Leadership Excellence in the Spotlight Series | Women In Leadership Global

Women In Leadership Global is proud to honour an outstanding female leader each month, recognising women who embody leadership excellence and are shaping the future of our industry. This month’s recipient of our Women In Leadership Excellence Award is Catherine Clay. With an extraordinary career spanning a decade at Cboe running derivatives globally - Cboe's largest business line - and now serving as CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices, Cathy has built a truly stellar track record.

Join Georgie Dickins in conversation with Cathy as they unpack the leadership kernels that have shaped her journey: the insights, decisions and lessons that you can apply to your own path.

In this episode:

• Her practical strategies for sustainable productivity heading into the year-end sprint
• The non-negotiable sleep ritual she protects, wherever in the world she is
• The one rule she never breaks when flying
• "There's power in the pause" - the daily practice that has shaped her leadership more than any other
• Why "words make worlds," and how intentional language builds trust
• What genuinely keeps her up at night as a CEO navigating constant change
• Why she believes in building a "stop doing" list, not just a to-do list
• Why curiosity has never been more important - and how she models it for her team
• Why she operates with "strong opinions, loosely held" when making high-stakes decisions
• Why listening is a superpower - and a luxury
• Her honest concerns about AI, critical thinking, and what we risk losing
• The leadership lesson she wishes someone had told her sooner: build your personal board of directors
• What it was like starting her career as a derivatives trader on a floor full of men
• What she hopes her two sons take from watching her lead
• Why she's never planned her career, and instead followed "the river of joy"
• A rapid-fire round covering her first job picking cherries, the biggest risk she's ever taken, her go-to motto, the leader she admires, and the book she reread this year
• Her advice for graduates and new starters entering the workforce this autumn

Find out more about Catherine Clay:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineclayspdji/

Find out more about Georgie Dickins:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgie-dickins-5083686a/

Follow Women In Leadership Global:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-leadership-global/

#WomenInLeadership #S&P #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #WomenInFinance #LeadershipPodcast #CareerGrowth #CEOmindset

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome & Introduction
01:16 Catching Up & Where She's Based
01:36 Practical Strategies For Sustainable Productivity
03:13 Her Non-Negotiable Sleep Routine
04:21 Sleep Trackers, Whoop Bands And Data Obsession
05:03 The One Travel Rule She Never Breaks
06:11 The Power In The Pause
09:51 Why Words Make Worlds
10:47 What Keeps Her Up At Night
13:05 Helping Her Team Navigate Constant Change
14:15 Prioritisation And The Art Of The "Stop Doing" List
16:17 Always Be Curious
17:43 Confessions Of A Teenager's Mum
18:21 How She Makes Good Decisions
19:52 Strong Opinions, Loosely Held
21:34 Why Listening Is A Superpower
22:57 AI, Critical Thinking And What Concerns Her
24:38 The Upside: Ageing Later Than Our Parents
25:37 The Leadership Lesson She Wishes She'd Learned Sooner
26:11 Alone On The Trading Floor
28:43 Why Georgie Founded Women In Leadership Global
29:19 What She Hopes Her Sons Take From Watching Her
32:05 Following The River Of Joy
33:39 Quick Fire: Firsts, Risks And Regrets
34:59 Quick Fire: Leadership In A Word
36:00 Quick Fire: Books And Legacy
36:49 Her Advice For New Starters
37:08 Making Her Parents Proud
37:38 Closing Thoughts

Women In Leadership Global is proud to honour an outstanding female leader each month, recognising women who embody leadership excellence and are shaping the future of our industry. The September recipient of our Women In Leadership Excellence Award is Michelle Neal. With an extraordinary career spanning senior roles at Deutsche Bank and BNY, leading the Markets Group at the New York Fed, and now serving as Group CEO of Fnality, the company behind the world's first regulated on-chain service for cross-border settlement, Michelle has built a truly stellar track record.

Join Georgie Dickins in conversation with Michelle as they unpack the leadership kernels that have shaped her journey: the insights, decisions, and lessons that you can apply to your own path.

In this episode:

• How stuffing handbags for her father's business, a 5 am shift at Dunkin' Donuts, and a job as a credit union teller shaped her early work ethic

• Her practical strategies for navigating the "year-end sprint," from Labour Day through to Thanksgiving and beyond

• Why you should make your ambitions known - but earn the right to have them

• Her advice to women on self-advocacy, without needing to be the loudest voice in the room

• The lesson her children have taught her about letting go of control and enjoying the journey

• Why she moved away from surrounding herself with "FOMs" (Friends of Michelle), and how trust can be built, not just inherited

• What keeps her up at night as a CEO, and how she turns stress into action

• The leadership lesson she wishes she'd learned sooner: what got you here won't get you there

• Why listening might be a leader's greatest superpower

• Why judgment, context and relationships matter more than ever in the age of AI

• Her advice for interns, graduates and new starters entering the workforce

• Why visibility and nurturing your network - up, down, and sideways - matters

• How her career across financial markets led her to Finality International, and what it takes to build something at that scale

• Why she believes careers - and life - are rarely a straight line, but a series of zigzags worth enjoying along the way

Find out more about Michelle Neal:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-neal-051a80/

Find out more about Georgie Dickins:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgie-dickins-5083686a/

Follow Women In Leadership Global:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/women-in-leadership-global/

#WomenInLeadership #Fnality #BNY #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #WomenInFinance #LeadershipPodcast  #CareerGrowth  

Timestamps: 

00:00 – Welcome & introducing Michelle Neal
00:57 – Catching up: life in Boston & Cape Cod
01:22 – Sustainable performance through the year-end sprint
02:14 – Pacing yourself so you don't burn out
04:18 – A favorite quote on focus and priorities
04:52 – Michelle's first jobs: stuffing handbags to Dunkin' Donuts
07:55 – Best advice: earn the right to your ambitions
14:21 – What her kids have taught her (and "Yes Day")
15:15 – Breaking the "always on to the next thing" habit
16:15 – Rethinking who you trust: from "FOMs" to real inclusion
20:34 – What keeps a CEO up at night
21:40 – Turning 3am worry into productive action
25:52 – The power of slowing down for better outcomes
26:58 – Listening as a leadership superpower
28:32 – Avoiding "HIPPO" thinking and skip-level insight
28:51 – The human skills that matter most in the AI era

What does leadership look like when people can see the person behind the title?

In this edition of Women in Leadership Global’s Leadership Excellence in the Spotlight, Georgie Dickins speaks with Emily Portney, Global Head of Asset Servicing at BNY, about the experiences, relationships and lessons that have shaped more than three decades in financial services.

Emily reflects on the resilience and independence she learned early in life, the influence of her mother, and why curiosity, adaptability and communication have remained important throughout her career. She also shares how those early lessons continue to shape the way she leads today.
A central part of the conversation is Emily’s approach to human leadership. Her weekly “Quick Takes” began as a simple way to help thousands of colleagues see the real person behind the role. By sharing short, personal reflections rather than polished corporate messages, she has built connection, trust and a stronger sense of accessibility across the organisation.

Emily also discusses the mentors who influenced her, the importance of humility and perspective, and the leaders who taught her that empathy can matter just as much as expertise. She recalls one high-pressure moment before an earnings call when a simple act of kindness from BNY CEO Robin Vince completely changed her emotional state, and left a lasting impression on the kind of leader she wanted to become.
The conversation explores vulnerability, trust and the changing rules of leadership as careers progress. Emily explains why what gets you to one level will not necessarily get you to the next, why senior leaders must understand the amplified impact of their words and actions, and why having trusted people around you who are willing to tell you when you need to course-correct is so important.

She also reflects on being a woman in a historically male-dominated industry, the power of visibility and sponsorship, and why opening doors for others is about more than giving people opportunities on paper. It is also about helping them build the relationships, confidence and presence that allow them to be seen.

An open and thoughtful conversation about authenticity, resilience, partnership, vulnerability and what it means to lead with humanity.

What separates good leadership from leadership that genuinely moves people forward?

In this edition of Women in Leadership Global’s Leadership Excellence in the Spotlight, Georgie Dickins speaks with Carla Antunes da Silva, Chief Executive Officer of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, about the habits, decisions and lessons that have shaped her career.

Carla shares how she protects her time, why she tracks the number of meeting hours in her diary, and how simple routines help her stay at her best in a role where the issues reaching her desk are rarely simple. She also explains why leaders need space to think, move and step away from constant screens if they want to make better decisions.

The conversation also explores the people who changed Carla’s path, including a headmaster who encouraged her to apply to Oxford, and why both great and poor bosses can become some of our most valuable teachers. For Carla, leadership carries responsibility: knowledge matters, humility matters, and people should be properly prepared for the moment they begin leading others.

One of her strongest leadership principles is simple: the best meeting is one where she changes her mind. Being willing to learn something new, challenge your assumptions and see another point of view is not weakness. It is a sign of confidence and better decision-making.

Carla also reflects on confidence, communication and the preparation behind strong executive presence. She shares why careers should be treated as a long game rather than a constant sprint, how to think in decades rather than days, and why some of the greatest joy in leadership comes from building teams that achieve more than they believed they could.
Her closing message to leaders is one worth remembering: keep pushing the boundaries of what you think you know, and have the humility to recognise that your future depends on how much you continue to learn and change.

An open and practical conversation about curiosity, courage, preparation and what leadership excellence looks like in practice.

What does it really take to operate at the highest levels of leadership?

In this edition of Women in Leadership Global’s Leadership Excellence in the Spotlight, Georgie Dickins speaks with Sarah Youngwood about the habits, lessons and experiences that have shaped her career. From the mentors who took a chance on her to the preparation that sits behind confidence, Sarah offers a candid look at what leadership excellence actually demands.

Sarah reflects on a career in which she once pushed herself so hard that she nearly walked away altogether. That experience changed how she thinks about achievement, pace and performance. Her lesson is simple but powerful: doing more does not always mean achieving more. Sustainable success means knowing when to slow down, protecting the things that matter outside work and giving yourself the space to perform at your best.

She also shares why preparation beats stress, how she thinks about hiring through the combination of EQ, IQ and heart, and why the polished leaders we see from the outside often have far more preparation happening behind the scenes than we realise. For Sarah, confidence is not about knowing every answer instinctively. It comes from doing the work, understanding the answers behind the answer and being ready for the questions you hope nobody asks.

Along the way, Sarah discusses the people who shaped her leadership style, building a career without sacrificing family, the danger of turning achievement into overachievement, and why one of the things she values most is the impact she has had on the people she has mentored.

An open, thoughtful conversation about the work behind great leadership and the lessons that can help the next generation of leaders find their own way forward.