Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE

Neil joined WIG as CEO in May 2023 at a time when the charity’s purpose of encouraging better leadership, dialogue and collaboration across sectors for social, economic and environmental benefit is more vital than ever.

 Neil spent over seven years as CEO at the charity WorldSkills UK, a network for raising training standards in apprenticeships, technical and professional education to world-class levels. Neil was previously Deputy Director-General and Chief Operating Officer at the business organisation the CBI, working for 12 years at the highest level of the business and government interface nationally and internationally.

 Neil was also the former CEO of OUTstanding, a business network for LGBT leaders and their allies, and former deputy chair of Stonewall, the LGBT equality charity. He holds a PhD in race equality in the workplace and was awarded an OBE for services to diversity and inclusion in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List. In 2019, Neil was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Middlesex University for services to STEM education.