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: 20-year finance veteran, India Gary-Martin, one of the most influential women in tech, Dr. Sue Black, distinguished Labour politician, Baroness Royall and editor-in-chief of Elle UK, Farrah Storr. Our next event is taking place online on 12.00-13.15 on Thursday 18th June, we look forward to seeing you there.
Online | 18th June
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 common concerns, experiences and learnings.
During International Women’s Week 2019, we launched Limitless specifically for this purpose.
Upcoming online event
We are thrilled to welcome Kate Richardson-Walsh as the keynote speaker of our first virtual event. 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 will discuss how she helped build Team GB's winning mindset by creating a collective culture and a sense of common purpose. She will also share with us lessons on overcoming setbacks and building a resilient team capable of adapting and withstanding external pressures, which perfectly aligns to the many challenges we are all facing as we re-emerge from the current health crisis, to face into our new normal.
Keynote speaker
Kate Richardson-Walsh
With an international hockey career of 17 years and 370 appearances, Olympian Kate Richardson-Walsh captained the GB women’s hockey teams for 13 years. Her determination and leadership skills were instrumental in helping build the team philosophy and resilience that led to the team’s gold medal at the Rio Olympics. In winning the Gold, Kate also made history in becoming one half of the only same-sex married couple to win an Olympic medal on the same team.
Having retired from international hockey, Kate has turned her experience to coaching and encouraging the grassroots development of the game. She serves as an ambassador for the Women’s Sport Trust, supports disability hockey as an ambassador for Access Sport, and sits on the British and European Olympic Athlete’s Commissions.
Register for our upcoming event
Discover Limitless - Highlights & Interviews
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
Head of Industry Insight at EagleEye, 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 technology and how it's changed the customer 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 hugely successful career in publishing and her views on the role of the media in today's society.
Baroness Jan Royall
Principal of Somerville College Oxford, Baroness Royall is a distinguished Labour politician, Leader of the House of Lords and 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, the role of women in the field, mentoring, technology, legislation and much more.
Dr. 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 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 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.