Why I left the trading desk and never looked back
By Diana Paredes, CEO and co-founder of Suade
One day I was VP in Global FICC trading at Barclays. The next, I was registering Suade on Companies House.
Life pivots fast, and the secret is staying ready for it. Grab the opportunity when it appears, embrace the risk of failure, and back yourself even when the room isn't. That mindset took me from a trading desk to leading an award-winning RegTech firm, and I would not change a moment of it.
People told me the financial sector would never shift. "They'll never change, why even try?" Legacy habits run deep in this industry, and a startup tackling regulatory compliance from the outside? Insiders dismissed the idea outright, but we smiled, got to work, and proved them wrong. Early days at Suade meant knocking on a lot of closed doors, but persistence changes things, and results speak louder than promises.
Fast forward to today. Suade now serves financial institutions around the world. Along the way, the World Economic Forum recognised us as a technology pioneer and global innovator. In 2025 we won the UK Portugal business award for growth and impact, and I was named a “standout 35” in Innovate Finance’s Women in FinTech Powerlist. Awards are gratifying, but the real test is whether the work holds up. This industry can move if you back ambition with outcomes.
Early in my career, I was often the only woman in the room. Finance tells that story too often, and tech follows suit. Both sectors must do better, and I say that not as a criticism but as someone who benefited enormously from the people who chose to open doors for me. Mentors challenged my doubts, pushed me toward bigger roles, and without them, the path from trader to CEO would have looked impossible.
As a female CEO in RegTech, I carry that forward. Opening doors feels less like a choice now and more like a responsibility. Mixed teams make better decisions and build stronger products. That is not an opinion; it is something I have watched play out in practice at Suade for over a decade.
So how do we actually make it happen?
- Leaders need to hire and promote inclusively, giving women equal access to major projects and the promotions that follow.
- Mentorship has to be taken seriously, not just mentioned in a company values document.
Nobody succeeds alone, and the networks that connect rising talent to people who have already made the journey are worth far more than most organisations admit. Representation does the rest. When women lead, it makes believers out of sceptics, and it tells the next generation that the seat at the table was always theirs.
Powerlist recognition is meaningful, but the real win comes when such lists are no longer needed to prove the point. Until then, we celebrate achievements publicly, call out bias when we see it, and make inclusion the baseline rather than the aspiration.
If you are a woman considering a career in RegTech, start with self-belief. Recognise your ability to drive real impact, build your network with intention, find mentors who are honest with you, and stay current in an industry that moves quickly. Confidence carries you further than you think, and persistence wears down barriers that once looked permanent.
Suade was built on exactly these lessons. We started small, challenged a deeply entrenched industry, and today our clients rely on our platform for their regulatory reporting. Diversity is part of how we got here. Our teams blend finance experts, engineers and compliance specialists, and that mix spots gaps that a more uniform group would miss.
Join me at the International Women's Day event I'm hosting on the 12th March to continue this conversation. Register here: https://suade.org/give-to-gain-women-shaping-regtech/