Chris is Chief Executive at Social Enterprise Scotland. He is an experienced social entrepreneur who has launched a number of social enterprises including the Callander Hostel, which welcomes more than 6,000 overnight guests per year and trains young people in hospitality.

 

Chris has a background in both formal and informal education, has received national acclaim for his work and, as convener of the Callander Social Enterprise Network, was responsible for Callander becoming Scotland’s first Social Enterprise Town.

 

Chris has an interest in impact investment and is Chair of Impact Investment Partnership Scotland who recently launched the £15m Catalyst Fund to support early-stage social enterprises.

Paul is the founder and CEO of Rising Academies, one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, and Certified B Corp®.

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Launched in 2014, Rising provided emergency home schooling to children in Sierra Leone who were kept out of school during the Ebola Crisis, opened its first school in April 2015, and now works with more than 200,000 students across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Uganda. During the COVID-19 epidemic, Rising’s multi-award winning distance learning solution ‘Rising On Air’ reached children in 25 countries and was translated into 12 languages.

 

Before launching Rising Academies, Paul was a founding team member at the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and later served as Deputy CEO. He began his career as a think-tank researcher and UK government strategy adviser. He has a BA and MA from Manchester University, and an MPA from Princeton University. He was named a UBS Global Visionary and a Mulago Foundation Rainer Arnhold Fellow in 2019.

Rachel is a Black British filmmaker and the co-founder of production company Chocolate Films. She works extensively in video production for arts, culture and heritage and works with galleries and museums across the UK, Europe and the Middle East to produce exhibition AV, documentaries and promotional content.

 

Rachel is passionate about producing factual content that highlights human stories and society today. She is the co-creator of ‘1000 Londoners’, the online documentary portrait of the capital. Her latest long-form documentary, ‘Her Life Matters’, is an insight into an international campaign to reduce maternal mortality.

 

As an advocate for improving diversity in the media, Rachel spearheads a video production workshop programme through Chocolate Films. Chocolate Films Workshops reaches on average 2-5000 children, young people and vulnerable adults per year. Rachel studied at Bristol University, University of Law and Wimbledon School of Art. She holds honorary doctorates in Law and Business and sits on the panels of Film London’s Film Hub and London Screen Archive Committee. Rachel is a UK Council member of the Creative Industries Federation and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Rosie is the Founder and Managing Director of Miss Macaroon, a patisserie where 100% of profits are invested into helping unemployed young people gain skills that will help change their lives. Miss Macaroon is also a Gateway Organisation for the Kickstart Scheme, further combating youth unemployment.

 

Rosie is an England Committee Member on The National Lottery Community Fund, and an Adviser on Colmore BID’s ‘Future Business District Study’ Advisory Panel. She was awarded an MBE in 2019 for her services to the community, and her work in providing support for young people facing long-term unemployment.

Sara is an impact-entrepreneur and good business optimist, most recently Co-Founding The Good Business Club. She also mentors the next generation of leaders looking to redesign the world of business, for good.

 

When she’s not banging the drum for purpose-led business, you can find her touring around on her motorbike or breaking the taboo around mental health. The world of business is changing and Sara is leading the charge.

 

She believes there’s a different way to do business that positively impacts people and the planet while still being profitable and is demystifying what that looks like to support business owners create sustainable businesses, for themselves and the world.