Mike Randall, chief executive officer of Simply, has been named as the new chair of The Leasing Foundation.
His one-year tenure comes as the foundation reveals plans for a future series of events once restrictions caused by the Coronavirus lockdown are lifted.
Randall (pictured) replaces Andy Denton, chief executive officer of Alfa, who remains on the board of the foundation.
The Leasing Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that has three key focus areas – innovation, young people, and diversity and inclusion. It works as a platform from which projects and initiatives are launched to benefit the industry.
As part of the changes, the Young Business Finance Professionals Group is being rebranded as the Next Generation Network. A new Industry Insights programme will be launched, creating a nationwide initiative focused on attracting and developing young talent in the business finance sector. The programme aims to enable high-potential individuals to gain exposure to businesses outside of their own organisation as part of their professional development.
The Leasing Foundation’s popular breakfast seminars will restart, focusing on technology and its role in driving enhanced customer and employee experiences to enable growth.
In addition, a series of events will help companies in the asset finance industry to understand the business benefits of diversity and inclusion.
There will be a partnership with the AF-PA Trust to add a charitable element to the foundation’s efforts and it will work more closely with the Finance and Leasing Association on initiatives ranging from future talent to diversity.
There will also be a team of ‘ambassadors’ to help lead activity in key areas.
Randall said: “I would like to thank Andy Denton for all the hard work he has put in during his tenure as chair. We have been very busy over the past 18 months, consolidating our endeavours under three key channels. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, from the four incredibly successful breakfast debates organised by the Innovation Initiative in 2019 through to the Next Generation networking evenings and diversity and inclusion events.
“Our key priority is to serve the sector and the people within it and we are excited about our partnership with the Finance and Leasing Association. In the spirit of getting things done, if anyone wants to join one of the groups, we’d love to hear from them.”
If anyone would like to be an ambassador contact hello@leasingfoundation.org.
