Kajal Chhapia | Oliver Wyman
Kajal Chhapia is a public policy professional with experience across financial services. Kajal recently joined Oliver Wyman, prior to which she was at the Bank of England.
Kajal joined the Bank of England in 2018 after graduating from the University of Oxford. Her main role focused on ending ‘too big to fail’ through capital and liquidity policy for global banks. During the pandemic, Kajal also spent 6 months at the Joint Biosecurity Centre (Department for Health and Social Care) determining the UK’s international travel policy. Kajal joined Oliver Wyman in 2021, working primarily across Public Sector Policy and Financial Services. Passionate about inclusion, diversity and social mobility, Kajal is also the founder and director of Divercity, a non-profit organisation championing diversity in Finance and Consulting. Kajal leads a mentoring programme with 100+ participants across 54 companies, 38 universities and 3 countries. Additionally, Kajal is particularly interested in sustainable finance and international development and holds the CFA Investment Management Certificate
Avery Johnstone | Kite Insights
Avery is a researcher, project manager and digital strategist. Having graduated on the Dean’s List from Queen’s University, Kingston with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies, Avery works at Kite Insights to conduct research, facilitate debate and drive inclusive and intersectional progress across ESG for her clients.
Avery's areas of expertise lie in the intersections of gender, health and climate research, thought leadership and engagement strategy. Currently, Avery project manages the Editorial Team for the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society - a global platform highlighting women’s voices and vision to shape a more inclusive economy and society, and supports The New York Times Climate Solutions series, leading up to COP26.
Previously, Avery has served as a Youth Ambassador to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on topics of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and has sat on the Board of Directors for a regional branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. She has also worked with Queen's Health Outreach to develop mental and sexual health curriculum for students in Georgetown, Guyana, and spent two months implementing this initiative alongside the Guyanese Ministry of Education and Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association in May/June 2019.
Avery is currently a Youth Advisor to Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran and sits on the Canadian Council of Young Feminists / Conseil canadien de jeunes féministes. She is also a Young Leader with Women Deliver's Young Leaders Programme, an award-winning, international youth leadership programme focused on gender and health equity, and in the inaugural cohort of Apolitical's Gender Equality Collective - an education initiative for civil servants, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Chloe Priestley | PwC
In 2014 I joined PwC as part of the "School Leaver Programme" having just finished my A-levels.
During my first four years at PwC I studied for several qualifications including a Level 4 Diploma in Audit Practice and the ACA qualification with the ICAEW and I became a Chartered Accountant in 2018. I really enjoyed my training and I was recognised as a PwC prize winner for my Corporate Reporting exam results and nominated for Kaplan's Student of the Year award. In 2019, aged 23, I was promoted to a Manager in Audit, this was the earliest possible stage in my career for promotion. I also won Professional Pensions "Trainee of the Year," which recognised my outstanding achievements to date. I've specialised in Pensions Assurance within PwC's North Pension team since joining, and more recently have moved into our National Asset Wealth Management ("AWM") team, where I've proactively sought out opportunities to get involved in AWM London based Financial Services clients to expand my knowledge. I continue to develop my pensions specialism, increasingly working across our National practice in addition to broadening my experience with Funds clients.
Prior to joining PwC, I attended a Secondary School which was placed in "special measures" by Ofsted in my GCSE years, despite this I achieved the highest grades which anyone had ever achieved at the School and was recognised at my Sixth Form as having the highest grades of any external student. My Parents had never attended University and it didn't appeal to me, much to my Form Teacher's horror when I announced I wasn't applying to University, my family have always worked in an occupation that requires a trade and so working at a Professional Services Firm was something I'd only seen on TV. I was determined to make something of myself without going to University and applying to PwC as a School Leaver was the best decision I've ever made.
Preeti Singh | KPMG
After completing her Economics degree at the University of Nottingham, Preeti decided to sign up to the Teach First graduate programme and spent 2 years as a secondary school Mathematics teacher in a struggling school in West London.
The intention was to give back to the community she grew up in and take part in the Teach First Leadership Development programme before committing to the corporate world. During this time, Preeti was studying towards the PGCE qualification to become a qualified teacher, whilst teaching full time and positively impacting students’ lives.
Then, in 2017, Preeti joined KPMG on the graduate programme within Technology Risk Consulting and has since been working in Information Risk Management or IT Audit. She grew really quickly within her role, working well above her grade, leading teams, taking ownership of various work-streams, adding value for clients and building strong meaningful relationships both internally and externally.
Alongside her demanding day job working on one of the largest clients in the insurance sector, Preeti looked for ways to stay connected to and helping students’ lives. This is where she came across the IT’s Her Future Juniors programme which was in its planning stage and yet to launch its first event, designed to educate young female students around technology careers and providing long term mentoring. Preeti helped this programme to grow, taking a part in leading events, sourcing schools/students, organising key internal and external speakers and launching further new initiatives such as primary school workshops. In 2019, she took over as the lead of the programme and has been training Future Leaders of the programme, collaborating with other technology firms, overseeing activities and innovating and implementing new innovative workshops for the benefit of future young women.
Outside of her work life, Preeti is passionate about baking, wellness and meeting new people.
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.
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.
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.
Simone Goligorsky | Reed Smith
I am a Counsel in the Energy and Natural Resources Group at law firm Reed Smith.
I advise trading companies, banks and utilities on commodity trading, transactional, and regulatory matters. Most recently, I was seconded to ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, to work on the development of its new trading business, and was fortunate enough to be able to be based in the client’s office in the UAE.
I decided to qualify into the field of commodities trading because of the dynamic and fast-paced environment driven almost entirely by geopolitical events, meaning the nature of the work changes on a regular basis. I work the clients based across the global, which brings with it an opportunity to understand each client’s product, project and geographic concerns, making each matter that I work on unique.
I read French and Philosophy at UCL. I then did the law conversion course at the College of Law, graduating with an LLB. I then studied for an LLM, whilst doing my training contract. I was very lucky to have good careers advisors who told me that it was possible to have a career in law without studying law as an undergraduate degree at university, and that I could undertake my law conversion course following the completion of a Bachelor’s degree.
My language skills have been hugely beneficial to my career: I spent part of my training contract in Paris, following which I was seconded to a client in their French-speaking Geneva office. Being a fluent Russian speaker, I am able to work closely with colleagues in Reed Smith’s Nur-Sultan office, and conduct negotiations with clients in Russian.
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.
Amanda Kemp | Aon
My career in Asset Management spans over 15 years.
I come from a very working-class background. My father is a Lorry Driver and my mother was a cleaner. I went to a local state school and didn't really have any careers advice. A chance conversation led me to apply my first role with Mellon.
During my early career, I spent a lot of time hiding my background. It wasn't until I took a career break in 2013 that I realised when everything was stacked against me I did achieve so much and that I was a role model for my young children. It is my hard work and can-do attitude that is leading me on the path to success. It was my early years that made me who I am, and is something I need to celebrate. To use my platform to educate others. In 2017 I took the decision to reignite my career. Even though returners are now promoted, I found it quite difficult to get past the "no recent experience". So, I changed tact. Rather than focus on my past, I focussed on my future. I asked myself what is it I bring that is so different. The answer is my "to stubborn to fail" attitude, my values and experiences.
I started at Aon in their investment management business late 2017 - I am a valuable member of the team. My attention to detail and problem-solving attitude means that I can tackle complex tasks and find solution to issues. Always thinking outside the box and have delivered some outstanding solutions both for the business and clients.
I'm always willing to get involved, support others and bring my best ideas to the table. To drive the business forward despite the many headwinds and changing requirements.
I will continue to help those from a disadvantaged background, and career returners find their true potential.