Queenie Li: "Culture isn’t a soft outcome, it’s infrastructure."

For Queenie Li, Head of Talent Programmes at Revolut, culture isn’t owned by HR, but "something thousands of people create every day." Ahead of her on-stage fireside at the For All Summit™ London 2026, we sat down with Queenie to explore the lessons and insights shaping her leadership today. 

You've built your career across Hong Kong and London. What did that transition teach you about yourself as a leader, and your perspectives around building inclusive teams?

Queenie: Moving from Hong Kong to London taught me that inclusion isn’t about making everyone work the same way – it’s about creating an environment where talented people from different backgrounds can all succeed against the same high standards. It made me appreciate how culture shapes communication, feedback and decision-making. At Revolut, we don't try to remove those differences. We focus on what's universal — ownership, pace and integrity — while giving people the flexibility to bring those behaviours to life in their own way. 

Your background includes several years in agency recruitment before moving in-house at Revolut. What unique insights has this duality provided?

Queenie: Agency taught me how to identify exceptional talent quickly and work in a high-performance environment. Going in-house taught me that hiring is only the beginning: the real challenge is creating an environment where great people can continue to perform, grow and stay engaged. That’s why I’ve become increasingly passionate about culture – because recruitment alone won’t solve the problem if the organisation doesn’t enable people to succeed.

What's one area you're currently focused on, which you feel the broader talent and culture community hasn't fully recognised or engaged with yet? 

Queenie: I think Talent is moving beyond measuring hiring efficiency to measuring organisational capability. We’ve spent years optimising metrics like time-to-hire and cost-per-hire. Increasingly, the question is whether we’re building leadership capability, trust and adaptability at scale. Culture isn’t a soft outcome, it’s infrastructure. The best organisations measure it, discuss it with the same rigour as commercial performance, and continuously improve it.

What’s been the most surprising or inspiring insight you’ve gained from the Trust Index™ survey results so far?

Queenie: When we came to Great Place To Work, we weren’t looking for another badge, we were looking for an independent benchmark. Internal surveys tell you how your people feel over time, but Great Place To Work gives you an external point of comparison and challenges your assumptions.

The most valuable insights weren’t necessarily our highest scores, but understanding where colleagues experience Revolut differently across countries and where we should focus next.

Congratulations on your Certification™ in 13 countries! What does this achievement mean to you and your colleagues?

Queenie: Certification is a milestone rather than a finish line. We are proud because the recognition comes directly from our employees. What I find most valuable is seeing colleagues across different countries being proud of this recognition, which creates a great spirit of camaraderie. It reinforces that the culture is something thousands of people create every day. 

Queenie with colleagues at the Revolut Global Graduate Summit 2026

If a new joiner in Singapore and a new joiner in London both described their first 90 days at Revolut, what would you want those two accounts to have in common – and where would you be comfortable with them diverging?

Queenie: I’d want both to describe high expectations, trust, ownership, fast learning and meaningful opportunities to make an impact. Where I’d expect differences is in local traditions, celebrations, office rituals and ways of collaborating. 

Consistency shouldn’t mean uniformity. We want people to recognise they’re part of the same company while still feeling connected to their local community.

You've moved countries, changed disciplines, and helped scale one of the most watched companies in European fintech. What does the version of Queenie Li in ten years’ time look like? And what problem would she have to have solved to feel proud?

Queenie: My ambition is to help young people set foot in a truly great company where they can kickstart and accelerate their careers.

Early career opportunities can completely change the trajectory of someone’s life. If, in ten years’ time, there are thousands of people who can say their careers took off because they were given that first opportunity through the programmes I helped build, I’d consider that a legacy worth leaving.