2025 Agenda at a glance

8:30 | Arrival & Registration

Economic Growth

9:05 | Keynote: Andrew McPhillips, Northern Powerhouse Partnership

9:25 | Panel: Business Outlook

Business Growth

10:00 | Keynote: Sarah Ashby, Mamas and Papas

10:20 | Panel: Growth

10:55 | Tea/coffee & networking

Personal Growth

11:15 | Workshop: Developing Talent

12:25 | Being an authentic finance leader: Sharon Naidoo, CFO, TransUnion

12:45 | Reflections and conclusions

12:55 | Lunch

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2025 Speakers

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Sharon Naidoo, CFO, TransUnion

Recently emigrated to England (August 2024), leading the UK & European market for TransUnion, African Finance and Business Leadership Executive, Sharon Naidoo, retains 24 years of corporate experience gained across world-leading organisations in the Integrated Energy & Chemicals, Drinks & Brewing, Pharmaceutical, Food Manufacturing, Imaging & Electronics, Financial Services & Credit Providers, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industries.Her deep technical abilities and proven commercial proficiency position Sharon as a highly accomplished and versatile C-Suite resource, whose broad skill sets encompass strategic direction and operational execution of profit-driven organisational change within sustainable and well-governed systems and frameworks. She was the one of the youngest, female CFO’s in South Africa at the age of 34 appointed at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals.She is an astute business builder and articulate, practised negotiator, who achieved success in several finance and leadership roles in South Africa and Africa, in service of big brand multi-national groups. Her broad experience has afforded her practical acumen in diverse accountabilities under the varied CFO mandate across procurement, supply chain, IT, legal, commercial management, sales and marketing functions.With extensive insights into best-practice strategy expansion in Africa, for both South African and global companies, Sharon is passionate about unearthing the continent’s market potential by investing in tailored consumer-centric offerings and relevant brand-building.Equally accomplished in people leadership and talent development, she demonstrates the perfect composition of emotional intelligence, relevant industry experience, and agile management abilities to lead market and global frontrunners effectively into the continent.Sharon, is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA SA) with a Masters degree in Finance and looking forward to completing her PHD at retirement. Recently she won CFO of the year in the Transformation category in South Africa, before her move to England.

Scott Everett, Finance Director, Theakston Brewery

Chartered Accountant, Scott Everett joined the iconic Theakston's brewery as Finance Director following a 17-year career at leading drinks dispense service company Innserve, most latterly holding the role of Director of Finance and Supply Chain.

Emma Dutton, Chief Financial Officer, Myenergi

Emma is a Global Award winning CFO. Having spent the early part of her career working for a US printing firm, working in the USA, Germany & France, she returned to the UK and led the turnaround and eventual sale of several packaging and printing businesses. In recent years Emma specialised in business transformation and has been closely involved in transforming businesses within Waste Management, Waste to Energy, SAAS, Technology, Renewable (green) Energy and Manufacturing sectors.Today Emma is the Group CFO for one of the Countries leading Home Energy Management and EV charger businesses, Myenergi. Having joined the business initially as a consultant in early 2019, Emma has been pivotal in supporting the start-up business from £2m turnover to an international business with subsidiaries across UK, Europe and Australasia, state of the art manufacturing facilities and Group Turnover in excess of £60m in 4 years. Emma is a Business Angel Investor and a proactive Entrepreneur in Residence with Connect Yorkshire in supporting growing businesses and nurture emerging talent to help companies prosper, creating wealth, jobs and opportunities.

Preete Janda, Chief Financial Officer, DNA Payments

As a seasoned Chief Financial Officer with extensive experience across crypto, technology, payments, e-commerce, retail, and media, I specialise in driving financial excellence, strategic growth, and innovation. With a proven track record in fundraising, IPOs, international tax, and transformation, I bring expertise in building high-performing teams, implementing cutting-edge financial systems, and navigating complex regulatory landscapes.A finalist for CFO of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards 2022 and approved by the FCA and CBI, I am passionate about fostering transparency, leveraging emerging technologies, and aligning financial strategies with broader business objectives. An advocate for diversity and a mentor to aspiring professionals, I thrive on steering organizations through uncertainty and delivering sustainable growth.

John Newton, Finance Director, Volkswagen Group UK

John is the Finance Director of Volkswagen Group UK, the country’s largest importer of vehicles, representing Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT and Cupra Brands. His responsibilities cover finance, controlling, procurement, legal, compliance, quality, governance and risk.Prior to his current role John gained international experience serving as FD in Volkswagen Group Australia. John started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers where he gained his ICAEW qualification whilst serving corporate tax clients and also spent time with Royal Bank of Scotland including the financial crisis of 2008/9.John is a dedicated dad to 2 teenagers and to increase his suffering also follows Leeds United.

Ciara Allan, Chief Financial Officer , Arc Inspirations

Ciara is a ‘Big 4’ trained CFO with over 15 years’ experience in privately owned and PE backed businesses across a multitude of sectors. Before joining Arc Inspirations, she successfully led the sale of Cooplands Bakery to the EG Group and more recently has been supporting shareholders on the asset sale of the Woven Group.During her tenure as CFO, Ciara has been responsible for statutory and legal reporting, overhead reviews, treasury, credit control and cash flow forecasting. Ciara has also overseen IT, HR and Commercial functions throughout her career.In 2014, Ciara was interim Finance Director at UK Coal Surface Mines Ltd, where she helped prepare one of the UK’s most historic industries for insolvency.In her spare time, Ciara enjoys going on long country walks with her husband and their two dogs, as well can being a ‘caravaner’ and spending weekends away to explore new places. Ciara likes to relax over a nice glass of wine and her favourite film is the classic rom-com Sliding Doors.

James Roach, Managing Director, Headstar

James initially joined FDYL in 2013 as a portfolio FD, joining the business on a full-time basis in 2014 to help launch the recruitment division. James led the MBO into Headstar in 2020 and combines his FD consultancy work with ongoing recruitment assignments. In his spare time, he enjoys things like cycling down the Death Road in Bolivia.

Mandy Ridyard, Financial Director, Produmax

With a background in chemistry and manufacturing Mandy moved to West Yorkshire in 1994. Having worked for CarnaudMetalbox, Mars Inc and Rank Hovis McDougall she jointly led a buyout of Produmax in 1997 Produmax are aerospace engineers and are global experts in flight assemblies exporting 70% of turnover worldwide to prestigious clients including Boeing.Her leadership has seen Produmax achieve world class employee engagement, win two prestigious national aerospace awards and the MAKE:UK SME of the year 2021.Joining the board of the Leeds City Region LEP in 2019 she now chairs its successor, the West Yorkshire Business Board. She was appointed as Business Advisor to Mayor Tracy Brabin in 2023 Mandy is passionate about Business, Innovation, Skills and Inclusivity. As Chair of Space Hub Yorkshire, she has led the development of a regional strategy for space and is now leading its deployment. She is also Chair of the West Yorkshire Innovation Network, was a future ready Skills Commissioner and is an advocate for our region, innovation, manufacturing, productivity, women in engineering and skills.

Ben Priestley, CFO, Mansfield Pollard

Ben Priestley is Chief Financial Officer of leading Bradford-based manufacturer Mansfield Pollard. With an extensive background in leading strategic direction and transformation for owner-managed and private equity-backed mid-market businesses, Ben has played a key role in Mansfield Pollard’s rapid growth since its 2020 management buy-out.Ben’s influence extends well beyond the traditional boundaries of finance with his work acting as a strategic catalyst for transformative change, impacting areas including sustainability and the implementation of machine technology and AI solutions.

Ben Priestley, CFO, Mansfield Pollard

Ben Priestley is Chief Financial Officer of leading Bradford-based manufacturer Mansfield Pollard. With an extensive background in leading strategic direction and transformation for owner-managed and private equity-backed mid-market businesses, Ben has played a key role in Mansfield Pollard’s rapid growth since its 2020 management buy-out.Ben’s influence extends well beyond the traditional boundaries of finance with his work acting as a strategic catalyst for transformative change, impacting areas including sustainability and the implementation of machine technology and AI solutions.

Linda Nguyenova, Investor, BGF

Leeds-based Investor at BGF and currently a board observer at Arc Inspirations. Prior to joining BGF, Linda qualified as a chartered accountant at PwC, following which she spent nearly four years in the investment team at Endless, a leading transformational private equity house.BGF is a non-controlling investor, supporting entrepreneurs throughout the growth journey, taking a truly patient approach to investing. BGF invested over £4bn across 600+ businesses in the UK and has strong links to local and global business communities.

Andrew McPhillips, Chief Economist, Northern Powerhouse Partnership

Andrew is the Chief Economist at the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) where he is responsible for the organisation’s research and analysis. This has included research on differences in educational attainment across the country, the potential for fiscal devolution in England and understanding the differences in productivity both between and within regions.Prior to joining NPP, Andrew worked as an economist at Yorkshire Building Society where he provided economic advice to the Board and senior management team. He has also worked in the public sector in the Departments for Education, Work and Pensions, and Transport. Andrew is also a Senior Independent Director at the West Riding County FA and the former President of Leeds Credit Union.

Brendan McManus, CEO, PIB Group

After a 30 year career in larger corporate insurance organisations, Brendan has taken PIB Group from a start up in 2015 to one of Europe’s fastest growing insurance distributors. Now established in 10 countries across Europe , with over 3800 colleagues , PIB has completed over 100 acquisitions since start up, and has revenues in excess of £0.5bn.

Simon Hartley, CEO & Founder, Be World Class

Simon is an elite sport psychology consultant and world class performance coach. For almost 30 years, he has helped athletes win medals and teams win trophies – most recently with teams such as Fiji rugby 7s and FC Bayern Munich. He applies the same approaches within business and has published 12 books, including Hire Great People.

Mark Goldstone, Policy Manager - UK Competitiveness, CBI

Mark leads the CBI’s policy team covering UK Competitiveness, focusing on the levers that can unlock economic growth across English regions including planning reform, infrastructure delivery,
industrial strategy and devolution. Mark has over 18 years’ experience working on economic policy.

Sarah Ashby, CFO, Mamas and Papas

Sarah is currently the CFO of Mamas and Papas, the leading nursery brand in the UK, with her role covering finance, operations, procurement, property and legal.Sarah is ICAEW qualified but unusually studied and trained “in industry” during her first role out of university at P&G. Sarah has spent much of her career in global consumer goods businesses in a variety of finance roles (P&G, Heinz and Pladis).Latterly, she spent 4 years at Asda as a senior finance director for George Clothing and non food, plus a role leading M&A and cash management for the business. Sarah also is a charity trustee and a passionate mentor of women in business.