UK Leaders’ Forum 2025: Leading our clinical future together

Taking place over two days, the IVC Evidensia UK Leaders’ Forum 2025 focused on the theme Leading our clinical future together. 

Held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, this year’s event welcomed over 1,000 IVC Evidensia leaders from across its UK practice and support network. IVC Evidensia were also joined by their generous partners, without which this year’s event wouldn’t have been possible. 

The UK Leaders’ Forum 2025 agenda 

Over the two days, delegates took part in a range of interactive workshops, and attended panel discussions, expert talks, and a lively exhibition. Overall, the event provided a great opportunity for colleagues to connect, share knowledge and reflect on collective achievements.  

New to this year’s UK Leaders’ Forum were ‘lightning talks’ – short, focused sessions covering a variety of clinical and non-clinical topics. For delegates, these 10-minute talks helped maximise learning while ensuring more time for networking. 

Watch this video below to see a snapshot of the UK Leaders’ Forum 2025. 

Day One plenary speakers 

Day One commenced with key insights from UK & Ireland CEO Duncan Phillips, including the top performing practices, and progress against their clinical strategy. 

Key achievements include: 

• 30,000 animals benefitting from 15 published Care Frameworks 
• Pet Health Club campaigns reach millions, helping educate on preventative healthcare and responsible pet ownership 
• 1,000 signups to the new Equine Health Plan, a dedicated preventative care scheme for horse owners

Sharing progress so far, Duncan highlighted the opportunity to care for many more thousands of animals by focusing on preventative health.  

Further presentations from Richard Hooker and Rob Keates explored next steps for IVC Evidensia’s clinical strategy. Later, delegates heard from Richard Cristofoli, Kate Turney and Rob Keates on evolving client expectations and how to improve the client journey using customer feedback.

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Day Two plenary speakers 

Day Two on the main stage began with a discussion from Daniella Dos Santos and Scott Fishburn about how IVC Evidensia has delivered on its people promise in the last year. 

People initiatives include: 

• Opening two Academy Training Centres in Birmingham and Dunfermline, where 430 colleagues have trained in the first two months 
• Launching the Clinical Voice Group and the Colleague Forum to enhance feedback channels 
• Introducing the Colleague Care Hub, a one-stop shop for colleague workplace support, mental health resources and more. 

Afterwards leaders looked ahead to what tomorrow could hold via a panel discussion on the practice of the future. 

Keynote speakers 

Leadership expert Sally Earnshaw brightened the main stage on Day One with her talk, Leading in a changing landscape. She explored different leadership approaches and provided delegates with insightful tools to incite positive workplace culture.   

On Day Two, delegates had the pleasure of being joined by clinical keynote speaker Dr. Jim Down, a consultant in intensive care and anaesthesia.  During his time onstage, Jim shared the unique, high-profile ICU cases he has worked on and focused on resilience in the workplace.

Exhibition stands and networking opportunities 

Across two exhibition rooms, 28 sponsor stands showcased the latest in veterinary technology, products, and services through live demonstrations and interactive challenges. During the exhibition, delegates had the opportunity to discover new innovations, ask questions, and network with both industry experts and colleagues. 

The exhibition also included representatives from our charity partners and a dedicated Support Zone, where delegates could learn more about internal initiatives and groups, such as our Clinical Boards and Wellbeing Champions.

Brilliant People Awards 

At the gala dinner, we honoured our exceptional colleagues with the Brilliant People Awards, recognising the incredible impact individuals and teams have made across our UK network. 

The evening also featured a charity raffle draw in support of partner StreetVet. With more than £6,000 raised from ticket sales and IVC Evidensia generously matching the amount, over £12,000 was donated to support pets in need of veterinary care across the UK. 

The UK Leaders’ Forum is just one of the many opportunities for IVC Evidensia colleagues to connect, learn, and network with experts. Explore the benefits of life at IVC Evidensia, and see how you can grow your career in clinical, support or operations.