This is the preliminary programme. Times, titles and speakers are subject to change.
Drinks and canapés with OiB and EUROUT alumni and special guests, opening the conference the evening before
Park Rooms, Sussex Place, LBS
Elliot Vaughn MBE
Prof. Richard Hytner, plus 4 speakers to be announced
Simon Blake OBE
Birgit Neu, Neil Griffiths, Ashley Dartnell, Dr. Aneeta RattanZS
Hannah Bardell, Matt Dabrowski
ProfessionalVibe Code Your Startup in 60 MinutesBarry T. Whyte, TheABCs.ai
ProfessionalFireside Chat: Funding 101Alberto Padilla, Out Investors
ProfessionalSpeak with Impact Using Your Presence, Voice and StoryBody Talk
ProfessionalPlan Your Next Career MovemyGwork ProfessionalSignals vs Noise: How to Navigate Your Future in a Changing WorldZS
DEIHow to Practise Allyship in Everyday MomentsDavid E. Hull-Watters, Independent Coach
DEIHow to Articulate the Value Case for DEIEmma Appleby, Open for Business
OtherWhy Your Nervous System Loves a Good RaveEmma Marshall, MIM HQ
OtherTake a Break with Guided MeditationFacilitator to be confirmed
OtherLessons from Queer HistoryQueer Britain
Saturday eveningThe black-tie EUROUT BallGrand Connaught RoomsFriday · Interview · 10.15 – 11.00
Our headline interview with Elliot Vaughn MBE, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG. Elliot shares his personal journey and two decades at BCG, why he founded GiveOut to fund LGBTQ+ activism around the world, and how business leaders can create LGBTQ+ social impact well beyond the workplace.
Elliot Vaughn MBECHRO & People Chair EMESA, MD & Senior Partner, BCGElliot Vaughn MBE is CHRO and People Chair of BCG’s EMESA region and a Managing Director and Senior Partner in London. He joined BCG in 2005 and focuses on health care and social impact. He is also global leader of Pride@BCG, the firm’s LGBTQ+ network. In 2017 he founded GiveOut, which funds LGBTQ+ activism around the world, and he chairs its board. He sits on the board of Outright International and has appeared several times on the OUTstanding list of leading LGBTQ+ executives. He was made an MBE in 2023.
Friday · Panel · 11.00 – 11.45
Creativity isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive advantage, so why do so many organizations stifle it? Moderated by Prof. Richard Hytner, former Worldwide Deputy Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi and LBS professor of Creativity in Business, our panelists share how they broke down the barriers and used creativity to drive real business impact.
Prof. Richard HytnerModerator, London Business SchoolRichard Hytner is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at London Business School. He teaches the Creativity in Business elective and on the Senior Executive Programme. Much of his career was spent leading creative businesses. He was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA and, for eight years, its Worldwide Deputy Chairman. In 2016 he founded beta baboon, which helps leaders solve tough business problems. He is also the author of Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows.
Friday · Keynote · 11.45 – 12.10
With 30 years of campaigning behind him, Simon Blake OBE now leads Stonewall, after running Brook, the NUS and Mental Health First Aid England. In his keynote, he shares what it takes to lead a movement.
Simon Blake OBECEO, StonewallSimon Blake OBE is Chief Executive of Stonewall, the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ rights charity. He joined in 2024 after six years leading Mental Health First Aid England. Before that, he ran the National Union of Students and Brook, the young people’s sexual health charity. His links with Stonewall go back two decades. He campaigned with it to repeal Section 28 and later served as Deputy Chair of its board. He was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to the voluntary sector and young people.
Friday · Panel · 13.15 – 14.00
Inclusion programmes were cut. Then the cuts backfired. As the rollbacks draw their own backlash and new momentum shows up in unexpected places, our panelists ask what comes next, who is still leading it, and what it means for the businesses of the future.
Birgit Neushe/herModerator, Independent Senior AdvisorBirgit Neu is an independent Senior Advisor on the crossroads of AI, inclusion and the future of work, supporting multinational organisations with strategy design and research. Previously, she was Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at HSBC, during which time she was named Head of Diversity of the Year at the European Diversity Awards. Birgit is a regular guest lecturer on inclusive AI for Warwick Business School and a frequent contributor to thought leadership and advisory groups for leading organisations worldwide including Open for Business, Coqual and the City of London. She is an advisor to NEXUS LGBTQ+, the network for corporate LGBTQ+ ERG leaders in London, and she is founder and co-chair of KNIT, the UK network for inclusion practitioners. As one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices and a regular speaker, panellist and facilitator, she has a wide international reach in her field.
Neil Griffithshe/himDiversity & Inclusion Director (Global & Europe), KearneyNeil is the Diversity & Inclusion Director at Kearney, shaping and implementing a comprehensive strategy in alignment with Kearney's values and business goals. Previously, Neil spent ten years leading Communications and Diversity & Inclusion at Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
Ashley Dartnellshe/herTrustee, Open for BusinessAshley Dartnell is an independent Executive Coach and Consultant and Trustee of Open For Business, a coalition of leading global companies advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion worldwide. Until September 2025, Ashley was the Senior Director and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she led the firm’s global DEI strategy across gender, LGBTQ+, AccessAbility, and ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic pillars. Before taking on the Global DEI leadership role, Ashley served as BCG’s Head of International Campus Recruiting between 2017 and 2021. Earlier in her career, Ashley worked as a Consultant in BCG’s New York office after earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA from Bryn Mawr College. She also worked for many years in the media industry and authored a memoir, Farangi Girl. Based in London, Ashley is passionate about inclusive leadership, global talent development, and the intersection of business and social impact.
Dr. Aneeta Rattanshe/herProfessor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business SchoolDr. Rattan is an expert on mindsets, diversity, and belonging in organizations. She focuses on solving three diversity challenges that nearly all organizations face. At London Business School, Dr. Rattan teaches about diversity, leadership, motivation, and organisational culture, and she launched the School’s first elective on diversity in organizations. After growing up in Florida, Dr. Rattan completed her undergraduate at Columbia University in New York and her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at Stanford University.
Friday · Fireside chat · 14.00 – 14.30
Most LGBTQ+ people start their careers without an LGBTQ+ role model. Yet 78% say being LGBTQ+ helped them build their networks. This fireside chat explores how networks, both formal and informal, shape career trajectories, and how intentional relationship-building can accelerate growth at every stage.
Friday · Panel · 14.45 – 15.30
You have the ERG. You have the diversity lead. So why do roughly 40% of LGBTQ+ employees in the UK still feel the need to hide who they are at work? Because inclusion isn’t built by one team. Our panelists show how to design it across every function, from recruiting and HR to everyday managers, sales and finance.
Friday · Interview · 15.30 – 15.45
LGBTQ+-owned businesses contribute £106 billion to the UK economy. Our panelist discuss opportunities to bring together queer leaders with corporates, government and non-profits. They’ll talk about what LGBTQ+ founders and consumers bring to the economy and society.
Hannah BardellFormer MPHannah Bardell was the SNP Member of Parliament for Livingston from 2015 to 2024. At Westminster, she was the party’s spokesperson on business, innovation and enterprise, and later on digital, culture, media and sport. Before politics, she worked in broadcasting at STV and GMTV, at the US Consulate in Edinburgh and in communications in the oil and gas industry. She now runs her own public affairs consultancy, HKB Consulting. She has been an outspoken voice for LGBTQ+ equality in Parliament and beyond.
Matt DabrowskiFounder and CEO, OutBritainMatt Dabrowski is Founder and CEO of OutBritain, the UK’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. OutBritain certifies LGBTQ+-owned businesses and connects them with corporates, government and international trade partners. Matt moved to the UK from Connecticut in 2019, where he led the Connecticut LGBT Chamber of Commerce. He co-founded OutScotland in 2020, and OutBritain followed soon after. In 2024, OutBritain was named Global Chamber of the Year by the US National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
Saturday · Professional
Come with a startup idea and leave with a working digital product. In this hands-on session, you will use Lovable to vibe code an app with no prior coding experience needed. We'll tackle the part most people skip: the gap between a slick preview and a digital product that real customers can use. We will cover deployment, connecting to databases/APIs and using GitHub so your product can exist beyond the prototype. Expect less theory and more building. By the end of the hour, you will have a live prototype of the business you came in to build.
Barry T. Whytehe/himWorkshop lead, TheABCs.aiBarry works at the intersection of AI and Education, helping businesses turn AI spend into measurable value. He is founder of TheABCs.ai, a training and consulting practice based in London. Previously, Barry was previously Head of AI Transformation at Multiverse, the UK's biggest EdTech. He has held tenures at the Financial Times, Bain & Company, Decoded and Ogilvy. Barry is also co-founder of Series Q, a non-profit with a mission to empower LGBT entrepreneurs. He is a regular speaker at conferences including Cannes Lions and SXSW, and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Saturday · Professional
Whether you’re starting a business or scaling one, you’ll need capital, and understanding how investors decide where to put it is half the challenge. Funding 101 offers a view from the investor side of the table. Our panel of venture capital and private equity professionals will explain how they approach funding decisions, what they look for in a business, and when each route to capital makes sense. You’ll leave with a clearer picture of how to fund your business, whatever stage it’s at.
Alberto Padilla-Riverahe/himModerator, Out InvestorsAlberto is a Senior Vice President at Insight Partners, a global Venture Capital and Private Equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies. Formerly a Consultant at Bain & Company, where he co-led Bain's BGLAD Network, responsible for recruiting and retaining LGBT+ talent. Alberto is an LBS MBA 2017 alumni. He is also widely involved with the LGBT+ community, being a founding board member of Out Investors, a global network of LGBT+ investment professionals, and founding member at Series Q, empowering LGBT+ entrepreneurs.
Til KleinFounding Partner, identity.vcTil Klein is Founding Partner of identity.vc, Europe’s first venture capital fund dedicated to LGBTQ+ founders. The fund backs pre-seed and seed startups with at least one LGBTQ+ co-founder, from offices in Berlin and London. Til also invests in FinTech startups as a business angel. Before becoming an investor, he founded his own FinTech, worked in banking at UBS and was a Partner at BCG. He is based in Zurich.
Michael McGrawPrincipal, Inovia CapitalMichael McGraw is a Principal in the Growth Equity team at Inovia Capital, based in London. Inovia is a venture capital firm that backs software companies across North America and Europe. Michael focuses on high-growth technology businesses, including in AI and cybersecurity. Before Inovia, he invested in venture funds as a limited partner at CDPQ, one of the world’s largest pension funds. He studied at McGill University and is part of the Out Investors network.
Saturday · Professional
Whether it’s a pitch, a panel or the moment the room goes quiet and it’s your turn, how you show up shapes how your message lands. In this practical, high-energy workshop, Body Talk shows you how to speak with confidence and impact. Learn the science-backed essentials of body language, voice and storytelling, try them out in the room, and leave with techniques you can use in your very next presentation.
Body TalkWorkshop lead to be announcedBody Talk is a London-based communication and presentation skills consultancy. Over 25 years, its trainers, with backgrounds in broadcasting, theatre and journalism, have taught more than 150,000 people in 46 countries, for clients including BCG, PwC, IBM and London Business School.
Saturday · Professional
Dream job, career switch or just "what's next?" Whatever your answer, this session helps you get there. Join myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community, for a practical and refreshingly fun take on career planning: figuring out what you want, spotting the opportunities that fit, and building the connections that open doors. Come curious, leave with a plan, and maybe even a few new people in your corner.
myGworkWorkshop lead to be announcedFounded in 2013, myGwork is the LGBTQ+ business community, connecting over a million professionals, students and allies each month with 450+ inclusive employers through jobs, mentoring and events.
Saturday · Professional
Geopolitics, AI, shifting markets: the world is changing faster than any five-year plan can keep up with. So how do you work out what actually matters without getting overwhelmed? ZS introduces a simple lens, signals versus noise, and uses it to explore the technological and geopolitical shifts reshaping work and life. Then you’ll turn it on yourself: what these changes could mean for you, what matters most to you, and how you want to navigate what comes next.
ZSWorkshop lead to be announcedSaturday · DEI
Good intentions matter. What we do with them matters more. What do you say when a comment doesn't sit right, someone is left out or a microaggression happens in the room? Award-winning inclusion trainer David E. Hull-Watters leads a practical, highly interactive session on everyday allyship in meetings, client conversations, networking and leadership. No expertise needed, and no need to get it all right. Come ready to talk, practise and challenge a few assumptions.
David E. Hull-Wattershe/himWorkshop lead, Independent CoachDavid E. Hull-Watters is an award-winning People & Culture Partner, inclusion trainer and speaker with more than 25 years' experience helping leaders and organisations build cultures where people feel safe to be themselves. A former special educational needs and trauma-informed educator, he specialises in inclusive leadership, psychological safety, neurodiversity, disability and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. His awards include Best Inclusivity Trainer (UK) 2024 and a National Diversity Award. He campaigned for marriage equality with Equal Love UK, taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights, and is the author of the forthcoming Never Blend In.
Saturday · DEI
Budgets are tight, scrutiny is high and “it’s the right thing to do” is no longer enough to keep DEI on the leadership agenda. So how do you make the case in the language leaders listen to? Emma Appleby of Open for Business, the coalition of global companies making the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion, leads a practical, interactive session on building a value case for DEI: linking it to business outcomes, using evidence that lands and handling the tough questions. Leave ready to make your case in the next meeting that matters.
Emma ApplebyWorkshop lead, Open for BusinessEmma Appleby is Head of Programme Delivery at Open for Business, the coalition of global companies using the economic case to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion worldwide. She has helped build the organisation’s programmes in Southeast and East Asia and launch more than a dozen economic case reports, most recently on the Philippines and Japan. Before joining Open for Business, she worked at Deloitte. Emma was a finalist for Future Leader of the Year at the DIVA Awards 2025 and returns to EUROUT after leading a workshop on the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion at the 2025 conference.
Saturday · Other
Ever left a rave feeling lighter, calmer and more connected? That's your nervous system regulating, and science can now measure it. Emma Marshall, founder of MIM HQ, shares research from biometric studies run live on the Drumsheds dancefloor with LSE's Professor Paul Dolan, showing how rhythm switches off "fight or flight" and boosts focus and mood. Then you'll experience it yourself: a guided session of tapping, clapping and stomping as the tempo builds. No dance moves needed, if you can clap, you're in.
Emma MarshallWorkshop lead, MIM HQEmma Marshall is the founder of MIM HQ (Movement is Medicine®), a platform for education, research and music that explores how electronic music, rhythm and movement affect the brain, body and behaviour. After more than a decade in the music industry, a serious illness led Emma to study rhythm-based healing traditions around the world, and she built a method that regulates the nervous system through music. MIM now trains CPD-accredited instructors, runs wellbeing programmes for companies, and conducts research with LSE's Professor Paul Dolan, including biometric studies at London's Drumsheds. Her sessions turn the science into something you feel in real time.
Saturday · Other
Two days of panels, networking and big ideas, and the Ball still to come. Time to press pause. Join us for a guided meditation designed to quiet the noise, reset your energy and help you feel more present. No experience needed, no awkward poses, no judgement. Just find a seat, breathe and give your mind a well-earned break.
BupaWorkshop lead to be announcedSaturday · Other
From the page to the screen, LGBTQ+ artists have long told the stories the mainstream wasn’t ready to hear, and in doing so changed how Britain sees itself. In this session, Queer Britain takes you on a journey through queer art, film, TV and literature: the works that broke taboos, the people who made them and the collections that keep their stories alive. Expect hidden histories, a few surprises and a fresh look at the culture we all grew up with.
Queer BritainWorkshop lead to be announcedQueer Britain is the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum. Founded as a charity in 2018 and opened in 2022 at Granary Square in King’s Cross, London, it exists to reclaim, preserve and celebrate British LGBTQ+ history and culture. Its free galleries and exhibitions tell the stories of queer protest, creativity, nightlife and community, and its debut exhibition, We Are Queer Britain, was named Best Small Museum Project 2022 by the Museums Association.
Programme
This is the preliminary programme. Times, titles and speakers are subject to change.
Drinks and canapés with OiB and EUROUT alumni and special guests, opening the conference the evening before
Park Rooms, Sussex Place, LBS
Our headline interview with Elliot Vaughn MBE, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG. Elliot shares his personal journey and two decades at BCG, why he founded GiveOut to fund LGBTQ+ activism around the world, and how business leaders can create LGBTQ+ social impact well beyond the workplace.
Elliot Vaughn MBE is CHRO and People Chair of BCG’s EMESA region and a Managing Director and Senior Partner in London. He joined BCG in 2005 and focuses on health care and social impact. He is also global leader of Pride@BCG, the firm’s LGBTQ+ network. In 2017 he founded GiveOut, which funds LGBTQ+ activism around the world, and he chairs its board. He sits on the board of Outright International and has appeared several times on the OUTstanding list of leading LGBTQ+ executives. He was made an MBE in 2023.
Creativity isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a competitive advantage, so why do so many organizations stifle it? Moderated by Prof. Richard Hytner, former Worldwide Deputy Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi and LBS professor of Creativity in Business, our panelists share how they broke down the barriers and used creativity to drive real business impact.
Richard Hytner is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at London Business School. He teaches the Creativity in Business elective and on the Senior Executive Programme. Much of his career was spent leading creative businesses. He was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA and, for eight years, its Worldwide Deputy Chairman. In 2016 he founded beta baboon, which helps leaders solve tough business problems. He is also the author of Consiglieri: Leading from the Shadows.
With 30 years of campaigning behind him, Simon Blake OBE now leads Stonewall, after running Brook, the NUS and Mental Health First Aid England. In his keynote, he shares what it takes to lead a movement.
Simon Blake OBE is Chief Executive of Stonewall, the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ rights charity. He joined in 2024 after six years leading Mental Health First Aid England. Before that, he ran the National Union of Students and Brook, the young people’s sexual health charity. His links with Stonewall go back two decades. He campaigned with it to repeal Section 28 and later served as Deputy Chair of its board. He was awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to the voluntary sector and young people.
Inclusion programmes were cut. Then the cuts backfired. As the rollbacks draw their own backlash and new momentum shows up in unexpected places, our panelists ask what comes next, who is still leading it, and what it means for the businesses of the future.
Birgit Neu is an independent Senior Advisor on the crossroads of AI, inclusion and the future of work, supporting multinational organisations with strategy design and research. Previously, she was Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at HSBC, during which time she was named Head of Diversity of the Year at the European Diversity Awards. Birgit is a regular guest lecturer on inclusive AI for Warwick Business School and a frequent contributor to thought leadership and advisory groups for leading organisations worldwide including Open for Business, Coqual and the City of London. She is an advisor to NEXUS LGBTQ+, the network for corporate LGBTQ+ ERG leaders in London, and she is founder and co-chair of KNIT, the UK network for inclusion practitioners. As one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices and a regular speaker, panellist and facilitator, she has a wide international reach in her field.
Neil is the Diversity & Inclusion Director at Kearney, shaping and implementing a comprehensive strategy in alignment with Kearney's values and business goals. Previously, Neil spent ten years leading Communications and Diversity & Inclusion at Environmental Resources Management (ERM).
Ashley Dartnell is an independent Executive Coach and Consultant and Trustee of Open For Business, a coalition of leading global companies advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion worldwide. Until September 2025, Ashley was the Senior Director and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she led the firm’s global DEI strategy across gender, LGBTQ+, AccessAbility, and ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic pillars.
Before taking on the Global DEI leadership role, Ashley served as BCG’s Head of International Campus Recruiting between 2017 and 2021.
Earlier in her career, Ashley worked as a Consultant in BCG’s New York office after earning her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA from Bryn Mawr College. She also worked for many years in the media industry and authored a memoir, Farangi Girl.
Based in London, Ashley is passionate about inclusive leadership, global talent development, and the intersection of business and social impact.
Dr. Rattan is an expert on mindsets, diversity, and belonging in organizations. She focuses on solving three diversity challenges that nearly all organizations face. At London Business School, Dr. Rattan teaches about diversity, leadership, motivation, and organisational culture, and she launched the School’s first elective on diversity in organizations. After growing up in Florida, Dr. Rattan completed her undergraduate at Columbia University in New York and her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work at Stanford University.
Most LGBTQ+ people start their careers without an LGBTQ+ role model. Yet 78% say being LGBTQ+ helped them build their networks. This fireside chat explores how networks, both formal and informal, shape career trajectories, and how intentional relationship-building can accelerate growth at every stage.
You have the ERG. You have the diversity lead. So why do roughly 40% of LGBTQ+ employees in the UK still feel the need to hide who they are at work? Because inclusion isn’t built by one team. Our panelists show how to design it across every function, from recruiting and HR to everyday managers, sales and finance.
LGBTQ+-owned businesses contribute £106 billion to the UK economy. Our panelist discuss opportunities to bring together queer leaders with corporates, government and non-profits. They’ll talk about what LGBTQ+ founders and consumers bring to the economy and society.
Hannah Bardell was the SNP Member of Parliament for Livingston from 2015 to 2024. At Westminster, she was the party’s spokesperson on business, innovation and enterprise, and later on digital, culture, media and sport. Before politics, she worked in broadcasting at STV and GMTV, at the US Consulate in Edinburgh and in communications in the oil and gas industry. She now runs her own public affairs consultancy, HKB Consulting. She has been an outspoken voice for LGBTQ+ equality in Parliament and beyond.
Matt Dabrowski is Founder and CEO of OutBritain, the UK’s LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. OutBritain certifies LGBTQ+-owned businesses and connects them with corporates, government and international trade partners. Matt moved to the UK from Connecticut in 2019, where he led the Connecticut LGBT Chamber of Commerce. He co-founded OutScotland in 2020, and OutBritain followed soon after. In 2024, OutBritain was named Global Chamber of the Year by the US National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
Come with a startup idea and leave with a working digital product. In this hands-on session, you will use Lovable to vibe code an app with no prior coding experience needed. We'll tackle the part most people skip: the gap between a slick preview and a digital product that real customers can use. We will cover deployment, connecting to databases/APIs and using GitHub so your product can exist beyond the prototype. Expect less theory and more building. By the end of the hour, you will have a live prototype of the business you came in to build.
Laptops and pre-registration will be required.
Barry works at the intersection of AI and Education, helping businesses turn AI spend into measurable value. He is founder of TheABCs.ai, a training and consulting practice based in London. Previously, Barry was previously Head of AI Transformation at Multiverse, the UK's biggest EdTech. He has held tenures at the Financial Times, Bain & Company, Decoded and Ogilvy. Barry is also co-founder of Series Q, a non-profit with a mission to empower LGBT entrepreneurs. He is a regular speaker at conferences including Cannes Lions and SXSW, and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Whether you’re starting a business or scaling one, you’ll need capital, and understanding how investors decide where to put it is half the challenge. Funding 101 offers a view from the investor side of the table. Our panel of venture capital and private equity professionals will explain how they approach funding decisions, what they look for in a business, and when each route to capital makes sense. You’ll leave with a clearer picture of how to fund your business, whatever stage it’s at.
Alberto is a Senior Vice President at Insight Partners, a global Venture Capital and Private Equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software companies. Formerly a Consultant at Bain & Company, where he co-led Bain's BGLAD Network, responsible for recruiting and retaining LGBT+ talent. Alberto is an LBS MBA 2017 alumni. He is also widely involved with the LGBT+ community, being a founding board member of Out Investors, a global network of LGBT+ investment professionals, and founding member at Series Q, empowering LGBT+ entrepreneurs.
Til Klein is Founding Partner of identity.vc, Europe’s first venture capital fund dedicated to LGBTQ+ founders. The fund backs pre-seed and seed startups with at least one LGBTQ+ co-founder, from offices in Berlin and London. Til also invests in FinTech startups as a business angel. Before becoming an investor, he founded his own FinTech, worked in banking at UBS and was a Partner at BCG. He is based in Zurich.
Michael McGraw is a Principal in the Growth Equity team at Inovia Capital, based in London. Inovia is a venture capital firm that backs software companies across North America and Europe. Michael focuses on high-growth technology businesses, including in AI and cybersecurity. Before Inovia, he invested in venture funds as a limited partner at CDPQ, one of the world’s largest pension funds. He studied at McGill University and is part of the Out Investors network.
Whether it’s a pitch, a panel or the moment the room goes quiet and it’s your turn, how you show up shapes how your message lands. In this practical, high-energy workshop, Body Talk shows you how to speak with confidence and impact. Learn the science-backed essentials of body language, voice and storytelling, try them out in the room, and leave with techniques you can use in your very next presentation.
Body Talk is a London-based communication and presentation skills consultancy. Over 25 years, its trainers, with backgrounds in broadcasting, theatre and journalism, have taught more than 150,000 people in 46 countries, for clients including BCG, PwC, IBM and London Business School.
Dream job, career switch or just "what's next?" Whatever your answer, this session helps you get there. Join myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community, for a practical and refreshingly fun take on career planning: figuring out what you want, spotting the opportunities that fit, and building the connections that open doors. Come curious, leave with a plan, and maybe even a few new people in your corner.
Founded in 2013, myGwork is the LGBTQ+ business community, connecting over a million professionals, students and allies each month with 450+ inclusive employers through jobs, mentoring and events.
Geopolitics, AI, shifting markets: the world is changing faster than any five-year plan can keep up with. So how do you work out what actually matters without getting overwhelmed? ZS introduces a simple lens, signals versus noise, and uses it to explore the technological and geopolitical shifts reshaping work and life. Then you’ll turn it on yourself: what these changes could mean for you, what matters most to you, and how you want to navigate what comes next.
Good intentions matter. What we do with them matters more. What do you say when a comment doesn't sit right, someone is left out or a microaggression happens in the room? Award-winning inclusion trainer David E. Hull-Watters leads a practical, highly interactive session on everyday allyship in meetings, client conversations, networking and leadership. No expertise needed, and no need to get it all right. Come ready to talk, practise and challenge a few assumptions.
David E. Hull-Watters is an award-winning People & Culture Partner, inclusion trainer and speaker with more than 25 years' experience helping leaders and organisations build cultures where people feel safe to be themselves. A former special educational needs and trauma-informed educator, he specialises in inclusive leadership, psychological safety, neurodiversity, disability and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. His awards include Best Inclusivity Trainer (UK) 2024 and a National Diversity Award. He campaigned for marriage equality with Equal Love UK, taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights, and is the author of the forthcoming Never Blend In.
Budgets are tight, scrutiny is high and “it’s the right thing to do” is no longer enough to keep DEI on the leadership agenda. So how do you make the case in the language leaders listen to? Emma Appleby of Open for Business, the coalition of global companies making the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion, leads a practical, interactive session on building a value case for DEI: linking it to business outcomes, using evidence that lands and handling the tough questions. Leave ready to make your case in the next meeting that matters.
Emma Appleby is Head of Programme Delivery at Open for Business, the coalition of global companies using the economic case to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion worldwide. She has helped build the organisation’s programmes in Southeast and East Asia and launch more than a dozen economic case reports, most recently on the Philippines and Japan. Before joining Open for Business, she worked at Deloitte. Emma was a finalist for Future Leader of the Year at the DIVA Awards 2025 and returns to EUROUT after leading a workshop on the economic case for LGBTQ+ inclusion at the 2025 conference.
Ever left a rave feeling lighter, calmer and more connected? That's your nervous system regulating, and science can now measure it. Emma Marshall, founder of MIM HQ, shares research from biometric studies run live on the Drumsheds dancefloor with LSE's Professor Paul Dolan, showing how rhythm switches off "fight or flight" and boosts focus and mood. Then you'll experience it yourself: a guided session of tapping, clapping and stomping as the tempo builds. No dance moves needed, if you can clap, you're in.
Emma Marshall is the founder of MIM HQ (Movement is Medicine®), a platform for education, research and music that explores how electronic music, rhythm and movement affect the brain, body and behaviour. After more than a decade in the music industry, a serious illness led Emma to study rhythm-based healing traditions around the world, and she built a method that regulates the nervous system through music. MIM now trains CPD-accredited instructors, runs wellbeing programmes for companies, and conducts research with LSE's Professor Paul Dolan, including biometric studies at London's Drumsheds. Her sessions turn the science into something you feel in real time.
Two days of panels, networking and big ideas, and the Ball still to come. Time to press pause. Join us for a guided meditation designed to quiet the noise, reset your energy and help you feel more present. No experience needed, no awkward poses, no judgement. Just find a seat, breathe and give your mind a well-earned break.
From the page to the screen, LGBTQ+ artists have long told the stories the mainstream wasn’t ready to hear, and in doing so changed how Britain sees itself. In this session, Queer Britain takes you on a journey through queer art, film, TV and literature: the works that broke taboos, the people who made them and the collections that keep their stories alive. Expect hidden histories, a few surprises and a fresh look at the culture we all grew up with.
Queer Britain is the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum. Founded as a charity in 2018 and opened in 2022 at Granary Square in King’s Cross, London, it exists to reclaim, preserve and celebrate British LGBTQ+ history and culture. Its free galleries and exhibitions tell the stories of queer protest, creativity, nightlife and community, and its debut exhibition, We Are Queer Britain, was named Best Small Museum Project 2022 by the Museums Association.