Futurefit: how to pivot, innovate and thrive in the new now

Paul Thwaite was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Banking in November 2019, and is responsible for the business supporting clients ranging from SME’s through to multi-nationals.

Paul has a track record of success in senior business and functional roles across Wholesale, Corporate, International and Retail Banking for RBS, and was most recently responsible for the bank’s SME franchise and commercial product businesses, including Lombard Asset Finance and Transaction Services. Prior to this, he held Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer roles in International Banking, based in the UK and the US and working across multiple geographies.

Outside the bank, Paul is a Non-Executive Director of Motability Operations Group plc, and member of the Whitehall Industry Group, various Financial Institutions advisory boards, and the Business Finance Council. Paul is a strong supporter of Diversity & Inclusion, and has been the Executive sponsor of D&I for the Commercial Bank since 2017.

Michael is an entrepreneur, broadcaster and author. He co-founded the campaigns firm Seven Hills & co-authored Mission (Penguin). 

He is Chairman of Entrepreneurs at the private bank and wealth manager Coutts and co-founded the national campaign for early stage enterprise, StartUp Britain. 

Michael is Honorary Professor of the Purpose Economy at the University of London where he also holds an Honorary Doctorate. He is also an Honorary Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and is an advisory board member of the School of Business & Management, Queen Mary University of London.
 
He hosts the podcast Change Makers for Seven Hills and the TV show Capital Conversation on London Live. He is also a columnist for CityAM, Country and Town House, and the Yorkshire Post.

Michael was awarded an MBE for services to enterprise promotion, entrepreneurship and education. 

He is a Deputy Lieutenant for Surrey and a Freeman of the City of London.

Stephen Blackman is the Principal Economist and Director of Strategic Research for the NatWest Group. He helps the Board and Executive Committee to make strategic decisions in response to the most profound trends facing our customers and wider stakeholders. He has also established an internal research function that combines data science, social and behavioural research with economics to better understand and answer some of the biggest socio-economic questions. Stephen speaks regularly with senior decision makers across public, 3rd and private sectors as well as often appearing in the media.

Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a Joint Venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India. In the Monde Selection, one of the most prestigious quality awards in the world for beer, the Cobra range have collectively been awarded a total of 121 Gold and Grand Gold medals since 2001, making it one of the most awarded beers in the world. 

Lord Bilimoria is the Founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council, a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, a former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London); he was the youngest University Chancellor in the UK when appointed. Karan was a former Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group now TESCO PLC (2007-2016); he is one of the first two visiting entrepreneurs at the University of Cambridge; he is a founding member of the Prime Minister of India’s Global Advisory Council. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, making him the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords.  In 2008 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India. He is an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and was Chair of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University from 2015-2020 and subsequently appointed as an Honorary Ambassador.  He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and graduated in law from the University of Cambridge. He is also an alumnus through executive education of the Cranfield School of Management, the London Business School and the Harvard Business School. In July 2014, he was installed as the seventh Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, making him the first Indian-born Chancellor of a Russell Group University in Great Britain, and he is the President of the UK Council for International Students Affairs (UKCISA). Since 2017 Lord Bilimoria has been a Bynum Tudor Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. Lord Bilimoria is an Honorary Group Captain in 601 Squadron Royal Air Force. In June 2020, he was appointed President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). In September 2020, he was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford based at the Centre for Corporate Reputation.

Dr Ali Parsa is a British-Iranian healthcare entrepreneur and engineer. He’s the founder and CEO of Babylon, the revolutionary AI and digital health company. Babylon’s mission is to put an accessible and affordable health service in the hands of every person on earth.

Dr Parsa was listed in The Times 100 people to watch. The Health Service Journal recognised him as one of ‘the 50 most influential people in UK healthcare’. He was featured in the Maserati 100, a list that recognises game-changing entrepreneurs. He’s a UK Cabinet Office Ambassador for Mutuals and has a PhD in Engineering Physics.

Tamara is Founder and CEO of Mr & Mrs Smith, the boutique hotel booking specialists. An entrepreneur with a background in marketing and technology, she co-founded Mr & Mrs Smith with her husband James, and has been responsible for evolving the company’s digital infrastructure ever since. Pivoting from publishing house to online travel agent in 2005, as CTO she oversaw the development of Mr & Mrs Smith’s in-house booking engine and proprietary availability-management systems, apps and Alexa voice skill. Today, Smith has more than 1.5 million members worldwide and a fully distributed global team. Tamara and her husband were awarded MBEs for services to the British travel industry.

In 1995, Renée Elliott founded Planet Organic, the first organic supermarket in the UK and now a successful multi-million-pound brand. From an early age she was asking: is there a better way? And she has been committed to that ethos ever since. Hers is a healthy living story that has created a haven for food and encouraged more of us to make the right choices. Together with Sam Wigan, she is co-founder of business and life skills academy Beluga Bean.

Natalie Campbell was appointed CEO of Belu Water in 2020. She is an award-winning social entrepreneur and HarperCollins author. She is co-founder of A Very Good Company, a global social innovation agency that has worked with brands like Virgin Media, Marks & Spencer, W Hotels, the Guardian and Channel 4. As a non-executive director, she chaired the Nominet Trust and National Council for Voluntary Youth Services and she was on the board of UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, for 10 years.