Top business leaders and celebrities turned out in full force for the inaugural Burberry British Diversity Awards, held on 10 March 2022 at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms.
Hosted by the TV presenter and diversity specialist, June Sarpong OBE, big names in business from NatWest to Boots scopped awards. Sponsored by Cultural Intelligence Centre, NatWest received Supplier Diversity Programme of the Year; whilst law practice Browne Jacobson picked up the Imperial Brands Social Mobility Initiative accolade. For its highly successful Invisible Disabilities Campaign, ITV and Scope were awarded the Playtech-sponsored Marketing Campaign Award; and 10x Banking succeeded in the Diversity In Tech category, supported by DeNovo Legal Services.
COVETED DIVERSITY AWARDS
Boots UK secured the coveted Company of the Year Award, sponsored by Barratt Developments Plc for its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion efforts spearheaded by Chief Marketing Officer, Pete Markey. Ian Donaldson, CEO of Ardonagh Retail, part of the £4billion Ardonagh Group, was crowned Diversity Champion of the Year. The insurance chief leads Ardonagh’s LGBT+ network and has been a major supporter of initiatives like Manchester Pride and the British LGBT Awards whilst also launching social mobility initiative Football For Change.
Danyelle Holmes-Lewis of BT was crowned Ruebik’s HR Champion of the Year, with Springer Nature picking up the award for Diversity Team of the Year, sponsored by GSK. WPP’s LGBTQI group, Unite, were successful in the Outstanding Employee Network category, sponsored by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and Leigh Day Law’s Jacquie McKenzie secured Hero of the Year, sponsored by Boots. For Lockton LLP’s Inspirational Role Model of the Year, there were two winners in Pips Bunce of Credit Suisse and President of the Law Society I Stephanie Boyce. Zaheer Ahmad of GSK secured the 10x Banking Head of Diversity Award.
Elsewhere, Sky Sports presenter and former Liverpool FC and England defender, Jamie Carragher, won an award for his work with a number of social mobility charities. In 2020, the big-name football personality launched Football For Change; a social mobility movement aimed at helping disadvantaged young people from socially and economically challenged communities into education and employment.
LIFETIME DIVERSITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Powerful human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who has fought for LGBT+ rights for over two decades, campaigning against Section 28 throughout the 1980s and famously staging a one-man protest near the statue of Marshal Zhukov in Moscow’s Red Square against Russia’s treatment of LGBT+ people during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, scooped the special Lifetime Achievement Award.
Meanwhile, Little Mix songstress Leigh-Anne Pinnock led the winners after being recognised for her campaigning work against racism. The chart-topping singer received the ‘Media Champion’ award at the ceremony for her groundbreaking BBC documentary ‘Race, Pop and Power’ which highlighted her experiences as a Black woman in the music industry.
Westlife’s Mark Feehily, who recently appeared on ITV’s Masked Singer, collected the Global Recognition Award for Diversity. The Flying Without Wings star, who has notched up a staggering 14 number one singles with Westlife, is a vocal campaigner for surrogacy rights for LGBT+ families. The awards celebrate the individuals and organisations working to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, acknowledging milestones in business, media, politics and grassroots activism.
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
“I’d like to congratulate all of the deserving winners at this year’s Burberry British Diversity Awards,” stated British Diversity Awards Founder, Linda Riley. “The awards shine a light on the individuals, organisations, charities and unsung heroes who help to make the world and workplaces a better place for others across all strands of diversity. In a world where hate and division is being sown in some quarters, we believe that by continuing to celebrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we can help make the UK and indeed the universe a better place to live and work for everyone.”
Adding to her comments Burberry’s Chief People Officer Erica Bourne said: “We are incredibly proud to have supported the inaugural British Diversity Awards. The ceremony has been a true celebration of inspiring individuals, highlighting the incredible contributions from both winners and nominees to creating an inclusive world. Their stories showcase the power of coming together, overcoming adversity and standing up for real change. We are grateful to all the judges, organisers, teams and guests for being part of this memorable event and hope these awards will empower many others to use their voice to champion progress.”
2022 AWARD WINNERS
This year’s winners include:
- CAMPAIGNER (sponsored by DAM Health): Sophia Moreau
- SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAMME (sponsored by Cultural Intelligence Centre)
- NatWest
- HR CHAMPION OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Ruebik): Danyelle Holmes-Lewis
- SOCIAL MOBILITY INITIATIVE (sponsored by Imperial Brands): Browne Jacobson
- DIVERSITY TEAM (sponsored by GSK): Springer Nature
- CHARITY (sponsored by Burberry): Galop
- MARKETING CAMPAIGN (sponsored by Playtech): ITV & Scope – Invisible Disabilities Campaign
- COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Veolia): London Black Women’s Project (LBWP)
- OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE NETWORK (sponsored by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust): WPP – Unite
- GLOBAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR DIVERSITY: Mark Feehily
- HERO (sponsored by Boots): Jacquie McKenzie
- INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL (sponsored by Lockton LLP): Pips Bunce
- INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL (sponsored by Lockton LLP): I. Stephanie Boyce
- HEAD OF DIVERSITY (sponsored by 10x Banking): Zaheer Ahmad
- DIVERSITY IN TECH (sponsored by DeNovo Legal Services): 10x Banking
- DIVERSITY CHAMPION (sponsored by National Grid): Ian Donaldson
- COMPANY (sponsored by Barratt Developments Plc): Boots
- MEDIA CHAMPION IN THE PUBLIC EYE (sponsored by Sedulo):
- Leigh-Anne Pinnock
- MEDIA CHAMPION IN THE PUBLIC EYE (sponsored by Sedulo): Jamie Carragher
- LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT (sponsored by Attest): Peter Tatchell
HIGHLY COMMENDED
The highly-commended awardees include:
- CAMPAIGNER (sponsored by DAM Health): Munroe Bergdorf
- SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAMME (sponsored by Cultural Intelligence Centre): Standard Chartered
- HR CHAMPION OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Ruebik): Mark Shrimpton
- SOCIAL MOBILITY INITIATIVE (sponsored by Imperial Brands): The Bridge of Hope & Prosper 4 Group
- DIVERSITY TEAM (sponsored by GSK): AMS
- MARKETING CAMPAIGN (sponsored by Playtech): TSB – D&I Strategy
- COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR (sponsored by Veolia):
- Kirklees Council’s Iroko Project
- OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE NETWORK (sponsored by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust): Aviva – Origins
- HERO (sponsored by Boots): Latisha McKenzie
- HEAD OF DIVERSITY (sponsored by 10x Banking): Priscilla Baffour
- DIVERSITY IN TECH (sponsored by DeNovo Legal Services): Kantar
- DIVERSITY CHAMPION (sponsored by National Grid):
- Mythily Katsaris
- COMPANY (sponsored by Barratt Developments Plc): United Utilities
- MEDIA CHAMPION IN THE PUBLIC EYE (sponsored by Sedulo): Marcus Rashford
The ninth Black British Business Awards are now officially open for nominations. Click here to find out more.
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