Fresh Tactics To Drive Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

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

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

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

CASE STUDY

10.20 Exclusive Case Study With IHG Hotels & Resorts

David Seacombe, Vice President, Process Excellence , IHG Hotels & Resorts