Alumni Network launch event

Michael is an entrepreneur, author, interviewer and co-founder of Seven Hills. He co-founded the national campaign for early-stage enterprise, StartUp Britain, launched by former Prime Minister David Cameron. Michael is also Chair of the Small Business Charter.

Prior to joining the Department for Business and Trade, Gemma worked at HM Treasury, where she led the Growth and Productivity Team. Before joining the Treasury in 2018, Gemma was a Deputy Director in both BEIS and DfE, leading on a range of economic and social policy reforms

A former lawyer, Sahar Hashemi founded Coffee Republic, the UK’s first US style coffee bar chain with her brother and built it into one of the UK’s most recognised high street brands with 110 bars and a turnover of £30m. In 2005 she founded Skinny Candy, a brand of sugar free sweets, which was sold to confectionery conglomerate Glisten PLC in 2007. In June 2012 Sahar was awarded an OBE for services to the UK economy and to charity.

Eleanor Shaw the the Professor of Entrepreneurship at Glasgow University. Prior to this, Eleanor was an Associate Principal at the University of Strathclyde where she was responsible for the University’s entrepreneurship strategy, Strathclyde Inspire. She was also Director of the institution-wide, Strathclyde Doctoral School.

In 2016 Dami founded MOONHUB, a virtual reality training platform. MOONHUB’s mission is to empower and equip trainees and provide cost-effective solutions to their partners. Since launching, MOONHUB has been featured in Tech Crunch, The BBC, The Evening Standard and Forbes.

Amanda is the Founder and Director of Pharus Training. Amanda’s mission is to equip teams, individuals and managers with the tools and techniques required to identify the signs and symptoms of poor mental health, and inspire hope for recovery in the UK through training and education.

Rosie is the Director of Finance at Seacat Services Ltd. Over the last 30 years, Rosie has actively worked with a variety of SMEs, focusing more primarily on the engineering, construction and maritime sectors. Rosie is a driven and passionate individual with positive energy for modern business.

Richard co-founded Angel O’Donnell in 2018, a London-based, award-winning interior design studio. Angel O’Donnell is the market leader in the design of Build-to-Rent and student accommodation schemes.

Eric is the host of the award-winning Channel 4 reality business show, ‘The Money Maker’, and author of ‘We Don’t Need Permission, How Black Business Can Change the World‘. Eric is a serial entrepreneur and has served on boards and in the C-Suite of fast growth technology companies since 2001.