Neil Bentley-Gockmann

Neil is an experienced leader working across government, business and civil society nationally and internationally. He is CEO at the Whitehall & Industry Group in the UK at a time when the charity’s purpose of improving cross-sector leadership for social, economic and environmental benefit is more vital than ever. Neil is an Honorary Member of WorldSkills and Chair of the WorldSkills Global Research Council, having served eight years as CEO of WorldSkills UK. Neil was previously Deputy Director-General and Chief Operating Officer at the UK business organisation the CBI, working for 12 years at the highest level of the business and government interface. Neil is also the former CEO of OUTstanding, a business network for LGBT leaders and their allies, and former deputy chair of Stonewall, the UK’s leading LGBT equality charity. He holds a PhD in race equality in the workplace and was awarded an OBE for services to diversity and inclusion in the 2019 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. In 2019, Neil was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University for services to STEM education.