The Virgin Banker
The Founder of Inspire Leadership & focuses on unlocking people’s potential by providing them with programs; mentorship and coaching into high performance
By: Jayne-Anne Gadhia
For the past couple of weeks, I have been writing a paper about the role of women in corporate sustainability. I am doing this work to understand better the Africa sustainability perspective and the antecedent of the same. While in the process of this work, I bumped into a book, the Virgin Banker- by Jayne- Anne Gadhia. Jayne-Anne is the Founder and Executive Chair of SnoopApp and the former CEO of Virgin Money who previously served as UK government’s Women in Finance Champion and is a supporter of businesses responsibility to make a positive contribution to society. This book is full of antecedents from Jayne-Anne life before becoming one of the British finest bankers.
She tells life stories on how she managed to become a banker in a male dominated setting. It is a story of how beat bullies are experiencing racism as well as building a business from scratch and also how she made Virgin Money a listed business. The story is about breaking boundaries professionally and personally.
It is a great book for me to shine a light on matters of women in the corporate world and especially in areas of doing good business. This is a book that anybody aspiring or already at the top of the corporate ladder, both men and women should read. Jayne-Anne also shares with us some of the personal challenges that she faced including mental health issues, which has helped her attitude and approach to both business and personal life.
The book is fresh, candid and portrays interesting insights on the challenges and opportunities that a woman in business face; how to deal with the looming financing crisis as well as how doing good business can be good business.
The following are key takeaways from the book:
- We can all change the world through our businesses.
Diversity on boards, in business and in teams seems to be an important part of running a good and safe organization in the future- this is the subject of papers I am working on if you might be wondering.
- You never know who is watching and where the next opportunity will come from- always do good.
- Hubris is best avoided by surrounding yourself with people who keep your feet on the ground- please hunt for these people.
- What matters in life is attitude, personality, aptitude and empathy.
- Work hard and you will find your way.
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"Working as a trainee in the Danish International Investment Funds, I had the pleasure to work with Edward Mungai. Edward is respected for his dedication to his work and often stay after hours to complete his tasks ahead of time."
Mathias Gredal Nørvig
CEO of SYBO
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Asher Lessels
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"Edward is very forward thinking. He is a great person with a big heart who strives to conserve the environment. Edward is passionate about educating and informing people about climate action relating to renewable energy, environmental conservation, corporate reporting standards, sustainability, etc. Kenya will greatly benefit from your skills."
Samuel Muchangi
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Nyawira Gitaka
Blog for Development 2017 finalist, World Bank Group
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Paul Acher
CEO Jade Communications
""Edward captured the attention of everyone in the room. His energy and absolute conviction in what he was sharing made everyone take notice. There were copious notes being taken throughout his talk! Ed challenged me to think bigger about what I am capable of accomplishing. He inspired me to reach for greatness and not settle for mediocrity. We can hardly wait to have him back sometime in the future!" "
Pius Nganga
CEO Capital Strategies Limited
"I had the absolute pleasure of recommending and contracting Edward to present to our congregation. Edward was punctual, easy to communicate with and his amazing energy resulted in the following responses from the congregation: Over 90% rated Edward and his presentation as 'Absolutely Fantastic', with the remaining rating him as 'Great'. When asked about what key learnings the congregation had taken from the conference, the following referred to Edward: • How important a positive attitude to life is important & not to let other people's negativity impact on you • Ignoring the naysayers • The need for work, life balance • Be thankful for your health and look after yourself • Surround yourself with people that make you happy and positive • Spirituality is key to success and how to relate with your networks • The importance of making a real difference in our life I would have no hesitation in recommending or contracting Edward for future events and I can't wait to work with him again. "
Rev. Dr. Johnson Kĩriakũ wa Kĩnyua, PhD
Senior Paster, Church of Amazing Grace International (C.A.G.I)
"Thank you for delivering a powerful message to our CEO Apprenticeship Programme Thought Leadership Session. The leaders had nothing but positive comments about your presentation, and left feeling ready to take action, and ‘owning’ that engagement starts with them. Your message was practical and logical, yet highly engaging. You delivered it in a way that the audience could easily connect and relate to you. Our event couldn’t have been a success without you!” "
Stephen Mukasa
Country Director, Uganda, Strathmore University Business School
"Edward message is entertaining, high energy, engaging, motivational, thought provoking, and behavior changing. His powerful message is delivered with humor but sprinkled with real life example as well as some science. His presentation will be a highlight of any meeting. People will be talking about his message for years to come."
Jennifer Githinji
CEO, Africa instore
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