We caught up with Lina, an upstanding member of FIENA London, with a zest for life, and a taste for the “FIENA” things. 

Lina is a Sales Engineer and Investor in Fintech who makes working hard look effortless, and we live for her work hard, play hard attitude. An inspiration to us all, she has a passion for new experiences, and a winning spirit for the good life. For Lina “The meaning of life is to reach your potential. It’s about building a new reality, nurturing your dreams to get bigger and staying humble”.

Lina’s unrivalled passion and unmarked ambition speaks for itself “my career goals remain in staying ambitious, applying my best skills, leading by example, and ultimately, keep approaching life with humour. We never finish learning something new, and we never finish surprising ourselves”. Though with many career-markers under her belt, Lina doesn’t measure her accomplishments by numbers or certifications, she believes true prosperity is connecting to our inner-play, and finding the things that bring us joy, she explains ”despite everything I have accomplished and endured, my biggest accomplishment is unleashing the little girl within me”.

Working in Fintech and thriving as a woman isn’t for the faint hearted, with only 30% of the Fintech workforce being female, it is often lacking a feminine perspective. She explains “Working in Fintech has its share of challenges to remain innovative, creative and overall keep winning. At some point, you start to understand how deep your environment is lacking a feminine say, a figure, and a viewpoint on top of all the rest. This means, your job has an additional layer of challenges”.

Lina joined FIENA looking for her tribe, a “Gentleman’s Club”, but for women. “For any woman feeling she is an island, it hit me, what if a group for warrior women existed?" She explains “I started vetting groups online, the majority of them were lacking what I was looking for, fun! I was looking for a club that took care of my social life with inspiring activities, and where I would meet interesting members who could celebrate, inspire and provide empathy for one another’s challenges”. 

On her quest to find the “warrior women” of London, Lina found FIENA. “I found FIENA online, checked out it's Instagram page and reviews, I even called to ask does this club really exist? I thought it was too good to be true! I spoke with Jae (the founder of FIENA) on the phone, and she started laughing and suggested that I join one of FIENA’s events”. Lina attended FIENA’s Galentine’s Day dinner at the Hux's Hotel to see if FIENA was the right fit for her. she explains “After 1 hour, I realised this group will be my new tribe from now on”. 

As well as finding her tribe with FIENA, Lina uses it as a space to explore her diverse range of interests and tastes “This is where FIENA helps me the most. I cannot really tell what my passions are. Luckily, I do not need to choose, I can be part of the Gentlewoman, Heart and Soul, Magic, Samurai and/or Showstopper groups depending on the day I have”.  She continues “FIENA is setting an example by promoting females' leaders in their fields by putting light on them at each event. The legacy is to continue lifting women's up in the good spirit of legitimacy, inspiration and representation for all of us”.

With all the heart, and a winning samurai spirit, we asked Lina if she had any parting advice for other strong-willed and ambitious ladies “challenges are part of life, you need to recognise which ones are worth fighting for.” She expands “My recipe consists of: 5 tbsp of love - 300g self-motivation prep talk- 175g granulated kindness- 1 tsp baking self criticism- 2 tbsp poppy friends' seeds- 200ml work experience- 1 large family hug and zest of humour“. 

Thanks Lina, now that’s a cake we’d like to bake! 

You can find out more about how to join FIENA here. Read more on our divisions here.