Ben is a Director in PwC’s Local Public Services consulting team. He is a strategy and transformation specialist and has extensive experience of working with local authority and other public sector clients. Ben also leads though leadership work relating to place leadership, including Good Growth for Cities and PwC’s Future of Government campaign. Prior to joining PwC, Ben was a Deputy Chief Executive of a unitary local authority.

Paddy is a Senior Economist at PwC, with four years of experience conducting economic impact assessments, policy appraisal evaluations and strategic options assessments for PwC and its clients. Alongside Good Growth for Cities, Paddy has led several macroeconomic analyses for PwC, contributing to numerous thought leadership publications such as UK Economic Outlook and Strategy&: Where Next?. Paddy has worked directly with organisations in various sectors, including clients in the financial services and public sectors, supporting them in developing their key economic strategies.

Dr Alan Belfield is Chairman of Arup Group, leading the firm’s 15,000-strong team and overseeing a global business across advisory, design, engineering, planning, and management services in the cities, energy, transport and water markets. Alan previously served as Arup Group Chief Operating Officer with overall responsibility for operational and commercial performance, and the alignment of business activity across the firm. Alan has a wealth of experience in advisory services, engineering and technology, and an unwavering commitment to realise Arup’s ambition to ​‘shape a better world’. He is passionate about all of Arup’s aims and is a strong advocate for diversity of thought. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a member of the UK Government’s Professional and Business Services Council.

Laura  Citron is CEO of London & Partners, the business growth and destination agency for London. She leads the organisation to promote London internationally as a leading world city in which to visit, invest, grow and meet. Laura has spent her career at the intersection of business, policy and communications. Prior to London & Partners, she was Managing Director of the Government & Public Sector Practice at WPP, the world’s largest marketing and communication services business. She taught communications for behaviour change at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Before joining WPP, Laura spent several years as a UK public servant in London and Brussels. She has also lived and worked in Russia and Germany. A proud Londoner, Laura has a postgraduate degree in Economics from University College London.

John Dickie is the Chief Executive at London First. Formerly the organisation’s Director of Strategy and Policy, he was responsible for the business membership organisation’s public policy development and its member management team. A former Deputy Leader of Camden Council in London, John was a member of the current Mayor of London’s London Finance Commission, the previous Mayor’s Infrastructure Delivery Board and is a member of the King’s College Commission on London.

Paul was appointed the Chair of London First in 2018. He is Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce ICC (UK), Non-Executive Director of Greencore Plc, and Independent Director of Schroder & Co. Ltd. Paul is Chancellor of Teesside University and a member of the Global Advisory Board of Trinity College Dublin. Paul was Chairman of Bibby Line Group from 2014 to 2020. Before that he was Chief Executive of the privately-owned construction firm Wates Group. He joined Wates in September 2004 and became Chairman and Chief Executive in April 2006 until 2014. Prior to joining Wates, Paul worked for ICI PLC, spending the first ten years of his career on Teesside. That was followed by 14 years holding various senior positions and living in Brazil, the USA and the Netherlands, which concluded with five years as Chief Executive of one of ICI’s principal international businesses and as a Main Board Director (1998 – 2003).

Mark is Professor of Public Policy at King’s College London. He has been a government adviser at the No10 Strategy Unit, a civil servant at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and a policy director for all three London Mayors. He is the author or co-author of four books, including A European Welfare State? (Palgrave) and Working Capital: Life and Labour in Contemporary London (Routledge) and more than 100 published papers. In 2015, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and in 2019 a Visiting Fellow at the City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Mark has also been a consultant to the OECD, the European Commission, government departments, local authorities, and major UK and global companies.

Amy has a long and successful track record as a leader and collaborator in the cultural and creative industries. She is co-founder of the Olivier Award-winning arts company and club night Duckie, and co-founded RVT Future, a voluntary LGBT+ community group campaigning to preserve the iconic Royal Vauxhall Tavern. She served as Mayoress of Camden in 2010/11 and spent her year highlighting the history and culture of live music and nightlife in the borough. Amy is a familiar presence on TV, in print and on radio. She broadcasted for a decade on BBC Radio London, and now hosts Sunday afternoons on BBC6 Music.

Nigel is Chief of Staff & Carbon at Heathrow. He leads the airport’s Carbon Strategy, Communications and Sustainability & Communities Teams. His responsibilities include ensuring Heathrow maintains its global leadership role in the decarbonisation of aviation through both practical measures and advocacy. He leads the airports liaison with external stakeholders on all policy issues across international, national and local government as well as business and represents Heathrow in the media and in public meetings. As Heathrow’s Director for External Affairs between 2013 and 2016, Nigel led the communications campaign to win support for a third runway at the airport, before taking on the role of Director of Communications which included overcoming the internal and colleague communication challenges presented by the pandemic.

Troy O’Rourke joined the development team of Notting Hill Housing in 2007. He is a land and planning development professional. Notting Hill Genesis own and managed 65,000 homes in London and build more than 1400 new affordable and market homes each year. Troy’s responsibilities include new acquisitions and leading planning applications for Notting Hill Genesis’ new build programme. He has a planning and residential development degree from Nottingham Trent University.

Charles Oak is the Hotel Director of The Londoner, the latest project by Edwardian Hotels London, one of the largest privately-owned hospitality companies in the UK. With a hospitality career spanning three decades, a highly established professional within the industry, he has an exemplary background in luxury hotel management and fine dining, which includes positions at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, The Savoy Hotel in London, and more recently the country haven of Heckfield Place in Hampshire.

Laura is our Managing Director, Corporate Affairs, leading our external communications, campaigns, public affairs, events and marketing. Previously Director of Strategic Communications and Campaigns, Laura joined London First in January 2019. She began her career in public affairs, before moving into the civil service where she did stints at the competition regulator and the Department for Business. She was Which?’s first Head of Corporate Affairs before becoming its Communications Director, and subsequently advised broadband company CityFibre on its shift from B2B to B2C.

Mathieu Proust is the General Manager for WeWork UK, Ireland and Emerging Markets, leading teams across 75+ locations. Mathieu is also Global Head of Franchise Operations, supporting WeWork franchise partners across 10 countries. WeWork is a global leader in flexible space, providing businesses of all sizes with the space, community, and services they need to run and grow their business. Mathieu began his career working for Microsoft in France before launching two tech companies. In 2014, he moved to the UK to join Uber as General Manager, where he supported the roll-out of the ride-sharing service across the UK and then later led the food delivery service Uber Eats. Mathieu joined WeWork in 2018 as Business Operations VP covering Europe, Israel and Australia.

Tanuja Randery is Managing Director at Amazon Web Services, Europe, Middle East and Africa. She specialises in commercial transformations in the technology, telecoms and advanced industries sectors. Tanuja is formerly partner at McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm. Tanuja has both a strategy and operations background, having served as CEO in multiple B2B technology & telecom companies, including most recently as CEO, UK & Ireland for Schneider Electric, the global energy management firm. Tanuja is a Non-Executive Director with two public boards: Proximus Group, the Belgian telecommunications company and Zensar Technology Services, a global IT services firm listed in India. Tanuja is a champion of diversity and founded PowerWomen network in 2015, a network for senior executive women in London. She was awarded the Top 50 Champion for Women in Business award in 2017 and 2018 by FT/HERoes.

James Rees is a member of the executive board of ExCeL London, our city’s premier events venue, hosting a huge portfolio of conventions, exhibitions, meetings, sports and entertainment events and host to 13 sports at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games . Additionally, James Rees is responsible for the commercial strategies of ExCeL London’s Conference and Events Division, developing a strong national and international clientele in London’s largest conference and exhibition centre and only International Convention Centre.

Sarah has a wealth of experience in journalism, having held various roles at the London Evening Standard, including editor. She was the first female editor of the Sunday Telegraph and most recently editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. She has recently been appointed chair of the independent thinktank Bright Blue. An honorary fellow of Goldsmiths and Lucy Cavendish College, Sarah is also a patron of National Citizen Service, while also being on the board of Oscar’s Book Prize. Sarah has been a former judge of the Samuel Johnson Prize, chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction (2018) and part of a mentoring scheme for Soho House.

Paul Scully was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Minister for London on 13 February 2020. He was elected the Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam on 7 May 2015.

With a real estate career spanning 24 years, many CRE roles, sectors and geographies, today I am a leader in the CBRE Consulting Team: A passionate team of 1,200+ Architects, Psychologists, Portfolio Strategy, Talent & Location, Supply Chain & Consumer Advisory, Occupancy Management, Workplace Strategy, HR and Change Management professionals. Our work can be a single project or a global programme, developing a new strategy or evolving an existing one, creating a transformative experience or deriving greater intelligence from data. A futurist, intersectional feminist and regular industry speaker on inclusive design and the future of work, I am also an active Mentor, Co-Chair of CBRE Women’s Network and Exec Sponsor of our Next Gen Talent (Apprentices & Grads) & Balance Women’s Leadership Programmes.

William Touche is London Senior Partner and Vice Chair at Deloitte. He has spent most of his career leading the firm’s relationships with London listed companies, many in the technology, media and telecom sectors. He is passionate about London as a world city, believing that London has a vibrant future as a centre for innovation, capital and talent, at the heart of a successful UK economy. He currently also leads Deloitte’s boardroom and governance programme at the Deloitte Academy. He serves on the board of TechUK the UK’s trade association for the high-tech sector, and has joined the London Council of the CBI. He strongly believes in opportunity for all and serves on the LACA-Lead the Change board, whose objective is to encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in the board, the C-suite and the workplace. William was previously a founder of Deloitte CIS, and lived in Moscow 1990-1993. He speaks French, Russian and some Italian.

Claire is managing partner of Freshfields, London. She oversees an office that has 130 partners, more than 500 lawyers and 500 plus business services colleagues. Claire has overseen the firm’s HQ move to 100 Bishopsgate, and ensured diversity and inclusion and the London office’s responsible business agenda is central to Freshfields’ strategy for the future. This has included launching an ambitious social mobility outreach programme in “cold spots” in the UK. Claire is also an experienced transactional lawyer advising clients on a range of strategic mandates across sectors and geographies including complex cross-border M&A, shareholder activism and defence planning, investigations, restructurings and reorganisations. Claire is a Trustee of the Royal Foundation for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and chairs its Governance and Nomination Committee. She is also a Governor of Rugby School and chair of the Arnold Foundation.