Women's Business Conference 2026 sponsored by mfg Legal Services Limited

Description

Set against the stunning gardens of the Stanbrook Abbey Hotel, our much-anticipated Women’s Business Conference sponsored by mfg Legal Services Limited, brings together over 120 business professionals from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire for a day of inspiration, connection, and empowerment.

Formerly a Victorian monastery, Stanbrook Abbey Hotel has been transformed into a luxurious and elegant venue, providing the perfect backdrop for this unforgettable event.

Guest Speakers:

Lucja Wyrwantowicz – England Blind Women’s Player
Lucja grew up fully sighted and played mainstream football until the age of nine, when she began to lose her vision. As her sight deteriorated, continuing in mainstream sport became increasingly difficult, both practically and socially, leading her to step away from sport for several years. Now partially sighted, Lucja has no central vision, with limited shapes and colours in her peripheral vision, and is classified as a B2 player. At 15, she was introduced to blind and visually impaired sport through the charity VICTA at a residential camp at the Royal National College for the Blind. There, she discovered blind football, regained her passion for sport, and formed lasting friendships. Soon after, Lucja was scouted to join the England squad during its early development. Since then, she has been part of a growing programme, competing in major tournaments including the European Championships, the 2023 World Games in Birmingham, and the World Championships in India in October 2025, where the team achieved a silver medal, one of their greatest accomplishments to date. As women’s blind football continues to evolve, Lucja is proud to be part of a team helping to drive the sport forward and shape its future.

Jo Sheppard, Chief Executive Officer at Bosch Home Comfort UK
Jo Shepherd is Chief Executive Officer at Bosch Home Comfort UK, with a proven track record of driving commercial success while championing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and customer-centric transformation. With a strong commercial background, Jo has successfully led high-performing teams across sales, marketing, and strategic transformation, ensuring that Bosch Home Comfort continues to elevate customer experience, advance sustainability, and foster a workplace culture where everyone can thrive. Jo’s commitment to inclusive leadership extends beyond the Home Comfort division. She is a key sponsor of the Bosch UK Inspiring Women Program, which provides mentorship, career development, and leadership opportunities to support the next generation of talent across all functions. Recognised on the Women in Leadership Power List and as HVAC Woman of the Year, Jo has become a respected voice in driving meaningful change within the industry. Through strategic leadership, mentorship, and advocacy, she continues to push for greater equity in leadership, a more inclusive workplace culture, and stronger representation across the industry ensuring that Bosch Home Comfort not only leads in technology and innovation but also in creating a workforce that reflects the diverse customers and communities it serves.

Dr Julia Senn, Dr Julia Sen Health & Wellness
Dr Julia Sen is an Ophthalmic Plastic, Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgeon, a senior Consultant in the Worcestershire NHS Trust, and Director of the CQC-registered Dr Julia Sen Health and Wellness Clinics in Worcester and Bromsgrove. Her clinics provide a comprehensive range of private medical, surgical, and aesthetic services, including treatments for skin cancer, cosmetic surgery, and injectables. Passionate about the connection between lifestyle choices and overall wellbeing, Julia advocates for both mental and physical health through her podcasts, blogs, events, and public speaking, with a particular focus on wellbeing in midlife and beyond.

Professor (Hon) Jo Millington BSc (Hons) MSc PGCert MCSFS MIABPA
Jo has been a forensic scientist for about 30 years. Starting out with Lothian & Borders Police, Edinburgh, she then moved to the homicide division of the UK Forensic Science Service in London and later into private practice. 8 years ago she set up her own company Millington Hingley Ltd (www.millingtonhingley.co.uk) where she works with a small team of independent forensic consultants who are instructed by various agencies representing the prosecution and defence. Over these years Jo has been involved in the multi-disciplinary forensic investigation of hundreds of major and critical incidents and the experience has given her a broad insight into forensic science. She is a specialist in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA), an expertise which has developed since her formative training with Miami Dade Police in 1998. In 2020 she set up another company, Spatter/ED, to promote education, discussion and share best practice in BPA. She travels all over the place delivering BPA training and her dog, Bracken, is in charge of the BPA Dog Blog!

About a decade ago Jo was invited to join the Advisory Panel of Inside Justice (www.insidejustice.co.uk), a charity that investigates alleged miscarriages of justice. Their work has been the subject of a series of documentaries – Conviction: Murder at the Station and Conviction: Murder in Suburbia (now on Netflix). This is where her journey as a media advisor began and since then she has been a Forensic Advisor and contributor on hundreds of projects for film and television, including Des, White House Farm, Stephen, The Long Shadow, Wrongly Accused and various Sky documentaries. She is the current Forensic Science Advisor on the long-running BBC show Silent Witness – which she loves!

Jo is a visiting lecturer at several UK universities and is Honorary Professor of Forensic Practice at UCL. She uses these collaborations to contribute to a wide range of forensic science programmes where she has the privilege of training the next generation of forensic scientists.