Leading black boss lays down challenge to boardrooms
Tech chief Tom Ilube issues a challenge to the nation’s (mostly white) boardrooms...
TOM ILUBE was in his 20s when a headhunter put him forward for a job at a big City firm. He was told the boss remarked: ‘Ilube, that’s an interesting name. Is he black?’ On hearing that he was, the boss exploded: ‘Don’t you know? We don’t employ black people.’
Thankfully, times have altered since then. But, as recent events have proved, racism is still a key issue for society to tackle. And the same is true of the business world.
Ilube, now a successful entrepreneur and CBE, believes a rare opportunity to make hugely significant improvements to workplaces has suddenly emerged.
Companies across the board are clamouring to show that they promote equal opportunities and abhor racism. Committees have been set up, special days have been set aside for discussion and big firms have advertised their politically correct credentials.
For Ilube, however, it’s not nearly enough. ‘Vague statements and gestures won’t really move the dial,’ he says. ‘Companies need to look at what can be done to really make a difference in their organisation – and do it.’
Right now, many firms are setting aside time to talk to their black and Asian employees. But Ilube warns that what seems like a perfect opportunity can easily be squandered. ‘As an employee, you can’t just say: “We need actions not words.” You have to be specific,’ he says.
Ilube points out that most large organisations have a number of
‘You wouldn’t build a team with 11 strikers’
decision- making bodies, where budgets are set and strategies are formed. Black and Asian people should demand to be part of these bodies, he says.
He suggests every employee offered a meeting puts a simple request to their company leader: ‘Ask the CEO – will you commit that before the end of 2020 every decision- making room in t his organisation will include at least two black, Asian or ethnic minority representatives?’
To many companies that may sound like a big ask. But Ilube believes it is both feasible and advisable. The most successful companies are those that understand their markets and understand how to attract the best people into their organisation. A lot of those people have been out on the streets recently marching about.
‘They are young, intelligent, motivated and passionate and leaders should try to attract them. That’s how they are going to be more successful than the next person up the road,’ he says.
Ilube founded AIM-listed firm Crossword Cybersecurity in 2014 but he has been an entrepreneur since his early 30s, setting up two successful technology businesses including credit firm Noddle and acting as chief information officer at Egg, the UK’s first internet bank.
‘In business, you’re not just looking for individuals, you’re looking for teams because that’s how most work is done,’ he says. ‘So how do you build an effective team? Should everyone be from the same background with the same experience and the same mindset or should you construct a team with a range of views and experiences that can work constructively together to get the job done?
‘As a leader that wants to be successful, I want to build that sort of team because I want to win – not for any other reason – just because I want to win. Think about sport. You wouldn’t build a football team with 11 strikers – you need a range of skills on the pitch. It’s the same in business.’
Some companies may say that they just want the best people for the job and that, frequently, those people happen to be white.
To this Ilube counters: ‘I’ve been in business for a long time and the sad fact is that most people in most jobs are not the best person for that job. Just look at the non-executive directors of FTSE 100 companies.
‘Literally hundreds of them are there because of who they are and who they know.
‘So I do smile when I hear them talking about the importance of having the best people for the job. I just think, well if that were the case, you’d be out of a job!’ Not that Ilube believes companies should employ staff simply because they are black or Asian. Rather, he suggests that businesses should think carefully about what they mean by ‘the best’.
‘If you want to win and you have a vacancy, i t might be worth employing someone who is going to scrap and fight and bring everything to the job. They may not have been to Oxbridge and got brilliant grades but if they’ve had to fight to succeed, they may be the best employee for you.’
Another common complaint from companies is that they just do not meet black and Asian candidates for jobs. Here, Ilube points the finger at headhunters and recruitment firms.
‘They have a big role to play in this and I haven’t heard much from them at the moment. They are very often the gatekeepers but I haven’t heard them saying: “We’ve been getting it wrong and here’s what we’re going to do now.” Looking ahead, if we want to change things in business, they have to be in the conversation,’ he says. Companies can do their bit to accelerate this change, Ilube believes. ‘Firms that use traditional headhunters need to tell them: “This matters to us so if you want to pitch for our business, tell us what you are doing to address it.”
‘And there are lots of new recruitment firms that know where to look for diverse talent so if firms want to see a diverse shortlist, they have to bring them into the mix.’
Ilube is quietly spoken and circumspect but he is both determined and resilient. With a British mother and a Nigerian father, he spent his early years in London, Uganda and
‘Company leaders hold the key to change’
Nigeria and rarely felt entirely at home anywhere.
‘As a mixed-race person, I was viewed as an outsider both in Nigeria and in the UK. I think that made me build up my own confidence in who I am and take on responsibility for how I feel,’ he says. His upbringing also made Ilube keen to prove that he could hold his own within the corporate establishment. His first job was at British Airways, followed by the London Stock Exchange, accountancy firm PwC and US investment bank Goldman Sachs.
An entrepreneur at heart, he then set out on his own, a decision that highlighted another sector that is ripe for change, he believes.
‘The venture capital world in the UK is extremely lacking in diversity. As a black entrepreneur, when you pitch for money, you just know there is an extra half a hurdle to get over.
‘To create change, people working in these firms might suggest that they invest a particular amount of money into certain types of business. These firms segment investments anyway so it is a natural progression for them,’ he says.
The key point, Ilube believes, is that people should tailor requests to things that the organisation understands. ‘If you say to your boss, we do A, B and C and we should do Z, they won’t really know how to deal with it so they will probably create a committee, push it down the road and hope everyone forgets about it in six months’ time,’ he says.
Having been in business for more than three decades and witnessed bouts of racism throughout his career, Ilube might be forgiven for feeling angry. But he is not.
‘I am more patient than most people,’ he says. ‘Fundamental change that is going to really stick always takes time. I am generally suspicious of sudden changes, flag-waving initiatives. Perhaps that’s my Tai Chi mindset – slow, gradual, powerful, fundamental change.’
He does believe however, that company leaders hold the key to change. ‘In all these conversations, I tend to focus on leadership.
‘If real leaders decide that they want something to happen, that’s when you see a sudden step forwards. That’s when you see things really happening,’ he says.