Keynote Speakers

Ciaran Donaghy is QAA's Lead Policy Officer (Devolved Nations), leading the Agency's engagement across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. He works with governments, regulators, and sector bodies to ensure QAA's role, expertise and strategic priorities are well understood and effectively championed within each nation's policy landscape.

Ciaran helps QAA navigate the UK's increasingly divergent devolved systems, from helping shape the Agency's stance to legislative and regulatory conversations, building relationships with senior stakeholders, and translating QAA's technical positions into clear, accessible messages. His work spans tertiary system reform, regulation, access and lifelong learning, and emerging challenges such as generative AI and academic integrity.

He is a co-author of QAA's recent State of the Nation report, The Perfect Storm: AI, assessment and a sector under pressure, which examines the impact generative AI is having on higher education across the UK.

Through this work, Ciaran supports QAA's mission to safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education, positioning the Agency as a credible, constructive and informed voice in devolved policy debates.

Zoe Wright is a Registered Midwife and the Founder and CEO of The Real Birth Company, an award-winning digital health organisation dedicated to improving access to maternity education and reducing health inequalities.

Drawing on her clinical experience and passion for empowering families, Zoe founded The Real Birth Company to transform how birth preparation is delivered. Under her leadership, the RealBirth Programme has grown to support 40% of NHSE maternity services, helping thousands of women and birthing people access personalised, evidence-based education in multiple languages.

Zoe has led the development of innovative approaches that combine digital technology, data insights, community engagement, and NHS partnership working to improve maternity outcomes and patient experience. Her work has focused particularly on addressing inequalities in maternity care, including the launch of the UK's first British Sign Language birth preparation programme.

An advocate for innovation within the NHS, Zoe has successfully secured and delivered national programmes supported by organisations including Innovate UK and NHS partners. She continues to champion the use of technology to support both maternity professionals and the families they serve.

Professor Ilan Alon is Professor of International Business and Strategy at Corvinus University in Hungary and the University of Agder in Norway. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Emerging Markets, where he leads the journal's development in the areas of emerging economies, international business, strategy and institutional change.

His research focuses on international business, emerging markets, artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, digital transformation and global strategy. A central theme of his work is how technological and institutional change affects the internationalisation, governance and competitiveness of firms. His recent research examines the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in international business, the cross-country determinants of cryptocurrency adoption, and the implications of blockchain-based systems for the coordination and control of international transactions.

Professor Alon has held academic and visiting positions in Israel, Norway, Hungary and the United States, including appointments at institutions such as Harvard University and Georgetown University. He has extensive international experience in teaching, research, academic leadership and executive education, and has delivered lectures, seminars and workshops across Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East.

He is particularly known for connecting established international-business theories with emerging technological developments, including artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, blockchain and Web3. His keynote at A2:BETH 2026 will explore how AI and cryptocurrencies are reshaping international business, cross-border decision-making, global governance and the future of multinational enterprises.

Mike Saks is Emeritus Professor at the University of Suffolk, and Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster and University of York, UK, as well as the University of Toronto, Canada. He is Chair of the UN-endorsed organisation for International Responsible Leadership and a member of two WHO Technical Expert Groups.

With a doctorate from the LSE, he has been awarded six prestigious Fellowships by different organisations. He has also been a member/chair of many health and other committees, and has advised professions, corporations and governments internationally. He is a past President/Vice President of the International Sociological Association Research Committees on Professions and Health.

He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Professions and Organization (Oxford University Press) and Co-editor of the Sociology of Health Professions book series (Policy Press). He has been Dean of Health and served on the Executive/Board of six UK higher education institutions, including as Provost/CEO.

His publications include over two dozen books, and he has given many presentations internationally on health, professions, regulation and leadership based on his global research.