Who we are

Peter has chaired Virgin Group since 2009 and currently also acts as chair of Virgin Red and Virgin Hotels as well as for Agilyx AS, a leading chemical and mechanical recycling company. He has over 50 years' experience in business management and investment banking and brings knowledge and understanding of the international economy and impacts on business and international trade.

Sir Jonathan Faull is Chair of European Public Affairs at the Brunswick Group. He was previously Director General in various departments at the European Commission. Author of many articles on European law and policy and co-editor of a leading work on EU Competition Law. Visiting Professor, King’s College London and College of Europe, Bruges; Emeritus Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Board Member/Fellow, Centre for European Reform, Institut Jacques Delors, Centre for Competition Policy, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, European and International Analysts Group, Institute for European Policymaking, Bocconi University.

Ros is a non-affiliated peer in the House of Lords who has served in the chamber from 2015. She was Minister of State for Pensions in David Cameron’s Government. Well-known for leading the ‘pensiontheft’ campaign and advocating for the rights of women, Ros is also renowned for her economic analysis. Following her academic economic work at Harvard University and PhD from the London School of Economics, she worked as an international economist and fund manager in London and has advised Governments, investment banks, research institutes and institutional investors on long term investment and pensions policy. She is an LSE emeritus governor and Visiting Professor.

Layla Moran has been the Member of Parliament for Oxford West & Abingdon since 2017. In 2024 she was elected Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.

Her previous roles include the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development and spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology. Before being elected to Parliament she worked as a maths and science teacher, and is passionate about education.  .

Before her election to Parliament in 2019, Claire was a Belfast City councillor and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, formerly acting as the SDLP’s Brexit spokesperson. Claire currently sits on the Commons’ Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. Prior to elected politics, Claire worked in international development, in a range of policy and education roles, taking her to parts of the world such as Haiti, Zambia and Bangladesh.

Lord Darroch’s diplomatic career has spanned four decades where he has served as Head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat and the Prime Ministers Advisor on European affairs from 2004-2007 and four years as British Permanent Representative to the European Union. He was National Security Advisor from 2012-2015 before taking on the UK’s foremost diplomatic post as the British Ambassador to the USA from 2016 until 2019. He was Chairperson of internationalist campaign group Best for Britain between 2021 and 2023.

Liz is leader of the Plaid Cymru group of MPs in Westminster and Plaid’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs, Justice, Business and Equality. During her professional career, she specialised in developing ‘Welsh medium’ further education and staff training.

Stephen practised for 40 years as an EU competition lawyer, mostly in Brussels, including as Managing Partner of the Brussels office of Herbert Smith and global head of the antitrust practice at Sidley Austin. 

He is deputy chair of the anti death penalty organisation Reprieve, founder of the campaigning groups Clean Up The Internet and Law For Change, board member at Hacked Off and chair of the Press Justice Project. 

Simon Hughes was a Liberal Democrat MP for Southwark and Bermondsey from 1983 to 2015. During this time they took the role of Minister for Justice and Civil Liberties, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, and President of the Liberal Democrats. Since leaving the House of Commons in 2015, Simon has worked with the Open University, Talgo, and become Chancellor of London South Bank University. Prior to politics, Simon spent six years as a barrister.

Eman is the Director of External Affairs and Government Relations at Bosch UK. With over six years of experience in software and hardware engineering in the automotive industry, she has played a key role in business development for telehealth in the UK and Ireland. Eman is a member of Buckingham Business First, CBI Southeast, Local Enterprise Partnership Buckinghamshire, and UK5G. She is also a member of OCAVIA, the Oxford-Cambridge ARC Virtual Institute for Aviation, and serves as an advisor for WE-Transform, the Workforce Europe transformation agenda for transport automation under the EU Commission. Eman is also a fellow at the Society of Leadership Fellows, St George’s House, Windsor Castle.

Carma is former senior British diplomat of over 30 years, with postings in China, the EU and the Middle East, focused on trade and investment;  education and culture; and wider people to people relations. She has also worked in international education as College President of UWCSEA and in social enterprise at a global level. Carma has led initiatives to advance youth mobility and currently chairs a Community Interest Company which promotes impactful UK/China cultural relations. Carma is a proud "Global Scot" and champion of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the UK's international connections.

Ellie is the Green MP for North Herefordshire, representing the area where she’s lived for over 20 years. She joined the Green Party in 2015 and has also served as a councillor, local council cabinet member, and Member of the European Parliament.  She is the Green Party’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Housing and Communities; and the Green Parliamentary Lead on Education, Defence, Business and Trade, Social Care, and Constitutional Affairs.

Ellie started her career in the charity sector, where she spent 10 years working in international development.  After her PhD, which focused on community management of rural water supply, Ellie moved into academia and worked for several years as a lecturer at the University of Birmingham. Ellie lives on a small organic farm and has two grown-up sons.

Deborah has led the ISM in a programme of growth and seen the membership more than double in recent years to 11,000. A fearless campaigner, she has developed a strong advocacy, policy and research function covering issues such as music education, diversity and Brexit. Prior to working at the ISM Deborah worked as an expert employment lawyer specialising in discrimination law, with 15 years’ experience in the City of London. She is currently Chair of the broadcast licensing body ERA and Honorary Research Fellow at Queen Mary University. 

Deborah has been named by Woman’s Hour on its power list of women working in music and was also named on the Music Week Roll of Honour in 2022.

John spent thirty years as an EU diplomat and trade negotiator, including as a Director of International Affairs for the European Commission; and as the former Head of the EU Delegation to the WTO and UN in Geneva. Prior to that John was an official of the Hong Kong Government and part of the team charged with bringing HK to developed country status by 1990.

Today, John is a Fellow of Maastricht University, Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, and Fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. He is a visiting lecturer at Kings College London, SciencesPo Paris, and Tsinghua University Beijing. John is also Vice President of the Europe-China Economic Cooperation and Development Council, Special Trade Adviser at FIPRA public affairs, a member of the editorial board of the Journal of International Trade Law and Regulation, and a journalist writing about trade; and Committee Member of The Travellers Club of London.

Geoff is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and IEMA (the Institute of Environmental Management & Accounting); a Trustee of CAPE and SCI; and on the board of ReCoup and Rotary UK&I.

He is the UK Country Head for Plastics Europe and currently advises and consults to a wide range of organizational, strategic and tactical groups covering the private, public and third sectors in arenas including sustainability, science, environment and further education. For over 20 years Geoff worked within BASF, the world’s largest chemical company including a decade on the plc board, with roles including communications, EHS, sustainability and corporate affairs. 

Following 11 years as a District Councillor, Simon was elected as the Conservative MP for North Dorset in 2015, a position he was re-elected to in 2017, 2019 and 2024. He has served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Farming Minister, Education Secretary and Home Secretary. He resigned his Home Office position in 2019 in order to stand for the Chairmanship of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons. He was elected to that post and re-elected in 2019.  

He also served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as Minister for Local Government from November 2023 - July 2024.

Simon has Chaired the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee since September 2024.

John is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament, serving from 2015 to 2024. Prior to his time at Westminster, he was an SNP Councillor with Falkirk Council from 2005 to 2015.

During his parliamentary career, John chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on Hair, Barbering and Cosmetology, and on Ethical and Sustainable Fashion. He was also a member of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC). As part of his work with the EAC, John attended COP climate summits and participated in a delegation visit to Washington, undertaking fact-finding and evidence-gathering on the impact of Brexit on the UK’s gold-standard chemical industry.

He currently serves as Treasurer of the Scottish Former MPs Association representing the SNP.

Locally, John successfully founded a community soccer club, which has grown into a thriving local facility. He is also a founding member of the Dunipace and Denny Heritage Society.

Lillian Jones is the Scottish Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, before entering Parliament she was a local councillor in East Ayrshire and spent almost three decades working in healthcare. 

As an MP Lillian chairs the Wood panel industries APPG, championing the work of wood panel manufacturing, and the wider timber industry in Ayrshire, Scotland and across the UK.  Lillian also sits on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, with key interests in Public Services, trade, manufacturing, European relations and defence. 

Dr Al Pinkerton has served as the Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath since 2024. Following his election, he was appointed Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Northern Ireland before taking on the party’s Europe portfolio in 2025.

Before entering Parliament, Al was an Associate Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research examined border disputes, security, development and justice, with particular expertise in the UK’s Overseas Territories. He has written about the impact of Brexit on the Overseas Territories and served as an accredited observer at the 2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum. 

Kirsty Blackman is the Scottish National Party MP for Aberdeen North, and has been an MP continually since 7 May 2015.

She is currently Chief Whip of the SNP at Westminster and undertakes the roles of SNP Spokesperson for Treasury and for Women & Equalities.

Rosemary is the only woman to have won the EY UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award and in 2015, she became the first woman to represent the UK at the World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. She was a National Member of the Arts Council England Board for ten years, Chair of the Board for Sonia Friedman Productions, Joint Chair of The Hall for Cornwall, and Chair of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

As President of the Society of London Theatre, Rosemary became the second only female President in the organisation’s history. She won the prestigious CBI Real Business First Women Award for Tourism & Leisure and was awarded an OBE for Services to Theatre.

Rosemary was one of the 100 women on the inaugural BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour UK Power List in 2013, appearing at number 16. She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from Southampton University and De Montfort University in recognition of her achievements as a theatre entrepreneur.

Philip Wilkinson is an executive in the poultry industry, and has had over 30 years experience in the dairy industry. He spent almost two decades at 2 Sisters Food Group, three years at Grampian Country Foods Group, and was previously Commercial Director at Arla Foods.

Philip is a main board member at MHP, where he chairs the Nominations and Remuneration Committee, the Sustainability and International Affairs Committee and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. He has key interests in agribusiness standards, sustainability, trade and international affairs. He previously chaired the National Dairy Farm Assured Scheme and the Dairy Council of England and Wales, and held board roles across the European Poultry Association (AVEC), British Poultry Council, Assured Food Standards and Cogent Breeding, among others.

Geraldine is an international trade and business development leader with over 20 years’ experience advising companies of all sizes on expansion strategies across the UK and Europe. She currently works as International Growth Director for Europe for the International Proposition within the Corporate and Commercial Banking team at Santander UK. A recognised architect of business ecosystems and a trusted connector, Geraldine brings together financial services, market intelligence, and operational support to align business ambitions with market realities.

Throughout her career, including more than 15 years working within or alongside financial institutions, Geraldine has championed the importance of international growth as a core component of business strategy. She has advised companies from around the world across diverse industries on identifying and unlocking opportunities beyond their domestic markets. Her approach is also informed by first-hand entrepreneurial and leadership experience, gained through running her own business as a sole trader and serving as Country Director for an international trade and development advisory practice.

Having lived and worked in both France and the UK, Geraldine also brings a deep understanding of the cultural dynamics that shape international trade relationships and influence commercial success across European markets.