After Dinner Business Speakers

Dr Victoria Baines

Having worked in law enforcement and cybersecurity, Victoria joined the social media giant in a leading role to connect the business to government and security agencies. A leading thinker on trust and safety in the digital world, she looks at everything from the how, why and who of fake news to what AI could do for privacy, the myths and realities of cybercrime to what invading someone’s space in virtual reality might mean.

Cally Beaton

After joining the board of ITV, setting up her own company and serving as SVP in charge of International Sales at media giant Viacom, Cally has also started a parallel career in comedy. Leaving the boardroom for the stage and studio has brought challenges and hard-learned lessons, and Cally combines humour, experience and insight to ideas around change, resilience and embracing uncertainty.

Baroness (Karren) Brady

Karren ran the business side of Birmingham City FC through promotion, relegation – and brain surgery. Karren’s mantra for leaders growing any enterprise can be summed up in 5 tips: work hard (be persistent); use every opportunity to network (spread your message); move on (failure is history); don’t get side-tracked, and do your sums.

Todd Buchholz

As well as serving under George Bush Sr, Todd has headed a $15bn hedge fund, lectured on economics at Harvard and co-produced a Broadway hit. He has also written about global upheaval in Market Shock. Todd looks at macro and geopolitical issues, like the crisis in Syria, and the impact they have on financial markets and business strategy.

Rt Hon Lord (Sebastian) Coe

On the track Seb’s talent and commitment earned eleven world records and two Olympic gold medals; he has since led the most successful Games in recent history. After serving as one of many Vice Presidents, Seb is tasked with turning around World Athletics and restoring the reputation of international athletics, in the gaze of the world’s media. In speeches he shares the lessons as an athlete and as a leader delivering a vision, managing crisis and bringing about change.

Robert Guest

Robert is The Economist’s Deputy Editor. Previously he was US editor, business editor, Washington correspondent and Lexington columnist covering American news and politics.

Christian Horner

After a successful career on the track Christian started his own racing team only to be approached shortly afterwards to run the new Red Bull set-up. As new entrants to one of the most technical and competitive sports in the world, within five years they’d won both drivers’ and constructors’ championships, and repeated the feat for each of the following three seasons. Christian reveals what it took to build and maintain success in the face of rivals with more money, resources, and political power in the sport, and explore how to manage the human and the technological el...

Lord (Digby) Jones

After heading the CBI, Digby entered government and circled the globe, lobbying on behalf of British business. He remains both an ardent supporter and insightful critic of business and business leaders, challenging them to better embrace change and innovation, to empower their people to take risks and explore new ideas, and to look globally for inspiration, competition and opportunities.

Nigella Lawson

One of the most popular food writers and broadcasters around, Nigella is famous for her unpretentious, friendly take on cooking, revelling especially in indulgent dishes. From Nigella Bites to The Taste, her shows have been international hits, as have her books, including How to be a Domestic Goddess and Nigella Christmas.

Dr Gerard Lyons

Gerard Lyons has been described by The Times as “one of the most influential analysts of the global economy”. He is Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth Investments which he helped establish, and sits on the Boards of both Bank of China UK and BGC the inter-deal brokers. He also, among other roles, sits on the Advisory Board of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. Gerard was a candidate to be Governor of the Bank of England.

Martin McCourt

As Chief Executive of Dyson, Martin transformed it from a niche manufacturer to a £1bn global brand, moving production to Asia. Even after the onset of recession, he doubled turnover and trebled profits - increasing sales in 70 markets. Now in private equity Martin argues we must use our inventiveness rather than try to compete with China on their terms. But with 40,000 unfilled skilled jobs, UK industry needs to work much more closely with educators.

Andrew Neil

The Daily Mail called Andrew “The titan of broadcasting, famed for his interrogation of the powerful, and The Times said: “The ultimate test for assessing whether a party leader was fit to be Prime Minister is to put them in front of Andrew Neil for forty minutes, the most forensic interviewer in broadcasting.” With wry humour added to genuine insight and an enviable network of business, economic and political connections, the publisher, businessman and broadcaster considers the plots, policies and personalities making the news. 

Robert Peston

Robert Peston is ITV's Political Editor, as well as the presenter of the channel's flagship politics show Peston, where he covers the latest developments in Westminster and beyond. He's also co-host of the podcast The Rest is Money alongside Steph McGovern, where they explore stories from the world of business and finance. He has won a number of awards for his work - including Journalist of the Year, Specialist Journalist of the Year and Scoop of the Year (twice) from the Royal Television Society.

Steve Ridgway

CEO of Virgin Atlantic for over a decade, Steve oversaw the huge expansion of what has become one of the world’s biggest and most respected airlines. Widely admired for their service culture, marketing and innovation, Steve offers an insight into the Virgin brand and strategy. After dinner, Steve reveals the boardroom secrets of Richard Branson and what it was like taking charge of the Virgin Challenger Blue Riband yacht team.

Ellis Watson

Tackling leadership, transformation and navigating disruption with an energy and forthright humour that engages and informs, Ellis has an impact few speakers can match. With lessons from a diverse career leading businesses from media to transport, he delivers practical, sometimes provocative ideas on how to nurture and retain talent, adapt to technological, social and economic disruption, and place purpose at the heart of any organisation.

Tim Arthur

In a career that has taken in leadership roles in the media, charity, arts, and finance, Tim reflects on the power of purpose-driven leadership, creativity, and human-centred innovation in times of rapid change. Drawing on his commercial leadership and this psychotherapy training, he explores how organisations can build resilient, emotionally intelligent cultures that drive both wellbeing and performance.

Rachel Bridge

The former Sunday Times’ Enterprise Editor has spent time with entrepreneurs of all shades, including many of the world’s most successful. Rachel takes the lessons they’ve learned, myths dispelled and mistakes made, and weaves an entertaining look at how (in theory) anyone can make a million by lunchtime.

Declan Curry

After acquiring a big fan base for his early morning market reports, Declan moved to Working Lunch and 5 Live’s On the Money.

Sir Howard Davies

Howard has served as Chairman of the FSA, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Controller of the Audit Commission and CBI Director General. He also headed the Government commission examining UK airport capacity. In presentations Howard considers progress on reforming the regulatory landscape and driving competitiveness in Europe. He also casts light on the latest developments in China and assesses the implications for Western economies.

Fraser Doherty

Using his grandmother’s jam recipes, Fraser set up his business at 14, hit the shelves at Waitrose at 18 and now supplies 2,000 supermarkets from Russia to Australia. He’s continuing to expand, and is also the co-founder of the world’s largest craft ale delivery business, Beer52. In speeches Fraser extols social enterprise and telling your own story, explains his approach to product development and innovation, and shows how to turn ordinary into extraordinary.

Dave Fishwick

When the van and minibus dealer decided he could do a better job than the local banks, the authorities told him it was impossible, even criminal. He pushed harder, set up Burnley Savings and Loans, and found himself starring in Channel 4’s Bank of Dave. There’s now a big queue of eager depositors and borrowers. In a real-life story of David and Goliath, with lessons for businesses big and small, he explains what made him take on seemingly insurmountable odds.

Vincent Franklin

Vince Franklin has two diverse, yet surprisingly well-matched careers. As an actor, he has played managers, spin doctors and sales speakers in Twenty Twelve, The Thick of It and The Office. As a communications expert he has helped multinational businesses understand the importance of clear communication with both staff and customers. With entertaining examples of the right and wrong way of doing this, Vince tells organisations how to deliver an attractive, engaging message as well as the power a personal story has to inspire trust and explain complex details.