futureEurope The European Network

Alan Ewing – CEO SCiDelta President - futureEurope.org

Alan is CEO of SCiDELTA, strategic advisors to SMEs, multi-national clients and investors throughout Europe. He has worked and lived in most European countries advising on change, re-structuring capital funding for multi-nationals and SMEs. He has a BSC in Economics from the University of Wales and an MSc in IT from UWE.

Alan worked for Westland Aircraft marketing helicopters and engineering products in Europe, West Africa and USA. Aged 26 he became Chief Economist for ITMF, Zurich. Returning to the UK he worked in London during the Stock Exchange ‘Big Bang’ for Sky, Observer, Morgan Grenfel and Natwest Stockbrokers, becoming Assistant Finance Director of the UK's largest private client stockbrokers. He joined Oracle in 1989 to set up their European Applications Division and went on to set up his own company with clients throughout Europe including Europcar, BP, Unisys, and Pfizer.

In 1999 Alan and his business partner Ben Way received over £100m of funding from a Jersey based Investment Company. In the same year Ben received the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award from the current UK PM Gordon Brown. They have since been involved in the set-up over 30 companies throughout Europe and been involved with some of Europe’s largest change management projects, the latest being a €500m 7 years project for over 500,000 personnel.

Alan is a representative of a number of investment boards including Kleinwort Benson, Fenners, and Katalyst.

Chris Baker – Snr. Vice President Oracle Corp.

Chris is responsible for Oracle’s technology division in the UK, Ireland, Israel and South Africa. Chris joined Oracle in January 1997 holding a number of senior management positions, including Vice President and Head of Oracle’s Consulting Practice for its operations in the UK, Ireland and South Africa and Vice President for Oracle’s Application and Technology products in the UK, Ireland and South Africa. Additionally he was UK Director for the Support Organisation within Oracle.

Chris has a degree in Engineering and is a qualified Engineer. Chris has been instrumental in recent years in the successful integration of several Oracle acquisitions. In 2005 he was one of the founders of the UK Innovation Forum, along with Gary Pugh (VP Oracle Eastern Europe), Alan Ewing (President – FutureEurope.org) and Graham Brant (former head of Microsoft Consulting).

Sue Thexton - CEO ThextonWorlock

Sue Thexton is CEO of ThextonWorlock Consulting and was Managing Director of ITN Archive - one of the biggest archive footage collections in the world representing British Pathe, Channel 4, Granada, Reuters and Fox Movietone. Prior to that she was Vice President for Macromedia Europe, the multimedia internet software company, for 10 years. She also set up and built Adobe UK, the company responsible for Photoshop.

Well known in the new media industry, Sue speaks regularly at conferences. She is Honorary Visiting Professor at Middlesex University, and has been the Chairman of the British Interactive Multimedia Association, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and also a Governor of Thames Valley University. Sue has been a member of the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Committee since its inception in September 1997 (Chair between 1999 and 2004) and a member of the BAFTA Council since 1999.

Alan Bristow – Founder Icon Corporate Finance

Winner of Corporate Finance Adviser of the Year and 8th Corporate Power Player in the UK, Alan is recognized as one of the country's leading corporate finance advisers to private companies.

Alan has over 18 years of combined fund raising and Mergers and Acquisitions experience. Throughout this period Alan has dealt with some of the world's leading investors and specializes in all aspects of raising venture capital, joint ventures, management buy-outs, acquisitions and corporate sales. He has advised on over 200 transactions with an enterprise value of well over £1 billion. In 1999 he founded ICON as one of the UK's very few specialist corporate finance advisory firms that act exclusively for technology companies. He has been recognized as the UK's No 1 specialist corporate finance adviser and ranked within the UK's top 50 power brokers for the last three years. Prior to establishing ICON, he spent four years in Australia as the Finance Director of an Australian Investment Group. He holds a degree in Economics and Politics and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1985. Alan currently acts for technology clients within the UK, Europe, Australia and the US. He is a frequent speaker and author on venture capital fundraising.

Prof. Julian Chaudhuri – Head of Dept BioChemical Engineering / Deputy Director of Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Bath University

Julian is Professor of Biochemical & Biomedical Engineering, a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is an international ally and acknowledged expert in stem cell and biotechnology research.

He holds degrees from University College London, and the University of Reading, and is the Deputy Director of the University of Bath Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Julian is an advisor to a number of international organizations and is chair of several Government bodies. His work is currently supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and charity grants and has previously been funded by industry (Smith & Nephew plc and Tissue Science Laboratories plc.

In 2005 he was one of the founders of the UK Innovation Forum, along with Gary Pugh (VP Oracle, Eastern Europe), Chris Baker (SVP Oracle) and Graham Brant (former head of Microsoft Consulting).

Mike Campbell – Managing Director Ferranti Capital

Mike is the Managing Director of Ferranti Capital in Europe. His team invests in or acquires underperforming businesses that lack the necessary financial and management resources to meet their full potential with a focus on engineering and manufacturing industries.

Located in London and Shanghai, with degrees in Electrical Engineering, he has a broad range of skills and experience including finance, investment banking, private equity, M&A, turn around and performance improvement, operational management, strategic management, business consulting, corporate finance and research.

Mike holds an Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering and an MBA. He is also a regular guest lecturer at Warwick University. He specialises in the critical factors that make technology and manufacturing businesses successful.