Rukasana Bhaijee

Rukasana Bhaijee is an award-winning author and diversity, equity and inclusion leader who specialises in building inclusive workplace cultures and driving meaningful organisational change. As Global Head of DEI at the Financial Times, she has led transformation across technology, media, professional services and higher education, including previous leadership roles at Warner Brothers and Google where she improved representation and developed inclusive leadership capability at executive level. Her recent publications include *Designing for Diversity* and *How to Build an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Workplace*. Through keynotes, panels and workshops, Rukasana equips leaders with practical strategies to embed belonging, navigate hybrid working through a DEI lens, and shift organisations towards long-term value creation rooted in equity and inclusion.

Over the past decade, Rukasana Bhaijee has shaped diversity, equity and inclusion strategy across some of the world's most recognisable organisations, from Google and Warner Brothers to the Financial Times, where she now serves as Global Head of DEI. Her career has spanned technology, media, professional services and higher education, consistently driving measurable improvements in representation and building cultures where belonging is embedded at every level. Recognised as 'Inspirational Role Model' of the Year at the 2019 European Diversity Awards, Rukasana has established herself as a leading voice in translating DEI ambition into tangible organisational change. She is also an award-winning author, with recent publications including *Designing for Diversity* and *How to Build an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Workplace*, both offering practical frameworks for leaders committed to creating genuinely inclusive environments.

Rukasana's expertise is grounded in hands-on leadership and consultancy across diverse sectors. At Warner Brothers, she led the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion agenda across EMEA technology operations, working directly with senior leaders to shift organisational culture and improve outcomes for underrepresented groups. Before that, she held the same role at Google, and prior to her in-house leadership positions, she worked as a Management Consultant at EY, supporting organisations at every stage of DEI maturity. Her consultancy work included developing sponsorship programmes to accelerate the progression of women and ethnic minority talent, building inclusive leadership capability at executive level, and delivering cultural intelligence programmes across public and private sector clients. She also served as an Inclusion Coach at EY, leading internal change programmes to advance equity for minority groups. Her foundation in academia, focusing on gender diversity at Queen Mary University of London, and a decade of experience in financial services currency markets, further inform her strategic and evidence-based approach to inclusion.

Through keynotes, panels and workshops, Rukasana equips leaders and teams with the tools to navigate DEI as a long-term value driver rather than a compliance exercise. Her sessions address the practical challenges organisations face, from embedding psychological safety and fostering belonging in hybrid environments to following through on race equity commitments and leveraging data to inform DEI strategy. She helps leaders identify their personal motivation for championing inclusion, build intentionally inclusive workplaces, and develop the leadership capability required to sustain meaningful change. Audiences leave with actionable strategies, a clearer sense of purpose, and the confidence to turn aspiration into measurable impact. Rukasana's work ensures that diversity, equity and inclusion become integral to how organisations operate, innovate and succeed.