Digital Hub

Get ready for an inspiring episode with Resham Ahdan, the unstoppable English-born Asian Business Process & transformation supremo. From shy to powerhouse, Resham has conquered the corporate world, leading global teams and coaching Leaders. Hear her incredible journey, learn the importance of company culture, and discover how to develop unwavering self-belief. With Resham's wisdom, you'll be inspired to exceed your potential and achieve greatness. Don't miss this uplifting and inspiring conversation. Thank you, Resham!

Kianna is a previous guest of the digital hub podcast, some of you may remember her, at the time Kianna was Senior Recruitment Business Partner for Mediabrands, Kianna is now DE&I Manager at Mediabrands leading their strategy for 2023 and is delivering on a plan to land 3 serious  improvements to the overall D&I strategy in 2023.

Kianna is a successful black woman in her own right, her new role is a natural progression for herm as she has already devised and contributed so much to Mediabrands D&I strategy in her previous role its great ear her insights and what she has loaned for 2023 and beyond.

Seun is the Managing Director of Matterkind. Seun leads Matterkind UK and Ireland, IPG’s essentially, IPG’s activation intelligence company.

Seun, super bright & super driven graduated university in Manchester however while at Uni he took a gap year as an intern and that was his first taste of the advertising sector, and BOOM the rest is history! 

Seun has flourished in the sector, and he describes his journey well with a story of how his current role as MD unfolded. 

As a young black MD Seun is also an D&I advocate, acknowledging that working in advertising as a MD is a rare role for a black man, therefore he is working closely with Kianna to ensure the groundwork is laid down for up & coming people of colour can following his footsteps. 

Thank you, Kianna & Seun. 

Sergio Panday my brother from another mother, we are both super tall, I edge Sergio by an inch or two. Height is just one thing we share, we also share a passion for equality, equal opportunities for all. 

Sergio an Investment Banking professional, he has a glowing CV with experience spanning Amsterdam, Singapore for tier 1 Investment Banks, check out Sergio’s LinkedIn profile its very impressive! 

Sergio is also the founder & CEO of Roots Inspire the mentoring leadership programme that has developed 100+ up & coming leaders of colour, furnishing them with the tools, knowledge to better navigate the corporate world. 

On this episode we talk about the inception of Roots Inspire its mission purpose and the programmes Roots Inspire has planned for the future. Sergio also shares snippets of early life, born in Suriname, raised in Amsterdam by his mother and his rise to significant heights within Investment Banking. 

Ovo Ghararo, Legal & General’s Chief Data & Analytics Officer.

Within a few minutes it was evident that Ovo is one of the nicest guys you’d ever wish to meet, but also, you’ll realise he really – really knows his stuff, what he doesn’t know about data you can write on a postage stamp.

After graduating rising through the ranks to Deloitte, M&G & finally to his current gig at Legal & general as Chief Data & Analytics Officer, this journey has given Ovo the experience, knowledge & confidence to manage multi-billion-pound projects! & trust me when I say he has a natural knack for understanding & demystifying complex data problems & laying down facts. 

Topics discussed not limited to ….

• Does the CTO always see the difference?
• Why 60% of data lake projects fail
• When will data be defined as its own entity and stop being referred to as technology? 

It’s a great listen, effortlessly articulated in laymen terms.  

Thank you Ovo!

I met Tolu earlier this year at a D&I conference organised by the one & only Andre Spence, thank you Andre!!

Tolu wowed the room, all 50+ attendees were transfixed on how eloquent he was and the messages that came from him, I was one of those attendees & we’ve spoken very week since

Tolu is Head of data visualisation at Sky, he has excelled through the ranks since completing their graduation program. 

Tolu is Nigerian, from the age of 3 years of age Tolu grew up in Hampshire with is parents and siblings from. He didn’t set the world at light at school, he was a rebel at times who waited until he went to college to unleash the focus and superb brain that seen him excel academically and shape his focus that he possesses to this very day, we have a great chat, it was fun as I already kind of knew his values and a tiny bit about Tolu, and he didn’t hold back in sharing with me how his life and career to date has unfolded, articulated in away that is true to the Digital Hub that is full of inspiration.  

As with many of my guests we ran out if time and we were only just getting started. 

Enjoy & thank you Tolu. 

This is an enjoyable podcast interview, not just for the up & coming but for us that are a few years older too, don’t get me wrong, Eddie isn’t ancient as he’s similar age to me…lol we grew up when the world was a different place to what it is now, we get into that as well as his rise to being Managing Partner at Publicis. 

Eddie was calm, super – super cool, his demeanour remained stellar throughout this episode, he came with invaluable insights including the importance of how his actions of “persistence & passion” saw him land his first gig in the world of advertising which was massively a white dominated sector at that time. His early years in Newcastle was great to hear, I listened and imagined how cool it would’ve been to of been his mate as we had so many similar interests with football, clothes & music.   

I’m already looking forward to Part 2 

A talent that I’m going to love to see him thrive and keep achieving he is so humble that he surprises himself with his achievements & repetitive successes. 

Sam was born in Nigeria, into family of high values & standards. 
Sam doesn’t hold back, he shares with you every step of his journey from Nigeria, boarding school to his first role crunching numbers in a data role ad to where he is today as Global Account Manager at WPP.

Sam’s story is a true inspiration, confirming international immigration overseas & success is possible for those who work hard and believe in themselves. 

Ebony Douglas, the Senior Digital Marketer & proud Mum from Wembley, a truly magnificent black female marketeer, blessed with such as a positive no fear outlook that’s infectious!

Brought up by a single parent, an only child, however, she’s taken on all what a modest upbringing can throw her way and made herself into a woman on a mission to the boardroom who is one of few who has the balance of work and family life down to a fine art, being the devoted mother that she is to her young son while carving herself out a career.

On Ebony’s path to the Boardroom, it’s clear throughout this episode that her self-belief to push and knock on doors has contributed to Ebony making her own opportunities …..even her first job as intern which soon turned into a much bigger role.

We chatted about several topics each had a lesson within itself & I love that, it’s impossible for any up & coming individual or any career person to not get value from this episode.

Ebony would also like to share the name of “Efrosyni Adamides” to our listener & YouTube viewers, as she had a massive impact on Ebony’s life as a mentor and coach. We touch on this in this episode too.

Enjoy and be inspired as always as you’ve become accustomed to now know that’s what the Digital Hub podcast is all about, thank you Ebony.

Kianna is a trail blazer, the eldest of 3 siblings from South London.

Still in her 20’s Kianna has become a leader in the world of recruitment… internal Talent Acquisition and leadership! 

Spearheading the talent team for a global media giant “Mediabrands” approximately 14000 employees in the UK is no easy feat. 

Not just leading talent acquisition strategy but as a young black woman Kianna has really taken the lead from a DE&I perspective taking responsibility, implementing & driving visible change. 

In typical Digital Hub style listen, learn & be inspired through hearing how and why Kianna has achieved so much in a relatively short amount of time. 

Some of the topics discussed in this episode of Young Gifted & Black! 

• We discover what has shaped Kianna 
• Kianna’s life before and after University
• Early careers in retail sales, estate agency & then recruitment
• Kianna’s experience on not being her authentic self
• The importance of not burning bridges 
• How George Floyd’s death inadvertently helped boost D&I initiatives
• Imposter syndrome 
• Finding your niche & owning it 
• Not being afraid of being successful 

Enjoy this inspirational episode, thank you

Ian Benjamin & Kianna Briggs  

It was an absolute pleasure to have Carol on as a guest, interviewing Carol was a joy.

Knowing Carol for the past few years, on a business level as well as on a person level shaped the interviews relevant & varied questions on a business and personal level which Carol embraced and shared a heck of a lot with me, & now with you Digital Hub listeners and viewers.

I’ve seen Carol’s career, stature & profile flourish in recent years now Head of Construction at Access Group, not only a mentor to so many and more to come and she has continued to embark on what is an amazing career in the digital & technology side of the construction sector or built environment as it’s becoming widely known today.  

All that know Carol of will agree with me that she is a trail blazer for all women, most definitely black women but all women too as she becomes a recognised as an influential figure within the construction sector where gender & race gaps are an issue. 

 Carol takes on new challenges head on and excels time & time again an example of this was the sale of Easy Build in 2020, Carol managed the entire process almost single handed, navigating the entire sale from start to finish which ironing out the bumps in the Road to see the sale over the line, these traits are what have allowed her to grow and keep excelling in her career and personal life too, which she shares Ray, her son’s daughters and now grandkids too. 

If you don’t know Carol you can easily follow her, she is frequently on the Clubhouse audio app, LinkedIn and also holds a seat on the board of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce alongside Chamber CEO my friend Briege Leahy, again testament to her achievements in construction technology & the wider business community. 

Grab a coffee, sit back & relax & be inspired….. well of course you know by now it’s the Digital Hub podcast!