Michelle Nunkoo | Dell Technologies
An inspiring leader I manage a talented diverse team of senior consultants with a passion to deliver successful outcomes and support our clients on their digital transformation journeys.
Over the last year in a climate of change, challenge and unknown, Cyber Attacks have been more prevalent than ever and the ripple effects from a Cyberattack can be far-reaching and result in BIG losses. I have driven a successful framework to grow, develop and expand capability and knowledge share to enable a ready workforce to work with our clients to respond to such threats and protect their critical assets. This has led to enhanced time to value, reducing mobilisation lead times, winning client confidence and future business. I am comfortable presenting / advising and collaborating with all levels within our Customer environments from CxO to technical teams.
I began my career at Dell Technologies in 2005 rising from an Internal Sales Executive to Project/Program management, positively impacting our business along the way. I accepted a Leadership role in 2018 and have consistently used my influence to foster a growth mindset and inspire others in their career journeys. I am driven and passionate about Diversity and Inclusion and actively drive towards Dell Technologies 2030 Moon-shot goals. I embrace change and prepare team members for the advancing Digital Age. As a Co-Founder of Women in Consulting, I helped all genders expand their networks, driving connections with senior VPs and other executives across the organization.
I am a participant in a small group of selected individuals to participate in the EMEA “Future Talent program” designed for our future leadership.
I like to challenge the norm and privileged to be part of the Mental Health committee and working on many initiatives such as podcasts, team and management talks to ensure each of us take the time to talk and eliminate taboos.
Outside of work, I am a proud mother of two children, a true fitness fanatic and love a challenge! Being half Spanish, travel and culture is a true passion and a fun fact would be a breath taking 12,000 ft sky dive over the Hoover Damn which was quite the experience! My next adventure is the Inca trail (Machu Picchu) Challenge in 2022. Nestled high in the slopes of the Andes, more than 7,000 feet above sea level, I will be trekking over 6 days, helping to raise funds for the Talent Foundry charity, which helps young people reach their full potential, and share in the common good.
Suman Sidhu | Lane Clark & Peacock LLP
Suman is an Investment Consultant and qualified Actuary at Lane, Clark & Peacock and has over 6 years of industry experience.
Suman is an advocate for building and retaining women in the investment industry. During her time at Lane, Clark & Peacock, Suman has developed a number of successful D&I initiatives including the introduction of LCP's "Let's talk about Gender Equality" programme where content was shared weekly over a month on a variety of topics for example, the history of women's rights and inclusive feminism. Suman is a committee member on LCP's Women's Network where she is very passionate about ensuring equal rights for women in the workforce.
Externally, Suman is an ambassador with the Diversity Project and in particular, sits on their Gender Equality workstream. Recently, she helped to launch a podcast series called "Spotlight on Women in Investments" aimed at encouraging the next generation of female professionals to raise their profile and speak up about their experiences. She has also partnered with UpReach and SEO London to provide mentoring to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and ensure inclusive practices in learning & development.
Suman's aim is to ensure people are aware of the great opportunities that lie within the investment industry. She wants to ensure everyone feels a sense of belonging in their place of work so they are able to realise and meet their full potential no matter their race, gender and socioeconomic status. She strongly believes that a great culture that focuses on people and their needs is paramount to the success of any company.
Chloe Priestley | PwC
In 2014 I joined PwC as part of the "School Leaver Programme" having just finished my A-levels.
During my first four years at PwC I studied for several qualifications including a Level 4 Diploma in Audit Practice and the ACA qualification with the ICAEW and I became a Chartered Accountant in 2018. I really enjoyed my training and I was recognised as a PwC prize winner for my Corporate Reporting exam results and nominated for Kaplan's Student of the Year award. In 2019, aged 23, I was promoted to a Manager in Audit, this was the earliest possible stage in my career for promotion. I also won Professional Pensions "Trainee of the Year," which recognised my outstanding achievements to date. I've specialised in Pensions Assurance within PwC's North Pension team since joining, and more recently have moved into our National Asset Wealth Management ("AWM") team, where I've proactively sought out opportunities to get involved in AWM London based Financial Services clients to expand my knowledge. I continue to develop my pensions specialism, increasingly working across our National practice in addition to broadening my experience with Funds clients.
Prior to joining PwC, I attended a Secondary School which was placed in "special measures" by Ofsted in my GCSE years, despite this I achieved the highest grades which anyone had ever achieved at the School and was recognised at my Sixth Form as having the highest grades of any external student. My Parents had never attended University and it didn't appeal to me, much to my Form Teacher's horror when I announced I wasn't applying to University, my family have always worked in an occupation that requires a trade and so working at a Professional Services Firm was something I'd only seen on TV. I was determined to make something of myself without going to University and applying to PwC as a School Leaver was the best decision I've ever made.
Preeti Singh | KPMG
After completing her Economics degree at the University of Nottingham, Preeti decided to sign up to the Teach First graduate programme and spent 2 years as a secondary school Mathematics teacher in a struggling school in West London.
The intention was to give back to the community she grew up in and take part in the Teach First Leadership Development programme before committing to the corporate world. During this time, Preeti was studying towards the PGCE qualification to become a qualified teacher, whilst teaching full time and positively impacting students’ lives.
Then, in 2017, Preeti joined KPMG on the graduate programme within Technology Risk Consulting and has since been working in Information Risk Management or IT Audit. She grew really quickly within her role, working well above her grade, leading teams, taking ownership of various work-streams, adding value for clients and building strong meaningful relationships both internally and externally.
Alongside her demanding day job working on one of the largest clients in the insurance sector, Preeti looked for ways to stay connected to and helping students’ lives. This is where she came across the IT’s Her Future Juniors programme which was in its planning stage and yet to launch its first event, designed to educate young female students around technology careers and providing long term mentoring. Preeti helped this programme to grow, taking a part in leading events, sourcing schools/students, organising key internal and external speakers and launching further new initiatives such as primary school workshops. In 2019, she took over as the lead of the programme and has been training Future Leaders of the programme, collaborating with other technology firms, overseeing activities and innovating and implementing new innovative workshops for the benefit of future young women.
Outside of her work life, Preeti is passionate about baking, wellness and meeting new people.
Corinna McClune | Citigroup
I was called to the bar in July 2014 after receiving an Exhibition Scholarship and Duke of Edinburgh entrance award from the Inner Temple.
In September 2014 I joined the Citi Legal Department as a Legal Analyst, negotiating documentation for the markets business. In 2017 I took a leap and moved into my current role as EMEA Sanctions, AML and Anti Bribery Counsel and was made a Vice President in 2018. In this role I serve as a subject matter expert regional counsel, covering Citi's operations across all business lines in more than 50 countries in Europe, the Middle East in Africa.
I am in my third year of mentoring with Career Ready which is a national social mobility charity for students and after mentoring some fantastic students in previous years, this year I am serving as mentor support to first time mentors within Citi Belfast. I have also served as a ‘peer mentor’ in the Citi Legal Department, mentoring a peer who is a newcomer to Citi. I am a member of the Citi Belfast Families Matter Steering Committee, we are a small group of employees who deliver programmes and events to help support families in the different stages of a persons career and their personal life. I joined this team as part of my passion for working parents and carers to get as much support as they can from their employer and know what is available to them, as well as being able to plan some fun events along the way. I am also a member of the Pro Bono Access to Justice scheme, taking part in various pro bono projects and a member of our legal team’s Development Committee, which works to implement ideas and initiatives across the Corporate Legal Department globally.
Outside of work I am a girl guide leader so you'll find me preparing crafts or camps for young girls and I'm looking forward to my 4 year old daughter being able to join me this year in guiding. I am also a charity trustee of a local playgroup.
Iona Gallagher | South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF)
I was born in London and moved to Donegal, Ireland when I was 12. In 2012, I moved to Bristol to begin my law degree.
After I graduated, I worked as a paralegal for two years before undertaking an LLM at the University of Bristol. I competed in different advocacy competitions and came 2nd in the Herbert Smith Freehills Mooting Competition during my LLM. I volunteered with the Unseen Exploitation Society and attended local schools in Bristol to educate young adults on their employment rights. I also volunteered with LinkAge for four years as part of their ‘be-friender’ scheme.
In 2018, I received an Exhibition Award from Inner Temple for £18,000 to fund my Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). I began the BPTC in 2018 and I was Called to the Bar of England and Wales in July 2019. During that year, I volunteered with the Personal Support Unit (now Support Through Court) to support people attending court who could not afford legal representation. I also won two advocacy competitions during my Bar Course.
Currently, I am working at the South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) in London to support victims and survivors of The Troubles. I have been involved in the Hyde Park case, that was in the High Court in 2019, and the Victims’ Payments Regulations 2020. I have signed up to become a mentor with The Girls’ Network and I am looking forward to being paired with my mentee shortly. I am also a global advisor at ‘Mazeltov’, an international initiative focused on access to justice.
I’m passionate about making the law more accessible and diverse.
Natasha Dutton | Allen & Overy LLP
Natasha is a Trainee Solicitor at Allen & Overy in London and manager at GROW Mentoring, a charity which aims to increase access to law for aspiring lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds.
She is an Australian who studied Politics at the University of Western Australia before moving to London to study her GDL and LPC at BPP University in London. Natasha is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and has a particular focus on mentoring young women in law.
Jennifer Cadet | Latham & Watkins
In addition to a flourishing legal practice in which I help companies around the world buy and sell assets and other companies, I am a member of the Diversity Leadership Committee at Latham & Watkins and previously was a leader of our office's Black Lawyers Group.
My drive to improve diversity, equity and inclusion comes from experiencing first-hand the lack of diversity throughout the legal profession and the numerous times I have been the only Black person or woman in the room. I am passionate about improving access to the legal profession, and am particularly focused on uniting lawyers around the globe who share an interest in the long-term success and development of Black lawyers and improving diversity, equity and inclusion across the board.
Morag Ofili | Harbottle & Lewis LLP
Morag is an employed Barrister at boutique law firm Harbottle & Lewis LLP.
She has long been a strong advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion. Specialising in tax, a practice area that is not occupied by many black women, she recognises the importance of being a role model in her field and acts as a mentor to many female and ethnic minority members of the profession.
From the outset of her career, Morag has been passionate about diversity and inclusion. During her studies, following the murder of an inmate at HMP Brixton, she was given the opportunity to work within the prison's diversity team and carry out assessments of prison practices and policies that were deemed to be institutionally racist and make recommendations for improvements to the system.
As a committee member of the Black Barristers' Network (BBN), Morag played an important role in the data analysis that underpinned the 2020 BBN report on the experiences of Black Barristers at the self-employed Bar. These findings were reported in the press and have been used to drive conversations with key stakeholders. She also has speaks to primary school children about being a barrister as part of the BBN's belief that all children benefit from seeing minority representation at the Bar.
Outside of work, Morag is a director of Broadminded, a network for ambitious women which puts out content which aims to inspire, educate and motivate women in the world of work.
Morag has recently started her own diversity and inclusion advisory business called Kiltered, which provides diversity and inclusion advice to organisations across the UK and Europe.
Simone Goligorsky | Reed Smith
I am a Counsel in the Energy and Natural Resources Group at law firm Reed Smith.
I advise trading companies, banks and utilities on commodity trading, transactional, and regulatory matters. Most recently, I was seconded to ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, to work on the development of its new trading business, and was fortunate enough to be able to be based in the client’s office in the UAE.
I decided to qualify into the field of commodities trading because of the dynamic and fast-paced environment driven almost entirely by geopolitical events, meaning the nature of the work changes on a regular basis. I work the clients based across the global, which brings with it an opportunity to understand each client’s product, project and geographic concerns, making each matter that I work on unique.
I read French and Philosophy at UCL. I then did the law conversion course at the College of Law, graduating with an LLB. I then studied for an LLM, whilst doing my training contract. I was very lucky to have good careers advisors who told me that it was possible to have a career in law without studying law as an undergraduate degree at university, and that I could undertake my law conversion course following the completion of a Bachelor’s degree.
My language skills have been hugely beneficial to my career: I spent part of my training contract in Paris, following which I was seconded to a client in their French-speaking Geneva office. Being a fluent Russian speaker, I am able to work closely with colleagues in Reed Smith’s Nur-Sultan office, and conduct negotiations with clients in Russian.