Bill Walker

Chair, Future Humber

Bill has for many years been a keen advocate of the Humber region on the national stage, most recently as Director of Strategic Relationships at the University of Hull and before that as Operations Director at the Hull Daily Mail. He has been actively involved with the Humber LEP and with its predecessors the Humber Economic Partnership and Yorkshire Forward; was chair of the Knowledge Exchange Directors group at Yorkshire Universities and closely engaged with business and collaborative organisations including the CBI, National Centre for Universities and Business, Northern Powerhouse and, more locally, For Entrepreneurs Only, Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce, Humber Business Week and the City Leadership Board. 

Bill won business awards at regional, national and European levels while leading a world-leading business-education programme while at the Mail and won the Guardian University Awards for Best Business Partnership for his work on creating Hull University’s first Enterprise Centre, which led to the establishment of more than 150 new businesses.   

He established the Hull Multimedia Association in 1992 and was a founding member of City Digital and ultimately the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4Di). He retired from the University at the end of April 2020 but continues to help promote the region through his role at Future Humber. 

Andy Parkinson

CEO Lampada

Andy has a varied background spanning many different areas from working on large infrastructure projects across various sectors, at Spencer Group, one of the largest privately owned engineering firms in the UK, to Fast Moving Consumable Goods, the Public Sector, Consulting and working in the FTSE index. Andy has worked with some of the biggest brands in Europe, including Kellogg’s, Cadbury’s and Guinness developing highly effective marketing strategies.

In the public sector, Andy was the lead for Hull’s City Plan, a £1b economic infrastructure plan to transform the city, creating in excess of 12,000 jobs in the region. Having recently moved from the Telecoms Sector, Andy is also on the board of C4Di in Hull. Andy is a regular keynote speaker and is a member of the FEO group.

Anja Hazebroek

Designate Executive Director of Communications, Marketing and Media Relations, NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group | Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership

Anja is a people focused leader with over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing highly effective and integrated brand, communications, marketing, recruitment, sales and PR strategies. Much of her career has been in promoting the Humber region as a great place to live, work, study, invest and visit, particularly during roles at Hull Cityimage, Citybuild and Hull Forward and most recently as Director of Student Recruitment and Marketing at the University of Hull.

Anja is now Executive Director of Communications, Marketing and Media Relations at Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership. The Partnership brings together NHS organisations, local authorities, health and care providers and voluntary and community organisations in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, York, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to serve a population of 1.7 million.

Anja is passionate about the Humber region, and particularly its people. Having lived in the area all her life and attending University in Hull, she has then gone on to spend a significant amount of her career to date here

Andrew Hirst

Director & Company Secretary Future Humber, FD, Vytahealth Ltd

Andrew is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 30 years’ experience advising private and public sector firms in business and project finance. He is the Group Finance Director of Vytahealth Limited which specialises in the sale of premium vitamins and supplements across the UK and Europe.  He is also a director of Sandglass Ltd, a firm specializing in accountancy, business advisory and interim business support.  He is also Chair of Governors for Headlands School in Bridlington.

Andrew is extremely passionate about the region and has used his knowledge and experience to work with many local organisations, including providing strategic and financial leadership and operational management to Hull Forward, Hull’s Economic Development Company. 

Chris Zanetti

Managing Director, Chris Zanetti Ltd

Chris is currently Chairman of Warners Distillery Ltd where he was appointed in February 2015 and also of Bio-D Ltd appointed in August 2015. Warners was a Virgin UK Fast Track growth company in 2018 and 2019. Bio D is one of the leading privately owned eco- cleaning/household goods businesses in the UK and based in Hull.

Previously Chris held Divisional Board and Managing Director roles in large, medium and small subsidiaries of multinational Consumer Goods companies within the Food, Drink and Healthcare sectors.

He started his career in Mars, then led operations in the UK and overseas for Allied-Domecq who owned brands such as Beefeater gin, Malibu, Tia Maria, Ballantines Whisky and Laphroag. At Merck Consumer Healthcare (now P&G Healthcare), he led 1200 employees as Executive Vice President EMEA and was responsible for 390m€ of turnover across 15 international markets.

He is also on the advisory Board of Hull University Business School and a trustee of Jubilee Central in Hull.

Dr Bruce Charlesworth

Group Chief Medical Officer and Hull Campus Lead at Reckitt

At Reckitt, a leading health and consumer goods company founded in Hull. Bruce has overall responsibility for the 1800-strong Hull workforce as well as global medical accountability for brands such as Nurofen, Gaviscon, Strepsils, Durex and Dettol. Bruce spent his early teenage years in and around Hull before studying medicine at Leeds University and spending 5 years in NHS clinical practice around the UK. With huge passion for the region, the people, the economy and our culture, Bruce proudly returned here in 2015 upon joining Reckitt.

Catherine Darby-Roberts

Associate Director | Science, Industry and Technology Business Leader, Arup

Catherine is a Chartered Engineer and experienced Project Leader at international consultant Arup, a leader in sustainable development.  She advises clients in the Science, Industry and Technology sectors, focused on decarbonisation, buildability, and operational efficiency. 

Catherine understands the opportunities and challenges in the Humber.  She encourages inward investment, helping Advanced Manufacturing clients move into the region, and championing a strong positive message to encourage collaboration, promote innovation and support regional transformation

Simon Dwyer

CEO, Seafox Management Consultants Ltd

Simon has over 30 years working in the Humber region in logistics, shipping and seafood sectors. He has held board level positions with international businesses and today, has a business based in Grimsby working with a variety of organisations supporting sector competitiveness primarily, within seafood and food.

Simon is an advocate of the region and has travelled globally to tell the story of many of our key sectors.

Simon has a network that reaches beyond the region into government in the UK and overseas, investors in the region and multiple stakeholders on the Humber.

Simon also supports businesses with growth planning and leadership skills improvements.

Paul Fursey

General Manager, Humber Refinery, for Phillips 66 and the Lead Executive in the U.K.

Paul has nearly three decades of experience in the oil refining industry.  

Prior to his new role, Paul served as Manager of Operations at the Los Angeles Refinery. Before joining the Los Angeles Refinery, he served as the Technical Services Manager at the Humber Refinery in the U.K. While in that role, Paul served as a director on the boards of three joint ventures with Total and had responsibility for strategy, technology, design, engineering, procurement and project construction.  

Previously, Paul served as Director of Refining Strategy in Houston, Texas, initially supporting the strategic development of the Phillips 66 Gulf and East Coast refineries and subsequently supporting the Midcontinent refineries, including WRB Refining, a Phillips 66 joint venture with Cenovus. 

Paul began his refining career as a chemical engineer at the Humber Refinery for Conoco, where he worked in various positions of increasing responsibility, including roles in engineering, project development, optimization, operations, process safety and strategy.  

Paul graduated from the University of Bradford with a master’s degree in chemical engineering with management. 

Debra Gray

Principal and Chief Executive, Hull College

Debra Gray MBE is a highly respected veteran of the Further Education and Skills system, bringing over 25 years of education and commercial experience to her role as the Principal and CEO of Hull College. Debs' dedication to education was recognised with an MBE in 2020, honouring her remarkable services to the field. She was also awarded the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for Education in 2022, acknowledging the work she and her team conducted in tackling Humber skills challenges head-on.

Currently undertaking a doctorate focused on the skills needed to address the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution in the Humber region, Debs is actively researching crucial areas such as green skills, artificial intelligence, and the risks associated with automation. Her dedication to advancing education is also evident through her extensive publishing record, which includes textbooks, think pieces, and conference papers covering a wide range of educational topics, particularly in the realms of digital and industrial transformation.

In addition to her professional endeavours, Debs serves as a trustee of Jisc, the largest educational technology charity in the UK. She passionately advocates for the transformative power of technology in reducing social and economic inequality, sharing this important message through her speeches at regional and national conferences, engaging businesses and educational providers alike.

Having grown up on a Sheffield council estate, raised by a single parent reliant on state benefits, Debs personal background fuels her advocacy for social mobility and the transformative power of skills education.

Richard Gwilliam

UK BECCS Programme Director, Drax

Richard is responsible for managing how carbon dioxide captured through Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology will be transported and permanently stored.  Drax operates the UK’s largest power station and is working apply CCS technology to the plant to capture 8mt of carbon dioxide per annum – making it the world’s largest CCS project.  The business is also developing new BECCS projects internationally to capture a further 4mt of CO2 per year by 2030 and along with the Humber, Richard works internationally to deliver this target. 

Richard has a background in developing major infrastructure projects including CCS, gas, electricity, transport and commercial development; and has a BSc (Hons) in Geography and an MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment.  He is Chair of the Humber Energy Board – a private/public sector board established to promote the rapid deployment of CCS and other low carbon technologies in the region and is also a Non-Executive Director at the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce.

Henri Murison

Chief Executive, Northern Powerhouse Partnership

During Henri's five years since his first appointment, he has established the Northern Powerhouse Partnership as the business led organisation which convenes the North together. From making the case for significant investment in key transport priorities and further devolution deals for the North, to challenging for a better deal for the most disadvantaged from the education system, his team are focused on how government, business and partners can drive the North’s ambitions.

Before joining the Partnership, he worked in senior research and policy roles in policing and financial services, and as a former senior local government figure in Newcastle upon Tyne remains a commentator on the political as well as economic rationale for Levelling Up and wider regional policy in the UK.

Deb Oxley OBE DL

Founder Oxley Works, Deputy Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire and Chair of Humber-based charity CatZero and national charity Ownership at Work

As previous Chief Executive of the Employee Ownership Association, Deb led the campaign with national and regional government, business groups and the media to increase the profile and impact of employee ownership in the UK economy.  

An influential and passionate advocate, Deb represented the UK EO sector with business groups including the CBI, FSB and ICAEW, influencing their understanding of and engagement with the campaign.  

Deb initiated a new partnership to grow EO in the English regions, was pivotal in shaping an EO focused industry leadership group in Scotland and was regularly a member of academic gatherings to assess the future opportunities for EO as part of a more inclusive, compassionate economy. Deb regularly advocated for EO at national and international events and in the mainstream media. As an experienced leader, Deb recruited a strong team and Board to lead and deliver the EOA’s strategy, resulting in a 150% increase in the size of the EO sector.  

Since stepping down from the EOA after almost 10 years in 2022, Deb has founded Oxley Works, a specialist consultancy working with employee owned and purpose driven enterprises and is a NED of a number of businesses and Chairs a number of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). Deb was awarded an OBE in 2019, is a Deputy Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Chair of Humber-based charity CatZero and a Trustee of national charity Ownership at Work. 

Mark Pearson-Kendall

Managing Partner, Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP

Mark has been Managing Partner of Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP since 2013, building on his previous role as Equity Partner in the firm's busy Corporate Team. Since taking over as Managing Partner, Mark has overseen a significant expansion of the firm, which now operates out of four regional offices in key locations in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, with its Head Office in Hull.

Mark is a graduate of Hull University.

Professor Dave Petley

VC, University of Hull

Dave is a geographer and earth scientist with more than 30 years’ experience across a broad range of universities, Professor Petley’s research focuses on natural and environmental hazards.  He is recognised widely as a world leader in the study and management of landslides.

He brought extensive leadership experience to Hull in 2022, holding leadership roles at Durham and East Anglia before joining Sheffield as VP-Research and Innovation, becoming VP-Innovation in 2020. 

He also provided Executive Board level leadership of the Advanced Manufacturing Group, was a founding Non-Executive Director of Northern Gritstone, an investment company supporting research commercialisation in the north of England.

Tim Shaw

CEO, KCOM

Tim was appointed as KCOM's Chief Executive Officer in April 2022 and has overseen the expansion of its award-winning full fibre network across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

Tim joined KCOM in June 2019 as Chief Technology Officer before becoming Managing Director of its Wholesale & Networks business in 2020.

He has extensive experience in leading network and IT-related transformation and delivering the technology strategies for large organisations across a range of different customer segments. He has held a number of senior roles across BT and was VP of Engineering at Loot Financial Services.

Chris Soper

Joint Managing Director of Hull based Sewell Construction

Chris is Joint Managing Director of Hull based Sewell Construction and Board Director of the Sewell Estates business which offers a diverse range of built environment and estates solutions across the Humber region and beyond. Having started his career as a management trainee with Sewell Construction in 2006, Chris has seen first-hand the benefits of promoting growth and opportunity and he is a strong advocate for supporting local communities, ensuring a legacy beyond each project.

Having lived in Hull all his life, Chris is passionate about the area and is keen to continue to contribute to the economic prosperity and sustainability agenda for the Humber region. He is delighted to be joining the Future Humber Board of Directors and to work collaboratively to promote all the good things the area has to offer.

Andy Sykes

Plant Director, Siemens Gamesa

Andy Sykes is the Plant Director of Siemens Gamesa, Hull. Starting his tenure with the business in the early stages of the initial factory build in 2016.

Andy has a varied and fruitful career across a number of different industries and sectors. Born not too far from the Humber region, in Doncaster, Andy spent his early years in nearby Thorne, going on to read for a Humanities degree at the University of Sheffield and later a postgraduate in Marketing Management at Sheffield Hallam University. During his career, Andy has worked in retail, higher education, public sector and the metals industry before persuing a future in the renewable energy space for one of the market leaders in clean energy.

Andy joined Siemens Gamesa as the Head of Operational Excellence, part of the team that set up robust and bold processes establishing the site as a lead factory in the global fleet. Moving into heading the Operations team and transforming the Quality function before his appointment to Plant Director in 2020. Andy is motivated by the drive of young talent in the region and advocates working with partners in the education sector to develop a strong pipeline of diverse career opportunities. As a father of a young woman in secondary education he sees first-hand the need to provide meaningful opportunities and inspire our future generations.

As a leading manufacturer of green energy, Andy shares Future Humber’s ambition towards a net-zero carbon economy whilst maximising key growth opportunities and future investment for the area. Andy is proud to join Future Humber's Board of Directors to continue to make a step change in the profile of the region, acting as one of the independent voices creating a thriving environment for our businesses to operate.

Diana Taylor

Managing Director, Future Humber

Diana has lived and worked in the Humber for the past 27 years, initially moving to the region to work for BP Chemicals at Saltend.  After several technology roles within BP, Diana transitioned into commercial operations at the Saltend site, ultimately working as Business Development Manager, attracting chemical investment to the UK and the Humber.

In September 2017, Diana joined the board of Future Humber as Managing Director, leading the executive team. She is responsible for guiding the vision and strategy to promote the Humber both nationally and internationally and is passionate about working with the businesses and organisations to strengthen the regional voice and build a sustainable and prosperous future.

Diana also sits on the HEY LEP Board, the Scunthorpe Towns Board, the Cultural Compact Board and the HMP Humber Employment Advisory Board.

Nikki West

SVP HR for Finance & IT and Head of Global Talent at Smith & Nephew

Nikki was raised in the Humber region and she has worked for businesses based in Hull for over 35 years with a focus on attracting talent and skills across multiple disciplines and geographies from graduates to executives. 

As a Senior Vice President for Smith + Nephew - a FTSE 100 company, Nikki leads an extensive global team to deliver innovative people solutions in the field of Healthcare which will provide key insight for Future Humber.  Prior to this Nikki worked as HR Lead for a building products company formally known as Caradon Ideal.

Nikki has Postgraduate Degree in Human Resources Management, is a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a Member of the Institute of Administrative Management and a former board member of the ABHI.

As Nikki has lived and worked in the Hull area all her life she is passionate about the region and she is keen to contribute to the prosperity of the area and delighted to join the Future Humber Board of Directors.

Dafydd Williams

Head of Policy, Communications & Economic Development for the Humber

Dafydd joined Associated British Ports in January 2017. He is responsible for all of ABP Humber’s external relations, policy developments, partnerships and manages large projects like Brexit planning, Freeport status and several regeneration schemes. Prior to ABP, Dafydd worked for eight years for Yorkshire Water in various roles including latterly as Group Head of Corporate Affairs. He has previously worked for PR agencies managing accounts for a number of big names in the housing, retail, energy and transport sectors.

Dafydd is the former Leader of City of York Council and has extensive political experience having worked for MPs and ministers between 1999 and 2007.  He has been a magistrate for the last 11 years, is the former Chair of Hull College Group and is a founder member of the Board of Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Chair of North East Lincolnshire Development and Growth Board.