BRiM and the Black and Brilliant Advocacy Network both play an active role in advocating for Black professionals, connecting them to new networks, and opening new doors in Marketing, Advertising and Media. We partnered to launch The Changemakers, an awards initiative to recognise and celebrate Black members of our industry doing extraordinary work.
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2022 Changemakers Awards. The quality of the nominations, breadth of experience and variety of career journeys were phenomenal. Congratulations to our winners.
Global digital partner,
Dentsu X
Partner, Marketing transformation lead financial services
Executive vice-president, Formats, all3media International
Executive vice-president, Client management, Jellyfish
Creative consultant
Head of DE&I, All3Media &
Co-founder, Black Magic Awards
Founder & chief executive officer, Social Disruption
Founder, The Women's Association
Creative director & co-founder, Weirdo
PRO account director, Mediacom
Business development director, OMD UK
Founder, The Uncommon Collective & Client Development Director, Global
Head of Brand, Greene King
Account manager, Tapin
Head of CRM, News UK
Data strategy associate director, Essence
Account director, VCCP
Senior content manager & art director
Client partner lead, Microsoft
Account manager, Ketchum
Senior associate director, Creative systems lead, Mediacom
Co-founder & head of strategy, Archtype
Senior manager, UI visual designer, Deloitte Digital
Communities manager, John Doe Group, Podcast creator & host
Junior associate, McKinsey & Company
Senior creative producer, Girl & Bear & Co-founder, Mother of all Media UK
Campaign designer, TUI
Art director, Wunderman Thompson UK
To be named a 2022 Changemaker, please show how the nominee meets the following criteria. Remember that you don’t have to lead a team to be a leader in the industry. Specialists, consultants, freelancers and independent contributors are all eligible.
A Changemaker Emerging Leader is someone who has spent circa 5 years or more developing deep expertise within their specialist area and can demonstrate their impact. They consistently exceed expectations, and show a willingness to take on new challenges and opportunities.
A Changemaker Senior Leader has significant experience in their field and has broad expertise that is recognised by their peers. This is a demonstrated inclusive leader with compelling accomplishments, operates at a senior level within their business/the industry and has shown commitment to community engagement and giving back.
Demonstrates deep expertise of the industry and their specialist area(s)
Includes internal, community and industry accolades
Taking on new challenges e.g relocated, retrained, overcame illness, pivoted career direction, started a side business
Can show examples of ways that they have driven and championed inclusivity
Is engaged and active within the community e.g. volunteering, advisor roles, trusteeships, board roles
Justin is a dynamic, charismatic leader with a long history of building successful businesses and creating change. His journey starts with strong foundations of family, friends and community, his philosophy to do the best he can with every opportunity and the realisation that being different with excellence is a game changer.
Battersea Park in the 70s, this was freedom city. Where children of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities played together. A time when kids could be kids.
As a 22 year old I met my wife and that was the beginning of real life for me. That was when I started to feel a sense of responsibility. Family, friends and community are foundational to everything I do in my career.
A key part of my life plan is to stay close to a very small circle of friends. They all keep me grounded with their words, memories, and unconditional support. You need that in this industry. While I love my career I value my real life so much more.
This is me in Miami reviewing content for a global Nokia pitch for my agency network. Working around the world I saw that no one looked or sounded like me and I realised that being different, with excellence, was a game changer.
I have never and will never spend time trying to navigate to the top. My philosophy is to do the very best you can with each opportunity having a real life outside of my career. That is what always propels me.
If I could go back in time I would tell my 16 year old self everything is possible. That I am more than capable. To focus my energy on my supporters rather than haters, and to enjoy the journey.
Black culture continues to shape the entire global cultural agenda, which means I have an innate sense of relevance. I have pulled from that knowledge at every stage of my career – and it is often a yardstick against which you know if work is on point vs trying too hard.
I wish I had known sooner that my voice matters - often we stay silent when we have something to say. Your peers and your bosses don’t have all of the answers. Free yourself to have a POV, share your ideas and accelerate your growth.
Marvyn’s journey builds upon foundational community values and imagination based games with his siblings, learning the importance of legacy through being a dad, and expanding his purpose by telling the stories of the community on a bigger stage through radio broadcasting.
Lockner Estate in London, N1, where it all started for me. A multi-racial environment with a strong a sense of community.
This is me in primary school at about 7 years old. My childhood memories are filled with images of my brothers and sisters playing some imagination based game.
Man City was the first role which I fully immersed myself in and had fun. I had a great team, great stakeholders, a clear mission and a manager that was a great coach and gave me the security I needed to grow.
As Facebook launched at the beginning of the digital transformation, my job was to launch company pages and lead audience engagement. I became a subject matter expert in a little known industry that I have been pioneering ever since.
Being a Dad is my super power and where I get all the joy outside of my purpose. Ocean and Blake (4 and 6) have taught me love, compassion and the importance of legacy and the type of world we leave behind.
Being acknowledged by Mens Health was a big step in the work that I do for men around the world.
My path to becoming a broadcaster has been a real source of joy to be able to take the stories from our community to a bigger stage.
I was so reluctant to be featured in The Guardian because I didn’t want to distract from the work but this moment propelled us and we were able to create some incredible opportunities as a result of this.
Kamiqua is a Creative Strategist and CEO & Founder of PR, communications and inclusive business consultancy, Coldr. Passionate about inclusion and inspiring the next generation - she is a member of the PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB), and is the founder of the UK Black Comms Network.
Natalie’s journey has been fuelled by her passions and desire to avoid being boxed in, from her first job in publishing, to exploring her love of film, TV and music and turning her focus to increasing equity for her community within the industry.
This is my brother and I. My siblings and I had more choice over our careers than our parents did, and I have always focused on both fulfilling my potential and indulging my passions.
I was born and bred in Battersea where I felt part of a broad community. With family, school, church, and my youth theatre all close by, it felt like a village to me.
Books were my first and longest standing obsession, and I’ve fangirled more over authors than I have over any other figures I’ve worked with. I realised quite early on that storytelling and creating a compelling narrative is not only core to my work, but also to building my career.
Being able to build your work around your interests is a privilege, so I’ve always tried to take advantage of every opportunity and bring others along with me.
Sony Music was my first in house role in almost a decade having worked agency side for almost a decade. It required me to stretch myself and I received confirmation that my skills were valuable and I could thrive in a range of environments.
We have an inclusion problem in the marketing, media and advertising industry. I’ve witnessed first hand the problems in retaining and progressing Black talent, and after years of working out of hours to help address this problem I’ve made it my full time focus.
Tony’s journey springs from the core principle of family and community first, to his early days of coding on his Commodore C64, becoming an early internet subject matter expert, getting married, starting a family and finding his unique voice as an industry leader.
I grew up on the Ashburton Estate in SW London. Immigrant families had the most hustle. Many of the people I grew up with were failed by government and schools and then companies that should have offered them jobs. Nobody should be left behind, but many were.
Family and community meant everything. We were family first, Nigerian, Black, people from the estate. As an outsider you are always trying to figure out how things work. So much of what you need to figure out is not taught in school. The soft skills that make the difference.
When we were kids we had an early home computer - a Commodore C64 for playing games, but you could also code on it. I wasn’t very good, but I could code. School had an early computer department. So early on I built up a confidence with technology.
The launch of Netscape Navigator was the moment when I decided to focus on the internet and become an early expert. Driven by curiosity, I got to work in digital agencies building websites and developing digital campaigns, lifelong connection with technology.
My approach has always been about being the expert in the room. Master hard things that are the next big challenges in the economy. You’ll still face discrimination, but when you have one of the few keys to the gate business has little choice but to include you.
Getting married for me was a pivotal moment in my life, but also a pivotal moment in my career. Finding somebody who is your partner, sanctuary, sounding board, and your biggest cheerleader is strengthening. When you start a family you think of work differently.
Being elected chair of the IAB Social Media Council made a huge difference in my career. My profile increased and people’s estimations of me increased. I was seen as even more of an expert. An industry leader.
I would tell my 16 year old self to find his voice earlier. Develop a point of view about life and work, and share it with confidence. Don’t be intimidated by people from fancy backgrounds or fancy schools. Your ideas count as much as anyone else’s ideas. Tell your truth.
Elfried Samba is the Head of Social Content for the UK's fastest-growing company, Gymshark. Responsible for the brand’s organic social media strategy and overseeing the social channel, community, disruption and production teams.
Elfried has helped Gymshark grow one of the most engaged fitness communities on the planet, from 1.5 Million to 19 Million in just over 5 years.
I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to the UK when I was 14 years old with my Mom, Brother and Sister. Started my journey to become an example not only for my siblings but everyone back home that didn’t get the golden ticket.
My family were always open minded and there were no expectations to pursue any path other than my own. My dad gave me the nerdiness, ambition and passion. My mom gave empathy, discipline and street smarts.
At a young age I realized I couldn’t be a doctor like my dad because I was terrible at science. I had to find my own route. The 2007 iPhone keynote changed my life. The technology was great, however the way it was delivered left a lasting impression on me and got me passionate about marketing.
I studied marketing management at university and my dissertation was titled “How SME’s could leverage Social Media to outcompete vs their larger competitors”. It took me 9 months to get a job after graduating because people didn’t see the full potential of social media. This gave me both the passion, intrigue and “chip” to not only be involved in the space, but to make a massive impact.
I progressed very quickly at Gymshark going from an Executive to Head of in under 18 months. It was only when I started to build my own personal brand and heard from the wider public that I started to truly realise my impact.
There is nothing more empowering than accountability. If I could go back in time I would tell my younger self that life doesn’t happen to me, it happens for me, and that I am in control of my emotions and actions.
I used to think being black gave me a disadvantage, however it was my super power. It made me different – But that is the point. Being part of black culture also gave me a greater purpose, because I knew my work would reflect my community.
I wish I knew the power of building a personal brand and networking a lot sooner.
The Black and Brilliant Advocacy Network (B&BAN) is an advocacy group and professional network united in creating a more diverse workforce, and working to advance Black and Brilliant individuals across the globe.
BRiM is a cross industry initiative seeking to improve the representation of Black people in marketing - we aim to move the industry from good intentions to meaningful action with measurable impact.
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