GAIN Hosts First Dragon’s Den-Style Executive Breakfast to Champion Neurodiverse Talent

GAIN (Group for Autism, Insurance, Investment & Neurodiversity), supported by sponsors like Baringa, hosted its first Dragon’s Den-style executive breakfast to promote neurodiversity inclusion across the finance and investment industry. The event featured four initiatives developed during a Design Thinking Workshop held with Schroders, aligning with GAIN’s four-pillar strategy: Inclusive Hiring, Culture & Belonging, Career Pathways, and Enabling Change.

Four teams pitched to senior leaders (“Dragons”) from firms including Aspen Insurance Group, BlackRock, Baringa, Beazley, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, DWS Group, Julius Baer, Man Group, Octopus Investments, PineBridge, SwissRe and QBE. Team Playbook proposed an industry-wide guide to help firms recruit and retain neurodivergent talent. Team Mind Shift offered immersive leadership training to build empathy and inclusive decision-making, while Team ND in Investment presented a role-model video project to inspire awareness. Team Nexus pitched a cross-industry mentorship program to support neurodivergent professionals. GAIN’s 2024 benchmark data underscores the urgency of these efforts: only 27% of firms track neurodivergent candidates and just 11% offer targeted mentorship. GAIN partner firms are already seeing results, with inclusive hiring scores up 22 points and retention up 20%.

All teams secured senior sponsorship and are now refining their ideas for broader rollout, advancing the finance industry’s commitment to neurodiverse talent not just in policy, but in practice.

Watch this space for the next event...

For more information on this event, or to ask about becoming a member of GAIN, as an investment company, contact Marilyn Swinney at marilyn@gaintogether.org