As AI moves from concept to reality, many organisations are struggling less with the technology itself and more with its impact on people and culture. This session focuses on the practical and human challenges of AI adoption: anxiety about job security, confusion over future skills, and a growing divide between “AI insiders” and the wider workforce. We will consider how poorly managed implementation can erode trust, disengage employees, and undermine organisational values and what we can do to avoid that eventuality.
CHAIR
Jeff Uden, Global Head of Performance & Attraction, Aventum Group
SPEAKERS
Jamie Nevshehir, VP, HR Operations and People Analytics, NBCUniversal | James Gilding, Chief Strategy Officer, Kings Secure Technologies
The Contract Value Imperative: Negotiating With Giants
Contracts are where commercial value is created and most often lost, and this risk is compounded when dealing with global digital giants. This session will examine how senior legal leaders protect contract value and manage risk when traditional leverage is constrained.
SPEAKERS
Per Hoffman, Group Function Legal Affairs & Compliance, Ericsson
This Masterclass is part of the Global CIO Academy and is delivered in collaboration with the UCL School of Management, London. This masterclass enables CIOs to operate with confidence and influence at board level while engaging senior stakeholders across the organisation. With tech strategy now core to business success, CIOs must communicate complex risks and opportunities clearly, shape digital strategy, and demonstrate the value of technology investment. Learn how to build strong board relationships and lead conversations on transformation, cybersecurity, and innovation.
SPEAKERS
Jon Wrennall, Chair Unzer & Former CTO Fujitsu, Advanced | David Lister, NED, FDM Group
Modern Succession Planning involves collaborating with other departments in identifying and developing potential leadership successors, ensuring a seamless transition of power and resilience in adapting to a faster-changing workforce.
SPEAKERS
Sue Whalley, Chief People & Performance Officer, Associated British Foods | Peter Jackson, Former CEO, Hill Dickinson LLP
A confidential whistleblower allegation against the CEO lands late in the evening—hours before the board is due to meet. Reputational risk is immediate, evidence is partial, and the CEO is unaware. What does good board leadership look like in the first 24 hours?
Attendees will discuss the conclusions of ‘Career Paths Reimagined’, a report published by the ACCA on the evolution of CFO skillsets and career opportunities over the next decade. Career paths are less linear and more fluid than in the past. Opportunities will favour the flexible specialists who can best adapt to technological change. Updating skills and maintaining curiosity in mindset are key. A panel of current CFOs will review the report’s assertions reflecting on their own experiences and insights with the report’s author Clive Webb.
Uniting the Generational Gap: A Culture Framework for High-Performance Marketing
Join Matt Field, CMO of Aventum Group, for a critical session tackling the dual talent crisis facing modern marketing: a retiring workforce converging with an acute shortage of emerging talent. As AI accelerates change and widens the generational gap, the solution isn’t more tools, it’s building the right culture first.
Matt will be joined by Sarah Roberts, a global marketing leader and Group CMO at Boldyn Networks, recognised for building brands and driving clarity, business growth, and momentum across complex, multi‑market organisations. A Global CMO award winner, team builder, and trusted M&A partner, she operates across three continents, leading human‑centred marketing strategies that balance commercial performance with authenticity and trust.
Our session will be chaired by Gareth Abel, Former Chief Marketing Officer at Circles with a strong track record of success across multiple B2C and B2B sectors, in large Corporates and PE-backed businesses combined with extensive international experience.
Discover why leading with AI creates decision paralysis and fragments teams, and learn how to build a culture of “organised chaos” – empowerment, psychological safety, and a fail-fast mentality that makes technology adoption seamless.
CHAIR
Gareth Abel, Former Chief Marketing Officer, Circles
SPEAKERS
Matt Field, Chief Marketing Officer, Aventum Group | Sarah Roberts, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Boldyn Networks
AHN Dinner with Ian Workman, Chief Customer Officer at Homes England
With recent leadership changes at Homes England, we recognise that members will be particularly interested in the agency’s priorities for the coming years. We are therefore delighted to welcome Ian Workman, who leads Homes England’s Social Housing, Safety and Ownership Directorate, to our Affordable Housing Network members dinner.
CHAIR
Gemma Bell, Partner, Devonshires Solicitors
SPEAKERS
Ian Workman, Chief Customer Officer, Homes England
The new rules have shifted the discussion between trustees and employers, with uncertainty about how to apply them creating tension and risking inefficiency. This has meant many trustees are finding the valuation process has become more difficult. Be that under the Regulator’s Fast Track framework, or a more bespoke approach. This meeting is an opportunity for scheme chairs to share how they are cutting through the detail to reach agreement more effectively with the employer, and to more efficiently comply with Regulatory expectations and legal requirements.
SPEAKERS
Leanne Goold, Partner, XPS Covenant, incorporating Penfida | William Weir, Director – Retirement, WTW
