Peter Kennedy MA, Chartered FCIPD

Director – HR & Corporate Services, Welsh Government

 Peter is on the Board of Welsh Government in his capacity as Director – HR & Corporate Services.  Peter joined the organisation in 2004 having worked for several years within the Ministry of Defence, he is an HR professional with many years experience of both operational and strategic Human Resources together with experience of Health and Safety, Facilities Management and Emergency Planning. 

Peter has additional responsibilities as Lead Sponsor for Welsh Government Sponsored Bodies and, as the Senior Information Risk Owner.  Peter also Chairs the People Committee of the Church in Wales in a non-executive capacity.

Peter spent 9 years in the RAF within aircraft maintenance and technical training roles.

Peter lives in Dinas Powys, is married to Jenny and has two grown up children and 3 granddaughters.   

Shereen Williams MBE OStJ DL

Chief Executive, Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales and Secretary to the Boundary Commission for Wales

Shereen Williams MBE OStJ DL is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales (LDBCW) and Secretary to the Boundary Commission for Wales (BCW). She has recently led on the completion an all-Wales electoral review programme which has resulted in the largest changes to local government electoral arrangements in over 20 years and is currently overseeing the Parliamentary Constituencies Review which will reduce the number of MPs in Wales to 32. Prior to this, she worked in local government for nearly a decade across Newport and Monmouthshire Local Authorities as the Connected Communities Manager and before that as the Regional Community Cohesion Co-ordinator for East Gwent. The team she managed were responsible for the delivery of strategic priorities including Migration, Preventing Violent Extremism, Equalities and Community Cohesion.

Over the past 16 years, she has volunteered in numerous roles in the Third Sector as well as for statutory bodies and is currently a trustee of St John Ambulance Cymru and the Institute of Welsh Affairs. In 2010, she received a Welsh Government Recognising Achievement Award for services to Community Cohesion from the then First Minister of Wales, Rt. Hon. Carwyn Jones AM. In 2017 she was awarded an honorary MBE for community service and in 2018 she was recognised by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in their Influential Leaders Challenge, which honours notable international alumni from AACSB-accredited business schools. Following her admission as an Officer of the Order of St John in February 2020, she was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant in Gwent in November 2021.

In her free time, she sits as a magistrate on the Gwent bench and is a governor of two Welsh medium primary schools in Newport. More recently, due to the ridiculous amount of time she spends at the rugby club that her two young sons play for, she is now a member of the club’s Minis and Juniors Committee.

Professor Eugene Sadler-Smith

Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Surrey Business School, University of Surrey

Eugene Sadler-Smith is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Surrey Business School, University of Surrey. His research interests are hubris (in leadership) and intuition (in decision-making). Amongst his most recent publications are Hubristic Leadership (SAGE, 2018) and Intuition in Business (Oxford University Press, 2023). Before becoming an academic he worked in the gas industry.

University of Surrey (external)

David Halpern CBE

Chief Executive, Behavioural Insights Team

David Halpern CBE is the Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights Team. David has led the team since its inception in 2010. Prior to that, David was the first Research Director of the Institute for Government and between 2001 and 2007 was the Chief Analyst at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. David was also appointed as the What Works National Advisor in July 2013, a position he held until 2022 through which he led efforts to improve the use of evidence across government.

Before entering government, David held tenure at Cambridge and posts at Oxford and Harvard. He has written several books and papers on areas relating to behavioural insights and well-being, including Social Capital (2005), the Hidden Wealth of Nations (2010), Online Harms and Manipulation (2019) and co-author of the MINDSPACE report. In 2015, David wrote a book about the team entitled Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference.

David was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours in January 2022 for Public Service as What Works National Adviser.

Zoe Sweet

Ministry of Justice

Zoe Sweet is the Divisional Director Organisational Effectiveness, People Group, at the Ministry of Justice. This area focuses on system-wide effectiveness through the use of organisational development, organisation design, continuous improvement and behaviour change. With 20 years’ experience in people, leadership and organisational development, Zoe has a particular interest in the challenges facing leaders in building ‘healthy organisations’.

As an experienced practitioner, Zoe is researching a PhD exploring leadership experiences in relation to mental toughness and resilience. Currently she sits on The International Centre for Mental Toughness Research and Development Advisory Board, exploring global uses and impacts, and is a published contributing author. Most notably, ‘Developing Resilient Organizations (2014), ‘Developing Mental Toughness’ (2015) and most recently ‘Public Value – Purpose, Passion and Perseverance: creating public value through public sector leadership’ (Routledge, 2019).

Susie Ventris-Field

Chief Executive, Welsh Centre for International Affairs

With a passion for involving people in internationalism, Susie leads the WCIA, and has been involved in the organisation since getting involved as a volunteer in 2013. Her career in the third sector has included work in gender equality, education and inclusion in Wales, England, South Korea and Eritrea.

"I’m constantly inspired by the people in Wales who give their time, energy and experience to creating a fairer and more peaceful world. At the WCIA, we want to build on these fantastic examples and get more people involved so Wales can continue to punch above its weight as a globally responsible nation."

Thimon de Jong

Strategic foresight expert and passionate, interactive speaker

Able to use socio-psychological and cultural change to meet the strategic needs of different industries, it is little wonder Thimon is becoming one of the most sought-after speakers of his generation.

Over the past ten years Thimon has worked as keynote speaker and leadership trainer for organisations like Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, HP, Ikea, Vodafone, Tetra Pak, Novartis, Kellogg, Merck & Luxottica.

After studying cultural studies and international business, he wrote his Master’s thesis on subcultures and started his working career in journalism.

In his role as editor-in-chief of a youth platform (magazine & website) he discovered his passion for interdisciplinary people research and started working as a youth and media researcher for Science of the Time and FreedomLab Future Studies. In 2007, Thimon took the role of Insights and Strategy director for TrendsActive, an international trend interpretation agency. In this role, he travelled the world consulting and presenting to numerous multinational companies. In 2010 he starred as a jury member in Holland’s Best Idea – a primetime TV-show.

In 2011 he co-produced an executive programme for decision makers at Utrecht University on the topic of using sociocultural trends for strategic decision making. In 2014 he founded Whetston / strategic foresight, a think tank on future human behaviour & societal change and the impact on strategic decision making.

Thimon is determined not only to inform his audience of research, insights and business cases, but also to provide them with practical strategic take-aways on how to utilise the information and help their business grow.

Strategic Foresight - Whetston.com (external)

Phyllida Hancock

Senior Programme Director, Olivier Mythodrama

Phyllida is a Senior Programme Director with Olivier Mythodrama and leads Mythodrama programmes for organisations across the private and public sectors in the UK and overseas. She also manages a leadership development programme for a large global client and has a liaison role with several other clients.

She worked as an actress and singer for 12 years, including two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and several productions in the West End. She was also a member of several professional choirs and contributed to numerous recordings and tours.

In 1998, she began working as a facilitator within the UK public sector, designing and delivering workshops including 18 months leading an equality, diversity and inclusion programme across the Criminal Justice System. Phyllida was a consultant for many years in an interdepartmental ‘futurefocus’ facility working across government on scenario planning and project working. In addition to her work with Olivier Mythodrama, she works as a freelance facilitator on leadership and organisational development programmes across sectors, focusing particularly on communication and presence skills.

Phyllida’s clients include:

• Said Business School
• London Business School
• Npower
• The King’s Fund
• BT Openreach
• Microsoft
• International Atomic Energy Association
• Johnson & Johnson
• Cass Business School
• Aviva

Nazir Afzal OBE

Nazir Afzal OBE was Chief Crown Prosecutor for NW England and formerly Director in London. He was Chief Executive of the country’s Police & Crime Commissioners and most recently, National Adviser to the Welsh Government.

During a 30-year career, he has prosecuted the most high-profile cases in the country & advised on many others and led nationally on several legal topics including violence against women and girls, child sexual abuse, and honour-based violence. He had responsibility for more than 100,000 prosecutions each year. His prosecutions of the so-called Rochdale grooming gang and hundreds of others were groundbreaking and changed the landscape of child protection.

• He is the new Chancellor of the University of Manchester.
• He is Chair of Hopwood Hall FE College.
• He sits on the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
• Independent member of Oxfam’s Safeguarding & Ethics Committee.
• Trustee of Association of Safeguarding Partners.
• He sits on the National Police Chiefs Ethics Committee.
• He was appointed the first ever independent Chair of the Catholic Church’s Safeguarding Agency.
• He is Chair of the Independent Review of Culture of London Fire Brigade.
• Trustee of WOW (World of Women) Foundation.

His memoirs 'The Prosecutor' published in 2020 are currently being adapted for a British multipart drama. His new book 'The Race to the Top' was published in September 2022. His BBC Radio 4 ‘Desert Island Discs’ programme was the 3rd most listened to in 2021. His 'Fear or Favour' podcast has been given rave reviews.

Dr Andrew Goodall

Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

Dr Andrew Goodall was appointed to the role of Welsh Government Permanent Secretary in November 2021 and leads the Welsh Government Civil Service in delivering the priorities of the First Minister and acts as the Principal Accounting Officer for the Welsh Government. Prior to this he was Director General of Health and Social Services/Chief Executive NHS Wales, a position he had held since June 2014.

Dr Goodall has been an NHS Chief Executive in Wales for 16 years. Previous posts include Chief Executive of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, a position held from the Health Board’s inception in October 2009 until 2014 after NHS re-organisation to the integrated Health Board model.

During his 30 year NHS career, Dr Goodall has held planning and operational positions across a number of NHS organisations across South Wales as well as national roles. He has particular areas of interest in improving patient safety, quality and patient experience; partnership working and collaboration across Public Services; and delivering frontline services through service improvement and modernisation.

Dr Goodall has a law degree from Essex University and a PhD in Health Service Management from Cardiff Business School. Dr Goodall was awarded a CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours for his services to the NHS and public services.

Jo Hicks

Deputy Chief People Officer and Director of Strategy, Leadership and Belonging, Ministry of Justice

Jo Hicks is currently Deputy Chief People Officer and Director of Strategy, Leadership and Belonging at the Ministry of Justice.

With over 25 years’ experience in leading and driving strategic change across large organisations, Jo is a workforce, leadership and organisational development specialist. With a background in both the NHS and Government, Jo has a wealth of experience working across public services at a local and national level.

With responsibility for people development, workforce experience and insight and the design and delivery of a ‘future of work’ people strategy, Jo’s passion and focus has always been people.

A collaborative leader with a focus on engagement and partnership, Jo creates cultures that enable people to flourish. Jo is a deliverer with high expectations of both herself and her team.

Jo is proud to be Welsh and has represented her country as a senior leader in both Australia and Switzerland. Jo is a high performance practitioner and an alumnus of JFK School for Government, Harvard and a fellow of CIPD.

Ian Bancroft 

Chief Executive, Wrexham County Borough Council

Ian took up his post as Chief Executive of Wrexham Council in August 2018 and for the previous fourteen years worked at a senior leadership level within large public service organisations in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and North East Wales. Most recently, since 2014, this has been at Flintshire County Council as a Chief Officer leading successfully the development and implementation of a number of major strategic programmes.

Ian is committed to public service delivery and aims to work with partners, local communities and residents to build and deliver a clear vision that achieves outstanding results. Ian has lived in Wrexham for the last 20 years and is passionate about the current positive opportunities Wrexham and Wales provides and the potential for the future.

Dr Neil Wooding CBE CCIPD

Executive Director of Workforce Reform, Cabinet Office

Neil has spent the whole of his career working within public service. He is currently the Executive Director of Workforce Reform within the Cabinet Office. Before this, he was the Chief People Officer at the Ministry of Justice where his primary mission was to realign the structure and design of the organisation with its core purpose and modernise the pay function.

Prior to this, Neil worked in the Welsh Government helping to establish Academi Wales and as the Director of Workforce and Organisational Development for the NHS in Wales. During his career, he has worked across the spectrum of public services building a unique portfolio of experience in the field of change, leadership and innovation.

Since the age of 17, he has worked in a voluntary capacity and is currently the chair of the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action. Over the course of his career, he has published a number of papers on leadership and management development and spent time at the JFK School of Government developing new approaches to leadership learning. Internationally recognised for his expertise, he has worked in Scandinavia, the United States, Canada, India and sub-Saharan Africa to promote transformational change. In a broader context, between 2001 and 2009, he served as a Commissioner for Equality and Human Rights for Wales and led a number of UK Inquiries into Part-Time and Migrant labour and Human Rights. During the same period, he was a Trustee of Stonewall UK. In 2016, he became a Trustee of the Lloyds Bank Foundation Trust and has recently been appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Scottish Government.

He is a Companion of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and was awarded a CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honours list for his outstanding work in the field of Equality and Social Justice.