Adaptability, meritocracy and banning ‘delegation’: BLEP welcomes Rob Pierre

On 23 September 2024, participants of The Open University (OU)’s Black Leadership and Empowerment Programme (BLEP) were invited to a fascinating, insightful, exclusive keynote webinar from influential business leader Rob Pierre, former CEO of digital marketing giants Jellyfish.

It was a true privilege to hear from Rob, a successful entrepreneur with extensive investment and leadership experience, who featured in the Powerlist in 2022, 2023 and 2024, a profile of the UK’s 100 most powerful Black Britons.

With an audience made up of BLEP participants, staff from partner organisations Autotrader, Manchester Airport Group, The Prince's Trust and Inclusive Companies, a representative from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and selected attendees from across the Faculty of Business & Law and the OU, the hour-long webinar covered Rob’s business journey, his achievements and setbacks, and inspirational advice for the business leaders of tomorrow.

During introductions from the webinar’s convenor Dr Fidele Mutwarasibo and Professor Keith Schofield, Head of Business School at the OU, we heard how BLEP is “a perfect distillation of the OU mission: to be open to people, places, methods and ideas”, before the floor was handed to our distinguished guest speaker.

Rob captivated attendees with his business insights, particularly regarding how his former firm, Jellyfish, tore up the rulebook when it came to hierarchical structure. Under his tenure, they introduced a ‘dashboard’ of projects, wherein staff could choose and self-assign the tasks they were best suited to or most passionate about, allowing people to play to their strengths and have autonomy over their own workflow. With staff taking both ownership and accountability, Rob and his team cultivated a meritocracy which allowed people of all races and backgrounds to thrive.

He discussed how they banned the word ‘delegation’, encouraged staff to learn through observation and interaction (the same way, Rob asserts, that “we all learn as children”), and used greater visibility of Black leaders within the organisation to fight the paradoxical phenomenon of Black people in business suppressing each other to elevate themselves.

Another focus of his keynote address was the importance of adaptability, specifically an ability to, in his words, “pivot”. Stressing the argument that any perceived failure is actually a vital lesson, Rob is an advocate of constantly refreshing and reimagining business strategy, learning from setbacks and honing you’re an organisation’s approach accordingly.

A truly inspirational speaker, Rob’s words clearly made a huge impact on attendees, who followed up with questions on how Black entrepreneurs might seek investment in a homogenous business landscape, how to find the confidence and bravery to start a business in the first place, and how Jellyfish managed to combat the industry trend of larger firms “weaponising” productivity through micro-management.

The OU and BLEP are so grateful to Rob for giving up his time to share his considerable knowledge and experience.

Watch the recording here

BLEP, the first initiative of its kind in the UK, exists to empower Black leaders, to create a stronger, inclusive, more diverse workforce and society. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency demonstrate that fewer than 1% of the professors employed at UK universities are Black, and there are currently no Black leaders in the top three positions at FTSE 100 firms. BLEP is determined to close that attainment gap, but relies on funding and partnerships to make this dream a reality.

We are seeking financial support from forward-thinking donors who share our commitment to tackling inequalities. There are many ways to get involved, be it financial contributions, nominating staff for the Black Leadership Empowerment Programme itself, or supporting us to expand BLEP into other areas such as Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Swansea, Edinburgh and Leeds, among other locations.