Age Pioneers: Revitalise and Reenergise Your Midlife Workforce

Lyndsey Simpson - Founder & CEO, 55/Redefined

Lyndsey will kick off the Age Pioneers summit with what’s new in the 50+ workforce landscape. Walk away with the fresh insights about the importance of age intelligence to form your people strategy and improve your long-term organisational performance.

Lyndsey's Bio

Recognising a gap in the market for a brand that answers the call of the ‘bet-your-ass-I-can’ over-50s, Lyndsey set up 55/Redefined to fly the flag for those who may be getting older but have no intention of slowing down.

A serial entrepreneur and a regular commentator in the media, Lyndsey has been recognised as one of the UK’s Top 35 Businesswomen (Management Today & The Sunday Times) and one of the UK’s 50 Most Inspirational Female Entrepreneurs. Lyndsey’s insights feature regularly across major media, including the FT, Sky, ITV and The Guardian.

Her forthcoming book, The Age Rebellion: Plan Your Future and Thrive, will be published globally by Hachette in May 2026.

Tesco Ireland: Lessons from Retail on Engaging a Midlife Workforce

Join our headline speaker, Maurice Kelly, People Director at Tesco Ireland & Northern Ireland. With a growing proportion of its workforce expected to be 50+ in the next decade, we find out how Tesco Ireland is remaining competitive by strengthening retention and differentiating its EVP to drive engagement, build trust and tailor employee benefits. This case study will be followed by a Q&A.

Maurice Kelly - People Director, Tesco Ireland & Northern Ireland

Maurice Kelly is a seasoned HR executive with over 25 years of progressive leadership experience with multinational corporations across a range of industries. He has a proven track record in delivering commercial impact through people strategy - driving organisational change, building high-performing teams, cultural transformation, and organisational growth. He is passionate about leadership development, inclusive culture, and building high-performing teams that deliver sustainable business success.

Maurice is currently People Director for Tesco Ireland & Northern Ireland and is a member of the Ireland Executive Leadership team.

Previously, Maurice held global HR leadership roles at Kerry Group (Food & Beverage), Integra Lifesciences (Medical Devices), Eaton Corporation (Automotive) and Essilor International (Healthcare). He also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for Sensational Kids CLG, a high-impact social enterprise supporting children with additional needs.

Maurice is a Chartered Director (CDir) and Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (FCIPD), with academic credentials including a Master’s in business and HRM and a Postgraduate Diploma in Executive Coaching.

Just Group: Building an End-to-End Age Strategy

Simon Halls, Director of Talent, Leadership and Learning, and Neal Harris, Learning and Talent Development Global Leader, at Just Group discuss their end-to-end midlife workforce strategy. From data analysis through to learning and development, discover how they are changing the lives of their over 50s employees. This case study will be followed by a Q&A.

Simon Halls - Director of Talent, Just Group

Simon Halls is Director of Talent, Leadership and Learning at Just Group PLC, one of the UK's leading providers of retirement financial solutions. Just has a clear and compelling purpose - to help people achieve a better later life. It does this by providing financial advice, guidance, competitive products and services to those approaching, at and in-retirement.

Simon is responsible for shaping and leading Just's integrated talent strategy to ensure that it develops the talent and capabilities to deliver its growth strategy. He leads on all aspects of talent management across Just, including leadership and management development, succession planning and career development.

Simon brings over 30 years' experience building and leading talent functions in the UK and internationally, working in organisations including UBS, Shell, SHL and PA Consulting. He is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, a Chartered Scientist and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

Neal Harris - Senior Consultant for Talent, Learning and Leadership, Just Group

Neal Harris is Senior Consultant for Talent, Learning and Leadership at Just Group PLC, where he focuses on leadership and business skills development, also leading the organisation’s partnership with 55/Redefined and the rollout of the Me/Redefined programme. His work centres on helping colleagues prepare for fulfilling and purposeful outcomes from mid-life and beyond — congruent with Just’s mission to help people achieve better life.

Neal brings extensive experience in learning, talent and leadership development, having held senior roles across global organisations and delivered award‑winning programmes focused on behaviour change, culture and capability building. Since joining Just, he has played a pivotal role in shaping learning that empowers colleagues at all stages of their careers.

Alongside leading the Me/Redefined project, Neal is also completing the programme himself. His personal journey — including recently moving to part‑time working with every other Friday dedicated to life outside work — has given him first‑hand insight into the importance of redefining what later life can look like. He has also begun an Apprenticeship in Learning and Development Improvement Analysis, strengthening his expertise in evidence‑based decision making and AI.

Passionate about helping people thrive, Neal blends professional expertise with lived experience — having enabled many colleagues to grow their careers through consultancy and in house across Financial Services organisations, FTSE 100 companies and global brands.

Fireside Chat: Engaging the Business in Championing Over-50s

We are joined by leaders from Unilever and Cornerstone exploring:

• Why have an ERG (Employee Resource Group)? How do you create culture, community and belonging?
• How to identify, train and mobilise champions across the business.
• Employee listening practices and how data informs a people strategy.
• Learning at different life stages – retraining and reskilling.
• How to rehire your retired alumni.

Ginette Kilroy - Chief People Officer, Cornerstone

Ginette joined Cornerstone in October 2016 and has a strong generalist background and specific expertise in leading change and people development. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a qualified coach and is an accredited test user in occupational personality and ability assessments. Ginette previously worked in several Human Resource roles in organisations across various sectors, including Optical Retail, Water Industry, Card Processing, and Banking.

Jo Morrell - Publisher, Octopus Books

The Age Rebellion

Join this exclusive global preview of Lyndsey Simpon’s ground-breaking book, The Age Rebellion: Plan Your Future & Thrive. Predicted to be one of this Summer’s best-sellers, this book breaks the mould and helps employees plan a life they never want to retire from.

Hosted by Jo Morrell, Publisher at Octopus Books, it's an ideal resource to help your CEO and leadership team understand the realities of longer working lives, and it serves as an accessible, engaging addition to your L&D strategy, ERG community, or employee book clubs.

Jo's Bio

Jo is a media executive, mentor and advisor, with over 25 years' experience in executive roles at The Telegraph, BBC Worldwide, Haymarket, Future PLC, and Bauer Media. In 2014 she also worked with the founders of The Pool to launch an award-winning digital news platform created by women, for women.

In 2024 Jo joined Octopus Books as Publisher to pursue her passion for health and wellbeing, reinvigorating the 'Short Books’ list with her new focused proposition #livewellforlonger for readers in the prime of life. Her first commission Food Noise by Dr Jack Mosley demystifying the new weight-loss medications instantly became a Sunday Times best seller. Other authors on her list include Prue Leith, Gyles Brandreth, Dr Kerry Burnight, Lyndsey Simpson, and Professor Roy Taylor.

In 2025 she set up an independent travel business for busy families and finally completed her yoga teacher training which had been on hold for 20 years while she raised her three (now teenage) boys.