Thanks to the support of the EDI Seed Fund at Imperial College London, Imperial 600 – the university’s LGBTQ+ staff and postgraduate network, and the Careers and Student Life team at Imperial College Business School are hosting GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Consumer Healthcare, for a talk on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and professional advancement.

The event is part of a broader series of events being organised around global pride month, and aims to provide access to inspirational role models in the EDI space, and particularly leaders who can provide helpful guidance to LGBTQ+ staff and postgraduate students from a professional development perspective.

Imperial 600 is part of the broader EDI infrastructure at Imperial College London, and you can learn more about the university’s commitment to creating an inclusive institution by ready up on Imperial’s EDI Strategy.

What should you expect from the event?

• An interview style event that will include Joel McConnell (Co-Chair Imperial 600 and Executive Director at the Business School)and Lisa Umenyiora (Executive Director of Careers and Student Life) asking Zaheer Ahmad questions about GSK and their approach to embracing EDI as a strategic asset to talent acquisition and retention.
• Learn more about how Zaheer has developed his career, and tips and suggestions he has found particularly well for him.
• Hear from Zaheer what’s working well in EDI, and where there is still work to be done.
• Finally, you’ll also hear about what’s in the works for GSK Consumer Healthcare, and where there might be new opportunities for future graduates.

Why are we hosting the event?

• Role modelling and leadership matter, and Zaheer is an inspirational speaker in his own right as well as holding a senior leadership position for EDI at one of the UK’s top global healthcare companies.
• We want to increase staff and postgraduate students’ awareness of how global organisations are embracing EDI and helping create an inclusive workplace.
• Finally, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the corporate culture at GSK, a top choice employer.

More About Zaheer Ahmad (MBE JP), Global Head of D&I at GSK Consumer Health

Zaheer is a multi-award winning Diversity and Inclusion thought leader. Currently, he is the Global Head of Inclusion and Diversity for Consumer Healthcare at GSK. Prior to this he was Head of Strategic Delivery for the central D&I dept at EY. He was responsible for leading the Race, Innovation and Thought leadership strategies for the firm and chaired the firmwide Race Working Group.

Zaheer is a highly decorated former police officer, he served in various departments including Uniform Policing, Force Intelligence Bureau and Murder Investigation. He co-founded and led a national police ERG for serving police officers and staff. He also worked closely with the Ministry of Justice as Member of the Race Advisory Board. He is a former Race advisor to the Arsenal football club.

He is recipient of numerous national and international awards. He was appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of British Empire (MBE) by Her Majesty the Queen in 2010 in recognition for his services to the police service. He is winner of Global Equality and Diversity Award, European Diversity “Hero of the Year” Award and was named top 20 industry professionals in the Global Diversity List.

He is a serving Justice of the Peace (Magistrate) sitting in adult criminal court and a School Governor. He is advisor to an independent task force (supported by the UK Government) set up to boost socio economic diversity in the financial and professional services. A fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, he is member of the Strategic Race Advisory Board at the Chartered Management Institute and Advisor to British Academy of Management.