Bronwen Maddox
Maddox and her colleague Olivia O’Sullivan have been making waves in the world of trade for years. Maddox is now chief executive of Chatham House, the respected London-based foreign policy institute, after a tenure at the Whitehall-focused Institute for Government, and is an authority on the geopolitical aspects of trade.
Meanwhile O’Sullivan, armed with ten years of international development and foreign policy expertise from her Whitehall days, heads up its UK in the World Programme, exploring a post-Brexit U.K. At conference, she’ll be unpacking how a Tory government’s approach to trade policy would differ from a Labour government’s with Shadow Trade Secretary Kevin Hollinrake.
Voices of industry
Rain Newton-Smith
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Rain Newton-Smith | Leon Neal/Getty Images |
Leading the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), chief executive Rain Newton-Smith represents the organization’s 170,000 business members. Appointed in April 2024 to rehabilitate the CBI’s image a month after its sexual misconduct scandal, she’d originally planned to take up a role at Barclay’s as managing director, responsible for strategy and policy, sustainability and ESG. She’d been working at CBI for almost a decade as its Chief Economist, but the opportunity presented itself and she was warmly welcomed by former CBI president Mike Rake.
In her first year back, Newton-Smith has been a fierce advocate for greening the U.K. economy, calling on ministers to prioritize net zero, establish an Office for Net Zero Delivery, and introduce tax cuts to boost green tech investments.
Tom Bradshaw
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Tom Bradshaw (R) | Pool photo by Toby Melville/AFP via Getty Images |
Previous National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette Batters was a tough act to follow, but Tom Bradshaw has already made a promising start since his election in February. Six months in and one general election later, he’s already bending ministers’ collective ears on urgent topics ranging from Brexit border controls, measures to tackle the bluetongue virus and plans for a veterinary agreement with the European Union. He’ll be joined at Conservative conference by NFU deputy president David Exwood.
Stephen Phipson
Make UK’s chief executive Stephen Phipson, who describes himself as a “very personable and friendly guy,” has helmed the top manufacturing lobby group since 2017. He’s got a keen interest in the U.K.’s defense manufacturing after previously serving as a top civil servant on security exports and was a proponent of the previous Conservative government’s net zero ambitions. Phipson has previously warned that if the U.K. isn’t looking forwards on net zero, “we are simply going backwards.” He’ll be making the case for the Tories to stay on the path to cutting carbon — especially where it means cheaper energy for Britain’s manufacturers.