Wellbeing, Mental Health and Resilience: Building healthier people and stronger businesses

Wellbeing is not separate from performance. This session explores mental health, resilience and recovery through honest lived experience, elite performance insight and the realities of leading under pressure. Attendees will gain practical lessons for founders, leaders and teams navigating demanding environments.

This conversation brings together Andrew Jenkins, Stephanie Millward MBE and Ellie MacDonald—three speakers with powerful, distinct and complementary lived experiences of resilience, adversity and high performance.

Andrew Jenkins is a leadership and resilience specialist who draws on his personal experience of mental health challenges to break stigma and encourage more open, supportive conversations in workplaces.

Stephanie Millward MBE is a Paralympic swimming champion and mindset coach whose journey includes being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 17 and going on to win multiple Paralympic medals through determination, discipline and mental strength.

Ellie MacDonald is an award‑winning PR founder and mental health advocate who has openly shared her experiences of burnout, anxiety and the pressures of entrepreneurship, offering a relatable and practical perspective on sustaining wellbeing while building a business.

Together, they will explore how people manage pressure, recover from difficulty, build confidence and keep moving forward when life or work becomes overwhelming. The session will also examine what leaders and organisations can do to create environments where people feel safe to speak openly, ask for help and look after their mental wellbeing before issues reach a crisis point.

Who Should Attend

This session is for founders, CEOs, senior leaders, people leaders, managers, investors and anyone responsible for building healthier, more resilient teams.

It is especially relevant for those leading through pressure, change or uncertainty, and for organisations that want to take wellbeing seriously—beyond policies, benefits or surface‑level initiatives.

Why It’s Relevant

Mental health and wellbeing directly influence confidence, decision‑making, relationships, energy, performance and retention.

In high‑pressure environments, people often push themselves until they reach their breaking point. Leaders may feel they must appear strong at all times, while teams can struggle quietly with stress, uncertainty, burnout or personal challenges.

This session brings mental health into the leadership and business conversation in a grounded, human and practical way. It reframes wellbeing as a core component of sustainable performance, trust and resilience.

What You’ll Take Away

You will hear honest insight into resilience, recovery, mindset and mental wellbeing from three speakers with diverse lived experiences and performance backgrounds.

You will gain practical lessons on how individuals can recognise pressure earlier, develop healthier coping strategies and build confidence through difficult periods.

You will also leave with a clearer understanding of how leaders can create more open cultures, reduce stigma, support people more effectively and embed wellbeing into the everyday fabric of the organisation—rather than addressing it only when problems arise.