Michael Williams

Bank ABC

Head of Talent 

BNY Mellon

EMEA Chief Administrative Officer, Technology Services Chief of Staff, Senior Vice President

EMEA Technology Workforce Transformation Lead, Chief of Staff - Poland & CEE, Associate Director

Recruitment Team Leader, Associate Director

HSBC

Senior Recruiter, UK&CI and Zurich

Various Specialist Recruitment Firms

Senior Recruiter (UK & Europe)

Talent Acquisition Lead ✦ RL100 Member ✦ Views are my own

A results-driven HR and Talent Acquisition professional with International experience. I specialise in aligning people strategies with business goals to fuel growth and performance. With extensive experience in global banking, financial services, and technology, I have a deep understanding of the complexities of talent management, workforce planning, and regulatory compliance within the financial sector.

✔ End-to-End Recruitment Expertise: Successfully hired top talent across Front Office, Middle Office, and Corporate Functions within banking, managing searches at all levels up to Managing Director (MD).

✔ Talent Strategy & Workforce Planning

✔ HR Transformation & Change Management

✔ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) 

✔ Leadership Coaching & Performance Management

✔ HR Analytics & Data-Driven Insights 

✔ Regulatory Compliance & Risk Management

I am passionate about building future-ready workforces, driving innovation in talent acquisition and HR strategy, and fostering environments where people and businesses thrive.

Head of Talent

Recruitment Lead responsible for all lines of business hiring from entry to Board level, covering Corporate Functions through to the FrontI office. 

2021 Achievements:
→ Recruitment Framework & Governance Implementation 
→ IR35 Lead (Successful HMRC Audit)
→ Reduced time to hire to 41 days

2022 Achievements:
→ ATS Implementation 
→ Talent Management Framework Design
→ Gender Diversity recruitment policy implementation 

2023 Achievements (YTD):
→ Direct recruitment model implementation 
→ Direct Recruitment (91% YTD)
→ Internal Mobility (63% increase YTD)
→ Branding

Key Placements:
→ European Chief Risk Officer, London
→ Chief Risk Officer, Paris
→ European Head of Internal Audit
→ UK MLRO / European Head of Financial Crime
→ European Chief Financial Officer
→ Head of Market Risk & Reporting
→ Head of Credit Risk
→ Head of Enterprise Risk Management 
→ Head of Operations 
→ Head of Business Management
→ European Head of Banking
→ European Head of IT
→ Head of Communications - Europe
→ European Head of Treasury & Financial Markets
→ Business Manager to the CEO, IB

Laura Flessner

Mindtap LLC

Be Recognized. Be Valued. Being You. 

Mindtap helps diverse professionals break through unconscious bias so their authentic leadership can be seen and valued using proven innovation techniques and applied neuroscience. 

Change how others see you, without needing to change who you are. 

Mindtap offers services for professionals at all levels, from entry to CEO. 

Reach out to explore how we can help you reach your next level of impact!

Founder & CEO

Forbes

Coaches Council

Global Innovation Advisory

We help move stuck innovation in corporations by cutting through years of internal layers. We help corporate innovation leaders to simplify and fuse inter-company connections to drive growth, without incremental costs. 

How can you do more with what you already have?

www.GlobalInnovationAdvisory.com

Partner

GSK Consumer Healthcare
Co-Founder of 3 Startup Businesses: CBD & Hemp, Functional Food & Beverage, Personalized Supplements. Dedicated hands-on business building, from strategy and execution of MVP to pivots based on learnings; Venture Board pitches and buy-in.

New Venture Founder / Insights Lead

Pfizer

Pfizer Consumer Healthcare
Led New Business Innovation strategy and implementation within Global Wellness white space category, resulting in a consumer-grounded Immunity Innovation pipeline and a strategic plan to grow the business by $500M in 5 years.

Director, R&D Product Design for New Benefit Innovation

Actively grew new function (Products Research) within R&D: set strategy, created procedures, grew internal awareness and demand, pushed for deeper insights through cutting-edge methodologies across dietary supplements, analgesics, respiratory, & personal care.

Senior Manager, R&D Products Research

Procter & Gamble

Spearheaded upstream product development, new consumer modeling, and new business models.

Senior Products Research Engineer

Designed packaging for PUR Flavor Options launch, which won 2009 Consumers' Choice Product of the Year.

Packaging Engineer

I Help Diverse Professionals Break Free Of Bias And Level Up Without Changing Who You Are // Ready To Do More, Be More? Register for my Personal Branding Masterclass, July 7 (free) -> Link in Featured Section

I help diverse professionals to break through unconscious bias so they can be seen, heard & valued. 

Essentially, I help you to be recognized as a leader in your organization, no matter your level, experience or role.

What is a diverse professional? Women, minorities, introverts, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse… anyone who looks, sounds, or thinks different from others in the workplace. 

Is this you? 

It’s me. I’m a woman, Asian, an introvert, who looks really young. 

In past corporate roles, I felt frustrated, like I could do more, but I wasn’t always given the chance. The confusing thing was, I was getting fantastic feedback. 

There wasn’t any obvious bias or anything overtly intentional… but that didn’t change the fact that I wasn’t where I knew I could be. 

Unfortunately the traditional advancement system puts diverse professional at a disadvantage. Unconscious bias sneaks in, without people noticing - because it disguises itself as logic. 

It took me a while… but I found a way to break through - outside of the system. 

If the normal path to advancement:
- giving your all in quality work, 
- increasing your expertise, 
- directly asking for more

isn't allowing you to move forward... 

--> You need a different strategy. 

Transform what makes you “diverse” from a disadvantage to a superpower.  Your competitive advantage. 

I use neuroscience to help my clients break through unconscious biases their leadership and peers don’t even know they have. 

I use proven innovation tools and processes to help you to lead an idea, something you know will make a big impact, a meaningful difference. 

This strategy works at any level, in any industry, and at any organization.

Here’s 3 ways to work with me:

📚 Take a self paced course: Daring Different is a video based course with a step-by-step process to establish your authentic leadership. For the pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/daringdifferent

🚀 Join a live training cohort: Rise is a 8-week program where you will rise to your next level and people will notice a difference in you, guaranteed. For the committed pre-manager and new entrepreneur. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/rise

🎯 Partner through coaching: Individualized guidance to create your next level of impact and personal power. For senior managers and business owners. Go to: Thinkmindtap.com/catalyst-coaching

It’s time for your voice to be heard. 
For your authentic leadership to be seen. 

Send me a DM (direct message) to explore your options!

💜 Laura

When what you’re given… isn’t perfect. 
(And it rarely is.)

The people on the team 
aren’t the ones you would have picked. 

The tools are outdated. 
The process was built for a market that no longer exists. 

It looks a lot like the messy sketch 
the artist started with. 
All potential… but no clarity. 

But here’s a truth professionals can forget: 

Leadership doesn't wait for ideal conditions. 
Leadership creates something valuable 
with what you’re given. 

To be resourceful. 
To see potential others overlook. 
To hold a vision of what’s possible 
before anyone else can see it. 

Leadership isn’t about perfection. 
It’s about perspective. 

It’s the ability to look at a broken process 
and notice the opportunity hiding inside it. 

To look at a team that feels mismatched 
and spot the strengths waiting to be shaped. 

To look at outdated tools 
and reimagine what they could enable. 

Adjust. Support. Add. Subtract. 
Piece by piece. 
Bit by bit. 

When you stay committed to the vision, 
not the circumstances, 
you create something extraordinary. 

Not because you had the perfect starting point. 
But because you led it into something better. 

That’s the work. 
That’s the impact. 
That’s leadership.

Leadership Coach for Diverse Professionals // Lead authentically at any level, using Innovation & Neuroscience // Get your free copy of "7 Steps to Authentic Leadership" --> DM me ‘Unlock’

Some think changing your goal is giving up. 

I think it's dangerous not to...

Your goals can change. 
And they should. 

What you defined as “success” 10 years ago… 
likely isn’t what success means to you now. 

A lot can shift in a decade. 
These days, a ton can change in a year.

And when things change, 
change also happens in you.

Here’s how my own career goals unfolded, 
chapter by chapter: 

0–5 yrs: Get a strong start + grow as fast as I can 
5–10 yrs: Deliver great work, and grow my family (3 kids born!) 
10–15 yrs: Become a subject matter expert + aim for VP 
15–17 yrs: Follow my passion in Innovation + broaden my experience 
17+ yrs: Build my own business 

Every chapter fit who I was and what I valued 
in that moment of my life. 

None was “better” than another. 
And letting go of a goal (like aiming for VP)
wasn’t quitting. 

It was adjusting. Listening. 
Learning more about what mattered to me. 

Because things do change: 

Your life situation 
(family, health, economics) 

Your focus 
(advancement, breadth, pivoting) 

Your definition of success shifts with each chapter. 

But here’s the biggest watch out: 
When life changes, but your picture of “success” doesn’t. 

That’s when frustration grows. 
That’s when people feel stuck. 
 
Like they’re swimming upstream 
against a current that’s getting stronger. 

A goal that served you well before 
no longer serves who you’re becoming now. 

But that next goal? 
It isn’t always obvious. 

This is why so many clients come to Clarity Coaching, 
to design their next chapter with intention, not pressure. 

To step into their next level of leadership 
in a way that fits. 

Like Sarah—who chose to leave her current role 
to be a strong female leader in cybersecurity. 

Like Penny—who found a path to prioritize family 
and support her career at the same time.

Like Amanda—who discovered a culture 
that embraced her authentic leadership style. 

Your next chapter will ask something new of you. 

The question is: 
Is your next chapter built for who you are today—or who you used to be?

Setbacks don't have to be the end. 

(They're a secret beginning)

"Setbacks are a setup for success."
A quote from Dr. Ruth D. Jones perfectly captures the start of my business Mindtap. 

It began the moment my role was eliminated. 

My company entered a joint venture. 
Suddenly, there were too many innovation groups… 
and mine was the one dismantled. 

So what now? 
(That question kept looping in my mind.) 

Then I realized: 
My last role, 
which had been my favorite of my career, 
had quietly been teaching me (for 2 years) 
exactly how to build something new. 

We were launching brands from scratch. 
Creating product lines from zero. 
Designing, experimenting, iterating. 
I had the blueprint. 
Why not use it for myself? 

So I did. 

Now, I could stop here and make it sound effortless. 
It wasn’t. 

The first business model I tried? Failed. 
The second try? Failed. 
The third? Worked okay… 
but deep down, I knew it wasn’t the work I wanted to do. 

Those attempts weren’t mistakes. 
They clarified what mattered. 
They helped me build the business today. 

The business that aligns with my strengths. 
The business that connects to my personal passion. 
The business that provides real value. 

Mindtap didn’t start with certainty. 
It started with what looked like an end. 

See setbacks as what they secretly are. 
A new beginning.

The hardest part of leadership? 

(It’s not the plans or presentations)

Strong leaders know… 

The technical challenges are the easy ones. 
The people challenges are the hard ones. 

And there’s only one thing 
that truly shifts a people challenge: 
A conversation. 

This is what I've seen most people avoid:

→ We schedule another meeting— 
instead of addressing what went wrong in the last one.

→ We change the subject 
the second things get uncomfortable.

→ We use jargon like "let’s circle back"
to avoid saying: This isn’t working.

→ We cc half the team on the email— 
hoping someone else will say it.

→ We blame “timing” 
instead of being honest.

→ We stay “nice” 
instead of staying real.

All different ways of saying: 
“I see the elephant… but I’m hoping it disappears.” 

Your brain thinks it’s keeping you safe. 
Conflict = threat. 
Silence = protection. 

But in reality... 
The scariest thing isn’t naming the elephant. 
The scariest thing is letting it grow. 

Big enough to: 
→ squash your team 
→ derail your project 
→ quietly erode your vision and impact as a leader 

Brave leadership is being willing to feel uncomfortable, 
and addressing issues head-on as soon as they arise. 

Your brain may scream “danger.”
Your leadership says “go, this is important.”

A list of leaders who dared to do things differently: 


Satya Nadella 
→ Put empathy at the center of Microsoft’s transformation. 

Indra Nooyi 
→ Prioritized Pepsi's purpose and long-term vision when quarterly wins ruled the world. 

Tim Cook 
→ Proved that quiet, steady leadership can guide a company like Apple to massive impact. 

Sara Blakely 
→ Built Spanx by trusting creativity and humor over credentials. 

Oprah Winfrey 
→ Led with radical authenticity in an industry of polished personas. 

Fidji Simo 
→ Redefined CEO presence by pairing customer obsession with bold, creative leadership at Instacart and OpenAI. 

Followers fit in. 
Leaders show a different possibility. 

Each leader charted a path by owning what made them different. Not hiding it. 

Your difference is your advantage. 
Your perspective is your power. 
Your leadership begins where imitation ends. 


Follow Laura Flessner for more on leadership.

Why do I incorporate neuroscience into leadership?

I get asked this often.

In this video, I give 5 ways
knowing how your brain works
can accelerate your leadership. 

Lead smarter. Lead calmer. 
Lead in a way your brain was built for.

You can be kind and strong. 
But what does it sound like?

Being strong in your stance 
and still respectful and kind
Can feel like opposites. 

When in fact, 
they’re a powerful combination.

When you have a different view, 
it is absolutely important to acknowledge 
someone else’s perspective.

And often, to do this 
people soften their words with: 
“I think…” 
“Maybe…” 
“Just my opinion…”

The intent is good. 
But the impact?

It dilutes the power 
of the perspective 
You’re trying to share.

You don’t need to shrink your voice 
to honor someone else’s.

Instead of “I think” or “maybe,” 
try language that’s both respectful 𝘢𝘯𝘥 strong:

“I’m confident that…”
“My recommendation is…”
“A possibility worth exploring is…”
“Another way to look at this could be…”
“Here’s an angle that might strengthen this…”
“Here’s what I’ve observed in similar situations…”
“From my experience, what works well is…”
“I believe this will move us forward…”
“What I’m seeing in the data is…”
“What I’m noticing is…”
“Let’s consider…”

This is how leaders communicate: 
with kindness, intention and clarity.

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Michael Williams

Laura Flessner

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The Battle

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