Celebrating our graduates of the Solaris Leadership Development Programme
Investing in professional development is one way we nurture our leaders of tomorrow. Over the past two years, we’ve been partnering with Solaris, an external leadership development programme for Black women professionals. Since starting this partnership, we’ve enrolled 21 of our team members on the one-year programme and recently celebrated the graduation of our most recent cohort.
The Solaris leadership programme provides 21 days of tuition, reflection, learning and coaching, as well having access to an external mentor and sponsorship. It allows participants to gain knowledge and experience outside of our business that they can bring back, establish a strong network of black women leaders and support them in achieving their career goals.
There are many parallels between Computershare and Solaris; being a pioneer, striving for excellence, and working well together. Yetunde Hoffman, founder of Solaris bases this program around “Love Based Leadership” which translates to many of our Purple Ways of Working especially around “Do the Right Thing” and “Work Well Together”.
Team Leader
Kesha Gonnigan
"The Solaris program created a network of Black Women Leaders that value self-development, love-based leadership and owning one’s career. My biggest take aways were, leveraging my strengths and passions, navigating career progression as an introverted leader, but more importantly a full acceptance of my authentic self with skill.”
Graduation Ceremony 2023/24
Our most recent cohort graduated on March 7th and 14th in London, joined by some of our senior leaders who celebrated their achievements.
Our 2023/24 cohort included:
- Dyani Taffe, Business Support Manager
- Emily Okwe-Pearson, FP&A Manager
- Jacquelyn Kimball, Business Initiatives Consultant
- Lumka Phala, Head of Finance
- Mittie Hales-Puryear, Senior Onboarding Project Manager
- Yvonne Wiredu, Client and External Audit Manager
Graduation Ceremony 2022/23
The Solaris graduation took place in London on March 10th and 17th attended by our 2022/23 class, and joined by some of our managers and sponsors who have been helping them to achieve their goals.
The class of 2022/23 included:
- Kesha Gonnigan, Team Leader, Transaction Quality
- Lindiwe Mvelase, Senior Legal Counsel
- Mashona Troublefield, IT Service Delivery Analyst
- Nicole Selby, Head of Default & Special Services
- Sandra Wright, Senior Risk Manager
- Shonda Irby, Associate General Counsel
Katie Larson our Global Diversity and Inclusion manager commented “These six women have all put in a tremendous amount of effort and many hours of hard work over the past year. Their enthusiasm and engagement on the program have been inspiring.
Throughout the year I’ve not only enjoyed hearing about their experiences but also what they have been learning along the way, what they will take with them, and what Computershare can adopt. From overcoming self-doubt, setting clearer career paths, embracing passion and purpose to adding even more value to the company, stepping out of comfort zones to pursue new opportunities, and identifying and strengthening strengths - all ways that help a person and our business become more innovative and successful.”
Our global business has a distinctive entrepreneurial spirit, a caring and inclusive culture, and opens up a world of opportunities that could take you anywhere.