We are proud to announce that Julia Streets, the Founder and CEO of Streets Consulting, the FinTech growth consultancy and a widely recognised champion of UK FinTech entrepreneurship and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in HM The King's 2025 Birthday Honours List for Services to Diversity and Inclusion in Entrepreneurship, particularly in the Financial Services and Technology Sectors.
The award acknowledges Julia’s impactful career to date as a successful entrepreneur and her dedication to driving growth, shaping debate and influencing change across the financial services and technology sectors. She has founded and built a successful business advising a wide range of domestic and international startups, scaleups, global organisations, and industry bodies, helping them grow, transform and bring their innovative technologies to market. A passionate supporter of the national FinTech initiatives right across the UK, Julia is a vocal champion of the UK FinTech industry on national and international stages.
Beyond her business achievements, Julia is a passionate DE&I advocate, dedicating significant time, energy and experience towards promoting DE&I initiatives. She founded, funded and hosted the world’s first financial services DE&I podcast, "DiverCity Podcast," listed as one of the most influential DE&I podcasts globally, year after year. Running for 16 seasons with listeners in 50+ countries, DiverCity podcast shone a light on positive progress, called out areas for further focus and offered lots of ideas for practical change. Julia interviewed industry heavyweights, including the Governor of the Bank of England, the President of the CBI, the Founder of WeAreTheCity and WeAreTechWomen, and leaders from the 30% Club and Diversity Project (to name but a few). She and her team actively sought out lesser-heard individual and community voices, such as Sikhs in the City, Young Muslim Women’s Network, LGBT Great, TalkAboutBlack, the Business Disability Forum and many more. As a result, many financial institutions call upon Julia to speak at and chair think tanks and roundtable discussions to drive meaningful, sustainable change for DE&I initiatives.
Known for her infectious energy on some of the industry’s largest stages and in the smallest of rooms, she is a much sought-after speaker, conference chair and show host who perfectly blends her business and industry expertise with her stand-up comedy stagecraft to shape debates and deliver engaging insight to audiences worldwide.
Julia Streets, MBE, said: “I am incredibly honoured and humbled to have been awarded an MBE in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List for services to diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship, particularly in the financial services and technology sectors.
As an entrepreneur, fintech obsessive, mentor and coach, I am deeply passionate about driving businesses forward, shaping industry debate and creating a more inclusive financial services ecosystem.
Diversity, equity and inclusion matter now more than ever before. I, like many others, can quote statistic after statistic about the commercial and societal value of truly diverse organisations. In today’s climate, while organisations may well fly a little lower under the radar, enlightened leaders of our time know that what they DO right now will have a huge impact on how they attract and retain the brightest and best talent, both today and tomorrow.
There is still much work to be done to ensure that all voices are heard and represented, and I am committed to continuing these efforts.
I would also like to recognise the hard work, dedication and passion of my incredibly talented team. They deserve this as much as I do, I simply couldn’t make an impact without them.”
A former stand-up comedian, Julia uses her platform and stage presence to great effect. However, her work extends far beyond the public stage. As a senior leadership and life transformation coach, Julia works quietly behind the scenes, coaching founders and senior executives, supporting their growth and helping them stay fit for the journey.
Julia has won many awards for her work and has been named one of 30 Women on Boards, 30 Women Entrepreneurs and 30 Inspirational Women by Brummell Magazine and twice listed as one of 20 Global Diversity Champions in the Global Diversity List. She is a fellow of the British American Project, a former trustee and staunch supporter of Street Child - fast becoming the preferred charity of the London FinTech community - and is a member of the PowerWomen Network.
She is recognised as a person of influence, invited to lend her voice, experience and insight, inspiring others to lean in, step up and be part of the change that we need to see.
Background:
Julia Streets is the Founder and CEO of Streets Consulting, the FinTech growth consultancy that designs and delivers business development and integrated marketing communication strategies to help financial services and technology organisations with their growth and transformation journeys.
She and her team advise a wide range of financial services and technology startups and scaleups, global organisations, key industry bodies and technology incubators. We are proud to be recommended to new clients by boards and investors, industry influencers, media and existing clients.
Prior to becoming a founder & CEO, Julia was global head of communications at Atos Euronext Market Solutions, serving on the Executive Committee and European head of marketing and sales development at Instinet Europe. She earned her pinstripes in the 1990s at the WPP firm, Hill and Knowlton, and a small city agency where she was head of ecommerce during the dotcom boom.
A senior leadership and life transformation coach, she works with senior executives and is an advisor, mentor and investor. She is called upon to chair many of the world’s leading conferences, drawing not only on her industry experience, but also on her skills as a speaker, host and former sell-out stand-up comedian.
Julia has received many awards and accolades, including being listed as one of Brummell Magazine’s 30 Women on Boards, 30 Women Entrepreneurs, and 30 Inspirational Women. She has been named one of the Global Diversity List’s 20 Global Champions and is regularly called out as a trailblazer and changemaker. Julia is a member of the Power Women Network and a fellow of the British American Project.
