Marjan van der Weijden, in her dual role as Global Head of Financial Institutions and as the inaugural Chair of the Global DEI Council at Fitch Ratings, has led the development of the organization’s first DEI strategy and targets. She has played a pivotal role in securing companywide consensus on Fitch's dedication to DEI, including setting ambitious global gender and US ethnicity targets. Under Marjan’s leadership of the DEI Council, Fitch has implemented a maturity framework to monitor DEI progress and has overseen the increase of female and ethnic minority representation among senior leaders.
Furthermore, as Chair of the Global DEI Council, Marjan has enhanced DEI governance and accountability by collaborating with HR to introduce DEI Dashboards and leadership self-assessments. She played a crucial role in founding the Global DEI Council Governance Framework and in working together with company-wide leaders to ensure the local implementation of Fitch’s global DEI strategy. Furthermore, Marjan demonstrates her commitment to talent development by pioneering the Talent Review and Development plans and actively engaging in mentorship, including launching a companywide mentorship platform. Marjan’s approach to leadership is characterized by active listening and leading by example.