Sharniya is currently an Enterprise Community Strategy Director at NatWest. Sharniya shares her story which started in branch banking and led all the way to supporting entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds. We also have a discussion around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the great work she and her team are doing at NatWest.

Richard is a DEI Leader who's worked at Deloitte and Wayve. Richard shares his journey which eventually led to him becoming a DEI Leader and how he navigated working in a big corporate to a startup fintech. We also have a discussion around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Black History and Richards Podcast - Tales from the Plantation.

Funmi is currently Distribution Director at HSBC. Funmi has been heavily involved in DEI activities for years, she's a specialist in communications and has helped elevate the DEI projects at HSBC. We caught up with Funmi to have a discussion about her thoughts on Black History Month and representation as a whole - as well as discussing the great efforts HSBC are going to building a diverse and inclusive organisation.

Samira currently works at Diageo as an assistant company secretary, alongside her role she is Founder of the Black Governance Professionals Network. A few things we took away from this conversation were:

• Why she started the network group and how it's impacted so many
• What Black history means to Samira

Akua is a DEI star. Akua currently works at LSEG as a Senior Associate, alongside her role she is EMEA Regional Lead for Accessibility network. A few things we took away from this conversation were:

• We spoke about moving the dial for representation
• Systemic issues in society
• The importance of having leaders to break down barriers

Kyle is an award winning Business Management Student who's currently studying at the University of York. Kyle has completed an internship at IBM and in his time there was heavily involved in the DEI strategy for the company. Kyle talks about setting up an African-Caribbean society at his University and why it was so badly needed.

• Who are The Prince's Trust and what do they do
• Why representation is important to Ikenna
• The importance of leaders creating a space where you can be yourself