As we reflect on the initiative, we are delighted to see the Limitless community continue to grow and are proud to facilitate such valuable exchanges alongside hugely inspirational speakers: India Gary-Martin, Dr. Sue Black, Baroness Jan Royall of Blaisdon, Farrah Storr, Kate Richardson-Walsh, Caroline Casey and Dame Inga Beale. Our next event will take place this summer, please keep an eye out for further announcements.
Online | 9th March
At ThoughtWorks, we advocate passionately for positive social change and greater equality in the technology industry and in wider society. As such, we believe it’s important to find space for women leaders to have open, meaningful discussions and share experiences and learnings. We launched Limitless specifically for this purpose.
Latest Event
We had the privilege of welcoming Dame Inga Beale as the keynote speaker for our International Women's Month Limitless event. A trailblazing businesswoman and former CEO of Lloyd’s of London, Dame Inga was the first woman to be promoted to this position in over three centuries of the company’s history. In a hugely inspirational keynote, she shared her experiences driving modernisation, innovation and cultural change in the global insurance and reinsurance market. A leading voice in diversity, inclusion and equality, she also shared with us how she created an inclusive environment at Lloyd's of London, where people from all walks of life were encouraged to bring their authentic selves to work.
Keynote speaker
Dame Inga Beale
Dame Inga Beale is an experienced business leader having spent over 38 years in the insurance sector. From 2014 to 2018 her final executive role was as CEO of Lloyd’s of London. She now has a portfolio of non-executive roles being Chair of Mediclinic International plc, an independent board member of Crawford & Company and London First, and a member of the London Mayor’s Business Advisory Board.
During her five year tenure at the 330-year-old financial institution of Lloyd’s, Dame Inga was responsible for accelerating the modernisation of the insurance market, embedding an innovation culture, and expanding the market’s global access across new, high-growth markets including China, Dubai, and India. As the first female Chief Executive of Lloyd’s, she also played a critical role in advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives across the global insurance sector.
Dame Inga started her career in London in 1982, qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute in 1987 and is now a Chartered Insurer. She was awarded her Damehood in 2017 for services to the UK economy.
Her philanthropic interests include being a member of the Pitt Rivers Museum Advisory Board at Oxford University, and Patron of Insuring Women’s Futures, a not-for-profit aimed at improving women’s lifelong financial resilience.
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Discover Limitless - Highlights & Interviews
Discover Limitless
At ThoughtWorks, we believe it's important to create safe spaces for women leaders to have unsafe conversations around shared experiences, common concerns and learnings. In 2019, we launched Limitless specifically for this purpose. Watch the highlights from our launch event during International Women's Week 2019 - we hope to be able to welcome you in person again soon.
Kate Richardson-Walsh
The most capped British hockey player in history, captain of GB’s hockey teams for 13 years, MBE and BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominee, Kate Richardson-Walsh shares with us important lessons on creating a collective culture of success and sense of common purpose from her impressive career in sport. She also discusses diversity, inclusion and the importance of using our platforms to drive positive social change.
Inga Beale
A trailblazing business leader and former CEO of Lloyd’s of London, Inga Beale was the first woman to be promoted to this position in over three centuries of the company’s history. Having revolutionised the global insurance market, in 2017 she was awarded a DBE for her services to the British economy. In an insightful conversation, Inga shares learnings and experiences from her incredibly successful career.
Christine de Largy Pt 1
A qualified Executive Coach, Christine started her career at John Lewis and progressed through a range of organisations at board level including divisions of Kingfisher, Sears and Arcadia. Most recently as Chair, UK Board Practice at Harvey Nash, one of the best global executive search organisations. In the first half of an insightful conversation, she shares experiences and learnings from her incredibly successful career.
Christine de Largy Pt 2
Having led research into how leadership and boards are changing in partnership with London Business School’s Leadership Institute, Christine is now undertaking a PhD in the psychology and practices that help build inclusive organisations. During this interview, she discusses the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, women representation in leadership (or lack thereof), her views on the board of the future, hierarchy and organisational structure.
Miya Knights
Miya Knights has 20 years' experience as a journalist, author, editor and research director specialising in enterprise technology use in retail. Consistently ranked as one of the top retail industry influencers, Miya shared her views on the state of the industry, the role of tech and how it's changed consumer expectations and customer experience, and her views on Amazon - which she has written a bestselling book on.
Farrah Storr
Our first Limitless event of 2020 was hosted by Farrah Storr, award-winning editor-in-chief of Elle UK, former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan & Women's Health, author of The Discomfort Zone and one of the capital’s most powerful change makers. Farrah shared experiences from her career in publishing and her views on the role of the media in today's society.
Jan Royall
Principal of Somerville College Oxford, Baroness Royall is a distinguished politician, Leader of the House of Lords, a member of the cabinet under the last Labour government and Leader of the Opposition for 5 years thereafter. We had the privilege of getting Jan’s views on politics and the role of women, mentoring, tech, legislation and much more.
Sue Black
Award-winning computer scientist, Dr. Sue Black was awarded an OBE in 2016 for her services to technology. A digital skills expert, technology evangelist, government advisor, social entrepreneur and former London mayoral candidate for the Women’s Equality Party, Sue discusses the role of women in technology, mentoring, impostor syndrome and much more.
India Gary-Martin
25 year veteran of financial services and former Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for Investment Banking Technology and Operations at JP Morgan, India Gary-Martin hosted a powerful keynote session at our very first Limitless event. ThoughtWorks UK Managing Director Ruth Harrison sat down with India to discuss equality, leadership, accelerating your vision and much more.
Sally Penni Pt 1
An award-winning practicing barrister and experienced non-executive director of various boards, Sally Penni MBE is also the founder of Women in the Law UK, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a companion of the Chartered Management Institute. On the first half of a thought-provoking discussion, Sally shares her views on diversity and inclusion in the law profession.
Sally Penni Pt 2
A practicing Common Law Barrister specialising in Public Law with an emphasis on vulnerability and Employment Law, as well as data protection breaches and GDPR, Sally Penni MBE discusses the opportunities and challenges of technology in law - how the law can stay on top of technological advances and how technology can revolutionise the law profession.
Faye Roth Pt 1
A hugely experienced CIO/Chief Transformation Officer, Faye has worked for some of the world’s most reputable management consultancies and held permanent tech leadership positions for global businesses such as Centrica, M&S, Tesco, ITV and most recently River Island. Faye kindly shared her views on how to achieve a full digital transformation - from setting a leadership vision to achieving culture and people change.
Faye Roth Pt 2
Continuing an incredibly successful career in the retail sector, Faye has spent the last 5 years on a mission to help the industry survive the great revolution that is shaking it. In the second half of a fascinating interview, Faye looks back on her career, shares stories about female leadership in retail, advice for women building a career in the sector and the importance of recognising the diversity issues that still exist in the market.
Sabrina Del Prete
With 25+ years’ experience in the financial services industry, Sabrina has held senior roles at JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Coutts and RBS. She is now the founder and CEO of Kore Labs, which supports FS organisations through digital transformation. In this candid, inspiring interview, Sabrina shared stories about her career in finance, being a woman and a working parent in the industry and establishing her own fintech company.