WildHearts Talent Leaders Summit
16th November 2026
Linklaters, London
Linklaters, London
WildHearts is a world-leading social business, founded on the belief that business can be a force for good.
To enable this, we believe talent leaders must be empowered to play their part. Indeed, with their unique opportunity to inspire and develop people across the workforce, they are uniquely placed to do so.
WildHearts work with global brands across 35 countries to develop unique, transformational training programmes to over 50,000 participants, helping to instil innovative, entrepreneurial thinking across their organisations.
The WildHearts Talent Leaders Summit gives us the platform to assemble L&D thought-leaders from across the business landscape, to share their perspectives on current trends, challenges and the technologies influencing the profession.
Speakers
Hear directly from global heads of HR, DE&I, and L&D as they discuss the key topics influencing the business landscape.
Interviews
Gain insight via exclusive interviews with senior leaders from leading global brands.
Panels
Put your questions to L&D professionals at the cutting-edge of people development.
Networking
Connect and collaborate with peers across a variety of different industries.
Mick Jackson is a serial entrepreneur, author and Ex Chart topping rock singer. He is also the founder of the WildHearts Group – a portfolio of companies committed to creating global social change. To date, WildHearts have transformed over 3 million lives globally.
Mick’s work has been recognised globally; he has received numerous honorary doctorates, was EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016 and was voted Top Scot by the UK public. In 2015 WildHearts was awarded Social Enterprise UK’s People Choice Award. Mick is the second only recipient of the highly prestigious Babson Social Innovation Award from the world’s top school in entrepreneurship.
Stephen was appointed Chief Executive of the ISE in June 2013 following seven years as Head of UK Student Recruitment at EY. In his role he is now responsible for the ISE’s market intelligence, thought leadership, expertise and analysis, to help stakeholders achieve best practice in early talent recruitment and development.
Stephen is focused on the career development and employment of students, has managed student recruitment and development programmes in both the private public sector, and worked closely with education throughout his career.
Mark leads Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy and program management for Barclays Chief Operating Office (Operations and Technology) – a global group of over 55,000 colleagues. Mark’s work focuses on our 2025 DEI ambitions, predominantly focused on gender diversity and under-represented ethnicities.
Mark leads a team responsible for driving initiatives to attract, retain, include, develop and advance diverse colleagues, through programs such as career accelerators, mentoring, sponsorship and leadership training. The team also partners with HR on a variety of programs, including inclusive leadership upskilling, talent acquisition and colleague development.
Paul was appointed to the position of Group HR Director for Nestle UK & Ireland on 1st April 2018.
He has strategic people responsibility for the Nestle group of companies in the UK and Ireland, which encompasses the UK wide network of manufacturing operations across Consumer, Pet Care, Health Science, Nutrition and Wellness.
Current areas of focus include transformation of the organisation to meet the opportunities of the digital customer and consumer reality, evolving culture to support our Inclusion and Belonging ambition to fully reflect our communities and development of leaders to create the inclusive and innovation led workplace of the future.
Thomas Gaskin is the Talent Development Manager at Ocado Group, where he shapes the talent development strategy across the business.
Thomas started his career in recruitment, then moved into HR programme management at Meta. He joined Ocado to build and run the emerging talent offering, before taking on a broader remit across the wider talent agenda. His work now spans every stage of a career, from early talent through to senior leaders, with a focus on AI upskilling, leadership development, succession planning and building the skills Ocado needs for the future.
Lisa started with Siemens in 2008 as an HR administrator. Her first 7 years in Siemens were heavily based in HR Admin, HR Systems and Process Improvement.
Lisa has been Finance and Commercial Talent Manager for 8 years now. A big part of Lisa’s role is to manage the Finance Graduates and the School Leavers Academy program. Lisa is passionate about everyone seeking new opportunities, whether that’s in their next role, self-improvement through learning, or expanding their network.
In her role at Sodexo UK & Ireland, Angela leads social impact strategy and develops partnerships that strengthen communities and break down barriers to opportunity. She believes collaboration between businesses, education and communities is essential to helping people develop their skills and thrive.
Angela has extensive experience in social impact, social value and responsible business, helping organisations create meaningful change. She is passionate about using business as a force for good and creating opportunities that support social mobility and inclusive employment.
Ben is the Talent Management & Engagement Leader for Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions in EMEA. Ben started his career in operational HR roles and has experience of navigating a wide variety of people-related challenges in both large multinationals and SMEs.
In more recent years, Ben has moved into dedicated L&D positions, enabling him to focus on his true passion of people development. He particularly enjoys using his creativity to develop memorable and impactful learning experiences.
Ali has extensive experience in people development and early careers, supporting colleagues to build their skills and progress in their careers. Through her work with the Nestlé Academy, she is passionate about creating opportunities for apprentices, graduates and placement students to learn, grow and thrive.
Ali champions the value of apprenticeships and experiential learning, helping emerging talent develop the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the workplace.
Mark has over 25 years of experience in STEM, working across project development, strategic consultancy and initiatives connecting schools and businesses to address skills needs. He is passionate about improving opportunities for young people through education, skills development and collaboration between industry and schools.
At Siemens, Mark leads social sustainability strategy across Great Britain and Ireland, focusing on sustainability, digitalisation, societal impact and inclusion. He is also an active STEM Ambassador and contributes to several education and industry boards, helping strengthen the links between businesses and the next generation of talent.
