Angela heads up the award-winning communications and public affairs directorate at the Information Commissioner’s Office – the UK’s data protection regulator. Her teams help people understand their privacy and freedom of information rights. But more than that, they use comms to help people to care: to take steps to protect their information, and to see why their rights – and the ICO’s work protecting them – are so important. She specialises in using integrated communications that bring together engaging storytelling, creative content and partnerships to connect organisations’ work with different audiences and deliver social change.  

She co-chairs the UK Regulators communications network, is part of the Women in PR committee and on the board of the Asian Communications Network.

She spent nine years in government communication, working on international and business issues including the Ebola crisis, Syria conflict and launching shared parental leave. She began her career as a journalist, working at the Guardian, before cutting her teeth in comms at one of the UK's biggest charities, Cancer Research UK.

Max Kellar started his career with Ocado where, as part of a grad scheme, he worked in Digital Marketing and loved it immediately. From there, he moved into the world of football, working for Arsenal and then Chelsea. Following that, he moved to Ticketmaster, effectively working 'agency-side' for their sports clients. Since 2022, he has been in hospitality, previously in the world of bars, running the digital marketing for Nightcap, and now as Head of Digital for Clermont Hotel Group, where he has been since late 2023. They are undergoing an exciting digital transformation journey as a business, revamping their guest journey and their digital estate as a whole.

Sam Knowles founded data storytelling consultancy Insight Agents in 2013 to empower all sorts of organisations to make smarter use of data. He is the author of the ‘Using Data Better’ trilogy of books published by Routledge, comprising: 2023’s critically-acclaimed Asking Smarter Questions, 2020’s best-seller, How To Be Insightful, and 2018’s award-winning Narrative by Numbers. His popular training courses based on the IP in these books is delivered both in person and in the online training course, Using Data Smarter. Sam is the host of “Data Malarkey – the podcast about using data, smarter – and is a Fellow of the Market Research Society, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Professional Speaking Association.

In his current role, Nick is responsible for driving transformational change in the customer experience delivered by the Audi, Skoda, SEAT, CUPRA, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles businesses and franchised retail networks in the UK. He leads the teams managing customer data, contact centre operations, CRM tech-stack, customer insight and analytics, and is business sponsor for strategic IT portfolios covering the sales and customer systems landscapes.

Nick has over 25 years’ experience in senior marketing and commercial roles in the automotive and telco sectors, including UK and global roles as Marketing Director, along with leadership of media and digital marketing services businesses.

Nick thrives in the intersection of data, customers and transformation. His degree in Molecular Biology may go some way to explain his enthusiasm for evidence-based marketing science and behavioural economics. He was an early adopter of econometrics for media mix modelling whilst also fostering the development of leading creative work; a synthesis recognised by the Grand Prix at the 2018 IPA Advertising Effectiveness awards.

Natalia runs Natalka Design - outcomes driven strategic communications business, working with corporate, agencies and governments to deliver high stakes engagements including Google, UK Gov and Big 4. The team is on a mission to use tactically visual communication to inspire change and progress.

Their gift is in visualising the invisible. She’s a critical thinker and innovative storyteller.

Stephen Waddington is a professional advisor at Wadds Inc. and PhD researcher at Leeds Business School who supports agencies and in-house teams on a range of management, corporate communications and public relations issues.

His agency career includes leadership roles at Metia, Ketchum, Rainier PR and Speed. He has worked for clients including The Economist, HM Government, Intel, Microsoft, The Press Association, NHS, Tesco and Virgin Media Business.

Stephen co-founded Socially Mobile, a social enterprise that supports public relations practitioners in increasing their earning potential. It delivers management training to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and underrepresented and underserved groups.

He has written and edited ten books, including Brand Anarchy, Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication and Share This, and served as president of the CIPR.