FIVE MINUTES WITH ...
Q . IS THERE A PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT FROM THE PAST 12 MONTHS OF WHICH YOU ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD ?
» I gave birth to a son during the pandemic ; it was brutal as no one was allowed to be in the delivery room with me . I had to have an emergency C-section because the baby went into distress , and I got a double infection that I couldn ’ t fight while in labour . I signed my life away on that table and they came over with a waiver form saying if I die , I am liable for my own life . At that moment , I felt totally alone . I experienced some PTSD and depression after that , but then I started boxing again . I got my life in order , and now I want to show women you can have it all ; that whatever you live through that doesn ’ t kill you , makes you stronger . During my maternity leave , I went to Ghana and built the sixth school . I dug it with my new baby because I wanted to show people that it ' s possible to do anything as a woman – even five months after the surgery . Give birth , bring up a baby and build a school . No one wanted to go on this school build , and it was very risky because it was in the middle of COVID-19 . But we went and we built anyway because that is our calling as the Infusion100 team : to build a school a year until we die .
Q . WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN BANKING AND FINTECH TODAY ?
» IT underpins the business ; you cannot have one without the other . It is our job to take out the blockers and enable the business to do their job as seamlessly as possible .
So it ’ s amazing to be pivotal to the underlying strategy . Pivoting to the cloud has been instrumental to be more agile and using the agile methodology to revolutionise the way IT works .
Q . WHAT ’ S NEXT FOR LINOY KIDD ?
» At work , I am very happy with the level I have achieved . I worked hard to get where I am today , and I will look to grow within these shoes for many more years to come .
I ’ m always thinking of new ways to revolutionise the human experience within IT and banking , bringing networks upon networks of people together to show what can be achieved in a small space of time .
In terms of the charity , we will hit nine years next year . I want to build nine schools in nine years , then keep going and going with that to set up out of school education for those less fortunate and who do not have access to education . I want to think of ways to be a better leader to improve myself day on day , to help those around me and to change their lives in whatever small way I can , to keep on working on giving people the toolkit to step out of poverty , to give them the same viewpoint on life that anything is possible when you bring people together .
26 March 2023