Over the summer we had the privilege of establishing a relationship with TD Bank and are proud to announce they are the new Title Sponsor for Women in Agile Org. In this post, you’ll hear from the executive sponsor for the sponsorship, Bana Anvari, as she shares information about the bank and why they are sponsoring WiA Org.

AVP, Agile @ Scale Customer Engagement Platform, Digital, Omni, Payments & Insurance

Why is the mission of Women in Agile important to TD Bank?
TD colleagues are deeply committed to our vision of being the Better Bank. In order to achieve this vision, we started an enterprise Agile transformation program several years ago. In 2021 we amplified our focus to help our organization adopt Scaled Agile and focused on investing in our colleagues and simplifying our operating model to deliver faster and better customer and colleague outcomes.
By partnering with Women in Agile we are hoping to create a momentum for our new operating model by attracting talent with Agile expertise. This is in addition to helping existing colleagues to learn Agile and Lean methods to simplify the way they work, free up time for innovation and be faster at delivering products, services and value to customers.
What impact do you aspire to create for the global Women in Agile community through partnership with WiA Org?
We hope to build supportive communities with highly-skilled and diverse talents who have a common domain of expertise to help women in Agile (and others) advance their careers while
providing professional development opportunities by enabling a culture of continuous learning.
This means intentionally growing Agile skills at scale, and removing barriers that prevent us from unleashing our talent.
What impact do you hope to create for TD Bank through your partnership with WiA Org?
We hope to attract diverse, skilled agile talents and empower internal colleagues to learn Agile and Lean methods to go faster, own the products they work on and innovate, fearlessly. Additionally we would like to enable small teams of diverse talent to make changes to the bank’s structures, processes and technology to simplify our operating model, deliver better customer outcomes faster and promote people over bureaucracy which will help us to achieve our vision of being the Better Bank.
How do you see women agilists shaping the future of work?
They can be Agile change agents and evolve workforce mindsets and behaviors by encouraging organizations/teams to adopt Agile and Lean methods, and bringing leaders closer to team members to create opportunities for streamlining routines and bringing ideas to reality for customers.
What guidance do you have for women who are seeking to advance their careers and pursue a leadership role in agile organizations?
Find ways to be part of the solution. Always be curious and adapt continuous learning behavior to develop advanced expertise, grow your professional identity, and be the best version of yourself to be ready to grab opportunities that come your way. Lastly, get engaged with the community to showcase your leadership skills, build relationship, and secure sponsorship.