The Leasing Foundation

The Leasing Foundation is a forward-looking not for profit industry organisation that supports the business finance industry through personal and professional development.

The core of The Foundation is The Leasing Foundation Fellowship, a community of more than 170 exceptional business finance professionals. Fellowship of the Leasing Foundation is awarded in recognition of personal commitment to the industry that goes beyond an individual’s current employer.

Fellows are those who are willing to challenge current thinking and be an active advocate for the industry.

The Foundation has created a variety of programmes including:

Leadership development: The Leasing Foundation Future Leaders

The next generation of leaders wants to do things that matter and have a passion for making a difference. They are connected, collegial and focus on collaboration and creating shared value.

Next-generation leaders face new demands to be more resilient, to be culturally adaptive, to solve new and complex problems and to be inclusive, innovative and imaginative.

The Leasing Foundation Future Leaders is a programme of leadership development that identifies, nurtures and supports a network of exceptional people who are the future leaders of the industry. The programme is centred on authentic, relevant personal development and reflection. This unique programme represents a cost-effective way to build your organisation’s leadership competencies at a fraction of the cost of traditional leadership development training.

Postgraduate Education: The MA Business Finance Innovation

This is the world’s first postgraduate qualification in the industry is designed and delivered in collaboration with Falmouth University. The two-year, part-time postgraduate course provides working professionals with opportunities for mobility and career progression and an internationally recognised, high-quality qualification that signals professional status and a commitment to professional updating.

Workplace and culture change: the Leasing Foundation Diversity and Inclusion Initiative

Encompassing sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, mental health, disability and age, this initiative helps companies in the asset finance industry to understand the business benefits of building inclusive leadership, management, organisations and teams and will help them embed inclusion and diversity into hiring, performance management, succession management, leadership development and learning.

The programme is led by Carol Roberts (Bibby Leasing), Jo Davis (Locke Lord) and Emma Thomas (Siemens Financial Services), working with diversity champions from across the industry.

Networking and career support – the Young Business Finance Professionals

The young business finance professionals: is a network for high-calibre young business finance professionals. The focus is on accelerating career development through advice, support and making connections with others in business finance. The network holds events throughout the UK and has held two sell-out networking events in London.

Conferences and events

The Foundation has organised five successful international events focusing on topics including technology, leadership, culture, change and innovation. The Foundation’s events are recognised as providing thought-leadership on topics that drive the future of finance.

Professional accreditation: The Certified Business Finance Professional

In 2019, the Foundation will launch A professional certification for business finance professionals that provides career enhancement, recognition of professional status, connection with a community of professionals and access to professional development resources.

Peter Thomas: Executive Director

Professor Peter Thomas is co-founder and Executive director of The Leasing Foundation. He is visiting professor at Newcastle, Falmouth, Brunel and Beijing Normal universities and Dean for International projects at the International Institute for Big Data in Finance, Beijing, China.

His areas of expertise include digitalisation technologies and strategies; leadership coaching and development; NFP strategy, operations and governance; entrepreneurship development; financial innovation and fintech; design thinking; higher education strategy; educational technology; IoT and big data.

Key personnel

Chairperson: Carol Roberts, Independent
Peter Alderson White Oak UK
Patron Jonathan Andrew Siemens Financial Services
Sharon Butler, Ricoh Europe
Graeme Chisholm, CBCRS
Carl D’ammassa, Aldermore Bank plc

Jo Davis, Locke Lord LLP
Founder, Andrew Denton Alfa plc
Rev Dr K Bill Dost, D&D Leasing
John Hooper, Independent
Ian Isaac, RBS
Nathan Mollet, Metro Bank
Paul Slapa, Wesleyan
Ian Smith, 1pm plc