Quality Live 2025: celebrating innovative, sustainable and competitive quality

Quality Live 2025 was a highlight event for the quality profession with expert speakers, panelists and almost 500 in-person delegates from over 25 countries – our attendee numbers continue to grow year-on-year.  

International thought leaders, quality professionals, and innovators came together to engage in critical conversations from AI, reimagining auditing and the strategic value it offers to populism and volatile environments. Our dynamic programme featured keynote talks, panel discussions and networking sessions creating the chance for delegates to explore the key opportunities and challenges facing the quality profession. 

The day concluded with the much-anticipated eighth International Quality Awards, announcing winners across nine categories. 

What a great day. The horsepower of almost 500 people exposed the opportunity to put quality management back on the map, enabling business performance in the modern context, especially sustainable and digital quality. And most of all, this opportunity is for today, not tomorrow.

Vince Desmond, CEO, CQI

Spotlight on dreamers and disruptors 

CEO Vince Desmond kickstarted the day, welcoming delegates, followed by Professor Michael Mainelli, President, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), speaking about the need to be at the centre of regulation and open regulation for an open nation.  

Delegates could choose from three streams, focusing on key areas including practical challenges in using AI to improve quality; adopting an 'everything data' approach to quality management and improvement; and reimagining auditing – exploring its purpose, methods and strategic value. 

Quality management isn’t just for quality managers ... by moving process ownership to where the activity is delivered, and if we use data, we can make more mature decisions to achieve continuous improvement

Tina Mason, Deputy Director, Head of Oversight (Process, Risk and Assurance), Defence Equipment & Support

In a session on sustainable supply chains, Dr Pauline Bremner, Associate Professor, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, shared fashion industry insights emphasising the importance of integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations across the entire supply chain.  

Mike Turner, Head of Research Innovation, CQI, gave an engaging keynote address on emerging research insights into quality, highlighting how an effective quality leader must be able to demonstrate and articulate the value of quality. He shared how this provides the basis for quality management and quality practitioners to become a strategic force for sustainable, competitive performance. ​

The afternoon continued with break-out sessions, including 'Dictating quality: navigating populism in 2025'; 'Rethinking improvement: navigating a volatile world'; and 'Crafting digital transformation in healthcare'. Gerhard Weiss, Director: Systems Integration and Projects, Netcare, shared Netcare’s innovative digital transformation story, and the importance of involving people at every step of the journey. 

Panelists Dan Kent, Vice President, Operational Development, Element Materials Technology, Andy Maher, Quality Director, BAE Systems; Anar Malikov, Founder, TCS and Judith Ward, Technical Director, Quality Health and Safety, Mott Macdonald led discussions on how quality leaders are positing their function within their organisations’ contexts and strategies to create value. 

Rashad Issa, Chair, CQI Board of Trustees, reflected, "One of the key takeaways from today is that we must think differently. If we don’t, we will be no more. Don’t be a leader who just sits at the table, be proactive and lead the way.”

International Quality Awards 2025 winners 

We were delighted to finish an incredible day celebrating the eighth International Quality Awards winners. Celebrating excellence across nine categories, the awards shine a spotlight on the outstanding achievements of quality professionals, teams and organisations around the world. This year’s stand-out entries included first-time finalists representing Brazil, Bulgaria, Taiwan and Ukraine. Learn more about our 2025 winners here. 

It's been gratifying to see quality professionals embrace this event and all it has to offer. We're proud to offer members and non-members a rare opportunity to get together in-person, learn from each other and celebrate the best of the profession with the International Quality Awards.

Katie Steingold, Events Manager, CQI

Our partners

Thank you to our 2025 partners for their support and for being an integral part of the event’s success, creating a meaningful and impactful experience. 

• AttendZen 
• AWE 
• BSI 
• Ideagen 
• Mott MacDonald 
• UKAS 

Content from the day will be available on our Quality Learning Hub soon.