Darren Styles OBE and Tom Allen join Outvertising Live line-up as keynote speakers

Outvertising, the volunteer-run LGBTQIA+ advocacy group, announces a new keynote speaker line-up for this year’s event: Darren Styles OBE, Managing Director at Stream Publishing, the home of Attitude and Rolling Stone UK, and comedian and M&S Food Ambassador, Tom Allen. 

Darren Styles will be joining as the new keynote speaker and will  explore his perspective on the last decade for queer inclusion and how inclusive media owners and brands can maintain strong relationships in this challenging social climate. He will then be joined by M&S Food Ambassador, Tom Allen for a discussion about his journey as a LGBTQIA+ public figure and the approach M&S has taken to championing year-round inclusivity. Allen is a household name on British TV, serving as the host of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice and The Apprentice: You’re Fired, and appearing on popular shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You and The Last Leg. 

Other speakers include System1 and Outvertising’s  Andrew Tindall, Trans+ activist and Campaign columnist Marty Davies, Havas UK’s Chief Impact Officer Rosie Kitson, ex-CEO of UM London, Kara Isborne Gladwell, and Ipsos’s UK Head of Creative Excellence, Eleanor Thornton-Firkin, with more  to be announced soon. 

Other highlights to expect this year include: 

• Adland advocacy in 2025: We will explore  strategies, opportunities and obstacles for LGBTQIA+ advocacy in the current climate.

• Understanding privilege: Through  an interactive session, we will unpack  how privilege and marginalisation shape workplace culture, leadership and opportunity in the industry. 

• Inclusive media: practical insights into building inclusive media plans. 

• Exclusive first look at Outvertising’s pioneering Ad Index study, the UK’s first standard metric for LGBTQIA+ inclusivity in creative communications.

This year’s headline sponsors include Attitude, Channel 4, Publicis Groupe UK, with further support from Durex and Infosum. Campaign UK is the official media partner. Contributions from our partners help make this event possible. 

Over 200+ marketers are expected to attend, making it a vital date in the calendar for those shaping a more inclusive industry.

You can grab your  tickets here. 

Chris Dunne, CEO, Outvertising, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome some incredible star power to the Outvertising Live stage this year. Darren Styles has been at the forefront of queer media for decades, and his perspective on inclusive storytelling has never been more important. Pairing him with the brilliant Tom Allen, whose voice and visibility continue to inspire audiences across the UK,  promises a session that will be both powerful and deeply personal. It’s promising to be the best Outvertising Live yet with insight that’s not to be missed.” 

Outvertising strengthens commercial, operational and events leadership with four new board appointments

Outvertising, the advertising industry’s volunteer-run LGBTQIA+ advocacy group, is proud to announce the appointment of four new members to its management board. Caroline Sajas (she/her) and Hannah March (she/her) join as Commercial Co-Directors, Kush Shah (he/they) joins as Events Co-Director, and Dan Cox (he/him) takes over as Chief Operating Officer. 

Caroline and Hannah bring a wealth of commercial experience and leadership to the board, joining to help Outvertising scale its commercial offering, secure partnerships with agencies and brands, and develop new revenue opportunities. Kush will be working alongside the existing Events Co-Director to curate and deliver Outvertising’s year long events programme, including its annual flagship conference, Outvertising Live. Dan’s appointment further strengthens the operational backbone of Outvertising where he will oversee delivery of the operational strategy, internal collaboration across teams, and facilitate the success of strategic initiatives and governance as the organisation continues to grow. 

Caroline Sajas leads the UK business at Locala as SVP of Sales, where she is responsible for driving commercial growth, building high-performing teams, and deepening client relationships. With a background spanning sales and operations, Caroline has helped scale Locala’s UK team while maintaining a collaborative, people-first culture. 

Hannah March is Chief Growth Officer at Fold7, where she sits on the executive leadership team, overseeing new business and marketing. She has held senior roles across agency, consultancy and tech, including CI&T, Engine, and Oystercatchers, and is known for her sharp strategic thinking and values-driven leadership. She was recently named as one of Campaign’s 40 Over 40.

Kush Shah is a Software Engineer and Application Owner at IBM. They also co-lead a business resource group focused on culture and inclusion, representing the LGBTQIA+ community. Kush is also part of the team at RepresentAI, a community initiative aimed at elevating women, non-binary individuals, LGBTQIA+ people, and allies who aspire to work in AI, tech, and digital fields across industries.

Dan Cox brings more than two decades of operational and client leadership experience in media and technology. In his current role at Snowflake, he leads the global partnership with WPP, helping clients unlock value through data and AI. Dan previously held senior roles at Salesforce Marketing Cloud and in the IP and royalties space. Alongside his commercial experience, Dan has led inclusion work as Co-President of Salesforce's LGBTQIA+ ERG, Outforce, delivering high-impact initiatives including reverse mentoring and community representation programmes. He will be taking over from Ceri Parkes-Brincat (she/her) who stepped down from the COO role earlier this year. 

These new appointments follow the addition of Andrew Tindall (he/him) and Dane Kaagman (he/him) to the board earlier this year. Andrew joined as Deputy Intelligence Director, while Dane was named Community Director. Together, these hires reflect Outvertising’s commitment to building a representative, skilled, and high-impact leadership team that can continue to nurture, represent and advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community in the advertising industry. 

Chris Dunne (he/him), CEO, Outvertising, said: “We feel incredibly lucky to be welcoming such accomplished individuals to our leadership team - each bringing valuable expertise from across the industry and unique lived experience from right across the LGBTQIA+ community. At a time when our industry is looking for ways to re-energise its commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion, this dynamic and refreshed team is perfectly positioned to lead the charge.”