Abiola Rasaq

The Bug Detective, Nigeria

Abiola Rasaq is an award-winning Quality Assurance (QA) professional, community leader, and advocate for innovation within Africa’s tech industry.

As the founder of The Bug Detective and the Women in Testing Initiative, Abiola is committed to redefining quality standards and fostering diversity in QA. She is the organizer of the annual Test Festival, which has become a key event in Africa’s tech calendar, and has trained and mentored over 2000 aspiring QA professionals across the globe.

Passionate about driving change, Abiola’s work focuses on empowering professionals of all backgrounds to excel in QA and leadership roles, reaching over 50,000 people all while elevating the importance of quality in tech.

Through her initiatives, she continues to shape the future of Africa’s growing tech ecosystem, inspiring the next generation of innovators and leaders in software testing and beyond.

James Lyndsay

Workroom Productions, UK

I had my first job, and my first job testing, in 1986: working at IBM in a small team on an x86 graphics processor chip. I was handy at testing, and way out of my depth at everything else. I set up Workroom Productions in 1994. I’ve worked for myself, as a systems tester, since then.

I’ve resisted specialising in a particular technology or market, and I’ve tried to change with my industry. My clients include retail and telecommunications, banking and social media, rapidly-evolving internet start-ups, traditional large-scale enterprise, and government bodies.

I’ve worked as an innovator (loved it), and as a standardiser (less so). I work as a consultant with an eye for strategy, quality and motivation. I’ve stepped into roles as manager, mentor, advocate and implementer – with a particular focus on tooled-up exploratory testing.

I’ve worked internationally as a consultant and teacher since 2000, and I’ve been trusted to deliver keynotes and hands-on workshops at the largest and most interesting conferences. I’ve won prizes for several papers, and was the 2015 recipient of EuroSTAR’s Testing Excellence award.

I have an MA in Physics from Trinity College, Oxford. I’ve studied experiential teaching with Jerry Weinberg, Impro with Keith Johnstone, and writing with Joel Morris. I sing with the London Bulgarian Choir, and co-produced all three of their albums.

Anastasia Simou

Accenture, Germany

Anastasia Simou holds a diploma in Mathematics and works as a Senior Quality Engineer in Accenture since 2022, specializing in Test Data Management. Her focus is on helping organizations develop effective test data management strategies that prioritize data safety and compliance.

Richard Bishop

Lloyds Bank, UK

Richard is an experienced software tester with over 20 years’ experience in performance testing and test management. In his role at Lloyds Banking Group, Richard advises and mentors quality engineers and developers and his goal is to help them to get the most from then bank’s investments in software testing and test management tools. 

Liam Patience

Lloyds Bank, UK

Liam is a self-taught engineer with a passion for generative AI. Liam is the brains behind several AI-based solutions that are helping engineers optimise their workflows. His “Documentor” application led the QE team to win an award at a Google hackathon in 2024.

Darren Richardson

Eficode, Finland

Security Architect, Managed Services @EficodeCybersecurity specialist, storyteller, occasional musician and giant with a great bushy beard, Darren Richardson is what happens if you cross a security nerd with a European Brown Bear who just woke up from hibernation.

With years of experience in cyber security and a desire to tell stories wherever he goes, he has much to tell on Dev(Sec)Ops and IoT, and has a passion for breaking down the highly technical in an entertaining way.

Isabel Evans

Independent, UK

After more than 30 years in IT, as a quality and testing practitioner Isabel is now a part-time post-graduate student at the University of Malta. Her research focuses on human factors in testing and test tools, and arises from real-life experiences as a test manager, quality manager, and test consultant. Isabel is an author and speaker and has spoken at many software conferences, Isabel chaired EuroSTAR (2019) and HUSTEF (2018), she is a Fellow of the BCS, and received the 2017 EuroSTAR Testing Excellence Award.

Erika Chestnut

The Leaders’ QA Consulting, USA

Erika Chestnut is a dynamic Quality leader with over 20 years of experience in the tech industry, where her passion is people, and her purpose is empowerment. She is a Maxwell-certified leadership team member, DISC consultant and Certified High Flow Coach.

Throughout her career, Erika has learned to lead powerfully through relationships, influence, grace, patience, and, of course, a bit of snarky humor. She is deeply committed to helping others rethink leadership, culture, and communication, not only to empower themselves but to equip them to empower others.

Erika specializes in sharing the tools and strategies that have enabled her to connect with teams on a deeper level, driving significant growth, performance, and transformation in both their careers and businesses.