Philip House

Your Story:

As a Harvard Alumni, I was called to the Bar and am a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. I am privileged to be one of the original founders of ClearBank, having been involved in the project from inception. I lead the Group Legal, Co Sec, Group Transformation and Public Policy team which is both an exciting and important role as the group seeks to expand globally. I am also very proud to be one of two executive sponsors for ClearBank’s diversity and inclusion agenda, a cause very close to my heart. Prior to joining ClearBank, my work focused on financial services, competition and regulatory matters in the UK, Europe and North America. I held senior in-house positions at the Financial Ombudsman Service and Visa Europe and was featured on The Lawyer’s “Hot 100” list in 2020.

Your Impact:

Notable contributions have included establishing the LGBT networks at both the Financial Ombudsman Service and Visa Europe. As a result, I worked closely with Stonewall and got involved in an external outreach programme involving me acting as a mentor to LGBT (as it was previously recognised) youths who were struggling with bullying or acceptance in school. Each of these experiences had common themes, be it work or school, LGBT individuals struggled to be their authentic selves, had a lack of positive role models, and were worried about being treated differently. No one performed to their fullest potential as a result. Core to the success of these initiatives was promoting inclusion through recognising differences and encouraging individuals to be their authentic selves – learnings that I now use to promote diversity and inclusion at ClearBank, as executive sponsor across all diversity strands.

Whilst there has been so much progress, there is still a lack of positive role models for LGBTQIA+ people to learn from, many people still talk to me about their concerns in being themselves and what that means for their career. I have known individuals to hold themselves back for fear of being treated detrimentally and children to have taken their own lives on the assumption things will never get better for them. I believe I can convey that any challenge can be overcome and that it is not impossible to have a successful career as a gay man – someone who was not accepted at school and had a hard time being authentic in my early career. I like to think those challenges are a significant contributor to my success, as whilst they were not enjoyable experiences, they nurtured a skillset in me that I may not otherwise have had, a skillset that ClearBank encourages me to use in my role.

Your Advice:

Always be authentically you without exception! FinTech companies, by their nature, exist to do things differently and provide something better than what came before. Often, that creates a diverse culture which encourages people to think differently by using their life experiences. What better backdrop for success? Don’t be afraid to consistently assess your employer for their diversity and inclusion agenda – do their policies create equality amongst peer groups? are your benefits the same? Are there visible LGBTQIA+ role models there? And, most importantly, do you feel comfortable being yourself? If the answer to these questions is yes, you are in a great place to succeed!