Anica holds a portfolio of roles across the public and private sectors. She specialises in values-led innovation and risk management, with particular expertise in data and technology risk, especially in clarifying this for non-technologists. She holds a master’s degree in AI, Ethics and Society from Cambridge, where she focused on the benefits and challenges of AI for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). As an investor she focuses on female-led companies which make demonstrable contributions to their communities. Alongside this, she mentors other women, helping them to leverage their skills, knowledge and resource to become active investors in their own right.

Roderick’s career spans over 20 years of managing, founding and growing angel groups and investment platforms, collectively deploying over £100m of equity investment in more than 500 startup and scaleup businesses. He started at Beer & Partners, the first and largest angel group in the UK which later sold to Risk Capital Partners.

He is now the Managing Director of the UK Business Angels Association, the trade body for angel and early-stage investing, representing 220 organisations including  Angel Groups, Investment Funds and Family Offices that collectively deploy over £2bn p.a. in innovative, high-growth businesses.

25 years ago Adam started out as an editor for a small independent production company. Since then there isn't a type of production or role that Adam hasn't done. Having directed and produced reality, documentaries, comedies and ad campaigns, Adam found himself as Head of Production at a global advertising agency. Since founding and building Sticks & Glass in 2018 they now specialise in post and live production with a focus on factual, documentary filmmaking and live sports. A world class live and post facility in the heart of Leeds.

Tracy Brabin is the Labour Mayor of West Yorkshire, who was re-elected with more than 50% of the vote in May 2024. Tracy has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since 2021 and was the first ever woman Metro Mayor in England. She Chairs the UK Mayors Network, the group of 12 Metro Mayors in England. During her re-election campaign, Tracy pledged to improve access to culture and grassroots sports for all children, to develop a new strategy to reduce serious violence, and to create a 'region of learning'. In her first term, Tracy took the decision to franchise the bus network and is committed to having spades in the ground for a new tram system by 2028. Prior to her election as Mayor, Tracy was the Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen, from 2016 to 2021 and spent three decades working in the creative industries

Sir Chris Bryant was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade on 6 September 2025.

He was previously Minister of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport between 8 July 2024 and 6 September 2025.

He was elected as the MP for Rhondda and Ogmore (previously Rhondda) on 7 June 2001.  

He studied English at Mansfield College, Oxford, and theology at (ISEDET) in Buenos Aires and at Ripon College, Cuddeson, Oxford.

Adam Clements is the Founder and CEO of CHUTE, an innovative sportswear company transforming football footwear through sustainable, performance-led design. With over a decade of experience working across not-for-profit, enterprise organisations, and universities, Adam has supported hundreds of early-stage founders to secure funding, refine their ideas, and build sustainable ventures.

An MBA graduate and Innovate UK award winner, Adam has built his career around empowering entrepreneurs and creating opportunities for underrepresented and emerging talent. His professional background in business advisory, programme delivery, and enterprise development has given him first-hand insight into the realities of starting and scaling a business.

Inspired by his passion for football and environmental responsibility, Adam founded CHUTE to solve one of the sport’s biggest challenges: the need for multiple pairs of boots for different playing surfaces. CHUTE’s patent-pending interchangeable soleplate technology allows players to use one boot across grass, astro, and indoor pitches, significantly reducing waste and cost while improving performance and convenience.

Under Adam’s leadership, CHUTE has secured innovation support, built a multidisciplinary team, and developed a clear roadmap for global growth. The brand’s mission—“One Boot, Every Pitch”—reflects Adam’s commitment to making football more accessible, sustainable, and future-focused.

Alongside leading CHUTE, Adam remains passionate about responsible entrepreneurship, inclusive innovation, and building businesses that deliver lasting commercial and social impact.

Marverine Cole is a multi-award-winning broadcaster and journalist. She is best known as a newsreader on ITV1’s flagship breakfast programme, Good Morning Britain (GMB).

This year she celebrates 23 years in the industry, having been a Reporter, Documentary Producer and Presenter for many of the UK’s other leading broadcasters, including Sky News, BBC 5 Live, Classic FM and BBC Radio 4.

When Marverine is not presenting TV News, she’s always busy wearing her two other ‘hats’. She often evangelises about craft beer on ITV’s Sunday morning programme, Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh – in her guise as an accredited beer sommelier.

As a transformative coach and mentor, Marverine candidly shares her career and life experiences, personal advice & guidance on her social media channels.

Jordan Dargue is one of the UK’s most respected advocates for female founders and diversity in the investment ecosystem. As Co‑Founder of Lifted Ventures, she works to increase early‑stage capital for women‑led businesses and highlight the clear benefits of backing women. She is a senior leader, angel investor and experienced Non‑Executive Director, having previously co‑led NorthInvest and co‑founded Fund Her North and Women Angels of the North — networks focused on equal access to finance for female founders. Jordan’s leadership has supported investors and founders across the UK, championing inclusive investment and stronger regional ecosystems.

Chantal Epp is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, two-time World Champion Cheerleader, and the founder and CEO of ClicknClear, a pioneering music rights technology company. She is currently leading a transformative movement at the intersection of music, sport, and intellectual property, earning recognition as one of the 50 Most Inspiring Women in Tech in the UK.

Chantal’s entrepreneurial journey began at university with Synergy Sounds, a music mixing service for cheer and dance teams. After transitioning into the professional sync licensing world—working with major brands and digital creators—she witnessed the legal vulnerabilities of the sports world firsthand when a major record label sued the cheerleading industry. This served as the catalyst for ClicknClear.

Under her leadership, ClicknClear has secured global deals with all major record labels and publishers, unlocking a previously untapped revenue stream for the music industry. The company’s proprietary technology suite manages rights and verifies licenses for high-stakes disciplines like Gymnastics, Figure Skating, and Artistic Swimming. These efforts recently earned ClicknClear the prestigious WIPO Global Award from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Beyond the boardroom, Chantal is a dedicated athlete and global advocate for ParaCheer. She has helped establish inclusive teams in over 18 countries by showcasing her wheelchair partner stunt routines. Alongside her partner, Rick Rodgers, she is currently leading the charge to see cheerleading recognized in the Paralympic Games.

A tech visionary and champion for equity, Chantal continues to break barriers, ensuring that both artists and athletes are protected and empowered on the world stage.

Jim has been an integral part of the Production Park team since 2016, contributing to its growth and expansion.

With a diverse background spanning both the public and private sectors, Jim has held key roles in regional development at Yorkshire Forward, managed national creative sector development with Creative England, and accumulated over two decades of experience in the private sector, working for major companies including Sainsbury’s, Pace, and Terayon (now part of Google). His broad expertise has played a crucial role in driving strategic initiatives and fostering collaboration across industries.

David Glick is the founder and Chief Executive of Edge Investments and is renowned as one of the creative industries’ pre-eminent dealmakers. He is passionate about helping creative people with business acumen realise their aspirations, believing in ethical and sustainable wealth creation, that social mobility is crucial to any civilised society, and that creativity and imagination go to the very essence of improving our world, advancing culture, and driving progress through technological advancement.

David is primarily an investor in the creative economy. Edge's funds are motivated by a passionate desire to bridge the traditional gap between the investment community and the creative industries, born of my own experience as an entrepreneur, adviser to creative companies, and investor.

For over 20 years, David partnered with or advised artists, fashion designers, stars of the culinary world, and executives and companies across the entertainment and media sector. He was part of the team which built and then floated a major intellectual property company on the London Stock Exchange. In 2011, he sold his law firm, Edge Legal, to focus on Edge's investment management arm.

His first book, the provocative environmental cri de coeur 50 Ways To F**k The Planet, was published by HarperCollins in 2008. He is passionate about supporting young people in the creative industries and has served as a trustee of both the Voice for Nature Foundation and the Sarabande Foundation, formed with his late friend and colleague, fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

Zoë is Executive Director at Kings Place and has been with the venue since its opening in 2008. She leads on strategic direction, business planning and the operational effectiveness of the business, working in partnership with Artistic Director Sam McShane. Before being promoted to Executive Director, Zoe was Deputy Managing Director at the venue, as well as acting as Comedy Programmer and was the founder, programmer and producer of the London Podcast Festival until 2023. Previous to Kings Place, Zoe worked at the Lakeside Arts Centre where she had responsibility for Operations and Front of House. She completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Nottingham and more recently obtained an MSc in Human Resource Management from Birkbeck. Zoe loves all culture, pop and highbrow and has a special interest in comedy and podcasts. She is rarely without her headphones.

Ida Levine is a Principal with Two Rivers Associates Limited consulting on policy, strategy and governance. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Impact Investing Institute with a focus on policy issues.  She also serves as a NED on the Boards of Creative UK and Creative UK Investments.  

Ida is a Governor of the Royal Ballet Companies. She also is a Trustee of Dancers Career Development (DCD), and the Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund, a grant-making charity in the performing arts.  Ida is the Honorary Patron of the Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition.  She was previously Vice-Chair and a Trustee of the Royal Academy of Dance, and received its President's Award.
 
Ida is a member of the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) and the Advisory Boards of PRIME Finance Foundation, the UCLA Institute for Carbon Management and the UCLA Promise Institute for Human Rights Law.  
 
Previously Ida was Board Director, Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Capital Group/American Funds where she founded the Governance and European Public Policy functions. 

Before Capital, Ida was European Counsel for JP Morgan Investment Management. Prior to this, she was a Partner at the international law firm Jones Day (London and New York).

Catherine Mallyon is Chair of Creative UK and of the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust. She was Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, 2012-2023, and now provides sector support through her Arts Leadership consultancy business. Previously Catherine had been Deputy Chief Executive of Southbank Centre, London and, quite some years ago, she worked as an arbitrage trader and credit analyst in the City.

Catherine’s recent Board memberships include Arts Council England, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, West Midlands Combined Authority Cultural Leadership Board, and at the start of its life, the Creative Industries Federation.

Catherine has also served as Chair of the Advisory Boards of both the Bristol + Bath Creative Cluster and the Centre for Cultural Value, based at the University of Leeds.

Catherine is an Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, University of Oxford, was awarded a CBE in the Queens Platinum Jubilee Birthday Honours list, and holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Warwick.

John has been working for over forty years in the brand and design industry, leading a number of marketing, brand and design consultancies in the UK and Internationally including WPP’s flagship brand consultancy, the Brand Union.

He led the UK Design Council through a period of change, moving on from that role in 2017 after five years as CEO. 

He has recently worked with the UK government advising on how to integrate design into their Healthy Ageing Programme, part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy.

In 2017 he co-founded The British Design Fund, a venture capital fund supporting well-designed British product start-ups. He has worked with over fifteen of the Fund’s investee companies, Chairs one and sits on the Board of three others.

He is also currently advising the Swiss Design Council on promoting design in that country.

Fran McIntyre is the Managing Director of Innovate UK Business Connect.  In her role, Fran works across sectors and regions to bring people, ideas and resources together - ensuring that innovative businesses get the support, networks and visibility they need to accelerate growth at pace.
 
With a background in business leadership throughout UK and Europe, Fran champions culture, collaboration and impact.

Rahul Misra is Investment Principal at Creative UK, overseeing deployment of UK-wide and regional funds.

Since joining Creative UK in 2021, Rahul has led investments in creative companies across gaming, animation, immersive entertainment, music, architecture, design and advertising.

Rahul previously worked in institutional asset management, with a focus on investment strategy and governance, where his clients were blue-chip, global pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. Rahul's career transition to SME investment happened through his own interest in the creative industries.

Alongside finance, Rahul has created his own body of work in music and audio visual production, featured on platforms such as Rolling Stone India and Resonance FM London. Rahul uses his finance experience and investment track record to empower the creative industries, which he sees as a catalyst for positive change.

Rehana is a senior leader in arts, culture, and the creative economy, with over 25 years’ experience working at the intersection of culture, policy, and international relations. She currently leads the Creative Economy Global Programme at the British Council, spanning over 50 countries and focused on creative livelihoods, skills development, policy, research, advocacy, and strategic partnerships.Her work centres on strengthening creative ecosystems, evidencing impact, and advancing inclusive and sustainable growth, with a strong focus on gender equality, diversity, disability inclusion, and the role of culture in addressing global challenges. She has led major initiatives aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and UK government priorities on creative industries, trade, and international engagement.Rehana lived and worked in Beijing for three years, including serving as Cultural Counsellor at the British Embassy and Director of Arts in China, where she led large-scale cultural programmes and built long-term institutional partnerships. Prior to this, she worked across the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, supporting culture and sport development through policy advice and collaboration with governments and national institutions.Rehana is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and served on the UK Creative Industries Council for three years. She is also a mentor with the Women of Colour Global Network supporting journalists and women in media to achieve their goal. She regularly chairs high-level international panels, and global policy forums, bringing a strategic and globally informed perspective to discussions on culture and the creative economy.

Caroline Norbury, OBE is the founding Chief Executive of Creative UK. Dedicated to championing the creative industries, Creative UK invests in and supports creative ideas, talent and businesses, harnessing the power of the creative sector to build a fairer, more prosperous world. Creative UK has leveraged over £100m into creative businesses and projects across the country and uses its extensive membership and networks as a change maker and advocate for a world where creativity is valued and recognised as a driving force of our future.Caroline began her career working in community arts before becoming a film and TV producer, focusing on supporting new talent and those whose voices had traditionally been absent from mainstream media and storytelling.A member of BAFTA and the Royal Society of Arts, Caroline sits on the Creative Industries Council and co-chairs the Growth working group of the Council. Caroline is a founding board member of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Agency, (CIISA) and Chairwoman of the cross-industry “Roundtable” group focused on reducing bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the Creative Sector. Caroline is also a trustee of the PRS Foundation, supporting the development of new music and musicians, and previously Chairwoman of The Music Works, a small charity in Gloucestershire supporting young people in challenging circumstances to have better lives through music. She has two honorary doctorates from the University of Essex and Arts University Bournemouth.

Siena Pakington heads Amazon’s Content Acquisition for Prime Video in the UK & Ireland. She joined the Prime Video Device Partnerships team in 2022, taking over responsibility for Prime Video’s distribution partnerships globally.

Siena’s career has spanned the UK media and tech industry, including roles at BT, Vodafone and BBC, with a focus on content rights and partnership deals. She holds an MBA from the University of Exeter, a BA from the University of Toronto, and a Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership Practice from the Chartered Institute of Management.

Karim Palant is Director of External Affairs at UK Private Capital, where he leads the Public Affairs, Communications and Research functions.

Karim and his colleagues tell the story of private capital through high-impact  engagement with policymakers, stakeholders and the media.

Karim also oversees the UK Private Capital's agenda-setting research programme, which  includes the Performance Measurement Survey - the largest primary research survey of its kind in the UK, and the annual Report on Investment Activity. He has two decades of experience in tech and economic policy. From 2015,  he led public policy and economic impact work at major tech firms - at  LinkedIn and previously Facebook. Earlier in his career, he served as Head of  Policy to the Shadow Chancellor.

Karim studied PPE at the University of Oxford, following his education at Calderstones Comprehensive School in Liverpool.

Stephen Peacock has a commercial background in international energy and technology allied with experience as a leader in the public sector.  

A former partner with a major professional services firm, Stephen was Chief Executive of Bristol City Council where his achievements include the creation of the award-winning City Leap public-private partnership and a resurgence of housebuilding.  

As Chief Executive of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority Stephen is responsible for over £1bn of investment in initiatives to drive sustainable inclusive growth across the most productive and fast-growing UK city region outside London.  Priorities include housing, strategic transport, net zero and nature recovery, inward investment and support for innovation and skills.

Amy Price Farr joined Amazon’s public policy team in September 2025 to lead on digital, media and creative policy in the UK. She works across Amazon’s entertainment business lines, engaging with government, devolved administrations, trade bodies and industry partners. This includes providing oversight of Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund. 

Amy was previously a Director at Public First, where she ran the Tech, Media and Telecoms practice, and, before that, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the Publishers Association. She began her career as a parliamentary researcher in the UK’s House of Commons.

Robert is a Founding Partner of Redrice Ventures, a British Business Bank backed VC formed in 2018 focussing on premium consumer brands. Prior to that Robert enjoyed a thirty year career in advertising, having co founded Fallon London in 1998, which earned a strong creative reputation, courtesy in part of a drumming gorilla for Cadbury. After the Publicis Groupe acquisition of Fallon, Robert joined  Saatchi & Saatchi, as ceo of Saatchi UK, followed by worldwide ceo. Robert’s advertising career was underpinned by his unshakeable belief in the unreasonable power of creativity. 

After ten years at Saatchi Robert opted to focus on his personal investments which brought him into Redrice, initially investing in Castore Sportswear, of which Robert remains a consultant having served on the board from 2018 through 2024.
Robert’s role at Redrice focuses on helping founders capture and articulate their brand narrative, based on the premise that a brand’s ultimate commercial value will to a degree be determined by its values. 
Robert is an NED of Eagle Eye Solutions PLC, a leading SaaS and AI company, enabling retail, travel and hospitality brands to earn customer loyalty through technology powered, real time, personalized marketing. Robert is non Executive Chair of marketing services group Selbey Anderson and Mary Portas’ retail marketing agency, Portas. 
In his spare time Robert is one of those cyclists, but his main passion is skiing, having instructed for many years in the ancient times of long skis.

Professor Christopher Smith is the Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and International Champion for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). He has been Professor of Ancient History at the University of St Andrews since 2002, and he was also Vice-Principal (2007-2009), before being seconded as Director of the British School at Rome, the UK’s leading humanities and creative arts research institute overseas, from 2009 to 2017.

He is the author or editor of over 20 books from textual editions to museum studies.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Academia Europaea.

Victoria Smith is the founder Gig Lab, designed to strengthen the UK’s live music ecosystem by improving collaboration between venues, promoters and wider industry stakeholders. 

Gig Lab is a two-time Innovate UK award-winning platform, including a Women in Innovation Award, and has been proudly built in the North East, rooted in the realities of grassroots live music.

With 21 years’ experience spanning live music, venue management and large-scale outdoor events, Victoria has worked across every layer of the sector; from frontline operations to strategic leadership. She is a Trustee of LIVE Trust; supporting grassroots live music through £1 contributions from 5,000+ capacity events, and brings a deep understanding of how commercial and cultural interests can work together sustainably.

Alongside Gig Lab, Victoria is the co-founder and director of Ghostwriter Consultancy & Events, a female-led consultancy, venue operator and promoter. Her work focuses on strategic planning, funding and financial resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria secured over £8.5 million in grants for cultural organisations, helping safeguard venues, jobs and local creative economies during an unprecedented period.

Gig Lab was born directly from first-hand experience of the operational pressures facing grassroots venues. Designed as a shared network and single source of truth, the platform connects fragmented processes into one system, improving efficiency, visibility and data-led decision making across live music.

Victoria is a passionate advocate for equity, diversity and sustainability in live events, and is committed to strengthening independent venues as long-term cultural spaces, employers and cornerstones of their local creative economies.

Phil is the Director of Economy and Innovation at the North East Mayoral Combined Authority.  He is responsible for all the work of the Combined Authority relating to economic growth, innovation, housing, culture, and sport. 

Prior to joining the Combined Authority, Phil was a senior civil servant at HM Treasury leading on creative industries, advanced manufacturing, business engagement and DCMS and DBT spending.  Prior to this, Phil was the Director of Inclusive Economy and Skills for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Susannah Storey is the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Previously, Susannah was Director General for Digital Technologies and Telecoms at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Director General for Digital and Media Policy at the then Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Prior to this role, Susannah was Director General at the Department for Exiting the European Union. Before joining DExEU, she held a number of director roles at BEIS, DECC and UK Government Investments.

Jenny brings over 30 years’ experience of supporting businesses to access finance and investment .Jenny established the trade body for angel and early-stage investment in the UK in 2012 where she was CEO until 2020,with 110 Angel groups, representing more than 20,000 Angels, together with 40 VC Funds, 12 online platforms, 20 accelerators and also stakeholder organisations at national and regional level.

Jenny has been an Angel investor for nearly 20 years and during her time at UKBAA, Jenny has been an active proponent of increasing diversity in Angel and earlystage investment. She established the Women Backing Women campaign in 2021 to enable more women across the UK to become Angel investors. She currently sits on UK Women Investment Task Force where she chairs the Angel Investment Sub Committee and is a Women In Innovation Ambassador for Innovate UK and an Entrepreneurship Ambassador at Oxford Said Business School At European level, Jenny is a founding Board member for Business Angels Europe where she is VP for Diversity and currently leads the European Women Invest EU Network launched in 2024 . On an international level, she sits on the Investment Board for the UK-India Government Neev II Impact Fund.
Jenny has a BA Hons Royal Holloway College, London University and MSc in Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science.  She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours 2015 for services to angel investment and small business.

Shriti Vadera is Co-Chair of the Creative Industries Council and Chair of The Royal Shakespeare Company. She co-chaired the UK Government’s Creative Industries Taskforce to help develop the UK’s creative industries growth strategy and was a member of the Government’s overall Industrial Strategy Advisory Council.

She is also Chair of Prudential plc and Chair of the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab, which advises on leveraging the World Bank’s interventions to scale private finance mobilisation to invest for development and climate change.

She was previously the Chair of Santander UK, a director of AstraZeneca and senior independent director of BHP. She has over 40 years of experience spanning public and private sectors, in the UK and internationally.

She started her career as an investment banker for 15 years with a particular focus on emerging markets. She joined the Council of Economic Advisers at HM Treasury in 1999, leading on policy areas for business, productivity, private finance, and international development. From 2007-2009, she was a UK Government Minister in the Cabinet Office, Business Department and International Development Department and led the Government’s response to the financial crisis and the development of the outcomes of the London G20 Summit. She subsequently advised the G20, European countries during the Eurozone crisis, multilateral organisations and international investors.

She was born in Uganda, went to school in India and read PPE at Oxford.

Stephen Welton was appointed Non-executive Chair of the British Business Bank in October 2023. 

Stephen has extensive experience as an investor in private capital markets around the world. He was the founder CEO of the Business Growth Fund plc (BGF) from 2011 to 2020, then Executive Chair between 2020 and 2022, and later Non-Executive Chair until July 2023.

In 2013, Stephen was appointed as an advisor to the UK Government regarding the establishment of the British Business Bank and, in 2017, served as a member of the Industry Panel advising HM Treasury on the Patient Capital Review. He was also a member of the Prime Minister’s 2021 Business Council and member of the Innovate Council from 2018-2021.

Prior to BGF, he was one of the founding partners of global private equity firm CCMP Capital (formerly JP Morgan Partners) and, before that, managing director of Barclays Private Equity and Henderson Ventures, which he also co-founded.

Stephen was awarded a CBE in June 2023 for services to Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship. Stephen is also NED of ICG plc a FTSE 100 global alternatives asset manager, and NED and Chair of Investment Committee for Emirates Growth Fund, a major new investment firm for the UAE under the ownership of the Emirates Development Bank.