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For Reece Tomlinson, the chief executive of Saône Capital, diversity makes business sense. Tomlinson, who has transitioned from being a man to a woman over the past 18 months, says that only hiring people from one particular background is needlessly limiting.
Reece’s career highlights
“We see it time and time again,” she says, “that diverse teams perform better. Different backgrounds lead to different personalities, viewpoints and experiences. From a leadership perspective, diversity is actually a way of reducing risk. You aren’t at risk of missing out on someone’s insight into a particular subject or market because you don’t have anyone who knows about it.”
Saône Capital, which operates in the UK, US and Tomlinson’s native Canada, is a private equity and advisory firm that prioritises investments in ‘impact’ companies. ESG credentials, Tomlinson notes, have shot up the agendas of investors, consumers and prospective employees alike.
“People want to know where their money comes from and where it’s going. People care about the people, and the kind of people, who run companies,” she says. “Before long, you won’t need to distinguish between ‘impact investing’ and simply ‘investing’.”
It might seem a cliché, Tomlinson admits, but companies that signpost themselves as progressive are more likely to attract and retain talent, and make more money, than those that remain rooted in the status quo.
Being a transgender CEO
In an ideal world, Tomlinson, 37, says, her being transgender would be “incidental”. As she points out, being trans has “no bearing whatsoever” on her ability to do her job, with someone’s gender just “one part of their identity” that is only highlighted in cases such as hers. Cisgender, male CEOs are rarely prefaced as such.
If being a visibly trans CEO lets even one other trans person know they can make it in the business world, that’s a good thing
Indeed her transgender status is “rarely” mentioned at work. “Why would it come up?” she asks. “When people have specific questions about something, I’m always happy to talk, but it’s not like it’s said at the start of meetings or anything like that; it’s generally not a topic of discussion.”
Yet for many, including the media, trans people are a topic of discussion. According to the 2021 Census, just 0.5% answered ‘no’ when asked if the gender they identify with is the same as their sex registered at birth. Yet it takes up thousands of column inches and is the subject of much online ire. Tomlinson does not understand why.
“Trans people are just people,” she explains. “We just exist, there’s no massive agenda.”
For example, the discussion around pronouns has become increasingly toxic. Yet Tomlinson thinks it has been blown out of proportion. “I don’t think you should assume someone cares about pronouns until they tell you that they do,” says Tomlinson. “And if they do, it’s just important to be respectful and kind. It’s not really more complicated than that.”
Creating a safe and inclusive workspace
Nevertheless, Tomlinson understands that because there are so few openly transgender CEOs in the business world, she has an opportunity to speak to this community, particularly as it faces mounting discrimination.
“I am not a spokesperson for all trans people,” she is keen to clarify, “but if being a visibly trans CEO lets even one other [trans] person know that they can make it in the business world or follow their dreams, then that’s a good thing.”
She adds: “I want to be a badass businesswoman, who just happens to be trans.”
But that is not to say being transgender has not impacted her outlook or how she leads. Tomlinson believes her experiences relating to her trans “journey” have contributed to her being more empathetic and open-minded, both valuable skills in the world of work, particularly for leaders. Nevertheless, she maintains an “investor-first” mindset. “I still evaluate every pitch or project on its own merit; there’s no bias one way or the other. I just think I’m less likely to say ‘no’ to someone to begin with [just because they are different to me].”
Tomlinson understands that many find the gender debate challenging and complex, but wishes more people would form an opinion on it based on their own experience and learning.
“I think the best way to get to know someone [from a particular] group is to just ask them questions,” she offers, “rather than rely on what you’ve read or heard somewhere.”
People should be able to be themselves at work
What does Tomlinson make of campaigns such as Pride Month or Black History Month, as devices for promoting diversity? “My opinion is that Pride is great for bringing a general level of awareness to a community that is often on the receiving end of hatred, discrimination and prejudice but it is only the baseline of what is needed.”
For Tomlinson, exploring Pride means going beyond a rainbow-coloured logo on LinkedIn and engaging with the community at a deeper level to understand the work that can be done to break down barriers. It is also about encouraging everyone to be themselves at work.
The ambitions of people from minority groups at work are not radically different to those of white, cisgender men. The best companies, according to Tomlinson, who holds an MBA from Athabasca University, and postgraduate certificates from the University of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be the ones who make progression and promotion feel “possible for everyone”.
Nevertheless, Tomlinson acknowledges that there is a fine line between achieving allyship or alienation. How can companies ensure that a drive for diversity is viewed as a universally beneficial goal, rather than something which deprioritises the majority?
Creating a “positive atmosphere”, she argues, has a direct impact on a firm’s productivity and profitability. “You need to ask yourself: is this [our current demographic and workplace culture] the best thing for our business, our performance, and even my own compensation? Are we attracting the best talent?”
If, in order to thrive at work, people need an environment where they can present how they want to present, talk openly about their relationships and generally be themselves, then, Tomlinson asks: “Why wouldn’t you want to provide that?”
Doing ‘good’ is good for business
Don’t mistake Tomlinson’s social conscience for softness. She is married with two children, enjoys skiing and cooking, and owns a small farm on the outskirts of Kelowna, British Columbia. But she is still a hard-nosed businesswoman. An awareness and understanding of ESG, she reiterates, are essential for any company that aims to make money.
Tomlinson believes that the sooner people realise that impact companies can generate returns, “and even above market returns”, the sooner all companies would be keen to adopt similar policies.
And so she urges companies to broaden their horizons, both in terms of who they hire and how they operate. Sustainable, long-term success hinges on being perceived as one of the “good guys”, she says, in a way that feels genuine rather than performative. Diverse, inclusive, environmentally conscious and socially progressive firms, Tomlinson is confident, will leave others behind.
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