BBC star of The Apprentice Tim Campbell and Hotel Rwanda actor Hakeem Kae-Hazim are among a top line-up of speakers set to address the Black Young Professionals (BYP) Leadership Conference this week.
Thousands of black professionals and allies will be taking part in this year’s event to learn skills and lessons from some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. The event is taking a hybrid approach this year, with a physical conference being held at the Mermaid Theatre in London on Thursday, October 6, followed by a virtual careers fair on October 7.
The event, which is taking place during Black History Month, is being hosted by TV and Capital Xtra radio presenter Will Njobvu and Channel 4 actor and host Scarlette Douglas. It will involve 40 sessions focusing on the theme of 'Knowledge is Power'.
The 60 speakers involved in the conference range from artists, political figureheads and tech entrepreneurs, including:
- Femi Oluwole - political commentator who has written for Metro, Guardian and the Independent;
- Lola Young, Baroness Young of Hornsey - chancellor of the University of Nottingham;
- Michael Hastings, Baron Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE - currently the professor of leadership at the Stephen R. Covey Leadership Centre at Huntsman Business School, US;
- Priscilla Igwe - managing director of The New Black Film Collective which focuses on getting Black stories getting told on screen;
- Ade Hassan MBE - founder of Nubian Skin, which specialises in garments for people of colour;
- Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE - STEM keynote speaker, author, social entrepreneur and podcast host;
- Natasha Shotunde - co-founder and chair of the Black Barristers’ Network;
- Flavilla Fongang - founder of 3 Colours Rule and Global Tech Advocates;
- Renee Hunt - chief techology officer of Compare the Market, the price comparison fintech;
- Ezechi Britton MBE - chief executive of Code Untapped and founding chief technology officer of Neyber, a UK-based fintech company that has raised more than £200m;
- Scarlette Douglas - actor and host on Channel 4’s Worst House On The Street;
- Tom Ilube CBE - chair of the Rugby Football Union;
- Simone Pound - director of Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the Professional Footballers Association (PFA);
- Richie Brave - BBC Xtra presenter;
- Dapo Ajay i, senior M=management consultant and coach;
- Dean Forbes - chief executive of Forterro;
- Phyll Opoku-Gyimah - co-founder of UK Black Pride;
- Hakeem Kae-Hazim - actor, known for his roles in Black Sails and Hotel Rwanda, and he recently directed upcoming movie It’s The Blackness;
- Yvonne Thompson CBE - business leader and founding member of Choice FM and managing director of ASAP Communications, and president of the European Federation of Black Women Business Owners.
BYP Network was founded by former international javelin thrower Kike Oniwinde in 2016 to elevate the status of black professionals. To date, the organisation has more than 150,000 community members and 1,000 corporate partners.
This year's BYP Network careers fair will include: workshops on leveraging skills to get a promotion; networking; panel discussions; CV workshops; and best practice for getting noticed by recruiters.
The careers fair will take place online from 11am to 5pm on Friday. Register on the BYP website to take part.
