Did you know that BNY Mellon has one of the most diverse Boards on Wall Street?

During this session, BNY Mellon will bring together four Black, women leaders from the UK and US for what promises to be an engaging discussion on navigating a career in financial services. Join this webinar to hear how our leaders have overcome obstacles to achieve success, sought out mentorship and sponsorship opportunities and recognised their readiness to take that next career step. These empowering individuals have years of valuable knowledge and expertise to share. We welcome everyone to attend this session as you’ll be sure to come away with great advice and a diverse perspective on how to propel your career. 

3 Key takeaways: 

• Discover ways in which you can set yourself up for the next stage in your career and when to know that you are promotion-ready
• Learn the important role that mentorship/sponsorship plays in your professional and personal growth
• Learn how BNY Mellon is strengthening our culture to promote a sense of belonging and support wellbeing that enables us to do our best work, build great careers and lead fulfilling lives.

Meet the Speakers

Nicole Clarke, Director and Chief Compliance Officer, Pershing EMEA | BNY Mellon

Nicole Clarke has several years’ experience as a Compliance Officer working for a number of US and European banking and financial institutions whose core business is global custody, clearing and settlement.  She is Director and Chief Compliance Officer for Pershing Securities Services, Pershing Limited, Pershing Channel Islands and Pershing Securities Ireland Ltd (collectively Pershing EMEA).  She is a member of the Pershing EMEA Executive Committee, Risk Committee, and an SME expert attendee at the PHUK Board of Directors.  Nicole has functional responsibility and oversight for the Pershing EMEA Compliance functions based in London, Liverpool, Dublin, and Jersey.  

As Chief Compliance Officer Nicole is recognized as a versatile leader.  She brings a calm and mature approach to Compliance challenges, in interpreting regulatory requirements locally and working across jurisdictions and business lines.  Nicole is passionate about all elements of DE&I and is a member of BNY Mellon’s WIN (Women’s Initiative Network), IMPACT (Invested in Multicultural Diversity) and is a Mental Health First Aider. 

Joanna Symes, Director, Human Resources, EMEA

Joanna Symes is Director of Human Resources (HR) overseeing Global Markets Infrastructure in Europe Middle East and Africa. Joanna is focused on leadership and pipeline talent and works with business leaders to implement evidence-based practices to create high performing inclusive teams. In addition, Joanna serves on the London Leadership team providing broad-based support and thought leadership on culture strategies and program implementation.  

Prior to this role, Joanna was the APAC Head of HR based in Hong Kong responsible for managing the strategic delivery of HR’s full suite of services, ensuring coordination across the region. 

Joanna joined the Bank of New York Mellon in 2005 and has over 20 years of human resources and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion experience within global financial services organizations.  Joanna holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies with Human Resource Management. 

Yinka Madden, Director, Treasury Services | Business Resiliency

Yinka is a Business Resiliency Leader with BNY Mellon Treasury Services. In her current role, Yinka manages initiatives focused on business continuity, incident and crisis management and client-facing resiliency communications. In previous positions with the company, Yinka was instrumental in developing a high-impact business simulation program and implementing a variety of leadership programs. She has also been involved in initiatives focused on strategic alignment, business unit reporting, executive team strategy and planning, targeted team development and employee communications.

Prior to joining BNY Mellon in 2009, Yinka’s experience covered business management & administration, change leadership, project management, talent development, corporate finance, business enterprise valuations, financial advisory services, and consulting. Yinka obtained a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Alliance Manchester Business School in England and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Accounting from the University of Jos in Nigeria. In addition, she completed a comprehensive program covering the global investment industry and was awarded the CFA Institute’s Investment Foundations® Certificate.

Yinka is Global Co-Chair for BNY Mellon’s HEART Employee/Business Resource Group and a member of the Financial Women’s Association where she has served in several leadership roles. Her interests include world music, travel, and photography.

Shakira Sebastian, Managing Director, Corporate Staff CFO

Shakira is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for BNY Mellon’s Corporate Staff groups.  Shakira and her CFO team are responsible for coordinating the annual Operating Plan process, monthly forecasts, periodic (M/Q/A) business results analyses, and advisory analytical support for the Corporate Staff functions.   Based in New York, Shakira leads a global team located in New York, Pittsburgh, Pune, and Chennai.  

In her prior role, Shakira led the Client Product and Profitability (CPP) team which was focused on developing an enterprise client and product profitability tool to enable profitability analysis across the firm’s clients. Shakira was also the Director of Investment Services FP&A and led the Global Incentives Reporting and Chennai management reporting teams. Shakira has a proven track record of success, including aligning LOB financial reporting with business messaging as well as partnering with HR Compensation to quantify incentives required to support the enterprise, and delivering performance-based incentives reviews to the CEO, CFO and Board of Directors. Shakira also led the development of a LOB support model to identify opportunities for standardization, simplification, and automation across the firm’s core financial management functions. 

Shakira is a longtime IMPACT member and is currently Co-Chair of the Black Leadership Forum (BLF).  She has also served as the group’s global Finance lead. 

Prior to BNY Mellon, Shakira began her career at JP Morgan Chase in the Finance and Control Management Training Program.  During her 11 years with JP Morgan Chase, she held various finance roles across multiple businesses.

She stays active in her local community and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated where she has held leadership positions in her local chapter, including two terms as Financial Secretary and Co-Chair of the Internal Audit Committee.

Olagboyega Ojo, Newton Investment Risk team, BNY Mellon

Boyega is a member of the Newton Investment Risk team, he joined Newton in 2019 with responsibility for undertaking in-depth portfolio analysis and investment risk oversight of the Newton Fund range. Prior to joining Newton, he was an Investment Risk Manager at Sanlam Investments where he set up the company’s investment risk function. He is also a member of the Newton Diversity and Inclusion Council.

Boyega began his career in 2010 and has worked at Hermes Investment Management (now Federated Hermes) and AXA Investment Management.

About BNY Mellon

At BNY Mellon, we power individuals and institutions to succeed across the financial world through a comprehensive suite of investment services and investment management solutions. 

As a global company involved in every step of the investment cycle, it’s our business to manage, grow and preserve assets. That’s why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at BNY Mellon is integral to business strategy – DEI is critical to achieving high performance, competitive advantage, innovation and growth. We do this for ourselves and our clients. When it comes to our best asset – our people – we don’t leave performance to chance. Doing what we do well requires each of us to leverage our differences to make unique contributions, create new value, deliver extraordinary service and grow our business. Our Board of Directors is one of the most diverse on Wall Street – with 31% women and 38% from underrepresented ethnic/racial backgrounds.

Our enduring ambition is to build the best global team—one that is inclusive of differing perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, and represents the increasingly varied markets and clients we serve.