Broadgate caught up with the esteemed Dawn Hart, Compliance Director and MLRO at DF Capital, to glean her expert insight into the world of compliance. We talked about all things networking, events, representation, access to opportunity, regulations, and mentorship. Catch the Q&A below:

Broadgate

Am I right in saying you met your current mentor at one of our recent events?

Dawn Hart

Yes, that’s right! It was when I was on the panel at Broadgate’s Women in Fincrime event. There was someone in the crowd I hadn’t met before who was really engaged and asked me great questions; we got chatting afterwards and she dropped me a message on LinkedIn. She is Kathy Griffin, the CRO at Target Group, and the first female CRO I’ve ever met! I thought, ‘I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by,’ and now I consider her a mentor.

Broadgate

We love to hear it. One of the main reasons we host events is to bring people together, and that’s an ideal example of two senior figures in compliance getting the opportunity to build a connection through networking.

Dawn Hart

Absolutely. I like the openness and discursive nature of the events, and while it’s a networking opportunity, it’s asking how we can serve one another as opposed to just getting a contact for XYZ.

Broadgate

Speaking of networking and mentorship, how important do you think mentors are in uncovering career opportunities?

Dawn Hart

It depends on what a mentor means to you. For me, it’s not going to be someone that you know or work immediately with. By that nature, you’ll always get access and insight into other networks, branches, fields, firms, or even industries, depending on how far out you look, and that will naturally open up doors. You can only see as far as your horizon, so you’ve got to work to broaden them. You can benefit from conversations [with your mentor] as it helps you realise there’s a lateral aspect to your career, giving you a much wider perspective with a trusted source.

Broadgate

Does this allude to the impact of representation; a case of not being able to be what you can’t see?

Dawn Hart

Massively. You have some people who can imagine themselves in situations that they’ve not seen before, there are lots of pioneers who have achieved this, but it’s not typical of our psychological tendencies. I think for most people, to believe a possibility for ourselves, we need some sort of blueprint or example.

Broadgate

Has seeing women in senior positions helped you throughout your Journey?

Dawn Hart

Yes, although I also recognise feeling different can be a strength too. When I first started working in financial services, I worked in corporate banking, and it was an environment occupied primarily by older white men. I stood out and I felt that, which could be tough at times, but it also could be a superpower. I realised I was able to bring a different way of thinking to my role and the team, so ultimately attempting to not fit in was a strength. Conversely, when you try to fit into stuff and it doesn’t fit you, it’s hard to perform at your best; you’re trying to walk someone else’s path or think someone else’s thoughts.

However, when I started working in more diverse environments, I noticed a sense of ease that aided my performance. DF Capital has strong diversity at all levels, and working alongside as many women as there are men is refreshing, I can see the strength and balance it brings to the firm. I don’t think I’m alone in saying I perform better when I feel understood, relaxed, and more myself, and having diversity around the table does that.

Broadgate

Looking at the LinkedIn Data, the diversity split between male and female employees appears relatively even in compliance, but when you move up to the senior positions, female representation falls off a cliff. Why do you think that’s still the case for so many companies these days?

Dawn Hart

It’s often the case that the more senior the role, the more tenure and experience you have, so I do understand that if you leave the systems for recruitment to work as it does today there’ll be a long tail for improvement. Maybe people aren’t thinking creatively about the talent pools that they’re recruiting from, or they’re not applying recruitment practices at all – I think nepotism is still an issue in senior recruitment. I do believe firms are becoming alive to the effects of unconscious bias, but in addition to education, there has to be mechanisms that aid people and firms to interrupt the effect. Truth is, there is not a shortage of talented, capable women of all different backgrounds; so we must ask ourselves what it is that’s standing in the way.

Broadgate

One of the more common pain points we hear in the diversity recruitment space is that people want to hire diverse talent, but they can’t find the right people anywhere. How do you feel about that?

Dawn Hart

My dad used to say that if all you have in your toolkit is a hammer, everything is going to look like a nail. If you’re saying that with your recruitment approach you can’t find female talent, then you have the wrong tools. There has to be a different way of approaching it, whether that’s using specialist recruiters or assessing the way you’re branding yourself, maybe the perquisites you’re setting for the job…there are many different ways you can change the approach.

Broadgate

What kind of effect do the FCA’s diversity regulations have on listed companies?

Dawn Hart

The regulations mean that companies must declare their senior management and board diversity, and there’s a much wider regime from regulators around ESG, which diversity is seen as a key part of. You need diverse sets of people to have sustainable, balanced decision-making, and the regulators recognise this.

Broadgate

What does the ESG agenda mean for listed companies?

Dawn Hart

It’s such a broad agenda. For me, it’s ultimately about how much social responsibility you feel as a firm, and whether the value you say you place on sustainability actually plays out in your actions. This is rooted in culture; what is your purpose as a firm, how do you make decisions, what do you incentivise, how diverse is your workforce, how transparent are you in setting and reporting on your social impact? And it’s not up to one team to look at. It’s up to all of us to think about how we can make a difference in our role. Everyone should ask themselves, ‘What does it mean to me?’. At DF Capital one of our three core strategic pillars is ‘acting sustainably’, and you’ll see in our annual report the impact we’re having on our customers, employees, communities and the environment.

Broadgate

Lastly, have you got any advice for your future self?

Dawn Hart

I’d say to myself, ‘You have a lot to learn, but you’ve got a lot to give.’ I don’t think that advice is ever time-dependent. There are lessons to be learned every day if you stay open to them, and I’m the only one of me in the world so shouldn’t hold back on being myself and bringing that uniqueness.

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This Interview has been Edited and Condensed

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