Agenda

Founder and Chair of WiHTL & DiR, Tea Colaianni MBE, will set the context for the day ahead, reflecting on the past year and sharing the key data points, milestones and achievements that have shaped progress across the WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community since the 2025 Inclusion Summit. This opening session will celebrate collective impact while highlighting the opportunities and priorities for the year ahead.

Prepare to be inspired by fresh perspectives and bold ideas that challenge conventional thinking and spark meaningful action. Our keynote speakers will share powerful insights and practical takeaways to help you drive Performance with Purpose.

Check back soon for updates and the much-anticipated reveal of this year’s keynote line-up.

Hear from leading CEOs from across the WiHTL & DiR Collaboration Community as they explore the commercial power of inclusive business. This high-impact conversation will examine how purpose-led leadership, inclusive cultures and diverse perspectives are driving business performance, strengthening organisations and shaping the future of our sectors.

A must-see session bringing together senior voices from across Hospitality, Travel, Leisure and Retail.

Full speaker reveal coming soon.

Facilitated by our Headline Sponsor AlixPartners, this interactive session will explore how organisations can turn inclusion into business performance. Through practical discussion and shared insights, participants will uncover the levers that create commercial impact, the actions that move the needle and the strategies that help embed inclusion as a driver of sustainable success.

Sponsored by JD Group, this powerful panel will explore one of the defining challenges facing businesses and society today: the youth employment crisis. Bringing together senior leaders from across our sectors, the discussion will examine why creating opportunities for young people is both a moral responsibility and an economic imperative and how organisations can help build pathways into meaningful careers while strengthening the future workforce.

Facilitated by JD Group, this session will explore the actions businesses can take to drive change and create lasting impact for the next generation.

As our chosen charity partner, Team Domenica will explore the untapped talent advantage and challenge how we think about opportunity in the workplace. This inspiring session will highlight the potential of people with learning disabilities and demonstrate how inclusive employment practices can unlock new talent, strengthen teams and create meaningful impact for individuals, organisations and communities.

A series of powerful, TED-style talks showcasing diverse perspectives, personal experiences and practical action from across our Collaboration Community. The Inclusion Carousel will spotlight the voices driving change within organisations, sharing insights on building more inclusive workplaces and creating meaningful impact across a range of communities.

A dynamic session designed to inspire new thinking, challenge perspectives and celebrate the people advancing inclusion every day.

Hear directly from top industry businesses about their cutting-edge inclusion initiatives and strategies. See what’s working and how you can apply similar approaches in your own organisation.

Facilitated by Sapia.ai, this session will explore AI as a powerful accelerator for business transformation. Discover how organisations can harness emerging technologies to drive innovation, enhance performance and create more inclusive ways of working keeping people at the heart of the journey.

Explore the moments that matter most in people’s lives and the impact they can have on workplace experiences, careers and performance. Featuring insights from Role Models for Inclusion, this powerful session will explore how organisations can better support colleagues through key life moments from parenthood and menopause to grief and other personal transitions.

Discover how creating truly inclusive workplaces enables people to thrive, perform at their best and bring their whole selves to work.

Join our Inclusion & Leadership Advisory team for three thought-provoking deep dive discussions exploring some of the biggest questions shaping the future of inclusion.

• The Great Convergence
  Heather Edwards, Inclusion Project Lead, will explore the changing landscape of inclusion and the opportunities created when different perspectives, priorities and approaches come together.

• Trust: The Ultimate Competitive Advantage
  Joanna Aunon, Inclusion & Leadership Advisory Director, will explore why trust is fundamental to building high-performing, inclusive organisations and how it can become a powerful driver of business success.

• Is the ‘backlash’ the best thing that’s ever happened for inclusion?
  Amit Popat, Senior Principal – Inclusion & Leadership Advisory, will challenge perceptions and examine what this moment means for the future of inclusion, progress and organisational change.