BFC adds diversity to its board

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 14, 2020

The British Fashion Council is expanding its board of directors with four new appointments it says will help it tackle issues like diversity and inclusion.

The announcement follows the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has put the fashion industry under increased scrutiny over the composition of corporate boards. 

The appointments include Jamie Gill, chief executive of luxury designer brand Roksanda, June Sarpong, director of creative diversity at the BBC, Scott Morrison, founder of The Boom!, and Sian Westerman, senior advisor at Rothschild & Co..

They are all joining the board as non-executive directors, effective immediately.

British-Indian Jamie Gill took over as chief executive of Roksanda in 2018 at the age of 30, June Sarpong has dedicated her career to fighting diversity issues and Scott Morrison is the founder of a philosophy that promises to unlock cultural impact. Sian Westerman is a senior adviser at Rothschild & Co, a non-executive director at Fenwick and Nicholas Kirkwood Limited and chairman of FaceGym Holdings Limited. 

The appointments add more ethinc backgrounds to a board that was previously majority white. Also sitting on the executive board are chair Stephanie Phair, menswear chair Dylan Jones, chief executive Caroline Rush, chief operating officer Laura Strain, and non-executive directors Anya Hindmarch and David Pemsel.

Stephanie Phair commented: “We are delighted to welcome Jamie, June, Scott and Sian to the British Fashion Council executive board. Each one of them brings unique experience and knowledge to the board and I look forward to working with them on our strategy that will continue to support and promote British talent while tackling the key issues such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry.”