Guest Speakers
- in approximate alphabetical order
Senior Vice Present and Chief Learning and Innovation Officer, GP Strategies
Matt Donovan is a recognized name in learning, bringing more than 25 years of experience crafting learner-centric solutions and leading high-impact development teams. Not only has he received a large assortment of industry awards, including being named one of Training Magazine's Top 10 International Trainers under 40, his articles are regularly published and presented at a variety of national and international conferences.
In his current role, Donovan has collaboratively implemented and grown GP Strategies’ Innovation Kitchen. You will often find him presenting at global industry conferences or writing articles for industry-specific publications.
SuperSkills, Founder
Rahim Hirji is a keynote speaker, author, and strategic advisor who helps organisations stay deliberate about the human side of AI. His book, SuperSkills: The Seven Human Skills for the Age of AI (Kogan Page, 2026), was the most requested title at the London Book Fair and is being published in multiple languages.
His central argument is one every learning leader recognises: as AI takes on more of the work, organisations are quietly handing over judgement they never meant to surrender. He calls this the difference between drift and design, and he gives leaders a practical language for choosing the second.
The thinking is built on research conducted with more than 200 organisations across over 30 countries between 2019 and 2026. It is grounded, too, in two decades operating at the front line of education technology, where he co-founded EtonX, acquired by Eton College, and led international growth at Quizlet across 60 countries, following earlier roles at HarperCollins and Avallain.
He writes Box of Amazing, an essay read by 25,000 people for over a decade, and speaks to organisations worldwide about curiosity, judgement, and what should stay human as the tools get better.
Duntroon Consultants, Director
Charles is a leading thinker in innovative learning and performance approaches. He is particularly known for his work on the integration of learning and working. His current work is focused on 'atomic teams' - the fact that teams, not individuals, are the basic unit of value in organisations.
His career includes roles as a business school professor, as head of the UK national centre for networked learning, as an executive and Chief Learning Officer, and as a member of advisory boards for international learning, performance, and business bodies.
He is a Fellow of the UK’s Royal Society for Arts (FRSA) and a Fellow of the Learning & Performance Institute (FLPI). He is also a Senior Advisor at the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and other bodies.
Learning Technologies Group,
Chief Strategy Officer
Piers Lea is an entrepreneur and thought leader in workplace learning. He started his own business in 1989 and after 25 bootstrapped years, he joined forces with his main competitor. This created a 200 people business, based in London, Brighton and Sheffield - Learning Technologies Group which listed on the AIM public market. 12 years later the business now employs 5,000 people in 35 countries. In 2025 the business was taken private with funding from General Atlantic.
Having reduced his official time working for the business to 2 days/month covering board meetings and chairing the Exec Team meetings, Piers is focusing on establishing a project called Systems Leadership Through Nature. To achieve this he is working with Katell Le Goulven, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, GP Strategies, The Whitley Fund for Nature (network of 220 conservation leader winners in 80 countries) and Open Planet- a not-for-profit linked to Silverback Films - often cited as the Hollywood of global nature film-making.
INSEAD, Adjunct Professor of Strategy
Katell Le Goulven is an Adjunct Professor of Strategy at INSEAD specializing in sustainability. With over 25 years of experience at the intersection of research and decision-making, she advises businesses, governments, foundations, and international organizations on sustainability policy and strategy.
At INSEAD, she directs the Hans Wahl Impact Entrepreneurship Programme and the Cartier Women’s Initiative Women’s Impact Entrepreneurship Programme and served as the founding Executive Director of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society (2018–2025).
Previously at UNICEF, she established the Policy Planning Unit to analyze global trends and guide organizational strategy, and she has held senior roles in governments, NGOs, and the United Nations, contributing to high-level commissions on the data revolution, sustainability, climate change and development, and global public goods.
Katell holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics, MSc degrees in Agricultural Economics and Tropical Agronomy, and an Engineering Degree.
Korn Ferry Consulting, Head of Consulting UK&I
Roger Philby is Korn Ferry's UK Head of Consulting and Global Leader of the People Strategy & Performance Practice, based in London. He advises C-Suite leaders across the FTSE100 and Fortune 500 on their most pressing talent challenges, whilst defining the vision and direction of Korn Ferry’s approach to People and Talent Strategy.
With a background in industry, before joining Korn Ferry, Roger started an award-winning, global organizational consulting firm in 2003, existing to PE in 2024. His industry experience covers 30 years across Energy, Utilities, Technology, Financial and Professional Services, across 61 geographies.
Matara Consulting Limited, Founder
Catalina Schveninger is a Venture Partner and Capability Builder, working at the intersection of AI, skills and learning... a Learning, Skills and AI Capabilities Consultant, former CLO and Chief People Officer, Catalina has extensive, hands-on experience designing and delivering capability building and internal mobility strategies at enterprise scale at GE, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
A recognised voice on the future of work, she is a Venture Partner at Emerge Education and speaks regularly at major HR conferences (Unleash, CIPD Festival of Work, Merit Summit) on skill-based organisations, organisation design for the hum-bot co-existence, and the science of learning.