Meet Our Speakers

Dan Gilbert

Dan Gilbert is the co-founder and principal of Gilbert + Chittenden, a design thinking consultancy that helps organizations create and execute innovative and visionary strategies.

For more than 25 years, Dan has worked with leaders and learners of all ages at the intersection of learning, design thinking, and technology. While he has a particular passion for higher education, he has facilitated a wide variety of strategy and innovation projects with multinational companies, non-profit organizations, foundations, civic institutions, and individuals.

In addition to strategy work, Dan has taught graduate courses on design thinking at Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and at Aarhus University (Denmark) and has led workshops on design thinking across the US and in Brazil, Japan, Rwanda, Mozambique and throughout Scandinavia. He holds a Master’s degree in Learning, Design and Technology from Stanford and a Bachelor’s degree in Government from Georgetown University.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmgilbert/

Diane Nuteau

Diane is Mauritian-born, she is the founder of The Creative Brainstorming; an award-winning start-up, for its innovative approach to enhance collective intelligence, inclusivity and strategic alignment.

Her experience evolves from working at an African organisation focused on Internet development in Africa, to public relations, advertising agencies and lecturing at the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce Business School. In 2024, she was the official facilitator for Stanford Center for Professional Development courses on innovation in Mauritius.

As a licensed and certified Meta-Coach by the International Society of Neuro-Semantics, she focuses her work on coaching teams for personal and professional development. By applying specific communication tools in her facilitation workshops, she assists teams to interact more efficiently, align
them to the company’s objectives via a hands-on workshop which she calls “The Creative Brainstorming”.

Winner of the JCI Mauritius Creative Young Entrepreneur Award 2018
Laureate of the Total Startupper Challenge 2019
Finalist –Women in Africa WIA54 2021

Demilade Oluwasina

Demi is a Learning Innovation, Entrepreneurship Development & Future of Work Consultant. His mission is to design and deliver exceptional solutions and experiences that help people and teams exceed their current performance, unleash their potential and to make a positive difference.

His background and expertise spans more than 15 years across 10+ countries and 3 continents across different industries including Publishing and Advertising, Higher Education, Agriculture, Music and Media, Entrepreneurship Development, Learning and Development, etc.

He started and led IMW Creative Enterprise, a publishing and advertising firm in Nigeria for more than 5 years and ran ADDvance Academy, a training firm as well. He transitioned into Higher Education where He worked with leaders from more than 30 countries across Africa, initiated and ran a Digital Economy Programme, winning the award for Leading Institution of Digital Entrepreneurship Education from the Alibaba Business School.

He has been a Corporate Trainer and Facilitator more more than 10 years. He is an author, speaker, coach and convener of global and Pan-African conferences/summits including LEXICON – Learning Excellence Innovation Conference and Africa Future of Work and Entrepreneurship Summit.

Ajay Jacob

Ajay Jacob is an L&D professional and writer. Originally from India, he first pursued Journalism at university followed by an M.A. in Creative Writing from the U.K.

He began his career within the educational publishing industry in the UK, after which he moved to the Netherlands and shifted focus to corporate L&D. He recently moved back to India to be closer to his roots and immediate family. His core expertise revolves around learning strategy and he also continues to write- regularly on LinkedIn and less regularly on his blog.

Aside from his work in L&D, he is a passionate believer in the power of storytelling to inspire change, and is committed to helping people of all ages explore their interest in writing and telling stories.

Feel free to reach him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajaytj

Jackie Kalisa

Jackie has a wealth of experience in HR, with over 11 years of expertise spanning multiple sectors including auditing, banking, IT, and public service. She has a proven track record in Talent Management, Employee Relations, Performance Management, and driving organizational change. Throughout her career, Jackie has consistently developed and executed HR strategies that align with broader business goals, ensuring talent is leveraged to its full potential.

Currently, Jackie serves as the Head of Performance, Talent Development, and Change at the Rwanda Social Security Board, a leading social security institution in Rwanda. In this role, she is responsible for shaping and implementing HR strategies that drive human capital effectiveness, foster employee growth, and enhance organizational performance.

Jackie’s experience across various industries has given her a global perspective on talent development, and she is known for her ability to navigate complex HR challenges while keeping a focus on results. She excels in fostering strong employee relations and creating work environments that promote employee well-being, engagement, and performance.

Her approachable demeanor and strong communication skills make her a trusted advisor within the organizations she’s worked with, and her forward-thinking approach ensures that her strategies are aligned with the latest HR trends and best practices. She has consistently implemented successful employee development programs and optimized HR processes to help organizations meet their goals, making her an invaluable asset in shaping the future of human capital.

Femi Taiwo

Best described as a transformative leader, Femi is an experienced nonprofit leader and corporate executive dedicated to facilitating the transformation of individuals, organizations, and nations. Over the past 15 years, he has devoted his career to serving young people across Africa through impactful interventions in areas such as education and skills development, employability and livelihoods, health, leadership, entrepreneurship, social justice, and civic participation.

Throughout this journey, Femi has honed and applied a broad array of skills, including program management, curriculum development, stakeholder management, partnership and coalition building, e-learning design and delivery, organizational development, leadership development, training facilitation, positive youth development, institutional strengthening, systems thinking, knowledge production, strategy development and execution, grant-making, tri-sector partnership creation, and fundraising.

Femi has held positions on local and international boards, including the United Nations Global Compact, Nigeria, and the Nigerian Youth Future Fund. His exceptional contributions have garnered recognition and accolades, such as being named an Aspen Institute IdeaFest Fellow, a Praxis Accelerator Alum, a member of the inaugural class of the Obama Africa Leader Program, and a recipient of the Junior Achievement Youth Ambassador Award.

Passionate about driving social impact, Femi is committed to advancing strategic partnerships, capacity building, institutional strengthening, and advocacy. He brings diverse perspectives, collaborative energy, and a deep reservoir of experience to the teams and organizations he works with, consistently aligning his contributions with shared missions and values.