Conference

The annual Be Inspired conference brings our entire programme to life and is a key part of the retail calendar.

This year we did things a little differently. Instead of a live conference, we brought you a week-long online programme including inspirational keynotes, personal career stories and interactive sessions to build personal skills and tackle the big issues impacting diversity in the workplace.

The conference week took place from Monday 15 June until Friday 19 June but anyone who registers or subscribes with us on Retail-Week.com can now access everything on demand below.

Watch sessions from this year's conference on demand

Day 1. Chair opening: Welcome to Be Inspired
2020-06-15T09:44:00+01:00By Charlotte Hardie
Charlotte Hardie, chair of Be Inspired, opens the conference and explains why Be Inspired is a force for change.
Day 1. Opening keynote by Samantha Renke: Rock the boat, it’s time to make waves
2020-06-15T09:49:00+01:00By Samantha Renke
Actress and activist Samantha Renke shares her story on dispelling stereotypes, pushing through barriers and challenging perceptions.
Day 1. Panel: Be your colourful self: using your strengths to get results
2020-06-15T09:57:00+01:00By Louise Stonier, Sach Kukadia, David Grunwald, Astrid Phillips
Retail leaders from across the leadership colour wheel discuss how to get the best out of a varied team.
Day 1. Charlotte Williams of SevenSix: How to support black people right now and effect real change
2020-06-15T09:52:00+01:00By Charlotte Williams
Charlotte Williams, influencer and founder of SevenSix agency, shares advice on how to support black people now and going forward, to effect real change.
Day 2. Fireside chat with Maria Hatzistefanis: #MotivationMondays… and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
2020-06-16T10:20:00+01:00By Maria Hatzistefanis
Maria Hatzistefanis, founder of Rodial, explains how to motivate yourself, keep up your momentum and make things happen.
Day 2. Panel: Navigating challenging times
2020-06-16T10:57:00+01:00By Sharon Blackman, Jenni Burt, Wendy Gardner, Penny Grivea
Our panellists share first-hand experience of hard times and offer their top tips for making the right decisions at the right time.
Day 3. retailTRUST welcome and morning meditation
2020-06-17T11:25:00+01:00By Chris Brook-Carter, Will Williams
Following a welcome from the retailTRUST, join in with a morning meditation guided by Will Williams of Beeja Meditation to get Wellbeing Wednesday off to a great start.
Day 3. Mental health: Good stress, bad stress and when to get help
2020-06-17T13:06:00+01:00By Francesca Rogers
This session, led by an expert on mental health, will talk you through recognising when it’s time to get help and where to go to find it.
Day 3. Panel: Mental health matters: finding balance
2020-06-17T13:26:00+01:00By Gill Smith, Jan Duckworth, Jade Stanley, Phil Dobson
Senior retailers share how they are nailing work–life balance. Learn how they structure their days and what they do to separate work from home.
Day 3. Influencing workplace wellbeing in the new normal
2020-06-17T14:02:00+01:00By Amanda Cox, Manju Malhotra, Rebecca Ryman, Emma Mamo
Our retail panellists discuss what they are doing to ensure their workplaces are safe and comfortable post-Covid-19 and how we can contribute to this.
Day 5. Fireside chat with Jane Shepherdson CBE: Lessons learned from my journey to the top
2020-06-19T14:26:00+01:00By Jane Shepherdson
Jane Shepherdson CBE shares from her wealth of experience at Topshop, Whistles, and My Wardrobe HQ on what it takes to run a successful retail business.
Day 5. Chair closing remarks
2020-06-19T15:02:00+01:00By Charlotte Hardie
Charlotte Hardie, chair of Be Inspired, summarises some of the best insight from the week and draws the event to a close.