Ash Bartley is the VP of People for Checkatrade, where she is responsible for shaping their people strategy that empowers teams and reinforces the company's culture as the UK's most trusted trade marketplace.

She brings deep experience in navigating high-growth, complex global organisations. Prior to Checkatrade, she held senior leadership roles at WeWork, where she led the People teams for EMEA and APAC. There, she guided the organisation through its full lifecycle from meteoric hyper-growth and a landmark IPO to a complex global restructuring.

Before WeWork, she spent several years at Booking.com in key People Business Partnering roles, supporting global teams and including a two-year assignment in Berlin. This unique journey has given her deep expertise in building resilient, high-performance, mission-driven cultures through periods of rapid change.

Neal has worked at McDonald’s for over 40 years, starting as a crewmember whilst completing his studies.

After several years in various operational management positions, Neal led the UK Reward team for sixteen years, driving improvement and innovation in the value and range of benefits offered to McDonald’s UK employees. The team’s work received regular external recognition including the prestigious Employee Benefits Grand Prix award for their alignment of reward strategy to business strategy.

Over the last nine years, Neal has worked within the Global Total Rewards team evolving global frameworks, leading the co-ordination, communication and leadership reporting of the global annual compensation cycle and helping to introduce a choice programme to all global LTI recipients.

Neal has a BA in Accounting and Finance from Kingston University, is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and was honoured to be voted the Employee Benefits Professional of the Year in 2014.

Sally-Anne is a reward transformation expert, leading far reaching projects at Deloitte, the BBC, Siemens, Morrisons and Asos, delivering change in all aspects of compensation, employee benefits and pensions.

Her focus has most recently been on transforming the reward agenda at Deloitte UK, aligning its 27,000 employees to a new Job Architecture structure, building transparent market aligned pay and bonus methodology, implementing a pensions engagement strategy, and implementing a market leading Flexible Benefits provision.

Sally-Anne’s vision is to energise Reward teams to improve employee engagement, while also helping the business to be commercially effective in its reward strategy. Sally-Anne was extremely proud to lead the winning Employee Benefits Team of the Year in 2024, the Deloitte Pensions team also received the Best Pensions Strategy award in 2025.

Jane Clifford is the People Director for Brewers Decorator Centre, the largest independently owned decorators’ merchants in the country. Brewers has been trading since 1904 and employees more than 1800 colleagues to provide a range of products and expert advice for both trade and retail customers.

Jane has more than 25 years’ experience in HR, in a variety of sectors including professional services, construction, manufacturing and retail. Her current remit includes HR, recruitment, learning and payroll.

Jane is passionate about inclusion, equality and creating a workplace in which colleagues can be happy. Jane is always striving to balance the commercial and compassionate drivers within HR, so the department is seen equally as adding value and caring about every colleague.

Ricardo D’Ash is a Chartered MCIPD Reward and Benefits specialist with over 30 years’ experience across hospitality, financial services, technology, education, insurance, and most recently the data centre industry.

He has built a career delivering strategic and operational reward solutions in complex, multi‑country environments, with deep expertise in compensation design, benefits governance, pensions, job architecture, and stakeholder engagement.

Ricardo has held senior reward roles at Global Switch, Ofcom, City & Guilds, Equity Insurance Group, Unisys, Prudential and Barclays. His work spans major pay and bonus frameworks, flexible benefits design, international benefits, and executive remuneration. He has extensive pensions experience, having served as Secretary to the Trustees for several defined benefit schemes and playing a key role in the full wind‑up of three DB pension arrangements. He is also a qualified coach and an Honorary Member of City & Guilds.

A regular contributor to industry conversations, Ricardo has spoken at conferences, judged at the Employee Benefits Awards, and remains highly networked within the reward community.

Outside of work, Ricardo is a long‑standing volunteer in the parkrun community, achieving the 500+ milestone and supporting events for over 12 years. He also volunteered with the NHS during the Covid response.

I’ve worked in reward, benefits and employee wellbeing for over 20 years, across a range of roles, organisations and sectors. This has given me broad experience in compensation, benefits design, wellbeing strategy and how these elements support both people and business needs.

I’m now at Insulet in a role focused on Total Reward transformation and modernisation. We’re carrying out a complete review of our Total Reward offering — including global benefits administration, recognition, wellbeing, employee discounts and lifestyle spending accounts — as well as the systems that support them. The aim is to build a competitive, scalable approach that helps us attract and retain top talent and strengthens our ambition to be an employer of choice. And with the right mix of creativity (and caffeine), I’m hoping we might create something worthy of an award nomination ourselves for next year!

Rosie Damarell has over 10 years of experience in employee benefits, wellbeing and recognition. Her passion is in creating a total reward offering that attracts, motivates and retains talent and improves the overall employee experience.

Rosie also believes in embedding a culture of community in organisations where individuals feel valued and connected.

Rosie previously worked at the University of Lincoln and has delivered projects that have won multiple awards, including the Employee Benefits Grand Prix and Best Voluntary Benefits Award.

Ant leads on all aspects of employee benefits, pensions, and company car schemes for the Wolseley Group, across the UK and Ireland.

His focus is on engaging Wolseley’s diverse workforce with their pensions and benefit offerings, whilst continuously improving employee experience and supporting wellbeing. He regularly looks to implement new options, to help meet colleagues’ diverse needs and keep the offering fresh, whilst maintaining a focus on scheme delivery and cost-effectiveness.

Another area of focus is around integrating Wolseley’s acquisitions into its pension, benefits, and company car arrangements, with the number of new group businesses hitting double figures in the past few years.

He is also an experienced DB and DC pension trustee and led a recent project to transition Wolseley’s DC pension plan to a large master trust, as well as having delivered several earlier DB and DC pensions change projects.

Prior to joining Wolseley, Ant managed a major UK energy provider’s reward and benefits activity and developed their first international employee benefits strategy.

Ant was extremely proud to be named Employee Benefits Professional of the Year a few years ago and has led his team to the Employee Benefits Team of the Year and Grand Prix, amongst other awards.

Earlier in his career, Ant held several operational management roles, and headed a number of significant organisational change programmes. He’s also a Chartered Accountant, with an initial grounding in internal and external audit.

Neil has 20 years experience in reward across a range of sectors including retail, financial services and tech.

He is currently Head of Reward at Wickes plc having joined Wickes in 2021, and is responsible for the full reward agenda. In recent years Neil has specialised in executive remuneration in listed companies.

He has led a number of award-winning benefits teams, and is a regular conference speaker, award judge and contributor to industry press. Neil has a particular passion for financial wellbeing, particularly in relation to pension awareness.

Mark Greenwald is Wellbeing and Benefit Manager at Lendlease Europe based in London, delivering on the company’s employee benefits and wellbeing strategies across the region.. Mark has worked in HR for over 18 years acquiring vast experience across the HR spectrum including compensation, data analytics and employee experience. Mark is passionate about creating impactful employee experiences that empower individuals to take informed decisions that allow them to thrive, which has led to the creation of award-winning strategies across the Wellbeing spectrum whilst working alongside several organisations to share best practice and continually inspire excellence.

Mark has spoken at numerous conferences on the topics of employee benefits and wellbeing sharing how Lendlease Europe delivers on their award-winning approach with most recently being guest speaker at, Supply Chain Sustainability School Conference 2023, Employee Benefits Live 2024, and The London Build Expo 2024.

Ian is the Director of People and Culture at Housing 21overseeing all aspects of people management including reward, payroll, pensions, employee benefits, HR systems and executive remuneration. Having started his career in finance before moving specifically in to reward Ian has a background in both the public and private sector having previously worked for Moy Park, Mars, Prudential, Lincolnshire County Council and the University of Lincoln.

A firm believer and champion in the importance of reward strategy as a driver for change and in supporting organisational success, Ian has previously overseen teams that have been acknowledged for their achievements at awards for their innovative work including winning the 2021 and 2022 Employee Benefits Grand Prix award.

Ian is the current board member of the Education Competencies Consortium who focus on ensuring fair and equal pay through role evaluation and reward frameworks.

Ian has also been a recipient of the Pay and Benefits Career Accomplishment Award and was also the Employee Benefits Reward Professional of the Year in 2019. Ian also regularly contributes to professional publications and conferences within the sector providing insights into the future of work.

Embarking on the first decade of her career in global tax and HR consulting at PwC, Selina undertook several client secondments which ignited her passion for global specialist HR work in the corporate world.

Selina subsequently undertook Global Mobility leadership positions at PepsiCo and Lloyd’s Register before progressing into broader Senior Group Director roles at Worley with global ownership for Benefits, Global Mobility, Expatriate Tax / Compliance and Strategic HR projects. Following a fascinating period operating as a self-employed consultant Selina is currently the Senior Director for Global Benefits, Global Mobility and Wellness at Lumentum, including responsibility for leading strategic global HR programs and projects.

A law graduate with a Masters in Business Economics, Selina holds professional qualifications in Tax, International HR, Global Benefits and Global Mobility. Selina is also a proud recipient of multiple team and individual industry awards and passionate about her voluntary roles, contributing her time as a speaker, author of thought leadership and judge on several global industry award panels.

Brigitte Kaviani is the Programme Director for People Experience at the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, with over 38 years in the NHS.

A qualified Diagnostic Radiographer, she has held diverse clinical, educational, and leadership roles, including Assistant Operations Director at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (2016–2021), where she led workforce development and wellbeing initiatives.

In 2021, she became Head of Health and Wellbeing for the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw ICS, and in 2024, she was appointed Programme Director of People, overseeing workstreams in mental health, wellbeing, retention, EDI, and talent.

She champions prevention, leadership, and crisis support to foster inclusion and a learning culture. Her team’s ‘Mission: Menopause’ initiative has gained national recognition.

Brigitte was named Employee Benefits Professional of the Year in 2024, with multiple team awards in 2023–2024. Born in Bethlehem, Palestine, she has led global health projects across three continents.

People Director at Welcome Break and member of the Applegreen Senior Leadership Team, Nicola has forged an award-winning career in People Development and HR spanning two decades – bringing her expertise to the UK’s leading hospitality organisations in senior leadership roles across Whitbread, Greene King, and Travelodge.

Nicola currently leads the global People functions across Welcome Break in the UK, ROI, and US – meticulously crafting the People strategy and vision to deliver impactful results that support over 6,000 team members. As Chair of the Welcome Break Charitable Fund, Nicola’s direction helped raise £1 million in 2024 to support its charity partners and local communities.

At home, Nicola leads the charge as a dedicated mum to Harriett (16) and Cockapoo Woody, and wife to Pete. She’s often found running, cycling, or swimming, and loves to challenge herself with athletic events – enjoying some well-deserved cake and prosecco as a reward!

As the Health & Wellbeing Manager at UK Power Networks, I am dedicated to fostering healthier and safer workplaces. My role involves managing our Occupational Health Contracted Services, along with the development and implementation of comprehensive wellbeing services and programs across the company. I work closely with HR, Safety, and communication teams to support our employees in managing their health and well-being.

A highlight last year was leading our team to win the 2025 Employee Benefits Award for Best HealthCare and Wellbeing Benefits – larger employer.

A highly dedicated and experienced professional with over 30 years of expertise in employee benefits and total reward, Helen is passionate about ensuring employees are engaged with their total reward packages and understand how to maximise their benefits.

Consistently seeking innovative strategies to enhance benefit offerings, she is driven by a commitment to optimise employee satisfaction and foster a positive work environment. Her proactive mindset leads her to explore cutting-edge solutions and best practices that genuinely make a difference in employees' lives.

Beyond her direct responsibilities, Helen is a keen networker, actively participating in professional forums and events. She shares her wealth of experience and insights while eagerly absorbing new knowledge, remaining at the forefront of the latest trends in employee benefits. Her dedication to continuous learning and professional development underscores her commitment to excellence.

Daniel Mellors is Chief Financial Officer at Thrive Learning, where he’s passionate about making the company a great place to work, not just a successful business.

Drawing on his background in finance and leadership, Dan has helped shape Thrive’s approach to employee wellbeing, from practical financial wellbeing tools and salary sacrifice initiatives like the EV scheme and enhanced pension options, to programmes that genuinely improve day-to-day life for the team.

He believes that supporting people to feel confident and secure, both personally and professionally, is key to building a thriving organisation.

Dan’s focus on open culture, inclusion, and wellbeing has helped Thrive grow with purpose, showing that good business and good people practices go hand in hand

Elaine O’Donnell is a seasoned reward leader with over 15 years of experience in compensation and benefits. Currently serving as the Director of Benefits & Reward Projects for Flutter Functions and having lead Reward across several Divisions within Flutter Entertainment Plc, Elaine has significant expertise in leading reward strategies in complex matrixed environments. Elaine has been instrumental in shaping and executing the company's reward strategy alongside driving strategic projects to ensure alignment of benefits and reward systems to Flutter’s organisational goals.

In her current role, Elaine’s key focus has been to accelerate the roll out of benefit technology across the Group whilst leveraging Flutter’s size and scale to identify and deliver value to the Flutter Divisions.

Prior to her tenure at Flutter, Elaine was the Compensation and Benefits Director for Viacom International Media Networks and O2, the largest mobile network in the UK.

With over 20 years in HR, Tom began his career in finance before developing as a HR generalist in a number of organisations from SMEs to large professional services firms. Over the last 9 years Tom’s focus has been compensation, benefits, recognition and wellbeing.

Tom is passionate about supporting mental health in the workplace, recently becoming a Mental Health First Aider instructor, qualified mediator, and an advocate of men's mental health. Tom is always looking at how we can realise the commercial advantages of linking reward, benefits and wellbeing agendas.

Outside of work, Tom enjoys attempting to play football, visiting theme parks, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

I am the Managing Director of the railway company "Track International Consulting" registered in Hong Kong in 1998.

Before that time I had held senior management positions on four major railway projects which, with minor projects, covered all types of railway infrastructure from Heavy Haul to High Speed Rail lines. These were the Channel Tunnel; Singapore MRT; Hong Kong Airport Railway and the Taiwan High Speed Rail line.

My initial training was obtained with British Railways in York and London; that knowledge I has been applied successfully to my railway projects large or small.

Jennifer Roberts is the Head of Reward & Wellbeing at Central Co-op based in Lichfield and is responsible for delivering the Reward & Wellbeing strategy across the Society.

She is a true believer that Reward is a unique and impactful area of HR, with a responsibility to advocate for employees and make a meaningful difference in their working lives.

Having worked in Reward for 14 years now, Jen has vast experience in transformational change in Reward to deliver strong commercial outcomes but also shape motivating, inclusive, and engaging employee experiences to really make a difference.

Jen recently won our Employee Benefits Professional of the Year 2025 award which she was absolutely delighted to receive.

With 18 years of experience in HR within the aviation sector, Lucy’s expertise spans flexible benefits platforms, pension schemes, and holistic total reward approaches. As a qualified coach and mediator, she brings a people-centred lens to every initiative, from driving ED&I strategies and measurable outcomes to fostering inclusive workplace cultures. Most recently, Lucy led the development of NATS’ award-winning menopause support programme, earning two accolades at the 2025 Employee Benefits Awards.

With a career in reward and benefits spanning nearly 25 years, Jane has been at the forefront of change and innovation in the sector. Known for her evangelical enthusiasm for reward and her people first, commercially focused, no-nonsense approach she has bought her magic and a clear, understandable and pragmatic approach to explaining and embedding benefits and reward to employees across the public, private and 3rd sectors. As well as providing consulting to employers she now also coaches and mentors those starting out or consolidating their careers in the industry.