Summit

Beth Rigby

Political Editor, Sky News

Beth Rigby is Sky News’ Political Editor, and is co-host the Sky's political podcast Electoral Dysfunction. Prior to joining the broadcaster, she served for over a decade at the Financial Times, latterly as chief political correspondent and deputy political editor. She also fronts her own interview show on Sky, talking to people at the coal face of change about their views on what is going on in Britain and around the world. After studying social and political science followed by Latin American studies, Beth joined the FT as a trainee.

She specialised in coverage of retail, consumer industries and hedge funds before moving to the political brief. After a brief spell as The Times’ media editor, she joined Sky to lead their political coverage. Taking to the air in the midst of Brexit negotiations, Beth has been witness to some of the most unpredictable and unexpected events in Westminster history.

Known for her down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach to reporting political events she offers insights into the key personalities, plots and likely outcomes. She also reveals some of what goes on in the Westminster bars and tearooms, as well as tales from behind the scenes of political broadcasting.
 

Sir Nigel Wilson

Chairman, Canary Wharf Group

Sir Nigel is Chairman of CWG. Sir Nigel was Chief Executive of Legal and General from 2012 - 2024, having joined in 2009 as its Chief Financial Officer. Legal and General was Britain’s Most Admired Company in 2022 and 2023. Sir Nigel was Britain’s Most Admired Leader in 2017. Most Inspirational Leader in 2022 and 2023, Legal & General managed $1.5 trillion of assets.

Sir Nigel was knighted for services to the Financial Services Industry, Regional Development and Sport in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List. Qualifications include a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a Kennedy Scholar.
 

Elliot Issacs

Founder, Medik8

Elliot Issacs is the Founder of Medik8 Skincare – a science-led consumer brand challenging global majors in key beauty categories, channels and markets.

Medik8 started in a shed-sized lab and, always growing within its own cash flow, scaled to a team of 300 people operating out of over 100,000 sq ft of space through a full-vertical business model. In 2021, the business partnered with Inflexion Private Equity to support its next stage of growth - more than tripling sales in 4 years.

Elliot now serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Medik8 board and invests in a handful of early-stage tech start-ups. He lives in Hertfordshire with his young family.
 

Janet Henry

Chief Economist, HSBC

Awaiting speaker biography.

Blair Jacobson

Partner, Co-Head of European Credit, Ares Management

Blair Jacobson is a Partner and Co-Head of European Credit in the Ares Credit Group and serves on the Ares Executive Management Committee and the Ares Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. He also serves on the boards of Ares Management Limited and Ares Management UK Limited.

Additionally, Mr. Jacobson serves on the Ares Credit Group's European Direct Lending and European Liquid Credit Investment Committees, the Ares Secondaries Group's Credit Investment Committee and the Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2012, Mr. Jacobson was a Partner at The StepStone Group, where he focused on building and running European operations, including oversight of private debt and equity investments.

Previously, Mr. Jacobson was a Partner at Citigroup Private Equity and Mezzanine Partners in London and New York. In addition, he has held a variety of roles in investment banking and mergers and acquisitions in a broad range of industries, including at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Jacobson holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Williams College in Political Economy and an M.B.A., with honors, from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Finance.
 

Catherine Haumesser Balthasar

Managing Director, Armen

Catherine Haumesser Balthasar is a founding team member at Armen, where she heads the London office and leads the firm’s investment activity across Northern Europe. Since Armen’s inception, she has spearheaded several mid-market European GP stake transactions.

Prior to joining Armen, Catherine was a Partner at SVG Advisers, where she executed numerous investments on a global basis across four platforms, representing over €3.5bn in assets under management. She was responsible for the firm’s European investment strategy and operations, building an extensive network of GPs across the region.

Catherine holds a MA in Management from HEC, Paris, and is a CFA charterholder.
 

Matthew Sabben-Clare

BVCA Chair 2024-26 and Senior Advisor, Cinven

Matthew Sabben-Clare is a Senior Advisor to Cinven. Previously, Matthew was Head of Cinven’s Capital Markets team and Chief Administrative Officer.

He was previously at Merrill Lynch in Leveraged Finance. Prior to this he worked in the Financing & Structured Products Division at J. Henry Schroder & Co. He graduated from Cambridge University and is AMCT-qualified.

James Jupp

Partner - Investment Team, Hollyport Capital

James Jupp is a Partner in the Investment team, leading deals and sitting on the Investment Committee. James leads the firms Vendor Origination programme, sourcing LP portfolios from vendors across multiple asset classes.

In 2018 he moved to New York to open Hollyport’s first US-based office location and over a four year period built the US team and established Hollyport’s presence in the US market. Following his move back to London, James manages the development of the junior investment team, alongside his deal appraisal and origination work. James is a qualified ACA, having qualified in Crowe audit programme before moving into the corporate finance team. James graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Accounting and Finance.