Allie Renison, Head of EU & Trade Policy

Allie Renison is Head of EU and Trade Policy, and leads on devising recommendations and representing the voice of members on EU policy matters both to Westminster and Whitehall and with European institutions. She provides the link between business and Government on increasing international trade and has authored a number of reports on trends in both trade and trade policy, as well as running a number of trade missions for IoD members around the world every year. She also routinely provides advocacy for the IoD on a range of regulatory issues in Brussels.

Allie joined the IoD in April 2014. Prior to this, she was Research Director at Business for Britain, the campaign focused on renegotiating the UK's relationship with the EU. Allie has previously advised a number of parliamentarians in both Houses on EU legislative issues, with particular focus on trade and employment policy areas. She holds a Masters Degree in the political economy of emerging economies in the post-Soviet space.

Roger Gough, Leader of Kent County Council

Roger Gough became Leader of Kent County Council in October 2019. Roger has served as the Member for Darent Valley – now Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley – since 2005 and previously held the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education as well as other Cabinet roles since 2006.

Roger sits on the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board and Chairs the South East Strategic Partnership for Migration board. Roger also has a strong record of national politics through work for think tanks such as the Policy Exchange and Localis.

Before entering local government, Roger worked in investment banking for sixteen years, including living and working in Japan for three years.  He has written widely on policy issues and is the author of two books. 

Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council

Paul Marshall was elected as Leader of WSCC in October 2019 and is also represents the Storrington Division as a local Councillor. He previously sat as a Parish Councillor. Paul's career is in Retail and he has held a number of Directorships in Retail organisations that focused on Marketing, Supply Chain, Stores and Strategic Growth. He is currently a Consultant.

He has a wife and two daughters and his families' interests are in dogs and horses. They enjoy the countryside and are active in their rural lifestyle.

Mark Beard, FCIOB, Chairman/Chief Executive, Beard

Mark Beard is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and a Chartered Environmentalist and has been Chairman / Chief Executive of Beard since 1999. 

Mark’s key achievements include developing a culture which is focused on staff development, customer service and continuous business improvement. Mark was Oxfordshire Businessman of the Year in 2004.

Mark has a variety of outside interests, including:
• Member of Construction Manager Magazine Editorial Advisory Board
• Member of Henley Business School Advisory Board
• Governor of Christ Church Cathedral Choir School
• Patron of Alexander Devine Children’s’ Hospice
• Patron of Nexus
• Founder of Beard Charitable Foundation
• High Sheriff in Nomination for Oxfordshire for Shrieval year commencing April 2022

Mark is a keen real tennis player and cricketer and has been a playing member of the MCC for the last 30 years.

Mark has worked in the UK and Australia construction industry for over thirty years and in June 2020 was appointed President of the Chartered Institute of Building. Mark’s favourite project is the redevelopment of Manley Wharf in Sydney.
Dee Mathieson, Senior Vice President, Elekta Ltd

Dee qualified as a Therapy Radiographer and gained clinical and technical experience working in hospitals. After graduating with a second degree in Physics she moved into industry leveraging her expertise working in Service, Marketing & Product Management and Commercial Operations.

She has held several senior roles at Elekta and regularly presents to a range of audiences, including Key Opinion Leaders and the financial and business analyst community. She is passionate about Cancer care and proud of her role in driving Elekta’s track record of innovations in treatment technology.

Adam Bryan, Chief Executive Officer, South East Local Enterprise Partnership

Adam Bryan has developed a career in bringing the public and private sectors together to support economic growth. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Nottingham (2002) and moving to the Nottingham Business School to complete an MSc with Commendation in Management and Marketing (2004), his first foray into economic growth was as a Sector Lead for the East of England Development Agency (2004-2007) where he had responsibility for ensuring the delivery of a number of sector-driven projects and for developing and delivering the concept of Enterprise Hubs across the region. 

Following this, Adam spent a number of years providing the economic development policy and strategy lead in various senior roles for Essex County Council (2007-2015) where he operated at the vanguard of policy around economic development and led the delivery of Essex’s first Local Economic Assessment. 

Since late 2015, he has been responsible for directing the successes of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership - the business-led body for promoting and enabling economic growth spanning East Sussex, Essex, Medway, Kent, Southend and Thurrock. The LEP orchestrates investment in schemes which support the growth of the economy in the area and Adam’s team ensures that the LEP board deploys its spending power of some £850m to best effect and according to a strong suite of local strategies which are developed in strong collaboration with a vast range of local stakeholders.