Dr Phil Friend
Dr. Philip Friend has been involved in disability employment issues since 1986 after an extremely successful career in the public sector. He founded Phil & Friends Ltd to promote the issue of disability within the business community.
Dr. Friend has developed and delivered speeches, seminars and workshops on a wide range of topics related to disability and equal opportunities across the world. These have included the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Equality Act 2010; employing disabled people; delivering high-quality service to disabled customers; and disability and diversity - the business case.
Dr. Friend has collaborated on programs for radio, television and training DVDs. He has written a number of published articles and is currently writing a book that focuses on unleashing disabled talent.
At the grass roots level, Dr. Friend is very active within voluntary organizations that deal with disability issues and was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2001 and an honorary doctorate in 2009 both for service to disability and equal opportunities.
Dr. Friend is vice chair of Disability Rights (UK), an associate of the Employers' Forum on Disability, a Winston Churchill Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
