Our programmes are organic to ensure that we bring you the very latest perspectives. If you would be interested in getting involved as a Speaker, please let us know! Email: teampulse@pulseconferences.com. We would also very much value your input into companies, topics or specific persons you may like to see on our agendas. These are your agendas.
Talk to the Board – Meet our 2023 Panel of Directors to date
Dame Inga Beale took over the helm of the 330-year-old City financial institution Lloyd’s of London in 2014, after working in senior leadership roles in some of the world’s largest insurance companies. With over three decades of global business experience she was awarded her Damehood in 2017 for services to the UK economy. Before joining Lloyd’s, Inga was Group CEO of Canopius with its principal operations at Lloyd’s. Prior to that she was on the Global Management Board of Zurich Insurance Group. Earlier roles include Group CEO of Swiss reinsurer Converium, and a variety of international leadership positions for GE Insurance Solutions. She started her career as an underwriter with Prudential in 1982.? During her time at Lloyd’s, Inga developed a culture of innovation and inclusion. She expanded the company’s reach to new, high-growth markets including Asia and the Middle East, and delivered some of Lloyd’s strongest financial results. As the first female CEO of Lloyd’s, she played a key role in changing cultural perceptions and highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusion. Under her leadership, Lloyd’s launched a number of diversity initiatives, including the Dive In Festival, which grew to become the only world-wide insurance industry diversity and inclusion event. Drawing on her own experience at Lloyd’s, Inga discusses what it means to lead cultural change and steer a company through a technological transition without losing its core character. Her talks uncover how successful transformation means establishing a balance between tradition and history, and modernity and innovation. Moreover, she tackles breaking glass ceilings, and building inclusive environments within the workplace. Inga also analyses the reasons behind a lack of trust in both governments and the corporate sector, as well as the rise in public emphasis on corporate responsibility, purpose, ethics and sustainable business models. Inga is a Patron of Insuring Women’s Futures, an alliance of insurance and personal finance professionals helping to improve women’s long-term financial resilience. She is also an ambassador of Stonewall’s Development Council, and was awarded a Damehood for her influential work in driving the inclusion agenda for women and the LGBT community. She has served as President of the UK Chartered Insurance Institute, a member of the Geneva Association Board, and a member of the UK Government’s Financial Services Trade and Investment Board. She now has a portfolio of non-executive director roles for a variety of multinational companies.
Mike Coupe is considered to be a leading business authority. Coupe held the position of CEO for Sainsbury plc from 2014-2020. Before retiring he is credited for turning the company around, through top-level trading, marketing, and online operations. As a business speaker, he instills in his corporate audiences the essential skills he used to lead a market, and share his experience of directing one of the UK’s most established organisations. Coupe joined Sainsbury’s in 2004. Immediately making a positive impression on the company, he rose through the ranks and was appointed responsible for online operations, marketing, and trading in 2010. In 2014, Mike was named CEO of Sainsbury’s, following in the footsteps of Justin King. Using his expert knowledge, he quickly established a strategic review to stay ahead of the evolving retail market. Mike championed Sainsbury’s journey ahead of the competition through a complete digital transformation. From till-free stores to the digitisation of Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty scheme, through a website and an app, he revolutionised the retail giant’s day to day practices. Coupe lead the business from making 5% of online sales to an impressive 20% and growing. Additional influential roles include the Executive Board Director of Asda and Non-Executive Director at Greene King plc. In 2020, Mike announced Sainsbury’s new, more sustainable operations. The company has invested £1 billion into achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, setting the standard for other supermarkets. Mike himself described the decision, stating that “we must recognise that living well now also means living sustainably”, reflecting his commitment to the environment. Mike was director of Covid-19 testing at England’s Test and Trace agency from September through to December 2020 and has been appointed as a non-executive director on the board of NHS England from January 2021.
Alan has over 30 years’ experience of working with global companies and governments on sustainability. In April 2021 he joined Drax as the Group Director of Sustainability. Drax’s ambition is to be the world’s first carbon
negative power station and is the largest producer of biomass for energy. Prior to that, for seven years Alan was in the steel and mining sector as the Global Head of Sustainable Development for ArcelorMittal. He was Co-chairman of Responsible Steel and served on the steering board of the Initiative for Responsible Mining. Alan created and chaired the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group, which was a collaboration of over 100 companies sharing best practice and coordinating the corporate response to Ebola in West Africa. For this he was made a Clinton Global Citizen honouree in 2015. Previous to that he was Sustainability Director for Business and the Community (BITC) where he oversaw all their Corporate Sustainability Programmes. He advised the Virgin Group on sustainable development for seven years. Previously he has worked with global companies as diverse as B&Q where he led their entire Sustainability programme for 10 years. He was instrumental in founding and developing the Forest Stewardship Council. He held similar roles in the Parent company Kingfisher and SABMiller, the multibillion brewery company. For nine years he was a commissioner with the Sustainable Development Commission and he introduced the concept of “choice editing” into the product policy debate. He was awarded the OBE in June 1998, in 2005 the US-based Rainforest Alliance presented him with a lifelong award and in 2013 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment.
Julian Wheatland was formerly Chairman of SCL Group and COO & CFO of the Cambridge Analytica / SCL group of companies. From 2015 to 2018 he oversaw the growth of the group into one of the most influential data analytics companies in the world, employing ground-breaking analytics technology and targeted communications, which have shaped the advertising industry and the current debate around data privacy and personal data. In 2018, following the media controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica, Wheatland stepped into the role of Group CEO in order to close the company down. Wheatland is a veteran of fast-growing technology companies and an expert in the opportunities, pitfalls and dangers that scaling technology businesses can bring. In the fields of data analytics, AI and machine learning, he argues for a greater emphasis to be placed on transparent and ethical corporate oversight which can keep pace with technology, rather than an over-reliance on government and regulatory supervision. Wheatland now serves as Chief Executive Officer of Cornerstone FS plc, an AIM listed company utilising advanced financial technology to deliver payment and currency solutions to business finance departments. He speaks publicly on managing technology growth, data ethics and “how to avoid becoming the next Cambridge Analytica”.
Meet our 2023 Panel of CISOs and Luminaries to date
Michael is a technology leader with over 28 years of experience in guiding international public sector organizations, DAX 30 businesses, and mid-sized international firms through strategic technology initiatives.
He is an expert in digitization and IT transformation and a thought leader in cyber security, organizational risk management, and IT compliance.
He advises small and large enterprises ranging in size from 20 to 220,000 employees in the medical, pharmaceutical, biotech, translation, and manufacturing industries worldwide, just to name a few.
Throughout his career Michael has led complex, diverse organizations toward enhanced operations while saving hundreds of millions in operating costs.
He is passionate about mentorship, coaching, and removing cultural barriers. He was born in the USA, raised in Texas, and has travelled the world helping people maximize potential. Michael lives in Germany and is focused on family, volunteer work, and supporting a multitude of international clients at Hays.
Mark is Chief Information Security Officer for NHS England having joined from UKHSA (Test and Trace) where he was head of Cyber Assurance and Oversight. With over 30 years of experience in security, Mark has held a number of high profile roles in the public and private sectors. He has a strong business focus seeing security as a business enabler. At every opportunity Mark seeks to manage the needs of business against those of security and risk. Outside of work, Mark works to raise much needed funds for NSPCC Childline. He is a member and former Chair of the WhiteHat Ball Committee which to date has raised over £2M for the NSPCC. less
Derek is an experienced leader with over 20 years of professional experience in cyber security and risk management. He is currently the CISO for Deliveroo, where he is developing and implementing a security strategy and roadmap to support the company’s ambitious goals. Prior to Deliveroo, Derek was the Chief Security Officer for TalkTalk, where he joined post their cyber attack in 2015 to rebuild the brand and protect TalkTalk’s critical infrastructure, assets, and customer data. He is also currently the CISO Advisor for Square Enix West, where he is helping build and steer their cyber security programme, and on the Advisory Panel for AND Digital overseeing their Cyber Security strategy.
Previously, Derek was the Global Head of Security and Risk Management (CISO) at Electronic Arts (EA) where he led a large, global team to protect EA’s intellectual property and sensitive data. Prior to EA, he spent over 6 years at Deloitte where he managed and performed a multitude of information security and risk management engagements for global Fortune 500 companies across various industries.