Kelli Read

Kelli Read is an experienced and versatile general counsel with an extensive background in finance, M&A, corporate, commercial, contractual and risk management matters, gained over 25 years’ global experience in a variety of environments. Kelli has worked in both the public and private sector, in private practice and in-house,– in legal, business and leadership roles - including law firms (King & Wood Mallesons, Herbert Smith Freehills), investment banking (Nomura International), financial services (RBS Group/WorldPay & BNY Mellon), private equity (Terra Firma Capital Partners & GI Partners), a non-departmental public body (QCDA), professional services (PwC & AlixPartners), technology services (SQS Group and Shift Left), higher education (The University of Law) and as an executive (Commercial Director) in portfolio business operations in the healthcare and education sectors (Cambian Group).Kelli was born in and was first qualified and practised in Australia. She was later admitted as a UK solicitor in 1992 and has lived and practised law in the UK since 1996. Kelli is London-based and balances a portfolio career working as a general counsel adviser to SMEs and as a consultant to in-house legal departments, specialising in the training and coaching of lawyers and teams, developing strategies and building skills for better personal performance, team effectiveness and organisational impact. Kelli has a particular interest in legal team assessment, team building and leadership coaching. She is accredited in individual (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue®) and team emotional intelligence assessment (Team Ei Survey) and was recently certified in the Bates Executive Presence Index (ExPI™) assessment tool.Kelli is an engaging presenter who challenges participants to think critically about how to meet the complex challenges faced by in-house counsel and what the legal department should be considering and doing to tailor itself to and be aligned with business needs