Speakers

If you are interested in speaking at the 2025 event please contact the team today through our contact form.

Amy Garcia - HOST

Presenter/ Broadcast Journalist - BBC Television

Amy is a regular face on TV screens across Yorkshire presenting the region’s most watch news programme BBC Look North for 10 years.

Amy is a straight talking northerner and a natural at putting people at ease. She’s covered three General Elections and some of the biggest stories to affect the Region including the covid pandemic, cost of living crisis, Manchester Arena bombing, Rotherham grooming, end of deep coal mining. Although Amy is used to interviewing politicians and celebrities, it’s normal Yorkshire folk she enjoys meeting most –“ Giving them their moment in the spotlight is what regional news is all about”.

Amy always says “yes” no matter how epic the challenge - In 2015 she cycled the 250 mile Tour de France route across Yorkshire on a tandem for Sport relief. 2018 saw her dragging the Look North sofa 150 miles through snow storms and torrential rain to mark 50 years of regional news. She’s also been strapped to an aeroplane, abseiled down a 120 feet building and plunged into caves beneath the Yorkshire Dales for Children in Need. Last year she ran her first (and last) marathon – The Leeds Rob Burrow marathon and she’s now in training for the “Burrow strictly ball” that will see her cha at Blackpool ballroom for MND research.

Prior to her life on the Look North sofa, Amy spend some time a Senior Journalist at BBC South Today and was a regular face on BBC3’s 60 second news for BBC 3..

Amy grew up in Wakefield and worked a Saturday job on the family Market stall selling towels and curtains- a job she credits for her love of talking and hearing peoples stories!

Her career in TV started at the age of 19 in Childrens, presenting programmes for CITV, and The Disney Channel. She also fronted a sports show for CBBC which involved getting Freddie Flintoff to play cricket with a baguette! She went on to front travel and property for SKY which sent her overseas to explore real estate and meet Brits who had taken the plunge to live abroad.
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Amy is never one to shy away from a challenge. Ten years after leaving school, she decided to do an MA in TV Journalism at Goldsmiths University of London (2009) and has never looked back.

She now lives in York with her song writer husband Tim and their two young children.

Tracy Brabin

West Yorkshire Mayor -

Tracy Brabin is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who was elected as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire, and the first ever woman Metro Mayor in England, in May 2021. During her campaign, Tracy pledged to create 1,000 skilled jobs for young people, lead a ‘Creative New Deal’ for the region, bring buses back under public control, tackle the climate emergency and build 5,000 affordable and sustainable homes. As Mayor, Tracy also inherits the roles and responsibilities of the former Police and Crime Commissioner. Her priorities for policing include to recruit more frontline officers and staff and to prioritise the safety of women and girls.

Prior to her election as Mayor, Tracy was the Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen from 2016 until 2021. As MP, she held appointments as Shadow Early Years Minister, Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Shadow Minister for Cultural Industries. Moreover, Tracy is a former member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee and a former chair of the Gaps in Support All-Party Parliamentary Group, having led the campaign on behalf of the three million people excluded from Government financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Born in Batley, Tracy was an actor and screenwriter prior to entering politics, appearing in several British soap operas and writing for several television series. Tracy now lives in Kirklees, West Yorkshire. She has a husband and two daughters, all of whom work in the creative industries.

Rebecca Ball

North Area Director - Arts Council England

Rebecca Ball was appointed as North Area Director for Arts Council England in August 2024, leading the delivery of its strategy Let’s Create across the North East, North West and Yorkshire.
Over her career, Rebecca has worked in dance, theatre, visual arts and museums.
Before joining Arts Council England, Rebecca was Chief Executive and Creative
Director of Sunderland Culture, which delivers creative and cultural programmes
across Sunderland, including at National Glass Centre, Northern Gallery for
Contemporary Art, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and Arts Centre
Washington.
Rebecca also led the creation of Sunderland’s 2017 bid for UK City of Culture and, prior to this, was Director of The Cultural Spring, Sunderland and South Tyneside’s Creative People and Places programme.

Before moving to the North East in 2011, Rebecca worked for a number of arts
organisations across the UK, including The Place in London, and South East
Dance in Brighton as well as at Arts Council England, South East. Rebecca has an MA in European Cultural Policy and is passionate about the impact of creativity and culture on all of our lives. She is an avid reader and dances at any
opportunity.

Harry Baross

Regional Project Manager for Hull and East Yorkshire - North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub

The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub is a government-backed partnership of devolved regional authorities which supports the delivery of local energy projects. Harry leads the Hub’s work in Hull and East Yorkshire, supporting communities, businesses and the public sector to develop and deliver innovative net zero projects, ranging from electric vehicle chargepoints to solar rooftops to district heat networks.

Simon Bird

Chair - Humber Freeport

Simon Bird is Chair of Humber Freeport and a highly respected professional in the world of business. He has previously held the positions of Humber Director at ABP, responsible for the four major ports of Goole, Grimsby, Hull and Immingham, and Chief Executive of the Bristol Port Company.Simon has considerable board experience and a proven track record of driving complex international service businesses through effective leadership, strategy, operational improvement, and identifying opportunities to decarbonise ports and associated industries.

Simon also serves on the Board of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and also has an honorary commission in the rank of Captain in the Royal Naval Reserve.

Amul Batra

MD at Counter - Co-Founder and Chief Partnerships Officer at Northcoders Group PLC

Amul is Co-Founder & Chief Partnerships Officer at Northcoders Group PLC and also the Managing Director of Counter. Before Northcoders and Counter, Amul spent 20 years in the music industry, running a record label and managing a number of successful artists and bands. He left music to set up a tech-startup and a chance meeting with Northcoders CEO ended up with him learning to code himself on Northcoders' first ever cohort. There, he saw first-hand how valuable a skill coding was becoming whilst at the same time fell in love with the values and ambition of Northcoders: diversity, community, excellence and helping to change lives through securing rewarding, fulfilling careers in tech. He became an early investor in Northcoders and a key member of the leadership team. Northcoders has now graduated over 3000 new software, data and cloud engineers in the last 8 years and has helped guide over 90% of them into their first roles at over 600 businesses across the country. Northcoders successfully listed on London Stock Market's AIM Market in 2021 and acquired Tech Returners in 2023. Northcoders launched Counter in May 2024 as a challenger brand in the tech consultancy space. Counter provides clients with teams of highly skilled UK based technical problems solvers cherry picked from Northcoders and Tech Returners highly sought after talent pools. Northcoders has gone on to win many awards including Business Of The Year at the Chamber Business Awards in 2018, Digital & Tech Company Of The Year 2019 at the City Of Manchester Downtown In Business Awards and Rapid Growth Award at the Prolific North Tech Awards 2021. Amul sits on a number of Advisory Boards including Innovate Her, WiLD, GMCA Cyber and the Leeds Digital Steering Board. He also regularly speaks at events on the subjects of diversity, inclusion, tech skills and the tech talent pipeline.

Councillor Jackie Dad

- Hull City Council

Councillor Jackie Dad was born, educated and has lived and worked in Hull for most of her life. She has great pride and loyalty to Hull and Yorkshire.
Jackie has worked in various jobs across the city including more than 25 years working in various roles for Hull City Council before standing for election as a Liberal
Democrat Councillor, first elected in 2014. She had various roles from 2014 including Group Secretary and has been Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Services since the Lib Dem administration began in 2022.

Dr Zoe Detko

Founder - Ardea Eco-innovation

Dr Zoe Detko is the founder of Ardea Eco-innovation, she is a sustainability specialist with a proven track record of helping businesses reduce their carbon emissions and improve their environmental performance. Having worked with businesses across most sectors, Zoe has gained experience and knowledge to be able to assist any organisation with their path to Net Zero. With a research background in integrating the environment into planning and policy, Zoe is confident in ensuring businesses are compliant, whilst also helping them make a positive impact on the environment.

Rachael Fox

Head of Programme Delivery, Asset Delivery - Yorkshire Water

Rachael joined Yorkshire Water in 2006 as a graduate trainee and has held significant infrastructure roles during her 18-year career. Highlights include delivery of the first Thermal Hydrolysis plant, increasing renewable energy generation at one of Yorkshire’s largest wastewater treatment plants and Capital Programme Delivery Manager, responsible for a budget of £160m in non-infrastructure waste.

In 2021 Rachael became Head of Programme Delivery where she leads a team of senior project and project managers delivering the entire Yorkshire Water capital programme of over £1.6bn in AMP7, with a year 5 spend of over £2m per day in the Yorkshire region.

Coaching and mentoring have been central to all of her roles in Yorkshire Water. Always keen to nurture and develop the next generation of talent coming into the business, Rachael takes an active role in sharing her experience with new graduates and is a keen member of Yorkshire Water’s Women’s network and founder of the Women in Engineering network including all 25 tier one contract partners, supporting diversity in the industry and promoting STEM subjects in schools.

Jane Gaston

CEO - Net Zero North West

Jane has over 20 years of experience working with a wide range of stakeholders in the public and private sector shaping strategic business plans for the development and delivery of large scale, complex infrastructure opportunities centred around resource management, energy generation, and industrial decarbonisation to support regional and national objectives.

Simon Green

CEO - Humber Freeport

Simon Green, appointed as Humber Freeport's CEO, has overseen a successful launch of the Freeport securing pivotal inward investments. At the helm, he propels the organisation's mission to attract substantial investments, focusing on innovation, decarbonisation, and skills development to unlock the region's economic potential for robust growth and job creation.

Formerly the Deputy Chief Executive at North Lincolnshire Council, Simon has over three decades of experience in development and corporate governance, spanning public and private sectors in the North, Midlands, and abroad. His extensive career includes overseeing major projects in housing, transport, energy, and higher education. Renowned for fostering corporate culture and governance, Simon champions alignment and partnership as fundamental pillars for achieving success.

Martijn Gilbert

Managing Director - Lumo and Hull Trains

Martijn is the Managing Director of Open Access rail operators Lumo and Hull Trains. He has extensive experience in the public transport sector with previous roles at Arriva in both their bus and rail divisions, as CEO of Council Owned Reading Buses and, joined First from The Go-Ahead Group where he was Managing Director of their North East and East Yorkshire regional bus operations.

Martijn is also an Non-Exec Director of the North East Ambulance Service’s Unified Solutions operation and has served two terms on the board of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), the sector’s professional development body.

Bernard Hay

Head of Policy - Creative PEC

Bernard Hay is Head of Policy at the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, which is led by Newcastle University with the Royal Society of Arts and funded by the AHRC.

Previously, he was Head of Research and Practice at the Design Council, overseeing a portfolio of research, policy and engagement activities focused on championing the value of design and the role it can play in addressing climate and biodiversity loss. He has also been an education curator and researcher at the Design Museum, where he helped to establish the UK-wide Future Observatory programme, and an Associate Lecturer in Design Theory and Social Innovation at University of the Arts London.

He is a trustee of Engage, the national charity promoting participation in the visual arts, and is a Fellow of the RSA.

Bruce Heppenstall

Plant Director - Drax Power Station

Bruce is the Plant Director and responsible for all site activities at Drax Power Station, the UK's single largest generator of renewable power. Drax Power Station is located near Selby in North Yorkshire and is rated at 4GW consisting of 4 power units that have been converted to run on sustainable biomass and 2 coal units that closed in April 2023. Since joining the business in November 2019, Bruce has been focussed on improving safety, culture and aligning the cost base of the plant to ensure its long-term future.
Prior to joining Drax, Bruce was based in Newcastle for 8 years managing manufacturing businesses in the oil and gas supply chain with a focus on high technology subsea products. In his early career, Bruce qualified as an electrical and mechanical engineer at Aston University. He started his career working in large power stations in various engineering and management positions, leading to him managing the world’s most advanced gas fired power plant in South Wales in 2002. In 2005 he had an opportunity to move into managing the business operations, trading over £100M of gas and power per year and latterly into developing and operating new solar, wind and gas fired power plants across Europe and California with a portfolio of assets worth over $1.5Bn.
Bruce has always had a passion for developing business strategy as a means to building world class and strongly performing teams and using this to change organisational culture.

Councillor Anne Handley

Leader - East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Anne has had many different jobs over her working life, form working in factories to driving a lorry delivering sand and gravel to running a travel agents and owning her own business . She finally found a job that she loved, teaching in FE. Anne spent 17 working for the Hull College Group and says she felt that she never worked a day in her life at the college, because if you do something you love, it isn't work. Anne took early retirement and was enjoying life when a friend asked for a favour, to stand as a local councillor, she won the election in 2019 and today is the leader of East Riding Council, again doing something she loves. Anne has always been an advocate of skills and education and spends a lot of her time talking to companies in the area discussing their needs to enable our young people to be at the forefront when it comes to jobs and skills.

Gary Hitchmough

Chief Growth Officer - First Bus UK

Gary joined First Bus as Chief Growth Officer in 2023 to bring his broad experience in outsourced public service provision to a business on a mission to get more people to love and use the bus.

He is a member of the UK executive team, helping steer a £1bn turnover business with over 13,000 colleagues through industry changes towards franchising and the push to Net Zero. First Bus operates across the north, with services in Greater Manchester, North, West, and South Yorkshire.

Gary’s portfolio covers First Bus’s approach to franchising, leadership of specialist business units across the UK and Ireland, and sponsorship of Balance: the First Bus gender inclusivity community. A proud northerner, he grew up in Merseyside and now lives in Cheshire with his family.

Fiona Haran

Deputy Editor - Yorkshire Business Insider

Fiona joined Insider Media in 2021 and primarily covers the corporate finance sector, as well as manufacturing and technology. She began her career after training as a journalist at the University of Central Lancashire. She has previously worked at World Textile Information Network, an information provider to the global textile industry, as well as Manchester Evening News.

Jon Holt

Senior Leader - Turner & Townsend

Jon is a senior leader within Turner & Townsend managing professional services teams, clients and functions (including operational matters), this includes programme set up, change and transformations.
Based out of Yorkshire & Humber Jon has been involved in asset, project & programme management for 25+ years, from inception and investment, across business cases & development, through delivery and into operations.
Jon has provided support to the region in his role in Turner & Townsend, as the regional chair for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and across key infrastructure strategies. Jon has assisted regional investment programmes including; the Sheffield Heart of the City (retail quarter), the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Tram network (refranchise) and was part of the leadership for the Transpennine Route Upgrade Programme negotiating with the DfT to increase £3bn of funding as the global pandemic locked down the UK.

Chris Keenan

Head of Communities, Operations & Land - Nuclear Waste Services

Chris is Head of Communities, Operations & Land at Nuclear Waste Services. Across his career Chris has led on numerous major infrastructure projects in the UK and ROI, covering rail, newbuild nuclear, CCUS and renewable energy. Chris has worked as developer, consultant and advisor to landowner and communities.

Jude Kelly

Chair - One Creative North

Jude Kelly CBE is one of the UK’s most powerful cultural leaders. She is an award-winning creative, business leader and mentor, and a celebrated global champion of equality, focusing on intersectional gender equity. In 2018, she founded The WOW Foundation as a force for change. WOW began as a festival at London’s Southbank Centre in 2010 where Jude was artistic director for 12 years. Now an independent charity, WOW has seeded a global movement, active in 45 locations across six continents and reached 5 million people.

She has received many awards and accolades, including BBC’s Most Powerful Women in the Arts. She is an inaugural member of Connected Women Leaders, sits on the Global Advisory Boards of Pathfinders Presidents Council and Julia Gillard’s Global Institute for Women Leaders. She has given keynote talks to business, governments and global leaders, including UNESCO, COP 22, CHOGM 2022 and 2024 and the 2024 World Economic Forum.

In 2024 Jude became Chair of the newly launched One Creative North, a bold new vision for the north of England’s creative industries.

Anne Longfield CBE

Chair - Commission on Young Lives

Anne is a passionate champion for children, influencing and shaping the national debate and policy agenda for children and their families. She has spent the last three decades working to improve the life chances of children, particularly the most vulnerable. She has recently founded and become Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives – a new, dynamic, innovative, independent think tank and delivery unit dedicated exclusively to improving the lives of children, young people, and families in the UK.
Anne previously established and chaired of the Commission on Young Lives, an
independent commission to develop proposals for a new national system to prevent crisis in vulnerable young people and support them to succeed in life. The Commission put forward ambitious and eye catching proposals to politicians and system leaders, several of which have been adopted.
From March 2015 to February 2021, she was Children’s Commissioner for England. As Children’s Commissioner, Anne spent six years championing the rights and interests of children with those in power who make decisions about children’s lives, acting as children’s ‘eyes and ears’ in the corridors of power in Whitehall and Westminster. As Children’s Commissioner, she was a vocal advocate for children during the pandemic.
She previously led a national children’s charity and has also worked on the delivery of
the Sure Start programme in the No 10 Strategy Unit. She spent many years
campaigning for better childcare, often at a time when many saw the issue as obscure or niche. Anne is the Independent Chair of the NHS Children and Young People Learning Disability and Autism Board, a non-executive director of the Bradford Children and Family Trust and board member of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership. She was previously a member of the Times Education Commission. Anne regularly authors articles and her new book, Young Lives, Big Ambitions is published in April 2024. Anne has honorary doctorates from Newcastle

Ian Livingston

Asset Manager - Equinor

Ian Livingston works for Equinor’s low carbon solutions business area as an Asset Manager. He is responsible for developing a range of low carbon projects including the Aldbrough Hydrogen Storage project, with partners SSE and the Humber Hydrogen Transport System, with partners SSE and Centrica. He is a Chartered Engineer with a broad energy industry background in operations & technical leadership and project development across petrochemicals, oil & gas and gas storage and is now applying that experience to industrial decarbonisation and the energy transition.

Lorraine Mackin

Partner - Deloitte

Lorraine leads Deloitte’s Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Government business for Deloitte and is the UK Sustainability and Climate Lead Partner for Government and Public Services.
With 20 years international experience of working across Rail, Road, Maritime, Airlines, Airports and Ports across the UK and Australia, she fundamentally believes world class transport and freight is the key lever for unlocking economic growth and productivity as well as enabling access to jobs and housing.

Professor Fiona Matthews

Pro-Vice-Chancellor - University of Hull

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) is responsible for the development and implementation of the University’s strategies for research and knowledge exchange. They also oversee the Doctoral College and the University’s interdisciplinary research Institutes.
Professor Fiona Matthews joined the University of Hull in October 2023. Prior to her role as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise), Fiona was the Dean of Research and Innovation (and Professor of Epidemiology) in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University. A statistician by training, prior to Newcastle she was a Programme Leader at the MRC Biostatistics Unit at Cambridge University (where she obtained her PhD). In 2018 she became Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University and was responsible for their REF2021 submission. Fiona is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Externally, Fiona has been chair of an ESRC Grant Assessment Panel and a panel member for the MRC Centre of Research Excellence and is currently on the panels for the ESRC Centre call and the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships. Fiona’s research interests include utilising and developing state of the art analysis methods to investigate ageing, healthy life expectancy and autism using population based epidemiological studies and routine data. Fiona’s particular research focus involves interdisciplinary research to understand the influence of inequalities in population health.

Prof. Juergen Maier CBE, FRS, FREng, FIET, FCGI

Chair - GB Energy

Industrialist, Chair of Great British Energy, Co-founder of vocL and former Chief Executive of Siemens UK. Juergen is an Industrialist and a strong advocate for the green re-industrialisation of UK’s economy. Juergen served as the former Chief Executive of Siemens UK. Over his 33 year career with Siemens, he held a number of senior roles in the UK and Germany. During Juergen’s leadership at Siemens UK, the company played a pivotal role in UK’s industrial digitalisation, investment in transport infrastructure and the decarbonisation of the electricity system.
Juergen takes a strong leadership role for UK’s industrial, infrastructure and manufacturing community. He has served on the Board of the Department of Business and Energy from 2014 to 2016. His work supported several previous Government Industrial Strategy initiatives. In 2017, he was asked by the then Government to lead a review into how to increase the digitalisation of the UK
manufacturing sector, which has since led to the creation of the joint industry and government Made Smarter initiative driving advanced digitalisation, productivity and decarbonisation in the manufacturing sector. The Made Smarter Review was published in October 2017. In the Autumn of 2023, Juergen was commissioned by the Labour Party to lead in independent review on improving the state of the UK’s Urban and Rail public transport. The Rail and Urban Transport Review was published in August 2024. Juergen believes that businesses should play an active role in society and community matters. To
further this mission, he co-founded the social enterprise vocL. Juergen became a Fellow of the Royal Society in May 2022 and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of
Engineering in September 2017. He has also received honorary doctorates from several UK Universities.
He was awarded a CBE in the New Years honours list 2019.

James Mitchinson

Editor - The Yorkshire Post

Journalist of 22 years. A proven editorial leader experienced in driving business transformation through strategic planning and delivery. Bringing together disparate news publishing silos to create a single, efficient, agile, effective publishing structure that is data-driven and target-audience focused.

Lynne Peabody

CEO - EY Foundation

Lynne joined the EY Foundation in March 2014 ahead of the charity’s launch in July of that year. Before becoming CEO, Lynne was a member of the Leadership team, with responsibility for the charity’s strategic partnerships and collaborations, the diversification of income streams and expanding work with employers.

Lynne has supported the charity to raise over £4m in independent funds and scale our reach to over 20,000 young people. With over 15 years experience in social change and sustainability, Lynne has developed award winning community programmes, sustainability initiatives and NGO partnerships with companies as diverse as Hogan Lovells and Kuoni.

Margaret Read

Director of Policy - National Infrastructure Commission

Margaret joined the Commission in October 2022, having previously worked as part of the RAPID leadership team, a joint Ofwat, Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate unit to speed up water supply infrastructure delivery – a direct result of the Commission’s recommendations in its report Preparing for a drier future.

Margaret has extensive experience leading policy development in Whitehall, principally in Defra on water supply, flood and coastal erosion risk management, access to the environment and a number of other environmental issues. Her teams have supported Ministers in developing primary and secondary legislation and in working with delivery bodies to implement policy. She has also worked to shape and implement policies in the East of England and was Parliamentary Clerk at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2011-12.

Sean Royce

CEO - Quickline Communications

Sean is a respected commercial executive with more than three decades of experience in the UK telecoms industry. In May 2021, he became CEO at Quickline Communications, the rapidly growing rural broadband provider based in East Yorkshire who are building a gigabit capable network across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Previously as MD at KCOM in Hull, Sean played a pivotal role in driving key strategic initiatives including building the UK's first 'at scale' full-fibre network. In 2019, Hull became the only city in the UK with 100% full fibre coverage, connecting over 100,000 customers to the new FTTP network.
In recognition of his valuable contributions to the industry, Sean received the Outstanding Contribution award at the Independent Networks Cooperative Association Awards in 2023.

Kamran Rashid

CEO - Impact Hub Bradford CIC

Kamran is founder and CEO of Impact Hub Bradford CIC, a locally rooted, globally connected social innovation hub and coworking space based in the historic area of Little Germany, Bradford. Impact Hub Bradford inspires, connects and supports changemakers, social entrepreneurs, businesses and start-ups to build solutions that create positive social impact. Impact Hub has worked alongside brands such as Red Bull, Channel 4, TEDx, PWC and successfully led a partnership to secure a £6.6M social Investment fund for Bradford District which Kamran now chairs. Kamran was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Leeds Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP – Feb’ 2020) and of Bradford City of Culture 2025 Trust (Nov’ 2019). Kamran holds a Masters in International Politics, undergraduate degree in Youth & Community work and has over twenty years’ sector experience. Prior to setting up his own social enterprise, Kamran worked for Unltd, the Foundation for Social

Wenyan Sharp

UK Marketing Director - Solax Power

Wenyan Sharp is the UK Marketing Director for Solax Power, where she excels in driving successful marketing strategies. With nearly 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in the UK, Wenyan has built a reputation for her innovative approach and leadership. Her career showcases a strong ability to navigate the energy sector, contributing significantly to Solax Power's growth in the UK market.

David Skaith

Mayor - York and North Yorkshire

David Skaith was elected on Friday 3 May 2024 to serve as the first ever Mayor of York and North Yorkshire to champion the region and bring a host of benefits to hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses.

David grew up in Harrogate and now lives outside of York, where he runs his small business. He has a real love for the region and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by residents.

As Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith has devolved powers and responsibilities including strategic transport, housing, economy, adult skills, and community safety.

Dr. Diana Taylor

Managing Director - Future Humber

Diana has lived and worked in the Humber for the past 28 years, initially moving to the region to work for BP Chemicals at Saltend. After several technology roles within BP, Diana transitioned into commercial operations at the Saltend site, ultimately working as Business Development Manager, attracting chemical investment to the UK and the Humber.
In 2017, Diana joined the board of Future Humber (Bondholders) as Managing Director, where she leads the executive team in shaping and implementing a vision to elevate the Humber's profile regionally, nationally, and internationally. She works closely with businesses and organisations to drive collective action to local growth, attract investment opportunities, and accelerate a shared and ambitious vision for the region.
Diana is also a key advocate for the Humber's decarbonisation leadership, focusing on strategic partnerships that position the region globally. Her work is driven by a commitment to creating a prosperous and sustainable future for the next generation.

Martin Tugwell

Chief Executive - TfN

Martin Tugwell is Chief Executive of TfN, where he is responsible for transforming pan-Northern connectivity in order to improve productivity and drive economic growth - giving the North a strong, unified and determined voice on transport investment to benefit the region.

Mark Woodward

Director - Nordic Energy

Mark has extensive renewable energy project leadership and stakeholder engagement experience within both public and private sectors. Current and recent projects include; DESNZ Heat Network Zoning, IUK Net Zero Living, Peterborough Accelerated Net Zero, D2Grids Interreg 5th Generation District Heating and Cooling and development of the UK Mine Water Energy Toolkit. Mark’s role is to manage client satisfaction, develop stakeholder commitment and co-ordinate the work of team’s technical and commercial experts.

Mark has decarbonized his family home over the past 20 years using: retrofit technologies, heat pumps, underfloor heating, induction cooking, 10kW and 6kW wind turbines, 4 kW solar, EV and battery storage.

Tricia Williams

Managing Director - Northern Rail

Tricia took on the role of managing director in May 2024 bringing a wealth of experience and expertise from her career in both transport and utility services.

With extensive management experience Tricia was, for three and a half years, chief operating officer at Northern where she successfully led the day-to-day operation of Northern’s trains, stations, engineering and control. Prior to joining the rail industry she held executive roles at Manchester Airports Group and United Utilities where she spent 20 years in leadership and strategic transformation roles.

Tricia has always worked for companies with a strong purpose and is proud to lead an organisation that puts customers and communities at its heart. Driving forward change and transformation will be one of her key priority areas underpinned by a strong focus on train service performance.

Tricia has a passion for people – both customers and colleagues – and is an advocate for equality and diversity, believing that Northern, as a major UK employer, has an important role to play in creating jobs that are accessible to as many people as possible and creating an environment where people feel included at work.

Gill Williamson

Head of System Forecasting - Northern Powergrid

Gillian Williamson is head of system forecasting at Northern Powergrid leading the team who forecast customers’ needs and distribution capacity requirements to inform the strategic network development required for the North East to meet their net zero ambitions. As a Chartered Engineer with a background in power systems spanning over two decades, Gillian has wide ranging knowledge of technical, commercial, and regulatory aspects of electrical distribution. Working within the DSO, Gill is responsible for the improved analytics, modelling, and data access necessary for the flexible smart network for the efficient connection of low carbon technologies.

Adam Wilson

Senior Lead for Business Development and Contracting - Hull Training and Adult Education

Adam is the Senior Lead for Business Development & Contracting at Hull Training & Adult Education (HTAE), which is part of Hull City Council. He started in this role in February 2024 having worked in the training industry for over 10 years, predominately in Business Development in both Apprenticeships and Commercial training.

A major part of his role oversees the Skills Bootcamps programme for the Hull and East Yorkshire region which has successfully run with numbers increasing annually, which has seen exceptional benefits to the learners undertaking these short, sharp courses. He also manages the Business Development across HTAE and works closely with both local communities and business. Hull Training & Adult Education provides both Apprenticeships and training in a diverse range of areas such as Engineering, Construction, Business, ESOL, Functional Skills and Crafts.

Born and bred in Hull, Adam is delighted to see an event of this scale being held in the city.

Ali Young

Associate Director Local Public Services - techUK

With a background in International Trade & Investment, experience in public, private and third sector, advising on international trade, new markets, inward investment, she has working closely with UK cities and regions around investment into innovation and partnerships and technology. Ali is passionate about economic growth for the UK, to create jobs and opportunities, supporting the local public services agenda.

Lucinda Yeadon

Social Impact Manager - CEG

Lucinda has been at CEG since 2018 and leads the organisation’s social impact programme. Within this role she has a responsibility to work with residents, partners and stakeholders to ensure that key developments engage with the local community and that benefits are felt as widely as possible. As part of this role she is particularly interested in supporting young people to access training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities through CEG’s Forging Futures Campus. Through these programmes CEG has generated over £11 million of Social Value in the Leeds area.
Prior to working for CEG, Lucinda was an elected member of Leeds City Council for 10 years, representing Kirkstall Ward. During this time she served on the Executive Board for 8 years holding a number of portfolio positions. She was Deputy Leader of Leeds City Council for 3 years. In 2022, Lucinda was made an Honorary Alderman of the City of Leeds.
Before being elected Lucinda worked for the Royal Mencap Society in their community
development team. She continues to sit on a variety of boards for local and national charities
and cultural organisations.

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