We wish to say a huge thank you to our fantastic Steering Group for their tireless work in getting us to where we are today with our Future 100 Growth Fund programme. Their hard work and commitment has been exemplary.
We thank them for their time, advice, partnership and oversight in bringing this to life.
A dynamic leader with substantial experience in the communications industry Dr Thompson is a renowned and respected champion of diversity and inclusion in the UK.
Relying on her personal experience and other women she published a leadership Amazon bestseller book “7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards”, promoting greater gender and race diversity in company boardrooms.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of WinTrade Global Women In Business Network Convention and Awards which she founded, Dr Thompson orchestrates a powerful network, whilst supporting UNSDGs for greater gender and race equality.
Having been the only woman on the board of the first 24 Hr radio station Choice FM, worked with DCMS and OFCOM on equality and diversity within the broadcast space her most recent Chairing appointments include OKRE.org a charity researching the effects the entertainment and gaming industries have on mental health, it is based at and funded by the Welcome Trust; she also Chairs The Black Cultural Archives, custodian of Black History in the UK, facilitating substantial knowledge to the Parker Review.
Dr Thompson was this year appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant in Greater London.
David is the Group Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing at Sky.
He joined Sky from Live Nation/Ticketmaster, where as Director of Diversity he worked across 40 international markets.
Previously he was the Head of Equality Strategy at Citizen’s Advice, headed Legal Affairs at the Commission for Racial Equality, and lead National Policy at the Housing Corporation/Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).
David has also held advisory roles to the College of Policing and served as a Board member for a Human Rights Charity.
David was the first member of his family to complete his secondary education and worked as an apprentice Gas Engineer after leaving school. He was fortunate to be able to study at night school before attending the University of Nottingham. He is an alumni of Druids Health and is a proud Brummie. He is married with two daughters and lives in Surrey.
Sope Agbelusi, the founder of MindsetShift makes it possible for individuals to find harmony in the ways they work and show up for the people they lead. With human first leadership coaching and development, he helps organisations, institutions, and startups create people-over-profit cultures that allow people to thrive in their geniuses, wholly and fluidly grounded in inclusion, equity, and psychological safety. Because authentic leadership means leading the humans around you, not focusing on the numbers you believe they represent.
Viv Ahmun, co-founder and President of the Aspire Education Group is a Partner at Alphaton Ventures and Coltan Security, companies based in Uganda. He has founded and been the co-Director of many businesses, civil society organisations and networks in recruitment, enterprise development, primary healthcare, tech-based coms, and impact investment. Viv is a qualified and seasoned social policy veteran, corporate governance and leadership advisor. He is also a former Home Office and Mayoral advisor to the first two London Mayors, Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. He is a Governor of the East London Foundation Trust, which covers East London, Luton and Bedfordshire.
In 2022, he was honoured by the African Achievers Awards, held at Kensington Palace, for services to enterprise (Africa-based start-ups and the popularisation of technology-based business solutions in East Africa). During Covid-19 lockdown, in service to his community, he played a key role in the establishment of the Baobab Foundation and ensuring that it unapologetically focuses its giving on the needs of Black African and Caribbean Heritage communities in the UK. During lockdown, he also co-created and launched Future Boss with Courtney Brown, which invests £100,000 annually in start-ups and facilitates access to social and technical/human capital and partnerships across Africa, Europe and North America for UK Black African Caribbeans aged 18-35. Most recently, Viv used is experience to set out the wire frame for the F100 BEO programme, and was responsible for curating the F100 steering group. Viv Ahmun continues to advise the BEO senior team on matters of social policy and strategic development nationally and internationally where needed.
Piers Linney is an entrepreneur and investor with experience across a range of sectors including technology, media converged communications, and additive manufacturing. He is the Founder and CEO of Moblox, a next generation technology and business tools platform for UK small business owners and is well-known as a champion of entrepreneurship and SMEs and a regular media commentator.
Piers is probably best known as a former Dragon investor on BBC 2’s Dragons’ Den and from Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire. He has a professional background as a qualified lawyer specialised in venture capital and in M&A investment banking at Credit Suisse and was a non-executive director of the UK government’s development bank, British Business Bank during the roll-out of the £90bn Covid-19 business support loan schemes. Piers has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 100 most influential Black Britons and in 2020 he was recognised as one of the UK’s top 20 Ethnic Minority Executives. Piers is a member of Sky’s Diversity Advisory Council.
Mark Martin MBE aka @Urban_Teacher is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Education Practice. Mark is a thought leader in #EdTech and a hugely popular speaker, sharing his expertise and insights to educators around the world. He is a teacher/advisor for the major global tech brands and continues to advocate for home-grown talent, digital skills and education equity. In May 2022, Mark was recognised as one of the top 50 most influential people in UK IT by computer weekly. In 2019, he was awarded an MBE for services to education, technology, and diversity in UK technology.
Dino Myers-Lamptey is the Founder of The Barber Shop, a strategy-led creative company that aims to solve the biggest business problems through data, distribution and disruptive ideas. They work with businesses that are driven by a purpose and which strive to enrich culture through the pleasure that they bring. Their clients include Karma Drinks, Triumph, TikTok and Parkinson’s UK. Dino is Co-Chair of The Alliance of Independent Agencies, CAN (Conscious Advertising Network) and is also a board member of the UK Effies, Marketing Society and a Trustee for the Brixton Finishing School and a member of the Global Snap Creative Council. In 2021 Dino was recognised as a Top 10 Media Planner by Campaign. Dino is also a founding member of MEFA (Media For All), and has recently founded Diverse Speakers.
Emma Joy Obanye is an entrepreneur, advisor, mentor and tech geek from Hackney and has spent the last 18 years building products and leading teams in tech for both corporates and startups.
On a mission to make the UK tech startup ecosystem more inclusive, diverse and equitable, Emma leads OneTech as CEO, which has supported over 3000 individuals with access to knowledge, networks and funding to start and scale their businesses.
An entrepreneur herself, Emma does this whilst splitting her time between OneTech and her new venture The Startup Game, an app and board game about the journey of entrepreneurship.Emma previously co-founded and exited the award-winning, music-focused loyalty and influencer platform BuddyBounce. Emma was recognised by the Inclusive Boards and Financial Times as one of The UK’s top 100 black and minority ethnic leaders and most recently startups magazine as one of the most influential women in 2022.
Feven Woldu is driving an accelerated global transformation agenda across the bank, leading with value proposition development for a portfolio of digital products. Over the years, Feven has gained recognition for her work in the fintech space, merging traditional finance competencies with the latest technologies to bring cutting-edge solutions to market. Her career has taken her from New York to San Francisco, Germany and now, the UK.
