Rana Tajvidi | Senior Lecturer and Program Leader in Marketing | London South Bank University
Dr Rana Tajvidi is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing and Program Leader for UG Marketing Courses at the Business School, London South Bank University.
She teaches across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Rana received her PhD and MBA in Marketing from Bangor University (North Wales, UK) and an Executive Management (MSc) qualification from Industrial Management University, Iran. Her research interests focus on Digital Marketing, AI, Social Media Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, and SMEs Performance. Her work has been published in several management and marketing journals and presented at internationally reputed academic conferences. Rana worked for nine years as a Marketing Manager at ITM Co., a leading manufacturing company in the Middle East, before transitioning to academia. Since joining LSBU, she has taken on various roles, including Course Director for the Euro-FH University Summer School courses, Academic Integrity Coordinator in the Marketing division, Head of Personal Tutoring, and Associate Course Director for MSc Marketing and MSc International Marketing courses. Dr Rana is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a member of the Academy of Marketing (AOM). Her teaching expertise includes Marketing Research, Direct and Digital Marketing, Research Methods, and Brand Management. Rana currently supervises 5 PhD students in Digital Marketing and AI-related topics and 20 postgraduate applied projects every year.
Nisha Menon | Lecturer of Business Skills | London Southbank University
Nisha Menon is a Lecturer at LSBU Business School, where she plays a pivotal role in guiding Postgraduate students through their internships, helping them identify career opportunities aligned with their strengths and aspirations.
With over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience importing her 2 Food brands into the UK, she brings practical business insights into the classroom, equipping students with real-world entrepreneurial skills. As a passionate advocate for student employability, she has spearheaded initiatives at the university to connect international PG students with employers, creating more job opportunities in this tough market. Her dedication has led to consecutive nominations for LSBU’s Employability Enhancement Awards in 2023 and 2024. As part of the university’s Help to Grow scheme, she has delivered modules and also shared industry insights as a Guest Speaker. She also mentors both Postgraduate and Undergraduate students in starting an Import/Export business in the UK. Beyond academia, she actively supports small businesses through mentoring. In 2023, she served as a mentor for the Boxpark Croydon competition, where her mentee won a pop-up space. In 2020, she launched her You Tube channel (now over 450K views) to support & educate aspiring entrepreneurs with importing goods into the UK. Recognised as a three-time finalist in the Croydon Business Awards, she has also been featured by BBC News, BBC Radio, and various podcasts. She has spoken on various industry panels, including LSBU’s Earth Day event on sustainability and AGCAS’s International Graduate Roundtable on discussing employment prospects for international students.
Elena Brake | Trainee Engineer | Fishtek
I am a trainee engineer at Fishtek Ltd and current Mechanical Engineering Student with the University of Plymouth.
I am a recipient of the Engineering Leaders Scholarship from the Royal Academy of Engineering. I am currently pursuing a career change from a successful career within the arts. I earned a First Class degree in Fine Art in 2016 and built a career as a nationally recognised artist, exhibiting work, securing grants and mentoring young creatives as an art technician. However, a life-changing diagnosis in 2020 led to me becoming disabled, and ultimately inspired me to pursue a career change to engineering, a field with far-reaching societal impact. I have been actively sharing the story of my career change, becoming a chair of trustees for a new up and coming charity ”Construct Ability” which is dedicated to reducing barriers in engineering and construction roles for disabled people, and I frequently collaborate on practical solutions which help create better accessibility in my university and also the wider engineering industry. Overall, my mission is to increase the number of disabled people in engineering, because engineering people can bring with them a unique perspective as well as resilience, courage, and fantastic problem solving abilities. I hope that I can act as a role model for people considering engineering who might not think engineering is for them.
Sherry Gardner | Events Coordinator, RBC Capital Markets | Royal Bank of Canada
Sherry Gardner is a dynamic professional with a strong background in project management, corporate events and diversity initiatives.
Currently, working at the Royal Bank of Canada’s London office as an Events Coordinator in the Capital Markets division, managing high-profile corporate events, across Europe, internal employee engagement events and works as part of the team organising the RBC sponsored charity partnership, Race for the Kids event taking place in every year in Hyde Park which attracts over 2,000 RBC employees along with thousands of general supporters raising money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Before transitioning to financial services, Sherry worked full-time as an Executive Assistant to Managing Partners at a top City law firm while earning her law degree. Sherry studied for 4 years on a part-time basis as a mature student at Birkbeck University, demonstrating exceptional dedication and resilience. Passionate about fostering an inclusive workplace, Sherry is also an active member of Mosaic the Diversity Committee at RBC. This employee resource group, drives initiatives that promote inclusion and belonging across RBC regardless of ethnic background or religion.
Christina Taylor | Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Assistant Manager | KPMG LLP
Christina has worked at KPMG LLP for the past two years in the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity team, implementing an organisation-wide domestic abuse strategy in her first year at the firm.
Prior to KPMG, she worked in roles in Corporate Responsibility, DEI, Vulnerable Customer Strategy and Medical Underwriting. She previously co-chaired the Disability network at Aviva, increasing membership by 200% in her first year as co-chair. She is a passionate advocate for speaking openly about mental health and has volunteered as one of Beat's Ambassadors for the last 10 years. This role included recently featuring as the face of their corporate awareness campaign, and speaking on BBC News and at the House of Lords to raise awareness of chronic and enduring eating disorders, as well as training medical students and supporting carers. In 2022, she secured funding of over £80,000 for community charitable causes nationwide and in her hometown of Norwich. She also volunteers as a governor at two local schools, chairing one board and vice chairing another. She leads on SEND and DEI strategy for over 2000 local students in these educational settings, as well as mentoring local talent with neurodiversities and eating disorders.
Fabienne Palmer | Head of Equity and Inclusion | Smart About Health
I am Clinical Psychologist, Cancer Transformation Programme Lead, and Head of Equity and Inclusion.
I also serve as a Clinical and Research Supervisor and an Associate Clinical Tutor on London-based clinical psychology doctoral programmes, supporting and mentoring aspiring psychologists to develop their core professional competences, and also widening access to the profession. As Director of Wise Mynd, I have prioritised training, content creation and therapeutic approaches that name and address systemic and cultural barriers to well-being for underserved communities. I have also worked with forward thinking organisations who are keen to dismantle systemic and institutional injustices within the creative industries, and VCSE sectors. One of the programmes I lead on focuses on the wellbeing of HR, DEI, and wellbeing practitioners; groups often overlooked despite their vital role in supporting others. Combining trauma-informed methods with equity-driven strategies, this initiative blends clinical theories, practice and research to create more inclusive and sustainable workplace environments and practices for all. Drawing on liberation, community and systemic psychology approaches, I am passionate about working closely with communities and people with lived experiences. I also prioritise showcasing the multiple ways clinical psychologists can inspire change both within and beyond the therapy room, harnessing data-driven insights, community partnerships, and reflective practice to create inclusive, transformative solutions across industries.
Saskhia Menendez | Innovator, Talent & Podcast Host | Sassy
Saskhia Menendez is a dynamic multi-racial trans woman who has dedicated over a decade to breaking barriers and championing diversity in the music and entertainment industries.
Her career is a testament to resilience, creativity, and advocacy, grounded in her lived experiences and unwavering commitment to inclusivity. Growing up in a disadvantaged environment, Saskhia overcame significant challenges, including caring for deaf parents, living in care, and becoming a young parent. These experiences fueled her determination to create a more equitable world, particularly for marginalized voices. With a Master’s degree in Music Marketing, Saskhia has combined her academic expertise with her passion for change. She has held key roles, including Innovator at Keychange and panelist for LiVE Diversity Experts. As a voting member for the BRIT Awards, she plays a vital role in shaping the future of the music industry, ensuring diverse voices are recognized and celebrated. As the host of the Music Industry Insights Worldwide podcast, Saskhia amplifies underrepresented voices, tackling issues such as gender equity, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and the unique challenges faced by trans and non-binary artists. Saskhia’s advocacy extends to the development of a Trans Charter for the music industry, designed to establish support frameworks and ensure authentic representation. Recognized globally for her contributions, she is a Women in Music Roll of Honour inductee and has received multiple diversity awards. Her work continues to inspire the next generation of changemakers, fostering an industry culture that celebrates diversity, equity, and authenticity.
Jo Larby | Accessibilty Community Lead & Technical Lead | Leighton
Jo is a born-and-bred Geordie, having gone through her school career in Newcastle and continuing on to complete her Bachelors in Computer Science at Northumbria University.
Nowadays, Jo is a Technical Lead and the Accessibility Community of Practice Lead at Leighton, the North’s leading AWS Software Development Consultancy. Having spent the earliest years of her career working for Accenture on large public sector innovations, it beggars belief that Jo ever finds time to come up for breath, let alone dedicate significant amounts of time to advocating for the empowerment of women in the workplace and in the world of Tech through initiatives like the TechUp Programme (where she has acted as a mentor and coach to women looking to pivot to a career in Tech for the last 2 years), SmartWorks (who provide unemployed women aged 16 and above with interview clothing and coaching to break down socioeconomic barriers to getting into the workplace) and Women In Tech North East (where Jo has featured as a Panellist for a session around the importance of being a strong role model for other women and is organising an event on allyship within technology).
Tegan Hull | Associate, Structuring | Nomura
Tegan works in a Structuring team in the Global Markets division at Nomura, focusing on Emerging Markets credit and insurance solutions.
She joined Nomura in 2021 following a summer internship. For three years Tegan has been working to deliver bespoke financing solutions for Nomura’s clients in EMEA. She is a trusted partner in structuring, working closely with her team to create detailed documentation, internal and external marketing presentations, and basic pricing and capital calculation sheets. Tegan cares deeply about perpetuating an inclusive work environment, recognising that diversity of identity leads to diversity of lived experience and therefore many different and unique approaches to problem solving and ways of working. To this end, Tegan is involved in many initiatives around the firm – most notably as Co-Chair of one of the firm’s four Diversity Networks. This means being responsible for curating, organising and delivering an impactful annual programme of events and initiatives to educate and raise awareness on themes relevant to the firm’s diverse population. She empowers and supports other members of the Diversity Network to lead events, and coordinates collaboration with other Diversity Networks within the firm in EMEA, with internal global counterparts, and with similar networks in other financial services firms around London. Tegan holds Master of Science and Bachelors of Arts degrees from the University of Cambridge, after completing the Natural Sciences integrated Masters course, specialising in Chemistry.
Humairaa Hatia | Business Consultant | BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
In just 3.5 years, my career has taken unexpected but exciting turns, allowing me to grow rapidly in ways I never imagined.
After completing my A-levels, I joined BAE Systems Digital Intelligence as a Software Engineer Apprentice, where I gained hands-on experience with new tools and technologies while working in national security. Upon completing my apprenticeship, I continued as a Software Engineer, seizing every opportunity that came my way. I took on roles beyond my job title, serving as the team’s Scrum Master for a year and stepping in as a Business Analyst when needed. While I enjoyed working with technical teams, I soon realized that my passion extended beyond coding. This led me to transition into a Business Consultant role on a new project— a role I was unfamiliar with before joining the company. Now, seven months into consulting, I’ve found my stride, continuously seeking training and opportunities to develop my skills. Beyond my day-to-day work, I am deeply committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As Chair of the Muslim Network, I strive to foster awareness and support colleagues in building an inclusive workplace. I am also passionate about inspiring the next generation of women in STEM, regularly volunteering at outreach events. Additionally, I co-led my office’s first-ever work experience program, helping to shape opportunities for young talent exploring careers in technology. My journey so far has been dynamic and full of learning, and I look forward to the many opportunities ahead to grow and make an impact.