ADVISORY PANEL
HEAD OF THE PANEL
Dr. Zaheer Ahmad MBE
Head of Unifying Culture, BDO UK
Zaheer Ahmad is a prominent voice in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). With an extensive and distinguished career spanning senior DEI roles at prominent organisations like Haleon, GSK, and Ernst & Young. Zaheer holds several advisory and non-executive positions with leading organisations, including Toyota Motors Europe, the National Health Service, and York St John University. He is an Independent Panel Member of the Premier League Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Standards, which supports all 20 Premier League clubs and multiple English Football Leagues to embed EDI across their organisations. Recognised for his distinguished knowledge and impact in DEI, Zaheer has received over 40 awards and honours.
Amber Sorrell
Global Head of Culture and Engagement, Haleon
Amber is an award-winning I&B specialist with over a decade of experience across various sectors, including the Civil Service, NHS, and FTSE 100 companies. She has successfully led numerous staff network groups, provided briefings to government bodies on I&B matters, and held senior I&B positions at both national and global levels. This extensive background has given her a deep understanding of the unique needs of organisations in relation to I&B and how to leverage it as a core driver of business success. Currently, Amber serves as the Global Head of Culture and Engagement at Haleon, the world’s first truly global, standalone consumer health company.
Bobbi Pickard
CEO, Trans in the City
Bobbi Pickard is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion professional with senior experience in banking, trading, technology, and energy. She is CEO of Trans in the City, a global collaboration of 350+ major organizations promoting trans awareness. A sought-after speaker, she advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion worldwide. Bobbi is a Patron of FFLAG, a Stonewall Housing Champion, an EDI Associate at the Wellcome Trust, and a UN delegate. She has won numerous awards, including Stonewall’s Changemaker of the Year 2022, and has raised over £500K for LGBTIQA charities. She plays guitar, bass, and sings, enjoys
painting, and lives in Wiltshire with her Cavapoo, Poppy.
Christina Brooks
Founder and CEO, Ruebik
Christina Brooks is the Founder & CEO of Ruebik, a Certified B Corp, inclusion-focused leadership recruitment and consultancy firm helping organisations build leadership teams that reflect the customers they serve. She partners with FTSE, Private Equity and growth-focused SMEs to strengthen diverse executive pipelines across HR, Technology, Marketing and Finance, embed equitable hiring frameworks and align culture with commercial performance. Alongside her executive search and inclusion advisory work, Christina is a Career Strategy Coach to ethnically diverse female leaders, supporting ambitious women to sharpen their positioning, increase visibility and progress into senior leadership with confidence and clarity.
Claire Harvey MBE
Global Head of Inclusion, Wellbeing and Engagement, TP ICAP
Claire brings years of public sector, regulatory, corporate and third sector leadership experience, and an impressive record of impact and achievement through positive disruption and culture change. Her passion is the future of work: working with schools, universities and corporate workplaces, and ensuring that young people are ready to be great leaders of the future in organisations that have positive cultures. Coupled with a fascinating sporting record as a Paralympian, Claire’s personal and career journey provides a powerful credibility and capability to influence culture in organisations that few others can. Her strong interpersonal skills combine with her style as a proactive and personable leader to empower individuals to take ownership and implement meaningful change for themselves and their organisations.
Jake Graf and Hannah Graf MBE
Filmmaker, author, creator and Head of Investigative Reporting, HSBC UK
Jake Graf is an award winning actor, author and filmmaker aiming to elicit positive change through the medium of film. Hannah Graf MBE is a retired Army Captain, author and transgender advocate, now working in anti-financial crime and sitting on the MOD’s independent panel awarding financial recognition to LGBTQ+ veterans. Together, they are widely known as the
UK’s ‘Transgender Power Couple’, speaking internationally on transgender rights and representation. They were the subjects of the hit C4 documentary ‘Our Baby: A Modern Miracle’ in 2020 and their autobiography ‘Becoming Us’ was published by Hachette in 2023. Both are proud patrons of Not A Phase, AKT, Mermaids and Children with Cancer UK. Jake is also a Stonewall trustee.
Holly Addison
Executive Search Specialist and Founder, Balance the Board
Holly is an executive search and talent specialist with 30 years’ experience advising CEOs and investors on leadership, board and C-suite appointments with a focus on diversity, transformation, growth and value creation. She is a qualified executive coach and the co-Founder of Balance the Board Ltd., a not-for-profit mentoring organisation that works to build more inclusive boards and leadership teams. She is a Non-executive Director of the PM Trust charity and an active member of the Business Leaders Group for Disability Confident, where she chairs the communications committee. In her early career, Holly
worked for the Walt Disney organisation in the USA, London and Paris.
Irada Aghamaliyeva
Senior HR Business Partner, Amazon
A Chartered FCIPD professional and certified intercultural intelligence coach, Irada brings over 15 years of progressive experience driving inclusion, diversity, and equity across 28 countries and 20,000+ employees spanning retail, professional services, and data centre operations. She is currently Senior HR Business Partner, leading people strategy for one of the world’s largest AI data centres at Amazon, while continuing to lead DEI strategy across EMEA and APAC. Her extensive career includes leading DEI at EY MENA, and key HR roles in major sporting events, including the London Olympics and the European Games. Her data-driven approach to talent equity has transformed how leaders across multiple organisations own and act on DEI goals. Passionate about unveiling the human side of business, she focuses on creating inclusive experiences through the employee lifecycle, while addressing the future of work and AI implications on workplace equity.
Jacquline Alcindor
Global Diversity and Inclusion Programme Partner,
Legal & General
Jacquline is a Global Inclusion & Wellbeing Partner at Legal & General, specialising in Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Wellbeing. She leads the development of global strategies and programmes aligned to business priorities, working closely with senior leaders and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders. Jacquline is an award‑winning D&I role model, recognised for her thought leadership, impact on social mobility, and executive sponsorship, including multiple industry awards and inclusion on the D&I Leaders Global Inspirational List for 2025.
James Brandon
Director UK DEI and Responsible Business, CBRE
James drives DE&I practice across CBRE UK Advisory. James has arrived in the commercial property sector after a 10-year career in culture, sport and mental health. James has worked closely with different types of communities to platform their voices and mediate the relationships between ‘institutions’ and those marginalised by them. Taking a coaching and mediation approach, James has delivered on a range of policy changes based on the listening to what our communities tell us. From enhancements in family friendly working practices, introduction of Carers Leave and guidance resources like ‘Coming Out’ and ‘Work and Cancer’.
Global Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), LSEG
Jennifer Thomas is a prominent diversity & inclusion and communications specialist with over 25 years combined experience in leading external and internal communications as well as introducing and developing equity, diversity and inclusion strategies within various organisations. Jennifer was previously the Head of Communications for the Data & Analytics division of LSEG and, prior to that, she consulted at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to lead the next phase of their global diversity and inclusion strategy. She is also the Senior Independent Director for England Netball and UK Athletics and Non-Executive Director at Personal Assets Trust plc. Previous roles include Director of Internal Communications, Experience & Sustainability and Director of Financial Communications at Direct Line Group. She also had a former career as a 400m runner and hurdler for England.
Jennifer Thomas
Jess Mahon
People Director, Flutter UK & Ireland
Jessica Mahon is People Partnering Director at Flutter UK & Ireland, partnering with senior leaders to shape inclusive, high-performing teams and cultures where everyone can thrive. A passionate advocate for equity and belonging, Jess champion’s Free To Be Me - one of Flutter UK & Ireland’s core values, ensuring it is brought to life through processes and environments where people feel confident bringing their whole selves to work. With over 15 years’ experience in HR and organisational development, Jess is delighted to serve as a judge for the British Diversity Awards, celebrating those driving genuine, lasting impact in diversity and inclusion.
Karen Hutchinson
Director of Recruitment, Internal Mobility & Emerging Talent, Centrica
Karen Hutcheson is a senior talent acquisition leader, bringing over 20 years of experience at the heart of recruitment and people strategy. For the past 15 years, she has played a pivotal role in shaping Centrica’s global hiring approach; leading teams, challenging outdated thinking and driving change. Karen is deeply committed to diversity in recruitment, with a particular focus on increasing women in STEM and expanding access through Centrica’s apprenticeships, armed forces pathways and athlete transition programmes. Karen is delighted to
serve as a judge for the British Diversity Awards this year, celebrating individuals and organisations creating lasting impact.
Krishna Omkar
Head of Delivery, LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group)
Krishna leads product delivery and operations for LSEG Digital Markets Infrastructure. A former Corporate/M&A lawyer at top global firms, he advised on $200 billion in transactions across 60+ jurisdictions, guiding boards, companies, and governments on high-stakes deals and reforms. In 2023–24, he advised on the most significant UK capital markets reform in nearly 40 years. Named a Rising Star of European Finance by Financial News (2024) and one of Attitude magazine’s 101 Trailblazers, Krishna has earned recognition from the UK and Indian governments, The Guardian’s Pride Power List (2021–24), and Stonewall. A thought leader on inclusion and stakeholder capitalism, he convened CEO roundtables at Davos and worked pro bono on India’s landmark 2018 LGBTQ+ rights case. Krishna studied at St Stephen’s College, Merton College Oxford, and Sciences Po Paris. He’s also a St George’s House Leadership Fellow.
Martyn Worsley
Chief People Officer, Lockton Companies
Martyn Worsley is the Global Chief People Officer at Lockton and a Board member of UK Sport and the UK Sports Institute. Martyn has been in senior HR leadership roles at Lloyds Bank, BT Group, BNY Mellon, SAB Miller and Tate & Lyle across a variety of disciplines over the last 20 years, whilst also holding a number of Non-Executive Director roles within sporting organisations such as the Rugby Football Union and the London Youth Games before joining UK Sport. In 2026 Martyn Worsley was highly commended in the HR Diversity Champion of the Year Award category.
Matt Dowie
Director of Talent, Engagement and Inclusion,
HSBC Innovation Banking
Matt designs and implements multi-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategies which aim to deliver more equal outcomes for the bank’s key stakeholders. Prior to this role, Matt was the Head of Inclusion Strategy, Governance and Policy in HSBC’s Global Inclusion Team. Matt has been a DEI leader for over 12 years now and has worked for global brands such as Deloitte,
ING and ANZ both in the UK and in Australia. He is a passionate advocate for taking a more data-led and evidenced-based approach to DEI initiatives and is a firm believer that progress is best made when we are all #MovingForwardsTogether
Matt Eagles
Global Patient Champion, Health Tech Speaker, Awards Judge
Matt is an award-winning patient advocate and global Key Opinion Leader who has lived with Parkinson’s disease for more than 50 years. Known for his energy, empathy and authenticity, he is a powerful voice connecting patients, healthcare
professionals and industry leaders. Matt has spoken at major international events including Wired Health, Financial Times Health Tech Europe, CogX, Webit, GIANT Health and Founders Forum. In 2018 and 2019 he became the first patient to chair a commercial pharma congress track at Eye for Pharma Europe in London and Barcelona. As host of the Birds of a Feather podcast, produced by Havas Voice in New York, he explored the lived experiences of people with chronic conditions. Matt regularly leads patient and HCP discussions and serves as a judge for awards, including the British Diversity Awards and PM Society Communiqué Awards. An adrenaline enthusiast, he has skydived and wing-walked to raise funds for Parkinson’s charities.
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Nina Goswami
Head of Inclusion UK, Clifford Chance
Nina Goswami is Head of Inclusion UK at Clifford Chance, leading the region’s strategy to build an inclusive culture where colleagues and clients can thrive. With over 20 years’ experience in media and diversity, she draws on her work as the BBC’s Creative Diversity Lead, where she spearheaded the award-winning 50:50 The Equality Project. A former journalist, Nina has been recognised across the industry, featuring on the Global Inclusion List 2026, winning Network Inspirational Role Model of the Year 2025, appearing on the Inspirational D&I Leaders List 2024, and being named among TBD Marketing’s Legal LinkedInfluencers.
Sally Mundy
CEO, UK Sport
Sally has spent her entire career working in sport and joined UK Sport as CEO in September 2019, having held the same position at England and GB Hockey for the previous 10 years. Since joining UK Sport, Sally has helped to guide Olympic
and Paralympic sport through an unprecedented period; helping sports to successfully navigate through two rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic Games against a backdrop of a global pandemic, whilst also leading the organisation to secure increased financial support from government for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic cycle. Under Sally’s leadership, in 2021 UK Sport created and launched a new ten-year strategic plan to further harness the power and platform of high-performance sport; creating inspiring sporting moments on the biggest sporting stages, whilst continuing to keep winning and winning well, create a thriving sporting system domestically and internationally and connecting with communities on the issues where sport can credibly affect and inspire positive change.
Tab Ahmad OBE
Founder & CEO, EmployAbility
Having spent the last 20+ years of her career specialising in disability and employment, Tab is an unapologetic and passionate advocate of disability, equity and inclusion. In 2024 Tab was awarded an OBE in recognition of her work. She has won the prestigious Asian Women of Achievement Award, and in 2020, the Genius of the Year Award for her innovation in supporting neurodiverse students. EmployAbility was the 2019 People’s Choice Disability Smart Award winner. Tab was on the DWP’s sounding board for the government’s Disability Confident campaign, and has featured multiple times on BBC news channel, BBC2’s Daily Politics, Working Lunch, BBC radio, and on BBC2’s Employable Me Series.
Wincie Knight
SVP, International Culture & Stakeholder Strategies, Paramount
Wincie Knight serves as Senior Vice President of International Culture & Stakeholder Strategies at Paramount, where she partners with leaders across international markets to strengthen workplace culture, enhance employee engagement and shape stakeholder strategies that support business growth. With more than two decades of experience in the media industry, Wincie has led initiatives that connect employees, partners and communities, while fostering collaboration and embedding practices that drive long-term success. She launched a week-long employee engagement event in the UK to strengthen Paramount’s culture, which was adopted companywide across more than 30 countries. Wincie continues to work closely with Paramount’s international Employee Resource Groups that build community and support professional
development. Wincie holds an MSc in Organisational Behaviour from Birkbeck, University of London, and completed the Executive Leadership Programme at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.