BlackNorth Rising

BlackNorth founder Wes Hall’s rags-to-riches journey is the quintessential story of liberal market capitalism rewarding resilience and hard work. But Hall’s success story has a dark side, since he climbed a corporate ladder that wasn’t designed to help him reach the top. Hall has warned companies to expect an open season of investor activism on companies that fail to take equity, diversity, and inclusion issues seriously. In this Q&A with Ivey Business Journal editor Thomas Watson, the self-proclaimed King of Bay Street explains why he thinks generational change is in the cards while offering advice to companies on how to make it happen. BlackNorth is talking to partners about reforming everything from healthcare and education to homeownership. Corporations have a responsibility to reflect society, he says, so change is a must. When it comes to issues like diversity and inclusion, he says too many organizations aim to address things internally and fail to bring in outsiders with a different perspective. Leadership is key to making progress and a board member who says, “We don’t think social issues are our responsibility” is demonstrating a lack of leadership. Hall advises professionals that if they feel that they will not get treated fairly based on who they are and not the contents of their character and abilities, they should seek other opportunities. In the long run, this will bring them closer to a genuine opportunity where they are empowered to succeed.

• BlackNorth Initiative
• Wes Hall
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Systemic Racism