Manny Athwal is an award winning education entrepreneur, investor, and founder of School of Coding & AI, Europe’s largest coding and AI education company. Over eight years, he has grown it from a single classroom into a multi million pound, £150m-valued enterprise operating across the UK, Europe and India, partnering with universities, governments and industry, including the UK Government and European Council.

A former lawyer with executive education from Oxford Saïd, Aston and Harvard Business School, Manny specialises in governance, innovation and international growth. He is an angel investor, mentor, speaker and advocate for social mobility, supporting over 400 UK young people with opportunities in Punjab, India and Dubai.

Jake is an investor at Mercia Ventures, where he is responsible for supporting the deployment of cheque sizes ranging from £0.5m to £10m into high-growth businesses. He has spent three and a half years at Mercia, during which time he has worked across both operational and investment-focused roles.

Jake invests across a wide range of sectors and is particularly focused on identifying and supporting ambitious businesses based in the West Midlands, helping founders accelerate growth and create long-term value.

Amrit Chandan is a founder, CEO and advisor helping leaders build companies that outlast them. A Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur and former co-founder of Aceleron, he has raised millions, exited, and now leads Lorefully, an AI platform capturing human expertise at scale.

His work sits at the intersection of startup battle scars, durable intelligence and long-term leadership under pressure. Amrit speaks candidly about building in uncertainty, protecting founder resilience, and creating knowledge infrastructure that compounds over time rather than disappearing with people.

Gabrielle has over 16 years experience supporting businesses to accelerate revenue growth and improve operational performance. Currently, Gabrielle is responsible for leading the next phase of growth for B13.

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She is passionate about empowering non-technical innovators to transform inefficient processes into revenue-generating or cost-saving digital products. Gabrielle champions inclusive leadership, innovation, and helping organisations de-risk how they embrace technology.

Rachel works across the creative economy, technology and innovation as a consultant and adviser through her company, Farrer Consulting. She regularly supports creative and technology organisations, clusters, public sector bodies, government authorities and funders with research, strategy, feasibility and programme design.

Rachel chairs Birmingham Open Media and is a frequent speaker on creative technology, ecosystem building and place-based innovation. Her work is shaped by deep experience in live projects, partnerships and funding programmes across the UK.

Katharine manages the business of TechWM, a not-for-profit cluster body supporting businesses, organisations and individuals in the region to grow a £100bn tech economy by 2030. Over 15 years she has specialised in emerging digital tech and cleantech, supporting many businesses from start-up to sustainable profitability.

She has also specialised in challenge-led innovation, finding tech solutions to societal and corporate challenges, involving public-private partnerships regionally, nationally, and transnationally in Europe, US and Asia. Katharine is an independent expert for the EU Commission and an assessor for Innovate UK. She studied Economics and gained an MBA with prestigious ‘triple crown’ accreditation.

Jordan has worked across the West Midlands region since 2019 and currently leads on the development and implementation of the West Midlands Circular Economy Routemap for the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Focusing on the key sectors of manufacturing, food and construction the Routemap outlines a vision for the circular economy in the region and is being implemented through key projects such as the West Midlands Resource Reuse Network, Circular Innovation Pipeline, and Circular Economy Literacy Course.

Susi Henson is a Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist with Innovate UK Business Growth. She previously founded and grew a multi-award-winning luxury fashion brand, building in-house UK manufacturing, leading creative teams, and growing an international presence with high-profile and celebrity clients.

Her background spans brand building, product development, commercialisation and scaling in demanding markets. She now brings that founder perspective into the innovation ecosystem, working closely with ambitious businesses as they navigate growth, investment readiness and scale, while retaining the integrity, creativity and quality that sets them apart.

David leads Coventry City Council’s Economic Strategy & Funding Team, fronting the Authority’s work in economic policy, and the design and securing of funds/investment for major economic projects and programmes in the city. He also leads the Authority’s engagement with WMCA in designing regional business and innovation support services.

He was also previously responsible for leading the EU Structural Funds Technical Assistance function in Coventry & Warwickshire, managing the Coventry & Warwickshire Innovation Programme, and working on EU-funded transnational co-operation projects covering business support and innovation alongside local universities.

Iain Mansell is the Head of Regional Engagement at Connected Places Catapult, driving innovation-led growth and strategic partnerships across the West Midlands. Before joining the Catapult, he spent several years at the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), where he played a central role in developing regional innovation programmes, including the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator.

During his time at WMCA, Iain was part of the team recognised internationally for their work on innovation—achieving third place at the European Capital of Innovation Awards, an accolade he described as a proud milestone for the region.

Yiannis is a serial entrepreneur and tech advocate with 20+ years’ experience in AI, technology and growth. He is Co-Founder and CEO of Unloq, a decision intelligence platform helping organisations use AI to make smarter, more impactful decisions.

He also founded TechWM, driving the West Midlands’ tech ecosystem—supporting businesses to raise £100m+ and establishing Birmingham Tech Week, the UK’s largest regional tech festival (8,000 attendees, 39-country delegations, 69m global impressions).

Yiannis was awarded an MBE in 2023 and received an Honorary Doctorate from Aston University in 2025. He is Aston University’s AI Entrepreneur in Residence and separately advises on policy and serves on technology boards.

Isabel is a Sustainable Development Engineer at HORIBA MIRA in Nuneaton, initially entering the business in 2019 within a vehicle emissions engineering role.

Motivated by a personal passion for sustainable innovation, she played a key role in shaping and establishing her current position to embed sustainable practices into established operational processes. She leads initiatives focussed on resource optimisation and waste reduction, actively promoting green solutions to drive operational performance and long-term impact.

Mohammadreza (Mo) Mazarei is an artist of the digital era. Over the past 20 years, he has explored diverse narrative art forms through digital technologies, from filmmaking and game design to immersive storytelling. Across these mediums, he has integrated virtual production, interactive VFX, and generative AI to create distinctive and engaging experiences for audiences.

His entrepreneurial spirit emerges naturally from this approach; He believes that a more inclusive creative industry empowered by intelligent tools can lead to a broader market for new ideas and new ways of living in the digital age. Innovation, for him, is not only artistic but structural, expanding who gets to create and how stories can be told, interactively.

Together with his team, he has been developing an intelligent tool, BeeStoon, an AI 3D world-maker that transforms any photo or video into a customisable 3D environment. The platform is designed to empower a wider community of creators and to expand the market for 3D Arts and immersive experiences.

David is a visionary leader specialising in disruptive innovation and its translation into tangible strategic growth. As the former Chief Digital Officer at O2 and a member of the Telefonica O2 Executive Board, he spearheaded a business unit that generated over £2bn in new revenue.

An experienced Non-Executive Director, David has influenced major consumer brands like Tesco Mobile, digital "unicorns" such as giffgaff, and high-growth scale-ups. His expertise in regenerating traditional business models has seen him consult on innovation strategies for global giants including BP and Verizon.

Currently, David serves as Chief Innovation Officer for the University of Warwick. He continues to shape the future of inclusive ecosystems through advisory roles with venture capital firms, the West Midlands Combined Authority, and the Institute of Innovation Management.

Luke raised his first angel round of finance at 20 and has raised multiple further rounds since then for his own companies and those he has supported. More recently he has made several angel investments himself in regional businesses and across a range of sectors.

He is now leading Minerva, the UK’s third oldest business angel network that is run on a not-for-profit basis, supported by the University of Warwick. Minerva specialises in supporting high growth businesses across the Midlands to raise early stage investment by introducing them toexperienced investors who can bring so much more than just money.

Professor Roya Rahimi is an internationally recognised scholar in marketing, digital innovation, and consumer behaviour, currently based at the University of Wolverhampton. Her work focuses on AI adoption, data-driven strategy, and sustainable business transformation, helping organisations translate research into measurable growth.

She has published extensively, edited multiple academic volumes, and actively collaborates with industry partners to accelerate innovation. she champions interdisciplinary thinking, global partnerships, and practical impact. Her expertise bridges academia and enterprise, making her a valuable voice on future-focused entrepreneurship and technological advancement.

Pam Sheemar is a Regional Acceleration Director, NatWest, Midlands, South West and Wales Region and leads the entrepreneurship delivery team. Pam has over 15 years’ experience in banking and the finance sector. Previous roles include Director for Commercial Banking leading customer teams supporting customers from 2million to 40 million turnover,  Business Mentor and Coach.

Pam has extensive experience in entrepreneurship, leading the longest standing NatWest Accelerator, whilst also coaching and mentoring hundreds of start-ups and scale ups to grow.

Pam is passionate about helping entrepreneurs remove barriers and unlock growth.

Olivia Simpson is the managing director and co-founder of SymbioTex; a West Midlands-based company, which manufactures seaweed-based alternatives to plastic. SymbioTex’s material is fully home compostable and compatible with traditional plastic industry machinery. It is currently being piloted across a range of sectors including medical and food packaging, and consumer goods.

Olivia co-founded the company after seeing the extent of single-use plastic waste while on a placement in the NHS. Olivia has gone on to win awards including The Verzion & Unloc Young Entrepreneurs Challenge, The Great British Entrepreneur Award Winner (Sustainability), London Tech Week, and Midlands Women in Tech.

Dave has worked at the British Business Bank (BBB) since 2016 having joined to launch and deliver the first generation of BBB regional funds. Dave has worked on the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Fund. In 2022 Dave joined the team responsible for the design, establishment and management of the Nations and Regions Investment Funds, a £1.6bn suite of funds supporting the growth of smaller businesses across the England, and the Devolved Nations, and has a specific focus on the Midlands and the South West.

Prior to BBB Dave qualified as an accountant and worked in the finance function of a FTSE100 company in numerous roles.

Ewa is an experienced business leader and independent advisor supporting technology-focused organisations from startups to multinationals.

Formerly Managing Director of a health‑tech company, she specialises in digital and med‑tech growth, building high‑performing teams, and creating strategic networks to help innovative companies scale internationally.

She is also an educator, speaker, mentor, and former NED for publicly funded bodies including GBS LEP and WMHTC. A published academic, she has authored peer‑reviewed papers in leading journals such as the BMJ and NEJM, and has served as an NIHR bid reviewer, Innovate UK assessor, and honorary lecturer at a UK medical school.

Martin was recently the West Midlands Tech Commissioner and now serves as a Royal Society entrepreneur in residence at Enterprise Lab, the strategic venture accelerator at Imperial College.

He has over 35 years experience in the software and services sector, during which time he has held senior commercial roles with major enterprise software companies and been a multiple exited venture co-founder. Martin is an active angel investor and works with a portfolio of early-stage tech ventures to bring to bear his expertise in enterprise sales, commercial strategy and conscious leadership to drive growth and shareholder value.

Paula Whitehouse is Professor of Practice in Business Growth and Innovation at Aston University.  As Director of the Aston Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, Paula leads the development of business start-up and growth programmes for entrepreneurs.

Curriculum Consultant for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small BusinessesUK programme and 10,000 Women programme in India, and national Curriculum Director for the UK Government’s Help to Grow: Management Course, Paula is also a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, Chair of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, a Trustee of Ex Cathedra, a Fellow of the RSA, and a member of the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund Advisory Committee.