Speakers

Lorraine Copes – a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur, board member, consultant, writer, and coach– has over two decades of experience as an executive director in the hospitality industry. In 2020, recognising the lack of representation for people of colour in influential positions and the supply chain, she founded Be Inclusive Hospitality CIC. Lorraine serves as a board member for WSTA and Slinger and holds the position of Food & Drink Editor at Black Business Magazine. She judges for prestigious industry awards, including the Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste Awards, Bold Woman Awards UK by Veuve Clicquot, Uber Eats Restaurant Awards, and the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards. In 2022, Lorraine was honoured as the GQ Food & Drink Innovator of the Year and received special recognition in the Code Hospitality 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality list. She also won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Precious Awards. In 2023, Lorraine was recognised in the NatWest and Pioneers Post WISE100: Top Women in Social Enterprise.