Pride in Leadership: Matt Craigie Atherton Joins The emPOWER Breakfast

A powerful conversation on inclusive leadership in the creative industry

The emPOWER Breakfast returns on Wednesday 12th November 2025 at Ogilvy UK, Sea Containers House, London, for the final session in its 2025 emPOWERMENt series, closing this year’s men’s programme with an inspiring look at inclusion, authenticity and leadership from within.

This month’s guest is Matt Craigie Atherton, Chief Production Officer of NCA & Ogilvy UK. With a career spanning leading creative agencies including Mother London and adam&eveDDB, Matt has been at the forefront of some of the most celebrated campaigns in modern advertising, including John Lewis’ ‘The Long Wait’. Known for his instinct for collaboration and his commitment to nurturing talent, he continues to champion creativity with purpose and integrity.

In the latter part of the event, Matt Foster, Director of Inclusion & Impact at Ogilvy UK and Non-Executive Director at Outvertising, will join the conversation. Recognised by The Drum as “adland’s activist”, Matt brings a wealth of experience in inclusive strategy and cultural transformation. His award-winning work has supported global brands such as Coca-Cola, Danone and Jameson, helping them embed belonging at every level of business.

Together they will explore “Pride in Leadership: Creating Inclusive Agency Culture from Within”, an open and thought-provoking discussion on allyship, visibility and the responsibility of creative leaders to build cultures where everyone can thrive.

Since its launch, The emPOWER Breakfast has become a vital forum for authentic dialogue within the advertising, media and communications industries. Each session brings together senior leaders and emerging talent to share lived experiences, build empathy and inspire change.

Tickets for this event are now on sale, with demand expected to be high. To join the mailing list, please contact athene@theempowerbreakfast.co.uk.

A huge thank you to all our sponsors for this men’s event, and for supporting the final emPOWERMENt event of 2025. In particular, heartfelt thanks to Ogilvy for hosting us in their incredible space, NCA for their organisation, and very special thanks to Alex Katz, Dom Seymour and Francine Linsey at Bite Collective, and Tim Page and Jody Allison at Heads Up Production for sponsoring the event refreshments.

Finally, an enormous thank you to all our main sponsors for supporting emPOWER throughout the year and for helping us bring these important conversations to life.