The Brave New World of UnBPO™

As Chief Human Resources Officer at Firstsource, Shamita Mukherjee leads the company’s global people strategy. Shamita has over 30 years in HR leadership, spanning global technology and technology enabled companies. She is an expert in Total Rewards, M&A, Organisation change management, HR technology, and cross border culture. She champions agile workforce strategies that integrate technology, build future-ready skills, and foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.

Venugopala Dumpala is a solution-driven business leader and CXO advisor with 20 years of experience leading transformation and optimising commercial outcomes across diverse industries. From the labor arbitrage era to today’s technology-driven environment, he has adapted and thrived by delivering impactful solutions. As Head of Solutions, EMEA, Venugopala has successfully built multiple solutions from the ground up, leading high-value consulting engagements that focus on operating models, customer outcomes, risk management, and operations automation. In the past 12–18 months, he has spearheaded innovative AI use cases, including fraud and financial crime prevention in banking, and pioneering Agentic AI orchestration approaches in retail banking, commercial finance, building societies, telecom, energy, and utilities sectors. His leadership style fosters high-performance cultures, partners closely with C-suite executives, and consistently drives sustainable, innovative impact to help organisations excel in the evolving business landscape.

Paul is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in banking, fintech, embedded finance, digital innovation, and technology leadership. He has held senior roles at ClearBank, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, and Nomura, where he developed transformative business models and drove operational excellence.

As a pioneer in embedded banking, Paul has lectured at universities like Cambridge, sharing his vision for finance and technology. His work has set industry benchmarks and redefined how banking products integrate into customer ecosystems.

An entrepreneurial norms challenger, Paul has founded multiple technology ventures, including a SaaS logistics platform and an AI-based demand management solution, delivering value to Fortune 500 clients. His dual experience as a founder and advisor bridges strategy, execution, and innovation in fintech and banking.

Pierre Coppin leads transformation, planning, and insight within Sky's Customer Service Group. With over 20 years of experience across marketing, product, and operations, he brings a blend of commercial acumen and strategic vision to reimagining how Sky delivers for its customers. Passionate about inspiring people and driving change, Pierre is leads bold, innovative initiatives that turn strategy into real impact.

Sam leads the Transport Customer Services division at Lloyds Banking Group, a team of around 700 colleagues across Newport (soon Cardiff) and Manchester. The team supports customers through every stage of their vehicle finance journey—from onboarding and servicing to agreement changes and returns. They serve both personal customers and large corporate clients across Black Horse Car Finance and Lex Autolease brands, working closely with brokers, dealers, and suppliers to deliver exceptional service. 

As Director, Sam is passionate about evolving customer service for the future—digitising and automating simple interactions to free up time for meaningful customer engagement. His leadership is rooted in delivering outstanding customer experience, developing colleagues, and driving productivity.

Career & Development Focus
Sam has worked at Lloyds Banking Group for over 13 years, with a career spanning Customer Experience, Digitisation, Product Management, Channel Performance, and Business Strategy. He’s known for inspiring diverse teams to deliver strong performance and is deeply committed to colleague development.

Personal Snapshot
Sam lives in Cardiff with his wife and two young children. A self-described sports obsessive, he enjoys playing, watching, and coaching sports with his kids. He’s also the South Wales Community Lead, working to create a vibrant and inclusive office culture.

Tom Layzell is a seasoned banking professional with over 20 years of experience in financial services. Specialising in managing secured and unsecured retail customers in arrears, Tom leads teams to restore financial health for customers while maintaining compliance and operational excellence. With a strong background in management consultancy, they have delivered significant organisationalbenefits, introducing innovative, customer-focused solutions such as digital functionalities to meet evolving needs. Tom’s leadership is defined by strategic thinking, a passion for continuous improvement, and a commitment to supporting customers during pivotal moments. Recognised for their analytical acumen, coaching and mentoring abilities, and stakeholder management expertise, Tom has established themselves as a transformative leader in the industry. Their dedication to enhancing customer service, streamlining processes, and solving complex challenges has left a lasting impact on the organisations and individuals they have worked with. Combining empathy with a forward-thinking approach, Tom continues to drive meaningful change within the financial services landscape.

AI, Data & Digital Transformation executive with 20+ years of experience delivering enterprise-wide value across PepsiCo, Tesco, British Telecom and GE. Proven track record in shaping AI, data, & digital strategies; embedding GenAI & agentic systems, AI/ML & advanced analytics, & digital solutions & enabling intelligent decision-making at scale. Experienced in building high-performing global teams & partnering with executive leadership to modernise operating models, with disciplined product portfolio leadership.

Before joining PepsiCo, Altaf served as Director of Business Transformation at Tesco, where he shaped the global transformation agenda for Tesco Business Solutions. At British Telecoms, he was part of the CIO teams shaping solutions to support various market segments. Altaf holds an MBA from HEC School of Management, Paris and B. Tech in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in India

Ruth Edwards is the co-Founder of 10 Years Ahead, the communications agency that blends human experience with AI to deliver sharper, targeted, more affordable communications.

Ruth's experience bridges the world of politics and business. She is the former Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, where she focused on improving the UK’s cyber security and its response to online crime and served as a Government Whip.

Before her election, Ruth headed commercial strategy and public policy for BT’s Cyber Security portfolio, led the Cyber Security Programme at techUK and was a strategy consultant at Deloitte. An experienced speaker, panellist and chair, she has addressed audiences at the WEF, UN and OECD.

Gavin is an operations leader with nearly 20 years of experience in customer experience, subscriber retention, and operational transformation. At Telegraph Media Group, he oversees the subscriber support experience, specialising in service excellence, digital innovation and AI integration. Gavin has held leadership roles across media and outsourcing industries, bringing expertise in driving value through service optimisation and customer satisfaction.

Steve Best is an accomplished C-level Executive with extensive experience in shaping business strategy, navigating regulatory landscapes, and guiding long-term strategic and commercial direction. Renowned for his astute counsel and strategic foresight, he has served on numerous Executive Committees and Boards, advising senior leaders on optimizing returns and managing risks effectively. With over 35 years in the telecommunications sector, Steve has held pivotal roles including Chief Operating Officer at BT Enterprise and Chief Technology Officer at Viatel. Notable achievements include spearheading transformation programs at BT Enterprise, delivering substantial cost savings and restructuring initiatives while fostering innovation and growth. Steve holds a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Operational Research & Economics from the University of Lancaster. He is currently a non-executive Director at two UK Altnets, Wildanet and Telcom Group, and an advisor at Firstsource, leveraging his deep industry insights and extensive network to drive strategic initiatives and deliver tangible results.

CEO and co-founder of Form1 Partners.  
Form1 Partners work with US and UK firms to drive value through partnership with vetted, cutting-edge tech and AI companies.   John previously co-founded Capita’s venturing business, which invested in early-stage AI companies and leveraged their technology to win business and deliver value to clients.  Prior to that John was at Accenture, he has 23 years-experience in B2B strategy, BD and early-stage tech investing.

Aniket Maindarkar is the Chief Marketing Officer at Firstsource, responsible for building the brand strategy and executing it to drive visibility and pipeline. His key focus is amplifying the Firstsource brand through better data, content, and storytelling, along with his real-life experiences of helping several Fortune 1000 companies with their digital transformation journeys. Based in Atlanta, Aniket enjoys adventure sports such as sailing and windsurfing and has completed treks across many parts of the world, including Norway, Iceland, Patagonia, Peru, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Rajiv Malhotra is President of EMEA Business at Firstsource. He is responsible for devising the business growth strategy, delivering differentiated client value, and expanding Firstsource’s footprint in EMEA. His primary focus is deepening client relationships and strengthening the market impact of our digital offerings within the target growth verticals, such as BFS, CMT, Utilities, and Diversified. He is equally passionate about driving the D&I agenda within the organization, along with being the executive sponsor for Firstsource’s Women Inspiration Network. Rajiv has over 22 years of IT/BPO industry outsourcing experience. He has built scale operations in tech and ops services globally across Financial Services, Insurance, Retail and Logistics, Healthcare, and Media. Before Firstsource, he was the Head of Europe Sales at Mphasis. During his time there, he played a pivotal role in building the right teams, driving collaboration and innovation across the business, and leading M&A activities in Europe. He also oversaw the setup of an operations center in Dusseldorf, Germany for a large financial services client, creating a hub and spoke operating model for the regional execution. Before Mphasis, he managed large teams across sales and operations at Atos Syntel, growing its European portfolio towards double-digit growth YOY. He also played a key role during the initial stages of Atos–Syntel clients integration across various industries, to drive seamless growth across applications and infrastructure services. An alumnus of FR CRIT, Mumbai, Rajiv is based in London and enjoys reading, traveling, and running.

Gareth Turpin is Head of Transformation at BT Business, leading strategic change and innovation across the organisation. Joining BT in May, Gareth brings 25 years of experience in telecommunications, including seven years as Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2 and prior to that as Sales and Service Director. He lead O2 Customer Service from 2012. As a panellist for The Outcome Economy Revolution: Beyond the FTE Model – Pricing and Contracting for Success, Gareth will share insights on evolving commercial models and transformation strategies.

Trevor Hunt is CTO Advisory with Behind Every Cloud.  With more than 30 years of experience in Financial Services technology, he is responsible for providing independent and impartial advice to senior technology leaders, senior management, and boards.

His track record includes Board, CIO, CTO, and COO roles in major global financial services organisations, as well as being a passionate driver of change.  He’s spent time working in Asia, Europe, and the US, as well as in remote management of large delivery teams. His career started in what would currently be called a fintech – a small team in the front room of a large house working on one of the first ever Treasury dealing systems. Having lived and breathed the 24×7 demands of today’s CTO, he now focuses on how to reduce that burden through the effective selection of competent & cost-effective solution partners.

In his spare time, Trevor enjoys three passions – his family, wheels (cycling & F1), and music.