Speakers

Isobel develops partnerships with organisations who need help turning their Nature Tech solutions from proof-of-concept to viable product. Since graduating with a Physics degree, she has spent 8 years developing new technologies and products with companies in the Energy and Consumer sectors. For the last two years she has been focussed on the emerging opportunities in Nature Tech, and she is just finishing a PgCert in Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health at the University of Edinburgh.

Phil is a driven Commercial Director with an engineering background. Keen to develop and push past blockers to leverage opportunity with Earth Observation within a range of clients to maximise opportunities for nature based solutions to improve global sustainability.

Henry Driver is a digital artist and game developer based in Suffolk, who primarily focuses on climate change and its devastating effects on our planet.

Stig Martin is a senior leader in Cognizant, a global professional services company that advances the technologies that are changing the nature of business.

Elena is the CEO and founder of Yaldi Games, a startup games studio crafting gaming experiences for gamers, hobbyists, and lifelong learners where gaming is not just an escape but a gateway to enriching real-life experiences. Yaldi’s first title is a foraging life simulator called “Out and About”, where players can explore nature, identify factual plants and mushrooms, cook real-life recipes & herbal tinctures and restore a community affected by climate change.

Ben is a prominent marine biologist and co-founder of the Rock Pool Project, a not-for-profit organisation that helps people of all ages and backgrounds discover the incredible marine life around our beautiful coast. He loves nothing better than poking around in rock pools and getting others involved in digital rock pool surveys, marine diversity safaris and even rock pool bingo.

Andrew has a background in protected area management, habitat restoration initiatives and project development. He is currently managing the Space4Nature project – combining Citizen Science, high resolution satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to monitor and improve wildlife habitat across Surrey and beyond.

Dan leads the Marine Biological Association IT and Data Teams and is project co-ordinator for DASSH; the Marine Data and Information Network (MEDIN) accredited Data Archive Centre for biodiversity data. He has over 25 years’ experience in marine data management and publication. Dan is also a member of the global Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) Steering Group, and lead the UK contribution through the UK OBIS Node hosted at the MBA.

James serves as programme manager at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

He is the global lead for IUCN’s work on the use of appropriate technology and innovation to catalyse effective, equitable, and successful area-based and species conservation to support delivery of the IUCN Programme and Nature 2030.

Craig is part of techUK, the trade association which brings together people, companies and organisations to realise the positive outcomes of what digital technology can achieve. Here he works on areas ranging from climate change, ESG disclosures and due diligence, through to circular economy, business and human rights, conflict minerals and post-Brexit regulation. Prior to joining techUK, He worked in public affairs and policy has an avid interest in new and emerging technologies.

Richard joined the Centre for Environment and Sustainability as Professor of Life Cycle Assessment in February 2013. He is a past President of the Institute of Wood Science (now part of the Institute of Materials) and is a member of DEFRA’s Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee, BRE’s Advisory Panel and BSI committees. He is a founder and Director of LCAworks Ltd and was Chief Scientific Officer of Mycologix Ltd. He has advised the UK Climate Change Committee on LCA for bioenergy systems.

Sebastian is one of the UK’s leading experts in environmental DNA (eDNA) survey methodologies for biodiversity monitoring. With nearly two decades of experience in commercial ecological surveys across various environments, he has spent almost a decade developing industry-leading eDNA-based biodiversity surveys and analyses for large-scale natural capital assessments

Rob Passmore is CEO and Co-founder at Additive.earth and Additive Catchments, organisations dedicated to addressing the climate emergency through digital transformation, green finance, and nature-based solutions. He leads efforts to launch and scale a portfolio of climate, nature, and green tech impact ventures.

Rob also contributes to the strategic direction of the South West of England’s tech sector as a member of the Tech South West Advisory Board. His role involves fostering innovation and sustainability within the regional tech ecosystem.

Previously, Rob served as Deputy Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi’s European Digital Division, where he developed and executed multinational digital transformation programmes. He also played a pivotal role at the UNESCO Biosphere Foundation, spearheading environmental monitoring initiatives and securing substantial funding for natural capital projects.

Rob’s leadership is marked by a collaborative and inclusive approach, driving effective partnerships with organisations such as Siemens, WWF, and AtkinsRéalis.

Dr Hannah Rudman is Business Development Director at Highlands Rewilding which restores nature for people and planet. She is Senior Research Fellow at the James Hutton Institute, directing applied research in nature tech and digital measurement, reporting and verification. She also co-leads the Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers network, and serves as Board Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Previously Hannah founded and developed two environmental tech start-ups and has designed multi-national digital transformation programmes, eventually selling her frameworks to Leidos, a global technology services company.

Sumera Saad has been dedicated to assisting public sector customers in the UK at AWS for the past three years. With a master’s degree in Software Engineering she plays an essential part in leading customers through their digital transformation journeys, leveraging my deep expertise in cloud solutions to optimize and innovate their operations.

Liz has worked as a geospatial consultant for over twenty years, with experience gained from co-creating data products and advising customers across industry, government and utilities.

Now a geospatial solutions architect at the Satellite Applications Catapult, Liz works with organisations and start-ups wishing to explore how they can maximise use and sharing of earth observation data, in particular in the area of biodiversity monitoring.

Outside of work Liz volunteers in a seabird research team and has experience as a licensed bird ringer working on long-term colour ringing projects as well as tagging seabirds with loggers.

Giselle is the lead for iNaturalistUK including promotion and management of the UK portal. She is also tasked with developing the membership of the National Biodiversity Network Trust and increasing funding streams into the Network. Giselle joined the National Biodiversity Network in 2015, having previously worked in the social housing sector. Since 2020, she has been the lead organiser for the City Nature Challenge, Nottingham.

John is a conservation biologist at the Natural History Museum London, where he leads the Centre for UK Nature. The Centre delivers a portfolio of research and training programmes that aim to build the UK’s agency to take evidence-based action for nature. His research focuses on developing scalable, tech-enabled methods that help monitor and recover biodiversity in urban spaces.

At Cecil, Tom is on a mission to make nature data accessible. From selecting among data sources, to normalising documentation and data structure — he is working to empower companies with petabytes of science grade nature data at engineering scale.

Tom has a decade of experience in the academic sector, where he innovated with emerging technologies to create accurate, standardised, and scalable solutions for interpreting the complexity of natural ecosystems.

Dr Doug Wilson OBE leads science strategy at UKCEH. He has more than 25 years’ experience in environmental science, management and regulation. Doug was formerly the Environment Agency’s Chief Scientist where he led the organisation’s innovative environmental monitoring, data analysis and reporting on the state of the environment.