Women With Metal Conference

Welcome to the Women With Metal Conference!

Join us at The International Convention Centre for a day filled with inspiring talks, workshops, and networking opportunities. This event is all about celebrating and empowering women and allies in the metal, manufacturing and engineering sectors. Hosted by our CEO and Founder Kirsty Davies-Chinnock we are delighted to be bring out third conference to you.

Get ready to hear from industry leaders, learn from our professional speakers and connect with like-minded individuals who share your passion for the exciting sector we work in. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out we aim to increase your Confidence, Knowledge and Connections.

Come be a part of this exciting event and help us build a stronger, more inclusive community of women in metal. We can't wait to see you there!

With thanks to our Sponsors:

Headline Sponsor Lloyds Business & Commercial Bank

Platinum Sponsor Optimised

Gold Sponsor Professional Polishing Services Ltd

Gold Sponsor Hydro Aluminium

Gold Sponsor Browne Jacobson

Silver Sponsor HubTel IT

Silver Sponsor The British Stainless Steel Association

Silver Sponsor Prime Accountants Group

Silver Sponsor Warwick Manufacturing Group

Drinks Sponsor Comton Group

Meet our 2025 Speakers

Katy Deacon is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering Technology(IET), a wife and a mother of two children. Katy’s career is a great example of tenacity, resilienc eand determination. She started her career as an avionic apprentice at British Airways, gaining her first-class honours degree in Air Transport Engineering from City University, London. After completing her master’s degree in Advanced Engineering from LoughboroughUniversity, she became a Chartered Engineer and adjusted her career to focus on renewables and low carbon buildings.

In 2011 she started displaying serious symptoms which were diagnosed in 2012 as multiple sclerosis. After years in a wheelchair, living with the difficulties posed by lack of understanding from engineers and architects in how to build inclusive and accessible environments, Katy now runs her own businessTowards Belonging Limited. Towards Belonging Limited bridges the gap between the disabled community and the engineering community, improving inclusive engineering design implementation.

Jeremy Stokdale is the CEO of Ylead, a leadership consultancy he founded in 2020 to create a more data-driven and human-led approach to developing leaders with purpose. He draws upon two decades in the banking industry leading large, diverse and multi-functional teams across the UK and Africa. His passion for Leadership, Gender Equity and Gender Advocacy, combined with his extensive experience, exposure and business acumen help organisations and individuals to lead their people with purpose, curiosity, compassion, courage and a desire for continuous learning and development.

We are delighted Jeremy is returning to Women with Metal after his debut in 2024 with his keynote on Allyship in Action.

Steph Snade is a Business Psychologist with a passion for Leadership and Organisational Development. She founded the Limitless Leadership programme in 2020 as part of her mission to develop a generation ofwomen who lead with authenticity, confidence and impact and to create role models for business and society where women in leadership are equal, credible and highly valued. Steph has worked with over 850 leaders, helping them to develop their leadership mindset, skills and approaches and, in turn, to make a positive impact on the people around them and the culture of their organisation. Steph believes that, to be successful,leaders need to develop themselves and their emotional intelligence.

We are delighted Steph is once again returning to Women with Metal but with a twist. For 2025 Steph and Jeremy will be delivering an interactive presentation.

Sally Twisleton is an experienced engineer, coach, and facilitator with a passion for leadership development in technical industries. Having spent 18 years in engineering and manufacturing, including senior leadership roles at Rolls-Royce, she now specialises in coaching leaders and teams to enhance collaboration, strategic thinking, and performance. A firm advocate of Time to Think principles, Sally creates environments where individuals can reflect deeply, challenge assumptions, and unlock their leadership potential. She holds an MSc in Coaching and Mentoring and is a Senior Practitioner with the EMCC.

Lily Samuels is an award-winning founder and CEO of Lily Samuels Nutrition Ltd, a globally recognised nutrition consultancy. Based in Leamington Spa, she is a registered nutritionist with over 15 years of experience as a registered nurse, bringing a unique blend of medical and nutritional expertise to her practice.Lily specialises in menopause and perimenopause nutrition, sports performance nutrition, and corporate well-being. She helps women thrive, athletes optimise performance, and businesses foster healthier, more productive workplaces.

Felice Ayling is the founder of Loud Women, a movement empowering women to embrace their unique voices, stand out in their marketing, and build authentic brands that resonate with their ideal audience. With a deep passion for breaking down the walls of societal conditioning and embracing the full,unfiltered expression of who we are, Felice helps women to step into their power—fearlessly. Felice blends marketing strategy, personal growth, and a healthy dose of mindset coaching to help women own their space in the business world. Through the Loud Women Club and her signature programmes, she’s on a mission to disrupt the norms and redefine what it means to be a confident, bold woman in business.

Alan King is the founder of AI-Your-Org, former Head of Global Membership Strategy and AI at IMechE, host of the AI Evolution podcast, and author of Harnessing the Power of AI in Organizations.

Alan’s fascination with artificial intelligence began in his teenage years. As an early adopter of AI tools, he has consistently used them to drive productivity and explore new possibilities, always pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve.

With a background in electronics, and completing an MBA at Brunel University, Alan dedicated his early career to working at Hewlett Packard on environmental test systems and then Strategic Alliance International, where he managed global campaigns for technology firms, all whilst deepening his knowledge around software applications and AI systems.

Building on this valuable experience, he later joined the IMechE and published "Harnessing the Power of AI in Organisations", which led to setting up the "AI-Your-Org" community.

As AI tools advance, he is confident that their impact on society and organizations will be both transformative and beneficial.

Dr Eun Sun Godwin is a Management and Organisation scholar at the University of Wolverhampton Business School. She is passionate about research that matters to society, particularly equality, diversity and inclusion issues at workplaces and in organisations, impacting on real life beyond the academic body of knowledge. For this, she has been promoting diverse research questions and approaches through inter/multi-disciplinary research and being proactive in cross-sectoral engagement.

She is an alumnus of the Foundation Future Leaders 2023 cohort The Foundation For Science and Technology, a charity providing a forum through which professionals from universities, industry and the civil service exchange their knowledge on science and innovation-related policy issues. She is a member of Women in Manufacturing Policy and Research Working Group, working towards its annual conference and report for 2025. Her recent research projects include a project on inclusive digitalisation for disabled people in manufacturing industry, funded by InterAct, Made Smarter and ESRC-led hub.

We will also be featuring two panel discussions on finance and industrial trends.