Our Speakers

---

 Lisa is a licensed psychologist and organisational consultant. She has

30 years of clinical and administrative experience working in college counseling, community mental health, hospitals, and private practice. 

After receiving her doctorate in psychology, Dr. Desai completed a two-year postdoctoral clinical fellowship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. 

As an organisational consultant, Dr. Desai provides behavioral health training and collaborates with leadership to develop and implement behavioral health solutions for workplaces. She has provided consultation and training within the construction, commercial fishing and police sectors; led executive leadership trainings’ and worked with organisations to expand the range of mental health resources. 

Dr. Desai is currently the Director of Workplace Suicide Prevention, at MindWise Innovations a service of Riverside Community Care. 

 Dan is an R&D leader and Business Psychologist (CPsychol, AFBPsS, HCPC Registered) with extensive experience in leading the creation and implementation of innovative product solutions and technology to help organisations with their talent management goals. 

He is passionate about designing scientific, evidence-based solutions which deliver practical business benefits.

Dan has over 27 years’ experience working R&D and product development roles in several talent management consultancies. During that time, he has built a wide range of digital psychometric solutions for employee screening, selection and development. 

He regularly publishes and presents research at industry conferences such as the ABP and DOP annual conferences. Dan is also currently working on a professional doctorate at Birkbeck which is focused on leadership and employee motivation.

 Ali is an award-winning business psychologist with a passion for using psychology, technology and psychometric test design to help organisations and individuals thrive. He has a particular interest in designing innovative solutions that combine technology and scientific rigour to help deliver a measurable business impact.

Ali has extensive experience in leading the design of technology-enabled solutions for both development and assessment. He has designed a variety of solutions covering the entire end to end recruitment cycle, from attraction, sifting out, to selecting in. 

He and his colleagues have won multiple awards for supporting inclusive recruitment including: Inclusive Technology 2023 RIDI Awards (Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative), the Best Talent Management solution in 2022, ABP Excellence in Assessment Award in 2018 and 2017, and the ABP excellence in digital technology award in 2023.

 Katie has ten years of experience in assessment design, client solutions, and training design and delivery. 

Before Sten10, she worked in two prominent psychometric test publishers and developed a deep understanding of assessment methodologies and best practices. 

In addition, she has expertise in providing tailored client solutions, enjoys working closely with organisations to understand their unique needs and develop customised assessments in selection, development and leadership across a variety of sectors and countries.  

 Hannah is a seasoned HR and business psychology leader with over a decade of experience driving operational efficiency, people strategy, and organisational excellence across diverse industries. Currently serving as the Director of Portkey Partners, Hannah specialises in enhancing internal processes, implementing innovative tools, and fostering industry collaborations. 

Her previous roles have highlighted her expertise in HR transformation, ED&I strategy, employee engagement, and change management. With qualifications including CIPD Level 7, Prince2 Practitioners, and Inclusive Leadership from LSE, she combines strategic insight with behavioural science to deliver actionable solutions. Outside of work, Hannah enjoys sailing, fitness challenges, and traveling, reflecting her commitment to growth and resilience. 

Georgia Kouselas is a Senior Consultant at Kiddy & Partners, and a Business Psychologist by background. She specializes in leadership development, partnering with leaders at all levels to help them identify and amplify their strengths, while also recognizing areas where targeted development can enhance their impact. She is excited to attend the ABP conference and share some interesting insights related to generational differences that may spark some new thinking! 

As the Global Head of Research, Mercer Assessment Solutions, Rob leads the MAS Research Team, with a focus on ensuring innovation and scientific rigour in Mercers assessments. He is a Chartered/Registered Occupational Psychologist with over 25 years of experience in psychometrics research and consultancy. He is a member of Mettl’s Executive Leadership Team.

He specialises in the assessment of personality and cognitive ability in the workplace, with extensive experience of using, researching and designing online psychometric assessments. He has applied these instruments both in research and consultancy work; the latter has included competency model design for multinational companies, coaching for executive development, and major recruitment projects. 

On the research side, he has written computer generated expert reports, managed mobile phone app development, written guidelines on the ethical use of psychometric testing, and researched competencies necessary for corporate success. 

With over 13 years of experience as an in-house Chartered Occupational Psychologist, I have worked within a leading technology provider in defence, security, aviation and space. My expertise spans cultural transformation, the design and implementation of bespoke assessment and selection solutions, and the development of impactful EDI initiatives. 

I am currently pursuing a diploma in Transformational Coaching, driven by my passion for developing others and empowering leaders to enhance their effectiveness and navigate complex organisational challenges with confidence.

 Sam Warner is a Neurodivergent Communication Specialist and uses her lived experience to work with leaders across multiple industries to improve their DEI policies to help them attract and retain talented Neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD, Dyslexia etc) employees. Organisations enjoy loyalty, diversity of thought, innovation and increased profits whilst spending less on recruitment due to attrition. 

She delivers keynotes, workshops, training and coaching to clients such as Nokia, Ocado, The Royal Ballet School, GirlGuiding, Welsh Water and the NHS to name a few.

Sam has an energetic delivery style that leaves the audience with engaging memories and inspiration. She has worked in multiple industries herself including, IT, Manufacturing, The NHS, The Police Service, and in many different roles, such as Project Manager, Quality, Governance & Risk Management. She is also a Professional Speaker, a TEDx Speaker, TEDx Curator and Speaker Coach with 25+ years experience.

 Transformative Leadership. Author. Founder.

Elke Edwards is a pioneering force in transformative leadership development. She has over 25 years of experience working with senior leaders in organisations such as L’Oreal, Jaguar Land Rover, M&S, Aviva, NatWest, The Economist, Google, The Tony Blair Institute, Barclays and Mitsubishi. She founded and scaled two highly successful businesses - Ivy House and Blue Sky – both multi-award-winning leadership development companies.

Her mission is to help leaders, and their teams transcend traditional models - unlocking their ability to become extraordinary leaders and lead extraordinary lives.

Elke’s book, ‘Extraordinary - how to live a bigger, braver, more meaningful life’, became an instant bestseller; she is currently writing ‘The Third Act – if not now, then when?’

Sarah Clarke is a Chartered Director and seasoned Business Psychologist with over 20 years’ leadership experience, specialising in culture transformation to unlock performance and maximise ROI.

Her work—recognised by awards from Top UK Employer, Best Companies, Investors in People, and CIPD—blends behavioural science with practical leadership to align culture and strategy for lasting impact.

A Fellow of the Association for Business Psychology, Vice-Chair of the Institute of Directors, and experienced Trustee, Sarah brings strategic insight to challenges like disengagement, exclusion, team dysfunction, and cultural misalignment.

As Co-Founder of Think Organisation, she advises SMEs and large corporates, delivering evidence-based programmes that have boosted productivity by 50%+, reduced sickness absence by 40%, and driven triple-digit engagement gains.

With over a decade of experience in culture measurement, Sarah is co-authoring a 2025 paper with Dr Ann Mulhaney on the drivers of high-performance, thriving workplaces.

Dr Stewart Desson sits on the board of the Association for Business Psychology and is a leading advocate for understanding how behaviour impacts organisational performance. A global innovator in psychometrics, he is renowned for making personality insights practical and impactful in the workplace.

Founder and CEO of Lumina Learning, Dr Desson developed the Lumina Spark model, blending analytical rigour with accessible, engaging tools for leaders and teams. His PhD in Organisational Psychology—rooted in decades of hands-on experience—underpins his mission to reveal and empower individual differences to drive performance.

For over 15 years, he has built a global network of practitioners committed to moving beyond traditional assessments, embracing human complexity to help organisations build adaptable, resilient, high-performing teams.

Dr Desson is a compelling speaker, combining evidence-based insight with practical application. His sessions offer audiences fresh, actionable perspectives to spark meaningful change.

Jonathan is an experienced Business Psychologist at Lumina Learning, focusing on research and product development around Lumina’s suite of next-generation psychometric assessments.

His research focuses on how personality can predict real-world outcomes, and how to leverage personality to improve our lives at work. Jonathan is also involved in the cross-cultural validation of psychometric assessments, evaluating the impact of culture and language, and reducing adverse impact.

Jonathan holds a BSc in Psychology and Criminology from Royal Holloway, University of London, and an MSc in Occupational and Organisational Psychology from the University of Surrey. He is a member of the British Psychological Society, and is a Certified Business Psychologist with the Association for Business Psychology.

Jonathan’s research has been presented at numerous conferences, including the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology, and the Association for Business Psychology conferences.

Dr Zara Whysall is an Associate Professor of Business Psychology at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University and also Research & Impact Director at Business Psychology firm, Kiddy & Partners. 

She is Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, with over two decades of experience in consultancy and training roles in public and private sector organisations.  Widely published, her research and expertise spans talent management, organisational culture change and attendance behaviour/presenteeism.

Keran Dhillon is a Business Psychologist and Global Head of Selection and Assessment at AXA XL. With over 14 years of experience, including roles at IBM and Phillip Morris International, she is leading the company’s global shift to a skills-based organization. Keran brings a unique blend of corporate insight, scientific rigor, and innovation to her work. 

She is passionate about the intersection of people and technology, and how thoughtfully applied tech can unlock new ways of working, hiring, and growing talent. She is also a strong advocate for neurodiversity, inclusion and ethical data-driven talent practices that shape the future of work.

Luke holds a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience, where he created novel paradigms to study associative learning and memory. In 2016 he transitioned to organisational psychology, joining Central Test as a psychometrician, validating surveys and building adaptive testing architectures. Since 2019 he has been working with Arctic Shores, leading the design of task-based assessments. 

Luke also directs Lumos Insight, a consultancy that helps clients craft psychometric products and other solutions grounded in psychological science—now with an expanding focus on modern NLP techniques and retrieval-augmented-generation (RAG) workflows.

Kate Young is Head of People Science at Sapia.ai, where she leads the integration of behavioral science and ethical AI into assessment design. With over 15 years of experience across roles at Multiverse, Heidrick & Struggles, Cubiks (Now Talogy), and Cappfinity, Kate has shaped innovative, inclusive approaches to workforce diagnostics and talent assessment. 

Her work focuses on ensuring AI tools enhance fairness, transparency, and candidate trust. Kate brings a unique blend of scientific rigor and real-world impact to conversations about the future of assessment in business psychology.