TurksLegal and Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF) are delighted to announce Emily Smith, Director, Equities Analyst, Deutsche Bank as the winner of the 2016 TurksLegal WiBF Leadership Scholarship.

Now in its 4th year, the TurksLegal WiBF Leadership Scholarship supports the professional growth of excellence in the industry by providing WiBF members with a significant career development opportunity.

Emily’s winning submission gave an insightful and thought provoking response to the question of the challenges to leadership diversity she has observed in her career. Emily’s win was officially announced at a WiBF Business Series Lunch in Sydney on 25 May 2017.

“Women in Banking and Finance strives to assist women move into meaningful leadership roles in the industry and we are delighted to partner with TurksLegal for the 4th year to offer this Scholarship opportunity to an outstanding candidate.” said Amanda Dobbie, Chief Executive Officer, WiBF and judging panel member.

As the winner of the Scholarship prize, Emily travelled to the United States in April 2017 to participate in The Women's Leadership Program; a one week course run by the highly esteemed Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. The course is designed to help women assess and address their unique strengths and challenges, as well as navigate the frequently complex dynamics of strategic business leadership.

Emily said “The Scholarship gave me the opportunity to meet 27 inspiring women from all over the world and spend one full week focusing on career development and strategic leadership opportunities and challenges.”

Reflecting on the outcomes of the Program, Emily added “The course allowed us to assess our strengths and look at how we can leverage them. It was very powerful and rewarding because as women we often spend more time focusing on our weaknesses.”

During the interview, the judging panel of banking and finance experts appreciated Emily’s ability to communicate and connect with all judges in the room, her engaging and easy going personality, and her strong advocacy for female leadership in the professions.

Partner and Practice Group Leader of the TurksLegal Banking practice as well as an award judge, David McCrostie said, “The 2016 Scholarship was extremely difficult to judge due to the high quality of the entries. All of the applicants were absolutely inspirational. In the end, the judges agreed that Emily was a stand-out applicant and we are truly delighted to see Emily win the ultimate prize.”

The 2017 TurksLegal WiBF Leadership Scholarship will open in July 2017.