International Mens Day: A spotlight on Black Men In PR, Comms and Marketing

L-R: Matt Geer, Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah, Cody Eastmond, William Oppon, Preston Onyechere

We asked five Black Men in Comms, PR and Marketing for their inspirations, career advice, wellbeing tips and their words of wisdom.

Here’s what they told us:

What do you wish you’d known before you started your career?

Preston Onyechere, Senior Account Executive, Hill & Knowlton

MATT: Even the most well-thought-out plans can be disrupted during a crisis. In such instances, relying on prior training, a thorough understanding of your target audience, and good judgment is what proves to be most effective!

CODY: The power of networking, I often felt like a lone soldier in early roles, and looking at how much I rely upon and learn from my peers now, I wish I had the confidence to connect and reach out at the start of my career, people are much friendlier than you can imagine.

EMMANUEL: I know you do not need to be maths whizz or expert in numbers to enter into corporate and financial communications. I began my career in consumer PR but eventually transitioned into corporate PR and have never looked back. A majority of the skills in public relations you tend to gain these on the job via real life experience.

WILLIAM: When I first started out, I didn’t realise how important internal communications was to businesses. In reality I don’t think many businesses did either. That’s until the covid-19 outbreak happened and we went into lockdown. The need for information to flow quickly and efficiently up and down the management/employee chain highlighted how vital a function internal communications is to organisations, their culture and ultimately their success.

PRESTON: Don’t be shy. I think we’re all shy when we are junior in a workplace or feel inferior when your new to something, but I feel my growth greatly accelerated the more conversations I had with people as opposed to the more work I did. This is because those conversations gave me a greater understanding of the work I was doing.

Matt Geer, Head of Communications and Marketing at West Kent Housing Association 

Our industry is tough, what do you do to keep yourself mentally/physically healthy?

MATT: Prioritising time with my family, friends or at the gym helps me to achieve work-life balance. Practically, I also find it helpful to create a distinct space to ease into and wind down from the workday. This may involve my commute and a podcast or, if I'm working from home, packing away office equipment to help compartmentalise my professional and personal life. From a peer support perspective, maintaining regular contact with other professionals in the sector or through the BCN is incredibly important. Knowing that you're not navigating challenges alone can provide a significant source of comfort and assurance, particularly when things get tricky!

CODY: Being as emphatic as possible,  which doesn’t come easy at times, but it’s wise to remind myself that my challenges or goals are not always mirrored by others, who have their own priorities. Also, coming to the realisation that I get much more work done in the morning when fresh,  rather than begrudgingly screwing my laptop in the evening, has been a game change.

EMMANUEL: I enjoy working out at least three times a week and use this as a way of letting off steam and it is also nice to train at my local gym in essex and catch up with friends. I am a very big fan of solo cinema trips too and mafia movies so do like to binge watch some of the old classics.

WILLIAM: Physical activity is very important to me and is closely linked to me keeping my mental health in check too. Surprise surprise football plays a key role in my spare time. I play 5/7 a side multiple times a week and also do my best to go to the gym. I also make sure I carve out time away from all things football as well. When you work in an industry which is also your hobby and passion it can be all consuming so for me, taking the time out to travel, see live music and visit friends and family are all key components to my wellbeing.

PRESTON: Exercise…whether that’s jump rope, Gym or even walks especially when working from home.

Who inspires you? Why?

Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah, Associate Director, Financial Services, Edelman Smithfield

MATT: There are many but the one that comes to mind is Ian Wright. As a proud South Londoner and Crystal Palace fan, seeing his rise from football through to entertainment, punditry and now wider media work is so inspiring. It's not lost on me he is the reason a lot of young black men supported arsenal in the 90s and early 00s. What a hero.

CODY: Honestly, my peers, I look for inspo horizontally these days and it is much more fruitful and relatable than learning from industry titans I find.

EMMANUEL:

• Michael Olaye, Senior Vice President, Managing Director @RG/A – he has worked at the highest level of the agency world and we previously worked together at  Red Havas. Michael was a great sponsor and supporter of mine even though we worked in different teams. Michael has achieved great success in his career and although he is not in communications he has always offered a helping hand whenever I have needed some advice. Michael has also shown me that the sky is the limit if you are willing to work hard but you will make mistakes along the way.

• Barbara Phillips, Chair of PRCA REEB and Interim CEO at the Black Curriculum is also another inspiring person who does deserve a shoutout. Barbara is relentless in her pursuit to boost diversity in public relations. I am also inspired by her tenacity to get things done and excellently so a huge hats off to her and what she has achieved to date. Barbara has also worked in senior positions in-house and represented some top brands.

WILLIAM: Apart from my parents, it would have to be Muhammad Ali. First of all we share a birthday, and for a person who isn’t that big on celebrating the day it makes me feel slightly special! The fact that he lost everything he fought for to stand up for his beliefs against the Vietnam War and then won it all back shows the character of the man. He oozed charisma, self confidence, intelligence and passion and his humanitarian and peace advocacy is also to be commended, especially for someone of his stature. R.I.P to the GOAT!

PRESTON: My brother. He is a few years older than me so has supported me with uni choices, interview prep and guided my career path for as long as I can remember. He is also an established Lawyer for John Lewis so is someone I aspire to emulate.

What’s your proudest moment to date?

Cody Eastmond, Senior Digital Consultant

MATT: Apart from becoming a Dad, I would have to say creating campaigns focused on supporting people. I have been fortunate enough to work on three separate campaigns on helping different communities access cost of living support during my time at Turn2us, Sutton Council and now at West Kent Housing Association. Creating content that has an impact on people’s access to support and services really brings home the importance of why good comms, marketing, and PR matters.

CODY: Quitting my job! It was a stressful time but upon reflection I saw, felt and found confidence in myself I didn’t know I had.

EMMANUEL: My proudest moment to date would have to be making the PRovoke Media Innovator 25 EMEA list for 2023. I started my career in 2012 with virtually no experience and just passion to pursue a career in communications. It feels like a full circle moment now being recognised for my work in boosting diversity and inclusion in the UK PR industry and also supporting new talent who enter.

WILLIAM: Earlier this year, I had the privilege of hosting a live interview with Arsenal midfielder and practicing Muslim, Mohamed Elneny. The call was streamed to Arsenal colleagues during Ramadan in which Mo spoke devotedly about his faith, how grateful he is for the support the club gives him to practice Islam and how he balances football and his religion. It was the first time a men’s first team player had spoken to colleagues in this format, and was the catalyst for other key D&I interviews throughout the year. I’m proud that I was able to make it happen and have a deep and genuine chat with Mo which was well received around the club.

PRESTON: My promotion to Senior Account Executive as this was my first promotion ever, including all the retail jobs I had prior. This was a testament to the hard work I had been putting in and the reward that comes with applying yourself.

William Oppon, Internal Communications Manager, Arsenal FC