Business Leaders speakers

In 2003, Alastair Lukies founded Monitise with Steve Atkinson when they saw the potential of using the mobile phone for more than a text or call.

Alec Hogg is a media entrepreneur, writer and broadcaster who lives in Surrey. His speciality is South Africa, a country where he was raised and spent decades as a leading financial journalist and publisher. He is a student of the history, economy, people and politics of South Africa and for 15 years presented a nationally broadcast nightly business radio show in prime time. He visits the country often and remains closely connected. Through Biznews.com, he is tapped into the country's business, social and political leadership. Biznews.com is an online news portal run from London, Johannesburg and Cape Town. In addition to being a popular keynote speaker, Hogg is an adept MC and interviewer with skills honed through decades of live television and radio broadcasting.

Currently CEO of Digital Brand Services and works with over a dozen clients in the public and private sectors. Senior Consultant Digital Strategy for TEAM AG, UEFA’s exclusive commercial partner for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup, the world’s most popular annual sporting event. Alex is also a member of the Digital Advisory Board the the UK Government Digital Service and on the Commission of English Heritage.

The Third Door Chronicles Banayan's seven-year quest to uncover the definitive mindset of exponential growth and success.

Andrew McMillan spent 28 years working for the John Lewis Partnership, starting as a management trainee to becoming responsible for customer experience across the department store division. Andrew's aim is to make individuals and organisations happier and more fulfilled through a sense of collective purpose, so they engender trust, loyalty and advocacy from their customers while becoming more productive and, as a consequence, more profitable. He helps organisations join up their own internal dots to create their unique link between employee engagement and consistently great customer experience.

Ardi is Executive Fellow and Director, GDPR Programme, Henley Business School and the founder of GO DPO®, which is the strategic partner for many multi-national clients in data protection, privacy and security. He’s the first privacy practitioner to have guided the global company Hitachi Consulting Corp (NYSE: HIT) in achieving BS10012:2017 Personal Information Management System (PIMS) in the UK.

Avril is an embracing combination of business adviser, occasional interim for step-change and serial Non Exec and Chairman. She is a regular columnist for Management Today 'Madame Guillotine', December 2012 achieved her first TEDx and in June 2013 published The Kama Sutra of Work which is both cheeky and will open your eyes to the possibilities of great work that you have never thought of!

UK based Global Futurist and Exponential Thinker Azeem Azhar helps leaders break down the complexity of emerging technologies and understand their impact on economies and society. He is a corporate innovator, serial entrepreneur and technology investor; Founder, Exponential View; Host, “Exponentially” on Bloomberg TV; Visiting Fellow, Oxford Martin School, Oxford University; Co-Chair, Global Futures Council on Complex Risks, World Economic Forum; Award-Winning, Bestselling Author, “The Exponential Age” (2021); Named one of Vox’s 2023 Future Perfect 50 and to the Thinkers50 2022 Radar List.

Barry O’Sullivan is the CEO of Altocloud and is an active technology investor.

Belinda Parmar OBE is the CEO of The Empathy Business and pioneer of the world’s first empathy index, launched in the Harvard Business Review. Belinda is transforming the business world to become a more empathic place and is currently Empathy-In-Residence at a bank. Belinda was awarded an OBE for bringing more women into the UK’s technology industry. Belinda’s new campaign is #TheTruthAboutTech highlighting Tech Addiction and how we can be more digitally resilient. Her campaign was featured on the front page of The Guardian in March 2018, Woman’s Hour and ITV news in May 2018.

Bianca Miller is an award-winning entrepreneur also known for creating the brand “Bianca Miller London” which launched in November 2015, a hosiery company which caters to women of all skin complexions ranging from English Rose to Sub-Saharan African.

Biz Stone is a co-founder of Twitter, Inc. and also helped to create and launch Xanga, Odeo, The Obvious Corporation and Medium. In 2012, Stone co-founded a start-up called Jelly Industries where he serves as CEO.

Bob is a recognized as an expert in cyber security, incidence response, cyber hacking, counterintelligence, and economic espionage. He has directed strategic initiatives and operations for high-profile international investigations in partnership with several Fortune 50 companies, the U.S. Departments of Defense, Justice, Energy, and Treasury, the U.S. Intelligence Community, and other federal agencies.

As Chairman of Asos and CEO of Amazon UK Brian has been at the forefront of digital retail. He led Amazon through a period of extreme growth, oversaw the acquisition of LoveFilm and the launch of Amazon Prime, and was instrumental in launching T-Mobile’s direct web and telesales customer-facing business. He now looks at how ecommerce businesses have grown, how to best engage with customers, and at lessons in leadership and change from Amazon and IBM.

As founder of two leading children's charities, the Place 2 Be and the now defunct Kids Company. Place 2 Be is continuing to deliver services and Kids Company closed "following false sexual abuse allegations, which were taken to the media. The police investigated, and found no crime had been committed. They stated they "found no fault with Kids Company's safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults". Camilla continues her pioneering work in collaboration with several charities and her new book 'Kids' also a collaboration will be out soon.

Cate’s experience of setting up two successful businesses in her twenties led to her being named a Future 100 and Startup 100 entrepreneur. She’s been quoted 4 times in Forbes magazine and is a RetailWire BrainTrust expert. LinkedIn named her one of the top 15 most listened to professionals in the UK. Vend ranked her as the world’s 26th most influential professional in retail.

Chandran leads what he believes is a pioneering concept - an organisation focused on the relationship of Asian society and values with those of the rest of the world. He is the founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow, which is a think-tank dedicated to advancing an understanding of the impacts of globalisation through thought leadership and positive action to effect change. Nair is a renowned international speaker, writer and facilitator and leading expert on globalisation and development in Asia.

Chanelle co-founded Chanelle Medical, part of the multi-million pound global company Chanelle Pharmaceutical Group based in Galway. Chanelle is the newest dragon on the TV series Dragon’s Den in Ireland and is also married to horseracing legend Sir AP McCoy.

As a figurehead and former Executive Director of Morgan Motors, Charles Morgan led the team that developed the first aluminium intensive vehicle and designed a chassis that meets world safety standards but is 20% lighter than comparable steel production. He also pioneered bodywork of superformed aluminium, making Morgan the first automotive manufacturer to assimilate this technology from the aircraft industry. Charles is also a talented speaker, presenting on topics including change management, people management, export and sales, and marketing.

Chicco is Chairman of the Board of Roma Metropolitane, the company in charge of the construction of the new underground lines in Rome. He is also a Senior Partner at Rothschild Italia, a member of the Board of Directors of Lloyd Adriatico and RAS, Chairman of the Board of Telit Communications PLC and Chairman of the Board of E.V.A., a company developing hydropower generation plants. He is currently a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the European Carbon Fund and also Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 20th World Energy Congress.

Christopher Thornberg is a founding partner of Beacon Economics and widely considered to be one of California’s leading economic forecasters. He is also Director of the UC Riverside School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. An expert in economic forecasting, regional development, real estate dynamics and labor markets, he was one of the earliest and most adamant predictors of the housing market crash and of the economic recession that has followed. In 2008, he was appointed as chief economist for California State Controller John Chiang as well as chair of the Controller’s Council of Economic Advisors. He also serves on the advisory board of Paulson & Co. Inc., one of Wall Street’s most successful hedge funds. Thornberg holds a doctorate in business economics from The Anderson School at UCLA, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Clare Bailey, The Retail Champion, is one of the most well-known and respected retail experts in the UK. Clare is renowned for her quick thinking, and an ability to backup her arguments with facts and figures. With unrivalled knowledge in retail, high streets and consumer matters, she offers unbiased and independent content.

Claude Littner is a British business executive and the current Chairman of Viglen, also known for his appearances on The Apprentice. In early 2015 it was announced that Littner was to become Lord Sugar’s aide for the 2015 series, replacing Nick Hewer.

Dame Stella speaks about her life and career at a wide range of events for audiences worldwide: for major national and international corporate clients, business professionals, the public and private sectors, trades associations and schools. Her straightforward approach and friendly, candid manner are combined with an informed view and intelligent judgement.

In July 2017 David was appointed by Warner Bros and the Blair Partnership (agents for JK Rowling) in what is set to be a landmark role leading digital innovation across the Wizarding World franchise, including Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Prior to that David was Managing Director of Membership, Marketing and Consumer Revenue at the Guardian, responsible for all reader revenue. David played a key role in two of Britain's most high-profile campaigns: Director of Marketing at the London 2012 Olympic bid, and Director of Commercial and Marketing at the England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.

Through David Rebbettes wealth of experience, he offers his unique industry insight into how an intelligent sale can revitalise a business.

Deborah Meaden is a British multi-millionairess who launched her own glass and ceramics export company whilst still in her teens and straight out of business college, before setting up one of the first Stefanel fashion franchises in the UK. She became a household name through her presence on BBC2's Dragons Den.

Since bursting onto the international scene with the bestseller Funky Business in 2000, Jonas has remained at the forefront of the new generation of management gurus.

Dr. Margaret Heffernan is the CEO of five businesses and blogs for Huffington Post and Inc.com.

Dumi Oburota is the Nigerian-British entrepreneur credited for engineering Patrick Okogwu AKA Tinie Tempah's rise to stardom. He is also attributed to being behind strong acts like WizKid and asides music, he boasts a clothing label under his "Disturbing London" company. Now he is on a mission to make Disturbing London "a stamp of coolness for millennial, urban culture".

Duncan Bannatyne OBE is a successful businessman and is one of the stars of the popular BBC TV series Dragon’s Den. He has a chain of well-known health clubs and is involved in multiple other businesses, with his main areas of business interest being property, hotels, media, transport and stage schools. Despite the fact Duncan is now a successful multimillionaire, he came from humble beginnings and is a true example of entrepreneurial spirit overcoming adversity.

Eamonn Quinn is currently an Executive Chariman of Kelsius Limited and has a wealth of experience within the food retail sector.

A serial entrepreneur, Emma Sinclair MBE now co-leads global software company EnterpriseAlumni. Their software powers the corporate alumni networks of some of the world’s largest companies.

Fleur Sexton is an inspirational Businesswoman who is the founder of PET-Xi Training, a high-energy training specialist whose multi-award-winning training teams have, since 1995, worked to help over 150,000 people identify training goals and unlock their potential. Starting from humble beginnings, Fleur has built up a company from her bedroom into a multi award-winning company and is now dedicated to motivating women to find their voice and fulfill their potential.

Now CEO of Belstaff, Fran Millar was CEO of Team Ineos and former TEAM Sky's Head of Winning Behaviours and Director of Business Operations and later CEO, Fran headed up the business and people functions within the world’s most successful cycling team. Fran is a huge hit with audiences both in the UK and internationally. Her passion for her subject coupled with her natural delivery style is always well received. She is one of the most engaging speakers that we have ever worked with and which an entire audience can relate to.

Garry Hunt is a uniquely skilled public speaker, facilitator & international businessman who has performed at such diverse places as the London Palladium, The Royal Institution, The Royal Society, company Boardrooms, Universities & TV studios throughout the world. He has a wide range of talents, as an international businessman, scientist, TV, radio broadcaster, author & speaker.

Gavin Duffy is best known for taking businesses from concept in the Den to success in retail or online in just a matter of months.

Gerald Ratner is a British Businessman who took over the family business of Ratners Jewellery, becoming one of Britain's most high-profile businessmen. He took the company from 130 stores to one with over 2,500, and increased its revenue by over tenfold. Despite losing his business, he has been immensely successful with his string health clubs and new jewellery store, 'Gerald Online', which is the largest in its sector.

After been reared in a family of 14 who grew up & lived on the farm before expanding into the businesses, Gerard Cleary has 40 years experience of navigating the family business model. Heading a successful ‘€20m family company’ driven by innovation & a will-to-do attitude is rare in the corporate world today ‘the day you become complacent is the day you go backwards’.

Harriet Green OBE has a proven track record for developing and implementing strategies for profitable growth and increasing shareholder value in global technology, logistics, travel and consumer sectors. Harriet received her OBE for services to electronics in 2010.

Helen Fospero is a trusted and familiar face on British TV. She is an accomplished awards host and conference chair with a background in journalism.

A true rags-to-riches story, Herman Mashaba created the cosmetics brand Black Like Me. He started by selling his products from the boot of his car, and it mushroomed into the multimillion Rand enterprise it is today. Recently, he has also started up operations in the UK.

Jacob Morgan is an author, speaker and futurist. His latest book, The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organisation, explores how the workplace is changing and was endorsed by business leaders such as the Chairman of KPMG, CEO of Whirlpool, CEO of Intuit and many others. Morgan also co-founded the FOW Community, which is a network of the world’s most forward thinking organizations who come together to explore the future of work.

James Alexander is currently a Director of FutureAgenda.org, an open source think tank and advisory delivering foresight, strategy and innovation to some of the world’s leading organisations such as Apple, WWF, Mastercard.

James speaks with passion about entrepreneurialism, brand development and chocolate. James made his name in chocolate, founding Gü Chocolate Puds and turning it into a £30m business. The idea for Gü came from living in Brussels where James was inspired by patisseries and chocolate shops. He formed a joint venture with a patisserie company back in London and developed the company’s first three products: two chocolate mousses and a chocolate soufflé in glass ramekins. James sold the business in 2010 (circa £30m) and has since continued to nurture and support future entrepreneurs.

James Caan has been developing and selling businesses for over 20 years, and has become one of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs. His success sparked from the international blooming of recruitment companies including the Alexander Mann Group and Humana International. Recently he has been seen to invest over £1million in his role on Dragon's Den over 4 series.

James Timpson is not only the Chief Executive of Timpson but also a cobbler and prison recruiter with a firm belief in upside down management.

Jason Averbook is a leading analyst, thought leader, consultant and keynote speaker in the area of human resources, the future of work and the impact technology has on the future.

Jean-Christophe was born in France where he left school at the age of 14 to become a baker. From there, Jean-Christophe has excelled to the top of the culinary world. Becoming a professional chef at the age of 20, winning his first 2 Michelin stars as Chef Patron at the Gordleton Mill. Jean-Christophe now owns restaurants all around the world, and has opened his own cookery school to pass on his gift to others.

Jeff Randall is one of the UK's leading business commentators. He is Editor-at-Large of The Daily Telegraph, and a regular presenter on Sky News and Five Live. Known for speaking his mind, Jeff's speeches mix crystal ball gazing with an insider's take on the runners and riders. As one of the UK's best known and most influential business commentators, Jeff proves to be an ideal moderator and host at various conferences throughout the country. Being relaxed and highly professional he draws on his extensive media experience to provide audiences with a truly memorable event.

Jenny founded YourCash, an ATM provider, when she bought it as a loss-making subsidiary from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010. She was able to draw upon all the skills and experience she had gained during her 30+ years at NatWest and RBS to lead an extensive turnaround programme and impressive growth strategy across Europe. Jenny sold the business to a quoted US company in 2016. Jenny was invited to join the panel on BBC2 Dragon’s Den in 2017 where she invested in several companies across different sectors including energy, media, pharmaceutical and retail.

Jeremy Dale is the launch CEO of OTRO which is a new digital fan club for 17 of the world’s top footballers. He is also the Corporate Vice President at Microsoft with revenue responsibility in excess of $12bn.

Jim McKelvey is an American entrepreneur, businessperson and philanthropist who is involved in more than a dozen companies, most notably as the co-founder of Square.

Jo Fairley is co-founder of the pioneering organic chocolate company Green & Black’s, which has gone from a niche organic and Fairtrade brand to a global chocolate name - voted ‘Coolest Food Brand in the UK’ for the sixth year running, by Coolbrands. Engaging and passionate, Jo never fails to inspire – and is always happy to network with attendees, offering more direct input to individuals.

Jo Malone is an English scent maverick who created some of the world's most favourite and loved fragrances. She launched both Jo Malone London and Jo Loves, before being awarded a CBE in 2018 for her services to the British Economy and the Great British campaign.

Joe McEwan is a knowledgeable keynote speaker who tells the inspiring story of his journey from a university student to the Head of Digital and Communities for Innocent smoothies.

Joel Harrison plays a strategic role in the company, focusing on the development of all B2B Marketing's content, products and services.

Joff Sharpe is one of Britain’s more colourful businessmen. Unusual entries on his CV include: a year living amongst the Iban headhunters of Borneo, running an internet company for Rupert Murdoch and being Piers Morgan’s HR director.

The success of Phones 4U was as much the barometer as anything else. Starting with the opportunistic sale of a job lot of bricklike Motorola handsets, Mr Caudwell tapped into the sudden boom in mobile communications to build a national retail chain selling 26 phones every minute and employing as many as 3,000 in his home town of Stoke alone.

After beginning a career training as an accountant, John was forced to give up his apprenticeship and focus his efforts on rescuing his father’s business, working as a minicab driver to make ends meet during this period. Having helped his family firm and following the birth of his two sons, John was inspired to start his own business and came to the conclusion that he could run his own minicab business a lot more successfully than the companies he had worked for. Founded in Battersea in 1975 with just one car, Addison Lee now carries 10 million passengers and couriers 1 million deliveries a year.

John is a world leading management thinker and economist; his work has been mostly concerned with the application of economics to the analysis of changes in industrial structure and the competitive advantage of individual firms. John is a distinguished academic, a successful businessman, an adviser to companies and governments around the world, and an acclaimed columnist. Looking at all aspects of economics from investment to monetary supply, industry and markets to government and world finance, John provides an illuminating, accessible, and often surprisingly amusing analysis of the complexities of money.

John Mills is an economist and author, noted for his writing on Brexit, the Labour Party and exchange rate policy. He is also the founder and chairman of JML, the consumer goods distribution company.

John was instrumental in Starbucks’ growth from a single premises in Seattle to a colossal global brand. He then headed marketing at Whole Foods Market. Given the value of word-of-mouth to any successful brand, John emphasises the need to use social media to engage fully with your customer base.

Josh Littlejohn MBE is the co-founder of Scottish social enterprise Social Bite, a national chain of sandwich and coffee shops, which shot to global fame when Holywood A-lister George Clooney visited an outlet in 2015. Another Oscar winner Leonardo Di Caprio then visited the social enterprise in 2016.

With over thirty years of experience working in and leading large businesses, Justin brings in-depth knowledge of retail transformation and operations as well as a good historic understanding of the M&S business and values. Justin is currently Vice Chairman of Terra Firma, where he acts as an adviser to the General Partner. Prior to this, Justin was the CEO of Sainsbury’s between 2004 and 2014, where he led the business through a major turnaround which led to nine years of profit growth. Before joining Sainsbury’s, Justin was Head of Food at Marks & Spencer where he was one of the pioneers of the development of the Simply Food business. He held prior roles at Asda, Haagen-Dazs, PepsiCo and Mars and was a board member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Justin was also a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.

Lady Karren Brady CBE is one of the most sought-after motivational speakers in the world and has travelled the globe inspiring and motivating audiences. She has, for the past decade been considered as one of the best speakers in the world on a range of topics that leave audiences inspired and motivated.

Kelly Hoppen is at the forefront of the design industry, publishers and businesses continually seek her unparalleled expertise, allowing her to indulge her entrepreneurial instincts including The Dragon's Den and fronted the Channel 5 Design Series, Superior Interiors, in 2011.

Few people have influenced the day-to-day management of people and companies more than Ken Blanchard. A prominent, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant, Ken Blanchard is universally characterized by his friends, colleagues, and clients as one of the most insightful, powerful, and compassionate individuals in business today.

As a CEO, chairman, founder and investor Kevin has enjoyed success in sectors including automotive, data, technology, manufacturing, brand marketing and professional services. He has repeatedly led teams to achieve extraordinary performance in companies ranging from 7 to 7,000 employees. One recognised as the best private equity investment of the year, another nominated as the World’s 7th most innovative company. Passionate about the development of leadership skills he is frequently sought to reinvigorate teams and companies.

Dr. Kjell A. Nordström is the interpreter of the new world of business. He speaks to audiences all over the world, writes books and articles and reads – everything from Playboy to Architectural Digest to Pinter. His performances are high touch, dynamic, highly interactive, thought provoking and always in line with time. His dynamic style makes him a highly appreciated speaker through out the world.

Lara Morgan is widely known for building her own global leading licensing business, Pacific Direct. Over 17 years, she made luxury toiletry products for YSL, Bulgari, Penhaligons, Aveda, The White Company, Elemis and many others while steering Pacific Direct to become a world leading licensing business. In 2008, she sold her majority shareholding for £20million.

Leo Johnson is a Sustainability expert. He is the Co-Founder of Sustainable Finance, and advisor to over fifty global banks and businesses. He helps pinpoint trends, and presents the risks and opportunities for business and finance.

Liz Jackson is an inspirational figure with an extraordinary story, as many would have discovered when she was featured in Channel 4’s ‘Secret Millionaire’. Honoured by Her Majesty the Queen, Liz was awarded an MBE in the 2007 for services to business, and in 2012 she was bestowed with an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University for her business achievements and for inspiring others.Liz is also an accomplished author, having published her book StartUp! which provides invaluable help and advice to entrepreneurs everywhere.

When thinking of Lord Alan Sugar it is difficult not to imagine the dreaded words ‘you’re fired’. However, it’s good to learn that although he doesn’t mince his words and definitely doesn’t suffer fools gladly, Lord Sugar is actually a considerate man and a philanthropist. He says what he means and can come across as abrupt at times, but his sense of humour is evident, as is his genuine desire to improve both the business and life experience of others.

Lord Digby has been at the forefront of Britain and International trade and investment for decades. He is a business ambassador of UK Trade & Investment, Former Director General of the CBI and Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment. He is an engaging speaker and valuable mentor.

tuart Rose has spent all his career in retail joining Marks & Spencer plc in 1971. He left to join the Burton Group in 1989, becoming a director in 1993. Following the Group’s demerger in 1997 he became Chief Executive of Argos plc during the bid by GUS. In 1998 he became Chief Executive of Booker plc which was merged with the Iceland Group in 2000. He then became Chief Executive of Arcadia Group plc in November 2000 and left in December 2002 following its sale to Sir Philip Green. He was named Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer plc in May 2004 and became Chairman in 2008, standing down in January 2011. He was Chairman of The British Fashion Council from 2004 – 2008, Chairman of Business in the Community from 2008 – 2010 and a Non-Executive Director of Land Securities from 2003-2013. He is Chairman of Ocado, Fat Face, Oasis Healthcare Group and a Non-Executive Director of Woolworths (South Africa). He is also Chairman of The Healing Foundation, a medical charity.

In 2007, Buckingham started The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC) to create management training programs and tools dedicated to promoting the strengths revolution. The company helped him to launch a coordinated series of products in conjunction with the publication of Go Put Your Strengths to Work.

Mark van Rijmenam is a highly sought-after international public speaker, a Big Data strategist and author of the best-selling book Think Bigger - Developing a Successful Big Data Strategy for Your Business.

Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, CBE is a British businesswoman, philanthropist, and public servant. Lane Fox co-founded Lastminute.com in the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public service digital projects.

Professor Merlin Stone is one of the UK's top experts in marketing, customer management and customer insight. After a long career in management, research, management consulting and universities, he now runs his own consulting, research and training practice.

Mike Harris is the Executive Chairman of online identity experts Garlik and Chair of Group Innovation at RBS. Prior to this he was founder of internet banks Egg and Firstdirect.

Molly is a social entrepreneur, motivational speaker, thought leader in the international charity sector and mother of international pop stars Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield.

Narayana co-founded Infosys in 1981 and served as CEO for over 20 years between 1981 and 2002. Under his leadership, Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999 and now employs over 100,000 people world-wide. He served as the Executive Chairperson and Chief Mentor from 2002-6 before becoming Non-Executive Chairman. Narayana was voted the "World Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young in 2003 and ranked as India's most powerful CEO for three consecutive years between 2004 and 2006 by the Economic Times. In 2004, TIME magazine identified him as one of ten global leaders who are helping shape the future of the world.

Following the success of the Call Centre TV show and his other media appearances Nev has become a highly sought after business, motivational and after dinner speaker. Whether its informed opinion for a key-note address or a burst of energy and a song to start a conference that you need, Nev is guaranteed to make an impact.

Nick Hewer is the host of Countdown and was Lord Sugar’s right-hand man on The Apprentice for almost ten years. On the business reality contest Nick’s wry looks and deadpan comments became a favourite part of the show and revealed exactly what he thought of the contestants.

Nick Jenkins is the founder of Moonpig.com, the online greeting card website – an idea that started whilst at university.

Parag Khanna is a leading global strategist, world traveler, and best-selling author. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He is also the Managing Partner of Hybrid Reality, a boutique geostrategic advisory firm, and Co-Founder & CEO of Factotum, a leading content branding agency.

Dr. Patrick Dixon is a futurist keynote speaker, Chairman of Global Change Ltd and author of 16 books including The Future of Almost Everything, Futurewise and Building a Better Business. He is ranked as one of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive today.

Peter Casey is the Founder and Chairman of Claddagh Resources and is also a writer and business and political commentator.

Author of eight books, including "Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise", Peter delivers bespoke masterclasses that fuse together his passion for music to facilitate businesses with leadership, strategy, innovation and creativity. Peter uses a rich mix of business intelligence with the power of music to inspire, inform, and engage his audience in ways that stay with them forever.

PY Gerbeau explains how every tier of management must be accountable and agile to improve the organisation’s prospects for growth; and with some companies still on life support, it’s up to managers to see that core values are upheld by everyone.

Roman Nicholas is a self-made, award winning entrepreneur with an interest in retail.

Ravi, a former Chairman of Tata Group companies, is an author, speaker, mentor, and strategy advisor to corporations, civil society, governments, and families, on 'asking the right questions, and nurturing a new AWARENESS to revamp strategy'. A fellow of World Business Academy, he is the founder Chairman of CeNext Consulting Group.

Raymond is a completely self-taught chef, inspired by his mother (fondly referred to as Maman Blanc). Raymond grew up in Besançon, near Dijon. He arrived in England in 1972 and became a waiter at the Rose Revived in Newbridge, Oxford. When the chef fell ill, Raymond took over, and in 1975, he was promoted to chef. The rest, as they say, is history. Raymond went from strength to strength, gaining the Rose Revived a Michelin Star two years later. He then worked all hours to save for his own restaurant; he opened Les Quat' Saisons in Oxford in 1977 and soon won a host of distinctions.

Reema Al Saud is best known for her leadership skills within business innovation, with an emphasis on women in the workplace.

Richard Branson is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies. His first business venture was a magazine called Student at the age of 16. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Richard's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Richard is now the 6th richest person in the UK, according to the Forbes 2013 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of £2.8 billion.

Richard Reed is the co-founder of Innocent drinks, the UK’s fastest growing food and drinks company and the no.1 smoothie brand in the UK.

Rita Clifton CBE has been called ‘Brand guru’ by the Financial Times and ‘The doyenne of branding’ by Campaign magazine. She is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair & practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership.

Rocco Forte is Chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels. Son of the late Lord Charles Forte, Sir Rocco founded the luxury hotel company in 1996.

Overnight, Ronan Harrington went from senior leadership positions at the British Foreign Office and Extinction Rebellion to being diagnosed with a debilitating lifetime chronic illness. He’s learned the hard way how to lead under pressure and stay strong in the face of adversity. Ronan now teaches on the KPMG Executive Leadership Programme and is a resilience specialist at Tough Cookie, advising leading organisations including Sky, Meta and Accenture on how to create healthy, high performing cultures.

Sahar Hashemi founded Coffee Republic, the UK's first US style coffee bar chain. Sahar and her brother built it into one of the UK's most recognized high street brands with a turnover of £30million and gave up her career as a lawyer to make Coffee Republic one of the main players in the 'coffee revolution'. Sahar was named 'Pioneer to the life of the nation' by Her Majesty The Queen and Yong Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos. Sahar has gone on to write many successful books and start new companies, such as 'Skinny Candy', a high profile brand of lower calorie candy which she sold to confectionery conglomerate Glisten Plc.

Sally Preston, entrepreneurial mum of two, has revolutionised the baby food market globally with her award-winning baby food brands Babylicious and Kiddylicious. Sally previously worked at M&S as a food scientist for 11 years and understands the vital role that early food experiences play in a child’s development, and the effect it has on their attitudes to food for life.

Mumpreneur, Investor and Dragon, Sarah has won multiple entrepreneurial and business awards and has appeared on television programmes as a business expert including 'The Restaurant' and Dragon's Den. Sarah is a popular speaker in the UK and internationally on topics including all aspects of money saving, Leadership and Teamwork, Business Turnarounds, Food, Restaurant, Retail, Leisure industries and Entrepreneurism.

For the past decade Seth has shared his insights with thousands of business leaders around the world and has received accolades from many of the world's best brands.

Shed is a hysterical entertainer, business speaker, perpetual entrepreneur, and motivational performer. Shed Simove’s expertise in creativity, innovation and idea generation inspires significant, profitable changes that equip audiences with the tools to generate new ideas for increased sales and opportunity.

Simon Mainwaring is recognised for his thought leadership on the impact that social media is having on brands and consumers, and ultimately how the new dynamics between them will alter the accepted paradigms of marketing, advertising, and even capitalism itself.

Sir John Timpson is chairman of a close-knit family business that stretches back to the end of the 19th century. But it is one of the least traditional companies in the UK.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is a British entrepreneur of Greek origin, resident in Monaco. Stelios is the founder of easyJet, a low-cost airline and the Stelmar shipping line. EasyJet's foundation in 1995 marked the beginning of a series of ventures marketed under the "easy" brand, managed by easyGroup and chaired by Sir Stelios.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, also known as TimBL, is an English engineer and computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web.

One of the longest serving and most successful leaders of a blue-chip company and a highly regarded businessman, Stuart Hampson was chairman of the John Lewis Partnership for 14 years.

Working with the Vitabiotics for over 20 years, Tej Lalvani has worked his way through the company including as a forklift driver before getting the CEO position. He inherited the company from his father, Kartar Lalvani - who founded Vitabiotics in 1971 in India and still remains as chairman. Tej is also a Dragon is the BBC Hit Dragon's Den.

Described as engaging and thought-provoking Tim is a recognised international speaker on customer experience and marketing. As a passionate, intelligent speaker Tim will inspire audiences to think bigger and bolder about their customer experience and brand strategy.

Timo Kiuru is a true global citizen having worked in cities as diverse as Seoul, Istanbul, San Diego, New York, Miami, Barcelona, Paris, Seattle, Tokyo, Helsinki, Abu Dhabi, London, Kazan, Stockholm, Porto, Toronto, Las Vegas, Tallinn, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Tom Oliver has shared his secrets on leadership, innovation and creativity with Bono, Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra and Richard Branson and is in high demand as a global keynote speaker and consultant.

Tom is the co-author of ‘In Search of Excellence’, the book that changed the way the world does business and is often cited as one of the best business books around. Sixteen books and almost thirty years later, Tom is still at the forefront of the management guru industry. Whilst some ‘gurus’ keep on repeating the same mantras year-in, year-out, CNN stated that Tom is one man that is constantly re-inventing himself and finding the newest ways to help business.

Touker Suleyman has 40 years' retail and manufacturing experience and is best known as the founder of quintessentially British menswear brand, Hawes & Curtis and the man credited with reinventing the seminal 90s womenswear label, Ghost.

William joined the Virgin Group in 1987, progressing his way through the ranks to eventually becoming Sir Richard Branson's Special Adviser and 'right hand man'. In his time at Virgin, he projected the Virgin brand into new ventures, including telecoms and financial services. He later became the President of Virgin Galactic, the companies spaceline business venture. Since leaving Virgin in 2011, Will went on to being non-executive director of Stagecoach Group plc., and then most recently appointed as Chairman of the British Government's Transport Systems Catapult, developing new transport technology.