2021 WINNERS

PUBLIC CATEGORY WINNERS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

MOIRA STUART OBE

In 1981, Moira Stuart presented the BBC News, becoming the first African-Caribbean female newsreader on British television. Now, this year, she celebrates forty years as a broadcaster. After spending the best part of four decades at the BBC as both a television and radio newscaster, The presenter moved to radio station Classic FM late last year to present the news, as well as her own show. The daughter of a Dominican mother and a Barbadian father, Stuart truly is a national treasure.

MUSIC ARTIST

ARLO PARKS

Brit Awards breakthrough artist Arlo Parks rose to fame last year and released her debut studio album to critical acclaim. Despite being only 20, the singer-songwriter has used her platform to make strong statements about the Black Lives Matter movement and is already a prominent role model among the community, making sure people know there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

INSPIRATIONAL PUBLIC FIGURE

NAOMI CAMPBELL

Naomi Campbell is one of the most recognisable Black supermodels of all time. In addition to a distinguished modeling career, Campbell is also responsible for wide-ranging fundraising and charity work across the globe and is an experienced businesswoman and philanthropist. From her work in the 90s with Nelson Mandela to her work with the advocacy group, Diversity Coalition In 2013, Campbell has utilised her platform and image to advocate for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority people and been outspoken about her own experience of racial bias in the fashion industry.

ONLINE INFLUENCER

MUNYA CHAWAWA

Munya Chawawa is known for his development and portrayal of various characters, his popularity spiking during the coronavirus pandemic as he kept fans entertained throughout lockdown online. He speaks about issues affecting society and actually created a character called Unknown P “as a nod towards the appropriation and false ownership of black culture that often happens in western societies”.

BROADCASTER, JOURNALIST OR HOST

NAGA MUNCHETTY

Munchetty is the anchor of BBC One’s Breakfast. She has had a distinguished career as a journalist working for media organisations including Retuers, CNBC and Bloomberg.

In September 2019, Munchetty hit the headlines for criticising US President Donald Trump live on television. Though criticised by some, the journalist won plaudits for expressing her view in light of allegations of racism surrounding the then American president. She appeared on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2017.

MEDIA PROGRESS MOMENT

LEIGH-ANNE PINNOCK’S RACE, POP AND POWER DOCUMENTARY

Leigh-Ann Pinnock: Race, Pop and Power was a powerful BBC documentary which followed the pop singer as she confronted her experience as the only Black member of Little Mix, and as a Black woman in the music industry. The star won plaudits for the programme and said he made it to “stand up for my black and brown community”.

SPORTS PERSONALITY

ALEX SCOTT MBE

A former England star and Arsenal legend, Alex Scott also played in the Olympics in 2012 and is without question an icon to young girls and women. She then went on to become the first female football pundit at a world cup for the BBC and the first female pundit on Sky Sports before calling on English football to keep the Black Lives Matter movement alive. This year she was introduced as the first female broadcast voice on FIFA and currently works for the BBC and Sky Sports.

POLITICAL FIGURE

SADIQ KHAN

Khan has served as Mayor of London since 2016. He was comfortably re-elected to the role in May 2021. Born in Tooting, to a working-class British Pakistani family, Khan worked as a solicitor specialising in human rights issues before entering politics.

He has been included in the Time 100 list of most influential people in the world and established the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm following the 2020 George Floyd protests.

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO COMMUNITIES

MARISSA BEGONIA

Begonia is a founding member of The Voice of Domestic Workers, which helps campaign and build awareness of Britain’s 16 thousand overseas domestic workers. After leaving her family in the Philippines to come to London, she experienced abuse from the families she was employed by, which motivated her to help others through the charity.

CHARITY OR COMMUNITY INITIATIVE

END VIOLENCE AND RACISM AGAINST ESEA COMMUNITIES

End the Virus of Racism are in partnership with Southeast and East Asian Centre and supported by the Mayor of London and London Assembly.

BUSINESS CATEGORY WINNERS

OUTSTANDING EMPLOYER

NATIONAL GRID

National Grid is one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, committed to delivering electricity and gas safely, reliably, and efficiently to the customers and communities we serve.

We play a vital role in connecting millions of people to the energy they use, through our regulated utility businesses in the UK and the US; with principal operations in electricity and gas transmission and distribution, as well as National Grid Ventures. Our ambition is to operate and develop our business in a way that results in a more inclusive culture. We are committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve and creating an environment where each individual feels respected, fairly treated, valued and able to reach their full potential.

FUTURE LEADER

KEMI FAJOYE, PEARSON

Kemi Fajoye is the co-founder and Co-Chair of P.R.I.M.E. Under Kemi’s inspirational leadership, P.R.I.M.E. was nominated in the 2020 Ethnicity Awards in the category of top ten ERGs/Networks. Passionate about DEI and a founding member of Pearson’s Global DEI Taskforce, Kemi was selected as one of four secondees at the end of 2020, managing and leading the review of company-wide policies and practices with a DEI lens. Her leadership and commitment to workforce equality and inclusion led to Kemi changing roles from Senior Investigator, to Human Resources Advisor for Pearson in January 2021, further leveraging her DEI experience and knowledge.

INSPIRATIONAL LEADER

SEGUN OSUNTOKUN - BCLP

Segun Osuntokun is Partner in Charge, UK, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). With over 27 years litigation and arbitration experience across a range of sectors, including the banking and financial services and energy sectors, Segun specialises in resolving complex disputes and claims which have elements of dishonesty, fraud or corruption. Segun is Head of BCLP’s Africa Group and many of his cases relate to or originate from jurisdictions in sub-Saharan Africa.

WORKPLACE HERO

SAMI HALEPOTA - SURREY POLICE

As a Muslim in the post 9/11 world, Sami grew up scared of the police. He used to stiffen up in fear seeing police officers and avoided eye contact in order to not draw attention. Yet, due to this fear he was intrigued to understand the police better. Having joined, he was amazed by how his views were largely unfounded and why so many in ethnic minority communities hold similar views. This now drives him to ensure the police are sensitive to Black, Asiana and Ethnic Minority needs, have a nuanced approach and truly police by consent when it comes to Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority communities.

NETWORK GROUP (ERG)

EMBRACE - HSBC UK

HSBC’s UK Embrace aims to inspire and support our minority ethnic colleagues and their allies to perform to the best of their abilities in an open, inclusive and supportive environment. We work together with senior leaders to engage and influence HSBC policy and culture from the top down, offering guidance and education to address different ethnicity biases that affect our colleagues. Through activities and events, Embrace also supports the professional development of our members, providing them with mentoring and career development opportunities. We also partner with HSBC’s various lines of business to embed ethnicity initiatives and promote inclusion.

CHAMPION (ALLY)

JAMES CLARRY - COUTTS

James is the Chief Operating Officer for the Wealth Businesses of NatWest Group, which includes the market-leading brands of Coutts & Co and Natwest Premier. He took on this role in July 2017, having joined Natwest in 2004 after several years as a derivatives lawyer in a leading law firm, Allen & Overy.

James is a proud executive co-sponsor of Diversity & Inclusion within NatWest Wealth and co-founder of the Ethnicity Allies of the Natwest Multicultural Network.\

James lives near Brighton with wife Annie and four children. He is an active member of St Peters Church, Brighton and a keen long-distance trail runner.