Margaret ThatcherConference 2026

Alex has been CEO of Currys, the UK and European market-leading technology retailer, since 2018, leading an ambitious transformation that has driven big increases in colleague engagement, customer satisfaction and financial performance. He was previously CEO of Shop Direct, now the Very Group (2012–18), where he led the business's digital transformation from a catalogue retailer to the UK's second largest e-commerce pureplay. Before that, he was managing director of Lombard, leading the turnaround of Europe's leading asset finance company (2008–12), and commercial director at Barclays. He began his career in strategy and operations consulting with Kalchas and Bain & Company. He is a scholar of Worcester College, Oxford, a leadership council member of Business in the Community and a non-executive director of RS Group plc.

Helen is a highly experienced and well regarded real estate investor with significant experience across a wide range of asset classes, including residential property. She is the senior independent non-executive director of Derwent London plc, a non-executive director of BusinessLDN, vice chair of EPRA, a member of the New Towns Taskforce and a board member of the British Property Federation. She is a chartered surveyor and before joining Grainger was global head of Real Estate Asset Management at Royal Bank of Scotland. She previously held senior property positions at Legal & General Investment Management, Railtrack and John Laing Developments.

Sir John Griffin founded Addison Lee in 1975, building it into the largest private hire business of its kind in Europe, with more than 5,000 drivers. In 2013 the American private equity firm Carlyle Group bought the business for £350 million. His interest in supporting young people into meaningful careers led him to become Chairman of the Advisory Board of Finito Education. He donated over £12 million to open The Griffin Institute at Northwick Park Hospital, the UK's largest robotics medical centre. He is also a Co-Operation Ireland Ambassador, working on grassroots peace-building efforts across the island.

Greg Jackson CBE is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy Group, the UK's largest energy supplier. Octopus now serves 11 million customers globally, including 7.8 million in the UK, and operates across 27 countries. The Group manages a £7 billion renewables portfolio and leads businesses in EV leasing, heat pumps and solar, attracting over $3 billion in funding from international investors. Greg is a serial tech unicorn founder, having built both Octopus Energy and Kraken to multi-billion dollar valuations. In 2024 he was appointed CBE and named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders. He was appointed a Non-Executive Member of the Cabinet Office Board in 2025.

Jimmy McLoughlin OBE is the host of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future and a former special adviser to the Prime Minister on business, technology and entrepreneurship, serving in Downing Street from 2016 to 2019. During a period of momentous political change, Jimmy helped shape the British government's relationship with domestic and international businesses. Jimmy's Jobs of the Future interviews entrepreneurs and business leaders about the jobs they are creating and what the future of our economy looks like. Guests include Rishi Sunak, Andrew Bailey, Ben Francis, Tony Blair and Alex Depledge. He is also an adviser to the King's Awards for Enterprise.

Lord Wolfson graduated with a degree in Law from Trinity College, Cambridge. He began his career at Next in 1991 as a Sales Assistant, joined the Board as Sales and Marketing Director in 1997, was made Managing Director in 1999 and appointed Chief Executive in August 2001. Since he became Chief Executive, Next shares have outperformed the FTSE 100 index by more than 500%. He has always had an active interest in economics, history and politics and was created a Life Peer in May 2010.