IA and Investment20/20 Talent, Apprenticeships and Skills Conference

Elaine Thow, Head of Talent, Aberdeen

Elaine is a passionate and dedicated HR leader who brings energy and enthusiasm to everything she does. As the Head of Talent at Aberdeen, she is committed to driving impactful HR initiatives and nurturing talent across the globe. Elaine has a knack for creating effective HR strategies, promoting diversity and inclusion, and enhancing talent management processes. In her current role she is passionate about the opportunity Early Careers programmes provide to individuals at the start of their career and the organisation. She holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of Surrey and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of St Andrews. Outside of her professional life, Elaine is an enjoys getting outdoors, wild swimming and yoga as well as eating out, watching movies and the odd to trip to the theatre!

Jenny Barber, Director of Careers and Talent, Investment20/20

An experienced talent and careers professional, Jenny’s passion for diversity, with specific focus on social mobility, has been a central theme of her career. Having led on programmes for employers, education providers and charities, Jenny has developed a strong knowledge base on social mobility, in addition to professional practice gained through delivery roles direct with young people.

As Director of Careers and Talent at Investment20/20, the Investment Association’s talent solution, Jenny advises investment managers on their entry level talent agenda, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Responsible for Investment20/20’s careers and talent strategy, her work drives young people from diverse backgrounds to consider a career in investment management, and the programmes she leads provides the infrastructure for them to take the step to join the sector.

Experienced in working with a range of stakeholders, Jenny knows how to bring people together for a common purpose – to develop our next generation of diverse talent.

Prior to joining Investment20/20, she was Director of Programmes at Career Ready, a national education charity, where she led national change on programme design and delivery across the charity. Other previous roles included leading education and skills at the Financial Services Partnership, and leading careers and employability in schools, colleges and universities.

Jenny is a recipient of The Worshipful Company of Educators Master Award for her work on apprenticeships and youth talent, and the Investment Week Women in Investments Awards for Mentor of the Year for her work supporting young people from diverse background into jobs in investment management.

Karen Luckly-Tang, Head of Future Talent, Legal & General

Karen is a highly accomplished HR professional with over 25 years of experience shaping transformational resourcing strategies, with a keen focus on early careers. Her expertise spans across leading global organisations including Thomson Reuters, Bank of America, Citigroup, Barclays, Deloitte, and Legal & General—where she has consistently enhanced talent acquisition and development initiatives across the UK and EMEA. At Legal & General, where she has been in role for over three years, Karen currently heads the Early Careers Function. Her extensive industry knowledge and proven leadership have established her as a key architect of early career strategies. This is further evidenced by her four-year tenure on the Board of the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), her long-standing role chairing the Finance Sector Group, and her recent appointment as a Fellow of the ISE in recognition of her significant contributions to the industry. A fluent French speaker, Karen is passionate about nurturing meaningful relationships across educational institutions and with suppliers, ensuring a truly collaborative approach to talent development. Widely respected by Heads of Careers Services, she is often sought for her insights on industry best practices. Known for her approachability and keen guidance, Karen also informally mentors emerging professionals, offering invaluable support as they navigate new roles. She also volunteers as a School Governor, with a specific focus on Early Years, Budget and Headteacher performance. Driven by purpose and passion, Karen thrives on sharing best practices and challenging industry norms. Her commitment lies in ensuring that future talent strategies remain forward-thinking, inclusive, and impactful, inspiring the next generation of leaders to achieve excellence.

Karis Stander, IA Director, Culture, Talent & Inclusion, and Managing Director, Investment20/20

Karis leads the Culture, Talent & Inclusion team at the Investment Association (IA), where she oversees the people, talent and conduct advocacy agenda. She is responsible for influencing policy, convening members to share good practice, and the delivery of industry-wide programmes that drive scale and efficiency.

As Managing Director of Investment20/20, the IA’s multi-award winning talent solution, she leads a team that connects the investment industry with future talent communities through education outreach, brings together emerging talent from across the industry to equip them with insights, skills and a supportive professional community, and convenes talent professionals to work collectively to shape and influence skills policy. Under her leadership, the team has enabled over 3,000 young people from a breadth of backgrounds to start their careers in the investment industry.

In 2023, Financial News named Karis one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance.

Peter Cheese, Chief Executive, CIPD

Peter is the CEO of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and People Development. He is also Chair of Engage for Success, was Chair of What Works Centre for Wellbeing, and sits on the Board of the College of Policing. He sits on many forums linked to wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, routes in to work and skills, flexible working, and corporate governance.

Peter writes and speaks widely on the development of HR, the future of work, and the key issues of leadership, culture and organisation, people and skills. In 2021, his second book ‘The New World of Work’ was published, exploring the many factors shaping work, workplaces, workforces and our working lives, and the principles around which we can build a future that is good for people, for business and for societies. 

Prior to joining the CIPD in 2012 Peter was Chair of the Institute of Leadership and Management, an Executive Fellow at London Business School, and held a number of Board level roles. He had a long career in consulting at Accenture working with organisations around the world, and in his last seven years there was Global Managing Director for the firm’s human capital and organisation consulting practice.

Phil Sartain, Early Careers Talent Acquisition Leader EMEA, Aon

Phil manages Early Careers recruitment for Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk capital and human capital solutions.   He has spent the past 20 years supporting young people from a wider variety of backgrounds to access career and development opportunities across a variety of industries. He began his career in youth marketing and working for education charities, before moving into in-house early careers recruitment and development for Accenture, Aberdeen Asset Management and now Aon.   Aon run large apprenticeship, internship, graduate and work experience programmes across the UK and globally, recruiting talent across a wide range of roles. Through its training and development programmes Aon are able to utilise close to 100% of its Growth and Skills Levy supporting new and current colleagues.  Most recently Phil led the launch of a Aon’s three day, in-person Work Insight Programme, providing opportunities to thousands 16-18 years old, primarily from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, since its inception in February 2023.

Richard Irwin, Group Global Head of Early Careers, Barclays

Richard is the Group Global Head of Early Careers at Barclays, where he leads the strategy for attracting, developing, and preparing the next generation of talent for the bank. Before joining Barclays, he held similar leadership roles at Deutsche Bank and PwC in the UK, spending more than two decades with the latter. Across his career, Richard has been driven by a commitment to expanding access to opportunity for talented young people. His work has included launching apprenticeship pathways, redesigning assessment approaches to focus on skills rather than background, and building more inclusive awareness and aspiration around careers in financial services. Outside of work, Richard is a proud father of two teenage boys, a self-confessed scifi geek, an avid Rugby Union and Formula 1 fan, and a keen—if admittedly below average—golfer.