The Speakers
Dr. Karen Lange, Member of the Board for Human Resources, Bentley
Dr. Karen Lange joined Bentley in September 2021 as Member of the Board for Human Resources. Before this, she held various management positions in the Volkswagen Group Human Resources department, including Head of Global Assignments from 2013, and she was appointed Head of Human Resources at the Volkswagen joint venture Northvolt Zwei GmbH & Co. KG in Salzgitter in 2020.
Prior to joining the Volkswagen Group in 2002, Karen taught at the University of Hanover and researched at the Institute of Industrial Relations at the University of California, Berkeley (USA). Karen is a Silver Member and active supporter of the Automotive 30% Club.
![Mark Raban, Chief Executive Officer, Group 1 Automotive UK [photograph]](https://www.automotive30club.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mark-Raban-Chief-Executive-Officer-Group-1-Automotive-UK-1-1.jpg)
Mark Raban, Chief Executive Officer of U.K. Operations, Group 1
Mark was appointed Group 1’s Chief Executive Officer of U.K. Operations in October 2024. Mark joined Group 1 with over 20 years of executive experience in automotive retail operations and finance. Prior to joining Group 1, Mark progressed from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Executive Officer at Lookers Motor Group, a dealership group in the U.K. and Ireland. Prior to joining Lookers, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Marshall Motor Holdings and held senior finance roles at companies such as Inchcape Retail, Selfridges, and Borders. Mark holds a Master of Business Administration from Strathclyde Business School and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the U.K.
Julia Philpott
Julia is an empathetic coach and skilled facilitator who draws on 30 years of operational, talent development, HR and leadership experience to help teams and individuals enhance their performance. Julia has a background in corporate leadership development, with Ford Motor Company, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Asia Pacific Breweries and Management Futures.
Julia has been an executive coach for 16 years and has particular interest and expertise in working with women in male-dominated sectors, e.g. automotive, banking and finance and technology. She typically works with senior executives, with a diverse mix of clients ranging from the first female colonel in the British Army, to the curator of the art collection at a famous English stately home.
Julia believes that every individual’s development journey is unique, and respects that uniqueness in the coaching relationship by using an eclectic mix of leadership and psychological models and coaching tools. The key characteristics of Julia’s coaching style are her warmth, insight and solutions-focus.
Julia is especially passionate about helping organisations to build diverse leadership teams. As an expert in resilience and overcoming the impostor phenomenon, she particularly enjoys working with under-represented groups to empower them to be (more) successful. She also enjoys delivering interactive and engaging seminars for women in leadership. Client organisations include PepsiCo, Toyota, Sky, UK Sport, McLaren, Dyson, Mazda UK, the ABRSM, Stellantis, Ernst & Young and Nissan.
When she’s not coaching, Julia enjoys running, swimming and hiking and plays the oboe in two local orchestras. She is married to Paul and they have two gorgeous grown-up children and two very stupid cats.
About this session
The purpose of our final session is to ensure that delegates leave the conference with practical actions they can take. Our panellists will share examples of practical action that both industry leaders and high potential women can implement to increase the number of women in management roles. We will then engage in a collaborative discussion to share additional actions and solutions.
Watch Online
In this section…
- Conference (2025) Change the Game – Unlock Inner Potential
- Productivity Versus Presenteeism – Rethinking the Automotive Workplace For Today’s Top Talent
- Have the Courage to Try
- Women in Automotive Leadership – we can do it, so can you
- Unlocking the Potential of Working Mums
- How Inclusion Unlocks the Potential of Both Men and Women
- Unlocking the Potential of People with ADHD
- Practical Actions to Ensure Women Walk the Path to Management
- Conference Gallery (2025)
- Conference Feedback Survey