City HR Annual Conference

Sam Isaacson is an award-winning coaching thought leader and consultant specialising on the impact of cutting-edge technologies on the coaching profession, and the strategic use of coaching within organisations. He is the founder of the Coachtech Collective and co-founder of AIcoach.chat. His work has been featured in both mainstream and specialist press, and he has served on advisory boards for a range of organisations, including the EMCC and the ICF. He was the Chair of the Coaching Professional apprenticeship trailblazer group, which developed the standard that now underpins England’s most popular coaching qualification. He has contributed widely to the coaching literature, including in particular having edited The Digital and AI Coaches’ Handbook, written How to Thrive as a Coach in a Digital World, and having authored the chapter on Internal Coaching in The Complete Handbook of Coaching.

Izabella Khazagerova has been helping people and organizations navigate career transitions, grow talent, and align to the future of work for over two decades. As SVP and Global Head of Product and Innovation at LHH, she leads a multidisciplinary team building cutting-edge solutions that combine behavioural science and AI to help individuals thrive in an ever-changing world of work. Izabella spearheaded the launch of Career Studio, LHH’s flagship digital platform supporting people through job loss and reinvention – used by hundreds of thousands of individuals globally. Her background spans financial services, manufacturing, and retail, before moving into consulting in 2011. She has held senior roles at Gallup and Baringa, advising Fortune 500 companies on leadership, culture, and digital transformation, always with a focus on solutions that work with human nature, not against it. A sought-after speaker and thought leader on the future of work, Izabella holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge (Judge Business School) and a BA (Hons) in Pedagogic Sciences, and she is a Chartered MCIPD, Hogan-certified assessor, and Gallup Strengths coach. She is also completing an executive program at MIT, focused on Leadership, Innovation, and Chief Product Officer capabilities. She speaks fluent English and Russian and holds an international chess rating (FIDE 2080).

Anne Barnett has been the Chief People Officer for Paragon Banking Group PLC for over 17 years. She is a non-executive director of both Citysave Credit Union and Progress Together, and a member of the Parliamentary Steering Committee for the APPG on Modernising Employment. Before joining Paragon, Anne’s HR career spanned several industries in the private sector; retail banking, general insurance and pharmaceuticals, as well as time spent in the public sector. During this time Anne has become known for her commercial approach as a people expert, leading the people, talent and cultural strategy for organisations.

For nearly two decades, Mary-Clare (MC) has coached individuals and advised businesses in the UK and the US on creating environments where people can thrive. She is passionate about finding innovative ways to apply insights from psychology to solving workplace challenges. MC believes that with the right tools, anyone can succeed. A recognized expert in her field, MC’s research has been published in several journals, including Frontiers in Psychology, among many others. She serves as a Board advisor to various organizations in the Mental Health and DEI sectors, and she lectures at University College London and Columbia Business School.