PUBLIC EVENT
This event is free of charge to attend but registration is required. If you have any questions, please contact Nish Angbuhang, Events Manager at [email protected]
An exclusive fireside chat event was hosted by the Academy’s CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, who was joined by Dan Labbad, CEO of The Crown Estate, and Anne Keast-Butler, Director of GCHQ, two prominent leaders with STEM backgrounds who have led nationally significant organisations through periods of uncertainty and rapid change.
Our speakers reflected on how their foundations in engineering and mathematics shaped their leadership approach, helping them to think systematically, manage crisis and drive transformation when it mattered most. They will also explored how novel challenges like technological advancements and climate change influenced how they balanced risk with the need to innovate and changing the skills needed in the workforce today.
Dan Labbad
Prior to The Crown Estate, Dan held a number of senior positions at the global property and infrastructure group Lendlease, including Group Chief Operating Officer and the dual roles of Chief Executive Officer, International Operations and Chief Executive Officer, Europe. Dan has actively championed sustainability and technology throughout his professional life, having previously served as a director of the Green Building Council of Australia and as Chairman of the UK Green Building Council. In addition to his role at The Crown Estate, Dan is a non-executive director of Raspberry Pi Holdings plc.
Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE
Hayaatun is CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation. She co-chairs with the Science Minister the government’s Business Innovation Forum and co-chaired with Sir Lewis Hamilton his Commission on improving Black representation in motorsport. She is a trustee of various charities, member of the government’s Levelling Up Advisory Council and Digital Skills Council and NXD at construction company Laing O’Rourke. She has been named as one of the ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech in Europe and one of the most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She has a Masters in Biochemistry (MBiochem) from Oxford and a PhD from Cancer Research UK/UCL. She is a Fellow of the IET, Honorary Professor at UCL and Honorary Fellow at The Queen’s College, Oxford. She has received honorary doctorates from UCL, Imperial College London, Newcastle, Brunel, Huddersfield and Southampton, as well as a Science Suffrage Award and the Engineering Professor’s Council President’s Medal. She was a finalist for the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award and was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019. Prior to her current roles, she was Deputy CEO at the Academy and served as Committee Specialist and later Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng
President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Sir John serves as Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which empowers young people through computing and digital technologies. He is also a co-founder, General Partner, and a Limited Partner at Enza Capital, which supports tech-driven solutions to major challenges in Africa. He serves on several African tech company boards, and was previously Chair of What3words.