Main stage Speakers
Conference Chair
Advita Patel
Founder of CommsRebel
Advita helps organisations cultivate inclusive cultures through effective communications so all colleagues can belong and thrive in their work. With more than two decades worth of experience, Advita is committed to helping leaders understand how communication can transform cultures so their colleagues can thrive rather than just survive. Alongside CommsRebel, Advita is the co-founder of A Leader Like Me and The Asian Communications Network. She’s currently the President of the Chartered Institute of Public relations and in 2023 she co-authored a best-selling book, Building a Culture of Inclusivity, with Priya Bates.
Karen Blackett CBE
A proven business leader with a track record in creating vibrant cultures, energising teams, and consistently delivering business growth and success.
Karen is the former UK President for WPP, a NED for Creative UK, Diageo and a former NED of The Cabinet Office. She was appointed Chancellor of The University of Portsmouth and also co-founded The Black Equity Organisation.
Karen received an OBE in the Queen's Birthday honours and was honoured by INvolve – The Inclusion People’s List and came in at #1 for the Top 100 Women Executives. She was awarded Freedom of the City of London, and in 2025 received a CBE for services to Advertising and The Creative Industries in the King’s New Years honours.
Naomi Goodman,
Head of Change and Employee Engagement, MHP Group
Naomi specialises in communications for change and transformation. Naomi has led internal communications, employer brand and change and transformation programmes for UK SMEs to global, listed companies. Blending her breadth and depth of experience with each client’s unique challenge she helps to identify and activate solutions that truly deliver business value.
At MHP Group, Naomi leads the Change and Employee Engagement division. Naomi is a career mentor and a regular judge for the Institute of Internal Communication’s National Annual Awards.
Josephine Hansom
Gen Z insight & strategy, Keynote speaker, MRS Board Member & Fellow (FMRS)
Josephine helps organisations future-proof their business by better understanding the next generation. She does this through thought leadership, training and talks. Josepine was the Managing Director of YouthSight Research (since acquired by Savanta) and now offers her own consultancy solutions. She is well known on the conference circuit and recently represented the interests of young people at the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee when it discussed the future of news. She is also an elected member of the MRS Board, was made a fellow of the MRS in 2022, recently stepped down as the MRS EDI Chair and is a founding member of MRSPride
Priya Lakhani OBE
Founder CEO of CENTURY Tech
Priya left her career as a barrister to launch a successful FMCG business. She was appointed to the UK government’s AI Council and co-founded the Institute for Ethical AI for the education sector. Priya was previously appointed as Non-Executive Board Member to the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), with specific focus on online safety and technology. She was an advisor to Patrick Vallance for his Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review and currently advises the government as a member of the Prime Minister’s Council of Science and Technology.
Priya was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer for her pioneering AI work at CENTURY and has received several prestigious awards. She holds numerous trustee and non-executive posts, and was awarded an OBE She is an Honorary Vice President of the Council of British International Schools and she received an honorary doctorate from Coventry University’s engineering faculty. She is co-host of BBC News’s flagship AI programme, AI Decoded on The Context, with Christian Fraser.
Dr Jack Lewis
His best-selling book Sort Your Brain Out teaches us how to re-wire our brains to be more creative, to improve mood and memory, to manage everyday stress, and to defend against the risks of dementia.
His book The Science of Sin – Why We Do The Things We Know We Shouldn’t provides fascinating insights into temptation how the traditional biblical Seven Deadly Sins help us to thrive in moderation, harm us in excess, and how they are used to market products and services. Jack shares evidence-based insights into strategies that genuinely boost creative problem solving and reveals which others don’t actually work!
Jack Lewis has a first-class degree in neuroscience from the University of Nottingham, received his doctorate from University College London, and went on to present science TV shows for the BBC, ITV, Discovery, and Sky.
Kira Matthews
Mindset and Confidence coach
Creator of Pitch School and host of the No Room for Doubt Podcast and confidence coach, Kira is passionate about helping people unlock their most confident selves so they can achieve the bucket-list dreams they once considered impossible. Whether that’s pitching for brand partnerships or building thriving businesses online. Her fun, high-vibe energy is a hallmark of her practical and results-focused approach to coaching that uses mindset tools with real-life and business applications. In 2021 she was a coach in CoachHood, a social impact organisation making coaching accessible to young people who otherwise wouldn't have access. She’s also worked with Dermalogica, Rimmel London, Ganni, Schuh and On Running. Prior to launching her coaching business in 2020, Kira worked in fashion styling - an industry she once considered her dream career - and has worked with the likes of Asos, Paul Smith, ES Style, Dazed Magazine and Adidas.
James Peach
James is a multi-award-winning Global Marketing Leader behind Uber, Coca-Cola, Vinted, and Innocent, Leadership & Performance Coach, Adventurer and award-winning Keynote Speaker.
James has cycled 41,000 km around the world, hiked across three continents, and completed the first triathlon of an entire country, cycling the length, kayaking the width and climbing the height non-stop.
A CALM ambassador and trailblazer in the resilience world, James captivates audiences with humour, authenticity and speeches that empower people to thrive, no matter the challenge.
Breakout speakers
Bridget Aherne Chart.PR
Director, Bridget Aherne Communications
Bridget is an award-winning public relations leader who has provided counsel to the leaders of organisations delivering vital services to our communities – as well as remaining hands-on in the delivery of activities for those she work with.
She was recognised at 2018’s CIPR Excellence Awards, where she was named outstanding independent practitioner. Her work in-house at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service was recognised at the 2015 CIPR Excellence Awards with the title of CIPR & IoD PR Director of the Year.
As a step towards non-executive roles, Bridget gained a much sought-after place on the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities-sponsored Boardroom Apprentice programme – completing the unique 12-month board learning and placement programme for those wanting to serve on a public or third sector board to gain skills and experience in 2023.
Noha Al Afifi
Deputy Chief Executive of Arthritis Action
With over 18 years of leadership experience spanning marketing, communications, and fundraising, she has worked across the higher education, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors both in the UK and internationally.
Noha serves as a Board Member and Honorary Treasurer of the CIPR and is also a trustee of the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA). She has been consistently recognised as one of the UK’s leading communications professionals, having been featured in PRWeek UK’s Power Book from 2021 to 2025. She was named Not-for-Profit Pro of the Year at the 2024 Pros Awards.
Farzana Baduel
CEO & Co-founder of Curzon PR
Farzana Baduel is President-elect of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and CEO & Co-founder of Curzon PR, a global strategic communications firm partnering with governments, corporations, and development organisations. She is Resident PR Expert at Oxford University’s Said Business School, Co-founder of the Asian Communications Network, and a trustee of the Halo Trust, British Asian Trust, and Soho Theatre. Farzana also co-hosts the Stories & Strategies podcast, the worlds most listened to PR podcast.
Koray Camgöz
CEO of the Taylor Bennett Foundation
In his role, Koray leads efforts to increase the representation of diverse talent in PR and communications. Previously, Koray was a Corporate Director at Ketchum and also held senior roles at the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).
Koray is a passionate advocate for DEI and the power of strategic communications to influence change. He has was named one of PRovoke Media’s Innovator 25 for EMEA in 2024 and in 2025, he was featured in the PRWeek Power Book.
Darren Caplan
Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association
Since Darren Caplan joined the team in 2017, RIA has won more than 10 industry awards for events, lobbying, and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. Prior to RIA, Darren was Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA). Before the AOA, Darren worked for 14 years in communications, politics and public affairs across a number of sectors, including infrastructure, planning and technology.
Craig Gunn
Managing Director, PA Media Assignments
Craig is Managing Director of PA Media Assignments, the commercial visual content arm of PA Media. He manages a team of in-house producers, as well as a deep roster of freelance photography and video specialists across the UK. With over 25 years in editorial and media production, 12 of those as Executive Picture Editor at the Daily Mail newspaper, he works with top PR agencies such as Ogilvy, Taylor Herring and Freuds, and major brands like Amazon, Goodwood Estate and Sainsbury’s. Craig also supports the PA Mediapoint sales team, helping integrate assignments into broader commercial solutions and driving marketing initiatives for the platform. He is highly respected for his creative, consultative and operational advice across his large public relations client base, helping brands get wide coverage in media with some of those successful campaigns receiving wider recognition at the PR Week and PRCA Awards.
Lornette Harley
Associate Director at MSL
Lornette previously worked as a consultant at strategic D&I consultancy The Unmistakable, fusing her passions for PR and D&I, working with brands to create campaigns and cultures that are truly inclusive. Before that she worked in consumer comms at Talker Tailor Trouble Maker (looking after brands like Deliveroo, Mastercard and Pernod Ricard UK) and in entertainment comms for two years at Soho Theatre where she now sits as a member of the board of directors. Basically, all PR all the time! 14 year-old Lornette is still wondering when she’s going to make her West End debut as Nala in The Lion King but is enjoying creating exciting and culture shifting campaigns in the meantime.
Lucy Holliday
Senior Employee Communications Manager at the Financial Times
Since joining the FT in 2021, Lucy has led high-impact initiatives across business transformation, including hybrid working and culture change. She played a central role in the FT’s AI Transformation Programme, a company-wide campaign designed to build AI fluency and confidence among employees. The campaign, which won a 2025 CIPR Excellence Award, combined live events, creative competitions and targeted workshops to engage a global workforce.
Sara Naylor
Independent Consultant and Founder of Ravenhill
Ravenhill advises public, private and third-sector boards and chief executives in health, education and care organisations. High profile projects include directing the communications and engagement for the Trust Special Administration of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in the wake of a public inquiry by Sir Robert Francis KC, and advising a World Bank project to improve Albanian hospitals. As Co-Chair, she jointly led the relaunch of the CIPR’s Independent Practitioner Network in July 2025 tapping into the need for high-quality support, information, and inspiration for current and future independent practitioners. Sara’s career spans national newspaper journalism at the Press Association, Daily Express and Daily Mirror, and communications. She was an assistant director at Kindred advising Whitehall departments on strategic and policy communications programmes, and she was an NHS director of communications and engagement for a major acute trust.
Vishnee Sauntoo
Senior Communications Strategist and Founder of VS Comms
With over 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit and public sectors, she has led award-winning campaigns for Save the Children, the British Heart Foundation, and No Smoking Day, and developed impactful brands for Age International and the Humanitarian Leadership Academy. Previously, Vishnee was Director of Communications at C40 Cities, the global network of leading cities tackling the climate crisis. She led an international team from New York to Singapore, shaping global narratives at major platforms including the UN General Assembly and COP28. Vishnee is also the creator and host of The Comms Collective Podcast, which explores the highs, lows, and hard-won lessons of communications in the mission-led world. A CharityComms trustee and mentor, she champions diversity, inclusion, and the development of future leaders, mentoring professionals through Women in PR and the Taylor Bennett Foundation.
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Kayleigh-Anne Soryal
Communications Consultant, Love Comms
Kayleigh-Anne is a communications partner and the founder of Love Comms, a consultancy that helps creative brands tell their stories, manage reputation and lead through change. She has spent 15 years working with global fashion and beauty companies and also hosts ‘How to Spin It’, a podcast about how stories take shape across media, business and everyday life.
Annette Spencer
Chief Executive of the Association of Corporate Treasurers
Annette’s earlier career was spent in communications, policy and marketing roles in financial and professional services companies, and more latterly in membership bodies as Director of Communications at the Investment Association and Director of Policy, Marketing & Events at the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries.
Annette is a Fellow and Chartered Practitioner at the CIPR. She has chaired the CIPR Corporate & Financial Group and served on the CIPR Council, and she is a current member of the CIPR Professional Standards Panel. She has an MBA (with Distinction) and is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge.
Luke Stallard
Head of Corporate Communications at Virgin Media O2
Luke is responsible for both proactive and reactive PR across the corporate and network portfolios. His award-winning work has included campaigning against fraud, leading the operator’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, calling for fairer mobile contract structures and helping tackle data poverty. Before joining Virgin Media, he led communications for the £30bn Crossrail 2 project at Transport for London amongst other roles.
Erin Hayward
Senior Corporate Communications Manager at Virgin Media O2
Erin’s role at the company spans press office, advising senior leaders on reputational issues, and delivering creative, fully integrated corporate campaigns - including award-winning work on fraud and the partnership with the British Heart Foundation. She was named PR Week Awards' 2024 Young Game Changer of the Year.
Ben Veal
Founder, Second Mountain Comms
Ben is a seasoned communications professional with a results-driven mindset and 20 years' experience spent working with household names across numerous sectors. He is a CIPR Chartered Practitioner, bestselling author, content creator, podcast host and journalist. A four-time Gold winner at the CIPR PRide Awards, recipient of the 2022 CIPR Mark of Excellence award and was named 'Independent PR Practitioner of the Year' at the 2023 CIPR Excellence Awards. He is passionate about working with purpose-driven businesses and charities to deliver real impact.
Andy West
Founder of Westofcenter Ltd.
Andy is a seasoned growth advisor and NED with nearly 40 years’ experience in the agency world. As the Founder of Westofcenter Ltd., Andy enjoys a portfolio career, helping agencies grow their top line and maximise profitability by being a thought partner and mentor to agency leaders. He provides a range of retained and project based advisory services focusing on operational management, business development, marketing, and client growth. He is a past Chair of the Greater London Group of the CIPR, a past Director of AMEC and holds Chartership status with the CIPR.
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