Four BAME colleagues selected for G15 leadership programme
It is with great pride that the Group can announce that four of our colleagues have been selected for the prestigious G15 leadership development programme:
• Marian Patterson, Volunteer & Involvement Manager
• Adrian Lewis, Operations Manager, Southern Maintenance Services
• Emmanuel Thiagaraj, Stock Acquisitions Manager
• Bola Ogbe, Head of Business Planning Department, Finance
In April 2020, the Chief Executives of the G15 (made up of London's largest housing associations) collectively signed a BAME diversity pledge committing to a set of actions to improve the ethnic diversity of their companies, particularly at senior levels.
The pledge includes a target for doubling the BAME proportion on the G15 boards to 30% by 2025. The course will run over 15-18 months and will bring together talented colleagues from across the housing sector and provide space for reflection, coaching and challenge plus masterclasses run by senior leaders from across the G15.
At the time of the announcement, Jenny Poore, HR Director said, “We know that increasing diversity in any organisation brings a wealth of insight, understanding and benefits. Increasing our representation of people from different backgrounds at senior levels of a business also creates role models for those on the career ladder to aspire to and can add a rich variety of perspective to inclusive decision making.
“Being a more diverse organisation helps to create a more inclusive culture and this will help us to attract and retain talented colleagues. It is also important that we reflect the backgrounds of the communities that we work with and the customers that we serve,” added Jenny.
Speaking about his selection Emmanuel Thiagaraj said, “Having only joined the New Business Team just under a year ago, I am really impressed with the culture and ongoing support I have received from the Group,”
“Having been chosen to take part in the G15 Accelerate programme is an amazing opportunity for me and my peers to break through certain boundaries that we have all seen and have appeared to be set in stone over the years.
“It would be wonderful in the near future to see a change in the demographics of people in certain positions, and for all companies to be as culturally diverse in all areas as we all grow and develop.” He added
We are delighted for all the successful applicants and we will be following the progress of our colleagues throughout the 18 months duration of the G15 Accelerate Chartered Management Institute (CMI) leadership development programme
G15 Accelerate Programme I knew this was the perfect fit to gain in knowledge, learning and experience from existing leaders and innovators in the social housing sector.