Tom Ilube receives Diversity Champion Award
Tom Ilube CBE was honoured with the Diversity Champion Award by race equality think tank Diversity UK at its annual Paul Stephenson Lecture on Monday 25th November 2019. The Diversity Champion Award is given to those whose life and work actively promotes greater equality and inclusion across society, the workplace, the public and third sectors. It was awarded to Tom in recognition of his championing of young people through the Africa Gifted Foundation which has led to the founding of the Africa Science Academy.
Reading the citation for the Diversity Champion Award, Shivani Sharma - a member of the Diversity UK Millennial Advisory Board - said “I was really fascinated to hear about Tom’s experience in building his technology firms. Of course, Millennials are digital natives and this exposure to technology and the abundance of information it has enabled, has shaped our world view. The thing I will take-away from Tom Ilube’s speech is that you must want your work to have a great purpose, not just for money or status, but for making a difference to others.”
From L-R: Rita Hunt, Varun Bhanot, Deepesh Upadhyay, Shivani Sharma, Tom Ilube CBE, Prashant Joshi, Anne-Marie Taylor and Ramesh Vala OBE.
About Tom Ilube CBE
Tom Ilube CBE is a technology entrepreneur and educational philanthropist. He is Founder & CEO of London based Crossword Cybersecurity plc and a Non Executive Director of the BBC. Previously he was Managing Director of Consumer Markets at Callcredit Information Group, a UK credit reference agency. Prior to Callcredit, he founded Garlik, a venture capital-backed identity protection company. Earlier, Tom served as Chief Information Officer of Egg plc, the pioneering British internet bank. His career has included Goldman Sachs, PwC and the London Stock Exchange.
Tom is an Advisory Fellow of St Anne's College, University of Oxford and is Chair of the education charity, African Gifted Foundation and launched the African Science Academy, the first girls’ science and technology school on the continent. In 2017, Tom was named as Britain’s most influential Black person. Tom was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to Technology and Philanthropy and has received honorary Doctorates from City, University of London and University of Wolverhampton.
About the Diversity Champion Award
Diversity UK is a think tank to research, advocate and promote ideas for improving diversity and inclusion in Britain. It is an evidence-based initiative that seeks to influence policy, enhance civic engagement and improve the perception of the minority ethnic community in Britain. Diversity UK delivers its objectives by undertaking research, facilitating debates, hosting roundtable meetings and producing white papers. It also hosts the annual Paul Stephenson Lecture on equality and inclusion.
The Diversity Champion Award is presented by the Trustees of Diversity UK and is given to individuals whose life and work actively promotes greater equality and inclusion across society, the workplace, the public and third sectors. Among the other recipients of the award is Dilip Joshi MBE, former Chair of Diversity UK (2012 - 2019).
