Jeremiah Gogo

I am incredibly honoured to present to you our Alumnus of the Year for 2024 – Jeremiah Gogo.

I taught Jeremiah as an undergraduate and supervised his final year capstone project on hedge fund strategies. It is incredibly rewarding to see a talented student go on to use the skills and experience they have gained at Essex to have such a big impact in the music industry. It is also quite exciting to feel that in some small way I have helped famous stars such as Ed Sheeran or Dave have worldwide hits.

Jeremiah was a leader at Essex, involved in so many societies and taking on many other student roles. I am delighted to see him have such a big impact as a data pioneer as Head of Data, A&R Analytics & Business Development in Virgin Music Group. And it is lovely to see so many of his friends from the industry with us today alongside his family.

It is increasingly clear that data is power and we help our students understand how to unlock this power and use it. At Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records and now Virgin, Jeremiah is recognised as pioneering the use of statistics research and methodology in the A&R field. He is combining traditional A&R with statistical techniques to support and develop emerging talent through to global megastars.

But, importantly he is determined to support others to break into the creative industries. The importance of diversity in the workplace is a cause that has always been close to his heart. He received support early on from The Social Mobility Foundation to build and maintain professional relationships and this demonstrated the importance of these relationships in providing opportunities in spaces which were traditionally closed.

Now Jeremiah is determined to use his position to support others and is passionate about increasing access to the music industry. This passion for supporting people from underprivileged backgrounds, led him to develop the Open Desk Programme, with the goal of developing internship opportunities for people who might not normally get a chance in the industry. 

Initially at Warner Music Group he worked in partnership with Rosie Stone, Senior Manager in Talent Acquisition, and received enthusiastic support from CEO Tony Harlow. Now at Virgin he is continuing that work. A growing number of people have established careers in the music industry through the programme – people who might not have got a break in the past. Open Desk specifically targets and supports young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and works with different charities, including the Social Mobility Foundation and Small Green Shoots, to identify talented individuals who can benefit from the opportunities offered.

As Jeremiah says himself – the programme has become more successful than he ever imagined. We hope those graduating here today have – like Jeremiah - found the space to develop the skills and confidence they will need in the future. You have also built a global network of friends and benefited from an education infused by so many different perspectives. Jeremiah shows how you can take all of what you have learnt and experienced at Essex and make a positive difference both through your work and in the wider world. As he says you can do anything if you approach the challenge with “love, kindness and empathy”.

I hope like me you are inspired by his story and will join with me in welcoming our Alumnus of the Year – Jeremiah Gogo.

Speech by Professor Spyridon Vrontos