Recognised as “the man who fixes businesses” Kevin Gaskell has an impressive track record in building and leading successful companies. As CEO of Porsche, Lamborghini, and BMW, Gaskell led hugely successful turnarounds that are pointed to as examples of how to successfully transform companies and position them for long-term success. His energy and leadership have helped companies to achieve world-class levels of customer service and financial performance, and he speaks with electricity about using inspired leadership to achieve incredible results.

Steven Van Belleghem is a thought leader on the transformation of customer relations and the future of marketing. In 2012, Steven founded the inspiration company B-Conversational. He gives strategic advice to companies around the globe, helping them better understand the world of conversations, social media and digital marketing. In addition, he also helps clients set up long-term inspirational programs to change the mindset and enrich the knowledge of their teams. Steven started his professional career in 2000 as a research assistant at the Vlerick Business School, where he remains a guest marketing professor to this day. He is an expert in guiding companies through the smart usage of technology in the customer relationship, without forgetting the human side of business. In 2001, Steven became one of the first employees to join InSites Consulting, an innovative start-up in the online research industry. Over the next eleven years, he worked his way up to become one of the company’s managing partners and shareholders. During this period, the company grew from just 8 staff to 130 with branches in 5 countries. Steven is a best-selling author of business books. His latest, titled “When Digital becomes Human” (2014), describes the need to digitise the customer relationship without forgetting the human aspect. He believes that today’s world not only needs a digital transformation; the human side of business is also in need of a makeover. His two previous books, “The Conversation Manager” (2010) and “The Conversation Company” (2012), are award-winning best-sellers with more than 50,000 copies sold.

Kate Ancketill is the brains and driving force behind GDR Creative Intelligence, a globally recognised consultancy focused on innovation and emerging trends in retail, leisure and hospitality around the world. World-renowned, dynamic and commercially successful, Ancketill won the Jennifer d’Abo Memorial Scholarship for female entrepreneurs in 2007 and was selected as one of the UK’s top 100 in the Courvoisier Future 500 in 2009.

What makes Mark Bryan one of the world’s leading futurists is his proven mastery advising organizations on the trends and tech that will disrupt their industries, and his inventive approaches for adapting to an ever-evolving business environment. He is the senior foresight manager at the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world renowned futurist Amy Webb. In his role, he supports leaders and their organizations in developing and implementing customized, forward-looking strategies that position them years ahead of their competitors and expedite their journeys to their desired futures. Bryan’s expertise spans across industries — having worked alongside national retail brands, higher education institutions, nonprofits, multi-family developers, and large corporate clients to evolve them from market leaders to market innovators.  

Dr Gorkan Ahmetoglu is an Associate Professor of Business Psychology at University College London (UCL) and the co-founder of Meta Profiling Ltd. He is the Director of the Business Psychology programme at UCL and has previously held the positions of Director of Management and Entrepreneurship, Director of Digital Entrepreneurship, and Director of Consumer Behaviour at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has also taught at London’s City University and Heythrop University. Gorkan is the author of Personality 101, the editor of the Wiley Handbook of Entrepreneurship, and has published numerous articles and reviews in leading academic journals as well as authored in Harvard Business Review and Management Today. Dr Ahmetoglu is a leading expert in psychological profiling and assessment and a business adviser and speaker in the areas of entrepreneurship, consumer decision-making, and marketing strategy. He is also an associate to Harvard’s EFL Global. Gorkan consults to global organisations and the UK government, and frequently appears in media as expert adviser. His clients include HSBC, LVMH, ABF, Unilever, Google, Ford, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Mars, McKinsey & Co, BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, The Edrington Group, the Office of Fair Trading, the Intellectual Property Office, the British Brand Groups, Government Social Research, The Grocer, The Marketing Magazine, and KPMG.

Shola Kaye helps global organisations prepare for the future of work using the power of empathy, effective communication and inclusion nudges. Shola’s work is frequently described as practical, easily implementable and inspiring. Her team has developed The Inclusion Launchpad, and The E.Q. Accelerator programs to help support lasting change. She shares accessible case studies and implementable insights gained from working with international corporations across a wide range of industries.

James Gilmore is an expert on innovative thinking and the experience economy. As co-author of The Experience Economy, James Gilmore advises companies on how to turn their goods and services into a remarkable experience for the consumer. He discusses the concept of mass customization and helps businesses envision new possibilities for engaging customers and finding new sources of revenue.

Blaire is a leadership expert who revitalises leaders and has encourages staff and aspiring executives to make the most of the leaders they have. This, she says, will make their contribution more rewarding, effective and satisfying. With many years working with senior executives, she knows what goes on behind the closed doors of the boardroom. Funny, engaging, provocative, and original, Blaire speaks from experience having worked inside some of Europe’s most well known companies as coach and confidante to CEOs and their management teams.

An entrepreneur by heart, a designer and biologist by training, and a maker for life, Cecilia is known internationally as an innovation activist in empowering communities and organizations with exponential technologies. She is founder of several companies such as MOB, Makers of Barcelona, the largest co-working community in Barcelona, and FabCafe, digital fabrication lab meets coffee shop. She is currently Singularity University Barcelona Chapter Ambassador and a recent fellow of SU at NASA Research Center at Ames. Cecilia received her Master as an architect at Harvard University as well as biology from Emory University. Cecilia is an adjunct professor at Parsons New School, a product strategy expert at Google Developers Group and a mentor at Google Launchpad and Harvard Innovation Lab.

A creative mind dedicated to helping businesses develop new ways to deliver customer values, Joseph Pine is the co-author of numerous books including The Experience Economy. Pine is a marketing expert who illustrates the importance of creating unique interactions and experiences for consumers in order to drive revenue and growth. He consults with numerous Fortune 500 companies and start-ups around the world, helping them embrace the ideas and frameworks he writes about, develop concepts for creating more economic value, and see those concepts become reality. In his speaking and teaching activities, Pine has addressed both the World Economic Forum and TED and has been a Visiting Scholar with the MIT Design Lab and a Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam.

Inma Martinez is an advisor to leaders in business and government on how to turn digital transformation into competitive advantage and contribute to societal progress. Progressing her previous careers in investment banking and telecommunications towards technology entrepreneurship, she is recognised worldwide as one of the leading entrepreneurs who pioneered the creating and emergence of digital technologies like the mobile internet, music and video streaming, the connected car and smart living. Her unique experience has allowed her to become one of the most sought-after experts in forecasting digital disruptions and revealing the potentiality of AI and other transformative technologies.

Alex Sheen is the Founder of because I said I would, the international social movement and nonprofit dedicated to the betterment of humanity through promises made and kept. Sparked by the loss of his father, Alex began sending promise cards to anyone who requested them at no cost. Since his father’s passing on September 4, 2012, because I said I would has sent over 8.4 million promises cards to over 150 countries.