Mamta Saha is a British Psychological Society-accredited Business Psychologist, executive coach and international leadership facilitator who specialises in helping leaders build the human advantage: emotional intelligence, trust, psychological safety, accountability and courageous communication. Mamta has worked extensively across luxury hospitality, including with senior leaders and management teams in five-star resorts in St Lucia, supporting them to strengthen leadership culture, guest experience, cross-department collaboration and service consistency under pressure. Her work focuses on the behaviours that sit beneath exceptional hospitality: how leaders listen, influence, hold standards, manage conflict and create environments where people feel seen, valued and able to perform at their best. A two-time TEDx speaker, Mamta brings a psychologically rich, practical and deeply human perspective to leadership. She is known for creating transformative learning experiences that are reflective, energising and immediately applicable. Her approach is especially relevant to hospitality, where commercial performance, emotional labour and memorable guest experience all depend on the quality of human connection.

Scotty Mills has led a life that he could never have dreamt of. From the backstreets of South London, he went onto serve his country and lead Britain’s Commandos around the globe as the highest-ranking black Commando ‘Green Beret’ Officer in history. In 2003, operating alongside the US Navy Seals, he led a team of Marines into Iraq as ‘first on the ground’ theatre entry troops and has deployed on missions all around the world. As Commanding Officer, he led a multi-disciplinary team of recovery specialists who were responsible for rebuilding the lives of hundreds of battle-scarred physically injured and mentally broken servicemen and women across all 4-Armed Forces. A World Record breaker, he was selected as an Olympic Flag Bearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games. As Head of Performance for all 6500 Commandos, he went on to work closely alongside multiple elite teams that went on to become European Champions, Olympic Gold Medallists and World Cup Winners. As an advisor to the FA, he inspired Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane and the England Football Team to develop their culture through innovative leadership and team cohesion training that saw them come together and perform when the pressure was on. Known as “Gareth’s Secret Weapon”, a term coined by the renowned TV Presenter Lorraine Kelly, Scotty has built up a very strong reputation internationally for being able to inspire others to reach their full potential. In 2018 he was voted the most inspirational serviceman across the entire Armed Forces community receiving a National Award. Scotty’s incredibly compelling story is filled with exceptional stories of the power of human inspiration. Now an accomplished world-wide motivational speaker and ‘thought leader’, and as a performance leadership and culture specialist, Scotty is highly sought after by hundreds of global brands across every industry to continue his life’s work to ‘Inspire People and Teams’ to achieve their impossible dreams. Scotty is married to Suzanne and they have 4 grown children. His first published book, “Never Give In” charts the ‘12 Commando Rules for Life’ and is available here Never Give In by Major Scotty Mills | Waterstones.

Karen Turton has spent over 30 years in hospitality, rising from frontline shifts to executive and C-suite leadership. Her operational career spans restaurants, pubs and hotels, with senior roles at Nando's, Turtle Bay and Spirit Pub Company. She knows the business from the section to the boardroom, and has never lost her bias for action. In 2018 she founded Purple Story, the leadership and operational excellence consultancy tagged "Professionally Rebellious," working with multi-site operators across hospitality, care and retail. Her focus is simple: driving commercial performance through people in a world that has never been more complex to lead in, where the pressure is relentless and guest expectations keep climbing. Recently named Business Woman of the Year, North at the National Women's Business Awards, and nominated for Service Entrepreneur of the Year 2026 at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Karen is also a doctoral researcher exploring intergenerational leadership in hospitality. She is known for cutting through the noise, challenging comfortable thinking and handing leaders the tools to perform when it matters most. Direct, commercially sharp and refreshingly honest, Karen believes the strongest operations are built by the best led teams.

Kate Nicholls is the Chair of UKHospitality, the powerful voice representing the broad hospitality sector, since its inception in 2018. Kate previously worked as CEO and Strategic Affairs Director of the Association of Licenced Multiple Retailers (ALMR). Kate sits on the Government’s Tourism, Hospitality, and Food & Drink Sector Councils, where she represents the wider hospitality and tourism sector. As a passionate advocate for inclusivity in hospitality, Kate is also the Government’s first Disability Ambassador for hospitality. Kate is the Chair of the Institute of Licensing, a board member of Best Bar None, and a trustee of Hospitality Action and Springboard. She has previously chaired the Tourism Alliance, London Night-time Commission, and London Tourism Recovery Board. Kate initially worked as a researcher in the House of Commons and European Parliament on food, employment and environmental policy before joining Whitbread to work in Strategic Affairs. She has extensive experience as a political and strategic communications consultant and is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Kings College London.

As Peter says “I enjoy performing in front of an audience, especially at the more formal occasions, but would never seek to upstage the host or those being honoured with awards. My aim is always to make things run smoothly and to time, and to generate sufficient laughter to keep everyone engaged throughout.” Peter began his career as a waiter in the late 1970s and went on to manage a succession of hotels and restaurants in Sussex and Hampshire. From 1988 to 2000 he worked for guide publishers Johansens, becoming a director of the company in 1996. Peter became Chief Executive of Pride of Britain Hotels in September 2000 and retired from the role in November 2021. He is now in much demand for speaking roles across the country. Read more about how Peter can help make your event a success or get to know Peter a little better and listen to a recently recorded podcast on ‘Hospitality Meets- Peter Hancock’.

I am excited to take on the role as Chair for the 2027 Hotel Leadership Conference. Hospitality has been at the heart of my career from the very beginning, shaping me both professionally and personally. Over the years, I’ve been inspired by communities such as the Master Innholders. It is imperative that we ensure that we can provide game changing training to those looking for a career in hospitality through the Innholders Scholarship and Innholder Graduate Programme. With the theme Unbreakable, The Human Advantage the 2027 conference is all about celebrating the people who make hospitality thrive, sharing ideas and experiences, and exploring how we can continue to build a resilient, people-first industry. By attending the 2027 conference, you’ll not only be supporting the industry we all care so deeply about, but you’ll also become part of a community that comes together every January, with 500 hoteliers learning, sharing and leaving inspired to make their hotels even stronger and more successful. Because in 2027 and beyond, the hotels that thrive will not simply be the most efficient; they will be the most human.

Jaz Ampaw-Farr is a multi-award-winning international speaker, author of Because of You, This Is Me, and one of the UK’s most sought-after motivational voices. From surviving abuse and foster care to becoming a TEDx speaker, BBC commentator, and stand-up performer at the Edinburgh Festival, Jaz inspires global audiences with humour, humanity, and hard-won wisdom. Her documentary Re-Story Your Life was selected for Diversity in Cannes, and she’s in the Speakers Hall of Fame. As co-founder of Be Human First Ltd, she empowers leaders to lead with courage and connection. Jaz doesn’t just talk—she transforms.

Ed Ampaw-Farr leads our transformational coaching programmes designed to discover your personal leadership style and help you become your most authentic self in every aspect of your life. Too often, we adapt ourselves to ‘fit’ into boxes that aren’t in alignment with who we truly are. And we perpetuate that with the teams we lead and in our closest relationships. With over twenty-five years of proven success as a human-first leader in sales and marketing, coaching teams and future leaders. Ed is a seasoned mentor and his expertise has impacted on all levels, across multi-million pound organisations. As Co-Founder and Director of Human First Ltd, he helps leaders and aspiring leaders to accelerate their influence, create and sustain invincible teams.