The inaugural Disruptors Festival took place on 8th May 2026 at the London Stock Exchange Group.

The day began with energy, not formality. After opening remarks, Creative Pause and co-founder Jules Greensmith led the room through breathwork and movement — music playing, people on their feet — before a single panel had started. The effect carried through everything that followed. People arrived ready to listen, but by the time the first session began, they were ready to connect.

Over 30 women and allies spoke across Disruptors Talks, panel discussions, fireside conversations, and a live recording of Girlfriends. The talks were honest in a way that conferences rarely are. Speakers shared experiences of resilience, reinvention, leadership and loss with a directness that made the audience lean in rather than sit back. Panels ran less like curated performances and more like conversations you wanted to be part of. There was laughter, and there were tears that nobody tried to hide.

At the centre of the day was the reveal of the inaugural Disruptors 50 Over 50, a video presentation played simultaneously across both rooms. Fifty women over fifty, selected because their leadership, influence and authority are defining what comes next. Every honouree is profiled in The Disruptors Festival Magazine, which was created alongside the festival as a companion publication.

Between sessions, the connections continued. Women who had never met found themselves deep in conversation within minutes. There was warmth and generosity across the entire day — a sense that everyone in the room had earned their seat and had no interest in proving it.

When the programme ended, nobody left. Conversations continued in corridors and doorways long after the final session. The reluctance to leave said more about the day than any feedback form could.

More content from the Disruptors Festival, including Disruptors Talks and Girlfriends episodes, will be shared in the coming months.

The Disruptors Festival is produced by Violet Simon, a media and production company centring women's stories.

Women's stories. Told with depth.