Learning Xchange - Speakers

Stephen Bush

Associate Editor and Columnist, Financial Times

Stephen Bush is an associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He writes a daily newsletter, Inside Politics, charting the course of politics and policy in the United Kingdom, and a wide-ranging weekly column.

Stephen will be delivering the keynote, Navigating the storm and moderating the panel, AI & the future of work - what lies ahead?

Isabel Berwick

Host and Editor of the Working It podcast, Financial Times

Isabel Berwick is the host of the FT's Working It podcast about the workplace and writes the weekly Working It newsletter. She is the editorial lead for the FT Women in Business Forum, moderates and hosts FT and external events about the workplace and beyond, and is writing a book about how to thrive at work.

Isabel joined the FT in 1999 from the Independent on Sunday, where she was the business editor. She held senior editing roles on FT Weekend and the Opinion desk before becoming Work & Careers editor in 2018, overseeing the FT's management, leadership and workplace content. She left that role early in 2023 to focus full-time on the Working It brand.

Isabel will be moderating the panel, How to cultivate a future-ready work culture.

Patrice Gordon

Inclusive Leader Expert

Patrice is a multi-award-winning professional with leadership skills nurtured in senior positions at British Airways, Royal Mail and Virgin Atlantic. Pivoting from Commercial Finance into Commercial Partnerships, she led the largest Airline Joint Venture across the transatlantic.

The psychology of self-development has been a constant thread in Patrice’s life, along with an innate curiosity about people, their drives, and the choices they make. Recognising that the heartbeat of every organisation lies in its people, Patrice honed her skills as an executive coach.

Patrice will be delivering the workshop, Transformational leadership: the power of reverse mentoring.

Natalia Konstantinova

Architecture Lead in AI, BP

Natalia Konstantinova is a great enthusiast with almost 15 years' experience in the application of Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, IT and machine learning technologies to real world problems. She is currently a Staff Data Scientist at BP and is part of D&A Centre of Expertise. Her role is to develop standards and best practices to accelerate the adoption and implementation of ML enabled solutions, to help various parts of the business to come up with data strategy to drive D&A adoption.

Natalia is a strong believer that modern technology can transform businesses and our everyday life.

Natalia will be speaking as part of the panel, AI & the future of work - what lies ahead?

Ilse Venter

Director, Workforce Intelligence, PwC

Ilse Venter is Director with over 15 years of professional experience in workforce strategy, transformation, change and digital upskilling. She leads a number of strategic projects in this space for PwC’s clients and PwC’s own Global Tax, Legal and People business. As the global TLS leader for digital upskilling, between 2019 - 2022, Ilse led a team that designed, developed, implemented and drove the adoption of a citizen-led transformation program that contributed to the data literacy of 190,000+ people in over 130 countries. The impact on productivity and employee experience has been profound - and it was just the beginning.

Ilse remains passionate about the evolving impact of technology on our future workforce and believes in the potential of an intentional and agile human-machine alliance. In her current role, she helps PwC and PwC’s clients realise the promise of a future-proof, intelligent workforce.

Ilse will be speaking as part of the panel, AI & the future of work - what lies ahead?

Daniel Fuster

Head of Human Resources, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

Daniel Fuster, a Costa Rica citizen, is the Head of Human Resources at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
Mr. Fuster has had an extensive career in international organisations, having served previously at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as Chief of the Talent Management Division (2016-2021), Advisor to the Vice-President for Finance and Administration (2013-2016), Head of Labor Relations and HR Business Partner for several client areas since joining the IDB in 2006.

During his career, Mr. Fuster has worked in a broad array of HR management areas, with particular emphasis in talent acquisition, recruitment and staffing, leadership development, compensation, and benefits. He is recognized as an expert labor relations and conflict resolution in multi-lateral settings.

Daniel will be speaking as part of the panel, How to cultivate a future-ready work culture?

Perry Timms

Founder and Chief Energy Officer: People & Transformational HR

Perry Timms is the founder and Chief Energy Officer of PTHR . He is an international and 2x TEDx speaker and award-winning writer on the future of work, HR & learning

Perry’s 2017 book Transformational HR was an Amazon.com Top 30 HR seller shortly after its release.

Perry’s work is influenced by human-centred, design and systems thinking plus agile, inclusive and autonomous ways of working that enhance personal fulfilment and organisation effectiveness.

Perry will be speaking as part of the panel, How to cultivate a future-ready work culture?

Silvia Pavoni

Founder and editor, Sustainable Views, Financial Times

Silvia Pavoni is the founding editor of Sustainable Views, a new platform by the Financial Times Group that gives readers insight into how environmental, social and governance principles are reshaping capital, and into the emerging sets of policy and regulations driving this change. Since joining the FT Group in 2005, Silvia regularly interviews policymakers and business leaders at the highest level.

Silvia also serves as an advisory board member for the European Risk Management Council and for the Women of the Future Programme. She is also part of the London council of not-for-profit WILL, Women in Leadership in Latin America.

Silvia will be moderating the panel, Why DE&I efforts are falling short and how to fix them.

Aduke Onafowokan

Director, Inclusivitii

Aduke Onafowokan is a highly acclaimed diversity and inclusion expert specialising in leadership, culture, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Aduke works with people at different levels to develop the confidence, skill and will to contribute positively to our collective human experience through leadership, self-awareness, and inclusion.

Aduke will be speaking as part of the panel, Why DE&I efforts are falling short and how to fix them.

Marcos Eguillor

Professor & Educator, IE Business School & Headspring

Marcos Eguillor is adjunct professor at IE Business School and University, as well as member of the faculty of Headspring.

He has advised, mentored and/or played an interim role in several companies and startups. Marcos has also extensively collaborated in incubation and acceleration programs with organizations.

He holds a MSc. in Telecommunication Engineering, Executive MBA, candidate Ph.D. and Project Management Professional certified. He got a Torres Quevedo grant as researcher by the Ministry of Innovation and Science of Spain from 2010 to 2012. Telefónica I+D Prize for Innovation in 1999 and recognized for excellence as professor and mentor at IE Business School and University several times.

Marcos will be delivering the talk, Transform at scale: the agility advantage.

Huma Lodhi

Principal Machine Learning Engineer, Sky

Huma is a principal Machine Learning Engineer in Sky UK. The important aspect of her work is the responsible use of AI and Machine Learning in product development for delighting the customers.

She has over 20 years of experience in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning across both industry and academia. She is an accomplished expert with hands on experience in development and application of AI for areas ranging from Insurance to Media.

She has a PhD in Machine Learning from university of London. She is a co-editor of two books and has published many research articles in leading AI & Machine Learning journals and conferences.

Huma will be speaking as part of the panel, AI & the future of work - what lies next?

Tracey Groves

Head of ESG & Sustainable Business Advisory Practice, Partner, DWF

Tracey is a deeply experienced trusted advisor who works with clients to design, develop and implement sustainable business practices across their business. As the head of the DWF Sustainable Business and ESG Advisory Practice, Tracey advises on business ethics, compliance, regulation, corporate governance and culture, with a sharp focus on diversity, equity and inclusive workplaces.

Tracey is also a Visiting Fellow at the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied (IDEA) Centre at the University of Leeds, as well as a member of the External Advisory Panel of the Financial Reporting Council. She was named as a Top Consultant for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion by Consulting Magazine in 2022 and ESG 'Power Player' by Financier Worldwide Magazine, 2023.

Tracey will be speaking as part of the panel, Why DE&I efforts are falling short and how to fix them.

Rukasana Bhaijee

Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Financial Times

Rukasana is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Leader with 12 years of HR/Talent industry experience in Media, Technology, Professional Services and Higher Education. Rukasana has recently joined the Financial Times and most recently worked at Warner Bros Discovery leading the Workforce DEI Strategy for the EMEA/International market. In her time at Google Rukasana led the DE&I agenda across Google’s EMEA technology business working with leaders/key partners to build an evidence based approach to achieving EMEA aspirations. This led to a YOY increase in the tech representation of women and an increase in the DEI capability of leaders whilst navigating topics like race equity post George Floyd’s murder .

Rukasana previously worked at EY as a Management Consultant supporting organisation’s to achieve their D&I ambitions; providing consultancy at all levels of DEI maturity.

Rukasana will be speaking as part of the panel, Why DE&I efforts are falling short & how to fix them.

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