Draft:Bijna Kotak Dasani

Bijna Kotak Dasani MBE, FRSA is a banker-turned-venture capitalist, entrepreneur and an advocate for diversity and inclusion. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). She was awarded MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for 'Services to Diversity and Inclusion in Financial Services' in 2020.

Financial Services Sector
Throughout her career, Dasani has held key roles in leading financial institutions, including HM Revenue and Customs, Centrica PLC, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, SSGA, Lloyds Banking Group, and Morgan Stanley. She has also advised firms in the domains of RegTech, Fintech and advised leadership teams of established esteemed groups such as Bank of Lichtenstein, Vienna. Her remarkable contributions have spanned multiple regions, including the UK, EMEA, the Americas, and Asia.

Advisory Roles and Thought Leadership
Dasani's expertise and insights have positioned her as an esteemed advisor and thought leader. She serves on advisory boards for organizations such as Cajigo, The Global Fintech Convergence Council, the Inclusive Companies Network, and FinTech Connect. She also serves as a Host / Judge for a portfolio of initiatives including Intrapreneurship Conclave, EFMA, the Inclusive Companies Awards, Dublin Tech Summit, Quros, The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers and The Diversity in Tech Awards, powered by Microsoft, Fintech Connect North America and Global Fintech Fest.

Public speaking and publications
Dasani is a sought-after speaker, sharing her insights and expertise at prominent events and conferences worldwide such as Seamless Middle East and Saudi Arabia, Money 20/20, etc. Her thought leadership extends to interviews, periodicals, and authored papers in collaboration with esteemed institutions like Oxford University.

Dasani has also co-authored / featured in publications including the following books:


 * Women Kind: Unlocking the power of women supporting women (Featured) (2018)
 * The Ultimate Professional Networker's Guidebook Volume 1 (Featured) (2019)
 * Aspire To (Featured) (2021)
 * The Seamless Middle East e-book (Featured) (2022)
 * CIONET’s Digital Transformation Cookbook (Featured) (2022)
 * Bias Breakers (Co-Authored) (2023)
 * Disruptors Issue 2: Women Challenging The Status Quo (Featured) (2023)

Philanthropy
Dasani has been extensively involved with various organizations and initiatives aimed at promoting social welfare and community development including The Prince's Trust, Community Action Network (CAN) Leicester, Rushey Mead Educational Trust, City Hindus Network, Womankind Worldwide, City Gateway, The Adab Trust, The RSA, Ada's List, TAINA Technology Limited, Society of Leadership Fellows, and Transition to support upliftment through various lenses of DE&I such as encouraging women in STEM, social inclusion, economic empowerment, etc. Dasani holds a position as a designated member of the United Nations (UN) Women UK delegation. Within this capacity, she actively participates in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which serves as the primary global intergovernmental body focused on promoting gender equality and empowering women. Dasani also serves as an ambassador for Surviving Economic Abuse, a registered charity in the UK. Her efforts in this role have contributed to legislative changes across the United Kingdom pertaining to policies addressing economic abuse.

Awards, honours, and recognitions
Dasani was honoured by felicitation at the House of Lords (UK). Dasani is the youngest woman to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate from De Montfort University (2018) for her ‘outstanding services to Business’. She has been named Advocate of the Year for Diversity and Inclusion (2021) by Morgan Stanley and was honoured on Times Square (New York) billboards for eight days. Dasani was honored by The Princess Royal, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne during her investiture at Buckingham Palace (2023).

In the Media
Dasani has been featured in interviews and articles by various sources, including BBC, Banking Frontiers, Fortune Magazine , and Glantor News , among others. She is featured on the Dream Corner podcast (2012), is a former host and presenter of the Women in Business TV show (2018), and featured in the Citywire Tech Travels Podcast (2021).

Dasani is an active participant in various campaigns and initiatives aimed at promoting social change and empowerment. She has been involved in notable projects including The Women of Colour Blueprint, Live Love Laugh Foundation, UN Women UK Delegate, Disruptors Issue 2.

In Argyll Scott’s ‘Inspiring Business Women In APAC blog’ (2019), Dasani advised leaders to adopt a broad perspective, understand different perspectives and future trends, and create an inclusive culture that meets the needs and values of diverse consumers and workforces. She stated “Think broadly and adopt a lens beyond the day-to-day to understand the world from different perspectives like political, economic, technological, and sociological alike. Times have never been so interesting! Leaders today are in a position to shape the future of Banking and Financial Services and beyond, therefore it’s important to consider (beyond the status quo) future consumers and workforce trends and start to be inclusive of their needs, thinking and culture in order to survive and thrive.”

In November 2020, Dasani stated that “My primary focus is on promoting women into senior roles and I will be extending mentoring capabilities to India with a focus on helping as many young women as possible thrive and progress in their career trajectories.” She said, she is on a mission to fix the diversity gap within the financial services sector, especially for women.

In June 2023, at Seamless Middle East show, Dasani emphasizes on the need for countries to learn from the successes and failures of UPI and adopt similar strategies for digital identity and financial services literacy. She remarked that “The evidential gap, and corresponding opportunity are clear. The financial services eco-system cannot be inclusive until all eight billion people on the planet have access to a bank account (at a point in time, subject to age, etc. of course). Today, one billion people do not have a digital identity. So, without a digital identity and without a bank account, you cannot be included. Therefore, the fundamentals of inclusion need to start there."