Black Business Collective: Summer Celebration

Karl George MBE

Founder and CEO, The Governance Forum and Governance AI

Karl George MBE is a chartered accountant and founder of The Governance Forum, who has spent three decades in governance and more recently the governance of AI. He's advised boards across the private, public and voluntary sectors, from royal households and FTSE executives to grassroots charities, in 11 countries.

He chairs the Black Business Advisory Group for Lloyds Banking Group and is the architect of the RACE Equality Code, adopted by more than 60 organisations. A former RSM UK Partner, he now leads on AI governance through Governance AI, and is a non-executive  at Intercity Technology and the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. He's the author of The Effective Board Member and Reset Revolution.

A practising Christian and church elder, his faith shapes how he works: with integrity and a heart for service.

Merisha Stevenson

Founder, Media Impact Lab

Merisha Stevenson is a broadcaster, executive facilitator, non-executive director and
authority positioning strategist. With a career spanning more than two decades across
governance, risk management, communications and leadership, she specialises in
helping organisations and leaders communicate with greater clarity, credibility and
influence.

Alongside presenting BBC Radio WM's UK Black with Merisha Stevenson, she works
with businesses, public sector organisations and leadership teams as a facilitator,
moderator and strategic adviser. Her experience includes corporate finance, risk and
audit leadership, public sector board roles and executive facilitation for organisations
across the UK.

Merisha is the founder of Media Impact Lab, where she helps experts, founders and
senior leaders strengthen their authority, visibility and thought leadership. She is
passionate about the intersection of leadership, reputation, technology and
communication, and how organisations can build trust and influence in an increasingly
AI-driven world.

Sean Sinclair

Founder, Uanco

Sean is an entrepreneur focused on using AI to solve real business problems. He is the founder of Uanco, a platform that helps aesthetic businesses better understand client behaviour before booking, uncover missed revenue opportunities and automate parts of the customer journey.

Alongside Uanco, Sean works with health and care organisations to help them adopt AI safely and responsibly within day-to-day operations. His work focuses on understanding how AI is used across workflows, improving visibility and oversight and helping organisations introduce practical governance that enables innovation while maintaining accountability.

Drawing on experience as both a founder and operator, Sean brings a practical perspective on AI adoption, combining commercial application with real-world implementation and governance.

Toni Martin

Founder, Ascendz Group Ltd

Toni Martin is the Founder of Ascendz Digital Limited, a portfolio of micro SaaS products and educational ventures built with AI. With almost a decade of direct operational experience in service businesses, Toni has built systems for six-figure launches, implemented automation across hundreds of platforms and developed a methodology for non-technical founders to build and ship real products without a development team. She runs Vibe Coding Lab, a freemium community for founders building with AI, publishes The Vibed, organises The Build Events, leads Fortivise, a digital capability and AI advisory practice, and co-founded Steel Core Operations. Her work is grounded in a straightforward conviction: the window for non-technical founders to build fundable, sellable products with AI is open right now.

 

Gary Murrain-Meade FiTOL

New Business Success Ltd

Gary Murrain-Meade is a business development professional, digital strategist and educator with extensive experience across IT infrastructure, curriculum design, digital marketing, web development, quality assurance and enterprise support. He has worked across training, technology and business development environments, supporting professionals, start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises to build practical capability, strengthen operational confidence and respond effectively to the demands of a changing digital economy. His experience includes IT support, network infrastructure, curriculum development, marketing strategy, business planning, web development and AI-enabled automation.

Through New Business Success Ltd, Gary supports entrepreneurs and business owners in moving from early-stage strategies to structured, credible and operational businesses. His work places particular emphasis on clarity, implementation and accessibility, meaning that complex digital and business concepts are translated into practical actions that business owners can confidently apply. He is especially committed to helping entrepreneurs strengthen their business foundations, improve their digital presence and use technology strategically to save time, increase visibility and support sustainable growth. His current and long-term mission through his business consultancy company is to support new businesses through AI integration by the end of 2027, as the new EU AI Act 2026 implementation requirements begin to take hold, reflecting his commitment to skills development, community advancement and long-term business success.

Gentle reminder to kindly send accros the Agenda of the Event, at your very earliest opportunity.