Reflections on buying my business back
Just over seven years ago I walked down the high street in Wargrave, Berkshire to open the door to my new office for the very first time. It was incredibly exciting but also daunting – it was my first day as CEO of the social impact organisation I had founded, an organisation dedicated to advancing workplace diversity and inclusion.
I couldn’t possibly have known that four years later my fast-growing business would be acquired by Ricoh – a leading digital services company operating in 200 countries with global revenues of over $13 billion. Or that nearly seven years later, I’d be buying my company back. But last week I did just that – opening another chapter in Moving Ahead’s extraordinary story.
Since launch, this truly resilient company has grown year on year, been consistently cash positive and survived a global pandemic. Actually, it’s thrived: during the past year-and-a-half we’ve tripled our headcount from a core team of seven when Ricoh acquired us, to more than 30, and a full faculty of talented, brilliant, passionate colleagues. As the company has grown, so has my family: last year I gave birth to the beautiful Leo. I’d always wondered how leaders could combine motherhood with running their own business – now I know. It can be done – with the help of mentors, friends, and family. Every day, I’m learning how to blend the professional and personal. It’s not always easy but it brings immense joy every day.
I want to thank Ricoh for believing in me, Moving Ahead and the team. Their UK board have supported me since those early days, mentoring on our inaugural programmes, as curious, passionate and keen to learn and advance inclusion as we are. They witnessed our rapid evolution and not only wanted to support us but also wanted us to keep our entrepreneurial spirit and pace. They fuelled our growth with core functions; the things that small specialist organisations aren’t great at, such as legal, tech, HR and finance.
And what a run Ricoh and Moving Ahead have had together! In the last three years Moving Ahead has supported more than 35,000 mentors, mentees and individuals and worked with over 300 organisations from more than 30 sectors in countries including the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, the US, France, Italy, Germany, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Sri Lanka. Our partner organisations have included the London Stock Exchange, Santander, JP Morgan, EY, Tesco, Bupa and HSBC and our formidable campaign partners have included the likes of the 30% Club, Diversity Project, and Women in Defence.
Having a major organisation like Ricoh supporting us gave me the wings to fly, in the way a great mentor should. However, after three fabulous years under Ricoh’s ownership, we both knew that it was time for Moving Ahead to scale up independently to reach the next stage in our growth. Every proud lioness has to let her cubs go eventually!
I want to thank Phil Keoghan, Rick Hewitt, Tina Smith, Rebekah Wallis and Nicola Downing for championing Moving Ahead, and to the many people at Ricoh who have cheered us on, helped us, and given their expertise, guidance and support. I’m looking forward to our new relationship, continuing to work together, and doing great things.
Thank you to my mentors and supporters for your generosity of time and energy, encouragement and guidance over the years. Thank you to all the amazing clients, mentors and mentees on our programmes, committing to changing themselves and their organisations.
Thank you to my friends and family, who’ve supported me with love and friendship, and being so patient with me when I was buried in work.
And thank you to all at the Moving Ahead team, for your individual talent, flair, hard work and commitment. Your amazing work has all contributed to our impact, our growth and our success. What’s next? Well, watch this space. The fall out from the pandemic is disproportionately affecting under represented groups so it is clear that the next seven years are going to be more crucial than ever for diversity and inclusion. I’m looking forward to the next chapter. I hope you’ll join us.
Written by Liz Dimmock, CEO & Founder of Moving Ahead