104: Melanie Seymour: Creating an Inclusive Culture

This week on the show, Melanie Seymour, former Head of Budapest for BlackRock now head of Global Client Services, joins me Carissa Bub as we talk about how she led the building of BlackRock’s newest organisation and centre for innovation, scaling from zero to 500 hires in less than two years. We spoke while Melanie was in Budapest, a place she has fallen in love with, a few months before she accepted her new role at Blackrock. Melanie and I discuss: • Her previous experience building and selling her first financial services business in the UK • How she set out to create a team that thinks differently and is capable of innovation • The challenges she faced in the set up and build out of the organisation • How she set out to create a team and team of teams culture • Making the new organisation an integral part of the global organisation • Her passion for creating inclusive modern organisations • Advice for team coaches working with scale ups and global organisations • Beyond teams, the critical importance of creating community and belonging • What else Melanie is up to and where you can get in touch More about Melanie Seymour: Melanie has over 30 years experience in Finance and Banking holding senior roles in Technology, Operations and Change Management as well as running her own business. She set up and ran a mortgage distribution business with one partner and over 8 years grew the business team of over 200 with 3 offices throughout the UK and a turnover in excess of £20 million. In 2011 she joined the global investment manager BlackRock, and is today the Head of Global Client Services. For the two years prior Melanie was responsible for the set up, build out and future growth of BlackRock Budapest. Melanie is Co Chair of the EMEA chapter of BlackRock internal women’s committee ( WIN ) where she leads a programme of events to support women ( and men ) in their career journey through the firm. She is passionate about education and developing the next generation of leaders, mentoring a number of men and women both internally and externally. She has been a Chair of Governors since 2005 and was a coach for the charity Teach First who provide a leadership route into teaching to encourage the most talented graduates to join the most challenging schools. In 2015 Melanie was recognised as one of Brummells Top 30 Inspiring Women in the City. She joined the Advisory Board of Women in Banking and Finance in 2017 after three years as Vice President. Melanie splits her time between Budapest and London with her husband and 2 sons. P.S Whenever you’re ready . . . here are 4 ways I and Team Coaching Zone can help inspire your imagination and impact: Join the Community of Change Makers For the past few years we’ve been developing a community of change makers. Entrepreneurs and coaches who want to impact people and the planet in new and innovative ways. We are a supportive group committed to deepening our missions and lifting each other up when things get tough. If you'd like to learn more, go to: https://www.teamcoachingzone.com/community  Join a Master-class or webinar If you're looking for more imagination, tools and courage to take your coaching practice to the next level we have a menu of learning bites to inform and entertain you. You can attend a masterclass or log in and join a growing number of our live webinar series we are launching around the world. Check out  https://www.teamcoachingzone.com/team-coaching-master-classes and https://www.teamcoachingzone.com/webinars for more information.  Come on an Adventure of a Lifetime Every year, we take a group of coaches on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I believe that adventuring gets us out of our comfort zone, stimulates us in new ways and helps us connect with the world around us. These trips are designed to disrupt your current reality, challenge your assumptions and reconnect you to your wider purpose. This year we were in Norway on the Nautilus Voyage learning to sail and experimenting with team of teams. Join us in April 2020 in Cuba for our next adventure! Reach out to krister@teamcoachingzone.com for more information on this exciting program and check out https://www.teamcoachingzone.com/nautilus for updates. Work with us It's no secret that in age defined by the disruptive forces of digital transformation and climate change learning how to be human matters. We are keen to partner with businesses with the courage and curiosity to do things differently. Leaders and teams looking to upgrade their minds so that they can have a transformative impact on the larger system they are part of. Is that you? Just reach out to me Carissa Bub at carissa@teamcoachingzone.com with the word “Curious” in the subject line and tell us more about how to contact you.