Manchester Agenda
Thursday 25th September 2025
The Bridgewater Hall, Lower Mosley St, Manchester M2 3WS
08:00 – 09:00
Registration, Networking, Meetings and Connections
09:00 – 09:20
Welcome and Setting the Scene



Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group, Wellbeing at Work


Co-Chair


Obehi Alofoje
Director, Aurora, Inc.


Co-Chair


Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora, Inc.

09:20 – 09:30

Host Venue Welcome


Francesca Fagotto
Conference and Events Deputy Manager, The Bridgewater Hall

09:30 – 10:10
The C-Suite Panel: The Role of the boardroom in the Wellbeing Charge
Organisational change can start at the bottom through individual employee behaviour, but it will almost always fall short without support from the top. This session explores how organisations that truly want to improve wellbeing need the C-suite to set an example for the rest of the company.



Sarat Pediredla
Chief Executive Officer, Hedgehog Lab




Sarah Dear
Chief Executive, Born Ugly




Lisa Roberts
Managing Director, SQS




Moderated by: Lauren Palfrey
Chair of FT Wellbeing ERG, The Financial Times

10:10 – 10:35

'Building The Neuroinclusive Workplace'
How can organizations recognize the opportunity that integrating neurodiverse professionals can bring to an entire organization? Creating a neuroinclusive organization that includes individuals who are and who are not diagnosed with developmental disorders that fall within the neurodiversity spectrum. What are the drivers supporting advancement of neurodiverse professionals in the current marketplace and why they matter to their organization and industry. What are the leadership and teaming styles that can help enable neuroinclusion?


Dr. Beverley Flint
Chief Mental Health Officer, Smart About Health

10:35 – 11:05
Morning Networking Break
11:05 – 11:40
Panel: The Role of Wellbeing as the Power Behind Organisational Performance
What is the association between workplace wellbeing and company performance? Beyond ROI, what are the true measures of wellbeing on performance? Where does emotional insight fit when building positive workplace cultures for business impact? What is the value of designing wellbeing programs as integrated experiences that are embedded throughout the employee journey? How can employers truly help people thrive and grow?



Abi Wall
Chief People Officer, eEnergy




Cheryl Grainger
Head of Human Resources, Amaze Hotels



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Chris Cummings
CEO, Sonas Group, (Wellbeing at Work)
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Moderated by: Kim Kerr
Head of People, Hilti (Great Britain) Ltd

11:40 – 12:05
A Fireside Chat - 'Giving People Freedom and Autonomy to Be the Best They Can Be'



Janet Leighton
Director of Happiness, Timpson Group

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Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group (Wellbeing At Work)
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12:05 – 12:30

From Gut-Feeling to Business Case: How a Maturity Model Provides Clarity and Direction for Your Wellbeing Strategy
Move beyond gut-feelings! This session reveals how a maturity model serves as a new compass for your wellbeing strategy, grounding it in data and business impact. We’ll showcase the Maturity Assessment as a powerful tool to chart a clear path forward. We'll also present proprietary data, benchmarks, and surprising correlations between key levers to help you build a compelling business case for wellbeing.


Rillion Cadlini
Strategic Development Director, Personify Health

12.30 - 13.30
Hosted Leadership Workshops
1 - Personify Health
"Prove It or Lose It! How to Connect Wellbeing to ROI and Business Outcomes." The pressure to prove wellbeing ROI is real. This hands-on workshop provides a no-nonsense guide to measuring impact without advanced skills. We'll show you how to link wellbeing to core business metrics like profitability, accident reduction, and absenteeism using simple statistical methods. You’ll be hand-held through the whole process and leave with a clear idea of how to develop your own analytical approach.


2 - Smart About Health
'How to build a safe and effective Wellbeing Champion community.' It’s time to move forward from just Mental Health. Wellbeing Champion communities can be critical in driving improved health and wellbeing in organisations, if trained, supported and utilised correctly. Mental Health is just the tip of the ice-berg, so why only train champions in Mental Health? Wellbeing Champions serve a more holistic and realistic purpose, but still need clarification of role, monitoring, supervision and ongoing development. In this round table, Smart About Health will open the floor to discuss: How you can include Wellbeing Champions in your strategy. share a proven formula for success, safety, risk reduction and efficacy. showcase Ocado’s global Wellbeing Champion Programme case study as a benchmark for implementation. Hosted by Dr Laura David, and Dr Beverley Flint.


3 - Thrive
Therapy: Crutch or Catalyst? Therapy has never been more visible - from TikTok trends to soaring NHS referrals. But with outcomes flatlining, are we getting stuck in support instead of moving toward change? Join this session to explore:- Why more therapy doesn’t always mean better results- How therapy can slip into dependency and stall progress- The evidence-based models that turn reliance into resilience.


4 - Aurora
'Leading Through the Noise: Reclaiming Equity, Wellbeing, and Trust in the Workplace.' Leading Through the Noise is a candid, interactive roundtable designed to help leaders navigate the growing challenges of equity, wellbeing, and inclusion in today’s polarised workplace climate. Hosted by Aurora’s experts Ngozi Weller and Obehi Alofoje, this session offers a fair and non-judgemental space to explore how identity, conflict, and cultural tension are impacting psychological safety and employee trust. Drawing on both lived experience and professional expertise, we’ll unpack what unresolved tensions are costing your workplace, why silence sends a signal, and how leaders can respond with courage and clarity. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of today’s equity landscape, practical language for leading through discomfort, and one clear action to take back to their organisation. Whether you’re an executive, HR lead, or culture champion, this session will help you to build workplaces where people feel genuinely safe, valued, and heard.


13.30 - 14.30
Networking Lunch
14.30 - 14.40

National Wellbeing Index - KSA

Prof. Ahmed Albadry
Director of Occupational Health, Tawuniya
14:40 – 15:15
A Fireside Chat: Why Not I? How Aspiration & Inspiration Shape Mindset & Mental Wellbeing



Kofi Josephs
Professional Basketball Player & Founder, Why Not I


Followed by Q&A with


Chris Cummings
Chris Cummings, Group CEO, Wellbeing at Work

15:15 - 15:55
Fireside Chat: Menopause Awareness and the Importance of Educating Leaders
In workplaces everywhere, forward-thinking leaders embrace the importance of inclusivity and wellbeing for their teams. This session will discuss the role of education and a proactive approach to menopause awareness is a decisive step toward a more inclusive, supportive and equitable environment for all.



Rebekah Brown
Founder & Head of Research MPOWDER




Emma Neville
Founder, This Is Me




Moderated by: Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group, (Wellbeing at Work)

15:55 - 16:20
Networking Break
16:20 – 17:00
Panel: Beyond the Backlash - Creating Inclusive Workplaces
What means are available to better accommodate those of us who are not neurotypical? How do employers ensure their wellbeing efforts are meeting the needs of differing employee groups and identities? What are some examples that show why wellbeing needs to be addressed from an equity standpoint? What should be done about culture from the perspective of inter-generational workers?



Simone Robinson
Global, Diversity, Equity & Belonging Manager, GKN Aerospace




Hayley Ross
Head of Human Resources, Salford City College




Kristina Adey-Davies
Global Head of Wellbeing & Inclusion, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer




Saima Akbar
Head of Culture & Belonging, UA92


Your Expert Panel Chair:


Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora Inc

17:00 – 17:10
Closing Remarks



Mark Rix
Group Managing Director, Sonas Group, Wellbeing at Work


Co-Chair


Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora Inc


Co-Chair


Obehi Alofoje
Director, Aurora Inc

17.45 – Late

Networking Reception
Kindly sponsored by Circles


Dukes 92, Castlefield Basin
