Three of the directors of the Leasing Foundation, along with Foundation patron Chris Sullivan and 11 governors, were named in Leasing Life’s Power 50, a list of the most influential people in the European industry. Derek Soper, Tarun Mistry and Andrew Denton are listed alongside governors including George Ashworth, Marie-Christine Ducholet, Andy Hart and Ronald Slaats. According to Leasing’s Life’s Grant Collinson, many of those on the list were nominated for their service to trade and association bodies such as the Leasing Foundation.

One of the issues that the list highlights is the lack of gender diversity at the top of the industry — the list is 90% male. This is an issue in focus for the Foundation as it continues to expand its governors and recruit new fellows. It is being tackled by Women in Leasing, a Foundation initiative led by Mary McNamara and involving women governors and fellows Marie-Christine Ducholet, Carol Roberts, Sharon Butler, Carmen Ene, Lisa Marks and Joanne Davies.

Professor Peter Thomas, director of the Foundation, said: “We have been talking about this issue from the moment the Foundation was created. The common sense idea we are pursuing is ‘why should the industry limit its talent pool to a specific group when there is such a diversity of people who can make a contribution?’ That’s why, going forward, the Foundation will look for opportunities to create diversity — in our governors, through our fellows, and importantly by creating ways for a diversity of people to enter the industry through our educational offerings.”

The Leasing Life Power 50 is based on nominations and limited to 50 by a process of elimination undertaken by the Leasing Life editorial team. Inclusion was based on analysis of the reasons given and examination of an individual’s influence on the leasing market.

The mission of the Leasing Foundation is to support the leasing and asset finance industry by providing focus and organization for charitable activities, by performing rigorous, challenging and relevant research in areas that impact the industry and its future, and by seeking opportunities to sustain the industry by developing people in the industry. The Foundation is not a lobbying body or a trade association.

Programs include: Giving, events that donate to a range of charities; Research, an annual independent research report shared across the industry; Women in Leasing, to bring together and encourage the development of women in the industry; Future Leaders, to develop the new entrants to the industry; and The Leasing Fellows, an invitation-only community of the leading thinkers in leasing and asset finance.