Meet your Speakers for MENE 2025!

Plant Manager at Highly Marelli, Washington. Highly Marelli specialises in the production of thermal management systems (HVAC) for the automotive sector.

My current role involves advising large owner managed compar3s and groups on how to manage and minimise their tax exposure, both in respect of specific transactions and ongoing compliance obligations. I have extensive experience in supporting companies in putting remuneration strategies in place, business restructuring, sales & acquisitions and share incentive schemes. I have been a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation since January 2009, and have over 16 years experience in practice.

Working with UK organisations to develop their people and technology skills through professional change management and Microsoft training. 

Managing Director of Analox, a UK-based (Stokesley) specialist manufacturer of gas sensing and analysis solutions serving Defence and Commercial sectors globally.

My job is to meet people from companies of all sizes, and from all sectors, to understand the business conditions they face. I feed this intelligence back to our policymakers who use it to inform our policy decisions on things like what Bank Rate we set.

As a TQM Master Trainer, I have the privilege of sharing knowledge at the Komatsu Way Global Institute, delivering annual training sessions to colleagues worldwide. Currently, in my role as a Public Relations Officer, I oversee customer events, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, and STEM initiatives, blending creativity and technical insight to connect with our customers and communities.

I am Associate Dean, Engagement, and Professor in Entrepreneurship at Durham University Business School, and Director (Business MM Engagement) of Durham University's Durham Energy Institute ("DEI").

I sit on the University's COP Steering group and am a member of the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy. Winner of the Durham University Enhancing Learning and Teaching: Digital and Online Learning Award 2019-20, and Durham’s Academic Tutor of the Year 2024, I am trustee and Director of social enterprise, Acumen Community Buildings.

With over 20 years of experience in sales, bidding and tendering, and strategic leadership, I focus on driving growth, building lasting partnerships, and delivering impactful training solutions.

My role centres on overseeing the design of our training and/or recruitment solutions so that they equip businesses and individuals with the skills they need to excel in today’s competitive industries.

I’m the Director of Economic Growth and Innovation at the North East Combined Authority. I lead our work to ensure the region thrives by creating sustainable growth, focusing on sectors such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, life sciences, digital and AI, defence and space, and professional services. In addition, I lead the CAs work on housing and regeneration and culture and sport.

As Vice Chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Forum (AMF) and Co-Lead of its WOMEN initiative, Rachel brings a transformative and inclusive leadership approach—championing diversity, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration to strengthen the UK’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

A commitment to bridging gaps between organisations, leveraging unique insights to create benefit to all stakeholders.

Richard is a respected business leader with over 37 years’ experience in the manufacturing and engineering sectors. Richard retired as CEO of Berger Closures UK, in September 2024, previously serving as Berger Group Global Sales Director until December 2022.

He is now CEO of AspireX Business Consulting, advising and mentoring individuals, businesses, and organisations across the UK and abroad. As Chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Forum (AMF), Richard brings a wealth of experience, insight, and regional pride—championing innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth across the North East’s advanced manufacturing community. 

MBA, BENG and apprenticeship qualified director, managing family engineering business near Saltburn-by-the-Sea since 2006. 

Supporter of apprenticeships, Teesside region, girls and women in STEM. Board member for Middlesbrough College. Chair of MAKE UK Regional Advisory Board (North East). TEN (Tees Engineering Network) board member.

Responsible for Business applications presales, design and key account client roadmapping and technology strategy. Enabling achievement of the Applications team budgets through effective leadership of Specialist technology teams.

David is the Director of the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre, a £50m academic, industry and government investment that is set to transform the regional and wider UK Space economy. Previously, in his Royal Navy career, David quickly understood the military need for Space. In the last 10 years he has worked on Space activity full time. Establishing a Space Capability team in 2015, he drove much of the SKYNET satellite communications programme; contributed to the Defence & National Space Strategies; and to the Space Industrial Plan. David also Chaired the NATO Satellite Communications Capability Team. His final military post was as Head of Space Capability at UK Space Command. Throughout his Space journey, David has been striving to increase the number of Space professionals as a key component of sector success, at the Regional, National, Industrial and International levels.

Mark Daniels leads the marketing, communications, and brand activities at Goodfellow. With over 20 years of experience in both B2B and B2C environments, spanning industries such as science, technology, and hospitality, he is known for his ability to build audiences by telling compelling stories. Mark also hosts the popular Innovation Discussed podcast for Goodfellow and is responsible for the marketing activities of Goodfellow's recent acquisitions: Potomac Photonics, Suisse Technology Partners, and the Bureau of Analysed Samples.

Adam Sells is Channel Partner Manager at Goodfellow Cambridge, where he supports a global network of distributors supplying specialist materials into high-performance sectors including medical, fusion energy, space, and high energy physics. His role spans partner relationship management, strategic market development, and direct involvement in technically complex customer projects. Adam specialises in aligning commercial objectives with technical requirements, helping customers uncover the deeper context behind their needs to deliver effective, forward-looking solutions — from enabling breakthroughs in cancer treatment to supporting cutting-edge fusion research. With a background in navigating technical and relational complexity, Adam brings a collaborative, long-term approach to building partnerships based on trust, precision, and shared success. He is passionate about enabling innovation where timelines are tight, requirements are demanding, and materials play a critical role. Connecting research, engineering, and end-use applications through thoughtful, high-impact collaboration.

Chief Executive at RTC North.

John Bone is Chief Commercial Officer at Orbex, responsible for driving the company’s commercial strategy and the delivery of the commercial outcomes of the business. With over two decades of experience in the aerospace sector, John has held senior leadership roles at prominent organisations including Rhea, Telespazio, and CGI, where he led commercial teams and strategic initiatives across Europe. A recognised leader in the UK space industry, John has played a pivotal role in regional development as Chair of the North East Space Leadership Group since 2014.

My role at RTC North is that of a Business Support Specialist working across several contracts. In my role I support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve their business innovation and/or growth capacity, to do that I analyse existing capabilities and barriers, then deliver an action plan that significantly improves their systems and practices, thus leading to increased business success through development of a growth strategy.

Alan Scholes is the Chief Technology Officer for the Materials Processing Institute,. Alan has an extensive history of industrial research and development from laboratory and pilot scale studies through to industrial trials and plant commissioning, with particular focus on liquid steelmaking, casting and refining. This includes product and process development and management and operation of tonnage-scale, pilot facilities, major upgrades, and health and safety systems. A graduate of Cambridge University, Alan sits on a number of advisory boards for industry, Centres for Doctoral Training involving Cambridge, Imperial College, Leeds, Leicester, Sheffield, Swansea and Warwick Universities and supports development of young scientists and engineers. He is also an EU Expert Evaluator for European Funded projects within his areas of expertise, has contributed to major international conferences for the metals sector both as a contributor and on organising and technical committees and also contributes to advisory groups on developments for the industry. Research has involved both UK work and leading multi-partner, multi-national European projects as well as activities in Asia and the USA. Alan is President of the Cleveland Institution of Engineers, has been President of the Electric Steelmakers Guild, and was awarded the Gilchrist Thomas medal by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining for developments in steelmaking.