Chief Executive

: Photo courtesy of Michele Zambon

LEAP’s Chief Executive, Tunde Banjoko OBE, is also its founder. He knew from personal experience just how soul-destroying and depressing it was to want to work but not being able to get a job, to want to be able to provide for yourself and your family but instead being dependent on benefits. From simple origins, one room, 3 desks and no computers, Tunde had no idea that LEAP would eventually become the important resource for disadvantaged people that it is today.

Under Tunde’s stewardship, the organisation grew and is now one of the most inspirational education, training and employment organisations in the UK. LEAP has been held up as an example of good practice in a number of publications (including one from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills) and our Kensal Green offices usually leave the visitor with a sense that something more than just helping people into work is going on.

Tunde is a charismatic and convincing public speaker, who gives presentations on leadership programmes for both London Business School and PwC. He is involved in mentoring black schoolchildren, passionate about race equality issues and is a Governor of Further Education college. He has an MSc in Urban Regeneration from UCL. He is a leading a member of DWP’s Ethnic Minority Advisory Group (EMAG) and is chair of its procurement project group.

Since the riots of 2011, Tunde has been part of various forums, including the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel and given advice on reducing gang membership and gang related violence and how to tackle gang violence in London. He was an invited speaker at a meeting held by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Civil Society, who looked at the causes and consequences of the riots and worked towards some of the solutions and he was also recently involved in a stakeholder group to the Metropolitan Police’s new Gangs Command.

Tunde was awarded an OBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.