Amy Harhoff

Corporate Director of Regeneration and Growth, Durham County Council

Amy has previously held senior roles in local government in two large metropolitan authorities in the West Midlands and South Yorkshire, Amy is committed to delivering outcomes for communities and our potential for real inclusive growth. Amy has also held senior combined authority roles including, Transport for the North, South Yorkshire MCA and Transport for Greater Manchester.   

Amy has a breadth of experience in delivering major projects, commercial developments, influential strategy and key front-line services, she is an active member of SOLACE and committed to the D & I agenda, community wealth building and the positive role that all level of government should play in positive outcomes for places and communities.  

Andy Gutherson

Executive Director of Place, Lincolnshire County Council 

Andy has overseen the mobilisation of new contracts across highways and waste services and is an advocate of collaborative working.  He is also developing a regional presence for Lincolnshire through involvement with the Midlands Engine, Midlands Connect and Transport for the East Midlands (TfEM) whilst supporting the development of new approaches to a Greater Lincolnshire agenda at upper tier level and with the GLLEP as negotiations continue with Government about a County Deal and the potential for Devolution.  

Andy is the Chair of the ADEPT Midlands Regional Board, Chair of the Local Adaptation Advisory Panel and sits on the Net Zero Forum. 

Angela Jones

Director of Thriving Place at Westmorland & Furness Council 

Angela is the Director of Thriving Places, Westmorland & Furness Council, which was formed on 1st April 2023. Prior to this she was the Executive Director for Economy and Infrastructure at Cumbria County Council. Angela has over 25 years' experience in local government, working in a mixture of unitary and county councils, across the North West and Wales and has senior leadership experience across place-based services including Economic Development, Highways and Transport, Flood Risk Management, Property and Facilities Management, Planning, Waste and Community Services. Angela is Chair of the ADEPT North West Board and has a robust track record in developing and maintaining strong working relationships with staff, members and external stakeholders. 

Emma Fletcher 

Low Carbon Housing Director, Octopus Energy

Emma is the Low Carbon Housing Director at Octopus Energy. Her career has centred on leading high-impact, high-innovation projects in real estate, with a particular focus on housing, energy performance and green energy production. Her practical experience includes starting her career in rural surveying and estate management moving into award-winning housing and regeneration developments.

Emma is a passionate advocate for change, community resilience and sustainability solutions for all. She established and led the UK’s first fossil fuel-free district heating scheme in her village, Swaffham Prior. Her work regularly features in trade, national and international press & media. 

Miles Ashton

Local Green Investment Lead, Green Finance Institute 

Miles leads the GFI’s Local Climate Bond Campaign, which supports local authorities in exploring innovative financing solutions to fund their net-zero strategies.  

Prior to joining the Institute, Miles led the rollout of a Danish, venture-backed HealthTech organisation in the UK. Before this, he spent several years working at ABN Amro Bank, in the Netherlands, where he specialised in the design and delivery of innovative blended finance programmes that promoted social and environmental impact in developing countries.  

Dr Simon Kaye 

Director of Policy, Reform

Simon joined Reform as Director of Policy in April 2022, leading the Reimagining Whitehall programme for its first year and a half. In 2023, he launched the Reform Scholars programme, and in 2024 developed and led the new Reimagining the Local State programme. 

Simon gained a PhD in Political Theory in 2015 and worked for a while in academia before making the leap to think tanks, exploring the practical side of his research interests in democratic systems, government reform, political economy, localism, and the way that knowledge affects policy. He has written major reports on community power, self-governance, and reform strategies for both local and central government. 

Sarah Mukherjee, MBE

CEO, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment

Previously Sarah was the BBC’s Environment correspondent, presenting on national and international BBC radio and television, winning awards across the world. After leaving the corporation, she held leadership roles in various sectors including utilities and agriculture. Sarah was a panel member for the National Parks Review and the Glover Review and also sat on the National Food Strategy Advisory Panel. She is co-chair of the Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel as well as non-executive director on the Board of the Environment Agency. In 2021 Sarah was awarded an MBE for her services to agriculture and farmer well-being. 

Isabel Oliver 

Director General of Science and Research and Chief Scientific Officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)

Previously, Isabel was Director National Infection Service of Public Health England having held other roles in the organisation including Director of Research, Translation and Innovation and Director Field Epidemiology Service. Isabel is also professor and co-director of the National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit on Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol and an honorary professor at University College, London. 

Paul Wilson

Chief Business Officer, Connected Places Catapult

Paul is Chief Business Officer at Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport and places. Paul is also chair of Smart Cities World’s Advisory Board, a Board member of UK5G, and has recently joined the Open & Agile Smart Cities & Communities Board. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab.  

Paul has more than 25 years’ international leadership experience in sales, marketing, and product management in the B2B Technology Media Telecom sector, including being Chief Marketing Officer of SunGard Financial Systems and CMO of the global digital transformation association TM Forum.

Cllr. Kevin Bentley

Leader of Essex County Council

Kevin Bentley was elected to Essex County Council in 2009 and appointed as the Deputy Cabinet Member to the Leader. Having served two years in this post he was promoted to the Cabinet in 2011 and appointed Deputy Leader to the Council 2013, where he led on Economic Growth and Infrastructure. He was elected Leader of the Council in May 2021. 

Kevin is also a Colchester City Councillor and has previously been Leader of the Conservative Group in Colchester. He has served in the Colchester Cabinet holding the portfolio for Business, Tourism and Leisure. He has also stood for Parliament twice in Colchester. Kevin has been the Chairman of LGA People’s and Places Board and led the Brexit negotiations on behalf of the LGA with Government. 

William Burgon

Director of Planning Reform and Housing Quality at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

William Burgon is Director of Planning Reform and Housing Quality at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. 

William was previously Strategy Director in the Economic and Domestic Secretariat at the Cabinet Office, prior to which he was Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, having worked on EU exit policy and negotiations from 2016 to 2019. 

Dr Victoria Hurth

Independent pracademic and Fellow, University Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership

Dr Victoria Hurth works globally at the intersect of academia and hands-on decision-making to help organisations transition to be drivers of long-term wellbeing for all (sustainability). She advises decision-makers on the intersect between purpose, sustainability, ESG and reporting and how to lead the transformative change needed. Victoria heads the Sustainability Impact Advisory committee for UnaTerra Venture Capital, a member of SACE’s (Italy’s national export underwriter) Impact Advisory Committee, a regular UNCTAD review panel member for ISAR Honors and was a member of WBCSD’s working group on Governance. Victoria is currently a Non-Executive Director of the organic standards company Soil Association Certification Ltd. She has over 20 years’ experience in business transformation having previously worked for 3M and Accenture and developing theory as a full time Associate Professor of Sustainable Business and Marketing.

Cllr. Jacqui Burnett

National Council Chair of the Association of Public Excellence (APSE)

Jacqui is an experienced public sector professional with a financial and governance background.  She has served as an elected councillor for over 16 years, holding several portfolios at Luton Borough Council including Traded Services and People and Places, and currently chairs the authority’s Audit and   Governance Committee.

Jacqui now runs her own consultancy business advising on governance, reputational risk and EEDI. In June 2023 she was elected as Chair of Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Authority, and in September 2023 was appointed unopposed as National Council Chair of the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) a body that shares the best public sector practice across the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.