JUDGES-2023 /
Rt Hon.Baroness Verma of Leicester
Stephen Ball
Member of The House of Lords
Board of Trustees Queen's Commonwealth Trust and Asia House
Baroness Verma joined the House of Lords in June 2006 as a Conservative member, and has held several key Ministerial positions since, having an active advisory role in U.K. Government policy formation and development.
A Party Whip, from 2006 to 2012, firstly in Opposition and then in Government from 2010, the Baroness was also The Lords’ Spokesperson for the Development of Education, Health and Welfare & Pensions, whilst in Opposition, and subsequently, when in Government, the Lords’ Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, International Development and the Government Equalities Office.
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More recently, from 2012 to 2015 Baroness Verma has sat as the Minister for the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and from 2015 to 2016 as the Minister for the Department of International Development.
Currently, she is the Chair of the Lords European External Affairs Committee and a Member of the Lords EU Select Committee.
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Acknowledged globally as an advocate of diversity and inclusion, Baroness Verma is involved in numerous influential international initiatives to create more inclusive working environments and societies at large. One such initiative was her appointment, by former Prime Minster David Cameron, as the U.K. Government’s Global Champion to tackle violence against women and girls overseas, working alongside foreign Governments and NGOs. Another, was her creation of the POWERful Women movement, in 2013, to address the imbalance of gender representation across the U.K. energy sector in middle and senior management positions.
Ibukun Adebayo
Group Director, Sustainable Finance and Investment Strategy
London Stock Exchange
Ibukun is responsible for London Stock Exchange Group’s growth strategy in emerging markets with a key focus on India and Africa. Prior to this Ibukun ran the listings business for London Stock Exchange covering key markets in South Asia, Middle East and Africa. Managing relationships with companies, international advisors and regulators; in this capacity Ibukun was involved in over 200 London IPO’s by issuers from these regions. He was also the Exchange’s regional contact for companies listed on London’s Main Market Professional Securities Market, Specialist Fund Market and AIM.
Educated in Bath, United Kingdom Ibukun holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and started his career as a foreign exchange trader for NatWest Markets in London in 1995. He went on to set up and run a successful business specialising in managing foreign exchange risk for African and Asian companies and managed a Forex fund investing in the dollar major currency pairs.
Immediately prior to joining the London Stock Exchange Ibukun worked in the financial communications division of United Business Media there he ran an operation dedicated to blue chip clients from across the globe in the capacity of financial communications adviser and was one time adviser to the Lakhsmi Mittal family and their companies.
Hugo van Vredenburch
Chairman of Interactive Investor
Former Partner and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
Hugo is Chairman of Interactive Investor as well as Non-Executive Director of TMF Group.
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Hugo is the former CEO of TMF Group. A position he has held since September 2010. Hugo began his career in 1989, working for Tokyo Pacific Holdings in Japan as an analyst and subsequently as General Manager and CIO. He joined Goldman Sachs & Co in 1992, holding a variety of roles over a 13-year period - including heading up the Equities Division in Japan, as COO of the Global Equities Division and taking co-leadership of the Pan-European Equities Franchise. Prior to leaving Goldman Sachs in 2005, he was a Partner and Managing Director. Hugo joined Equity Trust in 2005 as CEO, serving in this position until August 2009, prior to the merger of Equity Trust and TMF Group in 2010.
Patti Boulaye OBE
Singer, Actress, Broadcaster Author
During a sightseeing trip, while on holidays in London, Patti was in a queue thinking it was for Madame Tussauds but it turned out to be an audition for the original London production of Hair. Patti won a part, which launched her career in musicals. She then moved to television making over 200 TV appearances. She starred in Africa’s highest grossing movie ever made and has released nine albums.
Patti is the Founder and President of “Support for Africa Charity” which has built five healthcare clinics in rural Africa and a school with HRH Prince Harry’s Charity “Sentebale” in Lesotho. She has worked and served on the committees of fifteen British charities and been a patron of eight. Patti was on HM The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Creative Committee. She has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree for services to The Arts and Education.
Patti is a regular inspirational speaker, having spoken at over 100 engagements. She hosts her own TV chat show “Life with Patti Boulaye”.
She is also the Founder and Managing Director of BIPADA Academy, which helps clients build self-confidence and become better communicators.
Boulaye is a Champion and Patron of The Arts Award UK and a Patron of Eastside Educational Trust and for the past seven years she has been a visiting lecturer at Middlesex University and awarded a Visiting Teaching Fellowship.
Dr. David Landsman OBE
Chairman and Adviser
Former British Ambassador and Former Executive Director (MD) Tata Limited
Dr Landsman is a Chairman, Non-Executive Director and adviser to a number of businesses and organisations including Digital Cognate, the D Group, British Foreign Policy Group and the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce
He was a member of HM Diplomatic Service, UK. He served in a number of positions in London and overseas, including as Charge d’Affaires in Yugoslavia and Ambassador to both Albania and Greece. He has also worked in international government relations and marketing at De La Rue plc.
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David is also a former Non-Executive Director of the UK India Business Council. He has an MA from Oxford and a PhD in Linguistics from Cambridge, and is a Chartered Director.
Dame Denise Lewis OBE
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Member of the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales and the Supreme Court of Hong Kong. LLB, Cambridge and London Universities. Chair Audit Risk and Finance Committee, Asia House. Board Member, Asia House. SOAS LMEI Advisory Council Member.
Stephen Ball has served as CEO, Vice Chairman and Member of the Boards of Directors of Global Financial Institutions, Multinational Companies and leading Professional Services Firms.
He has been awarded The Freedom of the City of London; Euromoney named him in 'The Guide to the World’s Leading Banking Lawyers' and The Lawyer listed him as one of The Hot 100 Lawyers in the UK.
He practised law in the UK and USA before moving into Investment Banking in Asia-Pacific, the GCC and Europe.
Stephen has 25 years’ global experience of leadership and advising upon strategy, crisis management, financial services and corporate governance to the world’s leading global banks and companies, private equity firms, hedge funds and governments. His clients have included Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, UBS, Standard Chartered, BAML, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, London Stock Exchange and The People’s Bank of China.
He has attended the United Nations and advised clients on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Stephen represents the Firm at the World Economic Forum in Davos and The Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Stephen is the General Editor of the book Hedge Funds published by the European Lawyer, winner of the Queen’s Award to Industry. He has written articles on Hong Kong, ASEAN, High Frequency Trading, Dark Pools, HLT’s and derivatives. He is the Deputy Chairman of the British-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.
His pro-bono and charitable work has included serving on the Board of Governors of The English National Ballet and on the Advisory Boards of KIDS Charity for special needs children, The Princess Diana Award, The Victoria & Albert Museum, The Royal Albert Hall and he serves as President of The Renaissance Foundation and Trustee of The Windsor Benefit Trust.
Tessy Ojo CBE
Chief Executive Officer
The Diana Award
Tessy Ojo is an inspirational and creative leader experienced in driving change and redefining outcomes for children and young people through innovative approaches to age old problems.
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She is the Chief Executive of the Diana Award - a charity legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales’ belief in the power that young people have to change the world, with the right support. The charity’s mission is to foster and develop positive change in the lives of young people.
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The charity benefits from the support of The Royal Highnesses, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as the UK Prime Minister as a Patron.
With over twenty years in third sector leadership and in-depth knowledge of working with young people and across the world, Tessy played a founding role in the building and sustainability of the charity, bringing strategic clarity and innovative approaches leading to a 360 degree turnaround of the charity’s growth and global industry recognition.
Tessy is a passionate humanitarian and campaigner who has gained international reputation for work around social equity, social impact and social mobility. At the heart of her work is the belief that with the right support and investment, young people are the best instigators
for achieving real, sustainable change in their lives, their communities and the wider society.
Tessy is an enthusiastic leader able to develop individuals into a strong cohesive team believing that people come first and must build an organisation they love and are proud to
work for.
In January 2019, Tessy became the very first British National to be honoured with The Prestigious Martin Luther King Award in Atlanta, recognising her innovative approach to leadership and humanitarian work.
A recognised leader in safety, social equity, social impact, safeguarding of young people, diversity and inclusion and redefining organisational culture and values, Tessy is a frequent
speaker at industry events across the world, bringing innovative and thought provoking solutions to issues. She seats on a number of non-Executive boards including The BBC’s Appeals Advisory Committee, Comic Relief, The Royal Taskforce on Cyberbullying, UK
Council For Child Internet Safety and more. She is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Tessy has been recognised for her contribution to the sector through a number of Awards such as 2017 Top 30 Social CEOs, The Precious Award, Inspiring Leader 2015, Women in Business Rising Star 2015 (London Region), Excellence Award from Eva Longoria’s Global Gift
Foundation and many more.
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Tessy has a first degree in Biochemistry, an MBA and a post grad diploma in Counselling. She is married and has two children who are both at University.
David Sayer
Former Vice Chair - KPMG
David led the Global Banking team at KPMG for eight years until October 2015. The team provides audit, tax and advisory services to a very wide range of clients from Global Banks to small savings and loan providers.
David has over thirty years experience of working with Banks both as an advisor and as an executive across strategy, corporate lending, payments, risk management, cost management and process design. He has been involved in major mergers and restructuring and has worked with clients across Europe, The United States and Asia Pacific.
David joined KPMG in 2005 having been a partner for ten years in PWC Consulting and then IBM after the sale of the business in 2002. He spent twelve years on a Senior Executive development programme with Lloyds Bank having qualified with PwC. He was elected to the Board of KPMG in the UK in 2012 - 2017. He now leads our relationships across the strategic trade corridors with China, Asia Pacific and Africa / Latam.
David led the teams working separately with the Post Office and the UK Government to design and implement the transformation of benefit payments to 15 million people creating the Post Office Card Account (POCA). He was involved in the creation of Sainsbury’s Bank and advised on product mix and choice of banking partner. He pulled together the teams responsible for the introduction of Chip & PIN technology and the UK Faster Payments programme.
He worked with one of the UK Banks to set up a major offshore processing and collections centre in Bangalore.
With the Callcredit credit reference agency he developed the Overindebtedness initiative for the UK Banks to share data and identify the most overindebted customers.
David has built teams in KPMG Globally focusing on Payments, Mobile and the use of Social media. He recently led a research study looking at mobile payments and the future mobile banking landscape.
Nick Ogden
Founder and Chairman, ClearBank®
An entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in banking, payments and fintech, Nick Ogden is the founder of ClearBank and a main board director. ClearBank® is the first new UK clearing bank in 250 years. Prior to ClearBank, Nick founded and led two other Fintech companies. The most notable of these is WorldPay, which he launched in 1997. The first internet payment service to guarantee transactions worldwide, Nick led WorldPay to grow to over 270 employees, and 20,000 customers across 120 countries and e-commerce transactions more than $2 billion per year. During its development from 1994, Nick Created BarclaySquare, a Joint venture with Barclays Bank which was the first bank endorsed e-commerce shopping mall in the world. Following Worldpay, Nick founded the Voice Commerce Group, which launched VoicePay a biometric payments platform in 2007. VCG became the UK’s first non-bank payments institution, in 2009. Re-branded as Cashflows, it became the first European non-bank principal member of VISA and Mastercard and an agency bank under agreement with HSBC.
Nick has been recognised for many industry awards including the UK Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Computer World Global IT Leaders award, the ID People Awards, the National Business Awards UK Entrepreneur of the Year, The EPA 2017 Payments Industry Contributor of the Year Award and the 2107 Banking Technology Tech Leadership Award. Nick was the winner of the 2018 Payments Pioneer Awards and highly commended in the City AM UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In addition to his ClearBank® roles, Nick is non-executive chairman, of ING backed Funding Options, and a non-executive director of Visa® backed ShieldPay.
British Olympic Champion
Denise Lewis OBE is an accomplished broadcaster, former athlete and President of Commonwealth Games England. The former gold medal winner, who holds the second highest number of points scored by a British Heptathlete, has gone on to have a hugely successful broadcast career and is a highly regarded member of the BBC Athletics commentary team.
Denise is one of the golden girls of British athletics, winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and subsequently being inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
Denise has twice been runner-up in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year awards (in 1998 and 2000) and was also honoured with an OBE in the 2000 New Year Honours.
In addition to delivering BBC Athletics coverage, Denise has been involved in presenting a range of successful shows and documentaries. This has ranged from four successful series fronting BBC One’s consumer show ‘Right On The Money’, BBC Two’s ‘Secret Britain’ and also Seven Wonders of the Commonwealth, in which she travelled to Zambia to report on the spectacular sight of the Victoria Falls.
Throughout her career, Denise has used her platform to take part in projects discussing and promoting diversity and in 2012, she anchored the Woman of the Year Awards for ITV1’s Lorraine. In 2016, Denise presented Winners for BBC Two, which saw her uncover the incredible stories of six female athletes from around the world and the challenges they face simply because they are female. She has also worked to promote Women in Work for International Women’s Day. Furthermore, Denise joined other exceptional figures in politics, business, sport and science to share her insights into being ‘Black and British’ in the BBC Two Series Black is the New Black in 2016.
Denise is an ambassador for multiple charities, including Breast Cancer Care and Sparks.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, DL
Member of the House of Lords
One of Britain's greatest Paralympic athletes, Tanni, amassed a remarkable medal haul over 16 years and five Paralympic Games of 11 gold, 4 silver and a bronze.
In 2005 she became ‘Dame’ Tanni Grey-Thompson for her services to sport. In March 2010, Tanni was created a life peer and was conferred as Baroness Grey-Thompson, of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham.
She is currently chair of UKActive and a member of the boards of Transport for London and the London Legacy Development Corporation and is Chancellor of Northumbria University.
Tanni is also a passionate television and radio sports commentator. Her voice and inciteful analysis is a key part of the coverage at a number of events including the London Marathon, World and European Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games.
She worked on the Beijing Paralympics, the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, both as a commentator and providing expert opinion.
Tanni's high public profile has resulted in appearances which include: Fern Britton meets…; The Politics Show; Celebrity Mastermind, The Weakest Link; A Question of Sport, University Challenge.
Vincent Keaveny
Lord Mayor of the City of London 2021/22
Vincent is a Partner, DLA Piper and has served as International Co-Chair of the Financial Services Sector at the firm. He advises UK and international clients on capital markets and structured finance transactions and financial services matters.
He has served as an Alderman of the City of London since 2013 and was Sheriff of the City of London for 2018/19.
He is a Trustee of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, Chair of EXAUDI and a Director of Actors Touring Company. He is also Chair of Progress Together, a new membership body for financial services firms promoting socio-economic diversity in the financial services industry.
He graduated from University College Dublin with a BCL and subsequently obtained an MLitt from Trinity College, Dublin. He was awarded a DSc (honoris causa) by City, University of London in 2022.
Lord Purvis of Tweed
Member of the House of Lords
Jeremy Purvis was appointed a Liberal Democrat working peer in August 2013, taking the title Lord Purvis of Tweed. He was born at the mouth of the river in Berwick-upon-Tweed and represented its source as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale (2003-2011). When elected he was the youngest constituency MSP and he is one of the youngest ever Life Peers. Jeremy is currently the Liberal Democrat Lords spokesman for International Affairs, International Development and International Trade.
Jeremy is a member of the House of Lords European Affairs Committee and a former member of the International Relations Committee. He is co-chair and office holder of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups on constitutional reform, the Global Goals, human rights, democratic participation and supporting Scottish industries such as textiles and whisky.
Jeremy has extensive experience in private sector consultancy and governance advice to conflict and post conflict states, especially in the Middle East. He is an effective facilitator and chair and has conducted high level facilitation in the Gulf, Middle East, North Africa, sub Saharan Africa and Asia.
Jeremy formally served on the advisory board of the independent think tank Reform Scotland. He currently serves as patron and trustee of a wide number of national and Scottish Borders charities and bodies, including Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott.
His previous experience includes various strategic communications roles in the private sector (1998-2003, 2011-2013) as well as being assistant and head of office for Lord Steel from 1993 - 1998.