Back to blogs

Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Associate appointed

Posted on June 2021

Ken Kittoe, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Associate

​Ken Kittoe has been our executive D&I ambassador for almost a year and we are pleased to announce that from July he will be taking on the full time role of Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Associate. This is a new appointment for us, which will further cement our commitment to improve and grow as an inclusive organisation. We are excited about this next step and wish Ken every success.

We spoke to Avtar Singh, D&I Director Sponsor, Kirsty MacDougall, Head of Human Resources into whom this role will report and Ken.

 

Avtar Singh

“Throughout the past 12 months working with Ken has been a pleasure. Together, we have learnt so much on our D&I journey, enabling us to improve our corporate and individual behaviours. Ken has helped establish our D&I forum where we are able to share knowledge and stories within a safe space, and I’m positive he will continue this excellent work in his new position at Venn Group”

 

Kirsty MacDougall

“Ken has been instrumental in the D&I work undertaken in the last 12 months and we recognise in order to drive diversity, inclusion and engagement within the business, we need a dedicated individual to help us to continue with the progress we have made. Ken and the HR team will be responsible for all diversity, inclusion and engagement activity across the business, ensuring every employee feels included in all aspects of working at Venn Group.

Congratulations to Ken, we’re really excited to have him on the HR team and continuing the great work he has already started”.

 

Ken Kittoe

“The past 12 months have been filled with uncertainty, lockdowns and tragedy but one thing that has been clear to see is the allyship being displayed by everyone. In a time where the feeling of isolation has been more evident in our lives than ever before, I’ve found myself having truthful and honest conversations on “taboo” subjects such as race, gender, sexuality etc. with people I probably would have never spoken to otherwise.

My personal journey of self-education has coincided with the company journey that we are all on and I’m really thankful for every single person who has engaged with the training sessions, attended a D&I Forum meeting or even had any off-the-cuff D&I discussions on their desks. There’s power in words and the more we speak and educate ourselves on these topics then the better off we will all be in the long run, and that’s from a personal perspective as well as a business perspective.

As I go into this role, I want to pledge to you all that I will do everything I can to ensure that every employee at Venn Group can feel as if they can be their true, UNIQUE self at work without the fear of judgement or ridicule.

I want to thank Deirdra, the Board, the D&I Ambassadors and each one of you for really helping to improve the culture of diversity and inclusion at Venn. This is a joint effort and as the inspirational Jurgen Klopp once said – a team can and will be greater than the sum of it’s parts.“