Gender equality is not a ‘women’s problem', it’s a society problem. And isn’t just the right thing from a social standpoint; it’s the best thing for business. There is a significant research base demonstrating a strong correlation between diversity at a leadership level and business results. In today’s complex, volatile environment, organisations need to be responsive and innovative. And we know there is a direct link between innovation and diversity.
Gender inequality in the workplace is still commonplace, and leaders face considerable challenges when seeking to institute a more gender-equitable company culture. In fact when it comes to change programs aimed at increasing gender equality and diversity, there is struggle to engage men, who often constitute the majority in organizations and hold more positions of power and influence. Men frequently stay on the sidelines and avoid speaking up about programs aimed at creating gender equality.
Real change requires engagement from all parties and men need to fully embrace the benefits that women leaders bring to an organisation.
Speakers
Moderator: Fiorenza Plinio, COO at We Hate Pink
Margarita Skarkou - New Business development & Venture Investment Lead, Barclays UK Ventures
Cristina Cretu - Founder TEDx Obor and Speaker at TEDx Floreasca
Jonathan Brown - Personalisation Consultant at Vodafone Group
Gavin Williams - CEO at Quander
Cristina Cretu
Cristina has 12-years of experience in client oriented team management in Qatar, the UK and Romania, in the fields of aviation, telecommunication and Event Management.
She founded TEDxObor, the first inclusive TEDx event translated in sign language.
She is open up to collaborations and projects, related to multicultural customer service journey, cultural intelligence training and public policies.
Gavin Williams
Gavin Williams is the Co-Founder & CEO of Quander, a consultancy with a powerful platform for analytics and fan engagement in the events industry. He has been in the events industry for over 6 years and has been building apps and websites from the age of 12. He has worked with and advised companies such as Google, NFL & Sky to name but a few on how to get the most out of their event technology. The main aim is to improve the events industry by democratising event technology so that companies both big and small have access to amazing digital experiences for their customers, whatever their budget.
Margarita Skarkou
Margarita leads on the development of new business initiatives and venture investments centred around improving peoples’ wellbeing at Barclays Ventures. She has a passion for high-growth technology driven companies that are solving social challenges, particularly those that are female-led and advises / mentors multiple companies. In addition to sitting on Barclays’ Women on Boards committee, where she is co-developing a programme to encourage and equip more women to join (fin)tech company boards, she is part of the Global Thinkers Forum team, a global movement for female founder and businesswoman empowerment, youth development and accountable leadership. She has been recognised as a Top 30 Inspirational Woman in The City by Brummel Magazine, Woman Future Leader by McKinsey, Rising Star by TargetJobs and Young Leader by the president of the Hellenic Republic for her work as head of strategy at the Greek Economic Forum.
Jonathan Brown
Jonathan Brown is a jack of all trades when it comes to digital marketing. With a passion for Analytics and Consumer insights, his in-depth knowledge on personalisation and data driven marketing has led to some outstanding retail innovations for brands. With further experience in project management, ppc and seo advertising has given him varied experience to work in big tech companies from Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, The Telegraph and currently Vodafone Global. With a passion for continuous learning, Jonathan enjoys being keynote speaker delivering his talk “the power of perseverance” to students around colleges and universities around london. Inspiring the next generation to do and achieve more, despite the current challenges that youth face today!
MODERATOR: Fiorenza Plinio
When it comes to creativity, passion is key. As Cannes Lions’ Head of Creative Excellence Development, Italian-born Fiorenza Plinio’s desire to seek out inventive and collaborative business concepts never wavers. Fiorenza is responsible for nurturing creative excellence across all the company’s products as well as for creating new opportunities for growth and engagement with the creative community and wider organisations. She also works closely with clients and their agencies to create highly focused, customised experiences for them at Cannes Lions and beyond with the aim of raising the creative bar across their central marketing function. When holding the position of Head of Awards Development at Cannes Lions, Fiorenza launched several new awards competitions, most notably the PR Lions awards, working closely with the international PR industry to create a platform to promote and reward the campaigns that demonstrate the highest levels of creativity and business results. She is also a frequent speaker on creativity and creative leadership in the communications industry. Previously Fiorenza was a journalist at news agency ANSA in Paris, and she wrote for several international publications.
Agenda
6:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Networking - Drinks & Nibbles
7:00 pm- 7:15 pm - Intro by Rossella Forle' CEO & Co-Founder at We Hate Pink
7:15 pm - 8:00 pm - Panel discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm - Q&A
8:20 pm - 9:00 pm - Networking and Drinks