FinTech Wales and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, opened the market at the London Stock Exchange in celebration of the female leaders shaping Wales’ economy on Wednesday 4th March.
Continuing the St David’s Day celebrations in London, and ahead of International Women’s Day (8 March), the event brought together senior leaders to recognise the female leadership shaping Wales’ economy and financial future.
The ceremony was led by the Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP, alongside The Lady Mayor, Dame Susan Langley DBE, Sarah Williams-Gardener OBE, Chair of FinTech Wales, and Sarah Jones, CEO of FinTech Wales. Dame Julia Hoggett DBE, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group plc, hosted the event.
The Market Opening was sponsored by Plain Concepts, a global digital transformation company driving innovation through AI, Data, Cloud, Software Development solutions and Tech consulting.
Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP, Secretary of State for Wales, said: “I was delighted to celebrate St David’s Day by opening the London Stock Exchange alongside FinTech Wales. Our Welsh financial services technology sector continues to go from strength to strength, supporting thousands of good jobs across Wales. It was also fantastic to celebrate our female leaders and the central role that they play in the economy.”
Sarah Williams-Gardener OBE, Chair of FinTech Wales, said: “Meeting between St David’s Day and International Women’s Day is no coincidence. It reflects exactly what this moment stands for: celebrating Welsh excellence and championing female leaders in financial services. St David urged us to ‘do the little things’ and in capital markets, those little things are never small. They are the introductions made without being asked, the board seats offered on merit, and the capital allocated on conviction rather than bias. Repeated consistently, these actions don’t just add up, they create seismic change. And that is what today is about.”
Laura Barranco, VP of Impact Studios – AI & Data, Plain Concepts, said: “Events like this send a very different signal: that women are leading, building, and driving change across fintech and the broader tech landscape. This is something that should be celebrated loudly, and often.
“At Plain Concepts, we believe innovation happens when the right people come together. Sponsoring this event is a way of signalling that we do not want to stand on the sidelines of that change. Instead, we will be an active participant in the community – investing not only money, but time, knowledge, and partnership.”
Those in attendance included Lucy Cohen, Founder & CEO of Mazuma; Louise O’Shea, Group CEO of CFC; Rachel Hillier, Partner at Capital Law; Harriet Rees, Group Chief Information Officer at Starling; Aisling Miller, Marketing Lead at Veeqo; Rachel Lewis, CFO of Admiral Group; Jen Lothian, CEO and Co-Founder of DataWollet; Sally-Anne Skinner, CEO of Ogi; Savannah Price, Founder of Serene; Joanne Dewar, Project Nemo Lead; and Liz Jones, Lead Consulting Partner, Wales and South West at Deloitte.
