Top LGBTQ+ Keynote Speakers

Ruth Hunt is the former CEO of Stonewall, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ charity, and was awarded a life peerage for her LGTB activism. As CEO, she led Stonewall in extending the organisation’s remit to include trans communities; contributed to legislative landmarks for same sex couples in the UK including equal marriage and equal adoption rights; and more than doubled the charity’s income.

Through Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme, Ruth supported over 700 organisations in fostering collective and inclusive leadership, and she continues to advise many of Britain’s biggest institutions on the matter.

Nicola is the world’s first female boxer to win an Olympic medal, having taken home the Flyweight category gold at the 2012 London Games.

In 2016, she also became the first female boxer to win a double Olympic championship when she won gold at the Rio Olympic Games. She was appointed an MBE for her services to boxing in 2013 and in 2017 was made an OBE.

Not only is Nicola one of the world’s leading female boxing figures, but she is also a passionate advocate of LGBTQ+ rights. In 2020 she became the first celebrity to perform in a same-sex couple on Strictly Come Dancing, and she speaks movingly on LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity.

Gareth Thomas is one of the most iconic figures in world rugby, and in 2009 became the first high profile sportsman in the world to come out as gay whilst still playing.

In 2019, Gareth bravely told the world he was living with HIV. His BBC documentary, Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me, aired shortly afterwards and he launched the Tackle HIV campaign to take on the stigma surrounding HIV.

Gareth’s 2014 autobiography Proud won Sports Book of the Year and charted his rollercoaster journey to becoming the most prominent athlete to come out as a gay man. His 2021 book Stronger addresses the prejudice he faced being HIV positive.

Alvine Tremoulet is a Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leader at Pfizer. Every day, Alvine strives to change mindsets and make the workplace more diverse and inclusive, while scrutinising both visible and invisible diversity. She is a leading authority on global environmental, social and corporate governance issues. She analyses the current role and scope of influence between corporate communication actors and top executives, on social issues. For her, active listening is essential in order to be heard by all: more rights for one group of people does not mean less for another, thus fostering a constant dialogue, so that everyone feels included in these conversations.

Hannah is a Captain in the British Army who has commanded soldiers in Germany, Canada, Kenya and Afghanistan. She is also a transgender woman, and in 2015, the story of her transition captured the nation.

As one of the UK’s most visible trans people, Hannah has used her public profile to advocate for trans equality and to promote a more realistic picture of trans people in the UK. She is a Patron for the charity Mermaids and an ambassador for LGBTQ+ Sport in Wales.

Hannah often speaks with her husband Jake, who is also trans, on gender, equality, and diversity. As a couple, they are best known for their Channel 4 documentary ‘Our Baby: A Modern Miracle’ which followed their journey starting a family.

Dr. Julia Shaw is an established psychological scientist at University College London (UCL). She is an expert in the areas of memory and AI, criminal psychology, and diversity in the workplace. As the co-founder of the memory science and artificial intelligence start-up Spot, Julia Shaw helps employees report discrimination and workplace harassment. She is committed to building healthy and inclusive working environments. Her keynotes on our human memory and memory hacking, cyber security, workplace harassment and diversity captivate all audiences.

Parmesh is the leading advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in corporate India and has guided many of the country’s top corporations on inclusion.

His first book Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India (Sage Publications) was released in 2008 and re-released in June 2020 as an updated edition. His second book Queeristan: LGBTQ+ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace (Westland Business) was released in August 2020.

Widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Martina won the Wimbledon women’s singles title a record nine times. In total, she has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; overall she has won 59 Grand Slam titles.

She now devotes herself to LBGT advocacy among other causes and is a presenter for BBC, Tennis Channel and Amazon Prime.

In 2019 her call for an open debate about male to female transgender athletes competing in women’s sports sparked global headlines, and in 2019, she presented a BBC documentary, ‘Trans Athletes: A Fair Playing Field?’ The documentary got to the heart of this controversial topic by meeting a range of athletes, scientists and sporting officials.

Kate Richardson-Walsh, is the most capped female hockey player in her country’s history, and was captain of GB and England women’s hockey teams for 13 years. After securing a bronze in London 2012, Rio 2016 was her fourth Games and finally yielded the coveted Olympic Gold medal. An inspirational and charismatic leader she has been widely credited for helping build the incredible team ethos and commitment that drove the GB team to a nail biting victory against Holland in the final.