Member Article

Ardonagh Retail CEO Ian Donaldson wins prestigious British Diversity Award as Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Mark Feehily and Jamie Carragher honoured

Celebrities and some of the country’s most influential business leaders turned out in force for the Burberry-sponsored British Diversity Awards.

Ian Donaldson, who is the CEO of Manchester-based Ardonagh Retail - part of the £4billion Ardonagh Group, was named winner of the Diversity Champion of the Year Award.

The insurance chief leads Ardonagh’s LGBT+ network and has been a major supporter of initiatives like Manchester Pride and the British LGBT Awards while also launching an initiative called Football For Change, which aims to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds opportunities in education and sport.

Mr Donaldson said: “It’s an honour to receive such a prestigious award and I am very privileged to be sharing a stage with so many incredible people making positive impacts in the space of diversity and inclusion.

“The Ardonagh Group has a real ambition to involve everybody without discrimination, create integrated groups from all walks of life and create a culture of total fairness and inclusion so I’m delighted to see our work is being recognised by a ceremony like the British Diversity Awards.

“However, it doesn’t stop here - we must continue to work together and make sure we achieve all of our aims to create a better society for future generations.”

Big names including Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock were also honoured at the ceremony on Thursday, March 10. The songstress received the ‘Media Champion’ award at the ceremony for her groundbreaking BBC documentary ‘Race, Pop and Power’ which confronted her experiences as a Black woman in the music industry.

Westlife’s Mark Feehily, who recently appeared on ITV’s Masked Singer, collected the Global Recognition Award for Diversity. The Flying Without Wings star, who has notched up a staggering 14 number one singles with Westlife, is a vocal campaigner for surrogacy rights for LGBT+ families.

Sky Sports presenter and former Liverpool FC and England defender, Jamie Carragher, won an award for his work with a number of social mobility charities. In 2020, the big-name football personality launched Football For Change - a social mobility movement aimed at helping disadvantaged young people from socially and economically challenged communities into education and employment.

Meanwhile banking giant Natwest picked up an award for its supplier diversity programme, with high street favourite Boots named Company of the Year.

ITV & Scopes Invisible Disabilities campaign, which saw off stiff competition from organisations such as Transport for London and Lloyds TSB, won Marketing Campaign of the Year. Meanwhile, LGBT+ anti abuse charity Galop pipped the likes of Stonewall Housing Association and Black Minds Matter to the prestigious Charity of the Year accolade and received a generous donation of £10,000 from Burberry.

Head of diversity, equity and inclusion at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Zaheer Ahmed, was handed the Head of Diversity Award beating out the likes of TikTok head of diversity and inclusion Priscilla Baffour to the accolade.

Powerful human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who has fought for LGBT+ rights for over two decades - famously staging a one-man protest near the statue of Marshal Zhukov in Moscow’s Red Square against Russia’s treatment of LGBT+ people during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, was given the special Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards celebrate the individuals and organisations working to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, acknowledging milestones in business, media, politics and grassroots activism.

British Diversity Awards founder, Linda Riley, said: “I’d like to congratulate all of the deserving winners at this year’s Burberry-sponsored British Diversity Awards.

“The awards shine a light on the individuals, organisations, charities and unsung heroes who help to make the world and workplaces a better place for others across all strands of diversity.

“In a world where hate and division is being sown in some quarters, we believe that by continuing to celebrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we can help make the UK and indeed the universe a better place to live and work for everyone.”

Erica Bourne, Chief People Officer, Burberry added: “We are incredibly proud to have supported the inaugural British Diversity Awards. The ceremony has been a true celebration of inspiring individuals, highlighting the incredible contributions from both winners and nominees to creating an inclusive world.

“Their stories showcase the power of coming together, overcoming adversity and standing up for real change. We are grateful to all the judges, organisers, teams and guests for being part of this memorable event and hope these awards will empower many others to use their voice to champion progress.”

WINNERS

CAMPAIGNER - sponsored by DAM Health Sophia Moreau

SUPPLIER DIVERSITY PROGRAMME - sponsored by Cultural Intelligence Centre NatWest

HR CHAMPION OF THE YEAR - sponsored by Ruebik Danyelle Holmes-Lewis

SOCIAL MOBILITY INITIATIVE - sponsored by Imperial Brands Browne Jacobson

DIVERSITY TEAM - sponsored by GSK Springer Nature

CHARITY - sponsored by Burberry Galop

MARKETING CAMPAIGN - sponsored by Playtech ITV & Scope - Invisible Disabilities Campaign

COMMUNITY PROJECT OF THE YEAR - sponsored by Veolia London Black Women’s Project (LBWP)

OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEE NETWORK - sponsored by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust WPP - Unite

GLOBAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR DIVERSITY Mark Feehily

HERO - sponsored by Boots Jacquie McKenzie

INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL - sponsored by Lockton LLP Pips Bunce

INSPIRATIONAL ROLE MODEL - sponsored by Lockton LLP I. Stephanie Boyce

HEAD OF DIVERSITY - sponsored by 10x Banking Zaheer Ahmad

DIVERSITY IN TECH - sponsored by DeNovo Legal Services 10x Banking

DIVERSITY CHAMPION - sponsored by National Grid Ian Donaldson

COMPANY - sponsored by Barratt Developments Plc Boots

MEDIA CHAMPION IN THE PUBLIC EYE - sponsored by Sedulo Leigh-Anne Pinnock

MEDIA CHAMPION IN THE PUBLIC EYE - sponsored by Sedulo Jamie Carragher

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - sponsored by Attest Peter Tatchell

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Miller .