TLC x Page Executive “First to the Top” Event: Meet the Panellists!
On Wednesday 17th April we are hosting our inaugural “First to the Top” event, delivered in partnership with Page Executive!
We invited three members of our community to share their insights on being trailblazers in their fields and how they have supported others on their way up!
Read this article to meet our panellists:
Simone Gondwe - Commercial Director, Diageo
Simone is a trailblazer in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and has been recognised in Management Today's annual 35 Women Under 35 list, which celebrates the UK’s most impressive women in business, and the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her career achievements.
Before turning 30, Simone was the General Manager (Africa) and Commercial Director (Europe and Middle East) at McCormick & Company. In this role Simon was the youngest director in Europe and the only Black, female director. She is now a commercial director at Diageo, leading a large cross-functional team that drives the company's digital strategy across Great Britain.
Simone is a champion for diversity and inclusion and Founder of the Black FMCG Collective. Starting as a whatsapp group in 2020, this is now the largest professional network within the FMCG industry representing the black community.
Bolaji Solofuwe - Managing Director ETK Group
Bolaji is an Africa-focused market expansion strategist, entrepreneurship expert, and an Export Champion for the Department for Business and Trade. She was recognized in Powerlist Magazine's Black Powerlist 2024 as one of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People.
With over twenty years of expertise and experience in Africa and the UK, Bolaji has a proven track record of strategically positioning businesses (from start-ups to established corporates) to enter and thrive within complex African markets.
As Managing Director of UK based ETK Group, Bolaji has led ETK’s consultants to help global companies make connections in 32 African countries to date. She's also an entrepreneurship expert at Saïd Business School (University of Oxford), Chairwoman and Head of Womens Forum at BGEN International , where she works to encourage more women into science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) roles, and an angel investor to a small portfolio of female-led African businesses
Suki Fuller - Founder, Miribure
Suki is a globally recognized trailblazer in intelligence (strategic, competitive, and national security), tech trends, social networks, surveillance, security and tech ethics. She was named the Most Influential Women in UK Technology (2023) by ComputerWeekly.com
For nearly two decades, Suki has worked globally as an intelligence advisor. She is a leading expert on the social implications of technology, particularly facial recognition and surveillance, and how it affects human rights and civil liberties. Suki is known for her early adoption of new technologies and focus on agile competitive and emergent strategies.
Beyond her expertise, Suki is a successful entrepreneur. She founded Miribure, a strategic and competitive Intelligence consultancy. She's also the Co-Founder and Senior Vice President Europe of DC Analytics, a Fellow of the Council of Competitive Intelligence Fellows and the Analytical Storyteller for design consortium GROUP OF HUMANS®. Suki's influence extends further as an advisor, board member, investor and NED to several startups
A special thank you to all our community members for sharing their stories during this event
If you missed our launch event, sign up as a member to received priority access to future panel discussions and events!
Interested in partnering on a future event? Email hello@theladderclub.co.uk for further details
TLC Team x