PROFILE: TRACY VEGRO
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// IT’S BETTER TO HAVE EVERYTHING ON THE TABLE //
Reporting Council (FRC), which oversees auditors, accountants, and actuaries, then in 2020 was appointed executive director for strategy and innovation at the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Both bodies are governed largely by public policy and legislation made in Whitehall, meaning that Tracy was on the receiving end of policy that, as a civil servant, she had helped design.
Connecting with members and wider society Tracy’s first task as CEO, she says, will be to listen to members and people in the organisation, represent their interests, ensuring that the Institute learns from the diversity of membership – 45,000 members in over 100 countries, “all of whom will be going through slightly different experiences”.
Naturally enough, she also plans to
“develop and grow” the CISI and is excited about some of the organisation’s charitable initiatives, such as the Future Foundation (an independent grant-giving charity that the CISI has funded to improve people’s financial literacy). That said, developing the CISI may involve doing things differently. “We can all predict the next ten years will be different. You have to make any organisation you lead fit for the future.” One area in which she sees real
opportunities for the CISI is in expanding wider society’s understanding of financial services and what they can do for people. This improved financial awareness might be provided through offering education about things like pensions, student loans, energy bills, or pro bono advice for people at different life stages (Tracy points to the CISI Financial Planning Week, held annually in October, during which financial planners offer free sessions to the public, as an example). She asks, “what do we, as financial services professionals, need to prepare people for?” Under her leadership, the CISI will
also seek to understand and offer informed comment and insights on various policies and legislation coming through, such as the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill and Consumer Duty principles, as well as issues around international opportunities now that the country has left the EU. She notes that the CISI is already part of the Chartered Body Alliance (Chartered Banker Institute, Chartered Insurance Institute, CISI), and she’d like to expand the influence of this alliance “to become more than the sum of its parts” through greater collaboration, and using the alliance’s combined influence.
Leadership style “I’d want to say I’m visible and approachable and fair. I can make a tough decision, but I certainly want to hear different people’s opinions,” says Tracy. She strongly encourages everyone to speak up and make their voices heard, even if their view is discounted, because “it’s better to have everything on the table, and then let’s mutually decide what’s right”. She believes that it’s almost impossible
to impose a culture on an organisation. However, it is vital that leaders “be seen to do what they say they’ll do”. Ultimately, this is about integrity and being authentic.
26 THE REVIEW MARCH 2023
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