In conversation with Black British Business Award winner, Lara Oyesanya

Hi Lara, thanks for joining us today! To start off, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

Thank you, it’s great to be here! I'm Lara Oyesanya, and I'm the group general counsel and company secretary. In simple terms, I am responsible for all legal matters affecting the WorldRemit group.

I grew up in Lagos, went to university there, and trained as a barrister. I migrated to the United Kingdom in 1986 and practised as a common law barrister for a while, including appearing before judges in chambers and Crown courts. This helped me to understand the legal system in the UK.

I later worked for the British Railways Board. It was then that I decided to re-qualify as a UK solicitor. The UK is one of few places where you can only practise as a barrister or as a solicitor, not both. In many other jurisdictions you can do both.

I was with the British Railways Board for nearly 9 years and worked on quite a lot of very important cases, including getting the approval for the Crossrail project. So, it’s great to see that it's been built after so many, many years!

After British Rail, I worked for Lex, an asset-based finance company, as the group head of Legal. Lex was a joint venture company owned by Lex Services and Lombard who later sold its share to Halifax. During my time there, Lex Service bought RAC plc and changed its name and Halifax merged with Bank of Scotland to become HBOS plc. I became Divisional Counsel at RAC plc and later Legal Director of products and documentation at HBOS plc.

After RAC plc and HBOS plc, I worked for BAE Systems plc, a multinational defence, electronics, security, and aerospace company where I advised on high value contracts. This was a very enjoyable part of my career, and I learned a lot about governance and jurisdictional compliance.

I decided to go back to banking, and I joined Barclays to work in the new business banking division that supported small businesses. I learned so much at Barclays and it was an exciting time in my career. During my seven years there, I also worked in corporate, retail, offshore, and wealth management. Barclays also enabled me to pursue other interests. I became a non-executive director for Plan International UK, a children’s charity focusing on girls’ rights, became an author of the LexisNexis  encyclopaedia of banking law, and sat on the editorial board of LexisPSL, a legal research tool for lawyers.

Continuing my career in banking and finance, I moved to Klarna Bank for two and a half years to help set up the UK branch and then onto Contis, an alternative finance company that provided card issuing and processing services for businesses including firms offering cryptocurrencies. I later joined Worldremit to lead an amazing team of lawyers, company secretaries and data privacy professionals.

So now I'm here and having a blast!

Would you say there's anything you share in common with WorldRemit customers?

Absolutely. I'm one of five. My two older siblings were educated in the United States from the age of 16, and I vividly remember my parents, especially my father, going to the bank in Lagos to send money for their education.

It was a routine event because my siblings were always needing money. Looking at what WorldRemit does now, it's amazing how much time and money could have been saved if WorldRemit existed at the time.

When my sister needed hospital treatment as a student, I remember my father going to the bank to buy US dollars to travel to be with her.

Nigerians are also all about building and owning their homes. I have a recollection of my parents, especially my mother, saying ‘I just bought a piece of land – you're going to have to build on it' and me saying ‘but Mom I don't need to build a home in Lagos that I’m not living in’.

She wouldn't hear of it, so she went ahead and did it anyway. And then there was a bit of guilt, you know? Because she spent her money on that, so you’ve got to give some money back. So then, of course, I started sending money home for that purpose.

So, yes! Almost all those different elements of a migrant’s life and journey resonate with me.

How would you sum up the work you do at WorldRemit?

Exciting and educational, as it’s given me the opportunity to learn more about solving complex issues, and to share the knowledge I have acquired during my career to improve the products and services we provide to our customers. Also, developing and building a strong team that can service and support the work of WorldRemit as well as having a positive engagement with our people to motivate them to do what they do; happy people mean happy customers!

You’ve got an extensive background in finance, is there anything in your mind that makes WorldRemit and the remittance space unique?

I think the ease of use of the WorldRemit app, I do wonder how we managed before the smartphone!

We all have our heritage which goes back to different places, different cultures with relatives all over the world. The fact that, through the WorldRemit digital platform, money can be sent to families and friends in minutes is incredible. It’s become easier for migrants like me to stay connected, particularly during the pandemic.

You recently won the Black British Business Award for Financial Services Senior Leader of the Year - congratulations! How do you feel about the award?

I've read about the black British Business Awards, but it's not something I’ve paid particular attention to before. When it dropped in my inbox that I'd been nominated, I didn't know who nominated me, so that was quite a surprise.

Then later I got the confirmation that I was a finalist, and I didn't expect that either. The group of nominees was very strong; there were others working at places like Goldman Sachs and PWC, and they have very good backgrounds and bios as well.

So, I thought, ‘Well, okay, at least I’m a finalist, that's that’. To have won the category was just beyond exciting, it was so good!

When I think about it, I have been in financial services for about 25 years and have worked for Barclays and fintech companies such as Klarna and Contis. I think it’s a nice recognition of my contributions to the financial services sector. I’m grateful and humbled to receive this award.

People have different styles, but do you think you have a particular approach to Leadership?

Working with other leaders in the past, I’ve learned that the ability to connect is important. As a leader I want to be relatable, to build relationships and gain trust. This way, I can be aware of what people are going through to be able to support them.

I believe words matter, so I choose my words carefully and I try to deliver on what I say I’ll do.

Some people say leaders are born or made, and I'm not sure I agree with that. I believe no one is born with experience and it comes with what we are exposed to and what we learn from them.

As a leader, I think it's more important to share the knowledge and not be too fixated

on title or status because those things come and go. People in power just turn back into ordinary people eventually.

For me, leadership should not be about status, but substance that will stand the test of time.

Also, people may forget what you say to them, but they never forget how you make them feel. I greet people that I come across with a smile as I may just touch someone’s life by doing that and give them the assurance to approach me with their issue or problem.

Finally, I wanted to ask about I Fly Two Flags. What did you think of the campaign when you first saw it, and how does it resonate with you?

As soon as I heard about it, I thought it was a great campaign. To be able to say “I fly two flags and I fly them with pride” provides an opportunity for discussion and for relating easily to people.

I still think about Nigeria as home even though I left so many years ago. I have five adult children and our Nigerian roots were a big part of their identity growing up. It was important to keep that as part of their life, because growing up in Nigeria gave me an advantage as a migrant in the UK. I grew up in an environment where everybody looked the same as me, so I didn't have a sense of not being equal or being discriminated against.

I know it wasn’t the same for my children because they grew up in predominantly white communities, understanding their roots gave them a strong sense of identity.

Flying two flags showed them what it meant to be a Nigerian as well as being British, which I believe made them comfortable with their dual identities to deal with some of the challenges they faced. I think this approach had a positive impact on them because they are  getting on with their careers as doctors, solicitors and an investment associate.

So yes, flying two flags has been a very important framework for raising my family.