“We have made a lot of progress, incredible progress, but there is still so much to do,” said of gender diversity in the financial services sector.

“It’s really important to increase the number of women partners and directors in the business,” said Veeckmans, head of asset management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMA) and a partner at KPMG in Luxembourg. “It allows access to a broader talent pool, [so] we can benefit from diversity of thought, other ways of thinking. We can also align with clients’ key decision makers, because, I see it in Luxembourg, there are more and more women that are on the key decision maker levels. So we want to be aligned with our clients in that respect.”

KPMG has a global goal of having women fill one-third of partner roles and one-third of director roles, she stated. Currently, across the firm’s EMA asset management practices, women hold 31% of director positions. “We are nearly there. We are not there in terms of partners,” where women hold 18% of positions.

Diversity in coaching

Like many firms, KPMG has an internal coaching initiative. Veeckmans has observed that female staffers tend to ask other women to be their mentor, while men select other men. “But there is no reason that a woman should be coached by a woman.” In order to benefit from diverse perspectives, “I think it’s more helpful to be coached by a man, but this is my personal [opinion].” While another woman might understand certain experiences better, having a male coach can provide a different point of view. “Maybe it will open your mind.”

Earlier in her own career, Veeckmans had a male mentor, which was a very positive experience. Looking back, he “allowed me to be, I think, myself and to have my own leadership style.... So I felt very empowered by him and empowered to really build on my own strengths” as they evolved over time.

Cautious optimism

Veeckmans took up her current role last year and called 2022 “a fantastic year” for the asset management segment. “We had double digit growth across EMA, so really fantastic, and my goal is really to grow the business.”

While the funds sector ended 2022 on a down note, with net outflows and a decline in total assets under management largely due to economic and market headwinds, “we continue to perform well.”

In the first quarter of fiscal 2023, which started in October 2022, “we had growth of 5% in asset management” year-on-year in EMA. “So it’s good, good growth. We see positive signals from the market. We have every reason to stay optimistic about the business. Of course, given the macroeconomic environment in which we are, it’s cautious optimism.”

The big bets

In the EMA region, financial services-- the asset management, banking, insurance and private equity sectors--represents 38% of the firm’s total business.

The firm, she said, now attempts to serve clients with a holistic approach. “For example, asset management is a sector, but we look across the sector from the business perspective, from the client perspective. So, we look to audit, tax and advisory” to create a single client portfolio. At the same time, Veeckmans stated, KPMG is increasingly focused on “the big bets” such as ESG, operating model transformation and private assets.

This article was published for the Paperjam+Delano Finance newsletter, the weekly source for financial news in Luxembourg. .