via hello@leasingfoundation.org.
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For more information contact:
Simply Asset Finance
Chantal Heckford
07940 389537