Page 45 - Powerlist 2020

NEW Jason Black
2020
Co-Founder of Crep Protect and
Co-Owner of Crepe and Cones

Grime artist turned entrepreneur Jason Black is the
co-founder of Crep Protect, one of the fastest-growing
British companies in the lucrative global trainer market. Business, Corporates, Financiers & Entrepreneurs
In fact, the sneaker-cleaning product company has become
as much a movement as a must-have brand.
While Jason has stepped back from the business, which
he established in 2012, he remains an active shareholder.
Crep Protect – which he marketed brilliantly – quickly
became an essential for sneakerheads and has enjoyed
strategic partnerships with New Era and the NBA.
Stocked in leading sports stores around the world, the
brand scooped a Drapers Record Innovation in Footwear
award in 2016 and last year was named number two in
The Sunday Times list of the UK’s private companies with
the fastest-growing sales. It had a 190.74 per cent sales rise
over the three years to 2018, up to £27.5 million. Jason also
created the #CrepCollect shoe drive to encourage people to
recycle old shoes.
He started his career as a grime performer under the
moniker J2K and collaborated with the likes of Wiley before
joining Roll Deep in 2008, winning commercial success that NEW Lindelwe Lesley
included the number one single Green Light. 2020
In 2017 he set up underground music company Floor Sixx, Ndlovu
which aims to celebrate the best underground music across CEO, AXA Africa Specialty Risks,
a range of genres by releasing one single and accompanying Lloyd’s of London
video a month on its own channels across Deezer, VEVO,
iTunes and Spotify.
The proceeds of each track go into the Floor Sixx Music Joining AXA in 2013 as a chief investment officer for
Academy, a ten-week mentoring programme for artists and Singapore, Lindelwe Lesley Ndlovu has worked his way up
aspiring executives in association with Louder Than Words, to CEO and member of the board of directors of the emerging
Platform and Red Bull Music. markets-focused Lloyd’s of London syndicate and insurance
In May 2018, he opened the Crepes and Cones dessert broker, with operations in seven countries.
parlour in Croydon with UK artists Krept and Konan. From 2016 to 2017, he was based in Paris as the head
They run a monthly event called Soul Food Sundays. of corporate development, responsible for defining the
corporate strategy and executing M&A deals.
Prior to that, as chief investment officer of AXA
Singapore, he was responsible for managing US$3 billion
in investments and the treasury and capital management
activities for life and general insurance.
From 2008 to 2013, he was Vice President, Investments
for Axi Capital in Bermuda, as part of an institutional
investment team managing a US$15 billion multi-asset
portfolio, comprising fixed income, equities and
alternative investments.
He began his career in 2006 with Deloitte, where he
had various assignments in corporate finance, audit and
tax advisory.
Lesley is a non-executive director of AXA Mansard
plc. He is chairman of several companies: AXA Mansard
Investments in Nigeria, Sequoia Real Estate in Kenya,
Africinsure (Pty) Ltd in Botswana and Assur Africa
Holdings in Mauritius. He is also vice chairman of Aesir
Capital in Singapore.
He was educated at Christ Church, University of Oxford
and at the Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires
(INSEAD) in France. He is a CFA charter holder, a member of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales
and a member of the Institute of Directors.
Amongst his passions he lists Africa, politics and sports.

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