Helen Boardman is a values-led charity leader, system designer and commissioner with more than 26 years’ experience creating and reforming services that protect dignity and improve lives. Her career spans CEO and senior leadership, frontline innovation and system-level transformation across the voluntary sector, local government, health, policing and youth services.

As Executive Director of Utilita Giving, Helen stewards multi-million-pound charitable investment and leads the development of innovative approaches to tackling fuel and food poverty.

She is the architect of One Call That’s All (OCTA), which she designed, developed and commissioned around a simple principle, people experiencing hardship should only have to tell their story once to access personalised, joined-up support. Helen is also leading UGIVE, a growing collaborative initiative exploring new ways to connect businesses, giving and essential goods directly with people who need them, including innovation across household goods and food retail.

A natural convener, Helen brings organisations and sectors together around common intent, believing that complex social problems require collaborative rather than isolated solutions.

Her leadership combines strategic thinking, creativity and a strong focus on delivery. Her academic background includes Women’s Studies and postgraduate study in Youth Civic Engagement, and she has developed national leadership programmes alongside leading regional and national charitable services.

Helen also brings lived experience of poverty to her work. Rather than defining her, that experience informs her determination to challenge systems, protect dignity and develop solutions capable of creating meaningful and lasting change.

Katie qualified as a Social worker in 2013 and remains in this front line practice today for local authority whilst also working for Octopus Energy as Head of service for social work since May 2023. Katie is a dual practice social worker with systemic training working in both the adult and children's sector which provides a good knowledge base and understanding of how best to support  customers in a holistic approach at Octopus Energy. 

Dr Elizabeth Blakelock is an award-winning leader who helps organisations create better outcomes for customers and colleagues. She connects evidence, inclusive design to show how organisations can build experiences that work for everyone. A disabled parent, Dr Elizabeth brings a unique combination of strategic leadership, regulatory expertise and lived experience. She is recognised for translating complex challenges into practical change. Today, Dr Elizabeth leads Accessibility and Inclusion at Monzo, where she is helping make money work for everyone while championing more inclusive financial services across the industry.

Maria Vidler is Customer Operations Director at Capital on Tap, the business credit card provider for small businesses across the UK and US. She brings over 25 years of experience in financial services, including senior executive roles, most notably as Chief Customer Officer at Starling Bank, where she led through a period of significant growth until her departure in September 2025. Maria has built her career around driving operational excellence and improving customer outcomes, leading high-performing teams through major change initiatives.

Lindsay is Head of Risk at Novuna Consumer Finance, part of Mitsubishi HC Capital UK plc. She has extensive risk experience in both consumer credit and retail banking, working for a wide range of organisations including HSBC, National Australia Group and Non-Standard Finance. In her current role with Novuna, Lindsay leads a team of circa. 100 risk professionals responsible for Risk Analytics, Financial Modelling, Collections, Financial Crime, Risk Operations, Corporate Risk and Enterprise Risk. Outside of work Lindsay is a member of Credit Strategy’s Credit500 club, Special Advisor for The National Emergencies Trust and Non-Exec Director of Leeds Credit Union. 

Zara Woods is Chief Operating Officer at Jaja Finance, where she’s been shaping the company’s operating strategy since 2019.

With a passion for building high-performing, collaborative teams, Zara is known for simplifying complexity - especially in the world of credit and customer servicing. A long-time advocate for emerging technologies, she’s been instrumental in integrating AI across Jaja’s operations to elevate customer experience and drive efficiency.

Zara began her career at Barclaycard as a Business School Graduate and brings over two decades of global leadership in consumer finance. Whether behind the scenes or in front of customers, she’s consistently driven transformation and innovation across the industry.

I’m Tara Rule, the Magnetic Leadership Positive Psychology coach. But I didn't come to leadership coaching from the outside looking in.

Before I became a qualified professional coach and positive psychology coach. I was a Senior Director at Adobe - leading real teams, managing real pressure, and learning what it actually takes to build a team that works without you having to hold it all together yourself.

That experience is what people tell me makes the difference. Not just the theory...but the fact that I've sat in the seat they're sitting in.

Since becoming the CEO & Founder of my own business, I've worked with managers and leaders inside some of the world's biggest organisations, including Tesco Mobile, Amazon Web Services and Siemens, delivering one-to-one coaching, group programs, and corporate leadership training to thousands of leaders across the world.

I help leaders become magnetic (being the kind of leader people want to work for). By creating teams who are engaged, energised and empowered through positive culture shifts. And I help busy professionals to succeed without sacrifice to create a life they love so that they don’t let fear get in the way of them reaching their potential like I nearly did...