Global Annual Conference 2022

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Áine Rogers Leads Cisco’s Small Business for the UK& Ireland. She is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of this segment executing on Cisco’s defined go to market combining global short mid- and long-term strategies with developing existing local routes to market in new ways to best serve smaller enterprises on their digitisation journey whose technology adoption, consumption and needs have changed drastically in recent years. Áine is passionate about supporting and advising small businesses thrive as we move forward.

Áine Joined Cisco from Oracle in 2010 and has held numerous roles within Channel managing and growing every profile of partner to great success. After 8 years in channel, she joined GMSI supporting both the UKI Commercial and Small segments as a Segment Business Partner. Áine re-joined the UKI sales operation to head up small business in 2020.

Áine is passionate about people, her team and talent. An advocate for organic growth of talent within all organisations Áine works to connect people, teams and businesses to invest in the future talent of this industry.

Áine is married with two young children and their dog Winter. The family spends a lot of time outdoors and in the sea on the east coast of Ireland. Áine continuously educates herself in fitness, nutrition, and well-being in her spare time.

Alison Wolf CBE is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College London, and the Prime Minister’s Expert Adviser on Skills and Workforce policy. She sits as a non-affiliated peer (Baroness Wolf of Dulwich) in the House of Lords. She specialises in the relationship between education and the labour market.

Professor the Baroness Wolf was a panel member for the ‘Augar Review’: the independent Review of Post-18 Education and Funding chaired by Sir Philip Augar, which was appointed by the then-Prime Minister (Theresa May), and reported in 2019. Many of its recommendations have been accepted and are being implemented by the current government. In March 2011 she completed The Wolf Report for the English government which led to major reforms in vocational education for 14-18 year olds.

Ana Christie is CEO of Sussex Chamber of Commerce supporting and campaigning for the business community. A South East LEP Board Director and also a member of various skills groups in Sussex.

Ana’s extensive business experience both in the UK and internationally, began in aviation, hospitality, then hotel project development. Previously she managed the London Aquarium, a major attraction, before relocating to the Philippines as Executive Vice President of an HR recruitment consultancy and subsequently locating to the British Deputy High Commission in India. Back in the UK, Ana joined a pharmaceutical company overseeing the project management of global clinical trials.

Ana is also an experienced Black Belt Karate instructor and teaches essential martial arts skills in her spare time.

Andrew Harrison is Head of Business Banking at NatWest with the responsibility of supporting around 1 million small businesses across the UK. He has had a varied career in the bank including leadership positions in Business Banking, Corporate Banking and Structured Finance. Andrew has also held a number of board positions across the charity and public sectors.

Andy Burnham was first elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2017 and was re-elected for a second term in May 2021.

Responsible for shaping the future of Greater Manchester, Andy’s priorities include building a London-style integrated transport system, ending rough sleeping, transforming Greater Manchester into one of the greenest city regions in Europe and making Greater Manchester a great place to grow up, get on, and grow old.

Angela’s passion is changing human systems – energy, production, consumption, trade, and planning – to bring them in line with our environment. As an economist she focused on productivity, innovation, and low carbon growth in UK, Europe, and the Caribbean where she was Regional Economist and Climate Attaché for the FCO. She found her home in environmental sector, at Green Alliance and then WWF, where she started as Chief Advisor on Economics and is now Director of Policy Solutions leading the work of the climate, finance, economics and production and consumption teams on net zero and nature restoration.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan was appointed Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade on 15 September 2021. She was appointed as the UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency on 7 November 2020.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan was previously Minister of State (Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change) at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from January 2021 to September 2021.

Previously Anne-Marie was the Secretary of State for International Development from February to September 2020. She was Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 17 December 2019 to 13 February 2020, and Minister for Defence Procurement from 27 July 2019 to 16 December 2019.

Anne-Marie was first elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency at the 2015 general election.

A chartered accountant by trade, Anne-Marie sat on the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee from July 2015 to May 2017 and December 2018 to July 2019. She has previously served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Defence. As an MP, she has campaigned with colleagues for greater autism awareness and has focused on the Armed Forces Covenant.

Her wider interests involve spending time with her family, making the most of the incredible landscape her vast and varied constituency affords and putting her passion for singing to good use by taking part in Singing for Syrians concerts in Westminster.

Bobby rose to fame after captaining his Cambridge college on University Challenge 2016-17. As the nation’s favourite school maths teacher, Bobby understands the value of education. Growing up on an east London council estate, he was awarded a Sixth Form Scholarship to Eton College. After a career in the City as an investment banker for Lehman Brothers & Nomura and then as a Chartered Accountant at PwC, he changed careers to become a teacher.

Bola Lafe is the founder and CEO of Opus Innovations, a multi award winning sustainable personal healthcare product development company. Bola qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1992 but went on to enjoy a long career in the Investment Banking sector. Despite a successful international career, he left to set up Opus in 2011 as he wanted to help make a difference in the world.

Bola was named one of the 2017 ‘Top100 figures’ by The Manufacturer magazine for being ‘An Inspiring Leader’, ‘A Bold Investor’ & ‘A Driver of Cultural Change’. In 2019 he was named one of the Best Sustainable Entrepreneurs by Sublime magazine. Bola is a Freeman of The Company of Entrepreneurs and sits on their education committee and is also a Freeman of The City of London.

In 2021 Opus was named British Chambers of Commerce UK Green Business of the Year and in 2022 Opus won the Gatwick Diamond ‘Award for Innovation’, sponsored by EY Breakthrough Initiatives. Opus continues to launch award-winning sustainable and innovative personal healthcare solutions that challenge the status quo and will always be committed to putting people and planet before profit. 

Chris Southworth is Secretary General at the International Chamber of Commerce UK and a regular voice for business in the international media. He is also Co-Chair of the Legal Reform Advisory Board at the ICC Digital Standards Initiative, Director of the Secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trade and Export Promotion and ICC Representative to The Commonwealth. He is a member of the ICC World Council as well as the International Advisory Boards of the Digital Trade Network and Queen Mary-UNIDROIT Institute of Transnational Commercial Law.

Chris is a leading international expert on creating modern digital trade ecosystems, the founder of the ICC Digital Trade Roadmap, a member of the global team supporting the ICC Digital Standards Initiative, ICC G7 United Kingdom representative, a member of the ICC G7, G20, Digitisation and Ecommerce Working Groups. He is also a lead independent adviser to the UK government on the digitisation of trade on behalf of industry working with the Department for International Trade, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Her Majesty’s Treasury and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Prior to joining ICC, he was Executive Director for Global Partnerships, at the British Chambers of Commerce, Head of the International Chambers of Commerce Unit at UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and a Senior Policy Advisor to Lord Heseltine, former Deputy Prime Minister, for his independent review of UK competitiveness. In 2011 he was advisor to the Minister for Trade and Investment for the government review of mid-size businesses and consequent establishment of the mid-size business export programme. Former roles have encompassed deregulatory and social enterprise policy at the Department for Business.

Clare Shine is Director and CEO of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), which has partnered with leaders and innovators in business, government and finance since 1988 to foster bold leadership and drive transformational change for people, nature and climate.

Clare has been at the nexus of sustainable development, organizational change and culture for over three decades. She was previously Vice President at Salzburg Global Seminar where she worked with senior leaders, intergenerational teams and Fellows from nearly 180 countries and led multi-year programs, partnerships and networks.

Clare has played an influential role in the evolution of regional and global policy frameworks and led multi-sector capacity-building around the world.

Claire Walker is Co-Executive Director at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) a role she shares with Hannah Essex. BCC sits at the heart of a business network that spans the length and breadth of the UK, with links to markets across the world.

Claire and Hannah lead the British Chambers campaigns, communications, public affairs, policy and senior representative work on behalf of the Chamber Network.

Claire and Hannah joined the British Chambers of Commerce in September 2018 from social enterprise Teach First, where they co-led the Communications Department. Claire covered Hannah’s maternity leave and they formed their partnership when Hannah returned in 2015. As one of the only Executive level job -share partnerships in the country, they are considered trail -blazers in the concept of co-leadership.

Together, they have a combined 35 years’ experience leading in a range of organisations, driving transformation and impact. Claire has held a number of trustee positions and led a range of community projects. Hannah is Vice-Chair and Founding Trustee of The Girls’ Network.

As Executive Group Director of Corporate Affairs, Clare leads the Group’s internal and external communications, brand, public affairs and corporate social responsibility strategies. She also has responsibility for sustainability, regulation, policy and compliance.

Previously she was Director of Corporate Affairs at Heathrow Airport, Director of Communications for the Ministry of Justice and Head of Communications for E.ON UK. A graduate of Southampton University, she is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and a Fellow of The Society of Leadership, St George’s House, Windsor Castle, and is on the Board of Energy UK and the CBI Board for Energy & Climate Change.

Corin Crane graduated from De Montfort University in the early 1990s with a degree in English and Politics and from Leeds University with a Post Grad in Human Resources. He then worked for the TUC in Yorkshire and Humberside Branch for more than three years, Advantage West Midlands Rural Regeneration, Learning and Skills Council and Telford and Wolverhampton Councils heading up Economic Development and Inward Investment teams.

Corin was Director of the Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership where he had overall responsibility for around £200m of funds to drive regeneration and help local businesses grow. Also, he chaired the European Structural Funds Committee that oversees the management of around £90m of funding aimed at SME business growth and skills work.

As of October 2016, Corin Crane is now the Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce. The Black Country Chamber of Commerce is a membership organisation that supports the growth and prosperity of Black Country businesses, they are secretariat for the Black Country All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and lead the Black Country Business Festival which is now the second biggest festival of it’s kind in the UK.

Corin will take over as the new Chief Executive of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce from 4 July 2022.

Elizabeth has over 30 years’ experience working at executive leadership level, leading complex digital transformation programmes for globally recognised and respected organisations.

Elizabeth’s high-profile industry roles include; Member of the UK Govt. Cabinet Office Small & Medium Business Panel, Chair of the Culture & Capability Working Group and Member of the Public Sector Procurement Transformation Advisory Panel.

She is a Department for International Trade Northern Powerhouse Export Champion, a Bank of England Agent, an Open University Research Strategic Advisory Board member, and a member of the Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Elizabeth is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to International Trade and Digital Transformation.

Halla Tómasdóttir is the CEO of The B Team, a group of courageous  business and civil society leaders working together to transform business for a better world. Halla started her leadership career in corporate America working for Mars and Pepsi Cola. She was on the founding team of Reykjavík University where she established the Executive Education Department, founded and led a successful women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment initiative and was an assistant professor at the Business School. She was the first female CEO of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce and later went on to co-found an investment firm with the vision to incorporate feminine values into finance. The company successfully survived the infamous economic meltdown in Iceland. In 2016 Halla was an independent candidate for the President of Iceland. She entered a crowded field of candidates and finished as the runner-up with nearly 30 percent of the vote.

Hannah Essex is Co-Executive Director at the British Chambers of Commerce, a role she shares with Claire Walker.

As Co-Executive Directors, Claire Walker and Hannah Essex lead the BCC’s campaigns, communications, public affairs, policy, marketing and senior representative work on behalf of the Chamber Network.

Claire and Hannah joined the British Chambers of Commerce as a partnership in September 2018 from social enterprise Teach First, where they co-led the Communications Department. Claire covered Hannah’s maternity leave and they formed their partnership when Hannah returned in 2015. As one of very few Executive level job-share partnerships in the country, they are considered trail-blazers in the concept of co-leadership.

Together, they have a combined 40 years’ experience leading in a range of organisations, driving transformation and impact. Claire has held a number of trustee positions and led a range of community projects. Hannah is Vice-Chair and Founding Trustee of The Girls’ Network.

James Mason is the current Chief Executive of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. As a businessmanin his own right, James (44), joined the Chamber in May 2022 after holding a number of high profile roles throughout his career to date. Most recently as Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the regional tourism body and as Chief Operating officer / Chief Executive at Bradford City and Rochdale Football clubs, as well as a period working as a sports agent.

James studied Journalism at University and as a qualified journalist, James worked for many years as a news and sports reporter with the BBC. He was also the founding director of a manufacturing business he had an involvement in running for over 15 years and outside of his professional career is the founder of two not for profit dementia cafes in West Yorkshire.

Jenny Kovacs, a Visibility Specialist, is known as the Queen of Being Seen. A speaker, mentor, coach and businesswoman who has appeared on the BBC throughout the UK and speaks on the topic of professional visibility for organisations, networks and businesses internationally.

Jenny is the creator of the Visibility Activator System™ that helps you, your people and your organisation to raise their professional profile so that you stand out in your industry.

Jenny’s trainings and talks have spanned well known corporations, brands, companies and have been delivered to 1000’s of clients delivered worldwide, both in person and online.

John Holland-Kaye has been CEO of Heathrow since 2014. During this time, Heathrow has consistently improved service levels for passengers, while reducing costs, and it is now rated one of the best airports in the world. Heathrow was named “Sustainable Business of the Year” at the edie awards and one of the Best Companies to work for by the Sunday Times. Before becoming CEO, John was Heathrow’s Development Director, responsible for delivering the £2.5bn Terminal 2 on time and on budget.

John is a Non-Executive Director at Thames Tideway, a member of HRH the Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Council; the ACI Europe Board; the Council for Inclusive Capitalism; the Global Britain Commission; the Jet Zero Council; DEFRA’s Council for Sustainable Business and a Commissioner with the Energy Transitions Commission.

Prior to joining Heathrow, John worked in housebuilding with Taylor Wimpey, in brewing and leisure retail with Bass plc and as a strategy consultant with LEK. He has lived and worked in the UK, US, Australia and the Philippines. John is married with two daughters.

Karen Wheeler CBE took up the role of Deputy CEO of Nuclear Waste Services on 31 January 2022 having been CEO of RWM since 1 February 2020.  AS RWM CEO, Karen led the transformation of RWM and the GDF programme into a major infrastructure delivery programme, and has now also become the GDF SRO.  

From July 2017 to July 2019, Karen established and led, as Director General, the cross government Border Delivery Group, specifically to manage and deliver the work across government, private sector and industry, which would prepare for and ensure a functioning border, in preparation for EU exit. 

Previous roles in government have included NHS England, Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Ministry of Justice.

Technology Business Editor at The Times, former BBC Business Presenter and Correspondent, Moderator, Keynote Speaker, Event Host

Katie Prescott is one of the UK’s best-known business journalists. A familiar voice to millions of listeners after a decade reporting for the BBC, Katie was the Senior Lead Business Presenter for Radio 4’s Today Programme and a Business Correspondent across BBC News on TV, radio and online.

She’s now the Technology Business Editor for The Times and a weekly columnist for the newspaper’s award-winning business section. Across the fast-changing landscape of tech, media and telecoms, Katie brings all the key stories to readers, listeners and viewers across Times platforms.

At the BBC, Katie worked across all the corporation’s major news outlets as the on-screen face and voice explaining and analysing the tumultuous changes wrought by COVID-19, the European debt crisis and new technology, in addition to the challenges of sustainability and climate change.

She has travelled extensively for her work, from Tanzania and Rwanda to China and America as well as working as a journalist in the BBC’s New York Bureau.

Katie is a highly accomplished speaker and moderator. Having worked with a range of major clients, she is well placed to host and facilitate at conferences and other events requiring her expertise in technology, business, finance, economics, media, digital disruption, cyber security and sustainability.

Katie has a degree in Modern Languages from Oxford and lives in London with her two children.

Layla is in Year 10, and is taking History, Latin, German and Geography for GCSEs among others, as well as Japanese in her spare time. She hopes to study History and Politics at university and practice law following this.

Liam is Director of Trade Facilitation at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). He is responsible for the regulation and implementation of our MOU’s with the DIT and HMRC for the delivery of trade documentation services. He engages with government departments on future trade policy and on the potential impacts of Brexit on future trade. He represents the Chamber Network on a number of government working groups, contributes to consultations and he is the BCC delegate to the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) Technical Committee on Origin.

More recently he has led the development of a new customs declarations service delivered through our Chamber Network. ChamberCustoms is the first UK Customs Broker to offer clearance of goods through every inventory linked port in the United Kingdom and offers traders high standards of assurance and compliance in moving goods across the UK border.

Prior to joining the BCC in 2017, Liam was Deputy CEO at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce where he led a number of trade missions to Mexico, Iran and East Africa. He has also held a number of commercial and non-executive roles in the media and retail sectors.

Mary Portas is one of the UK's most high-profile business entrepreneurs. After making her name transforming Harvey Nichols into a global fashion destination, she founded her consultancy and creative agency, Portas, which works with businesses as they navigate our ever-changing retail and cultural landscape. Mary is a regular on radio and television, has launched a #1 ranking podcast, has written several books, and created twenty-six Mary's Living & Giving Shops which have raised over £33m for charity. Mary has advised the government on the future of our high streets, and is now the co-chair of the Better Business Act.

Mary Robinson is Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice in Trinity College Dublin and Chair of The Elders. She served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. She is a member of the Club of Madrid and the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States Barack Obama. Between 2013 and 2016 Mary served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in three roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa, then on Climate Change leading up to the Paris Agreement and in 2016 as his Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate. Her Foundation, the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, established in 2010, came to a planned end in April 2019.

A former President of the International Commission of Jurists and former chair of the Council of Women World Leaders she was President and founder of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative from 2002-2010 and served as Honorary President of Oxfam International from 2002-2012. She was Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1998 to 2019. 

Mary Robinson serves as Patron of the International Science Council and Patron of the Board of the Institute of Human Rights and Business, is an Ambassador for The B Team, in addition to being a board member of several organisations including the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Aurora Foundation. Recently she became joint Honorary President of the Africa Europe Foundation. Mary’s memoir, ‘Everybody Matters’ was published in September 2012 and her book, ‘Climate Justice - Hope, Resilience and the Fight for a Sustainable Future’ was published in September 2018. She is also co-host of a podcast on the climate crisis, called ‘Mothers of Invention’.

Miranda Barker is CEO of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and Chair of RedCAT, working for the members and the wider East Lancashire business community, providing advice, support and commercial services. Miranda is a Lancashire LEP Director and is co-chair of the LEPs Energy & Low Carbon strand, and Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce Chambers’ Climate Challenge Group.

Chamber Low Carbon is a multi-million pound program, part ERDF funded working across Lancashire with SMEs to help them reduce their CO2 emissions and plan their path to net zero, including providing a Lancashire low carbon grant. RedCAT, the Lancashire Centre for Alternative Technologies, backed by the Getting Building Fund, is an initiative developed and led by East Lancashire Chamber, in partnership with AMRC NW, Environment Agency, providing a pathway of financial and R & D support to accelerate the commercialisation of low carbon technologies.

Previously as a professional environmental consultant, Miranda established an environmental consultancy working with clients across food, chemicals, pharma, energy, waste, farming, manufacturing, FMCG, engineering, automotive and aerospace, in the UK, northern, western and eastern Europe, Brazil, USA and China.

I am currently studying German, Spanish, History, Geography and Religious Studies. I have debated for three years and have been able to participate in multiple exciting competitions this year. I would love to continue to study Maths and German after secondary school, and my dream job would be to work for the UN!

Jacko served as a senior officer in the Armed Forces for 23 years completing operational tours around the world and postings in the UN, NATO, RSA and the UK Ministry of Defence’s mission planning and training directorate. For the last 10 years he has focussed commercially on executive level stakeholder management, refining customer service delivery models and business process outsourcing including as Operations Director for a complex recruiting programme in partnership with the MoD.

Jacko was appointed as the Director of DRM in 2019. DRM works with UK employers and organisations to develop mutually beneficial partnerships that support the Armed Forces community.

Oliver is our Lead Facilitator and he is on a mission. He’s passionate about helping organisations to transform and improve the way they operate now and in the future.

Oliver is a Master NLP Practitioner, a celebrated keynote speaker and author of the Book – How To Train Your Business Brain.

He leads award winning Leadership Programmes that are fully immersed into the strategy of your business and are designed to build a culture of trust – without which your transformation to Hybrid Working will never embed.

Oliver works with our clients creating measurable results supporting our Smart Working Feasibility Programmes including engagement sessions with the wider workforce. He helps to shift mindsets so that your team approach problems in a more open and innovative way of thinking.

Olly and Ruth first worked together 20 years ago at Domestic and General, the Warranty Insurer. Together they implemented a number of Transformation options that were really successful and have continued to deliver more effective ways of working into large and small businesses ever since.

Oliver works with many blue-chip organisations including Mastercard, Coca Cola, UK Athletics, Tesco, Warner Bros and Costa Coffee.

I am Princetta, a Year 10 student at The Grey Coat Hospital. As well as the core subjects and Further Maths, I study Music, History, French and Spanish, though I am particularly interested in languages and music. My extracurricular activities nicely compliment my studies: debate club, leading a band, maths mentoring for younger students and a full morning of music classes on Saturdays. I aspire to go to a university abroad and study Law or Political Science, while continuing to play the flute in orchestras, as a hobby, and becoming more fluent in French.

Rachel Reeves is the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. She has served as the Labour MP for Leeds West since 2010.

Before becoming an MP she spent a decade working as an economist for the Bank of England and HBOS.

From 2017-2020, she was Chair of the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee. In May 2020, Rachel took up the role of Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office before being appointed Shadow Chancellor in May 2021.

Rachel has an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from New College, Oxford, and a Masters in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Rebecca Warder is a Member of the Advisory Board of the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (LCAM). LCAM operates as part of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offering streamlined arbitration, expedited arbitration and mediation services. Cases are run on a fixed-fee and cost-effective basis, with services delivered by an experienced and diverse panel of arbitrators and mediators, overseen by the Advisory Board.

Rebecca is Head of Knowledge at Hausfeld & Co LLP and is an experienced disputes lawyer. In her role as a litigator at a leading City law firm, Rebecca was instructed on high value cross-border arbitration and litigation cases arising out of international trade. She has extensive experience of mediation. At Hausfeld Rebecca heads the firm’s Knowledge programme, including knowhow, thought leadership and learning and development.

Richard has been the chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry since February 2020.

Richard has worked in over 55 countries, specialising in Africa, the wider Commonwealth, and conflict-afflicted situations and locations.

He was Chief Executive, Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council from 2017 to 2019. For the previous 8 years, he was Chief Executive of Wilton Park (a Foreign and Commonwealth Office agency for conciliation and dialogue on conflict and crises). He was a Commissioner for Commonwealth Scholarships, and on the Council of Durham University. He is currently a Governor of the National Institute of Social and Economic Research.

He has been CEO of the Countryside Alliance, Director General of the Zoological Society of London, and for ten years served with the British Council in Africa and the Middle East.

He graduated from Durham University (Hatfield College) in1980 and was a Commonwealth Research Scholar at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (1983-1986). He was born in Hong Kong.

My name is Ruby and I'm in Year 10. The GCSEs I chose to study are: Triple Science, Latin, German, Geography and History. I would either like to work in criminology or in an archive.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith is the President of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Ruby is currently a Non-Executive Director at the Department for Education and Tideway; senior independent advisor at Mace Group; and chair of the Airport Operators Association. She is a member of the House of Lords Committee on Democracy and Digital Technologies, and patron of the Employers Forum for Equality and Inclusion.

Previously, Ruby spent fourteen years at Mitie Group PLC – including a decade as CEO, as one of a small number of female CEOs in the FTSE 250. She also served as Chair of the Women’s Business Council, and has held a range of NED and public appointments and won a number of national awards during her business career.

Ruby was appointed CBE in 2011 for services to business and to diversity in business, and became a life peer in 2015.

Sam Jeffs enjoyed an adventurous 10 year career as a Royal Navy submarine navigator until 2014, before continuing his seafaring career as a Superyacht Captain in Mallorca.

Settling back in the UK in 2020, he set up Cheshire Quality Ltd with his partner JP, which retails Cheshire-based artisan products. When the pandemic hit, the business was moved quickly online and Sam set up a sister company to handle the local deliveries: Peregrine Ltd. It quickly became clear that demand for another regional courier was high to support other small local businesses, so Peregrine grew rapidly within just a few months. In June 2020, the business growth accelerated when Sam won a contract with Amazon as delivery partner. In the space of 18 months, Peregrine grew from ‘one man and a van’ to a firm of 50 drivers, 30 vans and 5 HGVs. With the current fuel situation affecting the operation of the vehicles, the company has scaled down the HGV operation while Sam focusses on several other businesses and opportunities.

In 2021, Cheshire Quality was awarded “Highly Commended Retail Businesses of the Year” and Peregrine was awarded "Start-up Business of the Year" and Sam was a finalist for the "Entrepreneur of the Year Award" with British Ex-Forces in Business Awards.

Sam has 12 years of experience creating, driving and leading sustainability programmes. He’s recently joined Coca Cola Europacific Partners to lead on climate and sustainability in GB, having previously worked for the FTSE 100-listed DS Smith where he established their industry-leading ‘Now and Next’ sustainability strategy and was responsible for DS Smith’s strategic partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and was heavily involved in DS Smith's activity around science-based targets and net zero roadmaps. He has previously worked for Mars inc. and in the agricultural division of Associated British Foods building strategy focusing on sustainable supply chains. Sam has a background in Geography and is a Chartered Environmentalist through the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

Sarah Howard is Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Sarah is a past president of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. She joined the BCC board in 2016 and became Chair in October 2019.

Sarah started her career as a management consultant at KPMG, moving to JP Morgan before setting up her own company, Sarand Business Software with her partner in 1994. The company supplies bespoke software to a wide range of clients.

Sarah chairs Abbeycroft, a large not for profit leisure trust. She is the independent Chair of the West Suffolk Alliance for the NHS and is also a Governor at West Suffolk College and a member of the Suffolk Academy Trust.

Shevaun Haviland is Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Shevaun joined BCC from the Cabinet Office where she lead Business Partnerships. She joined the UK government in 2016 and also ran the Inclusive Economy Partnership for HMG.

Shevaun started her career in consultancy in London and New York. She then moved to the Walt Disney Company in strategic planning before joining Disneyland Paris, opening the second theme park. Shevaun then joined the agency world, running global accounts for Millward Brown, Mindshare and WPP.

Following this, she became a partner in a start-up digital innovation agency and venture builder, Independents United, where she also became an Advisor for the Danson Foundation.

Most recently, Shevaun was the New Ventures Director for Avado, building new businesses in Edtech and founding the Academy of Digital Business Leaders. Shevaun has a passion for business as a force for good. She is a social impact investor, sits on the Ventures Advisory Board of UnLtd, and is Trustee of Barefoot College International as well as a board member of Women of the World Foundation.

Solange Chamberlain joined NatWest Group in December 2019 and is the Chief Operating Officer of the Commercial Banking business. She leads Commercial’s Strategy and Balance Sheet Management, and its Digital, Learning & Transformation programmes. In addition to being the Executive sponsor for Commercial’s response to climate change, helping to drive the transition of the business and its customers to a low carbon economy, Solange is also on the board of the Group’s RBSI business. 

Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American environmentalist studying climate science and public policy at Stanford University. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with 8,000 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into over 100 languages. She represents the U.S as the youngest member of the inaugural United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

Tim is a highly skilled Logistics programme and project management professional. He will assure early consideration of logistics into the business case and challenge assumptions with regards the logistics strategy during design, delivery and in operation.

As Logistics Director for Jacobs UK ltd, Tim is currently responsible for delivering Programme level Logistics and Supply Chain strategies into several major infrastructure programmes across the UK, under the vision of ‘Logistics in Design’. His team are also significantly involved in future planning of logistics in the urban and rural fields, driving digital application and decarbonisation as key foundations of future logistics strategies.

In his previous role as Head of Logistics, Development Programme, Heathrow Airport, he successfully led firstly the T2 Logistics Programme, and latterly the overall Heathrow Development Logistics Programme, supporting a £5.5bn programme of works.

In March 2020 Tim was mobilised to his Army Reserve role to aid the Covid Support Force. Deployed to NHS HQ, he was a member of the MOD Nightingale Hospital programme and aided the military team supporting the PPE supply chain & distribution effort and also the Vaccine Task Force, helping the deployment planning. For his activities in this role, he was awarded the OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours List.

Vicki Brooks has been a serving member of Humberside & South Yorkshire for 13 years, working in a variety of roles from instructor, Detachment Commander, County Public Relations Officer before taking up post as the Area Training Officer for E Company based in Northern Lincolnshire.

In February 2022, Vicki joined Doncaster Chamber as an Event Executive.

In 2021 Vicki received the Lord Lieutenant Certificate for Lincolnshire and in 2016 was named as a Point of Light by then Prime Minster David Cameron for services to the community.