Lance Kawaguchi

“As a junior banker I feel incredibly fortunate to have Lance as my mentor as well as working in Lance’s Global Corporate Sales Team. Lance is heavily focused on developing young talent, and he has had an immense impact in my early career in Banking. The opportunities I have had by working in Lance’s Global Corporate Sales team have already been significant in my career development and empowered me to continue my career in banking. He not only encourages you to continue to grow and develop, but provides you with the means to do so. I have been the beneficiary of various learning experiences at his hand, including the opportunity to step up and take on increased responsibility in my current role and travel throughout Europe. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not have been able to grow as I have without Lance. Lance is an exceptional, inspiring and passionate leader. As he encourages excellence and is results focused, his unique style has driven remarkable outcomes for GLCM. In short-time frame, I have seen Lance refresh the Corporate Sales team by reducing the average age of the team, supporting an unrivaled number of international mobilities, reducing unnecessary meetings to make us more efficient, and instilling a strong sense of discipline - all of which result in a high performing and diverse team. What strikes me the most is that Lance is committed to helping individuals to develop; he doesn’t just say he’s committed. He regularly gives on the spot coaching, makes time for one on one development, gives invaluable advice and presents the chance to put it into practice. I find Lance has a natural attitude in looking after his team and caring for their well-being. Lance has a candid style of leadership and management that removes the multiple layers of bureaucracies, which is refreshing as it is easy to approach him and makes me feel like an equal team member despite my youth. Lance is also a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, as evidenced by him being recognised as one of the Top 100 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders in the UK. As an ethnic minority myself, having the support and belief of Lance has fuelled my ambition and desire to fulfill my potential. It can be difficult to find a role model in the banking/finance industry, but I can genuinely say Lance is someone who I look up to. I am excited and highly motivated to grow my professional career under Lance’s guidance and leadership.”

“Lance is one of the most inspiring leaders I have ever met. He has a unique style which combines his sense humour with contagious energy, making his people feel comfortable. In addition to sharing his thoughts with us, he also always takes the time to speak to his team and understand what’s important to them personally. What also inspires me about Lance is his commitment to both ethnic and gender diversity. Lance has brought a lot of high performance women into our team this year and has additionally provided overseas opportunities for many people so that they can experience different cultures and working environments. This allows our team to be diverse not only in culture but also in mindset, which is a key differentiator for our group. As an Asian woman, I am proud of what Lance represents for our bank in terms of diversity and look forward to further developing myself under his guidance. ”