The judges
Lesley Batchelor
Lesley Batchelor has a wealth of experience in International Trade and can comment on a wide array of issues and topics.
Appointed Director General of the Institute of Export in 2010 after a three-year elected tenure as Chairman and CEO, Lesley has amassed a powerful track record in International Trade and export marketing.
Lesley spent over 15 years working with blue-chip giants including Fujitsu Europe, Canon, Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals and Coca-Cola Europe, before setting up her own strategy and training company, CMC Marketing.
@LesleyIOExport
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Lord Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey OBE (born 26 October 2024) is a British politician who was the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2005 to 2010, and has been its Chairman since 2012. Empey was also twice Lord Mayor of Belfast and was the Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.
When the Northern Ireland Executive was formed in 1999, Empey became Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, holding the portfolio throughout the entirety of the Executive's existence. In June 2001 Trimble temporarily resigned as First Minister of Northern Ireland and appointed Empey to fulfil the functions of the office for the interim period until disagreements between the parties had been restored. Empey undertook the role until November of that year. In 1999, Reg Empey was created a knight bachelor by Her Majesty The Queen.
Sir Eric Peacock
Sir Eric Peacock was appointed as a non-Executive Director of the management board in 2011.
Sir Eric was knighted in 2003 for his services to International Trade. He is also a non-executive director of UK Trade & Investment and previously sat on the boards of the Foreign Office and the Department for Business.
He is currently chairman of Buckley Jewellery, Stevenage Packaging, Halo International (furniture), Winmark (networks and research), Technis (business development), Baydonhill (currency trading), and Boxford Group (leisure and farming) and also leads the the Peacock Foundation and Uniqueness, 2 charities that focus on disadvantaged children and young adults.
Will Butler-Adams
Will Butler-Adams joined Brompton Bicycle in 2002 and, since taking over from the firm’s founder Andrew Ritchie as MD in 2008, has seen production rocket from 7,000 to 30,000 bikes per year.
The Brompton Bicycle company doesn’t bother much with marketing. It doesn’t need to. Its iconic folding bikes spread the word far more effectively than any carefully conceived advertising campaign. Vince Cable and Nick Clegg kicked off their recent manufacturing summit with a visit to Brompton’s West London factory, and Will himself has become a regular fixture on industry panels and think tanks aimed at stimulating interest in engineering.
@Will_Brompton
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Sarah Hathaway
Sarah is a committed, ambitious and passionate Marketer, focused on delivering creative and integrated marketing solutions. She has a strong track record of leading and motivating teams. As an accomplished and intuitive communicator at all levels, she has the ability to think strategically and develop campaigns that deliver results.
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