Innovation Council
New for 2012, MI EXPO have formed an innovation council made up of the most influential innovators plus those who have their finger on the pulse of technology led marketing start-ups.
Our prestigious line up of innovators will play an active role in steering the agenda by telling us their trend predictions, start-ups they think are set to explode and new marketing tools/techniques the industry should take note of.
Innovation Council
Tim Brooks, Executive Fellow at London Business School and ex MD of Guardian News & Media
Tim Brooks is Executive Fellow in the Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. His consultancy, 2Riders Consulting, works with companies and senior leaders in the media and related sector. 25 years of running media businesses (beginning with his own start-up) have included 6 years on the board of IPC Media, and, for the past five years, as Managing Director of Guardian News & Media, during which time he was also Chairman of the Newspaper Publishers Association.
Ian Broom, co-founder Launch48
In 2004 Ian started Weboo in Australia to help clients with online advice, development, and management. In 2007 Ian moved to the UK and started Weboo in the UK in 2009. Weboo has rapidly expanded and today works with some of the biggest companies in the UK as well as helping smaller clients in the UK and Australia to effectively use the internet. Ian is a serial networker who works hard to help others and enhance the startup community globally. He is passionate in the business opportunities the internet offers entrepreneurs and works hard to stay on top of the latest technologies to ensure he can always give current advice to startups and customers.
Michael Hayman, co-founder StartUp Britian
Co-founder of StartUp Britain, a national initiative for early stage enterprise supported by HM Government, which was recently launched by the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Secretary of State for Business. Michael is chairman of entrepreneurs at Coutts & Co, a columnist for Real Business and is the 2011 chairman for MADE: The Entrepreneurs Festival. He serves as deputy chairman of the Ministerial Ambassador Group for Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative chaired by the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise. Michael is also a non-executive member of Festivals Edinburgh, is listed in Debrett's People of Today and is an ambassador for the Courvoisier Future 500.
Fred Mendelsohn is the Chairman of AXM VC Limited
Fred Mendelsohn is the Chairman of AXM VC Limited which manages the Creative Capital Fund (CCF). In 2000 he co-founded Axiomlab Group PLC, which made over 30 direct and indirect investments in early-stage businesses. Previously he worked for Mckinsey and Co and Arthur Andersen. Fred gained an MBA from the Harvard Business School, as well as an MA from St Edmund Hall, OxfordUniversity. He is a chartered accountant’.
John V Willshire, founder of Smithery
John V Willshire is the founder of Smithery, an innovation works, and helps make businesses more human and connective at every step, through technological, social and culturally relevant ideas, and helps make the stories told about brands increasingly more resonant. Formerly, John was Chief Innovation Officer at PHD Media, working with clients such as Kraft, Cadbury, Warner Bros, Sainsbury's, The Guardian and Dyson.
Taru Jain, Managing Director, UTalkMarketing Asia
Taru has had the fortune of working extensively in both advertising agencies (Interpublic 1994-2000, WPP 2008-2011) AND digital marketing agencies (Uovo 2000-2002, LBi - 2002 -2007, which is Europe's largest digital agency) and till recently, as Managing Director of XM-Asia (part of WPP), Singapore's most awarded digital agency. Taru is driven by a passion to help people maximise their potential. After 18 years of leading and managing businesses, Taru now focuses on training and coaching executives - and help accelerate their path to success! Success has come consistently, across markets in Europe and Asia, with Taru having worked in India, London and Singapore.
Andrew Walmsley, digital pluralist
Andrew co-founded i-level, the digital media agency that revolutionised the UK’s internet advertising market. Starting the business in 1999, he built it to over £100m turnover, winning over 50 awards including agency of the year eight times and a Queen's Award for Enterprise. He was named London Media Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young in 2006, and given the Chairman's award by the Association of Online Publishers for outstanding contribution to the industry in 2007, selling the business to private equity in 2008 before moving on to develop interests in other ventures. He is now an active investor, sits on the board of several companies, on the Advertising Association’s Credos board and writes a weekly column for Marketing.
