The Inspiration & Innovation Conference 2.0

Rebecca Adlington is Great Britain’s most successful ever swimmer. She became a household name following her two-gold medal winning performances at the Beijing Games in August 2008 and her unique blend of charisma and charm allied to her dedication and professionalism in the pool has made her a global superstar, and a role model for female athletes around the world.

Becky’s drive and thirst for success meant that she won a medal in each of the Olympic finals she swam. A four-time Olympic medallist in the 400m and 800m Freestyle, she won two Gold medals in Beijing 2008 and two Bronze medals in London 2012.

Becky announced her retirement from elite swimming in 2013 and has since undertaken numerous roles in swimming commentary and punditry. A mainstay for the BBC’s coverage of the 2015 World Championships, the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, and the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow, Becky is an articulate and respected media presence.

Following her retirement Becky announced a vision for her legacy: Becky Adlington’s Swim Stars – a swimming initiative with the goal that every child in Britain will be able to swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. Her famous drive is now channelled into this vision and Becky Adlington’s Swim Stars is now the fastest growing high profile learn to swim company in the country.

Jenny Drummond, is a dedicated sports broadcast journalist with a wealth of experience presenting, reporting and commentating on live sport for the BBC, BT Sport, Prime Video, Eurosport and many more! Jenny’s incredible hosting skills will guide us through this comprehensive conference.

After Executive roles in the UK with NatWest, British Gas and Metro Bank, Chris now has a portfolio of Non-Executive Director (NED) and Chair roles in Business and Sport. He also is a global keynote speaker and Executive Coach. He is Chair at Equilibrium Wealth Management and Zellar. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Fylde, Fresh and Fabulous and Trustee of the Charitable Foundation, Switch the Play. His previous roles include Chair of the Rugby League World Cup 2021, Chair of GreaterSport, Chair of MCRactive and Senior Independent Non-Executive roles at the Rugby Football League (RFL) and Manchester Football Association. From an Executive coaching perspective, Chris is a Leadership and Business Coach at Raise the Bar and Goodson Thomas. Chris has coached Executives from companies such as Heineken, Muller, Octopus Energy and the Football Association. Chris is also a Business Mentor for the Premier League, Elite Academy Managers Programme.

Chris is not a theorist, but a skilled and experienced practitioner. He is a leading authority on Performance Management, Strategy, Customer Experience and Employee Engagement; particularly within organisations where change is a feature. His strengths include building high performing teams, enhancing productivity through employee engagement and situational leadership. Chris leads on the subject of Leadership and People on the “Becoming a CEO in a Sporting Organisation” for VSI Executive Education, part of the Global Sports Institute.

He has also worked extensively with academics from leading business schools as well as executives, managers and team leaders within global PLCs. Chris is passionate about creating a long-term sustainable performance culture that will continue long after he has completed his work.
His accolades include Britain’s Best Boss, Most Outstanding Workplace at the National Business Awards; Sales & Marketing Director of the Year (3 consecutive years), and has helped Equilibrium, win the “Best Companies to work for” in UK Financial Services for successive years. In 2017 he was awarded United Kingdom, Non-Executive Director of the Year by the Institute of Directors.

Chris has spoken in the UK, Europe, Africa and Australia on topics including Change Management, Culture, Building High Performing Teams, Customer Experience and Coaching.

In June 2018, Chris was awarded an MBE for his services to sport.

Paul is the founder of mid-tier advisory firm Sedulo Group.

The group was formed initially as an accountancy practice but has since become a holistic business advisory firm with 190 staff across Manchester, London, Liverpool & Leeds specialising in Audit, Accountancy, Taxation, R&D Tax Credits, Banking, Wealth Planning, M&A and Forensic Accounting.

Paul has been part of management teams in a variety of companies and industries, including travel, retail, recruitment, and the consumer brand space. His early success came from being part of the management board of Just Search, a digital marketing agency that was exited in 2007. Subsequently, he was on the board of the Online Group AB, another digital agency, listed on the NASDAQ OMX First North market in Stockholm.

Paul is also co-founder of Be the Standard alongside Kevin Sinfield CBE. Be the Standard is human performance group focussed on human development, with the mission to create better people and therefore better leaders and entrepreneurs.

In 2023 Paul launched the Sedulo Foundation, following years of working with local charities, schools and community workers to alleviate the devastating effect of poverty on children and young people across the UK.