It’s important to not just talk the talk, but walk the walk. To inspire more women at all levels in business, we need highly visible ambassadors and role models who show (not tell) younger women the way. We’ll hear from high-profile senior women who help raise other women up by setting an example.

Pavita is UK Chair of the 30% Club, campaigning for greater female representation at board and executive level across Britain’s leading companies. She works with boards and executive teams to build culture and inclusion across their organisations. Pavita is recognised as a leading culture and diversity expert; she has over 30 years’ experience as a talent, leadership & culture executive leader across a range of multi-sector global blue-chip organisations, including Shell, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group. Pavita has acted as an advisor to boards, CEOs, executive teams and business leaders across sectors that include financial services, energy, consumer, professional services, luxury goods & privately-owned businesses. Having led in-house board-level appointments and promotion processes, she understands that organisations need commitment at all levels to create inclusive workplaces. Pavita combines her deep technical expertise with an ability to frame insights in a direct but compelling style. Pavita is a passionate advocate of greater diversity across the C-Suite and committed to accelerating the progression of “hidden” talent: women, ethnic minorities and leaders from less traditional backgrounds. She is a regular speaker on women in business, increasing ethnic minority representation and the acceleration of diverse talent in the pipeline to the C-Suite and boardroom. Pavita believes in the power of giving back; she mentors young people from ethnically diverse and socially disadvantaged backgrounds and regularly speaks at inner city schools across the country through Speakers for Schools. She also serves as a trustee of the Prince’s Trust, the lead NED to an agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and a trustee of the Old Vic. Pavita has recently stepped down from the Equalities & Human Rights’ Commission where she served as a commissioner for five years. Pavita was awarded Woman of the Year at the Asian Business Awards in 2017 and more recently presented with the President’s Medal by the British Academy of Management and recognised by Women in the City as a Top 50 Trailblazer for gender equality.

Miriam González Durántez is a lawyer specialized in international trade, founder and president of España Mejor, a non-profit organization whose aim is to energize civil society to participate in the development of public policy proposals in an open, inclusive, non-partisan, and ideologically cross-cutting manner.

In 2015, she founded Inspiring Girls International, a global charity present in 36 countries dedicated to raising the aspirations of young women by connecting them with female role models from all sectors.

Miriam is also a member of the Diversity Council of Toyota Europe and an independent director of Atrys Health. Additionally, she sits on the European Council on Foreign Relations and various educational institutions, and has been a professor of international trade policy at Stanford University, California.

Miriam is also the author of "Devuélveme el Poder," a book focused on the need for political reform in Spain.

Miriam is married to Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister of Britain and President of Meta, with whom she has three sons. Currently, she lives between the United Kingdom and Spain.

UK tech entrepreneur Tamara Lohan MBE is CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith, the boutique hotel booking specialists that she co-founded with her husband James in 2003. Responsible for evolving the company’s digital infrastructure, Tamara oversaw the company’s pivot from publishing house to online travel agent; as CTO, led the development of Mr & Mrs Smith’s in-house booking engine and steered the business into new markets, opening offices in Australia, the US and Singapore. She has led financing rounds from a variety of sources, including the world’s first travel bond and, in 2018, one of the fastest, highest raises on the Crowdcube platform. Tamara was awarded an MBE for services to the British travel industry in 2014. 

Today, Mr & Mrs Smith has more than 2 million members worldwide and commercial partnerships with some of the world’s biggest travel companies including British Airways. The business became a certified B Corp in 2022 and was acquired by Hyatt in 2023.

Tamara frequently speaks on topics including entrepreneurship, resilience, digital innovation, women in technology and leadership. Outside Mr & Mrs Smith, she mentors and invests in start-ups, serves as non-executive director on the board of Fortnum & Mason and adventure travel company, Much Better Adventures.

As Group CEO of YMU, Mary Bekhait is one of the most powerful figureheads in the global entertainment industry. Since taking over the helm in January 2021, Bekhait has overseen a radical rebrand of YMU, transforming the agency into a progressive business spearheaded by women and representing some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry and beyond. Rise to Leadership Bekhait began her journey at YMU Group in 2012, as a director in the entertainment division when it was still known as James Grant. The boardroom at the time - like so many other large scale media companies - was entirely male dominated. “When I started at YMU twelve and a half years ago, it was very much a boys club,” Bekhait says. “There was a male CEO, male Chair and entirely male board, and no female MDs.” Bekhait’s leadership and strategic vision saw her quickly promoted to deputy managing director, then managing director, then UK CEO, taking over the prestigious position of Group CEO in January 2021. “As a woman in a senior leadership role you are constantly trying to find a path for yourself in environments that aren’t built for you,” she says of her trajectory. “The media industry is still dominated by the white male, particularly large scale talent agencies, so to be a woman doing this feels really good.” Vision as Group CEO As Group CEO, Bekhait has transformed YMU Group inside and out; overseeing the company’s operations across their London, New York, Washington and LA offices, enhancing the talent roster to focus on what she calls “truly global elites” and building a refreshingly progressive female leadership team in the process. “Change doesn’t just happen,” Bekhait says. “People need to make space.” And today YMU is a rarity in the entertainment sector in that it has a female Chair - in Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X - a female CEO, a female CFO, and multiple female MDs and female directors too. “It’s a great feeling,” Bekhait says of the transformation. “In my experience, female organisations tend to value cognitive diversity, multiple viewpoints, and a nurturing environment, and in the long term that builds a team who run on consensus rather than fear.” In her role as Group CEO, Bekhait has taken a hands-on approach to nurturing and promoting women within the business, keen to instil in them the same confidence and self belief she had to reach for the top. “I tell so many women, you CAN do this,” she says, noting how the shift in gender balance under her leadership has created a palpable change in office culture and dynamics as a result. “Empathy, humility, authenticity, creativity and the ability to listen are just a few of the characteristics of a female led business,” Bekhait continues. “There is a confidence now at YMU that people can speak their opinion and it won’t be used against them, which has created a much more creative and collaborative environment as a result.” Closing the gender pay gap One of Bekhait’s proudest achievements at YMU to date is closing the gender pay gap, reducing it from 29% in 2021 to 9% in 2024. Equality in the workforce, of course, is not just about numbers, it’s about recognising and supporting women across all areas of their lives. “I don’t want to see talented women fall off the career ladder at 35-40, when they are just at the peak of their powers, because they have had a baby,” Bekhait states. “They have done the hard yards, they’ve got their contacts and they know their stuff, then they become mothers and they can no longer afford to work.” Caring responsibilities - from childcare to looking after sick or elderly relatives - often fall on a woman’s shoulders, and Mary is keen to ensure women do not drop out of the workforce unnecessarily as a result. “As a working mother, if I didn’t have the support system in place that I have, then I wouldn’t be able to do this job,” she says simply, attributing her “incredibly supportive” husband and family as key to her success. Building an industry defining global talent agency As well as revolutionising internal team culture and dynamics, Mary has transformed YMU from what was a very UK centric company into a truly global, industry-defining agency that touches every aspect of culture. “I want YMU to focus on elite culture defining clients in their sector,” Bekhait says of her vision as CEO. “The power in the entertainment industry is increasingly coalesced around the superstar, so the agency needs to pivot towards those elite clients. They’re the ones that move the needle.” Establishing YMU as a leader in talent management has enabled the group to sign entertainment heavyweights Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, Paris Hilton, Emily Ratajkowski Patricia Bright and Amelia Dimoldenberg, amongst other high-profile figures in entertainment, sports, music, and literature; not to mention some of the incredible culture defining musicians in YMU’s business management division which looks after the finances of everyone from Little Simz and Central Cee to Fred Again amongst many others. Modernising a legacy agency Bekhait’s decision to integrate digital strategy, data and technology into YMU’s approach has created a 360 agency that delivers everything a talent needs. “When I took over at YMU, I felt that it was in many ways a legacy TV centric business,” she explains. “It was best known for big UK presenters, which is brilliant, but there were certain things happening in the entertainment industry that I knew we had to pivot and follow alongside. Today what differentiates YMU in the market, is the depth and breadth of our in-house specialist experts,whether that’s in digital marketing, podcasts and audio, live events, books, commercial partnerships, IP or TV.” So how does YMU determine what talent to work with? It’s a combination of things. “One is market appetite,” Bekhait says. “We speak to broadcasters, platforms, brands, audience listening tools to find out how much appetite there is around this individual, what is it that they are trying to say and how is that different to anyone else. Then there are empirical data pieces; how big is their following, how big is their engagement? Then there is a values piece as well; can I have lunch with this person? Do I like them? Do I want to go on a journey for 10/15 years with this person, to put time and resources around them? If they tick all of those criteria then we’re interested. It’s art and science,” she concludes. “A mixture of instinct and data.” Inspiring the next generation In three short years, Bekhait has transformed YMU into a world leader in talent management, establishing herself as a respected and sought-after thought leader as a result. As a female CEO, she is cognizant of the power of a diverse workforce and fostering an environment where talent can thrive. “I want to put more women in the driving seat,” she says, determined to use her influence to inspire a new generation of women and girls to rise up and reach for the top. For those looking to follow in her footsteps, her advice is simple: “Focus on the work you love doing and be excellent at it. Have the confidence to speak up in rooms because your opinion matters. It’s about having initiative, courage, and truly going for it. If you are brilliant at what you are doing, I promise you opportunity will follow.” She is certainly testament to that.