Version 1.0, for every member of BCON, Black C-Suite, Owners and Non-Execs. Read it in two minutes; it says how we keep the room safe for each other.
Why this code exists
BCON was set up in 2022 to give senior Black leaders a safe space: a room where people who are usually the only one at the table can speak plainly to peers. We are a community of Black C-suite executives, owners and non-executives of medium-sized and larger organisations, we meet with no formal agenda and no governance protocols on purpose, and the whole thing only works if every member can trust every other member. This code is the basis of that trust. By accepting it you agree to the handful of commitments below, and you can expect the same from everyone else in the room.
The room is confidential
What is said at a BCON gathering stays with the people who were there. You may use what you learn, and you may say that BCON met and what the theme was, but you do not attribute a view, an experience or a piece of information to a named member outside the room without that person's agreement. That applies to the dinner table, to LinkedIn, to the press and to your own organisation. If a journalist or an ally is present at an event, we will say so at the start, and the same rule binds them.
The only exception is harm. If something you hear suggests that a person is at risk, speak to the Chair or a member of the steering group, who will decide with you what to do.
How we treat each other
We speak to one another as peers, with candour and with respect, and we listen more than we broadcast. Disagreement is welcome and personal attack is not. Every member has reached a senior position on merit and carries the weight of often being the only one, so we assume good faith, we keep confidences, and we look out for one another between meetings as well as during them. Discrimination, harassment or bullying of any kind, including on grounds of gender, sexuality, faith, disability or age, has no place in BCON and will end a membership.
When a member is going through something, scrutiny at work, an investigation, a loss, the room is there for them. Ask before you offer advice, and offer help before you offer an opinion.
Business, selling and conflicts
BCON is a place to connect, and plenty of business follows from it, but nobody comes to a BCON gathering to be sold to. You do not pitch, canvass or distribute marketing to members at events or through the members list, and you do not use the members list for mailings of any kind. Introductions happen the way they happen between peers: ask, and accept a no. The members page exists so that you can find one another, and the steering group will take it down from anyone who uses it as a prospect list.
If you hold a role that could be affected by something under discussion, as a supplier, a competitor, a regulator, a funder or an adviser to someone in the room, say so before you speak. Declaring an interest costs nothing and keeps everyone's trust. Where BCON itself is choosing a venue, a sponsor or a supplier, any member with an interest steps out of that decision.
Representing BCON outside the room
You are welcome to say you are a member of BCON and to describe what BCON is. You do not speak for BCON, commit it to a position, or use its name or logo in your own materials without the steering group's agreement. Public statements on BCON's behalf are made by the Chair or someone the steering group has asked. When BCON works alongside Lloyds Banking Group, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce or another partner, the same rule applies to their names.
Membership, leaving and being asked to leave
Membership is by referral and the steering group's decision, and it rests on the criteria you gave when you applied: a C-suite, owner or non-executive role in a medium-sized or larger organisation. If your circumstances change, tell us, because the room depends on everyone in it being who they say they are. Once a year we'll ask you to confirm your details.
You can leave at any time by telling the Chair or Nathan Shillingford, and we'll remove your page and your data within 30 days. If a member breaks this code, the Chair will speak to them first. A serious or repeated breach, and in particular a breach of confidentiality, means the steering group will end the membership, and it will tell the member why. Anyone who believes a member has broken the code should raise it with the Chair or any member of the steering group, and we will treat what they tell us in confidence.
Acceptance
By accepting this code you confirm that the details in your application are accurate, that you meet the membership criteria, and that you agree to the commitments above. Your acceptance, with the date and the version number, is held on your member record. The steering group reviews this code once a year and will tell you if it changes.
Karl George MBE, Chair, on behalf of the BCON steering group: Alston Owens, Rebekah Taitt and Yetunde Dania.