We will be joined by:

Event Chair:

Rod Sellers, President, ICAEW Manchester

Rod is a Chartered Accountant who has spent over 50 years in industry in finance and corporate roles including extensive experience as an Non-Exec Director/Chairman, mainly in the northwest of England. He was awarded the OBE in 2004 for “Services to Business in the North West” and continues to support business development in the region through his role as President of ICAEW Manchester. He currently co-authors, with two professors of accounting, four complementary volumes under the title of “Disruption in Financial Reporting and Auditing”.

The panel is being facilitated by:

Alex Narang, Executive of Strategy & Transactions, EY

Alex trained in audit working across a number of sectors including corporates and not for profit for 6 years. More recently Alex moved to EY and works in the transaction services team performing due diligence for buy and sell-side transactions.

Alex was the chair of the Manchester Chartered Accountants Student Society from 2019-22 and now chairs of the Manchester Young Chartered Accountants Group. Both groups host a number of social and CPD events throughout the year to support members in the local area expand their networks.

Speaker: Ben Peace, Net Zero Principal, Growth Company

As Net Zero Principal at the Growth Company, Ben is helping industry across Greater Manchester to decarbonise and realise a green industrial revolution, driving a critical mass of collaboration and knowledge sharing across the region and others that can unlock rapid transformation to make industry more competitive, resilient and sustainable.

Ben works with both individual businesses as well as targeted challenges, sectors, clusters and demonstrators, liaising closely with a broad range of stakeholders.

Ben has a multi-disciplinary approach and broad experience which includes ten years in clean-tech (in a tech start-up and then a multi-national), then ten years working to support industry across sectors on programmes such as the Northwest Eco Innovation programme and then Innovate UK KTN where he was Sustainability Lead and Head of Manufacturing, where he helped build networks, collaborations and initiatives, and inform funding across the UK on topics such as circular economy, industry 4.0. This was followed by a role as Sustainability Director at supply chain and network software business Valuechain where he helped build in sustainability, secure investment and commercialise across various software platforms.

Ben’s personal mantra of “helping industry make things better and make better things” echoes the Growth Company’s mission to stimulate growth, create jobs and improve lives.

Ben is a regular speaker at high profile events such as the National Manufacturing Debate and chaired the Manufacturer Magazine’s Sustainable Manufacturing Symposium. Ben is a Fellow of the RSA and also holds a position on DEFRA’s circular economy working group, and Made Smarter InterAct Strategic Implementation Group.

Ben holds an MEng in Automotive Engineering from Loughborough University and an MA in Industrial Design Engineering from Imperial College and the Royal College of Art.

Panel:

Anna Hardy-Watmough, Graduate Outcomes Lead; Accounting, Finance and Banking, Manchester Metropolitan University

View Anna's LinkedIn here

Anna is a Principal Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, specialising in Financial Reporting and Governance. She originally trained at Deloitte, before moving into the word of education. Anna is also a member of the Manchester ICAEW District Society, with a current role of Honorary Secretary. Anna is increasingly engaged in embedding ESG matters into her teaching, to upskill the next generation of finance professionals.

Emily Hesketh, Director, ESG Reporting and Assurance Team, Deloitte 

View Emily's LinkedIn here

Emily is a Director in Deloitte’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) assurance team. She has a wealth of audit and assurance experience and specialises in non-financial corporate reporting and independent assurance over sustainability data, information and controls. Emily’s team is at the forefront of the everchanging sustainability reporting landscape, and work with some of the largest UK and global clients, across sectors, to improve their sustainability

Paul Spencer, Partner, MHA Moore and Smalley

Paul is a qualified ICAEW Chartered Accountant and has been a senior member of MHA Moore and Smalley’s audit team for a number of years. Paul’s portfolio consists of clients across a variety of sectors, focussing on large and complex groups, including a number of international entities, often linking up with member firms across the Baker Tilly International network.

Paul is leading the way on MHA Moore and Smalley’s ESG journey and oversees the creation and implementation of the business’ ESG strategy and initiatives. As Partner Lead for ESG, Paul ensures that environment, social and governance receive an equal platform, so the firm’s vision is united and balanced. Paul was a natural fit for this role due to his work as Audit Partner, working across many different sectors that will be impacted by sustainability related regulations, risks and opportunities. Paul is passionate about positive change and ensuring a sustainable future for the business and its people.

Jon Gorman, Group Head of Technical Services, PZ Cussons

Jon graduated from Leeds University with a Meng in Chemical Engineering. He went on to study for an EngD at UMIST in Chemical Engineering including time at the Manchester School of Management. He then spent 15 years in factory construction and moved into process optimisation and continuous improvement. This led Jon into Energy Management and from there into Sustainability. Jon is currently the Group Head of Technical Services looking after Quality and Technical Services and Sustainability across the Supply Chain.

Please note that the programme is subject to change