The Boardroom - Meet the Speakers 2026

Rachel Gerrish, News Anchor and Senior Broadcast Journalist at LBC (BA Journalism 2014)

Rachel is a News Anchor and Senior Broadcast Journalist at LBC news. While completing her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Rachel worked as a Columnist for the Sheffield Star and as a Broadcast Journalist for BBC Radio Sheffield. After graduating Rachel went on to work for Bauer Media and then Global and has over a decade of experience in the industry.

Sufina Ahmad, Director of the John Ellerman Foundation (BSc Genetics and Microbiology 2009)

Sufina is the Director of the John Ellerman Foundation,  where she oversees its strategy, governance, and grantmaking to advance wellbeing for people, society, and the natural world. After graduating from Sheffield in 2009 with a BSc in Genetics and Microbiology, she began her career in the charity sector, going on to hold key leadership and strategy roles across multiple funding organisations. Her extraordinary dedication to the third sector was officially recognised in 2020, when she was awarded an MBE for Charitable Services. 

Thanaselan Rajendran, Managing Director at Pepper Labs (MA International Public and Political Communication 2019)

Thanaselan Rajendran graduated with a Master of Arts in International Public and Political Communication in 2019. He is now the Managing Director at Pepper Labs, an accredited Malaysian social enterprise dedicated to talent development and inclusive economic empowerment. 

Arjun Radha Krishna, Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer, WeMakeScholars (MSc Bioprocess Engineering 2013)

Arjun Radha Krishna graduated with an MSc in Biological and Bioprocess Engineering in 2013. He is the Co-founder and CMO of WeMakeScholars, an organisation that has supported over 100,000 students with scholarships and education loans. 

Alexandra Delf, Managing Director at Grifco PR (LLB Law 2008)

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, Alexandra trained as a barrister. She then pivoted into the travel and lifestyle sector, a transition that took her abroad to work on major international sporting events in Australia and Italy for over 6 years, before returning to the UK to focus entirely on luxury travel PR.

Luke Impett, Head of Policy and Campaigns, Airbnb (BA History and Politics 2010)

Luke graduated in 2010 and undertook a few internships before joining the Civil Service in 2011 (also as an intern) at the Cabinet Office. After graduating, Luke became a civil servant at the Cabinet Office. He spent nearly a decade in the high-stakes world of central government, tackling everything from Brexit to Covid-19. In 2019, he pivoted to follow his real passion: travel. Joining Airbnb, he now leads public affairs and strategic partnerships across Northern Europe.

James Taylor, Partner at Deloitte (BA Geography, 1994; PhD Geography, 1997)

Following both undergraduate and PhD studies at Sheffield, James started his career in the public sector, in an intelligence role in policing. Switching to consulting, he has now spent 25+ in a variety of client-facing and senior leadership roles in the industry, first with Accenture and then Deloitte.   

Danielle Clark, Global Talent Leader at eBay (BA History and American Studies 2003)

Danielle Clark, Global Talent Leader at eBay, brings a wealth of experience across the entire talent lifecycle to a dynamic session designed to help you launch your career. Driven by a purpose to help people reach their full potential, Danielle's career spans recruitment, talent management consulting with leading firms, and heading in-house talent teams at Adobe, Fastly, and eBay. She is an expert in connecting every aspect of the talent lifecycle to drive business performance.

This session is chaired by Kerry Hyde, Head of Careers & Employability at the University of Sheffield.