Why Your Firm Should Be Involved 

Retain high-potential diverse talent. 
Ethnically diverse professionals at senior levels are often flight risks if they don’t see a clear path to ExCo within their firm. Active sponsorship signals investment in their progression and significantly increases retention likelihood. 

Develop your ExCo pipeline. 
This programme positions participants as board-ready candidates. They return with strategic positioning, executive presence, and cross-firm networks. They are better equipped to take on senior leadership roles within your organisation. 

Contribute to sector-wide change. 
The industry benefits when ExCo succession planning becomes less homogeneous and more reflective of the talent available. This programme is part of that change. 

What Participation Looks Like 

You nominate a candidate: 
A senior ethnically diverse professional ready for ExCo transition. They must be available for the full 10-month programme. 

You provide an ExCo member as sponsor:
A sitting ExCo member from your firm who commits to actively championing the participant’s progression over 10 months. 

The sponsor ensures the participant is visible in succession discussions, makes introductions to senior stakeholders, flags them for high-impact opportunities, and champions their capability in internal discussions. 

The Firm’s Commitment

Candidate commitment:
Your nominated candidate must meet the eligibility criteria (see Application Information page) and be available for the full programme. 

Sponsor commitment:
Your ExCo member commits to: 

• Four quarterly meetings with the participant (1 hour each) 
• Three in-person programme events: kick-off (June 2026, 2 hours, includes sponsor briefing), dinner (November 2026, 2 hours), closing event (April 2027, 3 hours) 
• Three virtual workshops equipping sponsors with the tools and guidance to make their sponsorship as impactful as possible (90 minutes each) 
• Active advocacy: ensuring the participant is visible in leadership discussions, making introductions, championing their progression 

The time commitment for the sponsor is ​approximately 18-20 hours over 10 months (including meetings, prep, in-person events, and ad hoc advocacy actions). This averages to 2 hours per month. We strongly encourage sponsorship to continue beyond the programme, though we appreciate that this will be at the sponsor’s discretion. 

Support for sponsors: 
The programme kick-off includes a dedicated sponsor briefing covering what effective sponsorship looks like and how to navigate common challenges. Sponsors have access to the Elevate programme team throughout. 

Nominate a Candidate

Run your internal selection process and nominate one candidate by 17 April 2026. 

Full guidance, application form questions, and nomination form available on the Application Information page. 

​​​Questions?
Contact Emma Smit-Hamilton on emma@inclusioninfinance.com  

Note that the ​inaugural ​cohort is capped at 15 places. The Elevate Programme team will make the final selection if there are more nominations. Selection is based on the stated criteria plus cohort composition.