Thursday 18 April 2024

Spring Summit 2024 – Speakers

Cavendish Conference Centre, London & Online
10:00am – 4.30pm GMT+1, followed by Drinks Social

Speakers

Nigel Oseland, Environmental Psychologist, Workplace Consultant at Workplace Unlimited

Nigel is an environmental psychologist, workplace strategist, change manager, researcher, author and international speaker. Nigel works with his clients to redefine their workstyles and create cost-effective and space-efficient workplaces that enhance concentration, collaboration, creativity and business performance.

Where appropriate he helps design and implement sustainable agile working environments. Nigel’s approach to consulting is to apply his knowledge, obtained through both academic research and practical experience, to workplace strategy and design.

He is a firm believer in evidence based design and delivering unique workplaces that support the occupying business. As a psychologist he campaigns for workplaces that cater for all personality types.

Nigel’s latest book, “The Workplace Zoo: Humanising the Office” was published in autumn 2021. His next book, “A Practical Guide to Post-Occupancy Evaluation and Researching Building User Experience” was published in September 2023.

Kerri Henderson, Strategy Director, Gensler

Kerri is the Consulting Practice Area Leader and Research Leader for Europe. She holds a Masters of Architecture degree from Columbia University and 15+ years of experience in the Architecture and Design industry. She has worked in New York, Beijing, Paris, Toronto, and Pittsburgh, and is currently based in Gensler London. Kerri integrates strategic thinking, design experience, research, and client service expertise to create innovative and business-focused strategies for work environments. She has a strong knowledge of multiple practice areas including professional services, financial services, and media workplace design. Kerri has led multiple research and innovation projects at Gensler, including the UK Workplace Survey 2022, 2020, The New Workplace Metrics That Matter, Enhancing the Client Experience, and The Millennial Legal Workplace.

Naomi Sakamoto, Studio Director, Gensler

Naomi is a Principal in Gensler’s London office, having studied urban design, linguistics, civil engineering, and architecture at Stanford and Harvard Universities in the US. She started her career at small architecture firms in Beijing and Paris, and then joined Gensler’s San Francisco office in 2013, working on projects from high-rise residential towers in Mumbai to airport terminals to tech company headquarters. She joined Gensler’s London office in 2019, and now leads a design studio that serves innovative clients in sciences, tech, and creative industries. She is passionate about sustainability, social equity, and design for innovation, and the importance of collaboration to get us there.

Iain Shorthose, Paragon Workplace Solutions

Iain is Global Workplace Experience Director at Paragon Workplace Solutions. As a customer and workplace experience specialist, he has led and advised on the development and delivery of strategies, propositions, and people development across both the private and public sectors; for B2B and B2C organisations.

Employed at executive board level, and operating as a senior consultant and practitioner, Iain has worked with some of largest UK and Global organisations; from those with clear value propositions, to brands with commoditised offerings and operating in highly regulated industries.

Steven O’Leary, Paragon Workplace Solutions

Steven is a Transformation Director for Paragon Workplace Solutions, with over fifteen years of experience helping organisations define their approach to workplace and communication services, focusing particularly on technology and digital transformation.

Paul Urmston, NatWest

Paul is an Area Workplace Manager for NatWest Group responsible for the facilities operations across the South of England.

He is focussed on ensuring the workplace proposition at NatWest is able to stand up to the changing nature of our colleagues wants and needs with a special interest in measuring the workplace experience and being able to prove the value of workplace investment without factoring in cost savings from property consolidation.

Ian Ellison, Audiem

Ian Ellison has contributed to the UK workplace sector for 25 years. Following a senior lecturer role at Sheffield Hallam University, he co-founded 3edges Workplace, focusing on workplace education, research and award-winning consultancy. Most recently he co-founded the AI-powered workplace experience insights platform, Audiem and co-hosts the Workplace Geeks podcast.

Maria Tam, Spatial Psychologist at Make Architects

Maria joined Make in 2020 and is the company’s in-house spatial psychologist. Prior to Make, she worked as a designer in a range of sectors throughout the UK, including education, laboratories, healthcare, workplace and residential developments.

Drawing on her combined experience in design, technology and psychology, she is responsible for developing Make’s social science and spatial analytics processes for a range of projects, including masterplanning, education, workplace, retail and civic projects. Maria has a Master’s of Environmental Psychology and is a member of Surrey University’s Environmental Psychology Research Group.

Dr Harriet Shortt, Associate Professor in Organisation Studies, Bristol Business School, University of the West of England and Head of Visual Engagement, Bibo Studio

Harriet is an academic, researcher, and workplace consultant in the field of spatial change and user experience. She has eighteen years’ experience in researching and working with organisations exploring space, place, and the material world of work.

She has expertise in qualitative research methods including visual, arts-based approaches to understanding user experiences of placemaking. She has worked with public and private sector organisations, such as the Environment Agency, Stride Treglown, ISG, and the Rugby Football Union. She is often invited to comment on spatial change and working practices in the media and has worked with BBC Radio 4, the Evening Standard, Work Wise UK, Bristol 24/7, and Workplace Geeks. Her research has been published in international journals and won awards for research excellence.

Harriet is passionate about user experiences of buildings, places, and facilities and believes that successful placemaking encompasses an awareness of cultural shifts, diverse needs, innovative communications, and a sympathetic understanding of people and their everyday lives.

Simone Fenton-Jarvis, Workplace Consultant, Human-Centric Leader at The Human-Centric Workplace

You could say I’m a workplace thought-leader who’s passionate about creating human-centric workplaces, but at its most basic, what I do is focus on people. I home in on the employee experience, workplace culture, and organisational performance and use data insights to deliver change and business improvement in regard to culture, space, process, and technology.

17 year’s experience – MBA in FM – Fellow and NED of IWFM – Author of ‘The Human-Centric Workplace – Workplace Consultant

Mark Catchlove, Director, Global Insight Group, MillerKnoll

Mark leads MillerKnoll’s Global Insight Group which is responsible for sharing the latest thinking in workplace design and related issues. He has been with the company for over 25 years and during that time has become a respected contributor to the workplace community.

He has delivered more than 800 seminars and webinars around the world. Mark has also run in-house workshops and seminars for a variety of leading organisations – both large and small.

Andy Lake, Flexibility.co.uk

Andy Lake is a specialist in Smart Working, and has worked on dozens of implementations and evaluations across the private, public and voluntary sectors. He is the author of Beyond Hybrid Working – A Smarter and Transformational Approach to Flexible Working (Routledge, 2024) and numerous other publications exploring Smart Working and the future of work. He has led or participated in numerous research projects looking at the impacts of new ways of working and service delivery on business, government, transport, housing, and the environment.

Andy has worked as an advisor with the UK Cabinet Office and the European Commission. He was the technical author for British Standards PAS3000: Code of Practice for Smart Working. Andy also runs the Smart Work Network, a peer collaboration network for people implementing Smart Working in their organisations, and is Director of Flexibility.co.uk.

Joyce Chan-Schoof, Loughborough University, and UK Parliament

Joyce is the winner of the Best Woman in Environment & Sustainability for the 2023 WICE Award. She is currently a PhD Researcher conducting a study on ‘the Well-being Value in the Built Environment’. Joyce is the Sustainability Lead for the UK Parliament’s Design Authority. She heads up the sustainable development of the Parliamentary Estate in Westminster, embedding environmental, social, and economic well-being into the design and construction projects and across the business. An architect with two decades of experience in sustainable design, Joyce is passionate about putting research into practice.

Matteo Zallio, Assistant Professor, University of Cambridge

Matteo Zallio, M.Arch, Ph.D., is on a mission to make emergent technologies accessible and inclusive for all. Matteo is an award-winning designer, researcher, and assistant professor. He has a unique background in helping businesses to develop futuristic technologies that are inclusive and consider different aspects of human diversity such as ability, language, culture, gender, and age. He is currently the founder of the Metavethics Institute, a senior UX researcher at Autodesk, an assistant professor at the University of Cambridge, and an adjunct faculty member at Dublin City University. Along with his academic and business roles, he is constantly involved as a consultant and mentor for businesses and designers.

Kim Hutton, Human Connections

Kim has used her 40 year background career in Healthcare, as a Physiotherapist, to translate her knowledge of user’s capabilities into academic research and evidence-based practice. Following her Master’s in Human Factors and Ergonomics at Loughborough University, she was invited to become a visiting lecturer at The School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University and a Visiting Industrial Fellow at the Engineering Design Centre (EDC), Cambridge University. She promotes a ‘system-thinking’ approach to help organisations work towards achieving a more empathetic, diverse and inclusive environment for their colleagues and stake holders in the workplace and built environment.