Investing in Education: A Fireside Chat with Susanna Kempe, CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation
A fireside chat with Susanna Kempe, CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation, on investing in education and inspiring the next generation of global leaders.
Speaker Bios:
Susanna Kempe is the CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation, which invests in education globally to break cycles of poverty, reduce inequality and develop a new generation of ethical leaders. She is also CEO of Laidlaw Scholars Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in the start-ups of Laidlaw Scholars.
Susanna has been an angel investor and advisor to SaaS and circular economy start-ups. She is currently Chair of Laidlaw Schools Trust, a multi-academy Trust in the North East of England, and serves on the Board of the Fashion Retail Academy, the Laidlaw Opera Trust and the Advisory Council of the Reach Alliance at the University of Toronto.
A German-American, raised and educated in the UK, Susanna has been involved in globally trading businesses throughout her career, directing activity in the Americas, across continental Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Previous roles include Chair of B2B Marketing; Group Content and Marketing Partner for the critical issues advisory firm Brunswick; CEO of the world’s leading trend forecaster WGSN; Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer of the media powerhouse Emap and Investor Relations Director and CMO of the FTSE 100, Informa plc.
Susanna is adamant that it is a matter of both financial good sense and social justice that companies ensure that they have diversity in CEO-pipeline roles on their executive teams. One of the programmes that the Foundation funds is scholarships for women from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds at four of the world’s leading business schools providing them with the education and the networks to propel their careers.
She is equally passionate about the need for leaders who are both dynamic and decent; who demonstrate integrity as well as impact. Under her tenure, the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme, designed to develop a new generation of wise thinkers and good leaders, has expanded to 22 partner universities. The Foundation has just signed a new gift agreement with the University of Cambridge, led by the Kings College eLab.
WHEN: Thursday, 27 November 2025
5.30 PM – 6.30 PM: Fireside discussion in Keynes Lecture Theatre
6.30 PM – 7.00 PM: Drinks reception and networking in King’s Bar
WHERE: King’s College, Cambridge
TICKETS: Ticket information will be released soon.