Voice Of Post

HSBC bank's chief in Britain says it was his homosexuality that got him to the top: 'I have more emotional intelligence', HSBC's top executive in Britain has said he owes his success to being gay because he has better 'emotional intelligence'.

António Simões spoke out as he was named the country's top gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender executive by a panel including shopping guru Mary Portas and Tory peer Lord Black.

The 39-year-old's comments came just two months after he said fellow business leaders still in the closet had a 'huge personal responsibility' to reveal their sexuality.

Mr Simões told the newspaper Expresso, based in his home nation of Portugal: 'Being gay is a plus for me. It made ​​me a more authentic person, with better empathy, better emotional intelligence.
'If I wasn't gay, I probably would not be CEO of the bank'.

Praising the City's tolerance, he joked that being gay was less likely to have held him back than being a '39-year-old, short, bald, Portuguese' man trying to make his way in the City of London.

Mr Simões joined HSBC just before the financial crisis from the London office of financial consultancy McKinsey & Co.
He was named the bank's deputy chief executive and head of UK banking in 2012.

The wide-ranging interview with Expresso examined how quickly the City, renowned for its male-dominated macho culture, is changing its attitude to diversity.

It is just eight years since former BP chief executive Lord Browne embarked on a protracted court battle to hide a gay relationship from the public.

Mr Simões, who married his Spanish husband Tomas in 2007, said he had spoken extensively since then to Lord Browne and he agreed it was easier to come out now than ever before.

The pair credited Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, who was hailed in October for declaring: 'I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.'

In doing so Mr Cook became the only openly gay chief executive of any of the 500 biggest companies in the U.S.
Barely a week after the Apple boss came out, Mr Simões - who holds the number one spot on the Out at Work list of Britain's top 50 executives - made a searing speech aimed at closeted colleagues.

'We're in London, we're in 2014', he told a summit in November.

'It's not acceptable that we take for granted all the work done by others on issues such as marriage equality.
‘I am the short, bald, Portuguese, gay guy. I have started to use it as a positive element of my personality.'