IoD East Growth Conference Beyond Limits

Anna is Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors and has held this role since June 2024. She also sits on the steering committee for the Royal Economic Society Women in Economics Network, which seeks to support the career development of women in economics, where she’s responsible for partnerships. She is also on the steering group for the Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing.
Before joining the IoD, Anna was Deputy Chief Economist at the CBI, leading workstreams across macroeconomics, surveys and consulting and she has also worked in the Government Economic Service, in HM Treasury and DWP.

Cllr Louise McKinlay is currently the Deputy Leader of Essex County Council (ECC)
following her re-election in May 2021, as well as being the Cabinet Member Communities,
Economic Growth and Prosperity. She is proudly the first female Deputy Leader of ECC.

Pam Cox was elected as the new MP for Colchester in the 2024 General Election. Prior to that she held a range of leadership roles at the University of Essex as a professor of social science, including that of director of a large southeast skills training consortium with strong industry and international links. Pam has served as a Colchester city councillor since 2021 and as the portfolio holder for heritage and culture from 2022-23. She is connected to a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups, including the East of England APPG and the Key Cities APPG.

Richard Hagen is co-founder of Immersive Publishing, a strategic consultancy and publishing platform that supports experts, consultants and mission-led businesses in shaping high-impact intellectual property. With a background spanning strategic communications, authorship, transformation design and education (both adult and children), Richard helps businesses transform insight into assets, positioning into platforms and leadership into leverage.

He has worked with clients across multiple sectors to refine their unique value, develop IP-based offerings and build visibility in increasingly saturated markets.

Thomas Power is a globally respected authority on networking, business development, and human connection. With over 45 years of entrepreneurial experience and 18 board positions - including working under Lord Sugar and co-founding the pioneering platform Ecademy 1998 Thomas has dedicated his life to connecting people for mutual success.
He is the co-founder of the BIP100 Club, an exclusive, high-trust community for expert business owners, built on the principle that Business is Personal. Through BIP100, Thomas helps professionals move from isolation and overwhelm to deep connection, relevance, and confidence fueling growth through friendship, collaboration, and authenticity.
Known as Thomas The Networker, he continues to inspire thousands with his belief that open, random, supportive connections are the future of business and humanity.

An IoD member since 1989, Tim Meadows-Smith brings a wealth of leadership experience spanning corporate, entrepreneurial, and advisory roles. He led the international scaling of Haagen-Dazs, and as CEO of The East India Company, was named UK DTI Exporter of the Year. Tim has since served as non-executive chairman for several businesses, guiding them through growth and transformation. For over 15 years, he has also volunteered his time mentoring founders and entrepreneurs, beginning with the formation of StartUp Britain. Today, through his work at Metapraxis and beyond, he helps mid-market companies unlock productivity, growth, and leadership maturity. His upcoming book, The Entrepreneurial Myth, challenges common misconceptions about entrepreneurship and provides a roadmap for building sustainable, high-performance businesses.

Tim’s leadership mantra: business should serve and liberate its leaders, not enslave them.