Sponsored by AESSEAL

IWD 2025 campaign theme: #AccelerateAction

One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of this, faster.

Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge the strategies, resources and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.

Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.

The aim of the IWD 2025 #AccelerateAction campaign is to emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. 

We are delighted to announce the host of the event will be Mark Smith of MAKE YOUR MARK UK. We also have a stellar panel of guests to answer a Q & A session as well as great line up of keynote speakers which include:

Lindsy James – Active Fusion

Lindsy James, Founder and Director of the children’s and young peoples’ charity Active Fusion has dedicated 25 years of her professional career inspiring young people to ‘be the best they can be’. She is passionate about improving the physical health, mental wellbeing and life chances of our current and future generations of children and young people, with her charity recently received the Kings Award for Voluntary Service. The highest award for the charitable sector.

She is the ultimate inspiring female role model, who proves that an ordinary person can achieve extraordinary feats when fuelled by passion and purpose. She defies many barriers, showing that age, gender, running a successful growing charity and being a parent should not define what you can achieve in life.

Lindsy represents the Great British Age Group Team in Duathlon and Triathlon with a number of World, European, British, National titles and a Guinness world record to her name.

Alicia Hewitt – Secure Power

Alicia Hewitt started at Secure Power as a 17-year-old apprentice, never imagining she’d one day be running the business. She’s built her career by spotting opportunities, striving for the next green flag, and never being afraid to put herself forward. Taking over an already successful business, Alicia’s focus has been driving it to the next level — growing the team, exploring new ideas, and making sure the company stays one step ahead. She’ll tell you it’s not about titles or fancy speeches — it’s about rolling your sleeves up, doing the right thing, and making sure everyone feels part of the journey.

Q&A Panel – focusing on AccelerateAction 

Ava Jones – Head of Marketing and Executive Assistant to Group Managing Director at AESSEAL

www.aesseal.com

Ava Jones began her career at AESSEAL as a 17-year-old Business Assurance apprentice and has steadily advanced through multiple departments, including Business Assurance, Commercial, Despatch, and Marketing. Currently, she serves as Head of Marketing and Executive Assistant to the Group Managing Director. Over the past year, Ava has been involved in operations in Germany as part of a continuous improvement project and is now pursuing a two-year development plan to oversee European Operations. Passionate about sustainability, change management and people development, Ava has led numerous marketing initiatives and campaigns while driving continuous improvement across the business for the last six years.

Karen Thomas – Finance Director at ASD Holdings ltd

www.asdlighting.com / www.themillers.co.uk

Karen Thomas is a Finance Director with over 25 years of experience steering financial strategy at ASD Lighting a UK manufacturer that creates high quality lighting solutions that support safety and sustainability.  Balancing this demanding role, Karen also works in the male-dominated world of football as Finance Director for Rotherham United Football Club, a position she has held for 16 years.

A graduate of The Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA in Accounting and Finance, Karen exemplifies leadership and resilience. Her dedication and ability to excel in diverse environments make her an inspiring figure for women striving to break barriers and achieve success across industries.

Ken Perritt – FCILT Senior Director at GXO

www.gxo.com

Experienced Senior Director with a demonstrated career spanning 25 years of working in the logistics and supply chain industry. With a primary focus on e-Commerce multi-site operational management and fulfilment; ranging from start-ups, operational execution, peak delivery and continuous improvement disciplines. Skilled in strategic and tactical account relationship management, talent development, colleague engagement and Supply Chain end-to-end solutions across various verticals.