Since 2017, The Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) have made significant advances in their mission to create, and offer to UK companies, solutions that accelerate the progression of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) talent into the c-suite and the boardroom.

Key amongst the solutions is the BBBAwards’ mid-career BAME Talent Accelerator which was designed based on research examining why BAME middle managers do not progress into senior executive roles in leading businesses in the UK. Companies that have already benefited from the BAME Talent Accelerator include Barclays, BT, Bloomberg, Cisco, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, National Grid, Virgin and Visa. This major initiative, spanning across all sectors of the UK, blends personal and professional growth, experiential learning and inspiration to deliver a game-changing leadership and career advancement programme.

The report commissioned by Melanie Eusebe and Sophie Chandauka, co-founders of the BBBAwards, follows the successful second iteration of the programme, involving 34 high-potential delegates from 20 significant global corporations with operations in the UK. This critical review offers an in-depth look into the programme and its benefits for companies in terms of accelerating BAME talent into senior roles.

The BBBAwards, in collaboration with the Executive Leadership Council as the key partner underwriting the BAME Talent Accelerator, are calling on company Chairs, CEOs and HR Directors to:

• Change the narrative around advancing BAME talent from ‘a problem to be solved’ to ‘unlocking the full potential of a significant number of talented professionals’.
• Strategically invest in bespoke leadership advancement programmes that provide senior sponsorship and content that is relevant to high potential BAME mid-career professionals with the ambition for further promotion.
• Engage a network of committed internal senior stakeholders to ensure that formal and informal barriers to success for BAME professionals are eradicated as part of systemic culture change.

Melanie Eusebe and Sophie Chandauka, Co-Founders of the Black British Business Awards, said:

“We are proud of the Talent Accelerator because it is an example of an investment that generates dividends beyond one individual. It is a ground-breaking programme that challenges all key stakeholders in companies to learn about and positively deal with visibility, structure and practices that disproportionately affect the ability of BAME middle managers to rise through the ranks into senior executive roles.”