Attitude 101 2025: Here are the 10 influential figures who made our Financial & Legal list
The innovators of Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley continue to reshape industries, with this year’s honorees demonstrating unprecedented achievement across the professional landscape.
The selection spans 10 sectors: Media & Broadcast; Film, TV, and Music; Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics; Third Sector & Community; Financial & Legal; Fashion, Art & Design; Sport; Travel; Business; and The Future, supported by Clifford Chance.
Below are the LGBTQ+ trailblazers who have transformed the financial and legal sectors, breaking barriers and creating more inclusive spaces for generations to follow.
Category leader: Dame Julia Hoggett
CEO, London Stock Exchange
Hoggett leads one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious financial institutions, bringing a transformative approach to both technology and inclusion. As the first publicly gay woman to head the London Stock Exchange, she has consistently championed diversity in finance while driving technological innovation. The daughter of legal pioneers Baroness Brenda Hale and John Hoggett QC, she chose to forge her own path in finance rather than law, building an impressive career at institutions like J.P. Morgan. Under her leadership, the Exchange continues its evolution from its 1698 coffee house origins into what she calls a “300-year-old fintech.”
Motie Bring
CEO, PPRO
Bring is an accomplished executive in the fintech industry, currently serving as the CEO of leading global digital payments infrastructure provider PPRO. Beyond his professional success, Bring is a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion within the fintech industry. As a publicly gay CEO, he has championed the importance of representation and equal opportunities, pushing for greater visibility and support for the LGBTQ+ community in business. Bring has also held senior positions at companies such as Worldpay and Nuvei prior to his role at PPRO.
Rebecca Chalkley KC
Barrister
Chalkley is a highly regarded barrister with a practice spanning commercial and financial crime, regulatory matters and global investigations. Specialising in fraud, business crime and insolvency, she provides counsel to high-net-worth individuals, corporates and regulatory bodies. Known as “the Queen of Disclosure”, Chalkley is frequently instructed in high-profile cases, including the landmark prosecution of former tennis champ Boris Becker for offences under the Insolvency Act in 2022. With extensive experience in cross-border cases, she also advises on matters involving regulatory bodies, compliance and director’s disqualification.
Oscar Davies
Barrister
Davies is an accomplished barrister at Garden Court Chambers in London, specialising in public law and human rights. They are recognised as the first publicly non-binary barrister in the UK, focusing on legal recognition and rights for non-binary individuals. Davies has worked on significant cases pushing for greater legal recognition of gender identity. They were awarded the LGBTQ+: Champion of the Year title at the 2024 Legal 500 UK ESG Awards for their pro bono work advancing LGBTQ+ rights. Davies has also contributed to A Practical Guide to Transgender Law, furthering legal education on gender identity issues.
David Hynam
CEO, LV=
Hynam is a seasoned leader in the UK financial services sector, known for his advocacy of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. With a three-decade career span-ning top roles at Bupa and HomeServe UK, he has consistently championed LGBTQ+ rights within business leadership. Recognised for his commitment to fostering inclusive environments, Hynam was ranked first in the world in the 2024 INvolve Outstanding Executives Role Model list for LGBTQ+ inclusion. He has also been featured in Fortune’s Global LGBTQ+ Business Leaders for his leadership in diversity.
Dr Victoria McCloud
Legal consultant
McCloud is a pioneering British legal professional, renowned for becoming the UK’s first transgender judge. She was appointed as a Queen’s Bench Master in 2010, making her the youngest to hold that position at the time. Her career includes presiding over high-profile cases, including defamation claims against Donald Trump. She retired from the bench in 2024 and now works as a litigation strategist, remaining an advocate for gender identity recognition in law, having sought to intervene in a 2024 Supreme Court case on the definition of ‘woman’.
Deon Pillay
Head of marketing operations, Legal & General (Asset Management)
Pillay leads initiatives at Legal & General to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion across the financial sector. He has spearheaded allyship training for thousands of employees, devel-oped inclusive workplace policies, and mentored underrepresented groups. He has organised intersectional events like South Asian Heritage Month and raised significant funds for LGBTQ+ causes. An experienced chartered leader in the investment management industry, he is skilled in asset management, regulatory change and business transformation.
Chase Strangio
Transgender rights lawyer
Strangio’s legal work includes challenging North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” and fighting the Trump administration’s 2018 transgender military ban. He has represented transgender individuals in landmark cases, including Chelsea Manning’s lawsuit for gender-affirming healthcare. Strangio played a pivotal role in the Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which extended workplace protections to LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2020, he was named on TIME’s list of 100 most influential people. In December 2024, he made history as the first publicly transgender attorney to argue before the US Supreme Court.
Anthony Watson
Founder, Bank of London
Watson founded the Bank of London in 2018, serving as its CEO until 2024. The bank, which became the UK’s sixth clearing bank, focuses on leveraging cutting-edge technology to provide banking services across borders for businesses, financial institutions and governments. Watson is also a prominent activist, recognised for his work in promoting LGBTQ+ rights and equality. In 2023, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to the LGBTQ+ community, and has been involved in various advocacy initiatives, including board membership at GLAAD.
Keio Yoshida
Senior legal advisor, Center for Reproductive Rights
A leading voice in international human rights law, Yoshida specialises in gender justice and LGBTQ+ rights. They have worked on landmark cases advancing protections for women and queer communities worldwide. As an author, their writing explores the intersection of law and identity, with publications in leading legal journals and books such as Silenced Women and Feminist Conversations on Peace. Their upcoming book, Pride and Prejudices, examines global queer legal struggles, from decriminalisation battles to trans rights debates.
The full Attitude 101 list appears in issue 363 of Attitude magazine, available to order here or alongside 15 years of back issues on the Attitude app.