Employee Engagement Summit | Engage Employee

The Brewery, London – Wednesday 1st May 2024

Putting the Employee at the Heart of the Organisation and harnessing The Power Of Our People

1000+ ATTENDEES

70+ PRESENTATIONS

ONE-DAY EVENT

ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS

harnessing the power of our people

After 2023 saw the industry's largest event of its kind welcome over 1000 attendees to The Brewery, London, we are very excited to once again define the future of engagement on 1st May 2024 at the 11th edition of the Employee Engagement Summit.

This year promises case studies, live interviews and panel discussions that showcase the importance of high-impact, purpose-driven employee engagement strategies through a lens that focuses on how organisational culture, collaboration, wellbeing and leadership buy-in are the the key to breeding high-performing, engaged teams.

Those that join us this year will have the chance to equip themselves with the tools needed to break the mould and create a people-centric culture where employees thrive.

Key facts

5 Content Stages

Round Table Sessions

15 Topic Streams

1000+ Delegates

Networking Party

70+ Presentations

WHAT TO EXPECT

Edited - Employee Engagement Summit 2023-022

Employee Engagement in the New World of Work

There has been a seismic shift in the way that we work over the last two years and many of these strategies are here to stay. This stream will highlight what the future of employee engagement looks like.

The Future of Employee Engagement

Our people are our biggest asset, so it’s crucial that we make sure that ‘work’ is a place that provides the experiences that will enable our people to thrive.

Effective Strategies for Employee Engagement

It’s so important to review and revise employee engagement strategies, so join this stream for innovative ideas relating to how to keep your people engaged.

Communication and Collaboration in the Modern Workplace

Communication and collaboration is increasingly taking centre stage in the quest for organisations to achieve higher and sustainable levels of employee engagement and productivity, particularly when employees are working remotely.

Wellbeing, Diversity & Inclusion

Probably the most crucial elements when it comes to employee engagement – join us to discover how to create a truly diverse, inclusive workplace where wellbeing takes centre stage.

Recruitment, Reward and Talent Retention

The great resignation has only highlighted the need to implement successful recruitment, reward and talent retention strategies. Join us to discover how to recruit the best talent and keep them engaged with your organisation.

Can Employee Experience Provide Competitive Advantage?

Our people are fast becoming the only way you will ever achieve a competitive advantage as, when we unlock the potential of our employees, we can drive customer experience to world class levels. Employees become our competitive advantage when they feel so engaged that they go above and beyond. Join this stream to discover how to unlock the potential of your employees.

Employee Engagement Strategy and Leadership

Employee engagement and productivity can only be achieved if the correct strategies are in place and we have inspirational role model leaders to effect and implement those strategies to move the organisation forward in an age of uncertainty and disruption.

Main Stage

The largest stage - here you can expect transformational case studies, exclusive fireside chats and in-depth panel discussions focusing on every aspect of employee engagement.

Communications & Collaboration

This stage will showcase those who are implementing communications strategies to achieve higher levels of employee engagement and productivity, regardless of location.

Reward, Wellbeing, Diversity & Inclusion

The most crucial elements when it comes to employee engagement – join us to discover how to create a truly diverse, inclusive workplace where wellbeing takes centre stage.

Strategy & Leadership

If your role relates to creating employee engagement strategies and leading initiatives, as well as gaining leadership buy-in, then this is the stage for you.

Organisational Culture

Discover the tools needed to create a people-centric culture which allows employees to thrive wherever they're working.

Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax OBE

From the Royal Shakespeare Company to primetime TV; from a master's degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy from Oxford University to best-selling author; from a mental health campaigner to being awarded an OBE for services to mental health. This is Ruby.

Steve Clarke

Virgin Atlantic People Communications Lead

Steve leads a team of communications professionals responsible for people engagement and culture, content development and storytelling, and communication channels at Virgin Atlantic. Steve spearheaded Virgin Atlantic’s launch of Workplace by Meta, and has radically evolved the approach to people communications to focus on mobile first, audio-visual storytelling.

Christina Lewis

Deliveroo Gender Equity ERG Lead/ Head Of Global Rider Experience

Christina leads Deliveroo's Gender Equity Employee Resource Group alongside her role as Head Of Global Rider Experience. In her ERG role, Christina spearheaded the first woman-focused mentoring scheme, as well as introducing accelerate, Deliveroo's programme for high potential women. Christina leads a team of 10 ERG members, focusing on gender equity at Deliveroo.

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.

Emma Illingworth

OVO Head of People Transformation

A people centered, award winning, HR leader, with a track record of partnering Executive Leaders to design and deliver People Strategies. Led multiple large-scale acquisition, restructuring / efficiency, EVP and culture transformation programs.

Quick, creative thinker, calm under pressure, with a considered approach. Often described as an agitator and playmaker to achieve what can often feel like impossible change programmes. I thrive in bringing people together to co-create and deliver improved people's experiences.

Louisa McCabe

AXA Head of Internal Communications

I’d spent a number of years building a successful career in financial and technology marketing when I had what I can only describe as a career epiphany. I realised that two things really make me tick, people and their stories. So, I made the jump from marketing to internal communications.

With several senior communication roles and an MA under my belt, my only regret is I didn't make the move sooner. I now spend my days doing what I love, connecting people with our leaders, sharing stories, celebrating the good stuff, and supporting people through the tough stuff.

Core skills include developing high performing teams, building and maintaining trust with senior stakeholders, strategic thinking, content development, campaign creation, writing, events, and change management.

Dev Mistry

Dojo Internal Communications and Engagement Lead

For over a decade, Dev has been supporting a range of brands with his expertise in relationship management and stakeholder engagement. Currently Internal Communications Lead at Dojo, Dev has worked for the likes of Virgin Media O2, DICE, Honda and Subaru over his career – managing PR, CSR, Social Media and Internal Communications.

People-focused communications are at the heart of Dev’s approach, no matter the size of maturity of the business. This is coupled with Dev’s proactive stance on inclusivity and equity within business processes, culture and communications, both from a personal and professional point of view. Outside of work, Dev also has a keen interest in initiatives supporting LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people respectively, through volunteer projects, cabaret performances and mentoring schemes.

Anaïs Nebel

Lipsy London Group Culture & Communications Manager

Anaïs is a culture leader and brand strategy expert, passionate about people empowerment. She leads culture and communications for Lipsy, a fashion and beauty group made up of 7 brands including Victoria’s Secret UK and Gap UK. Anaïs is known for creating out-of-the box engagement campaigns that create vibrant connections and bring the soul of a company to life.

She started her career in consulting before working for global retailers such as Estée Lauder Companies and The Body Shop. She has a unique understanding of internal and external brand experience - and how to make it resonate - having worked in marketing and customer experience before going into leadership development and people experience. In her current role, she looks after Wellbeing, Charity, Internal Comms, Employee Listening and Employer Branding.

Carlo Beschi

Treatwell Lead Agile Coach

I help value flow.

An accomplished professional, with a very broad skill set and 15+ years of experience in digital product delivery, cultural change and organizational transformation.

I leverage on agile-lean practices to partner with leaders and teams, and help them improve their time to market, customer engagement, product quality and operational efficiency.
I love envisioning, strategizing, and executing - both individually and together with others.

I relentlessly cultivate a safe, vibrant, collaborative working environment, focussed on learning, engagement and innovation. A place where people grow, projects succeed, and business KPIs flourish - all at the same time.

Beth Perry

First Central Head of Internal Communications and Culture

Oh, hey there, I’m Beth. Want to know a little more about me?

I’m a proactive people-person who lives to explore, develop and innovate. I thrive in bustling environments that are brimming with ambition and integrity.

Wendy Murphy

Exinity VP Corporate Communications

Wendy Murphy is VP of Corporate Communications at Exinity, a global fintech with offices in multiple locations around the world. Passionate about engagement and creating holistic experiences for colleagues, she was part of the core team that helped roll out a new wellbeing strategy across the company.

Melanie Page

Balfour Beatty Head of Group Innovation Programmes

Melanie has been at Balfour Beatty for over 16 years, spanning roles including IT, Digital and now as Head of Group Innovation Programmes.

Jeremy Gautrey-Jones

RSPCA Assistant Director Employee Experience

An highly experienced, Chartered FCIPD strategic HR and employee/industrial Relations professional that is results focused with a proven track record in a variety of sectors including the public, transport, higher education and charity sectors and who has worked at a UK, European and International level. Highly successful in negotiating and implementing change with trade unions and staff groups on key policy issues including pay and reward systems, organisational change programmes, TUPE transfers and terms & conditions of employment. Extensive experience in developing people strategies, structures and processes, leading negotiations, employee engagement, change management programmes, organisational change and project managing at the most senior levels. Proven track record in improving ER behaviours and cultures in difficult unionised climates. A resilient, effective and persuasive communicator who can influence key stakeholders in complex political landscapes. Highly effective in building relationships. A knowledgeable employment law specialist and experience Judicial Member of the Employment Tribunal. Key Speaker and contributor at a variety of conferences, webinars, podcasts and publications on industrial relations, managing change, hybrid working and wellbeing including HR Retail Bulletin, Personnel Today, CIPD.

Victoria Wilson

Royal Air Force (Ministry of Defence) Employee Engagement Team Manager

Victoria is an Employee Engagement Manager within the Ministry of Defence. She has worked in various civil service roles across the MOD for 18 years. Working in the HR profession, with a background in learning and development, she is passionate about facilitating a culture which allows people to flourish in their job roles.

Michelle Sage

Royal Air Force (Ministry of Defence) Employee Engagement Advisor

Michelle (Shell) Sage is an Employee Engagement Advisor within the Civil Service, working with the Royal Air Force since 2019. Prior to that she spent 11 years as a photographer working along side the Royal Air Force. People have always been at the heart of everything she works towards, and in her current role, with her team, in trying to make the workplace a better place for everyone.

Emma Hughes

Phoenix Group Communication and Engagement of Colleague Representation Forum

Emma Hughes leads Communication and Engagement for the Phoenix Colleague Representation Forum, part of the Phoenix Group.
With over 20 years’ experience of internal communication, specialising in bringing the colleague experience to life and integrating the colleague voice into people initiatives.
Emma and the PCRF team won the engage award for best use of Innovation in employee engagement in 2023.

Susan Reilly

Phoenix Group Head of Colleague Representation

Susan Reilly is the Head of Phoenix Colleague Representation Forum, part of the Phoenix Group.

With over 15 years’ experience and a qualification in Employment Law, she is passionate about colleague engagement, building effective partnerships and the power of the colleague voice.

Susan specialises in colleague representation and progressive partnership working and loves utilising her skills and experience to create and promote industry leading representation propositions and it’s benefits in the modern workplace.

Susan created the PCRF in 2021 and they successfully won the engage award for best use of Innovation in employee engagement in 2023.

She lives near Edinburgh and loves spending time with her friends and family, particularly the latest addition to the family, her first grandchild.

Gabby Ogiste

Mars Veterinary Health International Lead, People Systems & Solutions

A driven HR transformation, technology and change leader, passionate about delivering tangible outputs to create synergies, revived target operating models, best in class business processes and exceptional end user journeys across large & culturally complex multi-business, global organisations. An experienced HR leader with a significant HR technology, programme, generalist & operations background. This experience ensures there is knowledge and substance behind delivery, underpinned by robust governance and change management initiatives. An exceptional communicator able to quickly develop strong business partnerships, leveraging remarkable influencing capabilities to create an impactful rapport with all C-suite stakeholders along the journey.

Neil Morrison

Severn Trent Group Human Resources Director

Experienced FTSE100 executive with broad international experience. Neil has led fast moving, high growth organisations as well as those undergoing significant transformation and change, including both mergers and acquisitions. His career has included time working in media, retail, B2B services and utilities - all in times of significant change.

Technically, he has expertise in change management (especially digital transformation), compensation and benefits (including remuneration committees), organisational development, talent management, strategic resourcing, employee relations and communications. He's partnered with a range of CEOs and board members and contribute to the broader business leadership and strategy.

He prides himself on his communication skills and broad business knowledge. Down to earth, calm and measured whilst still working at pace and focused on delivery. The range of his experience means he's learnt to adapt and flex to different industries and cultures. he's also a qualified coach.

When he's not working, he is passionate about education, skills and the world of work in general. He's a regular commentator on leadership and management and has written for publications in the UK and US and spoken at conferences across the globe.

Helen Card

Homes England Head of Internal and Digital Communications

Helen is a public sector communications leader and works as part of the Government Communication Service. Currently Helen is Head of Internal and Digital Communications at Homes England, the Governments Housing and Regeneration Agency. Previous to this Helen worked at the Cabinet Office as Head of Civil Service Communications and Cabinet Office Internal Communications. Helen is passionate about employee engagement and internal communications and how this makes a difference to organisations and people’s experience in the workplace. Helen is currently studying a MSc at the University of Huddersfield, in Strategic Communications Leadership.

Parysa Hosseini-Sech

Onecom People & Culture Director

Parysa Hosseini-Sech is the dynamic People & Culture Director at Onecom Group, known for her expertise in transformational change and a deep passion for talent development. With more than a decade at Onecom Group, she has been pivotal in growing the company to over 600 employees, skillfully navigating organic growth and acquisitions. Parysa's innovative approach places engagement at the core of people management, resulting in tangible commercial successes. She spearheaded an award-winning leadership development program, emphasising diverse talent nurturing strategies, from upskilling to mentoring. Under her leadership, Onecom embraced agile working and comprehensive health and wellbeing schemes, foundational during the pandemic and beyond.

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.

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.

Dr Sarah Pass

Engage for Success

Sarah is a practitioner-focused academic concentrating on employee experience and engagement. Sarah is a member of the Engage for Success (EFS) Advisory Board. She also sits on the EFS steering group, chairs the East Midlands Area Network, the Line Managers TAG, the Engagement Champion TAG, and is the co-project lead for the EFS annual survey. In 2023, Sarah was ranked by HR Magazine as an Influential Thinker in HR. She is a Fellow of the RSA, an Academic Associate of the CIPD, and a member of the British Academy of Management. Sarah also sits on the Advisory Board for the EX-Space and is a member of the Involvement and Participation Association (IPA) Working Insights Group. Sarah currently works as a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Business School (NTU).

James Court-Smith

Engage for Success

James leads Stillae Ltd - helping companies make sense of the data they collect, and put it to profitable use, across multiple industries in Europe. Before founding Stillae, he was the European Head of Gallup’s Employee Engagement Practice. James contributed to the original MacLeod Review of Employee Engagement in 2009 and has been Senior Advisor to the Engage for Success task force since 2011. He chairs the Engage for Success Steering Group and is a member of the Advisory Board. James is the co-project lead for the EFS annual survey and is a visiting fellow at Nottingham Business School (NTU).

Owen Rose

Acteon Managing Partner

Owen Rose is a Managing Partner at Acteon and leads our work in consultancy and content development. He has been instrumental in developing Acteon’s approach to creating engaging, impactful communication and learning solutions. Working with a wide range of international clients in many sectors, Owen has led the introduction of insights from behavioural science into L&D, and guided multiple award-winning projects. Prior to joining Acteon, Owen worked in academia, researching and teaching in genetics at University College London.

Jessica Brannigan

Culture Amp Lead People Scientist

Jess Brannigan, MSc, is a Lead People Scientist for the EMEA region. She leads a team of People Scientists focussed on UK-based customers. She has a BSc Psychology from the University of Nottingham, and an MSc Occupational Psychology from the University of Leicester.

She has over a decade of experience in the people and culture space encompassing in-house HR and workforce development roles, in-depth leadership assessment and coaching, human capital consulting and talent & career development. She enjoys combining these expertise to enhance workplace culture for the organisations we serve and the employees within them.

Prior to joining Culture Amp she led a programme at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School to enhance the leadership skills, and personal and career progression of MBA’s entering into high-profile careers. Thinking about the individual, their development and their trajectory within the sphere of an organisation is therefore of particular interest to her.

Caro Ruttledge

Gate One Partner

Caro is Gate One’s lead for people, change and culture. She supports organisations to design, activate and embed strategic change programmes, applying creative approaches to accelerate behaviour change. Caro is passionate about helping change the world of work to be more people-centred and joyful.

Alix Ainsley

Virgin Group People Director

Alix and Charlotte have worked as practitioners in HR for 25+ years, and whilst they describe themselves as commercial HR partners to the business, they also hold a great deal of experience in organisation and talent development field. They have worked together in a job share for over 11 years, and their passion for developing and coaching leaders has led them to a powerful belief in the positive impact that outstanding leaders can have on the performance of an organisation.

Alix and Charlotte bring their experience and leadership to their current role, leading the people partnering and proposition teams. The ‘north star’ for the team is alignment to Virgin’s organisational purpose, this means investing in, developing, and inspiring the teams that are Changing Business for Good.

Charlotte Cherry

Virgin Group People Director

Jenna Brown

Uber for Business Head of Uber for Business, UK

Jenna is the General Manager and Director of Uber for Business UK, having been a driving force at Uber for almost a decade. She leads the operations, strategy, and commercial team at Uber for Business, ensuring that strategic objectives are met through operational policies. During her time at Uber, Jenna has played a pivotal role in advancing the company’s sustainable transportation solutions in the UK. Jenna advocates for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and actively promotes these values across Uber and the wider business community.

Laura Jamieson

Alshaya Group Head of Internal Communications

A seasoned expert in strategic internal communications and employee engagement having worked across multiple industries and regions. With a proven track record of understanding business needs to develop and deliver bespoke communications strategies and drive employee engagement. An advocate for the power internal communications and employee experience.

Duaa Almousawi

Alshaya Group Internal Communications Executive

I’m a highly motivated, passionate, and flexible individual with the strongest sense of determination, and the ability to gracefully and efficiently overcome any obstacle that comes my way.

In addition to my marketing experience, I’ve been working as a business owner and copywriter for quite some time. This has given me the chance to successfully connect my passion for marketing, my talent in writing, and my skills in business. I am also a Certified Image Consultant with an impeccable eye for detail.

Due to my social and friendly nature, I am a true team player, always happy and able to work with others. Additionally, I thrive under pressure and I like a good challenge. I believe that all of these traits make me a valuable asset to any team.

My aim is to continuously evolve my interpersonal, technical, and educational skills in order to truly make a change. I aspire to positively impact the people around me, and society as a whole, in the best way I possibly can.

Neil Bestford

Byggfakta Group Group Director of Brand and People Experience

Neil is Group Director of Brand and People Experience at Byggfakta Group. With over 20-years' experience, he specialises in fostering productivity, cultivating positive workplace culture, and harnessing the power and connectivity of brand, people experience, and health and wellbeing. Neil joined global commercial construction data organisation, ByggfaktaGroup, in late 2022, having previously spent 5-years as an employer brand and workplace culture consultant. His holistic approach ensures sustainable success and thriving teams within a diverse group of market-leading businesses across five global territories. Neil's insights, honed through a career dedicated to enhancing organisational culture and employee experience, are invaluable assets that empowers Byggfakta Group and its 30+ businesses to thrive in today's competitive commercial and talent marketplaces.

Evan Rhoda

Blackbaud Principal, Corporate Solutions

Evan joined the Blackbaud Corporate Impact team in December 2020, having previously curated partnerships for a globally renowned conference series and fintech start-up based in New York City. His passion for social impact was inspired by his wife, Christen, who co-founded a $2 million charity dedicated to expanding girls’ rights worldwide. Evan believes strongly in the power of corporate responsibility to create a more just and equitable world, and he could not be prouder to serve leaders of CSR every day. In his spare time, you’ll see Evan playing guitar or shooting a basketball around Camden market!

Alice Boyd

Firstup Lead Consultant - Communications Strategy

Creative communications professional with a passion for people, storytelling, brand and culture.

I'm now partnering with Firstup customers to help drive adoption and engagement throughout their digital employee experience journeys. This includes reaching 100% of their workforce to drive business initiatives, boosting morale through employee recognition, and leveraging data insights to inform business decisions.

I've worked in various sectors in both New Zealand and the UK, including technology, utilities, and healthcare. Some of my specialties include internal engagement, digital employee communications, and stakeholder management.

Ulus Isa

Firstup Solutions Consultant

Graduated with a 2:1 in BSc Honours in Digital Technology Specialising, in Computer Technology and Networking. A talented individual who is determined to be a success and will prove to be a valuable asset to any company. An articulate and hard working individual, who tackles any given task with enthusiasm. Enjoys working as part of a team with excellent communication skills, capable of using own initiative and working accurately to instructions. Strives on new challenges, and is motivated by the prospect of completing tasks to driving the business forward.

Caleb Chisholm

Cocentric Head of Digital Consulting

Caleb is the Head of Digital Consulting at Cocentric with a background in implementing and launching specialised tools for communication and collaboration.
Using his past experiences from leading internal digital engagement at NatWest, he has worked with a wide range of UK and International brands from manufacturing, to finance, and retail to professional services.
This work has included creating award winning campaigns and content, reviewing channel effectiveness, delivering strategic consultancy and launching digital communication and collaboration platforms.

Hillary Brown

Forty1 Managing Director

As Forty1's UK Managing Director, Hillary leads the employee engagement consultancy, consisting of strategists, planners, behavioural scientists and employee listening experts as well as supporting our Centres of Excellence in DEI and Change.

With previous roles including the Head of Group Campaigns and Head of Internal Communications for NatWest Markets, she has a deep understanding of how to navigate complex, matrixed, global organisations to deliver strategic communications with impact. Hillary has supported the growth of the practice, working with many industry leaders in professional services, industrial, financial services and pharmaceutical. She is incredibly passionate about data-led campaigns and the power of brilliant user experiences and creative execution to inspire lasting change.

Guy Champniss, PHD

Forty1/Inizio Engage XD Head of Behavioural Science

With over 25 years’ experience, Guy has been recognised for contributions in the creative and academic fields, and his work in applied behavioural science has led to awards for innovation and impact. Guy held a number of strategy roles within Havas before going on to head-up behavioural science for an award-winning US energy tech company. He is adjunct faculty in behavioural science and innovation with IE University (Madrid). Guy has an MBA (IE) and holds a prize-winning PhD in applied social psychology (Cranfield). He’s a Fellow of the RSA and a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society.

Harry Harvey

Klaxoon Sales Director

Harry is a SaaS expert with over 7 years of experience in the UK technology market. His main passion? Helping teams work better, together. His mission is to empower teams to work differently, collaborate effectively, and achieve more. During his session, he will be exploring how organisations can use Human-Centric work models to boost employee experience, retain talent, and drive performance.

Harry has a track record of supporting business-wide digital innovation projects that put people at the heart of the solution. He’s delivered solutions to a range of industries including Central Government, Utilities, and AEC. He currently leads the team in the UK, Nordics, and APAC markets for Klaxoon, the all-in-one collaboration platform. Harry works with teams worldwide to provide solutions that make business easy (and accessible) for everyone, increase productivity and drive positive outcomes.

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.

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.

Matt Phelan

The Happiness Index CEO & Founder

Matt Phelan is Co-Founder of The Happiness Index, Author of “Freedom To Be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness” and a TEDx Speaker. He co-founded The Happiness Index to try and positively shape the future of work. The Happiness Index offers a unique neuroscience-driven platform to help organisations measure their key employee engagement and happiness drivers - leading to thriving cultures. He’s a serial entrepreneur and advisor of scale up businesses.

Dave Nixon

LumApps Employee Experience Practice Manager

Dave has guided organisations on their journey to creating vibrant, user-centric digital workplaces that drive productivity and enhance communication for over 20 years.

Dave is experienced in developing and executing strategies that drive adoption and maximize the potential of intranet platforms that include SharePoint, Jive, and LumApps

As a thought leader in the field, Dave has successfully guided numerous enterprises through the intricacies of intranet implementation, ensuring a user-centric approach that goes beyond mere functionality.

Recognized for a keen ability to translate complex technical concepts into user-friendly solutions, Dave is dedicated to creating intranet experiences that not only streamline workflows but also elevate employee engagement to new heights.

Henry Elworthy

John Lewis Partnership Channels Lead

Originally trained as a journalist, Henry has a decade of experience in corporate communications from crisis management to strategy launches. As an employee engagement expert, he’s rolled out employer brands, developed employee value propositions and created innovative routes to hear and measure employees’ opinions and feedback at scale.

At the John Lewis Partnership, he leads the team accountable for internal and external channels, events, planning, and leadership communications, as well as running a team of communicators charged with delivering fast-paced change communications. With 25 million hits to their intranet each year, over 70 sites and 550 communities to manage, there’s rarely a dull moment in his team.

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.

Jill Scott

Women's Euro 2022 Champion, Queen of the Jungle & Soccer Aid Captain

One of England's most decorated players, Jill Scott is one of the few Lionesses to have surpassed 150 caps. After featuring at nine major tournaments, she got a winners' medal as part of the team who won EURO 2022 on home soil. An infectious character off the pitch, and a player for the big occasion on it, the influential midfielder stepped up to the plate whenever her country needed her most. Her England career was punctuated with some key strikes – the winner against Netherlands in the EURO 2009 semi-final, the equaliser against Belgium in EURO 2017 qualifying, and the finish in the 3-0 win over Wales which sealed England’s place at France 2019. Jill began her career with her hometown Sunderland, before spending seven years at Everton and then joining City in 2013. She later had loan spells back at Everton and Aston Villa. She won her hundredth cap against Australia in 2015, before clocking up another fifty over the following six seasons. When Jill started the 3-0 win over Cameroon at France 2019, it was her eighteenth appearance at a World Cup final, the most of any England player in history. Jill retired from football as the second-highest capped player. During her time in the game, she won every domestic honour, including the Women's Super League title with City, and four women's FA Cups. Jill was voted FA Players' Player of the Year, FA International Player of the Year, and was appointed an MBE for services to women's football. She also entered the jungle and was crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Nikki Humphrey

Virgin Group Chief People Officer

I’m the Chief People Officer for the Virgin Group, Board Director of Virgin Hotels, and trustee of Virgin Unite. Creating workplaces where people find their full potential and feel like they truly belong is my greatest passion. Joining the Virgin Family has been one of the most rewarding career moves I’ve made. Following board-level experience in retail, banking, insurance, asset management, media, manufacturing, and engineering, I joined Virgin Atlantic as Chief People Officer and was immediately impressed by how forward-thinking, people-first and purpose-driven the brand was. Richard Branson has always said that if you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of your business – and it’s incredible to see how this ethos filters across the Virgin family, covering five different sectors and continents. Over the years, I’ve seen how people (including myself) thrive in environments where human connection, inclusion, ambition and progress sit at the heart of the business. I’ve also realised there is nothing more motivating than unlocking the potential of individuals, teams and businesses.

Winnie Annan-Forson

Royal Mail Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Winnie Annan-Forson is an award-winning Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the Logistics and Transport industry, leading the DEI strategy and team for an organisation with circa 140,000 employees. Her previous experience spans across various disciplines within the Financial Services industry including Learning and Development, HR Strategy and Partnering, Retail and Business Banking, before pivoting into DEI. She is an experienced DEI strategist and speaker, lending her thought leadership and lived experience across various facets of DEI, including the generational, gender, race and socio-economic lens. She is an ICF-accredited coach and is passionate about creating equitable spaces that enable underrepresented groups to thrive and spends a lot of time advocating for positive outcomes for others. Winnie is a Black British Business Awards Professional Services and We Are The City Award winner, recognized for building diverse communities that drive social change. She is a first-generation immigrant raised in Ghana, West Africa, is Christian and is married with two daughters.

Frankie Freeman-Day

YouTube Head of Internal & Executive Communications

Frankie Freeman-Day is senior communications executive and former financial journalist, with almost a decade's experience in Google's EMEA leadership team. Frankie is currently Head of Internal & Executive Communications for Europe, the Middle East & Africa at YouTube, previously overseeing Internal & Executive Comms for Google's EMEA Sales business. She has extensive experience in internal and executive communications, crisis and change communications, employee engagement, corporate communications, media coaching, speech writing and events. Prior to joining Google, Frankie was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in London and San Francisco. She holds a Master's in Communication from Stanford University.

Natasha Whitehurst

Rolls-Royce Global Inclusion Lead

Natasha has extensive experience within multiple industries, where she has gained operational and generalist HR experience, over the last 5 years she has specialised in Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging. An experienced speaker, facilitator and training professional, she uses her lived experience to help business leaders develop their own inclusive behaviours. She is currently bringing inclusion to life at Rolls-Royce -championing inclusion to support the winning culture globally, finding strength in working together, both inside and outside of the business, harnessing the diversity of people and perspectives. Natasha is co-founder and co-host of ‘D&I Spy: Inclusion Uncovered’ a weekly podcast, taking inclusion back to basics, tackling often unspoken topics with a number of high-profile guests from the entertainment, sport and business worlds. Natasha is experienced working with people and talent teams to establish more inclusive recruitment practices, and attracting diverse talent, which earned her a coveted spot on the Global Diversity List 2020.

Natasha lives in London, is a proud northerner. Natasha has endometriosis from which she campaigns and has found a new passion for running. She loves reading and learning, often travelling to feed her curiosity.

Sonia Gupta

Diageo Global Head, Leadership Development

Sonia is a highly experienced global leader, with deep expertise in leading value-driven, transformational organsiational change programmes in culture, talent and leadership development. Her unique background of management consulting and industry roles across different cultures and sectors has inspired her to bring creativity and curiosity to diverse teams to achieve extraordinary business results.

Tor Goldfield

Expedia Group Senior Director, Internal Communications

Tor has been at Expedia Group for six years and leads internal communications across Expedia Group's three operating divisions, which span marketing, business to business (B2B) and product and technology. Tor and her international team are responsible for deepening business knowledge, sharing strategic progress, supporting key business initiatives and enhancing community and culture within and across the three divisional groups. Prior to joining Expedia Group, Tor worked in a variety of internal and external comms roles, including PR and content marketing. She has an MSc in Marketing Communications from Birkbeck, University of London.

Nicole Bearne

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team Head of Internal Communications

Over a 25-year career in the fast-paced world of Formula One motor racing, Nicole Bearne has contributed to winning nine Constructors’ and eight Drivers’ World Championship titles. Her experience spans executive and technical operations, internal communications and employee engagement. Nicole brings a blend of academic rigour and extensive real-world experience to building high-performing, people-centric organisations. Her research interests include employee voice and silence as information-sharing mechanisms in organisations, psychological safety and leader-follower exchange. She is also interested in work wellbeing and neurodiversity in the workplace. She holds a CIPR Diploma in Internal Communications and a Master’s degree in Organisational Behaviour. She is a member of the Institute of Internal Communication, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (MCIPR) and an Accredited PR Practitioner. Nicole speaks fluent Russian and also spent several years living and working in the former Soviet Union.

Joanne Conway

EY UK Head of Diversity Equity & Inclusion

Joanne is proud to be listed on the Northern Power Womens list, and is the Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness at EY UK. Joanne previously led the Global DE&I strategy for EY and is an accredited facilitator in Inclusive Leadership. She completed a Masters in HR Management with a dissertation in Psychological Safety in minority groups. With a background in Finance and Psychology she builds trusting relationships and focuses on outcome driven results to build sustainable culture change. Guest lecturer at Salford University, school governor and an advisor to GNE football club. Joanne is a doctoral student at Cranfield University researching the topic of privilege. In particular about the role of social identity and inclusion at work in conceptualisations of privilege with a focus on Race, Gender and Class.

Stacey Ramm

Evri Head of Diversity Equity & Inclusion

Stacey has spent most of her early career in the Talent and Resourcing space, before moving into the world of DE&I and Culture. Stacey is currently setting and leading the strategic direction of both DE&I and Wellbeing agenda at Evri (formerly known as Hermes Parcelnet) for c.8000 colleagues. Prior to Evri, Stacey was the DE&I Lead for Virgin Media, then Virgin Media O2, following the merger in June 2021, leading the DE&I agenda for c.17,000 colleagues. Stacey is incredibly passionate about DE&I and Culture, using her own personal lived experience to drive positive, meaningful, and sustainable change.

Holly Gaffney

Lloyds Bank Communities Lead, Future Workplace

Sarah Tait

Lloyds Bank Workplace Adoption Lead

I lead Workplace Adoption at Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) which includes the adoption of our offices, tech & tools; including Microsoft M365. My team inform, empower & connect colleagues across the organisation to ensure they have the best experience when using our spaces, tech & tools and ultimately so they love to work at LBG. The adoption of our offices includes having strong Workplace Communities where we are working with senior leaders, a group of colleague volunteers and local businesses to drive engagement, fun & a sense of community within our offices. Outside of work I am a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner where I coach females in the corporate industry to achieve more balance, peace and confidence in their life. I am super passionate about driving conversations on mental health and am always learning and self developing.

Sacha Harvey

Lucky Saint People Director

Innovative and creative professional with 12 years’ experience in Learning, Development & People Experience across food & beverage, hospitality, retail and online industries. Passionate about the development, performance and experience of people to improve wellbeing, maximise efficiency and increase profit.

Glenn Grayson

River Island People Engagement Lead

Creative communicator, innovator and storyteller, Glenn is on a mission to create memorable moments that surprise, amaze and inspire colleagues during their everyday working life, helping them to be engaged and love what they do. His award winning and industry recognised strategies have challenged the norm, turning the ordinary into extraordinary. Previously at Selfridges and heading up Missguided’s internal communications and people experience, Glenn is now leading River Island’s people engagement function, creating a unique and powerful communication and engagement experience for over ‘8,000 ‘Islanders’.

Natalie Spencer

HSBC Head of Internal Communications, Commercial Banking and Global Banking & Markets

Experienced communications leader with 20+ years experience, including 11+ years with HSBC. Proven ability in developing and driving global communications strategies to deliver impactful results that support commercial business objectives, protect reputation, engage employees and strengthen organisational culture. Currently responsible for leading a global team of communicators that drive internal communications across HSBC's two global wholesale businesses. Strategic, proactive, results-driven and globally-connected. Champion for gender inclusivity and passionate about sustainability.

Charlotte Bailey

NHS Director of People and Organisation Development

Charlotte has worked in the public sector for 25 years as an operational and corporate leader. She started her career in child psychology and has worked in both Local Government and the NHS. Charlotte has a passion for engagement and inclusion and has been named as one of the top 50 leaders by the HSJ and was awarded runner up public servant of the year for her approaches to engagement. Charlotte has published multiple books and developed resources to enhance inclusive practices. She worked on numerous national working groups to support improvement, including the introduction of a new profession into Education. Charlotte’s journey in corporate service began after leading two major turnaround transformations in social care, where Charlotte realised her approach with the workforce was what made change and transformation a success. Charlotte has led workforce, communications, performance and transformation teams in large and complex organisations. The heart of her approach to a successful business has been through staff well-being, engagement, empowerment and organisational culture. Charlotte currently works at Central North West London as the Executive Director for People and OD and holds the corporate portfolio of Human Resources, Staff Well-Being, Organisational Development and Leaning and Equality, Inclusion and Diversity. She is also North West London’s Integrated Care System Lead for People.

Laura Colantuono

Fremantle Head of Internal Communications

Laura is a communications professional with over 12 years of experience gained in global organisations. She’s Italian but has lived abroad for most of her life. Laura started her career as a journalist to then join Unilever Italy in 2010, where she discovered her passion for Internal Communications. In 2014, she joined the luxury fashion brand Fendi to lead the global IC function and in 2019 she moved to London, where she joined Harrods as Internal Communications Manager. In 2020, she returned to the FMCG sector and joined The Kraft Heinz Company as Head of Internal Communications, International. After a short-term assignment at the fintech Klarna, she has recently joined the media company Fremantle, where she leads the global Internal Communications team.

Adam Dilks

Nightcap Plc Group People Director

Adam Dilks is the Group People Director at Nightcap PLC. Adam spent the beginning part of his career in retail, where he spent many years at Tesco finding his true passion for the people function, and in 2018 Adam joined the hospitality industry as part of the HR Leadership team at Greene King. Adam began his tenure at Greene King as Head of Employee Relations, and in 2020, Adam moved into the role of HR Director leading People Teams across the groups’ Premium, Urban and Venture Brands Division. Adam joined Nightcap in March 2023 as Group People Director and is excited to get underway his ambitious people strategy. Adam’s key focus is around connecting the management teams to the people strategy across the business, which is entirely centred around improving the employee experience through creating a culture of inclusion and belonging. Adam has a track record of building high performing diverse teams, who through his leadership, have supported businesses to achieve some remarkable results, including a step-change improvement in sustainable engagement, producing industry leading results. Outside of work, Adam has a huge passion for running, reading and spending time with his family.

Becky Wollam

John Lewis Partnership Purpose Activation Lead

Hi, I'm Becky and I work at the John Lewis Partnership. Today, I lead a Partnership-wide (Waitrose and John Lewis) transformation programme to 74,000 employees refreshing and embedding our 100 year old Purpose, work which has been recognised externally by the CorpComms awards, winning best embodiment of corporate purpose, best employee engagement and best internal comms campaign. I look forward to sharing our experiences and how, by putting our employees at the heart of our work, made all the difference during the event. Prior to this role, I have held a variety of roles, from being a Graduate trainee, leading a range of different shops, designing and delivering transformation programmes alongside now being the longest standing Director of the Partnership Board.

Simon Bailey

BT Communications Lead

Simon leads communications on BT Group’s major change and transformation initiative (The Better Workplace Programme). This project affects over 50,000 BT employees and is the UK’s largest change project of this type involving changes to working practices, organisational structure and office locations in the UK. His role covers internal, external and public policy activities across the group which encompasses key divisions including Consumer (EE, BT, Plusnet), Business and Openreach. Previously, Simon was responsible for internal communications at Citi in the UK which employs around 10,000 colleagues across a number of offices from Canary Wharf to Belfast.

Tiina Masar Bindner

Specsavers Northern Europe's Candid Head of Communication

Tiina Masar Bindner is Specsavers Northern Europe's candid Head of Communication - and a devoted cat lover. With nine years at Specsavers under her belt, Tiina is an experienced engagement and digital employee experience strategist. She merges a keen eye for employee culture with an academic’s education in linguistics.

Elise Sallis

Wolters Kluwer External Communications Manager - Tax & Accounting

Strategic, creative and commercially-focused corporate communications expert with a 20+-year track record of delivering superior public relations counsel to numerous high-profile and respected technology and software businesses. I have extensive experience in external, internal, executive, crisis and investor communications.

Anne-Marie Lister

Atom Bank Chief People Officer

Anne-Marie Lister is the Chief People Officer at Atom bank. As one of the first few to the Atom team for the last 8 years she has been responsible for building and scaling people systems, processes, the working environment, and culture of the award-winning team that launched the UK’s first app only bank. She has 20 years’ experience across people disciplines including Organisation Development, Learning and Development, Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, and Internal Communications. Her career with companies such as Reed, Bromley College of Further and Higher Education, ACCA and NorthernPowergrid has involved working in the UK, Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean on a range of People and OD initiatives. Anne-Marie trained initially with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Leeds, followed by an MSc in International Human Resources from London Southbank University. An alumnus of Roffey Park Institute she furthered her studies in organisation design and behaviour with a Post-Graduate Certificate in Organisation Development. Together with Level A and B certifications in psychometrics, Transactional Analysis, NLP, LIFO, and LAB profiling she has knowledge of and practices with a wide range of tools and methodologies.

Caz Meech

Keyloop Global Head of Internal Communications

A published author, Caz has worked in Internal Communications across a range of sectors - Healthcare, Academia, Broadcast Media and IT. She's an experienced speaker and often guests on podcasts sharing her knowledge about employee engagement and the employee experience. She truly understands how to monitor what employees crave and how employers can deliver.

Vivienne Morris

London Energy HR Director

Vivienne joined LondonEnergy in April last year as HR Director, joining the organisation in the midst of a significant change programme. Prior to that she worked at Transport for London in a business partnering teams, primarily supporting the capital programmes and Surface transport directorates, working with the organisation to navigate a large change agenda for both operational and nonoperational roles whilst supporting emerging thinking on inclusion and agile workforces. Her early career was in the air line sector working with logistics partners before moving the national rail environment again working for a logistics partner with a national presence and a number of logistical bases. Vivienne has naturally gravitated to the engagement and change elements of HR during her career, which she finds bring the greatest rewards.

Michael Schmid

Octopus Electric Vehicles Growth Insights Analyst

Michael Schmid is a Growth Insights Analyst at Octopus EV, a game-changing EV leasing business that sits alongside Octopus Energy and offers drivers everything they need to make the switch to electric. With a passion for sustainability and a background in data analysis, Michael works closely with the company's marketing and sales teams to analyse data and provide insights into consumer behaviour, market trends, and growth opportunities. He also conducts research on the EV market and collaborates with external partners to develop new strategies for expanding Octopus EV's reach and impact. Michael uses data to increase employee engagement at Octopus EV. He believes that data-driven insights can help the company understand employee needs and preferences, and develop tailored programs and initiatives to foster a positive and productive workplace culture. Michael works closely with the company's Chief of Staff to analyse employee data and provide insights into areas such as job satisfaction, career development, and work-life balance. He also collaborates with other teams to design and implement employee engagement programs that are aligned with the company's values and goals.

Alys Peart

Octopus Electric Vehicles Chief of Staff

Alys Peart is Chief of Staff at Octopus EV, a game-changing EV leasing business that sits alongside Octopus Energy and offers drivers everything they need to make the switch to electric. Alys is dedicated to building a high-performing team, supporting employees’ wellbeing and driving positive, progressive change through collaboration and innovation. At Octopus EV, Alys is responsible for overseeing the team’s wellbeing, alongside a cross-functional group from a variety of teams in the business. She’s committed to making Octopus EV the best possible place to work, and is always pushing to make sure employees feel recognised for their contributions to the company's success. Alys works closely with senior leaders to implement employee recognition programs, such as awards and ad hoc recognition programmes, to celebrate the achievements of individual employees and teams. She also encourages open communication and collaboration across departments to ensure that all employees feel valued and heard.

Burcin Ressamoglu

Sodexo Engage CEO

Burcin Ressamoglu, a Turkish citizen born in Vienna, is an accomplished Executive Leader with a strong commitment to gender equality and supporting women's leadership in organisations. Burcin began her career in marketing with STFA Ogden Services before moving to Siemens and eventually joining Philips Electronics for 14 years. During her time at Philips, she held various senior management positions across multiple European countries and China. In 2012, Burcin took the role of CEO at Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Turkey, before taking on the same position at Sodexo Benefits and Rewards UK in 2018. Since then, Burcin has successfully led a company turnaround program, which transformed the organisation into a leading player by implementing digitalisation across all services, introducing a new operating model, enhancing the product portfolio on an integrated platform, and providing personalised customer experiences. Additionally, she improved the company's Net Promoter Score (NPS) and employee engagement, resulting in sustainable, profitable growth. Burcin is deeply passionate about gender equality and women's leadership in organisations. She is a member of the Sodexo Women Advisory Board, 'SoTogether,' and sponsors inclusion and gender balance initiatives in the company while partnering with local NGOs to promote women's representation. Burcin also mentors many young professional women worldwide. Burcin has been recognised for her strong leadership as a woman on numerous platforms. She was featured in The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Commemorative Album alongside Sodexo's impressive female leaders, recognised as empowered women and champions of women in leadership. She was ranked No.9 in INvolve - The Inclusion People 2022 Top 100 Women Executives Role Model Lists, supported by Yahoo Finance. Additionally, she was a panellist at the Financial Times WATT Europe 2022 to discuss DE&I.

Charlotte Dahl

Woodreed Creative Planning Director

Nicholas Brice

Soul Corporations CEO

Jo Dodds

Engage for Success Co-Strategy Director

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.

Paul Wickers

Huggg CEO and Founder

Paul is CEO and Founder of Huggg. Paul believes that the joy of gifting we experience in our personal lives should also be available in the workplace, enabling forward-thinking leaders and companies to craft a more human and celebratory shared experience for all. Paul started Huggg to make gifting at scale simple to implement, but still joyful to the core.

Kevin Hähnlein

Haiilo Head Of Product Marketing

Kevin has 7+ years of B2B technology experience working with global enterprise organizations and SaaS providers. After working as a consultant he has now moved on to scale software providers and make their products stand out from the competition. As a product marketing leader, consultant, and ambassador he is passionate about storytelling and crafting impactful go-to-market strategies.

Becky Willan

Given Co-Founder and CEO

Becky Willan’s career has been focused on a single, radical idea – that businesses can win by being a force for good in the world. Becky has worked at the intersection of profit and purpose for nearly 20 years. Beginning her professional career in sustainability at The Body Shop, Becky went on to provide consultancy for brands like Unilever, Tesco and SCA. Becky co-founded Given, the original consultancy for purpose-driven businesses, in 2009. Given helps leading brands and businesses define, embed and activate purpose. Bringing together a unique mix of purpose and sustainability expertise, creativity and co-creation, Given helps organisations like John Lewis Partnership, Lloyds Banking Group, IKEA, L’Oreal, Swarovski, Haleon, Virgin Media O2, and Zalando unleash the power of purpose to drive growth, by fostering innovation, attracting and engaging talent and creating better customer outcomes.

Stephanie Kukoyi

Culture Amp Senior People Scientist, EMEA

Steph is a Senior People Scientist for the EMEA region. She has a BSc Psychology from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MSc Occupational Psychology from the University of Manchester. Steph spent several years consulting for a wide range of organisations such as Unilever and AXA. She has experience providing a number of services particularly in the field of neurodiversity including coaching, diagnostics, workplace assessments, awareness sessions and webinars. She also spent part of this time working at Greater Manchester Police supporting on their people vision which included assessment centre design and the development of their Diverse Leaders Programme. Steph’s main areas of interest include neurodiversity, employee wellbeing and engagement. She has experience speaking on these topics at conferences such as Health & Wellbeing at Work.

Zara Nanu MBE

Gapsquare A Pay Equity Leader & Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Zara Nanu MBE is one of the world's leading voices for workplace gender equality and wider fair pay. Starting her career combatting human trafficking and campaigning for women’s rights, Zara is now at the forefront of technology to build more inclusive workplaces. As the CEO of Gapsquare, which offers expansive diversity and equality data intelligence & report generation, Zara is utilizing data science and AI to reimagine the future of work. Among dozens of accolades throughout her career, Zara was recently recognized by her late Majesty the Queen in her Jubilee Birthday Honors list (MBE).

Elizabeth Bryant

Forty1 Principal Consultant

Liz has over a decade of experience in shaping strategic employee communications for large organisations including Anglo American, Lloyds Banking Group, Southwest Airlines, Royal Bank of Scotland and IBM. A creative agency lifer, Liz worked in client services before jumping the fence to consultancy, so has a dual outlook on any client challenge and a pragmatic approach. A geek at heart, Liz’s favourite part of any brief is getting under the skin of the audience and being the employee advocate in the room.

Danny Stacy

Indeed Head of Talent Intelligence

Danny is well known for commitment to allyship, using his knowledge and experience to deliver insightful research and actionable recommendations to support business leaders in making diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging part of their company DNA.From project management roles within the UK government to consulting for LinkedIn, Danny is now Indeed’s go-to person for telling their story to the market – on stage at events, during industry-wide webcasts and in conference rooms at various companies around the globe.Indeed are the world's number one job matching platform and Danny shares their story by pairing platform data with industry trend analysis to bring the value of the company’s programs and solutions to life, helping businesses to optimise their recruitment and retention tactics.

Evan Rhoda

Blackbaud Principal, Corporate Solutions

Jamie MacKenzie

Sodexo Engage CMO & Business Programme Director

Jamie is an experienced executive board member. In his current role as Chief Marketing Officer, he is responsible for the company strategy, the Sodexo Engage brand, product development, stakeholder communications, and the business operating model formation. He has over 20 years of marketing experience. Before joining Sodexo Engage in 2013, he worked for brands such as Samsung and Toshiba. Outside of work, Jamie coaches and mentors charity leaders to become more efficient, effective, and sustainable through Pilotlight – an award-winning social value programme. He lives by the seaside with his very supportive family, who he says provide him with energy and happiness.

Hayley Brooksbank

TTP Chief Marketing Officer

Hayley is the Chief Marketing Officer at TTP. She has been working in brand and marketing for over 25 years and spent the first 12 years of her career at creative agencies. In 2006 Hayley moved in-house to successfully lead global marketing teams in devising and implementing multi-channel brand and B2B marketing programmes which are focused to deliver against strategic business objectives. She delivers game changing results by challenging the big picture and inspiring teams and suppliers to perform at their best. A creative disruptor who has reenvisaged, redirected and reshaped corporate brands across all touch points.

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.

Suzy Dean

AddIn365 CEO & Microsoft MVP

Amongst the 2 million Microsoft practitioners globally, there are a few thousand awarded MVP status for their elite expertise in Microsoft Viva, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. AddIn365 is home to three of them. Suzy Dean has been a Microsoft MVP for four years and has been responsible for the delivery of intranets, portals and communications capabilities, into organisations, since 2004.

Philippa Donnelly

Gentrack People Experience Director, UK & Europe

People Experience Director for UK and Europe and Global R&D at Gentrack, a leading software provider in Utilities, leading a PX team across the region, and partnering with the business on its ambitious and effective transformation strategy. Pip has over 12 years’ experience in People functions, taking leadership roles in FTSE 50 organisations and fortune 500 industries such as Intertek and Barclays and is passionate about partnering with senior leadership teams to enable a people powered commercial strategy centered on a one team ethos.

Mona Akiki

Perkbox Chief People Officer

Since 2019, Mona has acted as Perkbox’ Chief People Officer. Mona has more than 21 years of experience, 16 of which in HR advising leaders and organisations how to succeed in transformational and ever changing environments. Most recently, Mona founded Path Forward Ltd which helps leaders achieve their and their teams’ full potential through coaching and advisory services. Since joining Perkbox, Mona’s focus has been on Perkbox’ own culture, leadership team and internal employee experience.

Alyssa Tantillo

Achievers Solutions Consultant

Coming from the Bay Area, Alyssa grew up with the tech industry and her experience within various start-ups has afforded her the opportunity to gain exposure across a multitude of business disciplines over the last 9 years. In her role as Solutions Consultant, Alyssa is focused on helping our EMEA clients optimise the platform to ensure achievement of strategic business objectives and has a keen interest in employee engagement and understanding how organisations can optimise their most valuable asset, their people, through positive, supportive and empowering workplace cultures. Now based from London, Alyssa brings energy and enthusiasm to the Achievers EMEA team and is actively involved in a number of internal engagement initiatives, including our Achievers Workforce Institute Advisory Group and a Co-Chair of the Achievers Mentorship programme.

Matt Phelan

The Happiness Index CEO & Founder

Emilie Bastrup

Fount Head of Customer Success (Europe) and Head of UK

As Head of Customer Success and UK Market lead, Emilie is a trusted partner to large, global organisations. Her team enables stakeholders to translate the sources of organisational friction into a tangible measurement scope, and to understand the root cause of friction for employees. Once this has been defined, she and her team provide guidance on which actions to prioritise for impact, ultimately delivering better employees experiences and higher engagement.

Frances Quirke

Coursera Partnerships Director, EMEA

Frances has been at Coursera since 2020 and currently serves as a Partnerships Director. As Partnerships Director Frances' role involves working with some of the largest organisations across the UK and Ireland. Frances works to ensure that these skills development projects align with organisational objectives to drive measurable impact around improving internal mobility, decreasing attrition, reskilling and improving opportunity across diverse and minority groups. Frances has previously supported universities in embedding in-demand skills within their curriculums and has worked on transformational projects to improve the student experience through her work with Learning Management providers. Frances champions diversity and inclusion in the workplace and loves nothing better than working on programmes to support minority groups to move into data and tech roles. Outside of work Frances is (trying!) to play tennis and golf and is (also trying) to play the piano.

Dave Nixon

LumApps Employee Experience Practice Manager

9.00-9.10 Opening Remarks

Our Event Host Jo Moffatt opens Europe's largest employee engagement conference.

Speaker:

Jo Moffatt

Engage for Success
Strategy Director

9:10 - 9:25 Opening Keynote: The Current State of Employee Engagement

Join Sarah Pass and James Court-Smith to hear the latest insights from the 2023 Engage for Success (EFS) UK engagement survey.

Findings indicate engagement levels still lag significantly behind pre-pandemic levels, with no change in the EFS engagement index. Although the figures are concerning, the data highlights variations in engagement levels and presents key areas for action. A key observation is the need to push the people issues up the agenda. Hear about variations in organisational size and sector, and the impact of hybrid working and health and wellbeing on engagement.

During the session, we will explore:
• The current state of employee engagement in the UK
• Discuss the Engage for Success Employee Engagement Index benchmark
• Explore variations in engagement levels and what this means to practice

Speakers:

Dr Sarah Pass

Engage for Success

James Court-Smith

Engage for Success

9:45 - 10:10 Ruby Wax OBE: How to De-Frazzle in a Chaotic World

We're delighted to introduce you to our 2024 Employee Engagement Summit Headliner: Ruby Wax OBE

Actress, comedian, mental health campaigner and award-winning author Ruby Wax is one of the most highly regarded mental health speakers in the industry, removing taboo from the topic and inspiring audiences globally.

Awarded an OBE for her services to mental health, Ruby has enjoyed an influential career in the media, and now utilises her comedic talents to break down the stigma surrounding mental health.

Ruby will be sharing her incredible insights on how to deal with stress, improve wellbeing and mental health, and become the driver – not the driven – when it comes to matters of the mind.

Speaker:

Ruby Wax

Ruby Wax OBE

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

11:00 - 11:20 The Business of Motivation: Understanding What Drives Us – And How It Can Be Your Best Source of Competitive Advantage

Behavioural science tells us that motivation is the gatekeeper of engagement and behaviour. It’s the key to the engine that drives us to ‘do’. No motivation, no engagement, no desired behaviour – nor a positive impact on the overall performance of your workforce or success of your business.

In this session – featuring findings from our latest study – we’ll share a state-of-the-nation view of motivation at work, get under the skin of what really motivates a modern workforce and examine what we can do to ensure our teams are motivated to perform at their best.

We’ll dig into why our assumptions about motivation in the workplace are often misplaced, explore its complex and dynamic nature, and how achieving a motivational balance can unlock even greater human potential – and better organisational performance.

Speakers:

Hillary Brown

Forty1
Managing Director

Guy Champniss, PHD

Forty1/Inizio Engage XD
Head of Behavioural Science

11:20 - 11:40 People & Culture - Engagement Strategies for a Modern Workplace

Join our exclusive panel discussion to learn how organisations are adapting to meet the needs of both a modern workplace and workforce.

We'll be looking at:

- Technology-driven strategies to allow us to better connect employees
- Communication initiatives that can enhance employee engagement in a hybrid world
- Embedding a culture of belonging regardless of physical location
- The changing needs of a new generation of employees
- Recognition and appreciation and creating a culture of gratitude when employees are not always together
- Building a sense of camaraderie and belonging among employees
- Learning and Development initiatives
- Actionable insights that attendees can take home and implement

Speakers:

Gabby Ogiste

Mars Veterinary Health
International Lead, People Systems & Solutions

Helen Card

Homes England
Head of Internal and Digital Communications

Beth Perry

First Central
Head of Internal Communications and Culture

Oh, hey there, I’m Beth. Want to know a little more about me?

I’m a proactive people-person who lives to explore, develop and innovate. I thrive in bustling environments that are brimming with ambition and integrity.

12:00 - 12:20 Engagement in the Eye of the Storm: A Fireside Chat with Neil Morrison, HR Director at Severn Trent

When times are tough, the need for brilliant employee engagement is more important than ever. So how do you keep focused on that when you’re the focus of public scrutiny and in the eye of the media storm? In this discussion we’ll explore the impact of media coverage on colleague engagement, how Severn Trent have navigated these challenges and advice for leading a workforce through turbulent times which are out of your control.

Speaker:

Neil Morrison

Severn Trent
Group Human Resources Director

12:20 - 12:40 How Alshaya Group is activating the world’s biggest brands

Discover how Alshaya has created a cohesive network of retail brands, each with its own unique and vibrant culture. Hear the story of how they activate 50,000 employees from across these brands by serving them best in-class communications, content, and knowledge on their employee app.

Speakers:

Laura Jamieson

Alshaya Group
Head of Internal Communications

Duaa Almousawi

Alshaya Group
Internal Communications Executive

Kaz Hassan

Unily
Employee Experience Industry Lead

12:40 - 13:40 Lunch & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to enjoy a delicious free lunch, chat with peers and meet our sponsors.

13:35-13:40 Afternoon Remarks

Our host for the afternoon Charlotte Dahl welcomes attendees back to the Main Stage.

Speaker:

Charlotte Dahl

Woodreed
Creative Planning Director

13:40 - 14:00 AXA Case Study - Embracing Breakthrough Thinking to Drive Engagement

In this case study, Louisa will share how AXA have:

- Adopted breakthrough thinking to generate innovative and unconventional ideas
- Exceeded expectations of results from landing our new strategy
- Created advocates for our new brand campaign

Speaker:

Louisa McCabe

AXA
Head of Internal Communications

14:00 - 14:20 Virgin Group Case Study: Crafting Awesome Employee Experiences

In an era of rapid digital transformation and uncertain AI advancements, unhealthy ‘always-on’ work practices, demographic shifts and a heating up job market we know that legacy ways of working won’t get us where we need to go. We see massive returns for organisations that truly elevate the focus on employee experiences.

Join Gate One's Caro Ruttledge and Virgin Group's Alix Ainsley and Charlotte Cherry to explore how Virgin Group have approached this and lessons for other organisations, to unlock greater connection, innovation and success.

Speakers:

Caro Ruttledge

Gate One
Partner

Alix Ainsley

Virgin Group
People Director

Charlotte Cherry

Virgin Group
People Director

14:20 - 14:40 Grass Roots: Harnessing Employee-Driven Engagement: A Fireside Chat with Christina Lewis, Head of Rider Experience at Deliveroo

How do volunteer-led employee resource groups help support your company culture & employee proposition goals?

In a time where resources are increasingly tight and understanding the experiences of underrepresented groups is imperative- ERG’s may be the employee engagement resource you didn’t realise you needed.

Hear from Christina Lewis, Deliveroo’s Gender Equity ERG lead and award-winning ‘WiHTL Woman To Watch 2024’ on how ERG groups can boost company culture & employee engagement, drive impact for underrepresented groups, give grassroot insight, as well as the pitfalls to avoid.

Speaker:

Christina Lewis

Deliveroo
Gender Equity ERG Lead/ Head Of Global Rider Experience

14:40 - 15:00 Navigating Change: Leveraging Engagement and Employee Experience for Organizational Success?

Join Jess Brannigan, Lead People Scientist at Culture Amp, as she hosts a panel with industry leaders from Avalere Health, SoundCloud, and Alfa who will be discussing how to cultivate employee engagement and elevate the employee experience to drive organizational success in ever-changing environments.

Speaker:

Jessica Brannigan

Culture Amp
Lead People Scientist

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

15:30 - 15:45 Virgin Atlantic Case Study: Navigating the Social Workplace: The Rise of Video to Superpower Engagement

Workplace from Meta is now the core communication channel at Virgin Atlantic. But social media in the work space brings with it a whole host of challenges, including how communications teams cut through the noise and ensure their people are seeing and engaging with important messages.

Here, Steve will share how his communications team has evolved its approach and skillset to focus on mobile first, video storytelling and live events, how they brought the Virgin Atlantic leadership team along for the ride, and the positive impact this is having on engagement and happiness.

Speaker:

Steve Clarke

Virgin Atlantic
People Communications Lead

16:00 - 16:30 Lipsy London Case Study: Rethinking Wellbeing: When a Fashion Group Empowered Confidence Inside-Out

What if a Fashion company genuinely empowered their employee's self-confidence through a photoshoot event? Now, what if we told you this was a Wellbeing initiative.

Body image is a huge issue in today’s society: 91% of women say they're unhappy with the way they look and Facetune (the number one editing app) has been downloaded over 200 millions times globally.

In a world where people are struggling with their self-esteem, Wellbeing shouldn’t be a corporate tick box exercise. It should genuinely give people opportunities to feel empowered, supported, and cared for. Especially in industries like Fashion and Beauty.

In this talk, Anaïs Nebel will share why the British fashion group Lipsy added self-empowerment to their Wellbeing strategy, and how they launched it with a 4-day self-portrait event that increased employee’s feeling of self-empowerment by 40%…

Speaker:

Anaïs Nebel

Lipsy London
Group Culture & Communications Manager

16:30 - 17:00 Harnessing the Power of our People: Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

Looking back over the last twelve months, our panellists will share the challenges they've faced as well as exciting new opportunities they've taken advantage of in the realm of employee engagement.

Looking towards the future, we'll also explore how the employee engagement landscape is changing, what plans our panelists have in place for the future and what's next for the industry.

Speakers:

Dev Mistry

Dojo
Internal Communications and Engagement Lead

Sarah Hood

Bupa
Global Head of Engagement

Melanie Page

Balfour Beatty
Head of Group Innovation Programmes

Melanie has been at Balfour Beatty for over 16 years, spanning roles including IT, Digital and now as Head of Group Innovation Programmes.

Parysa Hosseini-Sech

Onecom
People & Culture Director

13:35-13:40 Host Welcome

Jo welcomes attendees to the Organisational Culture Breakout Stage.

Speaker:

Jo Moffatt

Engage for Success
Strategy Director

13:40 - 14:00 OVO Case Study: The Transformation of our People Strategy

Emma will share the journey that OVO have been on to become the UK's leading place work, embedding culture and values into everything they do.

Speaker:

Emma Illingworth

OVO
Head of People Transformation

14:20 - 14:40 Royal Air Force Case Study: Developing an Employee Engagement Champions Network

In 2019, we sat in delegate seats, taking notes on speakers, to learn and implement their findings for us to start our employee engagement journey. We wanted to make a difference, but working in Government, and the financial challenges that are faced, we had to do this at low or no cost. We wanted to show that the annual People Surveys, and action plans will, and do make a difference to employee working lives. It’s been a long journey, and at times frustrating, but we seeing great improvements.

We are delighted to be invited to present to you on our journey - our challenges, successes, and who helped us along the way, from when we started out, where we are today and where we want to be.

Speakers:

Victoria Wilson

Royal Air Force (Ministry of Defence)
Employee Engagement Team Manager

Michelle Sage

Royal Air Force (Ministry of Defence)
Employee Engagement Advisor

14:40 - 15:00 Why Today’s Emotions = Tomorrow’s Performance

Matt Phelan - co-founder and CEO of The Happiness Index, uncovers the factors that drive employee engagement and happiness at work, and explores how organisations can create a thriving workplace culture that enables their people to succeed.

Speaker:

Matt Phelan

The Happiness Index
CEO & Founder

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

13:35-13:40 Host Welcome

Jo welcomes attendees to the Communication & Culture Breakout Stage.

Speaker:

Jo Dodds

Engage for Success
Co-Strategy Director

13:40 - 14:00 Engaging Your People in Transformation and Change, Through One Coherent Story

This session explores how to bring change programmes together under an umbrella narrative, to enable organisations to tell one coherent story about change and transformation, rather than hitting people with multiple programmes of work and making people’s heads spin.

This session will use a live example of how this is currently being delivered, what’s worked, what were the challenges and how these were overcome.

Speaker:

Helen Card

Homes England
Head of Internal and Digital Communications

14:40 - 15:00 John Lewis Partnership Case Study: Putting Users at the Heart of Your Intranet

From the bustling shop floor to the serene greens of its very own farm, the UK’s largest employee-owned business – the John Lewis Partnership – is no ordinary enterprise. So how do you keep its 70,000 co-owners informed, engaged and up-to-date through a period of significant transformation?

Find out how the Partnership doubled the readership of its strategic communications and curated an ecosystem with millions of interactions each year by putting users at the heart of its design.

Whether its:

- Reaching Partners before the press – rapidly reaching thousands of employees in the palm of their hands;
- Pushing productivity – with 4.5 million searches each year, making information easy to find is good business logic;
- Creating a personalised product – tailoring interactions to each employee’s role and interests;
- Fostering hundreds of communities to inspire, engage and connect its workforce.

Get an exclusive preview of their platform, and learn more about how they’re transforming digital experiences to be so much more than a site filled with policies and top-down news.

Speaker:

Henry Elworthy

John Lewis Partnership
Channels Lead

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

14:20 - 14:40 Powerful & Transformative Internal Communications: A Fireside Chat with John Townsend, Head of Internal Communications at Unicef UK

John will share his top tips on how powerful, transformative and effective good internal communications can be for an organisation.

Speaker:

John Townsend

Unicef UK
Head of Internal Communications

13:35-13:40 Host Welcome

Nick welcomes attendees to the Strategy & Leadership Breakout Stage.

Speaker:

Nicholas Brice

Soul Corporations
CEO

13:40 - 14:00 Treatwell Case Study: Mergers, Acquisitions and Employee Engagement: The Role of Company Values

How do you help employees navigate your company merger with a competitor? What can you do to retain your best talents while being honest with them about the changes? Treatwell case study explores how the collaborative creation of a fresh set of company values helped 800+ employees in 13 different markets make sense of their new reality, and how making the cultural foundations of the new company explicit helped reduce ambiguity, manage expectations, and steer career progression. The session will also offer specific insights into some of the activities implemented, to foster an inclusive and yet efficient approach, balancing top down and bottom up inputs and feedback

Speaker:

Carlo Beschi

Treatwell
Lead Agile Coach

I help value flow.

An accomplished professional, with a very broad skill set and 15+ years of experience in digital product delivery, cultural change and organizational transformation.

14:00 - 14:20 Speak to the Human: Moving From Strategy and Plans To Engagement and Impact

How do organisations like Channel 4 and Netflix create meaningful engagement for their people? Teams and organisations thrive when they unite a group of humans around shared purpose and values. We do our best work when we feel connected, engaged, and motivated. When we belong.

But it’s hard to build cohesion in a rapidly changing environment. Organisations are grappling with a range of issues that challenge connection and belonging, including remote working, the anticipated impacts of AI, portfolio careers and mercurial Gen Z-ers!

So how do you help individuals engage with business vision, strategy and plans? How do you create connections between colleagues, and motivation behind a shared purpose? And how do you foster that sense of belonging that leads the humans in your organisation to feel “this matters to me”?

This talk will cover:

- How to move from strategy and plans to engagement and impact.
- Identifying and prioritising the moments that really matter.
- Using a behavioural approach to deliver the greatest impact.
- Creating powerful communication to sustain engagement.

And we’ll be exploring ideas through practical case study examples.

Speaker:

Owen Rose

Acteon
Managing Partner

14:20 - 14:40 Phoenix Group Case Study: Representing the Colleague Voice in the Modern Workplace

Internal and external factors are driving changes in the workplace, often at pace. Engaging colleagues and representing their views is critical to the success of any organisation, particularly during times of change and decision making.

Today’s colleagues expect to have a say, at the earliest stages of decision making, when their working environment is impacted by change. So, how do we engage colleagues, and view their ideas and feedback as solutions? And why is it important for colleagues to recognise the direct link between their role and the strategic objectives of their organisation?

We believe the solution is to create effective partnerships between colleagues and the business, co-ordinated by an effective colleague representation forum.

We’ll be talking about our journey to creating and embedding an industry leading colleague representation forum, how we overcame challenges and how it benefits today’s colleagues and leaders.
Come and hear us talk about a progressive, innovate and alternative solution to colleague representation in the modern workplace.

Speakers:

Emma Hughes

Phoenix Group
Communication and Engagement of Colleague Representation Forum

Susan Reilly

Phoenix Group
Head of Colleague Representation

Susan Reilly is the Head of Phoenix Colleague Representation Forum, part of the Phoenix Group.

With over 15 years’ experience and a qualification in Employment Law, she is passionate about colleague engagement, building effective partnerships and the power of the colleague voice.

Susan created the PCRF in 2021 and they successfully won the engage award for best use of Innovation in employee engagement in 2023.

She lives near Edinburgh and loves spending time with her friends and family, particularly the latest addition to the family, her first grandchild.

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

13:35-13:40 Host Welcome

Cathy welcomes attendees to the Reward, Wellbeing, Diversity & Inclusion Breakout Stage.

Speaker:

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.

13:40 - 14:00 Exinity Case Study: Freedom! How a Seismic Change in Our Wellbeing Offering Led to Unexpected Results

In 2021 Exinity had a vision for its people that didn’t match the reality. We wanted to appeal to independent thinkers who would appreciate being treated as individuals; make decisions for themselves and understand their own strengths. But our wellbeing offering totally contradicted this vision.

We knew we had some major work to do on this offering in order to attract and maintain the talent we needed.

With backing from the top, a brand-new wellbeing offering was rolled out over the next 24 months. Using Exinity’s mission ‘Freedom to Succeed’ as its hook, this new offering aimed to empower our people and support them across multiple aspects of the employee lifecycle.

The results? Some, such as more engaged colleagues, we had anticipated. But some, such as the financial impact the offering led to, and becoming recipients of an award for ‘Best Wellbeing Strategy’ were unexpected bonuses…..

Speaker:

Wendy Murphy

Exinity
VP Corporate Communications

14:00 - 14:20 Appreciation in Action: 2024 Trends That Create a Positive Culture for a Productive Workforce

Explore the pivotal role of appreciation in fostering a positive workplace culture and driving employee engagement. Through BHN's latest research insights, you will gain valuable knowledge on enhancing employee morale, productivity, and loyalty. From understanding the symbiotic relationship between culture and employee experience to designing personalised benefits and rewards programmes, you will leave equipped with practical tools and actionable ideas to transform your organisation into a vibrant, thriving workplace.

We will cover:

- The interconnectedness of culture and employee experience, and its influence on organisational success
- The impact of employee appreciation on morale, productivity, and loyalty
- Actionable strategies and resources to design tailored benefits and rewards programmes that align with employee expectations and enhance talent attraction and retention

Speaker:

Chris Ronald

Blackhawk Network
VP B2B EMEA

14:20 - 14:40 Rspca Case Study: Creating an Award-Winning Wellbeing Strategy

In this presentation Jeremy Gautrey-Jones will set out how he and his team set about transforming wellbeing within the RSPCA. Staff within the RSPCA witness many traumatic events to animals as part of their job and occupations within animal welfare have the highest suicide rate. Jeremy will talk through key elements of their award wellbeing wellbeing strategy and talk about how authentic leadership around wellbeing can really move the culture forward.

Speaker:

Jeremy Gautrey-Jones

RSPCA
Assistant Director Employee Experience

15:00 - 15:30 Coffee & Networking

Head to the Expo Hall to meet our sponsors, network with industry peers and enjoy a coffee with a delicious snack prepared by ex-Nobu chef Tom Gore.

11:00 - 12:00 Connecting Employees to Your Companies Social Impact Mission

Discuss with your peers the ways that employees can, and want to, add value to your overall social impact strategy. Explore how employee volunteering through social impact can be measured against your bottom line, help prevent high employee attrition rates and increase overall company engagement scores. Hear from Blackbaud’s expert panel to understand how social good can be your organisation's secret weapon to increased levels of happiness, and revenue.

Speaker:

Evan Rhoda

Blackbaud
Principal, Corporate Solutions

11:00 - 12:00 Learn How Your Employees’ Experience Stacks up Against the Highest-Performing Companies

Join Firstup's interactive workshop to discover how far along the journey to a truly engaged workforce your organisation really is and how you can push forward to an adaptive experience that in turn will deliver lower attrition and higher productivity.

Alice Boyd, Lead Consultant, Comms Strategy and Ulus Isa, Solutions Consultant will ask the searching questions about the reach, delivery, personalisation and insights of your current communications, and demonstrate how the Firstup platform offers the ability to enhance outcomes through:

- Audience segmentation, and AI-powered delivery.
- An employee interface that serves, but more importantly surpasses the needs of a simple modern intranet.
- Powerful analytics that not only illustrate engagement but also give actionable insights.

Speakers:

Alice Boyd

Firstup
Lead Consultant - Communications Strategy

Creative communications professional with a passion for people, storytelling, brand and culture.

Ulus Isa

Firstup
Solutions Consultant

“This was one of the best events I have been to. There were so many great speakers and I have taken away so much that I can feed into our processes. I would definitely recommend the event and will certainly be going again. Thank you to everyone who made this possible”

HR Manager, CPS CPS Logo (2)

“Good opportunity to meet relevant suppliers/providers, and a lot of very interesting speakers and sessions. I wish someone else from my organisation had been able to attend as I wasn't able to cover everything I wanted to see!”

Communication Business Partner at Air France Airfrance logo

“Super line up, great venue and free. So wonderful to collaborate and meet fellow IC peeps!”

Head of Internal Communications & Engagement, Alzheimer's Society Alzheimers logo

Take the Northern Line towards Morden on the London Underground

Depart at Moorgate Station

Walk north on Moorgate/A501 for 7 minutes

Turn left on to Chiswell St

The Brewery will be on your left

92 Tickets Remaining

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT LEADER

Are you a senior leader in the employee engagement space?
Do you make decisions?
If the answer to these is yes then you meet the criteria for a 'Leaders' ticket...
Single Ticket
5 Halls of Case Study Content
Event Networking
Interviews
Panel Debates
1-2-1 Meetings
Focus Groups
Lunch & Refreshments All Day
After-Event Drinks
Note: Registrations are subject to approval
Note: Not Relevant to Suppliers/Vendors to the Industry

Single Ticket

Single Ticket
Free Ticket Applicable for Senior Individuals Working in Employee Engagement
Not Relevant to Suppliers/Vendors to the Industry
5 Halls of Case Study Content
Event Networking
Interviews
Panel Debates
1-2-1 Meetings
Focus Groups
Lunch Provided
After-Event Drinks
Registrations are subject to approval

Supplier Ticket

For Suppliers
5 Halls of Case Study Content
Networking and Commercial Opportunities
Event Networking
Interviews
Panel Debates
Lunch Provided
After Event Drinks
Registrations are subject to approval

The Brewery, London – Wednesday 1st May 2024

Putting the Employee at the Heart of the Organisation and harnessing The Power Of Our People

harnessing the power of our people

Key facts

5 Content Stages

Round Table Sessions

15 Topic Streams

1000+ Delegates

Networking Party

70+ Presentations

WHAT TO EXPECT

TOPIC STREAMS

Download the 2023 Employee Engagement Summit Event Report

CONTENT STAGES

Ruby Wax

Steve Clarke

Christina Lewis

Sarah Hood

Emma Illingworth

Louisa McCabe

Dev Mistry

Anaïs Nebel

Carlo Beschi

Beth Perry

Wendy Murphy

Melanie Page

Jeremy Gautrey-Jones

Victoria Wilson

Michelle Sage

Emma Hughes

Susan Reilly

Gabby Ogiste

Neil Morrison

Helen Card

Parysa Hosseini-Sech

John Townsend

Chris Ronald

Dr Sarah Pass

James Court-Smith

Owen Rose

Jessica Brannigan

Caro Ruttledge

Alix Ainsley

Charlotte Cherry

Jenna Brown

Laura Jamieson

Duaa Almousawi

Neil Bestford

Evan Rhoda

Alice Boyd

Ulus Isa

Caleb Chisholm

Hillary Brown

Guy Champniss, PHD

Harry Harvey

Kaz Hassan

David MacLeod OBE

Matt Phelan

Dave Nixon

Henry Elworthy

Jo Moffatt

Charlotte Dahl

Cathy Brown

Jo Dodds

Nicholas Brice

Jill Scott

Nikki Humphrey

Winnie Annan-Forson

Frankie Freeman-Day

Natasha Whitehurst

Sonia Gupta

Tor Goldfield

Nicole Bearne

Joanne Conway

Stacey Ramm

Holly Gaffney

Sarah Tait

Sacha Harvey

Glenn Grayson

Natalie Spencer