Agenda
Join us for an unmissable day as we explore the theme of
Performance with Purpose
More speakers to be announced and the line-up is subject to change.
8:30
Registration & Breakfast
9:30 am
Welcome from WiHTL & DiR, our hosts Hilton and Headline Sponsor AlixPartners
The Summit opens by bringing our Collaboration Community together around this year’s theme, Performance with Purpose. Tea Colaianni, Steve Cassidy of Hilton and Mark Veldon of AlixPartners will set the scene for a day designed to challenge our thinking, share great ideas and best practice, learn from one another and celebrate the progress being made across our industries. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to look ahead together and explore how inclusion and purpose can create better experiences for people and stronger performance for business.
After Tea Colaianni takes a look back at the changes, challenges and progress that have shaped inclusion since we last came together. Drawing on the latest insights and data from across our Collaboration Community, Tea will explore what has changed, what we have learned and what organisations are grappling with now, setting the context for the conversations to come and some of the big questions we need to be asking as we look ahead.
Tea Colaianni
Founder and Chair
Steve Cassidy
Senior Vice President and Managing Director UK & Ireland
Mark Veldon
Co-Head EMEA, Partner & Managing Director
10 am
Keynote Speaker
How much progress are we really making on representation, and what is on leaders’ minds now?” Each year, The MBS Group tracks representation at senior leadership level and speaks directly to leaders about their priorities, experiences and focus on inclusion. Moira Benigson will take us beneath the headline numbers to reveal where progress is being made, what has changed over the past year and what is occupying leaders’ minds now. A fascinating snapshot of where our industries really are and where we may be heading next.
Moira Benigson
Founder and Chair
10:10 am
Keynote Speaker
Purpose isn’t simply what an organisation says. It is what people experience. Through his extraordinary lived experience, Dr Amit Patel will bring that idea powerfully to life, exploring the moments that make people feel valued, understood and included and those that can create barriers. Drawing on his experiences as both a customer and an employee, Amit will show how the choices organisations make can have a lasting impact on trust, engagement and loyalty, providing an inspiring and deeply human perspective on why purpose matters to performance.
Dr Amit Patel
10:30 am
Performance with Purpose – The Commercial Power of Inclusive Business Panel
Purpose and performance are often talked about as separate priorities. For these four senior business leaders, they are increasingly connected. They will share why they have made inclusion part of their strategic priorities, what that looks like in practice and the impact they believe it is having across their organisations. From attracting and engaging great people to strengthening culture, understanding customers and building loyalty, this is a candid conversation about what they are seeing, what they have learned and why they believe purpose can fuel performance.
Roisin Currie
CEO
David McDowall
CEO Stonegate
Imran Nawaz
CFO
Tim Stacey
CEO
Facilitated by:
Sharon Rice-Oxley
Co-Founder
11:00
Break
11:30 am
Turning Talk into Action – AI: The Unstoppable Accelerator - Interactive Session
AI is changing how we work at extraordinary speed and, used well, it has the potential to become a powerful accelerator for inclusion. Led by Barb Hyman of Sapia.ai, this interactive session moves beyond the headlines to explore how AI can help organisations remove barriers, widen opportunity and make fairer people decisions. Expect to get involved, challenge your thinking and explore how we can put inclusion at the heart of AI as its role in our organisations continues to grow.
Barb Hyman
Founder and CEO
11:50 am
The Youth Employment Crisis – A Moral & Economic Imperative - Fireside Chat
Sponsored by JD Group
Youth employment is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK today, with consequences for a generation of young people, for employers and for the wider economy. This fireside conversation brings together businesses taking action and a young person who has experienced an employment programme first hand to explore what needs to change. We’ll hear what is working, what young people really need from employers and how businesses can open doors to meaningful work while building the skills and talent they need for the future.
Kirsty Adams
People Director Talent, Talent Acquisition and Social Value
Emma Chevreau
People Culture and Purpose Director
Facilitated by
Nazrine Lewis-Humphrey
Social Value and Employability Manager
12:10 pm
Ask Me Anything
What would you ask a CEO if you had the opportunity? In this interactive session, Lauren Schultz, CEO of McDonald’s UK, joins Tea Colaianni and puts the questions in the hands of the audience. It’s a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the UK’s most senior business leaders about leadership, people, inclusion, performance and the realities of leading a major organisation. Bring your questions and help shape the conversation.
Lauren Schultz
CEO UK and Ireland
12:25 pm
Inclusion Carousel – Four Voices, Four Perspectives
Four people. Four passions. Five minutes each. Our Inclusion Carousel brings together four fast paced talks exploring neurodiversity, LGBTQIA+, race and ethnicity and social mobility. Each speaker will share their personal connection to the subject, why it matters to them and how that passion is translating into action within their organisation. Expect powerful personal perspectives, great ideas and inspiration from people and businesses determined to make a difference.
Lauren Du Plooy Flowers
on Neurodiversity
Tom Browne
on LGBTQIA+
Becky Wollam
on Socio-economic Backgrounds
Thoko Zondo
on Race and Ethnicity
12:50 pm
Lunch & The Connections Lounge
This is lunch with a difference. The Connections Lounge is your opportunity to make new connections, continue the conversations sparked during the morning and experience even more of what our Collaboration Community has to offer. Be challenged by experts, inspired by leading inclusive employers and discover new ways to help people thrive at work in our Wellbeing Zone. Come with a question, an idea or simply a willingness to meet someone new. You never know where the next conversation might lead.
2:25 pm
Turning Talk into Action – Inclusion Maturity & Business Performance
The data is beginning to tell a powerful story about inclusion and performance. AlixPartners will take us deeper into the latest Inclusion Maturity Curve findings, exploring the relationship between inclusion maturity and financial performance and what the analysis tells us about the areas that appear to matter most. This interactive session will bring the findings off the page, inviting you to explore what they mean for your organisation and where there may be opportunities to reach higher on the curve.
Mette Iverson
Director
Paul Martin
Partner & Managing Director
2:50 pm
Team Domenica – The Untapped Talent Advantage - Presentation
Some of the talent businesses need most may be talent they have traditionally overlooked. Our charity partner Team Domenica helps young people with learning disabilities and autism build the skills and confidence to find meaningful employment. CEO Becki Jupp will share the difference employment can make to young people and their families, alongside what businesses can gain by thinking differently about talent and opening up opportunities to a wider range of people.
Becki Jupp
CEO
3 pm
Turning Talk into Action – Trust & Performance
Across our advisory work, we have the privilege of getting under the skin of organisations and hearing what really helps people and businesses thrive and what can get in the way. In this interactive session, Heather and Jo will bring some of those recurring themes to life, with a particular focus on the powerful relationship between trust and performance. Together, we’ll explore what we are learning from organisations across our industries and invite the room to share experiences, challenge thinking and turn those insights into practical ideas to take back into your own organisation.
Joanna Aunon
Inclusion and Leadership Advisory Director
Heather Edwards
Inclusion Lead
3:55 pm
The Performance Dividend – The Moments That Matter - Panel
There are moments in all our working lives when the support we receive from our employer really matters. Becoming a parent, returning to work, experiencing bereavement, navigating our health or going through a difficult period can fundamentally change what we need. This panel brings together employers who are responding differently to these moments and creating cultures where people can continue to thrive. Expect powerful stories, practical ideas and examples of how getting the moments that matter right can build trust, loyalty and engagement and help people perform at their best.
Katie Ashcroft
Senior Category Manager
Jane Howkins
Head of Talent, Resourcing and Comms,
Sarah Lovell
Head of HR
Wes Stanford
DE &I Manager
4:25 pm
Summit Reflections
After a day of data, debate, personal stories, challenge and new ideas, Tea Colaianni and Mark Veldon bring us back to where we started: Performance with Purpose. Together we’ll reflect on the ideas that have challenged us, the stories that have stayed with us and, most importantly, what we want to take back into our organisations. The real impact of the Summit starts with what we do next.
Tea Colaianni
Founder and Chair
Mark Veldon
Co-Head EMEA, Partner & Managing Director
4:45 pm
Networking and After Inclusion Summit Drinks
The conversations don’t have to end when the Inclusion Summit does. Join us for drinks, reconnect with people you have met throughout the day, make new connections and continue sharing ideas with our Collaboration Community. A chance to celebrate the day together and continue the conversations and connections that could lead to something new.