ACT Annual Conference 2010: Speakers

Meet the speakers

As always, we have drawn on our network of experienced practitioners and technical experts to bring you focused and practical comment on key treasury issues, together with keynote addresses from well-known figures.

Conference chairman

Matthew Hurn
Deputy President, ACT, and Executive Director, Group Treasury
Mubadala Development Company

Matthew Hurn is the Group Treasurer for Mubadala Development Company, with responsibility for treasury and corporate funding, financial risk management, insurance and investor relations. Prior to joining Mubadala, Matthew worked in the UK as the Group Treasurer of DSG international plc (formally Dixons Group) where he was instrumental in developing the company’s treasury framework and strategy to accommodate their overseas expansion into 28 countries.

Matthew has worked extensively in the treasury industry for over 17 years in both the public and private Sector and is a qualified member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers, an elected member of Council and Vice President.

Professor Tim Congdon CBE
Economist, Journalist and Author

Tim Congdon is an economist and businessman, who has for over 30 years been a strong advocate of sound money and free markets in the UK’s public policy debates.
Educated at Oxford University, Tim’s career started as an economic journalist at The Times. He has held various economic advisory and forecasting positions and was a member of the Treasury Panel of Independent Forecasters.

Tim has published several papers and prepared an expert witness statement for the Northern Rock shareholders in their action against the government over its nationalization. Recently Tim has set up a new economics consultancy business, International Monetary Research Ltd, of which he is chief executive.

Richard Lambert
Director General
CBI

Having studied history at Balliol College, Oxford, Richard joined the Financial Times in 1966. He edited the Lex column in the 1970s, becoming financial editor in 1979. In 1982 he moved to New York as the Bureau Chief, returning to the UK a year later as Deputy Editor. He became Editor of the Financial Times in 1991 and during his 10 years in this role launched the US version of the newspaper.

In August 2002 Richard spent a semester at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 2003 he was asked by the Chancellor to write the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration.

A member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from Spring 2003 until Spring 2006, Richard took up the post of Director-General of the CBI in July 2006.

Among a number of other non-remunerated roles, Richard is also a Trustee of the British Museum and became Chancellor of the University of Warwick in August 2008.

Pierre Yves Gerbeau
Chief Executive
X-Leisure

After successfully turning Euro Disney into Europe’s biggest visitor attraction, Pierre was appointed Chief Executive of the Dome in February 2000.

Pierre has an MBA from one of France’s leading business schools. In November 2003, Pierre established a career in business and economic broadcasting with a project on Five Live: PY’s Eurovision, which received huge media acclaim.

Today Pierre is Chief Executive of X-Leisure, the UK’s fastest growing premiere leisure brand and regarded as one of the guru’s of the leisure/retail/entertainment industry.

Question Time facilitator

Mishal Husain
Journalist and Broadcaster

Mishal Husain is a familiar face on BBC1’s prime time Sunday evening news and to viewers all over the world as a main presenter on the international channel BBC World. She has a rare ability to connect with and appeal to both UK and international audiences, and her wide-ranging talents have been seen on programmes as diverse as BBC1’s Breakfast, the arts interview programme Hardtalk Extra, and Radio 4’s You and Yours. In 2002 she became BBC News' first Washington-based anchor, fronting nightly programmes that developed a keen following in the crucial period before and during the Iraq War, including fronting the BBC’s live coverage as the conflict began in March 2003. Mishal's location work has included reporting live from New York in the days after 9/11; covering the first anniversary of the attacks from the Pentagon; the 2004 US presidential election campaign; and the 60th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence in August 2007.

Gala dinner speaker

John Sergeant
Journalist and Broadcaster

John Sergeant is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and a much talked-about contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. He took part in Alan Bennett’s comedy series, On the Margin, which won a Royal Television Society award for Comedy of the Year. John then became a journalist, training on the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo before joining the BBC staff in 1970. He was chief political correspondent of the BBC for 12 years and also worked for ITV as political editor of ITN from 2000 to 2003.