Practical AI, Results-Focused Leadership & People-Led Performance For Measurable Business Results & Transformational Change:
Fresh Tactics To Drive Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
9th Annual One-Day Conference & Networking Exhibition | 9th September 2026 | One America Square, London
08.30 Registration, Informal Networking & GIC Opening Remarks
OPENING REMARKS
09.00 Morning Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks
SJ Dyke, Digital Data & Technology PO Lead – Europe & Canada, Takeda
Richard Lawrence, Head Of Service Excellence, easyJet
PRACTICAL AI ADOPTION FOR OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
09.10 Using AI, Automation & Data Intelligently To Drive Efficiency Without Losing People, Control Or Customer Experience
- Distinguish where AI genuinely adds value across operations by separating customer-facing growth opportunities from back-office efficiency gains and understanding when automation improves outcomes versus when it creates new risk
- Make informed decisions on whether to upskill existing teams or recruit specialist capability by learning how organisations are balancing productivity, cost transformation, and workforce impact during AI-enabled change
- See how operational leaders are applying tools such as generative AI, process mining, task mining, and intelligent automation at scale and understand what has actually delivered sustainable savings rather than short-term wins
- Apply a continuous improvement mindset to AI rollout by building trust in automation, knowing when to intervene manually, and embedding AI in a way that complements human judgement rather than replacing it
Kat McGurk, Group Director, HR Operations and Transformation, Flutter
CHANGE & TRANSFORMATION WITHOUT DISRUPTION
09.30 Embedding Operational Excellence Into Large-Scale Change While Maintaining Trust, Pace & Resilience
- Understand why people resist change even when current processes are clearly broken by exploring the psychological, behavioural, and cultural barriers that slow adoption and how operational leaders can design change that feels safer and easier to accept
- Deliver cost transformation without damaging morale or reputation by examining how leaders communicate difficult decisions, justify structural change, and maintain trust with teams affected by reorganisation, automation, or offshoring
- Keep teams engaged during prolonged periods of uncertainty by sharing practical approaches to workforce communication, engagement, and reassurance during offshoring, restructuring, and ongoing transformation
- Learn why successful operational excellence is driven more by effective change management than technical analysis and explore what has genuinely worked, what has failed, and why buy-in accounts for the majority of long-term impact
Baljit Dhillon, Programme Delivery Director, Centrica
CULTURE & WELLBEING
PANEL Q&A
09.50 Building The Behaviours, Structures & Engagement Needed To Sustain Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Move beyond vague commitments to culture and continuous improvement by understanding how organisations translate executive intent into real investment, capability, and behaviours that stick in complex environments
- Learn how operational leaders influence senior stakeholders by framing operational excellence as a strategic enabler rather than a cost centre and connecting improvement activity directly to the problems CEOs, CFOs, and boards care about
- Explore how organisational design, decision-making structures, and ways of working either enable or block collaboration, wellbeing, and performance, and how to diagnose these issues without oversimplifying complex systems
- Create cultures where people feel heard, engaged, and secure during ongoing change by closing feedback loops, involving teams in solution design, and supporting wellbeing across hybrid, distributed, and high-pressure operating models
Geoff Weaver, CFO, Harrods Ltd
Gary McCready, Commercial & Strategy Director – iD, Currys PLC
Sally Dillon, Head Of Operational Change | Investment, Wealth & Retirement, Aviva
Daniel Smale, Head Of Continuous Improvement, Gousto
Saima Satti, Head Of Global Exams Business Improvement, British Council
IHG HOTELS & RESORTS CASE STUDY
CASE STUDY
10.20 Exclusive Case Study With IHG Hotels & Resorts
David Seacombe, Vice President, Process Excellence , IHG Hotels & Resorts
10.40 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner
11.10 Morning Refreshment Break With Speed Networking & Peer Discussion Zone
OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE FRAMEWORKS, METHODOLOGIES & TOOLS
11.40 Translating Strategy Into Scalable, Repeatable Operational Practices That Drive Consistent Performance
- Cut through abstract models to explore how organisations are using strategy deployment, frameworks, and methodologies to genuinely align purpose with execution – including where approaches have failed and what was learned along the way
- Understand how different industries are adapting operational excellence playbooks in practice, from large and complex organisations to sectors earlier in their OPEX journey, and what can realistically be transferred across contexts
- Assess the tools, technologies, and measurement systems that support operational excellence today, including how to design meaningful KPIs and metrics that work at every level of the organisation and drive the right behaviours
- Examine practical ways to improve efficiency behind the scenes by rethinking processes, leveraging automation and AI where it adds value, and balancing high-cost tooling with open-source or in-house solutions to deliver impact without unnecessary complexity
Matthew Shore, Head Of Operational Excellence Europe, gategourmet
JUSTIFYING INVESTMENT & PROVING ROI ACROSS THE BUSINESS
12.00 Win Enterprise-Wide Buy-In By Clearly Linking Operational Excellence To Commercial, Customer & Performance Outcomes
- Examine why operational excellence is so often misunderstood or deprioritised outside operations teams, and what it takes to gain traction in complex, matrix organisations
- Explore how high-performing organisations align OPEX with HR, IT, product and customer teams to position it as a shared driver of business performance
- See how leaders are translating efficiency, automation and AI initiatives into outcomes that resonate with executives, from customer experience to resilience and cost control
- Take away practical approaches for joining fragmented data, insight and metrics into compelling narratives that justify sustained investment in operational excellence
Daniel Smale, Head Of Continuous Improvement, Gousto
RESULTS-FOCUSED LEADERSHIP
PANEL Q&A
12.20 Converting Intent Into Measurable Outcomes Through Clear Accountability & Delivery Discipline
- Clarify how effective leaders translate strategic goals into concrete actions that teams can execute with confidence
- Reveal the leadership habits that remove ambiguity, reduce decision drag and keep improvement efforts moving at pace
- Illustrate how senior leaders maintain focus on outcomes while empowering teams to solve problems at the front line
- Surface practical approaches for embedding performance ownership into day-to-day management, not just reviews and reports
Maria Rosaria Bonifacio, VP & Head Of HR, Nokia
Roisin Hurley, Global Director Of Retail Excellence, Burberry
John Bell, Head Of Culture Change & Organisational Effectiveness, Centrica
Michaela Mueller, Operational Excellence Leader, Vattenfall
Samantha Cox, Planning & Performance Manager, National Express Bus
12.50 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners
13.20 Interactive Hot Topic Peer-To-Peer Discussions
A) Implementing & Maintaining Continuous Improvement Cultures
Alco Jensema, Global Continuous Improvement Lead, Global Business Services, McDonald’s
B) Behaviour Change
Rosie Pendle, Senior Change Specialist , British Heart Foundation
13.50 Afternoon Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks
Lauran Macare, Head Of Payments Data, Payments Technology, NatWest
Saima Satti, Head Of Global Exams Business Improvement, British Council
INTERACTIVE UNCONFERENCE SESSION
BREAKOUT
14.00 A Delegate-Driven Discussion Designed To Surface Real Priorities, Real Problems, & Real Solutions
Questions and themes will be crowdsourced during the morning, allowing attendees to:
- Shape the conversation around the issues that matter most
- Join small-group discussions with like-minded peers
- Share practical experiences, frustrations, and breakthroughs
- Leave with fresh thinking and peer-tested ideas
No presentations, no slides, just focused, high-value conversations.
AI, DATA & DIGITALISATION USE CASES DRIVING OPERATIONAL GAINS
PANEL Q&A
14.20 Turn Digital Investment Into Measurable Productivity, Cost & Customer Impact
- Stabilise core processes before scaling digital tools to avoid automating inefficiency and unlock faster ROI from transformation programmes
- Connect fragmented systems, data and workflows to reduce manual effort, eliminate errors and give leaders a real-time view of operational performance
- Apply AI to forecasting, automation and decision support to improve demand planning, resource allocation and end-to-end service levels
- Deploy human-centred AI use cases at scale that lift productivity, enhance customer journeys and release teams to focus on higher-value work
Nataly Quinn, Global Head Of Change & Tech Adoption, Holland & Barrett
Sharada Khanna, Global Lead – Originations & Credit Services, HSBC
Mark Burns, Senior Programme Director, NatWest
Valentina Smirnova, Head Of Finance Transformation, AXA Partners
Cheryl MacDonald, Head Of Engineering – Intelligent Process Automation, Lloyds Banking Group
SUSTAINING LONG-TERM PROCESS EXCELLENCE
DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE
14.50 Lock In Continuous Improvement As A Core Business Capability That Delivers Year After Year
- Anchor process excellence into everyday ways of working so improvements survive leadership changes, restructures and shifting priorities
- Expose why many initiatives fade after early wins and how leading organisations prevent regression to old habits
- Design governance, incentives and feedback loops that keep teams focused on flow, quality and value over the long term
- Equip operational leaders with practical techniques to refresh, renew and scale improvement without creating fatigue
14.50 Perspective 1
David Anderson, Quality & Business Improvement Director, Network Rail
15.10 Perspective 2
Ruairidh Fraser, Operational Excellence Lead: UK & Ireland, Suntory Global Spirits
15.30 Bonus Session; Reserved For Exclusive Conference Partner
16.00 Afternoon Refreshment Break With Speed Networking & Peer Discussion Zones
THE HUMAN ASPECT OF OPEX
DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE
16.30 Keeping People, Culture & Capability At The Centre Of Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Reinforce why operational excellence succeeds through people, not tools, by embedding improvement into day-to-day roles rather than treating it as a technical or data-only discipline
- Build lasting buy-in to change initiatives by strengthening trust, engagement and ownership across teams, ensuring transformation sticks beyond the initial rollout
- Rebalance digital progress with human connection by developing core skills such as communication, stakeholder management and conflict resolution that sustain collaboration in hybrid workplaces
- Align operational excellence with organisational culture and HR priorities to create an environment where continuous improvement, accountability and performance can thrive long term
16.30 Perspective 1
Oyinda Oduntan, Head Of Operational Excellence, 1st Central
16.50 Perspective 2
Luke Sambridge, Head Of Business Design & Optimisation, AXA Health
THE FUTURE OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
FIRESIDE CHAT
17.10 How Operational Excellence Is Evolving To Meet Tomorrow’s Customer & Business Demands
- Anticipate emerging operational excellence trends by learning how different industries are trialling new approaches to drive productivity, resilience and competitive edge
- Reframe operational success around customer retention by shifting from one-off transactions to long-term, value-adding relationships that increase lifetime value
- Extend product and service lifecycles through smarter operational design that supports customers beyond the point of sale and reduces churn and waste
- Position operational excellence as a growth enabler by aligning future-focused processes with customer experience, loyalty and sustainable revenue models
Azeeza Sunmonu, Global Head Of Commercial Excellence, Mundipharma
17.30 Afternoon Co-Chair’s Closing Remarks & Official Close Of Conference
Lauran Macare, Head Of Payments Data, Payments Technology, NatWest
Saima Satti, Head Of Global Exams Business Improvement, British Council