Nathan Mollett, the Leasing Foundation‘s new chair, has set out the Foundation’s vision, including the addition of two extra channels to the group’s activities as well as a commitment to better regional balance for its initiatives across the UK.
The existing channels of Innovation, Nextgen and Diversity & Inclusion will continue to be aligned with the Foundation’s mission “to rejuvenate and future-proof a relatively conservative industry” but “there are several additional focus areas which were identified at an industry engagement drinks event held two months ago,” the Foundation said in a press release.
The two new channels that will be added are:
- Sustainability – one of the most consistent items of feedback was that The Leasing Foundation should help shape the conversation on sustainability, using the same model as seen in Innovation and D&I where it facilitates the sharing of best practices. The Foundation has received lots of offers of support in this area and volunteers to lead these initiatives
- Giving – the Foundation originally did a lot of charitable activity, and given the support and engagement from the wider industry, this is an area where the industry can be brought together to support worthy causes
The Foundation will be adding new faces to the board to support these new channels and will announce these appointments shortly.
In addition to the new sustainability and giving programmes, Mollett will also broaden the scope and reach of the Foundation both geographically and into other areas of finance. Most of its events are currently London-based but there is a large business finance community in the north who repeatedly say that they’d like to see more regional events.
In a statement, the Foundation said it “will organise a few events in the north later this year and maintain a more even regional balance of initiatives moving forwards”. It also aims to get greater engagement from the motor finance sector and will focus on broadening its reach into this area.
The Finance & Leasing Association already has active input into the current Foundation channels and this will continue with the new channels. Collaboration means better outcomes for the industry as a whole and more joint events and initiatives moving forwards, the Foundation said in a statement.
Nathan Mollett, chair of the Leasing Foundation, said: “We’ve had incredible success with the three channels that we have focused on over the last few years, delivering high-quality and much-needed initiatives in key areas. In addition, our partnership with the FLA is stronger than ever and we continue to see this as a vital route to expanding our reach and supporting the industry.
“We now want to widen our focus. We asked for ideas and tangible support at the industry engagement event in the spring and have been inundated with offers. To deliver the same quality of work in giving and sustainability we will need to add fresh faces to the board. This makes sure we don’t dilute our focus on the existing channels and brings in new energy and fresh thinking to make sure we stay relevant as an organisation. You can expect some announcements over the coming weeks on this.”
