Michael has been investing in startups for nearly a decade, both as a VC and angel investor. Prior to Ada Ventures Michael was a CFO at a fintech startup as it scaled from seed to Series A, working alongside the cofounders across operations, product, and fundraising. A self-taught programmer and Oxford MBA, Michael is energised by technical founders who are obsessed with what technology can bring to the world. He’s also naturally curious: From teaching himself Ruby and Python, to writing four published books, or powering through a 100-day crash course in AI & ML.

Lauretta Asak is a Manager in the Talent team at Monzo, with a focus on hiring, inclusion and community building. She’s also Co-Chair of Black Monzo, supporting and championing the Black and mixed-Black community.

Through partnerships, events and talent programmes, Lauretta brings people and opportunities together, creating spaces to connect and new pathways into opportunity.

She’s passionate about opening doors, sharing what she’s learned and helping people navigate their careers and get into the right rooms.

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At the University of York my primary responsibilities are as Convenor of the MA in Applied Ethics and Governance of Data Privacy and as Ethics Lead for the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Safe AI Systems (SAINTS). My purely philosophical research currently focuses on the structure and justification of moral theory. I have also written, spoken and given expert opinion on digital states, digital sovereignty, existential risk, and deepfakes. I am an active campaigner for greater democratic control over the way AI is deployed in our society, with particular attention to the social and environmental harms of the UK strategy, and a spokesperson for the campaign group Pull the Plug.

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Hameed Adigun is Co-Founder of Black AI Futures (BAIF), the UK's first Black-led AI for Good Network, and runs Aivian Ltd, an AI consultancy collective and has built RonuNest, an immersive simulation learning platform for workforce training that proves competency.

BAIF is a parliamentary initiative that brings community lived evidence into the rooms where AI policy is made, to keep AI fair and equitable, not built for the few. Supported by Dawn Butler MP, Vice Chair of the AI APPG.

Hameed works at the intersection of AI policy, community advocacy, and commercial delivery, making sure the communities AI affects first are the ones shaping what comes next.

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Estelle Uba is a multimedia journalist, media entrepreneur, social researcher and communications specialist focused on storytelling at the intersection of race, society, business, culture and tech.

She is co-founder of Culture in Motion (@culture.inmotion), a Pan-African visual storytelling platform exploring stories, history and culture across the African diaspora.

Estelle is currently Primary Researcher at BLAM UK’s AI & Digital Policing Accountability Project, investigating racial bias in AI-driven policing systems, while also working as a freelance journalist and communications specialist. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, The Voice, Refinery29 and Black Ballad, and she previously worked as Multimedia Reporter at impact business magazine Pioneers Post.

She holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London.

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Roger Hallam is a well-known rebel and someone with first-hand experience of civil resistance, and was ranked as the 34th most influential person shaping Britain’s progressive politics by The New Statesman, 2023. He researched the dynamics of mass mobilisations at King's College for five years and has been at the forefront of climate campaigning for many years. He is the co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, probably the world’s most high-profile climate crisis movement. His actions are grounded in a belief that peaceful public disruption is effective and justified in the face of social collapse as the crisis escalates. Roger has been involved in many acts of civil disobedience, leading to over thirty arrests and four periods of imprisonment. Roger is also the author of “Common Sense For The 21st Century: Only Nonviolent Rebellion Can Now Stop Climate Breakdown And Social Collapse”.

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Alex Cave is the Chief Data & AI Officer for Business & Commercial Banking at Lloyds Banking Group. With more than 15 years' experience leading analytics, data science and AI teams, he has helped shape the adoption of data and AI across one of the UK's largest financial services organisations. Having worked across banking, capital markets, consulting and technology, Alex brings a broad perspective on how organisations can use data and AI to drive innovation, improve decision making and deliver better outcomes for customers, colleagues and businesses. His work spans everything from customer intelligence and personalisation to emerging AI technologies and large scale data transformation.

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Renee Hunt is Chief Data & Information Officer at Mortgage Advice Bureau (mab), leading Technology, Product, Data, AI, Customer Experience and Change. With more than forty years in technology and transformation, including senior leadership roles at Sky and Compare the Market, she combines commercial thinking, a passion for people and culture, and a self-confessed geekiness about great engineering. Renee is particularly interested in how AI and data can reshape financial advice, creating better customer outcomes and making advisers and businesses more successful. Alongside her executive role, she is a Non-Executive Director at the Institute of Directors and Nando’s, as well as a strategic adviser and certified Executive Coach.

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Mel Unsworth is Chief Technology Officer at the Financial Times, leading technology strategy, engineering, infrastructure and platforms across the organisation. With more than 20 years’ experience across media, luxury retail and entertainment, she has led large-scale technology and digital transformations at organisations including END., YOOX Net-a-Porter, Merlin Entertainments, Warner Music Group and Virgin Media.
Mel is passionate about using technology, data and AI to drive commercial growth, improve customer experiences and transform how organisations work. Throughout her career, she has focused on building high-performing, diverse teams, creating opportunities for people from different backgrounds to thrive, and positioning technology as a driver of business value rather than simply a cost centre.

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Tolu Osinubi is a Director at Deloitte UK within the Engineering, AI & Data practice, where she leads large-scale technology delivery and digital transformation programmes for global consumer organisations. With more than 13 years of consulting experience in quality engineering, software testing, and transformation delivery, Tolu specialises in guiding complex, enterprise wide change initiatives, helping organisations modernise technology landscapes, enhance customer experiences, and realise measurable business value.

Recognised as a trusted technology leader, Tolu is known for driving change at the intersection of innovation, delivery excellence, and people transformation. She has successfully led programme testing and quality assurance across some of the most complex business and technology transformations, enabling organisations to adopt emerging technologies and deliver sustainable outcomes at scale.

Beyond her client work, Tolu is a multi-award-winning inclusion champion and influential voice on diversity, equity, and belonging. She was recognised as the Rainbow Honours Corporate Champion 2026 and the Pride Power List 2026 for advancing equity and inclusion for the LGBTQIA+ community. As an advocate for intersectionality, she uses her platform to amplify underrepresented voices and foster inclusive cultures. A sought-after speaker, Tolu regularly presents at industry and community events, sharing insights on leadership, technology transformation, and the Black experience in the UK through the lens of her lived experiences as a Black LGBTQ+ leader.

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Dwayne Lynch is a technology transformation leader and Senior Manager with a passion for helping organisations and individuals thrive in an increasingly digital world. His work spans business transformation, emerging technology, data and digital innovation, with a focus on delivering meaningful outcomes rather than technology for technology's sake. Alongside his professional role, Dwayne is an active advocate for diversity in technology and future-focused career development, regularly contributing to industry events, podcasts and panel discussions. He enjoys exploring how technology is reshaping business, leadership and career opportunities, and is committed to helping others navigate change with confidence.

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Farra Gomez is a Partner in EY Technology Consulting, where he leads a 50-person CIO Advisory practice and is the lead for CRM sales and service implementation. With 20 years of experience across consulting and industry, Farra works with CIOs and executive teams to shape technology strategy, modernise operating models and deliver complex transformation. He brings a commercially focused, outcome-led perspective on how organisations can turn digital ambition into measurable business value. As a senior panel speaker, Farra offers practical insight into the evolving role of the CIO, the leadership required to drive technology-enabled change, and the opportunities for organisations to build more agile, customer-centred and resilient businesses.

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Simeon Agada is a Director in KPMG UK’s Infrastructure Advisory Group, where he leads teams helping asset-intensive organisations turn technology ambition into measurable operational and public value. Over an 18-year career spanning consulting, government, industry and academia, he has led digital strategy, transformation and complex programme delivery across real estate, energy, transport, utilities and the built environment. His work includes major asset-management system implementations, digital investment cases and innovation programmes harnessing automation, data analytics, digital platforms, digital twins and AI. Previously, Simeon was Head of Clean Energy and Advanced Economies at BEIS, representing the UK in international energy partnerships, and held engineering and commercial roles at Baker Hughes GE. He is a Chartered Engineer with a PhD from Heriot-Watt University and postdoctoral experience at Imperial College London. He brings executive-level insight into how technology reshapes organisations, services, careers and opportunities while building more connected, resilient and productive infrastructure systems.

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Kalbir Sohi is the UK Government Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) at the Government Digital Service (GDS), part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). In this role, he oversees the AI teams within GDS, leading dedicated units focused on identifying, testing and scaling artificial intelligence solutions across government to improve public services, increase productivity and deliver better outcomes for citizens. This work supports the ambitions set out in the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government.Before joining GDS, Kalbir served as Product Director for Core Infrastructure at Spotify, where he led teams responsible for building and scaling the foundational engineering platforms underpinning Spotify's global services. His career spans both the public and private sectors, including senior roles at Facebook, Weaveworks and HM Revenue & Customs, as well as experience as a startup founder and CEO. Combining public service, entrepreneurship and deep technical leadership, Kalbir brings extensive expertise in cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and machine learning, data governance and product strategy, with a strong focus on the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

Florian leads Samsara's public policy and government affairs work in Europe, with a particular focus on the UK. A German national, he has spent the last 15 years inhouse at various technology companies, working on issues such as autonomous vehicles, micromobility, robotics, logistics, privacy, and artificial intelligence. His work has led to a number of first-of-its-kind legislative and regulatory frameworks on new and nascent technologies in multiple national European jurisdictions as well as Brussels. He has also been embedded at the highest levels of government and politics through his roles within a major German political party.

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Nathan Ashley is a Public Policy Manager at Waymo supporting the company in its preparations to bring its autonomous driving technology to London. Nathan has more than a decade of experience in public affairs, strategic communications, and policy, advising organisations across transport, technology, energy, food, music, and sport. Before joining Waymo, he led the public affairs practice at DRD Partnership, developed Voi Technology's safety, sustainability, and equity policy programme across more than 11 countries, and was an Adviser to the current Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan. Nathan is also a trustee of the Chineke! Orchestra and a former SDG Ambassador.

Behind every percentage point is a person. Yvette Schmitter has built her career making sure no one in the room forgets it. Most AI security guards the doors while the real risk walks in wearing the model's own credentials. She built Fusion Collective to watch what a system does after it passes every check. She's CEO and co-founder of the independent AI governance, audit, and assurance firm, built on one principle: the auditor cannot be the vendor. As AI takes on decisions that shape people's lives, she's the independent check that proves a system is safe and worthy of trust, catching it the moment it drifts. Her work has led to the protection of than 2+ million people. Fusion Collective and Fusion Sentinel were shortlisted at the 2026 A.I. Awards for Most Innovative AI Technology, Best Consideration of Ethics and Governance in AI, and AI for Good. An ISO 42001 Lead Auditor, she directed one of the largest cloud migrations in AWS history and advises the not-for-profits shaping AI regulation with the US Congress and UK Parliament. She returns to Black Tech Fest to moderate roundtables and panels on cybersecurity, ethical AI, and trust, because the future of AI should belong to all of us, and the people it forgets are the ones she puts back in the room.

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Mala Singh is the Chief People Officer at Electronic Arts (EA), a global interactive entertainment company. She leads a team focused on developing talent and cultivating company culture, navigating complex and changing workforce dynamics. Mala translates EA's strategy into a talent strategy, attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining the people needed to power the future of interactive entertainment. Her responsibilities include overseeing all critical areas of the Human Resources function along with Global Real Estate, Security and Workplace Experience. Prior to EA, she was the Chief People Officer at Minted and spent the first 15 years of her career in the global pharmaceutical and insurance industries in roles based in Asia, Europe and North America.

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Ade Rawcliffe is the Chief People & Inclusion Officer at ITV, where she leads the Group Human Resources, Workplace Services and Global Risk Operations teams, including Duty of Care, as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. Ade has over 20 years of experience in the television industry. She started her career in production, working on shows such as Big Brother, The Big Breakfast, and This Morning. She then moved into diversity and inclusion, leading the Creative Diversity team at Channel 4 and spearheading the delivery of their 360 Degree Diversity Charter. In 2017, Ade joined ITV as the Head of Diversity Commissioning. She was subsequently promoted to Director of Creative Diversity and then Chief People Officer. Under Ade's leadership, ITV has made significant progress in its diversity and inclusion efforts. The company has launched an £80 million Diversity Commissioning Fund, created almost 200 opportunities through Step Up 60, and launched new inclusive internal talent development initiatives like the leadership programme Amplify and Amplify 2.0.Ade is a Trustee of Chineke! and BAFTA, where she Chairs their Learning, Inclusion, and Talent committee. She is also a founding board member of Times Up UK.

Laureen has spent 25 years building talent and learning functions across three continents. At Prosus, the global technology investment group, she has led people and capability strategy across a portfolio of 90+ companies and around 45,000 employees in over 100 countries, including one of the largest corporate AI adoption programmes to date: 57,000 AI agents deployed in six months, and hiring cycles cut from 94 days to 50. She was founding Chief Learning Officer at both ASML and Naspers, with earlier roles at EY, Mars, Levi Strauss and Investec. Born in Zimbabwe, 19 years in South Africa, now based in the Netherlands. A Vital Voices GROW Fellow, she sits on the i4CP European Chief Talent and Learning Officer Board.

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Aishat Ola-Said is an award-winning HR strategy and transformation leader with experience across people strategy, chief-of-staff support, workforce planning, operating models, governance, budgeting and talent. She partners with C-suite and senior HR leaders to translate business priorities into clear people strategies, investment choices, delivery roadmaps and measurable outcomes. Her career spans global telecommunications, professional services, talent consultancy, advertising, media and social mobility. Her focus across her career has been on idea generation, strategy creation, stakeholder collaboration and disciplined execution to improve organisational and people outcomes.

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Pamela Maynard OBE is Corporate Vice President, AI Transformation at Microsoft. She leads a global team within Microsoft Frontier Company focused on helping organizations accelerate AI transformation through people, process excellence, and technology. Drawing on Microsoft's experience as Customer Zero and decades of leadership experience, Pam works with customers worldwide to help them evolve into Frontier Firms – organizations that put AI at the center of strategy, operations, and value creation. Previously, Pam served as Microsoft's first Chief AI Transformation Officer and, before joining Microsoft, as Chief Executive Officer of Avanade, where she led more than 60,000 employees globally. She has extensive experience helping organizations rethink operations, empower employees, and enhance customer experience through technology. Pam serves on the boards of the Royal Horticultural Society and Junior Achievement Worldwide. She has been recognized among the Powerlist Top 10, British Vogue’s 25 Most Influential Women in the UK, and as Black British Business Person of the Year.

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Oli Ikechi-D’Amico is a former EY-Parthenon Senior Partner and Accenture Partner with over 20 years’ experience advising C-suite leaders on operating model redesign, post-deal execution, AI transformation, and value creation. She has led 15+ deal programmes worth more than $15bn, delivered 15+ business transformations, achieved operational efficiencies of up to 65%, and helped unlock over $4bn in cost savings. Her experience spans Europe, Asia, and the Americas, combining senior consulting, leadership, technology innovation, and talent development. She has built multiple technology solutions, developed leadership content for Stanford Graduate School of Business, delivered two TEDx talks, and been featured in the Financial Times, The Times, S&P Global, and other major publications. Oli is the Founder of Fully Bossed, a leadership development, advisory, and training company focused on the intersection of organisation transformation and human capability. Through workshops, coaching, speaking, advisory services, and a digital learning platform, Fully Bossed helps leaders and organisations build the skills required to navigate change and deliver results. She has spoken to over 10,000 professionals across 15 countries, facilitated 250+ leadership workshops, coached 200+ senior leaders, and is known for combining strategic rigour with practical, actionable leadership insight.

With over three decades of industry experience, Panarra joined Avanade as General Manger, Iberia in April 2024 and has since moved to her current role as UK and Sweden General Manager. Prior to this, she spent 15 years at Microsoft, where she held key national and international roles, contributing to the company’s growth strategy, market expansion, and investment initiatives.

During her tenure at Microsoft, Panarra held various leadership positions, including General Manager of Microsoft Portugal, where she led digital transformation efforts for clients and partners. She later transitioned to Global Director for Retail and Consumer Goods within Microsoft’s Business Applications Sales division, and in July 2023, she was appointed Global Business Applications Value Lead, where she spearheaded strategic value initiatives.

Panarra holds a degree in Chemistry and Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa and began her career at Procter & Gamble, where she spent over 15 years in leadership positions. In recognition of her contributions to engineering, she was honoured with the Maria de Lurdes Pintassilgo Prize in 2019, celebrating her role as a trailblazer for women in the field.

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Vivian Eni is an experienced HR professional, leader, and career coach with nearly two decades of expertise spanning the banking, telecommunications, and technology consulting sectors.

Originally from Nigeria, she relocated to the UK in 2007 to pursue a master’s degree in Human Resources and International Business at De Montfort University in Leicester. In 2020, she trained as a professional and personal coach with Barefoot Coaching and is a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF).

As a first-generation immigrant, Vivian has navigated the complexities of building a corporate career in the Western world without traditional guidance. Her journey, marked by resilience, challenges, and success, inspired her to author her debut book, How to Build a Corporate Career: Lessons from a First-Generation Migrant, which has ranked among Amazon’s top books in Diversity and Inclusion and HR and Personnel Management.

Since the book’s release, Vivian has toured esteemed institutions including King’s College London, LSE, Imperial College, Coventry University in London, and her alma mater, De Montfort University, encouraging young people to pursue career paths aligned with purpose and fulfilment.

She has delivered keynote speeches on prominent platforms such as the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, BWHR, her current employer EPAM systems, Brunch in t’ City, and multiple International Women’s Day events, in addition to being a moderator at Black Tech Fest, appearances at international book readings, corporate conferences, and leadership forums. Her story has also been spotlighted on influential podcasts including Bread and Butter with Emmanuel Asuquo, Black Create Connect, SHE Can, and Stories Next Door.

Known for her authentic voice and warm delivery, Vivian creates safe, inspiring spaces where her audience feels seen, heard, and empowered. No question is off-limits. Her practical and purpose-driven approach to career development continues to demystify the path to success. Vivian is passionate about guiding the next generation of corporate leaders to recognize their strengths, embrace their potential, and build careers that are impactful, courageous, and true to who they are.

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Carl Hazeley is CEO of Finimize, the research partner for modern investors. He has created Finimize’s research and content capability from the ground up, hiring analysts from leading global institutions and pioneering a more accessible way to interpret markets for modern investors. As CEO, he recently led the company’s management buy-out. Prior to Finimize, Carl spent six years at Goldman Sachs as an equity research analyst, leading the European internet team, working on IPOs including Just Eat, and covering companies such as Zalando and ASOS. Carl’s leadership is defined by his belief that access - whether to education, information or opportunity, fundamentally changes life outcomes. Growing up in a single-parent Hackney he saw this first-hand. This experience fuels his commitment to breaking down barriers to financial knowledge, giving everyday investors the tools and insights that were once reserved for industry ‘insiders’. Today, Carl is a regular voice in financial media, offering calm, expert analysis and opinion-led interpretation on retail investor behaviour, and how individuals can move from participation to long-term financial progression.

Damisola Sulaiman covers European fintech startups and scaleups at Financial Times-backed European tech publication Sifted.

Debodun Osekita (Coach Debs) is the founder of Forbes featured Stock Pickers Academy, an investing education platform on a mission to help people fight inflation, build wealth, and make smarter financial decisions. A former institutional trader with over 13 years’ experience at Goldman Sachs, Barclays, a family office, and G-Research, he now translates complex financial markets into practical education and mentoring for thousands of people. His work sits at the intersection of community, culture, and capital, helping individuals, celebrities, businesses, athletes, music artists, actors and creators turn income into ownership through investing, financial literacy, and long-term wealth creation. He has spoken for organisations including Amazon, Bank of America, the FCA, Rothschild, Crystal Palace FC (U21s), Eton College, BBC 1Xtra, and Black Business Week, and Stock Pickers Academy has been recognised by Forbes.

Dr. Iretioluwa Akerele is a cybersecurity professional, mentor, and technology leader with extensive experience in information security, cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance.

She is a Co-Founder of CyBlack, a nonprofit organization committed to developing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals by providing accessible education, practical learning opportunities, and career development support to individuals facing financial barriers.

She is also a Director at CybariK, where she works with organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) capabilities through security assessments, risk management, compliance advisory, and the implementation of information security and privacy controls.

Dr. Akerele is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), and ISO 27001 Lead Implementer, and holds a PhD in Information Security.

She is passionate about mentoring cybersecurity professionals, advancing cybersecurity education, and helping organizations build resilient security culture.

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Kwaku Kyei-Manu is a technology leader with fourteen years’ experience in regulated financial services, including roles at the Bank of England, BlackRock and Computershare. His work spans technology operations, operational resilience, governance and practical AI adoption, connecting leadership decisions with the realities of running critical services.

A former Advisory Board Member of the London Cyber Resilience Centre, Kwaku focuses on how organisations prepare for and respond to disruption, from incident response and supplier dependencies to leadership accountability. He brings an operational perspective to cyber readiness: how organisations turn an understanding of risk into decisions and practices that hold up under pressure.

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Kingsley is a cybersecurity leader with over 10 years’ experience helping organisations reduce risk, strengthen cyber maturity, and tackle evolving threats. He has built and led security consulting teams and delivered end-to-end security transformations across multiple sectors. Today, he focuses on creating innovative security services and solutions that solve real-world business challenges.

Bella Powell is the Director for the Government Cyber Unit and Government CISO, and is responsible for cyber security and digital resilience across government.  
Bella’s career has spanned both the private sector and government, with previous experience including leading security for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as Senior Security Advisor, delivering cyber security strategy and digital transformation projects at the Boston Consulting Group, and helping to shape BAE Systems’ cyber business.

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As Director for the Government Cyber Unit and Government CISO, Bella is responsible for:
Leading the Government Cyber Profession;
Supporting organisations across government to improve their cyber resilience through the rollout of the Government Cyber Action Plan;
The delivery of central transformational initiatives such as GovAssure and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) in partnership with NCSC;
The response to serious and cross-cutting cyber security incidents, threats and vulnerabilities across government.

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Bella has two small children who take up most of her time outside work. She loves cooking, family bike rides, watching live music (on rare occasions!), playing the piano and running whilst listening to comedy podcasts.

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William Isaac is a Principal Scientist at Google DeepMind, focusing on researching GDM’s in-house technologies and advising teams on the best approach for developing novel mitigations. In his role, William researches the ethical and societal impacts of AI. Alongside his team, he develops mitigation frameworks and methods, which are formalized into papers shared widely to deepen industry understanding. William is motivated to further improve modes of evaluation and red teaming as well as collaborating to align AI behaviour with a broad range of human values. A computational social scientist, William is also a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Governance of AI. William previously served as an Open Society Foundations Fellow and Research Advisor for the Human Rights Data Analysis Group.

Georgia Bennett is a Senior Manager at Deloitte, specialising in AI Change and Transformation Delivery. Her work tends to focus on the intersection between people and technology, helping organisations adopt new technology and unlock its value. More recently she has led a programme to deploy new AI capabilities, build workforce fluency and reinvent how work gets done across a large-scale enterprise.

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For the last two years she has led the Black Experience for the firm's Technology & Transformation business, building community and creating opportunities for Black colleagues to advance. She is also co-founder and director of YDWC, a social enterprise and professional network that empowers talent from diverse backgrounds and partners with global organisations to drive positive social and institutional change.

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In addition to a Master's in Civil Engineering, Georgia has completed further study in Data Science, AI and Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge, and is particularly interested in AI alignment and increasing civic engagement in how AI systems are designed, deployed and governed.

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Chioma Nwankwo is an AI researcher focused on human-centered AI and workplace productivity. Her work examines how AI systems are designed, adopted, and experienced in real organizational contexts, with a particular focus on reducing drudgery while preserving trust, autonomy, and meaningful work. She combines academic research in human–AI interaction with industry experience building and implementing technology-driven solutions. Chioma is passionate about bridging the gap between AI innovation and real-world impact, ensuring emerging technologies are inclusive, usable, and aligned with human needs. She has worked across research, product, and leadership roles and regularly speaks on AI adoption, future-of-work skills, and responsible technology design.

Damian Grimshaw is Professor of Employment Studies at King’s College London. His published research covers theory and evidence on AI and the future of work, low-wage labour markets, outsourcing, precarious work and gender inequality. He currently leads ESRC research projects on AI, skill changes and innovation strategies, alongside advisory work for the UK government and the United Nations. He is expert in mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. His research and advisory expertise is especially focused on generating ideas and actions to deliver good jobs for all.

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With over a decade of experience in the creative industries, Ree has built an unconventional yet dynamic career spanning event management, presenting, radio, tour management, and A&R. She has worked at (and with) both independent and major labels, including Universal, BMG, and Believe, shaping her diverse perspective on the music ecosystem. Now serving as Senior Artist and Label Relations Manager at SoundCloud, Ree focuses on supporting artist development, driving audience growth, and helping foster vibrant music communities.

Priscillia Mudiaki is a Creator Manager specialising in creator management and LinkedIn content strategy. She partners with C-suite executives, business leaders, and high-impact content creators across EMEA to amplify their presence on LinkedIn, empowering them to grow their influence, increase visibility, and build meaningful engagement through strategic storytelling and content. Alongside her role, she serves as an ERG Co-Lead for the EMEA region, helping foster an inclusive culture, strengthen employee engagement, and drive community-led initiatives across the organisation.

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Oladimeji Ajegbile is an entrepreneur, author, and host of Figuring Life Out. He co-founded FotoPool and ODACITY, and his work has reached millions through technology, media, and storytelling. Through his writing, speaking, and content, he explores a simple idea: how to pursue ambition without losing yourself in the process.

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Bonita is Director, Partnerships at EssenceMediacom (WPP Media), where she continues to lead the agency's inclusive planning and community media proposition. She's also the founder of Beyond Reach, a strategic consultancy at the intersection of culture, community media and commercial strategy, and Brand Partnership Director for Recessland, an independent cultural festival. Bonita co-leads Mosaic, WPP Media's ethnicity, culture and religion ERG, and writes Take Notes, an essay-format newsletter on media and culture.

Her work reframes community media as commercial planning architecture rather than a CSR afterthought — grounded in behavioural science and a decade in media, starting at MediaCom. She's been recognised on Media Week's 30 Under 30 and Future 100, shortlisted for the IPA iList, featured in The Drum's Changemakers, and named a finalist for the Black British Business Awards' Rising Star in Arts and Media.

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With over a decade of shaping global strategy and partnerships at the intersection of retail and technology, Hannah is the Head of Fashion and Beauty Partnerships at Pinterest. She champions the power of community, driving content engagement among merchants, creators, and publishers to create organic marketing strategies that drive measurable impact.
Guiding partners through Pinterest’s ever-evolving ecosystem, which now boasts over 600 million global users, Hannah empowers partners to unlock the platform’s full creative potential. As more than half of Gen Z Pinners turn to Pinterest first for shopping and browsing, she specialises in transforming insights and trends into bold, effective strategies that fuel authentic storytelling, product discovery, and shoppable moments.
Passionate about translating data into action, Hannah builds scalable, sustainable engagement strategies and frameworks. Her work empowers partners to adopt new products, connect with audiences, and deliver ROI through engaging content and meaningful community connections.

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Karen Grillo is a brand and marketing strategist working at the intersection of technology, culture and commerce. In her current role at Meta she advises billion-dollar beauty and disruptor e-commerce businesses on how they build brand and grow revenue through social media. With a decade in corporate media and advertising behind her, she also runs her own brand and marketing consultancy, with recent work including the social media campaign for Netflix’s Blue Therapy. An economist by training, Karen is keenly focused on how AI is reshaping the way brands are built, discovered and experienced.

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Alexander is a London-born creative strategist, cultural thinker and storyteller with expertise in cultural insight and emerging trends.

His experience spans social media, publishing and creative strategy, including work with Afropunk in New York, Dazed, The Face and Farfetch in London, as well as Vogue and NTS Radio.

With a master’s degree from Central Saint Martins, Alexander draws on his experience to spot cultural shifts and turn them into bold ideas that meet brands’ business needs and help them connect authentically with audiences.

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Kelvin Nyakundi is a Senior AI Engineer at Bloomberg, working across machine learning, backend engineering, and applied AI. He’s particularly interested in search, ranking, and production AI systems, especially the challenge of turning models that work in theory into systems that are genuinely useful at scale.

Enterprise Account Manager at Bloomberg managing Tier 1 Financial Institutions and External Engagement Lead for Bloomberg Black in Tech EMEA.

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Driving transformation in Futures & Options Data, backed by 8 years of expertise at the intersection of Derivatives Markets and Data Engineering.

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Hawa Diallo is a Senior Product Manager at Bloomberg and Co-Lead of Bloomberg’s Black Professional Community in EMEA. With over 20 years of experience across investment management technology, enterprise data, analytics and product strategy, she works at the intersection of strategy, technology and transformation. At Bloomberg, Hawa is one of the leads shaping Total Portfolio View, with a focus on data aggregation, portfolio structure and creating a consolidated view across public and private markets. Her work brings together product, data, technology and investment workflows to address complex challenges and shape scalable solutions.Alongside her product role, Hawa co-leads Bloomberg’s Black Professional Community in EMEA, partnering with senior leaders and colleagues to strengthen community, capability and opportunity, and to create meaningful business and organisational impact. She is also passionate about supporting founders and SMEs, and mentors businesses across the UK and Africa.Prior to Bloomberg, Hawa held senior product and strategy roles at IHS Markit, Eze Software Group and Morgan Stanley. She holds an MBA in Finance and Investment from the European School of Economics in London and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Econometrics from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Deborah Okonla is the Founder and CEO of YSYS (Your Startup, Your Story), a community supporting founders, talent, and investors. YSYS partners with leading companies to create opportunities for diverse individuals, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, through entrepreneurial and employability programmes.

Since 2017, YSYS has provided access to opportunities for over 17,000 people across the UK, playing a crucial role in shaping the next generation of startup leaders. Deborah's commitment to diversity has earned her recognition on the Financial Times list of the UK's Top 100 Black and Minority Ethnic Leaders in Technology, and Computer Weekly's Rising Woman in Tech.

Building on this track record, Deborah was selected in 2026 as one of the emerging fund managers for the British Business Bank's Investor Pathways Capital Programme, a £400 million initiative designed to back a new generation of diverse fund managers across the UK. She is now working with the British Business Bank to launch her fund, FirstDoor VC, a UK-based pre-seed fund with a talent-lens focus, investing in the next-gen agenda:  the access infrastructure of the modern economy.

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David Houghton is Co-founder of Common Ventures, a pre-seed fund backing state-educated and immigrant founders across the UK, anchored by the British Business Bank. Common grew out of a 4,000+ strong community of state-educated founders, investors and operators, built on the belief that adversity breeds the best founders. David grew up in Leeds and attended Guiseley School, building his career in VC through determination and some Yorkshire charm.

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Abs Bulbuliya has spent his career helping turn ambitious ideas into investable businesses and funds. Today, as a Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, he works on Investor Pathways Capital, a £400 million initiative supporting high-potential investors from a wide range of backgrounds to launch their first VC funds and build their track records.
After 14 years in Australia working across startups, accelerators and investment, the Yorkshire native returned to the UK with a clear mission: to find overlooked talent, widen access to capital, and  seed the next generation of fund managers.

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Emily Turner is the CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking UK. Emily leads the bank and is responsible for scaling the business across the UK, Denmark and Sweden driving growth with leading innovation companies and investors. Emily is also a member of the UK Board. Over the past decade, Emily established and built-up Citi Ventures UK, led Citi’s Global Institutional Strategic Investing group, and developed multiple early-stage companies as part of Citi's internal incubator. Most recently, Emily held the position of MD and Head of Business Development, Citi’s Client Organisation. Before joining Citi, Emily worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company in London. A native New Yorker, Emily is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an MBA from Columbia University. Emily brings extensive experience of driving growth within the innovation ecosystem, both as an investor and as an operator.

Osman Ramadan is co-founder of CodeWords, an AI platform that lets businesses create working agents simply by describing the job they need done. He leads the development of Cody, the AI assistant that builds those agents, connects them to a company’s existing tools, and deploys them to handle real operational work. He focuses on making AI dependable enough for everyday business use, with the safeguards and human oversight needed to keep it on track.

Before CodeWords, Osman worked at Microsoft on SwiftKey and Office 365 and helped run an internal machine learning and language technology community. He studied at the University of Cambridge, where his published research explored privacy-preserving AI and conversational systems. He has spoken at Slush, ACL, and AI Tinkerers.

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Prof. Erika Brodnock, MBE, LLD is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and angel investor. She is a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at King's College London and an Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter. Erika holds an MBA from the University of Surrey and is a PhD in Behavioural Science at the LSE. Erika is co-founder and CEO of Kinhub, a patent-pending B2B SaaS generative AI platform that improves employee productivity and managerial capabilities through convenient, personalised, evidence-based coaching. Erika also founded Karisma Kidz, Extend Ventures (acquired by Diversity VC), and The Black Funding Network. She is Chair of the External Advisory Board for the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Health, where she provides strategic leadership uniting academia, industry, and clinicians to accelerate the development and evaluation of health technologies in brain health. She serves on the Advisory Board for the APPG for Entrepreneurship, Westminister Adult Education Service, and on the Investment Committee for Resonance Community Development Fund. Erika is the author of Diversity Beyond Gender papers that catalysed over £2.5bn in investment to diverse founders. She is also the co-author of The TRANSPARENT Framework and Better Venture – Improving Diversity, Innovation, and Profitability in Venture Capital and Startups.

Robel Efrem is a Swedish technology entrepreneur, investor and speaker with more than a decade of experience building and scaling technology companies.

He is the co-founder and CEO of Challengermode, a global esports platform used by millions of players, and the founder of Pixel Systems, an AI company developing technology to verify whether digital content has been generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence.

Over his career, Robel has raised more than SEK 400 million from international investors including Alibaba Group, built companies serving global markets, and worked at the intersection of technology, AI, gaming and entrepreneurship.

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Anjola Adebowale is a Data & AI Consultant at Microsoft, where she designs and delivers modern data platforms and production-grade generative AI applications, with expertise spanning data engineering and AI workloads. She works with organisations across the sports, media, defence, professional services, and financial services sectors, advising executives on data strategy, AI adoption, and digital transformation. Alongside her consulting work, Anjola is the author of Anjola's Notes, a publication exploring the intersection of data, AI, and the realities of deploying emerging technologies at scale. She has been recognised with the BTA Rising Star Award, and Microsoft Industry Solutions’ EMEA Star and Rise Awards given to teams who have built world class solutions, along with multiple nominations for her contributions to diversity and inclusion.

André is the Chief Data & Technology Officer at Ice Travel Group, the parent company behind TravelSupermarket.com and Icelolly.com. He leads the group’s overarching data and technology strategy, driving digital transformation, modern architecture, and AI innovation across two of the UK’s leading travel platforms.

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I am a Data and AI leader with deep experience building high‑performing data organisations in global financial services, most recently as Head of Data Engineering in the CDAO organisation at Vanguard. Over the last decade I’ve led teams that design and deliver modern data platforms, orchestrate complex pipelines, and put robust governance around data and AI so they can be deployed safely at scale.

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Mattias Scheek is an entrepreneur, industrial designer, and technology innovator. As cofounder and CEO of Mayht, he led the company that built Heartmotion, a breakthrough transducer technology that reinvented how speakers produce sound. In 2022, Sonos acquired Mayht for $100 million in an all-cash deal. Scheek served as Director of Hardware Engineering at Sonos, where he advanced the technology he helped create. He holds a BSc in Industrial Design Engineering from Delft University of Technology. Born and raised in Amsterdam by parents of Surinamese descent, he is a first-generation entrepreneur whose journey from constraint to creation inspires his current activities such as writing, speaking, and mentorship. He resides in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Ambi Mistry is Partner, Portfolio Operations at Phoenix Court (LocalGlobe, Latitude, Solar), leading post-investment support across a portfolio from seed to growth. She has spent a decade building accelerator programmes for founders, including leading the Design Museum's Entrepreneurs Hub, Europe's first cultural-institution accelerator. Ambi is passionate about backing unlikely founders and building the networks and skills that help them scale.

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Nora Bavey is the General Partner and Co-founder of Unconventional Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in the Nordics, investing in founders building scalable impact-driven businesses. With a diversity-first investment thesis and a commitment to systemic change in venture, UV is setting a new standard for how capital can drive equity and innovation in Europe. An entrepreneur turned investor, Nora combines over two decades of experience in innovation, leadership and venture capital with a deeply personal story of resilience, opportunity and belonging. Recognised as one of Europe's most influential women in venture capital, she is a sought-after keynote speaker and moderator, known for challenging conventional thinking through evidence, optimism and authentic storytelling. Her talks inspire audiences to rethink innovation, leadership and the role business can play in building a more resilient future.

Director at Milltown Partners specialising in UK and EU tech policy and Government relations for global tech companies. Earlier career spent in the UK Government advising Ministers in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

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Erol Morkoç is Co-Founder of MarginMood, a live sentiment intelligence platform that reads public conversation hour by hour in more than twenty languages, giving governments, campaigns and companies an early read on opinion before polls and market research catch up. He is also Co-Founder of Florida Trans-Atlantic, a private defense and intelligence firm advising governmental and private sector clients across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and serves as Vice Chair of External Relations for Republicans Overseas UK.

He is a familiar voice on international television, providing analysis on security, geopolitics, and US foreign policy for networks such as Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Al Arabiya, TRT, GB News, and many others.

Erol holds an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and an MSc from the University of St Andrews, and is currently writing his doctoral thesis on leveraged sovereignty and the evolution of OSINT.

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Vinous leads public sector partnerships for ElevenLabs having spent a decade working in the tech policy space

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Hawi Abbajobir is a Product Lead at Codat, where she's building Advisory Intelligence, an AI-powered product that helps commercial bankers understand and advise their business clients. Her 11-year fintech career, across the US and UK, began in audit at Simple, widely regarded as the first neobank, which gave her a front-row seat to the challenges of building a digital bank long before the concept went mainstream. After an MBA at the University of Cambridge, she moved into product, building lending products at Uncapped, FX products at Visa and SMB accounting automation at Codat. She's seen fintech from many angles, from consumer to business and startup to global corporate, and that's what keeps it interesting for her.

Naoil is a research leader with 15+ years of experience spanning academic, agency, and in-house product research, including seven years in leadership roles. Her work focuses on understanding people and using research to inform product strategy and growth, with a deep interest in how technology shapes people’s lives.

Her experience across different research environments has shaped how she approaches research, leadership, and the role of research in building products that work for the people who use them.

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Errol Forbes is a Senior Product Manager at Spotify, focused on subscription and account management experiences. He has more than 20 years of experience across consulting, operations and technology, including product leadership roles at Amazon and Microsoft. At Amazon, he spent eight years working across multiple initiatives including supporting Alexa’s transition to generative AI and integrating agentic actions into the Amazon app’s Rufus AI assistant. He is particularly interested in how AI is changing both the products we build and the way product, engineering and design teams work together.

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Anjali joined BBC News in September 2025 as Director of AI, Innovation and Growth. She is responsible for embedding a more audience-focused and data-informed approach across news, supporting the organisation's long-term transformation. Anjali oversees the division's audience growth strategy, the responsible adoption of AI and digital innovation, working across editorial, product, technology and audience teams.
Anjali has more than 20 years' experience spanning journalism, media and technology, including 13 years based in Singapore and Hong Kong leading regional and global teams. Before joining the BBC, Anjali held senior executive leadership roles across global media and technology organisations, including Meta, Bloomberg Media, Yahoo and The Globe and Mail.

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Trudianne Bedward is a Senior Events Producer at the BBC and Events Lead for BBC Embrace, a staff-led network supporting colleagues from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds. She leads the delivery of impactful technology, careers, and inclusion-focused events that connect people, showcase opportunities, and drive meaningful engagement. With experience across the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, Trudianne has delivered events at major conferences, career fairs, and technology festivals throughout the UK. Passionate about diversity, talent development, and creating opportunities for others to thrive, she is a Top 100 Female Pipeline Leaders Rising Star Award winner, a Black Tech Achievement Awards finalist, and a CCC Awards nominee.

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Snoochie Shy is a London-born DJ and presenter, known for her energy and deep roots in UK rap, grime and R&B. She’s worked across BBC Radio 1Xtra, international DJ sets and TV, including I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Yo! MTV Raps. With a natural ability to connect with artists and audiences, Snoochie has become a familiar voice in UK music and youth culture.

Madiou Diallo is an Engineer at Mistral AI, working at the intersection of product engineering and infrastructure for AI platforms building the systems that let developers develop, deploy and manage applications built against Mistral's AI models in production. Shaped by experience across fintechs and banking, having previously worked at Monzo and Wise, he brings a background in building reliable, secure infrastructure at scale to the fast-moving world of AI platforms. Outside of engineering, interests span powerlifting, travel, and photography.

Jasmine James is a Engineering Lead at Block, where she leads developer experience teams spanning hardware test infrastructure, developer tooling, and documentation engineering. Her day to day mixes coaching engineers with hands-on building, with a focus on bringing AI into everyday engineering work in ways teams can actually trust. She previously led Engineering Effectiveness at Twitter and co-chaired KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America and Europe.

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BioCaleb Oniwinde is a Cloud and Cybersecurity Engineer, YouTube Creator and TEDx Speaker, dedicated to empowering the next generation of tech talent. He shares real, relatable insights from professionals across the tech industry.

Abigail Afi Gbadago is Vice President of the Django Software Foundation Board and a Fellow of the Python Software Foundation, shaping the revolution of technologies used by millions of developers worldwide. As Senior Developer Advocate for Django at MongoDB, she drives global ecosystem adoption and community-led growth. With over seven years of experience spanning backend engineering, open-source governance, and strategic partnerships, Abigail operates at the intersection of technical systems and business strategy. She served as Program Chair for DjangoCon US 2025, is an ex-Microsoft MVP for Python and Web Technologies, and is an alumni of the Stanford LEAD Executive Program from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Felicitas is Global Head of Marketing at ActiveViam, a Nordic Capital-backed fintech providing real-time risk analytics to tier-one banks worldwide. She leads the global marketing function behind Atoti, the company’s flagship platform used by capital markets institutions for FRTB compliance, P&L attribution and market risk management. With over a decade of experience across B2B fintech and regtech, Felicitas has built and led marketing functions at some of the industry’s most recognised names, including Finastra, Mambu, Thought Machine and Snowflake. Before joining ActiveViam, she built an entire marketing function from scratch at RegTech scale-up Novatus. Felicitas has spent the past decade championing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, both as a leader building inclusive teams and as an advocate pushing the wider industry to do better. She sees this work as inseparable from good leadership, not separate from it. She specialises in top-of-funnel strategy, brand positioning and building the infrastructure that allows marketing teams to scale, and has been shortlisted for Fintech Marketing Leader of the Year. Originally from Germany and based in London for over a decade, Felicitas brings a global perspective to one of fintech’s most fast-moving segments.

Kofi Ankomah is an Enterprise Account Director at OpenAI, where he works with leading European organisations to adopt and scale AI responsibly. He advises senior leaders on practical ways to apply ChatGPT and Codex across go-to-market teams, helping them redesign workflows, improve productivity and turn AI experimentation into measurable business value. Kofi also leads OpenAI’s Black employee community across EMEA and is passionate about widening access to the opportunities created by AI.

Toccara Baker is a marketing leader with nearly 20 years of experience across advertising, technology, and media. As Partner Marketing Lead, EMEA at Amazon Ads, she leads strategic initiatives focused on partner growth, go-to-market strategy, and innovation. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at TripleLift, Snapchat, Adobe, and other leading technology companies. Originally from Oakland, California, and based in London for the past decade, Toccara is passionate about the intersection of technology, culture, and commercial growth.

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Michael is a London-based Product Designer with a passion for building delightful consumer experiences. Currently a Product Designer at Coinbase, Michael leverages his expertise across FinTech, AI, and B2C apps to craft innovative, user-centric design solutions for the evolving digital economy.

Prior to joining Coinbase, Michael was designing at Freetrade, where he played a key role in developing robust design systems, streamlining user onboarding, and enhancing the core retail trading experience. He also previously contributed his design expertise to Dataminr, an AI-powered data analytics B2C company.

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Ayodeji “Ayo” Moshood is a product designer, software engineer and founder of Debly, a platform helping shift workers better understand their shifts, earnings and pay.
With a background spanning product design and software engineering, alongside firsthand experience working in social care as a software engineer. Ayo builds products at the intersection of technology, human behaviour and real-world problems.
He is a University of Hertfordshire MSc Software Engineering graduate and the 2026 Business Launchpad Demo Day winner. His work explores how emerging technologies such as AI are changing not only how products are built, but the role designers play in deciding what should be built in the first place.

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