George Anderson - Compere
LeaderFest is thrilled to welcome back George as our compere! A familiar face to MD2MD audiences, George is a highly engaging speaker with a passion for helping individuals thrive. For the past 20 years, he’s leveraged his background in engineering and personal training to create a unique approach – a blend of motivational speaker and high-performance coach. George’s sessions are known for their down-to-earth “progress not perfection” philosophy, equipping attendees with practical tools and strategies to make a lasting impact on their lives. Get ready for an inspiring and informative LeaderFest experience guided by George!
Kate Lloyd - Interviewer
Kate is a leadership and career development specialist and certified executive coach who works with individuals and organisations to inspire and cultivate behaviour change, with the aim of creating more equitable, emotionally intelligent, and productive workplaces. She regularly speaks at events and facilitates workshops and meaningful conversations on topics that call for greater awareness and collective action — such as inclusive leadership, workplace wellbeing, and supporting the growth of underrepresented voices.
Bob Bradley - Panel Interviewer
Bob brings a wealth of experience to LeaderFest. For a decade, he tackled growth challenges as CEO/MD across diverse businesses. This experience fueled his passion to share real-world knowledge, leading him to found MD2MD two decades ago.
Bob is a firm believer in the power of practical experience for business leaders. Over the next 20 years, he facilitated over 800 interviews with more than 300 business leaders, gaining an unparalleled perspective on success. Through these interactions, Bob witnessed countless missed opportunities and wasted time. Now, his mission is to empower you to avoid those pitfalls by sharing his hard-won wisdom. Don’t miss Bob’s insightful discussions at LeaderFest – a chance to learn from the best alongside a true champion of leadership development!
Nigel Seear - Collaborative Session Leader
With over 25 years of experience building, transforming, and scaling businesses, Nigel has developed a strong reputation for identifying and empowering talent. His career began in the healthcare sector, with roles in Sales, Marketing, and Strategic Planning, before moving into executive leadership in management consultancy. He has successfully led businesses with turnovers over £50 million, delivering exceptional growth and performance.
In 2018, Nigel founded Elevational to combine his business expertise with his background in sports performance coaching. He now works across various sectors, leading a CEO peer advisory group, coaching scale-up leaders, and delivering programmes that help individuals and organisations reach their full potential.
David Murray - Collaborative Session Leader
David Murray is Executive Director at the politically neutral think tank, Sustainability First. With over 20 years in the charity sector, he has championed landscape-scale conservation, sustainable transport infrastructure and social equity. Career highlights include securing the first Green Party seat in Parliament in 2010, establishing a right of public coastal access along the English and Welsh coastlines, through the Marine & Coastal Access Act, and unlocking £1 billion of government investment into walking and cycling infrastructure via the government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. David is a Chartered Environmentalist, holds a Master of Science in Environmental Conservation Management, and is a Fellow of both the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and the Royal Geographical Society.
Katie Allen - Collaborative Session Leader
Katie Allen is an inclusion confidence coach, TEDx speaker, and host of the “Speaking of Inclusion” podcast. With a background in commercial leadership and HR, she’s passionate about helping leaders overcome the fear of saying the wrong thing and build inclusive, psychologically safe workplaces. Known for her no-nonsense approach, DEI without BS, Katie brings practical tools and honest conversations to the stage.
Kat Thorne - Collaborative Session Leader
Kat is a positive habits international keynote speaker, teacher and consultant. Her life story of workaholism, breakdown and burnout inspires global audiences to make one small habit change. After losing everything in 2016, she had no choice but to start again. With ONE SMALL HABIT CHANGE.
Kat works with organisations, leaders and individuals around the world to create one small positive habit change that actually results in increased wellbeing & resilience.
Teresa Boughey - Collaborative Session Leader
Teresa is an award-winning Business Consultant, TEDx speaker, best-selling author, and NED, with 25+ years’ experience in culture change, leadership, and business transformation. As CEO of Jungle HR and Inclusion 247, she works with leaders to drive inclusive, high-performing workplaces. Teresa chairs ESG initiatives within parliamentary groups and is a sought-after voice on diversity, leadership, and sustainable change.
Emma Phipps - LeaderFest's Driving Force
As MD2MD’s Managing Director, Emma fosters a thriving community for operational leaders. Her decade-long dedication fuels MD2MD’s growth and online success. Passionate about creating a diverse and empowering environment at LeaderFest, Emma ensures leaders connect, learn, and achieve extraordinary results. Say hello! Emma will be there all day.
Jo Luke
Meet Jo, MD2MD’s Recruitment Leader! Jo plays a vital role in building MD2MD’s thriving community. As Recruitment Director, she connects top talent with exciting opportunities. Looking to expand your network? Don’t miss Jo at LeaderFest! She’ll be there all day and happy to chat.
Claire Ebbs - MD2MD Executive Community Manager
Claire is MD2MD’s longest serving team member and has managed the events and logistics through the pandemic and beyond and has been an indispensable part of it’s evolution to the diverse community it is today. MD2MD prides itself on retaining its inclusive community feel throughout its growth and Claire has managed to ensure the same level of support to members despite their ever increasing number. She’s ensures everything runs smoothly behind the scenes and while you might not see her on stage, Claire will be working diligently throughout the day to make sure your experience is top-notch!
Laura Bradley - MD2MD Head of Marketing
Laura manages all marketing for MD2MD and knows that what we offer has to be top quality. She has been integral in ensuring that while raising MD2MD’s profile we don’t lose our integrity and vision for MD2MD to continue being a community where employees, staff and collaborators empower each other through mutual support. Laura is often in attendance at Women in Leadership events and is passionate about supporting and promoting the success of it’s members.