Conference: Building and Sustaining Great Organisations

Stephen Carver is rated as one of the top three lecturers at one of Europe’s leading MBA Business Schools. He has a reputation of taking complex management concepts such as Project, Programme, Change and Crisis Management and being able to distil them down into highly informative and fast-paced lectures – often using “storytelling” techniques.

James E. Henderson is Professor of Strategic Management at IMD. Prior to joining IMD, he was an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at Babson College and Babson School of Executive Education, based in Boston, MA. His areas of special interest are strategy under uncertainty, competitive strategy, corporate strategy, and strategy execution.

Professor Henderson helps companies achieve and sustain their competitive advantage either at a business unit, corporate or global level through directing custom specific executive programs, facilitating strategy workshops, or teaching MBAs and executives.

Matthew Ingle recently retired of Chief Executive of Howdens Joinery, a company he founded in 1995 with 14 depots and a first-year turnover of £1million. By 2018 the company had 720 depots, a turnover of £1.5billion and pre-tax profits of £250million. A company with a niche market selling kitchens direct to tradespeople, it is an example of a great organisation with an exciting vision, clear business plan, dynamic culture and high performing leadership.

Whitney Johnson is one of the 50 leading business thinkers in the world (Thinkers50) and an expert on disruptive innovation and personal disruption, a framework codified in the critically-acclaimed book Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work as well as the award-winning Build an “A” Team: Play To Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve. Her proprietary framework and diagnostics were developed after co-founding the Disruptive Innovation Fund with Harvard Business School’s Clayton Christensen.

Kent McMillan leads Accenture’s Global Organisation Practice where he works with executives to re-imagine their operating models and embrace transformational change in the digital age. He has over 18 years’ experience across industries, helping global clients to deliver on their growth, agility, productivity, and sustainability objectives through new operating models, organisation designs and people strategies. Kent is passionate about driving organisational performance, through next generation ways of working, data and the latest technology. He is called on by his clients and team for innovative thinking and the application of design thinking and analytics, recently receiving a US patent for Accenture’s organisation analytics and design platform.

Helen is an experienced Chair, Board member, Board facilitator and Coach. She works across the range of FTSE, Professional Service, Private Equity and Family firms, where she has led some of the biggest Board Evaluations. Helen is also a coach to many leading CEOs, Chair and NED’s. She was awarded an OBE for services to Business in 2015.

In addition to her Advanced Boardroom Excellence role Helen holds the following high profile Board roles: Chair of Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), Chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and Chair of the Public Chairs’ Forum (PCF). A Non-Executive Director at UB UK where Helen is the Chair of their Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee. SID at OneHealth Group and Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees. Recently appointed to the Balance in Business Limited Board and Helen is the President of KidsOut (a National Children’s Charity).

Helen was previously Chair of the Queens Counsel Selection Panel until February 2017, Chair pladis Advisory Board (United Biscuits, Godiva, Ülker Bisküvi) until April 2019. A Board member and Remuneration Chair for the CIPD until June 2019. Helen stepped down as President of INSEAD Directors Network Board (IDN) and Chair of INSEAD Directors Club Limited in October 2022. Helen recently stood down as a Non Executive Director at C & C Group Plc where she was the Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination and ESG Committees until July 2023 and as INSEAD IAA ExCo and VP of Global Clubs.

Helen holds an MA, LLB (Law), IDP-C (INSEAD International Director’s Programme – Advanced Corporate Governance Certificate).  She is the only Consultant in the UK Board Effectiveness arena to hold this INSEAD qualification.  She graduated from the INSEAD Strategy in the Age of Digital Disruption and Strategy for Accelerated Growth Programmes and the INSEAD Diversity Programme.  Helen is also an alumnus of the ground-breaking INSEAD Challenge of Leadership Programme.  She both attended and now features on the INSEAD Leading from the Chair programme. Helen is a Fellow of the CIPD, RSA and a Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute.