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.

As one of the most recognised and respected TV foreign correspondents in the country, Rageh Omaar has one of the biggest international profiles of British TV journalists in the world, both as a prominent reporter and presenter for the BBC and Al Jazeera English. With a regular daily audience of 8 million people, Rageh’s eyewitness reports and feature length documentaries have been shown in over 180 countries.

Philippe Legrain is a critically acclaimed thinker and communicator with high-level policy experience. He is a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics’ European Institute, the founder of Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), an international think-tank, and a columnist for Project Syndicate, Foreign Policy and other international media outlets. Previously, he was economic adviser and the head of the team providing strategic policy advice to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, special adviser to World Trade Organisation Director-General Mike Moore and trade and economist correspondent for The Economist. His four best-selling books include European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess – and How to Put Them Right, which was among the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2014.

In a recent poll casted by the British magazine Prospect, Lamy was among the top 50 of the world’s leading thinkers. He is also ranked among the 100 most influential thinkers of the “Thought leader Map 2015” published by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.

Philip Baum is one of the most renowned figures in the aviation security industry. Editor of Aviation Security International and Managing Director of Green Light Limited, he is a specialist in passenger profiling and has created a number of in-flight security and hijack management programmes. A fascinating public and keynote speaker, Baum has a wealth of knowledge and an in-depth understanding of terrorism and aviation security to the extent that he has been an iconic figure in the recent MH370 crisis.

David is the BBC’s Science Editor, a post he has held since in 2012. He is acclaimed for his innovative reporting from the frontlines of global change. David presents clear explanations of the latest science with a vivid anecdotal style. As the BBC’s on-screen climate specialist during the Live Earth concerts, and a regular public speaker and conference chair, he’s hugely experienced and really enjoys connecting with an audience. He has the ability to guide the corporate world through the challenging environmental and scientific issues facing business today and enables them to make positive changes to the way they operate in order to enhance economic and environmental effectiveness.

Having had over thirty years of experience in board level business, Alan O'Neill shares powerful insights in all aspects of industry, including Financial Services, Hospitality, IT, Retail, Travel. It is this unrivalled business acumen that has seen Alan facilitate conferences in several countries and conduct master-classes with C-level executives.

Bill has served as CEO at Wickes, Focus and Iceland. He has now produced The Grimsey Review, looking at what can be done to reinvigorate the high street. He argues that town centres should be reinvented as community hubs, with housing and public services at the centre. Bill talks about changing customer habits and the growth of ‘mall culture.’ These out-of-town arenas will become the showrooms of the future, in which we choose what to order online.

Alex is a technology expert, specialising in the practical application of the latest innovations and tech trends to solve retail’s biggest challenges, from machine learning to post-channel retail. Prior to GDR, he spent seven years at technology firm Red Ant, designing and delivering award-winning applications, innovation and strategy from boardroom to stockroom for some of the UK's largest and most forward-thinking retailers. In his spare time, he enjoys running and an ongoing quest to connect everything in his house to the internet.

Nick Watt has worked in national journalism for nearly 30 years, reporting on UK and EU politics. In 2016, Nick became the Political Editor of Newsnight on BBC2. Before joining the BBC, Nick worked as the Guardian’s Chief Political Correspondent and as its European Editor based in Brussels. He started his career at the Times where he worked as a Political Correspondent and as Ireland Correspondent based in Belfast. Nick’s notable work at the BBC includes in-depth profiles of the chancellor, Philip Hammond, the Brexit secretary, David Davis, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the UK’s Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins.

Arthur Snell is a geopolitical risk and intelligence adviser. He helps companies solve difficult questions, drawing on his global network based in complex and unpredictable jurisdictions. Arthur worked in the British government from 1998 - 2014 in a range of intelligence and diplomatic roles. He served overseas in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan, before becoming the British High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Trinidad and Tobago in 2011. His work has encompassed counter-terrorism operations, countering violent extremism, state-building and stabilisation missions, as well as bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. Since 2014 he has worked as a consultant and adviser to governments, international organisations and corporations on geopolitical and security issues. Arthur is the creator and host of Doomsday Watch, a top-20 UK political podcast and is a regular commentator on UK and international media. His book on British foreign policy, How Britain Broke the World, will be published by Canbury Press in June 2022.