2nd November 2023 @ 9am-1pm GMT

ERUPT: Excellence in Leadership

How important is leadership as organisations go through change and transformation?

Sponsored by

ERUPT: Excellence in Leadership is the 6th edition of our flagship conference, focusing on the people and technology journey of some of the most exciting start-ups, growing scale-ups and fascinating multinational organisations across industry.

Watch all of the sessions on-demand now.

Our Hosts

Our Speakers

Thursday 2nd

  • 9:00 AM - 9:05 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    • Talk Track 2
  • 9:05 AM - 9:35 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    Leadership Impact during Organisational Transformations and Leading with Purpose

    The classic saying is that the only constant we can be sure of is change itself. We know that people are inherently resistant to change, so how can our leaders be the differentiator as we navigate our employees through organisational transformations?

    What leadership mindsets and behaviours should we be instilling? How can we understand capability gaps within teams? What do we need to do to create mission-driven organisations and embed a role of trust & transparency? More importantly, what are the consequences of getting this wrong?

    Join James, David & Zenobia for a fascinating discussion on their experiences of taking organisations through transformational journeys from an organisational perspective and a personal perspective.

    James Bryce (Executive Recruiting Director @ Virgin Media O2) highlights:

    David Deacon (Chief People Officer @ Activpayroll) highlights:

    Zenobia Madon (Director HR – Talent, Strategy & Org, EMEA @ Whirlpool Corporation) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 9:05 AM - 9:35 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 2
    Surviving or Thriving: The Curiosity Muscle

    If you’re looking to get better at running, you train your legs to be able to run a variety of distances at different speeds and gradients. If you’re looking to succeed in your role, we should be thinking about how we do the same with our brains. How can we get our employees to think curiously about wanting to gain new skills?

    Curiosity is a muscle that needs to be stretched and worked. How can we facilitate a culture of learning? How do we help our people to want to learn?

    Join Neil, Okke and Rebecca as we look at how we can get our people to want to learn. Can we get our employees to employ a growth mindset? Should we be thinking about tech differently and how to use this as a facilitator?

    Neil Edwards (EMEA Head of Talent Assessment & Development @ Korn Ferry) highlights:

    Okke Postmus (Head of Talent Management & Organisational Development @ DSG) highlights:

    Rebecca Robins (Global Chief Learning and Culture Officer @ Interbrand) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 9:40 AM - 10:10 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    The Skills-Based Future is Here. Are You Prepared?

    For years analysts have talked about skills being the future for uncovering and nurturing talent, but what does it mean for HR now that the future has finally arrived?

    In this session, we’ll discuss how the rapid evolution of the HR tech stack has unlocked the insights needed to understand skills potential and shortfalls, and what this data-driven approach means for HR, business leaders and employees. We’ll be discussing:

    • Uncovering the skills capabilities of your workforce
    • Defining the strategic role of AI in your organisation
    • Best practices to align with the C-suite and drive skills-based transformation.
    Sponsored by
  • 9:40 AM - 10:10 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 2
    Conversation AI – The Impact on Talent Acquisition

    In a world where AI is beginning to have an impact on everything we do, we look at how we can optimise our candidate experience in the best possible way.

    James Ballard is joined by Ben Kaminsky (CEO and Founder at EVA.AI for an open and insightful discussion as to what Ben believes are some of the pressing issues within TA at the moment when it comes to the candidate experience and how AI can become a facilitator to success.

    Expect insights around the role of bias, where the recruiter fits into technological advancements, how conversational AI can complement the candidate & employee experience, and how far is ‘too far’ when it comes to personalisation.

    Ben Kaminsky (CEO & Founder @ EVA.AI) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    ForTheFounders: Leading Through Uncertainty

    Our ForTheFounders network has showcased some sensational leaders over the past few years and this session will bring together 3 CEOs for a discussion about what our employees are looking for in a leader in an uncertain climate.

    What do we need from our leaders? How important is it for our leaders to be the champions of ethical practices? How we are navigating some of the continued challenges with an ever-growing remote workforce?

    Join Rasmus, Rui & Markus for an open and candid conversation, with an insight into what it really takes to lead a growing organisation.

    Rasmus Bjerregaard (CEO @ Januar) highlights:

    Rui Casais (CEO @ Funcom) highlights:

    Markus Kroeger (Founder & CEO @ PANION) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    Stepping Stones to Becoming a Skills-Based Organization in 2024

    The journey to becoming skills-focused is sometimes perceived as having to jump over many hurdles, but if we pivot that mindset and look at these as stepping stones to the end goal, the objective becomes achievable and much more desirable.

    Beamery’s Co-Founder, Sultan Saidov, will join James Ballard for a candid conversation about the role of skills, challenges, opportunities and the evolution of the modern organisation.

    The conversation will tackle:

    • Skills taxonomies – what has changed and how it has been done well
    • How to drive real adoption of skills frameworks and job architectures
    • Getting buy-in from board level, hiring managers, and line managers

    Filtering through the conversation will be Sultan letting us know how Beamery’s TalentGPT has enabled all of the above at companies like VMWare, Accenture, and AstraZeneca.

    Sultan Saidov (Co-Founder and President @ Beamery) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
    Sponsored by
  • 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 2
    The Long Goodbye: Is “Quiet Quitting” Unavoidable?

    Retention is normally an aspired aim for many organisations, ensuring that you keep hold of your staff for as long as possible. Quiet quitting quickly became one of the themes of 2023 with many organisations facing a cohort of employees who stay in their jobs but do the bare minimum. Can this be prevented and addressed?

    Join Rupert Coghlan (Manager, Global Market Insights at Firstup) as we look at whether we can create a more engaged workforce through effective communications, transparent employee journeys, and an improved culture.

    This panel session will ask the following questions:

    • Can you pre-empt quiet quitting/disengagement, and moreover tackle it?
    • What is “employee engagement”, and how can a good experience be created, and measurable outcomes obtained?

    Rupert Coghlan (Manager – Global Market Insights @ Firstup) highlights:

    Emy Rumble-Mettle (Director of Talent & Culture @ ASOS) highlights:

    Philippa Weare (Senior Manager Employee Experience @ AGCO Corporation) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
    Sponsored by
  • 11:25 AM - 11:55 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    HR by Numbers: Decisions, Retention & High Performance

    In this session, we’ll look at harnessing the power of workforce analytics to transform decision-making and talent management processes.

    In today’s rapidly changing workplace, people analytics is essential for organisations that want to make data-driven decisions about their employees. This panel session will explore how HR teams can use best-in-class technology to understand the employee experience, predict key employee outcomes, and create a more engaged and productive workforce.

    Zahina Bibi (Project Lead – Organisation Simplification @ Standard Chartered Bank) highlights:

    Rikesh Kotadia (Director, HR Systems & Analytics @ Mundipharma) highlights:

    Alison Minns (Founding Director @ One Life Consulting Ltd) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 11:25 AM - 11:55 AM GMT

    • Talk Track 2
    We Can’t Do Employee Experience Right Now, We’re Under Too Much Pressure

    In times of uncertainty when budgets are getting cut and the bottom line is getting scrutinised, what should we be fighting for in HR?

    Many organisations have faced a number of years where they had to cut staffing numbers or locations, yet some of the more positive things to come out of the other side of the pandemic are around the enhanced employee/candidate-focused initiatives.

    We now have a community of HR professionals who are grasping to hold onto all the great work they’ve done in the past 2 years with regard to wellbeing, the employee experience, DEI and much more. Where do we focus? How can we ensure the value these programs deliver are showcased in the right way?

    Kobi Ampoma (Head of Talent Acquisition @ The HEINEKEN Company) highlights:

    Tinne Ledwitch-Madsen (Head of DEI, Wellbeing and Employee Engagement @ National Express UK) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    Building a Thriving Culture Whilst Scaling

    What does a ‘thriving’ culture actually mean? Are we focusing on business success, team collaboration or individual achievements?

    Long-term success can be defined by an effective culture with this having knock-on effects on attracting and retaining top talent, boosting employee engagement and improving productivity.

    As we look to the other side of uncertain times and economies (hopefully) start to bounce back, many organisations will be looking to scale again. What is the culture you are hoping to achieve? When do you define the moment to bring in the talent and make the right hires? How do we bring our existing employees on the ‘new journey’? How do we ensure we fail fast and build quickly?

    Join 3 established leaders in the world of growth for an interactive discussion on one of the most challenging themes out there.

    Paul Murphy (Chief People Officer @ Laser Digital) highlights:

    Abhishek Rai (CTO @ Vivy GmbH) highlights:

    Sonja Sinterhauf (Strategic Projects, People Operations @ Miro) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM GMT

    • Talk Track 2
    Levelling the Playing Field: Challenging Economic and Social Exclusion

    Jon and Hannah will have a candid discussion about how Renaisi partnered with Balfour Beatty plc and many other organisations to expand their talent pools with marginalised workers, bringing a variety of benefits to the business.

    What will it take to improve some of the challenges embedded around the UK when it comes to economic and social exclusion?

    Hannah Brooke (Head of Partnerships @ Renaisi) highlights:

    Jon Hull (Serial Head of Resourcing @ Balfour Beatty) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    Ellevate: Tackling Disparity and Inequality

    Disparity and inequality are complex issues that can be found within pretty much all organisations with these problems being manifested in a variety of ways.

    Becky Finnegan will tackle this topic by bringing together 3 fascinating leaders for a discussion around what the steps are to progress, where they’ve seen the biggest issues, and what questions we should be asking our leaders.

    In 2021, the proportion of FTSE 100 board seats held by women reached 39%, placing the U.K. second among 12 countries in international rankings for women’s representation on boards of large public companies (Source). This shows progress but what do we hope to solve by having a woman on the board? What is the capability gap that is being looked to complement?

    When bringing people into the organisation or when promoting from internally, we must make sure it’s always the best candidate for the job but how can we ensure we are casting the net wide enough and reaching a diverse and inclusive audience?

    Tim Hilpert (Ex-COO @ Trustpilot) highlights:

    Amanda Rajkumar (Executive Board Member, Global Human Resources, People and Culture @ Adidas) highlights:

    Kristina Walcker-Mayer (Ex-CEO @ Nuri (Bitwala) – Trainer & Mentor @ Product Academy) highlights:

    Watch the full video here
  • 1:05 PM - 1:10 PM GMT

    • Talk Track 1
    • Talk Track 2
All sessions are now available on-demand, completely for free here!

Throughout the day, we discussed the world of work, which is continuing to evolve in a way that is challenging the way that organisations are looking to operate. Within the last 18 months, we’ve seen inflated wages, mass market movement and mass redundancies. If the only certainty is the uncertainty that organisations face, then how can we embrace change throughout our teams?

Is the only certainty that outstanding leadership can be the differentiator? Will the employee experience become as personalised as the customer experience? How important does learning become as part of the employer brand? Has the balance between remote and office working changed the way we look at culture? Where will the role of digital have the most impact?

The conference sessions are now available on-demand!

Dive into people, leadership, employee engagement and so many more fantastic topics, and (re)watch all of the sessions with our brilliant expert speakers!

Watch on-demand