Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Maxine Laceby
Piers Linney
Panellists
The Rt Hon Greg Clark
Liz Martins
Maxine Laceby
Piers Linney
William Bain
Additional speakers will be announced in due course.
Additional speakers will be announced in due course.
Maxine co-founded Absolute Collagen with her daughter Darcy in 2017 and, within 12 months, turned the kitchen table product into an award-winning supplement. As the innovator and first mover, they quickly became one of the UK's fastest-growing D2C brands, were responsible for creating the liquid collagen category and were named 4th in The Times Top 100.
Maxine has won several significant industry awards, including the NatWest Everywoman award, The Great British Entrepreneur award and the LDC top 50 most ambitious leaders, to name but a few.
Maxine says Absolute Collagen is an emotional brand backed by science. 'It is incredible to be inspired by genuinely improving someone's confidence and strength through a product. When someone looks their best, they feel their best, leading to them doing spectacular things. Reading about our Absoluters and their remarkable stories motivates me to do better, be better, and develop better.
Before launching Absolute Collagen, Maxine had been a happy full-time mum for 25 years and had no previous business experience. In her own words, 'I am the ultimate underestimated everyday woman. I apply everything I learned from being a woman and a mother to the board room daily.'
Within three years, Maxine secured a 15 million investment to grow the business further and turn Absolute Collagen into the 30-million-pound business it is today.
Since launching Absolute Collagen, Maxine has become an inspiration for female entrepreneurs and women around the world.
Piers Linney is an entrepreneur, investor, and former Dragon on the prime-time BBC show Dragons’ Den (Shark Tank in the USA). With a background in law and investment banking, Piers has established himself as a leading figure in the UK business world, particularly in the technology sector.
Piers is a co-founder of Implement AI which provides AI agent solutions to organisations of all sizes. He has sat on the board of Nesta, the UK’s largest (£600m) innovation foundation, and British Business Bank during the roll-out of £90bn of Covid support. Piers is also an advocate for diversity in business and sits on Sky’s Diversity Advisory Council. He was a pioneer in the UK cloud computing sector and sat on the boards of the UK Cloud Industry Forum and TechUK.
Piers is Chairman and a co-founder of Atherton Bikes, a world leading manufacturer of additive manufactured mountain bikes which won 1st and 2nd in the World Championship in 2023.
The Rt Hon Greg Clark is Executive Chair of the University of Warwick’s Innovation District and Chair of WMG - the Warwick Manufacturing Group.
Greg served for 19 years as a Member of Parliament, before stepping down in 2024. He was a senior minister for nearly 10 years, including serving in the UK Cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Minister for Science and Universities, and previously as Minister for Cities and Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In the last Parliament Greg was elected by the whole House of Commons to serve as Chair of the cross-party Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee.
As a Cabinet Minister Greg was responsible for the development of the UK Industrial Strategy, for the City and Devolution Deals which have established Mayoral Combined Authorities covering half of the population of England, and for proposing and enacting the UK’s commitment to Net Zero emissions by 2050. Greg has been appointed by the current Government to be a member of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, which contributes to the development and long-term delivery of HM Government’s industrial strategy.
Greg is Chair of the Japan Society, the leading independent body in the United Kingdom dedicated to the enhancement of the British-Japanese relationship.
Greg is also Chair the Society of Chemical Industry, and is a Trustee of the Social Market Foundation, a cross-party think tank.
Born in Middlesbrough, Greg was educated at St Peter’s Comprehensive School and then read economics at Cambridge University before earning his PhD from the London School of Economics.
Before entering Parliament, Greg worked for the Boston Consulting Group and as Controller, Commercial Policy at the BBC.
Greg is married to Helen and has three grown-up children.
Maxine co-founded Absolute Collagen with her daughter Darcy in 2017 and, within 12 months, turned the kitchen table product into an award-winning supplement. As the innovator and first mover, they quickly became one of the UK's fastest-growing D2C brands, were responsible for creating the liquid collagen category and were named 4th in The Times Top 100.
Maxine has won several significant industry awards, including the NatWest Everywoman award, The Great British Entrepreneur award and the LDC top 50 most ambitious leaders, to name but a few.
Maxine says Absolute Collagen is an emotional brand backed by science. 'It is incredible to be inspired by genuinely improving someone's confidence and strength through a product. When someone looks their best, they feel their best, leading to them doing spectacular things. Reading about our Absoluters and their remarkable stories motivates me to do better, be better, and develop better.
Before launching Absolute Collagen, Maxine had been a happy full-time mum for 25 years and had no previous business experience. In her own words, 'I am the ultimate underestimated everyday woman. I apply everything I learned from being a woman and a mother to the board room daily.'
Within three years, Maxine secured a 15 million investment to grow the business further and turn Absolute Collagen into the 30-million-pound business it is today.
Since launching Absolute Collagen, Maxine has become an inspiration for female entrepreneurs and women around the world.
Piers Linney is an entrepreneur, investor, and former Dragon on the prime-time BBC show Dragons’ Den (Shark Tank in the USA). With a background in law and investment banking, Piers has established himself as a leading figure in the UK business world, particularly in the technology sector.
Piers is a co-founder of Implement AI which provides AI agent solutions to organisations of all sizes. He has sat on the board of Nesta, the UK’s largest (£600m) innovation foundation, and British Business Bank during the roll-out of £90bn of Covid support. Piers is also an advocate for diversity in business and sits on Sky’s Diversity Advisory Council. He was a pioneer in the UK cloud computing sector and sat on the boards of the UK Cloud Industry Forum and TechUK.
Piers is Chairman and a co-founder of Atherton Bikes, a world leading manufacturer of additive manufactured mountain bikes which won 1st and 2nd in the World Championship in 2023.
William Bain is Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.
William has worked for the last 9 years with a wide range of companies, from FTSE 100 companies to SMEs to innovative start-ups, advising on the UK's trade and investment policies, including UK-EU, UK-US, Asia Pacific, World Trade Organisation and forming policy with stakeholders for implementation by governments.
Previously, William spent over ten years as an academic lawyer specialising in Constitutional and EU law, and 5 and a half years as an MP (Glasgow North East), including roles as Shadow Ministers for Defra, Transport and Scotland and membership of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee.