Theme: Dare to Disrupt

Disruption is a vital catalyst for change - possessing the power to both innovate and destroy. The origin of this theme derives from the ability to challenge the norm and go beyond ordinary expectations through disruption, achieving extraordinary results and unprecedented change. Almost every innovation - disruptive or not - begins life as an idea, and an idea is just an idea until execution. So, do you Dare to Disrupt?

Manchester Conference Center
Sackville St
Manchester, Lancashire, M1 3BB
United Kingdom

Eze Vidra

Chief Innovation Officer at Antidote

While at Google, Eze spearheaded strategic commerce partnerships in EMEA, helped launch Google Shopping/Google Wallet and was European head of Google for Entrepreneurs and General Partner at Google Ventures. His work as Chief Innovation Officer at Antidote focuses on accelerating breakthroughs of potentially life-saving treatments by bridging the gap between medical research and the people who need it. He is the author of two patents on web search and online advertising.

Linda Papadopoulos

MINDWORK, PSYCHOLOGIST

Dr. Linda is a Chartered Counselling and Health Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the BPS. During her 14 years as a Chartered Psychologist, she has gained extensive experience. She was recently included in the Top 20 therapists in London by the Evening Standard and awarded the Madame Figaro Women of the Year Award in 2008.

Luciana Carvalho Se

Chief Evangelist at Realities Centre London | Women in Tech/VR | Business Development - ‎Realities Centre

Learner, maker, systems thinker, innovator, technology enthusiast and #ladyhacker. Luciana Carvalho is a former Cambridge Law, Harvard and International Business grad turned tech super-geek, dedicated member and organizer of Code First Girls, SheWorx, Women of Wearables, VR Manchester and Women in VR UK. Her work with VR has led her to question how immersive reality helps us better understand each other, and what literally ‘putting oneself in somebody else’s shoes can means for human empathy.

Malcolm Levene

Personal Branding Coach & Speaker

Malcolm Levene, has been a Personal Branding coach for 20 years. He teaches people how they can significantly improve their business skills, their life-skills, and their businesses by developing their very own Personal Brand. His private clients have included Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, Michael Marks CBE, Michael Gove MP and notable individuals from the world of business, politics and entertainment. Malcolm has recently become an Hon. Visiting Professor of the London Metropolitan University. As a Personal Branding Coach, Malcolm works with businesses and individuals to help them project an authentic Personal Brand, a Brand that accurately portrays who they are from the inside out. He offers his extensive experience to enable people to attain their goals, maintain focus and be highly effective in their day-to-day interactions. Malcolm’s corporate clients include Prudential, Deutsche Bank, Tesco, Citigroup, Robert Walters PLC, Nestle’, Volvo, The Bank of New York Mellon and KPMG.

Mark Goldring

OXFAM, CEO

Mark Goldring became Chief Executive of Oxfam GB in May 2013. Mark brings the issues faced by the world's poorest people to a global stage, meeting high level government and business leaders to influence them to act against the causes of poverty. He also manages Oxfam's programme work across the world, and the organisation's annual income of £400m, 5,000 staff and thousands of volunteers in the UK and overseas. Before joining Oxfam he was Chief Executive of the UK's leading disability charity, Mencap, for five years. He led the continued growth of its support services and positioned it as a leading influencer on national disability and social care policy. Mark read law at Oxford and has a Masters in social policy and planning in planning in developing countries from the London School of Economics. He was awarded a CBE in 2008 for services to tackling poverty and disadvantage.

Nuakai Aru

Filmmaker, BlackNineFilms

Nuakai is an award-winning independent film maker, martial artist and world explorer. He has travelled extensively to Africa and many places around the world using travel as a tool for self-discovery. As an Earthling, he loves to immerse himself in nature and within different cultures around the world. His journeys aren't merely travel tourism, they center on exploring and living anthropology. His aim is to share greater understanding about our collective story and appreciation for the natural world.

Simon Biltcliffe

CEO and Founder, Webmart

Simon continues to bring a unique blend of no-nonsense business acumen and insightful philosophy to business leaders across the UK and beyond. A winner of the UK Institute of Directors Director of the Year award, Simon is acknowledged as an outstanding business creator and thought-provoking imparter of commercial wisdom. With £10,000 of his own money, Simon built Webmart on his Marxist-capitalist philosophy and has delivered vast returns both for the business and for the wider community.

Vassili Christodoulou

Head of Programmes, The School of Life

Vassili curates programmes exploring new thinking in philosophy, psychology, science and culture. For most of his twenties he managed the Institute of Art and Ideas (iai.tv) and HowTheLightGetsIn, an annual ten-day festival heralded by The Guardian as 'bringing big thinking back to the UK'. Before that, he ran a contemporary art fair, penned a gonzo magazine column on digital culture, wrote and directed award-winning stage shows, and taught in a Chinese primary school.