I am delighted to announce that I am a finalist in the Black British Business Awards Entrepreneur Leader Category

The BBBAwards are round-breaking elite Awards celebrating world-class black British business leaders The thirty-seven finalists of the Black British Business Awards have been announced today. This list recognises the trailblazers and rising stars that represent the very best talent in UK plc.

The BBBAwards launched in 2014 as the only premium awards programme which recognises and celebrates the exceptional performance and outstanding achievements of black entrepreneurs and professionals throughout Britain.
The winners will be announced during a ceremony at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel in London on 6 October 2016. This year’s ceremony promises to eclipse the enormous success generated over the previous two years.

This year’s finalists are an impressive mix of accomplished individuals, ranging from the exceptional musical innovation of Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE, Dragons Den winner Chika Russell, world-class Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Miss Samantha Tross and pioneer Managing Director Carol Lake of JP Morgan.

Major sponsors for this year include Baker & McKenzie, Barclays, Bloomberg, Microsoft and Thomson Reuters.

The eighteen-strong judging panel chaired by BBBAwards Co-founder Sophie Chandauka (Executive Director and Chief Operation’s Officer of Morgan Stanley’s Legal and Compliance Division in EMEA), is comprised of business leaders across a wide range of industries and include; Tunji Akintokun (Director, Cisco), Jo Barnett (Director of Social Enterprise, Virgin
Money), Tim Campbell MBE (Head of Client Services and Emerging Talent, Alexander Mann Solutions), Vinay Kapoor (UK Head of Diversity & Inclusion, BNP Paribas UK), Vanessa Kingori (Publisher of GQ Magazine Portfolio, Conde Nast UK)and Kenneth Tharp (Chief Executive, The Place)

Melanie Eusebe, Chair and Co-founder of the BBBAwards commented:
I am delighted to be celebrating another year of incredible BBBAwards finalists. The programme has grown rapidly since its inception and we are honoured to be working with allof our supporters and sponsors to identify and accelerate exceptional Staff from ethnically diverse groups talent in the UK workforce. This year we received an unprecedented number of nominations, evidence of the
strength of the Staff from ethnically diverse groups pipeline and the wealth of talent contributing substantially to the UK’s economy. All of the 2016 finalists are exceptionally talented role models and ambassadors across all of the business sectors, and represent the very best of British industry.

Karen Blackett, Chairwoman, MediaCom and Judge of the Black British Business
Awards 2016 commented:
Events like the Black British Business Awards allow people to showcase their talent. They enable people to prove that, no matter where one starts off in life, it is possible to contribute to society in terms of its economic prosperity and achieve personal commercial success. I really hope that the BBBAwards continue for years to come because they themselves
represent a significant achievement. Long may I be involved in them as well!

Mark Chamberlain, Director, Diversity & Inclusion of Barclays commented:
Barclays is delighted to sponsor the Black British Business Awards and recognise the significant achievements of talented black men and women on their way to the top. At Barclays we have a range of programmes to develop and support black talent, and our management proudly encourages the building of diverse teams and maximising the skills of all our talent, thus enabling all our colleagues to be their authentic selves and unleash their full potential.

See the full list of finalists here http://www.thebbbawards.com/2016-finalists/