Before he bombed the markets, with Credit Suisse now teetering on the brink of collapse, the bank’s head of global markets had been in the spotlight as a non-binary executive.
In the morning he decides whether today he will live as a man or as a woman. Depending on his mood, he puts on his suit or his blonde wig, a stunning dress, tights, heels and makes his way to the office, after apparently kissing and greeting his wife and children.
The reason for Credit Suisse’s Head of Global Markets Philip Bunce or Pippa Bunce, who in 2018 won the honorary title for female executives, 100 Female Executives of the Year.
However, if we consider that by his own choice – and his admirable bravery to support it – he can penetrate both female and male minds, neither female insight nor male square logic has protected him from the mischief that causes this. nervous shock moment in the European banking system and beyond.
Who is Philip / Pippa Bunce
The first non-binary and genderfluid banking executive, taking important positions in leading global financial institutions, not only admits his choice and has fully integrated it into every manifestation of his life, but also received an award as a woman.
In 2018, Pippa Bunce was awarded by the Financial Times with the title of 100 Female Executives of the Year, awarded to top female executives. He is also on the Financial Times and Ally List of Outstanding LGBT Executives and was shortlisted for the Top 10 Inspiring Leaders at the British LGBT Awards.
In 2022, Bunce received the British Diversity Award.
“I’m tired of living a lie”
Of particular interest is an interview he gave to the financial website finews.com a year ago, where he explained his decision to go public with exactly how he feels.
“Expression is so important,” said Pippa Bunce, perfectly made-up and dressed for her 30-minute zoom interview.
From the age of five, she did not want to dress only as a boy. “Luckily, my family was receptive, home was a safe environment where I could show who I was and how I felt,” she said.
Coming Out at Work
Then came work, and coming out in the IT department of a bank was something completely different:
“I was tired of living a lie, I didn’t want to pretend to be someone else anymore.”
Seeing non-binary and genderfluid friends take their own lives because they couldn’t cope in an environment where they didn’t feel included or accepted, “also made me decide to stand up for what I wanted, to make things better.” , he stated.
A Credit Suisse program launched in 2014 to promote LGTB+ and employee allyship encouraged her to come out in her work as non-binary and genderfluid.
“At first, I thought it was kind of scary, not knowing how people would react to my new look and what the consequences would be for my career,” she admitted.
Empathy and humility
Instead of just showing up to work one day dressed as a woman, she reached out to HR first, and together they figured the best way would be to talk to her coworkers beforehand to prepare them.
What followed “knocked me out,” she said. Faced with so much support, empathy and humility from her colleagues, she wondered why she hadn’t plucked up the courage sooner.
Showing sensitivity, the others opened up giving Bunce the feeling that she was one of them. “Being your true self at work and being accepted for it is the key to doing good work,” he stressed.
High level support
This sense of belonging is a value that Credit Suisse strives to uphold in its policies and training programs, which aim to educate managers about inclusive leadership.
The programs make people take a step back, to learn how important a role actions, behavior and language play, she says.
Bunce hasn’t looked back since making the decision to be open with the bank, which has led her on a “journey of transformation and humility”, as she calls it, which she greatly appreciates, along with the support she’s received by her employer, the bank’s CFO David Mathers, to become the role model she is today.
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Tags: Philip Pippa Bunces Special Profile Fatal Decisions Faltering Credit Suisse
