Meet the Mom of Five & the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year 2018

Meet the Mom of Five & the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year 2018

“Everything is possible and all problems have a solution. Work hard, keep focused, and maintain perspective. Do not place any limitations upon yourself and go for gold every time. If you don’t get the gold it wouldn’t be for lack of trying!” – Lara Oyesanya 

Lara Oyesanya once left her home country Nigeria to pursue her career dreams in the UK. Last year, her impressive achievements were crowned by being awarded the Forward Ladies Outstanding Business Woman of the Year 2018. Meet Klarna’s legal counsel and director who always strives for greatness, as well as helping others to grow.

In 1986, Lara Oyesanya packed her bags and left her home in Lagos, Nigeria. After four years as an advocate at the commercial bar up to the court of appeal, she moved to the UK. There, she had the opportunity to become a member of one of the four Inns of Court in England and Wales, to practise as a self-employed barrister.

At the time, the Inns of Court were very male-dominated and it was generally believed that the right connections were requirements for success.
“I wanted to enjoy my family and maintain a career so I chose to become a solicitor instead”, Lara Oyesanya explains. “I made the challenging choice of taking the full qualifying examinations (‘the Law Society Finals’) and a 2-year traineeship. It was a challenging choice because as a barrister from a common law jurisdiction, I could have had a few dinners and some nice chats at my chosen Inn of Court! I qualified as a solicitor in February 1993.”

What did you dream about doing as a kid?

“I wanted to go to university, have a career and be a mum so I could enjoy a similarly comfortable lifestyle to the one provided by my parents.”

What role models did you have?

“My mother and big sister who taught me resilience, love, kindness and a strong work ethic. I very much admired my sister for leaving home at 17 to study abroad in the United States and making a success of it.”

Did it end up the way you thought?

“It did, and better than I dared to dream of. I have a satisfactory career as a solicitor and raised five incredible hard working children, including twins, concurrently. They studied at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. We are a family of three medical doctors, three corporate lawyers and a Mckinsey associate. I also have a grand-daughter who’s 11 months old trying to run around, though she has only just started walking!”

How can we create a more equal and including business environment?  

“We are all different and our strengths lie in our differences which contribute to the success of the business. We spend most of our waking time at work and the business environment should promote the flourishing of all employees regardless of background. Open communication and genuinely equal opportunity should be a basic aspect of business culture and not a privilege or aspiration. Above all, respect regardless of one’s position within the business should be de rigueur.”

How can you help others to pursue their goals and dreams with your experiences?

“As a diversity advocate, I will continue to support young women to navigate the corporate landscape in financial services to grasp opportunities and realise their ambitions. Also, I’ll use my experience of working in different sectors and influence in the profession, to remind women of the possibilities that lie ahead of them. Through my work at Plan International, I will continue to advocate for diversity, social justice and women’s rights.”

What is your best advice?

“Everything is possible and all problems have a solution. Work hard, keep focused, and maintain perspective. Do not place any limitations upon yourself and go for gold every time. If you don’t get the gold it wouldn’t be for lack of trying!”

Lara is the Overall Winner of the FL National Awards & Summit 2018

In December 2018, she was awarded the Outstanding Business Woman of the year 2018 by Forward Ladies leaving the judges “amazed and highly inspired” by her “stunning career”.

What did that mean to you?

“I’m still processing the feelings, but the recognition is huge” Lara says. “I have always aspired to be a business lawyer and receiving this accolade from the business community feels like a vindication of the career path I chose. Winning the award was not something that I thought was possible and I’m grateful to Forward Ladies and its judging panel. I’m also thankful to Klarna and my previous employers, such as Barclays, BAE Systems, HBOS, RAC and Lex Autolease, for providing me with the platform to build the legal and commercial competencies that made me eligible for this award.”

The mother of all awards is officially back!

Celebrating all women in business across the UK, this UK wide competition is open to established leaders, corporate leaders, male agents of change, rising stars and the companies that support women.

It is your time to be celebrated so stop telling yourself you are not worthy!

You are already a winner and winning this prestigious award will most certainly be the icing on the cake!

APPLY / NOMINATE HERE 

*Article from Klarna – more here 

Sign up

Free

Sign up FREE to the weekly newsletter and listen to inspirational leadership interviews on Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify, or your favourite podcast platform.

Leave a Reply