Membership Directory - Individual
Geffrye Parsons
Founder & CEO at The Inclusion Imperative
About
Bio: Geff (he/him) is now CEO of The Inclusion Imperative (www.theinclusionimperative.com), a DE&I consultancy business, through which he uses his experience, knowledge and skills to help improve the standards of DE&I, and especially LGBTQ+ inclusion, in other organisations, through diagnostic and advisory projects, as well as speaking, training, coaching and mentoring engagements.
Prior to his retirement from the world of financial services at the end of February 2022 after 35 years as a front office executive based variously in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Amsterdam, Geff, who identifies as a cis gay man, was a Managing Director at Macquarie Group (based in London, covering all of EMEA), where he also chaired or co-chaired the LGBTQ+ network, Pride, for 8 years.
Under Geff’s leadership, Macquarie became a leading exponent of LGBTQ+ inclusion - see later.
Individually, Geff’s passion for promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion has resulted in his:
• winning the award for ‘LGBT+ Inspirational Leader’ at the British LGBT Awards in 2019;
• being ranked in the Pride Power List 2022, the list of the 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people in the UK, published by The Guardian;
• being ranked in the top quartile of the list of the Top 100 LGBTQ+ Executives globally (sponsored by the Financial Times and Yahoo Finance) in each of 2018, 2019 and 2021; and
• being shortlisted for the award of ‘Business Role Model’ at the PinkNews Awards in 2018, and again in 2022 (result to be announced in October).
In addition, Geff:
• is a steering committee member for the British LGBT Awards
• has acted as a judge for both the PinkNews Awards and the British LGBT Awards
• is a Trustee, and the Treasurer, of GiveOut, a UK charity encouraging and giving to international LGBTQ+ activists on the ground in challenging jurisdictions
• is a Trustee of Diversity Role Models, a UK charity seeing to address anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice in schools
• is a Board member, and the Treasurer, of Pride in Tennis, a new initiative sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion at all levels of tennis in the UK
• has worked with multiple other LGBTQ+ charities, including Opening Doors London (for older LGBTQ+ people), The Outside Project (for homeless LGBTQ+ people), Rainbow Railroad (rescuing LGBTQ+ people from perilous countries) and London Village Network, a (non-LGBT+) charity providing tools for youth and community leaders to build networks for disadvantaged young people for whom Geff was formerly a Trustee
• co-founded the LGBTQ+ network at his previous employer, BNP Paribas (2010-13)
• has organised educational and awareness-rising events purposefully addressing ‘challenging’ LGBTQ+ intersectional subjects, including faith, hate crime/speech, bullying, conversion therapy, minority ethnicity, disability, agedness, poverty and infertility
• is a frequent speaker and writer about LGBTQ+ inclusion
Geff is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and worked as a Senior Audit Manager with KPMG in Hong Kong before moving into investment banking. Prior to Macquarie, Geff was a structurer at ABN AMRO, ING and BNP Paribas, in the latter of which (as noted above) he also co-founded the LGBTQ+ network.
Outside work, is an avid tennis enthusiast, and a regular participant in international tournaments organised by the Gay & Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA) – including the Gay Games, where Geff and his husband Kevin won medals in both 2010 and 2018.became
Prior to his retirement from the world of financial services at the end of February 2022 after 35 years as a front office executive based variously in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Amsterdam, Geff, who identifies as a cis gay man, was a Managing Director at Macquarie Group (based in London, covering all of EMEA), where he also chaired or co-chaired the LGBTQ+ network, Pride, for 8 years.
Under Geff’s leadership, Macquarie became a leading exponent of LGBTQ+ inclusion - see later.
Individually, Geff’s passion for promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion has resulted in his:
• winning the award for ‘LGBT+ Inspirational Leader’ at the British LGBT Awards in 2019;
• being ranked in the Pride Power List 2022, the list of the 100 most influential LGBTQ+ people in the UK, published by The Guardian;
• being ranked in the top quartile of the list of the Top 100 LGBTQ+ Executives globally (sponsored by the Financial Times and Yahoo Finance) in each of 2018, 2019 and 2021; and
• being shortlisted for the award of ‘Business Role Model’ at the PinkNews Awards in 2018, and again in 2022 (result to be announced in October).
In addition, Geff:
• is a steering committee member for the British LGBT Awards
• has acted as a judge for both the PinkNews Awards and the British LGBT Awards
• is a Trustee, and the Treasurer, of GiveOut, a UK charity encouraging and giving to international LGBTQ+ activists on the ground in challenging jurisdictions
• is a Trustee of Diversity Role Models, a UK charity seeing to address anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice in schools
• is a Board member, and the Treasurer, of Pride in Tennis, a new initiative sanctioned by the Lawn Tennis Association to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion at all levels of tennis in the UK
• has worked with multiple other LGBTQ+ charities, including Opening Doors London (for older LGBTQ+ people), The Outside Project (for homeless LGBTQ+ people), Rainbow Railroad (rescuing LGBTQ+ people from perilous countries) and London Village Network, a (non-LGBT+) charity providing tools for youth and community leaders to build networks for disadvantaged young people for whom Geff was formerly a Trustee
• co-founded the LGBTQ+ network at his previous employer, BNP Paribas (2010-13)
• has organised educational and awareness-rising events purposefully addressing ‘challenging’ LGBTQ+ intersectional subjects, including faith, hate crime/speech, bullying, conversion therapy, minority ethnicity, disability, agedness, poverty and infertility
• is a frequent speaker and writer about LGBTQ+ inclusion
Geff is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and worked as a Senior Audit Manager with KPMG in Hong Kong before moving into investment banking. Prior to Macquarie, Geff was a structurer at ABN AMRO, ING and BNP Paribas, in the latter of which (as noted above) he also co-founded the LGBTQ+ network.
Outside work, is an avid tennis enthusiast, and a regular participant in international tournaments organised by the Gay & Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA) – including the Gay Games, where Geff and his husband Kevin won medals in both 2010 and 2018.became
Geff took the LGBTQ+ network at Macquarie, Pride, from a handful of individuals with no strategic direction, to an engine of real positive change, both internally and externally. By the time Geff retired, fully one-third of all staff were signed up to the network as members or allies, and the network had become the driver of constant activity and progress, through events, communications campaigns, training, coaching/mentoring, charitable/community work, and working with other key stakeholders (including HR and procurement) to ensure that LGBTQ+ is embedded in real organisational practices.
Under Geff’s stewardship, and primarily due to his work and direction, Macquarie:
• went from being ranked >300 in Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index, to 1st place in 2022, and is now officially the UK’s most LGBTQ+ friendly workplace;
• won the inaugural PinkNews’ Business Equality Award in October 2018, in recognition of its exemplary commitment to LGBTQ+ rights;
• was shortlisted as a Top Ten Inclusive Company by the British LGBT Awards; and
• is now headline sponsor of the British LGBT Awards (for 2022-24).
I fervently believe in the moral AND commercial imperative of LGBTQ+ inclusion, and that commercial organisations can and should be real agents of positive change in this space. As a long-time front office executive in the world of financial services, I have seen first-hand the adverse effects which a lack of inclusive behaviour and culture can have, not only on the people directly affected, but also on those who associate with them by proxy and indeed on the health and success of the organisation itself. LGBT Great is a terrific vehicle for shining a light on, and guiding through, the path towards more LGBTQ+ inclusive work practices and environments.