Workspace Design Talks

The Workspace Design Talks brings the commercial interior design industry’s most inspiring and creative leaders to explore the latest trends and insights in workplace design, strategy and culture.

Leading figures at companies such as Foster + Partners, HOK, Gensler, JLL, Colliers, CBRE, tp bennett, Jacobs, BDP, M Moser Associates, Heatherwick.

2025 Speakers

Alessandro Ranaldi,
Partner, Head of Workplace Consultancy, MS Urban Planning and Architecture, Foster + Partners

Adrienne Lau,
Senior Associate, Heatherwick Studio

Cristiano Testi,
Principal Director, tp bennett

Helen Berresford,
Head of ID: SR, Sheppard Robson

JanJaap Boogaard,
Head of EMEA Workplace Advisory, Colliers

Inabelle Fang,
Director of Corporate Real Estate International, Willis Towers Watson

Tulsi Girme,
Global Director of Strategic Planning and Experience for Corporate Real Estate, Equinix

Brian Robinson,
Real Estate and Facilities Director, Fidelity International

Naomi Sakamoto,
Principal, Gensler

Enrique Soler,
Head of Design, Willmott Dixon Interiors

Rachel Flint,
Associate, Michael Grubb Studio

Matt Waring,
Editor, arc magazine

Gurvinder Khurana,
Director, M Moser Associates

Bex Moorhouse,
Global FM Programme Director, WPP

Guzmán de Yarza Blache,
Global Head of Workplace Strategy Consulting, JLL

Jason Batour,
Creative Director OP Group

Angela Bardino,
Senior Associate Director – Interiors Europe, Jacobs

Matt Clarke,
Managing Director, Umbrella Furniture

Michael Simon,
Head of Interior Design, Bond Bryan

Nicola Gillen,
Head of Total Workplace EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield

Susie Harrison,
Head of Creative, AIS

Tim Allen,
Senior Director, HCG

Yolanda Cerezo,
Partner, IDOM

Kay Sargent
Director of Workplace Thought Leadership, HOK

Allison English,
Co-founder, Aéto Strategy

Alys Bryan,
Managing Editor, Design Insider

Giuseppe Cariello,
Lead Designer Workplaces & Events, Zendesk

Elena Panagiotidis,
Managing Director, Siren Design

Dr Umar Taj,
Associate Professor Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School

Clare Bridger,
Director Workplace Strategy, Incendium Consulting

Mark Eltringham,
Publisher, Workplaceinsight and IN Magazine

Dominic Dugan,
Creative Director, Oktra

Chris Moriarty,
Co-Founder Audiem, and Co-Host

Hamza Shaikh,
Digital Artist & Architect, Gensler

Georgina Fraser,
Head of Human Capital Consulting, CBRE UK Consulting

Marco Gastoldi,
Associate Interior Designer, Gensler

Oliver Heath,
Director, Oliver Heath Design

Simon Kincaid,
Partner | Principal, Conran & Partners

Beatriz Gonzalez,
Director, Scott Brownrigg

Anna Rooney,
Associate Director, AECOM

Dr Vanessa Champion,
Editor and Founder, Journal of Biophilic Design

Deepa Deb,
Head of International Real Estate Investment, Watson Farley & Williams

Carolina Florian,
Lighting Consultant and Associate Lecturer, UCL

Sheela Shukla,
Interior Design Director, BDP

Arne Lijbers,
Partner Architect, Mecanoo

Tom Gray,
Chief Strategy Officer, The Imagination Group

Helena Hughes,
Director, Workthere and Director, Global Occupier Services, Savills

Nigel Oseland,
Director, Workplace Unlimited

Kara Miotke,
Principal, Project Director, IA Interior Architects

Steve Henigan,
Managing Director, HCG

Sarah Audsley,
Head of Workplace Strategy, Knight Frank Strategic Consulting

Erik Rodin,
Founder, Able

Caroline Pontifex,
Director, Workplace Experience, KKS Savills

Mick Jordan,
Editor, Works Magazine to the Design

Jenn Celesia,
Co-Founder, Kindred

2024 Design Talks Agenda (2025 Agenda Coming Soon)

27 February

Insights and perspectives on the convergent future of workplace

10:00 – 10:45

Helen Parton, Head of Content, Informare

Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, Director, WilkinsonEyre

Ewan Jones, Partner, Grimshaw

Nicola Gillen, Head of Total Workplace EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield

In conversation with ID:SR Sheppard Robson and the BBC: The journey so far

11:05 – 11:45

Mark Eltringham, Publisher, Workplace Insight and IN Magazine

Alan Bainbridge, Director of Workplace, BBC

Helen Berresford, Head of ID:SR, Sheppard Robson

Designing a workplace that meets cross generational needs, for both now and the future (Hosted by Workplace Evolutionaries)

12:05 – 12:55

Tim Allen, UK Hub Lead, Workplace Evolutionaries

Megan Carroll, Architect, Senior Associate, Hassell

Hazel Luff, Part I Architectural Assistant. tp bennett

Fiona Anderson, Workplace Director, Aberley

Mary Louise Gray, VP Workplace, Real Estate and Facilities, GSK

The hotelification of the office – what can the office provide that employees can’t get at home?

13:15 – 14:00

Bernie Mitchell, Co-founder, London Coworking Assembly

Matt Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, BDG architecture + design

Olivia Saxen, Workplace Design Manager Myo, LandSec

Sarah-Jane Osborne, Head of Workplace UK and Europe, Avison Young

Destination workplace: creating an exceptional employee experience and an environment where they want to be

14:20 – 15:05

Georgina Fraser, Head of Human Capital Consulting, CBRE UK

Jason Bruges, Director, Jason Bruges Studio

Michael Beach, Project Director, tp bennett

Melanie Martin, Associate Director, Orms

How to provide better solutions, serve clients well and create the ultimate employee experience

15:25 – 16:10

Dr Vanessa Champion,
Editor and Founder of Journal of Biophilic Design.

Darren Graver, Head of Workplace Experience, Trainline

Dominic Dugan, Creative Director, Oktra

Toni Riddiford, Head of Office & Workplace, Stride Treglown

The great workplace trilemma of culture, space and opportunity: can we have it all?

16:30 – 17:20

Kursty Groves, Workplace Strategist and Founder of Shape

Neil Usher, VP Places, Sage

Paula Rowntree, Head of Workplace Design, Lloyds Banking Group

Guzmán de Yarza Blache, Global Head of Workplace Strategy Capability, JLL Global Consulting

28 February

Workplace, workforce… and wellbeing

10:00 – 10:45

Bex Moorhouse, Founder and Director, Invigorate Spaces

Paul Nulty, Founder, Nulty

Naomi Sakamoto, Principal Studio Director, Gensler

Sally Marshall, Director, Turner & Townsend

AI or die? Using AI in workplace design to enhance creative output, generate innovative ideas and produce ground-breaking products

11:05 – 11:50

Jennifer Bryan, Managing Director, ABChange Consultancy

Laurie Goodman, Strategy Director, IA Interior Architects

Sherif Eltarabishy, Associate Partner, Foster + Partners

Form follows function, but human experience leads

12:10 – 12:55

Stephen Henigan, Managing Director, HCG

Adrian Davidson, EMEA Head of Design, Tetris design x build

Chandkiran Nath, Senior Consultant, AECOM

Stuart Templeton, Associate Partner, Fletcher Priest

How good design can enable collaboration, inspire innovation and build connection in the workplace

13:15 – 13:50

Alys Bryan, Managing Director, Design Insider

Chloe Nicholls, Associate Interior Designer, AtkinsRéalis

Simon Bone, Associate Principal, Perkins&Will

Nicol Lee, Design Director, Area

Bringing energy back to the workplace, nurturing social capital and increasing happiness/productivity in the workspace

14:10 – 14:55

Allison English, Deputy CEO, Leesman

Marco Gastoldi, Associate, Gensler

Linzi Cassels, Principal Design Director, Perkins&Will

Lewis Harman, Director, Hunters

James Saunders, Global Projects Director, Arcadis

The new aesthetic of repair and re-use in lighting design: Why we need a mindset shift

15:10 – 16:00

Matt Waring, Editor, arc magazine

Dan Lister, Associate Director, Lighting, Arup

Ruth Kelly Waskett, Project Director, Hoare Lea

Simon Fisher, Founder & Director, F Mark

Kristina Allison, Senior Lighting Designer, Atkins Global

The evolution of workplace design through the eyes of next gen architects

16:15 – 17:00

Mick Jordan, Editor, Works Magazine

Oliver Hall, Partner – Architecture and Sustainability, Make Architects and Chair of BCO’s NextGen Committee

Ashton Holmes, Senior Project Designer, Peldon Rose

Sinead Fahey, Architect, Jestico + Whiles

Attend Workspace Design Show

Workspace Design Show is a must-addition to London’s design calendar, attended by the region’s top architects, designers, occupiers, developers, consultants, coworking companies, and fit-out companies. Register now to attend Workspace Design Show for free from 26 – 27 February 2025 at the Business Design Centre, London.