Bijna is a banker-turned-venture
capitalist and entrepreneur. She advises and serves the Boards of various
companies (to include celebrities, monarchies, listed companies, advisory
businesses, financial services institutions, funds and various other firms)
across the globe. Her roles include those of Managing & Operating Partner,
Advisor to / Member of the Investment Committee, (Non) Executive Director.
Previously, as a
long-standing member of Senior Executive Management Committees (in her former
firms), she has managed AUM / portfolios and instituted and led commercial
& product strategy, operations, transformation and innovation – in business
entities for which she has owned P&L’s for - on behalf of the World’s most
prestigious institutions (to include Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, SSgA, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, etc.) within the Financial Services sector across the UK, EMEA, the Americas and Asia - spanning two decades. During this tenure she has also advised firms in the domains of RegTech, Fintech and advised leadership teams of established esteemed groups such as Bank of Lichtenstein, Vienna.
Presently, in her
philanthropic capacity, Bijna is an appointed member of the United Nations (UN) Women UK delegation; where she is engaged with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. She is also an ambassador
for Surviving Economic Abuse, a registered UK charity and has contributed to
UK-wide legislative changes for policies in this domain.
Additionally, Bijna presently holds advisory (board) roles with Cajigo, Global Fintech Convergence Council, the Inclusive Companies Network and FinTech Connect. She also serves as a Host / Judge for a portfolio
of initiatives including the Intrapreneurship Conclave, EfMA, the Inclusive Companies Awards, Dublin Tech Summit, The Diversity in Tech Awards, powered
by Microsoft, the Global Fintech Awards and Fintech Connect North America.
Bijna has addressed audiences globally for some of the Worlds’ most
prominent brands (such as Seamless Middle East and Seamless Saudi Arabia, Money20/20, etc.), as a thought-leader, and she has
featured in various periodicals and interviews across geographies – to include
the likes of Banking Frontiers – and has also authored various Thought
Leadership papers (for example, with
Oxford University) which have been published over the years.
Bijna has also co-authored
/ features in publications including following books: Disruptors II (2023), Bias Breakers (2023), The Seamless Middle East e-book (2022), CIONET’s Digital Transformation Cookbook (2022), Aspire To (2021), The Ultimate Professional Networker's Guidebook Volume 1 (2019) and Women Kind: Unlocking the power of women supporting women (2018); She is also featured in the Citywire Tech Travels Podcast (2021), is a former host and presenter of the Women in Business TV show (2018) and featured on the Dream Corner podcast (2012)
as well as many others.
Bijna has been honoured by
The Princess Royal, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne during her investiture at
Buckingham Palace (2023) and is an appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire since 2020, per order of Her Majesty, (Late) Queen
Elizabeth II for Bijna’s services to Diversity and Inclusion in the Financial
Services industry.
