GUEST
Laura Kendall
Founder, NeuroFuel
APPEARED IN 1 EPISODE
Biography
Laura Kendall is the founder of Neurofuel, a consultancy dedicated to helping organisations build neuro-inclusive workplaces and unlock the strategic value of neurodivergent talent. With over 20 years of executive leadership experience across HR, project management, and environmental engineering, Laura combines deep organisational insight with her lived experience as an AuDHD (autistic and ADHD) professional. Her journey to diagnosis occurred later in life, after years of navigating persistent fatigue, depression, and burnout. This led her to read memoirs by autistic women and undergo formal diagnostic testing for both autism and ADHD. Receiving her diagnosis provided vital language and clarity, allowing her to reframe traits such as high standards, direct communication, and an intense work ethic as innate cognitive wiring rather than character flaws. Throughout her executive career, Laura experienced the immense cognitive load of masking in environments that rewarded superficial composure. She eventually worked with a specialised coach to safely unmask and build authentic, trust-based leadership relationships. Inspired by her observation that neurodivergent employees frequently act as "canaries in the coal mine", spotting organisational risks, process gaps, and inconsistencies before others, she established Neurofuel to move workplaces beyond tokenistic awareness campaigns and ad hoc accommodations. Laura advocates for integrating universal design into corporate strategy and architecture, creating predictable communication rhythms, sensory considerations, and psychological safety so that all minds can thrive.
