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See your future self

Our stimulating speaker series, engaging content and comprehensive set of career services are designed to reveal a world of exciting career possibilities for students.

Our Mission

A luminary is a person who inspires others in a particular sphere.

Our mission is to inspire a world of future leaders, captains of industry and global changemakers by helping them to pursue careers they can love, excel at and, of course, get paid for. We connect students with inspiring people across a wide range of careers they might never have had access to – or even thought were possible – and help them to find their future selves.

Our Past Speaker Series

 

We’ve had the great pleasure of welcoming over 500 students from over 50 schools (either online or at various offices across Central London) to panel discussions with inspirational leaders in Business, Finance, Genomics, Green Energy, Media, Medicine and TV & Film. Get in touch to find out about next next events!

 

Finance Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included John Malik (COO of UK Wealth Management at Rothschild & Co), Mitesh Sheth MBE (Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset at Newton Investment Management) and Paul Tselentis (founding CEO of early-stage investment firm 24 Haymarket).

Green Energy Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Ashleigh Gray (Chief of Staff at Octopus Energy) and Mark Stringer (Co-founder of SKOOT) share advice on how to break into the Renewable Energy industry.

Medicine Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Dr John Chinegwundoh (Clinical Director for Medicine, Kingston Hospital), Dr Krista Farrell (consultant neurologist, Cleveland Clinic), and Dr Roisin O'Regan (GP, Sloane Medical Practice).

Business Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Stuart Fletcher (former CEO of Bupa and President of Diageo) and serial entrepreneur Ed Bussey talk about about the different departments in a typical company and share advice on what it takes to succeed in the business world.

Genomics Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Paul Jones (Founding CEO of Genomics Enterprises) explain what Genomics is and share advice on how one can break into this fascinating industry.

TV & Film Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Nana Mensah (award-winning actress, director and screenwriter) and Robin Shenfield (founder of an Oscar-winning visual effects studio).

Media Panel

Participating inspirational speakers included Alex Mahon (CEO of Channel 4 Television) explain what she does on a day-to-day basis.

Participating inspirational speakers included:

  • Ed Bussey

    Serial entrepreneur
    Business panel

  • Dr John Chinegwundoh

    Senior Physician in Respiratory Medicine & Clinical Director, Kingston Hospital
    Medicine panel

  • Dr Krista Farrell

    Consultant neurologist, Cleveland Clinic
    Medicine panel

  • Stuart Fletcher

    Former CEO of Bupa & President of Diageo
    Business panel

  • Poppy Foster

    Client Advisor, Wealth Management, Rothschild & Co.
    Finance panel

  • Ashleigh Gray

    Chief of Staff, Octopus Energy
    Green Energy panel

  • Paul Jones

    Founding CEO of Genomics Enterprises
    Genomics panel

  • Alex Mahon

    CEO, Channel 4
    Media panel

  • John Malik

    COO UK Wealth Management, Rothschild & Co.
    Finance panel

  • Nana Mensah

    Award-winning writer, director, producer and actress
    TV and Film panel

  • Vivienne Molokwu

    Senior Commissioning Editor, Channel 4
    Media Panel

  • Pete Nicklin

    MD, Investment Banking, Rothschild & Co.
    Finance panel

  • Dr Roisin O'Regan

    GP, Sloane Medical Practice
    Medicine panel

  • Emma Paterson

    Analyst, Investment Banking, Rothschild & Co.
    Finance panel

  • Robin Schenfield

    Founder of Oscar-winning visual effects studio, The Mill
    TV and Film panel

  • Mitesh Sheth MBE

    Chief Investment Officer for Multi-Asset at Newton Investment Management
    Finance panel

  • Mark Stringer

    Co-founder of SKOOT (helping businesses offset CO2 emissions)
    Green Energy panel

  • Paul Tapper

    Head of Portfolio Management, Merchant Banking, Rothschild & Co.
    Finance panel

  • Paul Tselentis

    Founding CEO of 24Haymarket (early stage investment firm)
    Finance panel

Career Guidance

  • Our 1-1 Career Guidance sessions focus on understanding your unique interests, strengths and abilities. Drawing from real-life work experience and psychometric testing, we are well-placed to help determine which career options would be best for you

Psychometric Testing

  • Psychometric tests assess an individual's aptitude, behaviour and personality. They are used to help identify your strengths and the development areas you’ll need to work on in order to pursue your recommended career paths. These tests are used alongside our career counselling sessions to provide a more robust recommendation on where to focus your attention professionally.

CV Writing

  • Whether creating your first CV from scratch or providing feedback on an existing CV, we know how best to get noticed by future employers as we have written and reviewed 100s of CVs (and know the specific approaches to help you stand out from the crowd). As part of this service we will also provide advice on how to gain the most relevant job experience for your industry of choice.

Schools & Universities

We partner with every type of school and university by serving as an extension of your Careers Team. Whether it be a bespoke speaker series or career mentorship, we tailor our approach following a consultation with you - and we always seek to be as inclusive as possible through our Sponsorship Programme.

Please get in touch for a free consultation to explore how we can support you and your students.

Reach out

Corporate Partners

Whether it be offering your work space as a venue for one of our speaker events, sponsoring tickets for a state school, serving as a career mentor or recommending speakers at your firm, we'd love to discuss how we can work together with you to inspire the next generation.

Reach out

Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • The speaker series gives young adults the unique opportunity to listen to leaders share what it's really like to work in their sectors, to ask them questions, and to go behind the scenes on a workplace tour that would not typically be accessible to them.

  • You have the option of purchasing a ticket to attend in person or online. We encourage you to attend at least one event in-person so that you can meet the speakers and tour the venue. Q&A will be open to all participants, not just those in the room.

  • Booking will open in August. Tickets will cost £30 to attend in-person and £15 via livestream.

  • We seek to be as inclusive as possible and do not want affordability to come in the way of exploring exciting career options. So we're delighted to offer a one-for-one programme where corporates, speakers and parents at independent schools can sponsor a ticket for a student from a state school to attend our event. Simply indicate your willingness to participate in the Registration form and we'll be in touch with more information.

  • We offer sponsored tickets if affordability is an issue. Simply sign up on the Registration Form (but hurry as tickets are limited!)

  • Our events currently cater to ages 14-20. We're looking to increase the age range in due course.

  • Parents and teachers are both welcome to join. Simply purchase a ticket and come along!

  • We offer a comprehensive package including one-on-one career guidance, career mentorship, psychometric testing, CV writing, interview prep and university guidance. We will be launching additional services soon. Simply fill out the registration form indicating which service(s) you're interested in and we'll get back to you shortly.

Meet our Founder

 

Nathalie du Preez
Founder and CEO

  • Originally from Cape Town, Nathalie has spent the past 20 years living in the US and UK. After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree magna cum laude in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School, she has enjoyed a career in various industries in New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris.

    Nathalie has worked at large corporates (Goldman Sachs and Colgate-Palmolive), has extensive ecommerce experience, both as an executive and board member (Net-a-Porter, Desenio, Quill Content, Jellyfish), and has ventured into more entrepreneurial roles, serving as Chief Operations Officer of two venture-backed startups (both of which went on to be acquired), and advising early-stage businesses.

    She founded Luminary as she feels passionate about empowering the next generation to think deeply and purposefully about their careers. She is passionate about education and sits on the Governing Board of Francis Holland Schools Trust.

    Nathalie has a young daughter and son and enjoys reading, the performance arts, the outdoors, and supporting the Springbok rugby team!