Inaugural Chairman, Dr Lord Michael Hastings CBE

Lord Hastings CBE is the former Global Head of Citizenship for KPMG International; he was previously the BBC's Head of Public Affairs and is the Chancellor of Regents University London and Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R Covey Institute, Utah State University.

Lord Hastings was a trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation for 11 years and served for 9 years on the Board for Responsible and Sustainable Business at British Telecom and as a Commissioner of the Commission for Racial Equality for 9 years. He serves as a Governor of the Vodafone/Safaricom MPESA Academy in Nairobi, Kenya and is Chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Black Business Association and is currently Chair of Trustees for SOAS University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies).

Amanda Rajkumar, Interim Chair

Amanda is a highly accomplished People Leader at the Board level, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to cultivating inclusive, productive, and motivated workforces throughout her career. Her most recent role was the Executive Board Member at Adidas responsible for People & Culture where she was based in the German Company headquarters for three years. Before this, she was Head of Human Resources for BNP Paribas USA, overseeing Human Resources for the IHC (Intermediary Holding Company) and playing an integral role as a member of the Americas Executive Committee and the Group Human Resources Executive Committee. With a wealth of experience as a global HR leader, spanning twelve years at BNP Paribas in Paris, London and New York and eight years at JP Morgan, Amanda has consistently focused on professionalising HR departments, advising, supporting and holding C suites to account, and listening to the employee voice to enhance employee engagement. Her work has focused on improving people policies and creating positive disruption to ultimately improve work cultures. In March 2019, she initiated the groundbreaking BNP Paribas New York and New Jersey Employee Choir, which has since flourished. In April 2020, Amanda assumed the pivotal role of Board Member at Musica Sacra New York, a prestigious choir on the East Coast, with a determined focus on fostering a more diverse choir and audience.

Ruby Aryiku Trustee

Ruby Aryiku, Co-Founder of VAMP, a leading Digital Talent and PR Agency Established in 2017 as the first agency solely focussed on the representation and development of Black digital talent in the UK, a group regarded as pioneers of the industry. Vamp also manages influencers uplifting and growing engagement across their social platforms. Clients include Disney, Universal Pictures, E-One, Warner Bros., BBC, Missguided, Benefit Cosmetics, Sony Music, Warner Music, Channel 4, Boohoo and more.

Darren Miller

Founder and interim CEO of Black British Initiative and a fervent believer in the intrinsic benefits of a fair and equitable society with a focus on racial justice.

A pioneering entrepreneur, renowned innovator and brand, building specialist with over 20 years experience, spanning the luxury interior sectors to, prestige and ground breaking seminal events, such as Functional Art at the Saatchi Gallery, in association with Yamaha, Wallpaper Magazine and Luxury Cave, a multidisciplinary exhibition held at the Design Museum, showing the finest curated items from brands such as Aston Martin, Dyson, Thomas Heatherwick and Fabergé.

Darren is also founder of multi-award nominated podcast series 'BBI You're On Mute' a platform featuring world class leaders with national and global influence using their status as a force for good.

In addition, Darren also conceived BBI's Mini MBA in partnership with SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, the University of London), a qualification designed to empower early stage Black entrepreneurs, ensuring they understand business best practice.

Andrew Xeni

CEO & Founder of Fabacus & Nobody's Child. Forging his own path since 2004, Andrew is a passionate, retail and technology entrepreneur, founding multiple businesses including Fabacus, 2019 Drapers Young Fashion Brand of the Year; Nobody’s Child, 2020 Best Performance Marketing Award winner; Soreto, Climax Music Group and Misfit Fashions. After half a lifetime learning, he is now CEO of start-up Fabacus, focused on using his experience to help solve the problems he encountered along the way. Pursuing his aspirations in bite size chunks, today Fabacus is transforming the licensing and retail industries through the power of data, with their proprietary technology solution, Xelacore.