
What kind of leadership is needed to embed values and purpose in business?
What is the role of personal character and how does it relate to structures, systems, and organisational culture?
We are delighted to present our upcoming conference entitled “Character, Culture, and Leadership in UK Business”, where we will explore these topics in depth.
This conference marks the culmination of three years of research on perceptions of good leadership in UK Businesses and we will be bringing together around 100 researchers, research partners from a range of business sectors (including finance, technology, and law), and other representatives of firms and industry bodies.
The aim of the event is to share research, conceptual ideas, and practical perspectives to inform professional practice and to launch the next phase of Oxford research—a collaborative initiative joining research, education, and practice on “The Future of Business Leadership.”

Values and purpose have become an important emphasis in business as companies have sought to build back from the COVID pandemic in the context of major social, economic, and environmental challenges. Many firms are seeking to be authentically purpose-driven, and there is a strong business case.
Over the last few years, we have been undertaking a major research project investigating the role of character, culture, and leadership in UK business, and more than 50 businesses have been involved as research partners. This event is part of an ongoing initiative to bring research and practice together to explore and advance character-based and purpose-driven leadership in UK business. It will be a great opportunity for a wider audience to learn more about the cutting-edge research happening in this project and join our new initiatives as we move forward.
If you are interested to attend the conference and engage with senior leaders across industries, leading academics, and graduate students to foster new collaborations, please write to us at info@oxfordcharacter.org.
Featured speakers

Adam Grodecki
Founder and Chief Executive, Forward Institute

Charles Wookey
Board of Trustee and Former CEO, A Blueprint for Better Business

Doyin Atewologun
CEO & Founder, Delta Alpha Psi

David Rouch
Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Sarah Gillard
CEO, A Blueprint For Better Business

Marta Rocchi
Assistant Professor in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics, Dublin City University Business School

Pegram Harrison
Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship, Saïd Business School

Kim McMurdo
Head, Leadership Capability, Standard Chartered Bank

Kate Adams
Director of Partnerships, Forward Institute

Susie Babar
Head of HR (UK)- Simmons & Simmons

Alison Cottrell
CEO, Financial Services Culture Board

Paolo Cervini
Co-lead, Capgemini Invent’s Management Lab

Amalia Amaya Navarro
British Academy Global Professor and Director of Center for Legal Theory, University of Edinburgh

Rebecca Robins
Global Chief Learning and Culture Officer, Interbrand

Hitendra Wadhwa
Founder, Mentora Institute

Kim Polman
Co-Founder & Chair, Reboot the Future

Glyn Owen OBE
Captain, Royal Navy

Susannah Anfield
Global Strategy & Leadership Director, PwC

Zoe McDougall
Vice President, Strategic Communications and Corporate Affairs, Oxford Nanopore

Michael Lamb
Associate Professor of Politics, Ethics, and Interdisciplinary Humanities, Wake Forest University

Uzma Hamid-Dizier
Director of Responsible Business and Inclusion, Slaughter and May

Elisa Farri
Vice President and Co-lead, Capgemini Invent’s Management Lab

Anthony Bennett
CEO, Reboot the Future

Melissa Jones Briggs
Lecturer in Organizational Behavior, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Broderick McDonald
Associate Fellow, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, Kings College London, and DPhil candidate, University of Oxford

Serene Singh
Founder, The Serenity Project, and DPhil candidate, University of Oxford

Aryemis C. Brown
First Lieutenant, United States Space Force, and MPhil candidate, University of Oxford