Justine Greening

Justine Greening is a former UK Cabinet Minister and ICAEW Chartered Accountant who specialises in social mobility, education reform, and leadership. Between 2011 and 2018, she served as Transport Secretary, Development Secretary, and Education Secretary, leading the UK team in shaping the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and implementing the Social Mobility Action Plan. As founder of the Purpose Coalition, she now partners with employers and educational institutions to create practical pathways towards equity and opportunity. Her sessions equip organisations with actionable strategies to embed social mobility into their culture, develop inclusive leadership, and prepare teams for AI-driven change in education and the workplace.

Between 2011 and 2018, Justine Greening held three Cabinet positions that placed her at the heart of government policy on infrastructure, international development, and education. As Transport Secretary, Development Secretary, and Education Secretary, she led the UK team in shaping the UN's Sustainable Development Goals whilst responding to urgent global crises including Ebola and the Syria refugee situation. In her education role, she championed social mobility through the Social Mobility Action Plan, Opportunity Areas, the Early Careers Framework, and mandatory Gender Pay Gap reporting, embedding fairness into policy at a structural level.

An ICAEW Chartered Accountant, Justine received the Institute's Outstanding Achievement Award in 2026 in recognition of her contributions to public service and social mobility. She now serves as joint chancellor of the University of Southampton and chairs the Sutton Trust Education Advisory Panel, whilst also holding a non-executive directorship at On The Beach plc. As founder of the Purpose Coalition, she convenes business leaders, public sector organisations, educators, and policymakers to take collective, practical action on improving social mobility across the UK. Her Social Mobility Pledge campaign has grown into the largest initiative of its kind in the country, connecting employers, universities, and public institutions around shared commitments to equity and opportunity. Her work addresses both immediate barriers to progression and the systemic changes required to create lasting impact.

Justine equips organisations with actionable strategies to embed social mobility into their operations, develop inclusive leadership cultures, and prepare teams for the transformative effects of artificial intelligence on education and employment. She speaks with urgency about the need for a national AI education strategy, drawing comparisons with countries like Singapore, Estonia, and Finland that have integrated AI literacy into their curricula and teacher training. Her sessions challenge audiences to rethink how opportunity is created and distributed, offering practical frameworks that translate policy insight into organisational change. Leaders leave with clarity on how to build fairer pathways for talent, adapt to technological disruption, and align business success with social purpose in ways that benefit both their organisations and the communities they serve.