Harnessing the power of diverse thought

Aleida Rios FREng

Aleida leads the centre of discipline engineering expertise which houses the most senior engineers and engineering technical authorities in bp. She is accountable for enabling bp’s energy transition to deliver on resilient hydrocarbons and scale up of renewables businesses through engineering solutions. Aleida chairs the heads of engineering forum which represents the company’s more than 3000 practicing discipline engineers. Prior to her current role, Aleida served as Vice President of Operations for the Gulf of Mexico and Vice President for bp’s Lower 48 business.

Andrew Aylesbury

After graduating from Coventry University with an MDes in transport and product, Andrew gained years of experience in product design consultancy before co-founding Duku in 2013. He has since managed over 400 product design projects. With extensive experience in inclusive design, Andrew has recently worked on projects to address accessibility within electric vehicle charging infrastructure funded by Innovate UK. He has taken a leading role in many funded consortia involving multiple stakeholders, as well continuing to help start-up and entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life.

Jenny McLaughlin

Jenny McLaughlin has worked within the airport industry for over 20 years. She has delivered a number of business changes, from a new aircraft de-icing process, to building a remote coaching gate in the middle of a live terminal. Jenny is dyslexic and has ADHD and believes that “the way that my brain is wired differently is an asset”. She is a speaker at a number of industry events on ‘Systematic Inclusion’, bringing to life the criticality of accessibility if we are to truly ‘Build Back Equitable’. This is most evident in being a key player in creation of RIBA Inclusive Design Overlay published earlier this year.

Luke Logan FREng

Luke Logan is a seasoned business leader with over three decades of senior executive experience at Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, and Weir Group. Now, as an independent advisor and consultant, Luke applies his extensive experience to support the growth and development of his clients' businesses. He is deeply committed to diversity & inclusion, innovation, and aligning engineering professionalism with business success and sustainability. Luke values the importance of cognitive diversity in engineering, continuously exploring how diverse perspectives contribute to innovation, business success, and sustainable outcomes. He advocates for inclusive practices and thoughtful recruitment to nurture environments where cognitive diversity can flourish.

Moji Banjo

Moji Banjo is a civil and environmental engineer at Ramboll UK, working to drive Ramboll’s psychological safety journey. Moji was diagnosed with autism and dyslexia in her mid-20s after struggling with anxiety and perfectionistic tendencies. Since her diagnosis, she has delivered internal company talks on effective and inclusive communication to help other neurodivergent people. She is running the London Marathon to fundraise for the National Autistic Society and educate others on how autism has affected her life. Moji is a highly collaborative, creative, and social individual who is passionate about improving the quality of life for other neurodiverse individuals.

Natasha Whitehurst

Currently leading inclusion and diversity globally at Rolls-Royce, Natasha is an experienced speaker, facilitator and training professional. She uses her lived experience (endometriosis, ADHD and mental health) to help business leaders develop their own inclusive behaviours. Natasha is co-founder and co-host of ‘D&I Spy: Inclusion Uncovered’. This weekly podcast takes inclusion back to basics, tackling often unspoken topics with a number of high-profile guests from the entertainment, sport and business worlds. Natasha is experienced at working with people and talent teams to establish more inclusive recruitment practices, and attracting diverse talent, which earned her a coveted spot on the Global Diversity List 2020.

Neil Smith

Neil is the Inclusive Design Lead for HS2 Ltd and has over 20 years’ experience in delivering inclusive and accessible environments. He is responsible for defining and integrating the inclusive design requirements for HS2, ensuring these are embedded across the programme. HS2 is the first infrastructure company to be awarded the ‘Inclusive Environments Recognition’ certification at organisational level by the Construction Industry Council. Neil was the author of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s ‘Inclusive Design Standards’ for London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well the current Inclusive Design Standards for the Legacy Development. Neil sits on British Standards Committee B/559, which is responsible for the BS 8300 Design of an Accessible and Inclusive Environment.

Pareisse Wilson

Pareisse is an inclusive design and change management and is currently the Inclusive Design Strategy Lead at Motionspot. This inclusive design consultancy aims to transform spaces and lives through beautifully designed, inclusive environments that deliver independence and ease of use for anyone regardless of their disability, gender, age, and other human characteristics. Pareisse has recently been appointed as a member of the prestigious RIBA Awards 2024 jury team and was nominated for the Disability Power 100 List, Shaw Trust 2021 and 2022 for her work leading the development of the ‘Inclusive Design Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work’, a new industry guidance outlining how to embed inclusive design into projects for clients, project managers, construction, design and asset management teams.

Rob Mitchell

Rob is the Head of Engineering for ITP Aero UK and also the Head of Engineering for ITP’s global Installations Operating Unit with teams in the UK, Spain, Mexico and India. He has over 20 years of experience in aerospace and nuclear sectors. He has a PhD in aerospace materials from the University of Cambridge and a first class masters in mechanical engineering from the University of Leicester. He joined Rolls-Royce in 2004. In 2017 he was appointed Global Chief of Complex Fabrications and in 2018 Engineering & Technology Executive for Installations Business Unit. He joined ITP in 2021 having led the separation of ITP from Rolls-Royce. He was diagnosed autistic in 2022, which has explained a lot of his life so far but does not define him.

Rosie Brighty

Rosie has a background in education and six years of design engineering experience, along with being dyslexic, dyspraxic and having ADHD. Her experiences have provided her with an academic understanding of neurodiversity and an understanding of business needs within the private sector. Having been discriminated against at work in the past for her neurotype, Rosie’s mission is to help make sure no-one has to feel the way she did, and that everyone can bring their best selves to work. Rosie uses neuro-inclusive practices to drive diversity and inclusion, not just in terms of neurodiversity, but other protected characteristics too. Her passion is in supporting workplaces, to enable staff to feel safe to be themselves and allow creativity to flourish.