London – 13 February 2020 – 100 Women in Finance (“100WF”), a global, practitioner-driven non-profit organization that serves more than 15,000 professionals in the finance and alternative investment industries, announces that it successfully raised more than 400,000 GBP in support of Founders4School, 100WF’s Investing in the Next Generation Initiative programme partner in the UK and the producer of the schools-based Maths4Girls programme.
The Gala was hosted last evening at London’s Banqueting House and was attended by HRH The Countess of Wessex, who serves as 100WF’s Global Ambassador of Investing in the Next Generation Initiatives. She delivered a stirring speech about the importance of gender diversity in corporate leadership.
100WF’s EMEA Industry Leadership Award recipient, Marianna Fassinotti.
More than 200 leaders from the financial services and alternative investment industry also attended the Gala, where Marianna Fassinotti, managing director of the D. E. Shaw group was presented with 100WF’s EMEA Industry Leadership Award in recognition of her achievements and leadership in the financial services industry. This Award is presented annually in recognition of exemplary professional talent, business ethics, and passion for investing that further define and advance the industry’s standards of excellence. In alignment with 100WF’s focus on Investing in the Next Generation, the organisation favored the selection of an honoree who would be particularly inspirational to the younger generation of female investment professionals.
In recognition of those whose work has created more expansive professional opportunity for women in the finance industry, the organisation additionally honoured the following individuals with its Effecting Change Award: Blaine and Laura Tomlinson, Patronage Sponsors of 100WF’s Impact Initiatives; Wayne Lee, Managing Director and Head, Europe and Asia Pacific Region, CIBC and Stephane Marchand, Managing Director, Head of International Prime Finance and Clearing Sales, J.P. Morgan.
The Effecting Change Awards were presented by HRH The Countess of Wessex.
HRH The Countess of Wessex (center) with 100WF Effecting Change Award honourees,
Stephane Marchand (left) and Wayne Lee (right).
View past 100WF Industry Leadership Award and Effecting Change honorees here.
100WF’s Investing in the Next Generation Initiative reaches, inspires, and supports pre-career women of all backgrounds, to become the finance industry’s leadership pipeline. This initiative is an important strategic element in the organisation’s 30×40 Vision, in which women will perform 30% of the finance industry’s investment and executive team roles by year 2040.
Lauren Malafronte, Managing Director, Scotiabank and 100WF’s Global Association Board Chair, expressed: “Our support of Maths4Girls, a shared endeavor with Founders4Schools to encourage pre-career young women to commit themselves to advanced study of maths and to aspire to careers in the finance industry, is a direct expression of our 30×40 Vision. We have found an ideal programme partner in Founders4School, and I’m incredibly proud that our 100WF members in the UK are proving to be effective role models for these students.”
The 100WF London Gala is produced by a volunteer committee of 100WF members, chaired by Rajmeet Bhatti, M&G plc. Ms. Bhatti stated, “The success of this event is the direct result of the committee’s planning and execution, and the support of the Gala sponsors, all of which were invaluable.”
Summarizing the event, 100WF CEO Amanda Pullinger noted, “Tonight, we raised funds for an organization that points pre-career teenage girls of all backgrounds toward the finance industry, we honoured a woman who is one of the industry’s highest achievers, and we shined an appreciative light on those who have widened this pathway. The Gala is a showcase for what’s possible when we come together to Invest in the Next Generation.”
To learn more, volunteer or donate to 100WF’s UK program partner, Maths4Girls, see here.
About 100 Women in Finance
100 Women in Finance Association, Inc. more than 15,000 members strengthen the global finance industry by empowering women to achieve their professional potential at each career stage. Its members inspire, equip and advocate for a new generation of industry leadership, in which women and men serve as investment professionals and executives, equal in achievement and impact. Through Education, Peer Engagement and Impact, the organization furthers the progress of women who have chosen finance as a career, and enables their positive influence over pre-career young women.
Reference in this statement to 100WF and to 100 Women in Finance are to 100 Women in Finance Association, Inc.
About Founders4Schools and Maths4Girls
Founders4Schools’s (F4S) mission is to inspire students, particularly in disadvantaged schools, and to prepare them for the world of work, by connecting them with professionals from successful companies in their community and giving the young people a chance to develop social, employment and life skills regardless of their parental networks or school resources.
Maths4Girls, a F4S’s programme in association with 100 Women in Finance, seeks to encourage girls to consider a career in the finance industry and to continue with maths at school to A’level so that a career in the industry is an option. Maths4Girls will connect educators with female professionals from the finance industry who will speak to girls in the classroom about their careers as well as the importance of maths for work and as a life skill. Maths4Girls role models from 100WF’s membership will show a generation that girls’ success in advanced maths is possible, creating a larger pool of qualified female candidates for careers in the finance industry and other sectors where maths skills are required.