2026 Judges
Eva Agnew is the CEO of Lionel Hitchen Ltd who are a UK manufacturer of natural flavours and flavour ingredients. She has also worked for many multinationals such as Unilever, H J Heinz, Thermo Fisher Scientific and General foods in various Operations, Engineering and Business functions.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Accredit Solutions, Peder Berg has scaled the business from a UK tech startup into a dominant global infrastructure provider spanning the UK and Europe, The Americas, Australasia, and the GCC. Backed by Gresham House Ventures, the Accredit OS platform manages high-stakes operations for over 130 elite sports and major event clients, including the entire NFL league, over half of the English Premier League, The ICC, and major, high security state events. Peder joins the judging panel to evaluate fast-growth businesses through the lens of rapid international scaling, institutional governance, and building defensible enterprise moats.
Varun Bhanot is the Co-founder & CEO of MAGIC AI (magic.fit), the world's first AI Personal Trainer, delivering hyper-personalised workouts through a sleek wall mirror co-created with athletes including Sir Alastair Cook, Jesse Lingard, and Team GB stars. MAGIC AI has raised over $7.5M in venture funding, was named in Time Magazine's World's Best Inventions 2024 and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and ranks #1 on The Sunday Times Tech 100 2026 as the UK's fastest-growing AI hardware company. Varun graduated from LSE and the University of Cambridge.
Lucy Brennan is a Partner at Saffery, advising individuals, families and owner‑managed businesses on their personal and business financial and tax affairs. She has extensive experience supporting family‑owned businesses with governance, succession planning and complex ownership structures, alongside specialist expertise in valuation and forensic work. Lucy is a trusted adviser to multi‑generational businesses navigating growth, transition and long‑term legacy planning.
Richard Collis is a Partner and Head of Saffery’s Corporate Group in London, with over 20 years’ experience advising mid‑market businesses, large groups and family‑owned enterprises. A Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, he is a trusted adviser to boards and leadership teams, combining audit, tax and advisory expertise to support business growth. He also leads the firm’s sustainability offering, helping organisations navigate carbon transition, reporting requirements and long‑term ESG strategies to create lasting value.
Luke Consiglio is the CEO of The Pantry, one of the UK's leading education caterers, and Director & Chair for London & Southeast at The School Food People. A King's Trust Mentor, Luke is passionate about supporting young people while championing improvements in school food. With over 20 years' experience, he is dedicated to improving children's access to nutritious, high-quality meals. He regularly works with industry leaders, schools and government to raise standards, drive positive change and help ensure every child has the opportunity to enjoy a great school meal.
Ned is Co-Founder of Nurole, the UK's largest specialist non-executive board recruiter placing over 750 board members a year for some of the world's leading organisations. Over the past decade he has been central to scaling the business from inception to its position today, shaping the commercial engine that sits behind Nurole's combination of sector-expert headhunters and proprietary digital platform. Alongside the core search business, Nurole launched Enter the Boardroom - the destination community for serving and aspiring non-executive directors - extending the business's reach from placing board talent to developing it.
Lewis English runs Underpin Business and Charity Consultants. His job is to help the good guys win. Through business strategy, charity commercialisation and social value work, Lewis brings the "other voice" to the table. Whether it's a business mind for a charity or an empathetic problem solver for the boardroom - it's all about being good, doing good, and collaborating.
Marco is an Operating Partner focused on technology enablement, digital transformation, and product development. Previously, Marco spent 12 years as Director of equity sales & trading with Wells Fargo and Baird in London and San Francisco. He has founded several technology start-ups. Marco received an MBA from IESE in Barcelona and a Masters in Astrophysics from University College London. He speaks fluent Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Long-term marketer Ian set up Purple Pilchard in 2004 a marketing consultancy geared specifically at any bootstrapped SMEs seeking to disrupt the nation's beige food & drink landscape
Stacy Hunte is the Co-Founder of Thoth London and is passionate about championing innovation, sustainability and businesses that are driving positive change. As an entrepreneur and writer, she enjoys recognising those who challenge convention, lead with purpose and inspire others through their work. She believes the most successful businesses are those that combine bold ideas with lasting impact.
James Jackson is the Co‑Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bumper, the Sheffield‑based fintech transforming how drivers afford car repairs. Since launching the company in 2013, James has led Bumper’s evolution from a buy‑now‑pay‑later solution into a full payment orchestration platform. Bumper is used by over 6,000 dealerships across the UK and Europe.
I am a Partner and co-founder at FPE. I started my private equity life over a decade ago at Nova Capital Management, which involved both investment decisions and day-to-day involvement in the operations of portfolio companies. I joined the FPE team in 2012 and am involved in all aspects of the investment cycle, from deal origination and execution through ongoing board representation and exit management. I have invested in a variety of B2B sectors, with a focus on media, software and telecoms sectors.
Denis is the Founder and Director of Arcus Global, a UK Leading Software company providing the new generation of Built Environment and Regulatory platforms to the UK Government. Denis has been a CEO of Arcus until 2021 and is now responsible for Strategy, Commercial and M&A functions. Before Arcus, Denis earned an MBA at Cambridge University. Prior to that, he was Global IT Procurement Director for Cadbury Schweppes plc and led IT procurement for Rolls-Royce plc.
Gerry Lianos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Raffolux, an award-winning UK prize draw platform that has awarded over £30 million in prizes and created more than two million winning experiences. He was recognised in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact and has led Raffolux's growth through investment from organisations including the British Business Bank and BBC Studios/UKTV Ventures. Gerry is passionate about building innovative consumer products that combine entertainment, technology, and positive social impact.
Chris McDowell is the founder of BrisTechTonic, a Bristol-based Digital Marketing agency that helps businesses compete online with straightforward, affordable support that gets results. With more than 20 years’ experience working across technology and digital marketing, Chris is passionate about helping business owners understand Digital Marketing, grow with confidence, and achieve the goals that matter most to them.
Lizzie partners with LDC portfolio company management teams to deliver operational improvement, integration and carve out projects. Lizzie has over twenty years’ experience supporting companies across a wide range of sectors, including consumer and healthcare, to deliver their strategic priorities with a focus on synergies, integration and carve outs. She has extensive experience in delivering complex change programmes, managing risks and enhancing value whilst working collaboratively with management teams to focus not just on the financial and delivery aspects of any change programme but also the softer skills side including employee engagement and culture. Most recently, she supported the creation of Cora Health through the merger of LDC portfolio company Connect Health and BGF-backed Healthshare. Lizzie joined LDC from Cortus Advisory, where she established a mid-market integration and separation advisory practice. Prior to this, Lizzie was at KPMG where she was a Partner in their Deal Execution Strategy team with a focus on the consumer sector.
Dr Hezron Ottey is an award-winning public health leader, researcher, lecturer, and social entrepreneur whose work bridges healthcare, academia, community development, and enterprise. With a PhD in Health and Welfare Studies and more than two decades of leadership experience, he is recognised for transforming ambitious ideas into sustainable initiatives that deliver measurable social impact. His leadership has earned national recognition for excellence in innovation, inclusion, and community engagement.
Alec is Managing Partner at Primary Capital and has nearly 20 years of experience partnering with and investing alongside founders and managers. He leads investment activity and value creation across the portfolio.
Jamie Queen is Chief Commercial Officer at Harper James, where he is responsible for the firm's commercial strategy, revenue growth, marketing, business development and client experience functions. He has extensive experience leading commercial, marketing and digital functions across PE backed businesses both in B2C and B2B, driving sustainable growth, digital transformation and improving operational performance, with a strong focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for clients.
Abdul R. Shiil is the Co-founder and Director of Sahan Cares CIC, a multi-award-winning social enterprise delivering home care and supported living services while creating employment pathways for refugees and migrants. Under his leadership, Sahan Cares has become recognised for combining commercial sustainability with long-term social impact, creating hundreds of employment opportunities and delivering high-quality care to elderly and vulnerable communities. Abdul is also a Trustee at ActionAid UK and is currently undertaking doctoral research exploring how older adults engage with digital health.
Kate Rand is a scale-up CEO and people-first leader with a track record of growing founder-led businesses across the UK and Ireland. As CEO of Serve Legal, the UK and Ireland's leading compliance auditing provider, she leads international expansion and drives higher standards globally. Kate has held multiple C-suite roles across retail, hospitality, HR, and technology, supporting founders through rapid growth and M&A activity from £10m to £100m+. She holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and has been recognised among HR's Most Influential Practitioners. Kate is passionate about building high-performing cultures and developing the next generation of business leaders.
Lena an advisor, consultant, founder and speaker working across innovation, the built environment, property, infrastructure and technology. She has 25+ years of experience in digital transformation, PropTech, WasteTech and user-centred design and supports organisations to design and implement practical, scalable, digitally enabled solutions. Her work includes advisory, expert assessment, mentoring, training and speaking across the UK and Africa and she has also advised and supported organisations including UKRI, Astia VC, Ada Ventures, Innovate UK, UN-Habitat, Connected Places Catapult, universities and government stakeholders.
Hak is a seasoned investor, operator and growth advisor with a wide network across the business ecosystem. He is a visiting partner at Antler, a global early- stage VC, and previously managed an investment team overseeing £3bn in UK companies. At AWS he built go-to-market programmes for scaling startups worldwide, and at MedCity he advised over 250 companies on commercial growth, NHS navigation and fundraising. He has held board positions at DigitalHealth.London and serves as trustee at Future Care Capital. Hak is a committed mentor to entrepreneurs and brings a rare blend of investment rigour and hands-on scaling expertise to every business he engages with.
Richard is the Founder and ex-Managing Partners for Sullivan Street Partners, and the ex-Strategy Director for John Lewis Partnership. Richard has delivered significant value creation across his 25 years working in private equity owned businesses across strategy, carve outs, acquisitions, integrations, culture change, organisational re-alignment and developing people.
Stuart is a managing director the chief operating officer of Europe in our London office. Prior to joining Providence in 2023, he was a partner at Alvarez and Marsal, focused on the private equity market. Stuart is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds a degree in economics and finance. When not looking after his three children, he likes to cycle, play squash and ride and race motorbikes.
Roger Wareham is a Partner and Head of Saffery’s Bournemouth office, specialising in advising entrepreneurs and owner‑managed and family‑owned businesses. With extensive experience supporting businesses from start‑up through to groups with turnover exceeding £100 million, he is a Chartered Tax Adviser renowned for helping ambitious entrepreneurs structure, grow and successfully exit their businesses.