Francesca joined Credit Suisse as Group Chief Operating Officer in September 2022 from Bank of Ireland where she served as Group CEO from 2017 to 2022. Prior to that, she worked at HSBC for 20 years, serving in a number of leadership roles, including Group General Manager, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Regional Head, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Middle East and North Africa. In her two decades with the firm, she worked in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. In her role as Bank of Ireland CEO, Francesca had overall accountability for the Group Inclusion & Diversity program, which included the With Pride LGBT+ Network, one of the program’s strongest components. She ensured that the voice of the network was heard resoundingly, with an Executive Committee and an HR Champion aligned to the network to bolster support at a senior level and support the delivery of the Group’s D&I strategy. She also spearheaded key inclusion initiatives, such as mandatory D&I goals for senior leaders, Group D&I training, LGBT+ allyship training for Executives, regularly reviewed D&I success measures, and the promotion of an inclusion environment through all gender signage and accessible bathroom facilities. At Credit Suisse, she continues to engage and challenge D&I initiatives and will support key group opportunities to do more.
