- Sir Christopher Meyer KCMGChairman of the Judges
Sir Christopher Meyer was posted to Washington as British Ambassador in 1997 towards the end of the Clinton Presidency. After an extended five year term, he returned to the UK and chaired the Press Complaints Commission for six years until March 2009. Christopher was involved in a variety of issues whilst in the US - these included trade disputes as well as the aftermath of 9/11 and the war against terrorism. He gave over 200 speeches, visited 44 states and 120 cities. He also formally introduced Prime Minister Blair to President George W Bush. Christopher has served as the British Ambassador to Germany; press secretary to John Major; speechwriter to three Foreign Secretaries, and head of the political section of the Embassy in Moscow.
- Norman Baker MPShadow Secretary of State for Transport
Norman Baker has been Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes since 1997 and in December 2007 he was promoted to the role of Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, his third shadow cabinet role. He is also the UK President of the Tibet Society and was named "Opposition MP of the Year" by Channel 4 in 2002.
- Camila BatmanghelidjhFounder and Chief Executive, Kid’s Company
Camila Batmanghelidjh is the founder of two children’s charities: The Place2Be (now national), and Kids Company, where she currently works with some of the most traumatised young people. She trained as a psychotherapist, engaged in 20 years of psychoanalysis and has become an advocate for vulnerable children. Kids Company was set up in 1996. It employs approximately 300 staff, benefits from 3000 people volunteering annually and reaches 13,500 children a year with therapeutic and social work support. Camila and her team have raised £50 million over the years to help London's most vulnerable children.
- Robert BerkeleyCEO, Express KCS
Robert Berkeley has spent most of his career working in and around newspapers. He is CEO of Express KCS, which provides outsourced media production services to over 500 newspapers and magazines, as well as many agencies and corporations.
- Martin BrightFounder, New Deal of the Mind and of www.spectator.co.uk
Martin Bright is a Journalist and former political editor of the New Statesman. He founded New Deal of the Mind, a not-for profit organisation set up to tackle issues issues around the recession (www.newdealofthemind.com) which launched in 2009. He is also thinker in residence at the Southbank Centre.
- Charlie BurgessEditorial Director, Editorial Intelligence
Charlie is a media advisor to a clutch of innovative companies and he is a non-executive director of CN Group, which runs local newspapers, magazines and radio stations. He is the editorial director of Editorial Intelligence. Charlie’s Fleet St career included stints at The Independent where he was managing editor, home editor and the founding sports editor. At The Guardian he was a sports reporter, the Saturday editor and the Media editor.
- Iain DalePolitical Blogger and Conservative Commentator
Iain Dale is one of Britain's leading political commentators, appearing regularly on TV and radio. Iain is best known for his political blog, Iain Dale's Diary and football blog, West Ham Till I Die. He is a contributing editor and columnist for GQ Magazine, hosts a weekly Friday night talk radio show on PlayRadioUK and is the publisher of the monthly magazine, Total Politics.
- Annette DittertBureau Chief, ARD German Television
Annette Dittert studied politics, philosophy and German in Freiburg and Berlin. She worked in Warsaw, New York and London as foreign correspondent and bureau chief. In 2001, Annette developed and directed the documentary series ‘Abenteuer Glück’ as special correspondent for which she received the prestigious Adolf-Grimme-Preis and a nomination (International Emmy).
- David FarnsworthHead of Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
David Farnsworth has been with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund since 2007, where he is head of the refugee and asylum seekers initiative. Previously he was chief executive of the Welsh Refugee Council.
- Stephen FlemingEditorial Director, CopyThatWorks
Stephen Fleming is Editor of Editorial Intelligence and compiles the Daily Digest of the leading opinions featured in the comment media. Stephen is a former Daily Mail and Times staffer with 25 years' experience in journalism. He runs his own PR and marketing consultancy, Copythatworks Ltd
- Kim FletcherChairman of the National Council for the Training of Journalists and MD, Trinity Management Communications
Kim spent 25 years on British national newspapers as reporter, columnist and editor before moving into newspaper management with the Telegraph Group. He has also worked for ITN, Channel Four News, written and presented a series on the newspaper industry for BBC Radio 4 and is author of The Journalist’s Handbook, published by Macmillan.
- Bruno GiussaniEuropean Director, TED
Bruno Giussani is the European Director of the TED Conferences, a writer, and a recognised specialist of innovation and creativity trends. He has authored several books. He is a member of the Boards of Internet consultancy Tinext and of the Knight Fellowship at Stanford University. Previously, he was the European Internet columnist for the New York Times and an executive at the World Economic Forum. He lives in Switzerland. www.ted.com
- AC GraylingProfessor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London
AC Grayling is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London and is an author, journalist and broadcaster.
- Krishnan Guru-MurthyNewscaster, Channel 4 News
Krishnan presents Channel 4 News from Friday to Sunday and is also the main anchor of the Channel 4 News at Noon. He joined the team in 1998 after ten years at the BBC presenting, reporting and producing on a variety of programmes from "Newsround" to "Newsnight". Krishnan also presents The TV Show, Channel 4's monthly programme in which viewers discuss television with producers.
- Matthew GwytherEditor, Management Today
Matthew Gwyther has edited Management Today for the past seven years and during this time has won the coveted BSME Business Magazine editor of the year on a record four occasions. It is his first editorship. During a 15-year career as a freelance, he wrote for the Sunday Times magazine, the Independent, the Telegraph, the Observer and GQ, and was a contributing editor to Business magazine. He was PPA Business Feature Writer of the Year in 2001. Before becoming a journalist he had a brief and inauspicious spell as a civil servant working at the Medical Research Council in its London Secretariat.
- Tara Hamilton-MillerPR Week
Tara has over 15 years experience working in the media. A Westminster insider with excellent contacts, Tara is a political writer and commentator with a PRWeek. She is a panellist and reviewer for television and radio. Tara worked for five years in Conservative Central Office’s press office, from 2000- 2005. After leaving CCO she was Deputy Editor of The Sun newspaper’s political diary, and worked as a political consultant on a number of projects including Live Aid in 2005 and with M&C Saatchi. Tara joined Weber Shandwick in 2008 as a non-executive director advising on political issues.
- Fraser HardieSenior Partner, Blue Rubicon
Fraser established Blue Rubicon in 1999 and, has built it into the CIPR Consultancy of the Year (twice), European Corporate Consultancy of the Year, Marketing Magazine PR Agency of the Year (twice) and PR Week Consultancy of the Year (three times).
- Julia HobsbawmChief Executive, Editorial Intelligence
Julia Hobsbawm is the founder and Chief Executive of Editorial Intelligence, the media analysis and networking organization. She is Visiting Professor of Public Relations at the University of the Arts, London, and Vice-President of the Hay Festival for Literature.
- Dylan JonesEditor, GQ
Dylan Jones has edited GQ magazine since 1999. Previously he had worked at Arena, The Observer and The Sunday Times. He has written a number of books including, iPod Therefore, I Am, Mr Jones’ Rules for the Modern Man and Cameron On Cameron: Conversations with Dylan Jones, a collaboration with the Conservative leader.
- Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
Helena Kennedy is a leading barrister and an expert in human rights law, civil liberties and constitutional issues. She is a member of the House of Lords and President of the School of Oriental and African studies, University of London. As a barrister she has acted in many of the most prominent cases of the last 30 years including the Brighton Bombing, the Michael Bettany espionage trial and the Guildford Four appeal. As a life peer she participates in the House of Lords on issues concerned with human rights, civil liberties, social justice and culture. Her publications include the widely acclaimed Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice (1992 revised 2005) and Just Law: the Changing Face of Justice and Why It Matters To Us All. (2004).
- Horatia LawsonTalent Producer
Horatia Lawson has worked in television for over ten years as a freelance talent producer finding new and placing established talent for factual entertainment programmes such as Dragons Den and The Last Word with David Starkey, and The Ruby Wax Round Table and Ruby Wax's American Pie. She has also worked in publishing coordinating talent for The Economist's quarterly Intelligent Life. Horatia is currently training as a child psychotherapist and working for Kid's Company.
- David LowishDirector, Generation Investment Management
David joined Generation in July 2007 and covers the global industrial sector. David is also a Senior Portfolio Manager for the firm's Climate Solutions Strategy. Prior to joining Generation, David worked at Goldman Sachs in the asset management business from 1999. His most recent responsibilities included co- management of the GS European and International Small Cap Strategy from 2003 onwards as well as research of industrial, energy, consumer and real estate stocks in the small, mid-cap space. David graduated from Trinity College Cambridge with a first class B.A. honours degree in Modern Languages in 1999. In 1998 he was awarded a Diplome (with Mention AB) from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris in economics and international relations. He was awarded the CFA certification in 2003.
- Nico MacdonaldWriter and Consultant, Spy
Nico Macdonald is a writer, facilitator, researcher and consultant interested in the social context of design, technology and innovation. His clients include BBC Future Media & Technology and BT plc. Publications for which he writes include BBC News Online, the RSA Journal and The Register, and he is author of What is Web Design? (RotoVision, 2003). He chairs the Media Futures Conference and programmes the Innovation Reading Circle in London. Current research projects include the Internet Development Map. www.spy.co.uk
- Kit MalthouseAM Deputy Mayor for Policing
Kit Malthouse, Assembly Member for West Central, is Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority. He leads on the Mayor's priorities in tackling serious violence and improving police accountability.
- Stryker McGuireContributing Editor, Newsweek
Stryker McGuire is a contributing editor at Newsweek magazine, where he was a correspondent, bureau chief and editor for 30 years. He is the founding editor of International Quarterly, and an associate at Lombard Street Research, an economics consultancy in the City of London.
- Caroline MichelCEO, Peters Fraser and Dunlop
Caroline Michel has over 25 years experience in the media industry. She has previously run both Vintage at Random House and Harper Press at HarperCollins. For the last three years she has headed the William Morris UK Operation. She was a member of the Booker Prize Committee for six years and is currently a Governor of the BFI and Board member of PEN.
- Clarence MitchellOfficial spokesman for the McCanns and Consultant, Freud Communications
Clarence is a consultant with Freud Communications, specialising in issues and crisis management, media training and scenario planning, a role he combines with his ongoing duties as the Official Spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing in Portugal in May 2007. Clarence regularly comments on media industry matters, and has made recent appearances on both PM and the Today programme on
BBC Radio 4.
- Steve MooreDirector and Co-Founder, Policy Unplugged
Steve Moore is the Founder and Director of Policy Unplugged, which exists to help promote social networking, knowledge generation and sharing and the harnessing of collective intelligence within organisations and communities.
- Suzanne MooreCommentator, Mail on Sunday
Suzanne is an award winning columnist for The Guardian, The Independent and now the Mail on Sunday. She has contributed to The New Statesman and authored two books of collected journalism (Looking for Trouble 1991, Head over Heels 1998). She has also contributed essays to books from Amazonians to Punk Rock So What. She is Director of Communications of a new company Family of Rock Ltd.
- Sanjay NazeraliController - Marketing Communications & Audiences, BBC Global News
Sanjay joined the BBC in 2007 and previously was Managing Director of The Depot, a marketing consultancy he co-founded in 1998. Prior to this, Sanjay was marketing director of MTV Europe.
- Lucy Neville-Rolfe CMGExecutive Director (Corporate & Legal Affairs), Tesco Plc.
Lucy joined Tesco in 1997 as Corporate Affairs Director from the Cabinet Office after a career in MAFF, DTI and 10 Downing Street. She was also Tesco’s Company Secretary from 2004 until her appointment to the Board in 2006. She is Deputy Chair of the British Retail Consortium, a Non-Exec Director of the Carbon Trust, and a member of the China Britain Business Council and the Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. In September 2007, she became Chairman of Dobbies plc.
- Claire OldfieldEditorial Consultant, Editorial Intelligence
Claire Oldfield started her career in journalism on The Sunday Times, where she was Small Business Editor. She launched and edited the Mail on Sunday's MONEY magazine before moving to the Daily Mail as City News Editor. In 2005 she was part of the CityAM launch team and was Deputy Editor of the City's first free newspaper. Most recently she was Global Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Metro International.
- Ben PageChief Executive, Ipsos MORI
Ben Page is Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI. He joined MORI in 1987 and is a frequent writer and speaker on research and performance management in the public sector. He has worked closely with both Conservative and Labour ministers and senior policy makers across government since 1992, leading on work for Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office, DCLG (ODPM) and the Department of Health, as well as a wide range of local authorities and NHS Trusts.
- Matt PeacockGroup Director of Communications, BG Group
Matt Peacock is the Group Director of Communications with the global energy company BG Group plc, a FTSE10 business with operations in 27 countries. He was formerly the Director of Communications with the UK communications regulator Ofcom, where he served as a member of the Ofcom Policy Executive, and previously held UK communications director roles with 3 and AOL. He is a former reporter with The World at One on BBC Radio 4.
- Shyama PereraFreelance Writer and Broadcaster
Shyama Perera is a freelance print journalist, novelist and broadcaster. She is currently developing an interest in education and the building of communications skills amongst the young with her work as a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and as a governor of Westminster Kingsway College.
- Richard ReevesDirector, Demos
Richard Reeves is Director of Demos. His principal areas of current interest are the economics and politics of wellbeing; trends in British politics; and the future of the workplace. Richard is also an essayist for the New Statesman magazine and editor-at-large and columnist for Management Today, for which he writes a monthly column. He is also a regular contributor to The Guardian, Observer and Prospect magazine as well as a range of national radio and television programmes.
- Danny RogersEditor, PR Week
Danny Rogers is Editor of PRWeek and the British Society of Magazine Editors' Editor of the Year. He writes regularly for The Guardian and is a frequent commentator on media and political issues on BBC TV and radio.
- Geraldine Sharpe-NewtonPresident, The Media Society and Associate, Criticaleye
Geraldine Sharpe-Newton has over 25 years experience in broadcast journalism, public relations agencies, publishing, charity and media companies. She ran ITN's Press & Public Affairs before becoming Communications Director at the WWF and went on to be Senior Vice President, International Public Relations for all Turner products and channels outside the United States including CNN International. She is also Director of First Take Media Strategists.
- Jag SinghFounder, Labourhome and MessageSpace
Jag Singh is a veteran of American political campaigns. He is currently Chief Information Officer at online campaigning and advertising agency . He is also a co-founder of Labourhome.org. He frequently comments and advises on issues relating to the usage of technology within the political arena.
- Neil StewartChairman and Editorial Director, Policy Review TV
From 1989-1992 he was Political Secretary to the then Labour leader, Rt Hon Neil Kinnock MP. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Neil Stewart Associates and Policy Review TV, which were founded in 1992. Neil Stewart is a former President of the National Union of Students.
- Charles Stewart-SmithChairman, Editorial Intelligence
Charles’s career began as a reporter which took him to the BBC and ITN, latterly as Programme Editor for the News at Ten. In 1992, Charles co-founded Luther Pendragon which was sold to a management team in 2005 and Charles continues as a consultant to the company. Charles also co-founded GPlus Europe and Silk Public Relations, and in 2007 became Chairman of Editorial Intelligence.
- Ed StourtonPresenter, BBC Radio 4
Edward Stourton is a BBC Radio 4 presenter, who until recently presented its flagship current affairs programme Today on BBC Radio 4. He is the author of Absolute Truth (Viking 1998), In the Footsteps of St Paul (Hodder & Stoughton 2004), Paul of Tarsus: A Visionary Life (Paulist Press 2005), John Paul II: Man of History (2006) and It’s a PC World: What it Means to Live in a Land Gone Politically Correct (2008) published by Hodder & Stoughton.
- Matthew TaylorChief Executive, RSA
Matthew Taylor became Chief Executive of the RSA in November 2006. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Adviser on Political Strategy to the Prime Minister. He was the Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research between 1999 and 2003. Matthew is a frequent media commentator on policy and political issues, and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Observer, New Statesman and Prospect'.
- Jonathan TuchnerDirector of Press and Public Affairs, Arts & Business
Jonathan is currently Director of Press and Public Affairs at Arts & Business, helping spark new partnerships between commerce and culture. Prior to this, he spent a decade working overseas in international department. He had previously worked in film and television production.
- Ed Vaizey MPShadow Culture Minister
Ed is the Conservatives Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot and Shadow Culture Minister. In January 2007 he set up the independent Arts Taskforce to consider Conservative culture policy ahead of the next election.
- Simon WarrDirector of Communications, Jaguar Land Rover
Simon is Communications and Public Affairs Board Director at Jaguar Land Rover, a role he has held since February 2007. He previously held product and corporate communications positions at Ford's European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, as well as leading Mazda Motor Corporation's global communications team in Hiroshima, Japan. He started his career in journalism in the early 1990s transitioning to Government press relations and specialist crisis communications work, before joining Ford in 1999.
- Derek Wyatt MP
Derek Wyatt has been the Labour MP for Sittingbourne & Sheppey since 1997 and he formed the all party internet group in 1997 and has been its chairman ever since. He is currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon Lord Malloch-Brown at the FCO.He has lectured on eGovernment issues in Spain, Sweden and America and, in 2000, he founded the Oxford Internet Institute and he has won four national awards for his work on IT matters. His website is www.derekwyatt.co.uk.