Speakers

Abhishek Sharma

Senior Director-Transport, TradeMark Africa

The UK’s place in a changing trade world

Abhishek has been with TradeMark Africa for 9 years and supports regional integration and trade competitiveness in Africa by helping governments prepare and finance key transport and logistics facilities. He has led the first PPP transaction for a logistics facility in East Africa and has also been instrumental in setting up a commercial subsidiary of TMA that offers innovative blended finance solutions for Trade infrastructure, ICT and Trade Finance in Africa. 

Prior to TMA he worked in consulting and investment banking where he has worked on transactions as well as strategy and operations functions in sectors including logistics, road, ports, airports, industrial parks and water sector. He has also worked on several debt and equity-raising mandates for a variety of institutions. He has worked across several developing countries in Asia and Africa for a variety of institutions, including national and state governments, infrastructure developers, private equity companies as well as several development finance institutions. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University. 

Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG

Minister of State

Political keynote

Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG was appointed Minister of State on 20 September 2022.

Lucy joined the House of Lords as a Conservative Peer in October 2013 and served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Minister for Intellectual property from July 2014 until July 2016, becoming Minister of State in July 2016. Lucy also served as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury from December 2016 to June 2017.

She sat on the House of Lords EU committee from 2017 to 2021 and chaired the Built Environment Committee from 2021 to September 2022.

In December 2021, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions appointed her to lead the independent review into the State Pension age, which concluded in September 2022.

Career outside politics

Lucy worked at Tesco Plc from 1997 to 2013 and was an executive director on the main Board from 2006. In recent years she has served as Chair of Crown Agents and of the UK ASEAN Business Council. Lucy has also been a Non-Executive Director of Capita PLC, Secure Trust Bank and Thomson Reuters Founders Share Company.

She has served on the boards of ITV, PwC, Metro AG and the China Britain Business Council and was Chairman of Dobbies Garden Centres Plc. She was also President of EuroCommerce, the EU trade association, between 2012 and 2014.

Until 1997 she was a senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office as Director of the Deregulation Unit and as a member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Unit. Lucy spent her earlier career in what is now Defra where she also served as private secretary to the secretary of state.

She was awarded her CMG for her time on the FCO Board and her DBE for services to industry and the voluntary sector.

Barry Tong

CEO and joint founder of Stephensons Online Ltd

From £10 to £10m in 10 years: My E-commerce story

Barry Tong is the CEO and joint founder, with his wife Katy, of Stephensons Online Ltd, one of the world’s largest health and beauty retailers. What began as a small eBay store in their flat has transformed into a multi-million-pound business, all without external funding or investment.

In 2010, following the passing of Barry’s grandmother, the couple started selling her belongings on eBay to avoid throwing them away. Their success on the platform led them to explore selling beauty products, catching the eye of a major brand that offered them a partnership. Spotting the opportunity, they scaled rapidly and moved into a warehouse and office.

Fast forward 10 years and Stephensons Online achieved £10 million in annual sales and employs over 35 staff. Their ambition and belief in the business have been instrumental to this meteoric rise.

“Taking the business from just £10 to £10 million in sales in 10 years without any loans, investment or even an overdraft is our biggest achievement to date,” says Barry.

With their sights set on £50 million, the future looks bright, their perseverance and vision have built Stephensons Online into an international success story, partnering with brands across the globe to open new markets.

Their story proves that with hard work and determination, great success is possible.

To learn more about their business, visit www.solretail.com.

Bolaji Sofoluwe

Managing Director of the Enterprise Trade and Knowledge Group, UK

What international trade has done for my business

Bolaji is an internationalisation and market expansion expert with over twenty years of experience in consulting, strategy and banking. Her role as Managing Director of the Enterprise Trade and Knowledge Group, UK has involved providing companies and businesses the right representation and knowledge to enter and expand across African markets. She has personally supervised the execution of projects in over 34 African countries. Bolaji is also a Board Chair at BGEN International, a subsidiary of one of the UK’s foremost industrial engineering companies.

Bolaji has worked in a variety of sectors, advising start-ups to global corporations. Her focus is on geographical expansion as a means to facilitate growth. Bolaji, currently the face of Department of Business and Trade’s “Made In the UK, Sold to the World” is a passionate Export Champion. She is also an Entrepreneurship Expert at the Entrepreneurship Centre at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

She holds a BA in Languages and Linguistics and an MSc in International Business, Leadership and Management. 

Clair Gammage

Professor Clair Gammage, Head of the Law School and Professor of International Commercial Law at the University of Exeter

The UK’s place in a changing trade world

Clair joined Exeter Law School in 2022 as Professor in International Commercial Law and took up the role of Head of School in April 2023. As a generalist scholar of international trade law and development, Clair’s research focuses on the diverse ways that trade law and governance intersects with sustainable development, gender, human rights, labour and environment. Her research is concerned with the relationship between international trade and power in the context of national and international economic and regulatory frameworks. Clair's current research focuses on the economic empowerment of women and her forthcoming monograph, Women and Trade: Promoting Gender Equality and Social Justice through the International Trading System, will be published with Bristol University Press in 2025. Clair has provided expert evidence to parliamentary committees in the UK and EU and consultancies to UK government departments.

David Henig

Director of UK Trade Policy Project, European Centre for International Political Economy

The UK’s place in a changing trade world

One of the UK’s leading authorities on international trade policy, David Henig is Director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the think-tank European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). As well as examining the economic and trade implications of Brexit and broader UK policy, David also writes more broadly for ECIPE including a series of short papers on globalisation and analyses of major trade developments particularly between the major powers.

He writes about all these topics in a regular column for specialist trade news service Borderlex, serves as Expert Adviser to the UK Trade and Business Commission and House of Lords International Agreements Committee, and speaks regularly in media and at various events. Until March 2018 he worked for the UK Government including for three years on Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks between US and EU, establishing the Department for International Trade after 2016, issues around inward investments from China, and coordinating work on major international bodies such as the OECD and G7. A graduate of Oxford University, David started his career in consultancy.

Editor-in-Chief, Trade Finance Global

The future of trade finance

Deepesh Patel is Editor-in-Chief at Trade Finance Global (TFG). In this role, Deepesh leads efforts in developing TFG’s editorial and research strategy in key markets, including the UK, US, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Deepesh regularly chairs and speaks at industry events covering trade, treasury and payments, including The Economist, Reuters, UN, WEF and WTO, as well as industry associations including BAFT, FCI, ICC, ICISA and ITFA.

Deepesh hosts the popular ‘Trade Finance Talks’ podcast and TV station, with a combined 300+ episodes and 50k+ followers. He is co-author of ‘Blockchain for Trade: A Reality Check’ and ‘Accelerating Trade Digitalization to Support MSME Financing’ with the ICC and the WTO, alongside other industry research.

Deepesh is an advocate for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the industry, founding the Women in Trade, Treasury and Payments initiative in 2019.

In addition to his work at TFG, Deepesh is a Strategic Advisor for WOA, and is a Member of the ITFA ESG Committee. He also sits on the Fintech Working Group of the Standardised Trust.

Prior to TFG, Deepesh worked at Travelex where he was responsible for the cards business and the Travelex Money app in Brazil, Europe, US and UK.

Deepesh is Chair of Governors and co-opted LA Governor of the Wyvern Federation, which has responsibility for 5 primary schools in South London.

Jane Cooper

Regional Head for London and South-East, UK Export Finance

The future of trade finance

Jane’s career commenced in the banking sector, principally for international banks operating out of the UK, supporting global companies in the arrangement of finance and associated derivative products. She also held a number of corporate treasury and risk management roles in both the construction and energy sectors.  

Whilst working in the energy sector, Jane led a risk management team with responsibility for managing the financial implications of maintaining the gas supplier framework. She was also part of an industry-wide team, responsible for developing the credit risk framework for the emerging energy commodity market, in conjunction with Ofgem. 

Jane joined UK Export Finance in 2014 and is the Regional Head for London and South-East operating within the Trade Finance Division. Jane and her team work extensively with UK exporters to find solutions to their finance and risk management needs when selling to global markets, thereby ensuring that no viable export should fail.  

She holds a BA (Hons) in Banking and Financial Services and is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Export & International Trade.

Jaya Vohra

Managing Director at Barclays Global Transaction Banking

Is digitalisation the answer for more sustainable trade?

Jaya Vohra is a Managing Director within Barclays Global Transaction Banking. She has over 19 years of experience across Citigroup, HSBC, GE Money and Barclays, in India and the UK.

At Barclays, Jaya leads Product Management for Trade & Working Capital globally as well as Client Management for Trade. She is responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle of all documentary trade & open account products, covering all client segments and geographies.

She has also lead the roll out of a significant Green and ESG Trade & Working Capital proposition.

Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen

Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain, The IOTA Foundation

Is digitalisation the answer for more sustainable trade?

Jens is the Head of Global Trade & Supply Chains at the IOTA Foundation and has been involved at IOTA since early 2018.

He leads large-scale programmes in Kenya and the UK and is the Founder of TLIP (Trade and Logistics Information Pipeline https://www.tlip.io/). Jens is an expert advisor to the UK Parliament, World Economic Forum and multiple corporations.

Previous employers include A. P. Moller - Maersk and pwc. Jens is a pioneer in building public-private partnerships to enable better trade for all, including co-founder of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (www.trade facilitation.org) and the Logistics Emergency Teams with the World Food Programme.

Jens has an executive MBA from INSEAD and a master's in Philosophy from Copenhagen University

Kevin Hollinrake MP

Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business

Political keynote

Kevin represents the constituency where he was born, brought up and has lived most of his life. He was elected to Parliament in May 2015, during which time he has been the Co-Chair of the APPG for Fair Business Banking, Co-Chair of APPG for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire and a member of the Treasury Select Committee. 

Kevin was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade on 7 February 2023. He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy between 27 October 2022 and 7 February 2023. 

He has a business background, having been a founder partner of Hunters Estate Agents, which he helped to grow into one of the largest independent networks of sales and letting agents in the UK. Kevin is a strong advocate of the small and medium-sized business sector and of the North, and has been campaigning hard for more investment in Northern roads, rail, digital networks, skills training and private sector investment, which he believes is key to growing the Yorkshire and wider UK economy.

Kevin Shakespeare FIEx

Director of Strategic Projects and International Development, IOE&IT

Is digitalisation the answer for more sustainable trade?

With a strong background in business, trade and customs, Kevin leads the Institute’s trade digitalisation agenda – liaising with governments, commercial businesses and NGOs around the world. 

An advocate for international trade for more than 40 years, Kevin is highly respected within the international trade community. He has facilitated cross-border trade for thousands of UK businesses and been pivotal in designing and delivering new documentation and processes pre- and post-Brexit. 

Formerly the Institute’s Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Kevin was involved in developing the Diploma in World Customs Planning and Compliance, a Foundation Degree in International Trade and the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy (NICTA). 

Kevin has led many trade initiatives in the UK and internationally, including work with Invest NI, Scottish Enterprise, UK Export Finance and Saudi Export Development Authority.  

He is a United Nations-approved trainer and author of a best-selling book: Trade for Good.

Martin Cook

Director within the Department for Business and Trade

The role of business and government in kick-starting an export-led recovery

Martin Cook is the Director within the Department for Business and Trade responsible for delivering a co-ordinated and integrated programme which supports business in every corner of the UK to sell overseas. 

Martin first joined the Department for Business and Trade’s predecessor- UK Trade and Investment - in 2006. Since then, Martin has held multiple roles in government, including International Trade Director for London, Director of the English network, Director of UKTIs network in America, leading the rollout of the International Markets service, and leading the design of the new export ecosystem for delivery of support to SMEs.

Martin joined government after a successful career in the private sector.  From 1984-1998 Martin worked in finance, and then in the consumer goods industry from 1998 – 2005 where he was COO of a business that sold to over 50 countries.

A native of Liverpool, Martin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Durham. Martin is an exam-qualified member of the London Institute of Banking and Finance and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. 

Nina Hossain

Award-winning broadcaster

Event Host

Nina Hossain is an award-winning broadcaster.

Nina is lead presenter of the ITV Lunchtime News and also presents News at Ten. She presented the series Coronavirus: Q & A for ITV, throughout the lockdown period of the COVID-19 crisis. She has also co-presented ITV’s Election Live coverage for the 2015, 2017 and 2019 elections.

She joined ITN 15 years ago after being poached from BBC London where she was a launch face of their evening programme.

Born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire she studied at Durham University before gaining a post-graduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire.

She is the RTS Presenter of the Year for Regional News, and has picked up three RTS Programme of the year awards when anchoring ITV News London and the ITV Evening News.

She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Huddersfield.

Oliver Winters

Global Communications Director

What international trade has done for my business

Oliver Winters joined Fever-Tree in 2018 and heads up the Brand’s global communications and ESG  team, working closely with colleagues around the world to support new market entries and brand building as well as government relationships. He has over 20 years communications experience advising companies around the globe.

Fever-Tree is the world’s leading premium mixer brand, exporting to over 90 countries worldwide. Based in the UK, the brand was launched in 2005 to provide high quality mixers which could cater to the growing demand for premium spirits, in particular gin, but also increasingly for vodka, rum, tequila and whisky.

Pauline Paterson

Co-Founder of Dr.PAWPAW

What international trade has done for my business

Pauline Paterson is the co-founder of Dr.PAWPAW, a globally regarded multipurpose lip, skin and hair range available in over 45 countries.

Pauline is an award-winning entrepreneur and beauty expert with over 25+ years’ experience in the hair and beauty industry.

A UK London Export Champion, as appointed by the Department of Trade UK, Gov+ for her success in exporting globally, today Pauline helps other brands build their export business and is a champion of women in business.

Professor Michael Short

Professor at Teesside University

Is digitalisation the answer for more sustainable trade?

Michael Short is professor of control engineering and systems informatics at Teesside University. He leads the multidisciplinary Centre for Sustainable Engineering Research and is also a visiting Professor at VIT Chennai in India. In November 2022 he was listed as one of the ten most influential individuals working on Net Zero in the UK.

He holds a BEng degree in electronic and electrical engineering (1999, Sunderland) and a PhD degree in real-time robot control (2003, Sunderland). His research interests encompass aspects of control engineering and systems informatics applied to smart energy systems, smart manufacturing and robotics.

He has authored over 180 reviewed publications in conferences and journals, has over 1,600 citations and has won six “best paper” awards. He has supervised seven PhD completions and is investigator on numerous completed and ongoing funded research projects. In 2022 he reported on digital trade and innovation for the UK Government and is part of the academic network of the Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI). He is a full member of the IET, a member of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Technical Committee on Factory Automation, a fellow of the HEA and member of Trade and Public Policy (TaPP) network.

Richie Finney

Manufacturer, purveyor and exporter

What international trade has done for my business

With 25 years of experience in film and TV, Richie Finney didn’t set out to build a business. Yet what began as a kitchen experiment, making moustache wax in a baked bean tin, has become a multi-award-winning international gentleman’s grooming brand, exported around the globe.

Captain Fawcett Ltd is a manufacturer, purveyor and exporter of a simply delectable range of ‘First Class Gentlemen’s Grooming Requisites’, operating from an extraordinary Emporium in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. It includes Captain Fawcett’s Marvellous Barbershop Museum, a personal homage to tonsorial art, collected on Richie’s extensive world travels.

International Sales represent 79% of the business, with Captain Fawcett products sold in over 45 countries from Alaska to New Zealand, with official distributors of over 30, including hugely exciting new distribution deals with India and China.

Over the past three years, Captain Fawcett Ltd has worked closely with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), alongside the Institute of Export and International Trade, and is immensely proud of being awarded Export Champion status every year since 2020.

Amongst many accolades, Richie, aka Captain Fawcett’s ‘right-hand man’, has been named Business Person of the Year by the King’s Lynn Mayor’s Awards and voted Small Business of the Year.

He is a recent graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10KSB Business Growth Programme, which supports leaders of high-growth small businesses as they take their enterprises to the next level. 

In 2023 Richie embarked on Captain Fawcett’s Great Expedition, an epic solo motorcycle road trip, covering 10,000km across 24 countries, connecting with barbershops and distributors on their own territory.

Roberto Napolitano

Director of Marketing and Communications, Innovate Finance

The future of trade finance

Roberto Napolitano is the director of marketing and communications at Innovate Finance, the independent industry body that represents and advances the global FinTech community in the UK. He has 18 years’ experience in marketing and corporate communications in finance, technology and professional services, having worked for scaleups and large enterprises.

He is also the Founder of Intelligo Consulting, a marketing consultancy. Roberto holds an MBA from Manchester Business School, an MSc from the London School of Economics, an MA from the University of Bologna and an LLB from the University of London. A trained classical pianist, he speaks Italian, English and French.

Sam Lowe

Partner, Flint Global

The UK’s place in a changing trade world

As a partner at Flint Global, Sam advises clients on UK and EU trade policy, with a particular focus on regulatory barriers to trade, customs, trade in services and Brexit. Prior to joining Flint, he was a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. Sam has also held positions on the UK government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group (2019-2020), was a senior advisor to the Blakeney Group, and the Brexit and trade lead for a prominent environmental charity.

He is a visiting senior research fellow at The Policy Institute, King's College London and a co-founder of the UK Trade Forum. Sam is also an influential public commentator on trade and Brexit matters.