Women in Open Banking x Women in Banking & Finance Meetup

Former Financial Times Group journalist Ellie Duncan has a decade of experience across financial services. While arguably best-known for her asset management work, she has also covered open banking, credit, private equity and entrepreneurship.

Vicky is a former WIBF Mentor of the Year and has been a committed supporter of WIBF for many years. She brings with her over 20 years’ experience in financial services leadership, strategic and operational transformation, and senior stakeholder engagement, alongside an entrepreneurial mindset and a deep personal commitment to WIBF’s mission.

Vicky has held senior leadership roles at Deloitte, operating credibly at C-suite level across complex, multi-country organisations, and has led significant growth, change and transformation programmes. Alongside this, she has built and run her own successful business and undertaken pro bono and voluntary leadership roles, reflecting both commercial acumen and a strong sense of purpose. Her style is collaborative, energetic and people-centred, and she is particularly passionate about creating the conditions for others to thrive.

Former Financial Times Group journalist Ellie Duncan has a decade of experience across financial services. While arguably best-known for her asset management work, she has also covered open banking, credit, private equity and entrepreneurship.

Drawing on over five years’ experience within NatWest’s Corporate & Institutional Banking division, Jade Eastabrook has built her career across Transaction Services, progressing from Account Management within Transaction Services & Trade to driving Open Banking solutions for some of the UK’s largest corporate clients

Pippa Byrne is Director of People and Talent at Yapily, where she leads HR strategy, talent development, and culture initiatives across the business. With over 20 years’ experience in human resources, she has held senior roles at companies including HUGO BOSS, Crabtree & Evelyn and The Body Shop specialising in organisational strategy, employee engagement, and leadership development.

At Yapily, she focuses on building high-performing teams, supporting employee growth, and fostering an inclusive, people-first culture within the fintech sector, she’s also a proud chihuahua mummy.

Abisola Barber Sherwood is a Director at Citibank, leading the Anti-Money Laundering Know Your Customer programme: delivering a robust global governance framework which embeds AML Prevention oversight across all operating jurisdictions, products and services. Abisola is responsible for providing critical oversight, challenge and accountability enforcement of KYC requirements, ensuring a globally consistent management and application of metrics and control to maintain program health and performance.

Abisola joined Citi in 2021 as the Global Head of Thematic Risk for ICG Compliance: providing technical leadership and driving uniformity in approach to risk themes and policy areas crossing the institutional businesses, such as ESG, Social Media Communications and Conduct – whilst driving Transformational change initiatives.

Prior to Citi, Abisola spent close to 10 years at Barclays Bank in various roles across their Corporate and Investment Bank; latterly as a Global Markets Chief Operating Officer/Business Manager covering Fixed Income Financing, Financial Resources Management (including XVA Trading and Loan Portfolio Management), and all Legacy Assets spanning Commodities, Credit, Securitized Products and Rates & Currencies.

During her tenure in Barclays’ Non-Core unit, Abisola led high-profile divestment projects across Rates, Commodities, Consumer Cards and Corporate Loans, contributing to the successful c.£95bn RWA reduction.

A strategic troubleshooter and global program manager, Abisola demonstrates a new age of leadership and management within the sector. Abisola is a recognized Chartered Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, representing the top leaders across the UK.

A multi-award winning Professional recognised by the likes of the Financial Times (2017), Women in Banking & Finance (2018), The Black British Business Awards (2019), Yahoo Finance (2019, 2020) and The Baton Awards (2021) for her trailblazing career and pioneering
work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion both inside the workplace and in society, Abisola is also a Non-Executive Director in Higher Education, and Head of Alumni Community with Women in Banking & Finance UK.

Abisola holds a BA (Hons) Philosophy, Politics & Economics from University of York (2013); and MSc International Public Policy from University College London (2014).

Sabree is a Chartered Accountant with experience from KPMG and Interpath Advisory, where she worked on complex and time-critical situations, supporting strategy development, executive decision-making and operational change. Alongside this, she is co-founder of Friendsline International, a charity focused on the wellbeing of women and girls, where she has played a key role in governance and building sustainable, purpose-led operating models.

Sabree has a particular focus on data, governance and processes to support effective delivery and long-term impact.

With 39 years’ experience in banking and finance, Ras has built a career spanning global institutions and regulatory bodies. She spent 32 years at HSBC, leading various teams across the bank and developing broad expertise across a range of banking functions, culminating in her role as Head of Corporate Banking Centres. This was followed by four years at Moody’s, where she developed training materials and led the design of a dedicated compliance curriculum, personally facilitating delivery of these as well as other courses across the business. A nine-month secondment to the FCA further broadened her perspective, giving her a rounded view of financial services from both the institutional and regulatory sides.

Alongside her professional career, Ras has been a long-standing volunteer with Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF), serving as Head of Mentoring London and Head of Mentor Curriculum. She is now Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships at WIBF, responsible for nurturing relationships with over 60 corporates, predominantly in banking and finance but spanning other sectors too. Her passion lies in fostering talent, supporting diversity, and building strategic partnerships that drive progress across the industry.

Sian-Louise Bendle has worked at Nationwide Building Society for almost 15 years, spending the majority of her career in data-focused roles across the organisation. She is currently a Finance Data Governance Manager, responsible for leading and coordinating Data Governance activity across the Finance function, ensuring that data is managed effectively, trusted, and aligned to organisational standards and regulatory requirements.

Alongside her professional responsibilities, she is a strong advocate for inclusion and development. She is actively involved in a number of colleague networks and mentoring initiatives, helping to create opportunities for learning, growth and connection across the organisation.

Sian joins the Women in Open Banking Conference to share her experience as a mentee, reflecting on the successful mentoring relationship she built with her mentor, Shakeela. Together, they will discuss what truly makes mentoring relationships work, the benefits for both mentors and mentees, and how meaningful connections can support personal and professional growth.

Shakeela Williamson is a senior marketing leader with over 20 years’ experience across financial services, fintech, wealth, banking and payments. She was most recently SVP Marketing for Citi’s Consumer Banking and Wealth Management business, and before that led digital marketing at PE-backed payments fintech Moneycorp. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, she mentors through the Institute and through Women in Banking and Finance, supporting women and marketers moving into senior leadership, and is a judge for the DMA, BIMA and Financial Services Forum awards. She is currently exploring her next senior marketing role while taking on consultancy, fractional and advisory projects. Shakeela joins the panel as Sian’s mentor, to talk about how their relationship developed, what made it work on both sides, and what mentors get out of it as much as mentees.