Alongside her corporate career, Sophia L. Aluko founded The Steer Network to help unlock the career potential of individuals from diverse backgrounds.
She has worked across several sectors including Beverage, Technology and Banking and in global organisations such as Diageo and Barclays Bank where she had developed not only depth, but breadth across diverse areas early on in her career.
Sophia is a qualified accountant and completed her MBA at Imperial College, and throughout her career, she has been drawn to organisations undergoing transformation and change. And as a result she has gained extensive experience having held senior roles on transformation programmes including Mergers & Acquisitions, Divestments and Digital Transformation.
From a young age, Sophia was taught the important values of faith, determination and integrity. Taking self-ownership and responsibility has been a key part of Sophia’s journey.
From growing up in Nigeria to moving to London, and navigating the political environment of the corporate world, Sophia has learned to make the most out of everything that life offer.
Throughout Sophia’s journey she has relied on trusted mentors and peers to help her to navigate the political environment in the corporate working world. ‘I forged on despite challenges… at critical transitions, I had fantastic individuals that supported me’. Sophia believes that, without this support and her self-determination, she would have probably crashed out of the corporate sector. ‘I know from speaking to ethnic minorities and women, the experiences are not too dissimilar. I therefore set up an initiative, The Steer Network, with the mission to create a network of mentors that will offer valuable and practical advice to talented individuals in the early-mid career stage. I strive to help those individuals and professionals to navigate the challenges, and ultimately advance in their chosen career field’.
Sophia believes that we can all support one another to succeed; together we can learn, enriching life for all.
