Fintech scale-up Pleo, announces the launch of its inaugural leadership conference, Forward. The digital-first event will bring together leaders, founders and innovators to celebrate and discuss the future of business leadership.

On Thursday 9th December, speakers including Kim Scott and Geoff MacDonald will headline virtual stages, alongside fireside chats, panels and curated workshops to address these challenges while looking ahead to the positive future of business ahead of us.

The past couple of years have seen a challenging environment for businesses unfold, with the Coronavirus pandemic stifling entrepreneurialism, pushing leaders to their limits and forcing employees into different working practices. 

Forward will lean into recent and emerging trends across business and leadership, including the ways in which business has changed for the better – exploring pressing topics such as mental health, diversity inclusion and equity. The event will bring together over 20 speakers for one-day, to create a propelling force for the future of business and work.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Kim Scott, Author of Radical Candor and CEO Coach

• Geoff Mcdonald, Co-founder of Minds@Work, BBC Contributor and Former Global VP of Unilever

• Marc Mckenna Coles, Diversity, Belonging and Inclusion Lead at Spotify

• Karen Tobiason, Ex-CPO at Nordea and Phillips, and Author of the Heart Revolution

• Jessica Neal, Chief Talent Officer at Netflix

• Reshma Sohoni, Partner at Seedcamp

• Sarah Manning, VP of People at Hopin

• Quasar 'Q' Hamirani, Global Head of People Operations at Airbnb

• Charlotte Sweeney, OBE, Author of Inclusive Leadership

• Ravin Jeusathan, Futurist, Author and Global Leader of Transformation at Mercer

• Jeppe Rindom, co-Founder & CEO of Pleo

Jeppe Rindom, Co-founder & CEO at Pleo, says:

“At Pleo we’ve seen first-hand how significantly the pandemic impacted our customers over the last two years. But although times have certainly been tough, it's inspiring to hear stories of innovative businesses surmounting challenges and beginning to thrive again in 2021. This is part of the reason we’re incredibly excited to be launching Forward - so we can hear the inspiring stories of leaders and founders, and learn from them to build even stronger foundations for the future of business. We’re looking forward to welcoming attendees from all backgrounds to Forward, and hope it is merely the beginning of an exciting platform for business leadership.