IoIC Festival 2025

Karen Blackett OBE

Karen Blackett OBE is a business leader and former UK President of WPP.

In September 2022 Karen was appointed as UK President of WPP, the world’s largest marketing services group. This was following her roles as UK Country Manager for WPP and UK CEO of GroupM, the world’s leading media investment company.

In June 2014, Karen received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and topped the Power List, becoming the first businesswoman to come in at number 1. She was recently appointed Non-executive Director (NED) for Diago (FTSE Top 100 Company) and former NED of The Cabinet Office.

Karen is best known for driving growth in WPP’s second-largest market of 10,000 people, as GroupM UK CEO. She managed the business at a critical time during the COVID global pandemic and the subsequent impact of the killing of George Floyd.

As a business leader with 25 years of experience in the marketing communications industry, Karen has all the tools in her arsenal businesses need to combat the competition. She can also address inequality at all levels, and help diversify businesses.

Jamil Qureshi

Jamil is one of today's foremost practitioners of performance enhancing psychology and is an expert in high performing teams. Jamil has enjoyed working with a rich diversity of the most talented business and sports people and teams in the world, helping six individuals get to World Number 1.

In 2006, he was appointed as the first-ever official psychologist to work with the European Ryder Cup team by captain Ian Woosnam. They made history in winning by a record-equalling margin. He has since worked with 5 Ryder Cup captains.

Jamil has worked with 22 golfers inside the top 50 in the world, including two world number one’s.

Ranked among the most influential figures in British sport in 2009 by GQ Magazine, Jamil was voted in the top 100 coaches in the world by The Daily Mirror in 2023

He has worked successfully with three English Premiership football clubs, and currently works with a number of players in the Premiership from teams such as Liverpool FC, Manchester Utd and Manchester City.

He has worked with two Formula 1 racing drivers and the 2009 England Ashes winning cricketers.

In business and industry has worked with business leaders and companies in over 24 different countries last year alone, helping teams to fulfil their potential by developing and delivering change and performance programmes. 

He has designed and delivered leadership programmes at board level for Coca Cola, Hewlett Packard, Emirates Airlines, Cisco, GSK, and worked across Lloyds Banking Group on their award winning ‘Journey to World Class’ programme.

During Covid, Jamil worked extensively with global leadership teams at a number of companies, such as SAS, Lloyds Banking Group, GSK, Janssen, NHS England, and Protiviti to help them make the conversion to leading remote and hybrid teams in a changing environment.

• Jamil is also a world recognised speaker on all aspects of the psychology of performance, psychology of leadership, leadership attitudes, improving people, cultural change techniques, and team performance.

Interestingly,

• He is one of only a few external psychologists ever to be allowed to study astronauts on the 2008 NASA Space Programme.
• Jamil has talked to an audience that included two former US presidents at the K Club in Ireland!
• Jamil was chosen as the supporting speaker to Tony Robbins at his Dublin event.
• Jamil’s versatility is illustrated by the fact he has talked at NASDAQ in New York where he shared a stage with General Peter Pace, Joint Chief of Staff, the highest ranking military officer in the whole of the US armed forces, and next day did stand up in front of a celebrity audience at the Groucho Club!
• He once spoke in six countries in two days!

Pauline Miller

Chief Equity Officer, Dentsu

Pauline Miller is the current Chief Equity Officer of Dentsu, and experienced Diversity and Inclusion Speaker.

An experienced senior leader and business psychologist across Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Leadership and Learning, Pauline is committed to building inclusive and high performing cultures that create meaningful impact for colleagues, clients, communities and external stakeholders.

Before embarking on her present role at Dentsu, Pauline worked for several years in the talent development sector for Lloyds of London. She is also known for her two decades of experience in the banking sector, and it was her experience with racism and discrimination that surged her motivation to speak out against workplace discrimination.

Pauline now dedicates much of her time for several local and national organisations and is at the forefront of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Pauline draws upon her own personal experience to provide highly inspiring and engaging talks on diversity, inclusion, equality and leadership in the workplace. Her usable and actionable advice is guaranteed to be a catalyst for positive change.

Sir Craig Oliver

Sir Craig Oliver is perhaps best known for being one of the most influential and successful political advisors in British history. Most notably, he worked as Director of Politics and Communications to British Prime Minister, David Cameron. On a day-to-day basis, he helped the government effectively communicate their messaging, and was directly responsible for making the state properly utilise digital channels.

Sir Craig Oliver has achieved a lot in his career, spending time in the worlds of politics and journalism. Before joining Downing Street, he was an award-winning journalist who edited some of the BBC’s flagship news programmes and worked as controller of BBC Global.

He also wrote a best-selling book, Unleashing Demons, about what really went on behind the scenes during the Brexit referendum, which was turned into a Channel 4 drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear.

Winnie Annan-Forson

Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Royal Mail

As the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Royal Mail, I am proud to lead a team that is on a mission to make one of UK's largest employers a place where our c.140,000 employees feel like they belong.

My mission is to equip diverse talent with the tools to excel in the workplace, whilst shaping equitable workplaces that enable underrepresented groups to thrive. As a strategic, impact-driven and entrepreneurial people leader with 10+ years of experience in global HR and commercial roles, I have a proven track record of developing and executing people, diversity and talent strategies aligned with business objectives.

Colin Archer

Head Of Communications, Spirax Sarco

Colin is an experienced leader in internal communications and organisational culture. His approach is Purpose driven and believes that while organisations do well by doing good, the people in those organisations are the ones who make it happen. 

His philosophy is that if you spend at least eight hours of your day at work, then those hours should be exciting, fulfilling, and make us feel good about what we do. Colin’s approach at work is in the service of that philosophy and the reason he loves doing what he does.

Jon Ayres

Co-founder and Executive Producer, The Beautiful Truth

Jon is one of the Co-founders of The Beautiful Truth, leading its film department and taking creative responsibility for the quality of its output.

Alexander Bell

Keynote Speaker and Founder, Attention Intelligence®

With over two decades of experience as a serial entrepreneur and thought leader in technology, Alexander has led teams and built startups with global clients including Google, IBM, and Warner Bros.
Inspired by his journey as a business leader, father, and digital wellbeing advocate, Alexander now travels the globe speaking with audiences and working with clients to help them implement his Attention Intelligence® and Tech Rules® principles to improve internal mindset, boost performance and promote a healthy relationship with technology.

Claudia Biçen

Head of Consulting and Chief Experience Designer, The Beautiful Truth

Claudia heads up The Beautiful Truth’s consulting arm, bringing ideas about trust and meaning to life through transformative experiences.

Molly Bliss

Strategy Communications Team and Chartered Management Degree Apprentice, Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S)

As part of her four-year apprenticeship scheme which sees Molly earn a degree and chartership in Professional management, she’s also worked full-time in the high-pressure environment of the Strategy Communications team since 2023. Molly has consistently demonstrated her creativity in finding solutions to reach complex audiences. She’s most proud of designed and delivering targeted events to reach over 1,500 employees across dispersed regional sites. Outside of work, Molly not only captains a men’s adult cricket team but built a women’s team from scratch - they’re in their third year of playing and came second in their league last year.

Nyasha Bonde

Venues Internal Communications Executive, Rank Group

I’m Nyasha, a versatile communications professional passionate about engaging teams through impactful and strategic communication. I believe great communication has the power to inspire, influence, and empower - and that’s exactly why I love what I do. Outside of work, you’ll likely find me doing something creative or getting lost in a good book.

Carly Bowen

Senior Global Communications & Engagement Manager, Kantar

Carly is an internal comms and engagement professional - with 15 years in a variety of roles, from change and project management to colleague listening. She is enthusiastic about how to practically apply simple communications into everything businesses do. When she’s not at work, Carly is a busy mum of two, sometimes finding time to relive her passion as an ex-professional dancer.

Emma Bridger

Founder, People Lab and The EX Space

Emma Bridger is a leading expert in employee engagement and experience. As an award-winning author of "Employee Engagement" and "EX by Design," she brings extensive knowledge and passion to her work. With over 25 years’ experience, Emma founded People Lab and co-founded The EX Space to improve workplace experiences. Her background in psychology and business helps organisations achieve their goals through engagement. Emma has designed courses for the CIPD and contributed to the UK Government Review - Engage for Success. She has been recognised as one of the UK's most influential HR thinkers by HR Magazine.

Sarah Browning

Kindness Cheerleader and Strategic Communications Consultant, Browning York

Sarah Browning is a Kindness Cheerleader and Strategic Communications Consultant, who describes internal comms as her first love (professionally speaking). In 2021 she founded the Time for Kindness wellbeing programme, to inspire and teach people to notice the kindness that already exists in the world. She believes that there is a lot of kindness out there, we just don't talk about it enough (yet) and that's where comms pros come in. Outside of work she is a (very) amateur artist and a women’s football fan.

Nikki Burslam

Founder and Strategy Director, The Culture Club

Nikki started her IC career at Danone, before moving agency side. For the last 7 years, she's been working with clients of all shapes and sizes to design change that works - knowing that organisations can only change if people do.

Nikki loves to translate transformation into tangible steps that engergise people, rather than exhaust them and is looking forward to sharing some practical tips, tricks and hacks for making change stick in your organisation.

When Nikki isn't with clients, you'll find her working her way through a growing pile of non-fiction.

Isobel Camier

Director , Camier Communications

Izzy is a communications skills trainer. Having worked both agency-side and as Head of Communications for Williams F1, she founded Camier Communications in 2020. She delivers workshops which increase the impact of teams and individuals. Her talent is in building trust with delegates and elevating their confidence. 

Izzy's style is energetic and engaging. She works mostly with female-lead agencies.

She is an accredited trainer for the CIPR, an Insights Discovery facilitator, a founding member of Female Founders Rise, a mentor with The Girls’ Network and a Mental Health First Aider. Izzy lives in Oxford with her family.

Jo Challoner

Communications Manager, VirginMediaO2

Jo started at O2 in a frontline call centre role whilst at university; it was a temporary job that’s lasted almost 26 years, and she’s not offended to be called a ‘lifer’. From frontline to managing teams, it was a leap of faith that resulted in her move to a Head of Operational Support role balancing Corporate Social Responsibility, Employee Engagement & Communications for call centres. Various iterations of that role lead to a move to the Virgin Media O2 Communications Team in 2021 focussing solely on operational communications but for a much wider and diverse audience.

Asif Choudry

Sales and Marketing Director, Resource

Farah Chowdhury

Senior Internal Communications Manager, YoungMinds

Farah has been an internal comms professional for over 8 years, working in Higher Education and currently in the Charity Sector. During this time, she also trained and qualified as a Counsellor and Psychotherapist (with a brief stint as a pandemic florist). Passionate about increasing access to mental health support and the emotional wellbeing of marginalised and minoritised folk, Farah now splits her time between YoungMinds in Internal Comms, in her private practice and teaching trainee therapists. In her spare time, you’ll find her chasing the sunshine, trying out new arts and crafts, and running the occasional flower therapy workshop.

Jo Coxhill

Workplace Culture, Employee Experience, Listening & Internal Comms Consultant | Burnout Advocate and Speaker

Jo is on a mission to make work not suck by creating thriving workplace cultures. With extensive experience in employee experience, organisational culture and internal communication, Jo helps companies improve performance and profits by creating happy, healthy and engaged teams. Known for her authenticity, candor and results-driven approach, she helps organisations prioritise people, build resilience, and create a true sense of belonging. 

Jo speaks passionately on the future of work and burnout prevention, mentors internal comms professionals through the IoIC and helps individuals tackle all kinds of internal comms challenges - from engaging employees and influencing stakeholders to shaping culture, EX and comms in their organisation.

Chris Crofts

Chris has specialised in internal communications for more than 20 years and has led IC teams at HSBC, and the global IC functions at Aviva and Diageo. Chris is well-known and highly regarded in the IC community and has contributed to books and podcasts, judged awards and been the key-note speaker at many industry conferences. Now an independent consultant and trainer, Chris has a contagious passion and energy for improving the performance and reputation of internal communications teams and helping them to become truly strategic influencers.

Chris loves quilting and is an avid sewer. Chris hates housework and life admin!

Amrita Dasgupta

Senior Engagement and Communications Manager, Fieldfisher LLP

Amrita Dasgupta is a Senior Engagement and Communications Manager at Fieldfisher LLP. She is a seasoned internal communications professional with over 10 years of experience, specialising in strategic leadership communications and employee engagement campaigns. She is a certified member of the IoIC and co-leads the IoIC London Network. With 15 years in global digital marketing, Amrita ensures impactful communication for diverse audiences. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading, and gardening with her family.

Nadine Dixon

Nadine is a senior change communications specialist, who is passionate about helping organisations to engage with their employees. She has over fifteen years of global communications expertise gained from leading complex change communications strategies (business and technology transformations, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory and legal reforms, culture integration, DEI engagement) for Barclays, Financial Conduct Authority, Aon and Mayor of London.

Nadine has an eclectic taste in music, a fondness for exploring diverse cuisines (a real foodie!), loves spreading the 'good news' about internal communications on LinkedIn (come and say hello!) and has recently began an exploration of the benefits of using essential oils.

James Farris

Senior Communications Manager, VirginMediaO2

With over 15 years of Retail management experience across a number of major brands, James joined O2 in 2016 and held roles in process improvement and operations before taking over the Communications Team within the newly converged VirginMediaO2 just over 3 years ago - during which time it's size and scope has significantly increased. Based in East London, his passion for the written word extends to a book collection decades in the making, and an abject refusal to countenance e-books.

Mark Fincham

Strategy Communications Manager, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)

Mark has worked across numerous sectors over a career spanning 44 years - from pubs to factory floors to the civil service. As the only septuagenarian on the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) comms team he delights in breaking the mould and finding new and creative ways to reach employees. He’s passionate about employee engagement and winning the hearts and minds of his audience so they can deliver more for our armed forces. As a proud Bristolian he speaks like a pirate and spends his evenings sparring on World of Tanks or walking his dog Digby.

Rebecca Garland

Senior Consultant, H/Advisors Maitland

Rebecca is a Senior Consultant in the Transformation and Change practice, and has extensive experience advising clients through complex multi-faceted change programmes. Rebecca is an expert in strategy, cultural change, and M&A - notably, previously supporting a £47 billion merger of two UK wealth managers.

Rebecca works with clients across a variety of sectors and most recently has been supporting a global pharmaceutical company to launch and embed their holistic people strategy. She has a special focus on ensuring the change captures “hearts and minds”.

Adaora Geiger

Partner and Head of Transformation and Change, H/Advisors Maitland

Adaora leads the Transformation & Change practice at H/Advisors Maitland. She is an expert in change communications with a special focus on leadership enablement and measures that involve and mobilise employees across the organisation. She advises global clients in complex communication situations – from crisis and reputation management to M&A, restructuring or culture change. She is passionate about creating meaningful content and activations that drive sustainable change.

Adaora also teaches a course on Leadership communications for the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association).

Adaora is a German native, but has lived in London for nearly eight years. 

Kristopher Gibbon-Walsh

CEO, FareShare

Shalini Gupta

Head of Internal Communications, UKIMEA, Arup

Janet Hitchen

For two decades, Janet Hitchen has helped global organisations create smart pioneering internal communication functions. From Apple's retail transformation to Nespresso UKI's pandemic response, she transforms how companies and leaders connect with their people to drive real business value.

Her approach? Deep listening and commercial understanding. At Apple, she lead global iPhone communications that bridged retail teams across continents (the first time anyone had ever done this from outside the US), prioritising the customer experience through the employee experience. At Nespresso, she helped a recently arrived CEO build trust during unprecedented times. At Zego, she streamlined communication and the digital EX while saving money that could be reinvested into the business; vital to extend the liquidity runway of a scale up. She proves that systems thinking, narrative clarity, process efficiency and robust relationships are essential tools of the modern communication professional.

With experience spanning finance, FMCG, luxury retail, Pharma and tech, Janet combines strategic insight with practical know-how. Her recent distinction in Cambridge's Sustainability Management programme adds depth to her understanding of purpose-led communication, risk mitigation and reputation management.

Whether crafting CEO narratives or aligning comms to business goals, Janet turns clear communication into measurable business value and success

Lynsey Hutchison

Director, Head of Insight and Optimisation, Corporate Communications, Barclays

Lynsey has over 20 years’ experience in the Financial Services industry, 12 of those dedicated to internal communications and engagement.

As a certified six sigma black belt with a love of data, Lynsey embraces her inner geek and delights in exploring innovative ways to leverage insights and technology to optimise internal communications processes and build engagement strategies that make a difference.

Rob Jones

Co-founder and content director, Artful Dog

Ross is co-founder and content director of communications agency Artful Dog. He has more than 20 years’ experience in internal comms – planning, writing and editing magazines, websites, brochures and other campaign materials. He is the editor of IoIC’s membership magazine, Voice.

Rob will be the MC in the Practical Zone 1.

David Manning

Senior Manager - Culture, Change and Communication, Currys plc

David is an award-winning internal comms and employee engagement leader with 20 years' experience transforming workplace culture in major organisations including Currys, BBC, Travis Perkins and Associated British Foods. His creative, inclusive approach earned him two IoIC Awards in 2024, including the Grand Prix for his Mission:Possible campaign. As Chair, Director and Trustee of The Core at Corby Cube, and creator of the Thrapston Nene Valley Park project, he's committed to community engagement and transformation. An habitual optimist and positivity champion, David shares weekly Monday Motivation posts on LinkedIn.

Laura Marinica

Senior Global Communications & Engagement Manager, Kantar

Laura is an internal comms professional with over a decade of global experience in various sectors. She has a passion for editorial work, plain English and content design. She likes to use her non-native English speaker ‘superpowers’ to make corporate language accessible to global audiences. Outside work, she spends her time between Pilates classes, watching cat videos 🐈 and writing amateur prose. 

Eduvie Martin

Group Internal Communications Manager, BAT

Eduvie has almost 20 years international experience in internal comms across multiple sectors. She studied Broadcast Journalism at the New York Film Academy and holds a Masters degree from the IE Business School, Madrid. In 2023, she was named PR woman of the month, nominated for a Comms Hero Award, and received the Simplys award for Best Internal Comms Rising Star.

She is the Group Internal Comms Manager at BAT, President Elect of the International Association of Business Communications UK and Ireland and volunteers her time on the board of her comic book start-up: Comic Republic  – a start-up known globally for authentic stories and illustrations of African superheroes inspired by culture. 

Eduvie is known for attracting global media visibility to her comic book start-up, hosting internal TV shows and podcasts, facilitating over 300 town halls, and influencing comms professionals to deliver work that adds value.

Tom McIlroy

Internal Comms Data and Insights Lead, Sage

Over the last nine years, Tom has worked across multiple areas of internal communications, supporting companies such as Zurich, RSA, and Sage. In that time, he has been a content creator (producing videos, graphics, and podcasts that bring stories to life), a business partner (guiding leaders on engagement strategies), and everything in between.

Today, he helps Sage’s internal communications teams harness data to better understand their audiences and uncover new opportunities to tell impactful stories.

Outside of work, Tom’s passion for technology sees him building apps and creating content for platforms like YouTube.

Rob Molloy

Founder and Managing Director, Ally & Mo Media

Rob Molloy is the Founder and Managing Director of Ally & Mo Media, where he specialises in turning camera-shy colleagues into engaging storytellers.

In his previous life at Guinness World Records, he spent over a decade alongside leading the production of their TV shows globally, being thrown in at the deep end as a TV judge and spokesperson - dealing with everything from live broadcasts to crisis management (often simultaneously). These days, when he's not helping organisations unlock their People Power, he's herding cats running a 500-strong kids' football club. Any remaining free time is spent cooking, travelling, and trying to convince his family to let him watch low-brow Netflix shows in peace.

Speaker from Mott Macdonald

Terry Murphy

Internal Communications Manager & Former Television Producer

Jenny Nicely

Account Director, Blue Goose

Graham Norris

Organisational Psychologist and Futurist, Foresight Psychology

Graham is an organisational psychologist and futurist who helps individuals and organisations create more ambitious futures for themselves.

By combining the latest research into psychology with the tools of strategic foresight, Graham empowers teams to take control of their futures and thrive amid uncertainty.

The bottom-line outcome for participants in his off-sites, workshops, training and keynotes is a clear understanding of the future and the ability to make decisions with conviction.

Graham was previously a financial journalist and marketing consultant. He holds an MBA and doctorate from Heriot-Watt University.

Alex Owen

Head of Strategy Communications, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)

After time in the army riding tanks and horses from Helmand to Horse Guards, Alex left to chase a career in comms. At the Royal British Legion, the UK’s largest Armed Forces charity, he was heavily involved in the iconic Poppy Appeal, thinking up new ways to mobilise the public in support of veterans. Tribute Ink, an experiential campaign exploring modern remembrance through tattoos, was his brainchild. Achieving nearly two hours of coverage, the campaign climax saw Alex drop his trews on live TV to show off his regimental ink! Now at DE&S, Alex and his team have been finding new ways to land a change that will have profound positive implications for UK security. Outside work Alex has bagged a History Masters which he puts to use as a director for the Household Cavalry Museum in London.

Serena Richmond

Employee Engagement & DEI Manager, FareShare

Ben Ryder-Smith

Growth Director, The Beautiful Truth

Ben works closely with the CEO and Client Services Director to build The Beautiful Truth’s reach and reputation.

Joe Salmon FIIC

Director, Corporate Communications, Iron Mountain

Joe is a seasoned communications leader with a proven track record of driving organisational success. With over two decades of communication expertise, spanning agency, consultancy, and in-house roles at companies including Vodafone, BT, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, and Spotify. He excels at providing strategic leadership communication and coaching to enhance visibility, reputation and trust, while crafting employee campaigns delivered through compelling storytelling to help organisations to grow from the inside out.

His expertise spans leadership communication, employee engagement, and navigating organisational change. Joe has a Post Graduate Diploma in Internal Communication Management, and is a passionate advocate for the internal communication profession, his influence extends beyond the day job. He's an elected Board Director and Fellow at the Institute of Internal Communication, a champion for inclusion and belonging through the UK Black Comms Network, a recognised event host, speaker, mentor, and awards judge. And PRovoke Media Innovator 25 honouree.

Beth Sherman

Emmy-winning comedy writer and comedian

Beth is a comedian, and seven-time Emmy-winning Hollywood comedy writer who's written for the biggest shows in American television, including Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Ellen, and the Academy Awards. In 2023, she was nominated for a 2023 Writers Guild Award for the Netflix comedy special, Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration.

As a comedian, she’s performed at comedy clubs across the United States, as well as combat outposts and forward operating bases in Iraq. She currently works internationally as a presentation coach and keynote speaker.

Lee Smith

Co-founder, The EX Space

Lee Smith is an internal communication thought leader with over 35 years’ experience. He held senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group and EY, as well as co-founding the renown internal communication agency Gatehouse, now part of Gallagher’s employee experience practice. A Fellow of both the Institute of Internal Communication and Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Lee co-founded The EX Space to help raise the professional bar in employee experience.  As strategy partner at IC Partners, he continues to work with clients on both sides of the Atlantic to design and deliver world class internal communication.

Debra Sobel

Founder, The Purpose Hub

Debra is an experienced strategic communications strategist, with specialist knowledge in all things purpose, impact and sustainability. Over two decades in business she has consulted and worked with national and multinational brands including CGI, Experian, Unilever, Pinsent Masons, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines,  and Mental Health UK, helping them navigate the purpose landscape, shape strategy and deliver clarity when it comes to stakeholder communications and embedding purpose into culture. Debra is a former BBC prime television producer / director who has worked on programmes including Crimewatch, Watchdog, the charity appeals programme - Lifeline, and political and environmental documentaries.

Jennifer Sproul

Chief Executive, Institute of Internal Communication

Jennifer is responsible for the leadership of IoIC, the only independent professional body solely dedicated to internal communication. IoIC is the voice of internal communication, setting standards for more than 70 years through qualifications, career development, thought leadership and best practice.  

Prior to joining IoIC, Jennifer has worked for over 20 years in professional associations, most recently as Strategic Marketing & Sales Director at the Market Research Society, developing and leading on activities across marketing communications (both internal & external), careers, membership, professional development and publishing. ­­­

Sonia Squires

Head of Communication, Citizen Housing

Sonia is Head of Communication at Citizen Housing. Sonia started her career in higher education where she worked with under-represented groups, supporting young people to achieve their potential. She then found her calling with internal communication, working for the NHS, AQA and most recently social housing.

Sonia’s passion is supporting leaders with their communication so that they develop a greater connection with their teams. Her MBA dissertation  focused on the importance of leadership in employee engagement and the significant impact it has every day.

In her spare time Sonia is dancing in the kitchen with her two young daughters and cheering on Derby County.

Danielle Starling

Assistant Head of Strategy Communications, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S)

Danielle has spent 13 years working in internal comms across public sector organisations, including housing, education and defence, always aiming to put employees at the heart of everything she does. As a resolute realist, and the team’s ‘Sergeant Major,’ she’s the one who brings ideas from the clouds back down to the ground so the team can find ways of actually making them happen. Danielle spends most of her free time negotiating with a toddler, singing Taylor Swift loudly and badly, and indulging her tabletop and console gaming hobbies when she can.

Justine Stevenson FIIC

Director of Internal Communication and Employee Engagement, AQA

Starting her career as a local newspaper journalist, Justine now has more than 20 years of experience in Internal Communication (she’s happy for you to tell her she doesn’t look old enough!)

Working in a variety of sectors in the public, private and charity sectors, she might not have seen it all – but she’s likely to have seen a fair bit and is happy to share her experience and learnings with anyone that would find it useful. She’s also a keen hobbyist so equally happy to chat sewing, gardening or singing!

A passionate Internal Communicator, Justine has been a member of the IoIC for most of her IC career and a board member for more years than she can remember. She chairs the IOIC annual awards – an absolute joy – and has recently been a member of the task force looking at the ethical use of AI in Internal Comms – one of the most taxing but enjoyable pieces of work she has ever been involved in.

Natalie Swanser CIIC MCIPR

Chief Executive Officer | Communication Consultant, NS Communications Ltd

Meet Natalie, the Chief Executive Officer of NS Communications Ltd and remote Communication Consultant. With a strong focus on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, Natalie has worked across public relations, strategic and internal communication positions at regional and global levels. In 2024, she took her expertise back to the classroom, pursuing an MSc in Strategic Communication and Public Relations at the University of Stirling while conducting independent research into ethics and sustainability in IC best practices. Passionate about making communication more collaborative, innovative and accessible, she dedicates her spare time to providing pro bono support for charities and start-ups across the health, education and pharmaceutical sectors. When Natalie is not deep in the realm of strategic communication, she can likely be found chasing after her highly active toddler, Nola Luna and her truly bonkers Springer Spaniel, Stanley.

Rae Swemmer

Director, Group Marketing, JTC

Rae has over 30 years marketing and communications experience, predominantly in the finance industry, and has been at JTC since 2009.

Aside from her husband, Rae’s trusted sidekick is Zulu – a Spanish rescue dog of particular comedy note – and when not spending quality time with them, she alternates between developing either her gardening or baking skills. Rae also has a magic cinema card, a weird obsession with bacon and banana pizza and loves settling down with a good book on a rainy afternoon.

Ana-Maria Thijssen

Communications Manager & Counsellor , CSMART & MenssAna

I'm a Communications professional and an ADHD-er. Although I love my job, I always struggled to fit and it took me a long time to understand why that was. By the powers of curiosity and a healthy dose of self-awareness, I now understand how my brain functions. 

Ed Thomas

Group Head of Marketing and Communications, The Wrekin Housing Group

Caroline Tierney

Senior Strategist, Home

Before coming Home, Caroline spent nearly 20 years proving the power of trust, meaningful connections and genuine purpose for in-house communication, engagement and change teams at brands like Lloyds Banking Group, Clarks and green energy pioneers Good Energy. Expect curiosity, resourcefulness, people-led insight, and a firm belief that what’s good for people is good business. Outside of work she’s usually – well – outside. Often accompanied by two small boys. If anyone can recommend any local spots for a post festival cold swim or trail run let her know.

Sophie Tomlinson

Client Director, H&H

Sophie has worked across the civil service and private sector in comms, consultancy and policy roles, with a strong focus on relationship management and strategic delivery. When she isn’t advocating for wonky comms, Sophie can be found in hot pursuit of the best almond croissant London has to offer, or practicing her Spanish on unsuspecting locals. She is an indiscriminate book worm, and mixes a mean negroni.

Dominic Walters

Leadership Communication Specialist

Dominic has specialised in leadership and line manager communication and development for over 25 years. He has worked in senior ‘in-house’ roles and as a coach and consultant in the UK, Europe, Asia and the US, supporting leadership teams across a range of sectors.

He has also featured in print, podcast, TV and radio promoting effective leadership communication. Dominic has worked with leadership teams in finance, pharmaceuticals, engineering, healthcare and public sector.

Dominic is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and past national Chairman, Governance Adviser and Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communication. When the Festival take place, Dominic will the be President of the IoIC. He has developed the audiobook, ‘Leading Inside Out’ in conjunction with IoIC.

Kate Waters

Internal Communications Lead - Change, University Of Cambridge

Kate has held senior communications roles in the charity, health and higher education sectors. A chartered PR practitioner with a Masters in internal communication management, she is particularly interested in how communication shapes organisational culture. In her current role, she is responsible for change communication at the University of Cambridge. 

Outside of work, Kate lives in North Essex with her husband and two young children. She is passionate about travel, interior design and writing, and is currently trying to re-learn French after a 15-year break. 

Ben Watson

Managing Director, Blue Goose

Ben is a strategic design and communication expert, with over a decade of experience in internal communications.  He is co-owner and managing director of Blue Goose, an award -winning internal communications agency that delivers strategic and creative employee engagement. Ben provides support on all projects and a focal point for the agency’s thinking on employee engagement.

Blue Goose delivers meaningful, unexpected communications with impact, and uses intuitive and intelligent creativity to engage with employees.  Clients include John Lewis Partnership, BBC, McDonalds, Visa and many more.