TESTIMONIALS

It is an absolute pleasure to recommend Cordelia, a truly exceptional leader and ambassador in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). In a short period of time Cordelia has played a pivotal role in advancing DEI across our group, using credible data and insight to shape initiatives that have had a tangible, positive impact. Her ability to engage with stakeholders at every level is remarkable, she builds rapport effortlessly and is universally liked, respected, and admired by colleagues. As a mentor, Cordelia is nothing short of inspiring. If you're looking for a keynote speaker who is authentic, insightful, and truly transformative, I cannot recommend Cordelia highly enough. She brings wisdom, warmth, and a deep understanding of DEI that makes her an invaluable asset to any organisation or event.

Gary M, Commercial & Strategy Director
iD Mobile at Currys Plc

At BT Group, Cordelia played a crucial role in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in its broadest form. She created and led a ground-breaking reverse mentoring program, which involved over 300 leaders, including the CEO, to address workplace inclusion issues directly. Cordelia also spearheaded the company's Ethnicity Rapid Action Plan, established the company's first ever representation and inclusion targets, and launched the inaugural ethnicity pay gap report to address disparities in colleagues' experience. By using an evidence-based approach, using credible data she developed and led initiatives that really had a positive impact on improving the culture of the business. Additionally, Cordelia's mentorship has been instrumental to my and others’ success in leading BT Group’s Employee Resource Groups, and this has driven substantial progress to develop more leaders, and make the company more diverse and inclusive.

Mark Wilson, Data & AI Governance Leader
Lloyds Banking Group

Cordelia is just an amazing DEI ambassador and leader in her field. She did a keynote for me at the Baton Awards and I cannot express enough how she ensured her message landed well with my audience and which captured our theme perfectly. I could not recommend her enough. She is professional, knowledgeable and connects well with the audience. Her delivery was engaging, poignant, thought provoking and most importantly left the audience wanting more and asking questions. If you are looking for an impactful keynote I would not hesitate to recommend Cordelia.

Dr Diahanne Rhiney, Founder
The Baton Awards

I've had the pleasure of working with Cordelia in the capacity of speaking, for a panel, and a keynote presentation and I cannot recommend Cordelia highly enough for either! Her profound knowledge, exceptional expertise, and professionalism are truly impressive and her engaging delivery truly captivates audiences. Cordelia is an absolute pleasure to work with and her presentations are insightful and impactful, making her an invaluable asset to any event.

Natasha Preocanin, Managing Director
In-house Recruitment (IHR)

I have worked with Cordelia several times in the past on projects and have always been blown away by her drive, determination and motivation and incredible boldness to do the necessary work to make a real impact. She has an incredible gift for not always waiting for the perfect moment or conditions but to start taking action now and refine the approach as you go. Most recently Cordelia gave a thought-provoking talk on 'Rethinking Allyship' and delivered this to the Women in Rail (WIR) Senior Women in and Formerly in Transport (SWIFT) members. The discussion was excellent and really dug deep into the topic and looked at the whole concept from a different view point. Cordelia always delivers in such a relaxed and meaningful way that makes it accessible to all in her company. I am looking forward to working with Cordelia again.

Sharon Salmon MBE, Supplier Manager & Women in Rail Board Trustee
Network Rail

It was great to work with Cordelia when we were both at NSPCC. Cordelia's approach to training and embedding
ED&I was strategic, informed and practical.

Jon Brown, ex-Strategy Director
NSPCC

In the 1+ years I've had the privilege of working with Cordelia at BT Group, she's been an invaluable partner to our People Analytics team and to me personally. Whatever the project/initiative, Cordelia consistently brought her energy, leadership/experience, and wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves to drive the right outcomes. All of this when combined with her passion to use data driven insights has resulted in positive impacts to our employees and overall business. In a short period of time we revamped/relaunched the diversity dashboard leveraged by leadership as the source of truth to track progress and understand enablers/detractors of progress and have separately undertaken a number of analyses to unlock insights used in D&I action plans. Truly a pleasure working with you Cordelia!

David Duewel, Director, People Analytics
BT Group

I wholeheartedly recommend Cordelia for her exceptionally inspiring leadership and outstanding contributions to driving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at BT. As the visionary creator of the BT ExCo Reverse Mentoring Programme, Cordelia's strong leadership qualities and unwavering commitment have propelled numerous initiatives, setting a remarkable standard for inclusive leadership. Her innovative approach and ability to inspire positive change make her an invaluable asset in promoting diversity and fostering a more inclusive workplace. Cordelia's tireless efforts have not only transformed BT's expanding diverse community but have also personally touched my life, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I enthusiastically support and recognize Cordelia for her dedicated efforts and impactful contributions to BT and beyond.

Nick Persaud, Transformation Manager
BT Group

Cordelia led and delivered a team building session that improved my team's understanding of practical and effective ways to become a high performing team. The session was really valued by all team members that attended the session. Everyone left the team building session with both practical tips about how they can improve their individual contribution to the team; as well as a deeper understanding about other team members communications preferences so, that when interacting and collaborating they can always have maximum impact.

Bernadette Kisaalu, Legal Director
BT Group

I was privileged to attend a Diverse Leadership Programme sponsored by National Grid which was led by Cordelia. I remember walking away from the first day of the Programme feeling empowered and ready to conquer the world. She is, no doubt, an expert in the DEI space but also such an inspiration and role model. By the end of the Programme, I felt equipped with tools and confidence which stayed with me since and made me grow stronger and stronger in my career journey and life in general.

Molly Nherera MBA, FCCA, Senior Finance Business Partner.
National Grid

Have you ever been compelled to action after a workshop or training session? I hadn’t, but then I met Cordelia. Cordelia led the National Grid Diverse Leadership Programme. I was a willing but jaded participant. Despite it being a remotely delivered programme, Cordelia made it come alive to me. Perhaps it is her extensive knowledge of Diversity, Inclusion and Equality/Equity, from her many experiences and interactions with businesses similar to mine. It could be how she treated us as individuals, bothering to learn who we were (or how we saw ourselves), giving us the time we needed to think, being honest when answering our questions and forgiving our (my) blunt observations. Maybe it is how she understood my struggles with progressing my career in a way that no other leadership programme has managed, then offered practical guidance on how to overcome these difficulties. However, I am certain that it’s because Cordelia said she would follow up, and she did. I went from frustrated in my career to driven to change direction in two sessions. And I did change direction. Now after the programme, I regularly follow Cordelia’s observations on current affairs. How can I not? I trust her application of theory and experience, and her comments speak much clearer than the sound bites offered in the media. Cordelia is the person who presents the evidence and gives people the space to form their conclusions, who turns nice ambitions to action, and is willing to follow up. I am glad I have been able to work with her and I am hoping to do so again in the near future.

Miriam Oliver, Development and Project Engineer
National Grid

We all have career changing moments, mine was meeting Cordelia who was the catalyst who helped me break my barriers towards progression and to start fulfilling my latent potential. It was my pleasure to be the first cohort of a DEI focused program lead by Cordelia whilst working for National Grid. That program helped me and many others to start moving from where we were by challenging us and our thoughts and beliefs. By providing a framework around which we can truly develop a grow. Taking that on board and doing something about it was my career changing moment and it is very much thanks to Cordelia who helped start that process. That was 7 years ago and I’ve had a few Head of roles since.

Nicholas Harvey, Network Operability Manager National Grid ESO

Cordelia and I worked together at The Adab Trust for four years where she was the Operations Manager and then Operations Director. I enjoyed working with Cordelia and I would highly recommend her because she is extremely talented, warm, hardworking and achieved great results. She is very skilled at leading strategic change in a way that ensures everyone involved remains motivated and committed to a shared vision. At Adab, her warmth and ability to communicate with different audiences enabled her build strong relationships with a wide range of people from all sectors – including trainers and coaches, academics and a network of 200 senior executives/business leaders who acted as corporate volunteers. These relationships formed the foundation of numerous cross sector collaborations which enabled Adab successfully support over 10,000 young people so they were better placed to achieve career success. Extremely pragmatic and decisive, Cordelia has strong commercial and strategic awareness – alongside a good understanding of social policy. She possesses the rare combination of being business savvy while remaining committed to social change and I know she will excel in any role she occupies.

Dermot O'Brien, Founder The Adab Trust