Welcome address

Host Welcome & Ice Breaker

A message from our headline sponsor

Barclays

Introductory session: What does the future look like?

What is the future of technology? Have we peaked on technological advancements and innovation? Is there more disruption on the horizon given the impact of the current pandemic on the global economy with unemployment and business failures on the rise?

William will be sharing his future outlook on trends and opportunities in technology, what the future of the job market looks like, and why founders, leaders and professionals need to adapt quickly or face certain extinction. He will also share his personal story on how he went from being in the building trade at 16 to a successful serial entrepreneur who has built and sold highly profitable companies.

Keynote: Navigating the unknown

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy with a trail of destruction lying in its wake. Unemployment is on the rise, businesses are shutting down and people face a very uncertain future. However, even in adversity, there are opportunities. Hear from the inspirational Carla as she shares her insights on how to navigate the unknown. Drawing from her vast experience of overcoming challenges to becoming one of the most powerful women on Wall Street, she will share strategies for building a sustainable career.

The big diversity conversation - Making progress on the ‘Race At Work’ agenda

2020 is the year of social and civil awakening. Never before have we seen a collective outpouring of solidarity and support for the racial diversity cause. In this session, our diversity and inclusion experts will openly discuss what companies can do to further the race agenda beyond the black squares and carefully crafted PR statements. Using real life examples of working in and advising some of the world's largest companies on inclusion, they will examine how far we have come, the long road ahead and strategies that can help us get there quicker.

​Fireside Chat

Entrepreneur Track

Priya is an inspirational leader and is the founder and CEO of Century Tech, an award-winning education company using cutting edge technology to disrupt the education space. Priya will share the journey to building Century Tech from the ground, challenges they have faced, and how she and the team are leading the company to success amid the COVID-19 crisis.

​Virtual Visibility: How to remain visible in the virtual world of work

Career Track

2020 has certainly ushered in the biggest remote working experiment in history. Most organisations have adjusted to the idea of virtual workspaces where operations and communications are all done online. While working virtually has its benefits, it also presents challenges as it can be easy to go unnoticed in this era. If remaining visible to key players was hard enough when we could catch up in-person, how much more in these times?

Join Glory and Dupe (The visibility queens) for an in-depth conversation as they share their own experiences of maintaining visibility in the virtual world of work. Using real-life stories and examples, they will share insights on why visibility matters and its importance to career growth.

Fireside Chat

Leadership Track

At no other time in history has the world needed good leaders but what are the qualities of a good leader and why has the world lost confidence in its current crop of world leaders? Sir Peter Wall will share critical leadership lessons gained from leading the British Army for years, retiring as its Chief in 2015. While in the Army, he led the most significant transformation programme for decades, whilst sustaining its operational focus and will be sharing how to adopt military command techniques to lead businesses successfully.

Leading in times of crisis

Leadership Track

It takes a good leader to lead in stable times but leading in times of crisis requires outstanding leadership qualities. How do we develop those qualities? How do we lead when the playbook is turned upside down and there is uncertainty all around? How do you maintain a cool head as a leader and continue to inspire while navigating your team and organisation through uncharted waters? Sophie, an experienced business leader, entrepreneur, marketer and bestselling author who has worked in and with multinational companies, successful start-ups and agencies will be sharing the strategies that have helped her lead companies through uncertain times.

Future proofing your career for the next decade

Career Track

The last 10 years brought innovation in technology, new jobs, new industries and a stunning recovery from the global recession. All of that now hangs in the balance as the world reels and braces itself for what is being billed as the deepest recession in living memory. How do professionals adapt their skills and prepare themselves for what lies ahead? With over 15 years experience working with global clients on digital transformation, new customer propositions and innovative solutions, Tara, MD of Financial Times Strategy Consulting will share insights on how to future proof your career for the next decade and the skills needed in the new world of work.

The reproductive leader: how to find and nurture other leaders in your organisation

Leadership Track

Good leaders inspire people but great leaders produce other leaders. People follow leaders who not only invest in their growth but who actively grow others. In this session, we sit with one of the best reproductive leaders we know, Sally Clark as she shares what motivates her to constantly develop and produce other leaders. Sally will share her insights on what she looks for in aspiring leaders, how it is never too early to actively seek out high potential leaders to invest in and the importance of cultivating leadership talent within organisations.

Fireside Chat

Career Track

Join Chonnettia in this fireside chat as she shares very openly on her career journey, growing up in a biracial family and navigating the many challenges she had to face in her quest to build a successful career. She will also be sharing her top tips on how we can attain success in our chosen fields.

​The art of the switch: making career transitions

Career Track

A dynamic career sometimes will necessitate a change in direction. Some of the most successful people have changed sectors, roles or industries at some point in their careers. A career switch, managed with care, can be a gamechanger for a person's career. Hear from Lisa as she shares her journey of building a cross-sector & cross-industry career spanning Finance, Compliance, Project Operations across the Energy and Professional Services industry. 

The emotionally intelligent leader

Leadership Track

The ability to understand and manage our own emotions and those of the people around us is one of the hallmarks of an effective leader. Being emotionally astute is often what makes the difference between an inspirational and a mediocre leader. In this session, we will explore how having emotional intelligence is essential to a leader’s success and how a leader can develop their social skills as well as empathy and self-awareness to grow their leadership abilities.

​Careers & Side Hustles: The future outlook

Entrepreneur Track

It is becoming more and more common for individuals in full-time employment to take on a ‘side hustle’ to complement their day job whether to earn a bit of extra cash or to keep up a hobby. According to recent research, 25% of Brits and 45% of working Americans report having a side business. Among millennials, that statistic rises to 50%. With unemployment rising and jobs being precarious, these statistics will only rise. Dr Roti has invaluable experience of running passion-driven businesses alongside building a successful HR career. He will share with us how to start and sustain a side project and how your day job can benefit from the skills gained from entrepreneurial pursuits. 

​Achieving product led growth

Entrepreneur Track

The enterprise technology market is a crowded place now with rapid consolidation and dominant players. How does one attempt to start a software company in these times, let alone scale it? The answer lies in using product-led growth to ensure solid customer success. In this session, we will tackle some hard-hitting questions such as how to design your go-to-market product, which role to hire first, which function - product or sales or marketing to focus on first and how to build a culture to ensure growth. We will use real-life examples from the software and internet industries with high applicability in other settings as well.

​How to develop a portfolio Career

Entrepreneur Track

Is it the future of work or a fad? Will workers and employers continue to embrace the concept and is it right for you? As the world of work changes, many professionals are shunning the idea of working a traditional full-time job, and are instead embracing a portfolio career which involves working multiple jobs with different companies.

Huma is HR director for Hoxby which is a platform that provides access to freelance talent and she will share her views on how having a portfolio career will be the future of work as people seek more flexibility, variety, and freedom and the steps professionals can take to transition from full-time traditional roles to portfolio careers. 

Closing Address