Georgie Holt is the CEO and Co-Founder of FlightStory, a media and investment company building the future of media for the creator age with entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. FlightStory builds and scales creator-led media brands, partnering with creators to develop global IP, grow audiences and expand their platforms across content, products and communities.

The company is home to The Diary of a CEO, reaching over 40 million people each month and more than 15 million YouTube subscribers.

Previously Holt served as Managing Director at Acast across the UK and US, helping lead the business through its IPO. She was recognised by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the most important figures in podcasting.

Julian Payne is the UK CEO of Edelman, the world’s largest communications agency. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing business growth, creative excellence, and strategic client counsel across the UK. Prior to joining Edelman, Julian spent five years with the British Royal Family as Communications Secretary to Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall—now King Charles III and Queen Camilla—and as a strategic advisor to the wider Institution.

Julian has held senior global roles specialising in corporate, brand, and digital communications for organisations including the BBC, where he was Director of Communications, and Burberry, where he served as VP Global PR and Corporate Affairs. He also serves as Chair of Corporate Affairs for Edelman EMEA and as Global Chair of Crisis and Risk, advising multinational clients on complex issues at the intersection of reputation, leadership, and trust.

Claire Sanderson is the multi award-winning editor-in-chief of Women’s Health UK and Men’s Health UK. She is responsible for the content strategy and direction of both market-leading brands across all platforms. Claire is a regular contributor to TV, radio and co-hosts the number one health and fitness podcast Just As Well.

With over 27 years’ editorial experience, she has held several senior roles at high-profile media brands including Look and Grazia. She began her career as a news journalist for The Mirror and worked for national newspapers for eight years before moving to magazines. Claire joined Hearst UK in January 2017 and has led the Women’s Health brand for 9 years. In 2023, she was also appointed Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health UK - the first woman globally to lead the brand.

Lea is a multi-award-winning behavioural scientist and founder of Mindscope, the first behavioural science labs specialising in the new era of influence; shaping behaviour in new dynamic landscapes across tech, entertainment, culture and commerce. Named a “pioneer in the field of Behavioural Science” by Campaign Magazine, she developed a reputation as one of the most sought-after and disruptive experts, speakers and thought leaders in consumer behaviour today, and has made her mission to turn complex human behaviours into accessible interventions that translate behavioural insight into meaningful commercial and human impact.

Her impact had her recognised by leading industry accolades such as Campaign Media Week 30 Under 30 (2022), Management Today 35 Women Under 35 (2023), and The Media Leader Future 100 (2024), with Lea also featured by Inside Behavioural Economics as one of the world’s top behavioural experts. As the Behavioural Advisor and Executive Member of The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences – alongside figures like Tim Berners-Lee and Alexis Ohanian – Lea has been instrumental in pioneering the integration of behavioural science into media and marketing practices Helping clients understand hidden viewer habits, decode the science behind brand experiences, and anticipate trends across content, marketing, AI, e-commerce, and digital media, Lea is redefining how communities and human connections evolve in today’s cultural landscape. Her client range spans across BBC, Canon, Amex, TikTok, Snapchat, Google and many more.

Mike Soutar is an entrepreneur, advisor and non-executive director, known for his ability to build and transform businesses. He has held leadership roles at iconic media brands like FHM, Kiss FM and the Evening Standard. Mike was Founder and CEO of Shortlist Media and, for the last 14 years, he has been a meticulous interviewer on BBC One's The Apprentice. He writes and speaks on entrepreneurship, resilience and leadership. His debut book, Next Gen CEO, will be published by Pan Macmillan in June this year.

Rachel Richardson is a youth culture expert who reports on Gen A and Z trends for the highly flammable newsletter. She was the head of editorial at Snapchat where over 90 per cent of American Zoomers watched content curated by her team. Rachel was twice honoured by the British Society of Magazine Editors as their Editor of the Year during her time at Fabulous magazine.

Shira Jeczmien is the founder and CEO of SCREENSHOT Media, one of the UK's fastest-growing influencer agencies and next-gen media companies.

She founded the company in her mid-20s, bootstrapped it from scratch, and has built a global creator ecosystem that helps brands use influencer as a genuine growth engine. Her client roster includes Little Moons, JD Sports, Birkenstock, Vinted, WEEKDAY, and Feeld.

Shira was championing micro and nano creators before it was the obvious move, and has since scaled SCREENSHOT into a full-service influencer and media challenger agency.

Katrina Broster is the Marketing Performance & Technology Director at the Financial Times, on a mission to make marketing smarter, sharper and more effective. A performance marketer through and through, Katrina develops future-proof marketing strategies rooted in data, technology and measurement excellence. She’s a media subscription growth expert with a track record spanning The Telegraph, The Independent and Future PLC, and a passion for audience-first acquisition that delivers tangible results.

At the FT, Katrina leads performance marketing, measurement and tech innovation to strengthen the connection between commercial strategy and ROI, navigating digital transformation and helping the organisation adapt to an ever-changing landscape. She loves digging into numbers, advancing how marketers think about performance, and championing the role of subscriptions in sustainable business growth. There’s still so much left to do — and she’s just getting started.

Dave Musgrove has worked on the BBC History Magazine and HistoryExtra brand for over 20 years. He leads the content team across its print, social, web, app, podcast, video and live event channels. 

Magda Woods is a consultant, entrepreneur, and AI strategist with over a decade of experience at the intersection of data, AI, and publishing. She founded AndTheRobots, advising media and publishing businesses on how to build commercial value from AI, including leading GOV.UK's first generative AI initiative and supporting organisations from the BBC to The Economist.

Before founding AndTheRobots, Magda built and commercialised AI products from the ground up, co-founding two AI startups, leading data science teams at Future plc and The Telegraph, and translating complex technical capabilities into products.

She has a track record in commercializing technical propositions. At the PPA Festival, Magda is presenting original research commissioned by the PPA into how publishers can protect and monetise their content in the age of LLMs, covering licensing deals, copyright strategy, collective action, and the emerging economics of AI-driven traffic loss.

Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK, with over four years of experience reporting across the brand's print, social, video and digital platforms. Lia covers everything from emerging trend analysis to viral celebrity hair and makeup moments, making her an expert at spotting the season’s next big beauty look. In 2025, she was named The Rising Media Star at the Love Perfume Awards with The Perfume Shop, recognised for her outstanding digital fragrance content and for building genuine authority within the space. She is passionate about challenging outdated beauty stereotypes, championing inclusive representation in beauty, and educating readers on the trends, products and conversations shaping the industry today.

Mariana Valle is the CEO of Insurance Insider, a private equity‑backed market‑intelligence and news business serving the global specialty insurance sector.

Mariana has built her career at the intersection of high‑value information and strategic market coverage, bringing 18 years of experience in B2B news and data, through senior roles at Acuris (now ION Analytics) and later at Euromoney/Delinian.

Clare Bolton is Chief Content Officer at Law Business Research (LBR), a specialist B2B information services provider in the legal sector. The 140-strong team produces news, analysis, research tools and datasets across eight specialist platforms, all for global audiences. LBR’s products are known for their high quality and exceptional client loyalty, delivering consistent double-digit growth across revenue streams and specialisms.

Clare started her journalism career at LBR focused on Latin American coverage, and has since held most positions in the team before taking the helm in 2020.

She also leads sustainability initiatives for the broader business and is passionate about growing the business while reducing its impact on the environment.

Joe Friend is the Director and Co-Founder of Pepper, an award-winning, creator-first social media agency that partners with global publishing brands including the Financial Times, The Guardian and Future PLC. With 10 years experience in commercial radio, Joe has successfully transitioned from traditional media into influencer marketing, treating it as a media space where brands can buy the right audiences through content that feels editorial, not advertorial.