Hosted at Mediaplus UK’s London offices, the morning will begin with a focused data presentation from Rosa Rola, Managing Director at Major Players, exploring key themes including retention, salary pressure, representation, inclusion and the realities of building strong agency cultures within leaner independent businesses.

Following the presentation, a live panel discussion featuring Becca Rawlings, HR Director, People & Culture at House of Communication UK, Terry Martin, Managing Director at the Alliance of Independent Agencies, Gemma Popejoy, Co-Founder of Pivot Forward, and Tomasz Dyl Founder & MD at GottaBe! will react to the findings in real time. Together, they’ll explore where independent agencies are outperforming the market, where challenges remain, and what practical changes agencies can make to continue shifting the dial.

This isn’t about corporate jargon, impossible “perfect” solutions or endless statistics. It’s about creating space for honest conversation, shared experiences and practical thinking between agencies navigating similar people challenges.

Expect practical discussion, useful takeaways and the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day to hear how other independent agencies are approaching culture, inclusion and talent development in today’s market.

The session will include:

• Breakfast networking with fellow independent agency leaders
• Welcome & Intro
• Exclusive Census insights and industry trends from Major Players
• A live panel discussion focused on independent agency realities
• Practical examples and honest experiences from agency leaders and people specialists
• Audience Q&A and open discussion

The goal is simple: to give agency leaders & Talent professionals a genuinely valuable morning away from the desk, leaving more informed, more connected to the wider indie community, and with practical ideas they can take back into their business immediately.

Please note: In-person attendance begins from 8:30am. Online attendees can join from 9:00am.

Sign in/attendance to this session contributes 2 hour (2 points) towards CPD points for Alliance of Independent Agencies Members.