As one of the original signatories to the HMT Women in Finance Charter, Sturgeon Ventures LLP have received the news:
Summary
- Dame Amanda Blanc has stepped down after five years as the Women in Finance Champion. During her tenure, senior female representation in the sector increased from 32% to 36%.
- Nationwide CEO Dame Debbie Crosbie has been appointed as the new Women in Finance Champion. Her appointment comes as the Government continues to push for greater female representation in senior City positions.
HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Champion
At Sturgeon Ventures, we want to begin by recognising and thanking Dame Amanda Blanc for five years of determined, principled leadership as HM Treasury’s Women in Finance Champion. Her letter is a powerful reminder that meaningful change in financial services is built through sustained effort, transparency, and accountability – not headlines.
The progress outlined is real. Moving senior female representation among Charter signatories from 32% to 36% represents thousands of women stepping into leadership roles and hundreds of firms embedding responsibility for change into their cultures. In a highly regulated industry, that kind of progress is neither accidental nor easy – and it matters precisely because it is measurable and durable.
The Women in Finance Charter
The Women in Finance Charter has become one of the most influential collective initiatives in the sector. With over 400 signatories and the introduction of the Blueprint, the focus has shifted from intention to execution. Firms now have practical frameworks, real-world examples, and shared benchmarks to accelerate progress and learn from one another. That collaborative approach is one of the Charter’s greatest strengths.
However, Dame Amanda is also right to be clear about the scale of the challenge ahead. A 1% annual increase is not enough. At that pace, gender parity would not be achieved until 2038 – an outcome that should be unacceptable for an industry that prides itself on innovation, strategic foresight, and long-term value creation. The next phase must be about pace, not just participation.
This is where accountability becomes critical. Diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot sit at the margins of business strategy. When gender balance is embedded into governance, leadership incentives, and decision-making frameworks, behaviour changes. When it isn’t, progress slows. The evidence is clear: diverse leadership teams drive better outcomes for customers, employees, and shareholders alike.
Female Owned
At Sturgeon Ventures, this is not a theoretical discussion. Sturgeon Ventures LLP and The Sturgeon Group Limited together form a family of companies owned by Seonaid Mackenzie, who is Director and Managing Partner across the group. Sturgeon is an owner-managed firm and is more than 51% female owned.
Since 2000, we have incubated over 200 financial services start-ups, including 12 founded and operated by women. While there is still much more to do, this experience reinforces our belief that access, support, and credible regulatory pathways matter.
Encouraging Diversity
We are actively engaged in encouraging diversity across the sector. Seonaid Mackenzie is a regular speaker in private and state schools on diversity in finance and serves as a mentor for LGBT Great, an organisation supporting businesses to become more inclusive. Sturgeon Ventures LLP has also been a signatory to the Women in Finance Charter since 2016, following the 2015 review that revealed women held just 14% of Executive Committee roles in financial services at that time.
As Dame Debbie Crosbie takes on the role of Women in Finance Champion, we welcome this moment as an opportunity to accelerate progress. Leadership transitions are inflection points. The commitments many firms have made for 2025 must now translate into delivery.
Real growth isn’t instant – it’s intentional. And real change only happens when accountability sits at the heart of strategy, not on the sidelines.
