Catherine Garrod

Catherine Garrod is renowned for making inclusion feel "doable" with her revolutionary advice and pragmatic guidance in the ever-changing world. As the Founder of Compelling Culture, Catherine advocates for nudging thinking in every team when they're making decisions that impact other people, rather than focusing on top-down change involving huge teams. Enjoying a successful career spanning the industries of behavioural healthcare, childcare, media, utility, FMCG and telecoms, Catherine understands the complexities of making sustainable changes in business. As an accomplished keynote speaker, Catherine guides organisations in staying relevant with conscious inclusion, covering a broad variety of topics including the fear of getting it wrong, how to be an inclusive leader, microaggressions and how to operate inclusively. A true pioneer of diversity and inclusion, Catherine lives by the quote "Unless you're consciously including people, you're almost certainly unconsciously excluding people".

An expert in creating a positive workplace culture, Catherine began her career as the Nursery Manager for Childbase Partnership where she built her expertise in creating cultures. Ensuring a welcoming and relaxed culture, Catherine was awarded Nursery of the Year and achieved a staff turnover of less than 5%. Catherine later worked in Executive & MBA Resourcing and as an Organisation Development Consultant for PepsiCo. Focussing on learning, development and recognition, Catherine soon became an expert in global people processes.

After working roles as Engagement Manager for UK Power Networks and Head of HR Corporate & Commercial for The Cambian Group, Catherine became the People Involvement Manager for Sky. Focussing on employee engagement and inclusion, she was later promoted to Inclusion Manager and Head of Inclusion for Sky. During her time as Head of Inclusion, Catherine led Sky to become the most inclusive employer in the UK, named at No.1 on the Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers with 80% of teams increasing diversity both on and off the screen. She was also pivotal in launching Blue Sky domestic abuse support and enhancing paternity leave to boost gender equality. Most recently, Catherine released her debut book Conscious Inclusion: How to "Do" EDI One Decision at a Time, in accompaniment to being a Guest Lecturer of the Executive MBA Programme at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Now working with her company Compelling Culture, Catherine works with corporate clients to help organisations boost engagement, build an inclusive culture and improve diversity. From delivering board inclusion workshops to companywide inclusion diagnostic plans, Catherine has worked with clients such as Bupa and Dentsu. Believing that when we are connected to our organisations we deliver our best work, Catherine is determined to create positive workplace cultures that are inclusive to everyone and how they identify. In addition to providing important information on how to deliver inclusion, Catherine is also renowned for bringing inclusion to life - creating a safe space that resonates with everyday work and decisions. Delivering compelling workshops and keynote speeches, hire Catherine Garrod to inspire simple habits for everyday inclusion and to stay relevant with conscious inclusion.

Recently, Catherine Garrod was named on the Official Best HR Speakers Ranked on Popularity to Hire, a testament to her decorated HR career and her commitment to creating positive workplace cultures.