Dame Floella Benjamin to headline IoD Conference in Belfast

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has announced that former children’s tv presenter and social activist, Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE, is to headline the 2023 Women’s Leadership Conference in Belfast.

Taking place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Friday, March 10, this will be the first return to a physical conference because of the pandemic.

Around 500 delegates are expected to attend the conference which is delivered in partnership with international law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills.

Host Susan Hayes Culleton will oversee proceedings again bringing her style of presenting to the event, which has been a firm fixture in the calendar of local business leaders for 14 years.

Baroness Floella Benjamin shot to fame as the host of children’s tv programme, Playschool. Since then, she has had many successful roles both as an actor and a singer but it is through her activism and work on social justice issues that has gained her the most recognition.

Her long list of accolades include becoming the first female chancellor of colour at a UK university and one of the first female actors to be admitted to the House of Lords.

Earlier this year she chaired the Windrush committee, unveiling a statue in London to honour those who had been wrongly deported from the UK in the 1960s. Throughout each of her roles, Dame Floella has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, something IoD national director in NI, Kirsty McManus thinks will inspire those attending the conference.

She said: “Each year we invite inspirational women to speak at our leadership conference so it’s a huge honour to be able to bring Dame Floella to Belfast. Her story is a truly remarkable one and I’m especially looking forward to hearing her thoughts about maintaining good leadership, particularly in the face of adversity.

“It’s wonderful that we are able to return to a face-to-face event for the first time since 2020 and I’m grateful to all of our sponsors, particularly the team at Herbert Smith Freehills for supporting us to deliver the event again.

“With more high-profile speakers being announced in due course, I would encourage anyone interested to secure their conference tickets as early as possible and join us for what promises to be an unmissable event for business leaders.”

Lisa McLaughlin, partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Belfast, explained: “As an organisation, we are passionate about growing and developing our female leaders and so partnering with the IoD to deliver this event very much reflects our company ethos.

“It is so important to recognise the contribution female leaders have made to society and we are proud to work with the IoD to continue to provide a platform to elevate these changemakers and innovators and inspire the next generation of leaders to make their own mark on public life.”

As well as Dame Floella Benjamin, Gráinne McNamara, managing director at Accenture will also be a speaker. Based in New York, the Donegal native has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and using technology to drive positive change for large corporations.

Other sponsors include NIE Networks, KPMG, Danske Bank, The Open University, Civica, SONI, The Irish News and Translink.