Declan presented business news on BBC One's breakfast television for almost a decade. He also hosted BBC Two's Working Lunch and programmes about strategy and leadership on BBC Radio 5 Live, and about personal finance on the BBC News TV channel.
A trailblazer and visionary in the world of marketing, Kevin has left an indelible mark with global marketing services giants like Interpublic, Grey, Saatchi, and later, in the dynamic live space with Jack Morton and George P Johnson.
Kate Russell has been writing about technology, gaming and the Internet since 1995. She’s been a regular on BBC technology programme Click for over a decade and writes for National Geographic Traveller magazine.
His broadcasts on Breakfast covered a wide range of stories about business, work and money, he extracted news and views from chief executives, trade union leaders, stock market watchers, private investors and individual workers.
He formerly broadcast for the BBC's international news channel, BBC World, and he reported as the business commentator in the United States for ABC News for nearly a decade.
He currently broadcasts for the commerical news radio station, LBC News. He has been published in newspapers, magazines and websites in the UK, Ireland and the United States.
Amidst a diverse array of brands, from Adidas to Zumba, Kevin has consistently explored every facet of the marketing landscape.
Over the span of thirty years, as marketing ecosystems have undergone evolution, Kevin's unwavering focus remains on driving innovation and fostering creative thinking. His commitment is not just to adapt to change but to catalyze business growth.
Kevin's true passion lies in unleashing the potential of his clients, guiding them towards authentic growth. A fervent advocate for engagement, participation, and action, he ensures that every event transcends into a memorable and meaningful brand experience, creating what he calls the 'lean forward moment.'
According to Kevin, "Great communication used to be about what you said to people, now it’s what you DO for people. Involving them in the story is fundamental, the same is true of growth." His programs exemplify the evolving psychological landscape and demonstrate that despite changes, our fundamental purpose remains the same—a concept he finds thrilling.
In Kevin's own words, "Making the pathway to growth easy, so everyone gets it, watching light bulbs go on all over the room is so exciting. Corporate growth comes from personal growth, and making that happen is rewarding for the people I do it with, the brands, and companies I do it for, and for me." Kevin's legacy lies in seamlessly intertwining innovation and creative thinking into the fabric of business growth.
Kate received her first break on TV after being encouraged to apply for a job advertising for a ‘young & funky’ female presenter who knew about video game for a new show on Nickelodeon. Kate got the job and presented the show for three series, cohosting with Mike McClean and an animated fish called Bert.
Kate was a regular expert on the sofa at ITV’s Daybreak and various other TV and radio stations, she also writes columns for National Geographic Traveller magazine.
In addition to her prolific writing and TV career Kate speaks regularly at technology events and conferences and in schools and Universities inspiring the next generation of technologists. She also gets involved in policy meetings that aim to shape the way the Internet is governed in the UK.
In 2013 she crowd-funded more than 400% of her target to write her first book. Kate has since published two novels and continues to write sci-fi and fantasy.
Her website won the 2015 UK Blog Awards for best individual digital and technology blog, and she has been featured as one of the top 50 most influential women in UK IT by Computer Weekly magazine for the last two years.
When she isn’t busy writing, presenting, and inspiring the next generation, Kate finds time to run 6.5k three times a week and spends far too much time on Twitter advising people about the best web resources for their day-today needs.
I am a woman of colour with lived experiences and more than 20 years' experience as a senior manager within Students Services, Accommodation Services, and the voluntary sector.
Pete has over two decades of kids, teens and families insight experience, having spent his own teenage & young adult years leading peers across a number of residential camps, tours & social action projects - as well as a brief stint as a Nursery School Assistant.
Tim is the CEO of Global Student Living, the world’s leading student housing data and analytics firm. Proudly founded in the UK, Global Student Living now provides insights and advice to hundreds of PBSA investors, operators and developers across more than 17 countries and 4 continents
Throughout this period I have continually acquired and refined skills which I have applied in my personal and professional life.
I am currently a member of UAL Accommodation Services Senior Management Team, where I contribute to and lead on strategy to enhance the student's experience.
Most recently I have been working with my team and key stakeholders to encourage students with disabilities and health conditions to disclose at the point of application so that we can engage, provide support and enhance the student’s experience. As a result we have received an increase in disclosures and engagement.
I have had the privilege of being the ASRA South East representative which enabled me to work with so many wonderful colleagues across the HE and PBSA sector.
During my 4 year tenure the regional meetings covered a range of topics that were relevant to the sector such as the impact of student fees, student disciplinary issues, applications, housing management, youth breast cancer, students with disabilities, mental health, resident life, policing campus through to offering campus study tours.
I have managed several projects whilst working with homeless and vulnerable people such as implementing and facilitating various groups that offered a safe space, through to mobilising women only hostel and introducing a student Head Leasing Scheme.
I have served as Chair for UAL Black workers group which has grown and evolved to Equality of Minority Staff (GEMS) of which I am still a member.
I am a mentor and a member of the B-Mentor network facilitated by UCL and a member of Black Equity Organisation (BEO).
I have been described as having many superpowers which include personable, friendly, compassionate, trustworthy, reliable, effective listener, effective communicator and collaborative leader.
His wealth of insight agency experience includes working for global, blue-chip brands and businesses helping them understand, explore and strategically plan around kids’ and young peoples’ behaviour & attitudes. This has included working with clients such as BBC, Disney, NatWest, NBCUniversal Netflix, Sky, Spotify, the V&A, Warner Bros. Discovery and Young Minds, as well as Middlesex University & LSBU in the HE sector. His perspective is truly cross-generational due to his long-term focus on kids & young people and helps clients and organisations understand the unique attributes of Generation Alpha whilst also preparing them for what this Generation will mean for them as they grow up. He is a regular, expert speaker at conferences and events including the Children’s Media Conference, Quirks London & New York, various MRS conferences and previously at CUBO as we emerged from the pandemic.
Helen McNeely has been the Head of Student Affairs at Queen’s for the last 16 years and during that time has overseen the growth in our student support services as the University responds to the changing needs of students.
Caroline is Vice-President of Students and Corporate Services at Queen’s University Belfast and is responsible for all aspects of the student experience delivered through the Directorates of Queen’s Global (Marketing, International Partnerships and Student Recruitment), Student and Campus Experience and Educational Development and Academic Services.
Ciaran has worked for over 10 years as Director of Queen’s University Students’ Union, leading the Strategic direction of the Union, as well as the day to day management of an extensive range student services, with a view to delivering an excellent student experience and representation for over 24,000 students at Queen’s.
Her areas of responsibility during her time at Queens have included Wellbeing, Counselling, Immigration Support, Disability Support, Learning Development, Widening Participation, Quality Assurance and Appeals and Complaints.
Helen is committed to working with colleagues across Professional Services and the academic community to help achieve positive outcomes for students. Helen is also a member of the AMOSSHE Executive.
Her role involves the leadership of various University services which deliver the marketing recruitment and admissions of students from home and international markets, overseeing the enrolment and registration of students and many of the educational support services available to them during their time at Queen’s, as well as campus life and the overall student experience including their final graduation day.
During her 18 years at Queen’s, Caroline has held the positions of Director of Accommodation and Hospitality, Director of Student Plus and has been responsible for the University’s Student Accommodation portfolio, including its growth from 1,600 – 3,500 rooms and investment of over £100m. Caroline is a passionate advocate for students, working closely with the Students’ Union to ensure that the University provides a positive and holistic student experience. Parallel to this, Caroline is an advocate for Queen’s as a great place to work and has been committed to creating a positive, creative and supportive workplace.
Prior to Queen’s Caroline worked in Sales, Marketing and Business Development with a variety of hotel companies and golf resorts throughout the UK, Ireland and in Europe. She has extensive senior management experience in the hospitality, service and leisure industry within both commercial and higher education sectors.
Caroline is passionate about volunteering and is a Non-Executive Board member of Choice Housing, Visit Belfast and a Governor of Victoria College Belfast.
Prior to joining Queen’s he worked in economic and community development and has held the position of non-executive director on a number of Boards.
Charlotte is a Lead People Scientist at Tailored Thinking, specialising in encouraging and enabling individuals and teams to personalise their work.
Ali Bott (she/her) is the Head of Customer Experience for Kinetic Solutions, leading on all aspects of Customer Experience across the EMEA customer base from account management and software training, through to events and thought leadership.
Rachael has over 18 years sales and marketing experience working in senior international roles across tourism, economic development and higher education. She leads a multi-award-winning team at Visit Belfast where she is currently Director of Business Development, Sustainability and Transformation.
Charlotte has worked in a variety of HR, inclusion and organisation development roles across the Higher Education sector, having led and supported projects relating to culture, change, inclusion and recruitment. She has a specialist interest in inclusion and belonging, and is passionate about making work better for everyone. Charlotte also has a wealth of experience in people analytics and how to practically use and apply these insights to make positive changes to the employee experience across organisations.
Charlotte has a first class Master’s Degree in Occupational Psychology, and is a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP). She has published research focused on leadership, and presented her work at various conferences.
Ali began her journey in Higher Education as a Residential Assistant at the University of Winchester, and shortly after graduating embarked on a career in Student Accommodation working within teams at Winchester, The Courtauld and Queen Mary University of London, before joining Kinetic in 2022.
Ali has worked within various roles across allocations, credit control, welfare and commercial business, and now works with a vast customer base supporting a range of customer roles to enhance their success strategy using Kinetic’s software. The best part about her role is visiting universities across the country and seeing the amazing work underway and the unique facilities of each campus supporting the student experience. Connect with Ali on LinkedIn here.
As a member of Visit Belfast’s executive leadership team, she is responsible for promoting Belfast internationally as a leading business events, cruise and group tour destination to help deliver inclusive and sustainable growth for the city region. Visit Belfast work with Queen’s University, Ulster University, Invest NI and over 1400 business, academic and medical leaders to attract strategic events to Belfast and Northern Ireland that can also promote the region as a place to visit, do business, study, work, live and invest in.
Rachael is responsible for leading out on Belfast’s ‘sustainable tourism’ programme as one of the 30 transformational change projects within city’s resilience strategy and climate plan. As a result, Belfast has gone from second last in the Global Destination Sustainability Index to 11th in the world across 100 leading destinations.
Working for the city’s destination marketing and management organisation, Rachael has gained an extensive network across the public and private sector, working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders and partners to support city development.
In addition to her role with Visit Belfast, Rachael is a member of the Belfast Resilience and Sustainability Board and a Trustee of the Strand Arts Centre supporting a multi-million pound regeneration project as part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up fund.
Jan Capper joined CUBO as Executive Director in 2017.
James Greenwood (he/him) is the Head of Residential Life at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), taking the strategic lead for all aspects of community building and wellbeing support.
Kirsty joined the University of Leicester in 2010, where she progressed from Deputy Director of Residential and Commercial Services to Director of Campus Services before taking up her current role.
Previously she worked in international education, most recently as executive director of the International Association of Languages Centres (IALC). Prior to this, she was marketing director of GLS Sprachenzentrum in Berlin and international marketing director at Pitman Central College in London. Her early career was spent in marketing and operational roles in the travel industry. She studied languages and has worked as a freelance writer and translator.
James is also chair of the Global Initiatives network for the International Association of College and University Housing Officers. Additionally, James chairs the UK Residential Life and Student Experience groups as part of College and University Business Officers (CUBO) professional body.
James has worked within residential life for over 10 years at various universities across the UK and has created award-winning student experience programmes.
Prior to residential life, James studied International Events Management at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. He has also worked in different events and communications-based roles across several different industries in the public and private sectors. James is passionate about diversity and inclusion within education and has chaired groups and networks to support LGBTQ+ staff and student communities. You can catch James on LinkedIn where he is always available to network and share best practices
At the University of Leicester, Kirsty is the strategic lead for Accommodation; Print Services; Leicester Conferences; Campus Operations, including Portering and Cleaning, Grounds and Gardens, Post, Fleet; and Security. Kirsty is also a Board Director of College Court Conference Centre and Leicester Services Partnership, (the Student Union and University catering partnership) and the University lead on Prevent.
Kirsty joined CUBO Executive Board in March 2019, initially picking up the conference portfolio. Kirsty is CUBO Chair and has represented CUBO on the Board of the Universities UK Accommodation Code of Practice since October 2018.
Prior to joining Leicester, Kirsty was a Senior Project Manager at the Russell Partnership. In this role, Kirsty worked with well-known organisations such as the BBC and Goldman Sachs to improve their catering offer. She also worked with a number of universities, including Leicester. It was while working for Leicester as a consultant that Kirsty began the journey of transforming the University’s catering service, which led to her being offered a permanent role at the institution.
Her early career was spent in hotels including a spell as a Hotel Manager working for Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries. She also spent ten years at the University of Warwick, firstly as Catering Manager and then as Head of Catering Services.
Kirsty is a former winner of a Caterer and Hotelkeeper Acorn Award and was named Cost Sector Caterer of the Year in 2001. She received her MBA from the University of Leicester in January 2017, having combined her studies with a very busy job.
