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Dame Alison Rose framed NatWest’s digital shift as “relationship banking for a digital world,” proving legacy banks can modernise without abandoning their broader responsibilities. She scaled digital adoption and video banking, used tech to remove operational friction inside the bank, and set a clear ethical stance on customer data as trust infrastructure. The playbook also leaned on smart partnerships, meeting customers where they are online while still serving vulnerable an

When Dame Alison Rose took over NatWest in 2019, the bank was underperforming, still majority government-owned, and heading into a once-in-a-generation shock to the sector’s revenue model. Rose responded with a customer-led commercial turnaround that broke down internal silos, paired $3 billion of targeted investment with $2 billion in cost out, and rebuilt operational performance from the ground up. The result was a reset in customer satisfaction, brand momentum with younger

Dame Alison Rose has been appointed Independent Non-Executive Chair of GRESB, the global sustainability benchmark used by investors guiding over $53 trillion in real assets. Building on her NatWest climate strategy and wider net-zero leadership roles, she now moves into the centre of real estate and infrastructure decision-making, where data transparency and resilience increasingly shape capital allocation. The appointment signals how sustainable finance leadership is shiftin

Dame Alison Rose’s 2019 Rose Review reframed female entrepreneurship as a £250 billion growth opportunity for the UK economy. She breaks down the real blockers, from access to VC and relatable role models to caring responsibilities, then shows what changed the numbers: specialist banking teams, a £2 billion fund, 14 free accelerators, banker-in-residence partnerships, and early pipeline programmes like Dream Bigger. The result was a 33% jump in women-founded businesses in 202

Imperial College London is launching WE Innovate National, the UK’s first university network dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs. Expanding Imperial’s WE Innovate model across five universities, the six-month programme will support 150 women-led teams each year with masterclasses, coaching, expert 1:1 support, peer mentoring, and £30,000 prize funds at each institution. A rotating national Demo Day and an ongoing alumni WE Network are designed to tackle the Rose Revie

Dame Alison Rose never planned to become CEO of NatWest. Starting as a nervous graduate in 1992, she built her leadership style by staying curious, learning from radically different managers, and treating banking as a team sport. In this story, she shares the simple career principles that shaped her rise, from the “magpie” mindset to the power of perspective and authentic mentorship. Read the full article here.

Dame Alison Rose joins ThetaRay’s Advisory Board, bringing the former NatWest CEO’s frontline experience in trust, compliance, and digital transformation to a Cognitive AI company focused on stopping financial crime. Alongside Ilan Kaufthal and Marshall Lux, she will help guide ThetaRay’s push to modernise correspondent banking and secure cross-border payments. The move builds on Rose’s legacy of purpose-led banking, including her work on the Rose Review and expanding access

Dame Alison Rose explains how she put NatWest at the forefront of sustainable finance with a three-pillar climate strategy: cut the bank’s own emissions, reduce exposure to high-carbon sectors, and fund the transition at scale. She details how NatWest set net zero and net positive targets, pushed oil and gas clients to produce credible transition plans, and tied lending incentives to sustainability milestones. Rose also breaks down the bank’s green financing push, plus the pr

NatWest leadership systems, customer trust, net zero strategy, funding the transition, crime prevention investment, and UK SME resilience.