Our Speakers
Scroll down for our incredible line up
He was previously Minister of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Kwasi was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Exiting the European Union from 16 November 2018 to 24 July 2019.
Kwasi read classics and history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and then attended Harvard University on a Kennedy Scholarship. He earned a PhD in economic history from the University of Cambridge in 2000.
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Kwasi worked as an analyst in financial services.
Kwasi was elected the Conservative MP for Spelthorne in 2010. From 2010 until 2013 he was a member of the Transport Select Committee, and in 2013 he joined the Work and Pensions Select Committee where he was a member until 2015.
In October 2016 Kwasi joined the Public Accounts Committee, where he was a member until May 2017.
In 2015 Kwasi was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the House of Lords, and in 2017 he became Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Before becoming Mayor, Andy combined a career with John Lewis, Britain’s most successful workers’ co-operative, with a host of high-profile economic development roles, working with local and national government.
Starting on the John Lewis graduate scheme, Andy rose through the ranks to become Managing Director, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the company’s history.
He was the Chair of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership between 2011 and 2016, helping to build the relationships that have underpinned the economic growth of the region. Additionally, he has been lead non-executive director for the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.
Outside of work, Andy is passionate about the arts, particularly in the West Midlands, having previously served as Vice Chairman of Performances Birmingham Limited, which is responsible for running the City’s Symphony and Town Halls.
In June 2015, Andy was awarded the CBE for services to the national economy. He was named the ‘Most Admired Leader’ of the year by business magazine, Management Today in 2014. He received the ‘President’s award’ from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce in for his work in the region. He holds three honorary degrees, from Birmingham City University, Aston University and the University of Birmingham.
Starting on the John Lewis graduate scheme, Andy rose through the ranks to become managing director, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the company’s history.
He was also chair of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) between 2011 and 2016, helping to build the relationships that have underpinned the economic growth of the region.
Additionally, he has been lead non-executive director for the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.
Outside of work, Andy is passionate about the arts, particularly in the West Midlands, having previously served as vice chairman of Performances Birmingham Limited, which is responsible for running the city’s Symphony and Town Halls.
In June 2015, Andy was awarded the CBE for services to the national economy. He was named ‘Most Admired Leader’ by business magazine, Management Today in 2014 and received the ‘President’s award’ from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce for his work in the region. He holds three honorary degrees from Birmingham City University, Aston University and the University of Birmingham.
Previous roles Veronica has held include United Nations, the Department of International Development, the Houses of Parliament, a silver circle law firm and Ministry of Defence, Kenya among others.
Veronica’s passion is to foster growth through trade and investment in Sub-Saharan African nations and was recently recognised by the United Nations as a Top 100 Most Influential Person of African Descent in Business. Veronica is an advisory board member of Akojo Market.
Following comprehensive school he went to Cambridge University to study modern languages, and then he won a scholarship to the College of Europe in Bruges, where he did an MA in European Studies.
As Director of the British Council in Brussels, Russia and Sierra Leone, Stephen worked to develop opportunities for education and access to British values and culture, and at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, as Director for Europe and Central Asia, he campaigned to make sure that the big companies understood their responsibilities to working people. Immediately before becoming an MP Stephen was a Managing Director at the UK office of Xynteo, helping major multi-national companies to improve their energy performance, efficiency and to deliver on their obligations to the community.
Stephen speaks five languages fluently, and is highly experienced as a senior executive in motivating and mobilising teams in negotiation and representation. Throughout his career he’s worked to secure progressive economic, social and environmental objectives.
Chair of the Spon Spun Festival, she has been commissioned by BBC Radio, theatres locally and nationally and is currently working on Commissions for Coventry UK City of Culture with Oi Bokkshi Theatre in Japan, Enterlechy Arts at The Albany Deptford as well as The Royal Shakespeare Company.
She has an MA in Writing from The University of Warwick, and as well as performing her own work, runs writing and storytelling workshops, encouraging others to find their voice.
Alexandra has a particular interest in working with the older community and vulnerable people within the city. She dabbles with stand up.
Alexandra is a writer and creator from Coventry. Part of a large Irish family, she has always supported the creative scene in the city.
Chair of the Spon Spun Festival, she has been commissioned by BBC Radio, theatres locally and nationally and is currently working on Commissions for Coventry UK City of Culture with Oi Bokkshi Theatre in Japan, Enterlechy Arts at The Albany Deptford as well as The Royal Shakespeare Company.
She has an MA in Writing from The University of Warwick, and as well as performing her own work, runs writing and storytelling workshops, encouraging others to find their voice.
Alexandra has a particular interest in working with the older community and vulnerable people within the city. She dabbles with stand up.
He has interacted with over 500 young people and over 13,000 via social media. Within months of setting up with the help of the Princes Trust, Tyler was nominated as a young entrepreneur of the year. Tyler was also asked to speak at the annual police crime summit and continues to make local and national news headlines. Tyler aims to set up a Friday’s in every city in the country.
Tyler wants to see young people given more opportunities to unlock their potential in whatever they want to be and become. He wants to see more young entrepreneurs that can be encouraged to chase their dreams.
Chris is an Honorary Fellow at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute in the University of Manchester. He is also a Trustee of Platfform, Wales’s leading mental health and system change charity and the Association of British Orchestras.
Mandy’s research focuses on the politics of international intervention, the political economy of development in war-torn societies, and the Israel-Palestine conflict. She has conducted research for the UN and several governments on issues related to conflict and development, and post-conflict peacebuilding, and has been published widely on these issues.
He served as Chief of Staff to then Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron MP, Chief Executive of the Movement for Reform Judaism and was previously a partner at public relations firm Luther Pendragon, where he was an adviser to the Home Office and the Cabinet Office, to blue chip companies such as British Gas, and to successful campaigns such as the one to introduce televised Prime Ministerial debates in 2010 and, more recently, to establish civil partnerships for all across England and Wales.
He enjoys photographing the city and its people including West Midlands Mayor Andy Street. He is currently leading a photography group with the assistance of Mandip Singh Seehra a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society.
Bengy has wide-ranging involvement with groups and organisations across the city – an active member of ‘Toastmasters Godiva Speakers’, ‘Street Wisdom’ ‘One Voice’ ‘F13’ and ‘Sitting Rooms of Culture’ groups. He sits on the Warwick Arts curation committee, leads workshops with Arts and Homelessness International and collaborates with Cardboard Citizen’s. He also set up his own collective of creatives ‘Winning At Life’ to deliver cultural events in the community throughout Coventry and beyond.
Having a learning disability and having experienced homelessness, Bengy understands the challenges many people face, and is helping others to find their path.
Tokenism and tick box exercises are real life issues, affecting marginalised communities daily, you will find these topics woven into Laura’s poetic writing and her handmade body adornments. Women’s issues and migration are subjects that Laura is very passionate about. Her work challenges perceptions and provokes human beings’ habitual thought patterns concerning other people.
For centuries, body adornments have been used to define cultural, social, or religious status in various communities. As a practicing artist as well as a CEO at Maokwo, Laura has worked with various organisations in and outside Coventry including Counterpointarts, Belgrade Theatre, CRMC, Theatre Absolute, Talking Birds, Coventry City of Culture Trust.
As Laura hand weaves her body adornments, she is weaving a message about Hope, Love and Freedom. Laura’s work is driven by the conviction that art and creativity are tools that help us to see past race, class, age and create a better now, a better future.
Rosi is a former mathematician with published articles in the field. She achieved a PhD in Theoretical Computer Science and MSc in Mathematical Logic from the University of Manchester, and a BA and MMath in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge. She also holds a BSc in Osteopathy from Oxford Brookes University.
Before becoming a councillor, Rosi was an elite-level Mixed Martial Artist and became the first British female fighter to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She retired from competition in 2014 to focus on her Osteopathy business.
Rosi is 42 years old and of mixed-race heritage. She lives in Solihull with her fiancée and has one child.
Mark is a disruptive thinker. He edited KPMG’s “Reimagine Public Policy” programme, contributing ideas on how to build more homes, make social care better and more productive, eliminating the need for food banks and boosting life long learning. And in Reimagine a Digital Society, Mark’s film presents a future in which AI makes many more of our buying decisions; and then explores the impact that will have on consumer facing businesses including the 'human' skills needed to educate the bots in how to meet our needs.
Always happy to submit his ideas to challenge and debate, Mark is an experienced writer, thinker, keynote speaker, and live broadcast panellist and presenter. He is a regular panellist on KPMG’s “The Business of Brexit” podcast, BBC’s “Wake up to Money”, and “Business Briefing”.
Rashid’s professional interest also include supporting social enterprise development, public service transformation and wider social impact programmes. Rashid was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Warwick in 2019.
David is interested in how the structure of the global energy industry is changing, how new business models are finding success and how management practices are changing. This continues his work before WBS on how companies achieve changes that transform their performance, including changes in organisation, culture and capabilities that enable and sustain new ways of working in ever-changing circumstances.
She was Head of Strategic Business Development at Lambeth Council, is an independent member of the Windrush Day Grants Advisory Panel, co-author of Why Vote and Why Join a Trade Union, a judge for the national schools Debating Matters programme and a contributor to events, seminars and publications particularly relevant to local democracy, community engagement and media.
She has worked across the public and private sectors in communications, strategy and crisis management.
He was elected as chair of BMA council in July 2017, and has been a council member since 2008. He was chair of GPC (the GPs committee) from 2013 to 2017, having been a GPC member since 1996, and was a GPC negotiator between 2007 and 2013. He has been an LMC member for over 20 years and vice chair for the past 14. He is a fellow of the RCGP (Royal College of General Practitioners).
Chaand was awarded a CBE in 2015 for his services to primary care.
Jess has committed her life to improving the lives of others, especially the most vulnerable. Before becoming an MP, Jess worked for Women’s Aid in the West Midlands developing services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, human trafficking and exploitation. She became a councillor in 2012, in this role she worked tirelessly to support residents, with her work being recognised when she became Birmingham's first ever Victims Champion.
Since becoming an MP, Jess has continued her fight to support those who need it the most and has earned a reputation for plain speaking since being elected, unfazed by threats and calling out sexist attitudes as she promotes women’s rights.
Jess has written two bestselling books ‘Everywoman One Woman’s Truth About Speaking The Truth’ and ‘Truth to Power: 7 Ways to Call Time on BS’. Both books reflect her commitment to speaking up and having the courage to have your voice heard and make a difference.
A former Cabinet minister, Liam undertook some of the toughest jobs in the last Labour Government at the Home Office, in 10 Downing Street where as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, he coordinated cross-government programmes to combat the Great Financial Crisis, and in Her Majesty’s Treasury where, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he designed Labour’s fiscal consolidation strategy. In Opposition, Liam served in a number of frontbench positions, chaired Labour’s Policy Review, founded and chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on Inclusive Growth, and served on the Council of Europe.
A former Fulbright scholar at the Harvard Business School, Liam has written twenty books, chapters and pamphlets about economic history, development and foreign affairs. His history of British capitalism Dragons: Ten Entrepreneurs Who Built Britain was published in 2016. He is also the author of Black Flag Down: Counter Extremism, Defeating ISIS and Winning the Battle of Ideas; and Turning to Face the East: How Britain Prospers in the Asian Century. Liam is one of Westminster’s leading authorities on China. He helped kickstart the Economic & Finance Dialogue, co-founded the UK-China Young Leader’s Roundtable, and helps anchor the UK-China Leadership for the Future Forum.
In recent years Debbie has created a hugely successful UK film franchise out of her home- town of Coventry by writing and directing (in her inimitable improvisational process) a series of blockbuster Christmas films; Nativity! Starring Martin Freeman, Nativity 2 “Danger in the Manger” starring David Tennant, Nativity 3 “Dude Where’s My Donkey?” starring Martin Clunes and Catherine Tate, and most recently Nativity Rocks! starring Celia Imrie and Craig Revel Horwood which have all been major box office hits in the UK.
Debbie wrote all of the original songs in the Nativity movies with Nicky Ager and her smash hit stage musical adaptation Nativity! The Musical is in its third sensational year.
Debbie is proud to be associated with Coventry City of Culture and is a keen advocate of the city where she lives and works.
In 2000 he founded YouGov, a leading market research company which has since become famous for the accuracy of its political polling. Having started life in an office in Nadhim’s garden shed, YouGov now employs over 400 people on three continents. He floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2005 and was named Entrepreneur of the year by Ernst & Young in 2008.
In January 2010 he stood down from YouGov to run for election as Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon. Upon winning the seat, Nadhim was elected to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, which scrutinises the impact of government policy on business.
In 2011 he co-authored Masters of Nothing with fellow MP Matt Hancock. The book is an account of the human behaviour behind the banking crash and ends with policy recommendations designed to prevent a future crisis. Several of these recommendations were adopted by the Coalition Government.
In 2013 he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Policy Board with special responsibility for business and the economy, and then in November 2015 he was appointed by David Cameron as the Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. In June 2014 he was elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which examines the Government's foreign policy. Nadhim was re-elected to this select committee in 2015 and 2017.
In January 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Nadhim as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families at the Department for Education. He held this position until July 2019 when he was appointed by Boris Johnson as Minister for Business and Industry at BEIS. In November 2020, Nadhim was also made Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment.
Jim has been a member of the Labour Party for many years holding lots of different positions. He is also a school governor at Frederick Bird School in Hillfields. He was finally elected to Coventry City Council in 2007 after a number of years of trying! He likes people that tell the truth and knows when they're not! His background dictates that he will work and fight for people who would otherwise be left behind.
In 2000 he founded YouGov, a leading market research company which has since become famous for the accuracy of its political polling. Having started life in an office in Nadhim’s garden shed, YouGov now employs over 400 people on three continents. He floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2005 and was named Entrepreneur of the year by Ernst & Young in 2008.
In January 2010 he stood down from YouGov to run for election as Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon. Upon winning the seat, Nadhim was elected to the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, which scrutinises the impact of government policy on business.
In 2011 he co-authored Masters of Nothing with fellow MP Matt Hancock. The book is an account of the human behaviour behind the banking crash and ends with policy recommendations designed to prevent a future crisis. Several of these recommendations were adopted by the Coalition Government.
In 2013 he was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Policy Board with special responsibility for business and the economy, and then in November 2015 he was appointed by David Cameron as the Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. In June 2014 he was elected to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which examines the Government's foreign policy. Nadhim was re-elected to this select committee in 2015 and 2017.
In January 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Nadhim as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families at the Department for Education. He held this position until July 2019 when he was appointed by Boris Johnson as Minister for Business and Industry at BEIS. In November 2020, Nadhim was also made Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment.
Professor Marmot also chaired the Expert Panel for the WCRF/AICR 2007 Second Expert Report on Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective; the Breast Screening Review for the NHS National Cancer Action Team, and was a member of The Lancet-University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health. Early in his career, he set up and led a number of longitudinal cohort studies on the social gradient in health in the UCL Department of Epidemiology & Public Health (where he was head of department for 25 years): the Whitehall II Studies of British Civil Servants, investigating explanations for the striking inverse social gradient in morbidity and mortality; the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), and several international research efforts on the social determinants of health. He served as President of the British Medical Association (BMA) in 2010-2011, and as President of the World Medical Association in 2015. He is President of the British Lung Foundation. He is an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology; a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences; an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy, and an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for six years and in 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen, for services to epidemiology and the understanding of health inequalities. Professor Marmot is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine.
She is also working on a couple of other big projects which are in the early stages of development. Becky is very creative, lively and full of ideas.
She has autism and ADHD and life has been difficult at times. One of her aims is to help create a world where everyone gets the best out of life and to break down barriers that make achieving this difficult.
Becky has achieved a lot so far in her life, but it has been a long battle and that is something that she wants to change for others.
She is a passionate, positive activist, which specific and relevant experience and expertise with regards to race, gender and lgbt+ issues; Nyasha constructively criticises structures and institutions in order to make positive systemic change. She believes that, although some people might hold problematic views, biases and beliefs, that the majority do not seek to cause stress or upset to marginalised communities.
Her EDI consultancy, which focuses on the power of words and the facilitation of difficult conversations, uses three pillars to create safe spaces, challenging dialogue and clear, measurable outputs: Shared Language, Shared History and Re: Education.
Nyasha is a strong believer in the positive impacts that can be made in deconstructing and reconstructing long held beliefs and biases through creative cultural connection.
She was acknowledged as one of 50 inspiring people working in EDI sector by PricewaterhouseCoopers and as a senior Black leader and influencer by the Office of the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street. Nyasha is a Belgrade Theatre’s Board of Trustees; she is also Vice- Chair of Coventry Pride. She is also an accredited Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner and AC Executive Coach.
ACC Payne has spent the majority of his career in investigative roles. He has overseen in excess of 200 murder investigations alongside numerous other major criminal enquiries. He has undertaken roles as Head of Homicide investigation, Head of Professional Standards and Counter Corruption and Head of CID in West Midlands Police.
In 2014 he pioneered a collaboration with Warwick University embracing the benefits of new technology and the intellect of academia to create a unique solution to evidence crime investigation and criminal forensic examination of scenes. Working in collaboration with the Senior Coroner and University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire he was integral to the creation of a Centre of Excellence in 2015 for post mortems. The blueprint of this approach and model is a beacon of national best practice.
He is a valued member of the national detective strategy group and spent many years as a member of the national homicide working group, supporting and providing national guidance and support to homicide investigations across England and Wales.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Payne was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2021 for services to policing.
AJ is the director of Ascension Dance Company, the company that co-created “Sent to Coventry”. “Sent to Coventry” was a dance film made in 2017 in support Coventry’s successful bid to be City of Culture 2021. To date, “Sent to Coventry” has over 150,000 views on social media. Since then, Ascension Dance has continued to push dance/ movement opportunities, hosting free workshops and creating eye-catching performances across the city. In 2020/2021, Ascension Dance become a “supported by” organisation at the Belgrade Theatre, choreographer of a outdoor duet for the Coventry City of Culture 2021 launch event and received a Arts Council England grant to tour a new work titled ‘The Other Side’ during Summer 2021.
As well as directing, performance and choreographing for Ascension, AJ as a freelance artist has also been part of a number of performances created by Coventry based companies and showcased in Coventry such as HOME (Highly Sprung & Upswing Aerial, 2019) and Read All About It (Mercurial Dance, 2018).
In 1997 she directed the revival of Richard Eyre's production of Guys and Dolls at the National and in 1998 she directed Oh, What a Lovely War! for the National. Her production transferred to the Roundhouse later that year.
Since then, Laird has directed plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, The Old Vic, the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Festival Hall, and the Welsh National Opera. Productions include Stephen Fry’s Cinderella at the Old Vic, and the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2018 production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, for which she also composed the music.
In 2009, Laird directed the live television performance of The Turning Point by Michael Dobbs, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as spy Guy Burgess which won the Broadcasting Press Guild Best Multichannel Programme Award.
Many of the town’s musicians and live music fans will know Julian for his work as a concert organiser. For 10 years Julian ran Saturday lunchtime jazz seasons; these began life in the foyer of Theatre Severn and then moved to the Wightman Theatre, which has now sadly closed. Julian has also organised occasional ‘americana’ concerts with visiting musicians from the USA and Canada alongside UK artists.
For many years Julian was a member of the Shrewsbury Jazz Orchestra. He continues to play with several of the area’s best Jazz musicians whenever the opportunity allows. He has played on Shrewsbury’s streets as part of The Big Busk. “Shrewsbury has a wonderful arts and music scene, which has really struggled during the pandemic. I hope the town will support this talent in the months and years ahead”.
For many years Julian taught events management and music to sixth formers at New College in Telford. Prior to that he has worked as a homeless person’s officer in East London before moving to teaching in London secondary schools.
Since being elected to Shrewsbury Town Council and Shropshire Council in 2017 Julian has worked on road safety issues, particularly looking out for pedestrians. He also campaigns on environmental issues and has worked to promote young people’s rights at work.
Julian is currently Shrewsbury's Mayor.
She was the founding Director of the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT www.infantcentre.ie) and was Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cork University Maternity Hospital where she worked as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist from 2006-2018.
Louise has a longstanding clinical and research interest in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Her research group is supported by more than €30 million of peer reviewed funding and her work has resulted in >200 peer reviewed original papers, reviews and book chapters. Louise has received numerous awards for her work, most recently the prestigious title of Researcher of the Year by SFI (2015) and 2015 Irish Tatler magazine Woman of the Year Award for STEM.
Prior to her election, Ms. Owatemi served in the NHS as a Senior Oncology Pharmacist at a Cancer Unit within Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. She holds a Masters of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kent.
Prior to entering into politics she headed organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as founding her own business in 2004. She has been an aid worker and an officer in the Royal Navy Reserve and is now Honorary Commander of 2nd Mine Countermeasures Squadron. In 2000 she worked in Washington for President GW Bush and has maintained close links to US politics.
Her book Greater, Britain after the storm (published May 2021) which sets out who we are and what we should be doing next, became an Amazon best seller within 24hrs of launch. All proceeds from the book are funding community organisations and charities.
She is currently Paymaster General and has led the Government’s resilience work overhauling how the UK prepares and responds to threats and has bolstered the UKs defensive cyber security. She deputises for both Michael Gove and Lord Frost, on Covid Operations and the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee respectively. She works with a large number of voluntary organisations including being Patron of Enable Ability, a charity which helps disabled children and their families, an Ambassador for Forgotten Veterans UK and is a trustee of the Wymering Manor Trust, a social enterprise she founded based around restoring a neglected listed building at the centre of a housing estate.
Margot served as Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with responsibility for Digital, Telecoms and the Creative Industries, piloting the Data Protection Bill through Parliament, incorporating GDPR into UK law. Previously she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with responsibility for small businesses, consumers and corporate governance, including labour markets.
Margot co-founded Shire Health Group and led its growth to over 100 staff, having created a market for industry sponsored public health campaigns. She led the successful transitioning of Shire Health Group to the multinational WPP in 2000.
She served on the Europe, Middle East and Africa Board of Ogilvy Mather, leading European healthcare programmes.
Former Minister of State for Decarbonisation and Digitisation at DfT, Former Minister for Life Science and Chair of the Prime Ministers Policy Board.
After leaving the front bench in 2020 George has been focussed on the politics of regeneration & renewal.
She is the Liberal Democrats’ Foreign Affairs and International Development Spokesperson, an issue that she is deeply passionate about having grown up around the world. She was previously, as an ex-teacher, the party’s education spokesperson.
Layla is also Chair of the All-Party Group on Coronavirus. She works cross-party with her APPG colleagues to hold the Government to account. The APPG's interim report was published in December 2020.
Once elected to Parliament, Layla got to work campaigning to tackle climate change, make our education system world-class and protecting and promoting internationalism.
From beginning her career managing large scale capital regeneration programmes for Local Authorities, she moved to the third sector where she has worked and volunteered extensively delivering services with adults with complex needs including homelessness, addiction and exploitation. Ellie strives to bring creativity into all she does in a way that supports positive mental wellbeing, connection and joy for everyone involved.
Ellie is also a freelance creative producer passionate about storytelling, performance and film and has just produced a short film about what Home means to people in Coventry who are speakers of other languages.
Fabian is responsible for Labour Party policy on arms control, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international peace agreements, such as those implemented in Cyprus and Colombia. He is married with three children and two grandchildren and is a keen cyclist and amateur photographer.
Her professional experience has included working in Afghanistan to deliver a UKAid funded project of getting more girls into education, working for counter-terrorism within the Home Office and supporting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. She is also a leading commentator in international media on Afghanistan and international development – particularly surrounding women's rights and related issues.
John will also talk about how he created a bursary at his current firm meetspaceVR that will pay for over 100 hours of free coaching we will be donating to a Coventry school to help teach children on free school meals and ask the employers of Coventry if they might be interested in creating similar bursaries to ensure Coventry’s workforce of tomorrow is ready for the undoubted creative challenges that lie ahead.
Prior to this he was a senior manager at the Northumberland Tyne and Wear NIHR Comprehensive Local Research Network and Research Manager at the University of Newcastle. He has a PhD in Genetics from Queen’s University, Belfast and has worked both as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Newcastle and as a clinical scientist in the NHS.
The themes within his work are anchored in Coventry’s culture, environment and its heritage.
He also has experience in designing and creating graphics for local independent artists from Coventry, with streams in excess of 3,500,000 on Spotify.
Kindness, valuing difference and diversity, social equity, creativity, authenticity and adventure are the values that drives Thanh. These values underpin the world she wants to live in and the future she wants to create. She wants to explore how arts, culture and creativity create the social interaction that facilitates civic engagement and safe civic spaces where our assumptions can be safely challenged that transforms our relationship with people, place and planet.
With a strong focus on business and partnership working, Trish takes great pride in leading a small but mighty team of committed individuals who work within Coventry City Centre, enhancing the appearance of the city and offering a welcoming environment for visitors and residents alike.
The aim of the BID is to promote, develop and boost the city centre to make it a great place to work and visit. Trish and the team have played a vital role in ensuring the BID businesses have been continually supported throughout arguably one of the toughest years we’ve seen in recent history, working hard to make sure there is a positive future as things start to get back to normal.
A delivery partner for the 2021 City of Culture Trust, Coventry BID are leading on two fantastic projects – In Paint We Trust and The Show Windows. Both are bringing the city to life with stunning window displays and dazzling street art. The BID team has also recently celebrated National Arts Council England (ACE) funding success, making it the UK’s first Cultural BID.
Cory dedicated his time to the craft of visual merchandising through a series of high profile moves - including Director-level roles at Tiffany and Gap in New York, as well as managerial roles at Bally, COS, and Liberty in London. His passion has seen him travel the world, gaining inspiration from new cultures and people, as well as developing the skills needed to set up his own company in 2018 CBGC Creative Industries.
Besides his creative and brand work, this dedication to supporting emerging talent has seen Cory lecture at Brooklyn College, Coventry University, BCU, Fashion Retail Academy and more recently at the Sarabande Foundation by Alexander McQueen.
Some of the projects he has been involved in include Traum, a production created in collaboration with Theatre Absolute; Ink, a theatre piece produced by Si Rawlinson and performed in Leicester Theatre as well as commissioned for The Fringe Festival and Victoria & Albert Museum. Another immersive theatre production that he takes part in is One%, a collaboration with O’Driscoll Collective.
Besides theatre and commercials, Marius is an avid breakdance competitor, winning several worldwide competitions such as RedBull BC One Romania three years in a row and being ranked 19th worldwide after competing in Nanjing, China. Marius approaches his style of dance with courage and finds that experimenting with movement is such a powerful trait to have when being a dancer. For this reason, he has recently been commissioned to be part of a research project in conjunction with Dancing Bodies in Coventry.
Working for Maokwo producing a project called YxngGxfted. She is a Journalism Graduate and a Cultural Leader under Coventry City of Culture. Chrissie’s work comes from an activism standpoint using creativity to draw attention to current issues that we are fighting in the world.
Prior to this, Ximena represented Bolivia at the United World College in Hong Kong. She has worked as Project Manager of Amigos Richmond Latino Center, where she constructed strategic relationships with government partners and donors. She fundraised and managed educational, health and outreach programs for Latino youth in the United States. She also conducted ethnographic research at the Smithsonian Centre for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and was a coordinator for the 51st Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Born and raised in Bolivia, Ximena holds a liberal arts degree in International Studies and Business & Non-profit Management from Earlham College. Her postgraduate qualification in Anthropology, Ethnography and Cultural Heritage Studies through Erasmus+ led her to study in four different universities in London, France, Hungary and Norway. She speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and training for half-marathons. She was awarded the Youth Peace Prize to a Bolivian Living Abroad in 2020.
By signing up you are confirming you are happy to receive emails from us. You can unsubscribe at any time by following the link at the bottom of communications, or contacting us via email.
See our Legal Terms and Privacy Notice to understand what we do with your personal data.

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021
Coventry is UK City of Culture 2021. This is the city where movement began, from innovation in the transport industry to a history of activism. The city has moved people for centuries. For a whole year, the city will be celebrated with events, music, dance, theatre, and large-scale spectacle.
Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 is co-created with the people of Coventry and brings about long-term social, economic and cultural benefits.
Find out more and discover Coventry at: