Corporate Culture

Why organisations work with Neil Laybourn He runs Neil Laybourn Consultancy as a functioning advisory business, with frameworks and partner networks built around measurable workplace outcomes, not as a retainer attached to a keynote. The story is widely known. The corporate value sits in what he built afterwards: This Can Happen as the workplace mental health conference, the This Can Happen Awards as the practice benchmark, and the consultancy that operationalises both. He sits at the centre of the UK workplace mental health network as founder of This Can Happen, Ambassador for Mental Health UK, former Heads Together collaborator, and the UK LinkedIn Changemaker for Mental Health in 2021. The credibility chain is unusual for the category. The University of Bristol awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2018; the Pride of Britain Award (2014) and the Mind Media Award (2015) recognised the campaigning work; Channel 4 commissioned the Stranger on the Bridge documentary. He has addressed leadership teams at Bank of Ireland UK, HSBC, Coutts, Direct Line Group, Ticketmaster, BlackRock, and Yale School of Management. Biography highlights Founder of This Can Happen, the workplace mental health conference, and director of the This Can Happen Awards. Founder of Neil Laybourn Consultancy, a workplace mental health advisory firm. Co-founder, with Jonny Benjamin MBE, of Beyond, the youth mental health charity. Honorary Doctorate, University of Bristol; Pride of Britain Award; Mind Media Award for Making a Difference (with Jonny Benjamin). LinkedIn Changemaker for Mental Health (2021); LinkedIn Top Voice and Creator. Ambassador for Mental Health UK; subject of the Channel 4 documentary Stranger on the Bridge. Biography Workplace mental health is a category that absorbs budget and produces awareness, without reliably producing managers who know what to do when a colleague is in distress. The gap between corporate policy and operational practice is where the value sits, and where most programmes fail. On 14 January 2008, Neil Laybourn was walking across Waterloo Bridge to work when he saw a stranger preparing to jump into the Thames. He stopped, talked to him for half an hour, and persuaded him to step back. Six years later that stranger, Jonny Benjamin MBE, launched the #FindMike campaign on social media to find the man who had saved his life. The campaign reached over 300 million people and became the subject of the Channel 4 documentary Stranger on the Bridge. That intervention is the entry point. The offering, built over the decade since, is unusually operational for the workplace mental health category. He founded This Can Happen, the conference convening employers around what works, and the This Can Happen Awards that recognise the practice. Through Neil Laybourn Consultancy he advises organisations on the design and measurement of mental health programmes. He has delivered over 250 keynotes to more than 200 organisations across 25 sectors. Clients include Bank of Ireland UK, HSBC, Coutts, Direct Line Group, and Ticketmaster, with international audiences at Yale School of Management and BlackRock in New York. The University of Bristol awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2018, and LinkedIn selected him as the UK Changemaker for Mental Health in 2021. With Jonny Benjamin MBE he co-founded Beyond, the youth mental health charity, and remains an Ambassador for Mental Health UK. Key speaking topics Workplace mental health strategy Suicide intervention and prevention Manager capability for mental health conversations Employee wellbeing programme design Stigma in corporate environments Mental health and senior leadership Ideal for CHROs and Heads of People setting workplace wellbeing strategy HR Directors implementing or auditing mental health programmes CEOs and executive teams accountable for culture as a board-level outcome Line managers and people leaders who need usable tools for difficult conversations Audience outcomes A clear sense of why most workplace wellbeing programmes plateau, and where the operational gaps actually sit Practical language and protocols for managers in the moments that matter, from a colleague in distress to a return-to-work conversation A grounded view of what mental health strategy looks like at scale, from a practitioner who runs the conferences and advises the boards The confidence to talk about mental health at senior leadership level without retreating into corporate jargon

Why organisations work with Laura Brown She runs the room. Six years at the helm of InStyle and a long-form interview track record from Harper’s Bazaar mean she can take a stage with a CEO, a celebrity, or a junior employee and get a real answer in front of a live audience. Her book with Kristina O’Neill, “All the Cool Girls Get Fired,” gives her a specific, named platform on what happens to senior women after a high-profile exit, which is rare content for a corporate stage. The Ladies First podcast has put her in conversation with hundreds of accomplished women across entertainment, business, and politics, which translates directly into informed moderation of women’s leadership panels and ERG events. An Australian Fashion Laureate for Lifetime Achievement and a long media career give her the standing to share a panel with founders, executives, and public figures without being out of place. Biography highlights Editor-in-Chief, InStyle, 2016 to 2022, leading print, digital, and 13 international editions. Eleven years at Harper’s Bazaar in features, special projects, and executive editor roles. Earlier roles as Senior Editor at W and Articles Director at Details. Host and creator of the “Ladies First with Laura Brown” podcast, launched at InStyle in December 2020. Co-author with Kristina O’Neill of “All the Cool Girls Get Fired” (Simon and Schuster, October 2025). Australian Fashion Laureate for Lifetime Achievement, 2019. Founder of LB Media and Chair of the Creative Council of (RED). Board member, Fashion Trust U.S. Biography The next chapter for senior women rarely arrives on schedule. Restructures and sudden exits now reach the most visible jobs in publishing, media, and corporate life, and the recovery script is unwritten. Laura Brown built her platform inside that gap. After eleven years at Harper’s Bazaar covering features, special projects, and executive editorial work, Brown took over InStyle in 2016 and ran the brand across print, digital, and thirteen international editions until early 2022. The “Ladies First with Laura Brown” podcast, launched at InStyle in December 2020, became the long-form home for her interviews with women across entertainment, business, and activism. The 2025 book “All the Cool Girls Get Fired,” co-authored with Kristina O’Neill and published by Simon and Schuster, turned that work into a direct argument: high-profile firings happen to capable people, and reinvention is a craft, not a consolation prize. Industry recognition includes the Australian Fashion Laureate for Lifetime Achievement in 2019. She now runs LB Media, chairs the Creative Council of (RED), and sits on the board of Fashion Trust U.S. Audiences book her for what she still does best on a stage: interview, moderate, and host candid conversation with the people in the room. Key speaking topics Women’s leadership and advancement Career reinvention after a senior exit Media, publishing, and the editor’s craft On-stage interviewing and event hosting Inclusion and representation in consumer brands Building a personal platform in a fragmented media landscape Ideal for CHRO and DEI leads programming women’s leadership and ERG events Conference organisers seeking a moderator or interviewer for a marquee session Brand and marketing leaders running consumer-facing fireside chats Executive coaching cohorts focused on senior women navigating career transitions Audience outcomes A clearer view of what reinvention looks like for senior women after an unwanted exit Practical perspective on building a public platform without an institution behind you Honest reference points from inside global media on inclusion, representation, and brand voice A live conversation that lands with real answers, not rehearsed talking points

Key speaking topics Human behaviour and artificial intelligence Organisational decision-making in the age of AI Human-centred AI strategy Cultural and behavioural impacts of emerging technologies Scenario planning and simulation for technology strategy AI and organisational transformation Data, culture, and organisational change Ideal for Senior leaders responsible for technology and digital strategy Organisations navigating AI adoption and transformation Technology and innovation conferences Corporate audiences exploring the human impact of AI Audience outcomes Clearer understanding of how AI affects human behaviour and organisational dynamics Practical perspectives on human-centred approaches to AI strategy Frameworks for interpreting cultural and behavioural shifts driven by technology Insight into scenario planning and simulation approaches for strategic decision-making Why organisations work with Ali Rebaie Combines AI analysis with human-science perspectives on behaviour and culture. Helps leaders interpret the organisational and societal implications of emerging technologies. Provides structured thinking on AI strategy, scenario planning, and decision-making. Brings international conference speaking experience across technology and industry contexts. Biography Ali Rebaie advises organisations on how artificial intelligence is reshaping human behaviour, culture, and decision-making inside modern enterprises. His work focuses on helping leaders interpret the organisational implications of AI and apply human-centred thinking to technology strategy. He is the Founder and President of Rebaie Analytics Group, a research and management consulting firm that explores the intersection of AI, human science, and organisational systems. Through this work, he supports organisations with AI strategy, scenario planning, and approaches designed to place human behaviour and cultural dynamics at the centre of technological change. Ali’s perspective combines analysis of emerging technologies with insights drawn from the study of culture, behaviour, and social systems. His work examines how organisations adapt to AI-driven disruption and how leaders can better understand the human factors that influence technology adoption and strategic decision-making. Alongside his advisory work, Ali contributes to education and training initiatives in the data and AI ecosystem. As a Senior School of Data fellow, he has delivered workshops and learning programmes focused on data and digital capability. He is also an international keynote speaker at technology and industry events, where he explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, organisational behaviour, and strategic decision-making. His speaking engagements include a presentation at Hannover Messe, one of the world’s major industrial technology exhibitions.

Why organisations work with Guenther Steiner He built a Formula One team from scratch – conceived at his kitchen table during the 2008 financial crisis, brought to the F1 grid seven years later as the first American constructor in thirty years. No other motorsport speaker can talk about team-building from that starting point. His account of accountability is grounded in an environment where failure is timed, televised, and scored. The feedback loop for culture and decision-making in F1 is compressed to minutes, not quarters, which makes his observations directly transferable to any organisation managing high-visibility performance. The Netflix series Drive to Survive documented his leadership style across multiple seasons before a global audience. Organisations booking Steiner get a speaker whose directness and authenticity are already known – the profile is established, not claimed. His perspective spans the full leadership lifecycle – from mechanic to technical manager to managing director (Jaguar Racing), to founding principal (Haas F1), to team owner (Tech3 MotoGP). That breadth is unusual among elite sport speakers who typically occupy a single role. Surviving to Drive, his account of a full F1 season from inside the principal’s office, reached No.1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. The book provides a structured intellectual foundation for his speaking that event organisers can build audience preparation around. Biography highlights Team Principal, Haas F1 Team, 2014-2023 – led the organisation from formation through eight seasons, including a 5th-place Constructors’ Championship finish (2018) and the team’s first pole position (2022) Managing Director, Jaguar Racing (2001-2003), recruited by Niki Lauda; Technical Operations Director, Red Bull Racing (2004-2006) More than a decade in the World Rally Championship, working with multiple manufacturers including Mazda, Prodrive, and M-Sport Ford, alongside drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz Sr Founder and President of Fibreworks Composites, a carbon composites engineering and manufacturing business Author of Surviving to Drive (2023, Sunday Times No.1 bestseller) and Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1 (2024) Led acquisition of Tech3 MotoGP team in September 2025; assumes CEO role from 2026 – his first major ownership position in motorsport Biography Guenther Steiner wrote his first Haas business plan at his kitchen table during the 2008 financial crisis. Seven years later, the team made its Formula One debut at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix, scoring points in its first race – the most successful debut by a new constructor in F1 this century. That founding story is the foundation of his organisational argument. Building a competitive F1 team with limited resources, in a field where performance is measured to thousandths of a second and broadcast to a global audience, produces a specific kind of leadership discipline. Accountability cannot be deferred. Culture either holds under pressure or it does not. Steiner ran that environment for a decade. His career before Haas is equally instructive. He came up through the World Rally Championship as a mechanic and technical manager – working with championship-winning teams at Mazda, Prodrive, and M-Sport Ford – before Niki Lauda recruited him as Managing Director of Jaguar Racing in F1 in 2001. The transition from engineering discipline to senior management, and eventually to team ownership, gives his perspective a structural credibility that purely managerial career paths rarely provide. In September 2025, Steiner led a consortium to acquire the Tech3 MotoGP team, taking on the CEO role from 2026. The move signals a deliberate expansion of his leadership platform from management to ownership – and adds a new chapter to a practitioner argument about building and scaling competitive motorsport organisations that is already two books and one Netflix series deep. Key speaking topics High-performance team leadership Founding and scaling organisations under resource constraints Accountability and decision-making under competitive pressure Performance culture in high-stakes environments Managing risk and failure Operational resilience in elite sport Leadership transition and team ownership Ideal for Senior leadership teams and C-suite audiences navigating competitive or high-accountability environments CHROs and transformation leads working on performance culture and ownership Boards and executive teams in capital-intensive, operationally complex sectors (manufacturing, technology, professional services) Corporate audiences familiar with Drive to Survive seeking direct engagement with a practitioner whose leadership style is already known Audience outcomes A concrete framework for the relationship between culture, accountability, and performance – drawn from an environment where those variables are tested in real time Specific examples of leadership decisions made under resource constraints and public scrutiny, with the reasoning behind them A clearer understanding of what founding and scaling a high-performance operation actually requires, distinct from received management theory Practical perspective on managing failure productively – how teams that lose well build the foundation for winning Direct insight into what separates declared performance standards from lived performance culture

Why organisations work with Brandon Williams He brings a Human Factors academic record alongside the cockpit story. Fifteen years teaching the discipline at university level means his frameworks are the ones aviation safety regulators use, translated for boards and operating teams. His Just Culture model gives leaders a usable answer to the question of how to hold people accountable without destroying the candour that surfaces problems early. Most safety and conduct programmes fail on exactly this trade-off. His structured debrief practice converts incidents and near misses into organisational learning at a pace most corporate retros cannot match. It is the operating ritual fighter squadrons use to improve every cycle. His audience is the leadership team that has run out of patience with motivational speakers and wants the actual mechanism: clear intent, situational awareness, mutual support, decision-making under uncertainty. He has tested these frameworks with operating leadership at Deloitte, Northwell Health, Baptist Health, Global Atlantic Financial and Hertz, not only on conference stages. Biography highlights US Air Force Academy graduate and decorated Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force. F-15E fighter pilot with hundreds of combat hours over Iraq and Afghanistan. Captain at a major US commercial airline and serving US Air Force Safety Officer. Adjunct professor of Human Factors at university level for approximately 15 years. CEO and Founder of Lead-Tac, a leadership development firm. Client engagements include Deloitte, Hertz, Northwell Health, Baptist Health, Global Atlantic Financial, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions. Biography Aviation worked out how to make high-stakes teams perform reliably under conditions of uncertainty long before the corporate world had a vocabulary for it. The cockpit runs on Human Factors, Just Culture, structured debrief and disciplined situational awareness. Brandon Williams spent two decades inside that system as an F-15E fighter pilot, decorated Lieutenant Colonel and US Air Force Safety Officer, then another fifteen years teaching the underlying discipline as a university adjunct. The work he does with senior leadership teams is the translation layer. Lead-Tac, the firm he founded, takes the operating mechanics of the cockpit, clear intent, mutual support, debrief, accountability without blame, and rebuilds them for boards, operating teams and frontline leaders carrying the weight of a complex business. His Just Culture framework addresses the most common failure mode in corporate accountability. Punish the error and the next one stays hidden. Excuse the error and standards collapse. He shows leaders the structured middle path that aviation has used to drive incident rates down for forty years, and how to install the equivalent in a commercial operating environment. His client list, Deloitte, Northwell Health, Baptist Health, Global Atlantic Financial, Hertz, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, runs through sectors where decision quality under pressure is the constraint on performance. That is the room he is built for. Key speaking topics Leadership under uncertainty and complexity Human Factors in high-performing teams Just Culture and psychological safety Decision-making under pressure Structured debrief and operating-rhythm learning High-reliability organisations Situational awareness for senior teams Safety leadership and accountability Ideal for C-suite and operating leadership in regulated, high-consequence sectors (healthcare, financial services, energy, industrial). Chief Safety Officers, Heads of Operational Risk and quality leadership building a Just Culture programme. Sales and commercial leadership teams operating under volatile market conditions. Boards seeking a working model for accountability that protects candour. Audience outcomes A working definition of Just Culture and a clear test for whether their organisation has one. The Human Factors lens on why competent teams still make predictable errors under load. A structured debrief method usable inside their own operating rhythm from the following Monday. Language for situational awareness, mutual support and clear intent that gives senior teams a shared vocabulary under pressure. A direct read on the difference between aviation-grade reliability practice and the safety theatre most corporate programmes default to.

Why organisations work with Stefaan van Hooydonk His Global Curiosity Institute has developed individual and organisational diagnostic tools deployed across 16 multinational companies. This means organisations can baseline their curiosity culture before investing in it – a rigour that most L&D and culture interventions do not offer. His core argument is specific and verifiable: 90% of the leaders in his research say investing in curiosity is important for innovation; 50% simultaneously believe innovation distracts from operational focus. That contradiction is not an attitude problem – it is a structural design problem, and he has a method for resolving it. His six Fortune 200 CLO appointments – including Cognizant, where he led learning for more than 300,000 associates globally – mean his diagnostic model was stress-tested against the same conformity pressures he now advises organisations to overcome. Curiosity: The Secret Ingredient for Success in Personal and Professional Growth (Capstone, 2025) provides a durable, publishable framework that sustains the conversation in organisations well beyond a single event. Having lived and worked in nine countries across Europe and Asia, his account of how cultures differ in their relationship to curiosity and conformity is grounded in direct, cross-cultural professional experience – not comparative research conducted at a distance. Biography highlights Founder, Global Curiosity Institute; developer of individual and organisational curiosity diagnostic tools, applied in 16 multinational companies across a 500-person study Former Chief Learning Officer at Cognizant (L&D responsibility for 300,000+ associates), Royal Philips, Nokia, Saudi Aramco, Agfa Healthcare, and Flipkart Set up and led the executive education arm of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai Author of The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto (2022) and Curiosity: The Secret Ingredient for Success in Personal and Professional Growth (Capstone, 2025) Executive MBA, Rutgers University; master’s degrees in Economics and Chinese; postgraduate study in Cross-Cultural Management (France); certified executive coach Has lived and worked in nine countries across Europe and Asia Biography The idea that organisations want curious employees rarely survives contact with the way most organisations are actually designed. As companies scale, they reward consistency, structure incentives around delivery, and create management cultures in which asking the wrong question carries professional risk. Stefaan van Hooydonk spent more than two decades inside that structural tension – as Chief Learning Officer at six Fortune 200 companies including Cognizant, Royal Philips, Nokia, Saudi Aramco, Agfa Healthcare, and Flipkart. What distinguishes his perspective is the precision of his diagnosis. Working through the Global Curiosity Institute, van Hooydonk developed two empirical tools: an individual curiosity profile measuring three dimensions of inquisitiveness – toward the world, toward others, and toward oneself – and a nine-dimension organisational diagnostic assessing conditions from psychological safety and manager behaviour to failure acceptance and vision clarity. These instruments have been applied across 16 multinationals and studied across 500 professionals. The research revealed a core tension: 90% of leaders surveyed said investing in curiosity supports innovation, yet 50% simultaneously said innovation distracts from operational efficiency. This is not a values gap. It is a structural contradiction embedded in how most organisations function. His two books – The Workplace Curiosity Manifesto (2022) and Curiosity: The Secret Ingredient for Success in Personal and Professional Growth (Capstone, 2025) – develop the argument in full. The central thesis: curiosity is not a personality trait but a learnable, measurable capability that atrophies in environments that reward conformity. At Cognizant, his final corporate appointment, van Hooydonk oversaw learning and development for more than 300,000 associates across a global workforce. That scale makes the question of how environments either enable or suppress curiosity concrete in a way that purely academic research cannot replicate. Having lived and worked in nine countries across Europe and Asia, van Hooydonk brings an account of curiosity as a culturally shaped organisational condition – one that looks different in a Finnish engineering firm, an Indian e-commerce company, and a Gulf energy business, but is subject to the same structural suppressants in all of them. Key speaking topics Workplace curiosity as an organisational capability Intentional curiosity and learning culture design Curiosity-driven leadership Organisational curiosity diagnostics and measurement Building learning organisations Curiosity and innovation at scale Corporate learning strategy Ideal for CHROs and CLOs driving learning culture or capability transformation Senior HR and L&D leaders designing or evaluating learning ecosystems Leadership teams in large organisations where learning agility and adaptability are strategic priorities Boards and senior executives examining organisational resilience and the cultural conditions that support it Audience outcomes A clear, evidence-based account of why large organisations structurally suppress curiosity – and why standard L&D investment does not resolve it Familiarity with a three-part curiosity model (world, others, self) as a practical design language for leadership and team development Understanding of the nine organisational dimensions that enable or limit curiosity, drawn from research across 16 multinational companies A set of specific, actionable moves – applicable to managers, HR teams, and executives – for building conditions where intentional curiosity is measurable and sustained A framework for distinguishing curiosity as a capability from curiosity as a cultural aspiration – and for making the former real

Why organisations work with Michael D. Levitt He brings both sides of the table: a senior finance and operations background overseeing budgets above USD 2 billion, plus formal CBT and NLP therapist credentials. Few burnout voices have both. His work is grounded in a documented personal collapse and recovery, the 369 days that produced his book of the same name. It gives executives permission to talk about pressure without performing resilience. He is recognised by Thinkers360 in the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders across Culture, HR, Management, Change Management, and Health and Wellness, with Top 20 standing on Culture. He writes regularly for CEOWORLD Magazine and Thrive Global, so the frameworks audiences hear on stage are road-tested in print with senior business readers. He frames burnout as an operating risk, not a wellbeing topic, which lands with CHROs, CFOs, and operators who need a business case before they fund a culture intervention. Biography highlights Founder and Chief Burnout Officer, Breakfast Leadership Network (San Diego and Toronto). Host, Breakfast Leadership Show, recognised by Thinkers360 as a Top 20 Global Thought Leadership podcast. Author of Burnout Proof, 369 Days: How To Survive A Year of Worst-Case Scenarios, and Pre-Emptive Strike Leadership. Opinion columnist at CEOWORLD Magazine; contributor at Thrive Global. Certified NLP and CBT therapist. Former CFO and CIO with budget responsibility across healthcare and corporate sectors exceeding USD 2 billion. Biography Burnout shows up on the P and L before it shows up in an engagement survey. It surfaces as turnover, missed targets, sick days, quiet quitting, and the slow disengagement of senior people who used to carry the room. Levitt’s work starts from that operating reality. His own story is the through-line. Across 369 days during the financial crisis he had a heart attack, lost his job, had his car repossessed, and lost his home. He wrote 369 Days about that period, and Burnout Proof about what he learned afterwards. Both books frame burnout as a cascade rather than a single event, which is how most leaders actually experience it. The credentials matter because they bracket the work. On one side, a finance and operations career as a CFO and CIO with oversight of budgets over USD 2 billion, including healthcare leadership roles. On the other, formal training as a CBT and NLP therapist. The Breakfast Leadership Network sits between those two, advising organisations on culture, retention, and burnout prevention. The recognition is consistent. Thinkers360 places him in the Top 100 Global Thought Leaders on Culture, HR, Management, Change Management, and Health and Wellness, with Top 20 status on Culture. He hosts the Breakfast Leadership Show, named a Top 20 Global Thought Leadership podcast, and writes regularly for CEOWORLD Magazine and Thrive Global on the same set of questions a buyer is wrestling with: how to keep people, how to spot the signals early, and how to build a workplace that does not quietly cost you your best operators. Key speaking topics Burnout prevention and recovery Workplace culture and retention Employee wellbeing as an operating discipline Boundaries and remote work performance Leadership under sustained pressure Talent retention and the cost of attrition Ideal for CHROs and people leaders looking to reduce voluntary attrition and stabilise culture during sustained change. CEOs and COOs who want a credible business framing of burnout rather than a wellness add-on. Healthcare, financial services, and professional services audiences where pressure is structural and the cost of senior departures is high. Leadership teams introducing or relaunching hybrid and remote operating models. Audience outcomes A clear read on the early operating signals of burnout, before they become resignations. Specific tactics for building boundaries into how teams work, not just how individuals cope. A retention argument senior leaders can take into a budget conversation. Permission and language for executives to discuss pressure honestly without it reading as weakness. A practical model for connecting culture, wellbeing, and performance in the same operating cadence.

Why organisations work with Gabriela Hersham Ten years of operating data on what actually draws people back into shared space, drawn from running Huckletree hubs across London, Manchester and Dublin rather than theory. A working view on curating communities by sector, including Web3, fintech, AI and govtech, tested inside the UK’s first Web3-themed co-working hub at Oxford Street. A concrete record of inclusive entrepreneurship practice through Fairer Funding Now and the Huckletree Alpha accelerator, running pro-bono for under-represented founders since 2017. A founder’s view on scaling a physical network to roughly 300,000 sq ft while holding cultural standards, useful for any leader reconciling real-estate spend with employee experience. Speaking experience that spans TEDx stages, industry podcasts and corporate conferences, with a style that senior audiences read as operator rather than consultant. Biography highlights Founder and CEO of Huckletree, launched in 2014 and grown to eight hubs across London, Manchester and Dublin. Operates roughly 300,000 sq ft of curated workspace serving around 4,000 members across Web3, fintech, AI, govtech and sustainable innovation. Launched Huckletree Oxford Street, positioned as the UK’s first Web3 and metaverse-themed co-working hub. Founded Fairer Funding Now, a campaign for greater inclusivity in startup investment, and runs Huckletree Alpha, a pro-bono accelerator for under-represented founders since 2017. TEDx speaker on the Future of Work; named one of Tide Bank’s Top 20 female entrepreneurs to watch in 2020. Contributor bylines at The Next Web and Creative Review; interviewed by HuffPost Trailblazing Women, Culture Trip and the Propertyshe podcast. Biography Huckletree opened its first space in Clerkenwell in 2014 after Gabriela Hersham returned to London convinced the city was missing the community model she had seen take hold in New York. Ten years on, the business runs eight hubs across London, Manchester and Dublin, about 300,000 sq ft of space, and a membership base of roughly 4,000 founders and operators. What distinguishes the company from a generic flexible-office provider is the curation. Each hub is built around a sector thesis: Web3 and the metaverse at Oxford Street, fintech and AI elsewhere in the portfolio, with members recruited against that thesis rather than sold desks on a first-come basis. That choice turns the workspace into a distribution channel for deals, hires and partnerships, which is why corporate partners buy into specific hubs rather than generic square footage. Inclusive entrepreneurship sits alongside the commercial model rather than running as a side project. Fairer Funding Now campaigns for change in how capital reaches under-represented founders. Huckletree Alpha, the pro-bono accelerator running since 2017, is the practical counterpart, giving cohort members space, mentoring and access without taking equity. For corporate audiences the value is the operating detail behind those choices. A TEDx talk on the future of work, repeat podcast appearances on property and founder platforms, and contributor bylines at The Next Web and Creative Review have made Hersham a recognisable voice on what brings people back into shared space. The argument she makes to boards and HR leaders is concrete: offices only earn their cost when they are designed as communities with a specific purpose, and diversity in hiring and funding is part of how that purpose holds together. Key speaking topics Future of work and the hybrid workplace Workplace design and community curation Women in entrepreneurship Inclusive funding and diverse founder pipelines Scaling a founder-led business Web3, fintech and emerging-sector ecosystems Ideal for CHROs and people leaders rebuilding office strategy and employee experience Real-estate and workplace directors balancing cost with culture Corporate innovation and venture teams engaging with early-stage ecosystems Networks and events on women in business and diverse entrepreneurship Audience outcomes A sharper read on why employees return to some offices and avoid others, grounded in operating data from a curated network. Concrete examples of how sector-themed workplace communities produce commercial value rather than just reduce cost. A practical view on embedding inclusive funding and hiring practices into the way a company runs, not as a separate programme. An operator’s perspective on scaling a physical and cultural network without losing what made it work in the first place.

Key speaking topics Leadership development Organisational culture Purpose-driven business Workplace wellbeing Leadership capability for business transformation HR strategy and leadership Ideal for Senior leadership teams HR and people leaders Learning and development professionals Boards and executive committees Audience outcomes Greater clarity on the link between leadership and organisational culture Practical perspectives on embedding purpose into leadership practice Insight into aligning wellbeing with business performance Understanding of leadership capability in large, complex organisations Why organisations work with Tim Munden Direct experience leading global leadership development in a multinational organisation Insight grounded in senior HR and executive-level responsibility Academic affiliation with a leading sustainability institution Cross-sector perspective from consulting with diverse industries Biography Tim Munden works at the intersection of leadership, culture and organisational performance, advising senior leaders on how to build purpose-driven, high-performing workplaces. He is a Senior Associate at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, contributing to leadership thinking within a globally recognised sustainability institution. Alongside this, he leads his own consulting practice, supporting executive teams across technology, consumer products, financial services, pharmaceuticals and professional services. Munden previously served as Chief Learning Officer at Unilever, where he was responsible for leadership capability in a large, complex, multinational organisation. He also held the role of HR Vice President for Unilever UK & Ireland, overseeing people strategy within a significant national business unit. His experience spans enterprise-wide leadership development, organisational culture, purpose-led business and workplace wellbeing. He works with boards, executive committees and senior HR leaders seeking to align leadership capability with business transformation and long-term organisational resilience. In addition to his advisory and academic roles, he serves as a Director of INCHIGO UK LIMITED.

Why organisations work with Oliver Burkeman His «efficiency trap» argument; that pursuing greater efficiency increases the demands made on time rather than reducing them, gives leaders a named, evidence-based explanation for why their productivity programmes are making things worse. This is not a motivational reframe; it is a structural diagnosis. Four Thousand Weeks and Meditations for Mortals are already in the hands of senior leaders and knowledge workers. A session with Burkeman builds on a shared conceptual vocabulary rather than introducing one from scratch, which shortens the distance from insight to action. His «imperfectionism» framework, developed in Meditations for Mortals, gives teams a practical operating principle: that meaningful action does not require ideal conditions, and that waiting for control is itself the performance problem. He approaches this as a journalist with fourteen years of empirical investigation into the psychology of time and attention, not as a consultant with a methodology to sell. His arguments are critical rather than prescriptive, which gives them greater durability in boardroom and executive conversations. Two national bestsellers, two TEDx talks, and a decade-long BBC Radio 4 presenting record mean his material has been tested across audiences, formats, and cultures without dilution. Biography highlights Author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (2021, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller; named one of the best books of 2021 by the Financial Times, The Times, The Observer, Audible, Time, and Barnes & Noble Author of Meditations for Mortals (2024, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) – national bestseller; introduces his operational philosophy of «imperfectionism» Former staff writer and weekly columnist at The Guardian; «This Column Will Change Your Life» ran for fourteen years (2006–2020) Writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Psychologies, and New Philosopher Winner, Foreign Press Association Young Journalist of the Year Award (2002); shortlisted, Orwell Prize (2006); FPA science story of the year (2015) Educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge (BA Social and Political Sciences) Presenter of BBC Radio 4 series including «Oliver Burkeman is Busy» and «Living with the News» TEDx talks: «How to stop fighting against time» (TEDxUniversityofNicosia) and «Why patience is a superpower» (TEDxManchester) Biography Most senior leaders know their organisations are overloaded. Fewer can explain why every investment in productivity appears to make it worse. Oliver Burkeman spent fourteen years as a columnist and journalist at The Guardian investigating exactly this tension, and his conclusion was not a better system, but a structural critique of the system itself. His 2021 New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals names this «the efficiency trap»: the more capacity organisations and individuals create, the more demands expand to fill it. The book argues that the premise of eventually getting on top of everything is not a problem to be solved with better methods, but a structural illusion that drives the overload it promises to end. For leaders navigating performance culture debates, it provides intellectual grounding that goes well beyond the self-help category. His 2024 follow-up, Meditations for Mortals, develops a named operational philosophy, «imperfectionism» as a practical alternative. The argument is not that people should do less, but that taking meaningful action requires abandoning the precondition that conditions be ideal first. This gives teams and their leaders a durable, non-sentimental vocabulary for moving from awareness of overload to genuinely different behaviour. Burkeman trained at Christ’s College, Cambridge, reported from London, Washington, and New York, and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New Philosopher, and he presents BBC Radio 4 series alongside his newsletter, The Imperfectionist, which has built a substantial professional following. Key speaking topics Productivity culture and the efficiency trap Time, attention, and human finitude Imperfectionism as an organisational operating philosophy Burnout, overload, and performance culture Meaningful work and prioritisation under constraint The psychology of distraction and focus Patience as a strategic capability Ideal for CHROs and People directors addressing burnout, overload, and performance culture Senior leadership teams reviewing the assumptions underlying their productivity and ways-of-working programmes Conference audiences in knowledge-intensive sectors where attention, prioritisation, and sustainable output are live strategic concerns Boards and executive teams examining the relationship between culture, wellbeing, and long-term organisational performance Audience outcomes A named framework (the efficiency trap) for explaining why productivity investment can increase rather than reduce overload, applicable immediately in leadership conversations Clearer language for the tension between performance expectations and human limits, reducing the vagueness that makes wellbeing conversations difficult to act on Familiarity with «imperfectionism» as a practical operating principle for individuals and teams working under conditions of permanent overload A reframing of prioritisation: not as a time management technique, but as the fundamental capability that determines organisational focus Greater confidence in decisions to stop, delay, or deprioritise – backed by a rigorous philosophical and psychological argument rather than sentiment

Why organisations work with Jeremy Snape He has run the experiment in public. As performance coach to Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals, he built the dressing-room culture that won the inaugural IPL title against far better-resourced franchises. His work sits at the join between two credentials most consultants only have one of: an England international playing career and a master’s in sport psychology, applied across Premier League football, England Rugby and South African cricket. The “Inside the Mind of Champions” podcast gives him a continuously refreshed evidence base. Guests include Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Eddie Jones and Rahul Dravid, and the material feeds directly into his executive sessions. Through Sporting Edge, he has spent two decades translating sport psychology into corporate practice rather than telling sporting war stories with a thin business gloss on top. Biography highlights Former England international cricketer, 10 ODIs and one T20I, with a Man of the Match award on ODI debut against Zimbabwe. County career at Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Leicestershire; captained Leicestershire and lifted the Twenty20 Cup in 2004. Master’s degree in sport psychology, taken during the latter stage of his playing career. Performance coach to the Rajasthan Royals during their IPL title-winning campaign under Shane Warne, with subsequent roles at Delhi Daredevils, England Rugby, Premier League football clubs and the South African national cricket team. Founder and Managing Director of Sporting Edge, the performance consultancy he established in 2005. Non-Executive Director of the League Managers Association since 2013, supporting leadership development for football managers at St George’s Park. Host of the “Inside the Mind of Champions” podcast, with guests including Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Eddie Jones, Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne. Biography The Rajasthan Royals were the cheapest-bought, lowest-rated franchise in the inaugural Indian Premier League. They won it. The performance coach embedded with that team, working alongside Shane Warne to build a culture out of nothing in a few weeks, was Jeremy Snape. That project is the cleanest illustration of what he does. Snape played 10 One Day Internationals for England and captained Leicestershire to the Twenty20 Cup, and during the back end of his playing career he took a master’s in sport psychology. The combination is unusual: a working international athlete who became a credentialed performance specialist, rather than an academic with a fan’s interest in sport. Since founding Sporting Edge in 2005, he has taken those methods into corporate work, alongside continued roles in elite sport, including Delhi Daredevils, England Rugby, Premier League football and South African cricket. In 2013 he joined the League Managers Association as a Non-Executive Director, helping design the leadership programmes that football managers take at St George’s Park. His “Inside the Mind of Champions” podcast keeps the research live. Conversations with Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Eddie Jones, Rahul Dravid and Shane Warne are not entertainment for him; they are the working material that feeds the frameworks he takes into boardrooms on team trust, composure under scrutiny and the unglamorous standards that separate first place from fourth. Key speaking topics High-performance culture Leadership under pressure Team trust and standards Mindset and mental resilience Performance psychology for business Talent development and succession Ideal for CEOs and executive teams entering a sustained period of pressure, scrutiny or transition Senior leadership offsites focused on team standards, trust and decision-making in stretch conditions Sales, trading and client-facing leadership groups whose performance hinges on composure under public-facing risk HR and L&D leads designing leadership development programmes for high-stakes commercial roles Audience outcomes A specific read on how elite sport builds composure and how that translates into executive decision-making under scrutiny. Concrete language for what high-performing team standards actually look like day to day, beyond the values poster on the wall. A clearer view of where individual mindset ends and where team culture has to take over. Methods for sustaining performance after a setback, drawn from named figures in elite sport who have done it publicly.

Key speaking topics Workplace happiness and fulfilment Organisational culture Leadership and wellbeing Stress and anxiety at work Resilience and chronic illness Gross National Happiness principles Coaching and behavioural change Ideal for HR and People leaders Senior leadership teams Culture and engagement leads Organisations reviewing wellbeing strategy Audience outcomes Clear understanding of drivers of happiness at work Practical approaches to improving workplace culture Greater awareness of stress and resilience in professional contexts Frameworks for aligning personal values with organisational goals Why organisations work with Samantha Clarke Combines authorship, teaching and consulting experience in workplace wellbeing and culture. Brings academic training in neuroaesthetics and applied arts alongside coaching credentials. Draws on lived experience of chronic illness to inform conversations on resilience and performance. Trusted by global brands and institutions including LVMH, NHS, Nespresso and Virgin. Biography Samantha Clarke works with organisations seeking to strengthen workplace wellbeing, leadership capability and organisational culture. Her work centres on helping businesses create environments where people can thrive, sustain performance and align personal values with professional contribution. She is the author of Love It or Leave It: How to Be Happy at Work, a practical exploration of fulfilment, purpose and professional satisfaction. Her ideas have reached global audiences through her TEDx talk, “Are You Ready to Break Up With Work?”, which examines how individuals and organisations can rethink their relationship with work. Samantha’s expertise is grounded in both teaching and applied practice. She serves as a faculty lecturer and facilitator with The School of Life and delivers programmes for The Guardian Masterclasses. She is also profiled by Simon Sinek’s Optimism Company, reflecting her contribution to conversations around optimism, culture and meaningful work. Her academic and professional development includes an Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic and Educational Application of the Arts and a master’s qualification in Neuroaesthetics & Global Innovation Design for Social Change, alongside training in Co-Active and ORSC coaching, MIT’s Neuroscience for Business, and certification as a Bhutanese Gross National Happiness Facilitator. Samantha has participated in a session connected to the Hillary Rodham Clinton Global Challenges Summit, in conversation with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Angela Duckworth. Her client work spans organisations including LVMH, NHS, Nespresso and Virgin, supporting leaders and teams to embed wellbeing and cultural alignment into strategy and performance. Drawing on lived experience of sickle cell anaemia and chronic pain, she brings a grounded perspective to resilience, stress and sustainable leadership. Her approach integrates behavioural insight, coaching practice and culture design to help senior leaders and HR professionals address the human factors that shape organisational success.