LEADERSHIP
DAY

02.10.25

About the conference

HOTEL VOCO, ManchesteR

08:15AM Registration | 5PM DRinks Reception

The MTF Leadership Day offers an unmatched opportunity for both emerging and seasoned leaders to explore, connect, and gain practical insights that can be implemented within any tech business.
 
Our inspiring talks are led by seasoned industry experts, who will be available afterwards at our exclusive drinks reception, where you can network with fellow leaders from across the North West.
 
New for 2025: This year, we’re introducing not one, but four exciting new features! Our leadership workshops provide guests with the chance to refine their skills, ready to apply in their business. Our Tech Talk Tables allow leaders to discuss current hot topics and share how they are approached in other companies. The ‘Ask the Leaders’ sessions give you the chance to hear directly from the leaders in the room on the issues that matter most to you. Plus, we’ll be joined by a special guest speaker dialling in from the US.
 
Our boldest Leadership Conference to date – it’s certainly one you won’t want to miss!

SPONSORED BY

Please note: to ensure attendees can benefit from networking opportunities and attendance at the conference, tickets are limited to 2 tickets per company. Leadership content is aimed at C-Suite, Heads of, Directors and Founders. If you are from a recruitment company or consultancy our PSL for the event is full for those attendees. We kindly ask you do not purchase a ticket to allow us to keep the event balanced. If you do purchase a ticket from one of those industries we will not allow entry and are not able to process a refund.

What to expect

The MTF Leadership day is designed for C-Suit executives, VP’s and Directors, Entrepreneurs and Founders, Aspiring Senior Leaders, Heads of Department and Functional leaders. Regardless of title, delegates can expect:aders

Kick off the conference with three high-impact sessions delivered by industry experts, handpicked for their deep experience and practical insights. Each talk is designed to equip delegates with actionable takeaways on topics that matter to today’s tech leaders. To close the morning, we’ll be joined live from the U.S. by a special guest speaker for an exclusive Q&A.

New for 2025, our hands-on workshops offer a focused space for leaders to sharpen key skills and dive into high-level discussions. Each session provides not only the chance to develop new capabilities but also to explore how peers are tackling the same challenges in their own organisations.

These breakout discussions bring leaders together around a single-word topic—think AI, Culture, or Change Management (yes, we’re cheating a bit). Whether you’re looking to learn from others, crowdsource advice, or share how your team is leading the way, these sessions offer open, honest conversations with no slides and no filters.

This interactive session puts the power in your hands. Submit a burning question and vote on others. We’ll display the live poll results and invite our expert panel to unpack the top four topics in depth. From architecture strategy to GenAI adoption, nothing’s off the table.

We end the day with our signature social—an informal drinks reception where the most meaningful conversations often happen. Mingle with fellow leaders, reconnect with speakers, and carry on the conversations that matter in a relaxed, welcoming setting.

SPEAKERS

Discover this years speakers

Jodi Morton

Founder & Director
Craft Coaching

David Lindop

Former Global CDO for Consulting
EY

Clare Sudbery

Technical and leadership Coach
Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd

Caroline Canty

Founder & Director
Craft Coaching

Andrew Carlin

Principal Software Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

Clare Sudbery

Technical and leadership Coach
Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd

AGENDA

We’re still busy pulling together this year’s agenda, so check out the talks below and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear when new talks go live!

Andrew Carlin
Principal Software Engineer
Jaguar Land Rover

SESSION OVERVIEW: What happens when a well-established engineering culture is dismantled almost overnight? Over 2 years, I lived through a full transformation—from a thriving, high-performing in-house team to an offshored, supplier-led model that struggled to meet the same standards. The fallout wasn’t just technical—it was deeply human. This talk explores how we adapted, rediscovered purpose, and began the hard work of cultural rehabilitation. Through honest reflection and real-world examples, I’ll share what went wrong, what I’d do differently, and how momentum was rebuilt. You’ll leave with practical tools for leading through disruption, rebuilding culture, and using coaching and storytelling to recover identity and performance.

Clare Sudbery
Technical & Leadership Coach
Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd

SESSION OVERVIEW: Ensemble programming, also known as mob programming, is like pair programming but more so. Described by Woody Zuill as “All the brilliant minds working together on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, and at the same computer”, it brings teams together to maximise collaboration and minimise bottlenecks.

Some teams do it all the time, some use it as a targeted tool in particular circumstances – for instance when starting a new project, learning a new technology or onboarding new team members. In this workshop we’ll practice various techniques and learn how to make the ensemble work best.

Caroline Canty
Founder & Director
Craft Coaching

SESSION OVERVIEW: Deadlines, client pressure, driving buy-in, having difficult conversations – the stressors of senior leadership never seem to end, especially in tech where the constant push for innovation can be overwhelming. All of this means that cortisol often plays a huge role in our work lives and our day-to-day performance, way more than we realise. But is there a way to work with it, rather than against it? A way to lead and scale without burning out? Absolutely – and in this session, you’ll learn how, plus the key leadership tactics you’ll need to do it, and the next steps you can implement immediately to bring it to life. Join us for this session and start rewiring the mindsets and behaviours of your team for serious growth.

Purchase your pass

Tickets for our Leadership Conference are £36 each and include admission to the day conference at Hotel Voco and the private drinks reception on the terrace. Ticket price also includes refreshments & lunch.

Please note: to ensure attendees can benefit from networking opportunities and attendance at the conference, tickets are limited to 2 tickets per company. Leadership content is aimed at C-Suite, Heads of, Directors and Founders. If you are from a recruitment company or consultancy our PSL for the event is full for those attendees. We kindly ask you do not purchase a ticket to allow us to keep the event balanced. If you do purchase a ticket from one of those industries we will not allow entry and are not able to process a refund.

AFTER PARTY

Roof Terrace, Voco, Manchester M1 3HP 

Our evening social offers the perfect setting to forge new connections, exchange insights, and build valuable relationships within the tech community. 

With a vibrant atmosphere, delicious refreshments, and opportunities to engage with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and like-minded enthusiasts, this evening social is the ideal platform to relax, unwind, and expand your professional network.

I’ve never seen a conference with such a high level of visible diversity and inclusion, and I’ve never seem so many delegates that were positively BUZZING from all of the inspirational talks and stories. What a brilliant, brilliant day.

Thank you to all the organisers, I can’t wait for next year!
Paul O'Donnell
Attendee
So many ‘WIT’ events focus on how women need to lean in. They are all focused on how women need to change. My biggest takeaway from today is that we need to talk more about changing the system. Not about changing women in under-represented groups. Honestly the best conference I’ve been to for a long time.
Holly Donohue
Attendee
The unfiltered requirement did not miss. Each speaker brought their authentic selves to that stage and very moving stories. Thank you all for your honesty and openness. Thank you for the most inclusive agenda I’ve seen.

You understood that representation would matter, and rose to the challenge!
Natalie Navickas
Attendee

Take to the MTF Stage

At MTF we are proud of the incredible community we are part of, that’s why at the end of every conference we welcome members of the community to take to the stage and have their say for 99 seconds! 

It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned speaker or new to the tech scene we want to hear from you! In fact, some of Manchester’s most experienced speakers started with a quick 99 second pitch!

We welcome sign up’s on the day, so make sure you grab a member of the team if you want to take to the stage!

CHARITY PARTNERS

Throughout the year Manchester Tech Festival supports a number of charities. Find out how your business can support them on the pages below and connect at one of our events:

MTF_JodiMorton

Jodi
Morton

ABOUT

Former Partner & U.S CDO | KPMG
COO | Empiriq

Jodi is a seasoned data, finance, and business transformation executive with over 30 years of leadership experience. She has a distinguished track record in data strategy and governance, financial operations and large-scale organizational transformation.

With expertise spanning data strategy, AI, enterprise technology, finance and accounting she has successfully led high performing teams, managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and implemented strategic initiatives that drive innovation, differentiating insights, efficiency, and cost savings.

Most recently, Jodi served as Partner and U.S. Chief Data Officer at KPMG, where she built and scaled a world-class data organization. She drove data strategy, governance, analytics, and data and analytics transformation programs. Her leadership in data and analytics has earned her multiple industry recognitions, including being named one of CDO Magazine’s Global Data Power Women for five consecutive years.

Prior to KPMG, she held various executive roles at Freddie Mac, including Vice President, Single-Family Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Vice President, Single-Family Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Jodi began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the audit practice, focusing on the financial services industry.

Jodi is a sought-after speaker, thought leader, and published expert in data innovation, frequently contributing insights at industry conferences and executive forums.

She is passionate about leveraging data and finance to drive organizational growth, governance excellence, and long-term strategic impact, making her an asset to organizations seeking to leverage data to drive growth and value.

DavidLindopMTF

David
Lindop

ABOUT

Founder of Anterospective.ai & Former Global Chief Data Officer for Consulting at EY

David is a seasoned Chief Data Officer and Technology Strategist with over 30 years of experience in leading business transformations and delivering measurable commercial outcomes through data. At EY, David played a key role in developing the firm’s AI data strategy and pioneering an ontology-led approach to data and knowledge management. Prior to this David held positions such as the Global Data Fabric Leader and led the Data and Analytics practice for Financial Services in the UK.

MTF25_ClareSudbery

Clare
Sudbery

ABOUT

Technical and leadership coach | Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd
Clare Sudbery is an independent coach who has worked in software engineering since the mid 90s. She specialises in helping those in technical leadership, and teaching eXtreme Programming (XP) practices such as TDD, refactoring, pairing, continuous integration.

 

In 2009, Clare sharpened her teaching skills via a brief stint as a high school maths teacher… but quickly returned to software, gaining new energy via leadership and XP. Clare taught the Coding Black Females’ Return to Tech programme, runs various online trainings for O’Reilly, and co-ran Made Tech’s academy. She has a passion for helping under-represented groups to flourish in tech.

 

Clare hosted Season One of the acclaimed Making Tech Better podcast, and is in high demand to present workshops and talks at a wide variety of international conferences and events. She blogs at Queen of Questions (https://queen-of-questions.kit.com/
).
WIT_Caroline

Caroline Canty

ABOUT

Founder & Director | The Craft Coaching Group Ltd

Caroline Canty is a business and performance coach who helps ambitious tech companies to scale up without burning out. A specialist in growth and commercial strategies, she’s passionate about supporting senior leaders in getting the most out of their teams and resource. From change adoption to growth mindset building, she guides teams in developing high-performance ways of working, whilst fostering a supportive “coaching culture” within the businesses she works with.

MTF25_AndrewCarlin

Andrew
Carlin

ABOUT

Principal Software Engineer | Jaguar Land Rover

Andrew Carlin is a thoughtful engineering leader with over a decade of experience delivering complex, scalable systems and leading teams through major transformations. He’s passionate about culture, mentoring, and innovation, and has spoken at Trusted Tech Talk by Maxwell Bond, Evo Inspires, and Evolution Exchange. A published author and active member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Andrew brings a human-centered leadership style focused on turning disruption into resilience and rebuilding high-performing teams with purpose.