Strategic Talent Management Conference

Dan is the Director of HR Research and Consulting at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), an applied research institute focussed on making work better. Dan is a Chartered Psychologist whose work focusses on the changing world of work and how individuals and organisations can respond and adapt. He previously co-led a two-year research study aimed at understanding how the size, shape and expectations of the workforce will change in the future, and the implications for attraction, recruitment and retention of talent. He has also supported organisations to articulate future workforce requirements in the face of changing internal and external drivers.

He was previously a Principal People and Change Consultant at PA Consulting, Deputy Director of HR Research and Consulting at IES, and Head of Research at Roffey Park Institute.

James leads CIPD’s insights into the world of work. He is an experienced labour market economist who has explored a wide range of topics, including low pay, immigration, insecure work, equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), flexible working, social mobility, wellbeing and education and skills. James uses both publicly available data, and CIPD surveys to gain insights and has a keen interest in data visualisation.

Before joining the CIPD, James was an economist in the policy team of the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) where he completed labour market research and evaluation of employment programmes designed to support people into work. He has also led the design and analysis of numerous workforce surveys and has presented to several government departments and key stakeholders. James has also worked as a consultant, completing evaluations of social policy for public sector clients.

Deborah Garlick is the CEO and founder of Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, and director of Menopause Friendly Australia. She has overseen the delivery of training to over a thousand organisations across the public and private sector. She was instrumental in establishing Menopause Friendly, for organisations to receive accreditation of their menopause activity from an independent panel of experts. Deborah is a passionate advocate of all things menopause, appearing regularly in the press, on TV and radio.

Ben Graff has spent his whole career at National Grid. Having initially joined the organisation as a Graduate trainee, and following a host of regulatory, strategy and corporate roles, he is now the Group Head of Strategic Workforce Planning. In this position, Ben has been integral to taking National Grid on a journey, to ensure that the Organisation is well placed to meet its ambitious short-and-long-term resourcing needs. From building internal processes and data, through to shaping workforce and talent management strategies, Ben is truly at the sharp end when it comes to making Strategic Workforce Planning part of “Business as Usual” at National Grid.

Michael spent many years in senior roles within the City of London, working alongside colleagues of varying ages and witnessing first-hand the benefits of a diverse, multi-generational workforce. His experiences led him to establish the Age Diversity Network, driven by a deep commitment to challenging ageism and transforming workplace attitudes. Understanding the significant role of diversity, inclusion, and equity, Michael is dedicated to addressing the bias and discrimination that older workers often encounter. By partnering with leading organisations, he helps reveal how ageism manifests and implements effective strategies for its resolution. Having personally experienced ageism later in his career, Michael now channels his energy into fostering a positive shift in attitudes. Through the Age Diversity Network, he provides education and training to organisations on how to successfully integrate diverse age groups, ensuring that different generations can collaborate effectively and contribute to a vibrant and productive work environment.

As deputy CEO Lauren leads Youth Employment UK’s strategies on research, insight and best practice across youth and business audiences. She’s passionate about ensuring that all young people get the resources they need to understand and support their best next steps and that there are accessible, quality opportunities available wherever young people live.

Lauren leads Youth Employment UK’s annual Youth Voice Census, the largest Youth Voice survey of its kind. In addition, she is leading Youth Employment UK’s work to launch a first of its kind evidence based Good Youth Employment Benchmark this year, changing how employers understand and plan their youth employment strategies across the UK.

Fiona is Chief People Officer within the Health Workforce Directorate of Scottish Government, a unique post with an external focus, working to build strong links between Government, NHS Boards and the wider Health and Social Care system to ensure our people priorities are aligned and our resources used to best effect.  Prior to taking up this role in May 2023, Fiona was Director of People & Culture at NHS Highland, driving the leadership, governance and culture transformation following the Sturrock report.  She joined the NHS after 20 years working in a range of people, change and leadership roles in the Financial Services and Pharmaceutical R&D sectors, and is passionate about compassionate leadership, encouraging challenge, valuing difference,  promoting kindness and respect and putting people not processes first.  Fiona is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and has a degree in HR from the University of Stirling.

Sophie is a people-focused leader responsible for leading the Organisational Capability team at the Civil Aviation Authority to deliver the People strategy for STEM and Skills, early careers, apprenticeships, learning and talent development, succession planning, and future capabilities. With over 25 years of experience in operations, learning and development and change management in the aviation and travel sectors, Sophie brings a wealth of expertise to her role. She is a Board member for the Equal Skies Charter, the CAA STEM Sponsor, a member of the Women in Aviation and Aerospace steering committee, and a member of the Aviation industry skills board.

Christine is currently the Head of Talent and People at Quantum Motion, a quantum computing scale-up, and her role encompasses talent acquisition, talent management and employer branding. She has spent the past 12+ years leading Product & Engineering talent functions at the Financial Times, The App Business (Kin+Carta) and Yieldify, which allowed her to gain deep insight into teams of different structures. Her focus is sourcing talent, building and optimising hiring processes, coaching high-performing teams and building diverse teams whilst fostering an inclusive culture.

She has spent the majority of her early years in Hong Kong and most of her working life in London, she has a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Organisational Psychology, with a research focus on cross-cultural research and leadership behaviour.

Dan is the Director of HR Research and Consulting at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), an applied research institute focussed on making work better. Dan is a Chartered Psychologist whose work focusses on the changing world of work and how individuals and organisations can respond and adapt. He previously co-led a two-year research study aimed at understanding how the size, shape and expectations of the workforce will change in the future, and the implications for attraction, recruitment and retention of talent. He has also supported organisations to articulate future workforce requirements in the face of changing internal and external drivers.

He was previously a Principal People and Change Consultant at PA Consulting, Deputy Director of HR Research and Consulting at IES, and Head of Research at Roffey Park Institute.