Samantha is an actress, broadcaster, writer, disability rights campaigner, diversity and inclusion consultant and keynote speaker. And her story starts when she is born with a rare genetic condition Osteogenesis Imperfecta - commonly known as Brittle Bones condition. Having started her career as a teacher Samantha is now a regular face on our TV screens and skilfully uses her own lived experience of disability to drive systemic change in the places that matter. She is also an Ambassador for...

In this conversation you will meet Leanne Cahill, the Chief Executive of Bravissimo. I could have spent all day talking to her. She is ‘real’ and she sits confidently in her leadership space and the opportunity and responsibility she has as the custodian of their business culture. Leanne was born with one hand and shares with us the challenges that she experienced as a child growing up while being a bit different. Her story is captivating. It’s the story of being human and wanting the best...

Toby Burton’s story is going to blow your mind. He conveys with such clarity that while so many of our barriers to career success are caused by external forces, ultimately we have to dig deep and strengthen our reserves of resilience and confidence to push back against those things. Toby is currently Chief Financial Officer of Fastmarkets. Their annual revenue exceeds 100 million. He began his career at Unilever and became a qualified accountant while there. He then found his way to The...

When Sara is first diagnosed with MS she asks the medics , ‘how did I get it?, what can I do to make it better? and what is it going to do to me?.’ Pointed questions that not everyone asks when we first acquire a medical condition that can disrupt our working lives. And because she did not get clear information she keeps her personal information private and doesn’t share it too widely. However, unlike the majority of us she had a huge job. In fact, she was Chief Executive of Argos. Her story...

Damian Riley’s impressive career path demonstrates his commitment to leadership across the public and private sectors and it demonstrates his sense of duty and compassion. I have heard him speak many times and have had the great pleasure of getting to know him for a while. But you have to absorb the entirety of his background to get a measure of the man. In September 2021 he secured the role of Chief Executive of the Army Recruiting Group and is responsible for recruiting up to 12,000...

Michelle Irving is a true pioneer and thought leader in the Chronic Illness space. She is the Founder and CEO of “Career and Chronic Illness” and has over 15 years experience in Mentoring and Executive Coaching for people navigating their career while living with chronic illness. Her work comes out of her own lived experience of navigating chronic illness and a demanding career. Michelle is on a mission to de-shame and transform conversations around illness and her organisation is now...

I first noticed Emma Olivier when she set up her own company, Twenty Percent, an advisory company based in Australia that provides high-quality services to help organisations unleash the power of the 20% of Australians who have a disability. I was immediately struck by her ability to be out, loud and proud about her own experience of disability. When we finally met for dinner in London I saw at first-hand how she is a woman who means business and is ambitious for meaningful systemic change...

Belinda May is a passionate advocate of the need to develop inner confidence. In our film together you will hear her describe that process being ‘like oxygen’, enabling us the freedom to explore who we are. Belinda speaks candidly about her life, before and after her diagnosis of a life-threatening disease for which there is no cure. The medication that saves her life, also threatens it. Belinda will share the impact of her disease and her early childhood tragedy with raw and sometimes spicy...