Uzo Mkparu is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Techscale Consulting Ltd UK, a digital innovation and AI consultancy, and Techscale Technologies Ltd. An award-winning Chief Executive with over 25 years’ experience, spanning financial services and other industries, she specialises in strategy, business transformation, and innovation-led growth with a focus on emerging technologies. She has excelled in leadership positions and achieved notable success working for top-tier companies such as Oracle and ICL Group in the United Kingdom and leading banks in Nigeria. She holds an MBA from Cranfield University, UK, and a Master’s degree in Information Systems and Technology from City University, London, and has acquired numerous certifications in business and technology. Uzo is an AI Governance Fellow and is passionate about leveraging technology and positioning Africa to harness the economic potential of emerging technologies and data. She serves on several boards including the Advisory Board of Data Science Nigeria and Preston Associates International Development. She is an accomplished Mergers Integration Director, Consultant, Trainer, Global Conference Speaker and also spent multiple years as a regular guest business speaker at Pan-Atlantic University. Uzo has several publications to her name, focusing mainly on emerging technology. She was recently recognised as one of the 100 Leading Women in Nigeria. She is an Honorary Senior Member (HCIB) of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a member of Boardroom Africa.Richa Goel is an Associate Professor of Economics and International Business at SCMS Noida, Symbiosis International Deemed University, Pune. She is a gold medallist in her master of economics with dual specialisation at the master level accompanied by an MBA in HR and also with dual specialisation at the graduate level in economics and law. She has a PhD in Management, where she has worked for almost six years in the area of diversity management. She has almost 20+ years of experience in academics along with authoring more than 50+ research papers for publication in reputed national and international journals, in addition to hundreds of papers for international/national conferences and symposiums. She has written more than 25 book chapters for leading publishers, and she has served as a member of the review committee for conferences and journals. She is also currently a Series Editor for two different series for Taylor and Francis.Tilottama Singh is a certified HR Analyst from IIM and a proficient Academic, Researcher, and Trainer with more than 14 years of experience in the field of Human Resources and Work Dynamics. Presently, she is working as Head of Department in the School of Management, Uttaranchal Institute of Management, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun. Her areas of expertise are Human Resources and Strategy, and her teaching concentration includes human resources, strategy, and law. She started her career in the hotel industry with Leela Kempinski in the corporate head office in Human Resources and Training. Later, she joined the education sector with topmost universities IMS Unison Group and Amity University, the leading university in Pan Asia. She has obtained her Master’s in Human Resources Management with Distinction. Prior to that, she graduated in economics with honours and law with distinction, with an added vocational course in mass communication and analytic certification from IIM. Having an enriched research portfolio with Scopus and international refereed journals, book chapters, and conference presentations, she has been awarded the Best Presentation Award in international conferences like IEOM, MIDAS, and many more. She also serves as a member of AIMA and acts to lead and liaise between the student community and the industry delegates, with a keen interest in training and building sustainable models for business and society.Jade Mkparu is a management consulting analyst and an award-winning author and essayist. She is also the Founder and CEO of BRAIDAR: a lifestyle concierge service for young black girls studying in the UK, connecting them to nearby braiders and to a sense of community. Jade was also celebrated by Powerful Media's Future Leaders Magazine 2024–2025 as one of the 150 Top Black Students in the UK. She was a volunteer with UN Women UK during the Commission on the Status of Women 68 and has a joint English and Management undergraduate degree from the University of St Andrews. Jade began writing as a biweekly film journalist in 2011, as the youngest writer on the FilmGuide and FilmXtra teams for Genesis Cinemas and Filmhouse Cinemas in Nigeria. She has also been published in the YoungWriters 2019 Poetry Escape anthology and the Hurtwood Photoverse publication, and was a winner of the latter's eponymous competition. She also won First Prize in the Chairman’s Award Essay competition for two consecutive years at 12 and 13 years old, first in her year group category and then the whole-school prize of $2,000. She has been a panelist speaker at student entrepreneurship events, has given keynote graduation speeches at her alma mater in Lagos, and is a mentor to young girls who want to further their writing careers. Jade is also the Co-Founder of Lagos Family Fun, an online tourism and lifestyle brand for families in Lagos. She is also the creator and host of the live radio show ‘BRAIDAR: The Business of Beauty’, in which she analyses the innovation strategies and positioning of beauty and fashion brands, as well as emerging Gen Z consumer trends that they could leverage. She has previously completed a research project on the potential of blockchain for collaborative storytelling and has internship experience with Accenture in management consulting and with Founder’s Intelligence in innovation strategy consulting. She was also part of the Penguin Random House UK and Creative Access mentorship programme, where she was mentored by the Director of Strategy.
