We’re excited to announce the appointment of former UK Government advisor, social enterprise entrepreneur and youth employment ambassador, Tim Campbell MBE. Tim’s official title is OSTC Accelerator Lead and Regional Head, Africa, and he’s already started his first commission to drive our newly created ‘Trading Futures’ talent acquisition division.
Throughout the much-debated global conversations concerning diversity and inclusion, we’ve long stated that unlocking the talent pool in underrepresented parts of society requires less talk and more action.
‘Trading Futures’ will initially focus on uncovering 50 of the brightest young (aged 18-25) talents from underrepresented communities across the UK, before being rolled out globally and to an even wider audience. The programme will actively look to engage those who may not have considered a trading career as a viable option, namely women, ethnically diverse groups, LGBTQ+ candidates, people with different abilities and those from less mobile socio-economic backgrounds.
Tim joins OSTC having previously been Head of Client Services, Emerging Talent and Head of Global Citizenship for global talent acquisition company, Alexander Mann Solutions. He was also Prime Minister Boris Johnston’s Apprenticeship Ambassador when the latter was Mayor of London.
He currently sits on the City of London Corporation Education board and was named the first winner of the BBC TV show The Apprentice. Having represented the UK Government and business community in the UK, USA, Russia and Ghana, Tim brings a wealth of experience and energy to this newly created role.
Commenting on the new programme and Tim’s leadership of it, CEO Lee Hodgkinson said: “We want to unlock the talent pool that has been hidden away in the underrepresented parts of society. This is not only socially and morally the right thing to do, but it also makes sound commercial sense to unleash the latent potential of a vast group of ambitious and capable people. Our ‘Trading Futures’ scheme has been developed to demonstrate what is possible and to create meaningful change on the trading floor and beyond. To deliver tangible progress over the long term, we believe that organisations must “practice what they preach”. It’s time for less talk and more action. Our programme is a clear statement of intent for the firm and emphasises our desire to lead the industry on this topic.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Tim to the business. He is an established entrepreneurial leader, with extensive experience of helping organisations reach disenfranchised and underrepresented communities in the recruitment process and will be instrumental in helping us achieve our diversity targets around the globe.”
Tim Campbell also shares his view on how much this appointment means: “I’ve worked on issues around diversity and inclusion for more than 10 years now, and all too often I’ve seen organisations across the industry who don’t want to be criticised for being “male, pale and stale”, but equally refuse to make the commitment to decisive action that’s needed to achieve real change.”
“Growing up as far away from the capital markets as you could imagine, I am now genuinely excited to find the next generation of traders, the first of which I will be welcoming to our business in June this year. This move shows OSTC is truly stepping up to the plate on diversity issues. We’re now calling on the industry to get their hands in their pockets and start really “walking the walk” on diversity, if they’re serious about bringing about measurable change.”