“I didn't go to the right university, I didn't have the right contacts. So I had to pivot” : Karen Blackett CBE

Karen Blackett CBE, who's recently been appointed as Non-executive director at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), spoke to The Mirror at the weekend about how athletics was her first love and how when that plateaued she turned to her second love and built a career in advertising and media as a black woman in a predominantly male/white industry.

“Don’t wait and wait, speak up early and always make sure that you’ve got an ally in the room, get somebody else to pass the mic if you’re not getting that chance for your voice to be heard,” is her advice on how she found success.