Summit 2026

Amar Shah

Senior Director, Sales, SS&C

Amar Shah is the Senior Director of Managed AI Services at SS&C, leads strategic client engagements centered on AI governance, security, and operationalization. He guides organizations in integrating AI agents, human expertise, and automation into their processes while ensuring compliance and transparency.

In addition to his AI expertise, he is a seasoned technology and cybersecurity leader, specializing in secure IT operating models for financial services. He advises executive teams on technology strategy, cloud transformation, and risk management, translating complex cyber risks into actionable insights for informed decision-making.

Andy Gregory

CEO, BGF

Andy Gregory is Chief Executive Officer of BGF and a member of the company’s Board. A founding member of BGF’s management team, Andy became CEO in 2022, having previously served as Chief Investment Officer. Over the past 15 years, Andy has played a central role in building BGF into the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor, with a platform that spans every region and major sector of the economy. Andy brings over 30 years of experience in private equity.

His career has included senior roles at Livingbridge, Bridgepoint and Royal Bank Development Capital. Andy combines financial rigour with a long-standing commitment to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs and growing companies. He is a vocal advocate for diversity in business and currently sits on the Board of the Invest in Women Taskforce as well as NatWest’s Mid Market Council.

Andy is Chair of the BGF Foundation, BGF's independent charitable arm, which supports initiatives that improve the lives of young people across the UK.
 

Ben Wilkinson

Chief Executive Officer, Molten Ventures

Ben Wilkinson is CEO of Molten Ventures, a FTSE 250 venture capital firm. Appointed in October 2024 after eight years as CFO, Ben brings extensive leadership experience across multiple industries.

As CFO, he shaped corporate strategy, led key initiatives, and oversaw Molten’s transition to the Main Market. He was previously CFO of President Energy PLC and held senior roles in cross-border M&A at ABN Amro/RBS. A Chartered Accountant (FCA) with a BSc in Economics from Royal Holloway, Ben also serves on Molten’s Sustainability Committee and UK Private Capital’s Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel.

Caroline Escott

Head of Investment Stewardship & Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership, Railpen

Caroline Escott is Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership & Head of Investment Stewardship at Railpen - the in-house manager for the UK railways pension schemes - leading their work globally across £35bn of assets under management.

She is Co-founder and Chair of the $4.5tn Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV) and the $2.5tn Workforce Engagement Coalition (WEC), Chair and founder of the multi-trillion Governance for Growth Investor Coalition (GGIC) as well as an accredited professional pension trustee at the Standard Life Master Trust, where she is also Chair of its Investment Committee.

She has received various industry awards for her work, including "Investment Woman of the Year ", “Investment Manager of the Year” and “Sustainable Investment Woman of the Year”, and in her spare time is a Board Director of the Social Market Foundation (SMF), a cross-party UK think-tank.

Dame Anne Glover DBE

Chief Executive & Co-Founder, Amadeus Capital Partners

Dame Anne Glover DBE is Chief Executive & Co-Founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, a leading European technology investor. With over 30 years of experience in venture capital, Anne has backed high-growth companies across the UK, Europe and emerging markets.

She is a Non-Executive Director of the Court of the Bank of England, serves on the Yale Corporation Investment Committee and is an External Investment Committee of BII’s venture capital programme. Anne has held advisory roles to various UK governments on capital markets, inward foreign direct investment and pensions reform. She was awarded a CBE in 2006 for services to business.

Hannah Gurga

Director General, The ABI

Hannah Gurga is Director General of The ABI, where she leads the insurance and long-term savings sector’s engagement with government, regulators, parliamentarians, and stakeholders. She is responsible for overseeing The ABI’s strategic direction and driving its member priorities, focusing on customer outcomes, investing in people and the planet and supporting an effective market.

Hannah also serves on the Boards of TheCityUK and the Fire Protection Association. She is a member of the Executive Committee of Insurance Europe, as well as the UK government’s Financial Inclusion Committee and Joint Fraud Taskforce.

With nearly 20 years of experience in financial services across public and private sectors, Hannah has previously held senior roles at the London Stock Exchange Group, LCH, and ICAP. She began her career in the civil service, serving in a number of government departments including HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office.

Harry Raikes

Head of UK Venture Investments, Schroders Capital

Harry Raikes is Head of UK Venture Investments in Schroders Capital’s global venture capital team, where he is responsible for investments in the UK. He serves as Portfolio Manager for the Schroders Capital UK Innovation LTAF, a newly established £500 million UK venture capital fund, anchored by the British Business Bank and the Phoenix Group (via Future Growth Capital), as well as the Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust plc.

Before joining Schroders Capital in 2020, Harry spent five years in the investment team at Woodford Investment Management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol and the Investment Management Certificate.

Ian Connatty

Managing Partner, Investment Services & Deputy Chief Investment Officer, British Business Bank

Ian Connatty is the first Managing Partner for BBB Investment Services Limited, leading its regulated investment advisory and fundraising activities. As Managing Partner, Ian serves on the BBB Investment Services Limited Board, contributing to the Partnership’s governance and strategic oversight.

He is also the British Business Bank’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer. He brings with him a wealth of experience in direct, co-investment and venture capital fund investing having worked for British Business Bank and its forerunner organisations since 2009. Ian joined British Patient Capital when it launched in 2018 where he was Managing Director of the Funds business until 2021. After this he was appointed Managing Director, Direct and Co-investment, where he established the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme. He previously worked in corporate finance at technology company Infinity SDC and in financial modelling at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Joanna Sharples

CIO, DC Solutions, Aon

Joanna Sharples is a Partner in Aon’s Investment Practice and the Chief Investment Officer for Aon’s DC Solutions. She has over 20 years’ experience in the pension and investment industry and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Joanna is responsible for the development and implementation of delegated investment solutions for DC pension schemes, working closely with Aon’s UK delegated team.
 

John Taylor

Partner, HSF Kramer

John Taylor is head of the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer private equity practice in London. He has worked for investors, corporates and management teams on numerous significant and high-profile transactions, including UK and international buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, takeovers, joint ventures, minority investments and equity financings.

The focus of John's work is acting for private equity and growth capital funds, investee companies and management teams on investments and disposals. John also brings his investor-side experience to bear in acting for management teams and issuer companies in relation to private equity and growth capital investments. Through quotes collated by the Legal 500 research team, clients have stated ‘John Taylor is a thoughtful, calm and experienced private equity lawyer - I would strongly recommend him.’

John is ranked as a 'notable lawyer' for private in the 2026 IFLR 1000 guide.

Leon de Bono

Managing Director, Industry Development, UK Private Capital

Leon de Bono is UK Private Capital's Managing Director. Before joining the UK Private Capital in 2010 he was the Publishing Director and a member of the team that launched Private Equity News, part of eFinancialNews, which was acquired by Dow Jones in 2007. He began working in the private equity industry with Caspian Media in 2001. He has a BA from University College London and an MA from The Courtauld Institute.

Liz Fernando

CIO, Nest

Liz Fernando is Nest's Chief Investment Officer, helping to develop Nest's investment proposition and manage its strategic allocation across asset classes.

Prior to joining Nest, Liz was Head of Equities at the Universities Superannuation Scheme and had ExCo responsibility for the Responsible Investment activities. Liz started her career as part of the portfolio management team at Lloyds Investment Managers before spending 25 years at USS. She’s also an Investment Advisor to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme’s Investment Sub-committee.

Liz holds an MA degree in Philosophy Politics and Economics from Oxford University, as well as an ASIP qualification from CFA UK. She has passed CFA’s Investing in ESG Certificate.

Michael Moore

Chief Executive, UK Private Capital

Michael Moore is Chief Executive of UK Private Capital (formerly BVCA).

Michael and his colleagues are focused on supporting the development of the private capital industry, as it invests in thousands of businesses and supports millions of jobs across the UK. As policymakers work on the competitiveness of the UK’s investment climate, Michael is confident that private equity and venture capital will continue to create significant public value through investment in growth, innovation and people.

Over the past 30 years Michael has operated at senior levels in both politics and business. In his political career he served in the Cabinet at the time of the Coalition Government, as Secretary of State for Scotland. He was a Member of Parliament for 18 years.

After the 2015 General Election, Michael became a Senior Advisor at PwC. Prior to entering politics, he qualified as a chartered accountant with the firm.

Nigel Peaple

Director of Policy, LGPS Central

Nigel Peaple, as Director of Policy at LGPS Central Limited, is responsible for all our policy, regulatory and advocacy work both at national and local level. Nigel has 35 years’ experience of public policy, research, stakeholder relations and media management. Prior to joining LGPS Central Limited, Nigel was Director of Policy and Advocacy for 8 years at Pensions UK (previously the PLSA).

Whilst there he created the widely used Retirement Living Standards. His earlier career included being Director of Policy at The Pensions Regulator and being a Policy Fellow at the Department of Work and Pensions. His subject specialisms include pensions, investment and environmental policy. During his career he has appeared as a witness before Parliamentary select committees, represented the UK in the EU, and appeared on national television and radio, including BBC Breakfast and the Radio 4 Today Programme and Money Box.

Ross Morrison

Partner, Primary Investments, Adams Street Partners

Ross Morrison focuses on the primary portfolio within the UK, Nordic Region, and France. He also covers pan-European managers and the large cap space. He is responsible for venture capital and growth equity in Europe.

Prior to joining Adams Street, he was an Investment Associate with Horsley Bridge, a global private equity fund of funds. Before that, he was in the Private Equity Group at Ernst & Young.

Ross sits on the board of over twenty advisory boards for Adams Street including Index Ventures, Highland Capital, Mosaic, Aleph, TLV, HgCapital, Keensight, Livingbridge, Vitruvian, and TDR.

He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He was also named one of venture capital’s 40 Rising Stars under 40 by Venture Capital Journal (VCJ) in January 2020. Winners were selected based on their accomplishments, expertise, and contributions to their firms and the industry.

Ross is a member of Adams Street’s Charitable Giving Committee.

Simon Menashy

General Partner, MMC Ventures

Simon Menashy is a General Partner at MMC Ventures, a leading European VC focused on early-stage investments in transformative technology companies. As a research-led investor with one of the largest portfolios of AI companies in Europe, MMC backs founders across enterprise software, cloud and data infrastructure, fintech and digital health. Backed by long-term institutional capital, including UK and European pension funds, MMC's latest deep tech fund focuses on creating value through innovation in these sectors.

Simon joined MMC in 2011. He is a member of the Investment Committee and leads the investment team. He specialises in AI companies within enterprise software, and the cloud and data infrastructure they are built on. Investments include Signal AI, Ably, Masabi, Brightpearl, Senseye, MUBI, Modo Energy and Lookiero.
 

Stephen Budge

Partner, DC Investment Consulting, LPC

Stephen Budge is a Partner in LCP’s DC team and leads the development of LCP’s DC investment proposition and research alongside client advisory.

Stephen has advised DC pension schemes for 25 years. During his career, he has had the privilege of advising some of the largest sponsored DC pension schemes in the UK.

His work on private markets with several of these schemes received two innovation awards from Professional Pensions in 2018.

Stephen has also advised eight different master trust arrangements during his career, including NEST.

Zoe Alexander

Executive Director of Policy & Advocacy, Pensions UK

Zoe Alexander joined Pensions UK as Policy Director in November 2024.

Prior joining the association Zoe was Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs at Nest. Earlier in her career she worked in policy, strategy and operational roles at DWP and HMT, with a focus on pensions.