Speakers

Mark Baker has decades of experience connecting business communities to accelerate change.

Mark founded Sircula Ltd to enable B2B communities to connect, learn and grow. In June 2018 Mark launched d&i Leaders to bring together global diversity, inclusion and HR related professionals. Since then, Mark and the team have established an annual programme of strategic in-person and online summits and conferences,

As the Engineering Lead for a large business unit in BAE Systems Digital Intelligence I am responsible for ensuring we have the right software engineering capability to meet our customer requirements.

Key for me is to build a diverse, engaged workforce which starts with how we recruit and develop junior software engineers. Over the last seven years we have adapted our recruitment and academy programmes to focus on finding talent with the aptitude and enthusiasm for the role rather than concentrating on paper qualifications.

André is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager at Milbank LLP and a Trustee of the Bridge Group.

André has specialized in talent attraction, recruitment and retention as well as Diversity & Inclusion for over ten years. Prior to moving to Milbank, he was the Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing at WHSmith plc,

Stephen is a globally recognised diversity, inclusion and leadership expert, and founded Included in 2012. He leads the team and works with leaders around the world to embed inclusive leadership in their decision-making.

From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programmes for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London Organising Committee.

Alex has worked in the diversity and inclusion world for over 10 years. She currently works at BAE Systems as a Diversity Manager, partnering with the recruitment, talent and learning teams to build inclusion into all of their work. Prior to this she worked in HR at the British Film Institute and at Stonewall the LGBTQ+ charity,

Richard is responsible for BAE Systems UK Education & Skills strategy and for the pipeline of future talent through its education outreach activities with schools and the design and development of apprenticeship programmes. BAE Systems is one of the largest employers of apprentices and has c2000 apprentices. It is an Ofsted Grade 1 Apprenticeship Provider and won in 2018 the Macro Apprentice Employer of the Year Award at the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Vanessa is a Recruitment Manager and Law Graduate. Having obtained her LLB, she later became CIPD qualified and studied a postgraduate course in Human Resources management. Vanessa’s career has involved working in the aviation industry, investment banks and more recently, law firms. In her current role, Vanessa is responsible for lateral and graduate recruitment strategy and delivery.

Nicola leads Business in the Community’s work across education, employment and skills, including the award-winning Ban the Box campaign and the Opening Doors inclusive recruitment campaign. Nicola is responsible for a team driving action from businesses to support disadvantaged learners and jobseekers, remove barriers to work and develop skills. She works closely with the business members of the Employment &

Mark has delivered numerous diversity and inclusion projects in the UK and internationally for organisations across a wide variety of sectors, including The Financial Reporting Council, Lloyds Market Association, High Speed Two (HS2), Bermuda Hospital Board, Groupama Insurance, The BBC, Sheffield University, NHS Clinical Commissioning Group Boards, Highways England, ITV, DR TV Denmark, The Bermuda Human Rights Commission and The Law Society.

Gordon has worked in the recruitment industry for over 16 years. He has been with SSE PLC for the last 6 years in the role of Head of Resourcing and is responsible for recruitment across the SSE Group. Prior to joining SSE, Gordon worked in the Oil & Gas sector, latterly as the Head of Resourcing for Wood responsible for recruitment across all their UK Group operations both on and offshore.

Nerida started her career as an apprentice in the HR team of the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. In 2008, she moved to the UK where she joined Goldsmiths College and restarted her career, adapting to the UK recruitment market.

From there, Nerida has grown her experience within recruitment in a vast array of industries including,

Antonia works for The Body Shop as their Inclusive Hiring Lead, UK & Global Functions. Antonia leads the Open Hiring programme in the UK, having introduced it to the Market in 2021 for seasonal recruitment. Antonia is passionate about supporting marginalised people, while helping them overcome barriers to employment. Open Hiring does this by partnering with charities that support marginalised people.

Clare is head of the Pinsent Masons Lateral Recruitment team and has over 20 years’ experience in talent acquisition. A divorced mother of two, Clare is a passionate and active advocate of diversity and inclusion with a particular emphasis on the advancement of women in business contributing to the Pinsent Masons Global Inclusion Board as their talent attraction representative.

Deborah consults with key business leaders across GSK to develop strategic diversity recruitment plans for the UK to include strategic sourcing for diverse talent.