Keynote SpeakersShirine Khoury-Haq, former Co-op CEO and keynote speaker, shares expert insights on business transformation, leadership, resilience and change.
Shirine is one of Britain’s most accomplished business leaders, recognised for her expertise in organisational transformation, strategic leadership and navigating complex business challenges.
As former Chief Executive Officer of the Co-op Group, she became the first woman and the first person from an ethnic minority background to lead the organisation in its 180-year history.
Appointed Group CEO of the Co-op in 2022, Shirine took responsibility for one of the UK’s largest consumer-owned businesses, with operations spanning food retail, funeral services, insurance and legal services.
Her leadership combined commercial discipline with a commitment to the organisation’s longstanding values, demonstrating how financial performance and social responsibility can work together.
During her tenure, Shirine oversaw a major programme of financial and operational transformation. She cut debt from £920m to £55m, grew profit by 30% and increased membership to 7.3 million, strengthening the organisation’s financial position while continuing to serve millions of members and customers.
Her leadership was also tested during the Co-op’s major cyberattack in 2025. Guiding the organisation through an exceptionally challenging period, Shirine gained firsthand experience in crisis management, business resilience, and the difficult decisions senior executives face when organisations encounter unexpected disruption.
She stepped down as Group CEO in March 2026.
Before joining the Co-op in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer, Shirine Khoury-Haq served as Chief Operating Officer of the Lloyd’s insurance market, an internationally significant marketplace involving more than 50 leading insurance companies operating across over 200 countries. In this role, she helped drive digital modernisation across the London insurance industry, bringing together technology, operational efficiency and organisational change.
Her earlier career included senior leadership positions at IBM, McDonald’s and global insurer Catlin, giving her an unusually broad perspective on business performance across different industries, cultures and regulatory environments.
Shirine has also held non-executive positions at Persimmon plc and the Post Office, further strengthening her expertise in corporate governance, risk and board-level decision-making.
A strong advocate for inclusive leadership and values-driven business, Shirine understands the importance of creating organisations where people feel empowered, supported, and connected to a shared purpose.
Her career demonstrates that successful transformation requires more than an effective strategy. It demands courageous leadership, cultural alignment and the ability to bring people through change.
Shirine Khoury-Haq – Speaker:
As a keynote speaker, Shirine Khoury-Haq offers a compelling perspective on what it takes to lead at the highest level.
Drawing on her experience in corporate transformation, digital disruption, and crisis leadership, she explores the realities of making difficult decisions, building resilient organisations, and balancing commercial success with long-term responsibility.
Her insights are particularly relevant to business leaders, executive teams, and organisations seeking to embrace change, strengthen performance, and build the leadership capabilities needed to succeed in an increasingly unpredictable world.
Shirine equips leaders at every level with practical, repeatable approaches to making better decisions under pressure, diagnosing and turning around underperforming businesses, teams and budgets, and ensuring technology investments deliver real returns.
