In alphabetical order
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This category is judged based on evidence provided according to the british lgbt awards criteria.
CRESSIDA DICK CBE
METROPOLITAN POLICE
Cressida Dick has 34 years of public service, the majority of which she has spent in policing. She has held leadership roles in each of the organisations she has worked in, the Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police, the National Police College and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Cressida was the first woman to be appointed a Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner in 2009. From 2011 to 2014 she was in charge of UK counter terrorism policing, and led the operational security and counter terrorist operations for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 London Olympics. In 2014 Cressida joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office senior leadership team as a Director General. In February 2017 Cressida’s selection as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service was announced by the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and on the morning of 10th April 2017 she was re-attested as a police officer before taking up her role as Commissioner of the Met, leading the UK’s largest police service. Cressida is former president of the British Association of Women Police and takes a keen interest in encouraging and supporting women and people from other underrepresented groups into leadership and specialist roles. Cressida has a Master’s Degree in Criminology from Cambridge.
EMMA WOOLLCOTT
MISHCON DE REYA
Emma is an experienced media litigator. She leads an outstanding team, advising on defamation, breach of confidence, invasion of privacy, harassment and data protection concerns. Regarded as “formidable” and “highly talented”, Emma strategically and robustly fights her clients’ corner. As a human rights lawyer, Emma advocates for those who struggle to be heard. She founded the Mishcon Pride network, and established the firm’s support for two award-winning pro bono legal projects: Pink Law and SPITE (revenge porn). She was a founding trustee of Action Breaks Silence, is on the advisory board for P3 (the LGBT+ parenting network) and volunteers for Diversity Role Models.
GEFF PARSONS
MACQUARIE GROUP
Geff has co-chaired the LGBT+ network at Macquarie Group for five years, where he is designated as an LGBT+ workplace role model and a mental wellbeing ambassador. Under Geff’s direction, the employee network guided Macquarie to three successive Top 100 Employer places in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index and the Pink News Business Equality Award in 2018. Geff is ranked 23rd in the FT’s list of top LGBT+ executives, was nominated for Pink News’ Corporate Role Model Award in 2018 and also supports global investment industry network LGBT Great, and Diversity Role Models, which seeks to prevent bullying in UK schools.
GEOFF GODWIN
AIG
Geoff has been in the Insurance industry for 26 years and has held many senior roles and sits on his company’s Executive committee. He is a visible leader supporting inclusion within AIG, across the insurance industry and in the City of London. He is also Exec sponsor of AIG’s LGBT+ network. He is passionate about equality in the workplace and has made the Global FT Top 100 LGBT Executive List 4 years running. He also sits on various industry associations & charity boards and ensures that an inclusive culture exists way beyond his direct areas of responsibility.
JOSHUA GRAFF
Josh joined LinkedIn – the world’s largest professional network – in 2011. As Country Manager for the UK, he is responsible for driving member growth and engagement, strategic partnerships and revenue across all lines of the business. He also oversees LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions business in EMEA, helping marketers to identify, target and engage with the world’s most influential professionals. Featured on the Financial Times Top 50 LGBT Leaders list, Josh is the executive sponsor for LinkedIn’s LGBT Employee Resource Group Out@In and was a founding member of the advocacy group ‘Open For Business’.
MARK ARMARIO
BARCLAYS
Mark has led Barclay’s headline sponsorship of Liverpool Pride for the last two years. Building on a great partnership, in 2018 he took responsibility for spearheading Barclay’s Pride activities across the UK. This saw Headline Partnerships in London and Liverpool alongside partnerships Prides in Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle. In excess of 2,500 Barclays colleagues took part in 27 different events across the UK. He oversaw the development of the Barclays “Love goes the distance” message, uniting Barclays colleagues and their local communities under one single unifying theme for the first time.
MARTIN PARKES
BLACKROCK
Martin Parkes, Managing Director, is a member of BlackRock’s Global Public Policy Group based in London. Martin is responsible for engaging with policy makers, trade associations and BlackRock’s clients on policy and regulation relating to asset management in the EU and the UK. He is a member of ESMA’s Investor Protection and Intermediaries Standing Committee’s Consultative Working Group. As a senior member of BlackRock’s LGBT OUT & Allies network, he focuses on promoting LGBT awareness and celebrating the contribution of LGBT employees in external events through broader industry initiatives such as the investment industry’s Diversity Project.
OLLIE SAUNDERS
JLL
Ollie was one of the first visible LGBT professionals in real estate. He joined the board of Freehold when it was founded in 2011, which has grown to more than 1,000 members across the property profession. He is the executive sponsor of Building Pride, the JLL internal LGBT+ network, which was the first major property consultancy to march at London Pride. JLL was the first real estate advisor to be included in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Top 100 list in 2019, entering at number 64. Ollie has mentored more than 10 people in the last few years, as well as organising the Freehold mentoring programme which has mentored more than 50 LGBT+ people. He has also worked with Tonic Housing and provided pro-bono advice through his team to help them establish the first LGBT Retirement Living platform.
PEDRO PINA
Pedro Pina is a Portuguese-born marketer. He joined Google in 2013 as Global Client Partner overseeing a worldwide team dedicated to lead Google’s engagement with some of the biggest advertising giants e.g. Unilever, L’Oreal, Nestle, LVMH, VW & BMW. He also oversees Google’s award-winning creative force “The Zoo”. Pedro leads Google’s LGBTQ+ chapter for Europe and is the Executive Sponsor of the Region’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Prior to Google, Pedro was EVP at McCann Worldgroup, worked in the USA and Brazil for PepsiCo and was part of European Brand Management team for P&G. Pedro has an MBA from INSEAD, Paris
RICHARD HODGSON
LINKLATERS
Richard Hodgson is a Partner in Linklaters’ Restructuring and Insolvency practice. He is executive sponsor of the firm’s LGBT network, ‘With Pride’, and for its pro bono work with LGBT asylum seekers. Richard supports senior management on LGBT inclusion matters and is a highly visible LGBT role model, featuring in a video discussing his experiences of being LGBT, coming out and the role of Allies, and championing Linklaters’ first ever participation in the London Pride March in 2018. Richard has spoken at numerous events, including being interviewed about being LGBT in the City at a recent DiversCity graduate recruitment event.