Diversity & Equality speakers

Adam’s keynote presentations are an illuminating conversation that not only inspire strategic innovation but also unleash personal and team creativity and improve organizational culture. He speaks with warmth and compassion on generational paradigms of work and leadership encouraging organisations to have different and better conversations, creating a simple approachable path to transforming business success.

Flashback to his early presenting days and some of you may remember Ade Adepitan from the CBBC series X-Change and the BBC ‘dancing wheelchairs’ idents. An instantly recognisable face, Ade has travelled the world for his work including the BBC’s internationally known Travel Show exploring the history and cultures behind the globe’s most enticing countries.

Alex is the author of 'Qaddafi's Point Guard', detailing his unusual, unique, and unsettling story of being a professional basketball player stuck in the Libya civil war.

Amir Khan is one of the most talented sportsmen of his generation. Catapulted into the limelight from the 2004 Silver medal Olympic podium, Amir has become Britain's highest-profile boxer racking up an impressive professional fight record; having become the World Light Welterweight Champion in July 2009 after his life changing fight against Andreas Kotelnik.

Anita Rani is the presenter of the RTS award winning Four Rooms, the antiques show with a twist on Channel Four. She is a member of BBC1’s The One Show presenting team and reporting team, fronts Escape To The Continent and has presented numerous documentaries for the BBC.

Anthony Bennett is an inspirational speaker who was given the nickname ‘Miracle man’ from his shocking twelve times of infectious near-death experience. He shares his personal journey of teamwork, self-motivation, resilience, saying yes to opportunities and dealing with setbacks. Anthony played a major role in securing a £7.5m charity partnership between Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Whitbread PLC in 2012. He was named one of the happiest people in the UK, by the Independent on Sunday in their Happy List in 2015.

Ardi is Executive Fellow and Director, GDPR Programme, Henley Business School and the founder of GO DPO®, which is the strategic partner for many multi-national clients in data protection, privacy and security. He’s the first privacy practitioner to have guided the global company Hitachi Consulting Corp (NYSE: HIT) in achieving BS10012:2017 Personal Information Management System (PIMS) in the UK.

Baroness Floella Benjamin was born in Trinidad in 1949 and came to England as a 10 year old child in 1960. She left school at 16 with the aim of becoming Britain's first ever black woman bank manager, but changed direction and became an actress, presenter, writer, independent producer, working peer and an active advocate for the welfare, care and education of children throughout the world. She has also headed a successful film and television production company for the last 28 years.

Baroness Nuala O’Loan, former Ireland's Special Envoy for Conflict Resolution, is an inspirational woman whose message of justice, reconciliation and peace is truly powerful. Baroness Nuala O’Loan DBE is a member of the UK House of Lords. She was also Ireland’s Roving Ambassador for Conflict Resolution and Special Envoy to Timor Leste and for UNSCR 1325, Women, Peace and Security. In June 2013, Baroness O'Loan was conferred with membership a member of the Royal Irish Academy due to her significant contributions to life in Ireland.

Jimmy Mizen was killed in a random act of violence in a southeast London bakery the day after his 16th birthday in 2008. Barry and his wife, Margaret, have become prominent and vocal campaigners for peace within our communities. Barry and Margaret were recognised in the New Year Honours list for the charitable work they have done since their son was killed in 2008.

Belinda Parmar OBE is the CEO of The Empathy Business and pioneer of the world’s first empathy index, launched in the Harvard Business Review. Belinda is transforming the business world to become a more empathic place and is currently Empathy-In-Residence at a bank. Belinda was awarded an OBE for bringing more women into the UK’s technology industry. Belinda’s new campaign is #TheTruthAboutTech highlighting Tech Addiction and how we can be more digitally resilient. Her campaign was featured on the front page of The Guardian in March 2018, Woman’s Hour and ITV news in May 2018.

For over 20 years, Bianca has campaigned for social and economic justice and environmental protection throughout the world. She is Founder and Chair of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, Member of the Executive Director's Leadership Council of Amnesty International USA and Trustee of the Amazon Charitable Trust. Her work has been award-winning, receiving the Earth Day Award from the UN in the 1990s, as well as the Green Globe Award from the Rain Forest Alliance, and an 'Abolitionist of the Year' award from the US National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Baron Paddick is a British politician, and was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election, 2008 and the London mayoral election, 2012.

Chris Moon MBE is one of the most fortunate people to be alive you’re likely to meet and should be dead many times over. He’s a former British Officer who left the Army to work for a charity clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Chris Wilkinson has a wide-ranging CV from a commercial pilot, to financial sales to setting up his own recruitment company. These achievements are born from a desire to overcome the challenges and difficulties of dyslexia.

Christina was the 174th president of the Law Society of England and Wales and the fifth woman to hold this office. During the presidential year 2018/19, Christina's main priorities were: diversity and inclusion - focusing on social mobility and women in leadership in the law; the future of the profession - including legal technology and leading the LawTech Policy Commission; promoting access to justice for all and mental health and wellbeing in the legal profession. Christina has been at the heart of UK law, law tech and women in technology, chairing government panels and thought leadership.

Colin Jackson CBE is ranked as being one of most successful British athletes of all time. His athletic prowess gained him World, Commonwealth, and European champion. His world record 110m time was unbroken for an astonishing 13 years, but still remains the World Championship record time. Colin still holds the 60m hurdle record time, which has now been unbeaten for nearly 20 years. Since retiring from athletics, Colin was a natural choice to become one of the key members of the BBC's sports production team and he continues to cover all of their Athletics output as a BBC pundit and presenter.

Dan Glass's experience provides a melting pot of campaign resources and a range of deep methods of transformation & empowerment for positive social change. An educator from the Training for Transformation educational programme born out of the Anti-Apartheid movement, the core of dan's work is the development of critical consciousness and creativity to spur people 'to read their reality and write their own history'. This serves to motivate action that transforms live’s impacted by oppression back into one of pride, dignity and self-determination. In the spirit of our elders in the anti-Apartheid struggle, dan's activism is inspired by the philosophy 'the biggest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is our minds' . His recent programmes involve MC'ing 'Shafted?!' a speakeasy led by people living with HIV and the 'Never Again Ever! Holocaust Survivors Cabaret'.

Daniel Tammet is an English writer who has linguistic, numerical and visual synesthesia — meaning that his perception of words, numbers and colors are woven together into a new way of perceiving and understanding the world.

After losing his right arm in a horrific accident in 1994 at just aged 21, Danny was determined to overcome this huge hurdle in his life, focusing on the future and regaining his positive attitude.

David Aaronovitch is one of the best-known journalists and current affairs broadcasters in the UK, winning awards for political journalism and being named 'Columnist of the Year' by What The Papers Say. David’s fascination with some of the more arcane aspects of public life and debate led to the Voodoo Histories book on the impact of conspiracy theories.

Professor David Clutterbuck is one of Europe's most respected writers and thinkers on leadership, coaching and mentoring. He has written nearly 50 books and hundreds of articles on cutting edge management themes. David has been responsible for the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of highly successful mentoring and coaching programmes in numerous organisations around the world, including Standard Chartered Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds-TSB, World Bank and Nokia. David has worked with the Audit Commission in the UK, implementing a diversity mentoring programme that is now in its fifth phase.

Award winning inspirational Poet and Spoken Word Educator. Dean is both charismatic and reflective in his writing and delivery. Available for keynotes, readings, workshops and Masterclasses on a range of creative, artistic and LGBT briefs. Atta's debut poetry collection was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2014 sponsored by Société General UK LGBT Network.

Debra Searle MVO, MBE is a professional adventurer and serial entrepreneur. Her expeditions have included rowing solo across the Atlantic and sailing around Antarctica. She has also launched four companies, is a published author, has worked as a presenter for the BBC and is a trusted corporate speaker. Debra’s spirit of adventure gained her an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen and a place on the board of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. She was later awarded an MVO in the 2014 New Year’s Honours. In Spring 2015, Debra and her company combined her two passions for adventure and gender equality by organising and leading an all-female team on an expedition in the Arctic Circle. The movie of Debra’s Atlantic story is currently in development in Hollywood.

National Clinical Director of Mental Health for England, Consultant Psychiatrist for Oxleas NHS and Visiting Professor at UCL partners.

With a wealth of experience and an unparalleled depth of research into the macroeconomic and the geopolitical landscape of the MENA region, Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden is highly sought-after by audiences eager to benefit from her considerable expertise. An accomplished speaker, Eid-Oakden's presentations are seamlessly put together. Her messages are powerful and effective, delivered in her personal and highly professional style. She presents in English, Arabic, French and Spanish.

Dumi Oburota is the Nigerian-British entrepreneur credited for engineering Patrick Okogwu AKA Tinie Tempah's rise to stardom. He is also attributed to being behind strong acts like WizKid and asides music, he boasts a clothing label under his "Disturbing London" company. Now he is on a mission to make Disturbing London "a stamp of coolness for millennial, urban culture".

Former military sergeant who broke almost every bone in his body and lost both legs in 2009 when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in was struck by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. After spending five months in hospital he undertook several gruelling challenges including Lands End to John O'Groats, London Marathon, South Pole and Marathon de Sables. Named Overall Champion Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2021.

Edgar Perez is a business consultant for billion-dollar private equity and hedge funds and Council Member at the Gerson Lehrman Group, Guidepoint Global Advisors, Research International and Internal Consulting Group, with subject matter expertise in quantum computing, artificial intelligence and deep learning, cyber security and financial regulation.

Farrah Storr has a history of revamping magazines from Women and Home to Good Housekeeping, to Eve, to Glamour, to Women's Health, and finally to Cosmopolitan U.K.

Fleur Sexton is an inspirational Businesswoman who is the founder of PET-Xi Training, a high-energy training specialist whose multi-award-winning training teams have, since 1995, worked to help over 150,000 people identify training goals and unlock their potential. Starting from humble beginnings, Fleur has built up a company from her bedroom into a multi award-winning company and is now dedicated to motivating women to find their voice and fulfill their potential.

Frank Bruno is an English former professional boxer who was known for his good punch power and whose career highlight was winning the WBC heavyweight championship in 1995 against Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium.

Gareth is an engaging speaker on his experiences as both an international sports star and his personal story of coming out, as a member of the LGBT community and on living with HIV.

Georgie Barrat writes about tech for a range of publications including The
Mirror, Marie Claire, Huffington Post & Tech City News and has spoken on the subject for the likes of ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC.

Germaine Greer is an Australian theorist, academic and journalist, who is regarded as having been a major feminist voice of the mid-20th Century.

Giles is a motivational speaker who energises organisations large and small with his speech Changing to Win across the world. Each organisation faces a unique set of challenges and Giles works to ensure he reflects these to illustrate a way forward.

Hardeep Singh Kohli was born in Glasgow in 1969. A BAFTA-winning broadcaster, he was the writer of the Channel 4 hit Meet the Magoons, a presenter of Radio 4's Saturday Live, Midweek and The Food Programme, as well as contributor to numerous radio programmes such as Radio 4's Front Row and Radio 3's Nightwaves, and a movie reviewer on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Hayley Barnard is a prominent keynote speaker, consultant and trainer to top-level executives throughout the UK and Europe. She is a subject matter expert on Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Leadership and Unconscious Bias. She advises boards of corporations on how they can become more profitable and innovative through inclusion of diversity.

Hayley Mulenda is a Multi-Award Winning International Speaker, Author and Change Agent who has spoken to tens of thousands of people across the world sharing her story on how she turned her pain to purpose.

A true rags-to-riches story, Herman Mashaba created the cosmetics brand Black Like Me. He started by selling his products from the boot of his car, and it mushroomed into the multimillion Rand enterprise it is today. Recently, he has also started up operations in the UK.

Dr Imran Awan is an author, academic and researcher who is exploring the role of crime and its impact on society.

Jackie Ashley has most recently been a regular columnist for The Guardian and a presenter of BBC Radio 4's "The Week in Westminster" having previously been Political Editor of the New Statesman and Political Correspondent for ITN.

In January 1999, Jamie and a climbing partner were trapped for five nights on the storm bound icy summit of a French mountain. Despite surviving, both hands and feet were amputated. Since this he has learned to walk again, take up skiing, run marathons and iron man triathlons and remarkably returned to climb once more in the mountains that he loves so much.

Jamie Baulch enjoyed a career spanning 15 years at the top of world class athletics. Since retiring in 2005, he has starred in several reality TV shows and directed several business ventures including the Jamie Baulch Academy and a great contestant on Dancing on Ice!

Jane Hill currently presents the BBC News at One, Six and Ten, and has a regular slot on the BBC News Channel; she also hosts the channel’s weekly Film Review with Mark Kermode. She chairs Dateline London on BBC World News, and on radio presents Saturday PM on Radio 4. Jane has previously presented The World Tonight on Radio 4, and the Jeremy Vine programme on Radio 2.

Jaymi is a singer who is most known for his work in Union J alongside Josh Cuthbert, George Shelley and JJ Hamblett. They first came to public attention after competing on the X Factor in 2011 and came in fourth place. The band has released two albums together and last year were working on their third.

John Amaechi OBE partners with organisations to help leaders move from being transactional to transformational. He focuses on improving performance, solving intractable people problems and creates thriving workplaces despite the challenges and disruption of the modern world. Prior to founding his own firm, John spent several years as a professional athlete, becoming the first Brit to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Josh Littlejohn MBE is the co-founder of Scottish social enterprise Social Bite, a national chain of sandwich and coffee shops, which shot to global fame when Holywood A-lister George Clooney visited an outlet in 2015. Another Oscar winner Leonardo Di Caprio then visited the social enterprise in 2016.

June Saprong has had a flourishing 12 year career which began at MTV UK and has already seen her become a media phenomenon and is the only presenter of her generation that is equally comfortable interviewing politicians, celebrities and members of the public alike.

Kamal Ahmed is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The News Movement, a new media business headquartered in London and New York focused on social media channels, new audiences and digital consumption.

Kanya King CBE is the founder and CEO of the MOBO Organisation, launched in 1996 to celebrate and celebrate urban music. She now employs hundreds of people and The MOBO Awards is Europe's largest urban music awards show, attracting the largest primetime multicultural audience of over 250 million people around the world.

Karen has the philosophy that to have the most impact in life we should challenge our constraints, adopt a positive mindset and support each other to be the best we can be.

Kate Russell is a technology reporter often seen on the BBC television programme Click.

Kriss began his international athletic career in 1983 as a member of the 4×400 metre relay squad and will probably always be remembered for helping Britain clinch the Gold and beat the Americans in the World Championships 4×400 metre relay in Tokyo in 1991. Kriss is currently the CEO of The Akabusi Company, a corporate communications and training company where his marvellous personality and reputation as a fantastic public speaker has made him a very popular and attractive advocate. He is also an accredited personal coach, having qualified at the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara. He is one of only four qualified Hudson Institute coaches in the UK.

Lenny Henry is the founding member of Comic Relief and an award winning comedian. His media career spans over 30 years as a documentary maker and communicator. Lenny has recently completed a BA Honours in English Literature with the Open University.

In 2006, Levi became a Dragon Slayer; he won the heart and investment of Peter Jones with his Reggae Reggae Sauce pitch. Since then, the sauce has become a nationally loved product, seeing Levi venture into releasing cook books and recipes with his new-found culinary acclaim.

Margaret Mizen came to national attention in 2008 when her 16-year-old son Jimmy was murdered in south-east London. In the immediate aftermath, Margaret spoke of compassion for his killer rather than revenge and promised not to be beaten by Jimmy’s death, believing that something good would come from it.

Martina Navratilova won the Wimbledon women's singles title a record nine times and has been described by many as "the greatest singles, doubles, and mixed doubles player who's ever lived". In all, Martina has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.

Martine Rothblatt is an American lawyer, author, and entrepreneur.

Molly is a social entrepreneur, motivational speaker, thought leader in the international charity sector and mother of international pop stars Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield.

Hack has turned adversaries into allies throughout the world. Her pioneering work on engagement leadership and her unique framework Strategic Relational Engagement (SRE™) is based on decades of real-life success in bringing together diverse stakeholders to find common ground and achieve great goals. Named one of Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior, Hack works with executives of Fortune 500 companies, heads of state, and leaders of global organizations.

Nancy Doyle is passionate about helping people into the ‘right’ roles, with the aim to find their genius within, the thing they can do, that they feel competent at and then facilitate them to do it well.

As the pioneer of online "robo" investing, Nick changed a 300 year old industry by inventing a service that gives private bank quality services to the mass market. Operating as founder and CEO of Nutmeg, a company that started in a garage in Silicon Valley and has grown to be the number one personal investing brand in London, Nick has ridden the entrepreneurial roller coaster. Nick is now based in Singapore where he is an investor in young companies and assists global corporations with digital transformation.

Pervez Hussain is a truly inspirational speaker who believes that like him, you can achieve your full potential with the right knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour.

Stephen Manderson A.K.A Professor Green is an English rapper, singer song-writer and presenter with significant presence on BBC Three and increasingly on Channel 4. Stephen is an advocate for several campaigns on mental health awareness including depression, male suicide, poverty, working class white men and other challenges facing the vulnerable in society.

Rebecca Louise Front is a BAFTA award–winning English comedy actress and occasional writer best known for her performances in The Thick of It, and a series of satirical comedies in the early 1990s.

Winner of the T42 200m Gold at the London 2012 Paralympics, Richard is the current world record holder for leg amputees in both the half and Olympic marathon distances. He is also the first ever leg amputee to complete the marathon in under 3 hours. Richard recently completed a mammoth challenge of 40 marathons in 40 days in Britain, seeing him run from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Robert Phillips is the author of the ground-breaking and controversial Trust Me, PR is Dead; a Visiting Professor at Cass Business School; and co-founder of Jericho Chambers. Robert advises major companies and organisations committed to a better society and the common good – helping them navigate towards meaningful change through what they do, not what they say.

Overnight, Ronan Harrington went from senior leadership positions at the British Foreign Office and Extinction Rebellion to being diagnosed with a debilitating lifetime chronic illness. He’s learned the hard way how to lead under pressure and stay strong in the face of adversity. Ronan now teaches on the KPMG Executive Leadership Programme and is a resilience specialist at Tough Cookie, advising leading organisations including Sky, Meta and Accenture on how to create healthy, high performing cultures.

BBC Presenter, illustrator and public speaker, Rosie King has achieved great things at the young age of 23. She diagnosed her own autism at the age of nine (a diagnosis that was later confirmed by specialists) and dedicates her considerable talents to raising positive awareness about autism. With a younger brother and sister severely affected by the condition, this has always been a subject close to Rosie's heart. She is an ambassador for the National Autistic Society, and has worked closely with professionals to improve the quality of education for young people with additional needs in mainstream school. After speaking about her condition and the way that it effects her at the TEDMED convention in Washington DC 2014, Rosie received a standing ovation. Graduating with first class honours in Creative Writing from Roehampton, Rosie enjoys being part of the BBC Pablo writing team and voice actor.

Saira has presented ITV’s 25 episode lunchtime gameshow “Guess This House” and is a regular panellist on “Loose Women” (ITV- 12.30pm) and has also co-presented ITV’s hit consumer show, “The Martin Lewis Money Programme,” (ITV 8.00PM). As well as TV presenting Saira is a regular contributor to the UK’s media and writes guest columns in national newspapers and magazines and has a regular column in the Sunday Mirror.

Sarah Pennells is the founder and editor of the UK's leading finance website for women, ‘SavvyWoman.co.uk’, which gives clear, ‘easy-to-understand’ information and tips on wide range of financial issues and has won, and been shortlisted for, several awards.

Shelina Janmohamed was recently named as one of the UK's Muslim Women Power 100 list by The Times newspaper and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. She is the author of the novel Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the Worldwhich explores the phenomenon of what it means to be young and Muslim today and how society and business needs to react.

In 1982 Simon Weston CBE was aboard HMS Sir Galahad with his regiment of Welsh Guards when it was bombed by Argentinian planes. The horrific burns he suffered required a series of operations that continue to this day. Despite his injuries, as well as the physical and mental suffering, Simon's life is an example of great personal triumph and courage. After the Falklands campaign, Simon co-founded The Weston Spirit, dedicated to helping young people play an active role in their own communities. Until it ceased in 2008, he spent much of his time fundraising - enabling the charity to set up regional projects in Liverpool, Cardiff and Newcastle.

Somi is a LinkedIn Top Voice giving talks and workshops internationally on the impact of technology on society, the business landscape, the future of work, developing thought leadership, and digital transformation both in marketing and in HR.

Sophie Walker is the current leader of the UK’s Women’s Equality Party, and was the party’s candidate in the London mayoral election held in May 2016.

Steve Brown is a British Wheelchair Rugby athlete and Captain of the Great Britain National Wheelchair Rugby Team. He led the team in Wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Brown broke his neck in a fall from a balcony in Cologne in 2005.

As an individual and with her comedy counter-part Mel Giedroyc, Sue has entertained the nation and has been a firm favorite on British television for nearly fifteen years. Sue has recently developed a profile as a foodie, providing a dynamic, insightful, and comedic edge to TV shows such as The Big Food Fight and The Great British Bake Off. Sue is also a regular on current comedy panel shows, including TV's Have I Got News For You and Argumental, as well as radio's Just A Minute.

The corporate lawyer turned comedian made the move to full-time stand up when clients started to attend her gigs. She hasn’t looked back, enjoying critically acclaimed Edinburgh shows, standing in for Mr MacAulay on Radio Scotland and guesting on The News Quiz and The Unbelievable Truth.

11 Paralympic Gold Medals, 6 times winner of London Wheelchair Marathon Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is Britain's greatest Paralympic athlete. She competed in five Paralympic Games, winning 11 Gold Medals, and is acknowledged as one of the most gifted and courageous sportswomen of her generation. In addition to her outstanding Paralympic achievements, between 1992 and 2002 she won the London Wheelchair Marathon a total of six times. Now retired, Tanni still plays an active role in the administration of sport.

The author of Neuroscience for Leadership: Harnessing the Brain Gain Advantage and The Source. Tara examines the science behind leadership as well as offering fascinating insights in to resilience, performance, bias, stress and change. She considers what individuals and teams can achieve once they understand why they think, feel and act the way they do.

No ordinary speaker, Vikie tells her story and experiences from the heart. From living with Autism and mental health issues, and the horrific suicide of her husband, Vikie has been there and lived through it all. Despite all that life has thrown at her, Vikie continues to bounce back. Despite all that life has thrown at her, Vikie continues to bounce back… In fact her inspiring journey has lead her to become an author, an expert in the field of Autism and a motivational speaker. If you need an engaging, inspiring and truly awe-inspiring person to speak on anything from Autism to communication or to tell her shocking but motivational story then you’ve just found her.