The Black Ladder Podcast

Today’s guest is Kenzo Onumonu, Kenzo is a lawyer who works as a Senior Legal counsel for a venture capitalist.

Outside of his 9-5, Kenzo is also the creator of Forty - a provocative card game that’s designed to get people talking and sparks important conversations.

It was great to talk about the different external influences that can affect your chances of becoming a lawyer and we came to the conclusion that some of these influencers are already in the play from a very young age.

On this weeks episode; Kenzo tells us about the differences between solicitors and barristers, the key stakeholders of a lawyer, working in a creative start up company and why representation is super important.

Guest: Kenzo Onumonu (kenzoatfortycards.com)

Today’s guest is Lorraine Copes MCIPS, she is the head of procurement at Corbin & King’s where she is responsible for group procurement, supply chain, quality assurance and the inventory system. 

She is a self certified foodie and is originally from Birmingham. Of all the roles Loraine tells us about, we notice that for about half of them, she has been approached or headhunted for the job. She explains how important networking and building relationship were in driving these opportunities. 

On this weeks episode; we talk about stakeholder relationships, the burger market in Kuwait, networking, bringing your whole self to work, champagne tastings and being black in the hospitality industry. 

Today’s guest is Dr Nneka Abulokwe - a tech, digital governance and diversity specialist who is passionate about the intelligent use of technology and governance.

Her corporate career spans over 25 years, culminating in a return to her independent boutique consulting firm MicroMax - which is she is founder and CEO of.

She is also one of the first Afro-Caribbean professionals in the UK to sit on the board of a top European digital transformation organisation.

On this weeks episode; we talk about business etiquette, the exec level interview process, dance, being the only black woman in a board room and last but not least the OBE she was awarded in 2019 for services to Business by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Today’s guest is Dr Efosa Uwubamwen. Efosa is currently a full time model who’s career started whilst he was studying for his General Medicine degree In Czech Republic. He was scouted after a friend of his saw him in some nightclub photos on Facebook.

Efosa is a fashion model and one of the highlights he tells us about is his casting with the one and only Donatella Versace.

Travel is a big part of his job and he gives us a great insight into what it’s like to travel all of over the world as a Black Model

On this weeks episode; we talk about agencies, castings, being self employed, handling rejection, health and juggling a full time job whilst studying.

Today’s guest is Steven Apampa. Steven is a Digital Brand Manager at Nike where he plays a role in providing consumers with the best digital experiences. He primarily manages Nike’s digital content on Foot Locker’s channels.

Prior to starting with Nike, Steven completed a Football Industries MBA before having a week to pack up and move to Amsterdam, as the Nike Headquarters are in Holland.

He loves football and his favourite colour is red so if you put 2 and 2 together, that would make his football team - Manchester United.

On this weeks episode; we talk about racism in football, doing what interests you, marketing yourself, keeping your passion alive in your career and Lebron James.

I also learn that I’ve been saying “Nike” wrong for years, so stay tuned to find out what the right way is…

Today’s guest is Tola Apampa. Tola is Risk advisory and audit manager at Deloitte. Im sure you heard Deloitte and audit and you’re probably thinking he’s an auditor, but you’re wrong; he’s way too cool for that. Tola manages the large scale Robotics & Intelligent Automations division where he specialise in the Financial Sector working with tier 1 & 2 banks.

On this weeks episode we talk about doing things at the right time, business chemistry, tech in the banking world, blue prism, converting a contracting role to a permanent one, unconscious bias and my personal favourite, robots!

Two words that continually come to mind for me on this episode were perseverance and patience.

Tola starts this episode off by telling us that he never does things the easy way, so stay tuned to find out more about his route to becoming a manager at the age of 27!

Today’s guest is Nike Fakoya. Nike is a Pharmacist, a Business owner, Wife, Sister, and Mother - specifically my mother. Right now, she’s working with the NHS as a Senior Prescribing Advisor of High cost drugs. Her legacy in life is to build people up.

On this episode, we talk about her early admission to university, starting and running her own pharmacy in Nigeria where she faced a few issues such as petty theft and greedy landlords but; she also benefitted from the support of her family and professional networks.

She then takes us to a completely different country and talks to us about starting again with a young family and how previous marks left by other excellent black pharmacists helped her settle into her career within the NHS.

I know i’m biased because this is my mothers career story, but when we were recording this I was speechless because it was so captivating hearing how she broke down barriers and crossed international waters to make a home for her family and still managed to make leaps and bounds in her personal career.

I was particularly moved by her story of why she stopped working in the hospital after a tragic family loss. Keep listening because this story has all sorts of twists and turns from marriage, babies, businesses, illness, moving abroad, exams, racist estate agents, NHS and much more.

On this weeks episode, i’m chatting with Onyeka Onyekwelu. Onyeka is the Lead Engagement Officer for the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI).

She’s responsible for shaping the narrative around how London boroughs collaborate using tech, data and innovation to realise real world outcomes for Londoners.

Her awesome story begins with a Law degree, followed by a call to the Bar and 6 months of NGO work in Nigeria.

We move on to talk about her role as a Policy and Programme Manager for the Bar Council where she worked on the digital courts agenda, managed social media campaigns and equality and diversity projects.

She then branched out to work as an Associate Consultant that helped her take ownership of her work and build her confidence again.

This is a great listen if you want to hear more about knowing your worth, networking, volunteering and being the only black female in the room.

Hooray, Episode 1 is now out!

On this weeks episode, i’m chatting with Tolu Adebekun, an Insight Manager at Sky.

Tolu talks us through his many different roles he’s held in the company from Business analyst as a graduate, to Insight Analyst, then branching out to Strategic Insight Consultant before coming back to the more commercial Lead analyst role and finally working his way up to be an Insight manager.

Episode layout

Part 1 - Introduction to guest

Part 2 - Career ladder and being black in that career

Part 3 - Top tips

Part 4 - Controversial topic