Global Talent Conference 2026:
New Leadership Rules for a New Reality

Headline Speaker

Former Group Chief Executive of HSBC and former CEO of the UK’s National Wealth Fund. Currently Chair of WWF-UK, Board Member of SEB, Member of MUFG’s Global Advisory Board, and Trustee of Maggie’s the cancer charity.

Headline Speaker

Matt Hyde is Chief Executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation, one of the UK’s largest corporate foundations, funded by the profits of Lloyds Banking Group. The Foundation backs people and communities across England and Wales, to ensure everyone's in a good place. 

Matt was previously Chief Executive of the Scouts, the UK’s largest youth movement, where he led the organisation during a period of record membership growth, particularly in areas of deprivation, and oversaw the development of a new age range, called Squirrels, opening up Scouts for four and five year olds.

Formerly Chief Executive of the National Union of Students (NUS), he’s undertaken a number of leadership roles in the charity sector.

Matt is co-Founder of The Big Help Out, an initiative to increase volunteering numbers across the UK, where 7.2m took part in 2023. He is Vice-Chair of Comic Relief, a member of Prime Minister’s Civil Society Council and a Patron of UNLOCK (the charity for people with criminal records).  

Matt was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours List, an Honorary Fellowship from Queen Mary University of London in 2012 and an Honorary Degree from the University of Hertfordshire in 2023.

Chris Bones is the Chair the Global Board of the CIPD, having been appointed in July 2025.

His other current roles are Chair of the Bar Standards Board, the regulator of barristers in England and Wales and as one of His Majesty's Commissioners for Judicial Appointments.

Previous roles have included CEO/Executive Dean of Henley Business School, and Global HR roles in Cadbury Schweppes and Diageo. He is Emeritus Professor of Leadership at Alliance Manchester Business School, where he is leading a radical new approach to Leadership

Development: Leadership Applied focusing on AI, Productivity, Performance and Growth. Chris won the UK's Management Book of the Year prize in 2012 for his book The Cult of the Leader (Wiley, 2011).

With a leadership background across the dual professions of HR and operational delivery, Dorothy has held senior positions within Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Ministry of Justice prior to joining the British Red Cross as Chief People Officer.

In 2021 she was appointed into the position of Chief Operating Officer. Dorothy has been a trustee at Phoenix Futures, a charity specialising in supporting people through rehabilitation following drug and alcohol addiction, and is now a co- opted adviser at St Mungos homeless charity.

Michael is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and holds an MBA in Business Administration from Brunel University. He was appointed Amey’s Chief People Officer in 2019 and is a member of the Executive Committee.

He has responsibility for ensuring people policies and practices are aligned to Amey’s purpose, priorities and values; to bring out the best in people and to look after each other. Under his leadership, Amey has been recognised for its progressive people policies with many prestigious awards including Investors in People Platinum accreditation.

Michael started his working life as a labourer before entering a three-year apprenticeship and then through a combination of experience and qualification progressing through several senior positions within public and private infrastructure sector organisations.

Hilary Carty OBE is the Executive Director, Clore Leadership, a dynamic and inclusive resource for leaders and aspiring leaders in the arts, culture, and creative sectors. Hilary previously worked as an independent consultant, facilitator and coach, specialising in leadership development, management and organisational change.

Her earlier roles include Director of the Cultural Leadership Programme, a £22m government investment in excellence in leadership within the UK cultural sector; Director, London (Arts) at Arts Council England; Director, Culture and Education at London 2012; Director of Dance for Arts Council England; Visiting Professor (Austria) and London Committee Member for the National lottery Heritage Fund. Hilary has been awarded three Honorary Doctorates and three Fellowships from UK Universities and is a Governor of the Royal Ballet.

Martyn Dicker is an award-winning People Director, with considerable experience within the not-for-profit sector.  He is currently the Director of People & Culture at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and has previously held people director posts at UNICEF UK, The King's Trust, Children's Investment Fund Foundation and Fairtrade Foundation.  He has also held senior people posts at British Red Cross.  

Martyn took up the role of Chair of the Charities HR Network in August 2024.  He was previously on the taskforce of Engage for Success and the Chair of the not-for-profit sector group.  

He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. 

This year, Martyn has been included in CIPD’s HR30 list, which recognises 30 ‘influential and inspiring leaders who have driven transformational change’, as well as being named in the top 10 HR practitioners list (HR Magazine’s most influential). 

Experienced Chair, Serial social entrepreneur, VC and PE Investor. Currently Chair of board consultancy Boardelta and the charities Royal Voluntary Service and ESSA- Education Sub Saharan Africa.

Patrick’s executive experience was with Industrial Gas business Air Products and with FTSE 100 private equity 3i Group plc where during a 26 year career as an investor and leader he was Communications Director, a member of its Operating committee and Chair of its Operational Risk forum.

He has supported Chairs across a wide range of sectors and types of ownership across the world in transforming the effectiveness of their boards. A member of the Higgs review and author of the award winning “Boards” and also co-author of Five Generations at Work: How We Win Together, For Good.

Patrick has Chaired and served on numerous boards in the commercial, education and social sector. He is a Visiting Professor at Cranfield University, and a former member of the Council of the University of Warwick.   

He was awarded an OBE in the King’s 2023 Birthday Honours list for services to charity and philanthropy in Africa and the UK.

Laura Dyer leads Arts Council England’s work on place, including its priority places agenda, local government reorganisation and devolution.

She provides national leadership for Arts Council England’s five Area teams, working with partners to strengthen cultural provision and improve access to creativity and culture across England. Her portfolio also includes libraries, touring and the Creative People and Places programme.

A member of Arts Council England’s Executive Board, Laura joined the organisation in 2003 and has held several senior leadership roles. Previously, she led a major East Midlands capital programme, securing over £130 million of investment for new cultural infrastructure.

Currently Ryanne is MD of Wundermart, a platform offering unstaffed Food & Beverage solutions for the hospitality industry.

Previously she has worked as an executive in public and private companies, in highly complex and regulated industries. She has successfully led and completed large transformations with up to 30000 employees.

She has had large commercial responsibilities at KLM (€ 950 million turnover), led a variety of large operational divisions in different industries (up to 2000 fte) and has extensive experience with the design and implementation of customer experience and digitalization in various organizations. She is also an external operating partner for medium and small enterprises, supporting the leadership teams in order to accelerate growth.  

Dr Charmaine Griffiths is Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, one of the world’s leading cardiovascular research organisations, and Chair of the Cranfield Trust.

Since becoming Chief Executive in 2020, Charmaine has led the BHF through significant strategic, commercial and operational change. Today, she leads a UK-wide organisation generating annual income of more than £415 million, with over 4,400 employees and 20,000 volunteers. The BHF supports a research portfolio worth more than £480 million, involving over 1,200 researchers across 45 institutions.

Charmaine previously held senior roles at the Institute of Cancer Research, Human Tissue Authority and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and including President of the European Heart Network and Chair of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum.

She holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bath, a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London, and both an MBA and an Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University.

Richard Hawkes is the interim Chief Executive of Oxfam GB. He was previously Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust, Scope and Sense International as well as International Programmes Director of VSO. 

He has held a number of non-executive roles including being Chair of BOND (the umbrella body for UK international NGOs), Chair of the Care & Support Alliance (sector body for social care), Trustee of UNICEF UK, Chair of Motivation (international disability charity) and on the Advisory Boards of the World Humanitarian Forum and the UK’s Charity Bank.

Charlotte Hill OBE became CEO of Felix in January 2026.

The merger brings together two of the UK’s largest food redistribution charities to increase impact and efficiency.

Charlotte has a strong charity and public affairs background, including leadership roles at Step Up To Serve and UK Youth, plus earlier work in Parliament and at the NSPCC.

She currently holds several board and advisory roles, including the Prime Minister’s Civil Society Council, YOTI Foundation, IGD, and the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation. Her recognition includes an OBE, University of Birmingham Alumna of the Year, a Charity Times Rising CEO Star award, and an Honorary Doctorate.

Stella Kanu is Chief Executive of Shakespeare’s Globe. Across more than three decades in the arts and cultural industries, Stella has built a reputation as a transformative cultural leader, producer, writer and advocate for new voices.

Her career spans theatre, literature, music, festivals, education and public policy, combining artistic instinct with strategic clarity and a deep commitment to widening access, opportunity and representation.

She is also a sought-after speaker, panellist and writer, known for bringing warmth, candour and intellectual rigour to conversations about Leadership, culture, identity, leadership and social impact. Her contributions have been recognised by The Stage 100, the Alfred Fagon Awards and 100 Black Women Who Have Made a Mark. She is a Fellow of Rose Bruford College and a member of the Institute of Directors, the Woodland Trust and the Royal Flamsteed Astronomy Society.

Jeannette is a Non-Executive Director, Governance and Leadership Expert and an Executive Mentor and Coach. Jeannette spent the first 20 plus years of her career within financial services firms across a variety of functional areas - corporate finance, operations, technology, finance, human resources and compliance - her final roles being as Chief Operating Officer.

She was then a Governance, Risk and Regulation consultant for 10 years. She began her portfolio career in 2016 which she has developed to include Non-executive roles, teaching and advising/mentoring/ coaching senior executives. She has served on numerous boards in the private and public sectors, including the FCA and ICO, the Local Trust charity and the Global Advisory board of the University of Virginia, her alma mater.

Rebecca Robins is Founder and CEO of an interdisciplinary consultancy in high-performance leadership and intergenerational talent development. With over 20 years’ experience in brand and business consultancy, she has a wealth of transformation and talent expertise with global matrixed businesses, family businesses and founders.

As faculty lead on executive education programmes, Rebecca works with world-leading institutions including Cambridge University, Oxford University and The Royal College of Defence Studies.

She also acts as strategic coach to leadership teams. Her advisory work includes Quilt.Ai, and the Chartered Management Institute, and she is an experienced NED, including serving as Trustee at the EY Foundation.

Rebecca is the author of three best-selling books, including the award-nominated “Five Generations at Work: How we win together, for good” (Wiley) and “Meta-luxury: Brands and the Culture of Excellence” (Macmillan). High-energy and high-impact, she is a regular keynote speaker, and comments for leading media including the BBC, the Business of Fashion, the Financial Times.  Rebecca holds a First Class Degree and M.Phil. from Cambridge University

Jan is an experienced member of the House of Lords, formerly serving as Chief Whip and
Leader. Until last year she was Principal of Somerville College, Oxford, and very engaged
with the University and the wider community.

She co-founded and chaired the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership. Jan now chairs the Jo Cox Foundation, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and the UK Board of the Asian University for Women. She is a Trustee for Full Fact and is engaged with many other charities. She speaks on many issues including health, education, democracy, foreign affairs and rural issues.

Kerry Smith is Chief People Officer at the British Heart Foundation, Executive Coach and Fellow of the CIPD. With more than 30 years' experience in people leadership, organisational development and transformation, she works closely with CEOs and Boards to build high-performing, purpose-led organisations.

Kerry is a Trustee of the Fairtrade Foundation and former Chair of the Charity HR Network. She was inducted into HR Magazine's HR Most Influential Hall of Fame in 2024 and is a regular speaker, mentor and award judge.

Dr. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah has been Chief Executive of NEF since January 2024. His
previous roles include CEO of Oxfam GB, Secretary General of CIVICUS, Director of the
Royal Commonwealth Society, Interim Director of the Commonwealth Foundation and
various posts at the Institute for Public Policy Research.

He is a Trustee of the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, a member of the UN’s High Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, and a member of Quadrature Climate Foundation’s Advisory Board. Danny holds a Masters and Doctorate from Oxford University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney, and is the author of "Power to the People" (Headline Press, 2024).