John Abel is the Chief Technology Architect for EMEA Hardware and has been working at Oracle for 18 years in a number of roles, the longest period being an executive consultant in Europe. This role was advising over 300 customers on strategy with IT and business alignment across all industries. John is also a successful author for Oracle press, specially Oracle E-Business Suite Security and seen as an authority on applications security.
John's current role is leading business development and working in the strategy group for EMEA Hardware, using his vast experience to explain how best use Oracle on Oracle. John regular explains the innovation and technology changes in the market and how business leaders can use this to allow for unique proposition to optimise the business and grow the business in one process change.
Gary is a partner at Mills & Reeve LLP and is based in our Cambridge office. He heads the firm’s nationally recognised University Business Group which represents over 90 higher education clients and is a corporate partner to the Higher Education Policy Institute.
Following his law degree at Oxford University, Gary has gained over 20 years experience in private practice, advising universities and colleges on a wide range of legal matters, including student issues, research integrity, freedom of information, defamation, equality law and constitutional, governance and regulatory matters.
He has acted in test cases in the sector in the courts and assisted higher education clients in the management of their international disputes in several jurisdictions. He has also trained as a mediator, contributed as a consultant editor to Farrington & Palfreyman’s Law of Higher Education and served as a director and charity trustee of the Higher Education Academy.
Gary was a member of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education’s advisory group for the revision of its Code of Practice on Complaints and Appeals on Academic Matters and he provided advice last year to the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Student Charter Group.
“Described as ‘dynamic, knowledgeable and experienced’, peers appreciate ‘a real quality lawyer; he is level-headed and doesn’t make things unnecessarily complex’. Clients point to him as one of the best education lawyers around, he is knowledgeable, an extremely personable guy, client-focused and clever.”
Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession
Rafi Azim-Khan is a Partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Head of IP/IT and Data Protection, Europe. He also leads the Marketing Law team. Rafi has been listed as a “leader” since 1994 and named one of the “digital dozen” experts in data privacy, social media and e-commerce. He is also ranked in band 1 (highest rank) in the UK Chambers Directory 2012 for his IP and Marketing Law work, particularly the launch of new products internationally or entering new markets and dealings with claims and competitors. Over the past 20 years he has advised numerous well-known clients (e.g. Starbucks, Symantec/Veritas, Cisco, WebEx, Napster, GE, Energizer, GM, Nike, F1, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Cadbury etc.) on a wide range of data protection and web issues, international new product/service roll outs, comparative advertising disputes and competitor challenges, commercial agreements, overcoming regulator problems and IP issues (litigation and commercial). Rafi is Chair of British American Business’ Law Forum and the UK’s Brand/Ad Law Group. Rafi has co-authored 5 books including the IPA's "Ad Law" and “E Business —The Practical Guide to the Laws”.
Nick Baird was appointed Chief Executive of UKTI in September 2011.
Prior to this, since 2009 he was Director General, Europe and Globalisation and Member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Board - leading the FCO's work on Europe, global economic issues, migration and consular.
Nick was HM Ambassador to Turkey from 2006-2009, leading work on Turkey's EU process and regional conflicts.
He has also worked on immigration policy at the Home Office, and as head of the European Union Department at the FCO.
Kenneth Barclay was appointed as the Managing Director of UK Corporate Banking, Scotland, RBS with effect from 1 January 2007. Ken started his career in Scotland and has held a variety of roles in Corporate & Commercial Banking both in Scotland and England. He returned from Hong Kong where he was Managing Director, Head of Corporates, Asia Pacific to take up his role in UKCB Scotland. Prior to that assignment, he established and led the Technology, Media & Telecoms relationship management business in the UK and continental Europe for 10 years establishing RBS in the process as a pre-eminent financing partner to the industry. Ken is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland.
Scott is a former police detective specialising in the investigation of organised crime and has worked exclusively in the area of cyber crime for the last nine years. As the first Intelligence Officer at the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency's eCrime Unit, Scott was responsible for liaising with the business sector and providing actionable intelligence to various Police departments. Scott joined the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 2008, initially working within the Intelligence function, before joining Information Security where his specialist knowledge led to him taking on the role of Senior Cyber Security Manager. As well as managing and reporting on cyber security related threats, Scott is overseeing the delivery of a Cyber Security Strategy for the Group which will allow it to achieve a strong and suitable security posture to protect its customers, staff and data from these most transient of threats in the coming years.
Adam leads Mainstream’s global corporate affairs practice, providing communications, policy and regulatory advice to colleagues.
Mainstream was founded in 2008 to develop wind, solar and tidal assets in a number of world markets. It operates in Canada and the USA, with offices in Toronto and Chicago.
Adam joined Mainstream Renewable Power in November 2008 following the acquisition of Airtricity where he had been UK Chief Executive. In that role he was responsible for the teams developing Europe’s largest onshore and offshore wind farms. In October 2007, Airtricity sold its North American business unit to E.on for approximately €0.8bn. The remainder of the company was sold to Scottish and Southern Energy in January 2008 for €1.1bn. The total value created for share holders was €1.35bn on capital invested of €0.44bn.
Adam was elected Chairman of the BWEA, the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association, in June 2007. He is a former Director of Public Policy at UK law firm McGrigors and currently a director of the Westminster Forum, a Trustee of the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry, HM Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms, and a Fellow of the RSA.
He and his family live in Edinburgh.
Bill Buchanan is a Professor in the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University, and a Fellow of the BCS and the IET. He currently leads the Centre for Distributed Computing, Networks, and Security, and works in the areas of security, next generation user interfaces, Web-based infrastructures, e-Crime, intrusion detection systems, digital forensics, e- Health, mobile computing, agent-based systems, and simulation. Along with he has led the Cyber Infrastructure for Scotland, which integrates a wide range of stakeholders within security and cybercrime, including law enforcement, the public sector, academia and industry. His latest funded work includes a novel e-Health Cloud platform (Cloud4Health), and a novel risk-based fraud analysis system.
Bill has one of the most extensive academic sites in the World, and is involved in many areas of novel research and teaching in computing. He has published over 27 academic books, and over 120 academic research papers, along with several awards for excellence in knowledge transfer, and for teaching, such as winning at the I ♥ my Tutor Awards (Student voted), Edinburgh Napier University, 2011, and has supervised many award winning student projects. He has also led a project which is a finalist for the BCS/Computing Award for Technological Excellence, and an IET Award for Innovation and Enterprise.
Since joining Memex in 1990 as a software engineer, David has fulfilled many leadership roles in Memex leading to his appointment as CEO in 2000. Realising that the company was failing to meet its potential under the ownership of MR Data Plc, David led a management buyout taking the company private in 2001. Since then David has grown Memex into a global leader in law enforcement solutions, with over 120 employees, and customers in 160 countries.
In 2010, SAS the largest private software company in the world acquired Memex. David has the challenge to bring both companies’ technologies together to create the next generation of solutions for the law enforcement and intelligence community throughout the world. David brings a business focus to technology matters and his experience uniquely prepares him to keep technology and product solutions as the core focus of the SAS Public Security strategy. His philosophy is that the only way to build innovative software solutions is by working intimately with customers and domain experts.
David holds a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science, and an MBA from Scotland’s prestigious Strathclyde Graduate Business School. David is a keen contributor to the Scottish business community and is on the Board of the Scottish North American Business Council, a member of the CBI’s Small Medium Enterprise Council, and was recently asked to contribute on Scotland’s ICT strategy.
Stuart is an experienced client services partner, serving Calgary private and public companies for over 30 years in the areas of accounting, auditing, taxation and consulting. His clients include oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and technology companies. Stuart focuses on mid-market private companies, and with junior public companies. Several of Stuart’s clients are doing business internationally.
Stuart is BDO Canada’s Country Coordinating Officer for BDO UK and Ireland. He joined the firm as a Partner in 2003 after a successful career in public practice and serving as Chief Financial Officer for both a private and a public company. Stuart has been active in the Calgary community for many years, serving on a number of not-for profit Boards.
Professional Designations & Education:
• Chartered Accountant (CA), Alberta
• Chartered Accountant (CA), Scotland
• University of Glasgow ICAS Program
Rhian Chilcott is the CBI's International Director, based in Washington DC, and manages the CBI's work around the world. She has been based in Washington since 2002, when she was sent there to set up the CBI's first truly international office.
She now leads the CBI's teams in China, India and the US, as well as core group in London. She is responsible for ensuring a global dimension to all areas of CBI policy, as well as the organisation's input into multilateral forums such as the G8 and G20.
Rhian also founded and manages the CBI's global government relations group, our best practice network for those who lobby in more than one country.
Before moving to the US, Rhian was Head of Corporate Affairs for the CBI in London, with responsibility for the organisation's work programme and strategic planning.
Her team also co-ordinated CBI lobbying in Whitehall, Westminster and Brussels. Previously, she was special adviser to the CBI's Director-General, and has also worked as a policy adviser on education and training issues.
Before joining the CBI, Rhian ran a pressure group that campaigned for more women in politics and public life. She has also worked as a lobbyist in Brussels, and as a freelance speechwriter. Rhian was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and Christ Church, Oxford, where she read politics, philosophy and economics.
She is a director of the British American Business Association in Washington DC, and chairs its programme and government affairs committees.
Greg Cinnamon focuses his practice on domestic and cross border mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, investments, commercial transactions, and business operations. Prior to entering law school, he was an internal auditor with RJR/Nabisco. In 1991 and 1992, Mr. Cinnamon was on assignment to a leading Tokyo law firm where he had significant responsibility in a number of transactions involving cross-border investment and business operations, international finance, and international securities.
Richard O. Cunningham is senior international trade partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, where he is a member of the International Department. In addition to litigating cases under the US import relief laws, Mr. Cunningham is active in representing clients with respect to US Government trade policy issues, in negotiating private and governmental agreements to resolve market-access problems and other international trade issues, and in helping clients develop international strategies that take advantage of the trade laws and policies of the United States and foreign governments.
Thomas J. Donohue is president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since assuming his position in 1997, Donohue has built the Chamber into a lobbying and political powerhouse with expanded influence across the globe.
Donohue has aggressively advanced a competitiveness agenda that includes doubling U.S. exports in five years, strengthening capital markets, forging a national energy strategy, reforming health care and education, and protecting intellectual property rights. In addition, Donohue spearheaded the creation of the American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign, a positive, long-term program to defend, protect, and advance a free enterprise system based on individual initiative, hard work, and personal responsibility—operating with free trade, free capital markets, and reasonable taxes and regulations. read more...
I have previously worked in the U.S.A. in positions that have included psychotherapist, career counselor, management consultant, and associate professor. I moved to the UK in 1990. Since then, I have worked at Birmingham City University, and currently work at both Oxford Brookes University and University of Birmingham.
My areas of teaching interest include organizational behaviour, leadership development, HRM, international HRM, working across cultures, managing change and personal development. The main theme running throughout all of these is that of personal and management development, including both experiential and theoretical aspects. These teaching interests are supplemented by research interests in the areas of intimacy, team working, and communication.
Clifford has held positions with Cranfield since 1984, latterly as Deputy Vice-Chancellor. He is a Materials Engineer by training and has always had a passion for multi-disciplinary university / business engagement. His research has had high academic impact and has resulted in key innovations in a range of familiar products. In 2011 he was recipient of an R&D100 Award – widely recognised as the “Oscars of Innovation”, for the development of a novel material for improved coronary stents – awarded by the US R&D Magazine as one of the 100 most technologically significant new products of the year.
He now has a wide portfolio of responsibility, including key account management of Cranfield Group’s Global Strategic Business Partners, and he stakeholder manages UK government departments and agencies. Clifford also leads the development of Cranfield Technology Park /Airpark, and Cranfield Executive Airport. He is non-executive Chairman of Cranfield Management Development Limited, a £17M turnover executive education business, and Cranfield Engineering Innovations Limited. He is also a non-executive director of Sudbury House Hotel Limited. Clifford is a member of the UK’s Institute of Directors and a member of the Confederation of British Industry’s Regional Council.
Clifford’s expertise is frequently called upon to assist commercial clients, government agencies, professional institutions and universities around the world. He also appears as an expert for the media, on radio and television, and has written for broadsheet newspapers and magazines including the Financial Times of London and New Scientist.
He was a member of the ‘Lambert’ Intellectual Property Inner Working Group (for the UK’s Department of Business, Industry and Skills) and is currently a member of the Development Group for the UK’s new South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership. He was also a Task Force Member of the Council for Industry and Higher Education’s most recent study on Top Manufacturing and Engineering Talent for 2030.
Andrew Fulton is a former British diplomat of over 30 years’ service, including postings in Washington DC, and the United Nations in New York, Saigon, Rome, East Berlin and Oslo. Following his retirement from the diplomatic service in 2000, Andrew was appointed founding Chairman of the Scottish North American Business Council. Having recently stood down as Chairman following 10 years’ service, and he has been appointed President of SNABC. Andrew has acquired a diverse portfolio of business interests, including advisory and consulting roles in several international companies, principally in the security sector.
DAVID W. GARLAND is International Employment Law Counsel of the American British Employment Law Alliance and a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice in the firm’s New York and Newark offices. Mr. Garland is a member of firm’s National Labor Steering Committee.
Mr. Garland defends clients in employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, and other employment-related litigation, including cases involving allegations of sexual harassment; discrimination; alleged violations of family leave; whistleblowing, equal pay, and other statutes; and contract, public policy, and tort claims. He also represents clients in litigation concerning restrictive covenants, including non-compete agreements. Additionally, he defends clients in wage and hour litigation and counsels clients on developing employee handbooks and policies and practices (concerning employee discharge and discipline, downsizing and reductions in force, employee privacy, and restrictive covenants) to avoid employment-related litigation.
Mr. Garland has authored or coauthored many articles on employment law issues in the United States and the United Kingdom. He has participated as a member of a panel on employment law issues in London with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and has spoken at the United Kingdom Employment Lawyers Association Conference.
Mr. Garland has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America since 2006 and in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for several years, including 2011. Chambers USA (2010) reported that Mr. Garland “is acknowledged as a talented litigator who excels on behalf of financial services clients. He is lauded for his ‘calm demeanor and cool head in a crisis.’” In 2011, Chambers noted that Mr. Garland “is lauded for bringing a ‘rare dose of common sense’ to complex employment disputes.”
Owen Kelly was appointed as Chief Executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) in January 2008. SFE is a broadly-based representative organization, funded by its members. Its purpose is to promote the Scottish financial services industry and Scotland as an international financial centre. SFE’s membership is diverse and it includes some of the world’s largest banks, insurers and asset managers, as well as companies providing specialist support services, universities and government agencies.
Owen regularly contributes to public debate on financial services matters in articles, speeches and media appearances. SFE represents the industry to governments and regulators in Scotland, London and Brussels. It has worked extensively in China and other Asian markets, promoting in particular Scotland’s internationally recognized strengths in asset management and servicing, life assurance and pensions.
Before joining SFE in January 2008, Owen worked for 20 years as a government official, in UK and Scottish Governments. His key policy specialisms in government were EU and international relations; and communications. He spent 2 years in Tokyo in the 1990s, promoting Scotland as an investment location.
Owen joined the government service in 1988, shortly after graduating from Edinburgh University with an honours degree in Chinese. He also studied for one year at Shandong University.
Marcus Kneen joined IndigoVision in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2011. Previously he held various Finance Director and General Manager positions including Incorporated Technologies (Holdings) Ltd, Grampian Country Food Group and Howegarden Ltd. Prior to that Marcus held finance and audit positions at Christian Salvesen plc and Ernst & Young. He holds an MA from the University of Dundee and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. In 2010/11 he was chairman of the Scottish Finance Directors Discussion Group.
Ven Kocaj has 25 years of auditing and accounting experience, primarily serving global diversified public clients. Her primary focus is in the financial services industry, and she also has experience in the retail and consumer products industries. Ven has extensive experience in SEC matters, including Sarbanes-Oxley provisions. She is currently the regional managing partner for Deloitte’s Northeast Audit and Enterprises Risk Services practice. From 2009 to 2011, she was the national director of Deloitte’s Attest Risk Management practice.
Ven was the lead client service partner and audit partner for Merrill Lynch in 2008, and prior to that was an audit partner for various business units and subsidiaries of Merrill. As part of this engagement, she spent three years in the United Kingdom overseeing the audit of the global markets business of Merrill Lynch in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She served as the U.S. GAAP and SEC specialist for a number of Deloitte’s U.K. clients in both financial and nonfinancial sectors.
Ven also has served in key roles on several other significant U.S. engagements in a variety of industries, including Armor Holdings, Automatic Data Processing, Dillard’s, Hartford Financial Services, and Ogden Corporation.
In addition to her client service engagements, Ven plays an active role as a leader within Deloitte. She is a national director of Deloitte’s Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women. She also spent two years in Deloitte’s national office in a quality control review role, which provided her with valuable experience in issue identification and resolution.
Ven’s broad range of experience and leadership activities both inside and outside Deloitte make her uniquely suited to serve as a strong and trusted adviser to clients. Her time overseas has provided her with a multifaceted understanding of the issues unique to large global clients in a variety of industries; she has developed strong relationships with senior partners around the world through her global assignments and national office experience.
A graduate of Fordham University, Ven received a BS in accounting. She is president of the British American Business Council, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
BRUCE J. L. LOWE is a partner in the Cleveland office of Taft Stettinius &
Hollister LLP. Mr. Lowe received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from St. Edmund Hall,
Oxford University in England. He is a Barrister-at-Law of the Middle Temple,
having graduated from the Inns of Court School of Law in London, England. Mr.
Lowe concentrates his practice in business bankruptcy, creditor's rights law and
commercial litigation. He has served as Honorary Legal Advisor to Her Majesty's
Consul and is currently Chair of the Great Lakes Region's British-American
Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the British-American Business Council
as its Midwestern U.S. Regional Representative. Mr. Lowe is also President of the
Greater Cleveland International Lawyers Group.
Martin McAdam joined Aquamarine Power as Chief Executive Officer in August 2008, bringing with him nearly ten years experience in the renewables industry. Martin joined Aquamarine Power from major renewable energy developer Airtricity. Martin was the founder and CEO of Airtricity’s North American operations and managed the sale of the company to E.On for £0.75bn in 2007. A highly experienced business leader, Martin previously held a number of technical and management roles in the utility sector. Martin completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School in 2004 and holds a BE (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from University College Dublin. Martin is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland, a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce. Martin also sits on the council of CBI Scotland.
Gerard McCabe has over 29 years of experience practicing as a professional project and cost management consultant in Europe and North America, and has specialized in Budget Control & Cost Planning and Project Management. Mr. McCabe has experience in a number of construction industry sectors including healthcare, education, residential, infrastructure, transportation, and both provincial and federal government. As the Managing Director of the Turner & Townsend Canadian operations based in Toronto, Mr. McCabe is responsible for Business Development and the overall management of the Canadian offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and sits on the Americas Regional Board.
Mr. McCabe graduated from the University of Ulster (Belfast, Ireland) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantity Surveying and provided services in Ireland and has practiced in Canada since 1987 where he is a recognized leader in Construction Cost and Project Management.
Mr. McCabe has published a Best Practice paper on construction cost, project management and procurement for Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and has recently contributed to a Market Trends and Construction Industry Capacity study for Infrastructure Ontario.
Mr. McCabe currently sits on the Membership and Accreditation Assessment Committee for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (North America).
Leads a team managing relationships for major corporate connections with turnover £25m plus, and covering number of industry sectors.
Jim joined RBS in 2002 and has carried out roles in Business Development and Relationship Management prior to his appointment as Regional Director in 2005.
Jim started his career working for Clydesdale Bank (National Australia Bank Group) in Scotland for 22 years where roles covered all areas of Corporate Banking including Acquisition Finance and Risk.
In November 1995, Iain was appointed Director of CBI Scotland with full executive responsibility for the CBI's Scottish operations. He leads Scottish business representation and communicates Scottish business interests in Scotland, the UK, the European Union and beyond. He is the author and co-author of a number of publications on public policy as it relates to the business, economic and legislative environment.
Andy studied Chemistry at Strathclyde University, going on to take a PhD in hydrogel polymers and drug delivery.
After undertaking further research, he joined Biocompatibles Ltd in London, working in the Cardiovascular Division, leading the formation of their Drug Delivery Group, later sold as part of a $160m deal with Abbott Laboratories. Andy led the initial product development of what is now Dexamet™, one of the first commercially available drug-eluting stents launched.
Andy came back to Scotland to work with AorTech on the product development of a synthetic tri-leaflet heart valve, a project that also involved the universities of Leeds and Liverpool, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and CSIRO in Australia.
Andy then moved to Connect Scotland, a business development and technology networking company with its origins in California. He held positions of Regional Director, Director and latterly Managing Director during 9 years with the company and had specific responsibility for Connects work with life science and medtech companies.
At Glasgow Caledonian University, Andy has responsibility for Strategic Business Development and IP.
Andy is also Director of Innova Partnerships, a company which invests in early stage life science businesses.
Michael Moore was born in Northern Ireland in June 1965. His father was a Chaplain in the British Army and when he left the forces in 1970 the family moved to Wishaw. Michael attended Strathallan School in Perthshire until the family moved to the Borders in 1981. At Jedburgh Grammar School he became involved in politics and joined the local Liberals. He worked on Archy Kirkwood MP's first campaign in the 1983 general election before going to Edinburgh University. Graduating in 1987 with an honours degree in politics and modern history, he went to work as a researcher for Archy in the House of Commons.
After a year at Westminster, Michael joined Coopers & Lybrand in Edinburgh where he qualified as a Scottish chartered accountant and obtained a wide range of business experience over the following few years. Read more...
Alan Mortimer graduated from Glasgow University in 1987 with an Honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He then joined James Howden & Co. Ltd. in Glasgow, working on a variety of products from tunnelling machines to industrial fans to wind turbines. In 1991 Alan joined ScottishPower, working initially as an engineer, then moving into renewables development. During this period the company has expanded to become the leading player in the UK wind market with 24 windfarms totalling over 1000MW, including Europe’s largest windfarm at Whitelee (322MW). In his current role as Head of Innovation he has responsibility for technology development and strategic issues related to the company’s growth ambitions. This includes developments in the offshore wind, wave and tidal sectors including pioneering projects at EMEC and Islay.
Craneware co-founder and CEO Keith Neilson has led the healthcare financial software company to be the recognized pioneer in chargemaster management and the leading provider of revenue integrity software and services, with one quarter of all registered U.S. hospitals as customers. Under Neilson’s direction Craneware has won multiple prestigious awards in such areas as international achievement, business growth strategy and innovation. Most notably, Craneware earned the 2011 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category, and Neilson was named 2011 Services Sector Leader of the Year by Scottish Business Insider. The publicly traded company Craneware employs more than 230 staff and is headquartered in Edinburgh with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Nashville and Phoenix.
Brian has extensive experience in international commerce, policy analysis related to economic development, trade promotion and investment attraction activities. He is currently Minister-Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian High Commission in London. In that capacity he and his team are responsible for promoting Canada’s commercial interests in the U.K.
Formerly, Director of the Investor Services Division, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa, he directed a team of account executives engaged in supporting Canada’s international missions’ investment attraction activities.
Brian was actively involved in the development and implementation of a program to use the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. to leverage the business and investment opportunities Canada has to offer.
Prior to his Ottawa assignment, he was Canada’s Senior Trade Commissioner in Seattle, Washington where he led a team dedicated to increasing investment flows to Canada and enhancing trade from Canada into US Pacific Northwest. Brian also served as Trade Program Manager, in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He was active in trade policy issues including removing lumber trade barriers. In 2001 he launched the marketing of Canadian diamonds in Japan.
He has developed and implemented CIDA programs for collaboration on environmental and regulatory reform in South America, which led to strong Canadian partnerships. He has also undertaken international development work in Asia and South America.
Brian began his career in the British Columbia provincial government in an economic development role. He has also worked in the private sector as a lobbyist and environmental project manager. He served as a Director for a local financial institution in western Canada.
Born in Victoria, B.C., Brian attended the University of B.C. and the University of Victoria, where he obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration. He now lives in London with his wife Kelly. Together they have 3 children.
Graeme attended Bramshill Police College and the FBI Academy at Quantico. He is a former Head of Crime and Special Branch at Strathclyde Police and led on counter terrorism for Scotland for four years.
He is a previous member of ACPO (Terrorism and Allied Matters) Committee (UK) and was also Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency.
He is currently an Honorary Professor at University of Glasgow and a specialist in the study of Serious Organised Crime.
Graeme was elected as a regional MSP for South Scotland in May 2011 and is a member of the Justice Committee.
Grant Petersen is a Shareholder in the Tampa Office of Ogletree Deakins, the third largest law firm in the U.S. representing and counseling employers in all areas of labor and employment law. For the past 33 years, Mr. Petersen has helped employers comply with U.S. and international labor and employment laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and international data protection and privacy laws. Since 2007, Mr. Petersen has been listed in the annual editions of Best Lawyers in America and Florida SuperLawyers in the areas of labor and employment law and international law. Additionally, Mr. Petersen has been listed in the National Law Journal’s edition of Tampa’s Best Lawyers since 2011
Mr. Petersen currently serves as the President of the British-American Business Council of Tampa Bay, Board Member of the French American Business Council of West Florida, and Advisory Board Member of the Tampa Bay International Business Council.
Dr. John Reid has dedicated his career to public service serving as a Member of Parliament for 23 years, half of which were in service as a Government minister. He is often described as one of the most experienced Cabinet ministers in modern times having held more ministerial posts at the Cabinet level than any other politician in recent history.
During the course of his career, Dr. Reid served in a leadership position across several security-related portfolios in the United Kingdom including Home Secretary, Defence Secretary, Northern Ireland Secretary, Minister for Transport and Armed Forces Minister. As Defence Secretary and Minister, Dr. Reid presided over the Strategic Defence Review which reconfigured the British Armed Forces in the post-Cold War period. As Northern Ireland Secretary, he played a major role in the Peace Process and negotiated arms de-commissioning with the Irish Republican Army. As Home Secretary, he led all efforts relating to counter-terrorism and introduced radical reforms refocusing the Home Office towards the contemporary challenges of international crime, immigration and counter-terrorism.
Following nearly a quarter of a century as a Member of Parliament, Dr. Reid has served as a senior consultant to several major commercial companies and is presently Honorary Professor and Chair of the Institute of Security and Resilience Studies at the University College London. On July 22, 2010, Dr. Reid was formally installed as a member in the Upper Chamber of the UK Parliament, the House of Lords.
Alex Salmond was born in Linlithgow in 1954. He attended Linlithgow Academy before studying at St Andrews University, where he graduated with a joint honours MA in Economics and History.
In 1978 he entered the Government Economic Service as an Assistant Economist in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. In 1980 he joined the Royal Bank of Scotland where he worked for seven years: first as an Assistant Economist before being appointed Energy Economist in 1982 and, from 1984, Royal Bank Economist. Mr Salmond is now a visiting Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University.
He was first elected as MP for Banff and Buchan in 1987 and was elected as National Convener for the Scottish National Party in 1990. He served as leader of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament when he was elected MSP for Banff and Buchan Constituency in 1999. He stood down as SNP National Convener in 2000 and left the Scottish Parliament in 2001.
He was re-elected as Leader of the SNP in 2004 and elected as MSP for the Gordon constituency in May 2007. He became the first ever SNP First Minister of Scotland on May 16, 2007.
He won the Aberdeenshire East constituency at the May 5, 2011, election when the SNP won a majority of seats of in the Scottish Parliament and MSPs re-elected him unopposed for a second term as FM on May 18.
He and his wife Moira married in 1981 and live in Strichen in Aberdeenshire.
When not working he enjoys horse racing, football - supporting Scotland and Heart of Midlothian FC - golf and reading.
ANA S. SALPER is International Employment Law Counsel of the American British Employment Law Alliance and a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice in the Firm's New York office. Ms. Salper is an experienced litigator and counselor, and advises a wide array of international clients in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, who seek advice on doing business in the United States. She assists foreign and national employers with labor and employment matters arising under federal and state law, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the National Labor Relations Act.
Ms. Salper:
• Counsels international and national employers on all aspects of the employment relationship, including employment discrimination, wage and hour law, employment contracts and separation agreements, layoffs, and reductions in force
• Represents management on traditional labor issues, including unfair labor practice charges, representation and decertification election proceedings, grievances and arbitrations, and numerous collective bargaining negotiations
• Litigates on behalf of employers before administrative agencies and state and federal courts across the United States
Ms. Salper was a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Richard L. Nygaard, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is fluent in Spanish, French, and Hebrew and proficient in Italian. Ms. Salper is actively involved in the Firm's Women's Initiative and is also a member of the Hispanic Business Group.
Mr. Simon counsels domestic and international corporations with respect to a wide array of business issues. He assists clients in better understanding governmental regulations and in solving problems that impact their ability to transact business in the United States. His clients include multinational corporations, small business entrepreneurs and individual investors based in the United States as well as throughout Europe.
David Smith is the Deputy Commissioner with responsibility for the Data Protection supervisory functions of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) based in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
As well as providing Data Protection leadership across the Information Commissioner’s Office, David has direct responsibility for oversight of its Strategic Liaison Division which develops and manages the ICO’s relations with its key stakeholders. He is a member of both the Commissioner’s Management Board and Executive Team.
The international aspects of David’s work involve him in representing the UK on the Article 29 Working Party of European Supervisory Authorities set up under the Data Protection Directive. In addition he was the Chairman of the data protection supervisory body for Europol from October 2006 to October 2009.
Mike Stewart has been Counsellor (Commercial)for the Province of Ontario
working at the Canadian High Commission in London since August 2011. He
supports the development of economic ties between Ontario and the UK
including trade and foreign direct investment and research partnerships.
Prior to taking up this position, Mike worked with the ministries of
energy and finance in Ontario and in business development in the private
sector. His email is michael.stewart@international.gc.ca
Louis B. Susman was sworn in as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's on July 29, 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He took up his duties in London on August 17, 2009.
A banker and a lawyer with extensive experience, Ambassador Susman was the Vice Chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking. He is also a former member of the Citigroup International Advisory Board. Prior to joining Salomon Brothers, Inc. in June 1989, Mr. Susman practiced law in the City of St. Louis for 27 years and was a senior partner at the St. Louis based law firm of Thompson & Mitchell.
His practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law, and as part of his practice, he was a member of the Board of Directors and Management Committee of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1975 to 1989. In that capacity, under his direction, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 1982 and the National League Championships in 1985 and 1987.
Ambassador Susman has long been active in the public sector. In 1988 he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U. S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, which provided oversight to the U. S. Information Agency. He was a Director of the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan organization that examines national public policy issues. Mr. Susman is also a member of the Chairman's Circle of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a member of the Board of The Art Institute of Chicago and The Northwestern Children's Memorial Hospital.
Ambassador Susman received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1959 and his LL.B. from Washington University in 1962 where he was elected to Phi Delta Phi. He is married to the former Marjorie Sachs. They have two children and three grandchildren.
Lynsay became the Director of Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs in April 2011. She has extensive experience of press, policy and public affairs. She joined the ASA in 2004 as Policy and Public Affairs Advisor and was subsequently promoted to Communications and Policy Manager where she managed the organisation’s media and stakeholder relations activity.
As part of senior management, Lynsay oversees a communications, marketing and public affairs team of seven responsible for promoting advertising self-regulation. Prior to joining the ASA Lynsay spent five years as a consultant at Portcullis Public Affairs.
Martin Uden is Managing Director for the British Business Embassy in UKTI.
He was born and educated in Britain where he attended London University (LL.B) and was called to the Bar in 1977.
He was British Ambassador in Seoul from 2008 to 2011, having served twice before in the British Embassy in Seoul, from 1978 to 1981 as Second Secretary, and from 1994 to 1997 as Political Counsellor.
He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London in 1977. In London, he has been responsible at different times for nuclear non-proliferation, Japan, Yugoslavia and Albania and for the CSCE. He has served previously in UKTI Headquarters as International Director of the inward investment operation.
Apart from postings in Seoul, he has also served in the British Embassy in Bonn (1986-1990), in the British High Commission in Ottawa (1997-2001) and as British Consul-General in San Francisco (2003-07).
Martin is married to Fiona (whom he met in Seoul) and has two sons. Drawing on his Korean expertise, he published “Times Past in Korea” in 2003, an anthology of travellers’ accounts of Korea.
Ms. Verderame is head of global government relations for Booz Allen Hamilton. Ms. Verderame is also CEO of Pondera International where she provides management consulting for start-up and small companies, including serving as interim management to help companies through growth and transformational periods.
Ms. Verderame spent over ten years in a variety of roles within BT (British Telecom) Group plc. Her most recent role was Vice President and General Counsel for the company’s US operations, where she was a leading member of the management team that drove 150% revenue growth and a quadrupling of the workforce (via organic and inorganic activity) over a three-year period in the US. During her tenure, Ms. Verderame led the company’s Legal Department, and was also responsible for various operational areas such as Procurement, Security and BT Federal (BT’s US Government sales organization). Ms. Verderame was a leader on the team that drove US$25B in acquisitions, and produced SG&A savings of over US$85 by developing reduction programs and designing effective corporate restructuring and integration methodologies.
Throughout her tenure with BT, Ms. Verderame also served as the head of BT’s lobbying and government affairs office in Washington, D.C. in which she was the senior advocate for the company’s interests in front of U.S. Government agencies and Washington-based policymakers and led the company’s international trade policy efforts. She has extensive experience in cyber security, telecommunications and technology, and designing and running international lobbying campaigns and programs to support business objectives.
Ms. Verderame holds several advisory roles outside of her day-to-day professional responsibilities. She has been actively involved in the network of British-American organizations in the US and UK for years, and currently serves on the board and as the general counsel to the British American Business Council, the international umbrella organization that represents over 2,500 British and American businesses across 25 chapters in the US and the UK. She is also past president of the Washington, D.C. chapter. Ms. Verderame currently serves as the general counsel to the European-American Business Council, and as a Non-Executive Director for UK Trade & Investment. She holds membership in the Federal Communications Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the bars of the State of Illinois , the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Ms. Verderame is an accomplished public speaker, and has presented in numerous fora on a variety of international telecommunications policy, security, trade and business issues.
Ms. Verderame received her Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, and her Bachelors of Arts degree from Albion College, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with Honors. Ms. Verderame has also completed post-JD course work at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Brigid is Head of Research & Innovation, in the Business Services Strategy & Architecture Division at RBS. Key to this role is
• Exploring the external environment, emerging technologies and industry best practice
• Working with vendors to generate ideas and co-create new solutions for banking
Brigid joined RBS in 2001 as Head of eCommerce and Telephony in the UK Retail Bank. Prior to this she held a range of roles including Marketing Director in Lloyds UDT (part of Lloyds TSB) and Managing Director of her own marketing company in Ireland, Envision Marketing Consultants.
She holds a Bachelor of commerce and MBA degrees. Brigid is married to Donald with two daughters. Outside of work she is a Trustee of a charity called Tong-Len UK which provides support to displaced impoverished families in Northern India and a home and education for slum children.
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