Speaker Bio’s
Explore the expertise and insights of our conference speakers who will share their knowledge, perspectives and valuable insights.
Keynote Speaker: Matt Hazelton
Matt Hazelton began his career in groundworks before setting up Hazegood Construction with friends and family. Through hard work, strong relationships and a commitment to quality, the business quickly established itself and grew into a successful company.
Following the tragic incident that claimed the lives of four people, Matt's life and outlook changed forever. Alongside continuing to lead Hazelton Construction, he now delivers keynote presentations across the UK and internationally, helping organisations understand the importance of leadership, responsibility and creating a culture where people look after one another. His experiences have shaped the way he leads his own business today, with a greater focus on communication, accountability and ensuring everyone goes home safely.
Hannah Ault
CEO, Valentine Clays & President, Ceramics UK
Hannah Ault proudly serves as the first female President of Ceramics UK, bringing with her a strong commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the future growth of the British ceramics industry.
With extensive experience in ceramics manufacturing and business leadership, Hannah is widely respected for her leadership as Managing Director of Valentine Clays and has played a pivotal role in the company’s success by championing sustainable practices, supporting emerging makers, and promoting UK ceramics on a global stage.
Hannah’s appointment marks a significant and progressive chapter for Ceramics UK. Her mission is to cultivate a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable future for the sector, one that thrives on collaboration, supports the next generation of makers, and leads with purpose.
Elizabeth Hyde
Director, Hesper GRC
Elizabeth is a specialist trainer and consultant in psychological safety and supports organisations in building psychological safety across teams and departments through her firm, Hesper GRC.
Elizabeth also provides witness interview training to EHS and HR professionals, investigation teams and litigation lawyers. The training incorporates the psychology of witness memory to help organisations gather more accurate witness evidence and strengthen incident investigations following workplace incidents.
Before retraining in psychology, Elizabeth worked as a senior health and safety lawyer at a top 10 international law firm where she spent nearly 17 years defending organisations facing criminal investigations and prosecutions following serious workplace incidents. She has significant experience working with clients in the Ceramics sector.
Elizabeth has delivered training to organisations ranging from the Ministry of Defence (Defence Estates), Amey, Sisk, Amazon to various organisations across the Ceramics Sector.
Phil Crosbie
Partner, Eversheds Sutherland
Phil has been a regular attendee at Pledge over the last decade, delighting audiences with his legal acumen and insightful anecdotes. As a Partner in the EHS Regulatory Team at Eversheds Sutherland, he specialises in corporate criminal defence, regulatory advisory and non-contentious compliance work. His work spans a wide range of sectors and issues, including various aspects of health and safety, environmental, transport and product safety, acting for a range of 'household names'.
Phil has extensive experience in health and safety, in particular, work-related fatalities and serious injuries. On numerous occasions he has been involved in the accident investigation process and assisted with the management of post-incident actions following workplace fatalities. He has also experienced the prosecution process, including engagement with the HSE, Environment Agency and Police, and participated in legal proceedings and Inquiries on a number of occasions.
Beyond corporate defence work, Phil also has significant experience in non-contentious and compliance work, advising on proactive compliance, including health and safety management systems, product conformance, and licensing obligations.
Michael Bone
Director of Inspections, HSE
Michael has been with the Health and Safety Executive for 25 years. He joined as a frontline Inspector in the Newcastle office working at first in the service industry sector and then covering all areas of manufacturing.
He has considerable experience of inspection, investigation and enforcement across many industry sectors. In 2009 he took up a national role in what is now the Engagement and Policy Division (EPD) of HSE, taking the lead for various industry sectors including molten metals, printing and ceramics - working with our own Pledge initiative and presenting at previous conferences. He then moved to a central role overseeing the operation of the Fee for Intervention scheme and then to the Director of Regulations office leading a programme on the better targeting of inspections. He returned to frontline operations as the Head of Operations for Yorkshire & North East in 2018 and was promoted to Deputy Director in 2022. In November 2023 he took up the role of Director of the new Inspection Division.
