Keynote Speakers

Jo Keeler

Managing Director, Belbin Ltd

During her 23-year tenure at Belbin, Jo has been responsible for spearheading strategic and operational activities, inspiring international audiences to deploy the Team Role framework for sustainable business performance improvements.

Jo hosts the popular and thought-provoking Belbin webinar series, which draws in a large and engaged audience from across the globe.

The 'How' of Delivering Business Excellence

Deepak Deshpande

VP & Head Customer Experience, Tata Business Excellence Group (TBExG)

The Tata Business Excellence Model has been deployed across more than 850 Tata companies over 26 years. Discover the core values of the model, the 'how' of deployment and the role that Belbin plays in enabling this process.

Deepak heads the Customer Experience function at TBExG, working closely with 100 companies across different sectors. Certified to study and assess organisation culture by Positive Culture Academy, he has led Culture Deep Dives and Cultural Transformation for various Tata Companies.

Deepak is certified in CII-HR Excellence & Customer Obsession framework. He is a Professional Certified Coach and holds a diploma in Training and Development from the Ministry of HR in India. He is a Certified Quality Improvement Associate (ASQ) and a Certified Manager of Quality and Organisational Excellence (ASQ). Deepak is also certified in MBTI, EMT and Belbin Team Roles and is on the panel of IIT Powai as a Mentor coach for their students.

Unleashing the Power of Teams – Belbin and Experiential Learning

Talan Miller

Managing Director, Belbin Australia / Sabre Corporate Development

From role play to raft-building, Talan is the expert in embedding Belbin effectively through high-end experiential learning. His varied clientele includes corporations, government agencies, NGOs, SMEs, Defence and more, across Australasia and internationally.  

Talan will be sharing how Belbin Team Roles and experiential learning can be a transformative force in modern team development.

A Journey Towards Transformation - recognising the natural talent of leaders on five continents as mobilising agents in organisational transformation

Alejandro Cadena

Co-founder and CEO, Caravela Coffee

Alejandro Cadena left a high-profile career as a City of London and Wall Street investment banker to return to his roots in Colombia and revolutionise the coffee sector with his commitment to excellence and social responsibility. Under his leadership, Caravela Coffee has rapidly expanded its global footprint, becoming a leading force in the specialty coffee market.

For more than two decades, the company has steered a purpose-driven journey, aligning prosperity with responsibility in the coffee industry. Caravela proudly sources coffee from approximately 3,000 farmers, fostering sustainable livelihoods, and delivers exceptional products and solutions to over 500 roasters spanning 35 countries worldwide. Their approach prioritises people and the planet. In 2021, they became the first carbon-neutral, green coffee trading company.

This keynote will share the challenges and lessons learned from developing leaders’ natural talents, building a single team that ensures the projection of the business, customer experience, and sustainable relationships over time. Delegates will hear how Belbin served as a catalyst for their transformation.

From Rags to Riches: the part that Belbin Team Roles played in Legal & General achieving a Princess Royal Training Award (PRTA) - twice

Gary Shewan

Retail Learning & Development Business Partner, Legal & General

Gary is a highly skilled and motivated facilitator, coach, trainer and consultant with a wealth of experience in the world of Learning and Development.

He has a real passion for supporting people, teams and organisations to become the best that they can be.

In his keynote, Gary will share details of the journey taken by Legal & General (L&G) to achieve not one, but two Princess Royal Training Awards.

L&G introduced a talent development programme which has supported to their dual award success. It has boosted innovation and progression through promoting talent. It has led to 130 promotions from the 166 Graduates, including over 70 promotions into Leadership roles. Amongst other benefits, the business has realised significant savings in external recruitment fees. Gary will talk delegates through the significant role that Belbin Team Roles played in this achievement.

Not product but people - what's the key ingredient for a successful start-up?

Harry Thuillier

Co-founder at Oppo Brothers

Harry Thuillier is co-founder at Oppo Brothers, great taste award-winning dairy ice cream with 60% less calories and sugar than regular ice cream. Oppo can be found in 6,000 stores across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

The idea was born during Harry and brother Charlie's expedition in Brazil – travelling 1,000 km along the coast using kites. Running out of energy bars they turned to local super fruits. This sparked a love for using natural ingredients to make the most indulgent foods healthy, but also a realisation that they were good at different things and had complementary skills with which to start a business.

Harry is most interested in helping to create an environment where people in his team can achieve great things. In his keynote, he will share his experiences, and how he has come to believe that it’s not product, it’s people who are the most important element of any successful start-up.

Victoria Brown

Head of R&D, Belbin Ltd

Victoria commissions and oversees internal and external research projects and leads the analysis, refinement and innovation of the Belbin inventories and reports. In 2022, she edited the third edition of Meredith Belbin’s Team Roles at Work, authoring a new chapter on the subject of virtual and hybrid teams.

Victoria has authored a range of content across the business, including white papers on Belbin in different cultures, virtual and hybrid teams and more. Her thought leadership pieces have been published in HR Director, the International Association of Project Managers, the Staff Development Forum and the Charity Learning Consortium, and she has featured as a guest speaker on a number of HR webinars and podcasts.