Unleashing Innovation In Internal Digital Communications Speakers

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Marjorie Etter is an accomplished leader in Learning & Development, Content Management, and Change within the tech sector, with over 15 years of experience. Her international background grants her a unique global perspective, vital for driving learning and change in hardware technology at top firms. With notable roles at Google, Apple, Fitbit, and Meta, Marjorie has been a pioneering figure in Silicon Valley, particularly as an advocate for women in tech. A dedicated Six Sigma practitioner, she combines empathy and expertise to ensure the success of quality programs and organizational change. Educated in the US, England, and Switzerland, Marjorie excels at embracing challenges, problem-solving, and cultural adaptation. Her growth mindset and enthusiasm for the new and unknown drive her continual evolution and innovation in the rapidly changing tech landscape.

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Alexander Jansen (he/him) is Communications Manager for TikTok in the Netherlands and lead for the Pride ERG in Europe. He is responsible for media relations and campaigns in the Dutch market showing TikTok's cultural and economic impact. Alex is also an avid technologist with years of AI, policy and political communications experience and currently serves as a board trustee and (queer) inclusion advocate. Prior to joining TikTok, he worked in different sectors at organizations such as BlackRock, Omnicom and NATO's Allied Command Transformation.

Caroline is the Head of Colleague Channels and Experience at Lloyds Banking Group. The Group has c.58,000 colleagues and serves more than 30 million customers across the UK and includes famous brands like Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Scottish Widows. Caroline and her team shape and maintain the Group’s channels, always looking for ways to target and tailor the experience for colleagues, while reducing the noise! Caroline has been with Lloyds Banking Group for 11 years, during which time she has led the Group’s Internal Communications team, as well as several senior content and business partnering roles. Prior to joining Lloyds Banking Group, Caroline held a number of internal communication roles at Friends Life (now part of Aviva), where she completed her post graduate diploma in internal communications.

Elsje de Vries is an organisational psychologist who turned into a global communications professional. Elsje obtained her MA in Psychology in Amsterdam and her MA in Business Management in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has spent her professional career working internationally for global corporations, specialising in leading global communication teams and strategic communication initiatives through organisational transformations. As a trusted advisor to executive leaders, Elsje serves as an enabler of an engaged workforce by helping to connect and bridge a company's strategy to measurable individual and team contributions. Her passion is to inspire and connect people, teams and communities and to be a catalyst for solid organisational cultures. Elsje co-leads the DE&I efforts for the inclusion of women in leadership positions through leading a women's mentorship program called The Collective.

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Maud is Acting Head of the Internal Communication Unit at the European Investment Bank (EIB). In her current role, she oversees strategic communication initiatives and develops internal communication campaigns to accompany key EIB Group priorities. Her goals are to ensure seamless information flow within the organisation and foster an environment where staff members feel motivated, engaged and aligned with the Bank’s values. She advises senior management and stakeholders throughout the Bank on effective internal communication engagement. Maud is leading a hybrid team of eight professionals whose dedication and passion are invaluable assets to the EIB. Maud’s commitment to fostering economic growth and gender equality lead her to found sparkles.lu, a non-profit organisation that empowers women by providing microloans to female entrepreneurs across the globe.

With more than 20 years of professional experience in communications and media, Allar is the head of global group communications for the European Investment Bank. Elsewhere he’s been a news reporter, advisor to a Prime Minister, worked as an editor-in-chief of a weekly paper, and published mystery novels about Elvis Presley and Henri Matisse. He’s had a go at corporate and marketing communication assignments, crisis communication situations, public affairs campaigns, sponsorship and CSR projects, event management, social media and digital, and, yes, even internal communications and employee branding. Projects that he’s been involved in have recently won the European Excellence Award, the Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement (SABRE) award, and the Digital Communications Award. Thanks to working with organizations from a variety of sectors, from healthcare to finance, and from FMCG to technology, he’s always learning from the mistakes and creative successes of others and, occasionally, his own.

Evelien Bellemans is a seasoned communication professional with ten years of experience. She began her career as an internal communication manager for the production environment of Colruyt Group, the Belgian market leader in retail. There, she developed communication and channel strategies, coordinated communication projects, provided advice and coaching to the management team, and worked on fostering a communicative company culture. Over the past three years, Evelien has made her mark on the entire Colruyt Group, impacting 33,000 employees. As a senior communication specialist, she sets the strategic direction, designs the organisational structure, and cultivates the necessary expertise. Driven by a passion for sharing knowledge, Evelien founded an internal communication community, provides training, and actively contributes to VONK Vlaanderen. Currently, Evelien is involved in a large-scale digital transformation project for Colruyt Group, guiding the transition to a new digital communication and collaboration environment.

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Liliana Pao is a strategic communications and Diversity and Inclusion advisor with over 20 years of international experience in the private and public sectors, and a global and multicultural approach. Liliana is currently in charge of communications, awareness-raising and training in the Diversity and Inclusion Office of the European Commission. She has been designing and managing communication, staff engagement and talent management strategies in the European Commission since 2010. Prior to that, Liliana worked as a senior consultant managing multinational accounts on strategic, crisis and corporate communications in one of the world’s leading PR consultancies. She was also a board member of the Belgian Public Relations Consultants Association.

With a dual background in agency and In-house side, I always worked on corporate communication challenges for French & WW companies, such as Cegid, Fujitsu, Dell-EMC, Symantec, Sage, Groupe VAG, HP Healthcare, Nivea… After three years with my agency, SELENE, advising companies on digital influence practices, the positive power of networks, and employee advocacy, I joined Cegid as Head of Internal Communication in 2022. To implement a strategy, I want to focus on employees and pride of belonging, modernize existing tools and activities, and create new ones. All of this revolves around a responsible, collective, and digital communication approach. I still leverage my expertise by conducting training sessions, design-thinking workshops on digital practices, teaching courses at higher education institutions, and publishing articles. In short, I love sharing and debating.

At IFF, a leader in Food & Beverage ingredients, Mahbir leads the Global Innovation Activation Marketing team. He is responsible for designing ‘phygital’ experiences that engage, inspire, and strengthen customer intimacy, while positioning IFF as the industry’s Martech trailblazer. No stranger to entrepreneurship, Mahbir also had his own food service business until recently, so he is uniquely positioned and experienced to navigate the complexities of operating in both large multinationals and start-ups. Besides his role in IFF, Mahbir is an experienced public speaker and facilitator known for his on-stage flamboyancy. Through Forward Inc, Mahbir is a start-up mentor for refugees and new arrivals wanting to launch their own businesses in the Netherlands. In 2024, he will also launch a new professional community, the Ministry of Diverse Marketeers. The objective is to bring marketing professionals together to advocate for greater representation in the profession, and to share expertise and best practices on the commercial opportunities for organizations by making tangible commitments to diversity.

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Anna has over 15 years of experience working in global companies in Switzerland and the Netherlands. She has held roles in internal communications and collaboration, change management, project management, and process improvement. Anna has combined all this knowledge and experience in her most recent role as an Employee Experience Expert at ING, merging it with another of her passions, Design Thinking. Addressing the "human experience" as a whole helps to break the silos, to think end-to-end, to be customer oriented, and to co-create solutions that have the power to move the needle. "Adopting a real Employee Experience perspective is not easy for a large company. It takes time and visionary leadership; you need to show valuable results, win trust, create engagement, and build sustainable and scalable solutions, but all the efforts are paying off".

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.Senior Manager, Internal Communications, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Anna is a marketing and communications professional with over 20 years of experience helping businesses and not-for-profit organisations communicate with external and internal audiences. Over the past seven years, she has been leading internal communications at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a Geneva-based international organisation responsible for financing immunisation for over one billion children since 2000 and leading the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic through the COVAX mechanism. Gavi operates in a fast-moving global health landscape and needs to adapt quickly to changing circumstances to respond to implementing countries' and donors' needs. In addition to managing day-to-day internal communications, she has been leading change communications on a significant transformation programme since 2021.

Anna Pass, Digital Channels Manager at National Grid, has been working in communications for over a decade at National Grid, and prior to this has worked at companies such as npower, Open GI and Bupa. She completed a degree in Marketing, and started her career as a Marketing Executive at Bupa, before moving into Internal Communications in her role at npower. Her role as Digital Channels Manager is quite varied, and Anna spends her time managing the ecosystem of channels they have at National Grid, as well as making sure the team is up to speed with everything happening in each different system, and using data to optimise the communications they send out.

Pete is a modern workplace / new-ways-of-working obsessive and evangelist. He is committed to helping people, teams and organisations become better at communication and collaboration. With over 15 years international experience across internal communications, change management, digital employee experience and organisational culture, Pete brings a tonne of energy and an innovators perspective to all he does. At SWOOP Analytics Pete helps organisations drive genuine and sustainable change by putting insightful data at the heart of communication, collaboration and transformation efforts.