Industrial & Logistics Conference

For ten years Alastair Campbell was Tony Blair's right-hand man as communications strategist and chief spokesman, often witnessing history in the making. He has remained an influential voice and commentator on the political stage, particularly through co-hosting the hit podcast The Rest is Politics with Rory Stewart, where they tackle the latest developments in global politics and share their insights into the complex relationships within Parliament. He expanded on these insights in his Sunday Times Bestseller But What Can I Do? Why Politics Has Gone So Wrong, and How You Can Help Fix It.

In the years running up to Labour's 1997 landslide win, and throughout their time in power, Alastair led communications strategy and was also no stranger to controversy. He is one of four figures credited with creating the New Labour project, fighting numerous battles in their pursuit of modernisation, including with how the media portrayed the party. He was reviled by some parts of the media but still respected for his commitment, creativity, loyalty, and work rate.

After leaving frontline, politics Alastair has written seventeen books, including ten volumes of diaries, four novels, a number one best-selling analysis of what it takes to win in politics, business, and sport, and two personal memoirs on depression and the pursuit of happiness.

He has been candid about his personal experiences of depression, alcoholism, and mental illness, frequently examining the links between work, stress, and mental health - a subject he's tackled in numerous interviews, documentaries, and podcasts, and in his books Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression, The Happy Depressive: In Pursuit of Personal and Political Happiness, and Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression. He has brought this experience to charity work (as both an advisor and a fund-raiser), and espouses the belief we should be as open about our mental health as we are about our physical health, and that every business should have first Mental Health First Aid training.

With humour and insight Alastair takes an insider’s look at politics at home and abroad, as well as what it takes to be a successful leader (a subject he tackled in his book Winners: And How They Succeed). He also
tackles reputation, his own and how others manage theirs, the media and mental health.

Paul Johnson is director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and a member of the Committee on Climate Change. The institute is widely considered the leading independent economic research and analysis organisation in the country. As well as analyses of the economy and future of government spending, Paul also considers the economics of climate change and the path to net zero, the effects of inequality, and the long and short-term impacts of shocks including Brexit and Covid-19.

Paul has published and broadcast extensively on various issues in the economics of public policy including tax, welfare, inequality and poverty, pensions, education, climate change and public finances. He is the author of major books on pensions, tax and inequality and is a regular contributor to news and current affairs programmes across the UK broadcast media.

As well as a previous spell at the IFS in the 1990s (including a period as deputy director) Paul has been chief economist at the Department for Education and director of public spending in HM Treasury. At the Treasury his responsibilities included public sector pay and pensions and climate change policy. In the latter role he worked closely with Nicholas Stern on his review of the economics of climate change. Other positions include a period as head of economics at the Financial Service Authority and as a senior associate with Frontier Economics.

Paul was also deputy head of the Government Economic Service. He served on the council of the Economic and Social Research Council and was elected to the council of the Royal Economic Society. He was a founder council member of the Pensions Policy Institute and has led a review into the policy of pensions auto-enrolment. Other roles and bodies Paul has been involved in include the council of the Family and Parenting Institute, the Pension Provision Group, the Commission on taxation and citizenship, the Youth Justice Commission and the Commission on Living Standards.

Nicole Büttner-Thiel is an entrepreneur, economist and data enthusiast. Her passion is to make new technologies useful to companies and people. She is the Founder and CEO of DataQuotient, an artificial intelligence expert platform helping companies bridge shortages in talent and implement new technologies to create real value. Nicole trained as an economist and econometrician at the University of St.Gallen, Stockholm School of Economics and Stanford University and holds a MA in Quantitative Economics and Finance.

Nicole sits on the supervisory board of Quinfos, a Dumont company, Bauer Gruppe and Howspace. She was part of the founding committee of the German Data Institute and serves on the advisory board of German Data Competence Toolbox. She is part of the board of the German Startup Association.

Previously, she worked as a hedge fund investment analyst and portfolio manager at OFI AM in Paris. She then joined Auctionomics (Palo Alto), the world's leading auction consultancy, as global head of business development, scouting, scoping and managing projects with Fortune500 companies and governments worldwide.

She is also a lecturer and speaker about Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. She is fluent in German, English and French and has good command of Spanish and Italian. Nicole is also active in German politics, passionate about bringing digital technologies to government and creating the right innovation policies for the future. She serves on the Board of Alumni of the University of St.Gallen and was selected as Young Leader by the Aspen Institute.

Sir Tim Smit worked in the music industry as a composer/producer in rock and opera before moving to Cornwall and devoting his time to restoring the Lost Gardens of Heligan. He is now known the world over as co-founder and Chief Executive of the award-winning Eden Project.

The Eden Project began as a dream in 1995 and opened its doors just five years later - greeted by much of the press as ‘the eighth wonder of the world.’ Since then, more than twelve million visitors have come to enjoy a once sterile pit turned into a cradle of life. It is a showcase for world-class horticulture and an architectural symbol of human endeavour.

It is also home to the music festival Eden Sessions. Since the first show, the Eden Sessions have welcomed the likes of Oasis, Amy Winehouse, Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Diana Ross, Mark Ronson, and Björk. The Daily Telegraph describes the Sessions as 'Magical... half Glastonbury, half Glyndebourne'.

The Eden Project has also changed many people’s perceptions of science, by communicating scientific concepts through art and storytelling. Beyond that, it lives up to its mission to take a pivotal role in local regeneration, showing that sustainability is about good business practice and citizenship - and contributing over one billion to the local economy.

In presentations Tim underlines the value of leading by example, showing how to engage a team by daring to be ambitious, moving out of your comfort zone, keeping to your principles, and meeting challenges head on. He argues that the twin challenge of economic hardship and climate change makes it necessary to embrace the spirit of war – with a radical approach based less on choice and more on responsibility.

Tim is a trustee, patron, and board member of several bodies. He has received the Royal Society of Arts Albert Medal and was voted Great Briton in the environment category of the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards.

The face of international women’s rugby, Maggie Alphonsi is one of the most well-known names in women’s team sports. Before announcing her international retirement she represented her country seventy-four times, scored twenty-eight tries, won a World Cup, and helped England win a record breaking seven consecutive Six Nations crowns.

Through her England rugby career, Maggie became a household name and a media professional. Since retiring she has commentated on live rugby matches and featured on the BBC’s Children in Need and The One Show.

Maggie was named the Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year, won the title of Six Nations Grand Slam Winner six times, and was the first woman to win the Rugby Union Writers Club Player of the Year. She was awarded an MBE for her Services to Rugby.

In her speeches Maggie shares her experiences and considers working in a male dominated environment. She also looks at how to perform under pressure and overcome adversity.