Simon Allcock

South and Central Regional Operations Manager at Riverside

In his role at Riverside, Simon provides support services to vulnerable people who need help to live more independently. He believes timely intervention can pay dividends for a lifetime. As a straight ally, he has had a significant impact on membership of Riverside’s LGBT staff group and his support of events like Pride and Sparke helped to raise LGBT issues within Riverside and externally. The father of three plays guitar and vocals in The Cambridge Blues and has a keen interest in the benefits of exercise and living in a sustainable way. Recently Simon has started training for a half Ironman triathlon.

Tamara Box

Managing Partner, EMEA at Reed Smith LLP

Tamara Box is the Managing Partner for Europe & the Middle East of Reed Smith LLP. She is an Executive Sponsor for Reed Smith’s LGBT‎ network, PRISM, as well as its disability network, LeadRS. She is a founding member of the Steering Committee of the 30% Club and a member of the Court of Governors of the London School of Economics. Tamara is the chair of the “Women of Influence” campaign for the charity Cancer Research UK and also sits on the Advisory Board of charity Theirworld. She was named a top 30 Inspirational Woman and Champion of Diversity by Brummel Magazine in 2015 and Mentor of the Year by Women of the Future in 2016.

Louise Bradley

Marketing & PR Manager at Oliver Wyman

Louise Bradley is part of the Marketing and PR team at global management consultancy Oliver Wyman and Chairs their UK LGBT+ Network. She describes herself as an amateur creative-feminist-scientist who lives in Essex but has never had a spray tan. Her passion for equality comes from her parents and her stubbornness in pursuing it in a corporate environment probably comes from being a middle child. Louise has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Oxford that she uses to ensure any gingerbread dinosaurs she bakes are anatomically accurate.

Karin Cook

Group Director for Operations at Lloyds Banking

As Lloyds Banking Group Director for Operations and Executive Sponsor for sexual orientation and gender identity, Karin Cook leads over 22,000 colleagues across IT, Customer Delivery, Global Payments, Security & Fraud, Property, Risk & Sourcing. Over the past 24 months she has made a phenomenal impact in driving forward LGBT inclusion across the Group, which was named number 1 in the 2017 Stonewall Top 100 employers list. Her influence was the driving force behind the Group extending its Medical Benefits to include gender dysphoria, and she was a key driver encouraging new allies to sign up and support the Group’s Rainbow Network, taking the membership to 5000.

David Bryan

Head of Legal Services at Cheshire Constabulary

David has been a senior leader in the Police Service for 4 years and is Head of Department for the new Joint Legal Service between Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire and Rescue. Until 2013, he specialised in social care, education and criminal justice in local authorities and Probation Trusts in Yorkshire and the North-West. David is a committed supporter of LGBT equality, accepting with huge pride the role of Senior Champion firstly for West Yorkshire Probation Trust and subsequently for Cheshire Police, both of which made it into the Stonewall Top 100 Employers under his watch.

Martin Egan

Global Co-Head Primary and Secondary Markets at BNP Paribas

Martin is a Senior Business Sponsor for the LGBT network and has been very proactive in bringing about a tangible change towards a more inclusive environment for BNP Paribas’s LGBT+ employees. He is also a keen supporter of BNP Paribas’s Diversity networks. Martin is also Vice Chairman of the Board of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and chair of ICMA’s Primary Market Practice Committee (PMPC) on top of his day job.

Jan-Coos Geesink

MD, Global Head of Sales & Marketing, Financial & Risk at Thomson Reuters

Jan-Coos Geesink has worked in financial services, legal and other industries, including information, technology, medical and security services, for over 30 years. He has held a number of different roles in six countries over three continents and currently leads sales and marketing for the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk business globally. Jan-Coos sits on the investment committee of the Social Business Trust, helping social enterprises to scale in order to maximise the positive impact they make. He’s extremely passionate about diversity in its broadest definition and is the executive sponsor of Thomson Reuters Pride at Work in the UK and member of the Thomson Reuters Black Employee Network Taskforce.

Benny Higgins

Chief Executive at Tesco Bank

Benny Higgins is Chief Executive of Tesco Bank and Group Strategy Director for Tesco PLC. He is also a member of the Tesco Executive Committee. Under Benny’s leadership, Tesco Bank has grown to become one of the most established ‘new’ banks in the UK, serving more than 7 million customer accounts and employing over 4,000 people in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle. Benny has been the sponsor of Out at Tesco, Tesco’s LGBT+ network for over five years and has been a key catalyst in its growth to Europe’s largest LGBT+ network.

Diana Holland

Assistant General Secretary at UNITE

Diana Holland is UNITE Assistant General Secretary for Equalities and industries across the union. She has supported LGBT workers facing harassment, campaigned for equal rights – on travel passes, family policy, pensions – winning change at work, in the community, and in law. Always a passionate advocate for equality for all, including when there were no legal rights, she has ensured LGBT structures are established, active, and involve the diversity of LGBT+ workers. She supported the inclusion of LGBTI equality in the Global trade union agenda, as Labour Party Treasurer promotes diversity funds, and as Party Chair promoted LGBT Labour’s affiliation.

Michael Roemer

Group Head of Compliance at Barclays

Michael Roemer is currently the Group Head of Compliance for Barclays. Throughout his 30-year career, Michael has been a champion of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). He has been Co-Chair of Barclay’s Executive Diversity & Inclusion Committee since December 2013. In 2016 Michael was appointed Executive Sponsor for Barclays’ Spectrum Network, which supports LGBT staff. Michael is passionate about demanding greater support and awareness on LGBT issues and dedicates his time to ensuring that Barclays is a diverse and inclusive place for customers, clients and colleagues regardless of their race, national or ethnic origin, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, transgender identity or religion/belief.