London, UK, 21 March 2024
Included, the global, impact-led diversity and inclusion consultancy, has appointed Michelle Sequeira to be the new CEO.
Michelle will replace Stephen Frost, the founder and current CEO, who steps down at the end of March, after 10 years running Included. Stephen will remain on the Board as Chair, with a focus on key clients, and work with Michelle on a transition and handover period.
Michelle said, “Helping build inclusive organisations is why Included exists. This is something that has never been more needed than now. Included’s client roster is phenomenal, the team is incredibly talented, and running Included is an amazing opportunity that will utilise every sinew of my commercial, client, product and people leadership. I am so looking forward to building on what the team have achieved to date, and fully realising the potential of this wonderful company for its clients and its people.”
Michelle joins Included from human capital consulting firm Mercer, where she founded and built the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consulting practice in the UK. She has since expanded the practice across Europe and the international markets, successfully partnering with clients across all industries and geographies. She has an MPhil from University of Cambridge, a BSc from Newcastle University, and achieved a CIPD accredited MSc in Human Resource Management from Birkbeck University of London. Michelle was awarded CIO Views’ 2023 Most Influential Women in D&I, and was the European Diversity Awards’ Highly Commended Diversity Champion of the Year in 2022.
Stephen said, “Over the last decade, we’ve built Included into a leading global, impact-led Diversity & Inclusion consultancy. The team comes from academia, business & all kind of backgrounds, dedicating their expertise to building inclusive organisations everywhere. It’s been an honour and a privilege to steer this talented team through the pandemic, through economic cycles, through the highs and lows of consulting life.
When you’re selling already established consulting services, like accountancy or law, it’s management. When you’re advocating inclusion, it’s leadership. I am so excited we have recruited a leader of Michelle’s calibre to take Included to the next stage of its impact journey.”
Included is a full-service diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy operating in markets worldwide. It exists to build inclusive organisations. The company’s number one objective is impact, as can be assessed quantifiably with its patented Inclusion Diagnostic and as documented in its acclaimed annual impact reports. It has positively impacted hundreds of client organisations in its ten years’ existence.
Included was founded in 2012, as a legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, widely considered to be a landmark event in terms of accessibility and inclusion. Since then, Included has grown to achieve notable impact in a range of sectors, from helping Wellcome Trust, AstraZeneca, and GSK to improve health outcomes in the health sciences space; to helping Cloudflare, Tech Nation and LeanIX improve algorithm design and tech accessibility for everyone. Included has worked with palaces, governments, sports teams, and over half the FTSE100 firms across the full suite of its offerings:
Strategy, for example helping Wellcome Trust in its mission of improving health outcomes for everyone.
Data, for example using Included’s award winning Inclusion Diagnostic to measure the key drivers of inclusion and performance at the Bank of England.
Governance, for example, helping Ofcom determine the best way to use its networks groups and apportion accountability amongst Executive champions.
Leadership, helping global pharma company AstraZeneca develop inclusive leaders from its Executive Committee down.
Systems, for example reviewing a leading FTSE 100’s recruitment process and identifying 116 areas of bias that could be addressed to improve performance.
There have been several case studies written on Included and its work, most recently by Cambridge University Judge Business School. Its work is featured in 4 books, spanning the last decade:
The Inclusion Imperative (2014)
Inclusive Talent Management (2016)
Building an Inclusive Organisation (2019)
The Key to Inclusion (2022)
If you would like to meet Michelle, Stephen or any of the team, or for any questions or more information, please just get in touch.
About Michelle Sequeira
About Stephen Frost
Included would like to invite industry professionals and media to get in touch for interviews with Michelle and/or Stephen here.
Please reach out to us anytime to have a conversation with one of our team to discuss our making your organisation more diverse and more inclusive. To talk to clients of Included who can speak to the challenges and opportunities of this work, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
