Ian Donaldson launched the Football For Change initiative with Premier League footballers Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Coady last year to change the lives of disadvantaged young people in the North West
The Manchester-based insurance boss leads Ardonagh’s LGBT+ network and has been an active supporter of Manchester Pride and British LGBT Awards
The shortlist for the inaugural Burberry sponsored British Diversity Awards has been announced today (Monday 17 January).
The prestigious awards feature an array of inspirational celebrities and public figures alike. The ceremony will recognise individuals with a track record of working to advance equality and opportunity for traditionally marginalised sections of society.
Ian Donaldson, who is the CEO of Manchester-based Ardonagh Retail – part of the £4billion Ardonagh Group, has been shortlisted for a 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.
Big names including Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock have also been shortlisted for accolades. Pinnock is nominated for her powerful BBC documentary, Leigh-Anne Pinnock: Race, Pop and Power, which followed the pop singer as she confronted her experience as the only Black member of Little Mix, and as a Black woman in the music industry.
Meanwhile, after showing the world acceptance and how to be their true selves following his gold medal success in Tokyo, Tom Daley is nominated alongside comedian John Bishop for his work to support and advocate on behalf of the LGBT+ community.
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, for his tireless and well-documented campaigning, plus Strictly Come Dancing winner Rose-Ayling Ellis are also listed for awards. Football legend Jamie Carragher is also recognised for his work with Football For Change and the Oliver King Foundation, having helped the social mobility enterprise to raise £250,000 on their inaugural dinner launch night while also respectively driving forward the campaign to make it mandatory for all schools to have a defibrillator on site.
Neurodiversity advocate and inspirational teenager Siena Castellon is also nominated for the Hero of the Year category sponsored by Boots, while Church of England, gay equality campaigner Jayne Ozanne is listed in the Campaigner of the Year category, sponsored by DAM Health.
Brands and community groups advocating for greater diversity including National Grid and The Prince’s Trust respectively are among those in the running, while social mobility initiatives like Off The Agenda Podcast are also shortlisted.
Organisations including Stonewall Housing Association, Galop, and Black Minds Matter have been nominated for the Charity of the Year accolade, supported by Burberry.
TV presenter June Sarpong will host the 2022 Burberry British Diversity Awards at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms on Thursday 10 March.
The awards will celebrate the individuals and organisations working to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, acknowledging milestones in business, media, politics and grassroots activism.
Burberry British Diversity Awards founder, Linda Riley, said: ‘We are incredibly excited to be announcing the shortlist of the inaugural Burberry sponsored British Diversity Awards.
“These awards will 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.
“’We believe that by continuing to celebrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion that we can help make the UK a better place to live and work for everyone.”
The full 2022 British Diversity Awards shortlist:
DAM Health – Campaigner of the Year
Daniel Lismore – Climate Change Campaigner
Jayne Ozanne – The Ozanne Foundation
Munroe Bergdorf – Trans Activist
Sarah O’Connell – The Sarah O’Connell Show
Sophia Moreau – Little Village
Sukhjeen Kaur – Chronically Brown
Valentino Vecchietti – Intersex Activist
Yasmin Benoit – Asexual Activist
Burberry – Charity of the Year
Anna Kennedy Online
Black Minds Matter
Changing Faces
Galop
Rainbow Railroad
SAYiT
Stonewall Housing Association
UK Chinese Women Connect Association
Veoila – Community Project of the Year
Brightstars Autistic Club
Disability North
Kirklees Council’s Iroko Project
London Black Women’s Project (LBWP)
NatWest Social & Community Capital
The Princes Trust
The Scottish Centre for Personal Safety
The Wolfpack Project
Barratt Developments – Company of the Year
Boots
Direct Line Group
London Stock Exchange Group
National Grid
OLIVER
SThree PLC
The Lego Group
United Utilities
National Grid – Diversity Champion of the Year
Doug Butler – Reward Gateway
Emma Illingworth – SSE / OVO
Ian Donaldson – Ardonagh Retail
Karen Bosher – Greene King
Lisa Pinney – Coal Authority
Michael Müller – Form3 Financial Cloud
Mythily Katsaris – Fladgate
Sasha Covington – JLL
GSK – Diversity Team of the Year
10x Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group
AMS – We Are Arms
Form3 Financial Cloud
National Grid
OLIVER and The Inside Ideas Group
Sidley Austin LLP
Springer Nature
UHB Fairness Taskforce
10x Banking – Head of Diversity
Karima Green – SThree PLC
Katherine Gansallo – LSEG
Katy Ingle – Bank of America
Kris Phelps – Veolia
Nikunj Upadhyay – Wates
Priscilla Baffour – TikTok
Tim Hardy-Lenik – CSG
Zaheer Ahmad – GSK
Boots UK – Hero of the Year
Barry Boffy – British Transport Police
Belton Flournoy – Proviti UK
Emma Palethorpe – St James’ Place Wealth Management
Jacquie McKenzie – Leigh Day
Kevin Humphreys – Jacobs Engineering Group Inc
Latisha McKenzie – National Grid
Sarah Healey – Disability Champion/Cabinet Office
Siena Castellon – Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Lockton LLP – Inspirational Role Model of the Year
Catherine Johnson – LSEG
Lex Shu Chan – The Business of Fashion
Pete Markey – Boots
Pips Bunce – Credit Suisse
Seetan Varsani – Corps Security
Stephanie Boyce – The Law Society
Stephen Cunningham – BT
Toyin Falade – One Housing
Marketing Campaign of the Year
Deutsche Bank – We Choose to be More
Irwin Mitchell – The Human Touch
ITV – Invisible Disabilities Campaign
Transport for London – #EveryStoryMatters
TSB – D&I Strategy
Wavemaker UK – Nationwide Building Society
Media Champion in Public Eye
Cerrie Burnell – Author. Actor. CBeebies Alumnus. Ambassador for Change.
Denise Welch – Actress, television personality, and writer
Jamie Carragher – Football legend and sports broadcaster
John Bishop – Actor, comedian and campaigner
Leigh-Anne Pinnock – Little Mix
Marcus Rashford – Professional Footballer
Rose Ayling-Ellis – Winner, Strictly Come Dancing 2021 / Eastenders
Tom Daley OBE – Olympic Diver
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust – Outstanding Employee Network of the year
Atkins – ParentNet
Aviva – Origins
BP – BP Pride
Deloitte – Multicultural Network
Hiscox – UK Parents Network
Jacobs – Prism Network
TSB – Rainbow Network
WPP – Unite
Imperial Brands – Social Mobility Initiative of the Year
Browne Jacobson
Grow Mentoring
News UK
Off The Agenda Podcast
Strive Consultants
The Bridge of Hope & Prosper 4 Group
UHB Fairness Taskforce
KPMG
Cultural Intelligence Centre – Supplier Diversity Programme of the Year
Agile One
Birmingham Hospitals Supplier Procurement Team
Boots PLC
NatWest
Resource Solutions
Standard Chartered
Diversity in Tech
10x Banking
Advanced
Cirrico
Form3 Financial Cloud
Geeks
Kantar
Playtech
Templeton & Partners
Ruebik – HR Champion of the Year
Danyelle Holmes-Lewis – BT
David Blackburn – Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Heidi Khoshtaghaza – Bellway Homes
Joanna Smith – SSE / OVO
Mark Shrimpton – Allpoints Fibre
Rachael Rogers – HG Capital
Sophie Yaxley – Playtech
Tom Lyas – Browne Johnson
