FinTech Wales opens the London Stock Exchange Market in celebration of female leaders shaping Wales

Daniel Bevan - Editor

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Leaders from across Wales’ financial and technology sectors gathered at the London Stock Exchange to mark the role of women shaping the country’s economy at a special market opening ceremony.

The event, organised by FinTech Wales and attended by Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales, took place on March 4 as part of ongoing St David’s Day celebrations in London and ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Senior figures from the financial services and technology sectors came together to recognise the impact of female leadership on Wales’ economic growth and financial future.

The ceremony was led by Stevens alongside Susan Langley, the Lady Mayor of the City of London, Sarah Williams-Gardener, chair of FinTech Wales, and Sarah Jones, chief executive of FinTech Wales.

The event was hosted by Julia Hoggett, Chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group.

The market opening was sponsored by Plain Concepts, a global digital transformation company specialising in artificial intelligence, data, cloud and software development.

Williams-Gardener 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 at 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.”

Among those attending were Lucy Cohen, founder and CEO of Mazuma; Louise O’Shea, group CEO of CFC; Rachel Hillier, partner at Capital Law; Harriet Rees, group chief information officer at Starling Bank; Aisling Miller of Veeqo; and Rachel Lewis, chief financial officer of Admiral Group.

They were joined by Jen Lothian of DataWollet; Sally-Anne Skinner of Ogi; Savannah Price of Serene; Joanne Dewar, project lead for Project Nemo; and Liz Jones from Deloitte.

Representatives from a range of organisations including Metro Bank, Mastercard, Confused.com, Atradius Collections UK, Browne Jacobson, Acuity Law, Redkite Solicitors and Cardiff Capital Region also attended the ceremony.