Udayan Goyal

Financial inclusion in the
information age

Udayan is a keen proponent of technology driven reformation in banking and financial services and has exceptional domain expertise in this space. He is the Founder and co-Managing Partner of Apis Partners LLP, who is the manager of Apis Growth Fund I, a $250m private equity fund focused on investing in financial services companies in Africa and South Asia. He is also a Founding Partner at Anthemis Group and is a prolific investor, having had seed investments in (Bank)Simple, Azimo, Ininal, IOCS, Huddlebuy and Earthport. He serves as a Board Director with Moven and Zyfin and also advises several digital financial startups, including those in the Anthemis Group portfolio. He has led a number of innovation projects including, most recently, Zapp, the UK mobile payments system sponsored by Vocalink and being adopted by the UK banks. Udayan is a much sought after commentator on digital finance and curates the very popular “Future of Money” annual session at Innotribe, SIBOS, where he also serves as a member of the board.
He was formerly the Managing Director and Global Head of Financial Technology Advisory at Deutsche Bank AG in the Global Financial Institutions Group based in London. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Udayan had specific responsibility for developing the pan-European specialty finance practice of Credit Suisse with a focus on financial technology. Udayan graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge with an MA (NatSci Tripos).

Adam Carroll

When money isn't real:
the $10,000 experiment

Adam Carroll is quickly being recognized as one of the top transformational trainers in the country.  Having presented at over 500 colleges and Universities nationwide, hundreds of leadership symposiums, and countless local and regional organizations, Adam Carroll’s message of Building A Bigger Life, Not a Bigger Lifestyle has been heard by over 200,000+ people.

In early 2014, Adam successfully crowd-funded a documentary on student loan debt, raising nearly $70,000 in 45 days. The film, Broke Busted & Disgusted is due out in early 2015 and is already garnering critical acclaim after Adam’s TEDx talk at UW Milwaukee in September 2014 and his TEDx London Business School talk in April 2015. The mission of the film is to start a national debate about changing the way we fund college and not crippling 20 somethings with mountains of debt.

In an attempt to stop the problem before it starts, Adam’s book Winning The Money Game, and corresponding curriculum, are being used in high schools and colleges as a financial literacy supplement.  Students and educators are calling it a “game-changer” when it comes to handling money.

Also in 2014, Adam completed a Train the Trainer program with Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, The Aladdin Factor, The Power of Focus, and the enormously popular Chicken Soup For The Soul book series. Adam’s work with Jack and the 60+ transformational trainers continues to evolve and appear in his Build A Bigger Life Podcast and retreat events.

Adam’s core message is we are all after the same thing – to relentlessly pursue our passions, live simply and happily, and make a difference to those around us.

Alex Edmans

The social responsibility
of business

Alex Edmans is a Professor of Finance at London Business School.  Alex graduated top of his class from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York).  After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton, where he was granted tenure and won 14 teaching awards in six years.

Alex’s research interests are in corporate finance (corporate governance, executive compensation, investment/growth/innovation, and mergers and acquisitions), behavioural finance, corporate social responsibility, and practical investment strategies.  His research has been published in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Review of Financial Studies; presented to Accenture, Bank of England, Deutsche Bank, Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs, IMF, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, Rockefeller, SEC, and UBS; covered by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, and The Times; and live-interviewed by Bloomberg, BBC, CNBC, CNN, ESPN, Fox, and NPR.  He has been awarded the Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing and the FIR-PRI prize for Finance and Sustainability, and was named a Rising Star of Corporate Governance by Yale University.  Alex co-led a session on behavioural economics at the 2014 World Economic Forum in Davos, and runs a blog, “Access to Finance” (www.alexedmans.blogspot.com), that aims to make complex finance topics accessible to a general audience.

Jessica Butcher

Visual search for
generation curious

Jessica is an entrepreneurial business leader and experienced marketing professional with 15+ years in senior commercial and marketing roles within fast-growth environments – including as Business Development lead for Alibaba.com EMEA during their launch year into Europe. One of the co-founders of Blippar – the world’s leading mobile visual browser – she manages external communications and brand, driving the every-growing global awareness of the powerful new verb ‘to blipp’. Named as one of the BBC’s international list of ‘100 Women’ in 2014, Fortune Magazine’s ‘Top 10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs’ in 2012 and winner of the Iris (tech) at the Natwest EveryWoman awards amongst other accolades.

Robert Diamond

Love your data:
Why sharing your personal data
could be the best thing you do

After 13 years in the retail data space, in 2001 Robert founded what became emnos – the leading provider of ‘customer centric’ services and decision-support tools.  Clients included top retailers (Target, Walgreens, Morrisons, Waitrose, Boots, Co-operative Group) and their FMCG suppliers.  The business was sold to Palamon Private Equity in 2007 and sold on to American Express in 2011.

Robert now divides his time between an executive role at RAC Motoring Services and a series of Retail advisory & investment roles.

At RAC Robert holds the executive position of Managing Director Data Services.  In this role he oversees the data assets of RAC’s 8.2 Million members and is also charged with developing new commercial propositions outside of the core business.  He was involved in the acquisition of RAC by Carlyle Private Equity in 2011 and successful partial exit to Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC in 2014.

Outside of this Robert advises the boards of several leading retailers on data-driven customer centric marketing.  He also manages a private investment portfolio covering early-stage retail technology start-ups; property; and classic cars.

Robert is an elected member of the Young Presidents Organisation and frequent media contributor on the use of customer data.  He lives in the UK and US with his wife and four children.

Sherry Coutu

Why we should go back
to school

Sherry is an Entrepreneur, Non-Exec Director, Investor and Advisor to Companies, Universities and Charities.

As an entrepreneur, Sherry has founded a number of businesses and charities in the past.

As a Non-Exec Director, Sherry has decades of experience in the technology and education sectors which include serving as a non-executive member of the University of Cambridge (Finance Board), Raspberry Pi, The Royal Society (Translation Committee), The London Stock Exchange Group and Linkedin (Advisory Board).

As a philanthropist,  in addition to Founders4schools, she is a supporter of  the Crick Institute.

Sherry was honoured with a CBE for “Services to Entrepreneurship” from HM Queen in 2013, serves as an ambassador for London and the YourLife Campaign and is the author of ‘The Scale-up Report’ on UK economic growth.

Ash Judd

A long shadow: war,
mental health and leadership

Ash Judd served as an officer in the Australian Army for nine years.  After completing an honours degree in economics from the University of Sydney he decided on a dramatic career change and attended the Royal Military College-Duntroon to gain his commission as an officer in the infantry.

Ash commanded a Platoon of approximately 50 men on combat operations in Southern Afghanistan for nine months in what was the proudest, hardest and most formative experience of his life.  He learned about leadership, grace under pressure and that Tabasco Sauce is pivotal in making dehydrated food edible.  He was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service for leadership in action as a result of his performance in combat.

Upon return to Australia Ash fulfilled a number of other roles in the Army including as an instructor and a planner and was awarded an Army Bronze Commendation for his efforts. He simultaneously completed a Master of Arts in International Strategy and Security at the University of New South Wales.  He was a frequent lecturer on the subject of leadership at the Army’s various training establishments and was interviewed multiple times for both television and books related to the war in Afghanistan.  He is currently reading for his MBA at the London Business School as a prelude to another dramatic life shift to the business world.

Ash’s first passion is advocating for veteran’s health, particularly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Close behind are travelling with his wife, Eliza, rugby, football, cricket and just generally being around and in the ocean.

Melissa Reiner

How to listen like a musician

Melissa Elena Reiner brings her unique musical sensibilities to a wide variety of professional endeavours. Classically-trained as a violinist since the age of three, she received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA). Melissa has performed with many of the world’s most famous musicians, including Adele, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bublé, Andrea Bocelli, Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman and Justin Timberlake. A keen traveller, Melissa has also enjoyed the opportunity to tour extensively in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia with ensembles like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and as the lead violinist with the teen-pop sensations, the Jonas Brothers.

With a passion for all music besides her first love of classical, Melissa pursued a less-traditional path than most violinists, beginning her career in Los Angeles recording for shows like “Family Guy”, the Grammy Awards and American Idol. After relocating to London four years ago, she continues to perform and record in a variety of mediums including: “Phantom of the Opera” in the West End, recently at the BBC Music Awards with Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, and on films like “The Theory of Everything” and “The Hobbit”.

As well as being a passionate advocate for the enriching gift of music, she is also currently pursuing an MA in Creative Writing at City University, fusing her loves for music and literature into a novel about musicians behaving badly.

Crystal Ruff

Changing the future with stem cells

I am a keen investigator in the field of regenerative neuroscience and translational health research, with a proven track record of academic and performance excellence. Having graduated Summa cum Laude with an Honours BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, I completed a PhD in Neuroscience at University College London, with several awards revealing my intrinsic drive to excel and results-oriented approach to problem solving and project management. Currently, I am a MBA2016 Candidate at the London Business School.

Professionally, my expertise lies in stem cell therapies and their transition from the lab to the clinic, in order to help commercialize these strategies and get the best treatments out to the public. Business skills learned through a top-tier MBA program will complement this scientific repertoire and assist translation as the field of regenerative medicine reaches critical mass.

As a Postdoctoral fellow in the Fehlings lab, I spearheaded the stem cell therapy for Cerebral Palsy animal initiative in association with $20 million NeuroDevNet NCE and $10 million Ontario Brain Institute initiatives. While at UHN, I earned the Freedman Postdoctoral Fellowship, Ontario Stem Cell Initiative International Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as several national and international first place research-based awards. I was also awarded travel awards and was an invited speaker at many international conferences.

My work in knowledge translation of regenerative medicine involves several internationally-distributed documents, as well as information packages produced for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy working group and CTV news. I have also produced oral presentations on stem cell therapy, including a keynote speech on stem cells in CP. As Vice-Chair of the Canadian Stem Cell Network’s trainee communications committee, I produced several communications conferences including an annual case competition on commercialization of stem cell strategies.

Gareth Cliff

Africa’s new voice:
join the conversation

Founder and President of CliffCentral.com (and host of “The Gareth Cliff Show” weekdays 6 – 9AM CAT) and Idols South Africa judge, Gareth Cliff is one of South Africa’s most prominent media personalities with a personal Twitter following of +900,000 followers and +500,000 on Facebook.

On 1st May 2014, Gareth took the leap from traditional terrestrial radio to the future of Internet and mobile with the aim of creating the pre-eminent “infotainment” online content hub. Inspiring and leading an African media revolution, CliffCentral.com is about sharing in real conversations – everything that happens in our world – everything we all experience every day.

Gareth kicked off his career while at university at Radio TUKS in Pretoria in 1998 and later “graduated” to 702 Talk Radio as a producer while he was still studying. It was here that he was given his first major break in radio where he attracted attention for his irreverence and intelligence, replacing the legendary John Berks on the 702 Breakfast Show in 2001. In 2003 Gareth accepted an offer on SABC’s 5FM where he remained for ten years, hosting the breakfast show for the last seven years before launching CliffCentral.com.

Gareth has won numerous awards over the years for best radio and television personality and presenter, and regularly hosts events both as an MC, speaker and a conference facilitator. Beyond the public eye, Gareth has demonstrated his commitment to his audience and passion about South Africa by generously giving of his time to causes that are close to his heart. He regularly gives motivational talks at schools and universities and has been the ambassador of several education initiatives.

John Mullins

Customer-funded business

John Mullins is an Associate Professor of Management Practice at the London Business School. An award-winning teacher and scholar and one of the world’s foremost thought leaders in entrepreneurship, John brings to his teaching and research 20 years of executive experience in high-growth retailing firms, including two ventures he founded and one he took public. John’s newest book, The Customer-Funded Business: Start, Finance or Grow Your Business with Your Customers’ Cash, (Jersey City, Wiley 2014), was named one of five “not-to-be-missed books” for 2014 by Fortune magazine. It challenges the widely held assumption that among an entrepreneur’s first and most important tasks is that of raising investment capital.

Edwina Dunn

Curiosity and collaboration

Edwina set up dunnhumby with her husband and former colleague Clive Humby in 1989 in their West London home.  The business focused on the application of customer data to understand and predict consumer trends and behaviours.  At that time, customer data was not valued or stored but simply discarded following a transaction.  Their plans and original database design brought radically new capabilities to consumer businesses around the world.  In 1995, Tesco embraced the dunnhumby approach for its Clubcard programme and so it became the first mass customization marketing programme in the world.  Customer insight and Clubcard rewards helped to transform Tesco from a secondary player in the UK to the significant market and global leader it is today. Edwina was responsible for the company commercially, guiding the company into new sectors and new markets. As well as growing dunnhumby’s own team to span 30 offices across Europe, Asia and the Americas, Edwina worked closely with international clients to embed true customer-centricity in their organisations.

In 2011 after 21 years of profitable growth, Edwina and her partner sold the business to Tesco.

Jean-Pierre Benoît

Rational Accidents

Jean-Pierre Benoît is Professor of Economics at London Business School.  Prior to that, he was Professor of Economics and Professor of Law at New York University, and Professor of Economics at Columbia Business School. He has a PhD in economics from Stanford University and a BA in math and economics from Yale University.

Professor Benoît is an expert in microeconomics, game theory, industrial organization, and law and economics. His research has been published in leading Economics, Political Science, and Law journals and encompasses a range of subjects, including auctions, voting theory, dynamic competition, entry deterrence, affirmative action, and overconfidence.

He consults for and has given specialized talks to businesses and universities throughout the world.

Anant Singh

Creative choices in dark days

At 18, he abandoned his university studies to go into the highly segregated film business in apartheid-era South Africa. Film School at that time was not an option as it was for ‘whites only’.

Today he is South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer, having produced 80 films since 1984, including many of the anti-apartheid films made in South Africa: Place Of Weeping; Sarafina!; Red Dust; Cry, the Beloved Country; and South Africa’s first Oscar-Nominated film, Yesterday.

Nelson Mandela called him “a producer I respect very much…a man of tremendous ability” when he granted him the film rights to his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom.

Karl Lokko

Leading and leaving
the London gang world

Karl Lokko is a 25 year old former gang leader who has now turned his life around, further this he has managed to harness his life experiences which has propelled and uniquely situated him as an activist/influencer within the U.K.  Karl is a gifted orator with a rare ability to connect with people on a human level, granting him undoubtedly the role of a bridge, bridging worlds and uniting community. Karl Lokko’s oratory capacity came into the light through the unfortunate and unsettling 2011 riots, where he was called upon to speak and express the hard to articulate feelings of the community in which he lives in.

Karl Lokko is now an ambassador for Kids Company, a ‘Big Changer’ and consultant for Big Change, a tireless community worker and campaigner working to reform gang culture in the U.K, currently doing the ground work to establish this country’s first therapeutic community gang rehabilitation center whilst at the same time affecting policy around the issue. Karl is undeniably one of the most potent young voices in the country and demonstrates this through various mediums

Rami Banna

Host

A speaker at last year’s TEDxLondonBusinessSchool, Rami is returning to the stage as this year’s MC. Rami is a proud engineer, product guy, and prolific contrarian: better to be different than it is to be better. He’s a flag-bearer for technology, entrepreneurship and healthcare – and has a particular passion for where all three meet.

Rami has consulted with several startups in Sydney and London while studying for his MBA at London Business School. He is a Founder and CEO of London Entrepreneurship Review. With over 10 years in high-tech research and product development, Rami holds patents in telecommunications, semiconductors and medical devices. And he’s designed and brought to market several award winning global products along the way.