Focus Lunch with Bianca Robinson, CEO Sleepout

Business leaders have influence. They create jobs, shape cultures, make decisions that affect communities, and have the ability to bring people together around causes that matter. As an entrepreneur, the question is what you choose to do with that influence. 

Join Bianca Robinson, CEO of CEO Sleepout, for a thoughtful lunch conversation about leadership, responsibility, and the role entrepreneurs can play in creating meaningful change. 

Founded in 2013 to bring business leaders together in response to homelessness and poverty, with Bianca at the helm, the charity has grown from its North East roots into a national movement, raising more than £6 million and supporting over 200 frontline charities across the UK. 

Responsible for guiding the charity’s strategy, delivering on its fundraising plan, protecting the integrity of the brand, building partnerships, recruiting participants, and working with volunteers, ambassadors, and supporters across the country, Bianca’s journey has been anything but linear.  

A New Zealander now living in Saltburn, she’s been a graphic designer, salesperson, agency executive, managing director of a growing digital agency, university lecturer, freelance marketer, and campaigner. Today, she brings that experience together in a role that asks business leaders to think differently about power, influence, and social impact. 

This focus lunch will explore not only Bianca’s story but also a wider question: what kind of leadership does the world actually need now? 

Through CEO Sleepout, Bianca challenges business leaders to step outside their usual environment, hear directly from people with lived experience of homelessness and poverty, and consider how they can be part of the solution. 

The Conversation 

Over a delicious lunch, we’ll explore: 

• The responsibility business leaders have beyond their own organisations. 

• What it means to lead with values while still delivering results. 

• How storytelling can shift understanding, compassion, and action. 
• How you build trust, protect a mission, and mobilise people around something bigger than themselves. 

What You’ll Take Away 

This lunch will offer a thoughtful perspective on leadership, influence, and social responsibility. You’ll hear from someone who has built national momentum around a difficult issue, engaging thousands of business leaders, and turning awareness into meaningful support. 

You’ll leave with fresh thinking on the power you, as an entrepreneur, have to shape communities and lead with purpose, in a way that strengthens both business and society. Most importantly, this is an opportunity to reflect on the kind of leader you want to be. 

The Small Print
This event is exclusively for entrepreneurial members of the Forum and costs £50 +VAT for a three-course meal, payable in advance.

By registering to attend this lunch you agree that your place is non-transferrable. We are unable to reimburse this cost if cancellations are received after 12noon on Tuesday 29th September.

Please be aware that your name, job title and company may be shared with our Forum partners and event attendees for event‑related purposes. Should you wish to remove yourself from any delegate lists please let us know.