Aidan McQuade is a writer and independent human rights consultant. He was director of anti-Slavery international from 2006-2017. Prior to that he worked extensively in development and humanitarian operations, including from 1996 to 2001 leading Oxfam GB’s emergency response to the civil war in Angola. He holds a PhD in ethical leadership and is the author of three books: Ethical Leadership: moral decision making under pressure (De Gruyter, 2022) and two novels, The Undiscovered Country (2020) and Some Service to the State (2023). 

Darren spent eight years as a special adviser in Tony Blair’s government: firstly, as special adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister in the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; then to Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, 1999-2003, during the period of intense NHS reform; and finally, as political communications adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair. He helped to plan and deliver three successful general election campaigns: in Tynemouth in 1997 and nationally, in 2001 and 2005. On leaving government, he spent almost two decades as a political consultant, advising heads of state and government, party and political leaders, public service reformers and regulators in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia on public attitudes, political strategy, elections, campaigns and strategic communications and is currently completing his doctoral research into peace processes and peace referendums, focusing on Northern Ireland and Good Friday Agreement. He is a regular television, radio and online media contributor.

Megan is Associate Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford University and Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult International Business School. She focuses on how we create the conditions for transformative dialogue at work, recently exploring how we ‘speak truth to power’, the rise of employee activism, mindful leadership and how we create ‘spaciousness’ in the midst of our seeming obsession with busyness in the workplace. She is on the Thinkers50 ranking of global business thinkers and is ranked in HR Magazine’s Most Influential Thinkers listing. She has written Dialogue in Organizations and Mind Time and her most recent book, with Financial Times Publishing, is called Speak Up which was shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year 2020. The second edition, called Speak Out, Listen Up, was published in Spring 2024. Most importantly, she is mother to two wonderful teenage daughters who never fail to test her regularly on her powers of mindfulness and dialogue.