Furat Ashraf is a Partner within Bird & Bird’s London employment team. While she is based in London, Furat has an international focus, with extensive experience of supporting US multinationals with their employment law needs across EMEA and APAC. She leads the Tech & Comms group within the employment team and acts for some of the Firm’s biggest tech clients.

Most recently, she has supported a number of these tech clients on cross-border reductions in force, offshoring and other complex multi-jurisdictional change management exercises such as a transition to, or away from, remote working. She has also advised extensively on global policy and contract reviews, together with other compliance-related exercises for companies with employees in multiple countries.

In addition to the above, Furat also supports clients on the TUPE aspects of outsourcings and business transfers and advises on the full spectrum of day to day employment law issues including unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages, whistleblowing and discrimination cases, as well as commission disputes.

Advising a broad range of tech clients, Furat has deep sector expertise and has spoken publicly on a number of key topics including employee activism, the legal challenges of implementing a global D&I strategy, managing your workforce in a time of economic uncertainty and the intersection between generative AI and employment law issues.

Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is an international authority in people analytics, talent management, leadership development, and the Human-AI interface. He is the Chief Innovation Officer at Manpower Group, co-founder of Deeper Signals and Metaprofiling, and Professor of Business Psychology at both University College London, and Columbia University. He has previously held academic positions at New York University and the London School of Economics, and lectured at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School, Johns Hopkins, IMD, and INSEAD, as well as being the CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems. Dr. Tomas has published 10 books and over 200 scientific papers, making him one of the most prolific social scientists of his generation. He is a frequent contributor to Fast Company, The Guardian, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. 

Rahaf Harfoush is a Strategist, Digital Anthropologist, and New York Times Best-Selling Author who focuses on the intersections between emerging technology, innovation, and digital culture.

She is the Executive Director of the Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture and teaches “Innovation & Emerging Business Models” at Sciences Politique’s school of Management and Innovation in Paris. She is currently working on her fourth book.

Rahaf is a member of France’s National Digital Council. In 2021 she joined The Oxford Internet Institute as a Visiting Policy Fellow.

Her third book, entitled Hustle & Float: Reclaim Your Creativity and Thrive in a World Obsessed with Work, was released in 2019. She has been featured by Bloomberg, The CBC, CTV, and Forbes for her work on workplace culture. It has been translated into Chinese and French.

Formerly, Rahaf was the Associate Director of the Technology Pioneer Program at the World Economic Forum in Geneva where she helped identify disruptive-startups that were improving the state of the world.

Rahaf is the co-author of The Decoded Company: Know Your Talent Better Than You Know your Customers, published in early 2014 and listed on both the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists. It won a 2015 Gold Axiom Award for Best Business Technology Book. The Decoded Company explores how big data is providing an unprecedented opportunity for organisations to dramatically improve their decision making, increase their performance and, most importantly, intentionally create happy and vibrant work cultures.

Gina Jardine is a former C-suite executive who has made her mark on some of the world’s largest and most renowned companies listed across the leading stock indices. With a career spanning over 30 years, Gina has worked across public, private, and semi-government organisations, where she was responsible for developing and leading high-performing teams and organisations in her roles as Chief People Officer. Her global experience in industries such as mining, building products, automotive and warehousing and logistics, has given her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations that have long term investments in financial and human capital-intensive programs. She has worked with some of the industries leading Chairs and CEO’s to help organisations deliver their strategy by ensuring that the Organisation and People agendas are aligned, that the culture drives performance and that employees have the capability and engagement to succeed. As a mentor and coach, Gina focuses on helping a range of diverse and senior executives navigate the cultural elements required for success in modern organisations.

Amit Joshi is Professor of AI, Analytics and Marketing Strategy. He specialises in helping organisations use artificial intelligence and develop their big data, analytics, and AI capabilities. An award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of AI and analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.
Joshi believes that no organisation’s digital transformation is complete until they really understand their data and how to upscale their analytical capabilities. He is currently focusing on how organisations can ensure that AI implementation occurs strategically and at scale rather than in small islands of excellence.
He has delivered customised programmes for several companies including UBS, Sonova, Johnson & Johnson, Guardian Life, Mars Petcare, Securitas, Bank Danamon, Bayer, Ooredoo, Siam Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi School of Governance, Hanover RE, and Migros. He also advises start-ups on their strategies.

Jason Averbook is a Senior Partner and Global Leader of Digital HR Strategy with Mercer Leapgen. From January 2018 to March of 2023, he was Co-founder and CEO of Leapgen, a digital transformation company helping organisations shape their future workplace. Now as Mercer Leapgen he continues to broaden executive mindsets to rethink how to better design and deliver employee services and drive the shift from ‘doing technology projects’ to ‘being a digital function’. With the partnership of Mercer Leapgen, Jason expands the resources and reach to a global market.
Prior to founding Leapgen, Jason served as the CEO of The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC). In 2005, he co-founded Knowledge Infusion LLC and served as its CEO until 2012, when the company was sold to Appirio. He also held senior leadership roles at PeopleSoft and Ceridian Corporation. With more than 20 years of experience in the HR and technology industries, Jason has collaborated with industry-leading companies in transforming their organisations into strategic partners. Jason has been recognised globally as one of the top three thought-leaders around HR technology and the future of work.