Leila McKenzie-Delis

Leila McKenzie-Delis is a diversity and inclusion leader who specialises in transforming workplace culture and leadership practices through evidence-based insights. As founder and CEO of DIAL Global, a global community for diverse, inclusive, aspirational leaders, and the McKenzie-Delis Foundation, she drives measurable change through research and strategic guidance. Her career in executive search and experience as an adoptee navigating professional barriers inform her practical approach to dismantling systemic obstacles. Leila equips organisations with actionable strategies to reshape recruitment, culture, and leadership development, enabling teams to build genuinely inclusive environments where diverse talent can access senior roles and thrive.

At a corporate roundtable event early in her career, Leila McKenzie-Delis found herself the only woman and only person of colour in the room. That moment of stark realisation catalysed the creation of DIAL Global in 2019, a global community for diverse, inclusive, aspirational leaders that now works with organisations worldwide to transform workplace culture, recruitment practices, and leadership development. Born in Hong Kong and adopted by a British family, Leila grew up in Harrogate, Yorkshire, where she excelled academically, graduating top of her class with first-class honours. Yet despite her achievements, she encountered barriers to graduate opportunities that her peers never faced, an experience that shaped her understanding of systemic inequality and fuelled her determination to dismantle it for others.

Leila built her expertise through a successful career in executive search, running several businesses before founding DIAL Global and establishing the McKenzie-Delis Foundation, a charity dedicated to advancing research and insight into diversity, inclusion, and belonging. In 2020, the Foundation launched the McKenzie-Delis Review, a ground-breaking report examining diversity and inclusion in UK workplaces, providing organisations with evidence-based frameworks for meaningful change. She hosts the podcast series 'Diverse Inclusive Leaders' and fronts a YouTube channel featuring conversations with accomplished thought leaders, amplifying voices and perspectives that challenge conventional thinking. Leila also holds numerous directorships and advisory positions, bringing her lived experience and strategic insight to organisations committed to creating genuinely inclusive environments where diverse talent can access senior roles and thrive.

Leila equips audiences with practical strategies to rethink recruitment, reshape culture, and develop leadership that reflects the communities organisations serve. Her approach moves beyond awareness to action, helping teams identify and address the structural barriers that prevent talented individuals from progressing. Through compelling storytelling rooted in personal experience and rigorous research, she inspires leaders to examine their own assumptions and commit to measurable change. Audiences leave her sessions with clarity on how to create workplaces where everyone has an equal chance to succeed, understanding that diversity and inclusion are not just moral imperatives but essential drivers of innovation, performance, and sustainable growth. Leila's mission remains clear: to build a more open, diverse, and inclusive society where aspirational leadership is accessible to all.