Gulnaz Brennan

Gulnaz Brennan stands at the helm of the SheInspires Network, where her unwavering commitment revolves around empowering women, amplifying their voices, and ensuring their safety. Her world is dedicated to inspiring positive change, and she finds immense joy in lighting the spark of inspiration in the hearts of countless individuals.

A passionate advocate for women's empowerment and celebration, Gulnaz wears the hat of an accomplished author. Through her narratives, she weaves tales of triumph, resilience, and empowerment that resonate deeply with her audience. With over two decades of experience in the education sector in the UK and abroad, she has become a stalwart figure, making significant contributions to the field.

Gulnaz is not only the creative mind behind lifestyle books and the community newspaper ChaiTimes but has also launched a national women's magazine, BEE, adding another dimension to her impactful storytelling.

Professor Karise Hutchinson

Karise Hutchinson is a Professor of Leadership at Ulster University in Northern Ireland and Founder of Illuminaire Leadership – a global institute providing high quality, research-led insight to leaders in private, public and third sector organisations. She is an award-winning researcher, author, educator, speaker, and strategic advisor to leaders in government, public and private sector, as well as not-for-profit organisations. Whether it is her book Leadership and Small Business: The Power of Stories, or her recent TED talks, Karise specialises in uncovering and spreading the very latest leadership thinking, helping leaders take a deeper look at how they think and practice leadership today, for the sake of tomorrow. Karise lives on the North Coast of Northern Ireland with her husband and four children joining her on her adventure and love of life.

Professor John Adair

John Adair is one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership and leadership development. Over a million managers worldwide have taken part in the Action-Centred Leadership programmes he pioneered.

He became the world’s first Professor of Leadership in 1979 at the University of Surrey. As Visiting Professor at the University of Exeter, he inaugurated Europe’s first master’s degree in leadership studies. Then as the United Nations Professor of Strategic Leadership at the UN Staff College in Turin, John designed and led the first programme for senior UN leaders.

John is the author of 50 books in 20 languages, with overall worldwide sales of over a million copies.

Professor Jonathan Gosling

Jonathan Gosling is Emeritus Professor of Leadership at Exeter University in the UK and conducts health-systems researched development as a visiting professor at UWE. He has taught and researched leadership for over 30 years and is now an independent academic and consultant at Pelumbra.com.

Current projects include with the Forward Institute promoting responsible leadership in government, NGOs and business; supporting the front-line leadership of HIV and malaria control programs in southern Africa; running a series of ‘One Planet Leadership’ Roundtables for experienced managers - and a new initiative to do the same for full-time students. He hosts writing retreats and this year published the 2nd Edition of ‘Exploring Leadership: individual, organisational and societal perspectives’ (co-authored with Richard Bolden and Beverley Hawkins).

He represented UK Universities at the Rio+20 UN Sustainability summit and contributes to the ‘greening’ of management education, e.g. as co-author of the text book Sustainable Business: a one planet approach and co-founder of One Planet Education Networks(OPEN).

Beth Penfold

Beth Pentfold is the Director of Moving Forward Consultancy Ltd. She has over 30 years’ experience in training, coaching, and consulting, with a wide corporate knowledge, having worked for organisations as diverse as Enron, Oxford University, Unipart, and The Labour Party. This experience, brought together with NLP, CIPD and coaching qualifications allows Beth to bring a wide-ranging and powerful toolkit to her coaching programmes and leadership trainings, which achieve rapid, consistent, and game-changing results.

Beth’s clients include UK and US private individuals, CEOs, business owners, and military personnel. Based in Manchester, Beth sees clients face to face around the UK and across the world online.

Peter Cook

Peter Cook leads Human Dynamics and The Academy of Rock, offering Business and Organisation Development plus Keynotes on business leadership with the power of music, be it rock, jazz or classical. Peter works with some of the world’s top businesses and organisations, including Johnson and Johnson, The UN, Roche, Imperial Business School, The NHS, Goldfields etc.

Peter has three passions: science, business and music. He started life as a chemistry graduate, has an MBA and a ‘university of life’ qualification in working globally and leading music bands. He is the author of 14 books on business leadership, innovation and creativity, acclaimed by Tom Peters, Professors Charles Handy, Adrian Furnham and Harvey Goldsmith CBE.

Professor Clare Rigg

Clare Rigg is Professor of Post-experience Management Education at the University of Lancaster Management School, UK. Her academic career has prioritised teaching and research that is close to practice and is concerned to enable students to make a critical impact in their organisations and communities. Clare’s work has been published in a range of journals including AMLE, British Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, Journal of Applied Behavioural Science, Journal of Management Learning, Management Learning, Public Management Review, and Studies in Higher Education. She is currently Associate Editor of the British Journal of Management and Journal of Management Education, and is a past Associate Editor of Academy of Management Learning & Education (2020-23).

Professor Carol Jarvis

Carol Jarvis is a Professor in Knowledge Exchange and Innovation in the University of the West of England and plays an active role in the design and delivery of leadership development and executive education programmes. She is an active member of the Bristol Leadership and Change Centre and plays a leading role in the development of UWE's suite of "team entrepreneurship" programmes, based on a highly innovative approach to "learning by doing" and team coaching. She is an experienced coach and facilitator and has coached in both individual and group settings.

Carol’s current research focuses on the application of complexity approaches (Complex Responsive Processes of Relating) to (un)leadership, coaching, innovation and entrepreneurship, and the everyday experience of change and innovation, notably in the health and social care sector. Her research and teaching have a strong practitioner focus informed by 20 years of experience of running her consultancy practice.

Professor Stefanie Reissner

Stefanie Reissner is Professor of Organization Studies at Durham University Business School where she specializes in qualitative research. Stefanie has received research funding by ESRC, British Academy, British Academy of Management and the Council for International Veterinary Medical Education for her research on storytelling, boundary work and identity. Her research has been published in major management and organization journals, two research monographs and an edited collection.

As an elected member of BAM, Stefanie is serving a second term on the Research & Publications Sub-Committee and as BAM Chair of Research Grants has strategic oversight of the BAM and Partner Research Grant Portfolio. She is a Fellow of BAM’s Peer Review College, a Member of the ESRC Peer Review College and regularly reviews for a variety of funders and major journals in management and organization studies.

Jackie Hyde

Jackie Hyde is the Owner-Managing Director at Stanmore Insurance Brokers Ltd. Since 1962, Stanmore Insurance Brokers have been providing personal and professional insurance to North West businesses. Offering protection, peace of mind, and superior quality of service in the face of ever-changing market conditions. Jackie has worked at Stanmore for 35 years and joined as an Account Handler, working her way through to owning the business.

Stanmore is an award-winning commercial insurance broker who aim is to change the perception of insurance for the better. Stanmore is also home to a dedicated children’s day care nursery insurance scheme, dot2dot, who insure over 3,000 nurseries across the UK.

Jackie sits on the fundraising boards of various charities and community interest organisations and is an avid supporter of females so they maximise their true potential, which includes sponsoring a number of awards.

In 2017, 2020 & 2022 Stanmore was named Schemes Broker of the Year at Insurance industry awards. Also in 2022, Jackie was named one of the insurance industry’s Elite Women by Insurance Business Magazine.

Jack Farren

Jack is an award-winning social entrepreneur based in the United Kingdom. He possesses vast experience in international development, finance, and edtech. In his current role as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rural Inclusion, a social enterprise supporting rural communities in over seven countries, he leads a team across the UK, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America to develop innovative projects on training and research to support smallholder farmers, microentrepreneurs, refugees and host communities become more resilient and prosperous.

Jack regularly travels in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, and collaborates with community-based organisations, international development partners, academic institutions and financial institutions.

He is also the host of a development podcast called The Social Impact Journal, where he meets with founders, academics and development practitioners to discuss important topics surrounding the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Michelle Howard

Michelle Howard is a sought-after speaker, trainer, contributor and consultant who helps businesses grow and succeed. With over 25 years of experience in the corporate and public sector, Michelle has helped business leaders across the UK and beyond to implement strategies that have resulted in better strategy, improved performance, enhanced customer and employee satisfaction, and reduced costs.

Her career began as a Chartered Marketer working within Legal 500 Law Firms, a title she has held for over 20 years. It progressed to the public sector where Michelle built up expertise implementing strategic and change initiatives and leading transformational projects, often developing strategic practices which were recognised for their contribution to national best practice. With an award-winning record of building long-term relationships, Michelle brings her strategic marketing and her leadership knowledge to the forefront of all that she does to help businesses to develop. She has led and contributed to substantial partnerships which have led to business success. This includes a partnership between education, health, local government, and third sector organisations which won a Guardian Newspaper Innovation in Partnership Healthcare Award. Judges praised it for its innovation and contribution to the future of both education and healthcare.

Carol Campayne

Carol is the Executive Director of the Diversity Practice and founder of Different Women, Different Places. She was born in Glasgow and spent most of her foundation years in Nigeria. Her mother is from Trinidad and her father was Nigerian.

Professionally, she has a strong background in Corporate Strategy, Executive Coaching, Strategic Marketing, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership and Organisational Development. She has established an international reputation for delivering transformational D&I change at an individual, leadership and organisational level.

Carol’s ability to expand the leadership reach and capabilities of individuals has been recognised by a wide spectrum of organisations including Aviva, LinkedIn, Bloomberg, EY, Refinitiv, Babcock International, Northern Trust, and across the NHS and Higher Education, all of which have engaged Carol to deliver high-profile leadership development, executive coaching, diversity and inclusion interventions. As one of the architects of Different Women, Different Places, Carol has spent the last decade exploring the impact of intersectionality and the relationship between ‘Different Women’ and their white female counterparts.

Carol’s bold ambition is to eliminate racism by driving fundamental character change within organisations from the inside out by working with them to think differently, disrupt the ‘norm’ and shift mindsets.

Carol has a BA in History (University of Ibadan) and MBA from Strathclyde University and is a qualified Executive Coach through the Coactive Training Institute (CTI) and Organisational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC).

Sonny Zulu

Chief Executive Officer

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc

Sonny is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia.

Prior to this role, Sonny was the Managing Director and Head of the Consumer, Private and Business Banking business at Standard Chartered Bank, UAE. He was responsible for developing and driving the retail business strategy while balancing governance, financial performance, risk management, distribution, and people development.

Sonny also served as the Regional Head of Strategic Transformation, Alliance and Performance Management for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Bank. Before relocating to Dubai, Sonny was the Head of Retail Banking for Standard Chartered Bank Zambia and Southern Africa. He took up senior leadership responsibilities at a very young age and he has held a number of senior executive roles in the Bank which include; Head of Retail Clients, General Manager for Distribution for Zambia and Southern Africa and Head of Corporate Affairs.

As an entrepreneur, Sonny is a joint owner of Air Mafuta Aviation services. He founded this company in 2009 together with two other Directors. The company supplies aviation fuel to both local and international clients.

Sonny holds an MBA from Manchester Business School and he has a degree in Metallurgy and Mineral Processing from the University of Zambia. As part of his personal development, Sonny has completed several executive programmes at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Duke Corporate Education in Singapore and INSEAD in Singapore. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate at Golden Gate University, USA.

Professor Ying Zhu

Professor Ying Zhu is Professorial Lead and the Director of the Australia Centre for Asian Business at the University of South Australia - which aims to broaden the Australian understanding of the diverse Asian business environment - and views the study of Asian business and management as an issue of international importance given the significance of these economies to international trading relations and economic prosperity.

Professor Zhu holds a Bachelor of International Economics from Peking University and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. He has worked as an economist at Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in China, been the Director of the Master of Human Resource Management program at the University of Melbourne and held visiting scholar positions at the University of Cambridge, the World Bank, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva. He is a member of the Academy of Management (AoM), the Academy of International Business (AIB), and the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA).

In 2001 Professor Zhu received the Award for Excellent Foreign Scholar from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). In 2010 he received the Award for Excellent Post Graduate Teaching from the University of Melbourne, and in 2013 received the Achievement in Research Excellence Award (Established Career Researcher) from UniSA. He is a member of the Editorial Board for a number of leading international journals.

Professor Zhu draws on his business expertise, bilingual language capabilities and strong industry links to assist organisations to develop business synergies with their Asian counterparts. Currently, Professor Zhu leads a range of projects, including senior entrepreneurship, millennial entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurship, improving employees' cross-cultural competence in aged care sector, and community development in Australia and Asian countries.

Professor Chimezie Anyakora

Professor Chimezie Anyakora is the Chief Executive Officer of Bloom Public Health. He holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and taught at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lagos for over a decade. He has also been involved in Public Health and Medicine Quality research. He has supervised various PhD students and published scores of papers in the field. He was named the University of Lagos researcher of the year in 2009 among many other awards. He was part of the international transition team for the African University of Science and Technology Abuja. He is a Professor at the School of Science and Technology, Pan Atlantic University and an adjunct professor at the faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Nnamdi Azikiwe University. He is a postgraduate supervisor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Western Cape. He had a stint at the Lagos Business School and during the period authored and coauthored several case studies. He founded the Centre for Advanced Research on Separation Science. He is member of the governing council the Institute for Industrial Technology.

Prof. Chimezie Anyakora was the Nigeria Country Director for the United States Pharmacopeia. Prior to that he consulted for the Global Health Impact Program where he worked on Public Health projects across various African countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo Brazzaville and many more. He is very active at various public health regional initiatives on the continent. As the country lead of the United States Pharmacopeia and the Chief of Party of the Promoting the Quality of Medicines program in Nigeria Professor Anyakora led the development and execution of the overall project strategy in Nigeria. He is now leading Bloom Public Health and continues to advance Public Health on the continent especially in different African countries where Bloom Public Health has offices including Nigeria, Rwanda, Botswana, Zambia and Cameroon. Lately he has been doing a lot in the vaccine space. Through Bloom Public Health he supported Nigeria in the development of the National Vaccine Policy and worked on a WHO funded vaccine manufacturing ecosystem mapping for Nigeria. He sits in a number of boards and contributes to the growth of a number of entrepreneurial firms.

Dr Tom Kennie

Dr Tom Kennie is the co-founding director of Ranmore Consulting (www.ranmore.co.uk) and a Principal Advisor with Wells Advisory, part of MinterEllison Education Consulting in Australia. He specialises in leadership matters in higher education and his work ranges from; the design and delivery of tailored leadership development programmes; the diagnosis, design and facilitation to create high performing senior leadership teams; support with university level strategy development, implementation of major change projects, and one-to-one executive coaching.

His final area of focus, which has evolved over the past 10 years, has been informed by the research which led to a jointly authored book on the theme of ‘Leadership Transitions in Universities’ – Arriving, Surviving and Thriving at the Top’ (Kennie T. and Middlehurst R, 2021 Routledge) and the application of many of the core ideas in practice.

Dr Kennie’s work in the higher education sector was, and continues to be influenced, by his period as the co-founding programme director of the UK Leadership Foundation for HE/Advance HE ‘Top Management Programme’ (TMP), a leadership development programme for members of senior leadership teams in universities. Over 13 years some 650 senior HE leaders participated in this programme with close to 100 moving into roles as Vice Chancellor or CEO in the UK and beyond.

Prior to moving into consultancy 25 years ago, he spent 6 years as Director of Human Resources for an international firm of property advisors and prior to this was Group Head of Learning and Development for Balfour Beatty an international engineering company. He has also been a full-time academic spending 8 years as Head of Surveying in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Surrey and 4 years at the University of Technology in Kingston, Jamaica.

His academic background includes studying geography and topographic sciences (BSc, MAppSci, University of Glasgow), remote sensing and digital terrain modelling (PhD, Imperial College, London) and business management (MBA, Roffey Park Management Institute, University of Sussex). Professionally, he is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS) a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CMIPD) and a member of the Institute of Management Consulting (Certified Management Consultant (CMC)).

In 2016, he was appointed as an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Melbourne and in 2022 became an Affiliated Faculty member in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania to contribute to a new on-line Masters programme in Global Higher Education Management. Also, in 2022, he was awarded an Honorary Ed.D. by the University of Bolton where he is also a member of the Governing Board.