Lucy Findlay-Beale is Event Director of Elevate and has been part of the event since its launch, playing a key role in its growth and evolution over the past decade.

Before moving into event leadership, Lucy worked within the fitness and leisure sector as an operator, giving her first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities facing facilities, teams and customers. This operational background, combined with years of working closely with suppliers, operators, governing bodies, educators and healthcare professionals, has given her a unique perspective on the industry's development.

Today, Lucy leads the strategic direction of Elevate, curating content, partnerships and industry engagement that bring together leaders from across the physical activity, fitness and sports therapy sectors. She is a passionate advocate for collaboration and innovation, believing that meaningful progress is achieved when organisations work together to improve health outcomes and create more active communities.

David is a well-established leader within the global physical activity sector and has over 35 years of experience within the industry.

He has previously held the position of CEO at ukactive from 2008 to 2016 and has also served as the Chair of CIMSPA along with other senior executive positions across the sector, including CEO of Myzone, President of EuropeActive and non-executive Director of Alliance Leisure.

David is the Chair of the ukactive Board, where he works to drive and support the growth of the organisation's members through its Vision 2030 strategy.

Starting her career as a lifeguard, Tara has worked across a range of organisations and roles, giving her an exceptional knowledge of the skills and workforce needs of the sector. Having gained hands on experience within local authority leisure, various management positions followed along with senior roles at DC Leisure Management and IQL-UK Ltd.

Tara has a passion for the sector which drives her to constantly aim for improvements across the industry. Tara is at the forefront of CIMSPA’s work, delivering initiatives that professionalise and recognise the workforce, and enhance the careers of those working in sport, leisure and active wellbeing.

Joie Risk is the UK and EU Managing Director of Sunlighten, the pioneering U.S. wellness brand leading global innovation in infrared therapy. With over five years of experience expanding Sunlighten across Europe, Joie has played a central role in scaling premium wellness technologies, building high-performing international teams, and securing strategic brand and commercial partnerships across more than five countries.

Known for her ability to translate vision into sustainable growth, Joie brings a unique blend of strategic foresight and operational expertise—especially within the infrared and sauna space. Her work focuses on positioning Sunlighten as a leader in next-generation wellness experiences, navigating regulatory landscapes, and shaping narratives that resonate in markets seeking both innovation and authenticity.

Deeply engaged in the global wellness ecosystem, Joie’s leadership continues to shape how consumers across the UK and Europe engage with holistic health, technology-driven wellness, and conscious living.

Simmy joined RLSS UK from Air Ambulances UK, where, as Chief Executive, she successfully led a collaborative team to deliver the organisational strategy and significantly increase its income.

Simmy brings extensive experience from previous roles, including as a solicitor in the private legal sector, as well as positions within the NHS and Local Authorities, and her current role as a Non-Executive Director at Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

Simmy has substantial experience in leadership roles, including at a board and trustee level. She is also highly experienced in governance, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as business development. As reflected in her roles, Simmy is passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of many. She is proud to be the CEO of RLSS UK, a charity dedicated to saving lives, empowering communities with the skills and knowledge to enjoy water safely and supporting the leisure industry in delivering best practice in water safety and training.

Dave Candler is the CEO of the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA), the national governing body for swimming and a registered charity dedicated to the teaching of swimming, lifesaving and aquatic skills. He has held the role for the past ten years, supporting more than 20,000 swimming teacher members across the UK.

Alongside this, Dave is CEO of the International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Associations (IFSTA), representing member organisations in 22 countries worldwide.

A Chartered Manager Fellow with CIMSPA, Dave also sits on the Swimming Alliance Steering Group, where he contributes to shaping national standards, workforce development and the future direction of the aquatics sector.

Dave has worked in swimming teaching and leisure management for more than 25 years. Before becoming STA’s CEO in 2016, he spent a decade as Operations, Swimming and Training Manager at Inspire Leisure, one of the UK’s largest swimming lesson providers. His extensive poolside experience, combined with multiple management qualifications, gives him a strong understanding of the practical challenges and opportunities facing tutors, teachers and operators.

As a senior STA Tutor, Dave has personally trained hundreds of swimming teachers. This hands-on experience continues to inform STA’s approach to programme design, tutor support and workforce development, ensuring strategic decisions are firmly grounded in real-world delivery.

Paula is a HCPC-registered sport and exercise psychologist specialising in weight-related behaviours. She has 21+ years experience of supporting others to lead healthier lives, and provides psychological therapy supporting clients with disordered eating, exercise problems and sustainable weight management. She's previously worked with Mind charity to raise awareness around over-exercising, and is a strong advocate for promoting a healthy mindset for exercise and movement. She's an expert in motivation and has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers, co-edited the Applied Sport and Exercise Practitioner book, and has recently started a YouTube channel (@DrPaulaWatson) to share psychological tips about eating, exercise and weight.

Former Team GB rower Baz Moffat retired from the sport to launch a successful international consulting and coaching business. A prominent voice in the women’s health movement, Baz specialises in the pelvic floor - a pivotal yet vastly under appreciated nucleus in the female body.

Expertise includes:

○ Pelvic floor
○ Prolapse
○ Urinary stress incontinence
○ Being active during the menopause
○ Constipation: bowel and bladder health
○ Being an elite female athlete (but not being trained as a woman)
○ Post-natal women returning to exercise Qualifications

○ BSc Sports Science (First Class) University of Birmingham
○ MSc – Health Related Behaviour Change, University of Bristol
○ Personal Trainer
○ GB Rowing Team, 2005-2008
○ Coached 100s of women around the world to help them in pelvic health
○ Holistic Core Restore Coach, 2016 – 2020

Luke Carlson is the founder and CEO of Discover Strength based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Discover Strength owns and operates strength training studios as well as the Discover Strength Franchise. Luke is an internationally recognized speaker on leadership, management, and evidence-based exercise. He is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist, holding a BS and MS in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership, Strategy and Innovation program at Stanford University. He received an Honorary PhD from Solent University in Southampton, England. Luke has presented to audiences in a variety of industries in China, Taiwan, Australia, Brazil, and across both Europe and North America. Luke is the current chair and serves on the board of the Health and Fitness Association. He is one of the top-rated Vistage speakers in North America and won the 2022 Vistage Leadership Award.

Dan Aguilera is a high-performance business consultant & mentor, international speaker, and multi-business operator with 27 years experience in the fitness industry. Dan is recognised as one of the leading strategic thinkers in the fitness and wellness industry. He has built and scaled multiple 7-figure ventures, consulted for over 1000 gyms worldwide, and transformed the lives and businesses of hundreds of fitness entrepreneurs.

Dan specialises in structured mentoring, financial strategy, product development, system integration, and high-performance team leadership, bringing a rare combination of creativity, operational discipline, and commercial intelligence that enables him to connect with people at every level of an organisation.

He has earned a reputation for designing business models that are not only profitable, but duplicatable, scaleable and sustainable.

Bringing over 25 years of experience in wellness, fitness, and professional sports, Glen Thurgood joins Leisure DB as Chief Strategy Officer, driving digital transformation and market expansion.

A former athlete and performance coach, Glen has a deep understanding of the science behind health and fitness, combined with a proven track record in business leadership. As the founder and CEO of Training Shed, a multi-site gym chain, and a tech entrepreneur behind MiOP, a surgical care pathway app and Huumans a Corporate Wellbeing Diagnostic tool, Glen has pioneered innovative solutions that bridge performance, wellbeing, and technology.

An accomplished author, he has written nine books with over two million sales worldwide and contributed to scientific research. Holding an MSc in Strength and Conditioning, Glen’s expertise in evidence-based programming and market strategy will shape the future of Leisure DB, ensuring data-driven insights continue to support and elevate the industry.

A passionate speaker and consultant, Glen thrives on sharing knowledge and empowering the sector with actionable intelligence.

Alexa’s background is elite sport and exercise science. Following 10 years of academy football including 2 years at the Arsenal Ladies Academy Alexa moved to America and spent 4 years as a NCAA division 1 student athlete.

Alexa is the Wellbeing Performance Manager for Wellonomics, a company that is driving wellbeing for every body.

Alexa’s background is elite sport and exercise science. Following 10 years of academy football including 2 years at the Arsenal Ladies Academy Alexa moved to America and spent 4 years as a NCAA division 1 student athlete.

Alexa graduated with an honours degree in Exercise Science from East Tennessee State University, a college that is widely known as US olympic training site and a centre of excellence for sports science and coach education.

Following graduation Alexa qualified as a personal trainer and a certified strength and conditioning specialist and joined the Training Shed team. Alexa has progressed from intern to coach to lead coach in her 7 years with the Training Shed as well as playing a key roles in driving the coach education and leading the Wellbeing Score™ conversation.

Now as the Training Shed brand merges with Wellonomics, Alexa moves into the role of Wellbeing Performance Manager to continue the wellbeing conversation, build the community of wellbeing experts and support clients in implementing data driven wellbeing solutions.

Starting her career as a lifeguard, Tara has worked across a range of organisations and roles, giving her an exceptional knowledge of the skills and workforce needs of the sector. Having gained hands on experience within local authority leisure, various management positions followed along with senior roles at DC Leisure Management and IQL-UK Ltd.

Tara has a passion for the sector which drives her to constantly aim for improvements across the industry. Tara is at the forefront of CIMSPA’s work, delivering initiatives that professionalise and recognise the workforce, and enhance the careers of those working in sport, leisure and active wellbeing.

Richard's reputation in coach education and development spans Rugby Union, Fencing, Slalom Canoe and professional cycling, including his work with the UCI's World Cycling Elite Coach Education Programme in Switzerland. He received his MBE for services to education and community sport in 2017 and was awarded UK Coaching Coach Developer of the Year in 2018. He has worked at Winchester since 2005, and his research centres on a more holistic approach to coaching, with particular focus on creativity, innovation and the role of play. Applied work rather than academic abstraction is his hallmark. He also competes in Ironman and has completed the Atacama Desert Ultra-marathon, which tells you something about how he approaches challenge

Jayde works at the intersection of inclusion, belonging and culture change in sport. She is passionate about creating accessible sporting environments in which individuals can be themselves, and through which they can thrive.

Jayde is currently project lead of the Active Autism Alliance, working with a network of partners across the sector to enhance inclusion within sport and physical activity for Autistic people. Prior to this, Jayde ran Inclusion Training and Learning at Access Sport, empowering the sport workforce to build inclusion in their own contexts. She had a particular focus on enhancing neuro-inclusion within sport, working in partnership with various National Governing Bodies to create relevant CPD for specific sport’s communities.

As a sport-obsessed child herself, through her formative years playing across recreational and competitive teams, Jayde experienced a breadth of both great and poor coaching practice. Through this, she has a first-hand understanding of the impact on children and young people, and is passionate about empowering and informing others in positions of leadership. Jayde has experience working across a number of programmes focused on enhancing experiences of various communities, including women and girls, LGBTIQ, disability and neurodivergence.

Paul is the CEO and Co-founder of Speedflex. Before entering the leisure industry, Paul spent 18 years working in professional sport. Five as a professional footballer for Newcastle United where he was the club’s youngest ever scorer in 1982. After injury ended his playing career he returned to Newcastle United in 1993 and enjoyed a highly successful career as the club’s Physiotherapist. He left professional football and in 2007 was called the bar. After qualifying as a barrister he once again returned to Newcastle United as the Head of Sports Medicine as part of Alan Shearer's management team.

Paul is also a bestselling and multi-award winning author of two memoirs. The Boy on the Shed (2018), and The Magic in the Tin (2022).

Clayton Herbert is a brand strategist and Co-Founder of Peripheral, a strategic growth and consultancy group for the wellness industry.

He’s spent the past 19 years in a variety of senior commercial, partnership and marketing roles across the Health, Fitness and Wellness sectors, both in the UK and internationally for leading organisations.

He’s passionate about helping people and brands identify and amplify their point of difference and firmly believes that differentiation is the single most important factor to create competitive advantage and long-term sustainable growth.

Rachel Rinkcavage brings over 25 years of experience in the leisure industry to her role as Head of Brand and Marketing at BPL. Throughout her career, she has been driven by a deep passion for understanding customers and creating bold, innovative strategies that push boundaries and engage new audiences.

Rachel has played a pivotal role in the success of Your Space, BPL’s fitness brand, where data-driven insights have transformed the way the organisation connects with its members. By identifying who their customers are and why they choose Your Space, Rachel has led initiatives to design personalised persona journeys, enhance staff training, and shape product and service offerings that align with customer expectations.

Her vision is clear: to build strong, lasting relationships where members not only remain engaged but also become advocates for the brand. Rachel continues to champion fresh, customer-focused approaches to ensure Your Space stays relevant and at the forefront of the leisure industry.

Dr Davina Deniszczyc joined Nuffield Health as London Clinical Lead GP in 2010. During her time with organisation, Davina has worked as Professional Head of Physicians, Wellbeing Medical Director, Charity and Market Development Director and most recently Charity and Medical Director. Having graduated from the University of Manchester in 2003, Davina trained as a GP and in 2007 she gained membership to the Royal College of General Practitioners.

During her time as a GP, Davina worked in the NHS then went onto set up independent Wellness Clinics within some of her GP surgeries. Now in her role, Davina is responsible for developing activities focused on improving health and wellbeing right across the spectrum from prevention through to cure, providing significant and measurable health and wellbeing benefits to more people. Davina also continues her work as a GP once a week.

Starting her career as a lifeguard, Tara has worked across a range of organisations and roles, giving her an exceptional knowledge of the skills and workforce needs of the sector. Having gained hands on experience within local authority leisure, various management positions followed along with senior roles at DC Leisure Management and IQL-UK Ltd.

Tara has a passion for the sector which drives her to constantly aim for improvements across the industry. Tara is at the forefront of CIMSPA’s work, delivering initiatives that professionalise and recognise the workforce, and enhance the careers of those working in sport, leisure and active wellbeing.

Aimee Barry is Chief Operating Officer at Les Mills UK, part of the world’s leading group training brand. At the heart of her role is a simple focus - helping clubs, trainers, and teams succeed so more people can experience the power of group training.

She leads the growth and evolution of the UK business, with a clear ambition to bring 3,000 new trainers into the industry each year. For Aimee, it isn’t just about scale, it’s about building a stronger, more sustainable fitness ecosystem and investing in the next generation of leaders.

Aimee believes the fitness industry is, first and foremost, a people business. She is known for her emphasis on connection, collaboration, and creating environments where individuals and teams can do their best work.

Alongside her operational leadership, Aimee is a committed advocate for women’s health and greater representation in leadership. She is passionate about using her platform to open doors, challenge norms, and support diverse voices in a fast-moving industry.

Gillian Reeves is the Head of Group Exercise at Third Space, London's leading collection of luxury health clubs, bringing over 25 years of experience in fitness leadership, programme development and instructor education. With a background spanning studio ownership, multi‑site operations and national journalism, she is recognised for elevating group exercise standards and driving innovation across the industry.

Libby Day is Group Exercise Product Manager at David Lloyd Clubs, where she is responsible for shaping and delivering the group exercise experience across the UK and Europe.

With over 20 years’ experience in the fitness industry, she has held roles at Virgin Active and PureGym, working across large-scale programming, product development and club operations. She has also worked with Les Mills UK as Trainer Manager in the Middle East, and as an international trainer, presenter and IQA assessor.

She brings experience in developing and delivering large-scale group exercise products and driving innovation across club operations.

Sarah Townend is Marketing & Experience Director for Snap Fitness EMEA, where she leads brand, marketing, and member experience strategy across one of the world’s fastest-growing fitness franchises. With a career spanning global sport, hospitality, and high-growth consumer brands, Sarah brings a sharp commercial mindset alongside a deep understanding of how to build brands people genuinely connect with.

At Snap Fitness, she has played a pivotal in repositioning the brand around member experience and emotional connection, helping to drive franchise growth, strengthen community engagement, and deliver award-winning innovation across the network. Her work focuses on the intersection of brand, customer insight, and operational excellence, ensuring both members and franchisees succeed.

Sarah is a strong advocate for creating experiences that go beyond the product; ones that foster loyalty, community, and long-term brand value.

Graeme is the global head of Bird & Bird's Retail and Consumer sector team as well as the co-head of the international franchise team. Graeme and his team support consumer businesses across hospitality, leisure, fitness and wellness - primarily providing the legal advice and support required by businesses to implement successful growth strategies. Graeme and his team provide advice across brand protection, franchising, corporate growth and investment readiness, the procurement, use and integration of technology, data privacy, AI, employment, commercial property and consumer law.

Rebecca Douglas is an award-winning marketing, content, and innovation specialist with more than 25 years’ experience working alongside some of the world’s most recognised and loved brands. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for combining strategic thinking with creativity, helping businesses connect more meaningfully with people, communities, and culture.

As part of The Well Crowd, Rebecca brings her passion for storytelling, brand building, and human connection into a collaborative workspace environment designed to inspire fresh thinking and purposeful business growth. She thrives on bringing people together, creating opportunities for collaboration, and challenging conventional ideas.

Rebecca’s experience spans marketing strategy, content development, partnership building, innovation, and audience engagement. Her approach is rooted in curiosity and a belief that the best ideas often come from unexpected conversations and diverse perspectives. Known for thinking differently and asking better questions, she enjoys helping brands and individuals uncover more authentic, impactful ways to communicate and grow.

Sara-Louise Byrne is Education Manager at CIMSPA, bringing extensive experience across education, workforce development and sport. With a background spanning international training, lecturing and programme delivery, she has led initiatives that support professional standards, learner progression and the development of a skilled, confident workforce across the sector.

Grace Kearns is Head of Development and Safeguarding at Serco Leisure, with a strong background in aquatics, workforce development and quality assurance. She began her career as a swim teacher and tutor, and has experience working across large operators as well as running her own swim school.

Grace leads on the development and delivery of training pathways, with a focus on quality, compliance and creating inclusive learning environments. She is particularly passionate about working with local communities to support workforce development and improve wellbeing, helping to create accessible pathways into employment across the sector. She is committed to evolving swim teacher training to better meet the needs of a modern and diverse workforce

Dr Marlize De Vivo is an internationally recognised expert in perinatal physical activity and women’s health. With a background in clinical exercise, sport science and rehabilitation, she works to improve how women are supported to be active before, during and after pregnancy.

Her contribution to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines provided the foundation for much of the work that followed, including translating pregnancy and postnatal physical activity guidance into professional education, sector standards, screening tools and service models.

She is CEO and Co-Founder of the Active Pregnancy Foundation, which turns evidence and lived experience into resources, training and partnerships that help remove barriers to activity across the childbearing years. She is also leading the development of a UK perinatal exercise specialism, designed to strengthen workforce capability and raise standards for professionals supporting women.

Marlize is Principal Research Fellow at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, and Director of the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine in Sheffield, a London 2012 Olympic legacy programme established to improve health and wellbeing through sport, exercise and physical activity.

At Elevate, Marlize will focus on why supporting women through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood matters for the future of fitness, leisure, sport and public health.

Suzanne Gabb is an influential leader in the sport, health, and leisure sectors, with over two decades of experience delivering innovation and impact across public, private, and not-for-profit environments. As Chief Operating Officer at Good Boost, Suzanne leads commercial strategy, partnerships, and operational delivery—focusing on tech-enabled solutions that improve community health, accessibility, and inclusion.

A champion of digital transformation, Suzanne is at the forefront of integrating AI-powered rehabilitation and mobile-first platforms into leisure and health services. Her work helps organisations scale their impact while supporting individuals of all abilities to move more and feel better.

Prior to Good Boost, Suzanne held senior leadership roles, including at Parkwood Leisure, where she tripled youth participation in swimming across 50 sites and led the development of grassroots initiatives tailored to community needs. She has also played a key role in shaping national policy and innovation through her involvement on industry boards, National Governing Bodies, and as a Trustee for the Royal Life Saving Society.

Suzanne brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational know-how, and a deep commitment to equity and impact. She is passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive communities through collaboration, innovation, and sustainable change.

Tiffeny Gould is a seasoned business consultant with over 20 years of experience in the health, fitness and leisure sector, specialising in digital transformation strategy and delivery. Tiff works with organisations to identify business challenges, define strategic priorities and implement tailored solutions that drive customer engagement, operational efficiency and commercial growth.

She has supported a wide range of clients, from global operators to suppliers, helping them navigate complex digital landscapes, optimise processes and successfully adopt emerging technologies. Prior to her current role as Consulting Director at LeisureLabs, Tiff built a strong consulting practice, delivering digital transformation across customer experience, systems integration and data-driven strategy projects.

Tiff is recognised for her collaborative approach, deep industry knowledge and ability to translate technical insights into practical business outcomes. She is passionate about helping organisations thrive in an increasingly digital and competitive marketplace.

Justin is a Professor of Nutritional Physiology within the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. He is also a Registered Nutritionist® and Fellow of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of the Nutrition Evidence Database (supporting an evidence-based approach for nutrition professionals).

With a wealth of experience (over 25 years) in sport and exercise physiology and nutrition, Justin has worked at various institutions including the British Olympic Medical Centre (London), Brunel University (London), Victoria University (Melbourne), the University of Hertfordshire, and Danone Global Research & Innovation (Utrecht, The Netherlands). His research focuses on applied nutritional physiology, exploring dietary and nutrient strategies to support exercise training and recovery, muscular adaptations and cardio-metabolic health; with particular interest in polyphenol nutrients, plant-based proteins and use of probiotic/fibre approaches.

Justin has supported numerous athletes, including Nutrition Advisor to professional teams. He has recently co-authored a new textbook: ‘Integrative Sport and Exercise Nutrition: A health-feeds-performance perspective’, the first of its kind to shift thinking towards a holistic, systems-based, personalised approach to support athletes and long-term health.

Julie Allen or Jules as most know her, is driven and dedicated to improving the customer experience. With 20 years’ industry experience in both operations and as a supplier, Jules passion for creating meaningful and memorable experiences that lead to healthier and happier communities is at the heart of everything she does.

Prior to joining Active Insight as Business Development Director, Jules started her career as a receptionist before progressing in various roles including Sales and Marketing before moving onto Front of House and Customer Service Manager. With a desire to support a range of operators develop and drive their customer experience strategy, Jules joined TRP (now Fitronics). This combined experience of operations and consultancy has shaped Jules’ approach and commitment to sharing insight and customer experience knowledge to drive change within the industry. A Spin and Zumba instructor – you’ll find Jules in a group exercise studio somewhere!

As Director of Client Success at Proinsight, Chloe is responsible for supporting over 200 clients across a wide range of sectors, helping them enhance and transform their customer experience strategies. She works closely with senior stakeholders to design and implement tailored insight programmes that align with their strategic goals and deliver measurable impact. By combining data-driven analysis with a deep understanding of client objectives, Chloe ensures that each programme provides meaningful, actionable insights that drive performance, strengthen customer relationships, and support long-term business growth

Dan Jacklin is a barrister at St Philips Chambers and expert witness with experience investigating over 30 accidents in and around water in the UK, throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and South-East Asia. He runs the Water Incident Research Hub which provides guidance and resources to support operators of aquatic environments. He has supported RLSS UK as an advisor since 2017.

He is a past director of the International Life Saving Federation of Europe (‘ILSE’) and has been a board committee member at CIMSPA, IOSH, and IEMA. He was a member of the ISO SW/136/8 technical committee and the UK-liaison for waterslide safety at the British Standards Institute between 2019-2022.

He is a registered consultant on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultant Register (‘OSHCR’) and a full member with the Expert Witness Institute. Dan holds NEBOSH Diplomas in Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Management and an MSc in Strategic Quality Management. His legal practice includes regulatory law such as OSH, environmental, housing, food safety, and trading standards. He is finalising his PhD in eating disorder risk factors for submission in June 2025.

An experienced and pragmatic health, safety, and risk professional, Caleb brings a refreshingly practical approach to workplace safety. With a strong focus on dynamic, risk-based strategies, rather than box-ticking exercises, he delivers practical solutions and strategic leadership that result in measurable improvements in safety culture, compliance, and operational resilience across complex European operations.

Caleb is a specialist and recognised industry expert in leisure, health & fitness, aquatic risk, and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) programmes. He is the author and implementer of a multi award winning AED programme that has achieved world-leading out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates, resulting in over 150 lives saved. This initiative has become a benchmark for excellence in emergency response and risk management.

Caleb is Chair of the UK Active Standards & Legislation Committee, sits on the Committee of Experts for the FITcert European accreditation scheme and is a BSI working group member.

Known for his practical insights and results driven mindset, Caleb offers real-world strategies for building effective, sustainable safety programmes that prioritise people, not paperwork.

Janine is a Legal Director in the Regulatory team based in Kennedys London office. She has 20 years’ experience specialising in investigations undertaken by the regulatory authorities including the Health and Safety Executive, Care Quality Commission, Local Authorities, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Environmental Agency. In addition, Janine has experience in coronial law and defending individuals in road traffic prosecutions.

She is experienced in regularly representing companies, directors and employees interests in regulatory investigations, Inquests and prosecutions across a wide number of industries including; leisure, utilities, construction, agriculture, travel, care, manufacturing and education.

Janine provides coherent advice in relation to regulatory investigations within twenty-four hours of an incident occurring to the conclusion of a matter including sentencing hearings and trial. Janine builds a close working relationship with clients in consideration of all aspects of the investigation and commercial needs connected to the investigation.

Janine is a long-standing member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Association and member of the LEP. She has attended a workshop with the Chief Coroner. Janine acted as mentor as part of the SPILKA Scheme for Ukrainian lawyers within the UK. She regularly contributes to Kennedys newsletters and webinars.

Janine has represented several UK leisure operators in relation to investigations by a local authority and HSE, as well as subsequent prosecutions and inquests. Including submersion, chemical and injury incidents.

Jenny brings over 35 years of experience in physical activity and education, having led the development and growth of specialist health and fitness awarding organisations, including her most recent role as MD of Active IQ over the last 12 years. With a deep understanding of regulatory frameworks, she has also worked across education provider and operator environments, and she is committed to supporting individuals as they enter and progress through the sector. Over the past three decades, Jenny has witnessed—and helped shape—the evolution of fitness education from traditional instructor training to a more comprehensive, evidence informed and wellbeing focused ecosystem. Her passion for lifelong learning continues to drive her mission to equip physical activity professionals with the skills needed to meaningfully enhance the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. Internationally, Jenny has played a pivotal role in shaping accreditation and quality assurance standards for organisations including the European Health and Fitness Association (now Europe Active), the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) Ireland, and the International Confederation of Registers of Exercise Professionals (ICREPs). Jenny now runs her own consultancy business, JP Consulting, which provides strategic advisory services for training providers, employers, sector stakeholders and awarding organisations.

Dan began his career as an instructor and has since held senior leadership and advisory roles across some of the UK’s leading education, awarding and community provision providers.

Dan has extensive expertise in the fitness sector including education, training, regulatory development and public health. He is recognised for his passion for scaling organisations, building commercial success, and championing equal access to physical activity. Dan consults nationally and internationally, supporting the sector through strategic development and initiatives that improve the opportunities for both professionals and communities.

Stephanie has loved sport and exercise from a young age and played multiple sports over the years. In 2003 she qualified as a sports coach specialising in field athletics, football and classical dance. In 2005 she moved into PT and group exercise

She ran coaching and PT training business in the UK, Egypt and the USA before returning to the UK in 2009 to work in the private gym sector, taking a variety of roles for LA Fitness. During this time, she focused on education development, colleague training pathways and member journey experience.

In 2013 Stephanie worked on the development of boutique fitness spaces and programming at LA Fitness and within independent companies.

She started working at Everyone Active in 2017 where she has been leading on training and development for fitness colleagues and product design. More recently she has been developing a new wellbeing product You+ which focuses on the behaviours of wellbeing.

Stephanie is passionate about making change and influencing other fitness professionals to reach their potential and to deliver excellent products and service.

Lisa West is Head of Policy, Partnerships and Public Affairs at Women in Sport and is a passionate advocate for gender equality. Lisa has worked within Local Authorities, NGBs and as a consultant, leading change across the sport and leisure sector.

Her 18 years in the sector enable a deep understanding of the system and how it needs to change to enable women and girls to thrive as participants, volunteers, professionals and as leaders. Lisa believes whole heartedly in the power that sport and physical activity has to improve lives. Lisa is also a School Governor at her children’s primary school.

Yasmin Clarke is a Board Director of the LTA and a passionate advocate for the organisation’s mission of ‘Tennis Opened Up’, ensuring the sport is accessible, inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

A former professional tennis player and Level 5 Master Performance Coach, Yasmin has worked across elite sport, grassroots development and governance as a coach, mentor, speaker and consultant. Her experience across the sport and education sectors gives her a strong understanding of how sport can build confidence, develop life skills and open pathways for young people and underrepresented communities.

Dan Aguilera is a high-performance business consultant & mentor, international speaker, and multi-business operator with 27 years experience in the fitness industry. Dan is recognised as one of the leading strategic thinkers in the fitness and wellness industry. He has built and scaled multiple 7-figure ventures, consulted for over 1000 gyms worldwide, and transformed the lives and businesses of hundreds of fitness entrepreneurs.

Dan specialises in structured mentoring, financial strategy, product development, system integration, and high-performance team leadership, bringing a rare combination of creativity, operational discipline, and commercial intelligence that enables him to connect with people at every level of an organisation.

He has earned a reputation for designing business models that are not only profitable, but duplicatable, scaleable and sustainable.

Dr Glenda Rivoallan is a resilience expert, positive psychology specialist and founder of We Talk Wellbeing and Fourthzone, a female-only premium luxury wellbeing club launching in Jersey in June 2026. Known for her energetic, relatable, and deeply human approach, Glenda has become a leading voice in wellbeing, behaviour change, and emotional resilience across the fitness, education, and corporate sectors.

With a background spanning health coaching, leadership development, and wellbeing education, Glenda is passionate about helping people move beyond burnout, self-doubt, and “all-or-nothing” thinking. Her work blends evidence-based psychology with practical, real-world strategies that empower individuals and teams to build confidence, adaptability, and sustainable wellbeing habits.

Glenda is the creator of the Resilient as Fudge framework, a refreshingly honest approach to resilience that encourages people to embrace imperfection while developing emotional strength and self-belief. She is also the lead developer of innovative health and wellbeing coaching qualifications designed to shape the future of holistic coaching practice.

An engaging keynote speaker and facilitator, Glenda is recognised for delivering thought-provoking sessions filled with humour, warmth, and actionable insight. Her mission is simple: to help people thrive, not just survive, in work and life.

Sarah Bellew is Head of Communications and Engagement at Women in Sport, where she leads the organisation’s strategy to shift culture, influence policy and grow support by shining a light on gender inequality in sport.

An award-winning journalist with 20 years’ experience, Sarah specialises in turning research and evidence into powerful public narratives that drive debate and action. She leads integrated communications, partnerships and income strategies that strengthen both the charity’s influence and sustainability.

Under her leadership, Women in Sport has delivered bold, agenda-setting campaigns including Mini Allies and Black Girls and Sport: A Breakup Story, sparking national conversation, securing widespread media coverage and building cross-sector partnerships to address systemic barriers facing women and girls.

As an masters athlete, Sarah currently represents England in Touch rugby and has won two European gold medals and two World Cup bronze medals. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director at England Touch.

A former England rugby union player, Brian won 64 England caps between 1987 and 1995. He is also a renowned sports commentator. Brian is passionate about furthering the development of sport for women and girls and is the vice chair of the charity Women in Sport. Brian is also a trained solicitor and has a MSc in Psychology from Westminster University.

Rowell is an accomplished professional with over 15 years of experience across public health, leisure, economics, and elite sport spanning three countries. He has successfully led strategic relationships, operational contracts, frameworks, and capital projects alongside local authorities, leisure operators, and national stakeholders.

Combining elite athletic experience with academic training in economics, Rowell offers a unique lens on policy and programme development. His approach is both data-driven and outcomes-focused, ensuring strategies are grounded in evidence and aligned with broader health and societal objectives.

He possesses a deep understanding of social care, health protection, and the wider determinants of health, including socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural factors. His expertise in high-performance sport further enhances his ability to position physical activity as a powerful tool for improving population health and tackling inequality.

Throughout his career, Rowell has demonstrated a consistent ability to navigate complex systems, develop meaningful cross-sector partnerships, and drive impactful change. His work reflects a strong commitment to reducing disparities and improving lives through collaborative, insight-led solutions.

Nick has been in the leisure industry since 2001, completing a degree in leisure management and sports science in 2003. He has worked in private health clubs and leisure centres, holding various roles such as fitness instructor, duty manager, deputy centre manager, personal trainer, senior lifestyle consultant, sales manager and centre manager. Each role presented its own unique challenges. Nick has a passion for health and fitness and loves the industry. He joined the Mid Devon Leisure team in June 2016 and specialises in health, fitness and wellbeing.

Matthew has over 20 years’ experience working in the health and central government including leading the NHS’ public health services in London.

He is a charity trustee for the Bristol Folk House which helps its community to ‘learn, make, create, and appreciate’ and he co-founded ‘Out to Swim Bristol’ and led the establishment of it as a national organisation and movement for inclusion in aquatics and sport.

Sarah is an Aquatic Therapy Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist who is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). She is the Chair of the ATACP and an accredited ATACP tutor. Sarah is also a committee member of the Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group (PWTAG) and assisted writing the Hydrotherapy Pools chapter in Swimming Pool Water book publication 2017 and soon new release 2026.

Sarah has 29 years’ experience working in and managing hydrotherapy pools in the NHS, Private and Ministry of Defence sectors. She is Founder of Pinder Aquatic Physiotherapy since 2021 working in a hydrotherapy pool within Winchester Sport and Leisure Park. Sarah has tutored courses to physiotherapists and health care practitioners in the UK and internationally since 2006. She has spoken at study days, seminars and conferences.

Becks career journey spans over two decades in the leisure industry, with a significant proportion of it with Everyone Active, who currently manage over 225 facilities in collaboration with 67 local authority partners. For the past 13 years, Becks has had the privilege of contributing to the organisation's mission and vision, particularly in my role as the Strategic Lead for Health and Wellbeing.

As Strategic Lead for Health and Wellbeing, Becks is responsible for leading the delivery of our Community Health and Wellbeing strategy, which is a key strand of our corporate plan. Together with our regional and local colleagues focusing on activity and wellbeing, the strategy aims to empower communities and individuals to embrace active daily living and lead healthier lifestyles with targeted programmes and initiatives.

Collaboration and co-design have been key to Becks approach in driving initiatives aimed at promoting health and wellbeing within our communities. Using experiences and insights, hand in hand with our valuable colleagues, stakeholders, local authorities, and community members to create a consistent approach that effectively addresses the diverse and evolving needs of our communities.

Alex Hains is the Head of Business Engagement at Swim England, with over 16 years of experience building partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He is passionate about driving participation in physical activity and supporting organisations that prioritise community access to facilities.

Owner of Jo’s Fitness Hub

From actress to grassroots fitness, business owner and educator, Joanne Groves has spent over 38 years challenging how the fitness industry thinks, coaches, and communicates.

She is an international keynote speaker, owner of Jo’s Movement Hub, director of Sewers and Knitters, and Course Director and Education Quality Lead at Faster Health and Fitness.

Joanne helps clubs look after, develop, and retain their personal trainers, enhancing team culture, member experience, referrals, repeat business, and retention.

Founder of My Pilates London in Putney, Pete Pallai is a two-time Olympian and former professional Rugby player. Pete says, “Having competed in rugby and bobsleigh for over 20 years the impact and injuries took their toll. Pilates brought me back to full functionality and more. Pilates underpins all our other activities. Whatever your sport and however you like to keep fit, Pilates makes you stronger, faster and more resilient.

Pilates is a form of strength training using bodyweight and spring-loaded equipment to build functional strength, stability, and muscle tone, in the core, back, and hips. It emphasizes control and muscular endurance over heavy loading. Many athletes use it as a complement to heavier resistance training to address weaknesses and improve movement quality.

Pete also travels the world as a Balanced Body Pilates Educator and Presenter. As an Educator, Pete teaches Balanced Body’s Pilates Comprehensive (500 hour program) and Balanced Body’s bespoke Group Reformer for Fitnesss Professionals. In the latter, he upskills existing group exercise staff in what they need to know to design and deliver effective, engaging Group Reformer classes in club setting.

Kriss is the Managing Director for Gym80 in the UK and Ireland. Having worked as an elite fitness professional for now 30 years, his wealth of experience lies in both operator and supplier sides, consulting on numerous projects in between these spaces also. Kriss’s experience have had him working in senior positions in the private sector as well the education sector. All after running a successful fitness and personal training company in his 20’s.

Having built incredible relationships and strong partnerships with the world’s leading fitness brands, Gym80 have accessed the market as real disruptors and now are seen in innovators in both biomechanics and aesthetically superior strength equipment.

Josh is the Third Space Head of Education.

His role is to educate, assess and progress their personal trainers whilst ensuring quality across the group.

Interested in sport from an early age, Duncan played international squash representing Scotland from age 14 culminating in a full International Cap aged 19. Duncan completed a BA ‘Sport in the Community’ Degree majoring in ‘Management & Scientific Analysis of High-Performance Athletes’.

In January 2000 Duncan progressed from Sports Co-ordinator at Heriot-Watt University to Director of Sport at the University of Reading before becoming Managing Director and subsequently Chief Executive of Gosling Sports Park in Welwyn Garden City. In March 2008 Duncan moved to Neath Port Talbot to take up the role of Managing Director with Celtic Community Leisure, the first Leisure Trust established in Wales in 2003. After a very successful 6 years in South Wales, Duncan was appointed to his current post as Chief Executive of Wave Active now operating 15 sites across the Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough.

Beyond operating leisure sites, Duncan has been instrumental with the development of a new Wave Active Health brand which has the Aim of empowering independent health and wellbeing, through the design and delivery of behavioural change and activity programmes and pathways that help those suffering from injury, illness and health conditions.

Duncan is also currently working with Lewes District Council to bring traditional General Practice and Primary Healthcare Services to a healthy living, leisure centre environment, offering connected healthcare provision to the heart of the local Newhaven community under one roof.

Joseph is responsible for customer and communities at GLL and works with his team across communication, marketing, memberships, product development and customer service to put customers at the heart of everything GLL does.

Before picking up his current remit, Joseph spent 15 years in various operational roles for GLL. Working across different locations throughout the UK with leisure and library teams. Progressing from General Manager through to Regional Director, Joseph has acquired extensive experience of different centres, staff, customers and clients.

Sam manages Mind’s Sport England system partnership and funding. He is responsible for projects helping the sport and physical activity sector to support people with mental health problems in physical activity. This includes programmes focused on supporting the mental health of young people, people from marginalised communities and sport sector workforce. Sam also leads Mind’s work to embed mental health across the sport sector, through developing training, collaborating with partners, and influencing key policy.

Suzanne Gabb is an influential leader in the sport, health, and leisure sectors, with over two decades of experience delivering innovation and impact across public, private, and not-for-profit environments. As Chief Operating Officer at Good Boost, Suzanne leads commercial strategy, partnerships, and operational delivery—focusing on tech-enabled solutions that improve community health, accessibility, and inclusion.

A champion of digital transformation, Suzanne is at the forefront of integrating AI-powered rehabilitation and mobile-first platforms into leisure and health services. Her work helps organisations scale their impact while supporting individuals of all abilities to move more and feel better.

Prior to Good Boost, Suzanne held senior leadership roles, including at Parkwood Leisure, where she tripled youth participation in swimming across 50 sites and led the development of grassroots initiatives tailored to community needs. She has also played a key role in shaping national policy and innovation through her involvement on industry boards, National Governing Bodies, and as a Trustee for the Royal Life Saving Society.

Suzanne brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational know-how, and a deep commitment to equity and impact. She is passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive communities through collaboration, innovation, and sustainable change.

Lesley Aitken is a sales and marketing specialist and speaker working across the leisure, fitness and customer experience sectors, supporting brands including Xn Leisure, TRP and CoursePro.

With a background in marketing strategy, successful pre-sales support and membership sales development, Lesley helps organisations turn complex systems and operational challenges into clear, commercially focused messaging that customers connect with.

Her work includes campaign strategy, sales enablement, LinkedIn content, webinars, landing pages, customer storytelling, product positioning and event marketing. Lesley also supports the training and development of membership sales teams, helping improve sales confidence, customer conversations, lead handling and sales processes within busy operational environments.

Across Xn Leisure, Lesley supports marketing around leisure management systems, ticketing, managed direct debits and operational control. With TRP, the focus centres on customer engagement and retention. For CoursePro, much of the work highlights swim school growth, automation and reducing administration for operators.

Known for combining commercial thinking with a passionate and practical approach, Lesley focuses on creating sales and marketing strategies that feel human, relevant and commercially effective.

KJ brings over 18 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, combining hands-on club leadership with strategic consultancy to help aquatic and fitness businesses grow and maximise revenue. As Head of Growth and Performance at 3-1-5 Health Club, she works actively within the business to drive commercial success across all key revenue streams.

Her role focuses on developing and implementing strategies that increase membership sales, grow fitness revenue, expand swim school programmes, and maximise secondary spend. KJ specialises in improving conversion, identifying new income opportunities, and building high-performing sales cultures within teams.

Alongside her work in-club, KJ is the founder of Elevate Consultants, where she supports swim schools, gyms, and fitness studios to strengthen their commercial performance. Through consultancy, she helps operators optimise pricing, improve sales processes, and unlock untapped revenue streams to drive sustainable growth.

Because she remains actively responsible for growth and performance within a thriving club environment, KJ brings practical, real-world insight to the businesses she works with. Her focus is on turning growth strategies into clear, actionable steps that deliver measurable results.

Lauren is a passionate advocate for getting young people moving and making sure they feel seen, heard, and included in the world of health and fitness. As Head of Health and Wellbeing with over 10 years of experience in the Wellbeing and Leisure sectors, she brings a unique blend of strategic insight and genuine care for community wellbeing.

Her work goes beyond gym refurbishments and business development, though she’s led many successful projects in those areas. What drives Lauren is the opportunity to reshape how we design fitness spaces and programs to truly engage young people, meet them where they are, and spark a lifelong love of movement. She’s developed a wide range of innovative class concepts with youth at the heart, rooted in the belief that healthy habits start early, and that access, fun, and belonging are key.

Lauren is committed to reducing health inequalities and believes every young person deserves access to safe, supportive, and inspiring spaces to be active, regardless of their background or circumstance. Her approach centres inclusion, and she’s currently focused on adapting a referral program to include GLP-1 support while also reaching underserved communities through initiatives like NHS Health Checks, wellbeing seminars, and post-menopausal heart health programs.

When Lauren speaks on panels, she brings not just expertise but a deep passion for creating a more inclusive, energetic, and youth-friendly fitness culture. Her goal is to help reimagine what physical activity looks like for young people today and ensure they have every opportunity to move, thrive, and feel part of something bigger.

Justine Davies is a global leader in youth fitness at Les Mills, where she leads the BORN TO MOVE™ programme—supporting both partner and non-partner organisations to implement innovative, scalable delivery models that inspire young people to lead fun, active lives.

Working across global markets, Justine champions a diverse ecosystem of delivery—from adopt-a-school programmes and community outreach to the development of young leaders, and impactful collaborations spanning digital platform providers through to charities. Her work is grounded in one core belief: the young person is the “why” behind everything we do—driven further through her deep involvement in Les Mills’ impact strategy, ensuring measurable, meaningful change in how young people experience movement and wellbeing.

A passionate advocate for sector alignment, Justine actively supports UKACTIVE in embedding its guidance on safely including children and young people (aged 2 to 16) in gym and group exercise environments—helping operators adopt age-appropriate access, supervision, safeguarding, staff training, and inclusive practices. She also works with global markets to interpret and localise these frameworks, ensuring programmes are delivered safely, effectively, and in line with national physical activity recommendations while meeting the needs of local communities, and meet the needs of our young people!

Known for her “what if” mindset, Justine challenges the status quo—refusing to accept “this won’t work here.” She brings a tenacious, can-do attitude and an unwavering belief that, while the challenge of getting young people active is huge, it is absolutely worth the fight—and she won’t give up. A natural collaborator, she believes there is no single solution and refuses to be a gatekeeper to progress.

Above all, Justine is a fierce champion for young people—ensuring their voice, experience, and wellbeing remain front and centre.

Josh is the Third Space Head of Education.

His role is to educate, assess and progress their personal trainers whilst ensuring quality across the group.

Heather has spent her career helping some of the world's best fitness, wellness and longevity brands grow, building the strategies, teams, and systems that turn good ideas into realities.

As CMO of the Bespoke Program at Studio Grow, Heather is part of a team of industry experts who provide brands with C-suite firepower and hands-on consultancy. Heather has worked with some of the biggest names in the fitness industry, including Third Space, Mindbody, Tonal and Merrithew, and in addition to fitness, she has a specialism in longevity and biohacking brands, working with the likes of Dave Asprey to bring new concept launches to life.

Ian Donley is the Founder and CEO of Tees Valley Innovation (TVI) and brings more than 35 years of leadership across the UK&I’s private and public leisure sectors. As the exclusive UK agent for WellnessSpace Brands, Ian combines deep operational expertise with a forward‑looking approach to innovation — identifying, sourcing, and introducing cutting‑edge fitness, wellness, and recovery technologies to the UK&I market.

His work centres on elevating user experience while delivering strong commercial returns for operators. With demand for recovery solutions accelerating across every part of the sector, Ian has supported the majority of leading operators across the UK&I in developing bespoke, high‑performing recovery concepts tailored to their brand, audience, and operational model.

Zoe is a member of STA’s Senior Management Team and has worked in the physical activity and sports development sector for more than 20 years. For the last 15 years, Zoe has worked for the STA, and in her current role works alongside the CEO to lead the charge in grassroots swimming in both the public and private sectors. Professionally, Zoe also has a wealth of knowledge and experience in marketing, currently holding a Level 6 CIM qualification in Professional and Digital Marketing. On a personal level, since studying Psychology, Health, and Exercise at university, she also has a passion for increasing activity and participation in aquatics, and in her spare time coaches artistic swimming to youngsters at her local club. Zoe is also a professional artistic swimmer and has competed at the highest levels all over the world.

Chris Bateman is the Managing Director of CB Training Services and a Lead STA Tutor, specialising in Pool Plant operations and compliance. With over 20 years’ experience in the leisure sector, he delivers high-quality training that supports the safe and effective management of aquatic facilities. Alongside Pool Plant, Chris delivers a wide range of qualifications including lifesaving, first aid and teaching programmes, as well as tutor and IQA training. He is passionate about sharing practical knowledge that makes a real difference, helping professionals build confidence, maintain standards and progress within their careers. Chris also supports training centres and tutors at every stage of their development

With over 20 years of experience in the leisure industry, Sarah has built a strong track record in operational management and team leadership within leisure centre environments. More recently, she has transitioned into the learning and development sector, where she focuses on delivering high-quality training, overseeing quality assurance processes and managing an STA Approved Training Centre.

Her expertise lies in compliance training and qualifications, ensuring standards are consistently met. She is passionate about creating effective learning experiences, maintaining regulatory excellence and driving continuous improvement across training programmes.

Suzanne Gabb is an influential leader in the sport, health, and leisure sectors, with over two decades of experience delivering innovation and impact across public, private, and not-for-profit environments. As Chief Operating Officer at Good Boost, Suzanne leads commercial strategy, partnerships, and operational delivery—focusing on tech-enabled solutions that improve community health, accessibility, and inclusion.

A champion of digital transformation, Suzanne is at the forefront of integrating AI-powered rehabilitation and mobile-first platforms into leisure and health services. Her work helps organisations scale their impact while supporting individuals of all abilities to move more and feel better.

Prior to Good Boost, Suzanne held senior leadership roles, including at Parkwood Leisure, where she tripled youth participation in swimming across 50 sites and led the development of grassroots initiatives tailored to community needs. She has also played a key role in shaping national policy and innovation through her involvement on industry boards, National Governing Bodies, and as a Trustee for the Royal Life Saving Society.

Suzanne brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational know-how, and a deep commitment to equity and impact. She is passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive communities through collaboration, innovation, and sustainable change.

Joanne Bogan is an experienced Health and Wellbeing Manager at Active North Yorkshire, leading innovative approaches to improving health through physical activity and behaviour change. With a strong background in population health and local authority delivery, Joanne specialises in developing integrated models that connect communities, services and individuals.

A qualified psychotherapist, she is passionate about empowering people to take control of their own wellbeing, using health coaching approaches to support sustainable lifestyle change. Joanne has played a key role in designing and implementing system-wide approaches that bring together health coaching, community assets and physical activity opportunities to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes.

At Elevate, Joanne will share insights into the evolving model being developed at Active North Yorkshire, demonstrating how health coaching can be embedded within a wider ecosystem to create person-centred, preventative support. Her work is driven by a commitment to collaboration, innovation and making physical activity accessible to all, particularly those who would benefit most.

Freya is the Head of Padel for Powerleague, leading the development and launch of the Powerleague Padel concept. With 42 courts across 4 clubs, Powerleague is rapidly expanding its offering, and Freya is spearheading this growth. With over 12 years in the health and fitness industry, Freya brings a wealth of expertise across multiple fast-growing leisure businesses.

Jeevan Gill is an entrepreneur and early leader in the UK’s fast growing padel industry, and a core member of the founding team at Padelstars. Joining the business in 2023 as its first team member, she partnered closely with the founders at a time when the company had no venues or clubs, playing a hands on role in shaping both its strategy and execution from the ground up.

Alongside her work in padel, Jeevan is a business owner with a background spanning hospitality and the design and build space. She brings a unique ability to combine years of experience across these sectors to scale physical, community-driven environments an approach that has been central to Padelstars’ rapid growth.

Since then, she has been instrumental in scaling Padelstars into one of the most exciting operators in the space, helping grow the business to 12 venues and a rapidly expanding community of players. Her work spans commercial development, operations, and building the foundations of a scalable padel ecosystem in the UK.

Padelstars’ momentum has been recognised nationally, earning a place on The Times 100 “Ones to Watch” list for 2025. With ambitious plans to reach 17 venues and over 80 courts by the end of the year, Jeevan continues to play a key role in driving that growth.

Passionate about making padel accessible and mainstream, Jeevan brings a builder’s mindset and first-hand experience of scaling a sport from grassroots to high growth business.

Dr Emily Peckham is a Senior Research Fellow and Chief Investigator for the NIHR-funded SPACES and Co-SPACES studies, exploring how physical activity can support people experiencing severe mental ill health and reduce health inequalities. Emily is from Bangor university

Gareth Jones is a Research Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University specialising in physical activity, behaviour change and whole systems approaches to health and wellbeing.

Gareth's research has a focus on mental health and supporting those with severe mental illness.

Liz Fletcher is an Occupational Therapist and national strategic lead at Sport for Confidence, focusing on physical activity, population health and reducing inequalities through community and systems-based approaches.

Lyndsey has over 24 years’ experience as a qualified Occupational Therapist, registered by the Health and Care Professions Council and a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapy. Lyndsey leads the Sport for Confidence team of therapists with innovation, inspiration and care. Lyndsey uses physical activity as a therapeutic modality to promote good health and prevent ill-health, laying the foundations for how integrated health pathways can be delivered in meaningful partnership with leisure, sport, adult social care and health.

Marina is an advisor on disability inclusion in sport and marketing. She works with advertising agencies, brands, sports organisations, and fitness operators to create more authentic, accessible, and commercially relevant approaches to disability inclusion.

With more than 15 years of marketing experience and lived experience as a disability sport athlete, Marina became a leading advocate for inclusive sport and disability representation following a spinal cord injury in 2020.

Her current projects include delivering disability sport and inclusion work at MATTA, conducting global research into inclusive fitness environments through The Churchill Fellowship, and supporting the sports charity Regain.

Marina’s work includes marketing strategy and execution, inclusive communications workshops, keynote speaking, thought leadership content, and accessibility audits for gyms and sports venues.

More information: disabilityinsport.com

Michael is a distinguished Pilates teacher and a veteran in group fitness, with over 45 years of experience. His journey began at the London School of Contemporary Dance, leading him to open his own Body Control Studios in Covent Garden, London. He later managed the Pilates studio at the Houston Ballet Company in Texas, training with renowned experts across the USA.

After a tenure in the USA, including work at the Voight Centre in LA and teaching at several notable studios like Winsor Pilates, Michael returned to Europe. He founded the Pilates Institute UK, ran it until 2008, and then established Michael King Pilates, now part of My Academy.pro. His programs, known for their innovative approach, are taught in over 30 countries.

Recently, Michael has focused on developing group reformer classes, aiming to make Pilates more accessible and engaging. His dedication to blending traditional techniques with new formats continues to influence the fitness world globally.

Experienced sales leader and strategic executive with a track record of driving growth and maximising profitability. Currently serving as the Director of Sales at Balanced Body, the global leader in Pilates equipment and education, Bill brings a wealth of expertise in international sales, strategic partnerships and global channel management. With a background in guiding high-performing teams and developing robust sales strategies, Bill’s leadership style combines consultative selling, team-building, and a commitment to raising standards of excellence.

Lawrence co-founded Love Recruitment in 2015 and Love Childcare Recruitment in 2021 and is the CEO of both. Lawrence is a specialist in recruitment and loves bringing great candidates and great businesses together. Lawrence's key focus is providing the vision for the company and the growth.

Lawrence’s background is in the fitness industry, working within a start-up called Solutions Health and Fitness before moving to Esporta for many years. After working within recruitment for nearly 5 years, Lawrence launched Love with Abhi Lakhina.

Towards the end of 2022, Lawrence also launched and hosts the Love Your Career Podcast, designed to help candidates with their careers and businesses learn recruitment tips from industry professionals telling their stories. Lawrence is also passionate about climate change and businesses doing more to support these causes. We plant trees with every placement we make, it is called Share The Love. Lawrence also sits on UK Active’s Supplier Council after being elected this year.

CEO EMEA at Lift Brands, leading the growth and performance of the Snap Fitness network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Founder of TRIB3 and winner of the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Over the past 30 years, I have built, scaled and transformed businesses across fitness, leisure and marketing, launching more than 550 locations and creating brands that deliver sustainable growth for franchisees, investors and shareholders.

My passion is helping people and businesses unlock exponential potential through leadership, innovation, franchising and operational excellence. I believe great businesses are built by great people, strong cultures and a relentless focus on customer experience.

A high performing Board Executive with extensive experience across the leisure and wellbeing industry, dealing with complex contractual relationships in both the public and private sectors. 20+ years of experience impacting positive organisational outcomes through change management, project delivery and developing high performing teams.

More recently, embarked on a change management programme reviewing digital systems and customer touch points across the organisation with the aim of simplifying the customer journey and making our wide range of services easily accessible.

Paula is a HCPC-registered sport and exercise psychologist specialising in weight-related behaviours. She has 21+ years experience of supporting others to lead healthier lives, and provides psychological therapy supporting clients with disordered eating, exercise problems and sustainable weight management. She's previously worked with Mind charity to raise awareness around over-exercising, and is a strong advocate for promoting a healthy mindset for exercise and movement. She's an expert in motivation and has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers, co-edited the Applied Sport and Exercise Practitioner book, and has recently started a YouTube channel (@DrPaulaWatson) to share psychological tips about eating, exercise and weight.

Lauren is a passionate advocate for getting young people moving and making sure they feel seen, heard, and included in the world of health and fitness. As Head of Health and Wellbeing with over 10 years of experience in the Wellbeing and Leisure sectors, she brings a unique blend of strategic insight and genuine care for community wellbeing.

Her work goes beyond gym refurbishments and business development, though she’s led many successful projects in those areas. What drives Lauren is the opportunity to reshape how we design fitness spaces and programs to truly engage young people, meet them where they are, and spark a lifelong love of movement. She’s developed a wide range of innovative class concepts with youth at the heart, rooted in the belief that healthy habits start early, and that access, fun, and belonging are key.

Lauren is committed to reducing health inequalities and believes every young person deserves access to safe, supportive, and inspiring spaces to be active, regardless of their background or circumstance. Her approach centres inclusion, and she’s currently focused on adapting a referral program to include GLP-1 support while also reaching underserved communities through initiatives like NHS Health Checks, wellbeing seminars, and post-menopausal heart health programs.

When Lauren speaks on panels, she brings not just expertise but a deep passion for creating a more inclusive, energetic, and youth-friendly fitness culture. Her goal is to help reimagine what physical activity looks like for young people today and ensure they have every opportunity to move, thrive, and feel part of something bigger.

Rebecca Cox is Business Engagement Director at Swim England, a member of the Swim England Senior Leadership Team, and Managing Director of the Institute of Swimming, where she leads national strategy across commercial partnerships, workforce development, and member engagement. With extensive experience in the leisure, sport, and education sectors, Rebecca plays a key role in strengthening the connection between aquatic sport, operators, and the workforce that delivers it.
She is passionate about developing sustainable partnerships that improve access to swimming and aquatic activity across communities, while supporting the professional development of the sector’s workforce. Rebecca’s leadership focuses on collaboration, innovation, and ensuring the long-term growth and impact of swimming as a life skill and a sport.

Dave Candler is the CEO of the Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA), the national governing body for swimming and a registered charity dedicated to the teaching of swimming, lifesaving and aquatic skills. He has held the role for the past ten years, supporting more than 20,000 swimming teacher members across the UK.

Alongside this, Dave is CEO of the International Federation of Swimming Teachers’ Associations (IFSTA), representing member organisations in 22 countries worldwide.

A Chartered Manager Fellow with CIMSPA, Dave also sits on the Swimming Alliance Steering Group, where he contributes to shaping national standards, workforce development and the future direction of the aquatics sector.

Dave has worked in swimming teaching and leisure management for more than 25 years. Before becoming STA’s CEO in 2016, he spent a decade as Operations, Swimming and Training Manager at Inspire Leisure, one of the UK’s largest swimming lesson providers. His extensive poolside experience, combined with multiple management qualifications, gives him a strong understanding of the practical challenges and opportunities facing tutors, teachers and operators.

As a senior STA Tutor, Dave has personally trained hundreds of swimming teachers. This hands-on experience continues to inform STA’s approach to programme design, tutor support and workforce development, ensuring strategic decisions are firmly grounded in real-world delivery.

Katy Butterfield is a Senior Business Engagement Manager specialising in workforce development, with extensive experience working in leisure operations and alongside leisure operators, supporting the growth of aquatics and learn to swim programmes.
She has a strong track record of successful delivery, working closely with employers and partners to identify skills needs, shape effective workforce strategies, and build sustainable talent pipelines. Katy is also a qualified Swim England Tutor, bringing hands-on sector expertise and insight into developing high-quality talent across the leisure and aquatic workforce.

Julie Allen or Jules as most know her, is driven and dedicated to improving the customer experience. With 20 years’ industry experience in both operations and as a supplier, Jules passion for creating meaningful and memorable experiences that lead to healthier and happier communities is at the heart of everything she does.

Prior to joining Active Insight as Business Development Director, Jules started her career as a receptionist before progressing in various roles including Sales and Marketing before moving onto Front of House and Customer Service Manager. With a desire to support a range of operators develop and drive their customer experience strategy, Jules joined TRP (now Fitronics). This combined experience of operations and consultancy has shaped Jules’ approach and commitment to sharing insight and customer experience knowledge to drive change within the industry. A Spin and Zumba instructor – you’ll find Jules in a group exercise studio somewhere!

Jack has over 17 years of experience in the sports industry and currently serves as 4GLOBAL’s Director of Strategic Projects. In this role, he leads a team of Senior Consultants, Project Delivery Managers, and Data Analysts, ensuring the successful delivery of multiple complex and high-value projects. Jack brings extensive senior and executive leadership experience within the sport, physical activity, and health sectors, with a proven ability to operate effectively at all organisational levels.

At 4GLOBAL, Jack has been instrumental in driving projects such as The Moving Communities project with Sport England. His leadership in this project has fostered innovation and emphasised the importance of knowledge sharing across the sector. The initiative has significantly contributed to enhancing the fitness and health sector by providing more frequent opportunities for physical activity and highlighting underserved communities and areas that require investment.

Before joining 4GLOBAL, Jack was the Director of Research, Policy, and Communications at ukactive. During his tenure, he led the delivery of strategic research and insights that influenced sector policies and delivered tangible positive changes. His role also involved maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders across both central and local government.

Jack's expertise in strategic leadership, project management, and policy development, combined with his passion for the sports and health sectors, positions him as a valuable asset across initiatives. His commitment to driving innovation and improving sector outcomes is reflected in the successful projects he has led and the strong relationships he has built throughout his career.

Sarah Robertson is a strategic leader with over 20 years’ experience delivering transformational change across sport, leisure, health, local government and communities.

Currently Active Wellbeing & Partnership Manager at Active Wirral, Sarah leads large-scale programmes that improve health outcomes, reduce inequalities and create stronger, more active communities. She is responsible for strategic partnerships, commercial development, place-based working and service transformation, working across local government, health systems, education, voluntary sector organisations and national governing bodies.

Sarah is recognised for her ability to bring people together around a shared vision, translating complex challenges into practical action and measurable impact. Her expertise spans system leadership, organisational development, stakeholder engagement, behavioural change, community activation and strategic planning.

Prior to local government, Sarah held leadership roles within national sports organisations and major international events, including Basketball England and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She has led award-winning marketing, communications and engagement initiatives throughout her career.

A qualified Executive Coach, She is passionate about creating environments where individuals, organisations and communities can thrive, and is particularly interested in the role of sport, physical activity and movement in driving social change. Outside of work she is an active tennis coach and has been for 25 years.

Tina spent 25 years of her career within Local Authority Sports Development before joining the Place Team at Sport England. She has since spent the past 8 years working with Place Partners across Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria to support the development of place-based systemic work in tackling inequalities and increasing physical activity.

Tina works with a range of local and national partners, building collaborative relationships that connect, challenge, reflect, and learn. Her work and that of Place Partnerships contribute towards tackling inactivity and stubborn inequalities in local communities and to the successful delivery of Sport England’s strategy, Uniting the Movement.

Ian is Group Aquatic and Activity Manager for Everyone Active. He has over 30 years’ experience in the aquatics industry where he has been a full-time swimming coach and teacher. His role includes overseeing aquatics, sport & activity, and health and wellbeing across the business. He is chair of the Workforce sub-group of the Swimming Alliance.

Lucy Findlay-Beale is Event Director of Elevate and has been part of the event since its launch, playing a key role in its growth and evolution over the past decade.

Before moving into event leadership, Lucy worked within the fitness and leisure sector as an operator, giving her first-hand experience of the challenges and opportunities facing facilities, teams and customers. This operational background, combined with years of working closely with suppliers, operators, governing bodies, educators and healthcare professionals, has given her a unique perspective on the industry's development.

Today, Lucy leads the strategic direction of Elevate, curating content, partnerships and industry engagement that bring together leaders from across the physical activity, fitness and sports therapy sectors. She is a passionate advocate for collaboration and innovation, believing that meaningful progress is achieved when organisations work together to improve health outcomes and create more active communities.

Rose Gibson is an entrepreneur, speaker and Director of the national brand BabyBeats. She is also an Apple chart topping podcast host of I'm Fine (But...) and Amazon best selling author of I'm Fine. The Truth About Becoming A Mum (That No One Warns You About). With over 20 years of experience, Rose has seen first hand how traditional business models rely on long hours, constant availability and unsustainable growth, particularly impacting women navigating motherhood. After having three children, she rebuilt her own business from a time for money model into a flexible structure that allows her to work less while earning more. Rose is known for her direct, no nonsense approach, challenging outdated definitions of success and helping women build businesses that align with real life, not compete with it. Her work sits at the intersection of business, identity and sustainability.

Rose has spoken on stages including Ideas Fest, Female Boss Powerlist, The Children’s Activity Business Club and the Class Business Awards and has been featured on the BBC, Women's Health, Prima, Stylist Magazine and London Daily News. Her core message is simple: motherhood doesn’t limit your potential but the wrong business model will.

Dr Marlize De Vivo is an internationally recognised expert in perinatal physical activity and women’s health. With a background in clinical exercise, sport science and rehabilitation, she works to improve how women are supported to be active before, during and after pregnancy.

Her contribution to the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines provided the foundation for much of the work that followed, including translating pregnancy and postnatal physical activity guidance into professional education, sector standards, screening tools and service models.

She is CEO and Co-Founder of the Active Pregnancy Foundation, which turns evidence and lived experience into resources, training and partnerships that help remove barriers to activity across the childbearing years. She is also leading the development of a UK perinatal exercise specialism, designed to strengthen workforce capability and raise standards for professionals supporting women.

Marlize is Principal Research Fellow at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, and Director of the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine in Sheffield, a London 2012 Olympic legacy programme established to improve health and wellbeing through sport, exercise and physical activity.

At Elevate, Marlize will focus on why supporting women through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood matters for the future of fitness, leisure, sport and public health.

We believe that both babywearing and movement do magical things to enhance your experience as a parent — combining them both is the Carifit way.

Carifit is the brainchild of Vern Hill, an ante and post-natal fitness expert and father of two. Vern’s passionate about the benefits that babywearing can bring to parents and their children. Supported by a team of industry professionals, Carifit has created a game-changing range of carriers, designed to help you and your baby bond through movement.

Carifit is much more than a carrier, though. It’s also a powerful, supportive app. It’s a whole community of likeminded individuals. It’s experts who can answer your questions and support you emotionally and physically. You can use the app for on-demand workouts, join in-person classes, be part of a global community, and find wellbeing support whenever you need it.

Michael has worked within the Sport and Leisure industry over the last 20 years, working across a multiple of roles starting off as a Community Sports Coach for Positive Futures working with some of the most disadvantaged communities in Sutton. Now working as the Strategic Lead for Sport and Activity for Everyone Active Michaels role is to ensure that the Sports and Activity strategy is delivered across all the Contracts that Everyone Active work in, ensuring that opportunities to be active are available for all of our communities.

Lauren is a passionate advocate for getting young people moving and making sure they feel seen, heard, and included in the world of health and fitness. As Head of Health and Wellbeing with over 10 years of experience in the Wellbeing and Leisure sectors, she brings a unique blend of strategic insight and genuine care for community wellbeing.

Her work goes beyond gym refurbishments and business development, though she’s led many successful projects in those areas. What drives Lauren is the opportunity to reshape how we design fitness spaces and programs to truly engage young people, meet them where they are, and spark a lifelong love of movement. She’s developed a wide range of innovative class concepts with youth at the heart, rooted in the belief that healthy habits start early, and that access, fun, and belonging are key.

Lauren is committed to reducing health inequalities and believes every young person deserves access to safe, supportive, and inspiring spaces to be active, regardless of their background or circumstance. Her approach centres inclusion, and she’s currently focused on adapting a referral program to include GLP-1 support while also reaching underserved communities through initiatives like NHS Health Checks, wellbeing seminars, and post-menopausal heart health programs.

When Lauren speaks on panels, she brings not just expertise but a deep passion for creating a more inclusive, energetic, and youth-friendly fitness culture. Her goal is to help reimagine what physical activity looks like for young people today and ensure they have every opportunity to move, thrive, and feel part of something bigger.

Sam Pearce is the Club Development Manager at Lifestyle Fitness, an organisation dedicated to getting communities and young people active. Lifestyle Fitness partners with over 20 secondary schools and FE colleges across the UK, serving as their well-being partner to enhance community impact and increase accessibility to fitness for young people.

With over 10 years of experience in the fitness industry, Sam has worked both in secondary school settings and with children's activity camp providers to deliver practical training for young people of all ages. He currently leads the development and growth of Lifestyle Fitness's CYP (Children and Young People) programme across all clubs, with the goal of introducing more children to exercise and bridging the gap between opportunities for children and young people to increase engagement.

David is a well-established leader within the global physical activity sector and has over 35 years of experience within the industry.

He has previously held the position of CEO at ukactive from 2008 to 2016 and has also served as the Chair of CIMSPA along with other senior executive positions across the sector, including CEO of Myzone, President of EuropeActive and non-executive Director of Alliance Leisure.

David is the Chair of the ukactive Board, where he works to drive and support the growth of the organisation's members through its Vision 2030 strategy.

Cameron is a senior leader with more than 20 years’ experience running complex, high-profile organisations across entertainment, media and public-interest sectors. He was previously Managing Director of 20th Century Fox UK, where he built a high-performance culture and led the organisation’s commercial growth. He also served on the Board of Cinema First, the UK’s trade body for the film industry, where he played a lead role aligning rival cinema operators and film studios around shared priorities, convening senior leaders through structured roundtables, and translating discussion into tangible outcomes.

Throughout his career, Cameron has built influential brands, mobilised audiences and forged commercially strong partnerships in high-profile environments. He was Group Strategy Director for renowned advertising agency, Engine, and has held senior positions at Sky, Paramount, Showmax Africa and Channel 4. Alongside his commercial career, Cameron served as Chair of The Film & TV Charity, where he led industry-wide action on mental health and wellbeing — commissioning landmark research into workforce mental health, building cross-industry coalitions around shared standards, and demonstrating that a diverse sector can come together to be a powerful force for the wellbeing of the people it employs.

Cameron is an avid runner and advocate for physical activity, having been inspired to start running when he was working on the re-release Chariots of Fire as part of the London 2012 celebrations. He has since become an endurance runner, helping to raise over £200,000 for charity and building a community of followers on Instagram.

Having held senior manager positions at both David Lloyd and GLL, out of frustration with CX programmes on the market David founded Proinsight and is the business’ managing director. David’s passion, along with his twin boys, is customer experience, having built over 100 customer experience programmes for clients like Asda, Hollywood Bowl & Vision Express. David is the pioneer of the Happiness Performance Index^™ and after 3 years in the sandbox he’s ready to share the index!

Emma has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality and travel industry. She completed her MBA at Aston Business School with Distinction, specialising in Strategic Account Management.

Emma joined Rapport in 2019, leading regional operations on one of our largest contracts. Prior to this, Emma worked as Head of Operations for a global travel company, with a focus on the European market. Emma’s experience covers a vast array of differing operations including restaurants and bars, hotels and resorts, day visitor attractions, wedding and events venues, retail, and corporate space.

In 2022, Emma joined the Rapport head office team as the Head of Business Excellence. In this role, Emma enhances customer excellence by finding innovative solutions, and support’s Rapport’s international clients.

Adam is a hospitality leader with more than 25 years of experience in one of the most competitive customer-focused industries. Having spent 15 years with ASK Italian before joining Brava Hospitality, Adam has built a career around creating exceptional guest experiences and leading high-performing teams.

Today, as Group Operations Director for Brava Hospitality, Adam oversees almost 100 restaurants across a portfolio of well-known brands, including the revitalised Prezzo Italian, the return of Jamie’s Italian to the UK market, and Maslows restaurants.

Throughout his career, Adam has been passionate about the link between culture, team engagement and customer experience. He believes that outstanding guest experiences are created by motivated teams who feel connected to a clear purpose, and his work focuses on building cultures that inspire people to deliver hospitality at its very best.

Sarah Watt is Chief Executive of Alliance Leisure, the award-winning leisure development company which has developed over 250 leisure facilities since Sarah founded the company in 1999 representing an investment value of more than £370m in leisure infrastructure.

Sarah’s continued ambition is to develop high quality public leisure that contributes to social and health benefits in local communities. Also appointed as chair of the ukactive Suppliers’ Council, Sarah supports the sector to thrive and plays a tangible role in encouraging growth, confidence and investment in the industry.

Keith is the CEO of SPACE & PLACE, Europe’s leading architects in sport, leisure, and entertainment. He’s proud to be the present leader of, what he describes as, the awesome S&P team, who for over 40 years have successfully delivered some of the most innovative and pioneering projects for the UK’s sport and leisure market. Every year over 100 million people use S&P buildings and he’s equally animated whether talking about S&P’s tiniest community sports clubs, their 2012 London Aquatic Centre with Zaha Hadid, or S&P’s, and the world’s, most energy efficient sports and centre for Exeter City, which is the first and only facility in the UK to receive Passivhaus Certification.

Keith is a regular contributor to local government on the development and funding of community sport and improved activity levels, and works with International Federations and NGBs on outstanding contemporary strategies to get more people engaged in improving physical and mental wellness.

He is known throughout the sector for his creativity and thought leadership and challenges everyone to do better, whether it is on big issues like climate crisis action, or on the smallest construction detail in one of S&P’s buildings

Keith has Previously held roles at the Royal Household, the board of Swim England, and has chaired BISL’s sport sector. He’s currently a Non-Executive Director of British Swimming and is passionate about GB Olympic and Paralympic success.

Melinda Nicci is a board-level leader, behavioural scientist and founder working at the intersection of AI, digital health and human performance. Melinda brings governance-level thinking to one of the most pressing strategic questions facing the sector: how AI should be adopted responsibly, ethically and with people at the centre.

Melinda's work is grounded in behavioural science and applied across AI strategy, digital health and leadership — advising organisations on where technology adds genuine value and where human judgement must remain sovereign. She is the founder of Baby2Body, Bella Ai and Mbody and a non-executive director and advisor to businesses navigating innovation at pace.

A recognised thought leader in UK tech and wellness, she writes on AI, leadership and human performance in her Substack, Unstoppable.

Tiffeny Gould is a seasoned business consultant with over 20 years of experience in the health, fitness and leisure sector, specialising in digital transformation strategy and delivery. Tiff works with organisations to identify business challenges, define strategic priorities and implement tailored solutions that drive customer engagement, operational efficiency and commercial growth.

She has supported a wide range of clients, from global operators to suppliers, helping them navigate complex digital landscapes, optimise processes and successfully adopt emerging technologies. Prior to her current role as Consulting Director at LeisureLabs, Tiff built a strong consulting practice, delivering digital transformation across customer experience, systems integration and data-driven strategy projects.

Tiff is recognised for her collaborative approach, deep industry knowledge and ability to translate technical insights into practical business outcomes. She is passionate about helping organisations thrive in an increasingly digital and competitive marketplace.

As CTO of Vor Technologies, Jesse Shanahan has led the design and development of the Vor Engine: the only built-for-purpose automation software for fitness & healthcare routines. Jesse began their career in academia, researching North African dialects of Arabic in undergrad and obscured active galactic nuclei in an astrophysics graduate programme, where they founded the Van Vleck Observatory’s first youth outreach programme and co-founded the American Astronomical Society’s first Working Group on Accessibility and Disability.

After leaving academia, Jesse worked as a senior data scientist and software developer with a specialisation in developing humanitarian applications for machine learning while volunteering as an EMT for their local fire department. During their tenure as the Technical Lead of Applied AI at a Swedish ethical AI startup, Peltarion, they founded the company’s first ethics-focused working group and researched technical approaches to debiasing deep learning language models.

While ensuring Vor continues to lead the industry in providing conscientious, explainable health & fitness software, Jesse also serves on the American Astronomical Society’s Unified Astronomy Thesaurus Working Group, mentors early career data scientists, and maintains a repository of AI ethics resources. Most importantly, Jesse spoils their three rescue dogs - Hubble, Cassini, and Tennessee - and spends entirely too much time vacuuming dog hair.

Suzanne Gabb is an influential leader in the sport, health, and leisure sectors, with over two decades of experience delivering innovation and impact across public, private, and not-for-profit environments. As Chief Operating Officer at Good Boost, Suzanne leads commercial strategy, partnerships, and operational delivery—focusing on tech-enabled solutions that improve community health, accessibility, and inclusion.

A champion of digital transformation, Suzanne is at the forefront of integrating AI-powered rehabilitation and mobile-first platforms into leisure and health services. Her work helps organisations scale their impact while supporting individuals of all abilities to move more and feel better.

Prior to Good Boost, Suzanne held senior leadership roles, including at Parkwood Leisure, where she tripled youth participation in swimming across 50 sites and led the development of grassroots initiatives tailored to community needs. She has also played a key role in shaping national policy and innovation through her involvement on industry boards, National Governing Bodies, and as a Trustee for the Royal Life Saving Society.

Suzanne brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational know-how, and a deep commitment to equity and impact. She is passionate about creating healthier, more inclusive communities through collaboration, innovation, and sustainable change.

Ashley Jones is a passionate advocate for water safety and drowning prevention, currently serving as the Head of Water Safety and Education at Royal Life Saving Society UK, following 12 years at Swim England and spending time on secondment as Strategic Lead for immersive water safety education programmes at Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Hannah is an experienced and strategic leader, responsible for aligning Parkwood Leisure's vision with the strategic priorities of national and local partners to help reduce health inequalities across local communities.

Since joining Parkwood in 2020, Hannah has led a diverse portfolio of physical activity, community and health & wellbeing initiatives across the group, securing significant funding to deliver impactful programmes.

Hannah’s work, including the transformation of our leisure facilities into community Musculoskeletal Hubs, focuses on breaking down barriers to participation for priority demographics, creating more inclusive opportunities and making a meaningful difference to people’s lives.

After training in the Netherlands, Christien Bird worked with musculoskeletal and women’s health outpatients at Central Middlesex Hospital, London. She also worked with the clinical research team at Brunel University London after gaining her Master’s degree in research methods at King’s College London. Christien founded the White Hart Clinic in Barnes in 1995, a busy multidisciplinary practice that offers musculoskeletal, pelvic health, psychological and medical services www.whitehartclinic.co.uk

Christien is the co-founder of the Menopause Movement online certified training and community platform for health and fitness professionals www.menopausemovement.co

The movement has created a community and training platform for the fitness and health world to confidently treat & train women into the menopause.

She loves everything about movement, continues to compete as an age-group athlete for British triathlon representing Britain. Much of her drive is supporting women in enjoying movement and staying strong. Completely stepping out of her comfort zone, she has registered for an ironman in August 25 and will need all the support & advice she can get!

Julie Allen or Jules as most know her, is driven and dedicated to improving the customer experience. With 20 years’ industry experience in both operations and as a supplier, Jules passion for creating meaningful and memorable experiences that lead to healthier and happier communities is at the heart of everything she does.

Prior to joining Active Insight as Business Development Director, Jules started her career as a receptionist before progressing in various roles including Sales and Marketing before moving onto Front of House and Customer Service Manager. With a desire to support a range of operators develop and drive their customer experience strategy, Jules joined TRP (now Fitronics). This combined experience of operations and consultancy has shaped Jules’ approach and commitment to sharing insight and customer experience knowledge to drive change within the industry. A Spin and Zumba instructor – you’ll find Jules in a group exercise studio somewhere!

Libby Kirkley Bryan is an executive and team coach working with senior leaders and organisations operating in complex, high‑pressure environments. With over 20 years’ experience across the public and private sectors, Libby brings deep expertise in service transformation, organisation‑wide change, and system performance. Her work focuses on helping leaders find clarity in complexity, strengthen relationships, and move insight into deliberate, meaningful action when the consequences matter.

Libby’s work is informed by systemic and psychological approaches, alongside a strong understanding of how context, culture, power, and pressure influence behaviour and decision‑making. She works with leaders and teams to surface what is often hidden or unspoken, supporting clearer thinking, stronger relational awareness, and more intentional leadership. This enables individuals and teams to collaborate more effectively and respond wisely under sustained pressure.

Libby is a founding member and facilitator of The Inspirational Leader programme. She is also the creator of Relational Trust Dynamics™, a framework that helps leaders understand how trust is formed, strained, and repaired in real organisational conditions. This work underpins her approach to executive coaching, team development, and sustainable organisational change.

With over 15 years of experience in adult education and management, Carl has established a strong reputation for driving quality, innovation, and operational excellence within the health and fitness education sector. As Operations Director at Future Fit Training, he leads strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing learner experiences, optimising delivery, and ensuring consistently high standards across the organisation.

Carl’s professional background spans sports therapy, community health, and physical activity promotion for special population groups. With over two decades of sector experience, he brings a unique, multidisciplinary perspective that informs his leadership and contributes to impactful, learner-centered outcomes. His expertise is applied across a broad range of initiatives, reinforcing his commitment to improving education and well-being across diverse communities.

Julie Allen or Jules as most know her, is driven and dedicated to improving the customer experience. With 20 years’ industry experience in both operations and as a supplier, Jules passion for creating meaningful and memorable experiences that lead to healthier and happier communities is at the heart of everything she does.

Prior to joining Active Insight as Business Development Director, Jules started her career as a receptionist before progressing in various roles including Sales and Marketing before moving onto Front of House and Customer Service Manager. With a desire to support a range of operators develop and drive their customer experience strategy, Jules joined TRP (now Fitronics). This combined experience of operations and consultancy has shaped Jules’ approach and commitment to sharing insight and customer experience knowledge to drive change within the industry. A Spin and Zumba instructor – you’ll find Jules in a group exercise studio somewhere!

Marina is an advisor on disability inclusion in sport and marketing. She works with advertising agencies, brands, sports organisations, and fitness operators to create more authentic, accessible, and commercially relevant approaches to disability inclusion.

With more than 15 years of marketing experience and lived experience as a disability sport athlete, Marina became a leading advocate for inclusive sport and disability representation following a spinal cord injury in 2020.

Her current projects include delivering disability sport and inclusion work at MATTA, conducting global research into inclusive fitness environments through The Churchill Fellowship, and supporting the sports charity Regain.

Marina’s work includes marketing strategy and execution, inclusive communications workshops, keynote speaking, thought leadership content, and accessibility audits for gyms and sports venues.

More information: disabilityinsport.com

Sarah Le Brocq is the Founder and Director of All About Obesity, a not-for-profit obesity organisation that launched in 2022. All About Obesity strives to be the leading obesity organisation for advancing obesity research, supporting and driving public education, a trusted resource for people living with obesity, healthcare professionals and policymakers and a support platform for people living with obesity.

Sarah has a unique skillset of living with obesity, a background in science, 16 years’ experience of working in the pharmaceutical industry, alongside the NHS and 6 years’ experience of being in the charity sector.

Sarah is known as a Thought Leader in the Obesity space, has a wide network of relationships with key obesity stakeholders. She is also well known in the media and is regularly called upon to give her thoughts and expertise around current Obesity affairs.

She sits on the strategic council for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity, a stakeholder in NHSE’s new National Obesity Audit, a lay member on the NICE Weight Management Committee, the Digital weight management technologies for specialist weight management services and a representative on the OHA Healthy Weight Strategy, lived experience group.

She has also co-authored a number of published academic papers in scientific journals.

Adrian Turner, Director of Developments at ReCreation, leads the delivery of innovative, affordable leisure and aquatic facilities for local authorities and operators across the UK. As co-founder, he plays a key role in shaping projects that combine elite sporting insight with practical development expertise to create community-focused spaces that improve access to swimming, movement and wellbeing, while simultaneously maintaining a commitment to affordability, sustainability and functionality.

A two-time Commonwealth Games medallist and former Olympian, Adrian represented Great Britain at the 2004 and 2002 Olympic Games. Following his swimming career, he co-founded Total Swimming and went on to help build a group of purpose-led businesses focused on widening participation in sport, specifically swimming. Adrian brings a perspective shaped by elite performance, resilience and hands-on experience of developing facilities that respond to the real needs of communities and operators.

Alex Hains is the Head of Business Engagement at Swim England, with over 16 years of experience building partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He is passionate about driving participation in physical activity and supporting organisations that prioritise community access to facilities.

Anjilee Lane has a strong passion for water safety and aquatic participation. With nearly 30 years of experience in the industry, she has developed expertise in delivering high-quality swimming programmes and promoting safe, inclusive access to water.

As the Strategic Lead for Aquatics at Everyone Active, Anjilee oversees a network of more than 150 swimming pools, driving initiatives that encourage participation and support health and wellbeing within communities. She is dedicated to creating safe, engaging environments that inspire people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the benefits of swimming.

Thomas Frost is an Aquatics & Inclusivity Strategy Officer at Gedling Borough Council, overseeing the aquatic operation at Gedling Borough Council. Since joining during the COVID-19 recovery in 2021, he has led the rebuilding of local aquatic provision, helping to double Learn to Swim numbers to a record 4,200 participants by 2025, alongside delivering record income performance. He has also established an Approved Training Centre with Swim England Qualifications to help tackle swimming teacher shortages and drive income along with making Gedling one of the first providers in the UK to install Virtual Aqua with HydroHex.

A graduate of Loughborough University in BSc Sport Management 2014 and a former Welsh Junior Champion Swimmer, he is particularly passionate about creating inclusive, sustainable pathways that engage more people in swimming through participation and employment. His most recent achievement is finally encouraging his daughter to swim with her face in the water.

Dave Rayner is Swim England's Aquatic Competency Development Lead for London and the East, he has spent the past 14 years working with Swim England. He's passionate about helping people grow, develop their skills, and build the confidence they need to succeed in aquatic environments.

His focus is on raising standards and supporting teams to deliver safe, effective, and high-quality experiences. He's a big believer in making development practical and accessible, so it really sticks.

Away from work, you’ll still him on poolside three times a week coaching at my local swimming club. Dave enjoys staying hands-on as it keeps him connected to the people at the heart of what we do and fuels his passion for helping others develop every day.

With over 15 years’ experience of leading teams that support practitioners and employers across the sport and physical activity sector, Clare is focused on enabling organisations large and small to develop and retain a skilled workforce and supporting local areas to collaborate, bringing together employers, education providers and other strategic bodies to ensure that the workforce meets the needs of the area. Clare previously worked across a range of leisure operators and for RLSS UK.

Nick is a Chartered Senior Practitioner, Founder of The National Register of Parkinson's Specialist Personal Trainers, Exercise Referral Practitioner and Parkinson's Exercise Specialist. He has over 30 years’ experience in the industry as a Personal Trainer and business owner.

He created 4D Fitness in 1998 and since then he and his team have been delivering leading edge health and fitness solutions across the full spectrum of the population. He now works with some of the UK’s most influential people in Government, business and the Civil Service.

Nick has had Multiple Sclerosis since 2006. This has created a very personal motivation to find the best solutions available to help people with medical conditions. He runs an online clinic for people with MS, Parkinson’s or Chronic Fatigue, helping them to implement an evidence-based Marginal Gains approach, alongside their medical treatment.

He has been working with people living with Parkinson’s for over 20 years. In 2022 he and his team launched 4D Life, an online programme for people with Parkinson's, covering 4 Dimensions of Movement, Nutrition, Function and Lifestyle. The team includes a Highly Specialised Neurological Physiotherapist, Registered Dietitian and experienced Personal Trainers.

He is a strong advocate of specialised personal training. In 2025 the team launched the National Register of Parkinson's Specialist Personal Trainers, supported by Parkinson's UK, CIMSPA, Cure Parkinson's and Fitpro. The Register recruits, trains and monitors Parkinson's Specialist Trainers across the UK, and connects them with their local Parkinson's community.

Lewis Baker is a Personal Trainer, biomechanics practitioner, and co‑founder of Wellness Warriors, a sober running community he fronts alongside Charmain. After a 25‑year battle with alcoholism and being told he had two months to live if he didn’t stop drinking, Lewis rebuilt his life through movement. A spontaneous application to the London Marathon — accepted on the first attempt — became the moment he realised how powerfully exercise can reshape the recovering brain. From that turning point, he founded the Phoenix Lifestyle Foundation, a charity dedicated to making fitness, recovery, and wellbeing accessible to people who need it most.

With over a decade of PT experience, Lewis now designs inclusive coaching systems for people who’ve historically been excluded from mainstream fitness — especially those in addiction recovery. His work is driven by a core belief: the neurological changes triggered by exercise can spark healing, rebuild identity, and open the door back into meaningful work and community life.

Lewis co-fronts Wellness Warriors, the South UK’s first sober running club, and leads Brothers in Arms, a men’s exercise and social group focused on connection, confidence, and belonging. Across every project, Lewis champions one message: you can use the body to improve the mind — and movement can be the catalyst that transforms a life.

Minal drives partnership growth and workforce development across the Sport and Physical Activity sector, uniting employers, education providers and training organisations to deliver skills strategies with meaningful commercial and community impact. She is passionate about building an inclusive, future ready workforce that reflects and serves diverse communities which remove barriers to participation and unlock opportunities for everyone to engage and thrive.

Josh is the Third Space Head of Education.

His role is to educate, assess and progress their personal trainers whilst ensuring quality across the group.

Robyn Drummond is a health and wellbeing coach, speaker, and founder of her an online fitness and wellbeing community focused on helping people build realistic, sustainable habits without the overwhelm often associated with modern fitness culture.

Known for her no-nonsense and relatable approach, Robyn is passionate about simplifying health and making wellbeing feel more accessible, achievable, and supportive for everyday people. Alongside online coaching and community work, she regularly delivers talks within schools and organisations on topics including confidence, social media, health misinformation, mindset, and sustainable wellbeing habits.

Robyn is also an Active IQ ambassador, involved in national wellbeing campaigns including their “Trust Your Trainer” initiative, helping raise awareness around misinformation within the health and fitness industry.

Through her work, Robyn aims to empower people to move away from extremes and build healthier relationships with fitness, wellbeing, and themselves.

Charlotte is an award-winning psychotherapist, educator and speaker whose work sits at the intersection of psychology, consciousness and human performance. With a clinical background spanning both mental health and the fitness industry, she brings a rare dual lens to the conversation about why people struggle to engage - and stay engaged - with physical activity.

Charlotte's work centres on Psychological Longevity™: the idea that sustaining wellbeing over time requires us to understand how our inner psychological world directly shapes our biology, behaviour and capacity for change. She works with organisations including the BBC, NHS and Tesco Bank, helping leaders and teams build the psychological conditions that make lasting behavioural change possible.

For Charlotte, the gap between knowing physical activity helps and actually doing it is rarely about information. It's about identity, safety, shame and the stories we carry. Bridging the brain and the body and creating environments where the whole person feels seen is not a nice-to-have - it's the missing piece.

She brings to this panel the psychology behind engagement, retention and what it truly means to make physical activity accessible for people living with, or without, mental health conditions

Becky is a trustee and senior tutor of theMovement Charity, an organisation that exists to restore every woman’s right to exercise. TheMovement provides free, trauma informed exercise sessions in partnership with charities supporting women who have experienced homelessness, domestic violence, sexual exploitation and correlated disadvantage. Becky uses her experience with the charity in her day to day job as a personal trainer. As part of her role with theMovement, Becky delivers a CPD course focussed on equipping all fitness professionals with the knowledge and training to be more trauma informed in their practice.

Dr Lou Atkinson is a behavioural scientist, applied researcher, educator and exercise professional, with a career spanning over 25 years across Public Health, Fitness, Academia, and MedTech. Her research and practice focus on the psychosocial determinants of health behaviours and developing interventions to reduce disease burden and address health inequalities. She has dedicated her career to building, disseminating and applying the scientific and translational evidence needed to create real-world change in physical activity, obesity, chronic conditions and women's health. Lou co-founded RISE, a non-profit which conducts research to explore the real experience of people working in the fitness industry, with the ambition for fitness to become a world leading sector in diversity, equality and inclusion.

Peta Young has spent almost three decades working in the people space, initially specialising in L&D, before moving in to more senior HR generalist roles, and for the last three years as People Director with Oxygen Activeplay. With experience in Retail, Leisure and Hospitality, Peta has worked in fast-paced privately owned and PE backed businesses.

In her role as Senior L&D Manager at The Entertainer, she supported the UK growth from 15-150 stores, as well as the acquisition of The Early Learning Centre brand, and the global franchising of these brands.

Peta is also the employer representative on the Board Governor’s for Captiva Learning, an apprenticeship provider and has held this post, advising on standards, governance and private sector needs for the last four years.

Peta keep active by walking her puppy, pilates and walking advantures on UK and world-wide city breaks

Rebecca Douglas is an award-winning marketing, content, and innovation specialist with more than 25 years’ experience working alongside some of the world’s most recognised and loved brands. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for combining strategic thinking with creativity, helping businesses connect more meaningfully with people, communities, and culture.

As part of The Well Crowd, Rebecca brings her passion for storytelling, brand building, and human connection into a collaborative workspace environment designed to inspire fresh thinking and purposeful business growth. She thrives on bringing people together, creating opportunities for collaboration, and challenging conventional ideas.

Rebecca’s experience spans marketing strategy, content development, partnership building, innovation, and audience engagement. Her approach is rooted in curiosity and a belief that the best ideas often come from unexpected conversations and diverse perspectives. Known for thinking differently and asking better questions, she enjoys helping brands and individuals uncover more authentic, impactful ways to communicate and grow.

Natalie Shears is the Founder & CEO of The Well Crowd, a purpose-led platform dedicated to raising standards and bringing greater clarity, credibility, and connection to the workplace wellbeing sector.

With more than 25 years of international business leadership experience, Natalie’s career has spanned C-suite consulting, global commercial leadership, and serving as CEO of a London based mental health charity. She combines strategic commercial expertise with a long-standing passion for evidence-based wellbeing and human performance.

Holding a BSc (Hons) in Nutrition Science, Natalie is particularly interested in the science of stress resilience, workplace culture, and the role wellbeing plays in helping people and organisations thrive. Through The Well Crowd, she is building a trusted ecosystem that connects businesses with high-quality workplace wellbeing providers, research, insights, and industry collaboration.

Keshav Agarwal is Head of UKI Partnerships at Wellhub, having joined as the business landed its first wave of major UK enterprise clients including Tesco and Sainsbury's, and previously served as Global Head of Digital Partnerships.

He now leads Wellhub's partner ecosystem across the UK & Ireland, working with some of the largest employers and operators in the region.

Ryan Josephs has spent his career helping people get more from their health and wellbeing, initially as a Sports Scientist optimising human performance in professional Rugby, then as a Lecturer in higher education, and now as the person behind Heka's partnership network.

Over the past six years, Ryan has built Heka's partnerships function from the ground up, connecting the platform with some of the UK's most exciting health and wellbeing brands. That work has helped shape a network of over 5,000 benefits spanning mental health support, gym memberships, learning and development, and financial wellbeing, giving employees genuinely personalised access to the things that matter most to them.

Rooted in hands-on experience as a coach and practitioner, Ryan brings a perspective to employee benefits that goes beyond the commercials. He understands what it actually takes to support people in living healthier, happier lives, and he channels that into every partnership Heka builds.

At Elevate, Ryan will be joining the panel to share what he has learned at the intersection of partnerships, wellbeing, and the future of employee benefits.

Mike Goody is a former RAF regiment gunner, having achieved gold medals at the Invictus Games – the international multi-sport event for sick and injured armed service personnel and veterans that was created by Prince Harry. Mike was nicknamed ‘prince of the pool’ following his gold medal haul at the games in 2014, had his leg amputated below the knee in 2011, three years after he was injured in Afghanistan. While out on patrol, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded leaving him trapped for 3 hours under his 4.5 tonne armoured car. For the last 10 years, STA has also been proud to have Mike as their educational open water swimming and water safety ambassador to help raise awareness of the importance of learning to swim as a key life skill.

Tim joined ukactive, the trade body for fitness and leisure, in March 2020. As the Lead for EDI, his role at ukactive is to support the industry’s growth and ensure the sector can provide services that are accessible to all members of society, and ensuring that our services and provisions are equally accessed, enjoyed and participated in by all so that the benefits of physical activity are felt across the entire population.

Historical and current ukactive inclusion work has focussed on specific reports, insight, programming or campaigns – for example older adults, children and young people, disability, women and girls (participation, and safety)​, transgender and single sex provision. To complement this portfolio of assistance for the ukactive membership and encourage a more strategic approach to EDI, Tim developed and launched a self-assessment toolkit. This is open to organisations from across the sector and involves answering 40 questions focused on current practices relating to equality, diversity and inclusion. After completing the assessment (which takes about 15-20 minutes), facilities, providers, and suppliers receive an instant score to show how inclusive they are and signposted to recommendations to help improve EDI practices.

Tim was previously working at Premiership Rugby. During his time at the executive body running professional rugby union in England he developed and delivered an Inclusion Strategy involving campaigns, programming and policy for each of the 9 ‘protected characteristics’. His work included a ‘Commitment to Accessibility’ which was shortlisted for a BT Sport Industry Award in 2018, and the ‘Project Rugby’ programme which was shortlisted for a British Ethnic Diversity Sports Award and was a two-time award winner at the Sport Business Awards.

Kim Gray is a trauma-informed fitness educator, speaker, and creator of a CIMSPA-endorsed Trauma-Informed Fitness course. She is on a mission to make trauma-informed practice the standard within the fitness industry.

Kim believes that every person's relationship with movement is shaped by life experience, mental health, and the nervous system. While the fitness industry has traditionally focused on physical transformation, she advocates for a more human-centred approach—one that recognises that lasting change begins with understanding the person behind the programme.

Drawing on neuroscience, trauma-informed principles, and breathwork, Kim teaches fitness professionals how to recognise when a client is ready to be challenged and when their nervous system may be signalling a need for support, regulation, or recovery instead. Understanding this difference can transform the coaching relationship, creating deeper trust, stronger client engagement, and improved retention.

Through her work, Kim equips gyms, health clubs, personal trainers, and coaches with practical tools to create environments where clients feel safe, seen, and supported. Her approach helps professionals stand out in an increasingly crowded industry by building meaningful connections that extend beyond sets, reps, and physical results.

At the Elevate Exhibition, Kim will explore the connection between trauma, breathwork, nervous system regulation, and exercise, showing why the future of fitness must be 'Rooted in Compassion and Backed by Science.

Dr. Akusile (Aku) Makawa is a Research Associate at Loughborough University, whose PhD explored trauma-informed physical activity (TIPA). With the support of Mind and ASICS, Aku's research explored what it means to be trauma-informed in physical activity, as well as which aspects of programme design and delivery are especially important in creating TIPA interventions. His research has conceptualised and developed TIPA, so that those affected by trauma and from underserved communities can access the physical, mental and social benefits of physical activity. Aku’s research has been published with a summary report also produced by Mind earlier this year. Along with an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Aku also worked on the Active Wellbeing Programme (delivered by Enable Leisure & Culture, in partnership with Mind), to support adults with severe mental illness become - and remain - more physically active in their community. Aku also has experience of delivering physical activity to young children, both through extra-curricular provision and physical education provision.

Dan Aguilera is a high-performance business consultant & mentor, international speaker, and multi-business operator with 27 years experience in the fitness industry. Dan is recognised as one of the leading strategic thinkers in the fitness and wellness industry. He has built and scaled multiple 7-figure ventures, consulted for over 1000 gyms worldwide, and transformed the lives and businesses of hundreds of fitness entrepreneurs.

Dan specialises in structured mentoring, financial strategy, product development, system integration, and high-performance team leadership, bringing a rare combination of creativity, operational discipline, and commercial intelligence that enables him to connect with people at every level of an organisation.

He has earned a reputation for designing business models that are not only profitable, but duplicatable, scaleable and sustainable.

Starting her career as a lifeguard, Tara has worked across a range of organisations and roles, giving her an exceptional knowledge of the skills and workforce needs of the sector. Having gained hands on experience within local authority leisure, various management positions followed along with senior roles at DC Leisure Management and IQL-UK Ltd.

Tara has a passion for the sector which drives her to constantly aim for improvements across the industry. Tara is at the forefront of CIMSPA’s work, delivering initiatives that professionalise and recognise the workforce, and enhance the careers of those working in sport, leisure and active wellbeing.

Ryan is Chief Operating Officer at Access Training, where he leads strategic direction, business development, and operational performance across the organisation's education and skills delivery. Since stepping into the COO role in January 2026, he has focused on sustainable growth, sharper collaboration across the executive team, and consistently strong outcomes for learners and employers.

He brings two decades of experience in the health and fitness sector, including more than five years in director and executive leadership positions. Over that time, Ryan has built deep expertise in workforce development, strategic partnerships, and commercial growth — sitting at the intersection of physical activity and the education and training sector that supplies its talent.

At Elevate, Ryan offers a practitioner-led view of how training providers, employers, and the wider sector can work together to professionalise the workforce, widen access, and meet the demands of a rapidly changing labour market. He is a vocal advocate for clearer career pathways into the industry and for raising the standard of qualifications that underpin them — ensuring individuals gain the skills, confidence, and credentials needed to thrive in modern health and fitness careers.

Marianne is the Director of Membership & Sector Development at ukactive, the UK’s leading non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the health of the nation through the power of physical activity. With a deep passion for collaboration and innovation, Marianne leads strategic engagement with ukactive’s diverse membership base, spanning public, private, and third-sector organisations across the physical activity landscape.

Drawing on over a decade of experience in local authority leisure, public health and major infrastructure and by driving stakeholder relations, sector growth, and policy engagement, Marianne has played a central role in advancing ukactive’s mission to create a healthier, more active society. Her leadership has been instrumental in supporting sector-wide initiatives, driving member value, and championing inclusivity, sustainability, and sector growth.

Dr Lou Atkinson is a behavioural scientist, applied researcher, educator and exercise professional, with a career spanning over 25 years across Public Health, Fitness, Academia, and MedTech. Her research and practice focus on the psychosocial determinants of health behaviours and developing interventions to reduce disease burden and address health inequalities. She has dedicated her career to building, disseminating and applying the scientific and translational evidence needed to create real-world change in physical activity, obesity, chronic conditions and women's health. Lou co-founded RISE, a non-profit which conducts research to explore the real experience of people working in the fitness industry, with the ambition for fitness to become a world leading sector in diversity, equality and inclusion.

Jo Major is an inclusive recruitment specialist, trainer and consultant with over 25 years’ experience across recruitment, talent acquisition and learning and development.

As the founder of Diversity in Recruitment and a delivery partner for Level Equals, Jo supports organisations to build fairer, more inclusive and more accessible hiring practices. Her work helps recruiters, hiring managers and leadership teams understand how bias, barriers and outdated recruitment habits can impact who gets hired, who feels welcome and who is able to perform at their best during the hiring process.

Jo brings a practical, straight-talking and human approach to inclusion. She works with organisations across sport, leisure, public sector, charity, education and recruitment, helping them move beyond good intentions and build recruitment processes that are clearer, more consistent and more defensible.

A seasoned professional in the health and fitness industry, Heloise's experience lies within leadership, consulting, and coaching. After transitioning from Wealth Management in 2014, and as a result of her passion for fitness and feeling that the UK market was lacking, she co-launched and was COO and MD of Core Collective, a boutique gym that had 3 sites in London, prior to its inception by 1Rebel.

Known for her strategic insight and operational expertise, she advises emerging gyms and studios from concept to launch and is now COO for The Method, a global brand redefining fitness, health and wellbeing. A certified Personal Trainer and class coach, she is passionate about building strong teams, shaping standout brands, and driving success across the wellbeing sector.

As a result of her journey so far, a love of the industry and a desire to highlight its merits, alongside a belief that there is a real need for systematic change, Jobs In. Fitness was formed - a specialist recruitment and consulting agency helping people thrive in fitness careers and businesses build high-performing teams.

A lover of all competitive sports and always looking for the next challenge, Heloise regularly competes in events, from Ironmans to Functional Fitness.

Ciara Grogan is Head of Partnerships at Future Coach, responsible for building and sustaining the relationships with national governing bodies and sport organisations that sit at the heart of Future Coach's work. She brings a rich cross-sector perspective shaped by previous roles at Sport England, VIY, Women in Sport and 'Think Active' Active Partnership, experience that brings a unique connection between community sport development, equity and inclusion and local workforce transformation. Ciara is known for her ability to understand the pressures and ambitions of partner organisations and to design engagement that creates genuine mutual value. She is the connective tissue between Future Coach's capability and the sector's need.

Sarah Le Brocq is the Founder and Director of All About Obesity, a not-for-profit obesity organisation that launched in 2022. All About Obesity strives to be the leading obesity organisation for advancing obesity research, supporting and driving public education, a trusted resource for people living with obesity, healthcare professionals and policymakers and a support platform for people living with obesity.

Sarah has a unique skillset of living with obesity, a background in science, 16 years’ experience of working in the pharmaceutical industry, alongside the NHS and 6 years’ experience of being in the charity sector.

Sarah is known as a Thought Leader in the Obesity space, has a wide network of relationships with key obesity stakeholders. She is also well known in the media and is regularly called upon to give her thoughts and expertise around current Obesity affairs.

She sits on the strategic council for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity, a stakeholder in NHSE’s new National Obesity Audit, a lay member on the NICE Weight Management Committee, the Digital weight management technologies for specialist weight management services and a representative on the OHA Healthy Weight Strategy, lived experience group.

She has also co-authored a number of published academic papers in scientific journals.

Dr Glenda Rivoallan is a resilience expert, positive psychology specialist and founder of We Talk Wellbeing and Fourthzone, a female-only premium luxury wellbeing club launching in Jersey in June 2026. Known for her energetic, relatable, and deeply human approach, Glenda has become a leading voice in wellbeing, behaviour change, and emotional resilience across the fitness, education, and corporate sectors.

With a background spanning health coaching, leadership development, and wellbeing education, Glenda is passionate about helping people move beyond burnout, self-doubt, and “all-or-nothing” thinking. Her work blends evidence-based psychology with practical, real-world strategies that empower individuals and teams to build confidence, adaptability, and sustainable wellbeing habits.

Glenda is the creator of the Resilient as Fudge framework, a refreshingly honest approach to resilience that encourages people to embrace imperfection while developing emotional strength and self-belief. She is also the lead developer of innovative health and wellbeing coaching qualifications designed to shape the future of holistic coaching practice.

An engaging keynote speaker and facilitator, Glenda is recognised for delivering thought-provoking sessions filled with humour, warmth, and actionable insight. Her mission is simple: to help people thrive, not just survive, in work and life.

Arif Isikgun is the founder of Ai Beauty Consultancy, an international speaker, educator, and specialist in emotional intelligence, storytelling, and human connection within the luxury wellness and beauty industries. With more than 20 years of experience spanning luxury retail, spa, fragrance, and wellbeing, Arif has worked with globally recognised names including Aman, Dorchester Collection, and Champneys, helping brands redefine client experience through emotionally led education and communication.

Known for his thought provoking and commercially impactful approach, Arif’s work explores the intersection between wellbeing, identity, culture, and connection. He is the creator of the Retail Excellence methodology and co-author of the best seller book StorySeller, which focuses on storytelling as a tool for authentic communication and growth.

As a contributing author to Beyond Reps, Arif brings a fresh perspective to the fitness and wellbeing space, challenging outdated narratives around performance, perfection, and optimisation. His work advocates for a more human centred future, one rooted in emotional wellbeing, belonging, and meaningful connection rather than relentless performance alone.

An experienced and pragmatic health, safety, and risk professional, Caleb brings a refreshingly practical approach to workplace safety. With a strong focus on dynamic, risk-based strategies, rather than box-ticking exercises, he delivers practical solutions and strategic leadership that result in measurable improvements in safety culture, compliance, and operational resilience across complex European operations.

Caleb is a specialist and recognised industry expert in leisure, health & fitness, aquatic risk, and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) programmes. He is the author and implementer of a multi award winning AED programme that has achieved world-leading out of hospital cardiac arrest survival rates, resulting in over 150 lives saved. This initiative has become a benchmark for excellence in emergency response and risk management.

Caleb is Chair of the UK Active Standards & Legislation Committee, sits on the Committee of Experts for the FITcert European accreditation scheme and is a BSI working group member.

Known for his practical insights and results driven mindset, Caleb offers real-world strategies for building effective, sustainable safety programmes that prioritise people, not paperwork.