Deloitte

Since leaving Deloitte, Jamie Gill BArch ACA is now a Fashion & Luxury Advisor and Consultant. He is the Founder of The Outsiders Perspective – a not-for-profit platform providing talented people of colour an avenue to transition a career into the operational side of the British Fashion Industry. He is an Executive Board Member of the British Fashion Council (BFC) and Chair of the BFC Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Jamie is also CEO turned Executive Director of Luxury Womenswear brand ROKSANDA.

Jamie discusses his career journey, the biggest learnings in moving from professional services into the Fashion Industry, and how he hopes to transform the way Fashion brands approach diversity.

If you could please start by providing a quick summary of your career to date?

I grew up in Derbyshire where my passion for art and design led me to a career in architecture, before switching to finance and joining Deloitte London in October 2010 with a client portfolio spanning Luxury Goods and Real Estate. It was here where I witnessed LGBTQ+ Deloitte partners leading international divisions, and I found the courage to come out as gay. I then left the corporate world to co-founded my own luxury apparel start-up targeted at the ever-growing Indian Bridal market, relocating to Mumbai, India. Designing, sampling, producing, selling, marketing and fund-raising a new business became my real-life MBA.

Failing to secure the much-needed funds to run my brand, I returned to London and joined an investment fund that focused on British Luxury Fashion.  Here I joined the board of ROKSANDA, before being made CEO in March 2018. During my tenure, I restructured the business making it profitable, growing the distribution and gross profit margin, as well as launching global collaborations with Lululemon and Fila.

In September 2020, I joined the Executive Board of the British Fashion Council (BFC) to support the fight against prejudice and discrimination in the industry, becoming Chair of the BFC’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee in May 2022.

I have now founded The Outsiders Perspective (TOP) to bring change and equal opportunities to talented individuals from underrepresented communities. I also advise large international fashion and luxury goods clients on their growth strategies, as well as setting up a new-generation CEO leadership Master’s programme with the fashion school Istituto Marangoni.

What have been the biggest learnings in moving from professional services into the fashion industry?

Where I sit on the operational side of the fashion industry (not creative), we lack the rigour in diligence and ‘completeness’ that I could rely on with my teams in professional services. The operational side of fashion (merchandising, supply-chain, finance, marketing) lacks the training schemes that upskill graduates in the way professional services firms do. This is something I missed so much as it meant it was harder on my part.

You joined the Executive Board of the British Fashion Council in 2020.  What has the experience been like?

Joining the Board of the BFC has been great! I’ve become friends with an amazing group of people who are as passionate about making a difference in British fashion as I am. The BFC is actually a small organisation in relation to its phenomenal global brand equity, and I still find it incredible how much the team manage to pull off. I’m now really looking forward to my new role as Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, as I have the opportunity to really contribute to much needed positive change in the space.

Tell us why you think diversity and inclusion isn’t happening in the fashion industry and what can we do about it?

Diversity is happening in the visuals of fashion and luxury – runway shows, ad-campaigns and events are creating a diverse and inclusive appearance. My area of focus is on the behind-the-scenes operators who are actually running fashion businesses. A tiny minority come from a POC background and a handful at an executive leadership position. Fashion and luxury has not reached gender equality yet, which is ridiculous when considering the significant majority of consumers are female.

I would encourage those who know diverse professionals who would like a career in Fashion & Luxury to step forward and apply to TOP – we could really do with your experience and skill to diversify the industry.

Through your new talent incubator, The Outsiders Perspective, how do you hope to transform the way fashion brands approach diversity?

I want TOP to be the go-to platform for brands looking for intelligent diverse talent who bring a much-needed new way of thinking to the table. Fashion is about creativity, but how can we continue to innovate if we keep hiring from the same pipeline of background, ideas, and experiences into our businesses? I want TOP to be the answer for those brands who are wanting to address their diversity issue and struggling to source strong diverse talent.

Having left Deloitte a number of years ago, have you stayed connected to the firm or with former colleagues?

I have a group of friends who I studied my ACA with that I’m still in regular touch with. One of my dearest friends I met on the first day I joined the firm in October 2010. In 2018 I was raising funds for ROKSANDA, and working closely with the M&A, transaction services and modelling teams to close that deal. Deloitte still remains my go-to safe place for advisory or consulting services (I’ve actually just asked the firm to pitch for a big piece consulting work I’m involved with in the Middle East!)

Looking back, what were some of the key lessons you have learnt throughout your career?

My key lesson is to have a plan, manifest it and believe it will happen, but at the same time try and be flexible along the way! Then make sure you focus on the task/role in hand and do the best you can - a) for your employer and b) for yourself. Your hard work will be putting your plan into action, and you’ll be attracting the right network into your circle.

I’ve always taken a risk, a calculated one, but still a risk. Arriving at Deloitte as an Architect and then entering Luxury & Fashion VC as an Accountant – but it paid off and I’m glad I took the route I did as I can leverage on a varied skill set.