Milton Keynes-based diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) specialist Gamiel Yafai MBE has played a leading role in a global initiative driving real action on workplace inclusion across the retail and consumer goods sectors.
Gamiel, founder of Diversity Marketplace, co-chaired a landmark CEO roundtable at the LEAD Network Conference 2025 in Milan earlier this month. The session brought together more than 50 chief executives and managing directors from some of the world’s best-known brands – including Mars, Coca-Cola HBC, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Google, Nestlé, EY and Morrisons – for an immersive discussion on turning good intentions into measurable change.
The conference, themed We’re All In, attracted more than 700 delegates from across the consumer packaged goods and retail industries. It highlighted a growing recognition that inclusive leadership is no longer optional but vital to innovation, competitiveness and long-term success.
Gamiel co-facilitated the session with Tracy Gunn, in partnership with Allyson Zimmermann and the LEAD Network Europe team. Together, they guided participants through frameworks for actionable allyship, helped them identify systemic barriers within their own organisations and supported them in developing specific, measurable DEI commitments.
“Seeing more than 50 CEOs dedicate three hours to explore what inclusive leadership really looks like sends a powerful message,” said Gamiel. “This isn’t about awareness anymore — it’s about accountability and embedding inclusion into the way we lead and make decisions.”
The All In: Accelerate! programme, which Gamiel helped to develop and now co-chairs, challenges senior leaders to move from pledges to measurable, organisation-wide change.
He added that industries once slow to act on representation are now embracing inclusion as a strategic advantage. “We’re seeing leaders step up as allies and champions,” he said. “There’s real momentum – and cautious optimism – that meaningful progress is happening.”
