Since it’s foundation in 1997, The Enterprise Forum’s not-for-profit structure offers a transparent Forum to allow businesses to debate and inform across the public affairs industry. The Enterprise Forum has held meetings with our members and Government, the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the TUC, Devolved and Local Government, the CBI, the Bank of England, the European Commission, the European Parliament and journalists.
The President and the Vice-Presidents of The Enterprise Forum are unpaid and do not sit on the Management Board.
The Enterprise Forum is run by an unpaid board of senior directors drawn from business and industry (see biographies below).
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The Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles has been President of The Enterprise Forum since 2017. Lord Pickles was appointed Special Envoy for Post-Holocaust issues in September 2015, replacing Sir Andrew Burns. Sir Eric works closely with the wide range of Holocaust academics, survivors and educational and social organisations in the UK. Lord Pickles was Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 until he stood down at the general election in June 2017. He was formerly Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Lord Pickles was educated at Greenhead Grammar School and Leeds Polytechnic. Lord Pickles was the Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Champion from 2015 to Spring 2017, and was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015. He was Leader of Bradford City Council from 1988 to 1990. He held a number of positions while in opposition, including Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2007 to 2009 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2009 to 2010. He worked as a consultant in employment practice and as Local Government Editor for Conservative Newsline before becoming an MP in 1992. He is a trustee of 2 local charities – Brentwood Foyer and Brentwood Theatre. Eric lives with his wife Irene in Brentwood, Essex. |
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As a founder of The Enterprise Forum, Andrew took over as chairman in February 2001. He is Director of his own business, having previously been Head of Public Affairs at Penna, and an International Director with PPS. He also has worked in senior roles with Ericsson, 3, Direct Impact and McDonald's. Andrew is co-founder and former Deputy Chairman of the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and was a Councillor for the ward of Caversham in Reading. He was previously Leader of Reading Borough Council and the Conservative Group. He has served on many voluntary bodies and is a Freeman of the City of Lancaster. Andrew was the Chairman of the Lancaster Conservative Association, 1993-1996 and stood as a candidate for both the Lancashire County Council and Lancashire City Council. During the 1997 General Election Campaign, Andrew stood as the Conservative Candidate in Copeland. As well as the co-founder of the Enterprise Forum, Andrew has been a member of a number of associations including; Lancaster & Wyre, Southgate, Hertford & Stortford and Reading West. He is currently leading a business consortium in Reading to deliver a new theatre and arts venue for the town. |
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Jill is one of the original directors of the Enterprise Forum. A solicitor specialising in employment law by profession, Jill also has experience in representing business as a former director of the London Chamber of Commerce and of Business Link London South, where she chaired the Remuneration Committee. From 1994-98 she was a Councillor for the London Borough of Bromley, during which time she lead on economic development. In her final year she was Deputy Leader of the Council. She stood in Walthamstow in the 1997 election and has held a number of senior positions on the voluntary side of the Conservative Party.
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Ian Twinn is a former UK Conservative Member of Parliament for Edmonton in north London (1983-1997) and a former Conservative Member of the European Parliament for London (2003-4). He was an alternate member of European Economic and Social Committee 2013-14. Ian was also the London Regional Chairman of the Conservative Party. From 1975 to 1983 Ian was a Senior Lecturer in Town Planning at the then South Bank Polytechnic. He has a PhD from Reading University on pressure groups and road planning and a degree in Geography from the University of Aberystwyth. Ian was the Director of Public Affairs at ISBA – The Voice of British Advertisers from 1998 to 2017. He was responsible for UK and European Union affairs, internal and external communications. Ian was also Chairman of UK ICC Marketing and Advertising Commission. Ian is also:
@IanTwinn on twitter |
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As well as being a Director and Vice Chairman of the Enterprise Forum, Lionel is also Vice President of PublicAffairsAsia, and Senior Counsel at Atticus Partners. Lionel has been Chairman of the Government Affairs Group, President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and Chairman of the PRCA Public Affairs Board. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Public Relations, and of the Public Relations Communications Association. He has written, spoken and taught widely on politics and public affairs, and is author of a books on political campaigning, political lobbying and the Conservative Party. He is a former Conservative Councillor, Parliamentary candidate, election agent and association chairman. He was awarded Public Affairs News Personality of the Year in 2008, Public Affairs News 'Outstanding Contribution' in 2012, CIPR Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and PRCA Outstanding Contribution award in 2019.
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Alistair was the Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire from June 2001 to November 2019, having previously held the seat of Bury North between 1983 – ’97. Alistair has served as PPS to Rt. Hon Kenneth Baker (1985-90), junior minister at the Department of Social Security in 1992 and was promoted to Minister of State, Minister for Disabled People in 1995. Returning to Westminster in 2001, Alistair was PPS to the Leader of the Opposition from November 2002 to May 2005, following which he was appointed Shadow Minister for Communities and Regeneration with responsibility for social justice and action. In 2008 he was made Assistant Chief Whip and Deputy Party Chairman. Following the May 2010 General Election Alistair was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Minister for the Middle East and South Asia. Alistair is on the Board of Patrons of Habitat for Humanity GB, a charity tackling poverty housing on a global scale and an Ambassador to Prospects, an organisation working with people with learning disabilities. Alistair qualified as a solicitor in 1980 and has also worked in recruitment as a headhunter for the not-for-profit sector at Whitehead Mann GKR (1997 – 2001). In addition, Alistair is the co-Founder of the Enterprise Forum and served as Chairman between 1998 and 2001. |
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Mark was MP for Hertford & Stortford from June 2001 to November 2019. In November 2002, he was appointed Shadow Financial Secretary. A year later he became Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs. In November 2004, Mark became an Opposition Whip. In December 2005, he was made Shadow Spokesman for Business & Enterprise and this role was confirmed in July 2007 with a wider brief on Enterprise, Deregulation and Competition. In July 2007 he was also appointed Shadow Minister for his home county of Cornwall. On being re-elected as the member for Hertford & Stortford in the 2010 General Election, Mark Prisk MP was asked by the Prime Minister to join the Coalition Government. He was appointed as a Minister for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. His Ministerial portfolio whilst wide ranging focuses on key business sectors, promoting enterprise and cutting red tape. In June, the Prime Minister asked him to also take on the Trade and Investment Ministerial portfolio until January 2011. During his Parliamentary career his roles have included Vice Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Small Business Group, Honorary Vice President of the Small Business Bureau and Chairman of the East Hertfordshire Business Forum. Previously, Mark worked in the property and economic development markets as a director of a £3m practice (1983 - 1991). Between 1991 - 2001, Mark advised a wide range of professional firms both in the UK and abroad through his own strategic marketing and communication consultancy. |
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Malcolm Harbour was elected to the European Parliament in June 1999, and re-elected in June 2004 and 2009. He represented the West Midlands Region of the UK. He was Chairman of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and was a Member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group. He was Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA) and a Member of the Inter-Parliamentary Delegation to Japan. Malcolm Harbour takes a special interest in the EU single market, industry, science and technology policy. He was Chairman of the European Manufacturing Forum, and the Ceramics Industry Forum and was Governor of the European Internet Foundation. He was the lead MEP (rapporteur) for major legislation on Telecoms, the Single Market and Motor Vehicle standards until he stepped down as an MEP in 2014. From 2005 to 2009, he served on the CARS 21 High Level Group, a Europe-wide initiative to boost the automotive industry. He was named as a top 50 European of 2006 for his key role in broking agreement on the Services Directive. In May 2006, he was named the UK’s most Small Business Friendly UK Parliamentarian by members of the Forum of Private Business. In September 2010, he was voted Internal Market MEP of the Year. In November 2012, in a ranking produced by Euractiv, he was named the 3rd most influential Briton in EU policy. Malcolm was appointed a CBE for services to the UK economy in the 2013 Honour's List. Before his election to the Parliament, Malcolm Harbour spent 32 years in the motor industry, as an engineer, a senior commercial executive, a consultant and a researcher. He began his motor industry career in the BMC Longbridge Plant as an Austin Engineering Apprentice in 1967. Malcolm Harbour was born in February 1947. He was educated at Bedford School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in Engineering, and at the University of Aston where he gained a Diploma in Management Studies. He received an Honorary DSc from Aston in 2008. |
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Crispin has been the Finance Director of the forum since its inception. Crispin qualified as Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and as a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner whilst working at, what is now, PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC"). Whilst there he managed aspects of a number of high profile assignments in a variety of industries including Maxwell Communication Corporation plc, Atlantic Computers plc, and Paramount Insurance Company Ltd as well as developing a number of internal management tools and systems. Crispin left PwC in 1999 to become the Finance Director of Worldpop Ltd and following the sale of the business he became the Commercial Director of JG IPR Ltd. Crispin was called to the bar in 2004. Crispin is also a part qualified ski instructor. |
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Mark has been Executive Director of the Enterprise Forum since October 2010. Prior to joining the Forum, Mark managed the public relations and press activity for the National Pharmacy Association for four years. In his time there he organised public affairs events including the Health Inequalities Summit at Toynbee Hall and the launch of the first ever Ask Your Pharmacist Week at the Houses of Parliament. Previously he worked for three years organising public relations activities for pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. Mark has a BSc in Biotechnology and his research at University was published in Avian and Poultry Biology Reviews in 2003. He also worked voluntarily for a year at the RAFT Institute in Mount Vernon Hospital developing antibodies that bind skin cancer cells. With his partner's family living in the West Balkans, he is interested in the region's culture and politics. Mark has a good understanding of Serbo-Croatian. |
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Hicham provides political and commercial Campaign management, international communications and public affairs advice to clients for their Campaigns. He has worked with the UK's advertisers' body ISBA, where he led the media campaign to stop Google monetising unverified content that impacts and damages brand reputation and safety. He also led the media campaign to increase agency transparency with ISBA's Media Services Contract. In the UK and international political arena, Hicham has worked on several high-profile Campaigns: the 2011 “No to AV” referendum campaign (where he was a National Organiser), the “Back Boris 2012” campaign for Boris Johnson’s Mayoral re-election, and the 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 General Elections. He was also involved in former Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, and subsequently Boris Johnson’s party Leadership campaigns. He was the international public relations and public affairs consultant to the Brazilian Ministry of Sport during the London 2012 Olympics, The Confederations Cup, Brazil World Cup and Rio 2016. Internationally, he ran the international positioning campaign for the Secular Syrian Opposition in its very first phase. Early in his career he worked in Parliament for The Rt Hon. the Lord Howard of Lympne CH QC and Rt Hon David Cameron in the Office of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. He has managed several election campaigns in Europe and the Middle East. During campaigns, he is in charge of campaign strategy, message development, polling, data analysis and the digital campaign. He also works on enhancing clients’ media profiles and messages through impactful coverage in the print press, broadcast media and social media. Hicham read International Relations with International Political Economy at the University of Hull and also has a MA in Terrorism and Security from the University of Leeds. |
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Lisa has a career background working in financial services including as Director of Political Relations at KPMG and private equity. She was also Head of Parliamentary Affairs at the CBI and Chair of Westminster Forum. Currently Lisa is involved in the restoration programme for the Palace of Westminster |
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Clarence Mitchell joined Burson-Marsteller UK as a Managing Director in September 2011, where he provides strategic counsel to corporate and public affairs clients at the most senior levels across all practice areas, with his particular specialism in media relations, international reputation management and stakeholder engagement. He was appointed Practice Chair, UK Public Affairs in May 2012, leading on advising clients over engagement with both the British Government and the British Conservative Party. His current corporate clients include Microsoft, Heineken, Lloyds Banking Group, Hewlett Packard and Costa Cruises. He provided strategic crisis counsel to Costa’s Chairman and CEO during the recent Costa Concordia cruise liner disaster in Italy. His Governmental clients include the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining B-M, Clarence was Director of Media Strategy and Public Affairs at Lewis PR in London, where he similarly provided strategic counsel on issues and crisis management and public affairs to the client list, including a number of UK charities and not-for-profit organisations. Previously, he was a consultant with Freud Communications offering the corporate client list print and broadcast media training for both C-suite and middle management. Prior to that, he was Director of the UK Government’s Media Monitoring Unit, based within the Cabinet Office, leading a 30-strong team of Information Officers that advised No 10 Downing Street and all of the major UK Departments of State on how best to respond to the 24/7 news agenda. More recently, Clarence was also Head of Election Media Monitoring for the British Conservative Party, based at Conservative Central HQ, during the 2010 UK General Election campaign, advising the most senior Party figures including David Cameron, George Osborne, Eric Pickles and Steve Hilton. Before moving into Government Communications and PR, he was an on-air BBC News Correspondent, Royal Correspondent, Political Correspondent and Presenter, during a 20 year career with the Corporation. He began his career in journalism as a newspaper reporter writing for both local and national UK titles in the early 1980s. He is also a Trustee of Swanswell, a national charity working to eradicate problem alcohol and drugs use. Whilst completing his journalistic apprenticeship on the Hendon and Finchley Times, Clarence frequently covered the activities of the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as one of his “local” MPs. He also accompanied the then British Prime Minister John Major “on the road” for the BBC during the 1997 UK General Election campaign. |
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Richard is a senior level international practitioner in corporate communications, issues management and public affairs, with multi jurisdictional experience of industry and government affairs. This has included extensive policy involvement at UK/EU levels, leadership of in-house public affairs briefs, tenure of European trade associations advising on social responsibility issues, and a public affairs remit in South Africa. Richard now undertakes a range of assignment work for clients requiring public and corporate affairs advice, which has included the promotion of the UK's financial and professional services sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, and corporate affairs in electronic payment systems. A long standing Director of the Enterprise Forum, he has helped steer the Forum in developing progressive business relationships and policy development with the Conservative Party. He is active in constituency politics and membership development. In recreation, Richard is an active Rotarian, enjoys watching and playing sport and is a keen aviator. |
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Royston Smith GM was a Conservative Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen between 2015 and 2024. He was a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee for seven years and a member of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for nine years, where he was an international election observer. Before entering parliament, Royston served as a councillor on Southampton City Council for 16 years reaching Leader of the City Council in 2010. He was simultaneously Chairman of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, a position he held for six years. In a career spanning three decades, Royston served in the Royal Air Force for a decade as an aircraft engineer, flying with the Nimrod Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft during the Cold War, followed by 16 years as a maintenance engineer with British Airways at Heathrow. During Royston's time in Parliament, he championed a multitude of causes. He supported initiatives promoting reading for underprivileged children, led the charge in the campaign to stop leaseholders in flats from being burdened with the cost of remediation for fire safety defects, and successfully secured £3m in funding from the Treasury towards a lasting legacy to the iconic Supermarine Spitfire in Southampton, which was developed and manufactured in the city. Outside of politics, Royston has run a small, successful strategic advice and communications business. He returned to that role after announcing he would step down from Parliament in 2023. |
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Phillip began his career in the political arena in 1998 in The Rt. Hon William Hague’s Conservative Business Liaison Unit. Following which he joined Dixons Group plc, advising the company Chairman, Lord Kalms, in his fight against the euro with the ‘NO’ campaign. The remainder of his time was spent lobbying the UK and EU Parliaments on behalf of the Group. After three years in this role, Phillip moved with Lord Kalms to advise him in his role as the Treasurer of the Conservative Party. In June 2005, Phillip established his own public affairs consultancy, PSA Communications, which enjoys great success specialising in the areas of: interactive software, retail, telecommunications, gambling, sports, education, media and countryside issues. |
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Craig is currently Director of Communications and Government Relations for Thales UK, a technology business which operates across the defence, security, space and transportation sectors. A graduate of Edinburgh University, Craig began his career in political research and has since worked for twenty years in government relations and corporate communications, in sectors as diverse as mobile telecommunications, agro-chemicals and nuclear generation. |
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Katherine is a strategic communications and external affairs consultant with over 20 years' experience of delivering board and senior level counsel to FTSE 100 companies, trade/membership organisations and charities. The founder of boutique communications consultancy Marland Sykes, her practice area combines strategic and crisis communications, PR, public affairs, policy and law. Previously a City lawyer specialising in art and heritage law, product litigation, regulation and public policy, she works across a range of sectors including the arts, healthcare, nutrition, medical and pharmaceutical products, FMCG and professional services. Katherine is a Past Master (2017-18) of the City of London Company of Communicators, the PR and communications' industry's livery company and a former ward chairman and vice-chairman of Holborn and St Pancras Conservative Association. She is a Chartered PR Practitioner and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, also holding a postgraduate diploma in crisis communications. In addition, Katherine is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Law Society. |
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Kegang specialises in building China-UK business partnerships and advising on China/UK market entries for the last two decades. He is a director of his own business and the BCC LinkToChina programme.
He has travelled over 80 times to China and advised hundreds of British companies through meeting programmes, promotion events, trade missions, trade fairs and roadshows he organised or facilitated. He has also engaged in attracting Chinese companies and investors to the UK. He has been a bilingual contract negotiator and international project/event facilitator with a proven track record.
Kegang has years of experience in non-for-profit business support with the British chambers of commerce network as the Chief China Adviser to British Chambers of Commerce (2008-2011), Chairman of Liverpool Chamber’s China Committee (1996–1999), the senior manager with Liverpool Chamber of Commerce responsible for international business and ChinaLink programme (1999-2008) and the BCC LinkToChina programmes based in the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (2011-2016).
His public-sector clients include UK Trade and Investment, Liverpool City Council, the University of Liverpool, Lancaster Management School, Manchester City Council, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Slough Borough Council, and Bracknell Forest Council. He was pivotal in setting up the sister-cities between the Liverpool and Shanghai in 1999 and running the twinning programmes for 4 years for Liverpool.
His private-sector clients include multinational and SME in award-winning projects such as the export of a British designed and manufactured robotic optical telescope to China, a global software company started in Hangzhou by two British software designers, a Wakefield based engineering company successfully traded its way from closing-down to global success through the work in China, and a leading British designer landed the design contracts of the Chinese high speed train manufacturer, etc.
In 2010 Kegang stood as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Liverpool Riverside seat and fought a professional campaign. Kegang was also a member of the Liverpool Association Management Committee and a member of the Merseyside City Seat Initiative (CSI). He is now focusing on economic and international issues especially on trade and relation with China.
Kegang obtained his PhD in Geography from King’s College London. He taught for ten years in South China Normal University (1985-1990) and the University of Liverpool (1994-1999). His current interest includes reading and researching for a book on UK and China business. |
