Lisa Watson-Cook

Head of Charities | Lester Aldridge

Lisa advises charities, social enterprises, clubs and community organisations on legal and regulatory matters in the not-for-profit sector. Before joining Lester Aldridge as a Partner, she gained valuable insight as in-house legal counsel for a top ten charity.

Lisa specialises in structural and governance reform, including collaborations between charities and businesses, providing simple, pragmatic, and tailored advice to help boards achieve their strategic goals with minimal risk.

Gary Neild

CEO | Blue Sky Financial Planning Ltd

Gary Neild is the CEO of Blue Sky Financial Planning Ltd, based in Poole, Dorset. The company focuses on helping clients live fulfilling lives through dynamic financial planning, coaching, mentoring, and asset management.

In December 2022, Gary transferred 100% of his shares to an Employee Ownership Trust, making all team members indirect owners. Blue Sky operates with a strong emphasis on ESG principles. Gary is honored to partner at the Dorset Business Festival and present awards to companies that share this ethos.

Rosie Radwell

Managing Director & Owner | Marsham Court Hotel

Rosie started working at the hotel at 14 and became a Director of The Marsham Court at 26 after six years of experience in the USA. Now Managing Director, she runs the hotel with her two brothers, focusing on accessibility and inclusivity for guests and employees.

Over the last four years, they have undertaken several ambitious projects and are the first UK hotel to install a Changing Places Toilet and Shower. Rosie is passionate about advancing Accessible Tourism in the UK.

Lord Matthew Elliott

As a political strategist and leading policy maker, Matthew has worked on UK public policy for almost twenty five years, including overseeing two national referendum campaigns, founding four high profile pressure groups and convening two respected policy commissions.

On 9 October, he will be sharing his insights and experiences as the president of The Jobs Foundation, a registered charity that champions the role of business as a force for good. Matthew is instrumental in galvanising business leaders to unite to make a difference for communities.

Working with organisations across the country, the charity is building a broad coalition of business leaders who share its mission to form a Business Council, which it will then develop into separate Regional Councils, connecting and inspiring local businesses as they work in their communities to help people most in need.

Benita Matofska

Benita Matofska is a world-leading speaker, changemaker and climate change consultant to some of the world’s most forward-thinking businesses.

An award-winning social entrepreneur, she is renowned for her ability to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide with her knowledge, dynamism and insights on sustainability, social innovation and business transformation.

Benita leads sustainability for business consultancy Futuretivity, who specialise in delivering climate innovation for business.

Benita is the author of Generation Share, a ground-breaking book voted top isolation read for a positive future by Forbes. In 2024, Benita co-founded Climate Women, a network for environment conscious women. Driven by a passion to transform business into a force for good, Benita uses social innovation techniques, global intelligence and over a decade of research to ensure businesses stay relevant and become future fit.

Ruth Andrade

Earthcare Strategy Lead

Lush

Born in the bioregion of the Brazilian Atlantic Moist Forests, Ruth grew up in a concrete jungle, witnessing first hand the destruction of the natural environment.

This prompted an early interest in environmental issues, nurtured a deep love for the rainforest and fueled great passion for driving change.

She considers herself a systems activist, identifying key nodal interventions in systems to support the transition to regenerative cultures. Co-creating Lush’s environmental strategy since 2004, Ruth supports the business to leave the world Lusher than we found it.

Sarah Ottaway

Sustainability & Social Value Lead

SUEZ

Sarah Ottaway became SUEZ recycling and recovery UK’s Sustainability and Social Value Lead in 2019, after 12 years delivering various programmes related to service enhancement, innovation and behaviour change in SUEZ’s public sector operations. In 2018 and 2019, Sarah was included in the Lets Recycle 35 under 35 “young guns” due to her efforts having a notable impact in the resources sector.

Sarah is currently responsible for developing the sustainability of SUEZ’s services and leading the continual improvement of its social value impact, while utilising her experiences to support SUEZ’s policy and circular economy activities.

Nikki Barry

Sustainability Manager

Organix

Nikki has been part of the Organix team for 12 years, and for the past three, she’s passionately led their Sustainability agenda. Her dedication has helped weave sustainability into the heart of the business, while inspiring and guiding the whole team on their shared journey to becoming a B Corp.

Purpose has always been at the heart of Organix. For over 30 years, we’ve led the way as the first organic baby food brand. Now, as a BCORP certified business, we’re using our company as a force for good, setting bold sustainability goals to create a positive impact locally and globally.

Melanie Collins

Head of Local Skills Improvement Policy

Department for Education

Head of the Local Skills Improvement Plans, Mel has a varied career history working on complex collaborative programmes including a number of international research and innovation programmes. Mel also leads the Local Skills Improvement Fund and its predecessor, the Strategic Development Fund.

Phil Sayles

Principal & CEO

Bournemouth and Poole College

Phil has been Principal of Bournemouth and Poole College since January 2022, following a 20-year career in education and skills. He has worked extensively with major employers to support their training needs.

The college offers technical education to school leavers and adults and is a leading apprenticeship provider in the UK. It covers almost every sector, is developing T-Level courses, has a Degree Centre on its Poole Campus, and recently received planning approval for a new £30m building.

Leila Willingham

Associate Business & Account Director

Liz Lean PR

Leila is a chartered PR professional with over seven years of experience and the CIPR’s youngest ever chartered practitioner. She has represented major brands like Nuffield Health, Royal London, Pukka Pads, and Paultons Park, gaining strategic knowledge across various PR disciplines.

Leila’s deep understanding of LLPR and its values comes from joining the family business after A-Levels, where she developed her skills through both practical experience and formal training.

Edison Earl

Students’ Union President 23-24

AUB Students’ Union (AUBSU)

Edison (Ed) Earl is a recent graduate of BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication at Arts University Bournemouth and has just completed their tenure as Students’ Union President at AUB Students’ Union.

From being a recent student to working with students, as well as being part of generation z they are equipped with the knowledge of what current topics are challenging our young workforce and what this workforce needs from employers.

Nuno Almeida

CEO

Nourish Care Systems Ltd

Nuno Almeida is the CEO at Nourish Care, a market leader in digital health and care information and insights management. Nuno has a background in Data Science, a track record of building fast growth and sustainable businesses and an interest in ventures that deliver positive societal impact at large scale, and a permanent curiosity and drive to design scaleable digital transformation that leads to improvements to people’s experience of health and care.

Nuno is also a serving board member with the Care Software Providers Association (CASPA), chaired the Social Care Vision subgroup of the APPG for Adult Social Care and is a though leader in digital transformation in the health and care sectors across the globe.

Seemin Suleri

VP of Engineering

Prima

Seemin is a change agent in the digital world, specializing in building and leading high-performance teams to transform businesses culturally and technologically. Passionate about Agile and continuous improvement, she fosters an innovative culture.

A mother of two, Seemin advocates for flexibility and inclusion to help people from all backgrounds succeed. She has led initiatives to increase women’s representation in the software industry, focusing on the human element in organisational success.

Gareth Sherwood

CEO

YMCA Bournemouth

Throughout his careers, Gareth has focused on improving lives and communities. He believes that environmental and social values are essential for organisations to make a lasting positive impact.

He believed we should all care about our environment, ethical governance, and the well-being of our staff and customers. He is passionate about helping people and organisations work together to create a better world. The YMCA he leads has upheld these values for nearly 150 years, a legacy he is proud to champion.

Jacqui Macdonald

CEO

Voice of the Beehives

Jacqui is one of the UK’s most inspiring ESG advisors, specialising in helping businesses have a better relationship with nature. Having developed sustainability plans for global organisations including Unilever, P&G and Nestlé, Jacqui now runs her own consultancy called Voice of the Beehives. She speaks passionately about how business leaders can engage with nature to reignite their own sense of purpose, improve employee wellbeing, mitigate risk and thrive commercially.