Chair
The Role:
St Pauls Carnival
The Client:
Since its beginnings back in 1968, St Pauls Carnival has become one of Bristol’s biggest attractions.
Crossing generations through a celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture, the music and dance brings people together in the community. Working to promote and celebrate African Caribbean culture and traditions, and to run an accessible and inclusive world-class Carnival and supporting events; the Carnival is a vehicle to inform, engage and inspire people socially and artistically.
Moon Executive Search has a long association with St Pauls Carnival, having successfully completed on both the search for the Executive Director appointment of LaToyah McAllister Jones as well as Lucio Mesquita as Non-Executive Director.
Our Approach
In March this year, the St Pauls team was forced to cancel the 2020 celebration, which traditionally always takes place on the first Saturday of July, alongside so many other public events, due to the impact of the pandemic.
The virtual celebration was heralded as an enormous success in attracting an extended worldwide audience while continuing engagement locally.
After speaking at length with the Board about who they felt would bring gravitas and passion to the Chair role, Vanessa Moon, Simon Quinn and the team embarked on a nationwide search to attract candidates not only from our existing network, but also from a broader national and international perspective.
The Board at St Pauls were clear they wanted to appoint an individual whose personal values align with the organisation’s objectives and values and also could bring their influence, network and enthusiasm.
The new Chair had to clearly align with St Pauls’ values and objectives around education, community, sustainability and entrepreneurship.
The Solution
Vanessa contacted Levi Roots who famously started his career from pitching his Reggae Reggae sauce via song to the Dragons Den on the BBC back in 2007. Levi was delighted to be appointed as the new Chair of St Pauls Carnival for a three-year term as chair of the carnival’s board, starting in September this year. Levi Roots has been a great pioneer for Caribbean food, music, culture and products, and as a result of his continued hard work Caribbean food now has a place in the hearts of the Great British public.
Of his appointment, Levi Roots said:
‘I can’t wait to get started, I have a long-time love for Bristol having sold my sauce here in the early days. Carnival culture has always been central to my experience and business – it’s the perfect blend of music and food – two things I am very passionate about,” he added.
I was a regular at St Pauls Carnival selling Reggae Reggae Sauce well before its launch on the BBC. Local Bristol shops in Stapleton Road supported me.
I was also very welcomed in St Nicholas Market and I supplied many stalls including Jenny's Caribbean takeaway and other shops in Clifton.
When the sauce was eventually launched in 2007, St Pauls Carnival was one of the first carnivals to invite me to play live with my band.’
Vanessa Moon, Founding Director of Moon Executive Search said:
‘We were overjoyed for Levi to accept the role of Chair with St Pauls Carnival. Levi stood out with his personality, visibility, and passion for music. Appointing Levi is such fantastic news for this wonderful organisation that is central to so much culture within Bristol and beyond.’
LaToyah McAllister Jones, Executive Director of St Pauls, said:
‘The team at St Pauls are thrilled to announce Levi as our new Chair. We are really excited to be welcoming Levi to the St Pauls Carnival family. Thank you to Vanessa, Simon and team at Moon Executive Search for their help with making the appointment possible. He brings with him such rich experience, his guidance and counsel as chair of the board will be invaluable.’
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