IoIC Festival 2026

Trevor Williams

Trevor Williams is the former Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, a position he held for well over 10 years. During this time he established a highly-regarded, award-winning, team of economists analysing global and domestic data to support clients ranging from financial institutions, large corporates to SMEs with bespoke insight.

He is a visiting Professor at the University of Derby, rotating Chairman of the Institute of Economic Affairs Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) and author of Trading Economics: A Guide to Economic Statistics for Practitioners (with Victoria Turton).

Trevor also lectures at CASS business school and Cardiff University. He is on the editorial board of Economia and the Journal of Corporate Treasury Management. He previously lectured in Economics and Business Statistics, before working in the UK Government Economic Service (GES). He sits on various charities, including as Patron of Reach Society, Chairman of Ballet Black, and Through the Looking Glass.

He regularly writes articles for publications, such as Moneyfacts, Clear Path Analysis, and Economia to name a few. He appears in the financial press and on television to discuss and comment on economic issues.

Georgia Lewis Anderson

Georgia Lewis Anderson is an award-winning AI expert and leading technology speaker.

Over the course of her remarkable career, she has worked as an award-winning AI content and prompt engineering strategist for some of the world’s biggest technology giants. Her biggest achievements include developing the virtual assistant Cortana for Microsoft and launching Google’s Google Assistant in the UK market.

Georgia Lewis Anderson is best known for being one of the world’s most accomplished professionals in the arena of artificial intelligence. At her keynote speaking events, she covers a variety of topics relating to AI including creativity, marketing, social media and music.

Beyond her AI achievements, she has also worked as a professional broadcaster for Apple Music, Channel 4, the BBC and more.

Andy Lopata

Andy Lopata is an internationally recognised authority on professional relationships, with more than 25 years of experience helping organisations and individuals unlock the commercial and cultural value of connection. The author of six books and co-host of The Connected Leadership Podcast, Andy is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and has written for Harvard Business Review, including a chapter in the HBR Guide to Retaining Your Best People.

Acknowledged globally for his expertise, Andy has been shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Coaching and Mentoring Award, underlining his reputation as one of the leading voices shaping the future of leadership development. He is also a Fellow of both the Professional Speaking Association and the Learning and Performance Institute, and a member of the Association of Business Mentors, the Society of Authors, and the Meetings Industry Association.

Andy’s innovative framework, The Relationship Matrix, equips leaders and teams to map, measure, and strengthen the professional relationships that drive collaboration, trust, and long-term results. His practical yet strategic approach has inspired audiences at organisations including PayPal, Google, Harrods, the BBC, and Saïd Business School, as well as governments around the world.

With a rare ability to blend research-based insights, engaging storytelling, and actionable tools, Andy helps organisations tackle some of today’s most pressing challenges— retention, collaboration across silos, and leadership trust. Event planners and business leaders book Andy not only for his global experience but also for his skill in making complex relationship dynamics accessible, memorable, and immediately applicable.

Tom Abbott

Managing Partner, 44 Communications

A senior communications professional with experience across a range of disciplines, including leadership communications, digital solutions, corporate communications, brand management, corporate responsibility, content marketing and crisis communications. I work with senior leadership teams to provide insight and guidance as well as supporting communicators at all levels. I am a knowledgeable speaker and facilitator with a strong track record of leading diverse teams with global responsibility in complex organisations. I am focused on creating working environments where high-performing teams can deliver for businesses, their customers and stakeholders.

Julie Ackley

Leadership Communications Consultant, Insight and Optimisation, Corporate Communications, Barclays

Lucy Atkinson

Executive Director, AG Impact

Lucy is an internal communications and change specialist with over 30 years’ experience across charities, startups, SMEs and global organisations. She has led and advised on engagement, culture and change programmes for teams at all levels and has served on two charity boards. Lucy designs and delivers training to help teams shape messaging, navigate change and work more effectively together. Energised by collaboration and problem solving, she has worked with organisations including The Girls’ Network, Chain Biotech, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Syngenta, ISS, Manchester Citizens Advice, Better You, Care UK, the NHS, AstraZeneca and She Changes Climate.

Elaine Bailey

Internal Communications Manager, JP Morgan

With 25 years at JPMorganChase, Elaine has seen first-hand how culture really plays out inside a global organisation. Supporting internal communications across 30+ countries, she works at the sharp end of employee experience – shaping the messages, moments and conversations that help people make sense of change. Over the years she’s held roles spanning HR, technology communications and DEI – giving her a rare inside view of how strategy, culture and communication intersect in complex organisations.

Elaine is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in IT. Outside work she’s happiest with music, a good book, or out walking with her dog.

Nick Barron

Deputy CEO, MHP Group

Nick is a corporate reputation strategist, who specialises in helping companies define what they stand for and building campaigns that influence conversations and change behaviours.

Nick has advised leading global brands, ranging from Wayve, Novo Nordisk and Syngenta Group to Coca-Cola, Manchester City FC and The Economist Group.

Nick leads MHP’s audience, data & analytics research programme and oversees the agency’s academic and business partnerships, working with Cambridge University, Stanford University, UCL and Influence At Work. He is an expert in trust and polarisation.

Nick previously ran Edelman’s Corporate Reputation team in London and began his career at The Football Association and Wembley Stadium. He previously served on the board of Goldsmiths, University of London.

Jon Bates

Employee and Leader Communications, EMEA , Microsoft

I’m an entrepreneurial internal communications leader passionate about transforming how organisations connect, engage, and inspire from the inside out. Known for creating thumb‑stopping content, turning engagement data into insight, and coaching leaders to communicate with clarity and impact, I specialise in bringing strategy to life in ways that genuinely shape culture.

Today I'm responsible for employee and leader communications for Microsoft EMEA, helping connect and empower more than 10,000 employees across 120 markets. A core part of my role is partnering with senior leaders to build thought leadership that cuts through, ensuring messages resonate authentically with both internal and external audiences.

Previously, at RVU, Liberty Global, and Virgin Media, I built a reputation for delivering consumer‑grade internal communications that are cohesive, human, and outcome‑driven, designed to unite teams, enable leaders, and help employees see themselves in the strategy.

Dean Beswick

Founder & CEO, Gorilla Gorilla!

A unique blend of filmmaker and communications thinker, Dean is passionate about combining filmmaking flair with channel savvy, audience insights, and strategic communications expertise to produce effective video-led campaigns for internal and external audiences.

Gorilla Gorilla!’s current client list includes the communications and content teams at Amazon, Anglo American, Arsenal Football Club, BBC Storyworks, GSK, Hays, HSBC, and Reckitt.

Outside of client work, Dean loves producing documentaries about hidden stories. His latest, Midnight Rising, about the UK’s LGBTQ+ Asian rave scene was shown at London Film Festival. He is currently developing a new project about British aviatrix Amy Johnson.

Helen (also known as H) Bissett

Director of Possibility & Founder, H&H

Curious minds, bold questions, brave ideas – H has been fuelling them for over 20 years in the world of comms. She works with leaders on everything from setting strategic direction to rebuilding trust after seismic organisational shifts, reaching hundreds of thousands of employees across the world. Known for her straight-talking, future-focused style, H challenges leaders to move beyond the “poster and pizza” approach to culture. Her work champions conscious leadership, purposeful storytelling, and meaningful experiences – grounded in the belief that the future of leadership will be defined more by empathy and curiosity, than by hierarchy and control. Away from client work, she’s happiest experimenting in the kitchen, or halfway up a hill whilst listening to a podcast – always learning, always exploring.

Lynsey Bonell

Communications Manager, Santander UK

Lynsey Bonell approaches work and life with bags of energy and a sense of humour. With extensive experience in internal communications, employee engagement and facilitation she’s passionate about delivering outcome and purpose driven work with heart. Lynsey is a Communications Manager at Santander UK, partnering the Corporate and Commercial Banking CEO. Outside of work she’s sings in Errata, London’s queerest choir and performs drag and comedy.

Nigel Borowski

Founder , The Human-Centred Design Agency

Nigel Borowski is Founder of The Human-Centred Design Agency and creator of the Story Hackathon - immersive experiences that help organisations use storytelling to shift thinking, behaviour and culture. He works with senior leaders across engineering, defence and luxury sectors to design change experiences that move beyond information and create genuine belief. Nigel combines organisational transformation, behavioural insight and documentary-style storytelling to help teams surface the real human tensions behind change. He is passionate about stories that influence what people think, feel and ultimately do differently… not just what they know.

David Brown

UK Head of Department: Marketing & Operations, Heriot-Watt University

David Brown is UK Head of the Marketing and Operations Department, and an Associate Professor in Marketing, at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. His PhD reconceptualised internal marketing, and he has researched and published extensively on cultural aspects of internal communication, especially in relation to sustainable outcomes. He regularly provides member factsheets and facilitates member workshops for institutes such as IoIC, and spent 18 years in senior sales, marketing and comms roles in industry before joining academia – mainly for vehicle and capital equipment manufacturers. A keen hillwalker and long-distance hiker, David and his family live in Darlington, Northeast England.

Ruth Clarke FCIP

Managing Partner, Six

Ruth is Managing Partner at Six, a strategic activation and creative agency, where she leads change and transformation programmes for complex organisations across energy, retail, finance, defence and education. She works closely with Boards, HR, Internal Communications and Brand teams to turn bold strategy into stories people can believe in and act on. 

With over 20 years’ experience, she specialises in aligning narrative, behaviour and mindset, particularly as organisations navigate AI disruption and rising expectations of authentic leadership. An FCIPD and CIM qualified practitioner, she is a passionate and engaging speaker, known for bringing energy, clarity and humanity to conversations about change. She is committed to building brave, human brand cultures where change feels as powerful as it looks. 

Suzy Dean

CEO, Addin365

Suzy is the CEO and Founder of Addin365, a digital workplace consultancy that designs and delivers intranets for large organisations such as St James’ Place, Cadillac F1 Team and Department for Transport.

Suzy has earned worldwide recognition from Microsoft as a technology expert, holding the Microsoft MVP status for seven years in a row for her elite expertise in Microsoft Viva, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Copilot. Since 2004, she has led the implementation of intranets, portals and communication solutions within various organisations.

In 2022, Suzy received the everywoman award for Entrepreneurship. She has also been honoured as Computing Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year and was named in Management Today’s 35 under 35 list.

Frank Dias

AI Adoption and Change Consultant, Quilter

Frank Dias is an AI Adoption and Change Consultant at Quilter, and founder of Ai x Comms Lab, where he helps organisations build sustainable AI capability through a human-first lens. With over 15 years’ communications experience, he brings a practical, grounded perspective to AI transformation, having navigated early AI integration across four complex organisations.

Ross Duncan

Colleague Communications & Experience, Lloyds Banking Group

With nearly 20 years' experience in communication roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Ross supports large-scale change programmes, bringing clarity and simplicity to complex messages. He focuses on providing leaders with valuable, practical guidance that helps people engage with communication and understand the why.

Richard Etienne

Founder, The Introvert Space™

Richard Etienne is Founder of The Introvert Space™, where his work focuses on helping thoughtful professionals lead with value rather than volume and supporting organisations to design cultures that value contribution over performance style.

Richard advises leaders navigating increased scrutiny and exposure and serves as a trustee for several UK charities.

He is the author of Self-Promotion for Introverts and a regular contributor on leadership presence and workplace inclusion for the BBC and other media outlets.

Jenni Field

Founder and CEO, Redefining Communications

Jenni Field is a global expert in leadership credibility and internal communication. She helps organisations and teams communicate clearly, lead credibly, and build cultures that thrive.

She’s the founder of Redefining Communications, co-founder of The Belief Builders, author of Influential Internal Communication and Nobody Believes You, and host of the podcasts Redefining Comms with Jenni Field and weekly podcast Frequency.

An international speaker, consultant and coach, Jenni helps leaders and organisations go from chaos to calm by fixing the things that stop people communicating and leading effectively.

You can find her on LinkedIn and Instagram, and explore her work, writing, and podcasts at redefiningcomms.com, thebeliefbuilders.com and thejennifield.com

Liz Fussell

Senior Internal Communications Manager, Virgin Media O2

Currently a Senior Internal Communications Manager at Virgin Media O2, Liz's career in telecommunications has spanned communications, sales, and marketing. She brings together an analytical approach with a long‑standing love of creativity, copywriting and storytelling that began in childhood and continued through her language studies at the University of Warwick. Her work focuses on clear, thoughtful and people‑centred communication that helps organisations and leaders connect with their employees in meaningful ways.

Liz lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, their two‑year‑old daughter, and their very pampered Burmese cat.

Adaora Geiger

Partner and Head of Transformation and Change, H/Advisors Maitland

Adaora leads the Transformation & Change practice at H/Advisors Maitland. She is an expert in change communications with a special focus on leadership enablement and measures that involve and mobilise employees across the organisation. She advises global clients in complex communication situations – from crisis and reputation management to M&A, restructuring or culture change. She is passionate about creating meaningful content and activations that drive sustainable change.

Adaora is a German native, but has lived in London for nearly nine years. 

Naomi Goodman

Head of Change & Employee Engagement, MHP Group

Naomi specialises in employee communications for change and transformation.

With almost two decades of change and communications experience, Naomi has led internal communications, employer brand and behaviour change programmes for UK SMEs to global, listed companies. Clients have included Baker Hughes, Davies Group, Deutsche Bank, Flora Food Group, Freeths LLP, innocent, InterContinental Hotels Group, Invesco, Investec, Novartis, Roche, Sellafield Ltd, The Coca-Cola Company and Vesuvius. Sector agnostic, she blends her breadth and depth of experience with each client’s unique challenge, helping to identify and activate solutions that truly deliver business value.

Certified in PR, change management and meditation teaching, Naomi is passionate about equipping individuals to embrace change. At MHP Group, she leads the Change and Employee Engagement division, where she regularly partners with organisations to help attract the best talent, empower employees to perform and companies to grow and transform.

Naomi is an active member of the International Association of Business Communicators, a career mentor and a regular judge for the Institute of Internal Communication’s Annual Awards.

Alex Graves

Co‑Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Silicon Reef

Alex Graves is the Co‑Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at Silicon Reef, bringing more than a decade of experience working with Microsoft 365 tools to help organisations modernise internal communication and enhance employee experience.

His work centres on simplifying complex digital ecosystems and enabling communicators to build more connected, people‑first workplaces. Alex regularly shares practical guidance with IC leaders, blending strategic insight with a grounded understanding of day‑to‑day comms challenges.

Outside of work, Alex can be found enjoying the Dorset coast with his family, and is always happy to chat cricket or football over a coffee.

Shalini Gupta

Head of Internal Communications, UKIMEA, Arup

Toni Hansbury

Internal Campaigns and Channels Manager, Severn Trent

Toni Hansbury is the Internal Campaigns and Channels Manager at Severn Trent, where she brings energy and creativity to how colleagues connect with teams across the business – whether they’re out in the field or based at head office. Alongside her comms career, Toni’s spent the last 15 years dedicated to her other passion: teaching dance. She runs a Midlands‑based dance school and is often travelling around the country for dance and cheerleading events. Whether she’s shaping the next big campaign or supporting her students, Toni’s focus is on connecting people, making communication simpler, and creating moments that make a difference.

Steve Hayes

Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications , GreenSquareAccord

Steve has more than a decade of experience leading communications functions in large, diverse organisations. After moving into communications and PR following a career as a newspaper journalist, he led communications for the Chartered Institute of Housing and has subsequently overseen award-winning transformations of the communications functions at housing associations Citizen and GSA. Steve is a Fellow of the IoIC and a non-executive director at creative agency, Creative Bridge.

Lynsey Hutchison

Director, Head of Insight and Optimisation, Corporate Communications, Barclays

Lynsey has over 20 years’ experience in the Financial Services industry, 13 of those dedicated to internal communications and engagement.
As a certified six sigma black belt with a love of data, Lynsey embraces her inner geek and delights in exploring innovative ways to leverage insights and technology to optimise internal communications processes and build engagement strategies that make a difference.

Marcus Iles

Strategy Partner, Six

Marcus Iles is Strategy Partner at Six and its Chief Storytelling Officer, with over 25 years’ experience across advertising, communications and change consultancy. He has worked with global brands including Heineken, Renault, Morrisons, Sanofi, Zurich, Müller, NPPD and Micro Focus, holding senior strategist and creative director roles at Publicis and TBWA. He is also qualified in behavioural economics. 

At Six, Marcus champions story-driven organisations, helping leaders activate strategy through belief, connection and capability. Bringing both sharp strategic thinking and a big, infectious personality to the stage, he challenges audiences to see storytelling not as soft skill, but as a commercial superpower that drives clarity, alignment and extraordinary performance. 

Izzy Ingram

Senior Consultant Transformation & Change, H/Advisors Maitland

Izzy advises global organisations on communicating with internal stakeholders during complex change. She combines expertise in strategic communications with strong analytical capability, enabling her to connect strategy, data, and storytelling, translating complex insights into clear, persuasive messages.

Ben Johnson

Global Internal Communications Lead, Arup

Ben leads and works with our global internal communications teams around the world to help professionalise the internal communications function within Arup. Ben also works with our firm's Strategy Office to communicate the breadth of strategic change happening throughout the firm, and leads on projects designed to improve the quality of our channels and content. Ben has worked as a journalist and content creator for a range of companies.

Outside of work he enjoys reading, cinema, and live music.

Hannah Jones

Senior Global Internal Communications Manager, Arup

Hannah shapes strategic internal communications for two primary global audiences: Arup’s 18,000‑strong membership and its 650-strong senior leadership. She ensures these communications are cohesive, aligning to Arup’s Global Strategy and purpose.

Hannah advises the global Board members on how to land complex messages to different audiences with clarity, authenticity and impact. She produces our quarterly global Town Halls, leadership communications and engagement, as well as increasing visibility and trust in our new leadership and Strategy.

With experience across sectors including retail, energy, government and the built environment, she translates corporate information into compelling narratives that support understanding and belonging.

Outside work, she enjoys reading, art, live music and exploring London.

Bethany Joy

Brand Voice Strategist

Bethany helps companies define their organisational personality and develop the language that reflects it. Before striking out on her own in 2016 she spent a decade working in a variety of communications and writing roles in the UK, the US, and Australia. Less pertinently - but perhaps more interestingly - she’s also a trained singer with secret dreams of a career crooning jazz standards in some smoky back bar in New York.

She loves the smell of coffee but hates the taste. And she’s terrified of sharks.

: https://www.bethanyjoy.co.uk/
: linkedin.com/in/iambethanyjoy

Beatrice Ngalula Kabutakapua

Founder and CEO, The Business Storytelling Centre

Beatrice Ngalula Kabutakapua is an international speaker, best-selling author of Lead With Your Story, business storytelling coach and CEO of The Business Storytelling Centre. A former award-winning journalist, she helps organisations — including WPP Media, Booking.com and Save The Children — uncover and share the internal stories that build culture, develop leaders and drive employee engagement. With a background spanning three continents, three languages and thousands of participants from Los Angeles to Istanbul, Beatrice brings rare energy and practical insight to every room. Her clients have referred to Beatrice’s work as being “thought-provoking”, “genius”, and “empowering”. 

Hannah Keep

Strategy Communications Lead, Yusen Logistics

Kate Kotiou

Head of Enterprise - Talent & Learning and Development, APCOA Group Ltd

Kate Kotiou is Head of Enterprise – Talent and Learning & Development at APCOA Group, leading global initiatives that connect culture, capability and digital transformation across the business. She partners closely with leaders and frontline teams across Europe to build practical, people-first learning ecosystems that drive performance, clarity and engagement at scale.

Kate holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master’s in Human Resource Management, and is currently pursuing an MBA focused on strategic leadership and enterprise value creation. She began her career as a Marketing Assistant - an experience that shaped her strong belief that even the best strategies only land when they’re communicated clearly and brought to life in a way people genuinely connect with.

Her personal motto is simple: make the world of work a kinder, happier place - while delivering real business impact. She combines commercial thinking with empathy, structure and a bias for action to help organisations turn strategy into everyday behaviour.

Fanny Le Tanter

Global Internal Communication Lead, BVI Medical

Originating from France, BVI was my first company in the UK, and I’ve been there for 15 years, spanning roles in Customer Service, UK Sales, M&A Integration and Downstream Marketing. I transitioned to Corporate Communications during the pandemic, helping establish the department from the ground up. In this team of two, my strategy and tactics focus on embedding BVI’s culture, vision, mission and values across the organisation. I believe in the power of employee engagement as a virtuous cycle to strengthen retention and attract top talent.

Beth Lloyd

Internal Communication Manager, Imperial College London

Beth Lloyd is an Internal Communication Manager at Imperial College London, having joined the central team three years ago during a period of significant growth. Drawing on previous experience as a sole communications lead within a department at another Higher Education institution, Beth understands the challenges faced by colleagues working in similar roles. Alongside colleagues in the Internal Communications team, she has helped establish the Internal Communications Network as a trusted source of expertise across the university. In her current role, Beth manages core communication channels and provides strategic support to major staff and student projects.

Trecilla Lobo

SVP People, Flip

As SVP, People & Culture at Flip, Trecilla Lobo specializes in building workplace cultures that drive high performance. She brings over two decades of expertise in scaling global tech firms and is responsible for Flip’s end-to-end people strategy, ensuring that inclusivity and engagement remain at the heart of the company’s growth.

Clare Lynch

Brand Language Alchemist, Broom & Moon

Clare is a storyteller who’s spent decades spinning wordy gold from the dullest of ingredients. It’s a superpower she uses to help executives at big brands translate what they want to say into something their employees and customers want to hear. Once introduced to a client’s stakeholder as “the smartest person in the room and also the most direct”, Clare is allergic to all things corpspeak and abstract. She’s also not afraid to ask the questions that get to the heart of an issue. Most often: “But what does that actually look like?”.

Rachel Mallender

Senior Content Consultant, 4am Creative

Rachel Mallender is a Senior Content Consultant and the founder of 4am Creative, partnering with organisations to develop bold, audience-led creative strategy. Over a 20-year career spanning the BBC, Bauer Media, HarperCollins and Blinkist, she has shaped nationally recognised brands and led content and audience strategy across broadcast, publishing, and global digital platforms. Rachel’s work includes producing the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show and driving large-scale audience growth and content transformation. Today, Rachel brings broadcast-level creativity and strategic rigour into complex organisations, helping leaders turn business priorities into communication that builds trust, clarity, and lasting cultural impact.

Leonie Michel

Head of Business Projects, Robert Walters

Leonie is the Head of Business Projects at Robert Walters, where she leads the delivery of transformative initiatives designed to enhance organisational performance. Central to her role is fostering cross-functional collaboration, partnering with teams including the internal communications function and others across all departments to guide projects that advance core strategic priorities. By bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, Leonie ensures that each initiative supports the broader vision and direction of the business.

Rachel Miller

Founder, All Things IC

Rachel Miller is an internationally recognised authority on IC and the founder of All Things IC.

A former journalist, with more than 20 years' IC experience, she advises many of the world's best-known companies through her consulting business.

She’s a Fellow of IoIC, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence in Australia. She was awarded CIPR's President's Medal in 2020 for distinguished service to PR.

Rachel hosts the Candid Comms podcast and is an industry thought leader in the University of Florida's IC Research Hub. She’s authored two books, Internal Communication Strategy and Successful Change Communication. She’s never far from LEGO, stationery or a cup of tea.

Viv Morgan

Colleague Communications & Experience, Lloyds Banking Group

Viv is a former journalist who has worked in internal comms across financial services and FMCG. Now part of Lloyds’ Colleague Communications & Experience team, she specialises in strategic storytelling – finding fresh, creative ways to cut through the noise and inject some fun when the moment’s right.

Nazia Nathu CIIC

Head of Internal Communications (audit), BDO UK LLP

Alice Nicholl

Senior Global Internal Communications Manager, Arup

Alice leads global internal communication for Arup’s businesses, markets and services, working closely with senior stakeholders. Her focus is on helping members understand where the firm is growing, how Arup is responding to client needs, and how their work contributes to Arup’s impact.

Part of her role is bringing visibility to the projects Arup delivers globally – from transport and energy to digital solutions – using the right channels to support understanding and dialogue. She collaborates with communications and marketing colleagues globally, and brings experience across leadership communications, supporting change, channel development and managing global events.

Alice enjoys cooking, exploring the origins of words, and short walks with her tiny legged‑dog.

Teresa North

Stakeholder Whisperer, Broom & Moon

Teresa’s been working in internal comms longer than it’s been a thing. Over the past 30 years, she’s led comms teams for big brands like Microsoft, Dow Jones and Prudential. Today, she brings those skills to a wider range of disciplines, always using her ability to understand where her clients are coming from, the political world they’re operating in and what they’re really thinking and saying (perhaps even more than they do themselves). 

Teresa’s at her happiest when hanging with her daughter, and is at her most smiley in meetings when still shaking off the chill of Brighton’s icy waters.

Roisin Pope

Head of Global Strategic Communications, Robert Walters

Roisin Pope is the Head of Global Strategic Communications at Robert Walters, where she steers the organisation’s global narrative and executive communications. With extensive expertise in corporate storytelling, Roisin excels at engaging diverse teams across international markets. She collaborates closely with senior leadership to align business objectives and reinforce brand trust worldwide, ensuring that communications support the company’s strategic vision and growth.

Before joining Robert Walters, Roisin spent over 12 years at Mars, contributing to major global programmes across purpose, sustainability, and employee engagement. She brings deep expertise in unifying global teams, navigating complex change, and driving adoption of digital platforms with lean resources.

Dan Porter

Co-founder, Scriberia

Dan co-founded Scriberia, one of the world’s first visual strategy agencies. A pioneer of “vision mapping,” he uses drawing as a consultancy tool to filter complexity, align stakeholders and communicate change at scale. With decades of experience supporting large public and private organisations, Dan brings a distinctive perspective on the communication challenges of transformation.

Rachel Porter

Director of Storytelling, Scriberia

Rachel specialises in storytelling for internal communication. With a background in British national newspaper journalism, she brings a sharp editorial lens to organisational narrative. At Scriberia, she helps clients structure and surface the stories that make transformation visible, understandable and actionable.

Joe Salmon FIIC

Director, Corporate Communications, Iron Mountain

Joe is a seasoned communications leader with a proven track record of driving organisational success. With over two decades of communication expertise, spanning agency, consultancy, and in-house roles at companies including Vodafone, BT, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, and Spotify. He excels at providing strategic leadership communication and coaching to enhance visibility, reputation and trust, while crafting employee campaigns delivered through compelling storytelling to help organisations to grow from the inside out.

His expertise spans leadership communication, employee engagement, and navigating organisational change. Joe has a Post Graduate Diploma in Internal Communication Management, and is a passionate advocate for the internal communication profession, his influence extends beyond the day job. He's an elected Board Director and Fellow at the Institute of Internal Communication, a champion for inclusion and belonging through the UK Black Comms Network, a recognised event host, speaker, mentor, and awards judge. And PRovoke Media Innovator 25 honouree.

Risha Shah

Channels and Innovation Manager, Virgin Media O2

Risha has over 10 years’ experience in communications. She began her career in the book publishing industry after completing a degree in English Literature, before moving into internal communications. More recently, Risha has been working at VMO2, partnering closely with internal communications teams with a particular focus on channels. She is especially interested in how communication channels perform, and how they can help build and shape behaviour and trust within organisations.

Outside of work, Risha enjoys running and spending time with her two boys.

Tasneem Shahpurwala

Senior Global Internal Communications Manager, Arup

Tasneem leads the firm’s global content and channel strategy, shaping how global strategic messaging flows across diverse internal audiences. In addition, Tasneem is the strategic communications partner to the global People function, advising on narrative, positioning and engagement for key people‑related initiatives.

With a background in psychology and counselling, she’s always been interested in how people work – what helps them feel heard, what builds trust, and what gets in the way. She stays connected to the wider IC community by hosting a monthly space for communicators to share ideas and learn from each other.

Outside work, Tasneem enjoys going to the gym, travelling and keeping up with a couple of 20+ year old 'know it alls'.

Alice Sheldon

Founder, Needs Understanding

Alice Sheldon is a former barrister and Chief Executive of a national charity with a background in leadership and communication. She holds an MA in Psychology and Neurophysiology from the University of Oxford and is the author of Why Weren’t We Taught This at School?, now translated into ten languages worldwide.

Alice is the founder of Needs Understanding and works with organisations globally to equip teams with practical tools for communication and emotional literacy. Her work helps people understand themselves and others through the lens of human needs, building the trust, clarity and collaboration that sit at the heart of effective leadership and thriving organisations.

Katherine Simpkins

Communications Manager, Santander UK

Katherine Simpkins is an award-winning employee experience, communications and culture leader, bringing warmth, curiosity and realism to her work.  A Communications Manager at Santander UK, partnering the Retail & Business Banking CEO, Katherine is passionate about helping leaders show up and build trust. Outside of work, she’s a Mum of one, keen cook and country gardener.

Debra Sobel

Founder, The Purpose Hub

Debra is the founder of The Purpose Hub. She's an experienced strategic communications expert who's spent over 19 years helping national and multinational brands use the power of storytelling to accelerate positive change. Her work with organisations including Vodafone Foundation, Vitality, TSB, CGI, Experian, Pinsent Masons, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and Mental Health UK, has helped ensure internal alignment, define clear purpose-driven strategies and produce communications and film content that builds trust, mobilises change and delivers impactful transformation. Before founding her first agency in 2006, she was a BBC Prime Time Producer/Director, crafting editorially strong and powerful stories for programmes including Crimewatch, Watchdog, Lifeline, and political & environmental documentaries. 

Emily Spicer

Director of Client Solutions, Scriberia

Emily leads client solutions at Scriberia, partnering with organisations to design visual and narrative approaches that clarify strategy and support change. She works closely with leadership teams to translate complex ideas into practical, engaging communication that drives alignment and action.

Jennifer Sproul

Chief Executive, Institute of Internal Communication

Jennifer is responsible for the leadership of IoIC, the only independent professional body solely dedicated to internal communication. IoIC is the voice of internal communication, setting standards for more than 70 years through qualifications, career development, thought leadership and best practice.  

Prior to joining IoIC, Jennifer has worked for over 20 years in professional associations, most recently as Strategic Marketing & Sales Director at the Market Research Society, developing and leading on activities across marketing communications (both internal & external), careers, membership, professional development and publishing. ­­­

Natalie Swanser MSc FCSCE CIIC MCIPR

Chief Executive Officer | Strategic Communication Leader & Fellow, NS Communications Ltd

Natalie Swanser, MSc FCSCE CIIC MCIPR, is a strategic communication practitioner, researcher and speaker known for exploring the space where ethics, influence and communication meet. As Chief Executive of NS Communications Ltd, she works across healthcare and pharmaceutical environments, supporting leaders to navigate complexity, change and organisational storytelling. A Fellow of the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence and recipient of the Sam Black Prize from the University of Stirling, Natalie blends academic insight with lived practice, bringing theory into real world conversation. A returning IoIC Festival speaker, she is recognised for reflective, thought-provoking sessions that challenge assumptions while remaining accessible, human and grounded in everyday communication realities.

Laura Targett

Internal Communications Channels and Engagement Manager, Quilter

Laura Targett is Internal Communications Channels and Engagement Manager at Quilter, where she leads programmes that help colleagues feel informed, confident and supported through change. With a background in internal communications across financial services and insurance, she brings a strong mix of behavioural insight, people experience and practical delivery. Laura has shaped Quilter’s AI adoption approach from its earliest stages, building confidence at scale through clear storytelling, inclusive learning and community engagement. She's passionate about creating environments where colleagues can thrive, and uses evidence‑based practice to turn complex ideas into clear, human communications that drive real impact.

Debbie Thackray

Impact Director, AG Impact

Debbie is an impact specialist with deep expertise in ESG, community impact and responsible business. As Impact Director at AG Impact, she leads purpose‑driven strategies that help organisations create positive, measurable change for people and the planet. Previously, Debbie served as Impact Manager at B Lab UK, where she supported a community of 2,500 B Corps through recertification and continuous improvement, designing programmes, partnerships and forums that strengthened community impact and cross‑sector collaboration. Known for her strategic insight and systems thinking, Debbie brings a holistic, solutions‑focused approach to embedding impact across organisations.

Helen Theofanous

Head of Employee Engagement, Mott MacDonald

Helen Theofanous is global Head of Employee Engagement at Mott MacDonald. She works closely with senior leaders on high-stakes change and internal communications, often in sensitive situations. Helen specialises in helping organisations create trust and clarity at pace, especially when things feel uncertain.

Known for her calm, human-centred approach, she believes good communication starts with perspective – something she finds most easily by the sea, where she can step back, feel grounded, and reconnect with what really matters.

Claire Tristram

Greene King

I am a dedicated communications professional with nearly 20 years experience in roles focused on HR communication and change management with reputable organisations spanning across a number of sectors (Greene King, Ferrero, Tarmac and Rolls-Royce).

My passion lies in building employee engagement and driving strategic initiatives that enhance organisational performance. What do I love most about my job? LIVE EVENTS! I genuinely believe that live interactions create a platform for genuine connections, building team spirit and a sense of belonging within a workforce. The power comes from harnessing the benefits of face to face interactions to support a culture where each and every employee feels seen, heard, and empowered to thrive.

Emma Turner

Internal Communications & Engagement Consultant

I’m passionate about helping leaders and employees connect through creative and engaging communications that bring strategies and values to life and deliver positive outcomes for businesses and their people.

I bring a wealth of in-house expertise from over 20 years leading internal communications in global businesses.

• Global organisational change (offshoring, outsourcing, operating model change)
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestments
• Technology deployments & new ways of working
• Intranet design, implementation & adoption
• Event design & delivery
• Business strategy, values & culture programmes
• Leadership development and upskilling
• Audit, re-design & set up of IC teams

KEY SKILLS

• Creates & delivers compelling strategies, campaigns and events, aligned to business priorities
• Strong stakeholder engagement at all levels
• Creative problem solving and simplifying the complex
• Leads multi-disciplinary / matrix teams in complex, global environments
• Tech and AI savvy, with the ability to think strategically and deliver tactically

Dominic Walters

Leadership Communication Specialist and IoIC President

Dominic has specialised in leadership and line manager communication and development for over 25 years. He has worked in senior ‘in-house’ roles and as a coach and consultant in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, supporting leadership teams across a range of sectors.

He has also featured in print, podcast, TV and radio promoting effective leadership communication. Dominic has worked with leadership teams in finance, pharmaceuticals, engineering, healthcare and public sector.

Dominic is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and past national Chairman, Governance Adviser and Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication. When the Festival take place, Dominic will the be President of the IoIC. He has developed the audiobook, ‘Leading Inside Out’ in conjunction with IoIC.

Ben Watson

Head of Strategy and Director, Blue Goose

Sara West

Internal Communication Manager, Imperial College London