Square Mile’s Romer-Lee joins City Hive as non-exec director

The think tank and advocacy group works with companies to provide resources, initiatives and guidance on how they can build an inclusive asset management industry, as part of an equitable and sustainable society.

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Romer-Lee is CEO and co-founder of Square Mile, which he began in 2014. He regularly interviews leading industry figures for Square Mile’s popular ‘Talking With‘ series.

Page has been in the financial services industry for more than 30 years, having started his career as an independent financial adviser within Lloyds Private Bank. 

In 2018 Page co-founded and became non-executive director of Octo Members, a social media app for financial services professionals that has around 4,000 members.

He also launched consultancy fVenn in 2022, according to LinkedIn, which serves clients in the asset management sector. 

Prior to that, he held multiple chief marketing officer and senior distribution roles in his career, including five years at Janus Henderson Investors, where he was responsible for the marketing integration, rebrand and relaunch of the combined business.

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Mandy Kirby, co-CEO and co-founder of City Hive, said: “We are delighted to welcome Richard and Rob to the board of City Hive; we are more impactful when we work collectively and they bring valuable industry insights. 

“Their support and understanding of our mission will help us to move forward to create an investment industry fit for the future via our ACT Corporate Culture Standard.” 

Bev Shah, co-founder and co-CEO of City Hive, echoed Kirby’s optimism at having the pair join the firm’s board, adding, “their aspirations to pioneer positive change in the industry fit perfectly with our commitment to democratise access to investing and the investment industry.

“With growing pressure from global regulators we want to ensure we can  help our members navigate future challenges.”

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Romer-Lee said: “I am delighted to have been asked to work with Bev, Mandy and the team at City Hive to support them as they grow the business. I am looking forward to helping them in their mission to help democratise access to investing and investments and to make the industry more inclusive.”

Page added: “Although the investment management sector has made progress on diversity during my 30 years in the industry, we still have a long way to go. Senior positions in asset management are still significantly underrepresented from a social, gender and ethnic perspective.

“Lots of asset managers talk a good game but ultimately actions speak louder than words. The team at City Hive are helping change that, particularly with ground-breaking initiatives like ACT.”