Christina Warner | Goldsmith Chambers
Christina is a family law, human rights and animal protection barrister at Goldsmith Chambers. Originally qualifying as a solicitor-advocate, she cross-qualified as she believed her skills could be better utilised at the bar.
Having contributed to campaigns and conferences she raises awareness of social mobility and access to justice for those of marginalised and disenfranchised communities, in particular those of the LGBT and Spanish-speaking communities in London.
Christina often represents individuals who form part of alternative family structures, promoting their rights and those of their children as well as better visibility of the community before the family courts.
After a sabbatical at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, where Christina contributed to the draft guidance on policies involving children and also formed part of a team of prosecutors bringing cases against individuals involved in the recruitment of child soldiers and girls involved in sexual slavery; Christina was appointed associate counsel in January 2018 with a particular interest in representing the victims of gender-based violence.
Aside from her work in family justice, Christina also works on matters concerning animal protection and domestic abuse and the impact of family law proceedings on the lives of companion animals. Having collaborated with both animal and domestic abuse charities in the UK and internationally, she has advised on the safeguarding and wellbeing of animals in situations of domestic abuse or in circumstances of relationship breakdown, highlighting the role companion animals play in the lives of children who have been subject to family law proceedings.
Christina has been published in leading legal journals on legislation impacting animals, including matters of dog ownership and the need for greater funding for those fleeing domestic abuse with their companion animals.
Christina has been a keynote speaker at international events discussing matters of domestic abuse. During 2020, Christina was invited by US-based charity, Positive Links to speak on two occasions firstly, in May 2020 on the impact of CoVid on domestic abuse in the UK and in September 2020 on the protection of companion animals in situations of domestic abuse.
Christina was also a keynote speaker at Recognise & Respond: Strengthening advocacy for LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse which was hosted by LGBT charity, GALOP in May 2019. She provided an update in relation to the proposals made by the domestic abuse legislation and how this is likely to affect both service providers and those of the LGBT+ community. Christina was amongst members of Parliament and academics talking on the subject of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse.
In 2021, Christina was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a genetic birth defect causing which causes sight loss. As someone who is partially sighted, Christina feels honoured to form part of an incredible community of practicing barristers who represent those with seen and unseen disabilities championing for greater visibility and diversity at the bar.
Rachel Welch-Phillips | Bird & Bird LLP
I am an Associate in the International Aviation Group at Bird & Bird LLP.
I act for operating lessors, managers, banks and airlines in a variety of international aviation transactions, and provide regulatory advice to the industry with a special focus on environmental matters. I have experience in commercial and financial aviation matters including aircraft sale and purchase, operating leases and asset management.
Alongside my law degree, I hold a BA and MPhil (Cantab) in Environmental Policy and advise on regulatory and compliance issues in relation to airline greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental matters. In addition, I assist clients with a broad range of regulatory matters within the aviation industry including slot allocation, big data, jurisidictional issues, the law of unmanned aerial vehicles, and general compliance with EU and UK aviation law.
As the daughter of a diplomat my life has been characterised by constant travel, predominantly to places where being black was the exception not the rule. From an early age I faced the challenges of representing visible and audible difference, and in overcoming these, I have learned the significant strength to be found in being different. Throughout my legal journey and in my role as Chair and Founder of the BAME Network at Bird & Bird LLP, Embrace, I strive to prove and to empower others to apply the strength that lies in confidently portraying unique characteristics and perspectives.
Emily Agnoli | Simmons & Simmons
Emily has over 10 years’ experience managing complex international criminal, regulatory and internal investigations, for individuals and corporates. Her work has included:
• investigating a $9.6 billion fraud involving two prominent Saudi families;
• advising on an SFO investigation into a financial institution regarding two capital raisings during the 2008 financial crisis;
• persuading HMRC not to prosecute a retired banker accused of involvement in a film financing tax avoidance scheme;
• advising a global company on a substantial police investigation into fraud and misconduct in public office, involving over 50 witnesses; and
• advising Petrofac on its high-profile ongoing SFO investigation.
She has carried out numerous internal investigations and advised on investigations involving the Financial Conduct Authority, US Department of Justice, UK police, Maritime and Coastguard Agency and HMRC. Alongside this work she has experience of high profile civil litigation with expertise in managing the issues that arise in parallel civil and criminal proceedings. Emily also advises clients on contentious data protection litigation, cyber-attack and data breach response and notification, most recently advising an investor services company in relation to threatened litigation by a PEP for GDPR breaches.
Emily is passionate about the development of junior talent at the firm, acting as a mentor, in particular to junior women and those preparing to go off on or return from maternity leave. Emily is Head of the Associates Gender Balance Committee and helped draft the firm’s race and ethnicity allies booklet. She is a finalist in the Outstanding Returner category in the Women in Law Awards 2020 following her successful return from her second maternity leave and recently started a ‘Mums in Law’ support group.
Having originally studied History at the University of Edinburgh, she did her law conversion at BPP Law School in London. She has two young daughters and lives in East London.
Erika Pagano | Simmons Wavelength (Simmons & Simmons)
Erika is the Head of Legal Innovation and Design at Simmons Wavelength. She is an award-winning lawyer, innovator, and educator whose sweet spots include culture creation, leadership, strategy, teaming, technology, and cross-border initiatives.
Having dedicated nearly a decade to change, creativity, and client centricity in the legal profession, Erika works with a wide variety of clients on harnessing the power of applied legal design—that is, taking a holistic and practical approach to how visual, verbal, and technological factors add value to communications, processes, and interactions by facilitating accelerated digitalization, ensuring simplicity and streamlining, and creating competitive advantage. She leads the world's first and only legal design team housed within a global law firm.
Prior to joining Simmons, Erika was a full-time academic at the University of Miami School of Law and led legal innovation and culture creation projects for some of the world's largest corporations and law firms. She was also the Director of LawWithoutWalls, the world's largest legal innovation education nonprofit that enables teams of lawyers, business professionals, and students from six continents to collaborate and hone their creative and cultural competencies. In these roles, Erika has taught thousands of students and professionals the skills needed for success in the 21st century legal profession. Between her undergraduate and law degrees, Erika lived and worked in China. She has a background in broadcasting, a love for speaking Spanish and Chinese, and will never turn down another Sichuan cookbook.
Erika has been recognised by the Financial Times and the British Legal Awards. She is a regular speaker and published author. She also serves as Guest Faculty at IE University (Madrid), where she teaches courses on innovation in the legal profession at both the undergraduate and Masters levels. She sits on multiple boards (Georgetown Class of 2008 Committee, LawWithoutWalls Advisory Board, Awesome Foundation London, University of Miami School of Law Alumni Board and National Advisory Council, and ILTA Law School Advisory Group) and is a graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and the University of Miami School of Law, where she served as Managing Editor of the University of Miami Law Review.
Emma Burger | Bloomberg
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, I studied Finance and Accounting at the University of Cape Town.
I joined Bloomberg in 2015 within the Data department covering Fundamental Analysis for Sub-Saharan African listed companies, before relocating to London in 2017 to join as a data specialist in the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) team. My role has been to continue to build a product to promote transparency in corporate responsibility & sustainability, something our founder has always been putting at the forefront of individuals, corporates and government's minds. Being able to work towards making the world a more sustainable place by educating the investment community on how to measure ESG factors brings a new level of excitement and pride to my role and what I can do in this space. In 2019, I became a team leader for the ESG data team, mentoring and developing others to build ESG products.
At the end of 2020, I become a Mental Health First Aider and have taken a more active role in trying to reduce stigma around this topic in the workplace, participating in roundtables and hosting events on this topic. Being more aware of different triggers and how best to be prepared in different stressful circumstances has helped me be a better leader, friend and partner.
I have been involved in multiple mentoring programmes both at Bloomberg and externally, helping coach students and young talent to pursue careers in Fintech, as well as promote sustainability through university social impact events and workshops.
More personally I am an old soul - I love tea, peppermint, chamomile, Rooibos or Redbush as it's called in the UK, cats (I have a kitten called Tilly) and making my own clothes.
Ines Uwiteto | Seven Investment Management
Originally from Rwanda and then raised in the UK, I have always valued the importance education.
My desire to ensure that vulnerable communities have access to quality education, information about opportunities and support through mentorship has been an important part of my career.
Whilst I was studying at the London School of Economics, I took part in a one-year after school mentor program that worked with schools in the most deprived areas of London. The following year, over the summer I taught in an orphanage in Tanzania working with students and teachers to improve class structures and fundraising to implement those plans.
I joined HSBC Global Asset Management in 2014 in the Discretionary Wealth Management Team. I managed client relationships, supported the training of new investment specialists and took part in wider team initiatives and experiences. The most memorable in 2017, I climbed Mount Mulanje in Malawi to raise funds for Micro Loan. The charity supports women in Malawi and Zambia in setting up their own self sustainable businesses by providing small loans, ongoing business training and support. The world’s poorest are women and girls and often family responsibilities, local cultures can make the journey to education more challenging, so for me it was important to support an organisation with this focus.
I have always been passionate about sustainability and having joined 7IM it has given me the platform to build upon. I have championed our sustainable investment offering and I am helping to drive our diversity and inclusion agenda. This year we are supporting students from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds to help them explore and understand the financial industry as well providing mentorship.
Abika Martin | Parmenion Capital Partners
Abika joined Parmenion as an Investment Manager in March 2019.
Her role involves macro-economic and fund research across all asset classes and analysis of the risk and return inherent in their suite of investment solutions, including the award-winning Ethical models. She sits on the Tactical Asset Allocation committee.
Prior to joining Parmenion, Abika had been an Investment Manager for high net worth individuals, trusts, and charities at Investec Wealth & Investment, before qualifying further as an Independent Financial Adviser. She has a particular interest in Estate planning, and held memberships with SOLLA, STEP and Resolution. This expertise has been invaluable insight for the Parmenion investment team, linking established investment solutions more closely to the advice process and putting client needs at the heart of all they do.
However, a career in Financial Services was never something Abika expected to pursue. She considered her strength to be more literacy than the numeracy, and hoped to become a barrister. Having graduated during the recession, though, she instead ended up at an engineering company. This was perhaps an unlikely environment for a young female Humanities graduate, but one where the real breadth of her skill set became apparent. She developed her approach to thorough analysis, persuasively communicated, to deliver optimal outcomes, and in 2013 discovered Investment Management was the perfect subject matter on which to apply it.
Abika holds the CISI’s CFA-equivalent Chartered Wealth Management qualification, and the CII’s Diploma in Financial Planning, alongside their specialist qualifications in Long Term Care Planning and Equity Release. She has a 2:1 Honours degree in History from the University of Bristol.
Zoe Deady | Tilney Smith & Williamson
My interest in the financial markets arose during my final two years of university, when I spent my free time as an analyst in the Trinity Student Managed Fund and was actively involved in its women in business initiative.
This newly gained curiosity led me to seek out an internship in my penultimate summer at Investec’s Irish arm. Upon graduating from Trinity College Dublin, I moved to London in 2017, to join Tilney’s Fund of Funds team. As an investment analyst, I supported the portfolio managers with the daily implementation of the funds, whilst supporting the Head of Funds in a marketing and sales capacity.
Less than a year later, I joined the Direct Equities team as an equity analyst. Our responsibilities range from fundamental stock analysis to assisting wealth managers with portfolio construction. The learning curve is steep but rewarding if you're curious and enjoy a challenge. No two days are the same, and I enjoy interacting with a wide range of individuals both interally and externally. Over the past 3 years, I have progressed to become the lead analyst for Consumer Discretionary, Property and Transport sectors, whilst passing my CFA level 1, IMC and ESG investing certificate.
I am passionate on driving change within the industry, believing that the Investment Management sector risks being overlooked for careers by the upcoming generations if it does not pick up the pace on implementing a more inclusive culture. I sit within my firm's wider Diversity and Inclusion committee, on the Race, Religion & Ethnicity working group. Outside of work, I sit on the Women in Banking & Finance's Future Leaders Shadow Board, where I aim to give back, particularly to those who are at the early stages of building a career or are yet to enter the industry.
Eilidh Anderson | Kingswood Group
Eilidh is an Investment Manager at Kingswood Group with 8 years’ experience working in the industry and a particular interest in ESG and impact investing.
She has a background in research and portfolio management including both direct equities and funds. She started her career in 2013 at Charles Stanley and worked her way up through a variety of roles while completing the requisite qualifications.
After noticing the distinct lack of women in investment and executive positions, Eilidh became a member of Charles Stanley’s Innovation Through Inclusion Committee at its foundation in 2016 and worked with members to sign the firm up to the Women in Finance Charter and improve the parental leave policy to name a few. At Kingswood, she is continuing this work as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In order to increase representation in the wider financial services industry, Eilidh is also a member of the Social Inclusion working group for CFA UK’s Inclusion & Diversity Committee and a member of the Future Leaders Shadow Board at Women in Banking and Finance.
Eilidh was born and raised in Scotland and moved to London in 2014 to pursue her career. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2012 with a Masters of Arts in Psychology. Beyond the office Eilidh enjoys travel, photography, writing and competitive sport. She is a formal national volleyball player having played the sport for 10 years and received a prestigious Blue upon graduation from university in honour of her sporting success. Eilidh was also team captain, EUVC secretary and is a qualified volleyball coach and referee.
Rachel Harbers | Morgan Stanley
Born and bred in Australia I have always chased adventure and new experiences, from sea kayaking in Fiji for my Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition, completing a university social business internship in India or my placement with a Middle East strategy consulting firm.
My high school exchange to Benenden School in Kent introduced me to The City, and inspired me to seek a dynamic and international career path in the City of London.
I studied a Bachelor of Economics at The Women’s College, within the University of Sydney and was awarded ‘The Women’s College Scholarship’ for my skills in academic, sporting and cultural life. After graduating, I began my career in Private Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley in Sydney, and within six months I was asked to step up and lead the International Middle Office team whilst my Manager was on maternity leave. The leadership opportunity allowed me to recognise that I thrive working in a team environment where I lead projects and find solutions.
This drive directed my relocation in October 2018 to London with Morgan Stanley Investment Management. My role as a Transitions Manager gave me a broad understanding of the investment management life cycle and I was delighted that my immediate impact was recognised by being a Finalist in the 2019 Women in Investment Awards 'Rising Star of the Year'.
My recent move to the International Product team has involved regular contact with colleagues and clients across EMEA, Asia, and US and has been a dynamic forum for relationship management and negotiation skills across large scale projects. I thrive on a collaborative approach to effectively manage stakeholder expectations and shifting deadlines, within our team philosophy of innovation.
An early introduction to community volunteering through The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has led to fundraising for Cancer Research with a 1km ocean swim and sprint triathlon in Australia’s 40 degree summer heat to my current role as Co-Chair of the Future Leaders Shadow Board (FLSB) for Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF). I have led our recent forward strategy for the FLSB, and personally networked to recruit a diverse group of future leaders from across the industry and created an inclusive and collaborative board environment with my Co-Chair. Despite Covid-19, many opportunities abound for mentoring others through WIBF, and I am hoping to run my first charity half-marathon in 2021.
My vision as a WeAreTheCity Rising Star would be to focus on inspiring Future Leaders for the Investment Management industry. Through collaboration between WeAreTheCity and Women in Banking and Finance - I would aim to reach out to the wider community by running educational panel events with girls in high schools across the UK on the multiple roles and career paths available within the industry. It would be full circle - as a schoolgirl from Australia, I learnt of The City and it inspired me on my career pathway. To then represent The City to inspire other young women across diverse backgrounds to be the next generation of Future Leaders would be a rewarding way to pay it forward.