ADVISORY CHAIRPERSON
​Natalie Bickford
Merlin Events

Natalie Bickford has more than 25 years of HR experience, having started her career as a graduate manager with Barclays Plc. She has since held senior positions with Kingfisher Plc, AstraZeneca Plc, and Sodexo, leading highly commercial HR functions in the UK, Europe, and globally. Since 2016 Natalie has held the position of Group HR Director at Merlin Entertainments Plc, the world’s 2nd largest location based entertainment business, operating in 24 countries. Natalie is passionate about linking quality of life for employees with positive experiences for consumers, and improved business results. Natalie is a thought leader in diversity and inclusion, has won awards for her contribution to gender diversity in the UK, and was chair of the hospitality sector “Women 1st” campaign from 2010 until 2018. In November 2019 Natalie was awarded HR Champion of the Year at the European Diversity Awards.

Natalie is also a Board member for the Kronos Workforce Institute in the US, and a governor of Bryanston School in Dorset
Dawn Butler MP
Labour Party 

​Dawn Butler is a British Labour Party politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities since 2017, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015. She was the third black woman to become a British MP and was named female MP of the year at the 2009 Women in Public Life awards. Dawn Butler is currently in the running to become the new deputy leader of the Labour Party. Dawn made it onto the ballot on a strongly pro-LGBTQ+ platform and has formed an LGBTQ advisory panel for Labour, making her an excellent and visible ally.
Alison Benjatschek
Uniper Energy
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Alison Benjatschek was born and raised in the UK and after attaining a degree in Business/German from Aston University she moved to Germany. She has worked in HR there for most of her professional life. After undertaking several rotations within the HR function at a retail bank in Germany, she gained an MBA from the Open University and then took over the management of a HR department within a medium-sized company prior to having a family. She is now a Talent Acquisition Manager and Diversity Expert at Uniper SE in Düsseldorf.
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Emily Lofting-Kisakye
Urbn, Urban Outfitters Inc.
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Emily leads the people function for URBN Inc which includes Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People spanning 10 countries and multiple business channels. She is a member of the Executive Team contributing to the strategic direction and planning of the business, responsible for the design and implementation of the overarching people strategy. She has extensive experience in leading teams and large change projects delivering improved business performance including driving strategy on engagement during change; driving continuous improvement in organisational effectiveness and change management
Thorsten Eger
Johnson & Johnson
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Thorsten Eger is an experienced, well rounded global Human Resources leader with a demonstrated history of working in pharmaceuticals as well as in high tech. He is also a skilled generalist with deep OD expertise as well as HR Consulting, Coaching, Executive Coaching, Team Building, and Leadership. Diversity at Johnson & Johnson is about your unique perspective. It’s about you, your colleagues and the world we care for—all backgrounds, beliefs and the entire range of human experience—coming together.