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A whimsical master, James Acaster has received acclaim from around the world, including a record breaking 5 consecutive nominations for ‘Best Comedy Show’ at the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. In 2017 he toured the country with a staggering three show Trelogy, performing Recognise, Represent and Reset consecutively over three nights in each venue. These three shows and Recap form his Netflix four part series, Repertoire. It was the first of its kind, a stand up...
Rio Ferdinand is one of the most famous faces in English football with one of the most decorated careers on the pitch. Now a regular pundit on TV and a broadcaster in his own right, as a player he won over a dozen major club honours and was picked in four PFA Team of the Year selections. As a youngster, Rio attracted the eye of West Ham’s scouts whilst playing central midfield for Eltham Town’s under-14s team. He joined the Hammers...
Arsene Wenger OBE is a French former football manager and player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. He was the manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, where he was the longest-serving and most successful in the club's history. His contribution to English football through changes to scouting, players' training and diet regimens revitalised Arsenal and aided the globalisation of the sport in the 21st century. Born in Strasbourg and raised in Duttlenheim to an...
What if the thing slowing your organisation down is not talent, strategy or systems, but trust? Jan van der Spoel spent more than 25 years as a creative director in corporate communication, helping brands such as Unilever, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), Philips and Nutricia shape their message and strategy. Over time he saw a clear pattern: whether the issue was leadership, collaboration or performance, the underlying driver was almost always trust. Today Jan is a trust expert, author, keynote speaker,...
David Thomas is one of the few Western strategists genuinely embedded in emerging Asia not flying in with a briefing pack, but living and working on the ground in the Philippines, with over 30 years of experience spanning Hong Kong, London, Sydney and across the ASEAN region. He travels from Asia. He lived in Hong Kong through the 1980s and 1990s, running his own wealth management firm while watching the Sino-British handover negotiations unfold at close quarters. His first visit to...
Lord Malloch-Brown has served as Administrator of the UN Development Programme, Chief of Staff and Deputy to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Vice President of External Affairs at the World Bank, and as a British government minister under Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Most recently he was President of the Open Society Foundations, the world's largest private funder of democracy and human rights. A co-founder of the International Crisis Group and former political consultant to newly democratic regimes, he has spent his career...
Morgan McSweeney is one of the most influential political strategists in modern British politics, widely recognised for reshaping the Labour Party and helping deliver its landmark 2024 General Election victory. A trusted adviser to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a central figure behind Labour’s electoral transformation, McSweeney has become known for his disciplined, data-driven approach to campaigning, leadership and public trust. Drawing on more than two decades of political experience, McSweeney offers audiences unique insight into modern leadership, voter behaviour and...
Marit Bouwmeester is the most decorated female Olympic sailor in history and one of the most successful athletes the Netherlands has ever produced. Across four Olympic Games, she won silver in London 2012, gold in Rio 2016, bronze in Tokyo 2021, and gold again in Paris 2024. Her final Olympic gold came after becoming a mother — returning to the very top of her sport at age 36 with her daughter watching from the shore in Marseille. Marit’s journey is not...
Natalia Gavrilița is Co-Founder and Director of Partnerships for New Economy, a new economic policy think tank focused on Moldova's EU integration. She also serves on the Supervisory Board of Moldova's National Bank and on a number of advisory and expert councils, including the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the Academic Council of the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, and the European Center for Economic Security, Technology, and Resilience (ECESTR). As Moldova's 15th Prime Minister...
Yngve Slyngstad is the former CEO of the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund. With asset of USD 2 trillion, the fund is the largest single owned fund in the world. Owning more than 1.5% of the global equity markets, the fund is also the largest owner of listed companies in the world. Slyngstad was on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful People in 2013 and 2014. He has for most of his professional career worked in international finance. He...
Ria Lina is an accomplished multi-award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and academic with a proven ability to engage and inform a range of audiences. Her dynamic presentation style and sharp intellect make her an ideal choice for conference facilitation and hosting. In 2025 and 2026, Ria undertook two hugely successful national tours, reinforcing her reputation as a captivating MC, working brilliantly with a range of audiences, bringing energy, intelligence, humour and insight. Diagnosed with autism, Ria is a brilliant keynote speaker on...
Sophia Velastegui is the CEO of Velastegui Ventures, which provides AI advisory and consulting services and develops cutting-edge AI products, right-sized services, and scalable strategies to Fortune 500+ and high-growth companies. CEOs and corporate boards seek her guidance when they need to understand – and lead through – the disruptive forces reshaping business, technology, and society. She was previously the Chief Product Officer of Aptiv, leading global product strategy and managing a multi-billion-dollar physical AI self-driving car and full AI...
Nicole Monge, a key leader within APCO’s Founder and Chair’s office, spearheads APCO’s emerging markets and foreign direct investment (FDI) growth strategy work across diverse geographies and sectors. With a robust track record in sustainability and experience in the mining and energy industries, Ms. Monge excels at developing strategic positioning, forging high-impact partnerships, and elevating client value propositions on the global stage. Nicole Monge is a seasoned professional specializing in international relations and policy advocacy, with a career that highlights her...
Ana Rovzar is head of international partnerships at RES4Africa Foundation, an independent advisor and a multi-lingual speaker and moderator. Ana’s specialty is in managing partnerships and leading policy dialogues on clean energy transitions. Since 2013 she has gathered experience in policy analysis, advocacy and public relations on sustainable energy, development and global affairs. Ana is based in Brussels, speaks 7 languages, and has lived and worked across Latin-America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. She has organized, spoken and moderated 30+...
Matt Weston has established himself as one of the most successful athletes in British winter sports history, redefining excellence in skeleton racing through his fearless performances, relentless work ethic, and record-breaking achievements. Born in Surrey, England, Weston transitioned into skeleton in 2017 through UK Sport’s “Discover Your Gold” programme after competing in rugby and taekwondo, quickly emerging as one of the sport’s brightest talents. A multiple World Cup, World and European Champion, Matt Weston reached the pinnacle of the sport...
Blending deep mathematical insight with a distinctive comedic style, Matt Parker makes complex ideas both accessible and entertaining. His YouTube Channel Stand-Up Maths has over 1.3 million subscribers and is where he explores the surprising, quirky, and often hilarious side of mathematics. His videos cover everything from mathematical puzzles, paradoxes, and patterns to real-world applications, cutting-edge research, and playful deep-dives into numbers, shapes, and logic. He also unpacks big ideas in areas like AI, quantum computing, and emerging technologies. With...