2016 Top 100 LGBTQ+ Executives

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Gigi Chao

Executive Vice Chairman

Cheuk Nang Holdings Limited

Gigi is the Executive Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong based real estate organisation Cheuk Nang Holdings Ltd. She is a visible and vocal advocate for taking pride in one's LGBTQ identity and regularly speaks on LGBT inclusion in the corporate workplace and beyond. In 2012 Gigi was thrust into the spotlight when her father publically offered HK$500 million (US$64.5 million) to any man who could convince his lesbian daughter to marry him. Two years later, Cecil Chao doubled his offer. Gigi has always remained true to her identity and in January 2014 she penned an open letter in the South China Morning Post entitled ‘Dear Daddy, you must accept I’m a lesbian’ that implored her father to accept her identity as well as appearing on Channel News Asia in in a ‘Conversation With’ programme where she shared her story with the world. Gigi is also a founding member of Big Love Alliance, an LGBT charitable organisation in Hong Kong which advocates acceptance and equality. As well as acting as an ambassador for Aids Concern, and being an active member of St John’s Cathedral, an inclusive Anglican church in Hong Kong. She has also spoken at various Diversity & Inclusion events all of the world discussing her views on LGBT inclusion in Hong Kong.

Inga Beale

Chief Executive Officer

Lloyd's of London

Since being the first woman and bisexual to top the OUTstanding LGBT+ Executives list in 2015, Inga has enthusiastically continued to champion and promote diversity and inclusion in business over the past year. As a global LGBT role model, Inga has remained committed to highlighting the business case for diversity and inclusion through high-profile events and media interviews, including the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2016 in Davos, the Economist Pride & Prejudice: Spotlight interview and the Women of the World Festival at the Southbank Centre. She is the first female CEO in Lloyds of London’s 327 year history as well as one of the few – perhaps the only – openly bisexual business leaders at her level. Inga is also the architect and sponsor of Inclusion@Lloyd’s and plays a key role in the market-wide D&I festival, Dive In.

Alan Joyce

Chief Executive Officer

Qantas

Alan has been the Group CEO of Qantas for the past eight years and has been instrumental in building an inclusive environment within Australia’s national airline. Qantas has recently launched an LGBT group for employees to go alongside its other internal diversity programs, which are targeted at removing bias in the workplace and recruitment processes. Qantas also sponsors Sydney Mardi Gras and is a corporate supporter of the Australian Marriage Equality campaign. Alan is a member of the Male Champions of Change, a group of Australian CEOs who are advocates for greater diversity in senior levels of business, and is involved with the Pinnacle Foundation. He uses the platform of CEO to speak up for inclusion and diversity, including taking part in the Economist’s Pride and Prejudice event in Hong Kong, interviews with the Australian and international media, and recent opinion pieces for The Guardian and The Australian.

Martine Rothblatt

CEO

United Therapeutics Corporation

With Martine at the helm, the United Therapeutics Corporation treats all applicants and employees equally without regard to sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. She is a vocal, visible trans leader who has been very open about her transition and gender identity, leading her company to issue official statements opposing transphobic legislation. Recently, she has defended rights of people to use lavatories/WCs/restrooms/toilets based on gender identity not genitalia on national TV and in Opinion Pages of a major North Carolina newspaper. She has also given a Ted talk with her story of changing genders and careers on her way to being the CEO of a major biomedical company, and in June she attended an LGBT Pride Reception at the White House hosted by President Obama. Additionally, she has written a book called "Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender,” and personally supports the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Stacey Friedman

General Counsel

JP Morgan

Stacey is currently the only openly gay General Counsel of a Systemically Important Financial Institution. Her leadership and conviction to improve diversity has been instrumental in shaping the culture of the legal department. In her personal time, Stacey is actively involved with Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), and is a founding member of SAGE’s National LGBT Elder Housing Initiative Advisory Council, which aims to provide advice and counsel to SAGE on law and public policy matters. She is also an active supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union and serves on the board of the National Center for Law & Economic Justice (NCLEJ).

David Furnish

CEO

Rocket Entertainment Group

As the most senior executive within the Rocket Entertainment group David has ensured an equal opportunities policy across the organisation. As one half of a very public couple, and Chairman of the Elton John Aids Foundation, he continues to use his position to champion LGBT rights publically and globally. In 2016 he attended the Durban International Aids Conference where he announced the first grantees under a new, $10m LGBT Fund that the Foundation has established with the U.S. Government. He has also taken part in several corporate events to raise the issue of diversity in the workplace, recording a message for the global offices of McKinsey and running a session at UBS London offices, live streamed to its businesses in Hong Kong, Johannesburg and Geneva. Additionally he was a vocal advocate for marriage equality in the UK and was among the first couples in the UK to take advantage of civil partnership and more recently marriage legislation.

Jonathan Mildenhall

Chief Marketing Officer

Airbnb

As head of the Marketing department, Jonathan is able to ensure that Airbnb’s marketing messaging is inclusive and fosters understanding. For example, they recently featured a same sex lesbian family with three kids in their “Don’t Go There, Live There” global ad campaign and promoted various LGBT identities. He is also an active supporter of both the Human Rights Campaign and the AIDS/LifeCycle. In 2016 Jonathan was named “Marketer of the Year” by the New York Advertising Club and due to Airbnb’s marketing partnership with Beyoncé, they became the most talked about brand at the Super Bowl, which averaged 111.9 million TV viewers.

Liz Bingham

Partner

EY

Liz is the most senior visible lesbian (or gay) role model in the UK firm and the 2nd most senior visible lesbian globally. She proactively engages with leaders in the business to ensure that their strategy for inclusion also includes LGBT folk. She speaks at internal recruitment and development events to actively role model that sexual orientation or being transgender is not a barrier to success in the firm. Liz is also an active member of Stonewall, is on the board of Open for Business and acts as a mentor on the OUTstanding mentoring scheme. Additionally in June 2016, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Bath for work on the equality and inclusion agenda (especially LGBT) in the workplace.

Mary Portas

Executive Creative Director

Portas Agency

Mary is fully open about her identity and ensures that her values permeate the whole organisation and shape its reputation for inclusion. The Portas Agency is totally androgynous, it is a place where everyone is welcome and that talent, knowledge, skill, respect and kindness are the only things anybody will be judged on. Mary has been a devoted member of Stonewall for the past 10 years and was nominated as Entertainer of the Year at the Stonewall Awards in 2008 and 2009. Additionally she has spoken at various events about tolerance and understanding, and recently delivered a lecture at the John Locke Society at Westminster School on similar topics. Sexuality and understanding are always a part of any of her regular appearances on TV, as well as the regular speeches she delivers as part of her business life.

Louis Vega

Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman and CEO; Vice President Dow Olympic and Sports Solutions

Dow Chemical Company

By bringing his ‘whole’ and open self to work embracing not only his sexual identity but also his Latin American heritage, Louis strives to be a role model to all employees. As a hands-on management sponsor for Dow’s GLAD network for LGBT and ally colleagues, Louis proudly plays an outspoken and public role in representing that organisation and its mission. He is also a sought after speaker and ambassador for Dow with recent engagements as a speaker at the first Pride Connection event in Mexico, delivering the keynote at the recent OUTstanding reception and was recently appointed to the 30% Steering Committee.

Peter Arvai

CEO

Prezi

As a CEO and co-founder of Prezi, Peter’s goal from day 1 was to create an open environment where everyone would be comfortable with sharing their identity with others and to celebrate diversity. This philosophy ended up seeing Prezi as the first Hungarian company to participate at the Budapest Pride in 2010 with their logo and branded t-shirts. And co-founding with Google and espell, the NGO We Are Open to promote openness at the workplace. This initiative is supported by more than 900 companies, communities and NGO's within Hungary and regarded as a role model program by many companies throughout Europe. Peter frequently talks about his background as a gay man including in every on-boarding session. When Prezi was featured on the cover of Forbes, Peter utilised the opportunity to help the Hungarian LGBTQ scene by coming out and giving inspiration to other members of this community. He is currently the only openly gay CEO in Hungary, which has led to cover stories in other publications, such as a major Hungarian conservative weekly.

Christopher Bailey

Chief Creative Officer

Burberry

In 2014 Christopher became the first openly gay CEO of a FTSE100 company. Throughout his time at Burberry he has worked hard to foster an environment where LGBT is just not an issue within the organisation, and all employees are valued for who they are. He was ranked number 11 in the Independent on Sunday's Pink List 2011 and 95 in the World Pride Power List 2012 and featured in the OUTstanding Leading Executives list in 2014 and 2015. He has also personally supported OUTstanding’s efforts to publicise and celebrate the lists; encouraging more LGBT role models to be confident about who they are. He is also working on a scheme for how to best engage future LGBT leaders.

Alex Schultz

VP, Growth (marketing, analytics & i18n)

Facebook

In 2016 Alex led an initiative to share the percentage of US-based employees who self-identify as LGBT+ as part of their diversity reporting, with Facebook becoming the first major company to do so. Alex also acts as executive sponsor of the LGBT+ employee resources group. He has a long history of making sure Facebook’s products and services reflect the LGBT+ experience, including adding same-sex marriage and custom gender to the site. Additionally, he personally supports the Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights Watch and was the first international mentor on the OUTstanding mentoring scheme.

Vivienne Ming

Managing Partner

Socos LLC

Named one of 10 Women to Watch in Tech in 2013 by Inc. Magazine, Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, technologist and entrepreneur. She co-founded Socos, where machine learning and cognitive neuroscience combine to maximize students' life outcomes. Vivienne is also a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, where she pursues her research in neuroprosthetics. In her free time, Vivienne has developed a predictive model of diabetes to better manage the glucose levels of her diabetic son and systems to predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers. She sits on the boards of The Palm Center, Emozia, Engender, and Genderis Inc., and is a Chief Science Advisor to Cornerstone Capital, Platypus Institute, Shiftgig, and Bayes Impact. Dr. Ming also speaks frequently on issues of LGBT inclusion and gender in technology. Vivienne lives in Berkeley, CA, with her wife (and co-founder) and their two children.

Paul Wood

Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

Bloomberg LP

Paul is currently the Co-Executive Sponsor of the LGBT network at Bloomberg, and has been integral in the launch of the ally network. He mentors LGBT staff and has spoken on numerous panels and conferences about being an out senior leader. He played a key role in the launch of a new initiative during Pride month to 'BE SEEN', including producing a video featuring their founder and CEO, Michael Bloomberg, Chairman, Peter Grauer and staff from around the globe giving their view about being out, proud and not moving back. He has played an influential role in Bloomberg’s decision to participate in supporting Amicus briefs against anti-LGBT legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi. Additionally, Paul supports Stonewall, The Albert Kennedy Trust, Out Leadership, GLADD and is a board member of The Hetrick Martin Institute.

Angela Darlington

Chief Risk officer

Aviva

Angela is the Executive Sponsor and an active member of Aviva Pride as well as a champion of diversity, working to make being LGBT commonplace throughout the business via role-modelling, education and promoting understanding, both in the UK and internationally. She is also a mentor to various female and LGBT staff members and supported the launch of the Aviva Pride Allies programme. Angela is an active supporter of Stonewall and sponsors Aviva’s continued engagement with LGBT charities and partners . She was also recently a keynote speaker at the 2016 Eurout Conference at London Business School and works to bring together Women's Networks and LGBT networks both within Aviva and externally by speaking at joint diversity events.

Brian Bickell

Chief Executive

Shaftesbury PLC

Brian has been open and out throughout his 30 year career at Shaftesbury PLC and has taken the lead in adopting and promoting diversity in the organisation. Under his leadership, Shaftesbury PLC are also corporate supporters of Real Estate Balance and in 2016 became an official Pride in London corporate supporter; aiming to recruit many of their 580 shops and restaurants across the West End to engage with Pride in the years to come. Brian is also a board member of Freehold and has been active in creating a group to bring better co-ordination of a number of diversity -focused groups in the real estate sector. He has also been invited by several professional firms to talk about LGBT diversity issues and will be a panel member at the LGBT Leaders conference later this month. Personally he is a Stonewall Ambassador and a supporter of The Albert Kennedy Trust.

David Palumbo

Partner

Baker & McKenzie LLP

As chair of the Toronto Diversity & Inclusion committee, David works to create a welcoming and safe space to allow all staff, students and lawyers who are LGBT to be their whole self in the workplace. He also holds a wide-open door policy for anyone in the organisation who is seeking support. He also supports the Human Rights Campaign and is an executive board member of the You Can Play Project, an organisation that promotes equality and safety of LGBT athletes, coaches and fans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. He is an active supporter of the Canadian Safe Schools Network and a member of The 519, an LGBT community centre in Toronto, recently leading a fundraising drive to raise urgently needed funds to refurbish their pro bono legal counselling clinic. He is also involved and contributes to many diversity and inclusion efforts in the city.

David Isaac

Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Technology

Pinsent Masons

David is a senior business sponsor and a member of the firm's International Operations Board. He also chairs Pinsent Masons' D&I activities and leads on a range of inclusion initiatives across the firm. He played a key role in their Stonewall WEI submission, working to devise and implement new initiatives for LGBT colleagues and allies. He also works with clients and the business community to promote the business case for LGBT inclusion. He has also spoken at various events including Interlaw, ENEI, and the Law Society. David was also a former Chair of Stonewall (2003-2012), has sat on the board of the Human Dignity Trust and was recently appointed as new Chair of the EHRC, the UK Equalities watchdog.

Sally Susman

Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Pfizer

Sally actively supports events and initiatives produced by Pfizer’s LGBT employee resource group, including employee networking events and Pride Month presentations, and endorsing LGBT-inclusive policy initiatives. In 2016 she co-hosted a Pfizer event for the U.S. State Department Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons, Randy Berry and in late 2015 interviewed Martine Rothblatt at the Pfizer Innovation Conference, highlighting her work as an entrepreneur, patients’ rights advocate and LGBT leader. Recently the Washington Blade published an op-ed of Sally’s on the need for greater smoking cessation efforts in the LGBT community. Additionally she has previously served as the Finance Chair for Christine Quinn, the former New York City Council Speaker, and has supported The Victory Fund as a writer and fundraiser.

Jon Miller

Partner

Brunswick Group

Jon created Open For Business, a business-led coalition supporting global LGBT inclusion, currently supported by 22 global companies. Jon co-authored a report which has generated around 1.6 million social media hits – including in LGBT unfriendly countries such as India, Nigeria, Malaysia and Russia. Speaking on the report has allowed Jon to reach influential audiences through top-tier media coverage, including the FT, Economist and Huffington Post, and the report has formed the basis of discussions at global platforms including Davos, WEF Africa and Milken. With Brunswick he advises the senior leadership of global businesses, helping them create value by building a successful relationship with society. Jon is the co-author, with Lucy Parker, of Everybody’s Business, which looks at the potential for big business to be a force for positive social progress.

Arjan Dijk

VP of Marketing

Google

Arjan is Google’s Vice President of Growth Marketing managing a team spanning over 43 countries. He also serves as the Global Executive Sponsor of Google's LGBTQ+ employee resource group and is the most senior out LGBT leader in the company. Arjan has lead various LGBT initiatives including: advocating to remove the cap on medical benefits for transgender employees undergoing transition; leading Google’s public statements on anti-LGBT legislation within the U.S.; and funding the first-ever transgender employee conference, which took place in June 2016. He was also an Executive champion for Google’s global #prideforeveryone campaign, which was launched in 32 locations globally in support of Pride month in 2016. In addition to his work at Google, Arjan serves as a member on the Board of Directors for the LGBT non-profit organization GLAAD. As a thought leader in the space, he also supports other technology companies in Silicon Valley by sharing best practices around fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Cindy Armine-Klein

Executive Vice President, Chief Control Officer

First Data Corporation

In partnership with HR, Cindy has augmented the First Data benefits policies to include domestic partner’s children and supplemental life insurance. They expanded their anti-discrimination language beyond sexual orientation to include gender identity, and have created transgender training, which has been rolled out to the entire HR department. Additionally their extensive transgender policies support psychotherapy, hormone therapy and transition surgery and their transgender practices include gender neutral restrooms and transition guidelines deployed to all Owner-Associates and Managers. Cindy was also instrumental in launching an Ally Pledge which has been signed by over 2,000 employees so far. Outside of work she serves on the boards of Out & Equal and GLSEN and works with SAGE.

Gerry Stone

Managing Director

Bank of America

Gerry is managing director and chief operating officer for Global Banking & Markets Operations and Regional Technology & Operations at Bank of America, delivering end-to-end service, fulfillment and operations for mid- to large-sized corporations and institutional clients worldwide. Gerry has been with Bank of America Merrill Lynch since 2004 and has held multiple roles across Technology & Operations. He is executive sponsor for the Global Technology & Operations LGBT Leadership Advisory Council and executive co-sponsor for Bank of America’s LGBT Pride Employee Network & Ally Program, which has grown to over 17,000 members. Gerry is also an advisor to the LGBT Executive Leadership Council, which is a recently formed group of executives who are visibly out at work. He actively mentors LGBT colleagues and is responsible for the oversight of external relationships with LGBT organizations. Gerry has been a champion for diversity and inclusion throughout his career. He has been pursuing LGBT equality and a supporter of LGBT activities for many years – starting in the early 1990s in London, through to his current support of activities and organizations in New York.

Robert Hanson

CEO

John Hardy

Robert has been an out gay executive for as long as he has been in business. At each company he has helmed, from multi-billion dollar global companies to his current project as CEO at John Hardy, he has built progressive employee policies resulting in perfect scores on HRCs Corporate Equality Index, has created advocacy groups, addressed code of conduct policies to ensure supportive corporate cultures for LGBT people, and also frequently mentors high potential LGBT leaders. Robert co-sponsored an Amicus Brief arguing for marriage equality in California as a benefit for attracting and retaining the best talent possible. He has been a keynote speaker at Out and Equal and a past Director of a number of LGBT and HIV/AIDS focused NGOs, including the Hetrick Martin Institute and the Levi Strauss Foundation, and also at the Pittsburgh Promise and The Warhol Museum, where he has advocated for LGBT programming. As a Director at Constellation Brands, he is a rare out gay Director at a Fortune 500 company.

Jan Gooding

Group Brand Director

Aviva

Jan is the Sponsor of the Aviva Pride employee network. This year they launched Aviva Pride ally programme for which Jan appeared in a video; 'Spend 5 minutes with Jan', launching the initiative to their c13,500 employees in UK. She also participated in the webex which launched the initiative to managers internally. In April she spoke to the Aviva Women's network in the Delhi office about being a senior lesbian in financial services, which was the first time LGBT issues had been openly discussed in their Indian workplace. Externally, Jan is the Chair of trustees of Stonewall which, apart from the governance duties, has given her a number of speaker opportunities ranging from Workplace Equality Conference to the Equality Dinner. She is also one of the founding sponsors of Pride AM, the sector LGBT network for marketing. She has achieved coverage in the national press and various marketing titles throughout the year, as well as having an active twitter account of over 2K followers where she regularly discusses LGBT issues.

Justin D’Agostino

Global Head of Disputes and Joint Managing Partner for Asia and Australia

Herbert Smith Freehills

Justin, 44, is the Global Head of Herbert Smith Freehills' Dispute Resolution practice and the firm's Joint Regional Managing Partner for Asia and Australia. He is also a leading international arbitration lawyer having acted before tribunals all over the world. He founded the firm's LGBT network in the London office in 2007 and has since helped to shape their LGBT programmes, establishing the network for Asia and supporting the launch of the network in Australia. This year the firm's LGBT Network marked its 10th Anniversary. He is also Co-sponsor of the Global LGBT Network. Justin works as a mentor with the Queer Straight Alliance in Hong Kong; is a Stonewall Ambassador; and he supports improving gender imbalance on corporate boards as a member of the Hong Kong 30% Club. Justin was also named Executive Sponsor of the Year in the Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network (DIAN) 2016 benchmark.

Jim Fitterling

President and Chief Operating Officer

Dow Chemical Company

After nearly 30 years as a closeted professional at Dow, Jim made a definitive personal choice to bring his whole self to work, and recently came out to Dow’s 49,500 employees He has since become an inspirational leader and advocate of Dow’s drive towards LGBT equality, truly leading by example among senior LGBT and ally executives at Dow and around the world to create strategy and drive advocacy. He passionately mentors LGBT employees and regularly engages in advocacy and leadership opportunities to affect change for LGBT people. As the highest-ranking out executive at Dow, he understands that he holds tremendous influence and can drive significant change through his high profile leadership example. In September 2015, he led the keynote speech at the first Great Lakes Bay Region Workplace Summit near Dow’s global headquarters and in March 2016, he was a panellist in the Economist’s Pride and Prejudice event.

Sander van ‘t Noordende

Group Chief Executive Products

Accenture

Sander is a member of the global D&I Board at Accenture and the global sponsor for the LGBT programs they offer. He is currently mentoring 5 younger LGBT folks to find their way in Accenture. When travelling throughout the world he makes sure to touch base with the LGBT networks or to engage with local leadership. He is also an active member of the NYC and Amsterdam LGBT networks in Accenture and hosted this year's Pride Party at his home. Outside of Accenture he has been a PANELIST at Prague Pride conference, organised the second Accenture LGBT panel at the WEF in Davos, has recently been appointed as a Board Member of Out&Equal, is a member of the Global LGBT Circle at HRW and regularly blogs on LGBT issues on LinkedIn and Huffington Post.

Sara Geater

Chief Operating Officer

All3Media

Sara has been out as a lesbian for the past 30 years. During this time she has mentored numerous employees across her various roles and has always enabled LGBT meetings to be held in the workplace at times convenient to women. In her role as Chair of PACT (the independent producers’ trade body) she was involved in discussions to implement the current diversity quotas for both on-screen and off-screen talent. She has also spoken at events to promote the LGBT agenda in the workplace, frequently sharing her own story, and she is currently on the BAFTA Board where she supports the LBGT agenda on every possible occasion. In her personal time Sara has acted as an Ambassador of Stonewall and acts as a mentor in the OUTstanding cross-industry mentoring scheme.

Mark Anderson

Managing Director

Virgin Holidays

Since Mark has taken the helm of Managing Director two years ago he has worked hard with his teams to ensure LGBT equality sits at the core of Virgin Holidays. This includes the development of a three-year plan that will see an updated diversity and inclusion policy adopted by the company, and a partnership with Stonewall to become a Diversity Champion. From an external perspective he has also updated Virgin Holidays brand purpose to “Everyone can take on the world” so equality underpins all brand activity - including hero initiatives such as the Attitude Awards sponsorship. Mark was also a finalist in the British LGBT Awards ‘Inspirational Role Model’ category and is a founding member of an industry LGBT body – TTG LGBT – which is designed to promote tolerance and diversity within the travel industry.

Alison McFadyen

Group Head, Internal Audit

Standard Chartered Bank

Alison is the Executive Sponsor for LGBT in Standard Chartered and a visible supporter of LGBT networks in the organisation. She has spoken at LGBT events as a role model and also recommended a particular speaker who provided an intellectual challenge to staff in the London office in terms of gender fluidity, inclusiveness (and the danger of alienating one group by including another) and queering the norm. Alison always provides an open ear for more junior LGBT colleagues, providing an opportunity for them to discuss their concerns and fears. She has also worked with Open for Business and frequently attends and participates in LGBT+ inclusion events.

Antonia Belcher

Founding Member/Senior Partner

MHBC

Antonia continues her ‘Out Loud and Proud’ Being Transgender campaign sending the message to corporate, social and healthcare environments that she is both privileged and honoured to be Transgender. She is currently a mentor for a number of professional people who are in varying stages of transitioning or considering transitioning (in their workplaces). Antonia frequently speaks publically and openly about her transition, including in an article published in The Daily Mail earlier this year. She has also spoken at various panels and discussion forums such as Leadership Europe 2015 LGBT Summit, Transport for London – 7 Traits of Women, Marks & Spencer Women’s Network and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Diversity & Inclusion Conference.

Andrew Wilson

Chief Information Officer

Accenture

As global LGBT network sponsor, Andrew provides strategic direction and support for Accenture’s 11,000+ LGBT and ally employees around the world. He has championed digital innovations to connect colleagues in countries still facing legal or cultural challenges, driven a voluntary self-identification project and hosted their ‘Pride Across Borders’ TV Show promoting equality alongside Client and Partner organisations. As a corporate partner he is very involved with Stonewall, HRC and The Economist Pride & Prejudice events. He has also spoken on a panel in Mexico at the Pride Connection inaugural summit on how digital is helping to break barriers.

Cynthia Fortlage

Vice President IT & Social Business

GHY International

As the first Transgender associate in the firm’s 115yr history, and the first executive to come out LBGT, Cynthia is breaking a lot of ground in terms of process and stereotypes in the firm. They have been creating processes and communications that can be used when other associates wish to come out, each has been designed to empower the person coming out with the control over the process and timing. Cynthia is fairly new to the LGBT community but in the past 6 months they have; participated in the Winnipeg Transgender Support Group, acted as lead banner for Rainbow Resource Centre float at the 2016 Winnipeg Pride Parade, volunteered for Pride Golf tourney on behalf of the Transgender support group and has shared her coming out letter and FAQ with her extended social networks and blog.

Dan Crisp

Chief Information Risk Officer

BNY Mellon

Dan is the C-Level outreach director for PRISM, BNY Mellon's organisation for LGBTQA employees. He personally mentors several BNY Mellon LGBT senior and junior employees and maintains strong engagement in both New York and London. As a senior role model he speaks at numerous internal LGBT events as a visible and vocal supporter of gay marriage and LGBT rights. He is also a member of the Human Rights Campaign and InterTech Diversity Forum as well as financially supporting Allsorts LGBT Youth Project, Opening Doors London and the It Gets Better Project for youth. As a dual citizen and resident of London and New York, he supports LGBT activities in the US, Europe, and Africa.

Dennis Layton

Partner

McKinsey & Company

Dennis is the leadier of McKinsey and Company's Organisation Practice in the U.K. Ireland, and a global leader of Gays and Lesbians at McKinsey (the LGBTQ group at McKinsey). Dennis believes his success is in no small part due to the support he gets from his husband Richard and, as the proud father of his young son, Dennis has helped ensure comprehensive support for LGBTQ families across the firm. Dennis has led McKinseys investment in the LGBTQ community by convening and mentoring LGBTQ executives globally and helping the firm recognise the business opportunity that LGBTQ executives represent. He also helps to facilitate round tables of leading LGBTQ executives, providing training, in conjunction with OUTstanding and Out Leadership, for senior executives transitioning to the c-suite. Additionally, Dennis has led widely published research showing the economic case for diversity and often speak internationally on the benefits of diversity.

Denny Tu

Head of Strategy & Planning

Sky

Denny acts as the key sponsor for Sky's LGBT Strategy which comprises 3 key pillars: staff, customers & community, and business leadership. He is also the sponsor for Sky's 360 above the line advertising campaign targeted to the LGBT community "Just Be", launching on TV, posters, print, digital 6-sheets as well as internal comms channels to staff across multiple Sky offices. He is the most senior LGBT Sky Exec on its LGBT Programme Board and continues to be an out and proud LGBT senior exec role model in the media industry.

Josh Graff

UK Country Manager & Vice President, EMEA

Josh has recently taken on the role of Global Executive Sponsor for Out@In, which is the first time that one of LinkedIn’s ERGs has been led from outside the US. With his guidance, Out@In has arranged events including a fireside chat with Lord Browne, attendance at Pride, unconscious bias workshops for all teams, and hosting the first OUTstanding event outside the UK. Josh is also an active sponsor of the Open For Business initiative and a mentor for various staff at LinkedIn including LGBT employees and members of the Women@LinkedIn group. In addition, Josh acts as a mentor for LGBT professionals around the world through his relationship with OUTstanding

Lawrence Spicer

Vice President, Personal &Commercial Banking, Internal Audit Service

RBC

Lawrence Spicer is an LGBT senior executive who works tirelessly as a role model and mentor for other LGBT employees at RBC, Canada’s largest bank. In a previous role he spent two years in Trinidad & Tobago – where he broke ground as the first openly gay RBC executive in the Caribbean region. As Executive Chair of RBC PRIDE Canada since 2014, Lawrence has grown the Employee Resource Group membership by 30%, and has led and championed new initiatives and events that inform, educate and make the workplace more welcoming. He frequently acts as a guest speaker and advocate for various LGBT organisations and is a committed supporter of initiatives that focus on at-risk and LGBT youth, including the Bill 7 Awards. He is also passionate about improving the workplace for LGBT employees through attendance at events such as the United Nations Human Rights Day in Celebration of LGBT People.

Mark Gossington

Partner - Financial services

PwC

Mark has been a partner sponsor of GLEE which has grown in membership to 500+ staff and over 1000 clients. Mark sponsors and speaks at a number of internal events to raise the visibility and profile of LGBT issues and was pivotal in pushing for transgender to be successfully covered on PwC's medical cover this year. He also recruited a new out LGBT Partner this year and is pushing the firm to include a target for LGBT recruitment. He also became a member of PwC's global LGBT board and gained agreement to join OUTstanding, Open for Business and Out Leadership during the last 12 months. Externally he is an active member of Stonewall as an ambassador, sits on the OUTstanding membership committee and is a Purple Circle member AKT.

Michael Sosso

Vice President- Ethics and Compliance

BP

Michael currently leads a global team accountable for embedding ethics and compliance throughout BP’s businesses and regions. He is an active member of BP Pride, has served on BP’s Global Legal and Ethics and Compliance Diversity & Inclusion Steering Team and was interviewed on camera about his story including growing up, coming out, and living and working as openly gay. He has also spoken at the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law Conference, has provided insight to and participated in Stonewall’s Founding Global Partner initiatives and acts as a mentor for a number of individuals- some of whom are struggling with coming out at work. Externally, he is an active member, volunteer, and major donor with the Human Rights Campaign and supports youth centres in Washington DC and Houston TX that provide a safe space for homeless LGBT youth.

Rob Hudson

Group Finance Director

St Modwen Properties Plc

As an executive board director of St. Modwen, Rob has worked hard to promote the diversity agenda in a business operating in the property sector right across the UK and headquartered in the Midlands, linking St. Modwen's LGBT employee base with other property and related organisations operating in the Midlands region to create the OpenLand network. He is also an active member of Stonewall and Freehold, promoting LGBT rights throughout the UK.

Andy Woodfield

Partner

PwC

On top of his day job as Lead Partner for PwC’s International Aid Consulting business, Andy is the founder and sponsor of GLEE@PwC. The network has been accepted as the reason for LGBT staff at PwC being the most engaged, most comfortable being themselves at work and most likely to go above and beyond in client services when compared to their straight counterparts. He has been recognised publically in all of the major LGBT lists over the last 4 years and is part of the Gay Star News Advisory Panel. In his personal time he is a Trustee for Diversity Role Models, Opening Doors London and Action Breaks Silence, as well as a judge for the National Diversity Awards, the Excellent in Diversity Awards, the British LGBT Awards, the Australian LGBT Awards, the Top 50 Inclusive Employers, and the APSCO Recruitment Awards.

Misa von Tunzelman

UK Lead Director - Marketing & Communications

JLL

Misa is lead director for UK Marketing and Communications at real estate professional services firm JLL. JLL employs over 3,200 people in the UK and she is the Exec sponsor for the business' Diversity & Inclusion agenda, a focus she sees as vital to the health of any brand operating today. Misa is also on the steering committee for Changing the Face of Property a cross-industry diversity initiative and of JLL’s Building Pride network. She’s one of few out bi people in Property and actively promotes LGBT inclusion and the need for diversity in all its forms within her company and the wider industry. In addition to her role at JLL Misa is on the board of Home Live Art a company of creative producers in the field of live art and performance and on the advisory board of Funny Women, the UK’s leading female comedy community.

Steve Wardlaw

Chair & Co-Founder

Emerald Life

As Emerald Life is the UK’s only insurance provider for the LGBT market, their office is extremely diverse and all senior staff are expected to do LGBT pro bono activity. They work with all of their major suppliers (underwriters, call centre and claims handlers), by going to their offices and doing specific LGBT training with them. As a result they have already been shortlisted for several awards, and on 13 October one the MoneyAge ‘Ethical Financial Services Provider of the Year’ award. He also speaks regularly on various panels as an LGBT advocate on workplace rights and, as part of their partnership with AKT, under his leadership, Emerald Life run an intern program for any AKT service user that wants to work in their office for three months. Externally, he is a Stonewall ambassador and a DRM role model.

Susan Silbermann

President/General Manager, Pfizer Vaccines

Pfizer

Susan is an open and authentic leader who participates in a number of D&I activities at Pfizer, including being the former head of the Global Women's Council, a current member of the LGBT Colleague Resource Group and, for the past year, the sponsor of the African American Leadership Network as well as that of the Pennsylvania chapter of the LGBT network. She is a staunch supporter of Immunisation Equality, a group dedicated to bringing and keeping LGBT families together when one partner/spouse is a non-US citizen as well as helping LGBT individuals gain asylum in the US when they are running from oppressive governments. She’s also been a long supporter of HRC and the US Victory Fund.

Kevin Jenkins

Managing Director, UK & Ireland

Visa

Kevin is a visible and active role model within the Visa business through raising the profile of LGBT issues, mentoring, campaigns and internal communications, and externally by harnessing the strength of the global Visa brand as a means by which to support the work of the leading LGBT organisations. He is an active supporter of Stonewall and stepped in to fund their 10 year awards event in 2015 following which Visa became a lead sponsor for Stonewall, attaching their brand to their campaigns. He has spoken on LGBT issues at leading banks and financial institutions and is working with the London Business School's [LGBT future business leaders' organisation], both speaking at their conference in Autumn 2016 and mentoring some of their leaders. He is also helping to promote diversity in sport, including working with the British Olympic Association to feature LGBT Team GB athletes at various events.

Adam Rowse

Managing Director Barclays Business Coverage

Barclays

Adam has been the Executive Sponsor of Barclays Employee network Spectrum (UK & Europe) for the last 4 years and has achieved a significant amount in that time including: increasing membership, launching an Allies program, becoming lead sponsor of Pride London and expanded Pride representation across the UK to more than 17 different events. Adam is also a member of the OUTstanding Events and Content committee and is a mentor to both senior and future leaders. He has been a speaker at Stonewall's workplace conference in Manchester and makes every effort to weave in LGBT and diversity at all events he speaks or presents at across the UK, talking about why LGBT inclusion is good for business.

Daniel Gerring

Partner

Travers Smith

Daniel is a partner at City law firm Travers Smith. He is the firm's Senior Champion for LGBT equality, Chair of its LGBT+ network and a strong advocate for D&I more broadly. He has worked on a variety of initiatives during the past year, including a Pride Safety campaign in partnership with the National LGBT Police Network and Stonewall, as well as a CSR Art Programme which this year showcases work aimed at promoting greater LGBT inclusion. He has also helped develop improved benefits for LGBT partners and staff at Travers Smith, including the introduction of significantly enhanced paid surrogacy leave. Daniel meets all new graduates to discuss his role as LGBT Senior Champion and the function of the network group, as well as mentoring more junior LGBT people. Additionally, Daniel sits on the Law Society National LGBT Committee and provides a variety of support for a number of LGBT organisations, including Stonewall, Freebar, the RVT and the AKT.

Deian Rhys

Partner

Simmons & Simmons LLP

Deian has been a leader within employee LGBT networks throughout his career, as well as a mentor to LGBT colleagues and a highly visible role model. He is currently co-head of the LGBT Network at Simmons & Simmons and has been a member of a range of other committees inside and outside the workplace, the focus of which has been on diversity generally or on LGBT issues specifically. Deian is a regular panellist at LGBT focused recruitment and networking events and a speaker on best practices for employee networks, establishing ally programmes in the workplace, the importance of senior management sponsorship and approaches to tackling homophobic bullying. He has also championed awareness-raising on transgender issues. Deian is a Stonewall Ambassador, a supporter of The Albert Kennedy Trust and the Terrence Higgins Trust and an investor in ‘Maldod’, the first independent gay feature film to be made in the Welsh language.

Jeffrey Krogh

Managing Director

BNP Paribas

Jeffrey was one of the founding members of the Pride network and helped the network in France to get off the ground last year. Jeffrey has featured in numerous internal publications and has participated in arranging and presenting at internal events. He also represents BNP Paribas at external events and has presented at the EurOUT conference and at Inside & Out. He is engaged as a mentor, both internally and with OUTstanding. He also supports Diversity Role Models, LB Women and is a member of Series Q, a newly founded organisation to support LGBT entrepreneurs

Marianne Roling

General Manager Small Medium Solutions & Partners, Central and Eastern Europe

Microsoft

Marianne is an executive board member of WW GLEAM (Gay & Lesbian Employees at Microsoft) and an executive LGBT role model. She regularly speaks at LGBT conferences including the Stonewall executive roundtable in Poland. She’s a member of the Central and Eastern Europe Microsoft diversity council and a mentor for LGBT CEE Talents. Additionally she is a strong supporter of the Gay Women’s network and the Economist Pride and Prejudice events.

Crawford Prentice

Head of Service Recovery UK

HSBC

Crawford is a member of the Executive Management Committee for HSBC’s Retail Banking & Wealth Management Distribution business in the UK, and is hugely passionate about driving a positive culture of diversity and inclusion for current & future LGBT staff in the UK. In 2016, in addition to continuing to speak at both LGBT and wider Diversity events, he has been instrumental in the creation of the Distribution D&I Committee at a national level, which he Chairs. Externally, he has attended the McKinsey Masterclass, facilitated by OUTstanding and has a role as a School Governor/Trustee of a newly created school in Macclesfield.

Bob Annibale

Global Director of Community Development and Inclusive Finance

Citi

As a senior out executive Bob provides global senior and out leadership for Citi, with a presence in over 100 countries, LGBT staff and Pride networks and he is also the Senior Business Sponsor for both the London & New York LGBT employee networks. He works closely with Citi’s Senior Management, businesses, legal, government affairs & Diversity Offices to promote LGBT inclusion and rights globally. He regularly writes and speaks at internal and external events on LGBT issues, most recently on Citi's public opposition to anti-Trans legislation in North Carolina and elsewhere in the US. He is also a global LGBT champion ensuring that Citi has been a founding member of the Stonewall Global Program and continues to work with other organisations such as Out on the Street, Out & Equal and on recently with SAGE USA’s Elder Housing Initiative.

JR Badian

VP Digital Marketing and Social Media

MasterCard

JR is the Vice President of Digital Marketing and Social Media at MasterCard. JR has supported Company business goals while championing digital advertising around “Acceptance” since his arrival at the Company. His work is based on the belief that “acceptance leads to diversity, diversity leads to innovation, and innovation leads to growth.” To enable MasterCard’s voice in social media conversations around LGBTQ diversity, JR created #AcceptanceMatters in his US campaigns. In 2016, #AcceptanceMatters became the MasterCard LGBTQ social program global thematic supported by MasterCard in the US, Europe, and LAC regions. This year, #AcceptanceMatters also included a transgender acceptance activation. JR shares his learnings regularly and speaks about emerging social media strategies around diversity at industry events including SXSW, Advertising Club of New York, and Out in Tech.

David Levine

Vice President, Programming, Production and Strategic Development for Disney Channels EMEA and General Manager of Disney Channels UK and Ireland

Walt Disney Company

David has been at the forefront of helping develop a more positive and inclusive workplace; he has helped create and serves as the executive sponsor of PRIDE at Walt Disney Co. UK/Ireland, the very first European LGBT employee resource group at Disney. In his role David has creatively driven the production of content that is diverse and inclusive, emphasising on casting diverse lead characters in UK original productions. He drove co-production of the first ever pre-school animated series with a differently-abled lead character. David has biked two AIDS Rides across Hawaii, raised money for God's Love We Deliver, and is a supporter of GLAAD and HRC

Deborah Sherry

General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer, GE Digital Europe

GE

Deborah recently joined GE and is already supporting their GLBTA activities across the globe – the UK GBLTA group, the French GBLTA group, chapters across Europe and her division's GLBTA group globally. Externally, she contributed to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group’s first paper, individually and corporately, where she was named in the document for her contribution. She worked to launch and further Open for Business and support them corporately, as well as worked with the Elton John Foundation to further LGBT rights. She is an active member of Stonewall and supports a number of other organisations across Europe. In her previous role at Google, Deborah started an EMEA-wide LGBT organisation where she acted as the Executive sponsor and helped drive company activity across the globe. She is an outspoken role model, mentor and supporter of the LGBT community in the corporate world and a frequent conference speaker.

Iain Anderson

Executive Chairman

Cicero Group

As Executive Chairman, Iain ensures that LGBT diversity is represented at board level. He regularly speaks at corporate events to encourage diversity at work, a large part of which is working with financial sector firms who can still do more to promote LGBT people becoming more confident in the workplace. Iain was a vocal campaigner for the lowering of the age of consent for gay men back in the mid 1990s – appearing in print and media to support this effort as a very young person in business. He regularly represents diversity in his conversations with Government and in the media generally, is currently a mentor for LGBT future leaders both internally and externally.

Kayton Bhatia

Senior Director

HP

In his role as senior director Kayton has led a 3 pronged approach towards LGBT inclusion. He has actively tried to eliminate biases, actively promoted all hiring opportunities across the ERG, as well as LGBT organisations and has promoted from within, looking internally for qualified candidates. He has also been a board member and organising committee member for Gay Future Dads - a volunteer group that helps Gay men with their dream of fatherhood. Additionally he was part of the inaugural Stanford LGBTQ Executive Leadership Program, a week-long course that combines personal leadership assessments and insights with design thinking innovation to address LGBTQ leadership in the C-Suite.

Margot Slattery

Country President

Sodexo Ireland

Margot sits on Sodexo's global LGBT leadership team and has been influential in ensuring LGBT considerations are included in Sodexo’s Global D&I strategy. She was pivotal in the launch of the Sodexo UK & Ireland Pride employee network earlier this year, making LGBT issues much more visible for the organisation’s 34,000 employees in the UK and Ireland. She is also a board member of GLEN in Ireland, was Senior Leader of the Year at GLEN’s inaugural Workplace Equality Index Awards in 2015 and Trailblazer Award winner at the WXN 2016 Most Powerful Women in Ireland Awards. She is on Cranfield University School of Management’s list of 100 Women to Watch in 2016

Tim Hely Hutchinson

Group Chief Executive

Hachette UK

Under Tim’s leadership Hachette UK is entirely non-discriminatory. They are fiercely proud of their reputation as an equal opportunities employer and adhere rigidly to their policy of non-discrimination on any grounds, in all aspects of the business. Tim regularly promotes their policy of tolerance and openness to all staff at every opportunity, including in staff newsletters, at Town Hall meetings and in his weekly blog. Externally, he supports a number of organisations including Kaleidoscope Trust and speaks often in interviews and at events on the subject of openness and tolerance particularly with regard to staff, authors and their publishing programme.

Shamina Singh

President

Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Shamina has been a long-time advocate and leader on LGBT issues in the United States. In 2011, she was appointed to President Barack Obama’s Military Leadership Diversity Commission, which recommended the repeal of the anti-LGBT “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. She was also recently appointed by the President to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a U.S. federal agency, and currently serves as its board chair. At Mastercard, Shamina serves on the Global Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which ensures that diversity and inclusion best practices are implemented across the company. She is also a proud member of the Mastercard LGBT Business Resource Group. Shamina has been a featured speaker on LGBT-focused business panels, including OutWomen Leadership and OutNext Mentorship, and has been involved with the Human Rights Campaign since 1995. Recently, she authored a submission that was featured in “Pride & Joy: Taking the Streets of New York City.” Shamina lives in New York City with her wife of 10 years, Ashley Bell of Arkansas.

Suresh Raj

Global Chief Business Development Officer

Ogilvy Public Relations

Diversity and inclusion is a big part of the Ogilvy Group agenda, covering all aspects of diversity: gender, sexuality, cultural, religious, and more. As a member of the Global Executive Committee, Suresh is actively involved in the D&I debate, helping to provide workable solutions to ensure that all communities feel included, safe, welcomed and an active and contributing part of the 'Ogilvy Home'. Externally, he volunteers on 1-2-1 mentoring schemes with ethnic minority as well as LGBT individuals who are looking for counsel, direction and advice on dealing with coming out as well as living in a very oppressive and anti-gay cultural environment.

Masa Yanagisawa

Director, Co-Head of Japan Equity Sales

Deutsche Bank

Masa started the Japan chapter of dbPride in 2013 and over the last few years has been working with local management, global dbPride team and HR to host training sessions, guest speaker series and ally events. Along with the other banks, he has also transformed the existing banking only group to an LGBT FINANCE group to include non-bank finance groups like auditors and lawyers and sponsored (or hosted) a variety of events such as a film festival, Tokyo pride and LGBT student recruiting sessions. He also founded the Work with Pride organisation to create the annual workplace conference on LGBT with IBM and NGOs, and this year launched a Japanese workplace equality index. He is an active member of Human Rights Watch and a board member of the International School of Asia in Karuizawa (ISAK).

Daisy Reeves

Partner

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Daisy is one of the most senior ‘out’ gay female lawyers in the UK. She is BLP’s global LGBT* Champion across all of BLP's overseas offices, co-chair of the LGBT* network, and helped spearhead the LGBT* Legal graduate recruitment event, ‘DiversCity’. She recently developed ‘AuthentiCity’, a first-of-its-kind cross-sector event for LGBT* students and apprentices who are interested in a career in the City of London. Daisy is a founding ambassador of the new ‘LBWomen’ initiative, a Stonewall ambassador and consistently presents and writes articles around LGBT* matters. She was also listed in the 2016 ‘Out at Work Telegraph Top 50 LGBT Executives in Business’ and shortlisted as ‘LGBT Diversity Champion’ at 2016 ‘British LGBT Awards’ for her work around, not only LGBT* issues, but inclusivity more generally, particularly gender.

Dan Fitz

Group General Counsel & Company Secretary

BT Group plc

Dan serves as BT's Executive Sponsor for Diversity & Inclusion and is chair of the BT Global Inclusion Steering Group. He is currently in the process of sponsoring an Allies programme and his role is both to champion the initiative and sign up senior executive allies. He has been out at work for a long time and as a result speaks frequently at LGBT related events, including the Scottish Law Society's SWAN for LGBT People. Last year he attended a UK Law Society networking day for LGBT students and financially supports a range of LGBT charities. He is also a mentor in the OUTstanding mentoring scheme.

Daniel Winterfeldt

Partner

Reed Smith

Daniel is the founder and Co-Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks and as part of which created the Apollo Project focusing on cultural change for meritocratic workplaces and Purple Reign focusing on multiple identities. Both initiatives were shortlisted for the 2016 FT Innovative Lawyer Awards. Daniel has been an active member and advocate for Stonewall and is a patron for the AKT who support homeless and at risk LGBT youth. He regularly encourages organisations to participate in the WEI and advises them on how to improve performance. Daniel has also consulted various organisations to help tailor their D&I programmes to be more inclusive for LGBT employees.

Geoff Godwin

Chief Operating Officer

AIG

Geoff is co-chair of the UK’s LGBT Employee Resources Group, and as a result attends all AIG LGBT ERG events, speaking at the majority of them to demonstrate his personal commitment and support. He is a visible and active senior leader that regularly shows support not only for LGBT but also other Diversity groups by attending their committee meetings and getting actively involved in their events and as their champion at staff engagement sessions. He provides mentoring to a diverse group of people including, but not exclusively, LGBT staff both inside and outside the organisation. He has chaired an Insurance Industry forum for Stonewall, has helped and supported a colleague in setting up the industry’s first bisexual network and was shortlisted as anInspirational Role Model at this year’s British LGBT Awards

Pippa Dale

Head of Global Market Roadshows

BNP Paribas

Pippa is openly out to all around her and demonstrates a light hearted and very real approach in exactly the same way as her colleagues talk about their families. She founded the LGBT Pride Network at BNP Paribas and was co-chair for some years. She then approached their Senior Straight Ally to take the role. She regularly attends a wide range of LGBT events in order to offer support to both the LGBT charity sector and corporate events. Externally, she is driving forward the new LBWomen.org initiative.

Dr Siobhan Martin

Executive Director, HR UK & Ireland

Mercer

As a Board Executive, Siobhan continues to be instrumental in driving cultural change throughout the business, and in the wider business community. She has developed and implemented Mercer’s D&I Policies and is the Global Chair of the Business Innovation work stream of Mercer’s global LGBTA network. She has added ‘sexual orientation’ to the annual global employee survey, introduced monitoring for LGBT hires and is currently in the process of launching a self-identification campaign so they can better understand their workforce demographics and act accordingly. Externally, she is an active supporter of Stonewall, an Advisory Board Member for the Global Professional Women’s Network, the Chair of the Monash Global Leadership network, a Governor of Greenside Primary school, and speaks regularly at business and community events.

Brian Casebolt

Vice President, Merchandising & Ancillary Revenue

Hertz Global Holdings

As the global sponsor, Brian has led the development and launch of Hertz' first Employee Resource Group for LGBTQ people. As part of this role he has hosted the first ever company-wide, global diversity event bringing together all five ERGs (e.g. Women, Multicultural, Military). Due to Brian’s visibility in the company, Hertz has taken a more active role within the community by sponsoring pride parades and partnering with the greater Orlando, Florida community in wake of the Pulse Night Club shooting. Externally, Brian is a fundraiser, sponsor and volunteer for The Point Foundation and a mentor, volunteer and panel speaker for Reaching Out MBA.

Chris Stening

Transformation Delivery Director

Telefónica O2

Over the last year Telefonica have made their LGBT network even more inclusive by launching a Diversity Allies programme covering all protected characteristics and fully participating with an O2 branded open top bus in Leeds, London and Manchester Pride events. Chris writes a weekly blog on their Intranet site talking about Inclusion issues covering LGBTQ, gender and other Diversity. He is openly out at work and was one of the founders of the Telefonica UK LGBTQ network in December 2013, and has since been the Executive Sponsor of the group. He is also the Co-Chair of the industry CheckOUT network, an active member of Stonewall and a Trustee of Cambridge based Charity “SexYOUality” that supports young LGBTQ people.

Darren Styles

Managing Director

Stream Publishing

Darren is fully out to his colleagues and clients and encourages everyone he works with to be authentic and the best leaders they can be. He has recruited a team of people who are the best at what they do and happen to be a proud mix of boys and girls who are gay, straight and bisexual. Externally, he is a Patron of, and has raised more than £200,000 for, the Elton John AIDS Foundation. He also promotes and contributes to, both the Peter Tatchell Foundation and The Albert Kennedy Trust. Additionally he has previously produced, without fee, the Official Guide to Pride London. His work for these organisations, and that of his business, has seen him appointed by Downing Street as one of 20 or so Ambassadors to the GREAT Campaign.

Elliot Vaughn

Partner and Managing Director

Boston Consulting Group

Elliot specializes in healthcare and social impact, and serves on the Global Leadership Team for BCG's LGBT Network. Within BCG he has introduced a European LGBT mentoring programme, led BCG to join Open for Business and OUTstanding, and is setting up a Trans Ally programme. Beyond BCG, Elliot's passion is philanthropy for the global LGBT cause, with a project called 'GiveOut', and he is joining the board of OutRight Action International in 2017. He speaks regularly at LGBT inclusion events and this year attended the world's first Executive Leadership programme for LGBT Executives at Stanford University.

Elyse Cherry

Chief Executive Officer

Boston Community Capital

Elyse has led Boston Community Capital (BCC) in becoming an industry leader on LGBTQ issues. Under her leadership, BCC was an early adopter of policies that supported equal opportunity regardless of sexual orientation and provided health insurance coverage for the partners of BCC’s LGBTQ employees—years before the law decreed it. From 2004 to 2006, Elyse chaired the Board of MassEquality during the height of that organization’s successful campaign for the establishment and protection of marriage equality in Massachusetts. She also signed BCC on to two Supreme Court amicus briefs in support of marriage equality, and in 2015, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice presented her with its “Fuelling the Front Lines” award. She continues her 25-year practice of advocating for LGBT issues at the front lines of Massachusetts’ political and business communities.

Gary Stewart

Director of Wayra UK

Telefónica

Last year, Wayra launched the first-ever "Start-up DNA" report, which examined the racial, gender, religious, socio-economic and sexual orientation make-up of the UK. Since then, it has held two conferences on diversity that have specifically focused on discussing the unique challenges faced by gay entrepreneurs. Outside of the workplace, Gary has been an active supporter of gay business interests since the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey; he lived in Spain for 14 years, co-founding the Xarxa Gai, an organisation aimed at providing networking opportunities for young gay professionals. He was also chosen as one of the representatives to defend gay marriage on Catalan TV soon after it became legal.

John Kerslake

Operations Director

Costa

John has long been a supporter of diversity and inclusion; championing flexible working to allow more single parents to work, working across Costa to better understand its diversity challenges and as a founder member of the Whitbread group-wide Broadening the Talent Pool Diversity Committee. He recently led the establishment of Whitbread’s first LGBT network: GLOW which resulted in Whitbread attending its first Pride events in London, Glasgow, Brighton and Manchester in 2016 as well as the launch of a limited edition Costa ‘Rainbow Flat White’ in support of LGBT inclusion. Outside of Whitbread John is currently working with Stonewall to establish a network for hospitality organisations.

Mark McLane

Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion

Barclays

Barclays is one of just ten Stonewall ‘star-performers’ for authentic/sustained commitment to LGBT inclusion, and under Mark’s guidance they continue to enhance colleague experience. They recently launched a Global Allies programme, have been the headline sponsor for Pride in London for the third consecutive year and have developed a global unconscious bias program for all levels of leadership across the bank. Mark is an active participant in the OUTstanding leadership mentoring program and participates in the Stonewall company mentoring. In addition he regularly speaks at events, joins panels, or contributes to government dialogue on LGBT issues. He is also one of three founding members of the OutCenter, the first and only non-profit LGBT community resource centre in Benton Harbor Michigan.

Tim Millward

CEO

Extrastaff Ltd

As an openly bisexual CEO Tim is committed to diversity in a traditionally very conservative sector. This inclusive culture helped Extrastaff to achieve “Very Good” in their most recent Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list. He actively supports many LGBT initiatives, personally and through Extrastaff, using social media to raise awareness of LGBT issues and providing Diversity training to all employees, covering sexuality and unconscious bias. He is a Stonewall Ambassador, has been an Associate Friend for Life of the THT for over a decade and is a supporter of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Matthew Hubbard

People Director, Commercial Banking

Lloyds Banking Group

As the most senior openly gay executive within Lloyds Banking Group Matt recognises the need to be seen as a role model. He has spoken at numerous internal LGBT events, and is a mentor to LGBT colleagues at both senior and junior levels. He has also advised on the ongoing implementation of the Group's inclusion and diversity strategy. Earlier this year he spoke at the Stonewall Youth Awards as part of a session for young people on being an LGBT role model. He is a supporter of OUTstanding and has assisted in the development of their future leaders programme. Matt also pioneered a new Group partnership with Student Pride in 2016 and has represented Lloyds Banking Group at numerous events such as the Pink News Awards.

Orlan Boston

Senior Partner

EY

Orlan is a member of Unity (EY's LGBT Professional Network) and a frequent public speaker on Diversity & Inclusion and LGBT workplace issues at major corporations, non-profit organisations and academic institutions. He has launched several social justice and impact ventures in publishing, documentary filmmaking, civil rights, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector, including serving on the Board of Directors for the New York City LGBT Community Center for 5 years. As an openly gay Black and Hispanic man, he has broken glass ceilings for communities in and outside of the workplace. He is a film producer having teamed with Timothy Greenfield-Sanders to produce HBO’s critically acclaimed The Out List documentary film that featured a diverse cross-section of accomplished leaders from entertainment, business, sports and public service sharing intimate stories on childhood, understanding gender and sexuality, building careers while out and reflecting on the challenges still facing the LGBT community. In 2014, he received a Presidential Appointment by President Barack Obama to the Board of Governors of the United Service Organisations (USO). Additionally, over the years he has actively supported LGBT organisations including the HRC, GLAAD, Lambda Legal, AFER, Freedom to Marry, Out & Equal, Reaching Out MBA, Out for Undergrad, and SoulForce.

Richard Beaven

Distribution Director

Swinton Insurance

Richard joined Swinton a year ago, at a time when they had no diversity and inclusion policies or focus on equality and diversity. In the past 12 months he has ensured that the company has LGBT diversity at the forefront of their minds; the whole company bonus scheme now includes a requirement to demonstrate progress in D&I. They have joined the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and become a major sponsor of Manchester Pride. Richard is also a founder member of a new Senior LGBT group for the insurance industry. Externally, Richard sits on the Board of Stonewall as a trustee, is a founding member of LINK (the LGBT insurance network) and a regular speaker at conferences on LGBT issues.

Jan Siegmund

Chief Financial Officer

ADP

Jan Siegmund has worked as an out gay man and is the senior most out executive of any S&P 500 company who has been openly gay through his entire career. In 2006, he was a founding executive that helped create ADP Pride, ADP’s LGBTQ & Allies business resource group. Jan continues to serve as its executive sponsor today. During this time, ADP has achieved perfect scores as a Best Place to Work for the Human Rights Campaign. Jan is a frequent guest speaker at LGBT conferences and events, including the Economist Global LGBT conference, and has been a keynote speaker at KPMG and Goldman Sachs. He is also an active board member of the New York City LGBT Community Center.

Steven Chan

Managing Director and Regional Head of Regulatory, Industry and Government Affairs, Asia Pacific

State Street

As co-chair of State Street’s LGBT Pride Network, Steven has successfully worked with HR and senior management to implement and extend health insurance and dental benefits for domestic partners for over 600 employees in Hong Kong. He successfully advocated targeted LGBT specific training for senior and mid-level management, human resources staff, and general employee, helping to address unique cultural, religious, and social challenges for LGBT employees in the workplace. He has also organised panel speakers on LGBT discrimination in Hong Kong to raise awareness of and celebrate IDAHOT Day, and assisted with coordination on launching the company’s LGBT Global Ally Program to create a more inclusive workplace. As a result of his efforts, he received the 2015 LGBT Champion Award from Community Business in Hong Kong. He co-chairs the Hong Kong LGBT+ Interbank Forum and serves on the advisory board of the 2017 Economist Pride and Prejudice

Steven Cox

Vice President, Head of Public Sector and Transport

Fujitsu UK&I

Steven is a visible LGBT leader in Fujitsu and a champion of its wider D&I initiatives. Steven uses his senior position and enthusiasm to raise awareness of D&I and LGBT+ on a regular basis and is working to encourage the inclusion of D&I into the company’s global agenda. He is also the visible Executive Sponsor of the Shine LGBT network and recently published an article on Fujitsu’s global internal portal on the need for inclusion following the Orlando attack. In addition, Steven is on the Gay Star News Advisory Board, the Diversity Role Models advisory board and is a Stonewall Ambassador.

Bethmara Kessler

SVP Integrated Global Services

Campbell Soup Company

Bethmara is the Global Chair and Business Advisor to OPEN which has led a number of initiatives that focused on making Campbell a great place to work for LGBT employees and their allies, connecting the business to LGBT consumers, and developing strategic community relationships. Some of these initiatives included ensuring a 100% score on the HRC Corporate Equality Index, signing HRC's letter to North Carolina opposing HB-2, participating in recruiting LGBT employees through Sageworks career fair and raising the Pride flag at their world headquarters during Pride month. She has previously served on the Boards of The Point Foundation and Matthew Shepard Foundation and currently supports HRC, The Trevor Project and other local LGBT organisations.

Dario Parente

Managing Director, EMEA Strategic Programmes, Corporate Programme Management Office

BNY Mellon

As an openly gay man at BNY Mellon, Dario has striven to be a role model and a visible reminder that one’s diverse identity is not a hindrance but rather an asset. He previously led various EMEA aspects of the company’s LGBTQA Employee Resource Group and was active in the network’s re-launch in 2016 now focusing on employee development. He has mentored LGBT leaders within the organisation and is implementing a reverse mentoring programme with senior leaders and members of BNY Mellon’s ERGs. He regularly speaks about adoption at LGBT family events in the corporate and public sphere, is a Board Member/Treasurer for New Family Social, a national charity focused on LGBT Adoptive and Foster Families, and recently joined Diversity Role Models.

Mark Baker

Director, International Trade & Regulatory Affairs

Diageo

Mark was asked to join a senior steering group to focus on LGBT diversity to bring their Executive Committee's commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace to life. He is currently supporting the establishment of employee resource groups across Europe and working to ensure that policies and employee benefits apply equally to LGBT employees, building on Diageo’s strong record in the United States. He represents Diageo at Workplace Pride and led Diageo's participation in the HRC Corporate Equality Index when he was based in the United States. While based in the US, he was a member of the Victory Campaign Board of the Victory Fund and since moving to Europe, has supported ILGA, including sponsorship of their European Equality Gala in Brussels.

Kimberley Bird

Head of Group Risk Systems

Lloyds Banking Group

This year Lloyds Banking Group became the first UK-owned Company to extend its Private Medical benefits scheme to colleagues and their family members to cover transgender related conditions. Kimberley put a huge amount of personal investment into this project to ensure it was successful. She is also the Deputy Co-Chair of the Group’s Rainbow network and shared her own personal story on the Group’s intranet which has been viewed over 35,000 times. Externally, Kimberley is the Chair of Mermaids, the largest charity in the UK that supports young transgender people and their families, a member of the Advisory Group for All About Trans and the co-founder of trans*formation. She has spoken externally in both the LGBT press and the mainstream press about being a transgender role model and her experiences and was named in the 2016 Telegraph Top 50 LGBT leaders in business list.

Emma Cusdin

People Director

Aviva Investors

Emma recently joined Aviva and has quickly joined the Aviva internal trans working group looking at internal procedures and raising trans awareness, especially with customer facing Aviva employees. On her advice they have already added the honorific of "Mx" to their job application process and training the pre-employment screening team on supporting trans job applicants. She has also volunteered to be the trans representative on the Aviva Pride leadership team. She is also a co-founder of trans*formation, a trustee for the Gender Identity Research and Education Society and part of the trans advisory team, the T- Squad, for Emerald Life insurance, the gay and lesbian insurer.

James Murphy

Owner / Partner

ModMansions LLC

As founder and CEO of ModMansions, James sees himself as an ambassador for the LGBTQ community. Headquartered in Palm Springs which has the highest per capita gay community in the United States, his daily mission is to communicate respect, authenticity, and the art of the possible. He informally mentors many children of employees and vendors who need guidance applying to college, picking a major, or even finding a job when they are identity-confused. He often speaks about his 10 years of military services service as a Combat Engineer with the United States Army, discussing the bias that prevents LGBTQ youth from achieving their full potential and how to manage their authentic selves as they pursue their academics in traditionally “straight” career paths. He was also a member of the inaugural class at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, LGBT Executive Training Program 2016.

Jo Rzymowska

Managing Director UK & Ireland & APAC region

Celebrity Cruises

Under her leadership, Celebrity cruises recently recruited their first Executive role to drive their collective Diversity and Inclusion plans globally. Each of their Executive Committee members are now involved in promoting their Diversity and Inclusion ethos. They have introduced workshops linked to diversity and inclusion to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to put forward suggestions and ideas. She has also driven the launch of TTG LGBT in conjunction with TTG (Travel Trade Gazette), the first ever primary trade paper to set up a network group in the Travel Industry. They also held the first LGBT travel conference in the UK linked to staff recruitment and retention and consumer marketing and communications.

Torrence Boone

VP, Global Agency Sales & Services

Google

Torrence is a senior executive in the global business organisation and is responsible for several hundred professionals around the globe. His openness as a leader has a huge impact. He is an Executive Sponsor for Google's Gay Employee Resource Group (the Gayglers) and an Executive Sponsor for Project Lambda, focused on driving digital enablement and transformation for LGBT small businesses. Externally, he is an active financial supporter of GLAAD and an active participant in Google led sponsorship of activities with the Human Rights Campaign.

Nir Efrat

SVP, Head of Franchises

King

Nir is the executive sponsor for the LGBT group at King and has been supporting the team, providing guidance and priorities, speaking on behalf of King Leadership in LGBT events and actively encouraging his peers and the rest of the company to support the group. As the only LGBT member in the King leadership, he has used his position to convey a strong message of diversity and inclusion across the company. Despite only recently relocating to London, he is already participating in a mentoring program with OUTstanding, coaching LGBT individuals, and is in discussions with several organisations, including Just Like Us - a new charity which sends recent LGBTQ+ school-leavers into schools to combat homophobia, to see how he can actively participate.

James Frost

Strategy Director

Millivres Prowler Group

James is an LGBT Entrepreneur with business interests that span Marketing, Publishing, Technology and Retail. As the majority shareholder of Millivres Prowler Group, he is clearly a great supporter of LGBT inclusion. Their workplace is fully inclusive and they are keen to use their status to increase visibility and support for charities who are working so hard to support the LGBT community. He personally supports several LGBT charities including The Albert Kennedy Trust, Kaleidoscope Trust and Free2b Alliance. He also works with a charity that supports street children in Kenya and is a major supporter of Centrepoint. Although not an LGBT-specific charity, they provide services to young homeless people in London, regardless of gender or sexuality.

Narind Singh

Partner

Clifford Chance

Narind is the champion partner (senior sponsor) for Arcus the Firm's LGBT+ and Allies network. He actively supports LGBT+ initiatives in the Firm including LGBT graduate recruitment, leading pro bono legal matters, mentoring junior LGBT staff and allies, working with clients on LGBT+ issues and supporting the growth of the network in regions outside the UK. He has worked closely with the team to achieve their recent top 10 employer status in Stonewall's WEI. He is leading the Clifford Chance team in a judicial review of the Passport Office's decision to not include a gender neutral marker in passports. He is also one of the Firm's mental health advocates

Roja Dove

Perfumer & Managing Director

Roja Parfums

As the Managing Director Roja is actively involved in all aspects of the business; every week he reserves time for his team. He always encourages people to be themselves and to be the best they can be. He makes it his mission to understand what’s going on in his employee’s lives outside of the workplace, so he can fully support them being authentic in the workplace. He works closely with a variety of LGBT+ charities, and once contributed a bespoke scent for The Terrence Higgins Trust’s Gala Auction. He was also recently appointed as an Ambassador for GREAT Britain, a campaign that recognises individuals who contribute to the creative power of the country – honouring representatives from the world of fragrance, film, music, design, food, sport and literature.

Nick Major

Chief Underwriting Officer, Global Corporate UK

Zurich Insurance

Nick established the Zurich UK GLEE Society for LGBT and Ally staff that has grown into a Zurich model for grass roots activism and formal network development across the broader business. He regularly references his partner and sexuality in internal and external profiles, has lobbied for charitable funding from the Zurich charitable trust to include LGBT causes such as The Albert Kennedy Trust and Survivors Manchester and sponsored the Zurich UK entry into the Stonewall Equality Index. He is a founding Member of LINK and is part of a senior group of LGBT Insurance executives meeting regularly to challenge the D&I agenda and representation in the industry. He also supports Stonewall and The Albert Kennedy Trust and has raised funds for Diversity Role Models and London Friend.

Saleem Fazal

100

Partner, Head of Real Estate Disputes

Taylor Wessing LLP

Saleem is a member for LGBT issues on the firm's Diversity Committee which aims to influence change and promote policies to effect inclusion and acceptance. He has drafted objectives and an action plan for the firm’s LGBT+ network and acts as a role model for ethnic LGBT+ employees and those affected by issues relating to faith, ensuring such matters are handled with proper understanding. He addressed the TW partners at the Annual General Meeting on the activities of the LGBT + network, the importance of encouraging talent and the additional benefits of generating business through getting the best out of people. Externally, he is the co-founder of Freehold and a Stonewall Ambassador, recently speaking on their behalf at the Halsbury Legal Awards.

2016 Top 100 LGBTQ+ Executives

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Executive Vice Chairman

Cheuk Nang Holdings Limited

Chief Executive Officer

Lloyd's of London

Chief Executive Officer

Qantas

CEO

United Therapeutics Corporation

General Counsel

JP Morgan

CEO

Rocket Entertainment Group

Chief Marketing Officer

Airbnb

Partner

EY

Executive Creative Director

Portas Agency

Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman and CEO; Vice President Dow Olympic and Sports Solutions

Dow Chemical Company

CEO

Prezi

Chief Creative Officer

Burberry

VP, Growth (marketing, analytics & i18n)

Facebook

Managing Partner

Socos LLC

Chief Risk & Compliance Officer

Bloomberg LP

Chief Risk officer

Aviva

Chief Executive

Shaftesbury PLC

Partner

Baker & McKenzie LLP

Head of Advanced Manufacturing and Technology

Pinsent Masons

Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs

Pfizer

Partner

Brunswick Group

VP of Marketing

Google

Executive Vice President, Chief Control Officer

First Data Corporation

Managing Director

Bank of America

CEO

John Hardy

Group Brand Director

Aviva

Global Head of Disputes and Joint Managing Partner for Asia and Australia

Herbert Smith Freehills

President and Chief Operating Officer

Dow Chemical Company

Group Chief Executive Products

Accenture

Chief Operating Officer

All3Media

Managing Director

Virgin Holidays

Group Head, Internal Audit

Standard Chartered Bank

Founding Member/Senior Partner

MHBC

Chief Information Officer

Accenture

Vice President IT & Social Business

GHY International

Chief Information Risk Officer

BNY Mellon

Partner

McKinsey & Company

Head of Strategy & Planning