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.
Matt Cope - Magician
Matt has been working in the field of magic and entertainment for more than 25 years, performing close up magic, stand up, cabaret, stroll around and festival entertainment for anything from trade shows and expos to weddings and corporate dinners.
Travelling all over the world, Matt has had the chance to perform in many countries and pretty much every variety of venue.
He has a BA Hons in Lighting and Sound Design for theatre and has fully Qualified Teacher Status in Science with a specialism in Physics. With this he provides personal and academic development talks and workshops utilising magic and circus arts to deliver powerful and engaging messages to students and employees across the country.
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.
Claire Ebbs - Head of Membership Experience & Operations
Claire is MD2MD’s longest-serving team member, keeping events, logistics and member support running smoothly through the pandemic and beyond. She’s played a key role in MD2MD’s growth, helping preserve its welcoming, inclusive community feel. You may not see her on stage, but she’ll be working behind the scenes throughout LeaderFest to make sure everything runs smoothly!
Stu Hadley - Head of Membership Development & Recruitment.
Stu joins the MD2MD team as Head of Membership Development and Recruitment, having previously been part of the MD2MD community as a member. He’ll be using that experience to build relationships with prospective and existing members and help us continue to grow and strengthen the community.
Andrew Spink - Faciliator
Andrew has been part of the MD2MD community for over two decades and plays an important role in bringing members together. He hosts our online Members’ Roundtable and helps facilitate discussions at some of our in-person meetings, creating space for open, honest conversations and shared learning.
Bankie Williams - Facilitator
Bankie brings a wealth of leadership experience to MD2MD, from his early career in the British Army to senior commercial roles, including Managing Director at HomeServe Plc. He has also worked as a Non-Executive Chair, board adviser and executive coach, supporting CEOs and leadership teams through growth, change and uncertainty.
As an MD2MD facilitator, Bankie brings his experience of leadership under pressure to our peer-to-peer conversations, helping leaders challenge their thinking, share experiences and make better decisions.
Simon Kirby - Facilitator
With over 35 years leadership experience working in education, charities and the faith sector, Simon has a passion for equipping leaders to build healthy teams. As a certified GiANT 5 Voices guide, Simon helps business leaders to understand themselves and their teams leading to transformed cultures and performance.
Glyn Lloyd - Facilitator
Glyn is an MD2MD facilitator for the B2B Marketing group and our business leader peer groups. As a leader and former MD2MD member, Glyn is committed to ensuring every member derives great value and has a truly positive experience from attending group sessions. This is achieved by encouraging maximum participation from every member and quality outcomes for members’ challenges, big or small.
Megan Ebbs - LeaderFest Assistant
Megan will be supporting the MD2MD team at LeaderFest, helping with the smooth running of the event and assisting wherever needed. Having supported the team last year, she’ll be on hand to help attendees, with practical event tasks and supporting our videographer with attendee testimonials.
