The 30% Club, a campaign group of business chairpersons and CEOs taking action to increase gender diversity on boards and senior management teams, has appointed Hanneke Smits, CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management, as its fourth global chair.
Throughout her career, Smits has been a long-time champion of improving gender diversity in the workplace. In 2015, she co-founded Level 20, a not-for-profit organization established to inspire women to succeed in the private equity industry. She also serves as chair of Impetus, a venture philanthropy organization that backs charities to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people.
At BNY Mellon, Smits is the executive sponsor of PRISM, the company’s LGBTQ+ employee group, and CEO of BNY Mellon Investment Management since October 2020. She has championed numerous initiatives, such as Newton Investment Management’s work with the Diversity Project to ensure that returning female portfolio managers are able to maintain their investment track record, BNY Mellon’s partnership with Inspiring Girls through The Pathway to Inclusive Investment research in 2022, and being an early supporter of the UK’s #10000BlackInterns programme.
Smits succeeds Ann Cairns as global chair of the 30% Club.
