Google, Deloitte, and Goldman Sachs have all scaled back their commitments to equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) amid a growing backlash in the United States. But could this have negative consequences for the companies?

In the second episode of our new monthly podcast, host Bron Mills is joined by Elham Fardad, Senior Manager at Ernst & Young’s Finance Advisory practice and founder of the charity Migrant Leaders.

They dive into the world of inclusive leadership with Dawn Eubanks, Associate Professor of Behavioural Science, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation at Warwick Business School and director of the school’s Full-time MBA.

Together, they discuss how embracing diversity and fostering inclusion not only builds stronger teams but drives innovation and success, empowering individuals and helping organisations to navigate the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

Elham shares her insights on leadership development for young migrants and explains why diversity isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s essential for excellence. Dr Eubanks emphasises the need for psychological safety and creating environments where everyone’s voice is heard, helping leaders make impactful decisions in uncertainty.

For more insights on leadership and inclusivity, visit the Warwick Business School website.

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Read the latest Core Insights articles:

• Five lessons to create more inclusive organisations
• Can communal leadership benefit men more than women?
• Core 14: EDI-focused edition of WBS Core magazine out now

In the first episode of our new monthly podcast, join host Bron Mills as she discusses how leaders of all sizes need to promote wellbeing in their teams and lead by example when it comes to looking after your mental and physical health. She is joined by former actress Holly Matthews, who started her acting career in Byker Grove before starring in Waterloo Road, Casualty and The Bill, and is now a self-development coach and founder of The Happy Me Project - an online and in-person, self-development membership, podcast and best-selling books. Also on the show is Joshua Fullard, Assistant Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School, who researches wellbeing among workers and lectures across the School's Master's portfolio.

For more on Leadership and wellbeing go to the Warwick Business School website.

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Listen to our podcast series on Behavioural Science, Strategy and Fintech.


Read the latest Core Insights articles:

Six ways to increase inclusivity as a leader

Trump's second term spells bumpy ride for global economy

Business leaders are asking the wrong questions on AI

Core Insights host Trevor Barnes talks to Jonothan Neelands, Professor of Creative Education at Warwick Business School, about his that work helped Coventry to develop its winning bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021.

The City of Culture programme, and events such as the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham in 2022, are seen as individual successes. However, the UK currently lacks a major events strategy to maximise the benefits of future events.

Professor Neelands reveals how a framework for measuring the impact and the value of major events can help to make events more inclusive, maximise the benefits for the UK economy, and ensure a lasting cultural and sporting legacy.

Read more on the subject:

Five steps to improve the impact value of major events

Why measuring social impact is good for business

Increase the odds of success in digital transformation

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Learn more about strategy on our Executive Education four-day courses at WBS London at The Shard.

In the final episode of this seven-part series in conjunction with the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology we are looking at Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and how they will work alongside cryptocurrencies. It has been argued in some quarters that the introduction of CBDCs will spell the end of cryptocurrencies. And that day seems to be drawing closer with CBDCs up and running in China and other central banks working out their own solution. Sure, it might make cryptos less relevant as a form of payment, but are they really that anyway? Most are so volatile as to be useless as a currency and are treated more as an investment asset. This episode will explore what the future will look like with CBDCs in operation and cryptos flying around. Will there be a crypto winter and cryptos disappear? Or will they work alongside each other and how? Host Natasha de Terran is joined by David Skeie, of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, and Rhomaios Ram, CEO of Fnality International, a consortium of banks exploring applications for Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology.

Find out more about the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology.

Join the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology's mailing list for access to free events where industry leaders, world-leading academics and policymakers will discuss topical issues and fintech innovations.

Read more on the subject:

Are cryptocurrencies any closer to ending central banks' control?

Five ways a digital pound could change our world

Why would central banks want to issue digital currencies?

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In this latest episode of a seven-part series in conjunction with the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology we are looking at blockchain's potential impact on banking. Blockchain has been billed as potentially a huge disruption to the financial system, removing the middlemen for instant transactions. Recently JP Morgan announced it is using blockchain in India and bypassing SWIFT - the global system used by banks to transfer payments - and there are others like French investment bank BNP Paribas, which has announced it will begin looking at how blockchain can be applied to its currency funds and for order processing. While the Nasdaq stock exchange has said it is working with blockchains to "reduce the time, costs, and points of friction across the capital markets." So where is all this heading? Will it be the end of exchanges and SWIFT? Host and former financial journalist Natasha de Teran discusses these questions and more with Ram Gopal, Director of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, and Martin Walker, Banking & Finance Director at the Centre for Evidence-Based Management.

Find out more about the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology.

Join the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology's mailing list for access to free events where industry leaders, world-leading academics and policymakers will discuss topical issues and fintech innovations.

Read more on the subject:

How blockchain is being used in supply chains

Can smart contracts function in an unpredictable world?

How AI will accelerate financial democratisation

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In this fifth episode on fintech with the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology we look at Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards, which have become important to all businesses, especially as, according to the CBI, two-thirds of investors take ESG factors into account when investing in a company. Yet accusations of greenwashing are plaguing the ESG movement, while some companies have cottoned on to their importance and manipulated their ESG statistics to attract investors. So can their numbers be trusted? Who are the true ESG companies that are taking their societal responsibilities seriously and transparently and not just gaming their numbers? Trust is hard to find, but perhaps AI can help sort this out. Join host Natasha de Teran as she explores the issue with Isabel Fischer, of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, and the founders of ESG analytics firm Rho Impact; Seth Sheldon, Chief Scientific Officer, and Noah Miller, Chief Advisory Officer and Head of ESG Advisory Services.

Find out more about the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology.

Join the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology's mailing list for access to free events where industry leaders, world-leading academics and policymakers will discuss topical issues and fintech innovations.

Read more on the subject:

Five steps for companies to deliver the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Three steps to devising social value measures for investors

Leveraging artificial intelligence to address climate change: Financing, implementation and ethics

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Since the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX - a centralised exchange or CEX - the popularity of decentralised exchanges, or DEXs, such as Uniswap or Orca, has soared. But which type of platform will win in the battle for crypto trading? What are the pros and cons of the different types of platform? And will it just be cryptos being traded in the future or other financial assets like real estate? This episode will explore the merits of CEX and DEX and seek to answer the central question - which one is safest to use? CEXs have more regulation around them, but DEXs are supposedly more secure thanks to smart contracts. Join host Natasha de Teran as she explores the topic with Olga Klein, of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, and Amit Chaudhary, former Head of DeFi Research at Polygon and now Co-founder of web 3.0 product developer ChainSolid Labs.

Find out more about the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology.

Join the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology's mailing list for access to free events where industry leaders, world-leading academics and policymakers will discuss topical issues and fintech innovations.

Read more on the subject:

Polygon vs Ethereum – which platform is the future for the rise of DEX?

How decentralised should DeFi platforms be?

How would regulations stop another FTX scandal?

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In the third episode of this special series on Fintech with the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology we look at decentralised finance, or DeFi. It offers financial instruments without relying on traditional intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks by using smart contracts on a blockchain. It could be revolutionary and take out a lot of costs that banks like to add, plus anybody can become a ‘bank’ and start lending money or cryptos, getting better rates than on the high street. But there are concerns around regulation and fraud and more; hurdles that seem pretty high to get a public weaned on the safety of high street banking to move to DeFi. This episode explores how DeFi goes from niche to high street with host Natasha de Teran being joined by Kalina Staykova, of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology at Warwick Business School, and Erica Stanford, Founder & CEO of Crypto Curry Club, and author of Crypto Wars: Faked Deaths, Missing Billions and Industry Disruption.

Find out more about the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology.

Join the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology's mailing list for access to free events where industry leaders, world-leading academics and policymakers will discuss topical issues and fintech innovations.

Read more on the subject:

What does DeFi need to go mainstream?

How are interest rates set on DeFi platforms?

How decentralised should DeFi platforms be?

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