It’s been a busy 12 months for the Leasing Foundation, despite the pandemic challenges. We’re proud to have continued with the vast majority of the events and initiatives that we had planned and have had some great wins in 2021.
Of note, I would like to mention:
The Next Generation Nework
- Industry Insights Programme – we launched this cross industry initiative focussed on retaining and developing young talent in the sector back in May 2021. The aim was to enable ‘high potential’ professionals to gain exposure to a wide range of businesses as part of their professional development. To date, we have held six sessions, each with 24 attendees, plus an extra session ran by Lisa McIver, Learning and Development Manager at Alfa, to help participants consolidate their learning and discuss any challenges. We’ve got another eight sessions planned in 2022 for this particular cohort and have already started planning the for the ‘Class of 2023’
- The Leasing Foundation 30 under 30– another programme that we launched this year to recognise the industry’s exceptional young stars, showcase their achievements within the sector, and reward their drive, creativity and passion. In conjunction with Asset Finance International, we asked for nominations and named 30 people who are seen as the most influential and highest achieving individuals in the asset finance industry. The index was announced at the Asset Finance Connect event in November and each of the 30 individuals were awarded a beautiful glass start to mark the accolade.
- The NextGen Networking event at the Deck also took place in November – the first face to face event in over a year. 60 people attended and we all had a great time, meeting up with faces old and new.
Diversity & Inclusion
- Blogs – The D&I team have been hard at work both writing monthly blogs and identifying guest bloggers. This year we’ve had over 12 blogs on a range of topics – including Black History Month, what individuals are doing for workplace diversity and measuring excellence at not people– written by Hilary Malcolm at Natwest Group, Rob Nicol at Siemens and Frank Starling at Variety Pack to name but a few.
- Events in conjunction with the Finance & Leasing Association –The most recent one was a masterclass on removing barriers and reaching untapped talent. The partnership with the FLA is a very successful one as we have the same aim and ethos in this area. We have additional dates in the diary for 2022 to cover more themes, including the power of gratitude and mindfulness.
Innovation Initiative
- Face to face sessions – we have been busy planning a number of these for 2022. The first one is likely to focus on platform providers and we will let everyone know the details once they are firmed up.
I would like to express my thanks to everyone involved in these initiatives and everyone that took part / attended, especially the following individuals for giving their time so freely to create events and initiatives that are of interest to the industry:
- Alex McWilliams
- Samantha Lee
- Lauren McQuilken
- Alexia Perez-Rosell
- Arran Wells
- Melanie Chell
- Helen Lumb
- Brian Murphy
- Catriona Powell
- Laura Roberts
- Helen Thernstrom
- Emma Thomas
All that remains now is to say is look out for more interesting events, initiatives and thought-provoking write ups next year and that we wish you all a very merry and safe festive period.
Mike Randall
Chair, Leasing Foundation