Eckles’ appointment reflects a career built steadily within Black Umbrellas since joining the organisation in 2015 as a regional manager. He progressed to general manager: coastal operations, and most recently served as general manager: entrepreneur development, where he led work focused on supporting and incubating Black-owned businesses.
His leadership journey has been defined by close engagement with entrepreneurs and a practical understanding of the support they need to build sustainable enterprises. This hands-on engagement has shaped his leadership approach and deepened his understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Over more than a decade, Eckles has worked closely with entrepreneurs, partners, stakeholders and colleagues across the enterprise development ecosystem. His experience spans entrepreneurship development, incubation, digital reach and the delivery of support initiatives aimed at helping Black-owned businesses contribute to inclusive economic growth and job creation.
Commenting on his appointment, Eckles said:
“It is a real honour to step into this role at Black Umbrellas. Having worked closely alongside our incredible team, Board and stakeholders over the past 11 years, I have seen first-hand the transformative power of sustainable enterprise development. As we look to the future, the focus will be on accelerating our digital reach, deepening our ecosystem partnerships, and scaling our support for Black-owned businesses to drive long-term economic growth and job creation across South Africa.”
Black Umbrellas Board Chair Rajesh Sukha welcomed the appointment, noting Eckles’ institutional knowledge, strategic contribution and ability to provide immediate leadership continuity.
“Having spent the past 11 years at Black Umbrellas, 10 of which as a General Manager, Jerome has developed a deep understanding of our organisation’s goals, operational processes and overarching strategy, including key contributions to our revised strategic direction. His time at Black Umbrellas has also enabled him to build strong, collaborative relationships across Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation (CRF) partner entities. He brings a thorough understanding of our internal dynamics, which means that he can step into this role with minimal onboarding time and immediately drive value for the organisation.”
Sukha added that Black Umbrellas’ position as a Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation (CRF) partner entity provides an added layer of continuity and support. Through the Foundation’s shared services model, Black Umbrellas will continue to benefit from operational support, as well as day-to-day guidance and coaching from the CRF CEO.
As executive director, Eckles will provide strategic leadership to Black Umbrellas, building on its existing programmes, partnerships and relationships.
His priorities are to:
