Skip to main content

Accelerating Action:  A Celebration of the FRIL Innovation to Address Financial Crime Programme

Welcome back to our spotlight series celebrating colleagues who are inspiring change and Accelerating Action across the technology sector. This month’s edition focusses on celebrating some of the inspirational colleagues who took part in our recent program of work under the 4th Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) challenge – addressing financial crime.

Thank you to all who engaged with us across the programme, and to our spotlighted colleagues for contributing to this important campaign: Christine Sinclair, Skills Programme Director FRIL @ University of Strathclyde; Gill Green, Client Director @ Sopra Steria; Savannah Price, Founder & CEO @ Serene, and Roisin McCarthy, Founder & CEO @ Verifoxx.

Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL) – Recapping the progress made in the Financial Crime Programme 2025

The FRIL is an industry-led collaborative innovation and research programme with a focus in its 4th call on bringing together industry, regulators, innovators and academia to tackle financial crime and fraud. The challenge was centred around 5 industry led priority use cases and convened 15 Fintech entrepreneurs to work with regulators, academia and industry leaders to develop their innovative solutions. Across the programme, it was a privilege to work with inspirational colleagues across the cluster and we are excited to be celebrating their achievements in this blog.

Across the programme, BT has played a key role in driving collaboration and knowledge sharing across the cluster to tackle financial crime and fraud. This activity kicked off with the launch of the FRIL innovation programme at the BT offices, convening an audience of representatives from regulatory authorities, telco, academia and financial institutions. Continuing to build on this leadership, the BT team also hosted a collaborative podcast series, chaired by Charlotte Moir BT, offering an opportunity to hear from industry leaders across the FRIL – many of whom feature within the Accelerating Action campaign, to share knowledge and best practices in the fraud prevention sector.

“The FRIL is a great opportunity to innovate together to identify solutions”

Paul Taylor, MD Global Banking

Developing the Skills agenda through FRIL – Unlocking AI literacy potential

A key track of activity within the FRIL is skills development, led by our fantastic colleague Christine Sinclair, University of Strathclyde. Christine’s passion and commitment to progressing the skills agenda continues to inspire us to empower colleagues around us, and we are delighted to be sharing further details on the recent launch of the AI Skills Literacy Suite as part of the Women in Tech Campaign:

“AI is transforming the way we live and work at lightning speed, offering new opportunities and challenges – are you keeping up?   Whether you’re just starting your AI journey, looking to deepen your expertise, or need a high-impact executive briefing, our AI Literacy programmes are designed to empower professionals at every level.

Unlock your AI potential with Strathclyde Business School by signing up today to one of our five comprehensive micro credentials to earn academic credits and future-proof your career. Find out more herehttps://bit.ly/FRILSkills_ SBS  or contact sbs-fril@strath.ac.uk with any questions you may have.”

“Cross-industry collaboration really is key to help us stay ahead…its critical”

Charlotte Moir, Account Manager

We look forward to continuing to celebrate inspirational colleagues across this campaign and will be continuing to publish our monthly blog. If you would like to nominate a colleague to feature in our spotlight series, please reach out to
francesca.2.ritchie@bt.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesca-ritchie-703325210

Accelerating Action: Enabling Female Leadership

Welcome back to our spotlight series celebrating colleagues who are inspiring change and Accelerating Action across the technology sector. This month’s edition focusses on female leadership and the enhancement of progression opportunities.

 

International Women’s Day 2025

For every 115 UK tech roles only one will be filled by a woman, thus revealing a significant underrepresentation in the sector and huge loss given the benefits for financial performance and innovation generated from gender diversity. This is further illustrated by the fact that although women make up nearly half of the overall workforce, only 24% of the UK tech force is female.

These barriers in tech result in major difficulties for promotion and career growth for women in the sphere. In fact, a 2022 report from McKinsey found that only 52 women are promoted to manager for every 100 men in the tech industry. This figure is surprising considering inclusive environments mean career advancement are significantly more likely for both men (15%) and women (61%).

BT Group and FinTech Scotland are committed to championing female progression and recognise that inclusion and diversity is critical to growth.

BT Group Celebrations

This year, BT Group are choosing to focus on the theme of “Remarkable Women” to highlight the inspirational and innovative work of many talented female colleges within BT and across various industries.

BT Group are passionate about ensuring women have the skills and tools to move into the tech sector and advance their careers. For instance, BT’s Passport scheme and ‘three together and two wherever’ encourages flexibility in the workforce by allowing those who need it, to work from home. This inclusive scheme acknowledges familial responsibilities, enhancing opportunities and increasing diversity in the workplace.

BT works to inspire and encourage women to enter the Telco sector, teaming with charities including CodeFirstGirls and Black Girls Tech Summit to empower women and help them stay ahead in a competitive industry. BT Group’s Returner initiative supports women to re-enter the workforce, recognising the unique hurdles career returners face. The program is designed to provide mentorship, training and hands-on experience to help individuals regain confidence and thrive in their careers (Flexa., 2024).

Fiona Vines, Chief Inclusion, Equity & Diversity officer at BT Group, is a key example of a woman who has reached a successful leadership position despite facing unexpected challenges and prejudice in a very male dominated industry. Fiona is a keen feminist and an inspiration, particularly to women who are looking to grow their career and have a family at the same time. Another notable example is Claire Gillies, CEO of Consumer, who is passionate about supporting women and advancing female leadership by being apart of the International Women’s Forum.

Fintech Scotland Celebrations

Exceptional leadership at FinTech Scotland was highlighted in the Innovate Finance Women In Fintech Powerlist in March 2025 with both its CEO, Nicola Anderson and its Research & Innovation Programme Manager, Lauren Cassell making it to the list.

Nicola appeared in the 45 Standout List recognising women who have made an incredible, lasting impact in fintech, going the extra mile to enable sustainable change.

Lauren was named amongst the Rising Stars for her amazing contribution to fintech innovation through her work at FinTech Scotland’s Financial Regulation Innovation Lab and for the FCA’s Innovation Lab.

Allison Kirkby, CEO, BT Group

Allison Kirkby is a pioneer in the world of business, breaking barriers and traditional perceptions. BT Groups’ first female CEO, started off as a Chartered Accountant Apprenticeship. Described as a “proven leader, with deep sector experience” she is already immersing herself in the business, transforming the organisation by cutting costs, restructuring areas and finding saleable assets. Her determination to find savings and optimise efficiency is visible through the 3% reduction of the workforce and negotiations to sell BT’s 50% stake in TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport. Allison’s hands on approach has already resulted in rising share prices and efforts to improve productivity has been successful with the more strictly monitored “three together, two wherever”.

“None of them look, talk or think like me… so I need to get in there!”

Allison is passionate about showcasing incredible female talent at BT Group and advises colleagues to “Be brave, be bold, be fearless” and “regularly put yourself out of your comfort zone”. This advice is highly beneficial to all women looking to succeed and inspires confidence in senior leadership as the company goes through a restructuring. Her career growth from a Chartered Management Accountant apprentice to now one of only 10 female CEOs among the FTSE 100 companies is a testament to her resilience and determination.

“Always think of the ‘So what?’ or ‘What if?’ questions”

Nicola Anderson, CEO, FinTech Scotland 

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland since January 2021, has been pivotal in establishing Scotland as a leading fintech hub.

Under her leadership, FinTech Scotland was recognised as a cluster of excellence at the European level, reflecting the region’s prominence in financial innovation.  Nicola’s commitment to driving collaboration is evident in initiatives like the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), launched in 2023. This industry-led program brings together regulators, financial institutions, and fintech firms to explore technological solutions for regulatory challenges and build a safer and more inclusive financial services sector.

Beyond her role at FinTech Scotland, Nicola serves as a non-executive director at Advice Direct Scotland and is a member of both the Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services and the Scottish Government’s Financial Services Growth and Development Board.  

Throughout her career, Nicola has been an influential advocate for making finance work well for customers, society, business, and markets. She has been directly engaged in digital and data transformation, regulation, and policy development, with an emphasis on innovation, collaboration, and customer-focused outcomes.

Nicola’s dedication to diversity and inclusion is also noteworthy. She has been instrumental in developing lasting relationships between FinTech Scotland and a broad range of consumer and citizen advocate groups, such as Money Advice Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland, Age Scotland, and Mental Health and Money Advice. This work led to the creation of the first fintech consumer panel in the UK, enabling cross-sector collaboration in building fintech propositions focused on citizen needs.  

In her own words, Nicola emphasizes the importance of collaboration for driving better consumer outcomes:

“Bringing together ambitious fintech firms and leading financial institutions not only enhances good consumer outcomes—it accelerates the development of inclusive digital financial services and supports the evolution of the future digital economy.”  

Below you will find sign up links where you can get involved in celebrating this year!