Equip Conference 2025

Alain Emerson

Alain is husband to Rachel and Dad to Annie, Erin and Finn. Alain has the privilege to serve as Lead Pastor of Emmanuel Church, oversee the Tobar Church Network in Ireland and serve as the Director of the 24-7 Prayer Communities Network. Alain is the author of ‘Luminous Dark’ and co-author of ‘The God Story’. Alain is excited about seeing a ‘new thing’ happening in the nation of Ireland in these days and being a part of a spiralling network of 24-7prayer churches and communities around the world built on the shared values of prayer, mission and justice.  Other things he is passionate about are reading, hanging out with friends, most sports and Liverpool Football Club.

Karise Hutchinson

Karise is a Professor of Leadership and the founder of IlluminaireLeadership – a global institute providing high quality, research-led insight to leadersin private, public and third sector organisations. She is an award-winning researcher, author, educator, speaker, and strategic advisor to leaders in government, public and private sector, as well as not-for-profit organisations. Whether it is her TED talks or the launch of Illuminaire Press (a unique leadership science, strategy, and story publication series), Karise specialises in uncovering and spreading the very latest leadership thinking. She lives on the North Coast of Ireland with her husband and four children joining her on her adventure and love of life.  

Michael Lorimer

Michael is the Chief Executive of the DCS Group UK LTD. With over 30 years’ experience in the FMCG sector, Michael began his career as a graduate trainee in Mars UK, progressing to hold the position of Managing Director of Henderson Foodservice and Vice Chairman of Landmark Wholesale, prior to joining DCS as CEO.

Martin Overare

Martin is a leadership consultant and visionary leader, serving as the CEO of KENETIX, a leading leadership consulting firm focused on developing leaders, teams, and establishing healthy leadership cultures across businesses and churches.

Martin is an Executive Leadership Coach, Trainer and Speaker at the Maxwell Leadership Certified Team, equipping him with globally recognised principles of leadership excellence. His expertise extends into board advisory roles, where he plays a pivotal role in guiding strategic decision-making for various organizations.

Martin also serves as the Regional Director for Europe at EQUIP Leadership’s Beyond Success Program a transformational leadership and personal growth journey designed to empower individuals, particularly leaders and influencers in the marketplace and community, to explore and live out core values essential to a successful life.

As strategic adviser to the Elder Board at London Riverside Church UK, he actively influences the church’s mission, values, direction, and leadership development. He also serves as Chair of The Board of Directors and Trustee, where he plays a key role in church governance and strategic leadership.

Prior to KENETIX, Martin worked as a Leadership & Management Consultant at a management consulting firm, providing advisory, coaching, training services, and delivering business and technology-enabled change programs across sectors, including Churches, Financial Services, Legal, Government, Non-profits, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, Telecommunications, Energy, and Utilities. Martin resides in London, UK, with his wife and their four wonderful children, where he continues to inspire leaders and organizations with his vision of purpose-driven leadership and personal growth.

Stewardship helps Christians be the best stewards of the resources God gives them. 

We have been working with generous Christians and the ministries they support for over a century. Today, we help over 30,000 donors discover the joy of generosity as they give around £110 million every year to over 12,000 church, charity and individual partners. Our professional services also equip, grow and strengthen those partners so they can create more and more impact for God’s Kingdom.