Speaker: Baroness Neville-Jones (Shadow Security Minister; National Security Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition)


TBC

Speaker: Lord West (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism)


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Speaker: Paul Moorcroft (Director - Centre for Foreign Policy Analysis)

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Speaker: David Loyn (BBC Correspondent and Author)

TBC

Speaker: Evan Grant (Creative Technologist; Founder - Seeper)

Evan is a creative technologist who works on exploring the future of how we will interact with our surroundings and our world through sensory technology. He currently creates absolutely staggering audio and visual installations that really challenge the area between technology and human interaction.
He is the founder of arts and technology collective Seeper. Founded in 1998, Seeper’s nucleus is the pursuit of cognitive essence: exploring natural user interaction and ubiquitous technologies, to create and distill artistically immersive, multisensory experiences and memories. Evan explores multisensory immersion through the use of tangible, gestural and kinetic interaction to allow a new range of interface devices and experiences for users. He has featured on Wired magazine and also previously been a speaker at TED Global.

Speaker: Paul Kerr (Founder & Director - Lasersec Systems)


Following 5 years in the Royal Marines where he specialised in small boats, anti terrorism and piracy Paul Alexander Kerr took on a contract with British Antarctic Survey working as a scientific observer. On completion of this contract Paul returned to Scotland to launch Proform Marine Ltd, a nautical security firm, initially offering teams of Marines as security escorts for ships transiting troubled waters.  Proform Marine has since evolved to control market-leading technologies for nautical security.
The latest joint venture for Proform Marine and Lasersec Systems is working to optimise defence laser technology for nautical industry. This is achieved effectively through provision of both handheld systems or by adding a heat-seeking camera that enables early identification of marauders and facilitates exact targeting for the laser beam. Together, Proform Marine and Lasersec Systems are taking this product to the worldwide market through a variety of medium, including superyachts, commercial shipping and oil platforms.

Speaker: Joshua Silver (Director - Vision for the Developing World)


Josh is an atomic physicist who has done a number of things over the years. He was the Physics Tutor at New College, Oxford, where he was also a Fellow, and for a time Tutor for Admissions and Sub-Warden. He headed an atomic physics research group at the Clarendon Laboratory in Oxford and has published around a hundred research papers.
In 1985, out of curiosity he started to look at how to make lenses that have the special feature that their focus can easily be changed. From this he has developed a fascinating and inspiring self-adjustable spectacles product, which enables people in the developing world to correct their own vision, without the expense and logistical challenge of getting optometrist expertise to far flung parts of the world. This technology opens the way to bring corrective eyewear to perhaps three billion people in the developing world who currently need, but do not have, glasses.

Speaker: Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley (former Deputy Commander - ISAF; Director-General and Master of the Royal Armouries)


Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley commissioned into The Queen’s in 1973 and joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1990. On operations, he has served six tours in Northern Ireland, five in the Balkans, in addition to service in Central America and Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, Jonathon commanded a tri-service Joint Task Force, making him one of a small number of British Officers to have done so. He has commanded on operations in every rank.
Riley was the Deputy Commandant of the Staff College, responsible for the Higher Command and Staff Course, as well as all courses for army students, from 2001-3. He has been Chief of Staff of an armoured brigade and an armoured division.
He commanded troops in Iraq from 2003 to 2005, becoming Senior British Military Adviser to United States Central Command in 2005. He left CENTCOM to become Deputy Commander at ISAF – for all NATO forces in Afghanistan in October 2007 until December 2008.
He is currently the Director-General and Master of the Royal Armouries.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for bravery and distinguished conduct in the Balkans in 1996, and made an Officer of the Legion of Merit of the United States of America in 2004.
Riley was brought up in Yorkshire, and gained a degree in History from University College London, a Master's degree in History at Leeds University, and a Doctorate from Cranfield University.
He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2008 New Year Honours. He is also a Member of Council of the Royal United Services Institute. Riley has a number of published works including “From Pole to Pole” (1987); several military histories including “Soldiers of the Queen” (1993), “White Dragon” (1995), and “The Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1945-2000” (2001); and three studies of command including “Napoleon and the World War – 1813” (2000), “The Campaigns of General Hughie Stockwell” (2006) and “Napoleon as a General” (2007). In addition he contributes to several magazines and journals.

Speaker: Michael Semple (former Deputy Head of EU Mission – Afghanistan; Regional Specialist - Afghanistan and Pakistan)

Michael Semple is a regional specialist on Afghanistan and Pakistan, with twenty-five years experience in the two countries. He currently holds a fellowship with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He led the OXFAM programme of relief and community development in Afghanistan during the latter days of the jihad and throughout the factional conflict of the 1990's.
During the Taliban period he served with the UN as a humanitarian coordinator and was able to criss-cross the country, operating on both sides of the frontlines. As a political officer with the United Nations he contributed to the building up of the post-2001 Afghan political order and from 2004 to 2007 served as Deputy to the European Union Special Representative for Afghanistan. President Karzai declared him a "threat to Afghan national security" in December 2007, for talking to the Taliban. (Since then, everyone has been trying to talk to the Taliban and Michael's advice on the matter is much sought after).
He is consulted on issues concerning insurgency, reconciliation and political developments in the two countries. He is widely travelled in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and has inter-acted with the broad spectrum of political and military actors since the latter days of the jihad. He has recently authored a book on reconciliation, published by the United States Institute of Peace and articles in international publications such as Foreign Affairs. He regularly comments on the region for a range of television and radio channels. His interests include political economy of the conflict, sub-national governance, peace processes, ex-combatant integration, reconciliation and transitional justice. Michael now divides his time between Boston, Dublin and Islamabad and international engagements. He remains involved in the pursuit of peace in Afghanistan.

Speaker: Lord Paddy Ashdown (former Liberal Democrats Party Leader; former High Representative and EUSR - Bosnia & Herzegovina; ... )


Paddy Ashdown served as a Royal Marines Officer between 1959 and 1972 seeing active service as a Commando Officer in Borneo and the Persian Gulf. After Special Forces Training in England in 1965, he commanded a Special Boat Section in the Far East. He went to Hong Kong in 1967 returning to England in 1970 with a First Class interpretership in Mandarin (accepted as the equivalent of a first class degree by the Civil Service). He was then given command of a Commando Company in Belfast.
In 1972 Paddy left the Royal Marines and joined the Foreign Office. He was posted to the British Mission to the United Nations in Geneva and took part in the negotiation of several international treaties and agreements between 1974 and 1976.
After leaving the Foreign Office Paddy worked in local industry in the Yeovil area in South-West England between 1976 and 1981. In 1981, Paddy went to work as a Youth Worker with the Dorset County Council Youth Service, where he was responsible for initiatives to help the young unemployed.
He stood as the Liberal Parliamentary candidate for the Yeovil constituency in 1979 and raised the Liberal vote there to its highest ever level. Shortly after entering Parliament in the 1983 General Elections, Paddy was appointed as the Liberal spokesman on Trade and Industry Affairs, and became Education spokesman in January 1987. He was elected Leader of the Liberal Democrats in July 1988 and was appointed as a Privy Councillor on 1 January 1989.
Paddy stood down as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in 1999 and retired from the Commons in 2001. He was made a KBE in 2000 and a peer in 2001. Lord Ashdown was awarded the GCMG in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List, for his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
From 1978 until 2002, Paddy served on the Main Board of the Independent newspaper and on the international advisory board of Independent News and Media PLC. He worked on the advisory board of a small venture capital firm, Catalyst, in the city. He also served on the main board of Time Computers.
He relinquished all these posts in 2002, on his appointment as High Representative and European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina from May 2002 until January 2006.
In mid 2008 he declined Gordon Brown’s invitation to join his Cabinet, shortly before he became Prime Minister because Paddy said he could not agree with the Government’s policies, especially in respect of the erosion of our Civil Liberties. Later that year, Paddy was asked by the US Government and the UN Secretary General to take up the post as the head of the International Mission in Afghanistan, but this was subsequently vetoed by the Afghan President, Karzai.

Speaker: Susan Payne (CEO – Emergent Asset Management)


Susan has worked in the emerging markets on both the sell and buy side for over 20 years. After having been called to the Bar in Canada in 1985, Susan joined JP Morgan in 1986, and was part of the original eight-person global Emerging Markets Group. During her tenure as Head of Emerging Markets Sales, Europe, the global group grew to number over 250 people and became established as the market leader in emerging markets securities, including both debt and equities over several years. In 1993, Susan joined Goldman Sachs International as an Executive Director and Head of Sales and Trading responsible for developing its emerging markets debt business in Europe.
In 1997, Susan founded Emergent Asset Management Limited, an award–winning, alternative investment firm based in the UK, where she is a Principal. In addition to its stable of top-ranking hedge funds, Emergent manages the largest agricultural fund in Africa, where its local office is based in South Africa.
In both 2007 and 2008, Susan was listed by Financial News as one of the Top 100 Women in Finance in Europe. Susan was awarded one of eight Shell UK Women of the Future Awards 2006 and was short-listed for the CBI First Women Awards in Finance, 2005. In 2008, Susan was appointed a Merrill Lynch/Shell UK Women of Achievement Ambassador.
Susan is on the Board of MyC4, a microfinance business focused on ending poverty in Africa, and is a Patron of the Africa-focused charity Medical Aid Films. She is also Head of the London Chapter of 85 Broads, the largest professional women’s network in the world.

Speaker: John Mitchinson (Director Research - QI; co-Author QI Books)

John is the chief writer and head of research for the BBC1  panel show QI. With QI's creator, John Lloyd, he is co-author of the bestselling series of QI books, The Book of General Ignorance, The Book of Animal Ignorance, and Advanced Banter. Their new book, The QI Book of the Dead (a book of non-celebrity biographies) is out for Christmas. For four years, John was also director of the QI Club in Oxford.
Before that John worked in publishing, where he was managing director of the Harvill Press, Cassell & Co, and Deputy Publisher of the Orion Group. Before that he was the first marketing director for Waterstone's the booksellers.
John is a Vice-President of the Hay Festival, a Fellow of the RSA, and Chair of the London Centre for International Storytelling.

Speaker: Dan Schreiber (Comedy Producer - The Museum of Curiosity Radio 4)


Dan is a comedy writer and producer whose credits include co-creating/producing BBC Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity, which is coming into its 3rd series.
As an executive producer he made a short comedy 'Christmas Movie', written and directed by Ken Russell and the live stand-up DVD of Flight of the Concords star Rhys Darby (Imagine That!), which currently plays on Comedy Central in America once a month. He has worked on 3 series of QI as a researcher, was the joke collector on Jimmy Carr's book on the history of jokes (The Naked Jape), and has worked in-house for the BBC and RDF developing TV shows. He was also, for a year, the Head of Comedy for Warner Music Entertainment's comedy arm.
Most recently, Dan has created and hosted his own radio pilot for BBC 6music and is currently writing, with Rhys Darby, a sitcom for American TV. Dan also makes theme tunes for comedy shows with his band Carl and the Saganauts.
Despite all this, Dan somehow still only managed to rank number 76 in 2008's "Top 100 Schreibers" list. Those ahead of him include: his uncle who was the general manager of the Holiday Inn in Tibet; his younger brother who is an occasional extra on Home and Away; and his great-grandmother who won an award for making "the best schnitzel in all of Austria" in 1956. 

Speaker: Doug Richard (former Dragon - Dragons Den; Founder - School for Startups)


Having appeared in the first and second series of Dragon’s Den, Doug is the founder of School for Startups, chairman and CEO of Trutap, founder and member of Cambridge Angels, chairman of the Conservative Party Small Business Task Force, director of Pearl Software, and non-executive director of BeatsDigital.
In 2006 Doug was an Honorary Recipient of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion and in 2007, Doug became a fellow of the RSA.
Doug is a successful entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the development and leadership of technology and software ventures, both in the US and in the UK. Between 1996 and 2000 he was President and CEO of Micrografx, a US publicly quoted software company. Prior to that he also founded and subsequently sold two other companies: Visual Software and ITAL Computers. Doug holds a BA in Psychology from University of California at Berkeley, a Juris Doctor at the School of Law, University of California at Los Angeles, and in 2009 was awarded an Honorary Degree, Doctor of the University of Essex.

Speaker: Salvatore Nigro (CEO, Europe - Education for Employment Foundation; Founder - Giuliano Gennaio Foundation)


Salvatore Nigro manages European relations for the Education For Employment Foundation. He has created a wide and strong network of organizations that believe all youth should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Prior to joining EuropEFE, Salvatore was Director of the Advocacy Department of the Glocal Forum.
He has negotiated, mediated and facilitated at the highest levels of national and international institutions. He has experience working both with governmental offices, such as the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with non-governmental organizations while in multicultural, multi-linguistic environments. Salvatore holds a BA in International Political Science and an MA in International Studies from the LUISS University in Rome. He is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA program of the University of Malta. Additionally, Salvatore is founder and Board Member of the Giuliano Gennaio Foundation.

Speaker: Security - Lieutenant-General John Cooper (former Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq)


General Cooper is a recent British Army officer, commissioned from Sandhurst in 1975, promoted to major in 1987 and appointed Chief of Staff, 8th Infantry Brigade in Northern Ireland after graduating from the staff course, for which he was appointed an MBE. He commanded a rifle company (1KOSB) including active service in the Gulf War, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1994 where he commanded 1KOSB in Northern Ireland, for which he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). His experience then led him to serve as an instructor at the Staff College in Camberley and at the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
He was appointed the Liaison Officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, Washington, in 2002 and then assumed the appointment of Chief of Staff, Field Army, HQ Land Command.
In 2004 General Cooper was promoted to Major General and became Deputy Commander Combined Forces Command (Afghanistan) until December 2004 being awarded a US Bronze Star medal for his service. When he left Afghanistan he took elements of the 1st Armoured division with him to Iraq where it formed HQ Multi-National Division (South-East). After two years in England, and a promotion to lieutenant general, he returned to Iraq in March 2008 as the Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I), the operational-level headquarters in Iraq, and Senior British Military Representative-Iraq. As Deputy Commander, he was the principal assistant to General Odierno of the US Army with the turn-around in counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq.
In an interview on 3 March 2009, he expressed his belief that the struggle against Al Qaeda in Iraq had been won and that the country was getting back on its feet. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

Speaker: Political - Sheikh Tarik Al Abdullah (Chairman - Al-Anbar Central Council)


Sheikh Tarik Al Abdullah, Chairman of the Al-Anbar Central Council and Sheikh of Al Halabsa Tribes in Iraq. As a leading businessman, politician and public figure, Sheikh Al Abdullah played a central role in national reconstruction and development, and his unique experiences with the Awakening Councils, business and government, offer valuable insights into the future of Iraq.
Sheikh Tarik Al Abdullah is the chairman of WATANEE (Unification Of National Iraqi Efforts Council), Political party and the chairman of Al-Anbar Central Council. He is a member of the High Council of Al Anbar. In addition, he is a member and founder of Iraqi tribe Leaders and a member and founder of Al Anbar tribe Leaders. Last year Sheikh Tarik Al Abdullah flew to North Carolina on a self-funded goodwill visit to the United States, where he met with officers from the II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) and briefed them on his insights to the current situation in the Al Anbar province.

Speaker: Business - Emily Walker (Investment Advisor, Iraq)


Emily Landis Walker, a banker with over 25 years global financial experience, is currently working on private sector development in Iraq through “Invest-Iraq”, a company she is developing to help companies enter the Iraqi market. She is working with JPMorganCazenove on deals in Iraq as an advisor that includes discussions with MIGA on political risk insurance for deals in Iraq. Emily is a registered “finder” for MIGA (the World Bank’s political risk insurance arm) and was previously a staff member of the 9-11 Commission.
Emily recently appeared on “Frost over the World” discussing “Investing in Iraq” which aired prior to the UK DfID sponsored “Invest in Iraq” conference in April. 
Emily spent 2 months in Kurdistan at the beginning of 2009 through a connection made by Areté Club working with Simudyne, a software simulation company, on a US Department of Defense contract focused on assisting the Iraqi’s with skills to encourage private sector investors. She is also involved in helping the American University in Sulaimania raise funds for a new campus. Emily also spent time in Washington, DC and London meeting with the financial institutions and others currently involved in Iraq.

Speaker: Hamid Yunis (Partner, Taylor Wessing)


Hamid is a senior partner in the Corporate department at Taylor Wessing, a leading international law firm and is based in its City of London office. He has experience of both mainstream corporate finance and project-financed transactions. He has been heavily involved in the structuring and completion of a number of well-known standard setting Islamic Financed transactions. Transactions in this area have included the use of Islamic structures for property development and funding, trading activities (including equity and hedge funds) and the use of Islamic investment products (such as SUKUK), with a particular relevance to the product capable of being used in the international market.
Hamid heads, amogst other leadership roles with Taylor Wessing, the Middle East Group, the Islamic Finance Group and the Healthcare Infrastructure and Services Group. He is regularly listed by “Chambers” and “Legal 500” as a “leading expert” in these fields.

Speaker: George Joffé (Centre of International Studies)


George Joffé teaches the international relations of the Middle East and North Africa on the MPhil course at the Centre of International Studies at the University of Cambridge. He founded the Journal of North African Studies, which he now co-edits, from the Centre.  He holds a visiting professorship in geography at Kings College in London University where he teaches the geopolitics of the Middle East and North Africa on an MA course.  He is a professorial fellow at the Global Policy Institute in London Metropolitan University where he runs a seminar series on Middle Eastern issues and he also holds a visiting fellowship at the Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford.  Previously he was the deputy-director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London.
Outside his academic responsibilities he lectures and provides consultancy on the Middle East and North Africa to, amongst others, the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, the NATO Defence College in Rome and the Centre for Security Policy in Geneva.  He is also a senior research associate at the Institute of Security Studies of the European Union in Paris, as well as being a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Security Studies in London and at the Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos e Internacionais in Lisbon where he has been associated with the EuroMeSCo network. He is a leading academic researching the security impact of economics, the recession and rising options such as sovereign wealth funds.

Speaker: Andrew Feinstein (Former ANC MP and Author)


Andrew became an active – and ardent – member of the ANC in the 1980s, and campaigned energetically for the party in the first democratic elections. Andrew was elected an ANC member of parliament in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. He also worked as an economic advisor to then-premier Tokyo Sexwale. He was elected as a member of the South African Parliament's lower house in 1997. During his time in office, he served as chair of its study group on public accounts and was the ANC's official spokesman on the National Assembly's public accounts committee. As he rose swiftly through the ranks, he earned the label 'Mr Clean' for his unstinting work against graft and corruption. He resigned in 2001 in protest at the ANC government's refusal to allow an unfettered investigation into a £5bn arms deal that was tainted by allegations of high-level corruption. His political memoir, After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC, was published in 2007 and became a bestseller in South Africa. Feinstein lives in London, where he chairs the Aids charity Friends of the Treatment Action Campaign, and lectures and writes on South Africa. He was educated at King's College, Cambridge, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Cape Town.

Speaker: Ben Saunders (Arctic and Antarctic Explorer)


Most of the planet’s surface was mapped long ago so but as modern times change this landscape those who journey across it see first hand the impact of the years. Ben is the youngest Briton to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. In 2004, at age 26, he made a ground breaking North expedition unsupported and on foot. He recently worked out that with his three North Pole expeditions he has spent two percent of his entire life living in a tent! His travels to the North Pole have allowed him a glimpse into a changing world that we may not get a chance to see in our lifetime. Ben is currently preparing for a second expedition to the South Pole that will be the first return journey to the South Pole on foot; from Berkner Island at the edge of Antarctica, to the South Pole, and back to the coast. At 1,800 miles and four months, SOUTH will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history. Ben is an explorer of limits, whether it’s how far a human can be pushed physically and psychologically, or how technology works hundreds of miles from civilization. He is not afraid to stand up and tell people the situation as it is on the ground as he has experienced. His message is one of inspiration, empowerment and boundless potential.

Speaker: Sir Crispin Tickell (British Diplomat, Environmentalist and Academic)


Sir Crispin started his diplomatic career in 1954 at the FCO in London later moving to the Hague, then the European Commission. He was Chef de Cabinet to the President of the European Commission, British Ambassador to Mexico, Permanent Secretary of the Overseas Development Administration (now Department for International Development), and British Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative on the UN Security Council 1987-1990).
Sir Crispin was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1990 to 1993 and also Warden of Green College, Oxford University. From 1996 until August 2006 he was chancellor of the University of Kent. He is currently director of the Policy Foresight Programme of the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford (formerly the Green College Centre for Environmental Policy and Understanding) and Chairman Emeritus of the Climate Institute, in Washington DC. He has many interests, including climate change, population issues, conservation of biodiversity and the early history of the Earth.
Tickell helped to write Margaret Thatcher's speech on global climate change. He chaired John Major's Government Panel on Sustainable Development, and was a member of two government task forces under the Labour Party: one on Urban Regeneration, and one on Potentially Hazardous Near-Earth Objects. He has become a internationally respected authority on climate change forming his own opinions without any formal teachings.

Speaker: Andrew Leung (International Consultant and 48 Group Club Joint Vice-Chairman)


Andrew is an international and independent china specialist. He is a visiting professor at various Chinese business schools and on the advisory board of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University. He has been involved with various businesses and think-tanks in the UK and abroad advising on China, including: Reuters Insight Community of Experts, Gerson Lehrman Group, The Evian Group, and Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance. He is chairman of the China Group at the Institute of Directors in London and also an elected fellow and China Group Leader on the Executive Committee of Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts (RSA). His experience and expertise in the area make him a truly outstanding personality with an intricate understanding of all the issues and concerns involved.

Speaker: Lawrence Saez (SOAS and LSE)

Lawrence is a senior lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at SOAS with a particular interest in emerging markets, South Asia, and international political economy. He is currently also a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics at the Asia Research Centre having spent time at St Anthony's College, Oxford. He attained his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, in which time he was also the South Asia editor at Asian Survey. He has published extensively on various aspects of economic reform in both India and China. His most widely read work includes: Banking reform in India and China; and Federalism without a centre. He is currently In Press with a chapter on 'Banks and Power' in the new 'Encyclopaedia of Power' (2009).

Speaker: Richard Dowden (Journalist and Author)


Richard first went to Africa in 1971 as a volunteer teacher. After almost two years in Uganda, coinciding with Idi Amin’s rule, he was forced to leave at the end of 1972 and unable to return there until 1983. During this time his focus turned to journalism and over the next 20 years spent his time travelling Africa continuously. He has now visited and written about almost every country on the continent. He worked for the Times until 1986 when he became Africa Editor of the Independent and in 1995 took the post of Africa Editor at The Economist. He has made three television documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 on Africa and has recently released an incredibly insightful book on the continent, “Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles”. He is also Director of the Royal African Society.

Speaker: Knox Chitiyo (Head of Africa Programme - RUSI)


Knox is a Zimbabwean researcher. He was the first RUSI Nelson Mandela Visiting Africa Fellow and now heads the RUSI Africa Programme. Knox was a Senior Lecturer in War Studies in the History Department at the University of Zimbabwe from 1994–2003. He was also the Deputy Director (and co-founder) of the Centre for Defence Studies during the same period, and edited the Journal of African Security and Conflict. Knox has since published in journals which examine Zimbabwean, southern African and broader African defence and security/developmental issues. He is also a regular contributor to the Guardian newspaper and is an African Affairs commentator on the BBC, Al-Jazeera and other international news media. Knox is also the founder/editor of the Southern African Diaspora Review journal.

Speaker: Robert Carolina (Democrat)


Robert Carolina is a senior visiting fellow in the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway University of London where he lectures on legal and regulatory aspects of information security. Robert is also a principal with Origin Ltd, a law firm based in London that specialises in intellectual property and information technology. His practice focuses on commercial transactions and projects involving telecommunications and information technology. His clients include major multinational financial institutions, as well as technology and e-commerce venture companies located in Europe and the US.
Robert holds: a B.A. (Dayton); J.D. (Georgetown); LL.M. (London). He is a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales and a member of both the American and Illinois Bar Associations. Following a period as an in-house with an Internet software development company, he moved to London in 1992.
Recognised as a leading expert on IT law and e-commerce law, he regularly presents academic and commercial courses and workshops on legal aspects of technology procurement and e-commerce. He also served as the co-editor of Sweet & Maxwell's Encyclopedia of E-Commerce Law.
Robert began his support of the Obama campaign in February 2007, and serves as the co-chair of “Obama London”: a grass roots activist group that helped get out the vote among American expats in the UK. He continues as an active advocate for various Democratic causes.

Speaker: Emily Walker (Republican)


Emily Walker has worked in many prominent positions within financial services, Government and humanitarian agencies globally. Acknowledged for contributions to national and international initiatives. Recently she has been quite active as a political commentator on the 2008 US Presidential election, appearing frequently on BBC TV and Radio. She speaks regularly on emergency preparedness and her experiences on the 9/11 Commission. Hallmarks include strong global relationships within private and public sectors and a distinctive track record in devising and realizing innovative strategies to deliver market performance, humanitarian efforts and public impact.
Emily was chosen in December 2008 to serve as a member of the working group to provide advice on The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review under the auspices of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC).
Emily has served since August 2007 as a member of the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council Private Sector Advisory Committee (PVTSCAC).
Emily represented Republicans Abroad UK at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis MN from August 31 to September 5, 2008. While there, she was a speaker for the University of Pennsylvania course Political Messaging: Presidential Election 2008 offered by Professors Al Felzenberg and David Eisenhower. She has also participated in several public conferences and debates concerning the US presidential race in other forums.

Speaker: Steven Armstrong (Journalist and Author)


Stephen is a journalist who writes for the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the New Statesman, GQ and Esquire and occasionally presents documentaries on Radio 4. He has worked with the British Council in India and China and trained local journalists in former war zones for the US charity Internews. In a piece of extended journalism, his second book, ‘War Plc: the Rise of the New Corporate Mercenary’, is an incredible insight into the privatisation of war. He is able to look into the lucrative contracts, hear stories of exchanged gunfire with insurgents, and even at times how insurgents are able to give feedback on the levels of aggression used in response to their attacks. Stephen gives a good starting point with: How did we get here? The questions that continue from his book are: Where do we go from here? And in the privatisation of war what place do public-private relationships hold? What shape would any form of regulation be likely to take? Whilst this debate will look into answering these, he is also working on a film for al-jazeera’s English language channel that will do the same.

Speaker: Andy Bearpark (Director General - British Association of Private Security Companies)


Andy is the Director General of the British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC). Prior to taking this position he served as Director of Operations and Infrastructure for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. From 2000 to 2003, Andy served as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in charge of the EU Pillar of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and was responsible for overseeing the province’s reconstruction and economic development. Andy has also been responsible for running all UK Government emergency relief operations from 1991 to 1997, including programmes in Bosnia, Rwanda, Northern Iraq and Somalia. Throughout his early career he was Private Secretary to PM Margaret Thatcher, later acting as Chief of Staff to Lady Thatcher during her initial period after leaving office. He began his career in public service in 1973 with the Overseas Development Administration.

Speaker: Mandy Ayres (Head Corporate Responsibility - Nike)


Mandy moved to Nike from the Football Foundation where for four years she headed up the Community department. She has been instrumental in setting up the Sports Action Zone Partnerships and has previously worked for Sports England. Today she is the Head of Nike Corporate Responsibility. Within this role she has: worked with Ashoka on the Changemakers programme as part of a community investment strategy; developed the CR strategy for the whole of the UK and Eire; worked on the other aspects of Nike CR, such as climate change, considered products and standard compliance. She has a particular passion for the development of women and girls in sport.

Speaker: James Gifford (Executive Director - UN Principles of Responsible Investment)


James is the initiator and architect of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, a voluntary code of conduct for mainstream institutional investors, focusing on environmental, social and corporate governance issues. Thought up by James while doing an internship at the UN Environment Programme in Geneva in 2004, the Principles were launched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2006, and are now endorsed by over 400 institutions representing $15 trillion in assets, or more than 10% of global capital markets. James also did a PhD at the University of Sydney on the effectiveness of shareholder engagement in changing corporate behaviour. James has been a student politician, almost lawyer, professional musician, dot com developer and environmental campaigner. James sits on the Board of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership, an educational organisation that trains young people to become effective advocates for sustainability.

Speaker: Jake Meyer (Explorer - 7 Summits)


Jake started climbing aged only 12, and at 14 set himself the challenge of attempting to climb the 7 summits, the highest mountain on every continent. In 2005, aged only 21 he stood on the summit of Mt Everest, his 7ths continental highpoint. At the time he was the youngest Briton to climb Everest and the youngest man in the world to climb the 7 Summits. But this was just a stepping-stone towards bigger and more extreme challenges. In 2006 he broke the world record for climbing the highest mountain in every State in the Continental USA. He has a BSc in Environmental Science from Bristol University and is a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. Always looking for the next challenge, Jake is currently planning numerous world record-breaking expeditions around the globe.

Speaker: Alastair Humphreys (Explorer - Cycle the world, SOUTH)


Alastair began his journey aged 8 completing a 26-mile Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge. At 13 he did the National 3 Peaks in 24 hours. At 14 he cycled off-road across England. He has spent his life undertaking several expeditions and whilst at Edinburgh and Oxford Universities he completed several others on a pure quest for adventure. After Oxford Alastair cycled round the world for 4 years, raced across the Atlantic Ocean and published two books. He ran the marathon des Sables, finishing as one of ten fastest Brits despite breaking his foot during the race! After turning 30 and spending a year teaching 10-year-old boys in a school’s Special Needs department, Alastair is now preparing to join Ben for SOUTH. His fascinating tales are extraordinarily uplifting and provide perspective to our own lives.