FUTURE OF WORK CONFERENCE

The Brewery, London – Wednesday 9th October 2024

The Pivotal Role of Human-Centricity in Cultivating Customer Belonging

500+ ATTENDEES

30+ PRESENTATIONS

ONE-DAY EVENT

ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS

unleashing the potential of the workforce

It’s official - the future of work is here.

We were proud to see the 2023 conference was a huge success, welcoming over 700 attendees at our new home, The Brewery, London. We are excited to welcome everyone again in 2024!

Technology and recent times has had a profound impact on our working environment, accelerated by the increase in connectivity tools, demand for flexibility and also our expectations of what work has to offer. Against a backdrop of rapid technology-driven change in the workplace, the culture of an organisation and the way it interacts with its people and its customers is more important now than ever before. The traditional workplace is fragmenting as technology savvy millennials and digital natives will soon make up the majority of the workforce.

Key facts

ONE-DAY EVENT

30 Exclusive Presentations

ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS

CASE STUDY PRESENTATIONS

500+ ATTENDEES

1-2-1 MEETINGS

WHAT TO EXPECT

David Macleod- Engage for Success - Future of Work conference

Eleanor Gooding- Boost drinks- Future of Work conference

Panel discussion- Future of Work Conference

Riffat & Andrew - Bupa- Future of Work conference

Zoe Shaugnessy - Alzheimers Society- Future of Work conference

Ciprian Arhire- Entain- Future of Work Conference

Just eat - Product theatre- Future of Work

The Future of Employee Engagement

This stream will look at how organisations need to ensure that people thrive regardless of their physical location. With advancements in technology, the modern workplace has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Now more than ever, it is imperative to provide a future-proof work environment that offers enriching experiences.

Personalised Employee Experiences

Join this stream to delve deeper into how personalising employee experiences ensure individual recognition, align goals with personal aspirations, and provide optimal work conditions and tailored training programs. Personalised experiences strengthen relationships and collaboration, enable proactive problem-solving, and ensure alignment with organisational goals.

Internal Communications

This stream will demonstrate what it takes to implement an internal communications strategy that meets the needs of the modern employee. More so now than ever before, effective internal communications strategies play a pivotal role in ensuring a productive and engaged workforce. This translates into a more positive work environment, where employees are motivated to perform at their best and contribute to the success of the organisation.

Advanced Analytics and AI

Join this stream to learn how to utilise advanced analytics and AI to enhance employee engagement by providing data-driven insights, personalising experiences, and improving decision-making. AI tools offer real-time feedback, automate tasks, and optimise workflows, boosting productivity and job satisfaction. They also support wellbeing through health monitoring and stress detection.

Wellbeing Programmes

Join this stream to explore how wellbeing programmes are crucial for enhancing employee engagement by improving physical and mental health. They create a positive work environment, increase job satisfaction, and help in talent attraction and retention. By promoting holistic wellbeing, including physical, mental, emotional, and financial health, these programmes make employees feel valued and supported.

Continuous Feedback and Communication

Join this stream as we explore how continuous feedback and communication are crucial for employee engagement as they enhance performance, motivation, and development by providing real-time feedback and support. Continuous communication increases employee involvement, promotes transparency, and encourages innovation.

Career Pathing and Mobility

Join this stream to explore how career pathing and mobility assists in providing clear growth opportunities and enhance job satisfaction. Offering career progression attracts top talent and enhances organisational agility by optimising talent utilisation. These practices empower employees to take ownership of their careers and drive innovation through cross-functional collaboration.

Designing Modern Employee Experiences

Join this stream to learn how leading organisations are designing modern employee experiences. Driving productivity, engagement and employee performance are key indicators that your employee experiences are truly providing value.

Purpose-Driven Work

Join this stream to learn how purpose-driven work is increasingly important in the workplace and how it boosts employee motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. When employees understand and align with an organisation’s mission and values, they are more committed and productive. This leads to higher morale, better teamwork, and a stronger company culture, ultimately driving business success and ensuring long-term growth.

Creating a Unified Workplace Culture

Join this stream to discover how, by cultivating a unified workplace culture, you can ultimately drive productivity and innovation to new heights. Creating a unified workplace culture not only boosts employee engagement but also fosters a sense of belonging and collaboration among team members. When employees feel a strong connection to the company's values, mission, and goals, they are more motivated to contribute their best efforts and actively participate in the growth and success of the organisation.

Workplace & Workforce Transformation

Head to this stream and explore how, by embracing change, you can build a future-ready strategy that propels your organisation towards success. Reimaging traditional practices and strategies embraces an environment that builds innovation, collaboration and growth.

The Evolution of New Workplace Technologies

Join this stream for tools, tips and strategies to assist your organisation in implementing technology to future-proof your employee engagement strategies. Whilst technology is only one component of the employee experience, savvy development of technology can make a huge difference to employee engagement and more now than ever in the modern workplace.

Main Stage

The main stage will delve into every aspect of employee engagement. We will showcase examples of excellence and explore the latest research, best practices and industry trends to help you cultivate an engaged and motivated workforce. Join us to gain valuable insights and practical tools to allow your workforce to thrive.

Organisational culture

This stage will explore the significance of workplace culture in improving employee engagement. A workplace’s culture provides employees with a sense of identification and belonging and is key in improving employee collaboration, attracting and retaining talent, driving performance, adapting to change, and improving customer satisfaction. Join us to learn how to build and sustain a thriving organisational culture.

Communication & collaboration

This stage will explore the significance of effective internal communications strategies in enhancing collaboration, boosting productivity, and improving employee engagement as a whole. You’ll leave feeling inspired to build and maintain effective communication and collaboration within your organisation.

Digital workplace

On this stage, we will explore the significance of embracing technology within your employee engagement strategies. Connecting employees regardless of their location is a key challenge faced by employee engagement leaders, with the rise in remote working and global workforces. This stage will showcase the latest workplace innovations with a spotlight on those organisations who have implemented new technologies and are thriving as a result.

Sarah Hood

Bupa Global Head of Engagement

Sarah has worked at Bupa for over 21 years, with a background in customer service and operations management in both healthcare provision and funding, before making the switch to HR in 2015. Sarah now leads Bupa’s engagement strategy and vision, and the delivery of a global listening program connecting all employees. Bupa employs 85,000 people in a mixture of healthcare provision and healthcare funding businesses around the world.

Eleanor Gooding

Boost Drinks Ltd People & Culture Director

Strategic senior People & Culture / HR professional. People manager extraordinaire, commercially-minded, strategic-focused, sorter-out-of-people problems, workplace culture geek, writer……and mum. If I can master the mum bit, everything else is easy.

Energetic leader with a proven track record of helping companies go from good, to great. Passionate about modern people practices where everyone can thrive. Resourceful, creative, and innovative individual, with the emotional intelligence needed to align people & strategy successfully, and the personality to have fun along the way.

Rachel Lees

Money Plus Head of Recruitment, Learning and Development

A determined and driven individual, with a passion for people leadership, engagement, learning & development and organisational development as well as talent acquisition and growth . Currently studying CIPD Advanced Level 7 in Strategic People Management.

Amrita Devaiah

Gov.uk Head of Comms

Results focused leader with 15 years public sector experience. Confident and outgoing with extensive project, stakeholder and people management expertise. Inspired by the opportunity to lead and develop diverse, high-performing teams to deliver impactful results. People focused, creative communicator, with an award-winning track record of successful organisation transformation and delivery.

Alyssa Jaffer

Deliveroo Senior Global Communications Manager

I'm a content writing and communications expert, with two degrees in media and journalism plus years of professional experience in content marketing.

Currently, I am the Senior Global Communications Manager for the international rider fleet at Deliveroo, a global online food tech company, with £6.9 billion gross transaction value. At Deliveroo, I have defined strategy and managed global communications campaigns impacting a global rider fleet of more than 180,000 riders across 10 markets, enabling more than 300 million orders to 8 million monthly active customers. I also won the Golden Wings Award ('Not all heroes wear crêpes' category) in 2024 for my contributions towards gender equity, learning and development for the business.

I'm also a freelance journalist and copywriter for publications and small businesses, spanning the hospitality & tourism, lifestyle, retail, higher education, femtech, wellness, property and interior design sectors. My writing has been published by Business Insider, Stylist Magazine, AllBright Post, The Drum, San Francisco Magazine, Sphere Magazine, MBA.com, ALHAUS Magazine and more. See my full writing portfolio at alyssajaffer.com/writing.

I have previously worked as the Head of Content Strategy at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the world’s largest international higher education network, connecting universities, business schools and students, and publisher of the QS World University Rankings®. I led a content team of twelve marketers across video, social media, copywriting and editorial teams (B2B and B2C).

I earned my Master's with Merit in International Journalism from City, University of London.

Catherine Rennie

Mastercard, Cyber & Intelligence Director Internal Communications

A skilled and experienced Head/Director of Internal Communications & Engagement with a comprehensive track record of delivering excellence in communications and engagement, based on over 20 years of roles in both the public and private sector.

Currently leading the employee engagement strategy and delivery, for M&A activity in Mastercard (C&I) as well as the lead on our Diversity strategy and programme.

Led and delivered an award winning Employee Engagement Strategy ensuring AWE was one of the 'Sunday Times Best companies to work' for in the UK.

Skilled and experienced in strategy development, tactical delivery and crisis & culture change communications. Acting as lead for all crisis communications at AWE.

A recognised, successful leader of teams, attracting, retaining and developing teams members.

Adding intrinsic business value through focus, tenacity and strategic vision, translated into impactful communications delivery. Skilled in building relationships at all levels of organisations to harness wider business growth.

Kim England

Vice President, Digital Employee Experience and Community Engagement Pearson

I thrive on connecting with people, discovering new perspectives through curiosity, and exploring the world; I am an avid traveller. As a self-proclaimed tech geek, I’m passionate about harnessing technology to create exceptional employee experiences, combining the art of storytelling with the power of advocacy.

I firmly believe that learning and communities have the potential to drive transformative change in the complicated world we live in. In my role at Pearson, I get to combine both, fostering engagement to drive high performance and building a strong sense of pride in the Pearson brand. With a tenacious can-do attitude, I'm deeply committed to supporting others and leading with passion, striving to inspire and motivate those around me.

Kaz Hassan

Unily Employee Experience Industry Lead

Having spent the last six years immersed in the employee experience space, Unily's own Kaz Hassan has a reputation for being ahead of the latest trends and best-practices on everything from digital transformation to internal communications. Over the course of his career he has worked in varied roles, from change management at Arriva to rolling out more than 20 intranets as a consultant at Unily. Kaz joined Unily in 2018 and is now a regular speaker at industry events, including presenting regional Masterclasses and conferences around the world.

Riffat Ahmed

Bupa Head of People Technology & Digital

A senior leader with deep expertise in project and change management and transformation programmes in financially regulated environments. An Agile practitioner, with an uncompromising passion for digitisation and employee experience. An advocate of consistent employee experiences through deliberate and intentionally digital experience layer aimed at delighting employees. Has won multiple awards internally and externally acknowledging progress in employee experience theory and practice in a newly defined domain. Currently responsible for end-to-end delivery of People technology and business services from ideation to delivery and support. Leading a function compromising of continuous improvement, programmes and projects, security and support, digital learning, digital experience, and people analytics teams - built into an integrated model for optimum delivery using DevOps. All aimed at delivering a people technology strategy of align, harmonise, and maximise.

Andy Webb

Bupa Digital People Experience Manager

A digital expert with a deep understanding of user experience and how to effectively transform experience across large, complex organisations consistently. Leading a team of award-winning digital experts which make up our Digital People Experience Team, who all share an ultimate responsibility for creating consumer-grade experience along with maintaining its integrity, across all our internal platforms. My recent focus is now shifting to all things ‘future of work’, researching automation and generative AI along with it’s potential applications within our business.

Yvonne Boateng

Amazon Global Engagement Programme Manager

I create the strategy and drive internal marketing and communication campaigns to:

Empower employees to become influential voices for the brand
Keep them informed and engaged on programs through different channels
Help them feel supported and continuously learning to drive adoption and retention.

My mission is to transform:

The way employees use social media to build their internal and external reputation
Adoption of social selling techniques
Internal communications so employees consistently engage and are driven to action.

My expertise includes:

Managing communication platforms and employee advocacy specific platforms
Measuring and reporting on the impact and outcomes of programs
Creative and innovative ways (with or without budget) to excite the workforce
Continuously asking for feedback on how I or my programs can improve or innovate further

Suzy Jearum

Coca-Cola European Partners Digital Employee Experience & Process Design Lead

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is one of the world’s leading consumer good companies with 33,000 employees making, moving and selling some of the world’s best loved brands in 29 countries. Suzy leads the Digital EX Team in the People & Culture Function where the team deliver a superior digital employee experience throughout the hire to retire employee journey focussing on the moments that matter. They use data from the Voice of the Employee to measure the experience and creating an ‘only Coke can do’ experience. They design and evolve simple digital solutions with a human touch to empower employees to work smarter. Understanding and improving the employee experience is critical for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It will help them succeed in attracting and retaining skilled employees and drive a strong customer experience.

Prior to this Suzy led the Operational Excellence Team and gave back 1 million hours to employees by simplifying process and digital tools within People & Culture.

Alena Korcinova

Lipsy London Head of People & Culture

Alena is a dedicated and enthusiastic business psychologist and L&D professional, driven by her passion for empowering individuals to reach their potential by being their authentic selves. Throughout her career, Alena has collaborated with a diverse range of companies across different sectors, creating L&D strategies that foster agile, inclusive, and highly engaged cultures, fuelling exceptional performance.
In her current role as the Head of People Development & Culture at Lipsy, she focuses on creating environments where everyone can thrive. Alena's commitment to employee development, wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion ensures that the company nurtures a supportive and empowering work culture. With a background in coaching and facilitation, she also provides leaders and managers with engaging stretch opportunities that maximise their impact on both people and the organisation.

Chris Lees

Liberty Global Senior Manager, Brand & Communications

Over the course of two decades, Chris has demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for marketing, showcasing his prowess across various industries. A decade ago, he transitioned to the realm of internal communications, where he made significant contributions during his impressive 7-year tenure at Virgin Media, holding pivotal roles that left a lasting impact. Subsequently, he embarked on roles at Purplebricks and Cote, adding to his diverse skill set. This year, Chris has taken on a fresh challenge as he assumes a leadership role at Liberty Global, spearheading Brand and Communications, a testament to his continuous drive for growth and success.

Felicity Winkley

TotallyMoney People Director

Felicity is an experienced People Director with a genuine passion for navigating the growing pains in start-ups and scale-ups in order to create a warm, welcoming and high-performance culture. She has recently rejoined TotallyMoney, the credit app which helps everybody move their finances forward and one of the UK’s best places to work according to Best Companies. For the last two years she has worked at Papier, a fast-growing eCommerce stationery brand, where she established the People function and worked on the cultural initiatives required to support a growing multinational, having opened their New York office in February 2022. Felicity is also HR Trustee of London-based charity CareDogs, which seeks to solve social isolation amongst older people through canine companionship, and together with a Director from Fox Williams runs a bi-monthly employment law MeetUp: HR Roundabout. She was awarded Credit Strategy's Rising Star (Commercial Credit) at Women in Credit 2019.

Christian Masters

NewDay Head of Internal Communications

With a rich professional journey spanning over two decades, Christian has amassed extensive expertise in people engagement and communications across diverse industries. Commencing his career at The Royal Bank of Scotland, he honed his skills and went on to contribute his talents to renowned organizations such as Visa Europe, KPMG, and HSBC. For the past five years, Christian has held the esteemed position of Head of Internal Communications at NewDay, solidifying his role as a seasoned leader in the field.

Nick Soulsby

Cooper Parry Head of Internal Communications

Nick is an award winning and innovative senior communications leader, boasting 14+ years of experience and a track record of steering and executing impactful internal and external communication strategies within complex global organizations. Nick has worked across various industries for companies including IBM, Barclaycard, Experian, Jaguar Land Rover, and Dentsu Aegis Network with a particular focus on creating and deploying communications strategies for large scale change. He has a passion for always treating colleagues in the right way and has been responsible for orchestrating communication strategies for extensive transformation initiatives, at scale, including mergers, acquisitions, technology transformations, and organisational redesign.

Charlotte O'Reilly

British Red Cross Head of Internal Communications & Engagement

Charlotte, Head of Internal Communications and Engagement leads the British Red Cross Internal Communications Team, communicating with audiences on the frontline, based in hospitals, out on the road, in offices and at home doing everything from raising vital funds to being their when disaster strikes.

Her mission is to make the organisation a modern and inclusive place work through communications with a sprinkle of magic! Previously, Charlotte worked at Citizens Advice leading communications for large scale change, technology rollouts and established their staff engagement strategy.

She’s also a proud mum to a toddler, a recently moved back to the midlands and always keen for an outdoor swim.

Georgina Reeves-Saad

British Council Employee Engagement and Experience Lead

Georgina Reeves-Saad is an employee communications and experience specialist at the British Council. She has more than twenty years’ experience in a range of national and international organisations. Georgina helps leaders and stakeholders 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 well-being and life/work harmony; and creating a vibrant and inspiring organisational culture. Georgina’s ambition is to make work work better for everyone!

Zoe Shaughnessy

Alzheimer's Society Head of Internal Communications & Engagement

For the last two decades, Zoe has been immersed in the world of internal communications across various industries, spanning telecommunications, transport, and banking. Her journey has led her to her current role as the leader of internal communications and engagement at the Alzheimer's Society. Zoe's profound expertise extends to psychology, with prestigious degrees from renowned universities in the field of occupational psychology.

Sam Bleazard

Fortnum & Mason Head of Employer Brand

Sam Bleazard has over 25 years of experience working in marketing, internal and external communications: with global engineering and construction firm Laing O’ Rourke; Dow Jones; retailer John Lewis; central Government at the Cabinet Office; Royal Mail Group plc, and; FMCG giant Unilever all part of his work portfolio.
He has worked with leadership teams, CEOs and C-Suite leaders for over a decade to develop their communications on strategy, crisis and employee engagement.
During the pandemic he started two podcast shows – Comms from the Shed (as a human response to Covid-19), and How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince (inspired by experiences as a freelance music journalist).
He is currently at Fortnum & Mason – a 316-year-old heritage brand, with a unique mix of luxury retail and hospitality - helping to develop their Employer Brand.
At Fortnum’s Sam is continuing to tell the unique story of Fortnum’s, whose underlying purpose to ‘make joy’ continues to surprise and delight customers in the UK and internationally.

Lizzie Parker

GSK Director, Global Internal Communications

Lizzie is part of the global internal engagement team at GSK, a healthcare company made up of over 100,000 people worldwide. Over the past 10 years, she’s worked on a diverse range of projects and teams across the business from channel to content management, from financial results to new sustainability targets, from a global transformation programme to building internal comms capabilities within our African business, from face-to-face events for over 1000 influencers to virtual cross-company broadcasts and everything in between. Never one to say no to a challenge or try new innovative technology to reach people in different ways, she’s passionate about driving change and how collaboration and brilliant data and insights can deliver dynamic, engaging and inclusive company-wide internal engagement that builds understanding, celebrates progress, inspires, excites and motivates everyone.

May Holloway

British Transport Police Head of Internal Communications

May is responsible for the delivery and leadership of Internal Communications for BTP’s 5,100 people across England, Scotland and Wales (c.160 locations).

She is a multi-award-winning Internal Communications leader who has reached the top of the Internal Communication profession at considerable pace through consistently demonstrating communications excellence, exceeding C-suite expectations, and delivering measurable change.

A problem-solver and creative at heart, May has extensive and deep experience in transformation – cultural, technological and operational – and comfortably navigates ambiguity and changing outcomes. May has led turnaround communications for performance – supporting organisations to make significant and sustained improvement.

Ciprian Arhire

Entain Global Head of People Experience & HR Transformation

Ciprian is a seasoned global HR leader with over two decades of experience spearheading transformative change in diverse industries. Recognized as HR’s Most Influential Practitioner in 2022 by HR Magazine, he currently holds the pivotal role of Group Head of People Experience and HR Transformation at Entain Group. This FTSE100 powerhouse, operating in the dynamic realms of sports betting, gaming, and entertainment across 30+ countries, entrusts Ciprian with shaping a forward-looking People Experience Strategy and driving strategic HR transformation programs.
Beyond his corporate endeavours, Ciprian founded the CIPD’s Fellows and Senior People Professionals Network in London, a thriving community dedicated to advancing HR, L&D, and OD strategies, tackling today's pivotal HR challenges. Moreover, Ciprian is a prominent voice in the field, hosting an independent podcast on Leading HR into the Future and contributing to discussions on the evolving nature of work. As a founding member of Hacking HR's Experts Council, he champions the evolution of HR to meet the dynamic needs of modern society.
Armed with a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development and Consulting from the University of London, Ciprian is a Chartered Fellow Member of the CIPD. He is currently pursuing an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. On various social media platforms, he advocates for data-driven, digitally powered HR, sharing insights into navigating the ever-evolving workforce landscape. Connect with Ciprian on LinkedIn, delve into his thought leadership on his blog, and follow his engaging discourse on Twitter to stay at the forefront of HR's transformative journey. His profound expertise in EDI, organizational change, and transformation exemplifies his commitment to enhancing employee experiences and driving meaningful organizational change.

Joshua Reynolds

Lloyd's Banking Group Workplace Adoption Lead

Having spent time across a variety of roles in innovation, products and colleague experience Josh now leads the strategy behind Workplace Communities at Lloyds Banking Group, setting the direction, vision and objectives across this and other Workplace Experience initiatives and projects. Lives just outside London, a Father of 3 kids and and an avid football fan (and player when time permits!).

James Wroot

Lloyds Banking Group Workplace Experience Lead

James is responsible for encouraging the adoption of Lloyds Banking Group workplaces and digital technology by improving colleague experience. He leads the implementation and operation of the Workplace Community Leaders programme whilst overseeing stakeholder engagement initiatives and other experience improvement projects.

Anisha Mistry-Jones

Which? Senior Internal Communications Manager

Hi! I’m Anisha, an award winning communications and employee engagement specalist. I’m incredibly passionate about supporting organisations with enhancing their digital employee experience and using effective internal communications to foster an inclusive culture. Over the last decade, I’ve been fortunate enough to worked across a range of sectors both public and private on a diverse range internal comms and engagement projects and initiatives.

Hayley Mann

Formula E People Director

Hayley serves as the People Director at Formula E, bringing a wealth of experience in human resources and people management to her role. With a career spanning seven years in HR and people departments, coupled with six years of prior expertise in recruitment, Hayley possesses a deep understanding of fostering vibrant workplace cultures. Her passion lies in comprehending the diverse needs and desires of individuals, making her a dedicated advocate for creating an inclusive and engaging environment at Formula E.

Eleanor Gooding

Boost Drinks People & Culture Director

Eleanor has been in the role of People & Culture Director at Boost drinks in Leeds since 2018. She has 20+ experience of managing people, 10 years of strategic consulting, and 7 years working in an HR best practice accolade. Not scared to roll her sleeves up and tackle the elephants in the room, Eleanor passionately believes in getting to the heart of the business, dealing with problems first and paving the way for people programmes to thrive. She is also a strong believer that you should be kind within business, even when dealing with the tough stuff.

David MacLeod OBE

Engage For Success Co-Chair

David is co founder of Engage for Success. He is a visiting Professor of the Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), An Honorary Professor of Nottingham Business School, a fellow of the RSA and a companion member of the CMI. David is co-author, with Nita Clarke, of the MacLeod Report, ‘Engage for Success’ described by the CMI as the definitive work on this subject. This follows an early career in marketing followed by becoming a divisional CEO of a global business. He has been an NED of three Government Departments and has worked for a year and a half in the Cabinet Office. David is an NED of the Institute of Customer Services. He was awarded an OBE for services to Employee Engagement and Business in 2013.

John Townsend

Unicef UK Head of Internal Communications

John has a host of internal communications experience leading teams in the not-for-profit sector. He has been Head of Internal Communications at UNICEF UK for the last seven years, working to keep his colleagues informed, connected and inspired. Previously he led the internal communications function at the NSPCC, The Children’s Society and the Hilton Foundation.

John believes passionately in the power of internal communications to set the tone for an organisation’s culture, leading to better places to work and ultimately better organisational results.

Rares Man

ABBYY Head of Internal Communications and Employer Branding

Rares Man is the Head of Internal Communications and Employer Branding at ABBYY. Rares brings a diverse background encompassing strategic communications, employer branding, employee engagement, marketing, brand strategy, and brand management. He has successfully led teams and delivered results as an employer-branding-focused marketer at a fast-growing FinTech unicorn, co-founder of a branding and creative agency, and national/global director of marketing and communications for a third-sector organization with a global presence.

Gwen Powell

Investors in People International Manager and Practitioner

Leadership and Management Development, Organisational and People Strategies, Managing and improving People's Performance, Training interventions, Use of coaching models, Facilitation, Engagement, Communications and Human Relationships. Specialties: Competencies, training design, leadership and Management development, Maintaining and attaining national industry standards, project management, assessment.

Vicky Bahmend

TLC Regional HR Manager

My journey with TLC Group began in November 2013 as an Office Manager. I started by assisting in the development of our Quality Management System, which took 18 months to complete. In 2015, I became the Corporate Governance Manager, focusing on risk management and contributing to our Quality Assurance Framework. After a brief stint as Home Manager in 2018, I returned to the Corporate Governance Manager role, achieving ISO9001:2015 accreditation and helping prepare for The Fellows House's opening. During the pandemic, I took on the role of Head of Wellbeing, improving procedures.

I also served as EA to the CEO for a year before returning as Business Support Manager in 2021. I briefly took on the role of Head of Hospitality and Wellbeing before resuming my Business Support Manager role in 2022. In April 2022, I assisted with HR as HR Support Manager and later became Regional HR Manager in July 2023. Throughout this journey, I've been pursuing my CIPD qualification with the organization's support. I'm deeply passionate about people and strive to be a compassionate leader, embodying TLC Group's values of Truth, Love, and Compassion in everything I do.

Kat Cooke

SSC Head of Internal Communications & Employer Brand

With a journalism background and a passion for writing, married with a love of people and wanting to make a difference, internal comms is where I am truly at home. I’m a storyteller, a people-person, a campaigner and, well, an outgoing northerner! I'm a wordsmith who adores the English language, and am all about making sure that apostrophes are in the right places. With a degree from the department of journalism at City University London, often dubbed the ‘Oxbridge of journalism’, I have had a varied and comprehensive education in all areas of media. I led the way when it comes to internal communications within SCC; I set up a comms function from scratch, which has had a huge positive impact on the business. I led and managed one of SCC's largest marketing projects on deploying a new intranet platform. This involved steering a team, working with internal stakeholders, creating and designing the site, creating the core messaging and much more. This new platform has enabled new functionality and an interface that has increased the engagement between staff. I continue to revolutionise the way we communicate. I'm an ideas person, an innovator, and my drive is to make a positive difference.

Regina Craja

Flip Corporate Communications Expert

Regina is a corporate communications expert with over ten years of experience. In her previous roles, Regina consulted multinational corporations on their public affairs, media relations, change, and crisis communications strategies for the international communications consultancy Brunswick, as well as led the Founder's Communication at digital bank N26. Her passion for internal communications led her to Flip, the People Experience Platform for frontline workers, where she currently oversees the development of the Corporate Communications and Thought Leadership function. Regina holds degrees in Economics and Business Administration from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the French Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP).

Lottie Bazley

Staffbase Senior Communications Consultant

Lottie discovered her passion for communication after studying English and Journalism. Her career in education led her to roles in communication and employee engagement. In her role at Staffbase as a Communications Consultant, Lottie works closely with clients to encourage them to make the most of their internal comms strategies; helping them gain a deep understanding as to where they are now, and where they can improve. Lottie also regularly works with HR and Communications publications to inspire businesses to 'do comms better', especially when it comes to inclusion, equity & diversity, and supporting a remote workforce.

Sebastian Hoff

Staffbase Principal Strategic Advisor

Sebastian Hoff has over 10 years of experience in digital sales, marketing and communications for B2B companies. In his last position, he was responsible for the digital transformation of communication and marketing for a global Fortune 500 company. He currently brings his experience to Staffbase as a Principal Strategic Advisor. He advises Staffbase internally as well as companies on their digital workplace strategy.

Alex Alvarez

Culture Amp Lead People Strategist, EMEA

Alex is a Lead People Scientist at Culture Amp. As a member of the People Science team, Alex partners with customers in collecting, understanding, and acting on employee feedback through best practices and applied organisational psychology. He primarily supports customers in the EMEA region with a strong focus on the UK market.

Prior to joining Culture Amp, Alex worked for several years consulting with a wide range of clients across multiple industries on employee engagement and employee experience related topics.

He received his MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics.

Alex is an experienced presenter on issues of Engagement, Employee Experience, Trust in Senior Leaders and Behavioural Change

Elliot Lee

MorningMate SVP of Business Development

Elliot has 10+ years of experience in business, managing USD $1B+ contracts in LATAM. Global market expansion for brands like Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Thermax Global, and Prisma Haus. Expert navigating complex financial, legal, and cultural landscapes, building lasting business relationships and successful operations.

Rachel Benson

Just Eat For Business Senior Sales Team Lead

Rachel is a seasoned sales team lead at Just Eat with a remarkable five-year tenure. Just Eat is dedicated to improving work lives by offering exceptional food experiences, whether your teams are in the office or working remotely. They collaborate with top-tier restaurants and caterers to bring delicious and exciting cuisine to your offices and remote teams, ensuring a memorable dining experience for any occasion.

Ellie Judge

Just Eat For Business Account Management Team Lead

Ellis, a valued member of the Just Eat team for four years, currently leads the account management department, consistently delivering outstanding results. Just Eat is dedicated to improving work lives by offering exceptional food experiences, whether your teams are in the office or working remotely. They collaborate with top-tier restaurants and caterers to bring delicious and exciting cuisine to your offices and remote teams, ensuring a memorable dining experience for any occasion.

Richard Burton

Forty1 Global Managing Partner

Richard believes today’s best businesses are all built the same way, from the inside out. With more than 20 years of in-house experience in brand, marketing and communications gained across sectors including healthcare, technology and professional services, he has seen how the power of creativity can shape cultures, drive engagement and foster advocacy. As founder and Managing Partner of Forty1, Richard leads a talented team of more than 50 people across Europe and North America with deep expertise in internal communications, employee listening, DEI, employer brands and change. As a hands-on consultant, he partners with senior executives from Forty1’s multinational clients to help design and deliver pioneering solutions that allow them to attract, retain and inspire the workforce their business needs.

Jessica Holt

Forty1 Senior Behavioural Science Consultant

Jess brings over six years’ experience in management consulting, with experience applying behavioural science methods to drive organisational change and transformation for a range of FTSE 100 companies. Her background is in cognitive psychology, having studied the mechanisms of human visual memory and attention using experimental methods for her PhD. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Acta Psychologica, Experimental Psychology and Cognition, and presented at academic conferences.

Laura Hunt

Forty 1 Senior Engagement Consultant and Wellbeing Lead

Laura has worked in engagement and communications for over 18 years and works with clients across pharmaceutical, professional services, travel and automotive industries with a focus on strategy development, employee listening, employee value propositions and engagement campaigns.
She’s passionate about wellbeing in the workplace, and as Forty1’s Wellbeing Lead is responsible for the development and implementation of the Inizio Engage wellbeing strategy, and helping clients engage their people and support them to develop activations and initiatives that meet their diverse needs. She works closely with the DEI Centre of Excellence to ensure that wellbeing is inclusive and accessible, is incorporated through the moments that matter across the employee experience.

Rani Khalon

Forty 1 Engagement Consultant & DEI Centre of Excellence Lead

Rani’s background in DEI stems from her working in the tech sector. She became acutely aware that by solving issues around representation, cultural intelligence and inclusive product design, she could create an even more profitable business and equitable outcomes for marginalised communities. Since then, she transitioned into being a full-time DEI consultant and transformed various organisations in different sectors across the globe. Rani specialises in anti-racism, creating and bringing to life global DEI strategies, embedding DEI into the core of events, services and products.

Richard Barrett

Workvivo Director of Marketing

Richard Barrett is Director of Marketing at Workvivo. Under his role, Richard founded vivowire, a market-leading newsletter with a 15,000-strong community of people who are passionate about employee experience, workplace culture, work trends, staff engagement, and more.

Georgia Crowley

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Finance Excellence and Enterprise Services Senior Director

Georgia has twenty years’ experience in change management and business transformation, predominantly focused on organisational redesign and IT implementation. She has spent the last six years at Boston Consulting Group (BCG): firstly, in IT, leading the Change Management portfolio across the function, followed by an Agile transformation, and most recently leading the People Agenda for Finance and BCG’s new Enterprise Services function. Prior to BCG, Georgia spent ten years in consulting roles at Hitachi Consulting, followed by two years at the Metropolitan Police Service as part of the Corporate Real Estate Transformation Programme. Georgia has a passion for transforming workplace culture and its impact on employee well-being and productivity.

Steven Writer-Maguire

Clarasys Chief Client Officer

Steven Writer-Maguire is the Chief Client Officer for Clarasys, a management consulting firm based in the UK and US that focuses on customer and employee experience. Steven is a highly experienced management consultant with 25 years experience blending big 4 heritage with boutique expertise-led consultancy. He has extensive experience of C-level strategy development, business turn-around, post-merger operating model integration and culture change. He spends much of his time helping clients lead international change programs and is passionate about the people and cultural aspects of employee and customer centric change. Whilst now based in London, Steven has worked extensively in the US, APAC and Africa predominantly with Retail and Wholesale Banking, Pharmaceutical and FMCG clients.

Hafsa Aziz

SMRS Culture Consultant

Hafsa is driven by her motivation to empower people beyond their hierarchies. She is a Culture Consultant at SMRS helping organisations and people who make up those organisation build their awareness of themselves and their environment to own what they do and feel a sense of achievement with it.
Prior to joining SMRS, Hafsa has worked as a Senior Consultant in culture, strategy, people, and capability development for several local and global organisations in Pakistan. Her experience ranges from leading consulting projects to facilitating engagements with people and leaders. Having worked with a boutique consulting firm and in an emerging organisation landscape of Pakistan, Hafsa believes in the power of harnessing possibilities and creating opportunities by broadening horizons.

Harlan Davis

Jugo Chief Customer Officer

Harlan is a senior product and customer leader with nearly 20 years of experience in technology, both in ground up product development as well as the agency side with clients such as Apple, Universal and McDonalds. Harlan specializes in using both a deep understanding of technology and excellent user experience combined with acute commercial awareness of customer challenges. As a strategic thinker, Harlan has the ability to turn complex problems into simple and effective solutions that enable product and engineering teams as well as their customers achieved desired results with innovative solutions.

Kaz Hassan

Unily Employee Experience Industry Lead

Chris Ronald

Blackhawk Network VP B2B EMEA

A mere 5 years in the industry but proud to lead the Blackhawk Network EMEA team for B2B Incentives Rewards and Benefits. Passionate about Branded Payments that turn transactions into experiences. Empowering brands to connect & build loyalty with their customers & employees using gift cards, codes and prepaid products.

Chris is accountable for accelerating and enabling growth by creating high-performance teams and functions that work to scale the business. After holding leadership roles across both public and private companies for national and global brands, Chris has a wealth of experience when it comes to general management, sales & marketing, client success & service and operations. As a result, Chris is able to achieve strategic transformation and drive profitable B2B growth strategies for Blackhawk Network and its customers.

Henry Davies

106 Communications Founder

Henry Davies is the Founder of 106 Communications, an agency with a purpose to help ambitious bands transform engagement. He started his working life as a journalist, writing sports stories for The Daily Express, tried out as an English Teacher (“could do better”), before becoming a Copywriter, and going on to become a Creative Director and Comms Consultant at various agencies. He works with a wide range of organisations on their brand and comms strategies, helping leadership and comms teams to communicate effectively and effect change, build engagement and grow reputation.

Jo Moffatt

Engage for Success Strategy Director

Jo has been a volunteer with the Engage for Success movement since its launch. As Strategy Director she sits on the Core Team and co-hosts the weekly Engage for Success radio show. EFS radio draws guests from across the engagement world with interesting stories to share. The Engage for Success agenda is absolutely aligned with Jo’s vision ‘to make workplaces better places to be’. Jo’s ‘day job’ is MD and founder of Woodreed, a specialist ad agency who use the tools, techniques, creativity and insight of the advertising world to engage employees inside organisations. Jo is passionate about brands and their power to move people. She is equally passionate about employee engagement and its vital role in delivering a high performing organisation. Put the two together and she becomes almost evangelical about the power a well-positioned and consistently delivered brand has as a catalyst for employee engagement and business success.

Charlotte Dahl

Woodreed Creative Planning Director

Charlotte is a director at specialist advertising agency Woodreed. She's an accomplished speaker, writer and facilitator, with a unique view on employee engagement and internal communications, having spent equal parts of her career in consumer, then employee communications. Having worked for clients spanning every industry sector, including Marks & Spencer, The National Lottery, Volkswagen Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Guinness World Records and the NHS, she brings the rigour of consumer marketing into internal communications. She is passionate about raising the profile, standards and effectiveness of internal communication, believing employees AND customers deserve the same reverence, effort and creativity in communication. Appearing on stages at home and abroad, she's talked for senior leadership summits and in-house teams as well as for the CIPD, Institute of Internal Communications, Engage for Success and at ABTA's travel convention in Malta. She's a regular chair for Engage Business Media's events and delivers training for the IoIC.

Cathy Brown

Handley Studios Ltd. Co-Founder

Cathy (she/her) works with people and organisations to create inclusive, healthy and more productive workplaces that work for everyone.

A renowned leader, speaker and communicator, Cathy blends curiosity and empathy with deep cross-sector experience. She prides herself on helping people move out of stressful situations to create human-focused workplace cultures where compassion and connectedness – and people – are encouraged and valued.
Cathy has led organisations across a range of industries including Engage for Success (the UK’s movement for Employee Engagement), and has helped to transform many more through her work as Capability Brown, and most recently at Management Geek.
Cathy carries her personal experience of neurodivergence into the solutions she co-creates with her clients, through conversations, commitment and curiosity - helping them to manage themselves and their teams in ways that work for everyone.

Jo Dodds

Engage for Success Co-Strategy Director

As co-Strategy Director of Engage for Success, Jo is focused on spreading the word about employee engagement and shining a light on good practise, inspiring people and workplaces to thrive. She also co-hosts the long running weekly Engage for Success radio podcast talking all things employee engagement with a wide range of guests from all over the world. Her corporate background is in regional and national HR and training roles within large retail and leisure organisations. She started her own business in 2005 and has since worked with people and organisations to take advantage of the digital and social media opportunities to create engagement with customers, employees and other stakeholders.

Nicholas Brice

Soul Corporations CEO

Nicholas Brice is our Guest Editor and CEO of Soul Corporations®. He is seasoned managing consultant, speaker coach and masterclass facilitator. He has helped deliver human-centred development and culture change programmes to achieve customer and employee experience KPI outcomes for major brands including British Airways, American Express, Unipart, Toyota, Wickes, Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, Progress IT, Servier Pharmaceuticals. He is a triple winner of National Training Journal Gold Awards, a winner of Engage Media Award for Best Customer and Employee Engagement Programme and four times finalist.

“Good speakers, variety, and flexibility to move around and take in various sessions. Good facilities as well."

Head Customer Experience And Operations Transformation, Vodafone

"Great day - really well run with lots of brilliant speakers. Lots of food for thought! I thought the session with May Holloway was particularly excellent - so refreshingly authentic and open."

People Experience Partner, Financial Services Compensation Scheme

“The quality of the majority of speakers was fabulous and so informative - I particularly enjoyed the case studies. I have so many ideas and plans that are bubbling away following the conference - thank you for a fabulous day ”

Head of People, Springpod Springpod logo