Congratulations to the 2025 Winners

Strategy Director - Broad-Based Inclusion - Arcadis

Strategic and impact-driven Senior Leader with over a decade of experience in business transformation, strategy execution, and stakeholder influence across global organizations. A proven track record in delivering operational and cultural change, and advising at board level to embed strategic initiatives that align with sustainability, equity, and innovation. Recognized for thought leadership, inclusive leadership, and the ability to drive outcomes that improve business performance and societal impact.

Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion- Attraction & Communication - Penna

Over the past year, Alexis has driven transformative change, embedding inclusion into every facet of work and delivering measurable impact. She’s developed approaches that increased diversity across multiple industries, launched a transformative model, and built a network of EDI-focused partnerships. Alexis has conducted audits, led webinars and upskilling sessions, spoken at industry events, judged national EDI awards, and contributed thought leadership through writing. Her work has positioned Penna as an EDI leader. As a proud Black queer woman, her leadership is unapologetic, intersectional, and rooted in lived experience, ensuring diversity is never a tick-box, but a meaningful outcome.

Associate Product Manager - bp

Promise is a dynamic energy and technology professional, currently an Associate Product Manager at bp. With prior experience in data at the Bank of England and carbon capture & storage research with Northern Lights JV, Promise blends innovation with purpose.
He earned a 1st in Engineering from Delta State University and an MSc Distinction from Imperial College London, alongside the Black Impact Allrounder and Leadership awards.
Central to his career is a relentless drive to inspire future STEM and sustainability leaders. Through his volunteer and leadership roles, he has directly engaged over 7,500 youths, advancing greater diversity, equity and inclusion within the energy sector and beyond.

Director of Skills, Resourcing, EDI and Learning - Thames Water

With 20+ years in recruitment, training, apprenticeships and learning, she drives inclusive, sustainable change across sectors. She leads strategy on skills, resourcing, and inclusion, aligning talent with business needs. She champions social mobility and economic inclusion, and has held roles on national boards including the Institute for Apprenticeships and City & Guilds. She is a 5% Club Fellow and passionate about building partnerships that inspire lasting change.

Finance Director - Merlin Entertainments

An accomplished C-suite executive with 20+ years of progressive leadership experience across FTSE100 to SME companies. Currently Finance Director at Merlin driving revenue and delivering efficiencies. Previously CFO/COO at ICE Telecommunications, increased revenue by 100% and all this whilst owning his own restaurant business. Expertise spans strategic transformation, M&A and driving sustainable growth through a focus on value. A CIMA-qualified Imperial College graduate, he also serves as Non-Exec Director at Auriga PLC and has been recognized as a Financial Times Diversity Champion finalist due to driving positive action on diversity awareness and social mobility at work and his local area.

To see all the 2025 shortlisted nominees and find out more about this award, click here

The Origins employee network at Sodexo celebrates and unites diverse cultures, heritages, and beliefs to promote awareness and foster an inclusive workplace. It also provides a supportive space for colleagues from ethnically diverse backgrounds and their allies.

Through impactful initiatives - such as the Food of Black Origin (FOBO) competition, mentoring, resource development, and charity partnerships - Origins amplifies voices, enhances cultural competence, and supports career growth.

The network plays a vital role in cultivating a sense of belonging across the organisation.

Launched in 2021, Rail Unites for Inclusion (RUI) has been a catalyst for change in the rail sector uniting people with a common mission: to be more inclusive and more representative of our communities so we can better serve them. We actively work with the industry, including our partners (some of whom we helped to establish e.g. Ethnicity and Race in Rail) to understand and improve on our EDI maturity. We strive to meet the needs of our customers, colleagues and communities. RUI touches every corner of rail with over 2,200 followers, 450 members across more than 100 organisations across and outside the sector from all grade groups within the industry and experts external to rail.

Proposition Delivery Manager - Barclays

Nana is a Proposition Delivery Manager at Barclays as well as a Deputy Co-Chair of the Black Professionals Resource Group (BPRG). Having migrated to the UK at the age of 12, Nana has remained a huge advocate and exemplary figure for DE&I. He has led on Barclays' Black Venture Gaoth programme, supporting 25 scaling founders with gaining access to investment, mentorship and networks. Nana has led efforts around diverse recruitment, hosting an annual 'Young, Black and in Finance' seminar, which has attracted over 350 attendees, with over 70 employed, since 2023. Nana also launched Barclays' first ever piece of research into neurodiversity in entrepreneurship.

As a publicly owned and commercially funded broadcaster, it delivers cultural, economic and social impact across the UK—at no cost to the taxpayer. With offices in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 champions all voices and reflects the diversity of the UK. It upholds the six anti-racist commitments made in 2020 and continues to evolve them. Channel 4 also supports The Collective, an established employee network that provides space to raise and champion staff voices across the organisation.

At Lloyds Banking Group, inclusion is part of our DNA. We believe an inclusive business is a better business, which is why ‘inclusive’ is one of our core values. Reflecting our customers and society helps everyone thrive. Our 2030 ambitions place inclusion at the heart of our work, aiming for 19-22% representation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic colleagues in Executive roles, with 3.5-4% Black heritage representation.

Strong, visible leadership and allyship, innovative plans, and targeted career development interventions support our progress. We also provide dedicated support for Black entrepreneurs and wholly fund Lloyds Bank Foundation, who work with under-represented communities. We're proud once again be recognised as an Outstanding Employer by the Ethnicity Awards.

At the centre of our strategy is our commitment to Inclusion and Diversity. In 2023, we began our partnership with Investing in Ethnicity as part of our Ethnicity Equality agenda to help us better understand areas we can improve on in comparison to other multinational companies. This year we have launched our ‘Fostering Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace’ research report carried out by Morgan McKinley. As an organisation we need people from different backgrounds and experience, bringing their diverse talent to our organisation. That’s why it was important for us to commission this research as a next step to reflect customer base and serve their needs better. Our Race Equality Taskforce within the group which consists of knowledge experts from our Recruitment, Employee relations, Data and Communications work to review and progress on this agenda. A big thanks to the support of all of our colleagues but particularly those within the taskforce, our Multicultural network, our Chair Prasad Shastri, senior leaders and I&D team.