Meet our 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.

Gavin Neate

CEO and Founder of WelcoMe

Gavin’s career with Guide Dogs UK led him to develop the multi award winning digital, disability awareness training tool, WelcoMe. His passion for solving problems with Tech4Good knows no bounds.

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. 

Kim Whippy

Enablement Manager, PwC UK

As PwC UK’s Enablement Manager, Kim focuses on delivering improvements to policy and practice, advising on adjustments and inclusive behaviours, and developing resources to remove barriers in the workplace.

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. 

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. 

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 Disability Partnerships, 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.  

Bela Gor

Director of Legal and Content, Business Disability Forum 

Bela is responsible for the design and content of Business Disability Forum’s events and the resources in our Knowledge Hub. She is a lawyer with over 20 years’ experience of disability discrimination law. 

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.

Hazel Leighfield

Lead Disability Business Partner 

Hazel combines her 25 years’ experience working with large complex organisations with her passion for disability inclusion as Lead Disability Business Partner. 

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.

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.

Jacob Spargo-Mabbs

Content Manager, Business Disability Forum 

Jacob has worked in BDF’s content team for four years. He has created resources and Toolkits, such as the Recruitment Toolkit and the Procurement Toolkit. 

Jean Tennant

Technical Writer, Business Disability Forum 

Jean is a Technical Writer and is one of the team behind the resources in our Knowledge Hub. Her specialist interests are occupational health, safety, neurodiversity, and the built environment.’ 

Sarah Bartlett

Press Consultant, Business Disability Forum 

Sarah oversees our media and press work. Sarah has also authored several resources for Business Disability Forum, such as the Inclusive Communication Toolkit. 

Vicky Dermitzi

Digital Products and Accessibility Officer, Business Disability Forum

Vicky is responsible for user experience and accessibility. She has over 10 years of experience in digital product management and has previously worked in media.

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 the Technology Taskforce and manages the Customer Taskforce, Procurement Network and the Northern England Network. She also co-hosts our podcast series, ‘If you don’t mind me asking.’ 

Chantel Emery

Advice Service Officer, 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 Officer, 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.

Julie Ann Williams

Disability Confident Policy Manager, DWP 

As a government official for 25 years Julie supports employers of all sizes and sector to effectively attract, recruit and retain disabled people in the workplace. Julie works closely with Ministers, MPs, and Government departments. An important part of her role is supporting Disability Confident employer and Ministerial events. 

Amanda Wadsworth MBE DL

Disability Confident Policy Lead, DWP 

As a government official for 40 years, Amanda continues to support the work of the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work in the development and implementation of the governments Disability Confident scheme. Amanda also works strategically with other government departments and key stakeholders. She is also proud to be a Mental Health First Aid England Instructor.