We are thrilled to announce the first Stonehage Fleming XV cohort (SFXV). Following the publication of our Four Pillars of Capital, the women featured in the SFXV are being recognised for their financial, social, cultural, and intellectual contributions to society.

PRESENTING OUR INAUGURAL SFXV

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Dame Kate Bingham

Managing Partner, SV Health Investors

Kate is a Managing Partner at SV Health Investors. She has advised on major technology, infrastructure, outsourcing, and technology projects for over 25 years. She was appointed chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce in 2020 and was praised for her successful roll out of the Covid vaccine programme. She was appointed as a Dame in the 2021 birthday honours for “services to the procurement, manufacture, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.” Kate has been vocal on the need for the Government to improve their knowledge of the life sciences industry, citing the lack of diversity in the Civil Service’s educational backgrounds. She has a biochemistry degree from Christ Church, Oxford and holds an MBA from Harvard University.

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Karen Blackett, OBE

WPP U.K President

Karen is the U.K President of WPP, the global creative transformation company. She supervises WPP's second largest market and has 25 years of experience in marketing communications. Karen was a DIT Business Ambassador for No.10, where she was one of four external advisers helping to diversify the Civil Service, and a Race Equality Business Champion, helping businesses address inequality at all levels. Karen is a non- executive for Creative England, The MOBO Trust, and The Creative Industry Federation. Karen obtained an OBE in 2014 and graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a degree in Geography.

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Francesca Brady

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, AirRated

Francesca is the CEO and Co-Founder of AirRated, an indoor air quality (IAQ) Certification Company - creating the benchmark for IAQ. She joined AirRated as Head of Research in 2019 to further channel her knowledge and generate awareness of the effects of IAQ. Francesca is focused on improving air quality and having conversations on the best way to foster healthier living and working environments. She is an advisory member for the Camden Clean Air Initiative, a member of the International WELL Building Institute’s Covid-19 Taskforce and is a regular speaker at universities, schools and industry conferences. Francesca is dedicated to promoting and educating audiences from all walks of life about the importance, benefits and management of good indoor air quality. She was honoured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and Management Today’s 35 under 35 for her work with AirRated.

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Emma Bridgewater, CBE

Founder, Emma Bridgewater

Emma is the founder of the flagship ceramics company, Emma Bridgewater. Established in 1985, her handmade and hand-decorated pottery is crafted in her Stoke-on-Trent factory, and she now oversees a workforce of around 500 people. Emma is a Patron of both the British Pilgrimage Trust and the Heritage Crafts Association. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by both Staffordshire and Keele Universities for her contribution to Stoke’s economic regeneration and has been an active ambassador for Stoke-on-Trent for almost 40 years.

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Jordan Brompton

Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, myenergi

Jordan is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of myenergi, a British designer and manufacturer of renewable energy products that improve the rate of green energy self-consumption. Jordan co-founded myenergi in 2016 and currently oversees the daily operations of the sales and marketing divisions, business growth, and corporate collaborations. Passionate about renewable energy and sustainability, Jordan’s mission is to create a kinder, more sustainable future for our planet. Jordan is also an angel investor and novelist, with her first children’s book being published in 2019. She previously ran a distribution company and worked as a radio presenter.

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Dame Kate Bingham

Managing Partner, SV Health Investors

Kate is a Managing Partner at SV Health Investors. She has advised on major technology, infrastructure, outsourcing, and technology projects for over 25 years. She was appointed chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce in 2020 and was praised for her successful roll out of the Covid vaccine programme. She was appointed as a Dame in the 2021 birthday honours for “services to the procurement, manufacture, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.” Kate has been vocal on the need for the Government to improve their knowledge of the life sciences industry, citing the lack of diversity in the Civil Service’s educational backgrounds. She has a biochemistry degree from Christ Church, Oxford and holds an MBA from Harvard University.

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Karen Blackett, OBE

WPP U.K President

Karen is the U.K President of WPP, the global creative transformation company. She supervises WPP's second largest market and has 25 years of experience in marketing communications. Karen was a DIT Business Ambassador for No.10, where she was one of four external advisers helping to diversify the Civil Service, and a Race Equality Business Champion, helping businesses address inequality at all levels. Karen is a non- executive for Creative England, The MOBO Trust, and The Creative Industry Federation. Karen obtained an OBE in 2014 and graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a degree in Geography.

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Francesca Brady

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, AirRated

Francesca is the CEO and Co-Founder of AirRated, an indoor air quality (IAQ) Certification Company - creating the benchmark for IAQ. She joined AirRated as Head of Research in 2019 to further channel her knowledge and generate awareness of the effects of IAQ. Francesca is focused on improving air quality and having conversations on the best way to foster healthier living and working environments. She is an advisory member for the Camden Clean Air Initiative, a member of the International WELL Building Institute’s Covid-19 Taskforce and is a regular speaker at universities, schools and industry conferences. Francesca is dedicated to promoting and educating audiences from all walks of life about the importance, benefits and management of good indoor air quality. She was honoured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list and Management Today’s 35 under 35 for her work with AirRated.

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Emma Bridgewater, CBE

Founder, Emma Bridgewater

Emma is the founder of the flagship ceramics company, Emma Bridgewater. Established in 1985, her handmade and hand-decorated pottery is crafted in her Stoke-on-Trent factory, and she now oversees a workforce of around 500 people. Emma is a Patron of both the British Pilgrimage Trust and the Heritage Crafts Association. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by both Staffordshire and Keele Universities for her contribution to Stoke’s economic regeneration and has been an active ambassador for Stoke-on-Trent for almost 40 years.

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Jordan Brompton

Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, myenergi

Jordan is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of myenergi, a British designer and manufacturer of renewable energy products that improve the rate of green energy self-consumption. Jordan co-founded myenergi in 2016 and currently oversees the daily operations of the sales and marketing divisions, business growth, and corporate collaborations. Passionate about renewable energy and sustainability, Jordan’s mission is to create a kinder, more sustainable future for our planet. Jordan is also an angel investor and novelist, with her first children’s book being published in 2019. She previously ran a distribution company and worked as a radio presenter.

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Alex Depledge, MBE

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Resi

Alex is a technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Resi, an all-in-one home improvement platform. She is also the founder and former CEO of Helpling (formerly Hassle.com). Alex worked at Accenture in the UK from 2006 to 2012 before starting her own business. Alex regularly speaks on the future of work, women in tech, data lessons, and the prospects and challenges of AI and automation. In 2016, she received an MBE for her contributions to the sharing economy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Chicago.

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Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Founder and Executive Chair of Snoop

Dame Jayne-Anne is the Founder and Executive Chair of the multi-award winning fintech Snoop. A Chartered Accountant, she spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. She was the CEO of Virgin Money for over 10 years and was the UK Government’s Women in Finance Champion. A widely respected businesswomen, Jayne-Anne is Chair of HMRC and a Director at UniCredit. She is also a Trustee of the Tate and sits on the Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board and the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. Jayne-Anne is a vocal advocate of gender diversity in the workplace and the equitable treatment of women in business and finance. She is also outspoken about mental health and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. She was awarded a CBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list, made a Dame in the 2019 Honours list and appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.

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Michelle Kennedy

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Peanut

Michelle is the founder and CEO of Peanut, a social media platform that provides a safe space for women to connect. She was formerly Deputy CEO of dating behemoth Badoo, and during her tenure was an inaugural board member of Bumble, which IPOd at a $13bn valuation. With over 10 years of social discovery experience, Michelle understands the safety and growth factors in developing social networks for women. She is committed to making Peanut the leading network that connects women when they need it most. She is a Linktree investor and holds a Law degree from the University of Sheffield.

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Deepali Nangia

Partner, Speedinvest

Deepali is a Partner at Speedinvest, with a focus on investment in female and diverse founders. She also manages Speedinvest’s MicroGP program for emerging fund managers. She has a background in investment banking, private equity and operations, and has also set up a children’s education business in India. Deepali has a keen interest in technologies that are solving society’s large problems in sectors such as Digital Health, Femtech, Education, Fintech and Climate Tech. Before joining Speedinvest, she co-founded Alma Angels, a community set up to increase the number of female angel investors in Europe who fund female-founded companies. She was also an Atomico Angel for several years angel investing in more than 30 female founders. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Rochester and a MBA from Simon Business School. Deepali received the “UKBAA Angel Investor of the Year Award” for 2021 and also serves on the UK Government “Taskforce for High Growth Female Entrepreneurs”.

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Birgit Neu

Senior DEI Advisor

Birgit is a Senior DEI Advisor and the former Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at HSBC in London. She has extensive experience in the digital, retail, publishing, and finance industries. At HSBC, Birgit also previously held roles as Head of Private Banking Initiative in their commercial bank and COO of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Corporate Development in their investment bank. She was a founder of ‘Balance’, HSBC’s global employee network for gender balance. Birgit is a founding member of the 30% Club’s Strategy Best Practices Working Group, which focuses on commercial DEI best practice, and a regular provider of thought leadership on DEI and ESG topics for the world’s leading organisations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business from NYU Stern School of Business.

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Alex Depledge, MBE

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Resi

Alex is a technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Resi, an all-in-one home improvement platform. She is also the founder and former CEO of Helpling (formerly Hassle.com). Alex worked at Accenture in the UK from 2006 to 2012 before starting her own business. Alex regularly speaks on the future of work, women in tech, data lessons, and the prospects and challenges of AI and automation. In 2016, she received an MBE for her contributions to the sharing economy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Nottingham and a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Chicago.

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Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia

Founder and Executive Chair of Snoop

Dame Jayne-Anne is the Founder and Executive Chair of the multi-award winning fintech Snoop. A Chartered Accountant, she spent six years at Norwich Union (now Aviva) before becoming one of the founders of Virgin Direct in 1995. She was the CEO of Virgin Money for over 10 years and was the UK Government’s Women in Finance Champion. A widely respected businesswomen, Jayne-Anne is Chair of HMRC and a Director at UniCredit. She is also a Trustee of the Tate and sits on the Mayor of London’s Business Advisory Board and the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. Jayne-Anne is a vocal advocate of gender diversity in the workplace and the equitable treatment of women in business and finance. She is also outspoken about mental health and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. She was awarded a CBE in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list, made a Dame in the 2019 Honours list and appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.

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Michelle Kennedy

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Peanut

Michelle is the founder and CEO of Peanut, a social media platform that provides a safe space for women to connect. She was formerly Deputy CEO of dating behemoth Badoo, and during her tenure was an inaugural board member of Bumble, which IPOd at a $13bn valuation. With over 10 years of social discovery experience, Michelle understands the safety and growth factors in developing social networks for women. She is committed to making Peanut the leading network that connects women when they need it most. She is a Linktree investor and holds a Law degree from the University of Sheffield.

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Deepali Nangia

Partner, Speedinvest

Deepali is a Partner at Speedinvest, with a focus on investment in female and diverse founders. She also manages Speedinvest’s MicroGP program for emerging fund managers. She has a background in investment banking, private equity and operations, and has also set up a children’s education business in India. Deepali has a keen interest in technologies that are solving society’s large problems in sectors such as Digital Health, Femtech, Education, Fintech and Climate Tech. Before joining Speedinvest, she co-founded Alma Angels, a community set up to increase the number of female angel investors in Europe who fund female-founded companies. She was also an Atomico Angel for several years angel investing in more than 30 female founders. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Rochester and a MBA from Simon Business School. Deepali received the “UKBAA Angel Investor of the Year Award” for 2021 and also serves on the UK Government “Taskforce for High Growth Female Entrepreneurs”.

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Birgit Neu

Senior DEI Advisor

Birgit is a Senior DEI Advisor and the former Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at HSBC in London. She has extensive experience in the digital, retail, publishing, and finance industries. At HSBC, Birgit also previously held roles as Head of Private Banking Initiative in their commercial bank and COO of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Corporate Development in their investment bank. She was a founder of ‘Balance’, HSBC’s global employee network for gender balance. Birgit is a founding member of the 30% Club’s Strategy Best Practices Working Group, which focuses on commercial DEI best practice, and a regular provider of thought leadership on DEI and ESG topics for the world’s leading organisations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business from NYU Stern School of Business.

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Jenn Nkiru

Artist and Director

Jenn Nkiru is a Grammy-award-winning visionary artist and director from London. As an artist, her works have screened internationally, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art to The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art in LA, the Tate Modern, the ICA London, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane among others. Her work is also held in the MoMA archives. Nkiru was also one of 75 artists selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2019 Whitney Biennial. She is the 2021 Grammy Award Winner for Best Music Video for her direction on Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce. She additionally is the winner of a CICLOPE, Soul Train, Cannes Lion and NAACP award for the same video. Her film OUT / SIDE OF TIME, currently sit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York as a part of their exhibition: Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room. December 2022 saw Nkiru’s TV directorial debut with the release of Random Acts of Flyness season 2 of which she directed 2 episodes premiering on HBO. In January 2023, Variety named Nkiru as one of 10 Brits to Watch in 2023.

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Samantha Payne, MBE

Co-Founder, Open Bionics

Samantha is the Co-Founder of Open Bionics, an award-winning robotics company developing assistive technology that enhances the human body. Open Bionics’ flagship product is the Hero Arm, an affordable 3D printed bionic hand for amputees. The company works with international brands like the Walt Disney Company to turn children with limb differences into bionic superheroes. Open Bionics are the creators of the official Iron Man bionic hand for amputees. Samantha was awarded an MBE for services to engineering, innovation, and technology, and has won multiple awards for entrepreneurship and social impact including being recognised by MIT Review and Forbes as one of the top 30 innovators in Europe, and was named as the leading founder in Europe at the Europa Awards. Samantha is an international keynote speaker and was the warm-up act for President Barack Obama at Bits and Pretzels in Munich. Open Bionics won the International AI and Robotics for Good Award in Dubai beating Nokia to first place, and won the Design Intelligence Award in China beating Adidas. The company has won multiple engineering excellence awards and an award from James Dyson.

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Sharmadean Reid, MBE

Founder, The Stack World

Sharmadean is the founder of The Stack World, a global community of mission-driven women. A serial entrepreneur, she founded her first business venture aged 24, an innovative salon space in Soho, London and created experimental pop-up versions in Tokyo, Moscow and New York. She then started a beauty tech company and created VR and AI experiences to push beauty booking forward. With The Stack World, Sharmadean is focused on closing gender inequities through learning and community. She was awarded an MBE for services to Beauty and Women. Sharmadean holds a degree in Communication from Central St Martins.

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Romi Savova

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PensionBee

Romi is the CEO of PensionBee, the leading digital pension provider in the UK. Prior to PensionBee, Romi served as the Head of Corporate Development for Credit Benchmark, an Index Ventures portfolio firm. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Benchmark in numerous roles. Romi is an advocate for consumer standards in the pensions industry, including the reduction of transfer times and the elimination of exit fees. She is a member of the government’s Pensions Dashboards Programme Steering Group. Romi holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Studies from Emory University.

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Laura Winningham, OBE

Co-Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer, City Harvest

Laura is the former CEO of City Harvest, which she co-founded in 2014 with the dream of matching the abundance of surplus food from businesses with people in the UK that face food insecurity. The charity delivers food for 1.2 million meals each week to over 375 charities. Since inception, City Harvest has rescued and delivered 40,000,000 meals to those in need. Prior to founding City Harvest, Laura was an investment manager at CRI Media Partners in Hong Kong and New York and managed public and private portfolios at two family offices. Laura began her career as an investment banker with a speciality in Alternative Energy. Laura holds an MBA from Stanford and a BSc from Cornell University.

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Jenn Nkiru

Artist and Director

Jenn Nkiru is a Grammy-award-winning visionary artist and director from London. As an artist, her works have screened internationally, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art to The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art in LA, the Tate Modern, the ICA London, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane among others. Her work is also held in the MoMA archives. Nkiru was also one of 75 artists selected for the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2019 Whitney Biennial. She is the 2021 Grammy Award Winner for Best Music Video for her direction on Brown Skin Girl by Beyonce. She additionally is the winner of a CICLOPE, Soul Train, Cannes Lion and NAACP award for the same video. Her film OUT / SIDE OF TIME, currently sit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York as a part of their exhibition: Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room. December 2022 saw Nkiru’s TV directorial debut with the release of Random Acts of Flyness season 2 of which she directed 2 episodes premiering on HBO. In January 2023, Variety named Nkiru as one of 10 Brits to Watch in 2023.

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Samantha Payne, MBE

Co-Founder, Open Bionics

Samantha is the Co-Founder of Open Bionics, an award-winning robotics company developing assistive technology that enhances the human body. Open Bionics’ flagship product is the Hero Arm, an affordable 3D printed bionic hand for amputees. The company works with international brands like the Walt Disney Company to turn children with limb differences into bionic superheroes. Open Bionics are the creators of the official Iron Man bionic hand for amputees. Samantha was awarded an MBE for services to engineering, innovation, and technology, and has won multiple awards for entrepreneurship and social impact including being recognised by MIT Review and Forbes as one of the top 30 innovators in Europe, and was named as the leading founder in Europe at the Europa Awards. Samantha is an international keynote speaker and was the warm-up act for President Barack Obama at Bits and Pretzels in Munich. Open Bionics won the International AI and Robotics for Good Award in Dubai beating Nokia to first place, and won the Design Intelligence Award in China beating Adidas. The company has won multiple engineering excellence awards and an award from James Dyson.

stonehage fleming

Sharmadean Reid, MBE

Founder, The Stack World

Sharmadean is the founder of The Stack World, a global community of mission-driven women. A serial entrepreneur, she founded her first business venture aged 24, an innovative salon space in Soho, London and created experimental pop-up versions in Tokyo, Moscow and New York. She then started a beauty tech company and created VR and AI experiences to push beauty booking forward. With The Stack World, Sharmadean is focused on closing gender inequities through learning and community. She was awarded an MBE for services to Beauty and Women. Sharmadean holds a degree in Communication from Central St Martins.

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Romi Savova

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PensionBee

Romi is the CEO of PensionBee, the leading digital pension provider in the UK. Prior to PensionBee, Romi served as the Head of Corporate Development for Credit Benchmark, an Index Ventures portfolio firm. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Benchmark in numerous roles. Romi is an advocate for consumer standards in the pensions industry, including the reduction of transfer times and the elimination of exit fees. She is a member of the government’s Pensions Dashboards Programme Steering Group. Romi holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, International Studies from Emory University.

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Laura Winningham, OBE

Co-Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer, City Harvest

Laura is the former CEO of City Harvest, which she co-founded in 2014 with the dream of matching the abundance of surplus food from businesses with people in the UK that face food insecurity. The charity delivers food for 1.2 million meals each week to over 375 charities. Since inception, City Harvest has rescued and delivered 40,000,000 meals to those in need. Prior to founding City Harvest, Laura was an investment manager at CRI Media Partners in Hong Kong and New York and managed public and private portfolios at two family offices. Laura began her career as an investment banker with a speciality in Alternative Energy. Laura holds an MBA from Stanford and a BSc from Cornell University.