James Wallis | Aben Financial

James is an FCA and member of the ICAEW South Central Board. He heads up Aben Financial which is a specialist debt advisor and introducer focused on helping property developers, investors and property backed lenders access funding from banks, specialist funds, family offices and institutional providers for loans in excess of £25m.

James also volunteers for the Cranfield Trust which is the leading provider of pro bono consultancy and management support for charities in the UK.

Matt Cooper | Co-CEO | Crowdcube

Matt Cooper is the co-CEO of Crowdcube and brings over 20 years of experience in financial services and FMCG. At Crowdcube, he jointly leads the business that has raised more than £1.5 billion for 1,300 private companies across Europe. He has advised and executed some of the largest crowdfunding campaigns in history, including Monzo, Revolut, and ZOE Health.

Matt is passionate about democratising access to finance for both entrepreneurs and investors. Earlier in his career, he worked in the City of London for several leading US and European investment banks, including Merrill Lynch, in fixed income and equities. He also held a leadership role at one of the UK’s leading social enterprises, Global Ethics.

Melanie Goward | Partner | Maven Capital Partners

Melanie is a Partner with Maven Capital Partners, one of the UK’s most active SME investment hosues. She manages Maven’s early-stage and technology growth capital investment team across the South and South West of England and Wales. She also sits on the VCT and regional fund investment committees and is based in our Bristol office.

Prior to joining Maven, she was part of the Finance Wales Technology Ventures team and fund manager for the Wales Technology Seed Fund, providing funding to help businesses commercialise and bring to market innovative products and services across a range of sectors. Prior to this she worked as an Investment Director with Nesta Investments, focusing on early stage healthcare investments as well as in technology sector finance at Lloyds TSB Corporate, providing debt finance to high-growth companies. With over 20 years’ experience as a specialist in early-stage investment, Melanie has completed a range of investments in technology, life science and biotechnology businesses. Melanie has a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences, and a PhD in Genetics from Cambridge University, which included research as part of the Human Genome Project.

Katherine Broadhurst | Partner | Azets

Katherine qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2008, became a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 2019 and has led the regional corporate finance team since 2021. Katherine was named a Global Top 50 Woman in Accounting in 2024 and Wales Insider Dealmaker of the Year in 2022.

Katherine has more than 20 years of experience in supporting primarily owner managed businesses with the full range of corporate finance requirements, including mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, fund raising, strategic advisory, exit and succession planning.

Katherine’s legal background significant experience in a large number of transactions of all types means that she brings her significant knowledge, whether it is the bigger picture or attention to detail that is required. She specialises in bridging the gap for her clients, and ensuring that the value of her experience is translated for ease of understanding.

Jenni Hamilton | Portfolio Manager | Green Angel Ventures

Jenni Hamilton is Green Angel Ventures Portfolio Manager and has spent 7 years working across the innovation ecosystem. She works closely with 44+ early-stage climate technology companies to accelerate growth, raise capital, and deliver impact. She supports founders through strategic guidance, investor readiness, and go to market amongst other initiatives across the portfolio.

Previously, Jenni managed early-stage investments and innovation projects at the Westpac NZ Government Innovation Fund and led accelerator programmes focused on socio-environmental impact.