The Women’s Wealth Alliance (WWA), a taskforce of the Consumer Duty Alliance, has today announced the appointment of its Board.
The Board brings together senior leaders from across personal finance, wealth management, risk and regulation, united in accelerating female representation in the sector and championing women’s financial independence and resilience.
The Board members are:
Vanessa Barnes (Chair) is a Chartered Financial Planner with over 40 years in the sector and founder of Hannay Wealth, an all‑female financial planning firm. She brings practitioner credibility and decades of lived industry experience to the WWA’s mission of strengthening female representation and financial resilience.
Ranila Ravi‑Burslem is a FTSE 100 leader with more than 20 years’ experience driving business transformation, commercial growth and digital innovation across financial services and the non‑profit sector. She brings extensive strategic, digital and change‑leadership insight to the WWA.
Samantha Secomb is an award‑winning Chartered Financial Planner and Director of Women’s Wealth, dedicated to making financial planning more appealing and accessible to women. She brings specialist female‑focused advice expertise and valuable practitioner insight.
Alison Verlander has led and developed compliance and risk functions across the UK’s largest institutions over the last 25 plus years. An ex-regulator, her deep experience in risk, compliance and governance strengthens the WWA’s focus on Consumer Duty professional standards and practical, business led change.
John White is a financial planner and founding director of Real Wealth, and a former President of the Personal Finance Society (2018–2019). With more than 35 years’ experience as a planner, partner, director and CEO across partnerships, private companies and PLCs, he brings long‑standing insight into financial planning, investment management and strategic leadership.
Cherie‑Anne Baxter‑Blyth is an Exit Partner at Melo and former financial advice‑firm owner, specialising in succession planning and acquisitions for financial advice businesses. She brings extensive experience across firm leadership, business coaching, recruitment, M&A, marketing and sales, strengthening the Women in Wealth Alliance’s focus on practical firm support and accelerating female career progression within the profession.
Keith Richards, CEO of the Consumer Duty Alliance, is a recognised architect of professional standards in UK financial services. He provides senior stakeholder engagement and policy alignment for the WWA.
Emma Bull (Secretariat) is Head of Engagement at the Consumer Duty Alliance, with over 25 years’ experience in financial services PR and communications. She coordinates WWA delivery, partnerships and external relations.
Formed last year, the WWA launched with a major research project into women’s career journeys in personal finance, conducted independently by YouGov and supported by IBOSS, LV=, Royal London and Quilter. The resulting Women, Wealth and the Workplace white paper captured insights from over 500 women and identified three initial priority actions for industry change:
- Publishing a career guide that demystifies roles and routes into the sector
- Developing a professional framework and CPD programme for financial coaching
- Creating a digital hub for development, mentoring and the sharing of good practice
Chair of the WWA, Vanessa Barnes, said:
“We’re delighted to have such a wealth and breadth of experience on our Board. Their insight will be invaluable in shaping our strategy, guiding our delivery and holding us to account. From the outset, I’ve been clear that the Women’s Wealth Alliance must not become a talking shop. If we want to shift the dial for women – both working in the sector and relying on it – we must deliver meaningful, measurable change, and every Board member shares that commitment.”
