The winners of the Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) have been announced. This list recognizes the rising stars and senior leaders who represent the frontrunners of the UK’s vibrant business sector and includes top business leaders and entrepreneurs from top international brands and institutions such as Uber, Citi, Linklaters and Jomas Associates.
The BBBAwards, launched in 2014, is the only premium awards program which recognizes and celebrates the exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black entrepreneurs and professionals throughout the United Kingdom and are constantly searching for a new undiscovered talent.
The BBBAwards’ purpose and contribution has been applauded by the Prime minister, Mayor of London and business leaders such as David Tyler, the Chairman of Sainsbury’s and Sir John Parker, Chairman of Anglo American. Chizzy Akudolu star of Strictly Come Dancing 2017 and Master Chef 2018 acted as the compere for the awards.
Melanie Eusebe, Chair and Co-founder of the Black British Awards commented:
“We are delighted to be celebrating the enormous talent and achievements of this year’s winners of the Black British Business awards 2018. We are proud to say that this fantastic award ceremony has been running for an impressive five years, each year gaining more talent, coverage and influence. From the speciality of the sciences to the beauty and creativity of the arts, these winners have not only gained a reputation in their own field of work, achieving enormous success and smashing racial stereotypes. They have also dedicated their lives to inspiring the youth and underprivileged, using their knowledge and experience to empower people reach their full potential”.
The 2018 awards distinguished outstanding black business professionals and entrepreneurs from the top of their game into six diverse industry categories, which are divided into rising stars and leadership awards. The winners for this year’s awards are as follows:
Black British Business Person of the Year
Roni Savage, Founder and Managing Director of Jomas Associates.
(Ist photo above)
Arts & Media Rising Star
Sam Ajilore, Founder and Editor of That Grape Juice.
Arts & Media Leader of the Year
Selma Nicholls, Founder and CEO of Looks like Me.
Consumer & Luxury Rising Star
Mark Maciver, CEO of SliderCuts.
Consumer & Luxury Leader of the Year
Gerard Crichlow, Head and Cultural Strategy at AMV BBDO.
Entrepreneur Rising Star
Steve Bartlett, Founder and CEO of Social Chain.
Entrepreneur Leader of the Year
Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, Co-Founder and Chairman of Redington.
Financial Services Rising Star
Ovo Gharoro, Head of Valuation Governance & Market Data Services at M&G Prudential.
Financial Services Leader of the Year
Syreeta Brown, Managing Director, Head of Global Recruitment Strategy & Programs at Citi.
Professional Services Rising Star
Kwaku Osei, Associate at Linklaters.
Professional Services Leader of the Year
Karen Finlayson, Partner at PwC LLP.
STEM Rising Star
Darren Williams, Welding Systems Manager at TWI Ltd.
STEM Leader of the Year
Anne-Marie Headley, Strategy HR Business Partner at Uber.
The judging panel was chaired by Sophie Chandauka, COO of Shared Services and Banking Operations at Morgan Stanley. This year’s judges were:
- Jonathan Akwue, Chief Executive, DigitasLBi
- Jo Barnett, Director of Social Enterprise, Virgin Money
- Karen Blackett OBE, Country Manager, WPP UK and Chairwoman, MediaCom UK & Ireland
- Tim Campbell MBE, Head of Client Services and Emerging Talent, Alexander Mann
- Albertha Charles, Financial Services Valuations Partner, PwC
- Sarah Gregory, Inclusion and Diversity Partner, Baker McKenzie
- Donna Herdsman, Business Transformation Executive
- Trevor Johnson, Director, Global Agency Partnerships, Facebook
- Adrian Joseph, Partner, EY Advisory
- Didier Lambert, Managing Director and Lead Portfolio Manager, Emerging Market Debt, J.P. Morgan
- James Mosha, Head of UK Tax, BNP Paribas
- Oba Nsugbe QC, Head of Chambers, Pump Court Chambers
- Sonali Pathirana, Managing Editor, Bloomberg
- David C. Peters, Advisory Board Director, Board Intelligence Ltd
- Dan Roberts, Managing Director, Transaction Banking Products & Services, Barclays
- Ratidzo Starkey, Head of Stakeholder Relations Group, Bank of England
- Daniel Taylor, Managing Director, MDC Group
- Kenneth Tharp CBE, Director, The Africa Centre
- Miss Samantha Tross, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
- Phil Wolfenden, Vice President, Cisco
The Telegraph was the BBBAwards official media partner. The main sponsors for the 2018 awards included Baker McKenzie, Barclays, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, Cisco, Facebook, J.P. Morgan, PwC, Thomson Reuters and Virgin.
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