Giving Me A Run For My Money: When Black & Brown Unite

Chief Marketing Officer at RGA. Ashish is an innovator, activist, abolitionist and change-maker, dedicated to using his power, influence and privilege to tackle justice reform.

This is the Fast Company article which led me to slide into his DMs.

In this episode, Ashish shares his backstory, being one of the few formerly incarcerated people in the c-suite. From being Boris Johnsons’ Press Secretary (back when he was Mayor of London), working on the election campaigns for Tony Blair, Barack Obabma in his US Presidential Campaign to working with the Vice Chair of the DNC to mobilise the vote for President Joe Bidens campaign.

We cover everything from:

• Black and Black kinship
• UK politics
• White supremacy
• Capitalism
• Challenging narratives from the past and present
• What social justice needs to look and feel like; and
• Why as the c-suite, sitting on the fence is no longer an option.

About Ashish Prashar

Find him on Twitter: @Ash_Prashar

Ashish is a transformational leader, innovator, and justice reform activist. Currently, he serves as the Global Chief Marketing Officer at R/GA. With over 15 years of experience, Ashish brings deep experience at the intersection of marketing and communications in building global brands.

He joins R/GA from Publicis Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis. With a long and successful track record of leadership, he is a political communications strategist, most recently working with the Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee for Joe Biden's 2020 Presidential Election and served as a campaign press secretary to former Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Known for justice reform activism, he was formerly incarcerated and went on to create programs for incarcerated peoples, campaigned for bail reform, ending solitary confinement, and the restoration of voting rights. He has appeared as a regular commentator in the media, contributing to ABC, Business Insider, CNN, Fast Company, NBC, and USA Today.

Outside of R/GA, Prashar has a deep commitment to ensuring fair treatment of people impacted by the justice system and advancing rights globally, with the goal of abolition of prisons. Prashar currently serves on the boards on the Board of Exodus Transitional Community, Getting Out and Staying Out NYC, Just Leadership USA, Leap Confronting Conflict, the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, and is a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts.

Historically, businesses have not been interested in taking a permanent, effective stand against our criminal justice system, loath to let profits slip through their fingers or worrying about alienating some customers. However, Americans are determined not just to call local police departments, prisons and governments to account, but companies, too. It’s time for businesses across America to act. We will all have to look back on our actions in this moment and see how serious we were about justice and quickly discover what side of history businesses were on.

You can start by hiring formerly incarcerated people.

If you don’t already work with a formerly incarcerated person, it’s very likely your business is not doing enough on this front. This is not rocket science. Talent practices must also recognize that all people have potential. We have to hire on what an applicant can bring to a company. We need to give formerly incarcerated people the space to thrive, the opportunity to create, and the tools to develop their potential.

Second-chance hiring is not preferential treatment; it’s equal treatment through the elimination of unnecessary systemic barriers. It's equity.

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