NextGen Soapbox: Building an asset finance industry where young talent wants to stay

The NextGen Soapbox session at the Finance Connect UK Autumn 2025 Conference delivered one of the most candid and forward-looking conversations of the event. Framed around a simple but powerful challenge — “Don’t just build an asset finance industry that young talent wants to join; build one where it wants to stay” — the session put lived experience at the centre of the retention debate.

Chaired by Alex McWilliams, Communications Manager at Simply Asset Finance, the discussion brought together four next-generation leaders whose careers span brokerage, banking, investment management and entrepreneurship. What followed was less theory and more reality: honest reflections on why people leave, what keeps them engaged, and how leaders can act now to secure the industry’s future.

From attraction to retention: why this matters now

Opening the session, Alex set the tone by highlighting just how critical the issue has become. “This is one of the first times we’ve had members of the next generation on stage with a platform in this setting — and it won’t be the last,” she told the room, before stressing that collaboration and community are consistently top priorities for younger professionals.

Drawing on her work as co-lead of the Leasing Foundation NextGen Network, Alex noted that while the industry has “an excellent pool of talent”, the risk lies in not championing it early enough.

Networking, mentorship and ownership

Speaking candidly about his own career path, he explained how opportunity — not formal education — had shaped his progression. “The opportunities that I’ve generated have been through networking, messaging people on LinkedIn, reaching out to people who are in the position that I want to be in.”

Education, he argued, remains essential — but it must be practical, accessible and paired with mentorship. “I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by 10 really strong mentors… and I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me.”

Perhaps his most challenging point for business leaders centred on ownership: “If you’re not going to give us a percentage of your business, we’re going to go out and get our own — or go and work for someone else who will.”

Competing beyond cash

For Ana-Maria Broscatan, Commissions Manager at Close Brothers Asset Finance, the retention debate begins even earlier — with attraction. “How many of you can honestly say that you actively chose a career in asset finance?” she asked, noting that many people still “fall into” the sector rather than selecting it deliberately.

She spoke powerfully about what had kept her in the industry: “I’ve stayed in asset finance for one reason — and that’s possibility.” The ability to move laterally and vertically without leaving the organisation, she argued, is a major but underused retention tool.

Crucially, Ana-Maria framed culture as the real anchor for retention. As she explained, “What keeps people is culture, inclusivity and the chance to explore different paths without leaving the business.” Culture, she stressed, goes far beyond day-to-day behaviour or surface-level engagement initiatives. “It isn’t just about how we treat people — it’s about creating opportunities to grow.” Importantly, that growth does not have to mean a straight climb up the hierarchy. Instead, it should feel like “a journey with room to explore,” where people can see a clear roadmap, develop new skills and access genuine learning opportunities. When that clarity exists, careers feel “exciting and future-proof,” rather than uncertain or stagnant.

In the video clip below, Ana-Maria highlights the three fixes to retention:

Her standout message landed strongly with the audience: “Talent doesn’t walk away because it wants to. It walks away because we let it.”

Making careers less accidental

Charlotte Downing, Head of Operations at Triple Point Investment Management, turned the spotlight on visibility and access. She opened with a question few could answer differently: “Who here, when they were younger, said ‘when I grow up, I want to work in asset finance’?”

She shared a moment experienced with a new starter that stayed with many in the room: “She said to me, ‘I’m female, I’m young, I don’t have a degree — I don’t think I’m going to be taken seriously in this industry.’ That’s not okay.”

In a hybrid working world, Charlotte highlighted another risk — lost visibility. Quoting a conversation with Andrew Denton, she noted: “We don’t get accidental collisions anymore.” Those informal moments that once sparked development now need to be created intentionally. Her call to action was practical and inclusive: “We need to choreograph what used to be accidental.”

Charlotte also delivered a direct and empowering message to the NextGen professionals in the room, emphasising personal accountability alongside organisational change. “We have to ask for the progression, ask for the development, and ask what we want – and own it,” she said, encouraging younger delegates to push beyond comfort zones and actively shape their careers rather than waiting for opportunities to appear.

 Her challenge was matched by a clear call to action for senior leaders. “Set up connection lunches, set up internal coffee roulettes — come up with a new idea that’s not one of those, whatever you want to do,” she urged.

The objective, she explained, is simple but powerful: to ensure that collaboration and visibility are no longer left to chance. “Make those accidental collisions happen on purpose,” she concluded, noting that by doing so, the industry becomes less accidental, more connected, and far better equipped to create meaningful development opportunities for the next generation.

Clear calls to action for leaders and NextGen

She reinforced Ana-Maria’s point that retention failures are rarely inevitable, and reminded the room that “the importance of community in our NextGen colleagues is hugely underestimated.”

Her final calls to action were simple but powerful:

• Senior leaders should sit down with junior colleagues and “help them with a roadmap for their development.”
• Firms should actively support attendance at industry and NextGen events.
• And for younger professionals themselves: “Progression and development does not get handed to you without effort. Get out of your comfort zone.”

Why this session stood out

What made the NextGen Soapbox session resonate was its honesty. These were not abstract theories, but lived experiences – shared openly, sometimes vulnerably, and always constructively. The message was clear: asset finance already has the community, purpose and opportunity to retain young talent.

The challenge now is whether the industry chooses to act on what it already knows – and to build not just a place young people want to join, but one they are excited to stay in.