Shreyas is an Insights and Research Consultant at LGBT Great, where they support the delivery of a wide range of research and insights projects. Having recently completed an MSc in International Relations from the University of Essex and a BSc in Economics at Symbiosis International University Pune, India, Shreyas is particularly interested in LGBTQ+ policy and current affairs. After completing their BSC, they co-founded Economikly, an open-access research platform designed to help underrepresented students publish research and gain knowledge with no monetary barriers. Before joining LGBT Great, Shreyas worked with Ogilvy in their account management department and gained experience at Routes2Roots, an India-headquartered NGO working to improve access to cultural exchange programs. Shreyas is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and has been in public lobbying and activism for LGBTQ+ protections.

Matt is an experienced talent management, diversity and organisational development leader with extensive experience within the financial services industry. A proven track record in inspiring others, developing effective strategies, programme execution, managing diverse teams and building partnerships.

Matt was the first in his family to go to university, is part of the LGBT+ community and also from a lower-social economic background.

Matt is responsible for the development of LGBT Great’s programmes, the strategic direction of the organisation and advising organisations on DE&I issues. Matt is also a Board Member of the Diversity Project.

Graduating with a first class honours with distinction at the University of York in 2023, Max began in Fidelity’s two year rotational graduate program. Previous rotations have been within Client Services, Digital Marketing and Propositions. He also has work experience in positions with Sky, British Airways, The Civil Service and Daiwa Capital Markets.

After graduating from Exeter University with a BA Hons degree in Managerial Statistics, Stephen joined Nomura International’s Graduate Scheme in London in 2001.

During his time at Nomura, Stephen has held various Finance leadership roles through a period of significant change for the industry. During that time Nomura has also seen significant change, most notably when in 2008, Nomura acquired some 8,000 former Lehman Brothers employees.

Stephen is now the EMEA CFO and one of the firm’s Managing Directors.

Claire is a Mentor on LGBT Great's Mentoring Programme and has over 23 years' experience in Client Service and relationship management. Claire has a proven track record, delivering excellent client service and managing Client Service teams within Asset Management companies and the financial services industry. Skilled in developing and maintaining Client Relationships, working with established and new entry Asset Managers expanding their reach into the EMEA and APAC markets.

Mark McLane is the Head Diversity, Inclusion and Well-being for M&G plc, an international savings and investments business with over 7 million customers across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Mr. McLane is responsible for architecting a firmwide diversity and inclusion strategy that will leverage organizational strengths, remain nimble in the every-changing global business climate and enable M&G plc to maintain their competitive advantage by driving innovation to its customers.

Prior to M&G plc, Mr. McLane was the Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion for Barclays PLC, a transatlantic consumer, corporate and investment bank. During his tenure at Barclays Mr. McLane implemented a global Diversity and Inclusion strategy the delivered six consecutive years of improvement in the percentage of women in senior leadership, established a mental health and wellness campaign, This is Me, that is now a good practice across the UK with over 600 companies participating and developed Dynamic Working which positively improved overall colleagues engagement through inclusion in the workplace.

As the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Booz Allen Hamilton, immediately preceding his role at Barclays, Mr. McLane developed and implemented a firm wide diversity strategy including initiatives that leveraged the inherent differences within Booz Allen’s current and future workforce. Under Mr. McLane’s leadership these initiatives aligned with the organization’s vision of assuring continued growth in an increasingly competitive and global market.

Mr. McLane also held the position of Chief Diversity Officer for Whirlpool Corporation, a Fortune 500 global consumer product company in Benton Harbor Michigan. Under Mr. McLane’s leadership Whirlpool Corporation successfully implemented a global Diversity and Inclusion embedment strategy positioning the Company as a recognized leader in the industry. In addition to his role as a human resources leader, Mr. McLane has an extensive background in innovation, strategy development, marketing and sales across U.S. and international markets.

Mr. McLane is a former commissioner for the UK Equalities and Human Rights Commission, a member of the Lord Mayor of London’s Appeal fundraising Board along with additionally leadership roles as the past Master of the Guild of Human Resource Professionals, on the OutLeadership leadership committee and Department of Work and Pensions Disability Confident Leaders group. In 2014, 15, 16 and 19 Mr. McLane was recognized on the UK LGBT power list, the LGBT Great top 100 global allies, the Financial Times 100 LGBT business leaders in London and named to the top 50 global Diversity Executives by the Economist.

Mr. McLane holds a B.S in Business Management from the University of Scranton.

Szandi Pankász (she/her) is a Hungarian-born London-based Organisational Psychologist, Coach and a CIPD qualified People professional. She has over 10 years' experience applying psychology in a business context to create healthy, happy and equitable workplaces for everyone. Szandi currently works at Aviva as their Diversity Programme Lead and Senior Leadership Development Consultant. In her role she focusses on developing leaders for the future and accelerating the careers of diverse talent. In the past she held senior consulting roles at global top tier management consulting firms – Korn Ferry and Hay Group, where she specialised in leadership assessment and development, talent management and organisational development. She is an openly out bi woman; in 2022 she co-founded the Pride Alliance Employee Resource Group at PATRIZIA while she worked there.

Szandi also sits on the Trustee Board of Citizens Advice Lewisham, and she is currently working towards ICF Coach Accreditation. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and walking with her wife and she teaches a small LGBTQ+ inclusive yoga class I her local community.

It is the second year Szandi has participated in the LGBT Great Mentoring Programme and both times she has taken away a lot from working with her amazing mentors; Kerry Amies in 2023/24 and Mark McLane in 2024/25.

Zachary leads the Investment team in EMEA for the M&G Catalyst Fund and is based in London. The Catalyst Fund manages USD 6 billion in evergreen committed capital and invests in world leading sustainable and innovative growth stage technology companies and assets that create a positive impact for both people and the planet. Zachary is a member of the Catalyst Investment Committee and leads private equity, private debt and structured asset finance investments across a diverse range of sectors including Cleantech, Fintech, Consumer tech, Healthtech and Deeptech. 
Prior to joining M&G, Zachary was a co-founder of Keypoint Financial, a European Capital Markets advisory business.

Prior to Keypoint, Zachary began his finance career in 2005 with JP Morgan where he was an Executive Director in the credit trading and structured products business. 

Zachary holds a first-class honours degree in Business Studies from the University of Limerick, Ireland.