Elisabeth Kelan

Elisabeth Kelan is a Professor of Leadership and Organisation in the Department of Public Services Management & Organisation at King's Business School. Her research focuses on digitalisation and diversity at work, inclusive leadership and gender in organisations. Her research has been used to engage men as change agents in gender equality, to develop women as leaders and to create generational awareness in the workplace. Elisabeth held a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship on which this book is based.

Renee Hunt

Renee has been part of the tech industry for over 30 years and has built her career delivering high quality software engineering in commercial organisations. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, holds an MBA from the University of Texas (Austin) and is also a veteran of the US Army Signal Core.

A leader with multiple years of experience in a variety of line management and professional services roles. She has employed proven and repeatable approaches for high risk and complex delivery using Agile and Lean Software Engineering. In addition to her solid technical foundation, Renee is also a highly effective communicator, who excels at Board and CXO stakeholder presentation and expectation management. Renee is an excellent motivator, coach and mentor who has a strong track record of building and leading high-performance teams and developing leaders.

Renee has advocated for fair access to careers in tech, leaning into programmes focused on increasing diversity in tech. She is a key driver of diversity and inclusion at and has been recognised for her work in inspiring and motivating women in tech, and particularly black women in tech.

Lailany Sierra 

Lailany is currently the Head of Business Delivery for a key transformation project at CHANEL, responsible for the successful delivery of the company’s harmonized global core ERP solution to support the Finance and Operations business teams. Previously, she held the role of Head of Global Company Governance and Transversal Projects, where as a member of the CEO Office, she worked closely with the Chief of Staff to provide transparency and optimise the decision-making process of the company around its key strategic, business and functional priorities.

Prior to joining CHANEL, Lailany held various Human Resources senior leadership roles in the entertainment industry and has lived in several metropolitan cities, most recently relocating to London in 2018 with her spouse.

Lailany is a Board Member at United Way United Kingdom and is also a member and Recording Secretary for The London (UK) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

Lailany participates as a mentor in the Baruch College Executives on Campus and at the Creative Mentor Network in London.

Lailany holds an MBA from the Zicklin School of Business and earned a certificate from the Yale School of Management Executive Education Women’s Leadership Program.

Rob McCargow

Rob leads the market activation of PwC’s cloud and digital transformation business in the UK. He is a leading voice in the field of AI, a TEDx and keynote speaker, industry commentator, and an evangelist for the responsible and ethical adoption of technology and its impact upon society. He’s a Senior Visiting Fellow at Bayes Business School, and a founding board member of the UK's Parliamentary Group on AI. HR Magazine ranks him as an ‘HR Most Influential Thinker’, Onalytica cites him as a ‘Who’s Who in AI’, and he was voted ‘Tech Community Leader of the Year’ at the CogX Festival. He won Editor’s Choice at the TechWomen100 Awards in recognition of his championing of the women in tech agenda.

Ismail Amla

Ismail Amla, Senior Vice President, Kyndryl Consult, joined Kyndryl in April 2024 as the global lead for Kyndryl Consult.

Ismail joined from National Cash Register (NCR) where he was the Senior Vice President responsible for the global Professional Services business. Before NCR, Ismail lived and worked in many different parts of the world leading large teams at Accenture, IBM, GBS, Capco and Capita.

The Financial Times has recognised Ismail as one of the most influential Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) leaders in the United Kingdom tech sector.

Ismail is currently on the board of UK Sport, Network Rail and the Bradford Literature Festival and a fellow at the University of Salford Business School. In 2016, he received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration (Hon DBA) for his outstanding contribution to business from the University of Bolton. Ismail was a member of the Weissman Centre’s Advisory Council at Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College in New York and has also served on the board of governors at the University of East London. 

In 2020, Ismail Amla co-authored a book with American technology entrepreneur and academic, Vivek Wadhwa, entitled From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and Rethink Innovation.

Alison Maitland

Alison Maitland is a coach, author, speaker and facilitator. Her areas of focus are leadership, inclusion, and the wellbeing of people and planet.

A former long-serving Financial Times journalist, she is co-author of three business books: INdivisible: Radically rethinking inclusion for sustainable business results; Future Work; and Why Women Mean Business.

Alison is a former Vice Chair of the International Women’s Forum UK and a founder member of its Racial Equity initiative. She facilitates workshops in ‘Resilient Leadership for People and Planet’ and is a volunteer organiser with the Climate Coaching Alliance. She is a Senior Fellow in Human Capital with The Conference Board Europe, and a former Chair of the Executive Board of Bayes Business School’s Global Women’s Leadership Programme.