About this event
CIPD champions better work & lives. At our Welsh EDI half day conference, we explore how inclusive workplaces boost performance & belonging.
The CIPD is the professional body for experts in people at work and we have been championing better work and working lives for more than a century by setting professional standards for HR and people development. We have over 6,000 members working as HR professionals across Wales in the public, private and third sectors.
Promoting and delivering EDI in the workplace is an essential aspect of good people management. It’s about creating working environments and cultures where every individual can feel safe, experience a sense of belonging, and is empowered to achieve their full potential.
Inclusion in the workplace is an important topic for businesses. Inclusive cultures and practices drive engagement, performance and loyalty. In this half day conference, we are exploring this from the Welsh perspective.
Audience:
This event is aimed at Senior People Professionals; members and non-members from various organisations across Wales who have been invited to the event to have open discussions, hear from expert speakers on these topics.
Speakers bio:
Wales engagement team:
Annabelle Llanes, Engagement Manager – CIPD Wales
Annabelle sees stakeholder engagement as a massive member benefit and brings her experience to shape the offer in Wales and take it to the next level. She joined us from the Institute of Sales Professionals, where she was responsible for the planning and implementation of their event strategy, including member engagement, webinars and roundtables.
Claire Reardon, Engagement Executive – CIPD Wales
With extensive experience in building partnerships across the education and business sectors, she drives regional engagement activities, including collaborative event initiatives that enhance CIPD’s visibility. Claire ensures a customer-first approach and holds qualifications in training, assessment, leadership and management and is currently studying CIPD L5 in People Management, underscoring her commitment to professional development.
Lutfur Ali, Chartered FCIPD, is Senior Policy and Practice Advisor for the CIPD and a Non-Executive Director for the Business Continuity Institute (BCI).
Over the last 35 years he has enabled the development and delivery of equalities, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy, strategy, culture change and ethical application of technology in organisations of different sizes. This has helped to maximise people’s potential, transform organisations and drive improved performance and business outcomes. He has served on several landmark Judicial Inquiries and Task Forces including the Zahid Mubarak Inquiry, the Prime Ministers Prevent Task Force and the International Ministerial Working Group on Illegal Working influencing public policy and regulatory change.
Sally Eley, Head of CIPD Trust.
The CIPD Trust has been established to tackle the barriers to work today and create inclusive workplaces for tomorrow by giving individuals and organisations the people expertise they could not otherwise access.
Before joining CIPD, Sally was the Director of the City & Guilds Foundation. In this role she was responsible for developing the philanthropic activities of City & Guilds bringing to life the organisation’s skills development purpose. During this time she launched the Princess Royal Training Awards, the Future Skills Commission for Prisons and embedded an Impact Framework to measure the societal value of City & Guilds.
Prior to City & Guilds, Sally had a successful career running her own business as a communications consultant with clients in the education, training and care sectors and was Communications Director for UK Skills.
Sally is passionate about supporting under-represented groups in society and helping people reach their potential.
Rik Willis, Training & Advocacy Manager, Offploy CIC.
Rik delivers advice and training to a wide range of employers and frontline advisers, helping them to understand the needs of people with convictions, the importance of reintegration for reducing re-offending and making society safer.
Rik has a combined honours Law degree and a long history of service in the RAF behind him.
Holly Needs is Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (UK & Group) at Admiral Group.
With almost 25 years of experience in HR, operations and learning and development including a decade working in India and Canada, she brings a global perspective to culture and people strategy. Holly is passionate about building inclusive workplaces that unlock people’s potential, drive sustainable business growth, and reflect the diversity of the customers and communicates we serve.
Paul Billington is a Senior People Partner specialising in Health and Wellbeing at Admiral Group.
He and his team are responsible for the creation and delivery of the company strategy around wellbeing and welfare of colleagues in the UK.
Paul is dedicated to driving initiatives that promote colleague health and wellbeing, and disability inclusion. The commitment to enhancing this area has meant Admiral has received special awards for Wellbeing from ‘Great Places To Work’ (the global authority on workplace culture). They also were the first business in financial services to be awarded ‘Neurodiversity Friendly’ and achieved ‘Disability Confident Leader’ status two years ago.
Daniel Priest, Inclusion manager at Principality Building Society.
Dan (he/him) has been specialising in the field of E,D and I for nearly 3 years, as the Inclusion Manager at Principality Building Society, a subject he is very passionate about. Prior to this he was a HR generalist, learning facilitator, and Recruitment coordinator, with experience of line managing teams in a commercial setting. He looks forward to sharing his experiences in implementing an inclusion strategy at Principality Building Society.”
Charlotte Amoss, MA, Transport for Wales
Charlotte is a strategic leader in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), with a master’s degree in Human Rights, and a strong background in Organisational Development and public policy. Currently the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Transport for Wales, she brings experience from senior roles across policing, local government, and the third sector. Charlotte is known for her collaborative leadership style, passion for inclusive practice, and expertise in delivering culture change across complex organisations.
Matt Davies, CEO of Hapus People
A HR and People Strategy company that partners with your organisation to help your people team with retained support, People Projects and Executive Coaching. Matt is incredibly passionate about Inclusion, the changing landscape and about getting organised to drive inclusion and belonging.
Nina Durant, Head of Inclusion at Welsh Governments.
Nina is an experienced HR professional specialising in learning and development, culture change, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement. In her current role with the Welsh Government, she leads the delivery of the Workforce Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, driving efforts to create a workplace where all staff can thrive.
With a strong background in government, Nina has held roles in policy and communications before transitioning into HR, giving her a well-rounded perspective on the political and legislative context in Wales.Passionate about gender equality, Nina is proud to serve as a Board Trustee for Women’s Equality Network Wales. Outside of work, she’s often found on the sidelines of a football or rugby pitch, enthusiastically supporting her two children and their teammates.
Lisa Hand, Senior Director, People Experience at Ogi.
Lisa joined Ogi in 2020 heading up the People Experience division and supporting the growth of the team from 23 to over 200 people. Lisa now leads Ogi's people strategy, oversees Health and Safety and the ESG plan and is responsible for the company culture and skills development programme.
Before joining Ogi, Lisa led HR across EMEA and APAC regions for global software company Sigma Systems for almost 7 years, scaling the team across these key regions. She has 16-years’ experience in HR, working across the public, private and not for profit sectors.
Fflur Jones, Darwin Gray.
Darwin Gray’s Managing Partner and Head of Employment Fflur Jones advises on all aspects of employment law, with a particular expertise and interest in discrimination law. She thrives on bringing and defending complex Employment Tribunal claims. Her advice also ranges from unfair dismissals and redundancy consultations to whistleblowing matters. She often advises on thorny internal disciplinary and grievance issues, including conducting detailed investigations into such issues. A regular contributor to national radio and TV programmes, Fflur is also described by clients as an ‘engaging’, ‘clear’ and ‘informative’ trainer, and delivers courses bilingually on a wide range of employment law topics.
Dr Helen Williams, PhD, CPsychol, AFBPsS, MCIPD, Swansea University
Helen’s research focuses on identities and inclusion at work and is based at Swansea University’s School of Management. She co-founded a cutting-edge research programme – Breaking Binaries – to examine diverse and minority identities across a range of contexts. Helen is passionate about building a high-quality evidence-base to inform equity and inclusion decision-making. She applies her research to provide support and guidance to senior leaders within Wales and across the UK. Prior to becoming an academic, as a chartered psychologist, Helen worked with a range of sectors, advising on workplace inclusion, performance, and high-potential leadership selection.
Beverley Flood, Monmouthshire Building Society
Joining the Monmouthshire Building Society in 2021, Bev brings 20 plus years of expertise in People, HR, Talent and Learning solutions, across multiple sectors. A results-focused leader who delivers with purpose and passion that help companies harness the full power of one of their most valuable assets – their people. Committed to making a difference within organisations by her authentic leadership and values-driven vision.
Evelyn James, Anti-Racism Manager at Tai Pawb
Evelyn leads the organisation’s work to promote racial equality and tackle all forms of racial discrimination within the housing sector in Wales in line with the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan 2030 and the Deeds Not Words Pledge. Previously, she served as Campaign Manager for the Diverse5050 Campaign at the Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales, where she championed equal and diverse representation of women in politics for over three years. A qualified Legal Practitioner from Nigeria, Evelyn brings over eight years of hands-on experience in civil and criminal litigation. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies, with a focus on Human Rights, Gender, and Conflict from Erasmus University, The Netherlands, as well as an LLM in Legal Tech from Swansea University, UK. Evelyn is deeply passionate about social justice, equity, and inclusive change. She is committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and creating a world where everyone has equal access to opportunities — a mission she actively pursues in her work at Tai Pawb.
Please note:
1. Reminder emails will be sent to you the day before, with a further reminder on the morning of the event.
2. Photography and video production may take place at the event, and these images may be used in the CIPD newsletters.
3. By attending the event, you are giving your consent for your image to be used on any CIPD promotional materials.
4. Please cancel your ticket so someone else can take your place if your plans change and you can no longer make it – there is usually a waitlist for our events.
5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.
6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to this email and we will do our best to accommodate.
