20-03-2026 08:30
Join Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE as she opens this year’s One Tech World Conference, uniting women in technology from across the globe.
In her opening address, Vanessa will share her reflections on the current landscape for women in tech, the importance of women upskilling in AI, and highlight why One Tech World is more important than ever. She’ll explore key developments shaping the sector, including:
Vanessa will also discuss the vital role of events like One Tech World in fostering learning, sharing ideas, and building valuable connections across the tech community. She’ll guide attendees through the platform, offering practical tips to help them get the most out of their conference experience.
Whether you’re here to gain insights, expand your network, or explore new opportunities, Vanessa’s warm welcome will set the tone for an inspiring, empowering, and impactful day.
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 08:40
In this session, Karen Blake MBE, will unpack the key insights from the 2025 Lovelace Report: Unlocking £2–3.5 Billion - The Value of Keeping Women in Tech, co-authored by Karen, WeAreTechWomen and Oliver Wyman.
Drawing on research with over 500 women in tech and senior industry interviews, Karen will highlight how a broken career framework is costing the UK tech sector between £2 billion and £3.5 billion annually as 40,000–60,000 women either leave the industry or switch roles each year - not due to lack of ambition, but due to stalled progression, inadequate recognition and pay, and structural barriers that hinder advancement.
The presentation will explore where women get stuck mid-career, why traditional explanations like caregiving are overstated, and what this means for tech’s ability to grow and lead, particularly in areas like AI and digital innovation.
Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of the report’s economic case for change and practical takeaways for building inclusive talent pipelines that retain and empower women throughout their careers.
Karen Blake MBE20-03-2026 09:10
As crypto matures, derivatives, especially options and structured products, will define institutional market structure. In this session, I will explore the technical frontier of volatility, payoff engineering and risk architecture, revealing how next-generation derivatives will shape stability, capital efficiency and institutional adoption.
Fenni Kang20-03-2026 09:20
"Separating the Signals from the Noise" cuts through cyber security hype to reveal what truly threatens organisations in 2026. This talk examines why 67% of major breaches still stem from basic security failures, distinguishes real emerging threats from marketing noise, and provides sector-specific insights with practical, prioritised action items for immediate implementation.
Key takeaways:
Learn which emerging threats deserve your budget - understand the difference between genuine AI-powered risks requiring immediate investment versus overhyped concerns that can wait, so you can allocate resources strategically
Discover why fundamentals still fail at scale - gain insight into the root causes (technical debt, resource misallocation, skills gaps, executive misalignment) that allow 81% of breaches to involve password issues despite decades of awareness
Identify your industry's specific vulnerabilities - get targeted analysis of why retail, financial services, and manufacturing face different attack vectors and breach patterns, with evidence-based data on what's actually hitting your sector
Receive a prioritised action plan – walk away with immediate, short-term, and long-term to-do lists calibrated to real-world ROI, including high-impact investments like Zero Trust (40% breach reduction) and automated patch management (60% vulnerability reduction)
Lisa Ventura MBE FCIIS20-03-2026 09:45
"Transforming Language Understanding Using Generative AI" explores the impact of generative artificial intelligence on language comprehension.
This topic delves into how advanced AI models, capable of generating human-like text and understanding nuanced language contexts, are reshaping communication, translation, and interaction across various domains.
Discover the transformative potential of generative AI in enhancing natural language processing tasks and paving the way for future innovations in linguistic technologies.
Shubhangi Goyal20-03-2026 10:00
In 2025, developers are shipping faster than ever with AI. I’ll show you how I gather user feedback in the morning and design smarter flows by the afternoon. UX can still lead, even when the code is flying out the door.
This talk shows what UX looks like in a world where developers are building at AI speed. I’ll walk through the process I now follow to gather user feedback in the morning and turn it into working flows by the afternoon. I’ll show how async video research, natural language insight, and tools like Replit help me stay in sync with fast-moving dev teams.
This is not about cutting corners. It’s about staying close to users while keeping pace with the work.
You’ll leave with a process you can use to:
This is how UX works now. Come see it in action.
Becki Floyd20-03-2026 10:23
Most organisations can build an LLM prototype, but far fewer know how to measure real-world success. In enterprise environments, the right evaluation framework is critical to ensuring reliability, safety, and business value.
This session introduces a practical performance and utility framework for evaluating generative AI systems, including RAG pipelines and agentic workflows. I’ll share a four-dimension approach that goes beyond model accuracy to support trustworthy, scalable AI deployment.
As AI continues to evolve, this talk offers an accessible introduction to enterprise AI for women looking to break into tech or transition into AI - an exciting and fast-growing field I’m passionate about helping more women shape.
Li Fu20-03-2026 10:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 11:00
For those who have a SEN member in the family, it is clear they need personalised support. SEN education anchors on providing this support but has always been limited through human time and resources. Even digital learning tools have either catered to the masses or built limited solutions around specific needs.
Today, Generative AI can create and control every single interaction with every single individual, making it the learning tool SEN learners never had. From personalisation of content, to delivery, to re-imaging the learning interface for every learner based on their specific needs on that specific day, the era of hyper-personalised support has finally arrived.
Having built this system with my team at Otermans Institute for over a year, alongside specialised SEN schools (including Cavendish Education Group), this talk will share the experiences, findings and system. It was understanding that key need of hyper-personalisation that originally ignited this idea and through this talk, I wish to share it with the world.
Dr Pauldy Otermans20-03-2026 11:15
The future of technology isn’t just written in code - it’s shaped by diverse skills, perspectives, and leadership styles. This panel will explore why innovation in tech demands more than technical expertise. We’ll tackle common misconceptions like “we just need more engineers” and show how roles in strategy, marketing, change management, and stakeholder engagement are critical to success.
Panellists will share:
This isn’t another generic “diverse teams perform better” conversation. We’ll dig into what roles and backgrounds actually make a difference, how to recruit and support them, and how leadership styles like servant leadership enable adaptive, resilient teams.
Shannon Keegan
Vince Pizzoni
Marie Hemingway
Salome Tirado
Regina Quartey 20-03-2026 11:55
Many teams collect data but struggle to turn it into clear decisions when conditions are uncertain. This session explores how practical decision frameworks can help structure thinking, prioritise options, and reduce ambiguity in complex environments. The talk focuses on transferable methods for moving from raw data to informed decisions, drawing on real-world scenarios across technology and business contexts.
Hoda Rezvanjoo20-03-2026 12:20
What if the lessons learned from the healthcare industry may influence tech culture in the future? In this session, Anne addresses how working in data-driven clinical situations reveals what the wider tech industry frequently overlooks: empathy, safety, multidisciplinary teamwork, and designing for actual human effect. She offers useful advice on creating inclusive, resilient, people-first IT cultures where innovation is in line with accountability and care based on her experience as a Senior Information Analyst. Attendees will go away with attitude shifts and tangible ideas for developing more ethical, sustainable, and human-centred tech ecosystems.
Anne Awele Nwaokolo20-03-2026 12:40
The next two decades of tech won’t be shaped by the biggest companies, they will be shaped by impact tech.
That's tech that delivers tangible outcomes, especially for the people who are most often left out of innovation: state-school founders, working-class talent, diverse young people without networks and anyone who never had a safety net. It's built to change trajectories, built by pain-first founders who understand the gaps institutions still overlook.
Today’s data shows the problem clearly: nearly half of state-schools and working-class founders fall out before their first cheque, not because of lack of talent, but because of lack of access. This is exactly why we need more builders from these backgrounds shaping the future of technology. If we design for access at the bottom, we design access for everyone. This is how we change tech ecosystems to represent those who deserve a shot.
In this session, Shiromi will explore how the second wave of social media, longevity tech and lived-experience design can close this gap, not just on representation, but with products engineered to change life outcomes at mass scale. She’ll share what she’s building at Kin: real-time guidance tech built for fairness, confidence and upward mobility, and why inclusive design isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s an advantage. This talk is about designing better systems and how to help people sink their teeth into causes that matter within the technology backdrop. She’ll discuss how to balance working in stealth, going to market and championing the impact tech space, and her experience at LSE Generate, Europe’s leading academic start-up hub.
Shiromi Bedessee20-03-2026 13:00
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 13:40
Even the most engaging content and beautiful UX can’t make up for a fragile platform. For companies aiming to scale, digital stability is a competitive advantage. In this session, Meeky Hwang shares how her 3E Framework, focusing on Audience, Creator and Developer Experience, helps product, UX and engineering teams build resilient platforms that can handle scale, personalisation and performance. She’ll share lessons from enterprise media and wellness tech projects that eliminated friction and enabled teams to ship faster with fewer surprises.
Key takeaways:
Meeky Hwang20-03-2026 14:05
Across more than a decade in technology, one truth has stood out: no matter the industry, the tools, or the scale of transformation, everything comes back to data‚ and the people struggling to make sense of it. Behind every strategic decision sits someone buried in SQL queries, spreadsheets, quality checks, and endless validation.
As a Tech Women 100 award-winner who has led multiple digital transformation programmes, Neha Bhutani has lived this challenge repeatedly. In this session, she shares how that experience inspired her to build an AI-powered Data Analysis Agent designed to free teams from manual, repetitive work and elevate them to higher-value thinking.
Combining automation, intelligence, and real-world practicality, the agent profiles datasets, detects issues, and generates insights with a speed and consistency humans alone cannot achieve.
This talk is a vision for the future of data - one where people focus on creativity and strategy, and AI takes care of the heavy lifting.
Neha Bhutani20-03-2026 14:30
25% of the people in the UK have a disability. Despite of that, accessibility is still probably one of the most common concepts frontend developers miss out on during their training. Later in their careers, it might come up in the form of a failing pre-commit hook due to missing aria attributes in their code or a failed CI/CD pipeline due to a failing accessibility check, or worse: an accessibility audit of the organisation resulting in managers panicking over how inaccessible the applications are and that we immediately need to incorporate accessible features.
If this sounds familiar (or scary), come attend my session where I will teach you practical tips on how you can shift your mindset to build frontends with accessibility in mind. At the end of this session, you will have learned hands-on strategies, coding patterns and workflows that result in you building frontends that will be usable by everyone.
Tayyaba Taimur20-03-2026 14:55
Machine vision (or computer vision) is a specialised branch of data analysis that focuses on extracting meaning from visual data, such as images (using cameras). While data science mainly analyses structured data to generate insights, and data engineering builds the pipelines that move and store data, machine vision concentrates on perception—detecting, recognising, and measuring what’s visible. It includes machine learning and deep learning for pattern recognition and classical signal processing for image formation and feature extraction, often feeding its results into broader analytics, robotics, or decision-making systems. Machine vision can be used in automated manufacturing to inspect products for defects in real time and feed quality metrics into a factory’s data analytics system (though not many systems do). It is not limited to automation; these cameras are used in sports, medicine, and other fields.
Raffaella Riccato20-03-2026 15:20
Debugging containerised workloads often requires elevated privileges, creating a critical security gap. Common practices such as using kubectl exec to open shells inside pods or deploying privileged debug containers allow engineers to run commands directly on cluster nodes. While convenient, these methods bypass granular access controls and lack robust audit trails introducing risks of privilege escalation, lateral movement, and compliance violations.
This session shares how our engineering team enhanced operational security by applying zero-trust principles to cluster debugging.
We will cover three key components:
Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how these controls reduce attack surfaces without sacrificing agility. Real-world examples of debugging-related breaches will illustrate why operational security must extend beyond deployment hardening.
The session concludes with actionable steps to integrate these techniques into existing workflows and build a stronger security culture across engineering teams.
Shridivya Sharma20-03-2026 15:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 16:00
In 2026, trust is becoming an increasingly fragile commodity and blockchain offers powerful tools for verifying truth, from supply-chain data to digital identities. But it also carries an environmental cost that responsible innovators must acknowledge.
In this talk, Clare Chapman, CEO and Founder of Sigalmark, explores how blockchain can support sustainability when implemented with care, focusing on energy-efficient protocols and thoughtful system design. She highlights practical applications such as using secure digital certificates to authenticate registrations, protect trademarks and verify ownership without relying on vulnerable, opaque databases. By balancing transparency, accountability and carbon considerations, she outlines a grounded path for blockchain as an enabler of a more trusted and sustainable digital future.
Clare Chapman20-03-2026 16:20
Cloud computing has transformed how modern organisations deliver services, manage data and scale operations, making it critical to business continuity. This dependency will grow with increasing AI adoption. The high frequency of outages and data breaches caused by materialised cloud risks, highlights an urgent need for improvement. Accountable governance is the primary mechanism enabling organisations to access the benefits of cloud, whilst controlling the risks.
This talk will empower leaders to confidently protect business continuity through governance of the confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA) of information in the cloud. Drawing on recent incidents, regulatory developments and established governance frameworks, this talk maps key causes of cloud computing risk to practical governance responses.
Victoria Brasier 20-03-2026 08:40
How AI is reshaping the role of the HR leader, and why HR Leaders are so crucial to AI’s success in your business.
The impact of AI on HR doesn’t start and stop with improved productivity; improved people analytics or even personalised HR services. The real impact will be in how it reshapes the role of the HR leader, and the new demands it will put on HR to both ready the organisation and protect it from AI.
In this talk we’ll explore how the role of the HR Leader will be impacted, and look at the very real threat AI poses to our people, values and culture. We’ll talk about fairness, inclusion, compliance and trust - and explore the HR leaders capacity to guide ethical decision making. We’ll also look at HR’s role in enabling AI and examine why existing training is falling short, and why our people need more than just tool proficiency.
Claire Roberts20-03-2026 09:00
As AI reshapes industries at speed, the risk is clear: if women aren’t at the table from the start, the systems of the future will be built without us - again. With four generations in today’s workforce, clinging to “how we’ve always done it” is a fast track to irrelevance.
In this dynamic session, engineer and inclusion strategist Lauren Neal explores how organisations can foster cultures that welcome innovation and inclusion - and why both are non-negotiable in the age of AI.
Drawing from two decades of technical leadership and her best-selling book Valued at Work, Lauren shares how women in tech can step forward with confidence - and how leaders must create the systems that support them. Because tech won’t wait. And neither should we.
Lauren Neal20-03-2026 09:25
AI is increasingly used to decide who gets hired, promoted, funded, and heard. When these systems are built and governed without diverse leadership, they don’t remove bias they scale it. That’s why the future of AI is not just a technical challenge but a leadership one.
This session explores how women can and must shape the way AI is designed, governed, and deployed. Blending real world examples with practical leadership insight, it shows how bias enters AI through data, success metrics, and design decisions and how inclusive leadership can directly change outcomes.
Rather than focusing on coding, the session reframes AI as an opportunity for women at all career stages to lead with confidence. It highlights the leadership strengths women already bring: ethical judgement, systems thinking, and human-centred decision-making, and why these qualities are essential for building trusted, responsible technology.
Designed for a broad and inclusive audience, this session is accessible, empowering, and action-orientated. Attendees will leave with clarity on how leadership decisions shape AI, practical ways to engage in AI-driven initiatives without needing deep technical expertise, and the confidence to influence conversations that ensure technology works for everyone.
Ekta Soni20-03-2026 09:45
In this conversation, Manjusha and Aimee discuss Responsible AI and how leaders and organisations are adapting to the risks and opportunities it brings.
They share real-life examples from both personal and professional experiences - together exploring how AI impacts decision-making, governance, ethics, and the human side of leadership, and what it really means to use AI responsibly in our everyday roles.
Manjusha Kamthe
Aimee Moriarty20-03-2026 10:10
This session explores how artificial intelligence is quietly transforming gender dynamics in the workplace, particularly through HR systems. Drawing on real-world case studies, survey data, and expert insights, the presenters reveal how AI can unintentionally perpetuate and amplify biases - especially those related to gender, race, caste, and other intersectional identities.
The session introduces three core stories - Expurgation, Intersectional Exclusion, and Amplification - to illustrate the mechanisms of harm and exclusion. It then presents the "Bias Before Deployment" framework, offering practical strategies for organisations to proactively detect, prevent, and govern bias in AI-powered HR tools.
The session calls for a shift from reactive fixes to proactive safeguards, emphasising the need for inclusive design, robust oversight, and clear accountability to ensure AI systems promote fairness rather than reinforce old prejudices.
Anna Abraham20-03-2026 10:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 11:00
Generative AI is rapidly transforming how users interact with analytics platforms, moving from dashboards and SQL to conversational, tool-driven experiences.
This session explores how Generative AI can be combined with AWS analytics services to build secure, scalable, and production-ready generative AI analytics solutions.
Anusha Challa
Shruti Worlikar20-03-2026 11:20
As AI systems increasingly drive decisions in governance, healthcare, finance, and security, the question is no longer can we build it, but should we trust it.
This talk explores how organisations can transition from regulatory compliance to ethical consciousness in AI. Drawing on frameworks from cybersecurity, governance, and digital ethics, this unpacks practical ways to embed moral reasoning into AI systems, ensuring that innovation remains accountable, transparent, and aligned with human values.
Elhannah Adekeye20-03-2026 11:36
MCP is redefining user interaction, shifting us from traditional web interfaces to intelligent, Jarvis-like agent experiences. This session explores how MCP servers make that transformation possible while providing a practical, hands-on walkthrough of building them the right way, revealing the architecture and patterns that enable truly intelligent, connected applications.
Across the talk, we’ll examine how MCP turns LLMs from passive text generators into active, capability-rich systems, able to access tools, orchestrate tasks, integrate data sources, and operate within real software workflows. Listeners will see how MCP changes both developer and user experience: simplifying system design, enabling modular capabilities, and unlocking a new class of responsive, context-aware applications.
Emmanuella Okorie20-03-2026 12:00
What nobody's talking about: An inflection point for human civilisation.
In a rapidly evolving AI-driven landscape, staying competitive requires more than technical know-how - it demands strategic adaptability, leadership, and a future-focused skill set.
This session equips women in tech with the essential capabilities to thrive in 2026 and beyond. We’ll explore the most in-demand AI and data skills, practical ways to integrate AI into everyday workflows, and how to use emerging tools to accelerate career growth.
Participants will learn how to sharpen their critical thinking, enhance digital communication, strengthen ethical decision-making, and develop an innovation mindset that keeps them at the forefront of technological change.
The session also covers how to build visibility, negotiate value in an AI-augmented workforce, and cultivate resilience in a rapidly shifting industry. Attendees will leave with a clear roadmap for leveraging AI as a strategic advantage - not just to stay relevant, but to lead.
Manisha Arora20-03-2026 12:25
Careers in technology don’t have to follow a straight line, and they certainly don’t have to follow a traditional path.
In this inspiring fireside conversation, Sadie Clifford, a Technology Transformation & AI Innovation Lead at PwC, shares her journey from an unconventional start in tech to leading at the forefront of AI innovation. With a career shaped by curiosity, courage and continuous reinvention, Sadie offers a refreshing perspective on what it really takes to build influence in a fast-moving digital world.
Now working at the intersection of strategy, technology and delivery, Sadie leads Deals Gen AI innovation within PwC, turning emerging potential into practical, scalable solutions for clients and internal teams. She will explore why AI is not just for coders, why adaptability is the new superpower, and how professionals can position themselves confidently in an AI-driven future.
Alongside her core role, Sadie is passionate about empowering women in technology, championing confidence, visibility and access to opportunity. This session will leave you rethinking what a “tech career” looks like and feeling equipped to shape your own path with clarity and conviction.
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE
Sadie Clifford20-03-2026 12:53
AI is reshaping every sector, yet many organisations still struggle to work out what’s genuinely worth building. This session explores the Business Analyst’s role as the anchor of clarity in AI projects, translating ambition into practical value. Drawing on real experience from cross-functional delivery,
I’ll share ways to identify meaningful AI use cases, avoid common pitfalls, assess feasibility without overwhelming jargon and guide teams through uncertain territory. Attendees will leave with straightforward tools, confidence in their existing strengths and a clear sense of how they can contribute to AI initiatives, even without deep technical expertise.
Juliet Obasanya20-03-2026 13:04
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 13:40
Self-care has become another item on women's impossible to-do list. You care for your team, your colleagues, your kids, your partner, your parents, and now you're supposed to add "caring for yourself" to the list of people you're responsible for. This isn't wellness; it's just more work. And when burnout hits, you're told it's because you're not doing enough self-care, rather than addressing the systemic issues that are exhausting you in the first place.
This session flips the script with AI tools that diagnose what's actually happening beneath the surface. Rather than adding more tasks to your plate, these tools help you understand the specific energetic, psychological, and workplace dynamics causing your burnout - from microaggressions creating constant hypervigilance to imposter syndrome draining your confidence to toxic patterns that have nothing to do with how hard you're working.
Through this webinar, you'll see how AI can become your diagnostic partner, revealing the real causes and offering targeted solutions that don't require you to "do more." This is about understanding what's actually broken so you can fix it at the root, not adding more self-care tasks to your list or plastering over systemic issues with bubble baths and meditation apps.
Dr Lisa Turner20-03-2026 14:05
Tech recruiting has turned into absolute chaos. AI hasn’t just sped things up; it’s drowned the industry in copy-paste résumés, inflated skill claims, and candidates who look perfect on paper but fall apart in real work. Recruiters don’t know who to trust, and developers don’t know how to stand out without playing the “polish the CV” game.
This session cuts through the noise. We’ll talk openly about what’s broken, why everyone feels overwhelmed, and how we get back to actually understanding what people can do. We’ll explore a new way forward: verifying skill through real performance, understanding soft skills through behaviour, and giving developers a path to upskill themselves with personalised, market-driven learning - not generic tutorials.
Rafaela Azevedo Souza20-03-2026 14:30
As AI innovation accelerates at an unprecedented pace, the critical areas of security and governance are struggling to keep up. In this talk we explore the widening gap between rapid technological advancement and the frameworks needed to guide it responsibly. This session uncovers the often overlooked risks AI introduces, from data leakage and model manipulation to ethical blind spots and uncontrolled autonomous behaviour.
We will discuss why security and governance must be treated with the same urgency as innovation, what happens when they aren’t, and the real-world consequences organisations face if safeguards are ignored. Finally we will look at strategies and mitigation approaches to ensure AI remains trustworthy, controlled and aligned with human intent.
This talk is about not just to build powerful AI, but safe, accountable and well-governed AI.
Samhita Sarkar20-03-2026 14:50
AI is transforming how we work, decide, and lead. It promises productivity gains, innovation, and economic growth measured in trillions of dollars. But beneath the optimism lies a quieter reality: AI is not neutral, and its impact is not evenly distributed.
Women remain underrepresented in AI development and governance, while roles predominantly held by women face higher exposure to automation and transformation. Research shows gender gaps in AI adoption, leadership representation, and influence over high-stakes decisions. Without intentional intervention, AI risks amplifying existing inequities at scale.
This session moves beyond tools and hype to examine the structural and leadership implications of AI through a gender lens. Backed by current research and data, we will explore where the real risks lie and what women leaders must do to shape, govern, and influence AI responsibly.
Because the future of AI will not be defined by algorithms alone, but by who has a voice in building them.
Shristi Pranjal20-03-2026 15:10
I will explore where responsibility begins when building AI solutions, starting from day one of development, not as an afterthought. Using a real-world example from building a fair ethical system, I'll demonstrate how to embed responsible AI principles by design into every stage of the process.
Attendees will leave with practical frameworks for identifying bias risks early, building in fairness checkpoints, and making ethical decisions when technical choices have human impact.
Lydia Ray20-03-2026 15:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 16:00
AI is transforming how products are built and delivered - but success remains elusive. With 95% of AI initiatives falling short, the difference is rarely the technology itself, but how teams lead, adapt, and execute.
This session equips women in tech with the mindset and tools needed to thrive in an AI-driven delivery landscape. Attendees will explore how Hybrid Agile approaches, paired with AI, create clarity, resilience, and sustainable success - helping them stand out as leaders shaping the future of delivery.
Dunia Alsaffar20-03-2026 08:40
Negotiate like a woman: 3 common fallacies to avoid at the negotiating table.
Negotiation doesn’t need to feel like a battleground. In this practical and empowering session, you’ll explore three common fallacies that often derail women in negotiation, and learn how to reframe them for better outcomes.
We’ll cover:
Drawing on the 'Negotiate Like a Woman' method, this session equips you with actionable mindset shifts and techniques you can apply immediately - whether you’re negotiating salary, promotions, or everyday influence at work.
Lucy Watson20-03-2026 09:00
AI doesn’t have to be complicated... especially when you’re already using tools like ChatGPT or Co-Pilot. In this session, we’ll look at how to tailor these tools to your way of working, so they support your focus and help you stay organised without adding extra effort!
You’ll learn how to create a simple voice-note style workflow that takes your quick thought-dumps (we’re calling them “mind unloads”) and turns them into clear, prioritised, actionable to-do lists. No coding. No complex systems. Just a smarter way to capture what’s in your head and translate it into manageable next steps.
We’ll explore how to build a personalised AI process that works the way you work, to help you streamline tasks, reduce overwhelm, and make better use of the tools you already have.
By the end, you’ll have a practical AI-supported method you can start using straight away to stay organised and get more done.
Liz Hardwick20-03-2026 09:25
In a rapidly evolving digital world, women who embrace their multi faceted identities are uniquely positioned to thrive - bringing creativity, resilience, and diverse perspective to the tech ecosystem. This panel explores how community, connection, and the power of giving back become catalysts for personal and professional growth.
Featuring women from a range of vibrant tech communities, the session dives into the networks each panellist represents - highlighting how collective empowerment fuels confidence, innovation, and career progression. Through candid discussion, the panellists will unpack the importance of community support both personally and professionally, sharing real experiences of uplifting one another, expanding opportunities, and building spaces where women can show up fully as themselves.
The conversation will highlight:
• The impact of mentorship
• The balance of time commitment versus effort, and the reciprocal nature of giving and receiving support.
Attendees will walk away with practical insights on how to engage meaningfully in their own communities, as well as lasting advice for women looking to connect, grow, or contribute within the broader tech landscape.
Akua Opong
Rhea Sam
Amber Shand20-03-2026 10:05
In this session, we hear from Yemurai Rabvukwa, a tech influencer widely known as STEM Babe, who encourages women and girls to explore careers in technology. Yemurai shares her journey into tech and her story of becoming a tech influencer, building a platform centred on visibility, confidence and access, particularly for those who may not see themselves as “technical”.
She explores the myths and barriers that continue to hold women back, how women are currently engaging with technology and AI, often at a surface level, and why representation and relatable role models matter more than ever as tech continues to evolve.
Yemurai Rabvukwa
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 10:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 11:00
Drawing on years spent coaching startups through product incubation and high-stakes investment pitches, this talk reveals the techniques behind clear, compelling, high-impact presentations. Attendees will learn how to craft a message that resonates, tell a story that persuades, and communicate with the confidence required to thrive on global stages - no matter the audience.
Kiran Virdee20-03-2026 11:10
In this session, we hear from Rachael Todd, Chief Information Security Officer at Colt Technology Services, who shares her tech career journey and how she built a successful path into cyber and security. Rachael reflects on what drew her to the industry, why working in cyber is such an exciting and fast-moving space, and how the landscape has evolved over time.
She also offers practical insight for women who are curious about cyber but unsure where to start, highlighting entry points, transferable skills and the wide range of opportunities available across the sector. This session aims to demystify cyber, challenge assumptions, and encourage more women to see it as an accessible and rewarding career choice.
Rachael Todd
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 11:35
As an award-winning EdTech executive, College Governor, and a proud mother of two, Sammy understands the complexity of leading a multi-million-pound strategy while simultaneously running the "home office." In this candid and practical session, she shares the systems thinking approach she applies to both her work and her family life.
This talk explores how busy leaders and working parents can stop aiming for the mythical "balance" and start designing a flexible, resilient structure. Learn actionable strategies for setting non-negotiable boundaries, leveraging your time like a strategic asset, and integrating personal passions to achieve sustainable wellbeing and maximise impact in every role you play.
Sammy White20-03-2026 12:00
You may feel unsupported in your career journey but this can be transformed! In this talk, Vince will focus on some key areas that he believes will provide you the support to develop long lasting relationships and networks. We will cover mentoring and reverse mentoring, sponsorship, employee resource groups and societies together with the power and reach of LinkedIn as a key enabler.
Vince Pizzoni20-03-2026 12:25
What does it really take to rise from the trading floor to the C-suite in one of the UK’s most established financial institutions?
In this candid fireside conversation, Victoria Cleverley, Chief Operating Officer at NatWest Digital X, shares the story behind her career journey, from studying economics and working in middle office roles to leading large-scale transformation and technology-enabled change at senior level.
Victoria will reflect on the defining moments that shaped her leadership, the mentors and sponsors who influenced her trajectory, and what she learned navigating male-dominated environments early in her career. She will also explore what it means to drive meaningful digital transformation without coming from a traditional technical background, and how resilience, reinvention and commercial credibility have underpinned her success.
For anyone aspiring to senior leadership in technology and financial services, this session offers practical insight, honest reflection and powerful advice on what truly matters when aiming for the C-suite.
Victoria Cleverley
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 12:55
This high-energy keynote - delivered to hundreds across diverse industries - dives into what truly brings teams together and keeps them performing at their best. I unpack psychological safety - what it really means for you, why it fuels trust and innovation, and how to build it intentionally.
Attendees explore team culture, learning how to shape it, protect it, and spot the subtle watch-outs that can quietly erode collaboration and impact diversity and inclusion. The session also zooms in on learning fast - why speed of learning beats speed of execution, and how teams can adapt and improve without burning out.
By the end, the audience walks away with practical tools, top tips, and immediately actionable takeaways to build stronger connections, create healthier cultures, and unlock the full potential of their teams.
Zara Powell20-03-2026 13:15
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 13:40
In this session, we sit down with Priti Verma, Business Analyst at Dunelm, to explore a career journey that many women will recognise, one shaped by early curiosity for technology, a non-linear path into tech, and the confidence built over time to own her skills and experience.
Priti shares what business analysis really looks like day to day, how her background in design, media and teaching influences the way she works, and why visibility, self-advocacy and community matter so much for women in tech.
We also touch on the role of Dunelm’s Women in Tech network, the power of supportive workplace cultures, and the advice Priti would give to women who know they are capable, but are still finding the confidence to take that next step.
Priti Verma
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 14:10
In this fireside chat, Alison Pain, International Chief Technology Officer at Northern Trust, and Kristina Dorville, Chief Information Security Officer at Northern Trust, discuss the leadership skills no one formally trains you for. They share how experienced executives navigate uncertainty, balance innovation with risk, and lead with sound judgement, courage, and values‑led decision‑making when the stakes are high.
Alison Pain
Kristina Dorville20-03-2026 14:40
Informational session for colleagues and managers on what menopause is and how symptoms can manifest and impact women and those around them.
Data on demographics and legislation to protect employees making the business cases as to why it is important to create awareness and provide support and tools to women going through the menopause and those around who want to help.
Practical suggestions and tips on how to create an inclusive environment where menopause can openly be talked about.
Jasmina Negrini20-03-2026 15:00
Technical interviews evaluate engineers across several dimensions, including problem-solving ability, communication clarity, engineering judgment, and the capacity to reason about systems under real-world constraints. In this session, Violetta Pidvolotska explains how different interview formats - coding, behavioural, system design, and past-project deep dives - combine to create a holistic assessment of an engineer’s strengths.
Attendees will learn what interviewers look for at various levels, how strong candidates demonstrate technical depth and clarity, and why specific reasoning patterns matter far more than memorised solutions. The session provides practical, realistic guidance for engineers of all levels who want to understand how rigorous technical interviews operate and how to prepare effectively without burnout.
Violetta Pidvolotska20-03-2026 15:20
The world of work is really hard for women right now: it's clear as day in the data. Disengagement is up, with female managers suffering the most. In the world of tech, everything moves so fast, and then layer on the fact that we're more likely to have unpaid labour expectations both inside and outside of work – no wonder we're struggling to keep up.
Enter CHAOS. CHAOS is an interactive workshop designed to help ambitious people break free from burnout-fuelled habits and reimagine what good work looks like for "them".
You'll leave with your own Chaos Manual, exploring the triggers and warning signs that pull you into unhelpful patterns, and identifying the practices that help you to reset. You'll challenge outdated ideas of productivity and reflect on what big-picture success really means to you.
With a strong focus on personal agency, CHAOS is a chance to put yourself first. This session will help you to get out of your own way, so you can work in more intentional, sustainable and enjoyable ways – without sacrificing your ambition.
Caitlin Rozario20-03-2026 15:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 16:00
In this conversation, we hear from Thulasi Bomma, Head of Software Development at Tesco Technology, whose career journey spans engineering and software development. Thulasi shares how an early interest in electrical and electronics engineering in India evolved into a passion for programming, problem solving and large-scale technology platforms. She reflects on the importance of continuous learning, taking on challenging roles early, and how curiosity and resilience shaped her progression into leadership.
We also explore her work driving innovation, accessibility and customer focused technology at scale, alongside her commitment to giving back by inspiring young people and challenging myths about what a career in tech really looks like. It is an honest and motivating discussion about growth, confidence, and building a long-term career in technology that evolves with you.
Thulasi Bomma
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 16:15
My career has been a 20-year journey through the trenches of financial services - from Institutional Accounting at BNY Mellon to becoming a Principal Software Consultant at Accenture. On paper, it looks like a clear, upward trajectory.
But let’s be real. That journey required me to lead more than just cross-functional teams; it required me to lead myself through a massive career pivot, constantly playing the inner game.
As a woman of colour in my late-thirties, there were countless times I was the only woman in the room and the only woman at the decision table within the tech Industry. The pressure can be immense. It can be intimidating. The fear here isn’t just of being alone; it’s the exhausting emotional resilience it takes to consistently have to assert your credibility when your male peers have theirs assumed. It’s the fear that your brilliant idea will only be heard once a man repeats it. And it's the fear that if you trip up, you don't just fail for yourself - you fail for all the women coming up behind you.
This is where many women, tired of the fight, choose to stay small, stay quiet, or just stay put. But we can’t afford to do that. We have problems to solve.
My mission has always been my compass: to enjoy the work I do and solve problems through technology. And the only way to succeed in that mission is to master the art of Self-Leadership.
In my talk, I want share three non-negotiable leadership lessons I learned - not from a management book, but from the brutal honesty of my own journey.
Ria Kinsley20-03-2026 16:45
Leadership isn’t just about titles or authority - it’s about setting an example that empowers others to follow. In this session, Anupama Hatti shares her journey of leading with purpose and inclusion across Digital, Data, and Technology at NHS Blood and Transplant.
Drawing from her experience as Co-Chair of the Women’s Network and Lead of the Women in STEM group, she explores how everyday actions can inspire systemic change - from advancing gender equity and EDI initiatives to opening doors for women in STEM and Cyber. The session aims to motivate attendees to lead authentically, champion others, and create lasting impact in their own spheres of influence.
Anupama Hatti20-03-2026 17:00
Women remain underrepresented in technology, and too many talented professionals leave the sector too early.
Drawing on my 20+ years of experience since changing careers into tech, and my Amazon best selling book, She Chose Tech: The Essential Guide to Inspire and Empower Women in Tech, this talk explores how organisations and leaders can create environments where women thrive.
Using real-world examples from my career, I’ll share practical strategies for mentorship, sponsorship, and inclusive leadership. Attendees will leave with actionable steps to retain and inspire women in technology, and the confidence to challenge barriers and bias.
Key takeaways:
1. How to create workplace conditions that encourage women to stay in tech
2. Leadership strategies to mentor, sponsor, and support women in tech to show up and the importance of diverse voices
3. Lessons from my career and research that show tangible impact of inclusivity on innovation
Sonal Shah20-03-2026 08:40
Drawing on my own experiences as a young woman in tech who made the leap from a non-tech background into the world of designing AI and analytics products and services, I’ll share the roadmap and skills that can be built and leveraged to reinvent oneself in a way that is inherently synonymous with the spirit of the tech industry.
Mansha Rajani20-03-2026 09:05
Waiting around for an opportunity to be given to you? You might be waiting forever. The shortcut to success is self-advocacy. Drawing from her own experience building a high-growth career in tech, Kasia shares her A.S.K. Method: a memorable strategy to help you boldly ask for the opportunities you deserve.
You’ll learn how to silence the fear of rejection, frame your value effectively, and turn every “no” into fuel for growth. The message is simple: closed mouths don't get fed. When you stop quietly hoping and start advocating for yourself, you open doors that would have otherwise stayed shut.
Kasia Dutch20-03-2026 09:30
A 2025 survey by recruitment firm Hays found that 68% of women in tech report experiencing imposter syndrome at some point in their careers slightly higher than men (61%).
This goes to prove that many talented women in tech quietly doubt themselves, second-guess their skills, expertise and experience, or feel unheard in their careers . This session offers a simple, practical framework to move from feeling like an imposter to becoming a visible, trusted voice at work. Grounded in real workplace scenarios, it breaks confidence-building into small, repeatable habits that would change that narrative.
Attendees will learn how to recognise the patterns that trigger self-doubt, how to prepare for high-pressure conversations, and how to communicate with clarity even when nerves show up. The session also shares everyday tools such as a “wins log,” a 60-second reset routine, and a communication checklist that help shift attention from fear to action. Instead of asking women to “be more confident,” without any practical steps, it provides a roadmap to build influence in a sustainable, authentic way.
This talk is designed for women across all levels in tech who want practical steps to speak up, show up, and shape decisions without burning out or pretending to be someone else. Participants will leave with a confidence framework they can apply immediately in meetings, presentations, 1:1 conversations and their daily lives.
Oluchi Imoh20-03-2026 09:45
In this conversation, Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE meets Emma Harrison, an engineer at Dunelm whose route into tech was anything but traditional. From studying English at UCL to building a career in engineering, Emma shares how curiosity, transferable skills and the right culture helped her find her place in tech.
We explore what her role really looks like day to day, how Dunelm encourages innovation and inclusive ways of working, and why giving back and widening access matters so much to her. It is an honest and relatable discussion about careers that do not follow a straight line, and the confidence it takes to back yourself, even when you do not fit the mould.
Emma Harrison
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 10:15
Leadership isn’t about having all the answers - it’s about staying curious and learning quickly. This session explores how small, low-stakes experiments can help tech leaders make better decisions, test new approaches, and navigate uncertainty without overwhelm. You’ll learn simple ways to design and run tiny experiments with your team, gather meaningful insights, and build a leadership style rooted in curiosity and adaptability.
Dr Anne-Laure Le Cunff20-03-2026 10:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 11:00
Despite their talent, many underrepresented women in tech struggle to gain the visibility their expertise deserves.
In this session, Miss Be Seen breaks down the hidden barriers that limit recognition, opportunities, and progression and reveals her practical S.E.E.N framework to overcome them.
Through real examples and actionable strategies, attendees will learn how to confidently communicate their value, amplify their presence online and in the workplace, and position themselves for promotions, speaking roles, and leadership.
This is a powerful, empowering session designed to help women be seen, celebrated and successful.
Hannah Spence aka Miss Be Seen20-03-2026 11:20
In a tech industry that often equates success with titles, certifications, and technical mastery, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly defines our value. Our worth isn’t in the job title we hold, it’s in the work we’re meant to do.
In this session, I’ll share how the Japanese concept of Ikigai, meaning “reason for being”, reshaped my approach to personal branding. From navigating a career crisis to becoming an international speaker and STEM changemaker, I’ll walk you through how aligning with purpose transformed my visibility, impact, and career direction.
Together, we’ll explore how to build a personal brand rooted in authenticity, values, and intentional action. Through the lens of Ikigai, you’ll learn how to:
Whether you’re just starting out or redefining your path, this session offers practical strategies, reflective prompts, and real-world examples to help you build a brand that resonates, because when you live your Ikigai, your impact speaks for itself.
Juliana Smith20-03-2026 11:40
In this conversation, we hear from Tayo Oseni-Alexis, Lead Technical Programme Manager in Infrastructure Engineering at Tesco, who shares a deeply honest account of a career shaped by resilience, purpose and self-belief.
Tayo reflects on a non-linear start to her career, moving countries, navigating uncertainty, returning to education later in life, and finding her place as the translator between technology and people. She speaks openly about her experiences as a Black woman in tech, the life moments that reshaped how she shows up at work and in leadership, and the importance of sponsorship before you are ready to sponsor yourself.
This is a powerful discussion about finding your voice, stepping into your space, and building a career in tech that is rooted in both strength and humanity.
Tayo Oseni-Alexis
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE20-03-2026 12:05
Even in 2026, many women in tech still struggle to be fully seen, fully heard, and fully valued in spaces where decisions move fast and expectations are high. This session introduces a practical, human-centered model - the VISIBLE Framework - to help women strengthen their leadership presence, communicate with clarity, and expand their influence across teams, stakeholders, and senior leadership. Through real industry scenarios, we explore how Voice supports assertive communication, how Identity shapes confidence in male-dominated environments, and how Spotlight helps women position their expertise and achievements without hesitation.
We also look at how everyday habits - grounded in resilience, self-advocacy, and strategic visibility - help women navigate bias, imposter feelings, and rapid change. Attendees will leave with simple, repeatable strategies to lead with confidence, elevate their impact, and build careers where their contributions cannot be overlooked.
Learning objectives:
Sheena Yap Chan20-03-2026 12:30
In a world transformed by AI, personal and professional growth has never been more important. Join Beverly Clarke MBE, award-winning educator, coach, and author of 30 Tips for Self Development – Improve Your Life and Career Today, for a practical and inspiring 20-minute session. Discover actionable tips to boost confidence, build future-ready skills, and achieve meaningful growth in both life and career.
This session is packed with strategies you can apply immediately and offers a pathway to deepen your journey through Beverly’s private and group coaching programmes. Take the first step towards thriving in an AI-driven world today.
Beverly Clarke MBE20-03-2026 12:45
There’s a persistent myth in tech that the best leaders follow the most direct paths - the right degree, the right roles, the right sequence. For many women, that story doesn’t match reality.
Antonia Ellis took the long way in.
From art school to entrepreneurship, from fashion and FMCG to telecoms and enterprise technology, Antonia’s career has zig-zagged across industries, roles, and geographies. What once looked like detours became her greatest advantage - developing the adaptability, creativity, and judgment required to lead in fast-moving, high-stakes environments.
In this keynote, Antonia reflects on what a non-linear career really teaches you: how to lead through ambiguity, make decisions without a playbook, and bring perspective into complex technical conversations - even without a traditional tech background. She shares the moments she felt under-qualified, the choices driven by instinct rather than plan, and why aligning work with purpose ultimately became the most important pivot of all.
This session is for women navigating leadership in technology who want reassurance, not recipes - and who are ready to recognise that the long way in didn’t slow them down; it prepared them.
Antonia Ellis20-03-2026 13:00
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 13:40
Careers rarely move in straight lines and Christina’s journey is proof. From her early days as a mechanical engineer in defence, to public health innovation, world-record breaking projects on Channel 4, academic research partnerships, and ultimately to becoming Chief Commercial Officer of a cutting-edge industrial sensing company, her career reflects courage, reinvention and deliberate design.
In this reflective but energising session, Christina unpacks the strategies behind big pivots: identifying opportunity, overcoming self-doubt, saying “yes” at the right moments, building an ecosystem of mentors, champions and staying resilient through change.
This is a session for anyone wanting to design a career on their own terms - not by accident, but by intention.
Christina King MBA BEng (Hons)20-03-2026 14:00
3 science-backed strategies you can use in your very next meeting to change how people perceive and respond to you - without changing who you are.
3 power strategies you will learn:
This is for you if: You're doing excellent work but not getting the recognition, visibility, or advancement you've earned - and you're tired of being told to "just speak up more."
Why this matters for your career: Competence alone doesn't drive promotion - perceived power does. The difference between being brilliant and being heard comes down to three things you can control starting today: your space, your voice, and your mind.
Christina Brugger20-03-2026 14:20
An empowering discussion exploring the unique Sound Barrier documentary, where women in tech break through silence to discover the true value of their voices. This powerful conversation dives into self-discovery, overcoming doubt, embracing your authentic voice - and most importantly, how to inspire others to do the same.
What is The Sound Barrier?
Breaking silence. Amplifying voices. Inspiring change.
The Sound Barrier is a groundbreaking documentary series that follows ten women in tech as they step forward to share their stories - for the first time. Guided by Beckie, each woman embarks on a powerful journey of self-discovery, overcoming doubt and finding the true value in her voice. Across six compelling episodes, witness the highs, the lows, and the remarkable transformations as these women break through personal and professional barriers. Their courage will inspire others in the industry to recognise that every voice matters - and every story deserves to be heard. Join us and discover the value of your voice.
Lindsay Kershaw
Ann-Marie Denton
Jo Bester
Beckie Taylor
Arushi Singh20-03-2026 14:55
In tech, we often believe that hard work, consistency, and technical excellence are enough to progress. Yet many high-performing professionals discover that performance alone does not guarantee recognition.
In this talk, Tribeni Chougule explores the visibility gap, the space between contribution and recognition, and why it disproportionately affects those raised to value humility over self-promotion.
Drawing from her own experience navigating cultural expectations alongside corporate realities, Tribeni reframes personal branding as clarity, not ego. She shares a practical framework to help professionals:
• Determine whose awareness of your work influences opportunity
• Translate contribution into strategic narrative
• Advocate for themselves without abandoning cultural values
• Build credibility beyond their immediate manager
She also invites organisations to reflect on how talent may remain overlooked when visibility systems favour the loudest over the most capable.
Attendees will leave with actionable strategies to become visible without compromising authenticity. Leaders will gain insight into how inclusive visibility cultures strengthen retention, engagement, and performance.
Because visibility is not vanity.
It is access.
Tribeni Chougule20-03-2026 15:20
This session explores how women can lead with purpose and confidence while navigating the evolving world of technology.
Kehinde shares her journey of discovering her Ikigai, stepping into leadership through a SCS sponsorship programme with Ofgem CEO, a women’s leadership programme and building influence in spaces where women remain underrepresented. She reflects on the power of authentic storytelling, visibility and intentional growth. Participants will leave with practical tools to strengthen their leadership identity, use their voice boldly and create pathways for others through advocacy and mentoring.
Kehinde Ndede20-03-2026 15:40
An opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, build your network, visit our sponsors and partners in the exhibition hall, snap a selfie at the photobooth, take part in the robot scavenger hunt, and earn points on the Leaderboard.
20-03-2026 16:00
I walk through the what, why, and how of launching a scalable and long-lasting program using employee advocacy tech platform.
I show leaders how to design and deliver practical advocacy strategies that drive measurable impact by empowering employees to become storytellers and build authority on LinkedIn through a tool. Whether the goal is to amplify your brand message, fuel social selling, attract top talent, or strengthen culture, this one is for you.
My approach is simple, no jargon, no fluff, just real strategies that people can put into action the moment they leave the room.
If you’re looking for a speaker who brings passion, energy, strategies, and tangible results, that’s me!
Yvonne Boateng20-03-2026 16:25
The purpose of this session is to share insights on how to successfully transition into tech by leveraging transferable skills, creating a personal development plan, and embracing emotional intelligence. The session will highlight the importance of resilience, understanding the tech landscape, and aligning with your personal drive to achieve growth in any industry. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for navigating career transitions and building on their own development.
Emilia Brennan20-03-2026 16:50
I’d like to share my career journey; from digitising a university’s core operations to leading product transformation in one of the UK’s largest telecoms organisations. My career didn’t follow a straight line. I started by building the EduPortal, a platform that modernised admissions, exams, fee payments, and academic administration for thousands of students. That experience grounded me in product thinking long before I officially held the title.
To broaden my perspective and strengthen my leadership capability, I pursued an MBA. But I quickly realised that great product decisions require more than business theory they require evidence. So, I focused on gaining expert knowledge in data analytics to strengthen my ability to translate problems into insight-led solutions.
These became the foundation led me back into product management with a clearer, more strategic lens. Today, at BT Group, I work on digital transformation of enterprise contact centre platforms, driving operational efficiency, customer experience, and SaaS modernisation.
Chinwendu Nwaozuzu20-03-2026 17:10
Sometimes, the doors to opportunity aren’t opened by what you know, but by how you show up. In tech, it’s easy to think big breakthroughs change your career, but often it’s the small, consistent actions that matter most.
In this highly engaging session, I’ll share how simple habits like documenting and sharing your work, following up, and building real connections can open doors over time.
Drawing on honest stories from my own journey, you’ll see how these small steps build confidence, visibility, and career growth.
You’ll leave with practical actions you can start using immediately to move your career forward and grow your impact, no matter where you are in your journey.
Omodolapo Babatunde
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming industries, yet its true potential goes beyond automation and efficiency.
This session explores how AI can be harnessed to create meaningful social value, addressing pressing challenges in areas such as education, healthcare, community development, and environmental sustainability. Attendees will learn practical strategies for designing and implementing human-centered, ethical AI systems.
Abdullahi Fatimah
The tech industry rewards “high performers,” but too often at the cost of health and happiness - especially for women and caregivers. In this session, TechWomen100 winner and AWS engineer Liliia Rafikova shares a candid look at building a demanding career in infrastructure while raising a child, mentoring communities, and preparing for elite interviews. She will unpack practical strategies for managing energy instead of just time, setting boundaries in high-pressure environments, and designing a career that is both ambitious and sustainable. Attendees will leave with tools to redefine high performance on their own terms.
Liliia Rafikova
What: This talk gives the attendees insights into how someone like me, with a scientific non-technical background ended up as a developer for a consulting company and a volunteer for a charity – “Collaboration for Kids”. Expect to learn how I used Power Platform to transform this charity’s digital space in a meaningful way, and how you can collaborate with your local charities of NGOs with something you already know! I will show you how I created a useful intranet and some process automations, with a strong focus on promoting healthier choices for children and adults. All powered by Microsoft Technology – Business Applications and Modern Workplace.
Why: Non-profit organisations are facing increasing pressure to optimise their operations and invest most of their time in supporting the cause. By leveraging technology, this goal can be more easily achieved, addressing challenges in communication, manual workloads, and other areas. If you want to learn how to go above and beyond with your local charity by using Power Platform, this is the talk for you!
How: Expect engaging storytelling, live demos, practical cases of Power Automate and SharePoint working together, tips on how to work with diverse Stakeholders and much more!
Takeaways:
Melissa Hale
What’s happening to women today isn’t new - it’s a repeating pattern. Each time women gain economic or social power, a cultural backlash rises to push them back into “traditional” roles.
Drawing on research from early modern and industrial Britain, Khaleelah Jones reveals how women quietly built the backbone of the economy long before they were allowed political rights, and why their contributions were systematically erased.
This session shows how historical cycles of progress and repression mirror current dynamics in tech, work, and society and how understanding these patterns can help women navigate and resist today’s counter-revolution with clarity and confidence.
Khaleelah Jones
In a world with constant digital engagement, unplugged play is becoming a radical act of innovation. This session explores how hands-on, sensory-rich experiences nurture the very skills the tech sector prizes; algorithmic thinking, creativity, resilience, and problem-solving. Drawing on embodied cognition (the principle that thinking and movement are intertwined) Hannah Hagon shows how unplugged play builds the foundations for future-ready minds.
As the author of "Unplugged Tots" and a global voice in modern childhood, she invites us to rethink how we balance technology and tactile learning to raise the next generation of bold thinkers, inventors, and changemakers and how we can all play a part in this movement.
Hannah Hagon
Debugging human systems explores what every new tech leader eventually discovers: humans don’t behave like clean, deterministic code. When you move from writing software to leading the people who write it, you’re no longer working outside the system, you’re inside it, shaping the very conditions your team responds to.
In this session, we’ll use familiar engineering concepts, systems thinking, libraries, tech stacks and debugging, to demystify team dynamics. You’ll learn why emotions are unavoidable features of human systems, how invisible emotional “processes” hog resources when ignored and how to work with these signals to improve collaboration, trust and performance.
You’ll leave with a practical framework that helps you see how the human system actually functions and how much agency you have to shape it.
Maureen Carruthers
In this session, I’ll explore the unexpected but powerful overlap between parenting and leadership. From emotional intelligence to active listening, from building trust to creating psychological safety, raising children has sharpened my ability to lead people, not just manage them. I’ll share how these learned-at-home capabilities translate directly into cultivating teams that feel valued, empowered and unafraid to experiment.
After stepping away from my career to have my second child, I returned to the workplace carrying more self-doubt than I expected. Five years on, that experience has fundamentally reshaped how I lead, and it’s clear to me now that becoming a parent didn’t set my career back, it accelerated the growth of the skills that matter most.
In the session we will discuss why trust is the backbone of innovation, how to foster an environment where ideas can surface without fear of failure and why soft skills are often the hardest skills to develop, yet the ones that define great leaders.
This talk is for anyone looking to deepen their leadership approach, rethink the value of lived experience and build teams that thrive on openness, empathy and collaboration.
Marisa Kershaw
Women in technology often build their careers in environments that are structured, hierarchical, and slow to change. The roles, opportunities, and decision-making spaces are not always designed with us in mind. Over the last two decades working across banking, financial services, and global insurance, I learned to progress by leading without permission - stepping forward when the organisation was not yet ready, influencing without formal authority, and driving transformation through clarity, competence, and consistency.
In this session, I will share a practical framework for women who want to advance their careers in complex, male-dominated industries. The focus is on real leadership tools: how to build credibility early, how to navigate resistance, how to create visibility for your work, how to influence decisions without relying on hierarchy, and how to stay grounded while managing teams across cultures, expectations, and levels of maturity.
This is not a motivational speech - it is a set of practical lessons from leading large transformations, integrating organisations, and progressing across three major industries without a traditional pathway.
Luboslava Uram
From entertainment journalism working with Chris Tarrant of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” fame to cyber security leadership. From being “too chatty” to building global communities. From being told I am “not technical enough” to leading security awareness programmes. My career makes no sense on paper and for years I waited for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, “You don’t belong here.”
This session isn’t your typical imposter syndrome talk. Drawing from my journey as an openly neurodivergent woman who founded a global AI and cyber security membership body and trade association, established security programmes from scratch and now serves as a trauma-focused coach for CISOs, I’ll share:
If you’ve ever felt like you’re one question away from being “found out” or that your non-linear path makes you less credible as a woman in tech, this session will help you reframe that feeling. Not as evidence you don’t belong, but as proof you’re brave enough to truly believe that you do belong.
The fraud police aren’t coming. Let’s stop waiting for permission to own our expertise!
Lisa Ventura MBE FCIIS
Aimed at women in the mid-to-senior stage who are looking to make the leap to executive or board level influence or who are looking to develop a portfolio career.
Key takeaways include:
Joanne Rose
Core Thesis: In the age of intelligent machines, our most critical task is to master “Human Alignment”, the conscious, practical discipline of reconnecting our minds to a deeper sense of purpose, enabling us to command our technology instead of being commanded by it.
This talk begins by diagnosing a modern paradox: despite having unprecedented access to labour-saving and mind-amplifying technology, we experience widespread burnout, fragmentation and a loss of meaning. The talk argues that this is not a failure of technology, but a failure of mindset. We are applying an outdated “push-through” industrial-era mentality, treating ourselves like human machines, to a digital ecosystem for which it is fundamentally unsuited.
The presentation will clearly outline the three specific fractures this misalignment causes:
The solution presented is not simply “working less”, but a fundamental shift in our operating mode: from Pushing Through to Aligning With. The talk introduces “The Alignment Invitation” as a practical framework.
Dominique Whyte
In today’s fast-moving tech teams, influence matters more than job titles. This session explores how women can lead confidently, communicate clearly and navigate complex delivery environments, even when they’re not the most senior person in the room.
Drawing on nearly two decades of project delivery experience across financial, government, automotive and technology sectors, Dami shares practical strategies for building trust, gaining visibility and leading with clarity in high-pressure teams.
Attendees will walk away with simple, actionable tools they can use immediately to increase their impact, strengthen their voice and lead with confidence in any tech environment.
Dami Lawal
Drawing on 13 years in technology-driven companies and five years partnering directly with tech leaders to build and grow their teams, Alison shares a practical, honest look at career development for women working in male-dominated spaces.
In this session, she explores how to build confidence, credibility and influence even when you’re the only woman in the room, while staying grounded in your values and wellbeing. Blending lessons from her journey as a standalone People leader in a fast-scaling tech environment with her commitment to open communication and emotionally intelligent leadership, she offers actionable strategies for self-advocacy, cultivating supportive networks and creating balance without burning out.
Attendees will walk away with guidance they can use immediately: how to recognise their strengths, leverage allies, navigate bias with clarity and grow a career that feels aligned, resilient and sustainable.
Alison Whitfield
69% of women report negative workplace experiences due to their cycle, fuelling burnout. When we combine this with the tech industry's high attrition rate of women, it's clear something is broken.
This powerful, data-driven keynote moves beyond conversation and provides a strategic toolkit for performance optimisation. We will unpack the science of the four hormonal phases, seeing them not as obstacles, but as a source of rotating strengths and energy.
Join us to learn how to map your cycle to your greatest output, discovering the specific cognitive, communication, and leadership skills that are naturally amplified during each phase. Attendees will receive actionable strategies to align workflow and energy levels for sustained focus and reduced burnout. Crucially, allies and leaders will gain the critical insights needed to support in building a more supportive culture for women in tech.
Christina Lewis
In today’s hyper-connected world achieving balance between professional ambition and personal wellbeing can feel like an impossible task - especially for those passionate about technology. This session explores how to intentionally design a life that works for you, not against you.
Drawing on personal experiences from over two decades in education and digital innovation, Hannah Ward shares strategies for maintaining work-life balance while embracing the tools and technologies that empower us.
Hannah Ward
“Can women do it all?” explores the reality behind one of the most persistent expectations placed on modern women: to excel in their careers while simultaneously being dedicated caregivers, partners, and leaders at home. Drawing on personal experience as an award-winning tech leader and mother of two young children, this session challenges the myth of “having it all at the same time” and instead offers a more sustainable vision of ambition, balance, and wellbeing.
Attendees will gain insights into navigating career growth during caregiving years, practical strategies for advocating flexible working, and reflections on becoming the role model we often needed but never had. This talk is an honest, empowering invitation to redefine success on our own terms.
Krupali Bhagani
In this session, Karen Medhat shares practical and empowering lessons on leadership drawn from her experience driving large‑scale transformation, influencing C‑suite stakeholders, and leading diverse global teams. She will explore how to build visibility and credibility in complex organisations, how to influence decision‑makers without formal authority, and how to create environments where innovation can thrive.
This talk is designed to equip women in technology with actionable strategies to lead boldly - no matter their job title - by focusing on impact, clarity, and the ability to bring people together. Leadership isn’t defined by hierarchy; it’s defined by the confidence, courage, and consistency to make a meaningful difference.
Karen Medhat
In this conversation, we hear from Kavitha Nagaraju, an Associate Product Manager at Tesco, based in Bengaluru, whose journey into tech has been shaped by curiosity, adaptability and a strong product mindset. Kavitha reflects on starting her career in a fast-paced startup environment, learning quickly by working close to users, and how that experience shaped the way she thinks about building technology today.
She shares what appealed to her about joining Tesco early in her career, the contrast between startup and enterprise environments, and what she has learned about scale, structure and work life balance in a global organisation. It is a thoughtful discussion about learning fast, staying close to the customer, and building a meaningful career in tech that evolves as you do.
Kavitha Nagaraju
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE
Transitioning into a digital career doesn’t follow one single route. From bootcamps and online courses to employer academies and learning on the job, there are many different pathways into digital roles, but knowing which option is right can often feel unclear, particularly for mid-career professionals without technical backgrounds.
This session offers an exclusive insight into Turn to Tech: The Pivoter Programme, an upcoming initiative from the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce designed to support mid-career women exploring a transition into digital roles.
Ahead of the programme’s launch, our panellists, who have successfully pivoted into digital roles from non-technical backgrounds, will share how they navigated different training options, identified the right learning pathway for them, and found their first digital role.
Gayle Thompson-Igwebike
Chisimdi Nzotta
Joanna Hawro
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