Programme

Andy has worked within Government and the private sector for the last 30 years, leading on the natural environment, climate change, place-based regeneration, measuring the value of environmental and social prosperity and embedding purpose within organisations. He served as Group Chief Sustainability Officer for Anglian Water between 2023 and 2025, building on a previous role as Head of Sustainability for the business. For the last six years, he has worked with BSI to lead the development of the UK’s first standard for Purpose Drive Organisations. Andy founded Natural Capital East, a cross-sector group looking to maximise investment in nature in the east of England. He is an external advisor and Chair of Tarmac’s Sustainability Panel.

Emma joined the Food and Drink Federation in October 2019 and has led on developing and now implementing FDF’s new sustainability strategy, ‘Ambition 2030’.  Emma works across the farm-to-fork supply chain and with other industrial sectors to tackle the shared decarbonisation challenges and to align on industry led solutions across the farm-to-fork supply chain including, driving investment into nature restoration. Before joining FDF, Emma held a number of policy and regulation roles with RWE AG, RWE Npower Cogen, Elexon, Sustainable Energy Association, First Utility and National Grid Gas.

David has worked in the pension and financial services industry for over 35 years and has both UK and international experience. Alongside his role with Investors For Purpose, he is an accredited professional pension Trustee. His Trustee appointments include schemes with FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 sponsors and with the Smart Pension Master Trust. David has broad investment, risk management and operational experience across both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. He has a particular interest in ESG and climate change. Prior experience includes senior management roles with Tesco and professional service firms including Deloitte and KPMG and Fidelity Investments in the US.

Jonathan has been involved with Groundswell from its earliest days and formally became Chair at the start of 2026. He spent the last 11 years at Octopus Investments, seven of those as Chief Investment Officer. He started his career as an Accountant at PWC, spent eight years in Investment Banking as an equity analyst (Robert Fleming (now part of JP Morgan)) and in M&A at BNP Paribas. He was then the first non-founder employee at Mecom Group plc, a business that grew from a standing start to become an international newspaper and media organisation with over 10,00 employees. Immediately prior to Octopus, Jonathan ran a team of private equity and finance professional responsible for the equity holdings in over 200 companies help by Lloyds Banking Group, as a result of financial restructurings or historic direct investments.

Ben is a Partner in Michelmores’ Agriculture team and heads up the firm’s Natural Capital Group. He is also qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and Valuer, bringing estate management, environmental and valuation expertise to his client offering. Ben has spent over 25 years advising clients on their use of the oldest asset, land, and is now assisting them with the emergence of the latest asset class in the form of natural capital.

As one of the first lawyers to engage with the emergent policy on natural capital, he was architect in several novel and groundbreaking schemes that have since become embedded as the norm. These include advising on several Landscape Recovery Schemes, BNG projects and nutrient neutrality solutions involving wetland creation and infrastructure upgrading.

Ben is the author of ‘A Practical Guide to Payments for Environmental Services’ published by Law Brief Publishing. His innovative work in the sector was acknowledged when he was listed in The Lawyer Hot 100, and he was named a Green Ambassador by Legal 500 in recognition for his work to champion sustainability; he was also shortlisted in the Sustainability game Changer category at the Planet Mark awards. Ben is ranked Band 1 for Agriculture and Rural Affairs SW by Chambers and Partners and named as a Leading Partner for Agriculture and Estates SW by Legal 500.

Sarah Jennings joined Natural Resources Wales in September 2020 from Hywel Dda University Health Board where she was their Director of Partnerships and Corporate Services. Prior to that, she was Head of Strategic Partnerships and Projects at Carmarthenshire County Council, working to integrate health and social care.

She has previously worked for 12 years in the private sector as Managing Director (Europe) for a US Corporation and then for seven years as Head of Economic Development for Carmarthenshire County Council managing a £450m multi-agency regeneration programme including Community Development, Physical Regeneration, Business Support and Tourism.

Her priorities at NRW focus on strengthening partnerships and building a compelling narrative around its mission to tackle the climate and environment emergencies. She also provides strategic leadership to the future direction of relationships with new and existing stakeholders and lead the commercial income generation and procurement functions at NRW.  Her responsibilities at NRW include ensuring that the procurement and commercial activities on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate and land meet the aims of Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and contribute to dealing with the climate and environmental emergencies we are facing. Sarah is an innovator and wants to find new ways of delivering which leave a real impact and bright future for the next generation and beyond in Wales.

Kit is a Senior Climate Adaptation specialist, with over 15 years’ experience in national and local adaptation planning and implementation in the public, private and third sectors. Over this period, he has used his expertise to design and implement local, national and European adaptation planning and policy responses, and build the capabilities and capacities of others to do the same.

Graham Neville is Head of Operations – North at NatureScot, where he leads work across the north of Scotland which includes a focus on practical approaches to financing nature recovery at scale. He leads place-based work on nature finance, shaping tailored approaches to responsible private investment that fit Scotland’s ambition for a high-integrity nature market. Graham has played a key role in developing approaches in the Flow Country, including the Flow Country Green Finance Initiative and partnerships between public bodies, communities, land managers and private investors. He is a Director of Flow Country Restoration Ltd and has helped explore how private finance can complement public investment in peatland restoration. He was the bid leader for the successful nomination of the Flow Country as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2024 as the world’s first recognised for its blanket bog landscape.

As one of the first lawyers to engage with the emergent policy on natural capital, he was architect in several novel and groundbreaking schemes that have since become embedded as the norm. These include advising on several Landscape Recovery Schemes, BNG projects and nutrient neutrality solutions involving wetland creation and infrastructure upgrading.

Ben is the author of ‘A Practical Guide to Payments for Environmental Services’ published by Law Brief Publishing. His innovative work in the sector was acknowledged when he was listed in The Lawyer Hot 100, and he was named a Green Ambassador by Legal 500 in recognition for his work to champion sustainability; he was also shortlisted in the Sustainability game Changer category at the Planet Mark awards. Ben is ranked Band 1 for Agriculture and Rural Affairs SW by Chambers and Partners and named as a Leading Partner for Agriculture and Estates SW by Legal 500.