Keynote Speakers and Industry Experts

Paul Richmond is a leading expert in performance improvement and organizational culture change with over 27 years of experience transforming professional service firms and their clients. As Managing Director of theGrogroup Ltd., Paul has dedicated his career to helping organisations and individuals evolve and improve, ensuring they are always better tomorrow than today.

Starting with a BSc in Applied Science and qualifying with KPMG, Paul has continuously expanded his expertise through coaching and NLP studies, while gaining invaluable knowledge through three decades of studying people and organisations. His approach combines formal qualifications with practical, real-world insights that don’t always reflect traditional learning paths.

Paul’s mission centres on aligning people with strategy, developing leadership and business development capabilities, and embedding new expectations, behaviours, mindsets, and habits within organizations. Through theGrogroup Ltd., he delivers comprehensive consulting, facilitation, and coaching solutions that address key challenges and barriers, with a commitment to measuring impact and outcomes to ensure effectiveness.

Known for his belief that learning is a daily journey, Paul brings both extensive experience and fresh perspectives to every engagement, helping clients overcome pain points while building sustainable performance improvements that drive lasting organisational change.

Callum Macrae is a dynamic Marketing Director at JE Consulting, a full-service marketing agency, where he leverages over 15 years of experience driving growth through strategic marketing initiatives. With a unique combination of creativity, leadership, and hands-on expertise, Callum consistently delivers meaningful results that align with business objectives.

His valuable vendor-side experience provides him with deep insights into what vendors need from their agency partnerships, allowing him to bridge the gap between client needs and service delivery. This perspective enables him to create more effective, collaborative relationships that benefit all stakeholders.

Callum leads with a customer-first mindset, specializing in crafting multi-channel marketing strategies that generate demand, build brand awareness, and drive revenue. His expertise spans digital marketing, account-based marketing (ABM), and high-impact events, giving him the versatility to design campaigns that resonate with specific personas and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Recognised as a Rising Star of the Year finalist at the prestigious MarketingWeek Awards, Callum regularly shares his expertise at industry events. He speaks on the latest marketing trends, innovation, and proven strategies that work in today’s competitive landscape, positioning him as a thought leader who stays ahead of industry developments while delivering practical insights to marketing professionals.

Alan Vallance is a highly experienced CEO and private equity Non-Executive Director (NED) renowned for setting commercial business and operational change strategies that deliver vastly improved financial, service delivery, and governance outcomes. With a distinguished career spanning multiple industries and sectors, Alan brings a unique combination of strategic vision and operational excellence to every organization he serves.

Alan’s career began in ‘Big 4’ accounting and corporate finance, where he qualified as a chartered accountant (now FCA). His extensive experience has subsequently encompassed retail, logistics, government agencies, and most recently, leading world-renowned professional membership organisations, demonstrating his versatility and adaptability across diverse business environments.

Alan’s key strengths include combining C-Level strategy-setting skills with hands-on business and operational leadership experience to deliver sustainable long-term change aligned to organisational targets. He excels at enabling the creation and implementation of technology-focused innovations that significantly strengthen performance and efficiency, while assembling and leading strong executive teams through his collaborative leadership style that encourages open debate and challenge.

Leveraging extensive international experience, Alan has built trusted relationships at Board and national government/ministerial levels, making him uniquely positioned to navigate complex stakeholder environments.

Derek Southall is the Founder and CEO of Hyperscale Group Limited and is widely recognised as a high-profile, well-connected figure in legal technology, innovation, knowledge management, and digital marketplaces. Recently described as the “Doyen of legal IT and Innovation,” Derek brings nearly 25 years of experience in leading strategic roles within the legal industry.

For most of his career, Derek served as a Partner and Head of Strategic Development at a top 50 global law firm, later transitioning to Head of Digital and Innovation. During his tenure, he oversaw remarkable growth, helping drive the firm’s turnover from £27 million to over £425 million, while simultaneously driving and supporting numerous mergers and international expansion that established 18 offices across 10 countries.

Derek’s innovative contributions have earned significant recognition, including being ranked by the Financial Times as one of the top three most innovative lawyers in the UK. Under his leadership, the firm’s technology team was ranked by the FT as the most innovative in Europe, and the firm itself achieved the FT’s second most innovative firm ranking in Europe.

Derek chairs and co-founded the Legal IT Innovators Group, which includes approximately 75 of the top 100 law firms as members and drives technological thinking and change for the legal profession’s benefit.

At client request, Derek established Hyperscale Group, an advisory and implementation business that helps clients develop strategies and overcome challenges related to technology, digital transformation, knowledge management, and innovation. The firm serves a diverse range of clients, including large global businesses, legal and compliance departments, professional services firms, private equity houses, litigation funders, and start-ups across multiple global jurisdictions.

Derek also serves on the advisory boards of several start-ups and acts as an investor.

Lorraine Twist is an experienced recruitment professional with strong specialist expertise in leading large national teams across the UK and Ireland. She is an expert in qualified and senior finance recruitment, with extensive experience leading and managing teams across all sectors, including executive recruitment for CFOs, Heads of Tax, Internal Audit, and Partners.

Lorraine specialises in professional services accounting firms, focusing on fee-earning positions in Audit, Accounts, Advisory, and Tax, as well as Internal Audit, Risk & Compliance, Tax, and Treasury across all sectors. Her expertise extends beyond finance to include business areas such as projects and change, sales, marketing, and legal.

Throughout her career, Lorraine has grown and developed both businesses and individuals, with a people-focused approach that emphasises inclusive leadership as the foundation for success. She enjoys being customer-facing, adding value to clients and candidates while building long-term, meaningful business relationships and consistently finding solutions.

While primarily focused on recruitment, Lorraine has also undertaken advisory projects for clients, including transformation of recruitment processes and creation of proactive candidate strategies. She believes in the science of recruitment, presenting meaningful data and market insights to help inform and advise recruitment decisions.

Lorraine has developed significant media experience over time, regularly presenting at conferences and webinars in her areas of expertise. She uses her insights and knowledge to expand her network and build further business relationships, positioning herself as a thought leader in the recruitment industry.

Ian Saxelby is responsible for new business production and client servicing across Lockton’s Professional & Executive Risks division. He specialises in Professional Indemnity Insurance, focusing on complex placements that include Accountants with tax mitigation or financial services exposure, Solicitors, Financial Planners, and Commercial Insurance Brokers. Ian brings expertise in navigating the intricate requirements of these specialised risk areas, ensuring comprehensive coverage solutions for his clients’ unique professional exposures.

Kerrie Machin is an experienced Head of Business Development with a demonstrated history of working in the compliance and legal services sector. He is skilled in negotiation, sales, business development, sales coaching, customer retention, and sales management. Kerrie brings expertise in building strategic relationships and driving growth within the compliance and legal services industry, combining strong leadership capabilities with hands-on business development skills to deliver sustainable results.

Emily Ellison is Technical Services Director at Mercia Group, bringing a strong background in Tax and Auditing to her role. She is both a Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Accountant, having trained at KPMG, which provides her with deep technical expertise and industry credibility.

Mercia Group is one of the UK’s largest providers of training and support services to the accountancy profession. With over 30 years of experience, the company has built an enviable reputation for providing the highest standard of practical professional training, along with a comprehensive range of support products and services for independent practices. The organisation is renowned for offering exceptional service and excellent value for money, positioning Emily to lead technical service delivery for one of the industry’s most respected training providers.

Gavin Jones has a proven track record of helping SME companies achieve accelerated growth in both sales and profit. With his team of associates, he specialises in deeply understanding businesses to identify paths to operational excellence, new market opportunities, and robust business plans that support considered exit strategies, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on daily operations.

Gavin consistently helps Owner-Operators and Board of Directors develop their businesses through accelerated growth, with particular focus on increasing corporate standardisation, optimising process flow, and enhancing brand presence to help businesses break into new revenue streams. He also supports larger organisations with employee engagement strategies, helping them get the best performance from their teams. Gavin remains committed to enabling business leaders to concentrate on their core responsibilities while he addresses strategic growth initiatives.