2024 Speakers

Jonathan is an internationally respected psychologist, based at Henley Business School and EZRA, where he is Senior Vice President. Prior to this he has worked at PWC, IBM and OPM. He has published widely with 100 + peer review papers, 40+ books and 150 book chapters. He continues to research and write, with four titles scheduled for release this year: ‘Becoming a Team Coach: The Essential ICF Guide”(Springer 2024)  , “The Health and Wellbeing Coaches’ Handbook” (Routledge, 2024, “Becoming a Credential ICF Coach: Insights from Master Coaches on ACC, PCC and MCC standards” and just released in June 2024 “The Digital & AI Coaches’ Handbook” (Routledge, 2024). He has two teenage girls and keeps bees.

Matt Smeed is a business psychologist and expert in workplace wellbeing, boasting 17 years of experience in the field. In 2016, he established his consultancy, Sisu Psychology, where he collaborates with a diverse range of clients from both the public and private sectors. More recently, Matt co-founded the Working Well Community, a hub for wellbeing leaders across various industries to connect, problem-solve, and elevate the profile of the wellbeing profession.

In the past year, Matt has achieved significant milestones, including expanding the community to 500 members, partnering with the WaterCooler event as their official media partner, and hosting interviews with numerous inspiring leaders on the Working Well Beings podcast. In recognition of his contributions to the field, he was voted one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers in 2023.

Throughout his career, Matt has been committed to enhancing workplace wellbeing, leveraging his expertise to create impactful, positive change within organisations. His work continues to inspire and support leaders in prioritising employee wellbeing and fostering healthier, more productive work environments.

Director of Behaviour Science & People Analytics
Michelle is an industrial/organisational psychologist with a decade of experience in leveraging behavioural science principles to tackle complex and strategic people-related challenges. With a diverse background spanning consulting, industry, and academia, Michelle has worked with numerous organisations across 4 continents.

Her contributions have been diverse, ranging from assisting leaders in high-stakes environments such as nuclear and air traffic control to define team dynamics that enhance performance and reduce risk. She has also supported financial services leaders, spearheading large-scale organisational development projects focused on elevating productivity management and cultivating more purpose-driven cultures. Additionally, Michelle played a key role in redefining leadership success models to enable culture change within a large FMCG global corporation.

Michelle maintains strong connections with academia and actively collaborates with the University of Valencia. Together, they strive to deepen our understanding of safety culture and team effectiveness using behaviour science and quantitative research methods. Her PhD research on these topics has been published in leading academic journals.
By combining her behaviour science and predictive analytics, Michelle continues to strive to empower leaders and organisations worldwide to create more positive, ethical, successful and ultimately sustainable workplace cultures.

Jazz is an Executive Coach and Technology Enhanced Education Researcher and Atmascope AI platform creator.

It was seen that AI Coaching could not be developed through several independent groups affiliated with a plethora of governing bodies, schools as well as lobbying groups. He created AICA to preserve resources, and engagement through prevention of duplicated AI Coaching development strategies by different stakeholders of coaching.

He recognised it had to be done by fostering research and education through a single independent coordinated strategy shaped by key contributors. Through his practice of AI Coaching since 2015 with thousands of people, Jazz has already distilled best practice frameworks for its use, teaching, supervision, governance and compliance.

Beginning with that head start it is now time to work collaboratively and advance developments through globally coordinated intercultural efforts.

A seasoned Business Psychologist and proud Brummie,  Clare combines her wealth of experience and energetic style in this insightful session.   Having worked for over 15 years as a strategic partner to executive boards and organisations around the globe she is proud to share her insights about creating real and lasting change for people and businesses alike.

Rob is a specialist in bringing positive psychology to life within organisations. He is the founder and Chief Positive Deviant of Tailored Thinking, a pioneering and award-winning, evidence-based positive psychology, wellbeing and HR consultancy. As a senior HR leader and consultant, Rob has delivered sector-leading and award-winning people initiatives and business transformation projects working with companies across sectors ranging from multi-national banks to digital start-ups.

Rob was named #8 Most Influential Thinker by HR Magazine in 2023 and is world-leading when it comes to enabling and encouraging job crafting within workplaces. He is a TEDX speaker and  author of Personalization at Work by Kogan Page, a practical and evidence-informed guide to applying job crafting which was a finalist at the 2021 Business Book Awards. Rob has written for the likes of Harvard Business Review and Work magazine and his work, ideas and research on how people can personalise and bring their whole and best selves to their jobs have been presented at academic and professional conferences around the globe.

Charlotte is a Lead People Scientist at Tailored Thinking, specialising in encouraging and enabling people and teams to personalise their work. As a super curious person, Charlotte enjoys connecting with and learning from different people, and has a genuine desire to help improve their working lives. She has a specialist interest in inclusion and belonging, and is passionate about making work better for everyone.

Charlotte has worked in a variety of HR, inclusion and organisation development roles across the Higher Education sector, having led and supported projects relating to culture, change, inclusion and recruitment. Charlotte also has a wealth of experience in people analytics and how to practically use and apply these insights to make positive changes to the employee experience across organisations.

Charlotte has a first class Master’s Degree in Occupational Psychology from the University of Sheffield, and is a member of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP). She has published research focused on leadership, and presented her work at various conferences.

Sylvana Storey, Founder and CEO of Global Organizational Integrators, is a globally recognised business psychologist with 28 years experience as a Managing Consultant in: Organisational Development and Culture Change, Global Leadership, Employee Engagement and Value Proposition, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).  She is a trusted adviser and executive coach to the ‘C’ Suite for companies across multiple sectors.

Sylvana has authored and published three books: ‘The Impact of Diversity on Global Leadership Performance: LEAD³ – Palgrave Macmillan;‘The Aperture for Modern CEOs: Aligning Vision and Focus’ – Business Expert Press; Brand You – Pearsons. She is a contributory author of Business Psychology in Practice and Business Psychology in Action – ABP.

In 2014 Sylvana was invited by Ariana Huffington to be a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and, up to March 2023, she sat on the Institute of Advanced Studies Development Board, Durham University. Sylvana is a regular keynote speaker at business events.

On a personal note, Sylvana is of South American heritage, has lived in five countries, and has travelled and worked in a further 65.

Elizabeth Cowper has over 20 years of HR leadership experience and is a working mother of 3 and Founder of Ludo. Ludo provides multiaward winning tech for inclusion in the workplace.

Elizabeth spent her HR career working for brands such as Planet Organic, Harvey Nichols, LVMH and Tapestry. Tapestry is the umbrella company for Coach, kate spade and Stuart Weitzman where Elizabeth was VP HR Europe, Global Head of Wellbeing and on the Global DEI Committee. Elizabeth has been described as the ‘Culture Adjuster’
and was listed in the HR Most Influential Awards 5 years straight. Elizabeth understands how to engage talent, drive wellbeing
in the workplace, power the success of women at work and create a strong culture of inclusion. It’s her thing.

In 2022 Ludo won Inclusion Initiative of the year by Corporate Livewire and Rising Stars in Corporate Wellbeing. Ludo won Global HR Tech of the Year 2023. Elizabeth has been listed as one of 10 Most Futuristic Business Women Pioneering Innovation 2022 and Top Five Unstoppable Women Leaders to Watch 2023. Elizabeth has been recognised as top
10 HR Most Influential and did a Ted Talk in 2023 ‘Divine Feminine Burned Out’.

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is the Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University, co-founder of deepersignals.com, and an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. He is the author of 12 books, including Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (and How to Fix It), upon which his TED talk was based. His latest book is I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique. Visit drtomas.com for more info.

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is an international authority in people analytics, talent management, leadership development, and the human-AI interface. His commercial work focuses on the creation of science-based tools that improve organizations’ ability to predict performance, and people’s ability to understand themselves. He is currently the Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup, co-founder of DeeperSignals and Metaprofiling, and Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University. He has previously held academic positions at New York University and the London School of Economics, and lectured at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School, Johns Hopkins, IMD, and INSEAD, as well as being the CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems.

Dr. Tomas has written 12 books and over 200 scientific papers on the psychology of talent, leadership, innovation, and AI, making him one of the most prolific social scientists of his generation. His work has received awards by the American Psychological Association, the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences, and the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, to which he is a Fellow. He is also a Thinkers50 ranked thought leader. Dr. Tomas is the founding director of University College London’s Industrial-Organizational and Business Psychology program, and the Chief Psychometric Advisor to Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.

Over the past 20 years, he has consulted to a range of clients in financial services (e.g., JP Morgan, HSBC, Goldman Sachs), advertising (e.g., Google, WPP, BBH), media (e.g., BBC, Red Bull, Twitter, Spotify), consumer goods (e.g., Unilever, Pepsico, P&G), fashion (e.g., LVMH, Net-a-Porter, Valentino, Gucci), government (e.g., British Army, Royal Mail, NHS), and intergovernmental organizations (e.g., United Nations, International Rescue Committee and the World Bank).

Dr. Tomas’ media career comprises over 200 TV appearances, including on the BBC, CNN, TED, and Sky, and over 300 features in Harvard Business Review, the Guardian, Fast Company, Forbes, and the Huffington Post. Dr. Tomas is also a keynote speaker for the Institute of Economic Affairs. He was born and raised in the Villa Freud district of Buenos Aires, but spent most of his professional career in London and New York, and lives between sunny Miami and beautiful Rome now.

James is a Business Psychologist and a Chartered Fellow of the British Psychological Society. He has researched, presented and published widely on Best Practice and emerging issues in work psychology worldwide.

James has a Masters in Organizational Psychology from London and an MBA from Aston Business School

Rainer is a Chartered Psychologist based in London specialising in assessment technology with more than 30 years of assessment R&D experience.

Since joining HUCAMA in July 2020 as the Chief Psychologist he has been developing the HUCAMA Factors range of ability, personality, and competency assessment tools jointly with HUCAMA CEO Michele Guarini who is based in Copenhagen.

In his previous role at Cubiks, he architected half a dozen assessment tools and raised the academic profile of the company by presenting peer reviewed submissions at the Association for Business Psychology, BPS Division of Occupational Psychology, EAWOP, SIOP and ITC conferences.

At Saville Consulting he developed 50+ aptitude tests and contributed to the development of Saville Consulting Wave and the Performance Culture Framework.

At SHL Rainer developed on-screen testing and expert system solutions based on extensive validation work that culminated in the World of Work (WoW) model and the inception of the Universal Competency Framework (UCF).

Jackie is a master facilitator and Director at Mindset Practice, dedicated to transformational leadership programs, driving mindset change and cultivating a positive yet productive leadership climate.

Rooted in her background as a Registered Nurse and Health Visitor, Jackie advocates for a holistic approach to leadership development, resilience, and wellbeing. With over 18 years of experience, she has successfully led and delivered impactful leadership programs and coaching initiatives across diverse sectors, both private and public.

Committed to bringing out the best in people, Jackie’s passion lies in supporting individuals to become the best version of themselves.

Aaron Percival is a highly experienced change professional with over a decade of expertise in applying psychological knowledge to culture change and talent management. He is currently a Senior Consultant at BJSS, the UKs largest privately owned Tech-Consultancy.

Aaron assists clients in managing change effectively by integrating strategy, technology, user-focused design, and change management. During his career he has worked across multiple sectors including Defence, Engineering, Energy, Public Sector and Retail.

He holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology from the University of Nottingham and a BSc Hons in Psychology from Lancaster University. Aaron is also a certified Business Psychologist, passionate about helping people grow and learn through change.

Ben Williams is the Founder and MD of Sten10, a Chartered Psychologist, and Honorary Member of the ABP. He has over 20 years’ experience in designing assessment processes, working across industry sectors, roles levels and geographies, Ben has a broad and deep appreciation for all aspects of psychological assessment at work. Former Chair for the Association for Business Psychology and current Head of Advocacy, Ben has spoken at numerous HR and Occupational Psychology conferences on all aspects of assessment, with a particular focus on emerging trends. Sten10 is a business psychology consultancy that specialises in all matters relating to assessing people at work. Independent of any one test or approach, they offer advice and support on identifying what to assess and how to assess them best, for recruitment, development, promotion, or restructuring.

Lisa is Senior Business Psychologist at Mindset Practice. Her passion is helping people thrive at work and she has specialised in employee wellbeing and service transformation, psychometric assessment and selection, organisational development and coaching.

Lisa has consulted and worked in-house for a range of clients in STEM, financial services, media, consumer goods and the public sector and has an MSc in Organisational & Business Psychology from Kingston University.

As a Psychologist at Mindset Practice she loves using a combination of evidence-based psychology and practical mindset tools to help individuals make powerful changes professionally and personally.

(Group Head of Leadership at Lloyds Banking Group)

Afolabi has over 20 years’ experience, in consultancy and more recently in-house, helping executives and senior leaders deliver business performance through people and organisational-related interventions. Afolabi is responsible for Lloyds Banking Group’s end-to-end leadership proposition, along with building our internal coaching and team effectiveness solutions to drive performance across the Group. Afolabi will share insight into how they are building joined up solutions for their leaders to drive high performance and lead our transformation, along with his view on the future of the leadership landscape.

(Group Performance Manager at Lloyds Banking Group)

Since completing a Business Psychology MSc at UCL, Ben has gained varied experience delivering global talent management, development, and assessment solutions. Ben now specialises in performance and is responsible for building an effective scaled performance model to drive business outcomes for Lloyds Banking Group. Ben will discuss their holistic approach to performance measurement and management, and how they are attempting to leverage AI and automation to their advantage.

Jeremy started his people development career as a sailing instructor, some 20 years ago. During this time, he noticed the power of asking questions to develop ownership and accelerate learning. As people learnt this new skill, they also developed other aspects of their performance; becoming clearer communicators, developing as teams, and personal resilience.

This was the catalyst to studying the psychology of development and performance.

Jeremy is now a specialist in leadership and culture transformation, with an MSc in Organisational Psychology and over a decade of experience working in human centred consulting roles at Lane4 and EY. He has a track record to be proud of, developing bespoke solutions, underpinned by the psychology of performance, that have real impact.

His research into culture change through M&A has informed his approach to culture change and drives his fascination with the social processes that influence organisational performance.

He has worked with thousands of leaders across many industries. Recent clients include; Turner & Townsend, Anglian Water, M&G, Greene King, Barclays, Manchester United, Arsenal, Kier, DSM, Bakkavor & Primark.

Tom Cornell is a Senior Organisational Psychology Consultant at HireVue, where he specialises in the development and delivery of HireVue’s interview and game-based assessments. As part of HireVue, he blends traditional psychometric theory with artificial intelligence and a technology-driven approach to achieve a more satisfactory solution to pre-hiring assessments and hiring automation.

In his 6 years at HireVue, Tom has been based out of different locations in Europe and in Australia, working with customers and managing partners across the globe. He has previously worked at MindX, which was acquired by HireVue in 2018. He holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Andrew Whyatt-Sames is a visionary leader and occupational psychologist with over a decade of experience in AI integration and culture transformation. As the co-founder of uptakeAI, Andrew helps organisations harness AI to achieve operational efficiency and competitive advantage. His human-centric approach ensures AI adoption aligns with clients’ needs and values.

With a background as Principal at EY Lane4 and significant roles at Jaguar Land Rover, Andrew has successfully partnered with clients across various sectors to unlock their performance potential. He holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology (with distinction) from the University of Nottingham, a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from De Montfort University, and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from The Open University.

Andrew’s early career as a radio presenter and stand-up comedian honed his communication skills, making him an engaging and dynamic keynote speaker.

Sarah McLellan is a work psychologist, author, and business leader passionate about turning work cultures into climates for human growth. She leads Make it Human, a consulting company partnering with organisations to cultivate teams and workplaces where people and business thrive. Her book also titled Make it Human captures this vision and includes models and insights to enable practical steps towards making this a reality. Sarah has over 20 years’ experience consulting with people and organisations around the world, covering a variety of talent related topics. She previously worked at SHL, where she led the European Professional Services function and was Managing Director of the UK&I business.

Fiona Kearns is a Certified Business Psychologist, leadership consultant and former tech start-up CEO. She is experienced in the IT/Telecom, non-profit, commercial enterprise sectors where she works with clients to build their leadership capability in readiness for investment and growth.

With a background in IT, Fiona has a keen interest in the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace. She favours a critical thinking and practical approach to new technology.
As a Business Psychologist, Fiona has acquired a range of qualifications including being registered with British Psychological Society for psychometrics and holding British Psychological Society accredited Neuroscience, Psychological Safety, Decisions, Strengths qualifications.

Fiona has a particular interest in helping organisations champion women leaders for the competitive advantage it delivers and for a better business world! Fiona created the CEO Confident programme specifically to provide a pathway to C-Suite leadership for women.

Fiona enjoys public speaking, is a member of the Professional Speaking Association UK and Ireland and former Vice-President of a regional chapter. Currently, she is Ambassador for the Virtual Speakers Association International. Fiona Kearns is a Distinguished Toastmaster, DTM, the highest level of educational achievement awarded by Toastmasters International.

Zana Busby is a business and consumer psychologist, transformational coach, and keynote speaker. As the founder of ZANA B. Psychological Studio, she helps clients worldwide thrive in diverse industries.

Drawing from a background in mental health, Zana is a certified business psychologist specialising in employee well-being and coaching, utilising holistic and evidence-based solutions to enhance workplace performance. Motivated by a profound curiosity about the human mind and relationships, she applies cognitive-behavioural science to understand modern consumer behaviour, helping businesses stay competitive.

With over 25 years of experience, Zana is an engaging speaker, a columnist for an international magazine, and a trusted psychologist featured on BBC radio and TV. She is also frequently highlighted in various magazines and newspapers.

Emma is Associate Director at Work Psychology Group (WPG). She is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society and a Certified Principal Business Psychologist registered with the ABP. Emma specialises in the areas of selection and assessment, evaluation and organisational development. Her role involves overseeing the design and evaluation of bespoke and creative solutions, informed by the recent literature to disseminate key learnings. In recent years, Emma led a piece of work to develop a specialty choice tool for the British Medical Association, which won an award from the ABP, for Excellence in Using Business Psychology for Social Impact.

WPG is a business psychology consultancy, founded by Professor Fiona Patterson and Dr Maire Kerrin over 20 years ago. We engage with organisations at a strategic and operational level to translate the very latest research into innovative, effective and sustainable client solutions. Our principle areas of business activity are services relating to selection and assessment (with a focus on DE&I and differential attainment), organisational development and innovation for change.

Katie Thomas is a Senior Consultant at Sten10. She’s a business psychologist and psychometrician with expertise in assessment design, client solutions, and training design and delivery.

She works closely with organisations to understand their unique needs and develop customised assessment strategies for selection and development across industries, levels of management experience, and continents! Working at Sten10, Katie is passionate about balancing psychological expertise with everyday best practise to make recruitment and work feel better for everyone.