Business Leaders

Penny Richards is the managing director of The Aspen Institute in the UK. Founded in 2018, Aspen UK is an independent charity which supports and inspires leaders to transform themselves and their society. For over 70 years, the Aspen Institute in the US and globally has encouraged debates and improved arguments through text-based and professionally guided conversations, private seminars and public events. Penny’s exceptional track record includes producing impactful results for international organisations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the BBC. She was recently the executive director of the Institute of Masters of Wine, the wine industry’s only prestigious international global education and membership organisation. In this in-depth conversation, Penny shares starting out in her career with the motivation to “see a tangible change in something and build great relationships;” discusses Aspen and how for over 70 years they have tried to bring leaders together to exchange ideas in a constr

Stephan Beringer is the chief executive of Mirriad. Founded in 2008, Mirriad’s technology inserts brands and products into TV shows, movies and music videos. As viewers increasingly skip traditional adverts when watching on demand, Mirrad allows brands to reach consumers in a way that doesn’t interrupt what they are watching. The company works with some of the most renowned advertisers, agencies and content providers in key markets including the US, China, France, Germany, and the UK. Before this, Stephan held senior positions across multiple disciplines in marketing and communications - and is regarded as one of the industry’s global leaders. In this in-depth conversation, Stephan reflects on his career journey so far, and how advertising first piqued his interest; discusses Mirriad and explains how the concept of the brand works to “enhance a viewing experience rather than disturbing and interrupting it;” and shares why he thinks the company will be the future of advertisement and will continue a drive of a

Barak Ronen is the co-founder and chief executive of CRUX Knowledge. Founded in 2018, CRUX is the world’s first knowledge quantification platform. It helps users overcome information overload, by providing them direction and feedback as they navigate digital information environments. CRUX’s work has been supported by Google’s digital news initiative and featured on multiple digital platforms. Barak is a former journalist who held senior positions at smart cloud platform Boxever, news agency Reuters, and Dow Jones. In this in-depth conversation, Barak reflects on his career so far, starting out at radio, then moving to become chief news editor for Israel’s leading news portal - gaining his interest of the “mechanics of content and fundamentals of content creation” along the way; discusses founding CRUX Knowledge after noticing knowledge is always quantitative; and shares how the “knowledge GPS” they provide can have a transformative impact on society by liberating people and allowing more interesting discussio

Anthony Davenport is president and chief executive of Regal Credit Management. Founded in 2010, the firm has become America’s largest credit management and protection for high-net worth individuals. He began his career as a loan officer for Bank of America in their Seattle office before moving onto Wells Fargo where he trained in the home mortgage business. Also an author, his book ‘Your Score: An Insider’s Secrets to Understanding, Controlling, and Protecting Your Credit Score’ explores the importance of a healthy credit score for a healthy financial life. In this in-depth conversation, Anthony reflects on how going bankrupt himself inspired him to build a business to help people get back on their feet after experiencing similar financial hardship; discusses Cyber Sweep - one of the company’s main services in the US and UK- which protects people from over 200 websites that share people’s personal data, damaging their credit score; and outlines plans to transition into a fintech company to allow worldwide acc

Natalie Brooks is the founder of Dyslexia In Adults. Founded in 2019, the company works to create a safe and creative space to discuss both the challenges and strengths of being an adult with dyslexia. After struggling in the workplace herself, Natalie created this community to support and empower individuals to better understand themselves. Prior to this, she worked as an account manager at multiple companies including Trainline and Amazon. In this in-depth conversation, Natalie reflects on starting the company after noticing a lack for support for adults and wanting to change people’s perspective of people with dyslexia; discusses the strengths that are not usually recognised - as “technology is taking away the challenges that dyslexic people are facing;” and shares how she’s created a supportive community on social media which provides a “vulnerable, safe space” for discussion.

Ian Thomas is managing director at Turquoise International. Founded in 2002, the merchant bank specialises in venture capital investments in energy, environment and efficiency, and offers both corporate finance advisory and investment management services. Before joining the team in 2004, Ian worked as an investment banker focused on the energy sector for Close Brothers, Flemings and Deutsche Bank. In this in-depth conversation, Ian reflects on the initial career challenge of figuring out the way the City worked in the 1990s; discusses his role at Turquoise, and why the founders decided almost 20 years ago to “focus on the new area of clean energy technology;” and shares long-term plans to expand and grow the business even further in the next 5–10 years.

Lord Parry Mitchell is a tech entrepreneur, advisor and a member of the House of Lords. A long career in the industry, he has founded, grown and sold three IT companies, and in 2000 joined the House of Lords after being appointed as an advisor on digital policy to Tony Blair. In this in-depth conversation, he shares why “noticing the beginning of something important and wanting to be a part of it” led him to choose the IT industry; talks through the transformations he has seen at the House of Lords; and discusses his campaign to regulate payday loan companies, which he believes to be one of the greatest achievements of his career.

Tree McGlown is senior vice president of revenue at Engine Media. Founded in 2016, the leading multi-platform media group follows esports, news and gaming and currently has over 1,000 clients at the intersection of commerce and culture. Also co-founder and managing partner at venture capital firm Kelmhust, he was previously co-founder and chief revenue officer of Sidequik. In this in-depth conversation, Tree reflects on starting his career with the continuous drive of “having an impact on individuals and giving opportunities to other people;” discusses co-founding his business after recognising that “technology will be the future of business;” and shares his plans for the future - focusing more on education and continuing to grow and invest within the business.

Michael Atar is a scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. A highly acclaimed paediatric dentist, Michael has received many awards for his extensive research and regularly lectures at New York University, as well as previously being a clinical lecturer at the Queen Mary School of Medicine. In this in-depth conversation, Michael describes his multifaceted career and how he’s embraced his scientific and artistic proclivities with the consistent aim of “making the lives of others better;” shares his interest in supporting startups with the potential to make a global impact such as Cytovale - a company seeking to combat sepsis which is the leading cause of deaths in hospitals; and discusses some of the new challenges and pressures being placed on young people, such as the need for a “social presence” and the impact that this can have on mental health.

Alexej Pikovsky is co-founder and chief executive of Alphagreen Group. Founded in 2019, the company has become the leading e-commerce platform for wellness and consumer health. Their mission is to build, buy and scale brands in the holistic wellness space. Prior to this, Alexej spent several years in venture capital and at a multi-billion-pound private equity fund. In this in-depth conversation, he reflects on his career journey so far, from trading equities at 16 to how he moved into the holistic wellness industry; discusses building a marketplace for holistic health and why he decided to broaden this to also launching own brands and acquiring Amazon brands in the health and wellness category; and shares his plans for expanding the company over the next few years, “continuing to grow a global incubation and acquisition platform in health & wellness”

Jim Louderback is general manager of VidCon. Starting in 2010, the multi-genre online video tech conference has become the world’s largest celebration of digital creators and online video. Joining the team in 2014 as editorial director of the industry track, he took over as chief executive three years later and led VidCon’s sale to Viacom in 2018. In this in-depth conversation, Jim reflects on starting his career by building computer systems for big companies, and shares the story of how he “fell into media accidentally;” discusses being CEO of Revision3 and what the motivation was for Discovery to acquire the channel in 2012; and explains his plans to expand VidCon’s reach by making their events global.

Atif Sheikh is chief executive of businessfourzero. Founded in 2015, the company helps the world’s major businesses change faster than the world around them - specialising in purprose, strategy, leadership, engagement and culture. An award-winning company, they have worked with clients such as Tesco, Electronic Arts, Reckitt and Aviva and received ‘The Best Employee Engagement Campaign’ at the Corporate Comms Awards, and ‘Best Culture Team’ at last year’s Business Culture Awards. In this in-depth conversation, Atif reflects on starting a business during a time dominated by Brexit and Covid, and how this taught him that it’s “the process that counts;” discusses the aims of businessfourzero - believing in the power of big business and helping them innovate; and shares his plans for the future with the key aspiration to “make the world a better place.”

Joel Dietz is an artist, entrepreneur, investor and founder of ArtWallet. Founded in 2021, the company provides the ultimate solution for storing and owning NFTs whilst also providing the playback of unique audio and visual content. Also an author, his book ‘Principles of Holonic System Design,’ delves into why our tools and approaches for understanding the world are out of date. In this in-depth conversation, Joel reflects on how he started out in the industry, from writing his first science fiction novel when he was 8 to programming computers shortly after; discusses how ArtWallet works - to try and, “unlock the next generation of value around NFTs;” and shares his plans for the future, including his idea for a new poetry based book.

Jeff Joseph is editorial director and publisher of Luckbox magazine, a media platform brought to you by the tastytrade financial network. Founded in 2018 and with headquarters in Chicago, the monthly publication prides itself on being “the control freak’s essential guide to life, money & probability.” As well as being printed in magazine form, the outlet can also be found online, and seeks to help its readers maximise their benefit from investments and financial choices. Jeff was previously the founder and managing director of alternative strategies for the finance company ‘Rydex Investments.’ In this in-depth interview, Jeff reflects on how starting out at Luckbox was very much inspired by how he “missed making mistakes” as an investor; discusses how “falling in love with your own product” can be detrimental to media outlets if it proves a distraction from expanding your audience; and shares his belief that media must accommodate the platforms that younger audiences and producers use most regularly - inc

Chris Peel is Chief Executive of the route2work Group, a careers development business that focuses on getting undiscovered talent into high demand career pathways. Prior to this, Chris was Managing Director of Interserve Learning and Employment, and before that, he led the venture Rehab Jobfit, which specialised in helping over 20,000 people return to the workplace. In this in-depth conversation, Chris reflects on his own career, following his passion to make a positive social and economic impact through improving access to education and employment opportunities; discusses route2work and its ability to discover “hidden talent” to combat the digital skills shortage, as well as driving diversity and inclusion through its disruptive approach to talent assessment; and shares why he believes the world will learn and thrive after the devastation of the pandemic.

Katharina Gehra is managing director of Immutable Insight. Founded in 2018, the advisory uses scientific analysis to advise and service companies in the blockchain and crypto space. Named as one of Capital magazine’s ‘Top 40 under 40,’ she was also nominated as a blockchain “expert” for parliamentary hearings at the German Bundestag. In this in-depth conversation, Katharina reflects on starting out in a “traditional career in traditional finance” and how she then moved onto the crypto space; discusses the ins-and-outs of Bitcoin and what it could mean for the future of banking if the digital skills gap is bridged; and shares her optimistic views on how the future of Bitcoin can be a bright one if a transparent system is put in place.

Felix Mitchell is the founder and co-chief executive of Instant Impact. Founded in 2011, the company provides in-house recruitment expertise - with global clients across Europe, North America, Asia, South American and Oceania. In this in-depth conversation, Felix recalls starting up his business after being “uninspired by the range of graduate jobs available,” when leaving University; discusses what the company does for its clients - helping with blindspots that teams don’t think about, such as encouraging widespread diversity; and shares ambitious plans to grow the business, with hopes to build the team and operate more widely in the US and Europe.

Hugh Edwards and Peter Dickson are co-founders of Reattendance. Founded in 2016, the events platform helps companies host in-person, hybrid and online-only events. Before their latest joint venture, Hugh had a long career in the industry, having worked on over 300 projects and counting; and Peter earned his moniker; ‘voiceover man’, narrating prime-time shows including The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent and by being one of the world’s leading live event announcers. In this in-depth conversation, they reflect on the development of both their revolutionary events platform and their working relationship - noting the importance of providing customers with a hyper-personalised experience, and one which doesn’t suffer from its online components; explain the impact COVID-19 has had on sector, what this means for the future of hybrid, and their commitment to being “open, honest and transparent;” and discuss the continually growing and evolving events space, and how altruism comes into the product that they offer.

Edan Yago is a blockchain entrepreneur and core contributor to Sovryn, a decentralised Bitcoin trading and lending platform that allows members to trade with leverage and earn yield by lending. Earlier in his career, Yago founded several other companies in the Bitcoin and crypto space, including CementDAO and Epiphyte. In this in-depth conversation, Yago reflects on starting out as an entrepreneur, and his desire to have an impact on the world and take “ownership of his destiny;” shares his journey of discovering the crypto space, as well as how growing up in South Africa during Apartheid taught him not to be dependent on traditional forms of currency; and discusses the future of Bitcoin, and the need to adapt to life as it becomes increasingly digital.

Ryan Howsam is founder and chief executive of the StaySure Group and a leading UK investor, entrepreneur and mentor. He is also behind the world leading Legend’s Golf Tour. Founded in 2014 Staysure is famous for pioneering new kinds of flexible insurance cover including for the over 50s and for those with pre-existing medical conditions - and was named ‘Best Travel Insurance Provider’ in 2020 for the fifth year running. In this in-depth conversation, Ryan reflects on starting out his career, describing the time as an “early calling into leadership” - and talks through the key lessons he learnt along the way; discusses the StaySure Group and the importance of not limiting marketing within the business; and shares his plans for the future on taking the company global, expand into FinTech, and incorporate the new brand, PetSure.