Melanie Eusebe

Eusebe was born in England and grew up in Canada of Trinidadian–Dominican heritage, with her mother being a psychiatric nurse who “worked two jobs”. Eusebe has said: “I was raised with black and white friends. I went to a predominantly white school…. Coming to London changed my black experience. In terms of my Caribbean-ness, it is just me. It is part of me, not all of me.” After graduating from the University of Toronto, she gained a master’s degree in Philosophy (Ethics) from Birkbeck College at the University of London.

Eusebe started her career as a management consultant/strategist for more than 17 years with such global brands as IBM and Ernst & Young. She subsequently started her own business services consultancy, The Fresh Ideas Company. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Hult International Business School, with a focus on Leadership and Management Skills.

Melanie Eusebe is an award winning business strategist, working with clients to identify strategic priorities and initiatives for revenue generation and sustainable growth.

Fresh out of university, Melanie worked at Canada’s largest financial service institution, progressing quickly from Business Analyst to Manager of the Internet Channels. She moved to London and became a Big 4 Management Consultant and business advisor to aspiring entrepreneurs, as well as running strategic commercial initiatives and projects for global brands. In 2014, she launched The Black British Business Awards – the largest awards programme of its kind, endorsed by Prime Minister May, the Mayor of London and esteemed business leaders.

Melanie now has her own strategic consultancy, working with businesses on strategic initiatives and she also runs an online biz school for aspiring leaders.

Eusebe works with various schools as a mentor and is a regular speaker, lecturer and broadcaster for BBC television and radio programmes such as BBC News at Six, What The Papers Say and Radio 4’s Today, as well as hosting a show at Colourful Radio. She has written for such outlets as Huffington Post and Management Today. Eusebe serves on several boards, among them the Creative Industries Federation.

Her vision can be found in a recent interview with Dinis Guarda.

Creating The BBBAwards

"Passionate about equal access and opportunity, Melanie started the Black British Business Awards to reflect the outstanding achievements and contributions of black business people to the UK economy. For her, these awards are a collaborative, wholly inclusive set of programmes that highlights inspiring role models, challenges out-dated stereotypes, and most importantly, is a vehicle for economic empowerment, equality and change.

Sponsors of the BBBAwards include Accenture, Baker & McKenzie, Barclays, BET, Bloomberg, BNP Paribas, BP, Cisco, EDF Energy, EY, Facebook, JP Morgan, KPMG, Mediacom, Microsoft, National Grid, Pearsons, Rolls Royce, RBS, Thomson Reuters, UBS, Virgin Money, and the Evening Standard and the Telegraph as media sponsors."