Fernando Sanchez Molina of Standard Life Aberdeen has been named the sole Scottish representative on a global list of future leaders making a significant contribution to ethnic minority people at work.
Mr Sanchez Molina, a strategic shareholding consultant at Standard Life Aberdeen, has entered the top 100 list for the first time at number 83. He has been recognised for his work as global co-chair of Unity, the investment group’s network focused on ethnicity and multi-culturalism, to ensure diverse representation within the group and the wider financial services industry.
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The EMpower 100 Ethnic Minority Future Leaders list recognises people of colour who are not senior in their organisation but are making an impact on inclusion inside and outside the workplace. Other representatives from the UK financial services industry on this year’s list include Lindsey Morfin of Goldman Sachs, Malay Bose at the Bank of Ireland, Rashmi Gai at Citi, and Abidemi Ogunbowale-Thomas of Accenture.
All executives on the list were nominated by peers and employees, and were then reviewed by the EMpower judging panel. The list is compiled by diversity and inclusion network INvolve.
“I am delighted and honoured to have been selected and I look forward to be able to share experiences with others, and to achieve even more impactful results,” Mr Sanchez Molina said. “Financial services, specifically asset management companies, have a big challenge in terms of ethnic minority representation.”
As part of his work on Unity, Mr Sanchez Molina has led the #TalkAboutRace initiative to remove structural barriers for ethnic minority employees. He is also a board trustee for Project Scotland, a charity that helps young people through volunteering, and is a mentor for Career Ready.
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This year’s list has been published in the wake of the death of George Floyd which has sparked Black Live Matter protests around the world. INvolve founder Suki Sandhu said EMpower is not here “to blame or shame”, but to bring about lasting change in the business world.
“We still need to recognise that systematic racism does exist and until we recognise that, we cannot move the argument forward,” he said. “At the same time, the more positive stories we can tell, the more we can demonstrate how discrimination and racism can be stamped out and level the playing field.”
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