Speakers

Dame Carol is currently the Government’s independent advisor on drug misuse. She is also Chair of the British Library, the Centre for Ageing Better, and Think Ahead, the Government’s fast-stream training programme for Mental Health Social Workers.

She is a member of RAND Europe’s Council of Advisers and  Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Ageing Well

In 2019 she completed a seven-year term as Principal of Newnham College in Cambridge University where she was a Deputy Vice-chancellor.

She is a past President of the Royal College of Physicians of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges past Chair of the Nuffield Trust for Health Policy and a previous trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.

Peter is the CEO of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and People Development. He is also Chair of Engage for Success and the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and on the Board of the College of Policing. He sits on many forums linked to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, routes in to work and skills, flexible working, and corporate governance.

Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. In 2021, his second book ‘The New World of Work’ was published, exploring the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies. 

Prior to joining the CIPD in 2012 Peter was Chair of the Institute of Leadership and Management, an Executive Fellow at London Business School, and held a number of Board level roles. He had a long career in consulting at Accenture working with organisations around the world, and in his last seven years there was Global Managing Director for the firm’s human capital and organisation consulting practice. 

He is a Fellow of the CIPD, a Fellow of AHRI (the Australian HR Institute), the Royal Society of Arts, and the Academy of Social Sciences. He’s also a Companion of the Institute of Leadership and Management, the Chartered Management Institute, and the British Academy of Management. He holds honorary doctorates from Bath University, Kingston University and Birmingham City University, and is a Visiting Professor at Aston University, and at Unitar University, Malaysia.

Dr Clare Fernandes is an Occupational Health Physician. Clare is the Chief Medical Officer at the BBC and a practising doctor. 

Since joining the BBC, Clare’s role has revolved around providing medical input into policies and practices around BBC buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing return to work advice for colleagues, from drivers in Nepal to TV celebrities, general health promotion and COVID-19 health advice, and (virtually) taken her to teams in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan Nairobi and South Africa. She has worked with shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders to keep your favourite shows going during the pandemic. She is currently leading the development of the BBC’s post COVID wellbeing strategy.

Clare is the author of ‘Questions and Answers for the Diploma in Occupational Medicine’.

Outside of work, Clare is a keen diver and loves to travel, particularly to experience new cultures and new food and textiles, and is a keen scuba diver. 

Christian van Stolk is an Executive Vice President at RAND Europe. He has worked extensively on health and wellbeing in the workplace. His work in the past has focused on improving the health and wellbeing of staff in the National Health Service in the UK, maintaining and gaining employment for those with common mental health conditions, building an evidence base for health interventions in workplace settings, and looking at the relationship between productivity and health and wellbeing outcomes. Christian has advised large private sector employers, the UK government, European institutions, OECD and World Bank over the years. He sits on several expert panels for the UK government including those on occupational health, mental health and employee health and wellbeing in the NHS.

Kris Ambler is the Workforce Lead for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the largest professional association for counselling and psychotherapy (C&P) in the UK. Kris works with a range of stakeholder organisations across the sectors and has a keen interest in occupational health and wellbeing, psychosocial interventions in the workplace and the future employment landscape for the C&P professions.  

Alex Bailey is Global CEO and Co-Founder of Bailey & French, a purpose-led global consulting company focused on Humanising the World of Work. Over the past 20+ years her work has focused on large-scale cultural evolution that combines the latest evidence-based research with innovative approaches to help people, teams, and organisations grow. Alex has led Bailey & French’s substantial growth over the past ten years, enlarging the team to 160 with representation across the globe and expanding the company’s reach across all industries and sectors to 155 countries in 2022, bringing her ambitious vision to life. Alex recently won ‘Company of the Year’ and was a finalist for ‘Businesswoman of the Year 2022’ in the Dynamic Business Awards. She’s also received the award for Innovation in 2019 and was finalist for Large Business of the Year, 2021.

Rob Baker is the founder and Chief Positive Deviant of Tailored Thinking, a pioneering and award-winning, evidence-based positive psychology, wellbeing and HR consultancy. He specialises in bringing positive psychology to life within organisations. Rob was named #8 Most Influential Thinker by HR Magazine in 2023, is a TEDX speaker, author of ‘Personalisation at Work’ and Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and the Australian HR Institute. He has written for the likes of Harvard Business Review and Work magazine and is world-leading when it comes to enabling and encouraging job crafting and personalised people experience.

Dominic Bennett, the Founder and CEO of Onwellbeing is an expert in digital platform innovation.  He was instrumental in the development and growth of the digital platform Aspire, a gold standard product currently supporting thousands of students across the UK.  His vision for Onwellbeing is an agile and personalised mental health tool with inclusivity at its core. 

Biography to follow

Karen Brookes joined Sir Robert McAlpine in 2017 and is currently a Board Director responsible for People, Property & Facilities Management and Shared Services.  She is the Board sponsor for the Socio Economic Affinity Network and is passionate about the role organisations can play in supporting people who have disadvantages in life, such as homelessness, ex. offender rehabilitation and supporting ex. military personnel back in civilian life. Karen is an Executive Director with over 30 years’ experience in human resources in both the public and private sectors, supporting businesses in the consultancy, construction, retail and sales + marketing industries. She has led and successfully implemented major business change programmes focussed on creating long term sustainable value through engagement and empowerment of employees and teams.

Jeanette Cook is Principal Wellbeing and Strategic Consultant at Aon with over 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and research industries, working in and leading UK and international teams with major customers across the world. A medical professional with an extensive peer-reviewed publication portfolio and cross-sector expertise, she is adept at translating data-led insights into business-changing solutions for major organisations including FTSE 100 scale businesses. Jeanette is passionate about creating holistic wellbeing solutions, considering both individuals and workplaces to build innovative, evidence-based propositions. For example, recently she provided insightful data analysis resulting in a client revising their wellbeing strategy from addressing ‘perceived’ risks where interventions would have had negligible impact, to tackling authentic evidence-led risks with the opportunity to achieve significant business improvements. By connecting the dots between strategy development and tactical outputs, Jeanette ensures that clients are better informed, able to make better decisions and thus able to achieve better outcomes.

Simon Cresswell has a passion for employee health and wellbeing, and uses this to work at Aon with clients on developing wellbeing strategies that promote overall health and drives sustainable organisational performance. Simon uses aggregated organisational data and the latest academic research to inform future decisions, the development of targeted health interventions and how to accurately measure effectiveness.

Stefanie Daniels is a coach providing personalised support to executive-level employees and midlife women in the media workplace. She founded Life Begins at Menopause offering a safe space where people can talk about their symptoms, enhance nutrition and supplements, and optimise their lifestyle. Stefanie’s career started with organisations such as News Corp UK, Bauer Media and Global Radio. She studied at Barefoot Coaching, graduated from the College of Naturopathic Medicine and has been trained by Tedx Speaker Cynthia Thurlow, specialising in Intermittent Fasting.

Biography to follow

Jaimy Fairclough is the Group Wellbeing Specialist at Sainsbury’s Supermarkets.  She is responsible for the development and delivery of the organisation’s wellbeing philosophy, strategy and service to it’s 150,000 colleagues. Jaimy’s career spans 18 years in Retail with 11+ years’ experience across a range of HR disciplines. She believes in the impact good health and wellbeing has on employee engagement and organisational performance, and her passion lies in developing interventions which support colleagues to thrive both at work and home.

Kirstin is the People Director at Channel 4. Prior to this, she has held a number of senior people roles including BBC Worldwide, Kantar, Twentieth Century Fox and Discovery. In all of these roles, her main responsibilities include leading a strategy to enable and underpin a dynamic culture that fosters creativity, diversity, inclusion and innovation. Kirstin is also a Non-Executive for British Wheelchair Basketball. She is passionate about how organisations can support individuals being their best to drive company results. Her resource site (kirstinfurber.com) has been developed specifically to support leaders looking to create a human culture where everyone can do their best work to drive transformation and growth.

Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher is the Chief Executive of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. Previously to IOSH, she held executive positions as a Director, Chief Operating Officer and Interim CEO. Vanessa’s career began leading learning and skills initiatives in disadvantaged communities in the UK. Her expertise and motivation lie in empowering adults to thrive in their careers, a specialism that she has focussed on for the last 20 years within the professional body sector. Working with professions as diverse as teaching, finance, banking, procurement, leadership, IT and health and safety has taken Vanessa all over the globe. She’s designed and led commercial learning programmes for many of the world’s biggest organisations, at one time working with around 80% of the FTSE 100. She’s set the occupational standards for several professions and has headed ground-breaking capacity building programmes with governments and NGOs across South Asia and Africa. She’s won accolades from the Federation of Awarding Bodies, Association Excellence Awards and Memcom for her work in education and membership.

Davina Jenkins brings to the table a wealth of operational and management expertise gained across diverse business sectors. As a qualified learning and development professional and HRM lecturer, she has a keen interest in identifying the opportunities to improve the employee lifecycle through wellbeing and empowering individuals to bring their whole self to work. Recent work experience has involved supporting West Midlands based organisations to gain a wellbeing accreditation designed in conjunction with Health Education, England. Alongside her current role at Falmouth University as a tutor for wellbeing and professional development, she also champions UK and international business leaders to develop professionally through the CIPD HR qualifications for Reed Learning.

Cate Kalson has been in her current role of Chief People Officer at Opencast since 2021 and has supported the rapid growth of the organisation that has been recognised, as the fastest growing large technology business at the GP Bullhound Northern tech awards in 2024. Throughout this period of high growth, she has worked hard to establish an innovative, ambitious people team to maintain and enhance Opencast’s inclusive culture that harnesses people’s potential, earning a place on Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in 2022 and 2023. Cate believes that one of the biggest social impact levers any organisation has is to build their employees skills and works in close partnership with Skills Builder Partnership to champion the building of Essential Skills. She started out as a life sciences researcher with a PhD in microbiology, then learned about business as a management consultant, leaning into tech as a digital product manager at Booking.com and Sage and then moving into leadership roles. An advocate for building deliberately developmental organisations that put skill development at the heart of their purpose, Cate Kalson champions creating supportive, empowering cultures that enable people to grow and develop as people as well as professionals.

Kevin Lyons is a highly experienced human resources professional and a commentator on HR trends and topics and business strategy. He has greatly enjoyed his career in human resources with successful companies, and his passion is Talent, and he is also fascinated by the impact of technology on HR, organisations and wider society, and is an AI champion. He is a graduate in history, believes strongly in evidence-based management, championing tangible change and progress on the inclusion journey, as well as being an expert on ways of working. Kevin is a professional in the field of neurodiversity inclusion, and advises companies and speaks widely on the subject.

Una O’Reilly has been the Group Chief People, Culture and Sustainability Officer- Birley Clubs, Caprice, Ivy Collection, Bills since May 20222. She was previously with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield from 2013 as Director, Human Resources and then Group Director of Engagement and Director of HR UK/Italy. Prior to joining URW, she has held a variety of human resources roles in both retail and property development, and has had responsibility for UK, Europe and Asia. Una holds a BSC Hons Technology Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources and Organisational Development and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personal Development.

As the Timewise CEO, Claire Campbell leads their strategy and is often out and about speaking to employers, funders and clients about their work. She originally joined Timewise in 2016 and helped grow their employer consultancy team. After a stint as Director of HR Consulting and Research at the Institute of Employment Studies, she rejoined Timewise in 2023 and was promoted to CEO. An experienced OD consultant, Claire has run many large consultancy projects and innovation programmes for Timewise, for organisations ranging from the NHS, to energy providers, to transport organisations to both local and national governments. Claire is a former civil service HR Director, where she led on resourcing and talent in DWP and DECC, following an earlier career in HR consulting. She has a Masters in Occupational Psychology and is a Fellow of the CIPD.

Aggninder Dhillon is currently with Twinings Ovo as their Head of International Reward & Wellbeing. She has extensive experience spanning across people and finance leadership roles, driving high performance and the achievement of organisational goals. Previous employers include the Financial Times, Universal Pictures, VirginMediaO2. Aggy is passionate about the people agenda and an advocate for the wellbeing and HR profession. She has specialist knowledge in reward, wellbeing, transformation, programme management and digital people experiences.

Dr Nicola Eccles has worked as an academic, specialising in health behaviour and public health at Universities in the North of England for many years.  She has designed, implemented and evaluated health interventions with schools, hospitals and councils across the UK to understand what works, for whom and when.  With expertise in health behaviour change, specifically in relation to psychological wellbeing, Nicola has created the content for the mental health skills based learning platform Onwellbeing. 

Andrew Gibbons is Group Head of Wellbeing, Recognition and Hybrid Working at HSBC, one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. Guided by data and colleague feedback, he is responsible for continually finding new ways to mitigate risks, provide support and improve the mental, physical, financial and social well-being of more than 200,000 colleagues in more than 60 countries and territories.

Shamira Graham has been working in mental health research and clinical practice for over 20 years. She is a passionate mental health specialist providing mental health solutions, designing clinical pathways and building innovative evidence based mental health propositions for corporate organisations and large insurers at scale. These incorporate assessments, psychiatry, psychological therapy, and counselling pathways for both adults and children and young people, whilst always ensuring patient care and patient experience is optimised. As a practicing clinician, Shamira delivers clinical services and specialist consultancy shaping wellbeing, mental health training, and organisational performance solutions. She has extensive experience working with global professional services companies delivering consultancy, specialist training and corporate insights delivering benefits to people and organisations. Before re-training, Shamira worked in large corporate organisations in portfolio management, strategic planning and business analysis and improvement.

Gareth Hind is the Director of Colleague Experience and Relations at First Bus. Prior to joining First Bus in March 2022, Gareth’s spent his career in retail, primarily in store and area management across Morrisons, Waitrose and The Coop, but most recently at Asda – where he held a number of senior leadership roles in the people team, in areas including learning and development, talent and capability, digital communications and most recently, engagement and, diversity and inclusion. For most of his career, he has been an operator that does people well. Now he works in people but with an operations lens, having moved from feeding the nation to moving the nation. He is award winning for his innovation in cultural transformation, has an infectious energy and is constantly curious. But above all, he is determined to make a difference.

Claire Kearney has been the Career and Skills Development Manager, News UK since 2010, before that she was in the learning and development business area for 10 years. Prior to that, Claire held roles in advertising sales across The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, and previously worked in that field at Dennis Publishing, EMAP and Hachette Filipacchi. Claire is a trained and qualified coach and mental health manager.

David Kirk leads Aon’s Employee Technology Growth and a team of strategic consultants who advise across all health and broader human capital solutions. With approaching 15 years of experience in new category design technology businesses, David joined Aon one year ago to bring the same approach to our enterprise technology capabilities.

Dr Tracey Leghorn is the Chief Business Services Officer at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK. As a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, Tracey’s HR career has spanned both the public and private sectors in industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, foodservices, banking services and environmental services as well as several years in business consultancy with PwC. Tracey’s commitment to improve the lives, position and opportunities of women, in and outside of the workplace, is informed by research into ‘women and work’ which has earned her a doctorate from the University of Leicester to add to her extensive academic credentials Leading award-winning world-class business service functions, Tracey has been recognised on the Waste and Resources Sector’s Hot 100 Key Influencers list for three years running as well as being highly placed on the HR Magazine’s Most Influential HR Practitioners list in 2022 and 2023.

Fiona McAslan is the Head of Health and Wellbeing at Royal Mail Group.  She is responsible for setting the long-term wellbeing strategy for over 135,000 people, as well as the day-to-day delivery of the Group’s wellbeing plan.  Fiona’s career includes over 25 years of varied HR experience across a number of organisations covering most HR disciplines. Her passion lies in helping people bring the best of themselves to work by actively designing a personalised proactive wellbeing proposition and promoting a positive wellbeing culture.

Biography to follow

Kirsty McLean is Head of Wellbeing for the UK at Nomura. With 15+ years working in the health and wellness industry, she collaborates with internal and external stakeholders delivering the global wellbeing strategy. Kirsty believes that a successful organisation is one where leaders understand the importance of health and wellness and lead by example. This helps to create a workplace culture where everyone feels supported and can thrive with a sense of purpose and belonging.

Dr Femi Oduneye is the VP of Health at Shell International BV. He joined Shell as their Senior Health Adviser, responsible for developing health and wellness programs and supporting health initiatives for capital projects. His interests span health systems, leveraging health skills for business outcomes, and advancing the Company’s strategic goals. Femi’s passion lies in improving public health and finding innovative solutions to complex challenges. Additionally, he chairs the Corporation Board at Farnborough College of Technology in the UK. Femi is a medical graduate with a master’s in public health from the University of Liverpool, an Executive MBA from the University of Bath, and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health in the UK.

Nasrin Oskui is the Global Head of Wellbeing at Deutsche Bank, one of the world’s leading financial services providers, with 89k employees, operating in 58 countries. Since she took on the role, Nasrin has written and started to implement Deutsche Bank’s wellbeing strategy with the goal to make well-being part of a sustainable performance culture. Nasrin is a strong problem-solver and innovative thinker who passionately drives culture change initiatives, with a focus on well-being and leadership development. She has successfully led transformative employee engagement, well-being and diversity initiatives to create a health- promoting and caring work environment where employees can bring their whole selves to work, feel supported and happy, so they can perform at their best and thrive in their careers.

Nick Pahl is CEO of the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM), the largest and oldest nationally recognised professional organisation for occupational health to advance knowledge through its Journal of Occupational Medicine. It advocates to policy makers of the value of occupational health via its Patrons – Lord Blunkett, Dame Carol Black, Lord Popat and Sir Norman Lamb. Nick has held senior posts in the NHS, Hospice UK and Marie Stopes International. He has completed a Windsor Leadership Trust and ACEVO next generation CEO training, a diploma in management, a degree in Economics and an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Nick has been a Trustee of THET and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and is currently Trustee of the British Geriatric Society. Nick is the Chair of ROSPA’s National Occupational Health and Safety Committee. Last year Nick received  honorary membership of the Faculty of Public Health. 

Helen Payne leads Aon‘s UK Human Sustainability Practise – a team of wellbeing consultants, executive coaches and project managers.  She has worked in the human Capital industry for over 20 years, the last 16 years in Aon‘s health and talent teams. Helen is relentlessly curious and is never afraid to embrace the latest ideas and technology. With a degree in communications, she is passionate about engagement, understanding what motivates employees and using that knowledge to create positive behavioural change. Helen is a is a highly experienced consultant, recognised for delivering employer solutions to clients with diverse needs. Helen has the ability to understand complex challenges and objectives of multiple stakeholders and translate them into tangible requirements with measurable ROI. 

Georgina Reeves-Saad leads on employee engagement and experience at the British Council. As a communications and engagement specialist, Georgina has more than twenty years’ experience in a range of organisations. She works directly with and advises senior leaders on employee experience to help them understand the links between productivity, engagement and effectiveness, and how this underpins the successful delivery of business strategy. This includes using people data and evidence to make strategic business decisions; managing change successfully; transforming ways of working; supporting life/work harmony; and creating a vibrant and inspiring organisational culture. Georgina’s mission is to make work work well for everyone – a place where everyone thrives, no matter what they do or where they are.

Letitia Rowlin is Principal Wellbeing Consultant at Aon, helping organisations approach wellbeing and people risk strategically to create healthy sustainable workplaces. A Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Executive Coach and former practising solicitor, she has a specific interest in occupational and organisational stress management and mental health.

Suzanne Semedo is the former Head of Culture, Diversity & Wellbeing at Ofcom. She has spent most of her career helping to tackle some of the most challenging equalities and human rights issues facing the public sector. Suzanne is passionate about inclusive leadership, she previously led delivery of the cross government Talent Action Plan and Civil Service’s first D&I Strategy. She has won awards for facilitating the career progression of minoritised groups including people of African descent. In her spare time Suzanne engages in several community groups and networks; is an Enterprise Advisor, supporting the educational attainment and career aspirations of young people through strategic partnerships between employers and schools, trustee of BANG Edutainment a youth charity and UN Human Rights Fellow.

Biography to follow.

Biography to follow

Professor Marcantonio Spada is Chief Clinical Officer at Onebright Mental Health. He is an experienced clinician, trainer, and researcher in the fields of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). Marcantonio is also Emeritus Professor of Addictive Behaviours and Mental Health at London South Bank University and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Addictive Behaviours, one of the leading scientific journals in the psychology and psychiatry of addiction. Marcantonio is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles, seven book chapters and three books, and is a recognised international authority in MCT and its novel application to the conceptualisation and treatment of addictive behaviours, cyberchondria and psychological distress in health conditions. Before re-training as a psychologist and CBT/MCT practitioner, Professor Spada worked as an investment analyst in the banking sector.

Biography to follow.

Pete Stevenson has been a Leader of The Edge for 30 years. He heads the Learning function as their Executive Director and has been delivering award-winning learning for key clients like BT Group, HSBC, Network Rail and PwC over that time. Pete’s a champion of Film Driven Learning and has led the development of our full digital learning capability, encompassing analysis, design, build, and testing. 

Biography to follow

Jo is passionate about understanding what we can do to foster fulfilling, healthy and productive work, particularly under times of challenge. She is an award winning organisational psychologist, specialising work, health and well-being. Jo is a Director of Affinity Health at Work, and leads the Professional Doctorate in Organisational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. Jo works in a job-share with Dr Rachel Lewis. This enables them to both thrive in their dual roles, while sustaining their own mental health.

Working with a network of leading academics, Jo’s research has been sponsored by the HSE, DWP, CIPD and the Mental Health Foundation. She is author of more than 150 articles, book chapters, research reports, guides and toolkits and presents frequently at professional and industry conferences.

Biography to follow

As Director and Head I&D and ESG at Grant Thornton UK, Jenn Barnett is a culture change and EDI specialist and psychologist. She is responsible for designing and leading the firm’s distinctive ESG strategy. Her team are focused on reducing the firm’s environmental impact, creating an inclusive culture that prioritises wellbeing and improves community impact. Jenn is addressing this through robust governance and measure, chairing diversity and sustainability boards, respectfully challenging board behaviour and business decisions, innovative policy change, and utilising technology to remove barriers in the operating model. Prior to this role, Jenn was People Experience Director, where she shaped the employee value proposition and influenced senior leaders to change behaviour to improve the people experience. Jenn has expertise in psychological culture change, and is an executive coaching and leadership specialist. Prior to Grant Thornton, she worked in senior roles with The Co-operative Group, BAE Systems and BAA at Heathrow, where she led the transformation of people behaviours to improve customer service in preparation for the Olympic Games in 2012.

As a Consultant with FAIRER Consulting, Barry Boffy is an award-winning inclusion, equity and diversity thought leader with a history of working in the policing and criminal justice sector, winning the ‘Public Sector Champion Award’ at the Inclusive Companies Awards in 2018. He is a passionate advocate for victim rights and for a kinder, fairer and more inclusive world for all.  Barry believes in working collaboratively across industry as a way of sharing best practice, using a human-centred approach to enhancing employee experience. He is a passionate believer in the power of Employee Resource Groups and a fierce ally and advocate; amplifying the voices of those from under-represented, seldom heard or otherwise marginalised or minoritised backgrounds.

Known internationally as The Bipolar Businessman, Thomas Duncan Bell has already reached millions of people with his writing, keynote speaking and through various media. He frequently works together with global companies to develop their mental health programmes while ensuring their business needs. Thomas is one of the UK’s most popular mental health speakers, as well as the primary mental health commentator and keynote speaker for the Institute of Directors. He knows how to transform a company and implement sustainable mental health programmes within the organisation, while still remaining human along the way, consistently found endearing to all whom he works with, through his candid and caring approach to change. As a FTSE 500 & SME Commercial Consultant for over 17 years, Thomas truly understands the needs of the people and the business.

Biography to follow

Camila Carvalho is the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant for Adecco UK and Ireland, a global HR firm. As a black woman and the first in her family to attend university in Brazil, her personal experiences have fuelled her passion for creating equal opportunities for all. She started her career in Adecco Brazil through a programme that allowed her to shadow the CEO of the company during one month and bring new perspectives to the senior leadership. Over time, the learnings from this experience, combined with her commitment to social justice, led her to take over several roles related to diversity and inclusion, social impact and public affairs. Last year, Camila joined the Adecco UK and Ireland team to support companies from different industries to recruit inclusively and build a diversity-friendly culture. 

Jane Cubbin is a passionate and experienced Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Leader, active ally, and a very proud mum of her incredible son, who is trans. She has worked at GSK for nearly 25 years. Over the past few years, she has been deeply involved in DEIB, serving as a leader, Culture Ambassador, and a member of the leadership team for Spectrum, GSK’s LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. Jane believes in creating a culture of inclusion and equity where everyone can be their authentic selves and contribute to the success of the organization. She strives to ensure that everyone feels they belong. In recognition of her work, Jane was named a Top 10 Business Ally by the British LGBT Awards in 2023 and received the Diversity Champion award at GSK’s Inclusion Awards, an honour nominated by her colleagues. Her peers have described her as “a beacon in her passion for Inclusion and Diversity,” “brave,” “a role model,” and a “trailblazer,” demonstrating her significant impact in the field.

Martina Ercoli is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in talent acquisition, specializing in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (IDE) across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Her career began in talent and branding consultancy and later expanded into a broader role in the pharmaceutical industry. She has since built extensive expertise in international talent acquisition, working across diverse global markets. Since 2014, Martina has actively delivered webinars and lectures on Social Recruiting, Career Development, and Diversity & Mental Health, collaborating with educational institutions and non-profits. She also shares her knowledge in Philosophy, AI, Talent Acquisition, and Diversity Recruiting, and regularly contributes content to an online business journal.

Lawrence Howard founded Thriiver in 1997 as a response to his own challenges in finding support and solutions for dyslexia. He is passionate about helping people with neurodiversity and helping employers to understand the real business benefits of having an inclusive, diverse culture. Thriiver has been on a tremendous journey since 1997, growing from being a reseller of speech recognition software to providing a wide range of products and services to help individuals reach their true potential in the workplace. Alongside Assistive Technology, Thriiver provide awareness training and skills coaching to help support people in areas where technology can’t. This integrated approach delivers fantastic results. They improve people’s individual performance and help companies accommodate a diverse workforce. This increases employee engagement and efficiency and has a positive effect on the business bottom line. 

Biography to follow

Estelle Jackson is the Global Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Ebay. She’s responsible for fostering and nurturing a culture that encourages collaboration, flexibility and fairness, where all voices are heard, respected and valued and everyone can be authentically amazing. She works to make sure everyone at Ebay can THINK BIG, speak up and constructively challenge and nurture a culture of sensitive curiosity where diverse perspectives are valued and encouraged. She recently joined Ebay after 6 years at Poly (previously Polycom) helping them build their DEI strategy .Before that she spent  9years in the Telecommunications Industry at 02. Estelle has fulfilled various roles within Global and European HR functions and has been responsible for managing recruitment for the all the senior leadership team functions, creating a Centre of Excellence function for HR and project work in early careers, culture, talent and HR Business Partnering. 

Since joining Selfridges in 2021 as Head of DEI, Recruitment & Onboarding, Sharlene has been instrumental in making progress towards Selfridges goal of building an inclusive retail culture. She is focused on engaging and educating Selfridges leadership and management, raising awareness and imbedding DE&I, inclusive hiring and HR best practices. Her work has supported closing the gender pay gap and has increased representation at different levels across the business. Sharlene is a recognised business leader who was awarded a British Diversity Award in 2023 and has been recognised by Diversity in Retail as a Woman to Watch in Retail and a Retail Role Model. Her passion for DE&I extends beyond the workplace. She is an active member of her community, supporting local authorities providing career advice to young people and mentoring women to promote empowerment and self-belief. As a woman of colour in business, Sharlene knows first-hand how critical representation is.

Arti Kashyap-Aynsley started her career as a Chartered Accountant, whilst also embarking on a 15+ year journey in the Professional Services Sector. She has worked between audit, tax and advisory services, spending the largest chunk of her career as a Management Consulting, focusing on large scale Finance Transformation programmes. Working and travelling the globe opened Arti’s eyes to the impacts of what our working lives can have on our overall wellbeing. Therefore, with the experience she gained in her career, she decided to pivot into wellbeing, where she first worked with Deloitte Consulting in the UK, to design, develop and deliver on a comprehensive wellbeing strategy. By being able to create positive change, Arti was inspired to continue to grow in this field and joined Ocado Group as their Global Health & Wellbeing Leader. Here she has been able to develop and launch a group wide wellbeing strategy, whilst also exploring the intersectionality of Wellbeing with broader ESG elements such as Inclusion. Through this work Arti has been able to uncover her passion for diversity and inclusion and has since become the Global Head of Wellbeing & Inclusion at Ocado Group. Outside of her day to day working life Arti is a qualified life coach, as well as an Advisor and Non-Executive Director to various organisations.

As the International Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist at DLA Piper, Safia Ann Kukaswadia is a spirited diversity, equity and inclusion expert with a wealth of experience leading and implementing DEI strategies, to authentically include all aspects of identity in the workplace and beyond. Her corporate experience is complemented by a creative background in luxury fashion management and the arts. Being a mixed-race, neurodiverse woman, with experiences of physical disability and social mobility, Safia has a personal passion and commitment to developing and uplifting those around her and strives to make the world a more equitable place in all she does.

Pernille Hagild has been the Global Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead for the Ingka Group since December 2021 and based in Sweden. Prior to that, she was Competence Development Manager for three years with Ikea, before that Regional HR Manager – Central/West Europe at Ikea for three years. Pernille was also the Country HR Manager UK/IE at Ikea for five years, based in London.

Dr Elouise Leonard-Cross is an Occupational Psychologist and Group Head of People for Northumbrian Water Group. A ‘curious collaborator’, with a squiggly career, Elouise thrives on asking and exploring the questions to help create happy, healthy and productive places to work. A Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and Chartered Member of the CIM, she is passionate about creating highly human organisations with the conditions for innovation, collaboration and growth.  An active volunteer she Chaired the North East CIPD Branch for 10 years, is Chair of the North East Common Purpose Advisory Group, holds NED roles including as Vice Chair of the Board for Beamish Museum and is an Enterprise Advisor for the North East of England LEP.

Katie Neeves has been a professional photographer for 38 years and she came out publicly in 2018 as being transgender, after living for 48 years as a man.  Katie formed Cool2BTrans to support and inspire other trans people and to educate everyone else about trans people, using humour to break down barriers.  Katie appears regularly in the media, being on ITV, the BBC and Channel 5’s lists of experts and being a BBC presenter too.  She has won many awards for her work as a trans ambassador, including the British Diversity Awards Hero of the Year 2023 award.  She is on the Global Diversity List 2023, she is on the Top 100 Influential People in the UK 2024 list and she is a National Diversity Awards Positive Role Model for LGBT Award 2024 finalist too.  Katie’s talks have been described as “engaging, hilarious and exciting”, ”inspirational storytelling at its best!” and “the most exciting training in years.

Michelle Okwudiafor is a seasoned communication, culture, and inclusion specialist, currently an Associate Director of Communications at S&P Global. With over 15 years of experience across the UK, USA, Qatar, and Nigeria, Michelle excels in leveraging strategic communication to enhance organizational performance. She collaborates with senior leaders to navigate cultural complexities, drive change, and foster inclusive environments. Her advisory role extends to assisting businesses in engaging diverse employee resource groups, ensuring that every voice is heard. In 2020, Michelle founded Career Invest, an initiative designed to empower early to mid-career professionals with future-focused skills. Through interactive workshops on personal branding, inclusion, allyship, and confidence, she is actively shaping the next generation of leaders. She is also a Board Trustee and EDI lead at Book Aid International, highlighting her commitment to global positive change.

Emma Owen is a neurodiversity consultant at Thriiver. She is late diagnosed autistic and has worked in academia for 11 years. Emma is a published author, public speaker, and certified neurodiversity and inclusion trainer. She has extensive experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and has received key recognition for her leadership in developing and implementing DEIB strategies, addressing inequality gaps, and promoting best practices. Drawing upon her academic background in psychology and social research, Emma has developed a strong aptitude for understanding and implementing inclusion across a wide range of industries.

Jo Portlock currently works as the VP of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions (part of RELX). Her work includes implementing the business D&I Strategy, delivering unconscious bias and conscious inclusion education, diverse talent sponsorship programmes, psychological safety and running a global network of 25 employee resource groups. She is passionate that diverse teams working in inclusive cultures drive better results, improves wellbeing, and give companies a true competitive edge. In addition, Jo is responsible for the companies’ early careers strategy, which focuses on opportunities for women in STEM and socio-economic advancement. Jo’s role also includes overall leadership for Wellbeing and Wellness, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Green sustainability goals of net zero before 2040. Prior to that, Jo worked as a Global HR leader for Reed Business Information, supporting the I.C.I.S. energy, petrochemical and recyclable commodity data business and Corporate Support Functions teams. Jo has worked in HR for over 20 years, previously for Reed Business Information, O2 Telefonica, the Co-operative Group and Carphone Warehouse. 

Hasan Reza is the current Head of EDI at a Community NHS Trust, Hasan excels in delivering comprehensive DE&I strategies, fostering awareness, inclusion & belonging and understanding a broad spectrum of accessibility considerations within communities. His work is instrumental in driving cultural change at an organisational level developing. Hasan’s particular areas of expertise are disability and race equity. Hasan is a seasoned DE&I specialist and certified project manager, bringing over two decades of lived experience with long-term health conditions and disabilities. In addition to his professional role, he also serves as the Chair of the Trustee Board at Mission Remission, a charity dedicated to supporting individuals in remission from cancer.

Shannon Rivers is Head of Inclusion and Wellbeing Advisory Services at Business in the Community, where she supports companies with their ambitions to become more inclusive and more on the front foot of wellbeing. ​Shannon heads up a team of advisers, ensuring that member organisations lead in all areas of inclusion and wellbeing, creating lasting impact internally and externally, through an intersectional lens.​ Prior to working at BITC, she ran her own social enterprise, where she focused on diversity, inclusion, and well-being as change management principles.

Biography to follow

Jo Whatley is a leader in culture and inclusion at Viasat, a global satellite telecommunications company of over 7,500 employees across more than 30 countries. She is currently using her experience in employee listening and data, diversity, equity and inclusion, learning and development, and organisational culture to support and drive change following the acquisition of Inmarsat in 2023.

As Legal Manager of the IBA’s projects team, George helps oversee and assist with a wide variety of initiatives focusing on the future sustainability and independence of the legal profession. This work has included conducting research into the impact of legal workplace environments and business culture on the mental wellbeing of lawyers, and the establishment of a permanent wellbeing commission within the IBA to focus on these issues at a global level. In addition, George also works on projects connected with the evolving ethical landscape of the law, including the impact of the corporate social responsibility movement on the profession, international anti-corruption initiatives, and capacity building efforts with legal institutions in countries such as Ukraine, and the Afghanistan Bar Association in Exile. 

Jude Cragg is Director of Human Resources at Capsticks Solicitors LLP. Jude has significant experience in ensuring that HR strategy and values are fully aligned and embedded within the organisation and a proven track record in supporting the business through periods of large-scale organisational change, including complex reorganisations and mergers.

Ed is a commercial disputes partner and CEDR accredited Mediator at Simmons & Simmons LLP, with 30 years’ experience of handing high-value / complex disputes, including litigation, arbitration and investigations. Ed acts for clients across a range of sectors, including banking, wealth, asset management, healthcare, defence, natural resources and aviation. He is recognised for his expertise in civil fraud, asset recovery and anticorruption.  

In 2016, Ed was elected President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, an association which represents the interests of over 3500 litigation solicitors in London and was elected Council Member for the City of London Law Society in 2018.  Ed is a committee member of the City of London Law Society, Civil Justice Committee and Commercial Litigators Forum.

In recent years Ed has played a leading role for the profession in the area of civil procedural reform.  He was responsible (with members of the senior judiciary) for drafting the Shorter and Flexible Trials Scheme and an entirely new set of rules for disclosure (Practice Direction 57AD), which now apply to the majority of commercial cases proceeding in the Business and Property Courts of England & Wales.

An Employed Barrister (England & Wales) and NY Attorney Sharon heads the legal team supporting Citi’s Services business globally and serves on the Legal Management Committee (LMC). She is Chair of the Bank of England FXJSC legal subcommittee and a member of the global steering committee for Citi’s Black Heritage network. A mother of three, she is also a founding member of the Inhouse Pro Bono Group, trustee and playing member of the Croydon Symphony Orchestra, member of Brunel University Council, Corporate Advisory Board member for Urban Synergy and the Patchwork Foundation and BACFI representative on the Bar Council’s Race Working Group.

In 2021 Sharon was listed in Cranfield’s Women to Watch 2021, became a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn and was recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honors with an OBE for services to the financial sector.

Annmarie Carvalho is a recovering divorce solicitor (!) turned therapist, trainer and public speaker.

She is the founder of TCC, a multi-award-winning therapy, training and coaching agency which specialises in ‘helping lawyers stay sane’. She is known as ‘the lawyers’ therapist’.

Annmarie formerly worked as a family lawyer and mediator at Farrer & Co, one of the top London law firms, for over a decade before forming her ground-breaking agency.

The TCC motto is “because we’ve walked in your shoes”. Its team members include former solicitors and barristers who have retrained as therapists and coaches and so understand the high-pressure world of law inside out.

TCC is a trusted partner to some of the world’s top law firms, chambers and professional services organisations, providing services including in-house therapy and interactive training on the psychology of law and legal practice. They also provide strategic advice to firms on how to deal with the toughest situations impacting wellbeing including vulnerability and suicidality amongst clients and colleagues.

Annmarie has won various awards for her work including LexisNexis, Resolution and National Counsellors’ Awards. Most recently she won the Resolution Wellbeing Award 2024 and the Award for Professional Services Start Up of the Year, London 2024 in the UK Start Up of the Year Awards.

Paul is the CEO and founder of the multi-award-winning organisation PPWD.  PPWD employ a Compassionate Safety approach to evolving fair cultures within safety critical industries.  PPWD improves human performance, through the design and delivery of non-technical skills, leadership programmes, investigation, coaching and learning review courses.  Employing their proprietary sticky learning methods, safety by people, not by numbers generates thriving and flourishing environments.  These accommodate the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs of colleagues.  Such well beings make better safety, performance, and customer experience decisions.  

As an ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and helicopter pilot, Paul experienced 17 years’ service, including operational tours in Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Iraq.  During a 7-year period at the RAF College, Cranwell, he instructed students and trained trainers.  Before moving through several senior manager roles including officer training and being responsible for the design and delivery of all theoretical and practical leadership courses. 

As a volunteer with the RAF Air Cadets he is responsible for the risk and performance management of Central and East Region.  With the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association he has mentored the Olympic Team Leader, supported the bid process and is now a non-executive Director. 

Jo Forbes is Osborne Clarke’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy Manager as well as a qualified health & safety solicitor. In her current role, she is responsible for ensuring that good management of health, safety and wellbeing risks is embedded in our way of working at every level of Osborne Clarke. She does this through ensuring a robust assessment, management, governance and reporting framework on health, safety and wellbeing risks as well as proactively influencing key stakeholders so that culture change is achieved where needed. She is also an experienced trainer and public speaker.

On wellbeing, she has  introduced a data driven approach to the management of mental and emotional wellbeing risks which is positioned on our Board’s growth agenda. This means that our wellbeing programme is directly aligned to the key risk areas in our firm and its impact can be measured and reported on via both quantitative and qualitative data around our people’s wellbeing. A key part of our wellbeing strategy is to engage closely with our people so that we have a true understanding of the mental and emotional wellbeing challenges they face. The objective is that this will lead to tangible, positive change at root cause (cultural) level for our people, with budget, time and resource focussed on the areas which matter most to them.

With a background as a health and safety solicitor, Jo has advised some of the biggest FTSE 100 companies on compliance with health and safety law, including how to introduce consistency of health and safety standards across a global workforce and how to manage work-related mental health risks and introduce impactful wellbeing programmes. She has also represented organisations and individual directors through some of the most well known health and safety prosecutions, inquests and government inquiries, including the Grenfell Inquiry, high profile corporate manslaughter prosecutions and inquests involving work-related deaths (including suicides where work stress has been alleged as a contributory factor). This has meant that she has a good understanding of best practice for health and safety management and wellbeing programmes across a wide range of industries, as well as having seen first hand the results of getting it wrong. This allows her to influence culture change through concrete examples and experience.

Dr Rachel Gibbons has worked in the NHS over the past 20 years in various psychiatric settings as a consultant psychiatrist and consultant medical psychotherapist. She is a psychoanalyst and group analyst and current Chair of the Working Group on the Effect of Suicide and Homicide on Psychiatrists and Vice-Chair of the Psychotherapy Faculty, at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.  She has been working on suicide and facilitating groups for processing the impact of suicide for the last 14 years. She has recently had 4 papers published on the effect of suicide on clinicians, she is co-editor of the Royal College of Psychiatrists book ‘Seminars in the psychotherapies’.  She led the development of the first global guidance for all mental health organisations for the pastoral care of staff following the death by suicide of a patient. This guidance is now in the new National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.

She has two recent papers published two well received papers on the nature of suicide  https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-bulletin/article/eight-truths-about-suicide/36D1872261E290945E245143BECC6260 And suicide bereavement https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-bulletin/article/someone-is-to-blame-the-impact-of-suicide-on-the-mind-of-the-bereaved-including-clinicians/EFFE8127E4FDDE3A2AF65D3FF542FD02

Dr Emma Jones is a Senior Lecturer of Law at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on wellbeing and emotions in legal education and the legal profession and she has authored a wide range of publications on these topics. Emma is an International Bar Association Wellbeing Commissioner and leads on the development and implementation of the IBA Guidelines for Wellbeing in Legal Education. She worked with the charity LawCare on its 2021 Life in the Law report and leads on the development of its Fit for Law suite of online resources for legal professionals. She is also a University Mental Health Charter Assessor, Chair of the Association of Law Teachers, General Editor of The Law Teacher: International Journal of Legal Education and a member of the Law Society of England and Wales’ Learning and Development Steering Group. Emma began her career as a solicitor in private practice before moving in academia.

Peter Kelly is a leading psychologist, speaker and  advisor who consults with organisations in the UK and  internationally for mental health solutions in the  workplace. 

Peter Kelly established BEING REAL in 2022, after  developing the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  management standards approach to tackle work related stress over 20 years ago. He was Senior  Psychologist/ Specialist Inspector at The Health and  Safety Executive from 1998 to 2022 giving practical  advice and advice on compliance with regulations for work related stress whilst developing  the scientific evidence base for work related stress,  psychological health and safety and mental health  and wellbeing.

Peter is a workplace and mental health authority  and an advocate of mental health. He is best known  for effective strategies and actions that manage and  improve employee mental health, among them, the  mentally healthy workplace, preventative practice,  the promotion of mental health practice for  improving wellbeing grounded in empathy and  compassion.

Nick is Head of the PHB Family Department, and is a specialist family lawyer focusing on all areas of family law, including issues arising from divorce, cohabitation and the financial consequences of a relationship breakdown. He is a skilled litigator with experience of cases at all levels, and is one of the very few family lawyers to have worked on a family law case which was heard in the Supreme Court (successfully, in 2023).

Nick regularly advises on children disputes involving contact, residence and relocation (including international relocation), as well as pre and post-nuptial agreements. He works for clients on both contentious and non-contentious matters, including those with a complex international angle. He has significant experience on cases involving the breakdown of civil partnerships, Inheritance Act claims and Sharia Law/Islamic marriage and divorce.

Nick has spent his entire career working on a vast array of high value, high profile and highly complex matters, and is instructed by a wide variety of individuals from all walks of life, such as businesspeople, entrepreneurs, professional sportsmen and women and politicians

Nick has been involved in a number of high profile and reported cases and is regularly quoted in the media family law matters.

Richard is the CEO of the Mindful Business Charter, a cross business initiative to reduce the stress we experience at work and which is a key cause of workplace mental illness. He is also a principal consultant at workplace consultancy Byrne Dean and chairs the steering committee of the Lord Mayor of London’s This is Me campaign which uses story telling to break down the stigma associated with mental illness. He is a qualified coach and mental health first aider. His first career was in law, a successful progress as an employment lawyer to the highest levels of leadership before mental breakdown in 2011 left him in hospital for a month and unable to work for two years. His experience of breakdown and recovery is the subject of his memoir, This Too Will Pass – Anxiety in a professional world, published in 2018. He is a father of three grown up children and splits his time between London and rural France.

Andrew is the Senior Partner and chairs the firm’s Board, Remuneration and Partnership Committee and ESG Committee. He is Board champion for Race & Ethnicity and Social Mobility and sponsored a new approach to pro bono support across the firm.

Andrew has ultimate responsibility for the leadership of Pinsent Masons. He was elected with a mandate to ensure the firm is “Thinking Like a 21st Century Business” and he has introduced broader thinking through advice and briefings from private equity clients, senior executives and a political adviser and global economist.

His role is to develop our strategy to be a purpose-led, multinational professional services business with law at its core. The success of this strategy relies on cultivating a firm whose social and environmental responsibilities are part of its DNA, is a leader in excellence and innovation and which celebrates the importance of a diverse workforce.

The nurturing of talent is important to Andrew. He led a team which developed a growth mind-set strategy in collaboration with Matthew Syed (the former Olympic table tennis player and now author and journalist) which achieved recognition from across the legal industry.

Andrew joined the firm as a trainee in 1993.

Reeva Misra is a 3x founder, investor and advisor. She is the Founder and CEO of Walking on Earth (WONE), a preventative health platform for workplace stress. She is passionate about using technology as a force for good and has held leadership roles at tech scale ups across AI, education, and health. Previously, she was VP Strategy at BenevolentAI. Reeva holds degrees from Oxford University and Yale University.

James Smither has over two decades of experience in risk management, governance and compliance spanning work in all six continents. Currently Global Head of Risk Management at leading law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, he has previously performed a similar ‘in-house’ role for the mining business of ArcelorMittal, a Fortune500 steel manufacturing company for which health and safety was an overriding priority. He has also held a range of advisory positions, most recently as a Director at PwC advising FTSE100 businesses, and before that in several boutique consultancies focused on geopolitical, integrity and sustainability risks for business investing in frontier markets. A passionate advocate for neurodiversity inclusion and for its intersection with positive mental health and well-being, James is a co-founder and committee member of the Legal Neurodiversity Network, a grassroots movement established in early 2023 whose membership now encompasses over 80 organisations collectively aiming to make the UK legal services sector more accessible for people whose brains work differently.

Dr Kevin Teoh is a Chartered Psychologist and the Programme Director of the MSc Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. He is also the Executive Officer for the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology. His primary research interests are around developing healthier workplaces, and the translation of research into practice, policy, and public dissemination. Kevin has collaborated extensively with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the Society of Occupational Medicine, and has a particular interest in the working conditions and wellbeing of healthcare workers. He has published in journals such as Work & Stress and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and is a regular speaker at academic, professional, and public events.

Jonathan is a corporate lawyer who has worked for DLA Piper for over 30 years work, working on mergers and acquisitions, investments and general corporate advisory work.  He Chairs the DLA Piper HWB Steerco which leads on the development and implementation of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy within the firm across its International business .  He a passionate advocate for the need for better and stronger mental health and wellbeing within the legal world and the need for true partnership across the industry in this area

Jennie is the Founder of Construction Health and Wellbeing LTD and worked on major programmes including London 2012 Olympics, Crossrail, and Tideway.  Jennie has a history of award-winning performance as a strategic advisor for health, hygiene, safety, and wellbeing. 

A registered general nurse, occupational hygienist, and safety professional. Educated to MSc level with over 20 years of experience working within occupational health, safety and wellbeing roles.  Jennie is also a trustee for the British Safety Council and her mission is to change the future of the construction industry through evidence-based, health and wellbeing solutions.

Jim Beestone is a communications and project management professional, who is currently a Health, Safety & Wellbeing Project Manager in Balfour Beatty’s Strategic Delivery team. A passionate advocate of mental health, with lived experience of mental ill health conditions, he is a champion for supportive, cohesive, proactive mental health programmes. In 2019 he took on responsibility for leading and delivering Balfour Beatty’s award-winning mental health and wellbeing strategy, and since 2022 has chaired the Health in Construction Leadership Group’s Mental Health Working Group. 

David is currently the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director at Sir Robert McAlpine.

He has worked in health and safety for 18years across various sectors such as construction, utilities, M&E infrastructure.

David chairs the CIOBs Health, Safety and Wellbeing panel and is an active member of the Tier 1 Health and Safety Leadership Group.

A proud mental health first aider, who is always looking for ways to improve health, safety and wellbeing in the industry through collaboration and tackling issues at source.

James is a professional walk leader and coach with interests in workplace and mental health following a 15 year career in the NHS and 10 years in business services, 

Green Man Walks is an early intervention wellbeing model developed in response to the consistently and deeply concerning high suicide rates in men (although not exclusively).

It offers a flexible blend of nature-based and physical activity outdoor interventions from a couple of hours’ purposeful wander in the local park to longer form behaviour-change programmes and day-long mini-expeditions.
These are all designed to unlock wellbeing through peer support, confidential sharing spaces, fun and camaraderie while tapping into the unlimited potential of nature to aid recovery, resilience and meaning in our lives.

From an organisational perspective, GMW programmes can enhance employee wellbeing offers, improve retention and absence, better engage staff and drive ESG commitments.

In a complex and confusing world with the workplace/world of work in flux, we can lean on the unlimited power of nature to illuminate a path to the daily challenges of life.

With over 17 years of experience in the built and construction environments, as well as healthcare, Danny brings a wealth of management experience and board-level leadership spanning community initiatives, entrepreneurial start-ups, and construction. His ability to drive progressive organisational change and commercial development underscores his commitment to delivering change, growth, and the development of sustainable business cultures.

As a Chartered Member and active participant in the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Danny has championed safer work environments across multiple sectors. His dedication to addressing mental health and well-being in construction and related industries is further highlighted by his role as a Trustee for ‘Mates in Mind.’

Noteworthy is Danny’s involvement as an advisor, mentor, and trustee with several membership organisations, including the National Federation of Builders (NFB), The Association of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals (iOH) and the Institute of Directors (IoD). In these roles, he has overseen commercial and operational teams, grown membership and expanded revenue streams. One of his significant achievements is the launch of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Awards in 2022, an initiative promoting equality, inclusion, and diversity by celebrating women’s contributions to the industry.

Danny is highly entrepreneurial and strategically minded, excelling in client relationship management and operational leadership. Committed to continuous professional development and staying current with industry trends, Danny is a leading voice in occupational safety and health. He remains a stalwart for creating safer, healthier, and more productive work environments.

Sam started her career as a research psychologist and went on to set up and lead mental health services at local, regional and national level. With a personal and professional commitment to the value of diverse and inclusive teams Sam has led DEIB programmes and been a national Safeguarding Lead. 

During Sam’s career she has retained her interest in research and in developing effective, evidence-based interventions that have positive impact at system, organisational and individual level. Prior to leading Mates in Mind, Sam was the CEO of WPF Therapy. 

Sam has a Masters in Leading in Organisations: Psychodynamic and Systemic Approaches.

With over 20 years’ experience in the development and implementation of effective strategies, policies and systems in engineering and construction environments, Steve has worked for Nuclear Electric, Procter & Gamble, the Engineering Employers’ Federation, Siemens Energy and Crossrail before joining Tideway in 2016.  

Responsible for business services, including information systems, facilities, quality and environment together with advising on health, safety and wellbeing issues, ensuring that all risk areas are identified and managed, and promoting a positive health and safety Company culture.

As a non-executive director Steve has recently been appointed, as an external member, to the Programme Board for the Palace of Westminster Renovation & Renewal project.  He is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Mates in Mind (the mental health charity for UK construction) and a founding member of the Health in Construction Leadership Group.

Steve is a Chartered Member of IOSH and, in 2018, became the first Honorary Fellow of the British Occupational Hygiene Society.

In 2019, Steve was recognised as one of the top 10 Corporate Allies at the National LGBT Awards.

Nicke Harrison is the Head of Inclusion and Wellbeing at ISG Ltd., bringing over seven years of expertise in the Diversity and Wellbeing field across various sectors. Passionate about the intersection of Diversity, Inclusion (D&I), and Wellbeing, Nicke’s work has focussed on addressing some of the upstream factors that can contribute to poor mental health to bring about health work environments. Such as discrimination, exclusion, financial stress and neurodiversity for example.

During her careers Nicke has been instrumental in developing and implementing strategies that prioritize mental health and embed these values into the company’s culture, policies, and practices. By focusing on these foundational elements, Nicke’s work has not only enhanced individual wellbeing but has also driven broader organizational success and community impact.

Throughout a diverse career, Nicke has consistently championed the importance of inclusive practices and the role they play in fostering a supportive workplace, and has trained as both an MHFA Instructor and Neurodiversity in the Workplace Instructor to deepen learning in these areas.  With a holistic approach, Nicke aims to create environments where every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive both personally and professionally.

Anne Hayes heads up the BSI Knowledge teams that lead the Sector strategies and the standards to ensure UK and global innovation and policy are supported with relevant standards. Having spent 20 years working within the standardization world she has experience across a broad range of industries and sectors having headed up teams for Governance, Risk and resilience as well as healthcare and sustainability.

Previously to BSI Anne was Editorial Director at Sweet & Maxwell Ltd.

Stephen specialises in strategic workplace health & wellbeing. His career in this field spans 30 years, and has worked in-house HR, in the consulting space, to leadership roles. Stephen works with organisations around the world helping them understand and address people risks, with a specific focus on well-being. His work encompasses a broad range of workplace well-being interventions; from optimising support infrastructures, to development of stress risk management frameworks, to attendance management frameworks, through to behavioural change informed programmes. In 2012, he co-founded the C3 Workplace Health Movement, a networking and knowledge sharing body of HR and workplace health professionals; and is a former advisor to the Mayor of London’s Healthy Workplace Charter.

Kris is a seasoned professional with nearly two decades of experience in Health and Safety (H&S). Passionate about mental health advocacy in the workplace, Kris has focussed his career to fostering supportive environments for employees. Their commitment to mental well-being has been recognised with several prestigious awards from Mates in Mind, celebrating their impactful contributions. With a wealth of experience and a strong focus on mental health, Kris continues to be a driving force in creating safer, healthier workspaces.

Luke is a social value consultant based in London with 3 years of experience with a background in management consultancy, policy development and corporate social responsibility (CSR) delivery. Luke has a passion for organising or helping out with activities in the communities where he works. At the moment, Luke is a lead for his unit at Mott MacDonald, and also leads social value delivery for the New Hospitals Programme (where Mott MacDonald as Interim Delivery Partner).

Having worked with a leading UK contractor, Fred founded The B1M to focus on sharing “the best of construction” – improving the industry while helping to attract more people to come and work in it.

Fred has since grown The B1M into the world’s largest, most subscribed-to (and best) video channel for construction with over 3 million YouTube subscribers and 30 million viewers each month. It now employs a 16-strong team across London and Sydney and has been named by The Times as one of the 20 best educational YouTube channels in the world.

Under Mills’ leadership, The B1M has interviewed Sir Richard Branson, filmed inside London’s Elizabeth Tower, taken viewers into a nuclear fusion reactor, run campaigns on the London Underground, launched a chart-topping podcast, created Tomorrow’s Build: a channel dedicated to the future of construction, founded Get Construction Talking: a global mental health initiative, invested in a LEGO subscription service to help LEGO inspire young builders and produced acclaimed, hard-hitting documentaries on New York’s Billionaire’s Row, the UK’s HS2 megaproject and London’s Battersea Power Station development.

In 2022, Mills was awarded an Honorary Masters Degree by UCEM and named an Honorary Fellow of the IET in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to the public understanding of construction”.

Fred’s videos have amassed hundreds of millions of views making him a global figure in video publishing and a role model to millions of people interested or already working in construction. Fred is a leading influencer in the sector, frequently speaking at international events and sharing his expertise with schools, colleges and organisations. 

Fred’s mission is to fundamentally alter the perception of construction on planet Earth.

Logan is a Quantity Surveying, Degree Apprentice for MPB Structures. He has always been passionate about construction and thinks the industry is a fantastic place to work. 

He has been heavily involved in the #GETCONSTRUCTIONTALKING campaign which aims to raise awareness and support construction Mental Health charities to be able to continue the fantastic work they do. This is an issue that is close to his heart as he has battled with his own Mental Health. As a result of his own personal struggles he has been on a journey to raise awareness and funds through taking on the challenges of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.

Joanne Pigram is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Chartered Marketer.  One of the earliest roles in her career was in construction, and via 8 years at a printing company, a career break having her 3 boys and 12 years running her own Marketing Agency, Joanne is now back in the construction industry as Head of Marketing and Social Value Lead at the East Midlands-based, award-winning civil engineering company Danaher & Walsh.  Joanne took on the additional role of leading the Mental Health & Wellbeing team at Danaher & Walsh in September 2023; they became supporters of Mates In Mind and took advantage of the audit, which gave them a route map to follow, to help them improve their wellbeing provision.  Juggling Marketing, Social Value, the Wellbeing Team, and a bit of GDPR, Joanne loves to keep busy!

Peter Kelly is a leading psychologist, speaker and  advisor who consults with organisations in the UK and  internationally for mental health solutions in the  workplace. 

Peter Kelly established BEING REAL in 2022, after  developing the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)  management standards approach to tackle work related stress over 20 years ago. He was Senior  Psychologist/ Specialist Inspector at The Health and  Safety Executive from 1998 to 2022 giving practical  advice and advice on compliance with regulations for work related stress whilst developing  the scientific evidence base for work related stress,  psychological health and safety and mental health  and wellbeing.

Peter is a workplace and mental health authority  and an advocate of mental health. He is best known  for effective strategies and actions that manage and  improve employee mental health, among them, the  mentally healthy workplace, preventative practice,  the promotion of mental health practice for  improving wellbeing grounded in empathy and  compassion.

Marc Preston BA (Hons) Dip Adj MRICS MCIOB MBACP has over 40 years’ experience in the construction industry. Marc has worked at senior level within tier 1 contracting firms working on significant and complex projects. Marc has also delivered large scale housing projects as a developer. As the current CEO of Vertice Development Management and in his work with Construction Dispute Experts Ltd, he had gathered an experience and understanding of the challenges faced by SME operations in the construction sector. Recently, Marc was appointed to the RICS Consumer Home improvements Adjudication panel.

In 2012, Marc qualified as a psychotherapist / registered Counsellor and gained extensive practice hours in an alcohol addiction agency. He established New Foundation Counselling, an EAP, to provide focussed psychotherapeutic counselling aimed at all people working in the built environment sector.

His key achievements include:

• Author: Standard Form of Agreement for Counselling and Psychotherapy
• Contributor to the BACP Good Practice in Action guide (GPiA No 55): Making the agreement in the counselling professions.
• Contributor to the Be Collaborative Contract 2003: risk management.
• Active campaigner for mental health support provision to be included in JCT contracts

Sandi Rhys Jones is a chartered construction manager and self-confessed compulsive builder. She began her
career in advertising and journalism, then worked in various technical organisations before
forming her management consultancy. She has worked across the construction industry in the UK
and overseas, bringing experience as employer and non-executive director to help organisations
improve performance, including staff recruitment and retention, culture change, public and
political engagement. She believes it is important to remember that we are all customers of the
industry in which we work and is passionate about the importance of recognising that wellbeing is
as important as health and safety in an industry with an appalling record of suicide. President of
the Chartered Institute of Building until July this year, one of her achievements was to lead the
#PPEthatfits campaign to draw attention to shortcomings in current provision, impacting the
safety and wellbeing of people who both work in the construction industry and those who visit
sites. Sandi has been recognised for her work promoting women in construction with an OBE,
three honorary doctorates and various industry awards. She is a Fellow of the Women’s
Engineering Society and trained as a mediator after completing an MSc in construction law and
arbitration.

Kari joined Mace in June 2021 as Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing for Mace Construct to provide clear strategic leadership and focus on ensuring everyone goes home safe and well.

As of August 2024 Kari has taken overall responsibility for Mace’s HSW performance and strategy, working closely with operational teams across Mace internationally, providing strategic direction and ensuring that HSW operations, processes and measurement are aligned across the Group.

Kari has worked as a Health and Safety professional for over 20 years, with experience across a number of industries including Waste, Engineering and Construction, including two years as Principal Inspector with the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) with accountability for investigating  serious incidents and complaints across the UK construction industry.

As a highly experienced Health, Safety and Wellbeing professional, Kari also has extensive experience of project management, business improvement and stakeholder engagement.

An award-winning builder and now broadcaster, Andy Stevens is the Founder and CEO of The Build Network UK – www.youtube.com/@thebuildnetworkuk Their vision is simple – to inspire the next generation into construction while making positive change throughout the industry. They currently have 3 shows a week shot in their central London studios and are working on more to be launched soon. There is a strong emphasis on mental health where Andy is open about his CPTSD and his struggles in the past which culminated in a suicide attempt 4 years ago. As a survivor, he is determined to improve workers’ mental health and knows exactly how to do this.

Andy brings his experience of being on the tools building award-winning homes into the media. A fine tradesman and now seen more in front of the camera, writing for magazines, speaking and chairing events and exhibitions as well as commenting on the construction industry as a leading expert.