The latest developments in board diversity - Parker Review 2025 update

Rachel Askew-Sammut, Head of Corporate Governance, Department of Business and Trade
Rachel acts as advisor to a number of government Ministers, Directors General, and British Ambassadors on issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion in corporate settings. Previous portfolios at DBT include Equalities Strategy and International Due Diligence policy, prior to which Rachel brought her understanding of inclusive public policy to the fore in central government pandemic planning. Rachel’s collaborations with the Foreign Office have been marked by impactful flying of the flag of British business success stories on the global stage, including time spent in British Embassies in Denmark, Jordan and Oman.

Soumen Das, Co-Chair, Parker Review
Soumen is co-Chair of the Parker Review, the DBT sponsored review into ethnic diversity on UK Boards. He is Chief Financial Officer of SEGRO plc, the leading pan-European developer, manager and owner of warehouses and industrial property. SEGRO is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris and is a constituent of the FTSE100. By market value, it is the largest publicly listed REIT in Europe. Soumen joined SEGRO in January 2017 and combines leadership of the finance functions with a wider contribution to the business through responsibility for its investment, insights and technology teams. He brings his extensive board-level experience and deep knowledge of capital markets to the Group, having been Chief Financial Officer of listed companies for 15 years and with a background as a corporate financier. Soumen is also a Non-executive Director of NEXT plc, a member of the FTSE100 and one of the UK’s leading retailers.

Richard DeNetto, CEO, Change the Race Ratio
Richard in the CEO for Change the Race Ratio, the UKs leading business campaign to accelerate racial and ethnic minority representation on boards and in executive teams. Change the Race Ratio (CtRR) is the campaign partner to the government backed Parker Review, they regularly convene business leaders and support progress through the sharing of good practice and lessons learnt. CtRR also provides members with a strong voice to policy makers in government and key regulators.

Richard has a strong track record of leading businesses that provide career and professional development for business leaders and senior ED&I and HR professionals. Richard led the CBI’s business engagement work on the Future of Work, he was a director in a boutique staffing firm and the CIPD’s Chair for Cambridgeshire and an Executive Officer for CIPD in the East of England

Facilitator: Peter van Veen, Director, Corporate Governance and Stewardship, ICAEW
Peter is the Director of Corporate Governance and Stewardship at ICAEW, looking after policy and thought leadership on all things board and stewardship related. Prior to this, he was the Chief Compliance Officer for multinational enterprises headquartered in the Netherlands, France and Japan. Peter spent over six years at Transparency International UK, where he set up the Business Integrity Programme. He is an experienced trustee/board member and am an expert on responsible business practices, ESG, corporate culture, compliance, anti-robbery and corruption, risk and resilience, supply chain due diligence, strategy and taking the long view.