Joe Nellis is Emeritus Professor of Global Economy, following a distinguished career at the Cranfield School of Management, where, over more than four decades, he helped shape the School’s teaching, research, and academic leadership. His career combines academic rigour with real-world relevance, earning him international recognition for scholarship and impact.
Joe has published 20 research and subject-based books and over 200 academic and practitioner journal articles. His research analyses business developments in a changing world, covering the macroeconomy, the role of government, the impact of technology, and societal and demographic trends. He is a frequent contributor to a wide range of national and international conferences and a consultant in the areas of economic and business analysis, strategy formulation, and management development. He has also consulted for several government departments and public sector organisations. He is currently an Economic Adviser to MHA, a member of Baker Tilly International.
His expertise centres on macroeconomic analysis, public finance, and economic policy, with a strong focus on decision-making under uncertainty. A trusted adviser to senior leaders across business, government, and the public sector, Joe is known for turning complexity into insight that informs strategy.
In the 2024 New Year Honours, Joe was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to education, economics, business, and charity.
Joe Nellis CBE
Keynote Speaker
Economic Update
Joe Nellis is Emeritus Professor of Global Economy, following a distinguished career at the Cranfield School of Management, where, over more than four decades, he helped shape the School’s teaching, research, and academic leadership. His career combines academic rigour with real-world relevance, earning him international recognition for scholarship and impact.
Joe has published 20 research and subject-based books and over 200 academic and practitioner journal articles. His research analyses business developments in a changing world, covering the macroeconomy, the role of government, the impact of technology, and societal and demographic trends. He is a frequent contributor to a wide range of national and international conferences and a consultant in the areas of economic and business analysis, strategy formulation, and management development. He has also consulted for several government departments and public sector organisations. He is currently an Economic Adviser to MHA, a member of Baker Tilly International.
His expertise centres on macroeconomic analysis, public finance, and economic policy, with a strong focus on decision-making under uncertainty. A trusted adviser to senior leaders across business, government, and the public sector, Joe is known for turning complexity into insight that informs strategy.
In the 2024 New Year Honours, Joe was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to education, economics, business, and charity.
Dr Tharaka Gunarathne (Dr T) is a medical doctor, Consultant Psychiatrist and behavioural analyst, known to television audiences for reading the contestants on The Traitors and Big Brother.
He now brings that same psychiatrist's lens to leadership — helping leaders see what is really going on beneath the surface of organisational behaviour, so they solve the real problem rather than the apparent one. He calls it Clinical Clarity: when you understand what's genuinely happening with people, you are positioned to decide and act more wisely.
A triple TEDx speaker, Dr T works with FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 organisations globally and has been speaking on the Vistage circuit since 2019, working with hundreds of members across the UK and internationally. He is known for pairing clinical rigour with warmth and humour — leaving audiences both genuinely seen and armed with something they can use immediately.
Dr Tharaka Gunarathne
Keynote Speaker
Future-Proof You: Leading Your People Through AI Adoption
Organisations don't adopt AI — people do. And that's where the real leadership begins.
When you ask your teams to work in new ways, you meet a full spectrum of human response — from ready and willing to a quiet hesitancy that leaders can feel but can't quite name.
Medical Doctor, Consultant Psychiatrist and Behavioural Analyst, Dr Tharaka Gunarathne (Dr T) reveals the Clarity Grid: the psychological personas that show up during AI adoption, what's genuinely going on in the mind beneath the behaviour, and the exact leadership moves — and the words — that shift each persona forward.
The result is people who stay anchored and engaged — delivering business as usual while adapting to the technology reshaping it.
Practical, clinical, and immediately usable when you’re back at the office.
Key Takeaways
- How to recognise the psychological personas that emerge when your people are asked to adopt AI
- What's actually driving the behaviour you're seeing — and why the instinctive leadership response often backfires
- The specific leadership method, actions and words to move each persona forward
- How to keep your teams anchored, engaged and productive through a period of continuous change
