Arun Bajaj: Why Asian business leaders need to be at the top table
I’m sure all you faithful Birmingham Post readers will have seen the front page story in Tuesday’s edition where Liam Byrne, the Hodge Hill MP and minister for the West Midlands, declared he was “gobsmacked” by the lack of ethnic minority leaders in the region.
He proclaimed that he’d attended many meetings with the region’s business leaders and had encountered very few people from the black and Asian communities. He added it wasn’t right that a region which is home to 19 per cent of the British Asian population shouldn’t have an Asian presence amongst its top business figures.
Well, he’s correct. Up to a point.
As Birmingham prepares for the day it has an ethnic majority population, it is right that this portion of the community should be well represented. After all, they are the future. I’ve written in these columns many times about how the mainstream business community needs to engage more with the Asian business community, and slowly but surely we’re getting there.
Then there are those Asians who are rising to the top of the various business sectors in the city. It should be noted that over the past twelve months the chairmen and presidents of the Law Society, RICS and ICAEW in this Region have all come from an Asian background. So clearly we’re doing something right.
Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of dozen young Asian professional and businesspeople – if not more – who will be following in their footsteps in the coming years. They’re bubbling under, ready to become the leading lights and I’m pleased to say that some of them sit alongside me on the committee of the Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB).
And it’s not just the individuals either. Look at companies like KTC, East End Foods and Pak Supermarkets, who are all making significant contributions to the regional economy. Look at the new Indian owners of Jaguar and Land Rover. And so on. You see, there are plenty of Asian leaders in and around the West Midlands.
So if they are out there, why aren’t they at the top table meeting ministers and government officials? It could be because they are still working their way up the Asian business hierarchy before crossing over into the mainstream. It could be that they’re too busy running their companies to get involved in business, education and political groups. It could even be that they’re simply not invited to events by the powers that be. Or maybe, just maybe, Liam Byrne isn’t going to the right events to engage with them.
I attend hundreds of events a year and I’m always struck by the ethnic mix in the room. But if you’re only going to visit the same places, meet with the same people and talk to the same groups, it’s pretty clear you’re going to see the same familiar faces, the same dark-suited, middle-class businesspeople and council personnel. This isn’t Liam Byrne’s fault. If the people who organise his diary keep sending him up here to meet the same people, he’s going to get the same impression every time. Maybe they should broaden their horizons, identify some ethnic groups and engage with them directly if they are that serious about hearing their opinions.
The IAB has for more than 20 years worked towards integrating Asian business leaders within the mainstream and I like to think we’ve largely succeeded. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty more that can be done.
As we’ve integrated, we’ve started to rise up the ladder and get noticed. The Birmingham Post’s own ‘Power 50’, a list of the most influential people in the region, had only a handful of Asians in it last year. We should be aiming to get that number into double figures over the next few years. The talent is out there, the IAB are nurturing it. It just needs to be recognised and engaged with.
Arun Bajaj is the Chairman of the Institute of Asian Businesses
