Meet Rachel

Flex and the City is back after the summer vacation and who better to interview than Martin Vogel the Global Strategy Officer of Waystone. 🎧 🎙️ 🌟 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. Plus, we'll be discussing his 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, and how his military background has shaped his view on what it takes to lead. We'll also 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆, his vision on the balance of regulation, and his perspective on the challenges and opportunities resulting from AI. 🤖 Join us for this exciting conversation and discover how this industry stalwart continues to break barriers and redefine the role of leadership in the financial sector. Don't forget to tune in, like, share, and subscribe to our channel for more inspiring conversations from leaders around the globe! 💫 🌍

Flex and the City is coming to you from Switzerland🇨🇭 today, where we had the fantastic opportunity to sit down with the self-proclaimed "fund nerd" Norbert Schmitz. Norbert shares his unique perspective on leadership and communication in the funds industry, drawing from the intriguing analogy of pets and their owners. He believes that, much like the special bond and understanding between pets and their owners, leaders and their teams in the funds industry should also share a strong connection. During our in-depth conversation, Norbert emphasizes the significance of trust, transparency, and empathy in effective leadership. He also shares how his passion for people❤️ drives him to engage in various humanitarian endeavours. In addition, Norbert offers his insights on the current trends and challenges within the funds industry and shares his predictions for what lies ahead. He highlights the urgent need for the industry to scale up and take proactive measures to retain its top talent. We truly enjoyed our time with Norbert, gaining invaluable insights from his extensive experience in the funds industry. Don't miss this captivating conversation with one of the industry's most enthusiastic and knowledgeable professionals. Follow Flex and the City for more updates and join the discussion on the latest developments in the world of finance.

I loved interviewing Michael Fox - he gave me real goosebumps. From discussing his humble beginnings to his unwavering passion for encouraging new talent to join the financial services industry, Michael's story is truly remarkable. Michael discusses the importance of social mobility and highlights key elements of great leadership: effective communication, authenticity, having a clear vision, empowering others, and fostering inclusivity! But what really gave me goosebumps was hearing about his brave and emotional journey of belatedly coming out and living his truth. 🏳️‍🌈✨ His words of wisdom for young people to embrace and live their authentic selves are both powerful and much-needed. 🙌

Claire Marshall is an agent of change driven by doing the right thing. From beginnings in the North of England and "meandering" her way to the role of Chief Internal Auditor for abrdn, Claire shares her views on harnessing the collective, the power of diversity of thought and the need for resilience (huge positives in that word meandering but you need to listen to the podcast) 😀. Claire brought a huge amount of joy and personal wisdom to the interview. She shared with vulnerability and humility her life-changing experience of Breast Cancer and how that has as a human being, mother and leader. We discussed the parallels between great parenting and leadership and agreed that coaching (asking not telling) and encouraging agency are key ingredients for healthy, resilient kids and sustainable organisations.

Sarah Sinclair is baking a new future for the financial services industry. 🎂 I met Sarah less than a month ago and it was quickly evident we shared alignment and passion on many subjects. As a result, I invited her to record this wonderful interview. Sarah stands for putting people at the heart of the financial services industry. As a leader in technology, she says that a symbiosis between AI and Humans needs to be even better leveraged, without fear!! She is passionate about restoring the image and trust of the financial services industry - not just for the consumers, but also for the individuals working inside the sector. Sarah explains how Change Gap guides their clients through the mountainous terrain of regulation and transformation - which for some might leave them lost halfway between base camp and the summit with a storm coming in! 🏔 Challenge, Change, Community ...... get Curious!

I'm grateful to know Janusz Lorenc, and every time I meet him, I learn something. It was such a joy to interview him. Janusz is the epitome of humility and sage wisdom who talked to me about the importance of values, understanding human beings, and the power that “flow” can bring to the financial services industry. Janusz knows the importance of connections, perspectives, making time for decision-making, and the need to slow down to speed up. Fundamentally, Janusz is a man of service, serving his family, his clients, his friends, and his employees. Enjoy every minute of this podcast—a true Shuhari moment (learning, detaching, and mastering) that you can even try while listening to.

Rob Williams is someone I met as a 21-year-old starting out in the asset management industry. In this great podcast, Rob talks about the critical importance of values-based leadership and changing the language in asset management to better connect with consumers. His company, Royal London Asset Management, was originally formed in 1861. Driven by the purpose of serving the community, the values that held true then are still being lived today. True sustainability with purpose and heart I would say! Rob talked about the future of distribution and the challenges that the asset management industry faces, and the leadership skills required to navigate through them in order to help people for another 162 years!

Catherine Battershill is a profoundly passionate leader who talks about the need to build trust in asset management with the public. As an ex-marketeer, Catherine believes more can be done to o re-write the script when it comes to how asset management markets itself. From true board diversity, how great leaders drive culture, direction, and motivation, they bring leadership skills and the power of self-awareness to boards. If you work in the investment fund industry and sit on a board or aspire to sit on a board this is a must listen.