Middle East Speakers

The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP is Member of Parliament for Blackburn, having previously served in successive senior Cabinet positions in Labour governments from 1997 through to 2010

Jack Straw is one of the most experienced British and European politicians. During his long career including continuous Cabinet-level roles, he has taken a leading part in many momentous political decisions in both national and international politics.

He has a reputation for clear thinking and professional, pragmatic good sense.

After a prominent radical role in national student politics in the 1960s, he qualified and worked as a barrister, did three years as an advisor to two Cabinet Ministers (Barbara Castle, and Peter Shore), and was then on Granada TV’s flagship “WORLD IN ACTION” programme. He was a London borough councillor, and Deputy Leaders of the Inner London Education Authority.

He first entered Parliament as a Labour MP representing Blackburn in 1979. He had a number of Shadow Cabinet roles before becoming Home Secretary after the Labour Party’s 1997 election victory, and then Foreign Secretary in 2001 and Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal in 2006. He served as Lord High Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2007 until 2010.

Now again in Opposition, Jack Straw continues to play a leading role in national politics, on home and foreign policy, and not least in issues involving the UK’s Muslim population (his constituency Blackburn has a sizeable Muslim community). His deft personal style combines with his immense domestic and foreign policy insight (he was closely involved in key decisions before and after the intervention in Iraq) to make him a formidable and fascinating expert speaker.

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After three decades in Parliament and successive Cabinet positions, Jack Straw is one of the most experienced and insightful British and international political figures.

Jack Straw read law at Leeds University and in the 1960s became a national student leader known for radical positions, to the point of being described by the Foreign Office as a “troublemaker acting with malice aforethought” for his political activity involving Chile. After qualifying as a barrister he had various media roles and entered Parliament in 1979 as the MP for Blackburn. He was Shadow spokesman on Education, then Environment and Shadow Home Secretary before being appointed Home Secretary after the Labour Party won the 1997 general election.

His time as Home Secretary had its fair share of controversies (including new measures to increase police powers to deal with suspected terrorists) but also saw the European Convention in Human Rights incorporated into British law.

Appointed Foreign Secretary in 2001, he soon played a leading role in the dramatic and difficult foreign policy problems arising from the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and then the interventions in Afghanistan and then Iraq. He publicly defended these decisions, although later in January 2010 he told the Iraq Inquiry in London that the 2003 decision to go to war “had haunted him”. In 2006 he was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal with responsibility for parliamentary reform. He returned to the Opposition benches after Labour lost the 2010 general elections

Jack Straw has attracted publicity for some of his policy positions concerning Muslim issues, not least his call in 2006 for Muslim women not to wear the full veil: “I felt uncomfortable about talking to someone ‘face-to-face’ whom I could not see”. His close relations with his very diverse Blackburn constituency (including his position as honorary vice president of Blackburn Rovers football club) mean that he has given a lot of thought to sensitive community relations issues in a modern democracy. In 2009 on the BBC’s Question Time TV programme he was a member of the panel which included British National Party leader Nick Griffin.

Although often criticized for his firm approach to a number of civil liberties questions concerning suspected terrorists and then his high-profile role in supporting the Iraq intervention, Jack Straw remains a popular figure in the UK and Europe, not least for his wry sense of humour: as Home Secretary he joked that his large department was “full of civil servants working diligently on projects that might ruin my career”.

His disarmingly understated, professional style as well as his formidable intellect and practical experience in so many policy areas give him a unique profile, not only in the UK and European Union but also at the international level. Few active politicians today match his insight and breadth of senior policy knowledge. He has many striking personal anecdotes and thoughtful examples of what works in politics – and what does not.

Former Chief of the General Staff and Senior Advisor at PA Consulting Group

General Sir Mike Jackson GCB CBE DSO has had a distinguished career, serving in numerous high-profile and difficult roles requiring operational leadership, strategic insight and unfailing good judgement.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson served as Chief of the General Staff (CGS) from 2003 – 2006, the culmination of four decades in the British Army. He previously served as Commander in Chief Land Command (from 2000), Commander Kosovo Force (in 1999), Commander ACE Rapid Reaction Corps (from 1997) and Director General Development and Doctrine at the MoD.

His active service included command at company and brigade level in Northern Ireland, divisional command in Bosnia, and corps commander in Macedonia and Kosovo.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson is now Senior Advisor at PA Consulting Group and has other consulting roles. He is a trenchant and authoritative commentator on military and other issues. He draws on a wealth of unique experience, combining sharp-end military action and the heavy responsibility of many life-and-death policy and command decisions.

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After four decades in military service culminating in three years as Chief of the General Staff from 2003-06, Gen Sir Mike Jackson has a distinguished strategic leadership profile and a powerful and authoritative style.

After a degree in Russian Studies he joined the Intelligence Corps in 1963, transferring to the Parachute Regiment in 1970 where he was present at the infamous 1972 ‘Bloody Sunday’ shootings in Northern Ireland. After a spell as Chief of Staff to the Berlin Infantry Brigade he returned to Northern Ireland and witnessed the grim aftermath of the heavy loss of British troops in the Warrenpoint Ambush in 1979.

After appointments at the Army Staff College and the Ministry of Defence he returned to Northern Ireland for a third time as brigadier commanding 39 Infantry Brigade.

In 1997 he was appointed Commander of the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and served in the Balkans before becoming the UK’s Commander-in-Chief, Land Command in 2000 and finally Chief of the General Staff in 2003. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in 2004. He retired from the armed forces in 2006, joining PA Consulting Group and taking on other consultancy positions.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson’s military service involved him in a wide range of morally and operationally challenging situations, most notably his high-profile disagreement in with NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander General Wes Clark in June 1999 over the response to an unexpected Russian military move in Kosovo to occupy Pristina airport. He played the ‘national card’ and referred back to London General Clark’s orders to isolate the Russian contingent (“I won’t start World War III for you”). This more subtle approach paid off – NATO asserted control over the whole of Kosovo successfully and without dangerous confrontation with Moscow.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson subsequently spoke out forcefully in defence of British troops accused of ill-treating Iraqi prisoners when the Daily Mirror published faked photographs, but also apologised publicly in 2005 when British Army abuses in Basra were confirmed. In 2006 after British troops helped free a British peace campaigner kidnapped by Iraqi extremists General Sir Mike Jackson publicly criticised the hostage’s lack of appreciation, saying that he was saddened “that there doesn’t seem to have been a note of gratitude for the soldiers who risked their lives to save those lives“.

In 2006 he used the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture to say sharp words about the UK Ministry of Defence: “One’s loyalty must be from the bottom. Sadly, I did not find this fundamental proposition shared by the MoD.” In 2007 he criticised the way the Bush administration had handled Iraq, arguing that the US approach had been too focused on military might rather than nation-building and diplomacy.

Gen Sir Mike Jackson now has a strong public profile emphasising leadership and strategic insight. He draws on a wealth of unique experience combining sharp-end military action and the heavy responsibility of many life-and-death policy and command decisions.

His presentations are sharp and memorable, featuring remarkable personal anecdotes and thoughtful examples of both success and failure.

Principle topics:

Leadership
Risk and risk strategy
Effective management and responsibility

Roger is one of the BBC’s most experienced presenters and correspondents. He has covered nine wars and twenty two elections as well as coups, revolutions and other major events across the world for TV and radio. Since 1999 he has been presenting the World Today, Newshour and other BBC World Service programmes, along with the World Tonight on Radio Four, and Talking Point on BBC World TV.

After many years in high-level diplomacy Charles Crawford has a unique profile as an imaginative, dynamic and even provocative speaker who has addressed audiences large and small in English, Polish and Serbian

After an Honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University he qualified as a Barrister before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

From 1985-87 Charles served as Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe’s official Speechwriter, contributing ideas/language for speeches by the Foreign Secretary (major set-piece speeches, Parliamentary debates and less formal after-dinner remarks)

His first job on joining the FCO in 1979 was to head the Indonesia Section, followed by his first posting, to communist post-Tito Yugoslavia. He returned to London in 1984 and after a year on the Aviation Desk was appointed FCO Speech-writer. He was posted to South Africa in 1987 as part of the Embassy team led by Ambassador Robin Renwick working to end apartheid.

Returning to London in 1991 he worked in the FCO Department dealing with the Soviet Union as communist rule collapsed. He then spent three years in Moscow as Political Counsellor and then served three times as HM Ambassador: in Sarajevo (1996-1998); in Belgrade (2001-2003) and most recently in Poland (2003-2007).

In 1987 he wrote the FCO’s first Guide to Speech-Writing, a dynamic text full of real-life examples on how to write speeches – and how to weed out lugubrious mistakes. Two decades later it remains a core part of the FCO’s speech-drafting training

He subsequently contributed to speeches by members of the Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers, as well as different Ministers and other senior personalities in public and commercial life

He left the FCO at the end of 2007 to start a new career as writer, consultant, mediator and trainer. In 2009 he joined the UK Conservative Party candidates list

In recent months Charles Crawford led training courses for senior EU and other officials and private clients aimed at improving their communication skills. He has written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Independent, DIPLOMAT and Total Politics.

In 2009 his audiences included the Headmasters Conference and Conservative Friends of Poland, as well as private groups and academic gatherings

In 2010 he and other former British Ambassadors in partnership with ADR Group launched a new senior strategic dispute resolution panel, ADRg Ambassadors

Charles Crawford’s trenchant observations on public policy issues are now available to a growing readership on his blog




Such honesty has no place in modern government…it’s bloody dangerous!
Andrew Dodge (Samizdata)

The most telling critique of this delusional foreign policy comes in regular instalments in the form of a blog by the former British ambassador to Poland, Charles Crawford. It’s called www.charlescrawford.biz, and if you want to know just how much in despair many of our diplomats are, this is the place to look
Dominic Lawson (The Times, 2010)

In 2005 a humorous FCO email he wrote as Ambassador to Warsaw (a satirical speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair damning other countries’ selfishness on EU Budget issues) caused a stir when it was leaked to the Sunday Times

His FCO written work was praised at the highest levels in London, NATO and the EU for its uncompromising dynamic style:

“fabulously readable and interesting analysis, with practical application … just about the best scenesetter [No10 staff] have ever seen”

“acrobatic and eye-catching in his use of language”

As a speaker Charles Crawford draws on dramatic episodes from his diplomatic career to explain wider policy themes, paradoxes and trends. His presentations are interesting and thought-provoking, but above all memorable

He is strong on foreign and public policy issues such as:

o Communism (and Vampires)
o Dealing with extremists and war criminals
o Climate change and PPP (perverse precautionary principles)
o Amazon Space: how the Internet is changing the strategic policy context
o International negotiation (as explained by Shrek, the Joker and Clint Eastwood)
o UK/European Union relations: Too Big (not) to Fail

Alan Fisher is a Scottish broadcast journalist, currently working as the London correspondent for Al Jazeera International. He was born and raised in Motherwell and studied at journalism at Napier College in Edinburgh. He joined Moray Firth Radio in Inverness and then Northsound Radio in Aberdeen.

He moved to television, initially working at Grampian Television for the regional news programme North Tonight and then, Scottish Television as a reporter on Scotland Today. He joined GMTV as Ireland correspondent setting up their bureau in Belfast.

He was promoted to Chief Correspondent and reported from Bosnia, Rwanda and Iraq during the first Gulf War. He has also appeared in Bad Girls where he played a reporter.

Since his arrival at Al Jazeera, he has reported from across the globe including stints in Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and many countries across Europe. He is also a columnist with the on-line current affairs magazine Scottish Review and a patron of the Young UK Programme.

Major (Ret.) Chris Hunter, was one of the most experienced bomb-disabling operators in the British armed forces. During his 17 years in the Military he served in a variety of operational counter-IED appointments and saw active service in a number of high threat theatres including Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia and Northern Ireland.

During much of his career he specialised in overt and covert Assault IEDD’ operations in support of Police Tactical Firearms Units, close protection teams and specialist Counter-Terrorism units.

He was also deployed on a number of antiterrorist arrest operations in the UK and was the architect of the UKs EOD response to a suicide bomb attack on the UK mainland. Later, he played an instrumental role during the July 2005 London bombings when he was seconded to the British Governments COBR-A as a suicide terrorism subject matter expert.

He retired from the MOD in 2007 as the MODs senior IED intelligence analyst. Major (Ret.) Chris Hunter was awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal in 2005. He has written and presented numerous papers on counter-terrorism, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Explosives Engineers.

Topic areas include: Counter-Terrorism, Counter-IED, Internal Security & Crisis Management and C-IED related disciplines.

Major Ken Hames is a British former Special Air Service’s officer,highly rated motivational speaker and specialist television presenter.

Ken Hames is a real life action man who leads from the front. He has 25 years military experience under his belt, and is almost unique in having served in The Parachute Brigade, the Royal Marines and the Special Air Service. Ken’s operational experience is vast, ranging from guarding Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hesse, in Spandau Prison to the liberation of Port Stanley in the Falklands.

He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross-country skiing. He played rugby for the Combined Services, is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines and is a keen amateur opera singer

Following an impressive 25 year military career, Ken Hames has brought a unique slant to the many documentaries that he has created and presented for television. Ken’s third series of ‘Beyond Boundaries’ was set in the Andes range in Ecuador and followed his highly acclaimed BBC1 documentary ‘Ex Forces and Homeless’ , his next broadcast series will be ‘Beyond Boundaries – Where Are They Now’.

Ken has created and presented series like, ‘Mission Africa’ – a 15 part series for prime time BBC1 where Ken took a group of young apprentice builders from the UK to Kenya to build the first eco lodge and game reserve to protect the endangered species that live there working closely with the Born Free Foundation. This was then handed over to the local Samburu tribe as a sustainable business that also protects the wildlife.

Ken created and is the expedition leader on the ground breaking ‘Beyond Boundaries’ series for BBC TV. This is now a successful brand with it’s own live event, bringing disabled people from all over the world together with their friends and families. Each series, Ken takes a different group of highly disabled people and motivates them to achieve seemingly impossible expeditions. He trains and inspires them into a team and the end result is life changing.

‘Desert Darlings’ was broadcast on Channel 4 in spring 2003. Ken took couples across the Namib Desert, placing their sometimes fragile relationships under the extreme pressures of an expedition. His first series for Channel 4, was the award winning, ‘Jungle Janes’, where Ken’s challenge was to turn a group of British women, none of whom had any expedition experience, into a cohesive team fit enough to take on the gruelling jungles of Borneo. It was enjoyed by millions who found this journey an inspiration. The first documentary was a television series, called ‘The Trek’ broadcast by Meridian. In 1994, with the help of Diana, Princess of Wales, Ken was able to take twelve disadvantaged youngsters to the heart of Africa on a 500-mile trek over desert and mountainous terrain, The process transformed their lives and Ken still monitors their progress.

These documentaries have proved Ken’s extraordinary ability to inspire and motivate even the most unlikely candidates. His unique skills enable him to take any rabble of individuals and finish with a winning, cohesive team, using sound leadership and thorough training are just some of the tools he uses. Ken is passionate about empowering people to transform their lives for the better.

Ken presented the highly praised series, ‘Greatest SAS Missions’ for Five in 2004, CBBC’s ‘Bring it On’, ‘Hero Factor’ for the Discovery Channel in 2002, ‘Battle Stripes’ for Sky in 2000, ‘Future Fighting Machines’ for the US in 2003, Channel 4’s ‘Shattered’ and ITV’s ‘Celebrity Fit Club’. Ken was also involved from the earliest of stages in the design and development of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here’.
A powerful and charismatic speaker, Ken’s experiences in the cutting edge of the military and at the forefront of some of history’s most significant expeditions combine with those in the business arena to provide a fascinating insight into pressure, survival, teamwork, leadership and motivation. Ken is an action man who leads from the front. He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross country skiing. He has played rugby for the Combined Services and is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines.

Testimonials

• Thank you for your fantastic presentation. The feedback was excellent. People will not forget ‘Lead, follow or get out of the way’

Martin Goodman, Office of the Director – IBM

• Your speech was an inspiration to our audience. You have given IGF members a renewed sense of motivation and desire to succeed.

Paul Foulkes
Director of Global Financing – IBM

• Ken’s motivational style lifts people’s horizons. He was an absolute inspiration to our delegates.

Carole Nicholl, Director
Lehman Brothers

• Ken Hames is the master practitioner in the field of motivation. He has the unique ability to inspire other to seek personal transformation and high achievement.

Diana, Princess of Wales

• In his leadership master class Ken gave my senior managers a renewed sense of purpose and direction. He is current, credible and inspirational and is particularly adept at getting results in a short timeframe. I continue to use him to keep my leaders at the cutting edge.

Robert Ford CIO EMEA
Microsoft Corporation

• Ken inspired us all with his motivational conference programme and leadership master class. We are looking forward to the next phase in our business development programme.
Simon Curry Director BT UK

• Ken did a fantastic job for us and it was an inspiration to hear him talk and motivate our leadership team. We look forward to his return.
Derek Hudson Vice President UK, British Gas

• Wherever Ken goes the atmosphere changes significantly. He is able to get results and does this with credibility as someone who is still out there ‘doing it’ so to speak. He has a unique understanding of the pressures facing business today and delivers solutions that will help managers do better.
Jerry Hagan, Director GlaxoSmithKline

• I give Ken 10 out of 10 for everything from how the audience reacted to the content of his talk. He really met our expectations and at the end of the presentation there was an audible ‘wow’ factor – it really hit the spot. Our clients really appreciated his enthusiasm for their project and the willingness to stay behind and become involved on an informal basis.
Chris Ball Senior Partner Penna PLC

• Ken, Thank you so much for speaking at the Business Direct Forum, the feedback has been excellent. The Management team were really impressed and delighted. Your positioning was spot on and we were all grateful for the amount of time you took to understand our business and current challenges.
Vodaphone HQ, Management Meeting

• We have now come to the end of our series of leadership workshops held during March and April and as one of the guest speakers on the workshops I would just like to say thank you for your time in talking to us recently your session was extremely interesting and the feedback from our leaders has been very positive.
Nigel Cann Station Director, British Energy

Since being shot six times by Al-Qaeda terrorists in Saudi Arabia, and returning to work as a wheelchair user, Frank, 44, has become the country’s most recognisable disabled journalist. A fluent Arabic speaker, he was the BBC’s first full-time Gulf correspondent and, in the wake of the twin tower attacks, became the BBC’s security correspondent, reporting for TV and radio on domestic and international security.

Since the shooting, he has written a memoir, Blood and Sand, and was awarded an OBE in 2005.

Rageh Omaar rose to prominence as the BBC’s man in Baghdad. His reports from the beleaguered Iraq capital became a regular feature on news bulletins in the UK and around the world. Throughout the war he stood on a hotel rooftop and told it to us straight, his calm delivery and boyish good looks making him a household name, creating a significant fan base in the process. The New York Post dubbed him the Scud Stud, while Viz Magazine dedicated an issue to ‘Britain’s best-loved bullet-dodging dreamboat’.

Rageh gave the Royal Television Society’s Huw Whelden Lecture, which was broadcast on BBC 2 in September. He has signed a two book deal with Viking, the first to be entitled Revolution Day drawing on the diaries he kept while in Iraq. The second is to be about Somalia where he was born and will be personal, bringing together stories of exile, war, tradition and his own family. During the Edinburgh Television festival Rageh spoke at a seminar entitled Saddam: My Part in His Downfall along with Juliet Bremner of ITV, Ross Appleyard of Sky News and Brent Sadler of CNN. He recently won an EMMA for the best Media correspondent.

Rageh began his journalistic career in 1990 as a trainee at The Voice newspaper in Brixton before moving to City Limits Magazine. In 1991 he moved to Ethiopia where he freelanced as a foreign correspondent, much of his work being broadcast by BBC World Service. In 1992 he returned to London as a producer for Focus on Africa also for the World Service and continued to work as a broadcast journalist for the World Service between 1994 -1996. After a three month sabbatical at the University of Jordan studying Arabic, Rageh was appointed Amman correspondent in March 1997, before becoming Developing World correspondent from 1998 covering stories ranging from drought in Ethiopia to devastating floods in Mozambique. He then moved base to Johannesburg to become the BBC News Africa correspondent.

Rageh Omaar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and is the youngest of 4 children. He was educated at Cheltenham Boys College and later Oxford University where he gained a BA Honours in Modern History.

Juan Senor is a seasoned business presenter and an established independent producer. He also served as senior London Correspondent for International Herald Tribune Television.

Juan has anchored Europe Today and Market Watch for CNBC, and reported on foreign affairs for PBS’ MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour. Juan also received an EMMY nomination for his exclusive interviews with the late Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin.

Juan has produced business and factual profiles in 52 countries, on every continent. He has also skied to the North Pole and trekked across the Sahara to raise money for charity. A Spanish national educated in Europe and the US, he can converse in six languages.

Charlie Beckett is the founding Director of Polis, a new forum for the debate, research and teaching of journalism and society at the LSE and London College of Communication.

Before Polis, Charlie Beckett was a programme editor at Channel 4 News, ITN, for seven years where he edited Channel 4 News on major events like 9/11 and the London bombings. He also launched two new programmes for Channel 4 – Channel 4 News at Noon and More4 News. He also edited Channel 4 News’ US election coverage and it’s award-winning News From Africa week. Before that he spent ten years at BBC news and current affairs, working for programmes like Public Eye, On The Record, Panorama, and Breakfast News and he was a launch editor on BBC News 24.

During his time at the BBC he was a Reuters Fellow at Oxford where he wrote a thesis on the effects of new technology on the emerging media in a developing country.

Charlie started his career on local papers in his native south London before joining LWT.

Experience keywords: Journalism; Media; International Media/Journalism; Globalisation; News; Online; Blogging

In 2005 Amani brought the Ancient Arab world alive to BBC audiences with What The Ancients Did For Us; the language of the modern Arab world alive in the BBC’s (Award Winning) Primary Arabic and the issues of Rural Britain to the fore in Countryfile.

Amani’s transition to front of camera came about in 2004 when both Primary Arabic and What The Ancients Did For Us saw what she was able to bring to the party…

She achieved an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies (involving Arabic translation, Law and Economics) from the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1998.

She worked as a Social Counsellor with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees affiliated project in the Arab republic of Yemen which also involved being an intermediary between state/UN authorities and refugee advocate in courts and authorities.

From PR Assistant at the Head Office of Saudi Arabian Airlines Amani moved to become the PA to the BBC correspondent in Yemen, and at this point began to research for BBC World News.

In 1999 Amani was researching for the BBC’s Holocaust Memorial day coverage. In 2001 she was developing ideas and concepts for the BBC and organised television events, thereafter moving to BBC New Media, and on to Events Co-ordination.

Now Amani is developing her own programme, giving unique insight into the Arab world, using her excellent voice-over skills – and at the same time can be seen presenting BBC TV’s Computer Tutor on: www.bbc.co.uk/computertutor.

Ed Stourton joined the Today programme in January 1999 and left in December 2008 following an illustrious career as a foreign correspondent and television news presenter. Things could have been very different. In his first interview for a broadcasting job after leaving university, John Birt (then at LWT) told him: “I could send you a polite letter saying we had no vacancies, but frankly, it would be a waste of the postage stamp.”

Ed went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read English literature before joining ITN as a graduate trainee in 1979. He was a founder member of Channel Four News in 1982, working as a scriptwriter but adding producer, duty home news editor and chief sub-editor to his duties.

He reported from Beirut for the first time in 1983 and spent most of the next decade covering foreign news. He was appointed Channel 4′s Washington correspondent in 1986 covering the final years of the Reagan presidency and the 1988 presidential campaign.

In 1988, he joined the BBC as Paris correspondent. In 1990 he returned to ITN as diplomatic editor, and during his three years in the job he reported from Baghdad during the Gulf War, from Bosnia during the siege of Sarajevo, from Moscow in the final days of the Soviet Union and from Europe throughout the negotiations leading up to the Maastricht summit.

In 1993, he returned to the BBC to present the One O’Clock News and editions of Correspondent, Assignment and Panorama before joining the Today team in 1999.

An expert on Roman Catholicism, in 1997 he presented Absolute Truth, a landmark, four-part series for BBC Two on the modern Catholic Church and wrote a book to accompany the series.

In addition to his presenting duties on Today, Ed often reports for Radio 4 on religion and current affairs.

Dr Hans Blix is widely known as a pre-eminent world statesman in the advancement of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Dr Blix served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 1981-1997, and is now Director General-Emeritus. In 2000 he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to head the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Born in Sweden, Dr Blix studied at the University of Uppsala; at Columbia University; and at Cambridge University, where he received his Ph.D. At Stockholm University, he attained a doctorate in law and served as a professor in international law.

From 1963 to 1976, he served in the Swedish foreign ministry, and in 1978 became Sweden’s foreign minister.
Dr Blix has written several books on subjects associated with international and constitutional law.

In 1988, Blix received the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award, and in 1997 he was awarded the Gold Medal for distinguished service in the field of nuclear affairs by the Uranium Institute, the predecessor to the World Nuclear Association.

Dominique de Villepin is the former Prime Minister of France from 2005 – 2007. Following a career as a diplomat he became renown throughout France and the rest of the world for his views on peace and justice. He was a leader in promoting a policy of multilateralism through global governance. He was also active in reform for both French and European global policy.

Skills developed during his years in the diplomatic service and as Minister of the Interior enabled him to confront the issues of the underlying aggression in the French suburbs leading him onto dealing with the battles of Africa and the Middle East. Not deterred by the level of conflict or popularity aspects he used such strategies as calling a state of emergency in 2005 to deal with some of the problems faced by France at such time. He was a champion for the people working to provide solutions for unemployment realising a reduction of approximately 20 % in this during his time in office.

Coming from outside of France having been born in North Africa and spending his early years in South America enabled him to have a wider perspective on both continents with an ideal to promote further understanding and develop a unity between the two. An active writer he expanded on his ideas for a vision of man in a diverse environment searching for solutions to maintain cultural identities within a common ground.

A man with vision he can bring not just experience but thoughts for the future from a context of intense thought and deliberation.

Prime Minister de Villepin speaks French, English and Spanish.

Dr. Alan Mendoza is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Henry Jackson Society which advocates the view that supporting and promoting liberal democracy should be an integral part of Western foreign policy.

Having obtained a B.A. (Hons) and M.Phil in history at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Alan completed a Ph.D. at the same institution focusing on Anglo-American relations during the Bosnian War, 1992-1995. A frequent speaker on various foreign policy topics, his particular interests are the transatlantic relationship, the future of NATO and the Middle East.

Alan presented the Worldview show on the world’s first political internet TV station, 18 Doughty Street and regularly contributes to the Guardian’s Comment is Free site.

In the wider political world, Alan is the Co-Founder and President of the Disraelian Union, a London-based progressive Conservative think-tank and discussion forum, and has worked to develop relationships and ideas between networks in the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. He is also a local Councillor for the London Borough of Brent.

Dr James Bellini is a futurist, analyst, broadcaster and regular consultant to business and governments around the world. James is an expert in the future outlook for business and particularly within the context of the Internet, virtual markets and related developments in e-culture and business re-invention. He focuses on key management challenges related to issues of collaborative commerce, new business ‘eco-systems’, future consumer trends and concerns about the security of digital information flows and transaction data.

After a Masters from Cambridge, a PhD from London School of Economics and a spell as university teacher he was the first British member of the renowned US-headquartered futurology ‘think-tank’, the Hudson Institute founded by Dr Herman Kahn. He subsequently joined BBC TV as editor/presenter of The Money Programme, Newsnight and Panorama. This was the beginning of more than twenty years as a television programme-maker on business and politics, including three years with Financial Times Television and four years with Sky News.

Dr Bellini was a senior consultant with the Henley Centre for Forecasting and the Economist Intelligence Unit and regularly works with leading IT names such as Hewlett Packard exploring the ‘New Economy’. He is founder of Media Counsellors, a UK-based communications consultancy and the author of numerous books, special reports and analytical papers on social, political and business trends.

Recent speaking and conference moderating invitations have taken him to Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, the United States and to practically every country in Europe. His latest UK engagements include work with — amongst others — Institute of Management, London Business School, Lloyds TSB, Legal & General, Microsoft, Camelot, Arcadia, Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola, Compaq and DERA [the Defence Research Agency]. He was recently engaged by the UK Cabinet Office on the launch of its e-government strategy.

Speaker on the future; conference facilitator; TV broadcaster

Member of the global future forum

James describes himself as ‘an historian of the future’ with a close interest in key challenges faced by current and future management up to Horizon 2020:

• the business implications of emerging technologies – Internet III and the wireless world
• new business ‘eco-systems’
• the shape and style of tomorrow’s company
• the demographic revolution and its radical impact on the future marketplace:
• rise of the aspirational consumer
• post-family households
• financial services – pensions, savings products, insurance
• government and public services
• issues of work/life balance
• the ‘mosaic’ society

Dr Bellini is also a regular choice as moderator/chairman at leading conferences for business and government around the world.

He is currently writing a book on the psychological profiles of 21st century companies.