MRS Equality Summit 2025

Lydia Amoah, CEO of BACKLIGHT and Founder of The Black Pound Report

Natasha Barnett-Hall, Head of Human-Centred Design, NatWest
As a Head of Retail Design at NatWest, Natasha is deeply committed to driving inclusive practices and enhancing accessibility across all aspects of our work. With a strong belief in the power of diverse voices and experiences, she focuses on creating environments where everyone feels valued and supported. Passionate about making meaningful change, she works closely with teams to ensure that accessibility is embedded in both digital and physical spaces. Natasha firmly believes that inclusivity is not just a value, but a powerful tool for innovation and success, and is dedicated to helping NatWest lead the way in fostering a workplace and services that are accessible for all.

Noreen Biddle Shah, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Carne and Founder of Reboot
Noreen is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Carne Group, the largest third party fund management company in Europe. She sits on the global executive committee and reports into John Donohoe, CEO.
Prior to her role at Carne, she worked at the investment bank, Deutsche Numis and was responsible for all brand, marketing and PR communications for the Deutsche Bank and Numis acquisition. Overall, she has nearly two decades of financial communications experience, having previously led global client marketing and corporate communications at State Street. She has also previously worked for ETF Securities and the Investment Association.
Noreen launched the multi-award winning campaigning group, Reboot in early 2021 to promote greater diversity through discussions about ethnicity in the workplace and society, with a particular focus within the financial services industry.
Reboot is rapidly growing into a leading proponent and moderator of these discussions, sharing hundreds of stories of ethnic minorities’ experiences in the workplace. She also holds a non-executive director role at Solent Southampton University.

Katherine Billingham-Mohamed, Leadership and Engagement Director, Ipsos
Katherine Billingham-Mohamed is the Leadership and Engagement Director at Ipsos UK. In her role, Katherine is responsible for Leadership Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing, Culture and Engagement. An HR professional with over 25 years of practice across multiple organisations and sectors and a fellow of the CIPD, she joined Ipsos UK in June 2024 and has been able to focus on connecting Diversity and Inclusion with other key areas like Leadership and Wellbeing, enabling Ipsos to really embed the culture of Inclusion.
A passionate believer in the true value of diversity and the organisational benefits that are realised when inclusion is built in to how we work every day.  Katherine works closely with the employee networks to bring this to life in how it feels to work at Ipsos and also how Inclusion shows up in the work we do for our clients.

Grant Broome, Accessibility Director, Dig Inclusion
Grant Broome has worked in web accessibility for over 20 years. He is the founder of Dig Inclusion and currently building AccessInc. which are both growing and thriving in the accessibility and inclusion space. He has helped many national and global clients provide better services to people with disabilities.
Grant specialises in communicating complex accessibility problems in ways that are easy to understand. He has a deep understanding of the challenges that many large organisations face and the steps needed to overcome them.

Andy Broomhead, Head of Communications and Volunteering, Diabetes UK

Michael Brown, Managing Partner & Head of Insight& Research UK & EMEA, UM Worldwide

Catherine Cashman, Associate Director of Research, Research Institute for Disabled Consumers (RiDC)

Sam Curtis, Head of Digital Analytics, Kantar & member of MRS EDI Council

Robyn Drysdale, Research Director, Ninth Seat
Robyn is a Research Director at Ninth Seat; an independent research agency, proud to be a Certified B Corp. Alongside the day job of delivering insight and consultancy to brands worldwide, Robyn heads up the Wellbeing Seat. One of the fundamental parts of this role is the prioritisation of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, embedding this both formally and authentically within the business. From implementing initiatives which drive belonging and connection within the team, to formalising the company commitment around all things D, E & I, Robyn passionately leads the charge.   

Sandra Grandsoult, Co-founder, Equitas Insight
Sandra is a seasoned Insight & Marketing Leader with a passion for Inclusive Insights and Responsible Brand Building. She started her career in the UK on the Client- side building her insight and marketing expertise through brand, insight and leadership roles at GSK, Walt Disney Co., Virgin Media, Vodafone and American Express. She moved into consulting 15 years ago (and to the US) as a Partner at Brand Learning / Accenture Consulting where she consulted for leading global brands such as Pfizer, PepsiCo, PayPal, AB InBev and Verizon. She now combines and connects her bench strengths of research, insights, and strategy with her passionate vision for and commitment to equity as Co-founder of Equitas Insight, a boutique Inclusive Insights consultancy. Sandra believes that doing good = doing well and that we can all contribute in some way to the furtherance of inclusive insights and equity agenda. It takes a village!  

Jerryanne Hagan-Tetteh, Senior Research Executive, ClearView Research

Josephine Hansom, Chair, MRS EDI Council

Sinead Hasson, Founder, Hasson Associates, & member of MRS EDI Council

Alexa Haynes, Head of Research, Nile
As Head of Research at Nile, Dr. Alexa Haynes leads multidisciplinary teams that put people at the heart of inclusive research and responsible design. Her focus on embedding inclusive principles into complex systems ensures the services that shape our lives are equitable, effective, and leave no-one behind. With a strong background in cognitive and behavioural psychology and a Ph.D. in Usability Engineering, Alexa brings scientific rigour and human empathy to every challenge. Alexa's leadership on Nile's Inclusion and Consumer Duty programmes reflects a deep commitment to moving beyond compliance, helping organisations make inclusion systemic, sustainable, and meaningful. A regular speaker on ethics and innovation in research, Alexa enjoys finding the places where design methodologies connect with real human experiences.

Christine Hemphill, Lead, MRS Unlimited 

Anzie Huynh, Insight Director, Bryter
Anzie is a seasoned Insight Director and Behavioural Science Lead at Bryter, with a career spanning New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. With a background in statistics and psychology, she enjoys bringing these worlds together in her work. 
She has worked across diverse sectors including sport, banking, tech, and telecommunications. At Bryter, Anzie has led the development of behaviourally optimised message testing and has been instrumental in embedding behavioural science principles into marketing and communications playbooks. She plays a key role in applying behavioural science across all project phases, helping brands uncover consumer mindsets and drive meaningful behavioural change.
Beyond her professional expertise, Anzie is a passionate advocate for increasing female participation in sport—particularly among women from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Graham Idehen, General Manager – EMEA, Dscout & Lead, MRS Representation In Research Group

Maya Ilic, Vice President of Communities Innovation, Ipsos

Charise Johnson, Policy Advisor, The Royal Society

Bea Jones, Senior Insight Manager & Co-lead Gender Equity Employee Resource Group, Deliveroo
Bea  has been at Deliveroo for three years, following roles at Waitrose and M&S. Working in an incredibly data rich environment, she brings a love of storytelling (and amazing food!) to unpick the ‘why’ behind customer behaviour. She challenges teams across Deliveroo’s markets to be truly customer first. 
Bea leads Deliveroo’s Gender Equity Employee Resource Group. She puts data & insight at the centre of their strategy - helping to focus limited resources around community needs. Over the last couple of years, feedback gathered has shaped initiatives, including: a women's health event, a focus on allyship, development programmes and much more. The committee were recently recognised at the Engage Awards, winning ‘best use of the voice of the employee’.

Leah Lockhart, Independent Consultant

Suzanne Martin, Insight Manager, BT
Suzanne has over 20 years experience in Client-side Insight teams, beginning her research career at GFK. She has expertise across multiple disciplines, leading customer experience and brand programmes, and strategic insight projects. Currently at BT Group, Suzanne excels in delivering strategic insight and leads a customer closeness programme to bring senior leaders closer to customers’ needs.  Suzanne is dedicated to fostering collaborative cultures that support team wellbeing and development .

Sophie Mason, Senior Project Manager, Firefish

Priya Minhas, Equity Partner, Associate Director & Joint head of DE&I, Opinium
Priya is an Associate Director in the social and political teams at Opinium, with 9 years of research experience. She works with a range of organisations from universities, charities, and think tanks to influence policy and understand public attitudes and experiences across various issues. She specialises in researching underrepresented and vulnerable audiences.
Priya co-leads the Opinium Diversity & Inclusion team, which focuses on driving change in organisational processes and policy, inclusivity and accessibility in the workplace and in research design, and Opinium’s voice as a force of social good (through using research to amplify voices of groups that are often underrepresented).
Priya also heads up Opinium’s Multicultural Britain annual thought leadership engaging with ethnic minorities in the UK to track discrimination rates and shifts in perceptions of identity, and to understand what brands could do to be more authentically inclusive.

Ghino Parker, Director – SEEN, Barnardo's

Caley Parnell, Strategic Insight Lead, FA Learning
Caley Parnell is a seasoned professional in sports strategy and education, currently serving as the Head of Strategy, Insight & Programme Management at The Football Association for the FA Learning division. In this role, she oversees strategic planning and data-driven insights, and plays a pivotal role in shaping business transformation and driving performance improvements across all departments.
Her academic background includes having achieved a distinction from Loughborough University on the MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology degree and currently studying for a masters in Leadership in Sport at Loughborough University London, where she praised the programme's immediate applicability to her professional responsibilities.
Beyond her professional and academic pursuits, she is a mum of twins, an advocate for youth engagement in sport and driven by a commitment to fairness, representation and belonging. She maintains an active lifestyle, currently enjoying Calisthenics PT training, Yoga and Canicross while having previously competed for Great Britain in American Football.

Isabella Pereira, Head of The Institute of Community Studies, The Young Foundation 

Annabelle Phillips, Founder AP Research & Lead, MRS Social Equity Group

Coco Ravan, Senior Research Executive, Magenta

Daniel Rose, Managing Director, Firefish
Daniel spent most of his working life as a qualitative researcher and brand strategist, but for the past 5 years has been MD of Firefish’s UK business. One of the things he’s discovered since becoming MD is that having a fancy title doesn’t necessarily mean you know what you’re doing, and that in fact the most important quality you need to have as a leader is the capacity to learn – which is what he spends most of his time doing, even now. This has been particularly true when it comes to inclusion, and he appears at the Equity Summit not as an expert, but as someone who is continuing to learn and understand what inclusion means in the world of research and keen to share his experiences with others.

Shruti Saujani, Senior ED&I Lead, FA Learning
Shruti is super passionate in making sports for all, inspired by Bend It Like Beckham Shruti dedicated her dissertation in understanding the lack of South Asians in Sports and Higher education sport degrees. Her passion for a more equal playing ground in sports has seen her appear on the BBC, Sky and become a trustee with Miss Kicks Foundation and London Mavericks.
Recognised as a 'Sports Industry Next Gen Leader' in 2021, Shruti has grown and developed her leadership skills in diverse commercial roles. Shruti has been recognised for bringing culture change across the sport and automotive industry.

Daniel Singham, Commercial Director, Yonder Data Solutions & Lead, CORe - Colour of Research Group
Daniel is Commercial Director at Yonder Data Solutions who are a trusted fieldwork and data collection company both in the UK and Internationally and is an active member of the steering committee for MRS CORe who are a hub for all things concerning ethnic diversity within the industry. Daniel is also on the steering committee for the MRS Representation in Research group and on the MRS EDI Council. Daniel has over 19 years of experience in the research industry internationally having worked in cities such as Sydney, Beijing and back home here in London. The majority of Daniel’s career has been on the operational/panel/project management side and commercial side of businesses focussed on managing teams and delivering research to all sectors. Having lived and worked in different countries and cultures, Daniel is a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion.

Katherine Snow, Senior Service Designer, Nile
Katherine Snow is a Designer and Researcher at Nile, helping organisations make values-led decisions in complex systems. She specialises in responsible innovation and inclusive transformation, with a focus on creating structures for change that don’t just function but actively support the people they’re built for (particularly when technology is involved). With a background in Design Anthropology, Katherine works at the intersection of governance, strategy and futures - building tools and decision-making frameworks that equip organisations to embed care into everyday practice. Her work is rooted in participatory and community-led approaches, and she leads Nile’s Responsible Design and AI Ethics programmes. Beyond work, she makes climate sci-fi films, surfs wild coastlines, and writes music.

Dr. Mark Thorpe, Board Director, Truth Consulting & Group Head of Thought Leadership and Senior Advisor, Instinctif Partners 

Sabrina Trinquetel, MRS Advanced Insights and Analytics Council

Dr Elizabeth Webb, Head of Research, Age UK
Dr Elizabeth – Libby – Webb is the Head of Research at Age UK, where she has worked for the past seven years. Age UK campaigns for and supports older people. Libby’s work in quantitative data analysis and research design and commissioning – and that of her team – supports that of the charity, particularly in conversations with parliamentarians, civil servants, the media in the public where we champion the causes which matter to older people, including access to health and care services and adequate incomes. Through her work Libby seeks to highlight the stark inequalities which exist within the UK’s increasingly diverse older population. Prior to joining Age UK Libby worked in academia as a social epidemiologist, undertaking research to understand how the society we live in can impact upon our health.

Amanda Woodley, Ipsos
Amanda Woodley is Head of Clients within the Audience Measurement buisness at Ipsos, focusing on digital audience measurement and online behaviour. She also wears a second hat as the incoming Co-Chair of the Ipsos Pride Network. In her day to day role, Amanda’s key objective is to ensure media owners, agencies and advertisers can uncover how real people behave online everyday and how these invaluable insights can be utilised within their business. Across both her Client and Pride roles she is passionate about inclusion and how diverse perspectives and thoughts can impact businesses and its people for the better. Ensuring to always lead with authenicity and transparency to ensure our clients and our people can be themselves – however they choose to show up.

Clare Woodward, Insight Manager, BT
Clare is an experienced clientside research, currently working for BT across B2B and B2C research projects. Alongside the day job, Clare also leads an internal workgroup looking at how the BT Insight Team’s culture can be the best it can be. With a focus on ensuring research and the research industry are inclusive across both practices and culture, Clare is the original author of the MRS Clientside EDI Best Practice guides, first published in May 2022 which were updated and relaunched last December 2024. She also chaired the MRS New & Returning Talent workstream and is in the process of rescoping this for 2025.