Membership Directory - Individual

TIMOTHY ROBERTS

HEAD OF MARKETING at HSBC ASSET MANAGEMENT

About

Bio: My name is Timothy (Tim) Roberts and I work for HSBC in the Global Marketing Team specifically covering HSBC Asset Management. My role is global so I cover advertising and marketing for all things HSBC Asset Management, whether it be in Sweden or Singapore.

I've worked in marketing for over 20 years for a range of companies - Travel, Insurance, Charities and Financial Services. My roles have varied greatly too from traditional marketing to the full range of marketing channels and managing small and large teams. I've worked for some great big brands and most of these companies have a great attitude towards LGBT and I have sat on various Pride/LGBT committees to boost awareness.

At HSBC we have a large Pride network and over 1,000 members in the London Chapter alone. I am on the London Chapter committee and we host events monthly from lunches to speakers, which we connect with the national network. Equality and Diversity is a key agenda point for HSBC Asset Management and last year the global CEO of RBWM (Retail Banking and Wealth Management) Charlie Nunn became the executive sponsor of our Pride Network. As someone who is also deaf, I have a double-hatted role in that I am involved in the Diversity Project as well as the Ability Network at HSBC. Equality goes much further than ensuring we have more women in the workplace (for example), it is about ensuring that anyone, regardless of their sexuality, disability, etc is considered and treated fairly. I recall one job when I was not "out" and a senior manager used to use derogatory terms about Gays' and this made me retreat even more both in terms of coming out but also my confidence at work. I moved on and swore that I would never work for an organisation like that again. For me it is more than just LGBT but Diversity and Ewen Stevenson, our CFO is the executive sponsor of the Ability Network and together, with the support of the wider networks, we are making HSBC a better place to work.

I'm proud to be part of the wider networks that I am involved in, from Diversity project to LGBT Great. I'm also a keen Squash Player and part of OutPlay, one of the biggest gay squash clubs in the World (if not the biggest!) and we attend tournaments internationally including the Euro Gay Games in Dusseldorf in 2020.

I believe the workplace has come a long way since I started my career and even at HSBC Asset Management we have more LGBT, BAME and Women than ever before from all backgrounds, which makes me proud to be a part of this great organisation.
I believe that it is important to stand up and be proud of who you are and no-one should have to feel that they cannot come out at work when it is an important part of their identity. By being a role model in the industry gives confidence to others to come out and be proud at work.
Project 1000