Chet Patel is the EMEA CTO for Audit & Assurance at Deloitte.

Chet has over three decades of profound technological expertise, strategically orchestrating all facets of IT, from robust governance and seamless delivery to operational excellence, risk mitigation, reputation management, and stringent compliance. A recognised leader with an extensive global network, he plays a pivotal role in shaping Deloitte's technological future, particularly in harnessing emerging technologies and AI to drive strategic advantage.

His visionary leadership was instrumental in the successful deployment of Dayshape in the UK in 2018. This initiative rapidly expanded under his guidance, onboarding geographies across EMEA, AsiaPac, and North America, firmly embedding Dayshape as a cornerstone technology that delivers immense strategic benefit and exemplifies his commitment to scalable, impactful innovation.

Lisa Kavanagh is the Resource Management Specialist at Grant Thornton Ireland and a transformation and operations leader. 

Lisa’s career spans Deloitte, LinkedIn, and now Grant Thornton, where she has built and led resource management and business operations functions, and worked across global teams in EMEA and LATAM.

Her experience sits at the intersection of transformation, workforce planning, and people leadership, with a strong focus on helping organisations scale and supporting individuals through change.

Russ Girling is the Resource Management Director at S&W. Russ’s journey into Resource Management is anything but typical. After 16 years in the UK Armed Forces HR Department, he moved into the world of recruitment with the aim of supporting Service Leavers—which eventually led him into the world of Resource Management where he has worked in a variety of roles across PwC, EY, and now he is leading the Resourcing team at S&W.

He’s passionate about making change happen in ways that actually work for people. Whether it’s rolling out new systems, rethinking how teams operate, or mentoring future Resourcing leaders, Russell brings a mix of strategic thinking, curiosity, and a people-first mindset to everything he does.

If you’re interested in how Resource Management can evolve to meet today’s challenges or interested in what this could mean for your own career and how you bring the two together —this session could be for you.

Lindsey Tyler is Group Head of Audit and an Executive Committee Member at Sumer Group, where she leads a national audit practice of over 800 auditors across 50+ offices. She is responsible for driving audit quality, scalability and commercial performance across a rapidly growing, multi-regional firm.

With over 20 years’ experience, Lindsey has built her career in national audit firms, advising privately owned, family-owned and private equity-backed businesses across a broad range of sectors. She brings a strong blend of technical expertise and commercial insight, with a particular focus on how firms can improve performance through better planning, utilisation and resource management.

Lindsey has led significant transformation programmes to standardise audit delivery and improve both team and client experience. She brings a practical, real-world perspective on how resource management can move beyond scheduling to become a key driver of margin, operational performance and growth. 

Kate Brooke is the Senior Director of Resource Management at Baker Tilly US, where she leads the firm's centralized Resource Management function, aligning talent, data and business needs with strategic priorities.

With nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting, Kate has helped transform Resource Management teams from decentralized, location-based models into enterprise-wide functions supporting more than 10,000 employees. Her experience spans building scalable operating models, using data and insights to inform decision-making, and aligning talent strategies with evolving business needs.

Kate is passionate about the evolving role of Resource Management within professional services and its potential to serve as a true strategic partner to the business. She believes the most effective Resource Management organizations bring together talent strategy, data and business priorities to help leaders make smarter decisions about their people, strengthen organizational agility, and drive better business outcomes.

Nathalie Maslen is a Senior Partner Development Manager at Microsoft, where she leads Microsoft's strategic partnership with Dayshape and works with innovative software partners to accelerate growth through AI, cloud, and go-to-market collaboration.

Before joining Microsoft, Nathalie held Consulting and Alliance Management roles at Deloitte, Kearney, and Slalom. Her career has focused on building strategic partnerships, developing go-to-market strategies, and helping organisations create value through collaboration and innovation. Combining extensive professional services experience with a deep understanding of the technology ecosystem, Nathalie brings a unique perspective on how partnerships and emerging technologies are reshaping the future of professional services.

Robbie White is a Partner at Forvis Mazars in the UK, where he leads Innovation for the firm. This includes the firms Innovation Labs, Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) teams and associated strategies. Robbie also leads the Forivs Mazars Group’s global AI squad. He focuses on driving the adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies, including Data Analytics, Automation, and AI. Robbie also supports initiatives to enhance digital skills, ensuring the firm is equipped with the skills needed for the future.

Before joining Forvis Mazars, Robbie played a key role in building a School of Technology for a private education company, served on the leadership team of a Governance, Risk, and Compliance firm that was later acquired by a listed company, and gained experience at global corporates IBM and SAP.

Mark Kennedy is a Partner in Deloitte’s Tax Technology Group and is based in London. He has more than 25 years’ tax experience supporting global businesses to manage their most complex compliance and reporting challenges. Alongside his client work, Mark is Chief Operating Officer for Deloitte UK’s Business Tax division, responsible for optimising the deployment of people, processes and systems in a £400m business with 1800 people across over 20 locations across the UK, India and elsewhere.

Matt Cockett is CEO of Dayshape. Matt is a seasoned leader with a passion for driving growth in global businesses with great products. Having worked in large corporates, start-ups and in PE backed SaaS businesses, Matt has spent 20 years in technology roles, and the last 10 of those years in the world of people-focussed technologies. He is currently leading Dayshape through an exciting growth trajectory with its professional services optimisation tool that's helping firms to achieve extraordinary results.

Andrew Bone is Co-founder & VP Product, Dayshape. Andrew Bone co-founded Dayshape after his experience working with PwC, where he saw first-hand the challenges of resource management, and realised how crucial it was to the success of any professional services firm. A technologist at heart, he now leads Dayshape’s product team that’s helping us to define the future of AI-powered resource management.