Barclays’ head of trade and working capital Baihas Baghdadi has appointed the bank’s trade and working capital leadership team, made up of both Barclays’ veterans and more recent hires.

The new leadership structure has been designed to encourage faster decision making and delivery. Baghdadi has also created new positions, such as that of head of innovation, taken up by Shona Tatchell. Tatchell has been part of the trade and working capital leadership team since she joined the bank in 2011, overseeing blockchain projects as part of her responsibilities. She also works closely with Rise, Barclays’ start-up accelerator.

Women represent a third of the new board, which also reflects different nationalities and career backgrounds, to a degree still uncommon in leadership teams across the financial industry. According to the “Women in Financial Services” report released this week by global management consultancy Oliver Wyman, at the rate of current progress it would take until 2048 (more than 30 years) for executive committees in the financial services industry globally to reach 30% female representation. Globally, only one-fifth of boards in financial services are comprised of women.

“It’s important to structure leadership teams in a way that empowers each of the individual leaders in their own area of responsibility. Diversity in leadership teams is also crucial as it creates a better working environment and makes strong business sense, because getting the best ideas and harnessing the best talent is good for our clients,” Baghdadi tells GTR. “I’m confident that the range of skills and experience in my team will allow us to continue to deliver a first-class service.”

Here is a full overview of the trade and working capital senior leadership team:

Baihas Baghdadi – global head of trade and working capital
Karl Trumper – head of UK trade and working capital
Shona Tatchell – head of innovation
Alex Di Castri – head of governance, risk and control
Tracy Roche – head of documentary trade product management
Lasma Orlovska – head of open account product management
Ravi Sivasubramanian – head of strategy execution, markets and syndication
John Oliver – head of structuring and execution
John Holmes – head of relationship management and specialist risk unit
Anthony Wright – head of strategic projects
Gagan Palta – head of transformation
Ashley Head – chief operating officer