Speakers

Toyah Demi Panton is a London-born writer, spoken word poet and conversation host with an early career background in tech and business consulting. 

Toyah is an alumna of the Aleto Foundation having done the programme in 2018 before returning as a buddy the following year. 

Toyah believes in the power of poetry to transform the self . Most recently Toyah completed the 2022 BBC ‘Words First’ Spoken Word Talent Development Program, had her first short story ‘Anchor of Hope’ commissioned for publishing by Spread the Word UK and earlier this year featured on BBC News to spotlight a poem she was commissioned to write by the Mayor of London.

Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE, the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London to King Charles III. Ken is Founder and Chairman of boutique technology merchant bank, Restoration Partners.

Ken’s technology career spans over 40 years commencing with IBM and then as a senior executive at Wang Laboratories working in the UK, Belgium and the USA.  

He has considerable public company Board-level experience on both sides of the Atlantic. The first British-born black man to be appointed as a Director of a FTSE 100 company (Reuters) he has also served on the Boards of Open Text, Thomson Reuters, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation and several AIM-listed businesses. 

Today he chairs a portfolio of high potential technology businesses including Inogesis (home to the Virtual Technology Cluster), Interswitch (Nigeria’s leading payments company) and Proxymity – (digital investor communications platform) Interswitch.

 Ken is equally committed to public service and has been an NHS Trust Director, an inaugural member of regulators, Postal Service Commission and IPSA (Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority); and a Governor of the Peabody Trust. He is the founder of the Aleto Foundation; President of Thames Reach (for which he received an OBE in 2010); Chairman of Shaw Trust; and President of London Youth.  In 2015 Her Majesty the Queen, appointed him as her Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. He was knighted in 2018 for services to business and philanthropy and in 2021 he was appointed High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey and a Trustee of the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund. On January 1st 2022, Ken became Chair of BusinessLDN (formerly known as London First.)

He captures his motivations in his official motto – ‘Do well. Do good.”

Janet Siwoku is an Operational Resilience Consultant at a prestigious Global Investment Management Firm, T.Rowe Price. Prior to this, Janet was at the Bank of England for over 5 years where she learnt about the wider implications of economic policies and decisions and how they affect the lives of everyday citizens.

Janet graduated from BPP business school in 2022, with her dissertation topic being how the Bank of England could improve their diversity in Apprentices and new hires. This work led her to be recognised and invited by the Governor of the Bank of England to welcome King Charles and HRH Camilla for the Governors' commemoration. 

Janet has a passion for being a change maker in the world, and this is illustrated by her being selected to sit on Ernst & Young's Climate Change COP26 board. This experience broadened her knowledge on the intersectionality between Economics and Climate Change. Furthermore, she participates in T. Rowe Price's Money Money Confident kids, in which she goes out to schools to teach the importance of financial literacy and how they can be best placed for a bright financial future. Lastly, she mentors and provides guidance to young girls who want to break into the financial sector. 

In her role as Future of Work delegate, Janet aims to become an ambassador and accurately represent young people and truly contribute to actionable policy that can change the lives of the youth across the United Kingdom. 

Ashish was appointed Managing Director, Corporate and Public Sector of BT Enterprise in June 2022.

Formerly Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BT Enterprise; Managing Director Health, CEO of BT Health and President Global Managed Accounts for BT Global Services, Ashish brings with him more than 20 years’ leadership experience across the telecommunications, IT and financial and government services sectors.

During his tenure at BT, Ashish has been responsible for the strategy, and operational performance of divisions within BT.

Prior to joining BT, Ashish held several roles across Techmahindra in Mumbai, India, the UK and the US.

Gemma is the Founder and Principal Marketing Consultant of Riada Consultancy. Riada Consultancy empowers and enables businesses to unlock their marketing potential by bringing together the people, processes, and technology, all of which drive marketing, generate sales, and promote growth. 

She has 20 years marketing experience working and during that time has worked with some of the largest technology companies in the world including Accenture, Microsoft, Avanade, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Ricoh Europe and K2 (Nintex). She has owned and implemented marketing strategy, campaigns, and delivered events across multiple regions including UK, Ireland, Europe and the Middle East. She has also worked on industry campaigns in Financial Services, Legal, Manufacturing, Education and Retail. 

Gemma is passionate about marketing and helping organisations align on their marketing strategy, plans and objectives for the longer term. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) who recognise her skills and experience in the industry.

Earl is a solopreneur and founder of Creative Muscle, a business dedicated to empowering individuals to live on purpose.   

As a Sales Professional in the Technology Sector and as a Management Consultant with over 25 years experience of bringing digital and cultural transformation to multi-national companies. To achieve business objectives, he has worked with all levels of the C-suite and key stakeholders to understand the needs of clients, negotiate and deliver high-value solutions.    

​As a Certified Trainer of NLP, Earl combines his keen interest in ancient wisdom from indigenous cultures and new technologies (NLP) to facilitate transformational experiences. Co-facilitating his first wellbeing retreat in 2002, Earl has been coaching and mentoring people ever since, focusing on personal development and resilience.

Paul Carrick Brunson is a renowned relationship counselor, matchmaker, serial entrepreneur, television host, and author who specializes in the science of interpersonal relationships and personal development. His expertise has earned him international recognition, and he currently serves as the co-host of Married at First Sight UK and Celebs Go Dating, in addition to being the relationship expert for Lorraine and Good Morning America. 

As the Global Research Director for Tinder, the world's largest dating app, Paul is at the forefront of the digital dating revolution. His work has been recognized by the Matchmaking Institute, which listed him as one of the "world's most influential matchmakers." Oprah Winfrey has also praised his work and selected him as a host of the show Lovetown, USA, which examined the transformative power of love, grace, kindness, and forgiveness on an entire community. 

Paul is a serial entrepreneur and former business columnist for USA TODAY, where he shared his insights on entrepreneurship and relationship building. He was also the host of the Better with Paul podcasts, where he shared his vast knowledge and experience in navigating life and business. 

In addition to his work in the media, Paul is passionate about impacting lives through the application of relationship science. He is dedicated to mentoring a new generation of servant-leaders with a desire to change the world. He is the founder and chair of "Give Love, Build Hope," a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming schools in rural areas of the Caribbean. 

Paul's professional accomplishments are matched only by his personal achievements. As a proud second-generation son of Jamaica, he takes great pride in his roles as a husband and father. When he's not busy changing the world, Paul can often be found with a good book in one hand and a Red Stripe beer in the other. 

David Villa-Clarke BEM, MBA, APFS is the Aleto Foundation CEO, his role revolves around talking leadership with organisations to help them bridge the diversity gap by finding the right talent to fit the organisation and making the organisation a place to welcome talent from diverse backgrounds.

The Foundation runs leadership programmes for high performing individuals who typically find it challenging to navigate their way into the world of work.  The programme, teaches resilience, awareness, and communication skills as well as different leadership modules. 

Having worked with multiple companies from SME’s to FTSE 100, David has an insight as to what works well in creating a diversity strategy and the pitfalls to avoid.

His passion lies in mentoring individuals, companies, or NGO’s to achieve their full potential, whether that be personal or financial. David sits on several advisory boards, where his no nonsense direct feedback, leads to impressive results.

David’s interests range from volunteering to entrepreneurship, he is also interested in not-for-profit educational causes and social mobility. As an accomplished Toastmaster and Public Speaker David enjoys sharing success and motivational stories.

He is the founder and president of Project Volunteer, a UK based charity which has been working with orphanages in Botswana for the past 14 years, encouraging volunteers from the UK to work on his giving back programme, which runs fun development holiday camps for the children.

David was recognised for his services to charity with the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s 2017 New Years Honours list. He currently supports three main charities; Project Volunteer, http://www.project-volunteer.org/ which works with orphans in Botswana. The Aleto Foundation, https://www.aletofoundation.org.uk which works with students to get them into leadership positions in the UK, and the homeless charity Cardboard Citizens. https://cardboardcitizens.org.uk/

Watch David’s TedX talk here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATJ2HGiwo40 

Founder of The Interview Initiative, an organisation interview assessment firm.

Redefining organisation interviewing to develop tailored, consistent and fair hiring frameworks, methodologies and training.

Founded with the core values of fairness & consistency with a commitment to driving equal opportunities.

Former Partner of a Global Executive Search, Leadership Consulting and Interim Management Business across multiple sectors whilst leading the Aerospace & Defence and Industrial Practice globally.

Senior Manager at one of the UK’s leading technical and engineering recruitment consultancies.

Ironman competitor, mountain trekker and Scout Leader.

Emily Cordery is Director of Business Operations of Aston Carter EMEA. She is responsible for the operational and strategic growth of the business.

Emily joined Aston Carter in 2007 as a Recruiter and held a number of sales and client account management positions. Emily led the expansion of the business into consulting services and has held a number of leadership positions including Director of Client Strategy.

Emily also served as Director of Consulting Services, where she was responsible for establishing the UK solutions and delivery function in response to client demands for regulatory transformation, risk, and compliance solutions.

Emily is passionate about supporting our clients and teams through times of change, and creating opportunity for our people, consultants, and contractors. She is a founding member of Aston Carter’s Inclusion & Diversity committee and a champion for driving positive change.

Emily is from New Zealand and lives in London with her husband Paul.

Margaret is a Startup Growth Manager at BT’s corporate innovation arm - Etc. She focuses on partnerships and investments to help startups and BT scale faster. She is also an Advisory Board Member at Future VC and a Committee Member on Women Venture Capital Europe.

I’m a Junior Digital Product Owner working in Consumer in GTM Mobile Squads: EE and BT Trading as well as Partner Launches. I have been in the business for almost 6 years and have been in various roles. At the beginning of the year, I became a committee member of the YBP (Young Black Professionals) and I have since been dedicated to creating a space for our young black colleagues to connect and network within the business. From hosting link-ups at lunchtime to after-work socials, building this community here at BT is something that is close to my heart and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

My name is Jenise Davidson. I’m a User Research Lead at BT Business Digital. I lead a team of researchers who are dedicated to understanding the needs and wants of our business customers.

I am first year technology graduate in BT working with the IPTV headend team. The team I work with help deliver channels to BT TV and this sits under networks. I enjoy table tennis and cycling. 

Ray Famurewa is the Sales Manager for Aston Carter EMEA’s Accounting & Finance Practice and Governance, Risk & Compliance Practice. His team deliver ccounting and finance, and risk and compliance professionals to leading investment banks, corporate and retail banks, investment management and insurance firms, as well as companies across the Technology, Media and Telecommunications industries.

Ray joined Aston Carter in 2009 as a recruiter and quickly progressed to more senior and leadership roles and is passionate about providing exceptional customer experience to the clients and candidates he supports.

Ray and his team have been instrumental in helping grow Aston Carter’s Governance Risk and Compliance business and Accounting and Finance Division.

Ray is a founding member of our Inclusion and Diversity Committee and has been heavily involved in shaping a more inclusive and diverse culture, internally and externally.

He lives in London with his wife Nicola, and their two children Aida and Zac.

Martin is an ex-Army officer turned corporate financier. After a severe reality check at the end of his engineering degree, he decided to join the military to learn leadership at the best place for it - Sandhurst. He was deployed to Antarctica, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe, retiring from the Infantry having led 110 soldiers and officers. 

In his civilian career, he worked initially in mutual fund sales for MFS, followed by an MBA and a brief period in large-cap investment banking and mid-cap private equity. He has most recently founded a startup that uses AI and automation for research with the intent of eventually disrupting the investment banking sector. 

In his own time, Martin is a keen motorcyclist, having ridden c.20k miles on builds ranging from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s.

Larry Goddard is the Creator of klassi-js and the Test Automation Architect at Oxford University Press (OUP). Larry has over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry. Prior to joining OUP, he worked for a variety of multi-nationals including a major airline, a leading software testing company and two major telecommunications companies. He also acted as a technical advisor to a major fashion house and an Expert Witness to a leading international law firm.

He is the winner of the YunoJuno Award for Quality Assurance / Test Automation 2016 and 2022, a Finalist at the Black Tech Achievement Award 2023 and the co-Founder of the KLASSI Brand.

Larry is a Speaker at Tech Conferences and Meet-ups dealing with and highlighting Test Automation, Quality Assurance, AI in Automation and Leadership Development. ‘klassi-js’ is an open-source Test Automation Framework - hosted on both NPM and GitHub. He also provides guidance as a Mentor for the Aleto Foundation, Black Girls in Tech, 1000 Black Voices and the Founders Institute.

Larry's core skills include Test Automation, Performance, Load and Resilience testing, Network Infrastructure Design, Configuration and Management, Software, Product development and Web Technologies.

Besides being a father of four, Larry is an Ex International Rugby player (represented Trinidad and Tobago), Ex-Military, a Certified Physical Training Instructor and a Level 1 Olympic Track and Field official.

Carlos Salvador currently serves as head of Alumni at Aleto. 

A self-starter with a moral compass, he is passionate about using creativity as a catalyst for social change. He is a proud recipient of the Millennium Awards and a graduate of the School of Social Entrepreneurs and previous chair of an NPO.

He is an innovation strategy consultant with an entrepreneurial background leading project planning through to implementation with a portfolio spanning numerous sectors. He demonstrates an ability to spot growth opportunities and develop innovative business solutions to increase value, impact and sales in both the commercial and voluntary sectors.

Born in Belgium of Nigerian heritage, she holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and International Management.

She loves discovering new cultures for their gastronomy, and traditions through folklore. Travelling for her is only possible through a local experience. She likes salsa dancing and hiking.

Besides that, she loves giving back to the community and has volunteered as a Youth worker, Women in tech Advocate, and with Aleto Foundation. She also was heavily involved in Diversity and Inclusion in her previous companies by being part of the leadership team creating the first European African descent network.

She has now decided to use her strong business skills to help the next generation by giving young people the chance to receive the connections and confidence they need to be the next leaders and have a successful personal and professional development.

She has started her own management consulting business to help charities and foundations like the Aleto Foundation to get to the next level by helping deliver their strategy in terms of inclusion and diversity in an impactful way.

Gary is a Business Advisor, Investor, Non-Exec, and a Trustee of the Aleto Foundation. 

He is Co-founder of Hire Genuis, a standalone recruitment CRM platform. His Non-Exec roles include: Chairperson of Amoria Bond, an award-winning multi-million-pound international recruitment company; Chairperson of Recbid, a tech-start-up, a bidding platform that houses a community of specialist rated recruiters; Chairperson of Get-Optimal, a global technology company and diversity and inclusion provider whose core product is Job Ad optimisation using Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning tech.

He is also an investor and advisor to Slinger, a platform designed to help young people thrive in the gig economy.

Gary has spent over 29 years in numerous roles starting as a Recruitment Consultant, Founder and Managing Director of Huxley, Chief Strategy Officer of the Group and 6 years as CEO of Sthree (FTSE 250 PLC), a specialist recruitment company that turned over £1.2b and employed c3,000 staff worldwide. 

Gary was named Business Person of the Year at the 2015 Black British Business Awards and has been awarded an OBE for his achievement and service to Diversity in Business.

LinkedIn Profile

I am a Talent Experience Manager in Consumer EE. I lead the EE Graduate Programme, Apprenticeships and our new EE Intern Programme. I am passionate about creating career pathways that are right for everyone and in particular shining a light on under represented groups. I love coming up with creative programmes and career pathways to solve problems that are close to my heart. I am also a mum to three children, Zachary, Imogen and Abigail and a fierce advocate of flexible working (I currently work as part of a job share)