Global Head - Future of Work and Advocacy Strategy, Standard Chartered Bank

Rebekah has a range of international experience for corporates as diverse as engineering, financial services, airline and outsourcing. Her background in risk, technology and organisational development is a perfect mix to build the strategy for helping Standard Chartered’s 80,000 global employees get ready for the future of work.

Rebekah has deep expertise in working with executive leaders on strategy, organisation development and culture. Prior to her current role as Global Head of Future of Work & Advocacy Strategy she was leading the culture agenda for several years, focused on transforming the bank so it could accelerate its growth.

Her style is human, energetic and focused on bringing people together to deliver results. Rebekah has led the banks approach on menopause since 2022 and chairs a cross-functional working group that is dedicated to educating and raising awareness across our 54 markets globally.

 Managing Director, David Blackburn Consulting

David R Blackburn Consulting offers strategic and operational support to organisations undergoing business and cultural transformation. Clients include Amnesty International UK, the CIPD, SHL, the Universities of Aberdeen, London Southbank and Oxford and the Bank of England where he is Senior Independent Advisor for Skills and HR Evolution. David is also currently the Chief People Consultant at Gamble Aware.

Blackburn is a chartered companion of both the CIPD and the Chartered Management Institute, the highest level of membership awarded by these bodies. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen, London Business School, and the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, and is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (a global network) and the Institute of Leadership and Management. David has been recognised on the HR Magazine HR Most Influential List of practitioners for the last four years.

In addition, he is a governor and chair of both the Equity, Diversity and Access and Nominations Committees at The Place, the home of the London Contemporary Dance School and sits on the Board of Positive East. He is married to Laurence I Clark.

Global Head of Colleague Experience, IDeagen

Esther is a globally recognised people leader with a passion for building inclusive, empowering workplace cultures where individuals can thrive. As the Global Head of Colleague Experience at Ideagen, she leads transformative initiatives that elevate the employee experience and foster a deep sense of belonging.

A Chartered Member of the Institute of Internal Communications, Esther brings a wealth of expertise in strategic communication, cultural transformation, and employee engagement. She is a tireless advocate for the employee voice and is deeply committed to creating environments where people feel heard, valued, and inspired to grow.

Esther’s work is grounded in empathy, authenticity, and a belief that meaningful change begins with listening. Her insights and leadership continue to shape the future of work—making a lasting impact on individuals and organisations alike.

Head of People, Asthma and Lung UK 

Idris Arshad is a Chartered Fellow of CIPD and head of people for the charity Asthma and Lung UK. He also lectures for We Are HR, a CIPD accredited learning and HR solutions organisation.

A passionate HR leader who advocates to uplift the reputation and showcase the value of HR, Idris is proud of coaching and partnering with leaders to improve front line services and help better serve people in need. Arshad's extensive strategic and operational HR experience in the charity sector covers a range of different organisations from international development, faith based, homelessness, hospice and healthcare. Idris has led the equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and wellbeing agenda strongly throughout his career, most recently in the hospice sector. He has chaired EDI committees, increased the diversity of workforce representation and improved wellbeing cultures.

He has completed a Masters in HR and his views and comments about HR have been regularly published in media outlets and on LinkedIn.

CEO, Working Families

Jane joined Working Families as CEO in September 2018. She has held senior leadership positions at a number of UK charities, including Samaritans and Sands. She believes in the value of a fulfilling, balanced working life and its transformative power to create social connections, build self-esteem, and impact the wider community. She is a passionate advocate of equity of opportunity for all.

She spent her childhood in the UK (Norfolk) and South Africa (Cape Town & Johannesburg) and is a University of Cape Town graduate (Industrial Sociology and Industrial Psychology).

Workplace Partnerships Lead, Mind

Working closely with Mind’s Policy and Influencing team, Jonathan Stuart collaborates with employers and policymakers to drive progressive change in workplace mental health. He also acts as Secretariat for the Mental Health at Work Leadership Council, advocating for the Mental Health at Work Commitment as 'the' framework of best practice. To date, the Commitment has been signed by over 3,700 organisations employing almost 6 million people. Previously, Jonathan worked in programme delivery, including the Blue Light Programme, supporting emergency responders during the Covid19 pandemic. In these roles, he led initiatives to reduce mental health stigma, design sustainable mental health resources, and influence senior leaders to embed workplace mental health as a strategic priority. His expertise lies in building cross-sector relationships and creating lasting impact through behaviour change, supporting Mind’s vision of mentally healthy work for all.

Deputy CEO, Making The Leap

I am the Deputy CEO at Making The Leap and my role involves the implementation of any strategic decisions and ensuring that we run as smoothly as possible. I am approaching my 30th year at Making The Leap and started as a temp. Since then, I have worked in a variety of different roles within the organisation, including Recruitment Consultant and Project Manager, before I became Operations Director.

I share a great deal of empathy for the young people we serve, in the sense that I wanted to better myself but didn’t have much direction until I came to Making The Leap. I used to think it was a shame that Making The Leap wasn’t around at the time that I finished my studies, because I knew I had a lot to offer but I didn’t know how to achieve and lacked the confidence to do so. Working here though, it’s turned out alright. I think it’s fabulous that we can now offer young people hope, direction and aspirations.

EMEA Neurodiversity Lead, JPMorgan Chase 

Tom Norrish is the Neurodiversity Lead for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan Chase, working from their Bournemouth office. He is responsible for making sure that all aspects of an employee’s experience are neuroinclusive. Tom delivers the firm’s Autism at Work programming in region, so all members of the community have the supports they need to thrive in the workplace. During his 25 year tenure with the firm, Tom has held a broad range of roles, to include Business Operations, Service Management and Technology. As a member of the neurodivergent community, Tom is passionate about driving neuroinclusive practices for employees in the workplace and developing external programming for neurodivergent students, and emerging talent of all ages.

Global DEI & Wellbeing, Euromonitor Chartered FCIPD

Adeife is the Global Director of Culture, Engagement, and Inclusion at Euromonitor International working across APAC, EMEAI, and the Americas. With over 15 years of experience in People, Culture, and Organisational Development, Adeife is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, holds an MSc in Human Resource Management and Organisational Analysis, and is a certified ILM Level 5 Coach and Mentor.

Adeife also serves as a Governor and Non-Executive Director for the Aspire Learning Federation (UK) and as a board member for Elim Bridge Autism and Neurodevelopmental Foundation in Nigeria. In addition, she sits on several advisory boards and steering groups, including Make A Difference (MAD) and the HR Grapevine UK Content Advisory Board, among others.

Adeife is the founder of two purpose-driven communities: Mum and Me, which helps mothers build a community and feel empowered to advance their careers while prioritising wellbeing. She also runs a network for Culture, Talent, and Inclusion professionals, designed for practitioners who are focused on shaping their organisations to be more inclusive to drive change through engagement, culture, and talent across multiple markets and sectors.

CEO, The TCM Group

Named #1 HR Most Influential Thinker in 2025, and Best Consultant at the Consultancy Awards in the same year, David was also selected for the prestigious Thinkers50 Radar in 2022, underscoring his role as a transformational force in HR and leadership.

A well regarded writer and speaker, he has published two highly acclaimed books. David’s expertise has earned him and TCM multiple awards, including HR Consultancy of the Year, 2 x winner of The HR Impact Award for transforming Burberry’s (2023) and Next's (2024) HR framework, A Change Management Award for his work at TSB Bank, and Mediation Consultancy of the Year.

In 2001, after earning his MBA with Distinction, David founded The TCM Group - a respected consultancy boasting an expanding international client base. Comprising 10 brands, TCM is dedicated to developing people centred and high performance cultures.

In 2021, David published his highly acclaimed People and Culture Operating Model™. David supports TCM's global customers to achieve transformational change through collaboration, inclusion, and empowerment. He draws from progressive methodologies, including systems thinking, positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, restorative justice, and behavioural science.

David is a Fellow of the RSA, and president of the People and Culture Association. 

Head of Inclusive Workplace Strategy & Policy, ACAS

Julie is a Diversity and Inclusion specialist with over 20 years’ experience gained within the public and voluntary sector. As Head of Inclusive Workplace Strategy & Policy at ACAS, Julie is responsible for leading Acas’ Inclusive Workplaces strategy & policy programme to drive more inclusive workplaces across the UK. She has successfully developed and delivered strategic D&I initiatives relating to employment and service delivery and is one of the country’s most experienced professionals in this field.

Over the years, Julie has developed and sustained robust corporate diversity and inclusion infrastructures including internal diversity staff networks and diversity champions, a wide range of positive action initiatives, internal diversity monitoring across all diversity strands, award winning diversity campaigns in order to increase awareness of diversity and inclusion and its relationship with cultural change, along with a suite of diversity and inclusion training packages, including unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.

Julie is proud to be a diversity ally and a champion for mental health awareness, often sharing her own personal story about living with anxiety caused by PTSD.

EEDI & Wellbeing Lead, Great British Railways Transition Team

Conference Manager, MA Exhibitions

Event and conference industry professional. Experience of organising, managing and producing events and conferences across a range of sectors for numbers ranging from 50-7000 delegates/visitors. Responsible for and able to assist with any aspect of event and conference planning, management, production, coordination and logistics.

Co-founder, The Inclusive Workplace

? Driving organisational change to remove barriers and close gaps. Facilitating conversations around inclusive workplaces for all through flexible working and high trust cultures.

✌?Everyone should be able to live the life they love and love the work they do. Equal working opportunities for all no matter sex, colour, physical ability or cultural background. ??

Always happy to talk to people working in the same industries as us, and those who are passionate about flexible working. 

Event Director - MA Exhibitions

A creative, passionate, agile and dynamic events professional with over 25 years of experience working in Senior positions for the worlds No1 and No.2 , b2b events organisers. In 2018, I ran my own events business delivering consumer wellness events (Live Well London and events for brands). Most recently I also joined Mark Allen Group as the Event Director on the Health & Wellbeing at Work event and have now joined as Group Event Director across Health & Wellbeing at Work, The Primary Care show and the newly acquired Inclusive Workplace Conference.

Co-founder, The Inclusive Workplace

A standout moment: partnering with Pfizer UK to cut their gender pay gap from 15.9% to 6.6% in just four years. Through the Inclusive Workplace Conference (acquired in Jan 2025 by Mark Allen Exhibitions) I’ve also convened 2,000+ senior leaders and 350+ expert speakers to move inclusive innovation forward faster. I continue to act as an advisor, ensuring the annual programme meets the evolving needs of the leaders within our community.

Alongside this, I equip individuals to claim visibility as a strategic skill. This led to The Visibility Advantage (Summer 2025), co-authored with my co-founder Dagmar Albers; a practical toolkit for building influence, confidence and career agility without the ick factor. Outside of my core work, I mentor young women through The Girls’ Network, helping them build networks and realise their potential.

Named one of HR Magazine’s Top 10 Most Influential Thinkers in 2024 and 2025 and a UN Women CSW69 Delegate, I am driven by a singular mission: To ensure people are not just included in the future of work, but positioned to lead it.