Akua Opong is a multi-award-winning speaker and thought leader with more than 15 years’ experience in the financial and technology sectors, and a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. She holds Chartered IT Professional status from the British Computer Society and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. At the London Stock Exchange Group she spearheaded the first Purple Light Up campaign, introduced sunflower lanyards and hosted over 30 talks on women’s health, accessibility, neurodiversity and intersectionality, while expanding employee volunteering and championing women’s safety. Akua has led initiatives delivering IT devices, books and resources to more than 50 schools, charities and communities, benefiting over 10,000 students, and has raised funds for coding clubs, STEM projects and digital libraries. She is a Non-Executive Director for Genius Within CIC, an ambassador for several charities and has volunteered with England Netball and British Athletics. Featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s Artists First exhibition, Akua’s mentoring, fundraising and community outreach have directly supported thousands and raised over £35,000 with 500+ hours of volunteering.