Kate Raworth is an ecological economist focused on making economics fit for 21st century realities. She is the creator of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries. Her international best-selling book, Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think like a 21st Century Economist, has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Professor Alistair Fitt is the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, where he was previously Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research. He joined Oxford Brookes in 2011 from the University of Southampton, where he was Pro Vice-Chancellor (International).

  A mathematician, he has published extensively and has many external research connections. For 2 years, from January 2018 he served as President of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA).

   He is Chair of various committees and boards, including Chair of the ARC Universities Group (AUG) Governing Board and Chair of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

Martin Reeves has been Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council since March 2023.

  He has a PhD in applied economics, an Honorary Doctorate from Coventry University in recognition of his service and commitment to the City of Coventry and is the first Honorary President of LARIA (Local Area Research and Intelligence Association) and is the current Local Government Association National Procurement Champion.

​Professor of Energy and Climate Policy in the University of Oxford and was Founding Director of the university’s ZERO Institute. From 2018-2023 he was Director of the UKRI-funded Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions. He is a member of the Science Expert Group of DESNZ and acts as scientific advisor on climate change for Oxford City Council.

Dr Sophus zu Ermgassen is an ecological economist at Oxford University specialising in biodiversity finance. He is expert advisor to three government departments on BNG and biodiversity credits. Sophus is co-host of podcast “Economics for Rebels”. His research features regularly in popular media, and he was named as one of the 100 most influential UK environmental professionals by ENDS Report in 2022. He won the 2023 NERC early career policy impact award. 

From 2000 until 2010, Dr Barbara Hammond was in Government, heading up the UK’s renewable energy programme and then, as International Director for Sir David King when he was the UK's Chief Scientific Officer, supporting him on international climate change policy influencing.

As Head of Partnerships, Matt focusses on collaborating with Local Authorities and the finance
industry to develop innovative financial solutions designed to ‘unlock’ private capital to support
energy-efficiency improvements in the built environment.

Matt is leading the pioneering partnership between the GFI and Greater Manchester Combined
Authority, aiming to deliver solutions designed to offer attractive sources of finance for
owner-occupiers and the privately-rented sector in the region.

Prior to joining the GFI, Matt spent 13 years working at global banks, holding senior positions at
Santander and Lloyds.

CEO of business network Oxfordshire Greentech, which aims to grow and support the county’s low-carbon economy in climate tech innovation and sustainability. She also recently co-founded the Climate Tech Supercluster, bringing together innovation hotspots across northern Europe to encourage accelerated investment into and deployment of climate solutions. She’s an edie 30 Under 30 awardee, an initiative that aims to spotlight top UK sustainability professionals aged under 30.

Director of Buildings Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency at the UK Infrastructure Bank. He works with Local Authorities to provide advisory support and lending solutions for projects with Net Zero or Regional and Local Economic Growth outcomes. Stuart joined UKIB at the start of 2023 after 15 years at Lloyds Bank, where he was a Corporate Banking Director responsible for some of the bank’s largest clients in the UK FTSE and internationally. He is also Chair of the Board at St Nicks, a role he has held for the past 3 years at this award-winning environmental charity based in York, where he lives with his wife and two young boys.

Matt Whitney manages the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership, which seeks to integrate nature into decision-making across all policy spheres. Matt led on the development of the Oxfordshire Nature Finance Strategy, which describes a framework for natural capital investment. Matt wishes to strengthen the links between nature finance and decarbonisation finance, to address the twin climate and ecological emergencies simultaneously.

Nigel joined OxLEP in 2013. He is a committed champion of Oxfordshire businesses, promoting and attracting the county’s key sectors and transformative technologies and driving inward investment.

To date, Nigel and the team - alongside key partners - have helped secure over £1bn of direct investment into Oxfordshire.
Nigel has over 25 years’ experience in the formation, development, operation and management of public/private sector organisations.

​Tim Coates is a 3rd generation farmer, a Director of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster, and chair of the Evenlode Landscape Recovery Project. He is also the co-Founder of Oxbury Bank, a dedicated bank for British farmers that is a TNFD “Early Adopter” and sits on the Boards of the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership and Silvasheep. Tim has an MSc in Financial Economics.

​Faculty at the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, where I lead a project on mobilising investment for climate compatible growth. Senior Associate in the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group. CEO of Watermarq. Chair of Trustees at the Uptime Catalyst Facility.

John joined LGIM Real Assets in May 2023 and leads the infrastructure debt team in Europe. The team originates and structures European infrastructure debt across investment and sub-investment grade, as part of LGIM’s Private Credit strategy. John has held a number of roles in the infrastructure industry since 2001 across banking, advisory and credit ratings at Barclays, KPMG and Moody’s respectively. Most recently, John spent over eight years at IFM investors, where he led on European infrastructure debt origination. John is a chartered accountant (ICAEW) and chartered treasurer (AMCT) and has a BA in American history with politics from the University of East Anglia.

Matt is a business development manager at Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), where he spearheads the organisation's efforts in Environmental Markets, particularly Biodiversity Net Gain. With the focus on acquiring and establishing project sites, he plays a crucial role in fulfilling BBOWT's broader objectives for nature recovery. Matt's experience in the Third Sector has equipped him with the skills to attract new income streams, contributing to the Trust's sustainability.

Matt Rooney is an Associate Director at sustainability consultancy Anthesis. Matt is the lead author of the ‘Area Based Insetting’ framework, which seeks to help better identify, fund and report local emission savings projects. Matt previously led the development of the SCATTER tool, now used by over 300 local authorities nationally to measure & model their borough-wide emissions. Matt is a chartered accountant (ICAEW) and is also Anthesis’ lead for climate risk & TCFD services.

Tom Garrood, the Zero Carbon Oxford Officer at Oxford City Council, boasts a decade of expertise embedding sustainability in organisations across diverse sectors. A climate engagement specialist, Tom pioneers innovative public-private collaborations, driving tangible climate action. His work extends beyond reducing carbon emissions; seeking to unite communities, businesses and institutions for a greener, more sustainable future.