General Guidelines for Speakers and Chairs

Welcome to the ICGN Conference

We are delighted that you have agreed to take part in the event as a speaker or moderator. Below are some guidelines which will assist in your preparation for the conference. Do let us know if you have any questions, we are always happy to help.

This page includes information on:

1.  Important information, including registration, arriving in Toronto, travel to the Conference venue and more.

2.  Role of speakers & chairs

3.  Requirements for slides (Please note; panel discussions should avoid slides)

4.  Submitting your photo/biography

1. Important Information 

Registration
If you are still yet to register, please register to attend the Conference via the link below, selecting ‘Speaker’ as your role. 

ICGN Autumn Conference – Registration

Please register ASAP and no later than 28th October. As a speaker, we welcome your attendance to the full event if your diary permits, on a complimentary basis. You may register your complimentary ticket by choosing the speaker role and adding torontospk26 to the coupon code section.

Arrival to the Conference
Please arrive at least 30 minutes before your session to ensure you have time to collect your badge and be fitted with a lapel mic.

Emergency Phone Number
Please provide us with a phone number to contact you in case of emergencies. We will not keep this number on file. 

Late Arrival
If you are running late, please let us know as soon as you anticipate a potential delay by calling or emailing one of the contacts listed:

Events team – events@icgn.org 
Elizabeth Thomas, Events Director – elizabeth.thomas@icgn.org  
Hannah Gardner, Events Manager– hannah.gardner@icgn.org 
Amiirah Nobeebaccus, Events & Logistics Manager – amiirah.nobeebaccus@icgn.org 
Claudia Rossetti, Senior Education & Event Executive – claudia.rossetti@icgn.org

Dress Code
Business attire.

Conference Date
Wednesday 4th – Thursday 5th November 2026

Conference Venue
University of Toronto, Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus
08 College Street
Toronto
M5G 0C6
Canada

Hotel
Book your preferred conference hotel here 
Please contact events@icgn.org if you have any difficulties.  

Media
There may be members of the press attending the conference, if you would like a copy of the press list please request this. Sessions can be listed as Chatham House should you think this appropriate. Please discuss this with the events team or on your planning call. 

We will be announcing speakers on LinkedIn, it would be helpful if you could comment and highlight the session to your network. 

2. Roles of Speakers & Moderators

Introduction by the Moderator

The moderator will introduce you with reference to the biography you have supplied, building up your authority on the topic.

Panels
Format for 45 minute session:

•  Panel discussion (25 mins, including a 5 minute introduction) 

•  Moderator Facilitated Audience Q&A (15 mins) 

•  Wrap up (5 mins)

Format for 60 minute session:

•  Panel discussion (40 mins) 

  1. Introduction (5 minutes)
  2. Panel sesion (35 mins)

•  Moderator Facilitated Audience Q&A (15 mins)

•  Wrap up (5 mins)

Discussion topics and questions will be confirmed in advance via a planning call conducted with all panel participants and led by the session outline and panel moderator. During the planning call the format of the session will be confirmed as well as how audience Q&A will be run. We do not use slides for panel discussions. 

Moderators

The role of Moderator
As Moderator, your role is to facilitate the flow of conversation, bringing energy to the discussion and ensuring that the audience are engaged and enjoying the panel. Please be dynamic, engage the audience’s interest and welcome participation as much as possible. This is your opportunity to shape the learning of conference participants, and your role is critical to the success of the Conference.

Important notes: 

•  We will not use slides

•  Please keep to time, we do not have the capacity to run over as our schedule is full

•  Please ensure that you go to audience Q&A 10 mins before the end of the session, have backup questions for the very unlikely event that there are no audience questions. 

Plenary Discussion Planning Call
We will host a short 30–60-minute planning call (as mentioned above) prior to the event with the speakers in your session, .

A session guide will be circulated, please ensure that the discussion stays on the allocated topics, we have a lot of sessions and we want to make sure each panel is distinct and that we do not discuss the same topics repeatedly. 

We will join you for the meeting, to assist with any issues that may arise.

In the planning call you should:

•  Suggest how the panel could run and discuss this format with the other speakers

•  Confirm you will be introducing the speakers 

•  Remind the speakers of the necessity to keep to time 

•  Confirm if you will be conducting audience Q&A at the end of the session 

•  Q&A will be done live with handheld mics

•  Discuss briefly which topics each speaker is comfortable discussing and if there are any topics they would prefer not to be asked about.

Closing the presentations
The Panel should be brought to a close to give you time to make a few summary points (5 mins). 

Timekeeping
Please be fair and strict with time control to ensure every speaker has their agreed or an equal share of airtime, and we keep strictly to the schedule. Please also ensure you leave time for audience Q & A. If there are still audience questions at the end of the session, please explain we have run out of time. Your attention to the schedule is greatly appreciated.

AV Desk
You will need to be fitted with your microphone at the AV desk before your session. Members of staff will show you the way on arrival. Please return your microphone to the AV desk immediately after your panel.

Meeting your speakers in advance
Please try and meet the speakers of your panel before the session.  Members of staff will be available at the registration desk to assist in introducing you to speakers onsite. We ask that all speakers arrive at least 30 minutes before their session begins.

3. Presentations 

PowerPoint Presentations
PowerPoint Presentations will not be used for panel sessions, as they focus instead on a discussion/debate between the panellists.

If you are using a PowerPoint presentation for keynote speeches or expert briefings, then please email your slides to events@icgn.org before 23rd October to ensure that there is time for us to proof all slides and send across to the AV team to check all formatting appears as intended.

Format: For any presentations we recommend the following:

•  Please use slide format 16:9 to ensure we can merge it to our main presentation

•  Use minimal text, as delegates often find text-heavy slides hard to read

•  Text should have a clear font and should be size 18 or larger

•  Make visuals (charts/graphics) large enough to be read by a person sitting on the back row

•  Be aware of the amount of slides you are using, less is usually more. A rule of thumb is one PowerPoint slide per three minutes of talking

•  Please rehearse your presentation slides and keep to time

•  Please let us know If you will be controlling the slides yourself or would like the AV team to do this.

Content from the panels, including slides, may be uploaded to the ICGN website after the event. Please let us know if you do not want your slides shared publicly.

4. Submitting your photo/biography

Format of Profiles and Photos of Speakers and Chairs
Please provide a short biography that describe your position and your organisation, followed by your responsibilities and experience that demonstrate to delegates how you are well placed to talk on the subject(s). 

Please send a photo of yourself; to ensure the image does not appear pixelated online or print please ensure the size is at least 400KB.

Please send your bio and photo to events@icgn.org ASAP for inclusion in our marketing.

Contacts

Events team – events@icgn.org 

Elizabeth Thomas, Events Director – elizabeth.thomas@icgn.org  

Hannah Gardner, Events Manager– hannah.gardner@icgn.org  +447968977225

Amiirah Nobeebaccus, Events & Logistics Manager – amiirah.nobeebaccus@icgn.org 

Claudia Rossetti, Senior Education & Event Executive – claudia.rossetti@icgn.org

Please note the ICGN Secretariat is based in the UK and work UK hours.

ICGN Conference – Speaker Information

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ICGN Conference – Speaker Information

Will Farrell

Federated Hermes
Assistant Manager, EOS
London

Will co-leads the climate change theme at EOS, the stewardship arm of Federated Hermes Limited, where his coverage includes companies in Europe and Australia, primarily financial services, energy, chemicals, and materials. Prior to joining EOS, Will worked in the energy and infrastructure investment banking team at Macquarie Capital, where he specialised in renewable energy. Before that, Will held a number of roles across the UK climate policy space, including as a parliamentary researcher for Rt. Hon. Chris Skidmore MP on climate and energy issues, and as a climate and economic policy analyst at a diplomatic institute. He was appointed as a voluntary adviser to Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26, on preparations for COP26 after co-founding a Westminster climate policy group in 2019, which engaged MPs and Members of the House of Lords to advocate for more ambition on climate action in public policy. Will has a Bachelor’s degree (1st Class Honours) in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.