BUSINESS
Ben Jackson
PROFILE
The first-ever head of inclusion and diversity at home improvement retailer Wickes
Words Dale Fox
After joining the home improvement business 20 years ago as a store manager and progressing up the ladder through various roles, Ben Jackson became Wickes’ firstever head of inclusion and diversity this year.
Jackson began his retail journey at Tesco, where he worked in the bakery and stacked shelves. He then joined the supermarket giant’s management training programme before heading to Wickes. Here, he tells Attitude how Wickes’ support network for its LGBTQ+ colleagues was created and has grown over the years. He also explains how the company has addressed public criticism of its inclusivity policy, as well as his opinion on so-called LGBTQ+ virtue signalling in the corporate world.
Have you always worked in retail?
Yes, since leaving college. I went straight into Tesco and spent about eight years there. I found that Wickes was somewhat out of my comfort zone then. It wasn’t a business I knew much about.
What was your role at Tesco?
I was a bread and cakes boy! Then, across those eight years, I became a part-time shelf-stacker. My last role there was personnel manager. I kind of went right the way through the management programmes that they offered at the time. Tesco was a great foundation for retail management; they had really strong management programmes in place.