Speakers

Sir Alex is the Former Chief (“C”) of the Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6. He served in this role for six years, from 2014-2020 and in 2019 became the longest-serving MI6 Chief in 50 years. He is an expert on international security, cybersecurity and global conflicts including those in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Sir Alex joined MI6 in 1991. He was posted to Europe and the Middle East, and Afghanistan. He spent most of his career as an operational case officer. In 2009, Sir Alex Younger became the head of counter-terrorism, during which he was involved in security for the London Olympics 2012.

George is Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Editor-in-Chief of the London Evening Standard and Chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP). He is a prominent figure and speaker on UK politics, government, democracy and economics. George served as a Conservative MP for Tatton for 16 years. When he joined the party in 2001, he became the youngest Conservative member of the House of Commons. In 2005, he ran David Cameron’s successful party leadership campaign. During the Cameron-Clegg coalition, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer, and after the 2015 general election, he was made First Secretary of State in addition to this role.

Silvana is Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, Fellow of the British Academy and Fellow of the Econometric Society. She served as External Member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2017 through to 2023. She is a former President of the European Economic Association (EEA). Currently, she is Director of the CEPR International Finance and Macroeconomics Programme, member of the External Advisory Group of the IMF, and executive board member of the International Economic Association.

William was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2019 and has worked in financial services for over 25 years. He has previously held a number of senior roles at Morgan Stanley, including Co-Head of the Global Financial Institutions Group and Head of EMEA Financial Institutions Group. Before joining Morgan Stanley, William worked for JP Morgan, again in the Financial Institutions Group.

Robin spent 25 years advising UK companies and the UK Government while working for S.G. Warburg/UBS Investment Bank and was formerly Chief Executive and Chairman of UK Financial Investments (UKFI), managing the Government’s investments in UK banks following the 2008 financial crisis. He became Chair of Lloyds Banking Group in 2021 and is also Chair of The Crown Estate.

Carla was appointed as the CEO for Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in February 2023, having previously served as internal non-executive director for five years. From 2015 to January 2023, Carla led Lloyds Banking Group’s strategic work as Group Strategy, Corporate Development and IR Director. Prior to that, Carla spent 18 years as an Equity Analyst for European banks, working for Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank.