Supporting an ecosystem for transformative change with Gary Lubner

This article originally appeared in the UCL Policy Lab Magazine.

We all remember the feeling we had as a child, waiting on a package or a magazine we'd sent off for. The pensive checking of the letterbox, the hurried questions over breakfast – had it been delivered, had the postman been? 

But to Gary Lubner, the arrival of an edition of the English football magazine Shoot to his Johannesburg home in the summer of 1973, brought more than just a moment of passing joy. 

The 12-year-old Lubner had sent off for the magazine with his pocket money – an early protest against the apartheid regime, which had banned football from TV to shield its population from the possibility of integrated South Africa. 

"I opened up the magazine; I couldn't wait, you know what it's like as a kid, and there in the centre page was the claret and blue of West Ham." 

Yet it wasn't just the kits and famous faces that captivated Lubner.

"There, standing right in the middle of the team, was Clyde Best"—the legendary player who graced the hallowed turf of the Boleyn Ground alongside Bobby Moore and other greats of the game. "I'd never seen that – a black player able to stand alongside his white teammate. That was it; I was a West Ham fan for life, and Clyde Best was my football hero."

It was the day he glimpsed what might be possible.

And that dream of social change still burns strong.

Today, I speak with Lubner as he works to create opportunities for others to glimpse what lies beyond the darkness of indifference and hatred. His new foundation, This Day, funds, advises and support organisations, campaigns, and civic initiatives to foster a better world, both here in the UK and in South Africa.

Fundamental to Lubner's vision is inspiring young people.

"This Day is all about creating opportunities. If young people feel that there's something they can do and that they can contribute, then the future becomes much brighter."

There are deep roots to this commitment.

Gary Lubner's early life growing up in South Africa was within a family that had witnessed the darkness of fascism and despotism in Europe. His paternal grandmother would later give her own testimony of witnessing her family's murder and being left to fend for herself. It was in South Africa where the family ended up as refugees. It was there that his grandfather eked out a living by selling glass from a wooden cart.

"They knew what it was like to have nothing and what small acts of kindness meant," Lubner says.

"My grandfather grew up in Johannesburg and had never seen the sea; his family could never have afforded that – but a charity enabled him to go to the seaside." It is in both the small and large acts of kindness that Lubner believes change can be born.

The family worked hard and did well. And when Lubner came of age – it was in a very different world from that of his grandparents, yet that belief in social justice had been passed on.

"I grew up in a very liberal family as a result of my grandparents and what they had experienced. They were very charitable. They got very involved in different charities."

When Lubner went off to the University in Cape Town, he became more involved in the struggle against Apartheid. He witnessed what courage in fighting for a cause meant, and one man's courage in particular.

"Nelson Mandela was an ever-present figure in our lives. In those days, we never saw him – but for the banned photos we managed to get hold of, and yet we knew he was there on Robben Island." From the campus in Cape Town, Lubner and his classmates could see the prison from which Mandela had been held – while Mandela lived and fought for freedom, hope was alive.

"In the white community, many people were calling for him to be executed. I mean, there was the death penalty. And so, that was one of the things that I remember - getting into many fights with business people who were saying 'he's a terrorist' and all of that. And so it was very important to me to do all I could."

Having continued to push for change at University in South Africa, Gary took on a new challenge, moving to London to do an MBA. During that time, he worked with Belron and was urged to stay on and work for the firm he would eventually help build into a global brand. He made a home in London, but he never lost his passion for fighting for justice in South Africa. When Mandela was freed, Gary jumped at the chance to work with others to rebuild the country.

His business success, building a global company in Belron, enabled him to do the work he does today. This meant taking the financial success and the lessons he'd learned in building teams and coalitions. Once again, Lubner brought what he'd learned from his family and his time in South Africa.

"I was heavily influenced by my upbringing in South Africa and took that into the business. I feel that every business has an absolute obligation, a very strong obligation, to give back to the communities in which they work."

Focusing on building a community and recognising the value of a team once again brought success. In 2021, Belron's leadership team received a financial payout for the company's success. But Gary felt that some of this should go to all employees, regardless of their position in the business.

"What we did was give nearly 30,000 people €10,000 each, €1,500 in cash and eight and a half thousand in shares."

It was probably one of the biggest share distribution to employees in corporate history, effectively 300 million euros. Having found great success, Gary Lubner realised he wanted a way to give back, a way to find his cause once again, his team.

"I've never felt comfortable with the wealth I have. I don't think I deserve it, frankly. But it's the system we work in. And so I decided that I was going to give it all away. And hence This Day."

As I sit and speak with Gary, images of those who inspired him adorn the walls, from presidents to family and the organisers he supports in South Africa. In all of them, there is a recognition of the gift they gave to Gary – the inspiration and lessons they taught.

Yet his work with This Day is as much inspired by the next generation as those who came before. When he first told his children he would dedicate his time and money to the foundation, it was they who drove him forward and inspired him.

"My kids loved it, they all did. Once I had told them the plan, my son would call me, 'have you done it yet? Have you got going with this foundation?' They have all inspired me to do the work."

Throughout Gary's life, finding power in coalitions and teams has been key, and it sits at the heart of This Day's philosophy.

"The only way you can bring about lasting change is by engaging with government and civil society together. And that's why we support hundreds of different charities and work with political systems."

What Gary and This Day call the 'ecosystem' is crucial to bringing about positive and lasting change. And it's already having results, inspiring thousands to campaign and organise.

It is this drive that leads This Day to support a whole range of otherwise disparate organisations and individuals, from political parties – he has thrown his support behind Sir Keir Starmer – to academic researchers like those at UCL envisaging different futures, and large independent charities and small community groups making change on the front line.

Working across such differences, in small acts and big, building an ecosystem for change is the core of his aspiration.  

It is what Gary Lubner is energised to do, fuelled by the joy and love he learned from so many who have made him who he is, inspired by those he cares for and works with today. To once again get on the pitch and play his part.

"I'm going to carry on standing up and doing something because I think it's always easy to say why you shouldn't do it. There's always a reason not to," Lubner says energetically.

"It's not the right time, not the right person. I'm not sure, you need to check more things. I need more data. Yes, sure – we need to do that. But, you know, This Day, the name is exactly that. I don't want to wait. So, this day is the moment we choose to make change."

That's the thing with discovering the courage to make change. We find it in moments.

Just like the one that followed the arrival of Shoot in that young boy's house all those years ago. Showing just what might be possible and proving we can always find the most extraordinary hope, in the most ordinary of places.

To hear about some of the changemakers supported by This Day check out the latest edition of the UCL Policy Lab magazine.