Larisa Lavinia Lucaciu is a UK&I Business Transformation Leader at Lenovo, leading the UKI Vector Project and focusing on the seamless integration of the Infrastructure Server business into Lenovo's PC and Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) portfolio. Her work supports a unified operating model, accelerates commercial alignment, and enables a true "One Lenovo" approach across the UK and Ireland. Larisa joined Lenovo in 2019, previously holding senior leadership roles across strategic partnerships and territory marketing, where she helped position Lenovo's Infrastructure Solutions Group as a top-three market player. She brings extensive experience from organisations including BNP Paribas, TD Synnex, Digital River, and Cisco, and was recognised as CRN Woman of the Year (2022) for her impact on the channel and commitment to diversity. Bio – Extended Version Larisa Lavinia Lucaciu is a UK&I Business Transformation Leader at Lenovo, where she leads the UKI Vector Project, an enterprise-level transformation initiative focused on the smooth integration of Lenovo's Infrastructure Server business into the wider PC and Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) portfolio. In this role, Larisa works across functions to align strategy, operations and partner engagement, enabling scale, consistency, and long-term growth across the UK and Ireland. Prior to this role, Larisa held senior leadership positions within Lenovo across strategic partnerships and territory marketing. As UK&I Strategic Partnerships Leader, she managed alliance relationships across both ISG and IDG, delivering the "One Lenovo" strategy to drive commercial growth and partner engagement. Earlier, as UKI Territory Marketing Leader for ISG, she played a pivotal role in expanding market share, strengthening brand presence, and supporting Lenovo's rise to third place in the infrastructure market. Larisa joined Lenovo in 2019, bringing deep expertise from her role as Head of Marketing and Digital Transformation Leader at BNP Paribas Bank, where she shaped both B2B and consumer strategies. Her earlier career includes senior leadership roles at TD Synnex, Digital River, and Cisco, where she built and scaled high-performing sales, marketing, and channel organisations across IT software, hardware, and financial services. Recognised for her impact on the channel and her commitment to advancing women in technology, Larisa was awarded CRN Woman of the Year in 2022. With a career spanning transformation, partnerships, and go-to-market leadership, she continues to drive meaningful change at scale within Lenovo and the wider channel ecosystem.

Anita is an experienced IT channel professional with a strong background in marketing, PR, and events. She has been with GTDC since 2008, where she leads PR and event initiatives, including the GTDC Summits in EMEA and APJ. Earlier in her career, among others she held leadership roles in vendor management and sales at Ingram Micro Europe and was responsible for Benelux, Central, and Eastern Europe at Artisoft. Through these roles, she has built extensive relationships with senior executives across distributors, vendors, and the analyst community, giving her deep insight into the global IT channel ecosystem.

A motivational Global Keynote Speaker, Author and Entrepreneur Julie Simpson is Founder and CEO of IT channel marketing agency ResourceiT, that has delivered over 9,000 projects resulting in £8bn of new business opportunity for its clients.

Passionate about Diversity and Inclusion, Julie is Co-Founder of global NFP The WIT Network (18,000 members in 80 countries) and co-founder of TC4RE (Technology Channel for Racial Equality). Alongside Microsoft, Insight, Softcat, Computacenter, SoftwareONE and other market-leaders, TC4RE seeks to re-balance racial representation in the UK tech industry.

Previous winner of CRN UK Executive Mentor of the Year, Julie has also achieved the Number 1 Session at Microsoft Inspire (from over 740 sessions), and has also hosted the Women of the Channel Europe event in London which attracts hundreds of high-profile technology leaders.

Julie is a well-respected, connected member of the IT industry who thrives on making things happen.

Anjana Srinivasan is senior director at AMD where she oversees the Commercial Channel sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As an accomplished channel leader, Anjana has more than 20 years of experience across marketing, sales, and operations, along with a deep understanding of the global technology landscape. Her strategic approach and proven leadership have consistently delivered growth and strengthened partner ecosystems.

Anjana joins the organization from Microsoft, where she most recently served as UK Field Lead for Device Partner Sales. Prior to that, she held the role of Windows Consumer Category Lead for the UK and Ireland. Earlier in her career, she spent twelve years at Lenovo in various senior leadership roles, contributing significantly to the company’s channel strategy and partner engagement efforts. Throughout her career, Anjana has led key initiatives focused on enhancing collaboration with OEMs, distributors, and resellers-driving innovation, expanding market reach, and supporting the launch of several major OEM brand product franchises.

She began her professional journey as an architect before earning an MBA

Zoe Westwood spearheads innovative end user market strategies and oversees the dynamic UK & Ireland end user cluster, driving transformative results and shaping customer success across these key segments.

Prior to her role as Senior Sales Director UK&I and interim Managing Director UK&I cluster, Zoe has held several positions at HP. She joined HP in 2015 and has since evolved her career from Enterprise Sales Print Specialist, Global Corporate & Large Enterprise District Manager to Northwest Europe Enablement Director and UK&I End User Sales Director.

Before joining HP, she has had an impressive 10-year career leading up to the role of Head of End User Sales at Brother.

Zoe is known for her ability to deliver high-impact results and above all fostering collaborative teams. With her commitment to fostering an inclusive team culture, Zoe brings both experience and a culture aware approach to leadership. Zoe strives to create environments where diverse perspectives are celebrated, collaboration is encouraged, and innovation thrives through a respectful, engaging workplace. Zoe has a reputation as trusted leader who inspires & empowers others. In addition to this Zoe’s leads with an approach that blends decisive leadership with empathy. Location: Zoe is based in Lichfield. Where she lives with her 14-year-old daughter Rae.

Sara Yirrell is currently consulting editor at CRN and has worked on the editorial side of the brand since July 2000, holding various roles including Editorial Director and Editor. She went freelance in 2017, and also works with a number of channel-focused companies both in the UK and further afield, specialising in content, marketing and communication strategy. She started as a journalist in 1997 on daily regional newspaper the Northampton Chronicle covering crime, business, education and other local news.