On Thursday 12 March, Shiplake College hosted the fourth event in the Business Lunch series. As part of the Shiplake CONNECTED careers and mentoring programme, this growing initiative continues to bring together members of the Shiplake community for panel-style discussions centred on key industries and emerging career pathways. This latest Business Lunch focussed on one of the most transformative forces shaping the modern world: Artificial Intelligence.

Held in the lecture theatre and livestreamed for those unable to attend in person, the lunchtime event featured a panel discussion led by Headmaster, Mr Tyrone Howe. The panel brought together four members of the Shiplake community whose careers place them at the forefront of AI innovation and application. Panellists included:

Trevor Benstock, Founder of Campus‑XR and Director of IT Services at The Bradfield Group, whose work uses VR and AI to enhance educational delivery and outcomes.

Harry Powell, a leading figure in enterprise data science and part of Endava’s Data & AI Pod, specialising in multi‑agent AI systems and graph‑based machine learning.

Liz Rumsey, Head of Product Strategy for Vodafone Business UK, overseeing innovation from early proof‑of‑concept through to product lifecycle management.

Zoe Crowder, Delivery Executive at Google Cloud with over 20 years’ experience turning AI concepts into real‑world solutions for global organisations.

With a mix of industries and experience, the panel offered our audience a rich and varied insight into how AI is reshaping workplaces across sectors, from education and telecommunications to engineering, finance and global tech.

The event concluded with a Q&A session, with questions about the opportunities AI creates and how students can best prepare for careers in this fast‑moving field.

If you missed the event, you are able to access the livestream of the discussion here.

We are delighted with the continued success of our Business Lunch series - details about the next event will be released very soon so keep an eye out!

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and, of course, to our fantastic panellists for making it such an interesting and engaging discussion.