Hanneke Smits, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment management, has been named global chair of gender diversity initiative the 30% Club. She replaces Ann Cairns in the role.
The 30% Club aims to achieve gender parity across the boards and senior management teams of global companies, setting a minimum target of 30 per cent female representation at this level. More than 20 countries are involved in the scheme.
Smits has more than 30 years of experience in the financial industry, holding several senior roles throughout her career. Before joining BNY Mellon, she was a non-executive director at the Bank of England, CEO and executive director at Newton Investment Management and chief investment officer at private equity firm Adams Street Partners.
Throughout her career, Smits has taken part in a number of initiatives promoting gender diversity in the workplace. In 2015 she co-founded Level20, which aims to support women in the European private equity industry.
Commenting on her appointment, Smits says: "The role of the 30% Club is as vital now as it was at launch in 2010. Reaching the campaign's ultimate goal of gender parity will take significant effort and investment. I look forward to continuing to grow the 30% Club internationally and tackle a wider range of diversity challenges, inside and outside the boardroom."
Cairns adds: "We are proud to welcome Hanneke as our new global chair. It will be invaluable to have a respected leader of Hanneke's experience and calibre join the global campaign at a time when many companies are still struggling to achieve diversity at board and executive levels.
“In the UK, we may have reached 40 per cent women on the boards of the FTSE 100, but the majority remain in non-executive roles; there are just 25 per cent women at executive committee level and just eight female CEOs.
“Women of colour remain under-represented at every managerial and leadership level. We must continue to keep diversity and inclusion high on the agenda."
