Lord Browne, the former boss of BP, today led the chorus of welcome for the first openly gay chief executive of a bank to list its shares on Wall Street.
Trevor Burgess, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, as Florida-based C1 Financial completed its $44.5 million (£26.7 million) flotation.
“Role models like Trevor prove that being open and authentic is no barrier to success,” said Lord Browne who left BP after he was outed by the tabloid press in 2007.
Burgess said: “I’m excited that there will be at least one example for people. We’ve got good examples for basketball players, arts, football, but where’s Wall Street?”
Fellow bankers praised Burgess. “Leaders who feel comfortable being open about their sexual orientation are more productive and engaged,” said Irene Dorner, chief executive of HSBC USA.
Jacques Brand, chief executive of Deutsche Bank North America said: “We know that the ability to be oneself at work is fundamentally important to individual and organisational success.”
