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Denise McGuckinManaging Director at Hartlepool Borough Council and Civil & Community Resilience Policy Lead at Solace < Speakers < Previous Next > Denise McGuckin Managing Director at Hartlepool Borough Council and Civil & Community Resilience Policy Lead at Solace Denise has over 27 years’ experience in Local Government, all with Hartlepool Borough Council. She has had various roles include Environmental Services Manager, Neighbourhood Manager, Community Safety Partnership lead, Assistant Director for Environment and Neighbourhoods, Director for Regeneration and Neighbourhoods. Prior to this she worked in the private sector in hospitality.

Break 08:50–09:25 Registration | All Delegates Galleria Previous More information to follow. Next

All Speakers Averil Price Solace Associate and Director, Avie Consultancy The Legacy Coach for senior public service leaders in transition – promotion, pivot, or retirement. I am a senior leader with 20+ years wide-ranging experience as a Local Authority Director. Following a serious brain haemorrhage, I transitioned from local government to self-employed business owner in 2022. As Director of Avie Consultancy Limited I deliver executive legacy coaching & consultancy to individuals and local authorities in the UK. I help leaders plan and execute a successful transition to whatever their next stage is. And I help them celebrate the impact they have made so far in their lives, their leadership legacy. As a Solace Associate, I provide coaching, action learning set facilitation and leadership development courses at a national level. My book ‘The Legacy Coach’ will be published, hopefully, in October 2025, providing an ideal companion for leaders’ transitional journeys. Thursday 16 October 2025 15:45–16:25 The Leader’s Mirror: Defining the Legacy You Leave Behind Bury Theatre, Royal Armouries Go to session

Henry StratfordAssistant Director < Speakers < Previous Next > Henry Stratford Assistant Director Outcomes Matter Consulting Henry is Assistant Director for Outcomes Matter Consulting – who lead people and change management projects focused on emerging technologies. Henry has extensive experience leading change projects with local authorities, particularly in children's services. He understands how to get things done as well as bring people along that journey. He believes that collaboration and partnerships are the best way to have the biggest social impact – and is excited about the partnership between Agilisys Transform, Outcomes Matter, Datnexa, and local… Show More

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All Speakers Katie Piper OBE Writer, Activist and Broadcaster Katie Piper is a best-selling international author, inspirational speaker, TV presenter and charity campaigner. Katie made the decision to share her story in a remarkable film for the Cutting Edge strand on Channel 4 called 'Katie: My Beautiful Face' which was watched by over 3.5million viewers and nominated for Best Single Documentary at the BAFTA Television Awards. Over ten years ago she set up a charity The Katie Piper Foundation to help people with burns and scars to reconnect with their lives and their communities. Simon Cowell supported Katie by becoming the patron and remains actively involved to date. The charity's vision is a world where scars do not limit a person's function, social inclusion or sense of well-being and they achieved their goal to open a rehabilitation centre in the UK to offer other burns survivors the treatments that Katie received in France. In addition to her charity commitments, Katie hosts her own ITV1 show ‘The Katie Piper Breakfast Show’ which is in its third series, is a regular panellist on ITV1’s ‘Loose Women’, and is one of the key faces of the W Channel with her hit series ‘Katie Piper’s Jailhouse Mums’. She is also an experienced radio presenter having covered the Early Morning Breakfast Show and the Michael Ball Show on BBC Radio 2. Her other TV credits include ‘Never Seen a Doctor’ for C4 where she helped people overcome their fears around medical procedures and guided them on their journey back to good health, ‘The Death of Aimee Spencer’ for the Crime and Punishment strand on ITV1, C4’s ‘Famous and Fighting Crime’ where she trained as a special in the police force and ‘Katie Piper’s Face to Face’ where she invited women with facial conditions to London’s Harvey Nichols for makeovers with makeup artists who shared the same facial condition. She also fronted three series of ‘Body Shockers’ for C4 where she met people planning major body modifications and introduced them to someone who had already had the modification done and regretted it. Katie is regularly engaged as a public speaker and has told her inspiring story to audiences at public shows such as WE Day, Women’s Health Live and the Cosmopolitan Self Made Summit as well as for corporate events at Google, Facebook and The NHS. Katie has also written a number of bestselling adult and children’s books and has now launched her own imprint The UnSeen, a brand new literary imprint that’s putting those who were previously ‘unheard’ at the forefront. Katie’s most recent affirmation book, ‘A Little Bit of Hope’ was published last year and her first children’s book ‘All You Need’ was released in 2023 with the second book launching later this year. She is also currently working on the screen adaption of her first book which is due to start filming in 2025. Friday 17 October 20225 12:00–12:50 Katie Piper Main Stage, New Dock Hall Go to session

Keynote 14:30–14:45 President's Closing Speech Main Stage Robin Tuddenham, Solace President and Chief Executive, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council Read More Previous Speakers: Robin Tuddenham , Solace President and Chief Executive of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council Next

Previous Next Ted Twaalfhoven Founder and CEO, Engage Process Ted Twaalfhoven is CEO and Founder of Engage Process. He has worked in process management since 1983, beginning his career in the aerospace industry, where for a decade he was part of a world-class manufacturing team delivering complete factory turnarounds within a highly regulated environment. Having seen the benefits that lean principles could bring across sectors, Ted founded Engage Process in 2008. His guiding belief is that people within organisations should be intrinsically involved in process management, empowering them to help drive sustainable change and improvement from within. Today, Ted brings this experience and philosophy to public sector leaders, helping organisations build the process capability needed to navigate change, improve efficiency and deliver better outcomes for the communities they serve. 11:30–12:30 South East Breakout: Leading With Control: AI, LGR, and the Path to High-Quality Services in Times of Change Breakout View Session Speakers: Ted Twaalfhoven , CEO and Founder of Engage Process

Professor Catherine StaiteEmeritus Professor of Public Management < Speakers < Previous Next > Professor Catherine Staite Emeritus Professor of Public Management University of Birmingham Professor Catherine Staite LLB, MBA, FRSA is an Emeritus Professor of Public Management at the University of Birmingham. She is involved in research and consultancy, specialising in leadership and governance. She currently works with Darlingburn Ltd, providing specialist consultancy in governance, especially where councils are at high risk of failure. She is a former Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies (INLOGOV) and a former Director of the Office for Public Management. Between 2001 and 2005 she worked for… Show More

Showcase Zone 13:15–13:25 Amplify Cohort 5: Organisational Change and Equity: Beyond Rhetoric Rewiring the State Koyejo Olugbile, Acting Sustainable Transport Coordinator, Falkirk Council Read More Kelli Maynard, Customer Service Manager, West Northamptonshire Council Read More Previous Topic: Beyond Allyship Allyship is important, but it was never meant to be the finish line. In this session, we’ll explore what happens when inclusion moves beyond good intentions and becomes a leadership responsibility. Because real change isn't measured by the doors we open for others, but by whether we've helped build organisations where everyone has the opportunity to walk through them. Next

Previous Next Jonathan Stephenson Joint Chief Executive, Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council Jonathan has over 30 years of experience in local government, predominantly in senior leadership roles across Ipswich Borough Council, the London Borough of Enfield, Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils, and Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council. He is currently Joint Chief Executive of Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council, a unique national local government partnership. Jonathan also holds several national positions. He is a Non-Executive Director on the Solace (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers) Board; Chair of the LCN (Local Council Network, previously the DCN) national Chief Executive Group; a Board Member of Socitm (Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation); an Ambassador for the Tech UK Local Public Services Committee; and Founder and Chair of the Public Sector Challenge, which has raised over £400,000 for charity since 2022 while supporting health and wellbeing across the sector. 15:30–16:30 Main Stage Breakout: Local Government Reform Is Paused—So What Do We Do Next? Breakout View Session Speakers: Jonathan Stephenson , Joint Chief Executive, Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council Greg Campbell , Strategic Director, Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council Paul Brace , Director of Communities and Health, Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council

Mark HepworthCo-Founder & PBII Lead < Speakers < Previous Next > Mark Hepworth Co-Founder & PBII Lead The Good Economy Mark Hepworth is the co-Founder of The Good Economy and leads the firm’s place-based impact investing work. He is a multidisciplinary economist and entrepreneur whose international career spans academia, public policy and business consulting. Mark’s work over 40 years has focused on innovation and new paradigms for economic development. He also directs The Good Economy's research and policy work on inclusive and sustainable development. Radical innovation as a driver of economic and social change across cities, regions and countries has… Show More