Meet the judges

Dr Nasser Siabi OBE

CEO, Microlink PC (UK) Ltd

Dr Nasser Siabi OBE is the CEO of Microlink PC (UK) Ltd, a company he co-founded in 1992. The company helps to create a more inclusive society by provide disability management and assistive technology to workplaces and educational facilities.

Charlie Magadah-Williams

Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Primark

Before joining Primark, Charlie worked for Costa Coffee and Bedfordshire Police. As Head of Diversity and Inclusion she leads a global team, supporting all areas of the business. 

Hamish Shah

Policy and Innovation Manager, Chartered Management Institute  

Hamish is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead within CMI’s policy team and co-authored CMI’s Everyone Economy report evidencing what managers and leaders can do to create truly inclusive workplaces. 

Neil Eustice

Former Head of Digital Accessibility, KPMG

Neil recently retired after three decades at KPMG where he was responsible for creating and managing the digital accessibility team. He is also the longest serving member of Business Disability Forum’s Tech Taskforce.

Pepi Sappal

Founder & Director of Fair Play Talks & Head of PR & Communications at myGwork 

Pepi Sappal has been championing workplace inclusion across all diversity spectrums, including disability, through her writing on diversity, equity, inclusion and wellbeing issues on publications including WSJ and HR/management for more than three decades, and on platforms like fairplaytalks.com and myGwork. 

Becks Brindley

Digital Accessibility Lead, NatWest Group 

With over 15 years in digital and banking, Rebecca has seen the positive impact that both technology and organisational culture can have, when we get it right for people with disabilities.  

Ed Warner

Founder and CEO, Motionspot 

Founded in 2012, Ed has built Motionspot into an award-winning inclusive design, built environment specialist. Motionspot helps clients to create inclusively designed environments which support diversity and work for everyone.  

Peter Torres-Fremlin

Author of Disability Debrief 

Peter has spent over ten years working to promote employment of disabled people internationally. He now writes Disability Debrief as a disability lens on world news. 

Mav Dhotar

Head of AI and analytics experience, M&G

Mav drives strategy, innovation and delivery across analytics, data and AI at M&G and leads cross functional teams to enhance business value through insights, automation and intelligent experiences. 

Jack Brooks

Head of Visitor Services, Alexandra Palace

Jack has worked at Alexandra Park and Palace since 2018 and is responsible for the Visitor Services department, including leading on accessibility. The team won the Inclusive Customer Experience Award at BDF’s 2025 Disability Smart Awards, and achieved Platinum status with Attitude Is Everything, becoming only the third venue in the country to gain this accolade.

Tim Wheeler

Senior Project Manager, All In, Arts Council

Tim Wheeler has over 37 years of experience in disability related arts and cultural practices, with roles including artistic director, CEO, senior lecturer, and freelance consultant. He is currently the Senior Project Manager of All In.

Lutfur Ali

Senior Policy & Practice Adviser, CIPD

Lutfur Ali is a champion of equality, inclusion and compassionate leadership. For over 35 years, he’s enabled and empowered organisations to create fairer and inclusive cultures where every individual can thrive and contribute with purpose.

Steve Ingham

Chair, Business Disability Forum

Formerly CEO of international recruitment business PageGroup, Steve is a permanent wheelchair user and is passionate about disability inclusion in recruitment and the workplace. 

Diane Lightfoot

CEO, Business Disability Forum 

Diane is responsible for leading and shaping all aspects of Business Disability Forum’s strategy and delivery and for representing the organisation at the highest levels of business and government.  

Adrian Ward

Director of Business Disability Forum 

Adrian leads the teams responsible for all relationships with Business Disability Forum’s Members and Partners as well as overseeing our Advice Service, consultancy and Learning & Development services. Adrian also co-leads BDF’s Central Government Network.   

Natalie Leister

Head of Practice, Business Disability Forum

Natalie leads our Advice Service and oversees our internal upskilling programme. She is an experienced senior leader with an extensive background spanning across operational, commercial and charity sectors.

Rebecca Elliott

Lead Disability Business Partner

Rebecca brings diverse experience in law, social enterprise, and welfare to work. She is currently studying for an MSc in Strategic Human Resource Management with a focus on disability support.

Emily Jackson

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Emily has extensive experience advising public and private sector employers on disability best practice, inclusion, and the law. Her key interests are workplace adjustments, recruitment, policy and The Equality Act.

Robyn Challis

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

As well as providing strategic and operational support to universities and colleges on disability inclusion, Robyn has over ten years’ experience of delivering services in community and education settings. Robyn also co-leads BDF’s Central Government Network.  

Joel Young

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Joel has extensive experience of working to improve accessibility and inclusion. His expertise lies in built environment accessibility, equality law in relation to the rights of disabled people and coaching for self-advocacy.

Courtney Swaby

Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Courtney specialises in supporting and advising Member organisations within the finance, emergency services and law enforcement, IT, and insurance sectors.

Sarah Bartlett

Head of Media and Communications, Business Disability Forum 

Sarah leads our media work. Sarah has also authored several resources for Business Disability Forum, including the Inclusive Communication Toolkit. 

Anthony Allison-Burke

Creative Designer, Business Disability Forum 

Anthony has over 15 years’ experience in digital and print design. Specialising in inclusive design and accessible documents, Anthony uses his expertise to help organisations make their communications accessible. 

Lucy Ruck

Taskforce Manager, Business Disability Forum 

Lucy leads BDF’s Technology Taskforce and manages the Customer Network, Procurement Network and the Built Environment Network.  

Sasha Hailey

Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum 

Sasha looks after members across various sectors and at various stages of their Disability Smart journey. Supporting organisations to reach achievements such as getting a reasonable adjustment policy, having leadership talk about disability, or progressing through the Disability Confident Scheme, is what keeps her passionate about work.

Chantel Emery

Advice Service Manager, Business Disability Forum

Chantel has experience in Resourcing, HR, Disability awareness training and social corporate investment projects across a wide range of industries. She is an accredited coach and a TEDx motivational speaker.

Gurpreet Dhammi-Samrah

Advice Service Manager, Business Disability Forum

With over 20 years of experience in legal, managing advice services, change management, influence and social policy, Gurpreet brings a wealth of knowledge to our Advice Service, having worked with charities and non-profit organisations in a senior leadership capacity. 

Daniel Cadey

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum 

Daniel provides advice and support to several BDF Partner organisations to enable them to become disability smart. He also co-leads our Global Taskforce and co-hosts our podcast series, ‘If you don’t mind me asking’. 

Katie Coates

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Katie has a continued interest in employment law, professional ethics, equality and human rights. Her passion lies in neurodiversity, accessible workplaces and disability representation and inclusion at all levels. Katie also leads BDF’s Law Firm Network.

Ryan Davies 

Digital Manager, Business Disability Forum

Ryan is Digital Manager at Business Disability Forum, leading the organisation’s website and digital platforms. He has experience across digital strategy, communications, marketing, and transformation, focusing on accessible, user-centred design.

Brooke Mauro 

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Brooke engages with Business Disability Forum partner organisations, from starters to veterans, to support them in achieving their disability inclusion goals with best practice advice. 

She has extensive previous work experience as a HRBP for matrixed, international conglomerates and is no stranger to overcoming organisational obstacles.

Her passion is in working with organisations to create more inclusive processes, upskilling line managers, and overcoming organisational barriers. 

Rachel Smitheman

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Rachel works closely with Partner organisations to help to identify and remove barriers to disability inclusion. Rachel supports the Built Environment network alongside Joel Young & Lucy Ruck.

Sandra Coley

Senior Disability Business Partner, Business Disability Forum

Sandra’s extensive experience with organisations across a range of sectors and her work supporting disabled people to enter and remain in employment has made her passionate about disability inclusion in the workplace. She is co-chair of the BDF Financial Services Network.