When People Feel Safe, Performance Follows

FinTech Leadership and Inclusion in Practice: Live from FinTech Connect 2025

In this episode of FinTech's DEI Discussions, Nadia is joined live at FinTech Connect 2025 by Hana Rolles, Chief Commercial Officer at Bank of London. Recorded during the tenth anniversary of one of the UK’s most influential FinTech events, the conversation explores what inclusion really looks like inside modern financial services and why it has become inseparable from performance, leadership, and long-term growth.

From the outset, this discussion sets out to move beyond surface-level diversity narratives. Instead, it focuses on lived experience, organisational accountability, and the structural decisions that determine whether FinTech businesses truly enable people to perform at their best. For leaders responsible for building high-performing teams in financial technology, the episode offers practical insight into how inclusive cultures are formed, sustained, and scaled.

A Career Journey Through Engineering, Consulting, and Financial Technology

Hana begins by sharing her career journey, which spans engineering, consulting, and senior commercial leadership in financial services. She reflects on entering the workforce as an engineer and later working as a consultant at McKinsey, where she was often one of very few women in the room. These early experiences shaped her understanding of inclusion, particularly the challenges faced by graduates and early-career professionals navigating environments where representation is limited.

She speaks candidly about the insecurities that arise when entering high-pressure, high-performance organisations, especially when surrounded by more experienced colleagues and lacking visible role models. These formative years highlighted the importance of allyship, mentorship, and intentional inclusion, not only to support individual progression but to ensure that those who follow have a more accessible path.

For FinTech employers and recruitment leaders, Hana’s reflections underscore why early career experiences matter so deeply. The environments businesses create at this stage can either widen or narrow the talent pipeline, directly influencing long-term diversity, retention, and leadership succession.

Learning What Inclusion Can Look Like at Scale in Financial Services

Hana’s time at Visa marked a pivotal shift in her understanding of what inclusion can look like when it is embedded into organisational strategy. She describes Visa as a genuinely diverse organisation, one that invested consistently in representation and long-term inclusion programmes across multiple dimensions.

Importantly, she highlights that inclusion extends far beyond gender or cultural background. One example that stood out was Visa’s support for mothers with children who have special needs. Hana notes that a significant proportion of families in the UK are affected by special educational needs, yet this reality is often invisible in workplace policy. By acknowledging these lived realities and adapting support structures accordingly, organisations create environments where people can remain engaged, productive, and fulfilled rather than forced out by inflexible systems.

For FinTech companies competing for scarce talent, particularly in engineering, product, and leadership roles, these examples demonstrate how inclusive policies directly support retention and performance. Inclusion, when implemented thoughtfully, becomes a strategic advantage rather than a compliance exercise.

Building an Inclusive Culture in a High-Growth FinTech Bank

As Chief Commercial Officer at the Bank of London, Hana now applies these lessons in the context of a growing UK clearing bank. The organisation exited mobilisation in 2023 and operates with a relatively small team of around 120 people. Despite its size, the Bank of London is already laying the foundations for inclusive culture as it scales.

Hana explains that smaller FinTechs and challenger banks have a unique opportunity. Without deeply entrenched legacy systems or cultural inertia, they can embed inclusive practices from the outset rather than attempting to retrofit them later. Even at an early stage, intentional decisions around leadership behaviour, communication, and representation can shape how teams collaborate and perform.

For FinTech founders, scale-ups, and hiring leaders, this insight is particularly relevant. Culture is not something that can be postponed until headcount reaches a certain threshold. The behaviours established in early growth stages often define an organisation’s trajectory for years to come.

FinTech Connect 2025 and the Evolution of Financial Infrastructure

The conversation also reflects on FinTech Connect’s tenth anniversary and its significance within the industry. Hana highlights two key themes from the event agenda that are particularly relevant to her role and to the wider financial ecosystem.

The first is the maturation of digital assets. She notes that digital assets are projected to grow significantly over the next five years, driven by clearer regulatory frameworks across the UK, Europe, and the United States. For institutions like the Bank of London, this raises important questions about how digital asset firms can access UK clearing infrastructure and integrate securely into the financial system.

The second theme centres on embedded finance and the future of banking. Hana emphasises that banking is increasingly happening within digital environments rather than traditional institutions. As financial services are embedded into apps, platforms, and ecosystems that people use daily, accessibility and inclusion become critical considerations. The way infrastructure is designed directly impacts who can participate in the financial system and how equitably services are delivered.

For FinTech recruiters and employers, these trends signal growing demand for talent with expertise in payments, clearing, regulation, and embedded finance. They also highlight the importance of hiring leaders who can navigate complexity while maintaining a people-centred approach.

Defining Inclusion in Modern FinTech Organisations

When asked how she defines inclusion today, Hana offers a clear and practical perspective. For her, inclusion means creating environments where people feel confident and able to perform to their best abilities, regardless of background, identity, or personal circumstance.

She stresses that inclusion is about removing barriers that inhibit communication, creativity, and contribution. When individuals feel they must constantly self-monitor or be cautious about how they show up at work, performance suffers. Psychological safety, therefore, becomes a prerequisite for high performance rather than a “nice to have”.

This definition resonates strongly in the context of FinTech recruitment and leadership. In an industry driven by innovation, problem-solving, and speed, the ability for people to challenge ideas, take risks, and learn openly is essential. Inclusion directly enables these behaviours.

Psychological Safety as a Performance Driver in FinTech Teams

Throughout the episode, a recurring theme is the link between psychological safety and organisational performance. Hana explains that when people feel safe to speak up and be themselves at work, engagement increases and collaboration improves. Conversely, environments that lack psychological safety stifle innovation and lead to disengagement.

For FinTech leaders building teams in competitive markets, this insight has direct hiring and management implications. Recruiting technically excellent individuals is not enough if organisational culture prevents them from contributing fully. Leaders must actively create conditions where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but encouraged.

From a recruitment perspective, this reinforces the importance of assessing cultural leadership as well as technical competence when hiring senior FinTech professionals. Organisations that prioritise inclusive leadership are better positioned to attract and retain top talent in a highly competitive landscape.

Practical Steps FinTech Businesses Can Take to Improve Inclusion

Hana also shares practical measures that organisations can take to foster inclusion, particularly in industries where candidate pools are not yet as diverse as leaders would like them to be. She acknowledges the challenges of hiring in technology, where representation gaps persist, but emphasises that progress still requires intentional action.

One key step is setting clear aspirations and targets. While targets alone are not sufficient, they provide direction and accountability. Hana also highlights the importance of creating safe spaces within organisations where people with shared experiences can discuss challenges openly. These forums are most effective when supported by visible engagement from senior leadership, signalling that inclusion is not siloed but embedded at the top.

For FinTech employers working with recruitment partners, this reinforces the value of aligning hiring strategies with broader cultural objectives. Recruitment processes that reflect organisational values send powerful signals to candidates about what they can expect once they join.

Inclusion, Talent Strategy, and Long-Term FinTech Growth

As the episode draws to a close, the conversation returns to the broader implications of inclusion for the FinTech sector. Hana’s experiences illustrate that inclusive leadership is not about individual initiatives but about sustained commitment. It requires consistency, empathy, and willingness to listen, particularly from those in positions of power.

For FinTech organisations navigating rapid growth, regulatory change, and evolving market demands, inclusion becomes a stabilising force. It supports resilience, adaptability, and long-term performance. In talent-scarce markets, it also plays a crucial role in attracting professionals who are increasingly selective about the cultures they choose to join.

For Harrington Starr, as a FinTech recruitment business working closely with clients and candidates across the sector, these insights reflect what is seen daily in the market. Companies that invest in inclusive leadership and psychologically safe cultures are better equipped to hire, retain, and develop the people they need to succeed.

Walking the Talk on Inclusion in Financial Technology

This episode of FinTech’s DEI Discussions captures an honest, experience-led perspective on inclusion in financial technology. Through Hana Rolles’ journey and leadership insights, it becomes clear that inclusion is not a standalone agenda but a core component of effective FinTech leadership.

By embedding inclusion into culture, infrastructure, and talent strategy, organisations can unlock performance while building more sustainable and equitable futures. For leaders, hiring managers, and recruiters alike, the message is clear: inclusion is not optional. It is fundamental to how FinTech businesses grow, compete, and lead.