Sandra Wallace is an employment law specialist and partner at DLA Piper global law firm. Passionate about advancing equality, Sandra is also co-chair of the Social Mobility Commission. Born in Birmingham, Sandra spoke Patois at home, and had her first glimpse of discrimination at the age of 5, when she was told to “stop speaking like you do”. Despite the negativity she experienced because of her decision to study law at Wolverhampton polytechnic, Sandra quickly found a job and began to rise through the ranks. That’s why she’s keen to tell her story - to serve as a role model to others who’ve been told they can’t succeed. In this episode Sandra explores how her socioeconomic status has been the biggest hurdle in her life, more so than her gender or race - though she does explain how tiring it is that she still needs to address the issue of racism in this day and age. She explains how business can benefit from greater diversity, what the Social Mobility Commission is doing to push the agenda, and why it’s important for companies to readdress their recruitment practices.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Tamara Box is managing partner of Europe and the Middle East at global law firm Reed Smith. She is also a founding member of the steering group for the 30% Club, which aims to improve diversity in UK boardrooms. Born and raised in Texas, Tamara was always encouraged to see education as a privilege. In a quest to learn alongside people from different backgrounds, she left Texas to study at the London School of Economics. Believing the idea of a meritocracy is a myth, she charts much of her success to lucky opportunities and a willingness to say yes. In this episode, Tamara explains why leadership requires diversity, and how her firm benefits from actively seeking people from different backgrounds, with different perspectives - “to have the best talent on a global basis, it needs to be diverse”. She also talks about how her clients are becoming increasingly interested in the firm’s diversity policies, which in part led the organisation to launch its racial equity action plan. Tamara explores the positive step forward the recent Black Lives Matter protests have had on our willingness to have open and frank discussions about diversity, and explains her aspiration for all young people - that every child is offered a glimpse into the “art of the possible”.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Jo Whitfield is CEO of Co-op food, having previously worked for Matalan and George. Jo is the first female CEO of a major food retailer, an achievement she is both humbled and shocked by. Because of the lack of representation of female senior leaders in the food industry, Jo set up Grocery Girls, which aims to redress the balance. As a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, Jo has seen first-hand the impact of gender inequality. From a young age she saw how language was used to enforce compliance - “be a good girl”, “don’t cause a fuss” - and in her working life has seen how traits often displayed by men are viewed as preferable, undermining a woman’s contribution to the workplace. Jo says it’s important that we offer everyone the freedom of expression - “Our passions and our energies need to be fertilised and grown”. In this insightful episode Jo also explains how to reimagine education and the importance of careers support, why a diverse and unique background should be seen as an asset and a strength, and explains how the Co-op isn’t just a business, it’s a movement. Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Steven Cooper is CEO of Hoare’s bank, a role he took on after spending over 30 years at Barclays. He’s spent time living and working in Africa and India, holds a number of non-executive roles, and is a commissioner on the UK’s Social Mobility Commission. Passionate about advancing the agenda, Steven took the role at the Commission because he wants to pay forward the support he received from the people who were willing to give him a chance. Coming from a working class background, his success came as a result of the opportunities he received from people who spotted his talent, allowing him to excel far beyond the levels he’d considered possible. In this inspiring conversation, Steven explores the need to reform education, the importance of a more joined up approach to tackling social mobility in the UK, and the business case for better diversity in the workplace. Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Tom Ilube CBE is a technology entrepreneur and is CEO and founder of Crossword Cyber Security. Tom has many accolades to his name - he’s founded a number of other businesses, is a non executive director of the BBC, and he’s also an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. In this gripping conversation, Tom explores how education differed in the various countries he’s called home over the years. After growing up in London, Tom moved with his father to Uganda and later to Nigeria, before returning to the UK in adulthood. He also shares insight into his success, from a tireless approach to job applications, to a constant desire to “step up”, and the mental fortitude provided by a strong family unit. This episode also touches on racism, examples of great leadership, and the importance of providing equal educational opportunities for all.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Dr Louise Ashley is a senior lecturer in organisation studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. She specialises in researching the diversity and inclusion practises of large professional services firms. After a surprise admittance to Cambridge, Louise began to see how varying degrees of privilege can affect a person’s life. But it wasn’t until she joined a large law firm that she truly saw the impact of inequality - an experience that led to her current line of work. Louise says each equality strand faces its own challenges - whether it’s gender, race, or social class - but it’s when those strands intersect that the challenges faced by certain people grow deeper. Interestingly, in this conversation Louise explains why she believes the term ‘social mobility’ to be controversial and problematic, and how that’s linked to her belief that merit is an “ideological term”. This conversation delves into the subjects of unconscious bias, the depoliticization of the equality agenda, and the business case for diversity. Find out how Louise believes we can better tackle the issues faced by our society, to improve the outcomes and lives of everybody. Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Paul Cleal OBE is Vice Chair of Kingston University and also sits on the boards of a number of great organisations, including Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the National Citizen Service Trust. Before this, Paul spent 16 years as a partner for Big Four professional services firm PwC. As a young man with African heritage, born in 1966 and brought up in a single-parent household in Croydon, Paul faced many challenges growing up, including being attacked whilst playing football. Although he’s seen racial discrimination first hand, Paul believes socio-economic disadvantage is the biggest challenge to social mobility, because without money, second chances don’t come easily, and hard times are more difficult to recover from. Having received help and support throughout his life to achieve his list of incredible successes, Paul chooses to give back by mentoring young people, and believes diversity and inclusion need our full attention. In this conversation he explores ways we can address issues around education, equality and representation. One major concern Paul highlights is the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on organisations, as he worries they may put their social mobility and diversity strategies at the bottom of the pile while they focus on the immediate financial future. Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Melanie Richards is deputy chair of KPMG UK and has been a board member since 2012, working to set its strategic direction. She was recognised in the 2018 UK Social Mobility Awards for an outstanding contribution to social mobility, an experience that was unexpected, humbling and emotional. Though she’s proud of the award, in this inspiring conversation she explains how she’s not in it for the recognition - that it’s enough just to make a difference in the lives of others. Melanie explores the divide that still exists between the haves and the have nots, and says it’s everyone’s responsibility to shift the status quo. Remaining positive about the progress being made, she does add that the world has seemingly created a linear path for people to follow, and it’s time we move away from that, break out of our tired way of thinking, and put more emphasis on a person’s ability, rather than their background. Melanie is also an advocate for women’s equality, an area of the agenda she believes is making positive strides forward, and is hopeful for the future. She says the time for “good intentions” is over - that inclusion needs to be purposefully built into the structure of our organisations and communities.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

David Martin is a corporate mergers and acquisitions partner at the Magic Circle law firm, Llinklaters, and also the company’s global head of diversity. David grew up in Pembrokeshire in south west Wales, one of the country’s poorest regions, and so his story of becoming a lawyer highlights perfectly the benefits of positive social mobility. He’s tasked with figuring out how to make one of the most socially exclusive careers historically into one that is inclusive. He says his firm is changing conventional perception, with a number of its young lawyers coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. In this fascinating conversation, David explains the specific measures he’s taking to encourage diversity. Highlighting the benefits of these measures, he explains how the company’s reverse mentoring scheme allowed him to experience the firm through the eyes of a visually impaired employee – the direct result of this led him to changing the office environment to improve her quality of life. Success for David is to see companies no longer needing diversity and inclusion schemes, and he says that’s the future he’s working towards.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.

Laura Hinton is head of people at professional services firm PwC. She’s responsible for setting and delivering the company’s ‘people strategy’ in the UK and is an executive member of the board. Laura implements her passion for diversity by working with global clients to support them with culture change, performance management and talent related challenges. In this inspiring conversation, she recalls her “unremarkable upbringing” on a council estate with no big expectation or ambition to live a different life, being told by her careers advisor to apply to supermarkets – and how her life changed when she decided to apply to university. Laura is a strong believer in role models and how large companies have a duty to invest in their communities and young people, and explains how PwC is evolving the conversation to focus as much on inclusion as diversity, to create a stronger and fairer workforce for the future.Your host is Tunde Banjoko OBE, founder of Making The Leap.