Neri Karra Sillaman: From Refugee to Fashion Revolutionary

At age 11, Neri Karra Sillaman’s world was turned upside down when her Bulgarian-Turkish family was forced to flee their home country. Driven by a hunger for education and a better life, Neri grabbed an opportunity to study business management at the University of Miami, where she became interested in how businesses – in particular, businesses founded by immigrants – are created and sustained.

She has subsequently become an expert in international and ethnic entrepreneurship, researching how the unique capabilities and mindset of immigrants create businesses that last. She received her doctorate from the University of Cambridge and her own 25-year-old leather accessories company, staffed by a workforce largely made up of people from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been recognised by B Corp as a social innovator.

In this Provocateurs podcast, Neri chats with fellow immigrant Kulleni Gebreyes, the US Consulting Life Sciences and Health Care Industry Leader and US Chief Health Equity Officer at Deloitte, and Thinkers50 co-founder, Stuart Crainer. She explains how she ended up in the fashion industry almost by accident and reveals the secrets behind sustainable companies, from building a resilient workforce to “frying in your own oil.”

Neri is a member of the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2024, a professor of practice and entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, and author of Fashion Entrepreneurship.

This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives’ participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.