Redefining leadership, opportunities of AI and risk taking addressed by East Midlands young professionals

Building a growth mindset, challenging and embracing the potential of AI and building self-awareness were among themes explored by East Midlands 18-35’s at the 2025 Generation Next Leadership and Growth Conference on 19th March.

Taking place at Cleaver & Wake in Nottingham, the event was delivered by Generation Next, a network of young professionals powered by East Midlands Chamber, aiming to bring together and inspire young people on their journey toward leadership.

Keynote speaker James Peach – a global marketing leader – shared insight into unlocking growth potential, effective planning and the importance of risk taking.

Leadership Specialist Kul Mahay gave a talk covering themes like the value of building relationships and harnessing a high performance culture.

A panel also looked at opportunities for young people in business, while East Midlands Chamber’s Director of Resources Lucy Robinson shared data on what young people want in terms of salary expectations, training and work-life balance.

Generation Next Chair Scarlett Canavan opened the conference. Speaking afterwards she said: “This conference was really useful and I would always recommend to young people to get involved in networks like Generation Next, not only for the networking side of things and the ability to build their connections, but for the opportunity to learn for personal and professional development. We all start somewhere, so I would just say get involved, where you can say yes to opportunities and being present is the first step.

“The Generation Next Awards are open for entry now and there’s pretty much a category for everybody to get involved. I would encourage people to either apply themselves and push themselves out their comfort zone or nominate a colleague.”

Leadership and Performance Coach James Peach, speaking after delivering his keynote presentation said: “What a pleasure it’s been to be at the Generation Next Leadership and Growth Conference among so many budding entrepreneurs and business leaders. There is absolutely no age bracket for leadership under any circumstances.

"In the modern world we see a lot more young people showing leadership skills and qualities than ever before, but also the way careers work now and the way the corporate ladder is organised, people can grow more quickly and escalate faster up the ranks. There's never been a better time to be a young leader in the UK.

“My advice to young people is to make noise, and that means networking. Talk to people in rooms and get into conversations. Find new people to talk to who have more experience than you, more understanding of the industry you're looking to go into. That’s absolutely critical to get any idea off the ground.”

Generation Next Lead and East Midlands Chamber Director of Resources Lucy Robinson shared findings from the latest Generation Next survey. Afterwards she said: “Getting to connect with different people and hearing so many people speak really inspires, hearing stories of their resilience and perspective on business. It's so important to take on board as leaders, as future leaders and take things away and utilise them as a business.

“Using the growth mindset, my advice to young people is to learn as much as possible from other people, see what's going well, what isn't working, whether that’s from leaders or colleagues, take it all in and try and utilise that.”

Leadership Specialist, Kul Mahay spoke about his journey which has included work in police forces, universities, fire services and the oil industry in the UK. Afterwards he said: “To have so many young leaders gathered at the Generation Next conference, chomping at the bit to be the best they can be is so special. Having ambition or a sense of purpose is very important and I always say purpose is a sense of knowing the car that you're in and why you're in that car, why you bought that car. Passion is the fuel that you put into your car. And mission is knowing where you're going to go. All these are critical ingredients.”