Sky Andrew has been involved in some of the toughest negotiations over the years in relation to the transfer of his clients. Most notably moving Sol Campbell from Spurs to Arsenal and in the process becoming the first Premier League player to earn £100,000 per week.
He will be sharing his stories on this as well as providing advice on negotiation.
Sky Andrew, is a English former Olympian who won 3 gold medals at the 1989 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships and was the first Black British sports agent.
He represented Great Britain at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the doubles event with Des Douglas and won 3 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship gold medals in 1989 .Andrew retired from competitive table tennis after the 1994 European Championships.
Sports agent
While training at Lilleshall Hall in his youth, Andrew met young footballer Sol Campbell, with whom he struck up a friendship.
After retiring from table tennis, Andrew wanted to get into show business, but ended up becoming an agent, representing acting clients including Martine McCutcheon.
In the mid-1990s at Campbell's suggestion, he became the first licensed Black British football agent, engineering Campbell's move from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal. Andrew has since represented Jermaine Pennant, David Ginola, Frank Bruno, Jay Bothroyd and Jermain Defoe. He now also represents Ghanaian goalkeeper Adam Kwasarey, England U21 striker Marvin Sordell, and cyclist Alex Dowsett. His TV and film clients include Nathalie Emmanuel, Sarah-Jane Mee, and Natalie Sawyer.
John Amaechi will share his amazing journey so far. He is a psychologist and executive coach while prior to this he was playing in the NBA.
John’s journey to becoming an elite-athlete almost defies belief: at the age of 17, when he first picked up a basketball, John was considered ‘too late to the game’ and ‘not athletic enough’ to have any chance of success in domestic sport, much less overseas. Six short years later he became a ‘starter’ in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
John Amaechi has a portfolio career as an organisational consultant and high-performance executive coach. He is a New York Times best-selling author and social entrepreneur working in both the US and Europe. He works with high-profile individuals and businesses as a high-performance-coach and mentor dealing with various challenges including improving interpersonal communications, leadership, personal and team motivation as well as helping to set out the pathway for his clients to become their very best.
Lord Michael Hastings will be on the Success Talks stage providing us with an insight into his journey so far.
Lord Hastings is KPMG’s Global Head of Citizenship. He was previously the BBC’s first Head of Corporate Social Responsibility having been the BBC’s Head of Public Affairs. Lord Hastings is a non-executive Director of British Telecom and a Trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation. He represents KPMG International on the Global Corporate Citizenship Committee of the World Economic Forum and is a Board Director of the Global Reporting Initiative.
In 2009 he became a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Diversity and Talent. In 2010 served on the ‘Global Agenda Council on the Next Generation’ and in 2011 became a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Role of Business 2011. In 2012 he accepted the invitation to become Vice Chairman of the WEF Agenda Council – the Future of Civil Society.
Michael is Chairman of Millennium Promise UK and a member of the global Millennium Promise Board. He also represents KPMG on BiTC's International Leadership Board (Business in the Community).
In 2010 he was a leading advisor to the Chatham House enquiry into the Future Role of the UK in Foreign Affairs. Michael sits on the Council of the Overseas Development Institute in the UK and the Centre for Global Development in the USA. In 2011 he became a Vice President of UNICEF.
In January 2003, Michael was awarded a CBE in recognition of his services to crime reduction, including 15 years as Chairman of Crime Concern and 21 as a Trustee. He served on the Commission for Racial Equality for nine years as a Commissioner. He is listed as one of the 100 most influential black people in Britain in the Powerlist.
In 2005, Michael was awarded the honour of an independent peerage to the House of Lords by Her Majesty The Queen. In the same year he also received the UNICEF award from the then UK Chancellor for his ‘outstanding contribution to understanding and effecting solutions for Africa’s children’. Michael is President of ZANE - a development aid agency focused on Zimbabwe.
Kenneth Tharp will be taking his place on the Success Talks stage to share his journey so far
As Chief Executive of The Place since 2007, Kenneth Thar p has responsibility for overall leadership, strategy and management of the organisation, as well as lead responsibility for relationships with key funders, including Arts Council England . He also acts as the public face of the organisation, as a spokesperson and ambassador for The Place’s work. He is often invited as to present as a keynote speaker in a variety of contexts from schools to leadership courses and industry related events.
Kenneth trained at The Place’s London Contemporary Dance School . His 25-year performing career included London Contemporary Dance Theatre (1981-1994) Arc Dance Company (1994-2005) and Nigel Charnock Company . He has worked extensively as a choreographer, teacher and director, including at The Royal Ballet School and National Youth Dance Company . He was Dancer in Residence at Queens’ College Cambridge from 1998-2006 and was Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln (2009-2012). He was co-director of Artyfartyarts , a multi-disciplinary arts group and has choreographed over 45 dances. He served on the Board of the Royal Opera House from 2002–2010.
He is a Patron of Akademi and sits on the Cultural Learning Alliance Steering Group and on the Advisory Council of the Creative Industries Federation . He was a finalist in the inaugural Black British Business Awards (2014), is named in six successive Powerlists of Britain’s most influential people of African and African Caribbean heritage, and appears in Who's Who . In 2003 he was made an OBE in recognition of his services to dance.
Kenneth was the BBC Young Dancer 2015 Category Finalist Judge across all categories in the inaugural year of the competition. In July 2015 Kenneth taught for the twelfth successive year on the Royal Ballet Summer School at White Lodge (Lower School), Richmond.
Melanie Eusebe will be taking to the Success Talks platform to share her story so far.
Melanie is a management consultant with over 17 years international business experience, specialising in strategic transformation initiatives for leading global brands. While working at IBM and EY, Melanie specialised in organisational and operational strategy and has worked with companies to identify strategic priorities for revenue generation and delivery of products and services for profitable growth.
After graduating from University of Toronto, Melanie gained a Masters in Philosophy (Ethics) from Birkbeck College at the University of London. She is a regular speaker, lecturer and broadcaster who is respected for her contribution to promoting business leadership skills, harnessing business talent and economic empowerment. She has delivered and participated in sessions for organisations such as Sky, BT, GE, IBM, EY, Inseec, UCL, The Guardian, Better Bankside Women in Business, Trade School Westminster and works with various schools as a mentor. Alongside being the Chair of the BBBAs, Melanie is currently a Professor at Hult International Business School with a focus on Leadership and Management Skills.
Adrian Joseph is taking to the Success Talks stage to share his words on his journey.
Adrian is a Partner at EY. Previously he was aManaging Director at Google working in the Customer Solutions and Innovation team for Northern and Central Europe as well as Managing Director of Google Enterprise for Europe, Middle East and Africa and has also worked in the Mobile, Display and YouTube businesses.
He joined Google with fifteen years of sales, marketing and general management experience gained within industry and management consultancy. Prior to Google, he spent six years at Ford Motor Company in Sales and Brand Management roles in Europe, was a Principal Consultant at A.T Kearney and was on the main Board of Trafficmaster Plc.
In January 2012, he was appointed Chair of Race for Opportunity, the race campaign of Business in the Community, a Prince of Wales charity which stands for responsible business and strives to ensure that all ethnic groups are appropriately reflected in the UK workforce.
As a male model and actor with a social media following of 275k+ Broderick Hunter made an appearance on HBO's hit series Insecure ( Link ) and has become one of the most widely recognized male models in the industry with leading roles in music videos alongside recording artist Ciara & The Wanted, being named one of PEOPLE Magazine’s “Most Sexiest Men Alive”, listed as one of the Most Stylish Male Models on Instagram by GQ Magazine and was one of the faces of POLO RALPH LAUREN. He has been the face of various publications including British GQ, Cosmopolitan US, Buzzfeed and 360 Magazine.
Levi Roots was a television sensation when he came on the BBC Television show Dragons Den and secured a £50,000 investment for 40% of his “Reggae Reggae Sauce” business by Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.
Levi will be sharing his story on life after investment and discuss the aspects which most people do not see as well as why getting investment is only one piece of the puzzle to him growing his multi-million pound business.
Levi Roots, is a British-Jamaican reggae musician, television personality, celebrity chef, businessman and multi-millionaire.
For years Levi made the sauce from his kitchen in Brixton with the help of his seven children, selling his overwhelmingly popular sauce out of bag on his back.
At 1991's Notting Hill Carnival Levi created a fusion between the food he was cooking and the music he was playing, opening the ‘Rasta’raunt', which was so popular it is now an annual fixture at Carnival. Despite the sauce's popularity it took another 16 years of rejection from banks and businesses to invest in the product who thought it looked and sounded "too black".
In 2006, Levi was spotted at the World Food Market by a BBC researcher and invited to appear on the programme Dragons’ Den. Levi had never even heard of the show, and went home to his kids asking them what Dragons’ Den was. They begged him not to appear saying; Dad, don't go on that show, they'll just tear you to pieces!
Although he was doubtful about the programme, Levi’s mother encouraged him to come back as a 'Dragon Slayer'. Levi put his faith in Reggae Reggae Sauce to win over those fiery Dragons.
The sauce was an instant hit. In exchange for a 40% stake in his business, he secured the support of millionaire ‘Dragons’, Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh for £50,000. Peter Jones helped to get the sauce listed by Sainsbury's, turning the dream into a reality.
Levi's success has been nothing short of a whirlwind and he has even been invited by Prime Ministers to no.10 in recognition of his notable success as a black man in Britain attaining financial achievement through enterprise. Levi equates his success to putting himself into the product.
Levi's main focus has been to promote the Reggae Reggae brand and the message it symbolizes. 'I want to spread the word that if a black Brixtonian Rastafarian can make it with just a sauce, then you can make it too.'
The Levi Roots range continues to grow with Caribbean inspired cooking sauces, ready meals, soft drinks, desserts and more. Numerous high profile restaurant chains have signed deals with Levi to use the sauce on their menus including Wetherspoons and other high street franchises
In 2008, Levi hosted his debut TV series 'Caribbean Food Made Easy’ in which he aimed to make the vibrant tastes and healthy ingredients of Caribbean food more accessible, and it was accompanied by his iconic book of the same name.
As well as cooking, Levi continued to fulfill his passion for credible roots music by releasing his studio album 'Red Hot' with its catchy summer single ‘So Out Of My Mind’, in 2009.
With seemingly endless possibilities for the popular Levi Roots brand, Levi continues to bring the sunshine of the Caribbean to all of his ventures while popularizing the spicy flavours of his Jamaican heritage….Always focused and ever motivated Levi Roots remains true to his inspired mantra of success, ‘Put some music in your food!'
Along the way, Levi has managed to pack in a great deal! In 2013, he launched his School of Life Tour, taking his message to children all over the country, inspiring them to follow their dreams and showing them how to make tasty, healthy food. He has published six cookbooks and a business book, released a new album and most recently, Levi realised his ultimate dream of opening a Caribbean restaurant. In December 2015, the Levi Roots Caribbean Smokehouse opened its doors to the public in Westfield Stratford City, bringing authentic sights, sounds and tastes of the Caribbean to the masses.
Ken is Founder and Chairman of Restoration Partners, the boutique technology merchant bank. Ken is the Lord Lieutenant of Greater London; a Freeman of the City of London; Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists; a Director of the Thomson Reuters Foundation; Chairman of Thames Reach (a charity working to shelter and resettle the homeless in London for which he received an OBE in 2010); Chairman of Shaw Trust, a past member of the Government’s Women’s Enterprise Taskforce and was an inaugural Postal Services Commissioner from 2001 to 2004 and an original member of IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority) until 2013. In 2009, he was named the Sunday Times Not for Profit Non-Executive Director of the year and was voted one of the Top 50 most influential people in UK IT in 2011, and the second most influential black person in 2014 by the Power List Foundation.