The third person in history to ski solo to the North and South poles, and his accomplishments include leading The Scott Expedition, the first completion of the expedition that defeated Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, a 108-day, 1,800-mile round-trip from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back again.

Ben is an acclaimed keynote speaker, described by TED (where he has given three main-stage talks) as ‘a master storyteller’, and supports a number of charities. He gives free talks each year for UK state schools through Speakers for Schools, and is a Fellow and development board member for the youth development organisation British Exploring Society.

His focus today is on enabling pioneers – and identifying, investing in and accelerating innovation – to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

He became a father in May 2022, and describes himself as an “entrepreneur, writer, cyclist, runner, weightlifter, dog-lover, surprisingly bad skier, husband and dad”.

.Serhat is a multi-award-winning media and advertising professional with vast experience of creating successful divisions, agencies and products as well as award winning campaigns that drive tangible outcomes.

Born and raised in Istanbul, Serhat had moved to the UK in 2006 with no English or a degree by then. Having gained vast and varied experiences across various spectrum of marketing at companies such as Gorkana Group, MediaCom, Kantar Media and GfK, Serhat felt that those with differences were not being recognised enough and, as a mixed ethnic minority himself married to a mixed ethnic minority from a different continent and now with his son, he wanted to do more to change the landscape of diversity in marketing for client outputs and change the historical way of thinking about minorities only when there is a specific cultural moment or product for them to, to be part of every response to brief at every stage to be inclusive of them.

Serhat is the Managing Director of Unite, Omnicom Media Group UK’s diversity-driven agency. Since joining, he has completely revolutionised the agency including a full rebrand. Unite has gone from 1 award in 8 years to 8 in 3 years, including a Campaign Media Award, ‘Best Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at the European Diversity Awards and ‘Advanced Award for Diversity’ at the BIMA Awards and growing both its client base from 2 to over 50+ as well as increasing it’s revenue by 1,600%

He is a keen Diversity and Inclusion advocate and has been a panel speaker at organisations such as Facebook and BIMA , EffWorks Global and more, as well as writing thought leadership on publications such as Drum and Campaign. He was also chosen as one of the “Trailblazer of the Future” by Campaign Magazine as well as being of one of the winners for IPA’s (The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) iList of Industries Inclusivity Game-Changers in 2020 and shortlisted for Media Leader of the Year 2021 at MediWeek Awards.

Serhat is also part of MEFA – a non-profit mentoring network for ethnic minorities as well as Bloom UK.

Tania was then based in Johannesburg for the network as the Southern Africa correspondent where she covered the passing of South African icon Nelson Mandela and travelled across the continent covering stories about economic inequality, politics and social change. She was on the Emmy nominated team for work during the Russia-Georgia conflict and a finalist for the Bayeux Calvados War Correspondents Prize for her work covering intercommunal violence in Central African Republic.

Tania returned to Aotearoa in 2018 to join TVNZ1’s Sunday current affairs show where she has covered issues close to her heart such as the struggle of working families to make ends meet and the contentious issue of police pursuits.

She is the proud mother of two young boys who are enrolled in kura kaupapa education while she herself strives to reclaim her own reo.

Subodh is the Executive Chairman of Fareast Mercantile Co. International Limited, engaged in sales, supply chain and distribution of branded products, in the food, fmcg and appliances space in West Africa and, also the Executive Chairman of Chanrai Investments (S) Pte Ltd.

Subodh gained his MBA from Bentley College, Boston, MA, USA which has since seen him take several roles as Director, including; Africa Lifestyle Limited, focussed on building retail in Africa, with partners such as Estee Lauder and L’Oreal, Afri Investments Ltd, and Director of Eco Health Limited, engaged in distribution of pharmaceutical products in West Africa.

He is also the Director of New Home Products Industries, engaged in CKD manufacturing of Scanfrost brand of appliances, and bar soap for P & G, Colgate, IFFCO and house brands. In addition, the company has joint ventures with Twinings, Ornua and Beiersdorf.

Subodh’s role as Director of Tulsi Eye Hospital in Nashik, India, which is a family charity, provides free eye care to the poorest or the poor sections of society.

He is a Member of The Boards of Regents for Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, Governor and Member of “Governance Committee” for United World College South East Asia, and an active member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organisation).

Subodh resides in Singapore with his family.

Sarwat is a British multi-award winning Behavioural Change expert and Leadership consultant with international experience working with Corporates and Governments in DE&I Strategy and Leadership.
A regular speaker and writer on, Workplace culture and wellbeing, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, she coaches leaders and teams in performance and culture.  advocating for sustainable and successful development programs for women and girls.

She advises and contributes to international Ministerial coalitions on Equity and Inclusion, and during the start of the Covid Pandemic, contributed to the UK Government’s national strategies on policy and delivery of  mental health and outreach campaigns to the most vulnerable. This work included supporting the London Mayor on women empowerment initiatives.
Sarwat has contributed to new HR legislation being passed addressing equality of women and minorities in the workplace.

Sarwat’s mentoring programs and guidance for disadvanaged young people, has resulted in her past mentees going onto; Oxford University, London School of Economics and Kings College London, as well as roles within the civil service, tech and corporate.

Sarwat serves on the Auckland Business Chamber’s Asian Business Advisory Board,  and represents UN Women on the Women Empowerment Principle’s (WEP’s) Committee, supporting business on promoting gender equality.

Sarwat has served on the President Elect’s UN COP26 Climate advisory for diversity and inclusion in the Global South, and advises the UNFCCC in representation for minority ethnic communities.

His experience in global business, strategy and sales management across continents and industries, has provided a wealth of knowledge in people, resilience, leadership culture, and business growth.

A career that has spanned Europe, London, the Gulf and Middle East, his experience as a New Zealander, has provided him with the knowledge of how identity in business matters.

Jason managed teams and multi-national clients within the commercial construction sector at board level. This led him to lead a pioneering, award winning British brand during the early introduction of “new ways of working – technology, productivity and wellbeing” throughout the Middle East and Africa. During this period of leading multi-nationality teams that consisted of many cultures, and clients who practiced different beliefs – alongside his leadership, Jason’s teams successfully secured major contracts with global clients such as Microsoft, HSBC and GE.

Jason’s holistic approach to business relationships and organisational culture, created benchmarks for leadership in companies across the region who later sought his advisory.

Jason’s expertise in people, marketing and operations combined with his experience of strengthening commercial appeal has been recognised by industry leaders.

Jason is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.