The Corporate Finance world is accessible – Recruiting and retaining a diverse team

Michelle Mullany is Head of Deal Origination at MHA Corporate Finance having spent 20 years at one of the Big 4 accounting firms.  Her focus is to build relationships with entrepreneurs, owner-managed and family owned businesses who need support with raising finance, acquisitions and business sales to trade and Private Equity.

In addition to her corporate finance role, Michelle is also on the advisory board of the Lowry Theatre and Reform Radio CIC, as well as her role on the Pro Women’s Committee, a Trustee for The Jackson Foundation and she is an enterprise advisor for Wellington High School, Timperley.

Chloe Fletcher is an Associate Director with Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance in Manchester. Chloe has worked across the corporate finance landscape, from venture capital fundraising to IPO preparation across a variety of sectors and deal sizes. Prior to joining Alvarez & Marsal, Chloe spent over a decade in the Big 4, and also spent a year in the Investor Relations team at £2bn revenue online retailer The Very Group working on a number of strategic projects which has gleaned a unique perspective and skillset in addition to her advisory experience.

Alvarez & Marsal Corporate Finance is committed to building a diverse corporate finance team – so far 50% of the national team is either female or from a ethnic background. The team has an ambitious recruitment strategy to support its growth and diversity of thought, gender, race and backgrounds is an important consideration at every stage of the talent cycle.

Obehi Alofoje is an experienced psychologist and expert in behavioural change, supporting senior HR and business leaders in implementing powerful strategies for mental wellbeing and productivity in the workplace.

Having previously managed multi-disciplinary clinical teams, she equips senior leaders and teams with the training and tools to thrive in the workplace, safeguarding against professional burnout in a post-pandemic era.

Obehi’s expertise has earned her recognition, including appearances on NBC New York Live and contributions to the popular online publication, ‘Psychology Today’. She is also the co-host of the award-winning podcast ‘The Wellbeing Rebellion’. She’s a flat–white coffee drinker and a hearing aid wearer.

Joanna has worked at PageGroup for 16 years, spending the majority of her illustrious career as a senior recruitment consultant across sales, marketing, procurement and HR. Joanna has established her reputation as a committed and successful recruiter with clients in the private sector and public sectors. Following her passion to improve diversity within the workforce and as a continuation of the work she had done in recruitment, and for the last seven years of her recruitment career advised the NHS on DE&I recruitment processes to support their diversity goals. Joanna moved to become the director of the DE&I Client Solutions team in 2022. She says:

‘Over the past 10 years I have seen PageGroup as well as our clients evolve on their journey of bringing diversity and inclusion into the workplace. I am passionate about bringing DE&I solutions to life for our clients, and being part of the conversation to ensure no one is left behind. Ensuring DE&I is at the forefront of a recruitment strategy means all talent acquisition is done from a place of equity.’
In 2020 Joanna created a mentoring programme for women in Finance from Not for Profit and Public Sectors. This programme is currently in its third year.

And most recently launch a Networking Group for Asian and Black C-Suite leaders who are looking to progress their careers into Non Executive positions.