Broadcaster

Ayesha Hazarika MBE is a broadcaster, writer and award-winning comedian. She is a much sought after political pundit with great wit and insight, appearing regularly across shows on the BBC, Sky, ITN and Dave as well as writing for national newspapers and print including the FT, Guardian, Grazia, The Scotsman and New Statesman. Ayesha is a guest presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review, leading the weeks discussion on all things cultural and was previously a lead panel presenter on CNN Talk (CNN international) and a regular presenter on LBC.

In 2019 Ayesha Hazarika took over as Editor of The Londoner, the Evening Standard’s Daily Diary section, where she distils the latest news and insights from across the capital. Ayesha continues with her hugely popular column for the Evening Standard every Wednesday. Ayesha is a much sought-after political expert and broadcaster after serving as Chief of Staff to Harriet Harman, Labour Deputy Leader and twice Acting Leader of the Labour Party.

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs

David Lammy has been the Labour MP for Tottenham since 2000 and is the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. David served as a Minister in the Labour Government from 2001 to 2010 and was made a Privy Councillor in 2008.

David studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and was the first black Briton to receive a Master’s degree from Harvard University. He was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994 and is a Professor of Practice at SOAS School of Law.

Co-director, Unchecked UK

Phoebe is co-director of Unchecked UK - a non-partisan network of over 70 organisations making the case for strong social and environmental protections, and for the public bodies which enforce them.

Before joining the Unchecked UK, she was Deputy Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, the UK’s leading progressive think tank. In addition to her work as a communicator, researcher, policy expert and campaigner, she has worked in philanthropy and academia.

Chief Executive, British Poultry Council

Richard has been with the British Poultry Council for eighteen years, first as Policy Director.

and latterly as Chief Executive. Richard is a specialist in policy and legislative issues and strategic reputation management. With extensive experience in promoting positive public perception, Richard creates innovative visions that inspire changing opinions on subjects crucial for a sustainable future.

At the BPC Richard is responsible for helping member businesses navigate the huge challenges of recent years, including the effects of Brexit, the impacts of covid, and the threat posed by avian influenza. The BPC covers a variety of issues including food security, employment and skills, animal welfare, and antibiotic stewardship.

Policy Officer, Trades Union Congress

Rosa Crawford is policy lead on international trade and Brexit at the Trades Union Congress. She sits on a number of government advisory groups on trade including those monitoring the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement as well as non-EU trade deals. She is a board member of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy and the Trade Justice Movement.

She represents the TUC in the European Trade Union Confederation’s trade committee. She has provided evidence on a number of occasions to the House of Commons international trade committee and gave evidence on the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) bill committee in October.

She studied Political Science at University College London.

Founder, 4160Tuesdays

Sarah McCartney is the founder of 4160Tuesdays, a micro business that handmakes and sells perfume to specialist retailers and direct to customers. She set up her company in 2011 after working in branding and copywriting for over 20 years, and teaching herself how to make perfume. She received an 2019 EU award for contributing to the circular economy, won the Blue Patch Sustainability Award for Women in Business 2021, and ÇaFleurebon’s Best of Scent 2022.

Head of Public Affairs, ScaleUp institute

Josh Robson is Head of Public Affairs and External Relations at the the Scale Up Institute, a private sector, not-for-profit company focused on making the UK the best place in the world to scale up a business.

Josh is a public policy specialist, working with policy makers to identify opportunities that will support scale up businesses and keep scaleups at the top of the UK political and business agenda. Josh has previously held strategic and public affairs roles at Energy UK, UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy, and Knauf Insulation Northern Europe.

Director (Leeds and Birmingham), Bruntwood

Rob is Bruntwood’s regional lead for Yorkshire and the West Midlands – supporting the development of thriving cities including Leeds and Birmingham.

Drawing on more than 20 years’ experience within Bruntwood, Rob specialises in facilitating collaborative partnerships between the private sector, local authorities, research institutions and universities to create world-class innovation districts and drive strategic growth.

Producer/CEO, Good Gate Media

John Giwa-Amu runs production and gaming company Good Gate Media Ltd and sister company Red and Black Films. John’s first produced feature film, Little White Lies, won two BAFTA Cymru Awards.

John has won the BBC talent Award, a Screen Award, a BIFA, has been honoured as a Breakthrough Brit and a Future Leader by Screen International. He sat on the board of Film Cymru Wales as a director for 7 years and advised Welsh Government’s Media Investment Fund. He has graduated from the internationally acclaimed film/media business initiative, Inside Pictures and C4/Ingenious/BBC/Barclays sponsored Indielab.

CEO, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

The GBCC exists to Connect, Support & Grow local businesses. It is a mid-sized not for profit business membership and support organisation that has been in business, for business, since 1813. It delivers support and services aimed at helping local firms go global.

Henrietta became CEO in 2021 at age 30, making her the youngest CEO in the organisation’s 210 year history. She is a vocal advocate for Greater Birmingham’s businesses, representing Chamber members’ interests through a range of regional and local stakeholder boards and groups.

Prior to becoming CEO, she was Director of Policy & Strategic Relationships leading the GBCC’s research, campaigns and support activity, including on preparing for, and the impact of, the end of the Brexit transition period. She is a governor and honorary fellow of University College Birmingham. She was named Birmingham Live’s Young Business Leader of the Year at their 2022 Business Awards and Young Leader of the Year at Business Desk’s West Midlands Leadership Awards 2023.

Founder and Chief Executive, Downtown in Business

Frank McKenna is the founder and chief executive of Downtown in Business. Before establishing the Downtown brand Frank was a full time politician, serving as the leader of the North West Regional Assembly, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and a Parliamentary Assistant.

Since entering the world of business, Frank has served on the Merseyside Entrepreneurship Commission; Liverpool Vision’s Strategic Planning board; and advisory boards on both the Lancashire and Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership’s. From 2008- 2013 he was a Non Executive Director of a hospital trust board.

Chief Executive Officer, Hydrogen UK

Clare is one of the leading voices in hydrogen in the UK. She launched the Hydrogen UK, the UK trade association for hydrogen, which is leading the national debate on the role of hydrogen in meeting net zero and working with industry leaders, Ministers and civil servants on the next steps required to scale hydrogen in the UK.

Clare has an extensive network across the hydrogen space, working with many organisations and companies to advise on how to capitalise on the opportunities presented by hydrogen.

Director of Policy Solutions, WWF UK

Angela is Director of Policy Solutions at WWF-UK where she leads the teams working on climate, finance, economics, production, and consumption policy. She started as an accountant in the energy industry before moving into economics and policy development where she has been for the last 20 years.

She led on economics and strategy for the East of England Development Agency and worked on productivity, innovation, and low carbon growth in the UK and Europe for SQW. In 2012, she took those skills to the Caribbean where she was Regional Economist and Climate Attaché for the FCO.

Returning to the UK she found her home in environmental advocacy. She was Chief Economist for Green Alliance, where she led on industrial strategy, tech and the economic case for a low carbon and circular economy and then Chief Advisor, Economics and Economic Development at WWF, providing economic advice across the climate, food and nature programs as well as leading on green recovery, just transition and trade policy for sustainable agriculture.

She was a member of UCL’s Green Innovation Policy Commission and IPPR’s Environmental Justice Commission and currently sits on the CCC Economic Advisory Group for Climate Adaptation and Resilience. Her TEDtalk on the green economy has over 1.7million views.

Owner, The Good Life

Shelley opened the Manchester site of The Good Life in 2019 in response to the climate crisis, to enable her community to shop more sustainably. The Good Life stocks a range of ethical fresh produce, beauty products and ethical gifts. Shelley’s aim with The Good Life is to bring ethics into the gifting market which is heavily saturated with unethical products. She loves the busy nature of her role, and the fact that it enables her to meet new people. She constantly changes and adapts her businesses to ensure it continues to succeed.

Chief Executive, New Economics Foundation

Miatta has a wealth of experience in developing and delivering policy to empower communities and change people’s lives. She has been at the forefront of generating new ideas on reshaping our economy inside government and out. Prior to joining NEF she was Director of Policy & Research at the Institute of Public Policy Research. Before this, she has worked at senior levels for the Leader of the Opposition, the Cabinet Office, and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit.

Her work has included the development of policies from devolution to local economic growth, housing, energy and climate change and transport, driving forward the Government’s economic devolution agenda in England, and localism and local economic growth. Miatta has a Masters and PhD in economic development from the LSE and a BA in PPE from Oxford.

Managing Director, Business Support and Business Finance, The Growth Company, Manchester

She leads the delivery of the NW Made Smarter Adoption Programme to improve the competitiveness and productivity of North West manufacturers. She is committed to driving the adoption of industrial digital technology by facilitating access to skills, funding, and expertise. Donna has over 20 years’ experience of working in business support, workforce development, access to finance and innovation services across the North West, delivering services to meet the strategic priorities of those areas, and ultimately drive economic growth.

Research Fellow, Enterprise Research Centre, University of Warwick, and The Productivity Institute

Halima Jibril is a Research Fellow at the Enterprise Research Centre, University of Warwick, and The Productivity Institute. Her research examines the links between innovation and performance in small businesses, including the roles of innovation networks, exporting, leadership styles and supply chain collaborations. Halima also has expertise in conducting evaluations of policy support measures, working with institutions such as Cavendish Enterprise and Innovation Growth Lab, Nesta. Jibril’s research is strongly quantitative and reflects her diverse econometrics background.

At The Productivity Institute, Halima’s research has examined the potential productivity effects of the UK Government’s Covid-19 business support measures. She is currently working on understanding the temporal links between exporting, innovation and firm performance.

Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for regional engagement, Warwick University and Professor of International Business, Warwick Business School

Professor Nigel Driffield is Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor for regional engagement at Warwick University and Professor of International Business at Warwick Business School, having held a similar post at Aston Business School for 10 years which included a spell as the dean of the business school. He has a PhD from Reading University and has published some 80 academic papers across a range of disciplines including international business, regional science, finance, and economics. Nigel leads the Midlands Regional Productivity Forum and is research theme lead for The Productivity Institute’s organisational capital theme.

Director of Research and Economics, McKinsey

Tera Allas is Director of Research and Economics in McKinsey’s United Kingdom and Ireland office, working closely with the McKinsey Global Institute. She leads McKinsey’s research on the macroeconomic outlook, growth, and productivity, bringing together deep expertise and more than three decades of experience in strategy, corporate finance, economics, and public policy.

Allas is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. From 2004 to 2014, Allas worked as chief economist in the UK’s energy, transport, and business departments and as deputy head of the UK Government Economic Service. In 2018, Allas was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to economic policy.

Professor of Productivity Studies at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at the University of Manchester

Bart van Ark is a Professor of Productivity Studies at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at the University of Manchester. He is also Managing Director and Principal Investigator of The Productivity Institute, a UK-wide organisation which aims to lay the foundations for an era of sustained and inclusive productivity growth by bringing together academic research, policy studies and business engagement.

Van Ark is an internationally acclaimed economist in the field of international comparative productivity measurement and analysis, innovation and technology, and digital transformation, and his research has cut across the areas of economic growth, development economics, economic history and international economics and business. From 2008 to 2020, van Ark was Chief Economist and Head of the Economy, Strategy and Finance Centre at The Conference Board, a global business research think tank headquartered in New York, where he oversaw the production of widely watched economic indicators and growth forecasts around the globe.