Annual Science Summit

Sir Andrew served as President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, Jeff Bezos’s $10 billion initiative to tackle climate change and protect nature, from its launch in 2021 until 2025. Prior to that, he led the World Resources Institute for eight years and held influential roles at the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development, including Special Envoy for Climate Change and Director General positions. A knighted economist, he earned his PhD in economics and finance from Cambridge and studied at St Andrews and the University of Pennsylvania. Sir Andrew was named one of the world’s 50 most impactful climate leaders by Forbes and has served on numerous international boards and councils focused on climate, energy, and sustainable development.

Justine was appointed Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor and head of the Central Science Division for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in February 2023. She is responsible for the Department’s Research, Development and Innovation portfolio and is the Deputy Head of Profession for Science and Engineering. Prior to joining Defra’s Central Science Division, Justine has had a varied career in Government, including leading multidisciplinary scientific and analytical teams in Air Quality and Resource Efficiency and in organisational change to promote the better use of analysis and data in decision making. Justine has a young family and also works as a school governor.

Charlotte is a leader in sustainable finance, with extensive experience across the public and private sectors. She currently serves as the Global Head of Unilever’s Climate and Nature Fund, leading development and implementation of innovative strategies to address climate change and nature restoration across complex supply chains. With academic roots in Environmental Science and Law, Charlotte has built a career at the intersection of finance and sustainability. Her past roles include leadership positions at Global Innovation Fund, AHL Venture Partners, Okavango Capital Partners, and Volta Capital. She served, or serves currently on the boards and investment committees of impactful organisations investing in energy services, financial services and agribusiness.

Martin is responsible for 3 million acres of farmland, timberland and nature restoration investments in 11 countries globally. He has 35 years-experience in the agriculture and forestry sectors globally, is a Nuffield Scholar and previous director and chairman of the Oxford Farming Conference.

Kyle is an internationally qualified and experienced lawyer with over twenty years of experience in the private, non-profit and government sectors. In the UK, he worked as a lawyer advising UK government for 17 years, including a number of years at Natural England. He is now focusing on the practice of environmental law at the legal charity ClientEarth, where he leads the organisation’s UK programme. His area of practice here reaches across climate and nature topics, examining how the law may be used to effectuate change across legal and economic systems to protect the planet.

Chris has worked in conservation in both Africa and Asia over the last 20 years. He has managed successful conservation projects in Africa, including five years as the Kenya Country Director for the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). He was instrumental in the design and issuance of the Wildlife Conservation Bond and has been a technical adviser to the Government of Uganda and TotalEnergies in the design of a Collaborative Management Partnership for the Murchison Falls Protected Area. Over the last decade, Chris has spent time focused on innovative financing for biodiversity, designing funds and facilities, biodiversity offsets and credits, and conservation investments.

Donna is a seasoned strategist and spatial data expert with 35 years+ of experience in geospatial, Earth Observation, and environmental sectors. She has led the development of innovative solutions, products, and communication strategies for global corporations, consistently driving change and transformation across complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Formerly the Strategic Market Lead at Ordnance Survey and Vice Chair of Space4Climate, Donna now serves as Business Development Director at Map Impact. She leverages her expertise in innovation, market development, and thought leadership to advance sustainability and climate action.

Laura is a researcher in fungal ecology, particularly in the mycorrhizal symbiosis with a focus on ectomycorrhizal fungi in forests. Laura looks at 1) the drivers of change of ectomycorrhizal fungi in forests and the consequences of changes in these fungi for forest functioning and resilience, 2) the role of mycorrhizal fungi in soil carbon sequestration and, 3) mycorrhizal fungi as indicators of soil health for ecosystem assessment. The cryptic, below-ground growth of these fungi has been an obstacle to our understanding of them despite their pivotal role in terrestrial ecosystems.  In general, her research involves the application of molecular methods, which largely overcomes this obstacle, to address fundamental biological and ecological questions.

Jose oversees a research program focused on agricultural biodiversity and genomics at the Earlham Institute (EI). His work lies at the crossroads of genome evolution and crop breeding. His group aims to comprehend how evolutionary mechanisms, like selection and hybridization, influence genetic diversity throughout the genome and how this diversity translates into agronomic traits that can be harnessed for genetic improvement. They pay special attention to hybrid crops and variations in gene expression and dosage, ultimately leading to the development of new traits. They collaborate with both commercial and international breeding programmes. Their objective is to expedite the delivery of improved crop varieties to growers by enhancing the efficiency and pace of crop improvement. The group primarily receives funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Liz is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Novel Agricultural Product, within the Department of Biology at the University of York. Her research group is focused on developing plants to remediate pollution and recover technology critical metals (nickel, platinum group and rare earth elements) from our environment. Working with chemists, she is developing pyrolysis-based techniques to optimise production of platform chemicals and biofuels from metal-rich biomass. She is actively translating this research into biomass crop species such as switchgrass and willow to produce ‘real world’ plants for environmental restoration and phytomining in-the-field.

Mr. Ahmad Alanazi, MBA, is an accomplished engineer and seasoned leader with a focus on delivering large-scale, complex initiatives. He leads the National Greening Program (NGP) under the National Centre for Vegetation Cover and Combatting Desertification المركز الوطني لتنمية الغطاء النباتي ومكافحة التصحر NCVC. The NGP forms part of the implementation of the Saudi Green Initiative, a landmark environmental program with some the world’s most ambitious environmental restoration and climate action goals. His career highlights include strategic advisory roles at the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, and 13 years at Saudi Post, where he served as Chief Strategy Officer, leading transformative change and innovate strategy.