Ruth Hunt Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerRuth Hunt

Director of Deeds and Words and former CEO of Stonewall (2014-2019), the largest LGBT charity in Europe.

Baroness Ruth Hunt is a respected and influential communicator who, with charm and humour, helps audiences of all sizes and experiences understand how they can build cultures that work, and bring minority voices into the room. With over 20 years’ experience of leading campaigns for the LGBTQ+ communities, in 2019... Read more

Biography

Baroness Ruth Hunt is a respected and influential communicator who, with charm and humour, helps audiences of all sizes and experiences understand how they can build cultures that work, and bring minority voices into the room.

With over 20 years’ experience of leading campaigns for the LGBTQ+ communities, in 2019 Ruth became the youngest cross-bench peer in the House of Lords. Alongside her Parliamentary work, Ruth and her partner Caroline Ellis are Directors of Deeds and Words, working with c-suite teams to understand how collective and inclusive leadership can drive organisational effectiveness.

Ruth is also well-known and regarded for her previous work as CEO and Director of Campaigns at Stonewall, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ charity. During her time at Stonewall, Ruth played an integral part in leading numerous landmark campaigns including tackling homophobia in schools and developing the Rainbow Laces campaign in partnership with the Premier League.

A Visiting Fellow at Jesus College Cambridge, Oxford graduate and former President of the Oxford University Students Union, Ruth brings an academic rigour to her work whilst being wholly accessible to audiences regardless of their background and knowledge.

'Ruth was incredible and we had fantastic feedback - I've had a few emails from people saying how much they enjoyed her talk. She was a lot of fun and to be honest only scratching the surface so it's something I want to explore further. She did a great job!' Emma-Jane Mark, Employee Experience Manager - EMEA & APAC - EA to Christian Penfold (GM, International), SimilarWeb
‘Ruth was incredible and we had fantastic feedback – I’ve had a few emails from people saying how much they enjoyed her talk. She was a lot of fun and to be honest only scratching the surface so it’s something I want to explore further. She did a great job.’ SimilarWeb, June 2021
‘The talk was incredibly captivating, useful and interesting. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far.’ Campbell Lutyens, September 2021
‘She’s such a wonderful speaker; her approach really suited us as an organisation and created space for people to feel comfortable sharing and asking questions. I’ve had lots of great feedback trickle in already. It’s been a real pleasure to work with Ruth, and I am feeling very smug about our choice of speaker!’ Dext, July 2021
‘I just wanted to drop you an email to say thank you so much for speaking at our conference. After wrapping up our activities for Pride Month last week, we continue to be flooded with a deluge of positive reflections and reactions from your talk. It was both an honour to hear such an authentic perspective and personally very inspiring. As a non-binary person whose goal for the last seven years has been to achieve legal recognition for non-binary people in the UK, it was so comforting to hear my concerns and struggles validated. Thank you again, and if there is anything Pride can do for you, or if there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.’ Civil Service, June 2021
‘We are very pleased with the talks that Ruth gave. We also received great comments from our employees. We appreciated Ruth’s professionalism and smooth briefing. She was interested in what we wanted to achieve with our Pride campaign and how she can support our objectives. All in all, big thanks to Ruth and to you for connecting us to her! ‘ Tom Tom, June 2021

Popular Talks by Ruth Hunt

  • Traditional leadership models and ideas surrounding workplace culture
    • In this talk  Ruth looks at why and how embracing collective leadership, building inclusive cultures and understanding the need for trust can result in staid models and ideas being put to one side, and drive organisational effectiveness and performance.

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  • Psychological Safety
    ·        In recent years issues surrounding psychological safety have become increasingly prevalent in all walks of life. In this keynote, Ruth considers why we need to cultivate safer environments, both in our personal and professional lives, and how this can drive organisational effectiveness. Ruth outlines the steps individuals and organisations need...
  • Progressive Attitudes and Behaviour
    As the power of allyship becomes more prevalent and complexities surrounding authenticity soften, the space for progressive attitudes and behaviour has widened. In this keynote, Ruth delves into what has been achieved, and what can still be done, to challenge the status quo and breakdown inequalities that continue to threaten...