Stephen Phipson CBE has been the Chief Executive of Make UK since joining in 2017. Stephen previously spent 5 years as a senior civil servant holding the position of Head of the Defence and Security Organisation within the Department for International trade delivering export support to UK defence and security businesses and prior to this Stephen held the position of Director for Security Industry Engagement within the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office.

Before serving in the UK Government Stephen spent 35 years in senior roles in the manufacturing industry including 15 years with Smiths Group plc as President of Smiths Detection where he was awarded a CBE in 2010 for services to the Security industry. Stephen has worked extensively abroad in high technology manufacturing businesses and started his career as an engineering apprentice with the Plessey company.

Stuart Brocklehurst is Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Innovation, leading the University’s collaboration with business and our drive to deliver innovation through our research and education. In addition, as Director of Green Futures Solutions he heads the university’s drive to translate our world leading work on climate change into practical impact.

Stuart started his career in banking, holding roles with Barclays in the UK and Africa, then as Senior Vice President for Digital Commerce at Visa International CEMEA leading the adoption of new business models and technologies. Following a period as a Partner at consultancy Carbon, Stuart joined Amadeus in support of its IPO and served as Group Communications Director after the flotation. He went on to run his own business up to its sale to the Troy Group, where he remains a board advisor.

Stuart is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the British Computer Society, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, a Chartered IT Professional, a Chartered Manager, a Freeman of the City of London, and holds a degree in theology from Oxford.

He has served on numerous company boards, on the synod and Bishop’s Council of the Diocese of Exeter, as a Governor of Petroc College in North Devon and as a Leadership Fellow of Exeter Business School.

He chairs the Exeter Science Centre Advisory Board and serves on the boards of Great South West Pan Regional Partnership; SETsquared; GW4; the Centre for Resilience in the Environment, Water and Waste; the South West Investment Fund’s Strategic Advisory Board; and the Liveable Exeter Place Board. Additionally, he is on the Executive Committee of parliament’s Rural Economy Research Group and the Selection Committee for the Zayed Sustainability Prize.

Robert Ritz co-directs the Energy Policy Research Group at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. He has worked on the economics of carbon markets since the inception of the EU ETS in 2005, and has advised senior decision-makers in industry and government including the European Commission and World Bank. His current research focuses on carbon border adjustment mechanisms and on the role of carbon pricing in the policy mix. Robert has held a number of UK Government advisory roles and his business experience includes Vivid Economics and McKinsey & Company.

Injy is a Research Associate in Net-Zero Aligned Offsetting at the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, an Associate Member of St Antony’s College and a Researcher for Oxford Net-Zero. A lawyer by training, Injy completed her PhD in international environmental law exploring Net-Zero as a source of new legal norms and delving into their substance, including in relation to the environmental integrity of carbon markets and aligning financial flows with the Paris Agreement. In her current capacity, Injy engages–in a research-informed way–with a wide range of policies and prospects for net zero alignment domestically and internationally, with a special focus on the carbon markets. In 2024 she was a lead author of the second version of the State of CDR Report & revised Oxford Offsetting Principles. Injy currently serves as a Technical Review Editor of UNEP’s 7th Global Environment Outlook Report, sits on the on the UNFCCC’s Article 6.4 Expert Roster, as well as on the advisory boards of the Carbon Coalition and C-Naught.

Kate Ryan is the International Engagement Lead for the Transition Plan Taskforce Secretariat and Senior Policy Advisor at E3G, an independent climate change think tank. Kate works to ensure the work of the Transition Plan Taskforce supports global coherence and uptake of private sector transition plans. Previously, she worked on climate mitigation policy for the New Zealand government, including as a Principal Advisor in the Ministry for the Environment and in the office of the Minister of Climate Change. She is based in London.

Jennicca Gordon is Senior Associate in the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, an initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). She has more than six years of experience working in the conservation sector, specializing in nature-based solutions to climate change. She manages the NCS Procurement Hub – an online community platform that supports businesses navigating the procurement process for nature-based carbon credits. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Masters in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in 2020 and currently lives in Amsterdam. She is a talented stakeholder manager and a published author, writing on issues related to institutional arrangements between states to promote coherent legal actions on climate change related matters.

Alba Rodriguez Ruiz is a Climate Action Associate at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). In her role, she supports companies in taking actions beyond their value chains to achieve both corporate and global goals related to climate, nature, and equity. Alba specializes in two key areas: climate adaptation and resilience, and integrating beyond value chain actions into business strategies. Additionally, in the past, she has supported businesses in comprehensive climate upskilling efforts.

Alba has been an integral part of the team developing the WBCSD Carbon Credit Portfolio Construction guide, which will be launched at this event. Her responsibilities include managing different projects and stakeholder relationships while contributing to the creation of guidance for corporates to take climate action.

She holds a Master’s degree in Global Business and Sustainability from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. Alba is based in Rotterdam, where she continues to leverage her skills drawing on her expertise in connecting climate, nature, and equity within business strategies.

Chris is the Head of Carbon Markets Development at Standard Chartered, building the bank's environmental trading and financing business and growing its profile as a global leader in sustainable finance. This involves advising clients, supporting trade bodies, originating carbon related transactions and building the trading infrastructure. He supported SCB's Group CEO, Bill Winters, in his role as Chair of the Taskforce for Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) and is now a board member of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (IC-VCM). He is also a board member of Carbonplace, a global carbon credit trading network, and a member of the Climate Impact X (CIX) Advisory Forum. Chris has been appointed as one of the leads for the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund to catalyse private capital to accelerate the transition from fossil fuel to clean power in developing countries.

Chris’ experience in the commodity markets spans over 30 years in origination, sales and trading. At Standard Chartered, he built the Bank’s energy risk management platform, originating deals with state-owned and merchant refiners, oil producers, airlines, utilities and shipping companies. Previously Chris was with Barclays where he was Global Head of Environmental Markets Sales and before that at Merrill Lynch where he traded power, gas and set up their carbon emissions trading desk. He was a founder member of the Carbon Markets and Investors Association (CMIA) and was the Chairman of Power Trading Forum a division of the Futures and Options Association (FOA). He also worked as a base metals trader for a number of years before moving to energy. Chris has a strong understanding of commodity deal structuring, trade finance and managing price risk.

Euan Murray is a Partner in Bain’s Sustainability & Responsibility practice, and leads the Footprinting Center of Excellence.

For 20 years he has led environmental sustainability transformations across consumer products, retail, food and agriculture in Europe, North America and Asia.

Euan’s core focus areas include sustainable products and value chains; carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment; climate change and net zero; nature; circular economy; and wider sustainability strategy.

Prior to joining Bain, Euan was Chief Executive of The Sustainability Consortium and Director of Footprinting at The Carbon Trust. He holds a BA in Natural Sciences and an MSc in Materials Science from the University of Cambridge.

Edward Rumsey is Managing Partner at Permian Global. He has been with Permian Global since its inception in 2007, during which time he has led the projects team and the sales and marketing team. He has prior experience working in the financial services industry. He is a member of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme Advisory Group and a member of the Special Advisory Group to the World Bank, Carbon Markets and Innovation team.

George is head of innovation at CFC - an award-winning insurance company headquartered in London, UK. His role involves creating, launching and trading brand new insurance solutions - concentrating on ‘breakthrough’ innovation across a range of topics including climate, intangible assets and emerging technology. George holds Chartered fellowship accreditation from the Chartered Insurance Institute (FCII) and the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI).

Tommy Ricketts is the CEO and co-founder of BeZero Carbon, a global ratings agency for the voluntary carbon market. BeZero was founded in 2020, its global team combines expertise within climate and earth science, financial research, data science, and public policy. Prior to founding BeZero Carbon, Tommy was a VP in Global Research at Bank of America and worked as a political strategist in London and Brussels.

Paula leads Space Intelligence’s Science team, which develops satellite data analysis technologies designed to leverage advanced Machine Learning and Big Data capabilities for interpreting landscape information, including producing land cover and carbon maps for forest carbon projects.

She has a broad range of expertise in mapping and monitoring tropical forests and in using satellite data analytics to address environmental challenges. She has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh and a MSc in GIS and Remote Sensing from Wageningen University. She has more than 15 years of experience in remote sensing analysis, GIS, field data collection and environmental consultancy.

Guy Turner is MSCI’s Managing Director and Head of Carbon Markets. Previously, Guy was a founder and CEO of Trove Research, a specialist data and research company focused on corporate climate commitments and the voluntary carbon market, which was acquired by MSCI in 2023.

Guy has 30 years’ experience in consulting, research, start-ups and strategy. Prior to Trove, Guy led the London strategy team at EDF Renewables UK (a division of EDF with 200 staff and 1GW operating portfolio) where he oversaw work on investment appraisal, competitor analysis, M&A and PPA pricing in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, battery storage and hydrogen.

Prior to EDF Renewables Guy spent 4 years providing independent consulting in the oil & gas and clean energy sectors, working for BP Economics, the UK Green Investment Bank, Centrica, EDF Renewables and the Children’s Investment Fund. He has also been an investor and held a number of board positions in low carbon companies, including Rezatec and Enian, helping raise £m in funding.

In 2006 Guy helped found and build the research business, New Energy Finance, which was sold to Bloomberg in 2010 to form Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). From 2010 to 2014 he was Chief Economist and Head of Commodity Research at BNEF, responsible for global energy forecasting, investment modelling and renewable power, gas and carbon markets.

Prior to New Energy Finance, Guy spent 15 years in economic and strategy consulting working for a wide range of private and public sector clients on assignments covering renewable energy and environmental policy for governments, to market analysis, competitor benchmarking, acquisition search and due diligence support for major corporate clients.

Guy holds an MSc in Environment Technology and Policy from Manchester University, undergraduate degrees in Engineering and Economics from Birmingham University, and studied Corporate Finance at London Business School.

Matt has 16 years of experience in climate finance and the development of decarbonization projects and is a founder and Board Chairperson of UpEnergy. Matt also serves as Director, Investments at Environmental Commodity Partners. Matt has worked for decades across emerging market countries developing projects and technologies that benefit low income people. Before UpEnergy, Matt served as Managing Director of Impact Carbon where he helped launch a climate finance consulting practice, the project developer Impact Water, the first voluntary cookstove carbon methodology, and the first voluntary cookstove projects. Previously Matt served as Managing Director of WattTime, a software and data tool developer that shapes electricity loads to lower grid emissions. He also worked in product management at Sunpower and on climate and agricultural models at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment. Matt holds a BA in Economics and in International Relations from Stanford, an MBA from UC Berkeley, and is a PSIA certified ski instructor.

Natalia Dorfman is the CEO and co-founder of Kita, the carbon insurance specialist. Kita’s purpose is accelerating investment in high quality carbon sequestration projects with insurance products that reduce transaction risk and safeguard the performance of carbon credit investments. Prior to founding Kita, Natalia spent 15 years as a business development and strategy specialist within the legal sector. She was named among the “Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch” by NatWest and the Telegraph in November 2022, and is one of the leaders recognised in the 2023 “Meaningful Business 100.”

Ana has over 30 years of experience in financial services and a detailed understanding of the alternative investment space across real assets and hedge funds, honed over fifteen years of leadership at Dexion Capital. She has a track record of building business shaped by the interests of shareholders and investors, with Dexion being recognised as leaders in corporate governance in the London-listed, closed-end company structure for alternative asset classes, raising over $16 billion in funds for 300 buy-side client groups. Ana established partnerships with key clients both in the provision of white label funds and in the creation of specialist, real-asset joint ventures, including US and European agricultural interests, social housing, and renewable energy.

Ana co-founded Respira International in 2019 as an impact-driven carbon finance business. Its high-quality verified emissions reductions allow corporations and financial institutions to mitigate their environmental impact. Respira channels private capital into climate solutions, ensuring long-term relationships with trusted carbon project developers that enable its clients to use predominantly nature-based solutions to build sustainable, climate positive businesses.

Richard heads up Equinor’s Nature Based Solutions unit. He has previously headed up Equinor’s solar business, and its Venture Capital unit. Prior to that he had a variety of management commercial and operational positions in oil and gas.

Mr. Gordon S. Bennett has been Managing Director at Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. since February 2015. Mr. Bennett is responsible for the sales and business development of ICE’s global environmental portfolio, the world’s largest environmental marketplace.

He is a member of the Board of ICE Endex, ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, Spark Commodities and a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of BeZero Carbon. He contributes to a wide range of external environmental and energy market initiatives including a member of the Nature Based Solutions Taskforce of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the Transition to Net Zero Working Group of the Climate Financial Risk Forum, the City of London VCM Steering Committee, the VCMI Stakeholder Forum, the Advisory Board of the University of Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group and was named Environmental Finance’s sustainable business leader of the year in 2022.

Prior to ICE, Mr. Bennett spent 12 years at the global energy broker, Spectron, joining as Group Financial Controller. During his tenure at Spectron he held several Board roles including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer. After the acquisition of Spectron by Marex he joined the Executive Committee of Marex Spectron in the role of Managing Director and Global Head of Energy.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. He served as a Senior Manager in the Energy, Infrastructure and Utilities division of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

Mr. Bennett holds a Bachelor of Science Degree (with Honours) in Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh.

Scott is head of the voluntary carbon desk for the trading division of Marex, CSC Commodities. With over 6 years’ experience in global commodities markets, his career started at Clarksons Platou through the implementation of IMO 2020 Marine Bunker fuel regulations. After transitioning to voluntary carbon, Scott now provides market access to corporates through the clearing and trading services offered by Marex Group. He is responsible for the procurement of high integrity carbon projects from Marex’s own portfolio and through that of its partners.

David Skillett is a Senior Product Manager at ICE, with a specialized focus on the carbon market and creator of ICE Carbon Reference Entity Data (ICE CRED) service. He is an FCCA qualified accountant with extensive experience in product management, fund accounting, and regulatory implementation. David has played a pivotal role in automating and streamlining processes across asset management, hedge funds, and financial institutions. Initially joining ICE to transition the LBMA Gold Price to a Java Auction Engine, he now leverages his expertise to enhance and streamline carbon credit data, supporting the growth and sustainability of global carbon markets while driving innovation within the sector.

Jennicca Gordon is Senior Associate in the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance, an initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). She has more than six years of experience working in the conservation sector, specializing in nature-based solutions to climate change. She manages the NCS Procurement Hub – an online community platform that supports businesses navigating the procurement process for nature-based carbon credits. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Masters in Global Environment and Climate Change Law in 2020 and currently lives in Amsterdam. She is a talented stakeholder manager and a published author, writing on issues related to institutional arrangements between states to promote coherent legal actions on climate change related matters.