Billal Jamil

Billal Jamil is an Assistant Director within the UK Border Agency and was the elected Chair of the Home Office BME staff network from 2009 – 2010. He is a passionate advocate on race issues and has played an active role in both public and private life across numerous third sector organisations, supporting youth schemes and sport organisations in Sheffield. As Home Office network Chair - Billal led key improvements within the organisation against a backdrop of downsizing and decreasing budgets, inspiring his members to achieve even more during a period of intense change. Billal’s innovative and passionate approach led to the 4,500 strong BME NETWORK being recognised as the leading staff group across industry by external partner Business in the Community Group -RfO in August 2010.

Billal was born and raised in Sheffield, South Yorkshire and is originally of Northern Pakistani heritage. Outside of work he is a keen sportsman and represented cricket sides across the United Kingdom at semi-professional level. Billal is an MBA graduate from Imperial College London and holds a BSc in Economics with professional qualifications in Project & Programme Management.

Carol Campayne

Carol is a Director of the Diversity Practice Ltd and jointly lead the ground breaking research study ‘Different Women, Different Places’, (funded by Booz Allen Hamilton, UKRC; Credit Suisse and the Learning and Skills Council) which explored the strategies and experiences of ethnic minority women in leadership in the UK. Carol is also currently the Equality & Diversity Manager for London South Bank University and a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management, and Marketing. As a Diversity Practitioner, Carol specializes in the race and gender diversity dimensions and has led and managed a number of key strategic/research initiatives in the area of equality and diversity As a result Carol has a wealth of experience and expertise in the areas of change management and implementation. Highly committed to managing for ‘social result’, she has worked extensively facilitating the sustainable growth and development of minority based community organisations.

Caroline Harper Jantuah

Caroline Harper Jantuah, a director of the Diversity Practice Ltd. and has more than 20 years extensive experience as an organisation development consultant, trainer and executive coach. Passionate about enabling others to achieve their potential, her corporate portfolio has increasingly included work with female and Black and Minority Ethnic professionals. She jointly led the ground breaking research study ‘Different Women, Different Places’ (funded by Booz Allen Hamilton, UKRC, Credit Suisse, and the Learning and Skills Council), which explored the strategies and experiences of ethnic minority women in leadership in the UK.

In addition to working as a consultant and coach, Caroline is a frequent conference speaker. She holds an MBA, a post-graduate certificate in executive Coaching, is a master practitioner in NLP and is a fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, member of the International Coaching Federation and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

David Bryan

David Bryan is a director of Xtend (UK) Ltd, a management consultancy company working in the fields of organisational change, leadership development and diversity. In his varied career he has worked in the civil service, voluntary sector, the arts, academia and management training across the public sector for many years.

David's involvement with the arts is fairly unique coupled with an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion. Some of his achievements in the arts are: 

• A founder and manager of a bookshop at the age of 17 that specialized in Black Literature and children's books in Brixton
• Organized the very first Black Bookfair in the UK
• Developing Black Ink, a community publishing project to record the stories and poems of Black lives in Brixton
• The Director of a vibrant community arts centre, Brixton Village
• As an independent Producer staged theatre, music and contemporary dance at a number of London venues including London South Bank Centre
• A consultant, advisor and trainer to Arts Council England on new arts buildings, audience development, Black arts and Diversity

Deepak Mahtani

Deepak is a leading authority and award winning communications management consultant in the areas of Globalisation, International Negotiations and Cross-Cultural Management. Most clients are Fortune 500 or FTSE 100 corporations, and he has personally trained and coached over 12,000 executives in companies such as BT plc, IBM, Lloyds TSB, Toshiba, Hitachi, UBS, Acergy, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Nestle, Kraft Foods, Motorola, TCS, Nokia, and JP Morgan.
He was formerly the commercial director for a large multinational in Geneva involved in strategic diversification, and has been a lecturer at Middlesex University, Aston University, Regents College European Business School, London and the University of St Gallen, Switzerland.

Deepak is of Indian origin, lived in the Far East for 14 years, Switzerland for 14 years, and speaks English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and 2 Indian languages. He has wide experience of cross-cultural business dealings in the Far East, South Asia, Africa and Europe. He has co-written “The South Asian Opportunity, “The British and How to deal with them” and “Doing Business with India”. He has travelled to over 80 countries, giving training seminars and speaking at major conferences on subject such as Improving your Remote Relationships”, “Becoming a Global Manager”, “International Negotiations”, “Winning the Talent War” and “Diversity Matters”.

Garth Crooks OBE

Garth has spent his entire adult life immersed in football and the politics of sport. He was introduced to the media in 1981 while preparing for the FA Cup Final. Having been left out of England’s World Cup Squad bound for Spain in 1982 he joined the BBC sports team as a television pundit.

Garth has spent a considerable amount of time involved in issues surrounding Social Inclusion, Equity and Diversity. A special advisor to the Equality Human Rights Commission Garth has addressed the European Parliament, European Commission and UEFA on anti racial discrimination policies in football.
After eight years as an Executive, he was appointed Chairman of the Professional Footballers Association in 1988. Garth was invited by HRH Prince Philip to chair the Institute of Professional Sport in 1990, a position he held for 13 years. In 1999 he received the OBE in for services to football.

Gary A Smith

Gary A. Smith is co-founder and Senior Partner of Ivy Planning Group (Ivy), a 19-year-old management consulting and training company that specialises in strategy, diversity, leadership and change management. Ivy is recognized as one of the Top 50 minority-owned companies by DiversityBusiness.com; Black Enterprise Magazine Emerging Company of the Year Finalist; and received the Working Woman magazine Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. Gary is profiled for building a premier strategy firm - one of the leading Black-owned management consulting firms in the country. Consulting Magazine honoured Gary as one of the Top 25 Consultants of 2007. Profiles in Diversity Journal named him a Diversity Pioneer. Minority Business & Professionals Network, Inc. named Mr. Smith one of “Fifty Influential Minorities in Business”. He has over 25 years of strategy, technology and management consulting service to large private sector and government organizations

Ghislaine Caulat

Ghislaine Caulat, Associate Business Director at Ashridge Consulting, heads the Virtual Working Practice Group and has been researching in the field of virtual leadership since 2003. She specialises in helping teams to become high performing virtual teams and leaders to lead effectively remotely. Most recently she has developed a global blended (face-to-face and virtual) strategy process for a global UN agency involving over 350 senior leaders, and worked with Volkswagen, Danfoss and other companies. Her design and facilitation of a virtual strategy process for the global engineering company Alfa Laval involving the top 45 leaders of the organisation was rewarded by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Excellence of Practice Award in 2009.

In addition to several years experience as consultant to major international organisations, Ghislaine also worked as a manager in business development and as an internal consultant for Daimler in the automotive sector and Beiersdorf in the FMCG.

Her challenging and stimulating style, combined with dedicated support, encourages experimenting with new ways of working. Ghislaine works in English, German, Spanish and French, and can make active contributions in Turkish and Italian.

Grace Owen

Grace Owen is a career coach, speaker and author. For over fifteen years she has equipped hundreds of leaders, managers and professionals to excel in their work. This has taken her into leading organisations such as London Business School, the BBC, Environment Agency, Brit Insurance, the NHS, Barclays Bank, Birmingham University, Camden Council, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Baptist Union (UK). She has also equipped many people to make a successful transition from employment to going freelance or running a niche business.

Grace has built up more than 15,000 hours experience of developing people and delivering measurable results in behaviour change and to the bottom line. Her new book “The Career Itch - 4 Steps For Taking Control Of What You Do Next” encapsulates a lot of this experience.

A certified coach of the International Coach Federation, she has an MSc in Learning and Development from Revans University USA, a certificate in Entrepreneurship and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Ashridge Business School Alumni.

Hilary Carty

Hilary Carty is the Director of the Cultural Leadership Programme, a £22m government investment in excellence in leadership within the cultural and creative industries. Hilary was previously Director of Arts at Arts Council England, London; Director of Culture and Education at London 2012, the successful Olympic bid team; and served as a Commissioner on the Mayor’s Commission on African and Asian Heritage. Hilary is a strong champion of the arts and culture whose work has been recognised through the award of Honorary Doctorates from De Montfort and Middlesex universities. An Accredited Coach (CIPD) and Trustee of the Arts Foundation, Hilary is a Jury Member for the European Cultural Foundation’s ROUTES Princess Margriet Award for Diversity.

India Gary-Martin

India Gary–Martin is a Managing Director at JPMorgan. Her career spans twenty years and three continents. She has worked for some of the world's leading banks including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland. Some of India’s awards include Outstanding Contribution to Diversity (WIBF), Best Female Technologist (European Banking Technology Magazine), Woman of Achievement Award (Woman of the Year), and The World of Difference Award (TIAW). India is recognised on the Powerlist 2010 and is the Chair of the Board of LEAP Charity. She is also the President of the City Women’s Network.

Janet Crenshaw-Smith

Janet Crenshaw Smith is co-founder and President of Ivy Planning Group (Ivy). Minority Business & Professionals Network, Inc. named Janet one of “Fifty Influential Minorities in Business”. Profiles in Diversity Journal featured Janet in its Women of Initiative issue naming her one of “47 Women Worth Watching.” In 2008, she testified before U.S. Congressional Subcommittee as an expert on performance, diversity and inclusion.
Janet is author of the popular 58 Little Things That Make a Big Impact: The MicroTrigger Book and The Diversity Action Book: 143 Things To Go Do. Smith is an engaging speaker and is frequently quoted in national publications on the topics of diversity, change management, and leadership.

Jan Sinclair

Jan is an HR Engagement Manager with IBM working in the Business Development space. She specialises in Strategic Outsourcing and Business Processes Outsourcing here in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East. She has gained many years of experience in various roles within IBM and at Readers Digest:- as a People Manager, Business Area Manager, HR Business Partner and Professional Development Manager. She is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and working towards her Fellow.

Jan has a passion for people and their development which is the main reason for leading IBM’s women's forum – “Connecting Women@IBM” – for the London constituency. She successfully collaborates with external business networks, universities and other groups specialising in gender issues.

Jan is married with 2 grown daughters and during her spare time she is learning to fly and one of her ambitions is to hold a PPL license

Jo Taylor

Jo Taylor is Head of Learning & 4Talent at Channel 4. 4Talent’s aim is to develop and support creative talent at different stages of their careers, reflecting multicultural Britain and a multi-platform industry. She is responsible for C4 talent management strategy which includes developing and delivering their recruitment strategy, learning & development, succession and retention strategies. She also leads on internal diversity for her organisation.

Jo joined Channel 4 in 2007 having worked previously in a variety of roles at the BBC and in the Independent production sector. Most recently as Head of Production Talent at Optomen Television, where she was responsible for recruiting and head hunting talent for the portfolio of productions. Prior to these roles Jo’s experience as mainly been in the genre of Factual Television and has worked a Managing Editor of the Documentaries and Contemporary Factual dept at the BBC which involved the management and career development of the 500 staff employed ranging from Exec Producers to researchers.

Joe Montgomery

Joe Montgomery is Director General for Regions and Communities with the Department for Communities and Local Government. He is now the Government’s policy-lead on the £9.6bn regeneration of the Thames Gateway, Europe’s largest regeneration programme. He also leads on the delivery of the East London Legacy for the 2012 Olympic Games and is responsible for the 2000 staff who work on behalf of 11 Whitehall departments in the Government’s 9 regional offices across England.

Previous roles he has held include Executive Director for Regeneration at Lewisham Council in London, where he spent 7 years as Chief Officer responsible for Housing, Transport, Planning, Leisure and Environment. He has extensive experience of urban policy, the management of public services and regeneration from his work as Assistant Secretary to the Cadbury Trust; as Leader of the Government's Inner City Task Force (in Deptford); and as Chief Executive of one of the 'pathfinder' City Challenge urban regeneration companies.
He has served on the boards of Middlesex University, Lewisham College and The Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Joe was president of INTA – the International Urban Development Association – from 2006 to 2008 and was a non-executive director at the Department for Transport from 2004 to 2007.

Juliana Oyegun

Juliana Oyegun is Chief Diversity Officer, World Bank Group Diversity Programs. She provides strategic advice to management on building values-based approaches to diversity and inclusion. Previously, Ms. Oyegun was Special Advisor, Gender Equity, at the UNHCR in Geneva, facilitating the promotion of a culture of gender equity and parity. She was also Deputy Vice Chancellor/Executive Director for Human Resources & Services at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, having served as senior lecturer and gender equality specialist beforehand. Her credentials include M.A., Gender & Development, University of East Anglia, 1994; LL.B Hons., University of Lagos, 1976. Julie was called to the Nigerian Bar in1977.

Paul Harrison

Paul Harrison is Associate Director OD and Leadership for NHS Yorkshire and the Humber, and Programme Director for Inclusion with the NHS National Leadership Council. Paul has over 15 years experience of working at Board level in a variety of organisations within the NHS. His background is in HRM/HRD and OD. He began his career in Mental Health Services in Sheffield, and has subsequently worked in Community and Hospital settings and at the intermediate tier, mostly in Director roles in HR or OD, but also briefly as Director of Children’s Services and as a Director of Marketing, Communications and Business Development.

Paul has extensive experience of providing OD and HR advice and leadership in a variety of major NHS reorganisations, including organisational mergers, the development of PCTs, and the creation of Strategic Health Authorities. His current focus is on developing more systemic approaches to leadership and talent management and deployment, and using organisational and system development as major tools to deliver change to create high performing organisations and high performing health systems. In his national role he is working with others to develop a strategy to help the NHS build a more diverse and inclusive senior leadership reflective of the communities we serve and the workforces we lead.

Rob Neil

Rob is the Head of Engagement Networks at the Ministry of Justice working in the Employee Relations & Engagement Team which is part of HR. His career started in the Court Service where he began by working in the Lord Chancellor’s Department. During his 27 year career in the Civil Service he has enjoyed a variety of roles at local, regional and national level. Rob was a founding member of the Ministry of Justice’s Black Staff network in 2001, named P.R.O.U.D, and later in that same year became the first elected Chair of the Civil Service Race Equality Network. Rob underlines the importance of faith, family and friends in everything he does and all that he is becoming. He says that “as human beings we do many wonderful things – but we are also capable of terrible things too. It is up to us, as community, to tip the balance”.

Sarah Churchman

Sarah Churchman is Head of Diversity & Engagement for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP UK. She is a senior Human Resources professional with over 20 years' experience. Until recently, she was also responsible for the firm's award winning Student Recruitment Programme which was voted Number One for seven consecutive years in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employer Survey. She is currently a member of the CBI’s Equality & Diversity Forum and The Conference Board.

In 2006 Personnel Today ranked Sarah 28th in the magazine’s list of the most important people in Human Resources. In 2007 and 2010 she acted as a judge in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards and the First Women Awards. She is frequently quoted in the press and has appeared on BBC 1 television, Radio 4 and Radio 5 on several occasions to discuss diversity and employee engagement issues.

Vivian Hunt

Vivian is a Director of McKinsey & Company, based in London. She is the head of McKinsey’s UK Pharmaceutical and Medical Products Practice and leads its commercial pharmaceutical practice for Europe. In her 15 year career she has worked with a variety of healthcare clients, specifically with payors, mental health and acute hospital providers and pharmaceutical players on a range of issues.

Vivian is the most senior woman of Afro-Caribbean descent amongst leading strategy consultancies and has a recognized external profile. She has written several published articles and presented at external conferences on a range of healthcare topics including alternative operating models, innovative growth strategies and Consumerism in Healthcare. Prior to joining McKinsey, Vivian worked in both management and performance improvement roles in the healthcare and consumer sectors. She also worked as a Regional Coordinator, Midwife and Volunteer in the US Peace Corps (Senegal) and as a Healthcare Project Director in New York City.