Future Corporate Leadership: Practical Approaches to Progress Ethnic Minority Talent
Many organisations are working hard to improve ethnic minority progression into senior leadership, and many are still not where they want to be. What happens when talented managers hit middle management and stall out? Organisations lose potential. Talent disengages. And diversity strategies remain just that – strategies on paper.
This session creates space for a candid, constructive conversation about what corporates are doing now to shift the dial, what challenges remain, and what meaningful progress can look like over the long term.
The panel will share honest reflections on the realities of change: recognising where representation is still behind, setting clear targets, and putting the work in to nurture, retain, and support talent through to senior leadership roles, including addressing persistent gaps in representation in senior positions.
Schedule
12.00 – Registration, light lunch and networking
12.20 – Panel discussion (panelists will share real-life examples, lessons learned and the realities of driving change)
12.50 – Group round‑table discussions led by panelists (an opportunity to share experiences and hear how peers, other sectors and other organisations are approaching these challenges)
13.30 – Regroup and collective feedback
13.50 – Final networking and close
Who should attend?
Those who can and want to change that reality: senior leaders and line managers who sponsor progression, HR, DEI and L&D professionals designing the systems, and ethnic minority managers ready for the next step who want their organisations to match their ambition.
We’ll have a frank, practical conversation about:
- Building progression pathways and improving retention beyond manager level
- Burnout, barriers, and the impact of limited progression opportunities
- Target-setting, accountability, and the long-term work of culture change
- Involving lived experience meaningfully, without exploitation
Key takeaways:
- Concrete ideas you can apply to your own leadership, talent and DEI plans
- Sharp questions to take back to your board, exec or leadership team
- Better language and frameworks to talk about race, progression and power in your organisation
- Cross-sector insight into how different sectors are tackling the same progression challenge
About the Speakers:
As the Pro Vice Chancellor for Social Justice and Equity at the University of Salford, Pradeep leads the strategic development and delivery of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion across the institution. Pradeep’s role involves working closely with senior leaders to embed equity into organisational strategy, governance and decision making, ensuring that inclusive practice supports performance, resilience and long term impact.
Pradeep’s work brings together academic insight and institutional leadership to address structural inequality, with a particular focus on race equity and award gaps in higher education. Pradeep is committed to using evidence led and data informed approaches to improve outcomes for staff and students and to support organisations in building fairer, more inclusive systems.
What motivates Pradeep is seeing organisations move beyond compliance driven approaches to equity and towards meaningful, sustained change. When social justice and inclusion are embedded effectively, they become powerful drivers of innovation, organisational effectiveness and positive impact for individuals, institutions and the wider community.
Karen Greenall is Head of Performance and Engagement. A strategic leader for people and change, she specialises in behaviour change designing practical, measurable interventions that embed new ways of working, accelerate AI enabled adoption, and translate insight into action across business units. Her focus is on optimising business performance while creating a client centric organisation, aligning engagement, leadership, and capability building so colleagues can deliver consistently excellent outcomes for clients.
Karen leads wellbeing activity across the firm, championing a refreshed, four pillar strategy and the DWF Wellbeing Hub to normalise conversations, build awareness, and equip leaders with supportive, everyday practices. She steers the engagement strategy, turning survey findings into clear priorities, and governs core performance and L&D cycles from mid year reviews to leadership development and partner promotion processes ensuring investment is targeted where it drives the greatest impact.
Passionate about investing in talent, Karen champions early careers pathways and targeted skills development, directs L&D investment to build capability at pace, and ensures colleagues have the support, tools, and opportunities to thrive so they grow their careers and deliver for clients.
Tes is an Associate Partner in EY Manchester. He is a Chartered Accountant and has enjoyed being an auditor at EY for 21 years.
He is passionate about helping businesses, in developing the people around him and growing the EY business sustainably. He loves Manchester, the city he grew up around including where he went to University and has probably spent most of his life in and around the NW.
He lives in Bury with his wife Shona and their 3 children. At weekends you can find him with his family or out on his mountain bike.
Sophie is the Head of Responsible Business at Shoosmiths, leading the firm’s strategy across diversity, inclusion, wellbeing, sustainability, and social impact. Her work focuses on embedding responsible business practices that create environments where people feel valued, supported, and empowered—both within the firm and in its wider community and client relationships.
Sophie works closely with the People and Business Services teams to ensure the firm’s culture reflects its values and enables people to thrive, bringing a people‑first approach to all aspects of her role.
Before joining Shoosmiths, she held a range of talent roles in legal and financial services, including positions in global diversity and inclusion, graduate recruitment, learning and development, and mobility. She is a qualified mental health first aider, holds a first‑class degree in Hispanic and European Studies from Queen Mary University of London, and has completed the Leading Sustainable Corporations Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Angela leads on the execution of the Thales UK National Security Account is to ensure strategic alignment with Thales largest customer security customer the Home Office.
Angela is a talented strategic leader and has gained trusted relationships with the private sector. With over 20 years’ experience, reaching Senior Civil Servant status. As Head of the Joint Security and Resilience Centre (JSaRC) Angela has managed unique and diverse teams unpacking cross cutting government problems, breaking down barriers, create collaborations that have transformed
Security and Defence practices deemed unchangeable. Successfully delivering programs in Government National Security for the UK and overseas.
Angela is the chair of Thales’ Race, Ethnicity, And Culture Heritage (REACH) and has a strong passion to give back her employment skills to black and ethnic communities so that they can see someone who has applied themselves and can have the confidence to apply themselves to achieve things they don’t see possible.
Wayne Bennett is a Founder and Director of Made4Tech Global, a technology recruitment consultancy specialising in recruiting professionals within the Technology, Business Change & Transformation markets. Worked in recruitment for nearly 30 years, his experience in the industry encompasses, Marketing, Finance and Technology (23 years) discipline.
Recruiting within the Technology space, Wayne has witnessed the change within the industry, encouraging him to advocate for female and diverse leadership and advise businesses on effective inclusion strategies in his role. Wayne has worked with organisations ranging from major corporates, SMEs, and technology-led start-ups, giving him exposure to placing professionals in positions ranging from senior management to “hands on” technical roles.
Ngozi Weller is a wellbeing and productivity consultant and ICF accredited coach. She helps organisations build psychologically safe workplaces that improve resilience, engagement and productivity. After 15 years in Big Oil, Ngozi founded Aurora to normalise workplace mental health conversations and provide strategic wellbeing support. She is also co-host of the award-winning podcast The Wellbeing Rebellion.
Interested In The Event?
If you’re interested in attending, you can book online here.
For any further enquires about this event, contact [email protected]
