HOLYROOD INSIGHT - Key Persons
Alice Catterall is Managing Director of the Knowledge Exchange Group and looks after three brands - Westminster Insight, Holyrood Insight and Policy Insight Wales. Alice has over twenty years of experience in conferences, training, marketing and partnerships. Previous roles include Director of Events and Partnerships at ABTA (the Travel Association), and Director of the Conferences Division at Capita Plc.
In her spare time, Alice enjoys playing tennis and travelling abroad. Alice lives in Brighton and has two children.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Policy at Save
Claire is Associate Director of Policy at Save the Children, having previously been the charity's Director of Global Policy, Advocacy and Research. Prior to Save the Children, Claire worked in senior roles in a variety of organisations including the United Nations in New York, the Overseas Development Institute in London, and as an advisor to the Presidents of Rwanda and Liberia. Claire started her career working for the British government, first as a senior policy advisor in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit under Gordon Brown and subsequently in the Policy Planning Staff of the Foreign Office. She is on the Board of a range of organisations, including the Meningitis Research Foundation where she is Chair of Trustees. Claire holds degrees in History from Cambridge and in International Relations from Oxford.
Job Titles:
- Advisory Senior Advisor of Teneo Chancellor of York University
Dr Heather Melville, OBE CMgr CCMI CEO & Founder, Clarke Smith Advisory Senior Advisor of Teneo Chancellor of York University Heather's career spans over 40 years across financial, professional & technology services, with a specific focus on international trade, entrepreneurship and corporate banking. Heather is a business thought-leader and an innovator with a notable track record of building high performing diverse teams.
Heather has acted in an advisory capacity to FTSE CEOs across a multitude of industries and sectors. She is a highly respected and sought after public speaker, having addressed C-Suite leaders, senates, royalty, and global business audiences worldwide.
Heather has won many accolades, including being listed on the Black Powerlist, as one of the 100 most influential black people in the UK. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), whose purpose is to open channels of opportunity for black executives to positively impact business and communities, and the CFO's Diversity Forum for Business in the Community (FTSE100).
Heather has worked in partnership with HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh as part of her role as the Chair CMI Women. Heather also provided special advisory assistance to Queen Maximus of the Netherlands for her women in entrepreneurship programme.
Heather received her OBE for services to business in 2017 and has recently been appointed as the Chancellor of the University of York. Heather is also the Patron of Women in Banking and Finance.
Dr Alison Heydari joined Hampshire Constabulary in 2000. As a student officer, Alison successfully applied for the Home Office Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates.
Alison's varied career includes working in detective roles in the Criminal Investigations Department and in uniform roles, including in Public Protection, response policing and as geographic commander. Alison has driven the force wide strategic response to hate crime and harmful practices and practiced as a trained Negotiator for eight years. Alison has had a long-standing interest in the partnership response to and impact of Domestic Abuse.
Secondment to His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue and teaching at John Jay Exchange College of Criminal Justice, New York have enhanced Alison's policing experience. She has also carried out work in San Paulo, Brazil supporting victims of people trafficking.
Alison left Hampshire Constabulary in June 2020 on promotion to join the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) as a Frontline Policing Commander with additional pan London responsibility for a number of portfolios including neighbourhood policing.
Her appointment as Director for the Police Race Action Plan in August 2023 sees Alison driving a national programme of work necessary to respond to critically low levels of trust and confidence in Black communities. Alison collaborates with strategic partners including chief officer groups across the country to produce plans that improve policing for black communities with wider benefits to all communities. This role links well with her other national portfolio as Chief Officer lead for Out of Court Resolutions. Alison is also a Gold Public Order Public Safety Commander for the MPS.
Heather is a Senior Advisor to Teneo, a Global Consultancy, as well as a Trustee on the Board of Enfield Enterprise and until recently (following a 7-year tenure) was a Trustee on the Board for the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). She now sits on the committee for Companions and has recently been elected to join the Everyone Economy Committee.
After graduating from UCL with a master's in public policy, Emily joined the Knowledge Exchange Group in late 2018. Emily has a history of working in education and was a primary school teacher in East and North London. Emily leads the production team, overseeing the content and design for conferences.
Emily currently volunteers at a local food bank in London and a foster home teaching English. In her spare time, Emily enjoys trips to the seaside and the odd game of Netball (weather permitting).
Enzo joined the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners as their senior criminal justice adviser in 2022. Prior to that he was the Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire from 2018. He previously held posts in the Ministry of Justice, as Head of Crime for HMCTS South West region and Deputy Director Criminal Courts Operations. In 2014/15 he was seconded into the Lord Chief Justice's office to lead Sir Brian Leveson's review of efficiency in criminal proceedings. Before this he held various roles nationally and locally for HMCTS spending a number of years as a magistrates' court legal adviser.
Job Titles:
- Chief People Officer
- Chief People Officer, Directorate of Health Workforce / Scottish Government
Fiona is Chief People Officer within the Health Workforce Directorate of Scottish Government, a unique post with an external focus, working to build strong links between Government, NHS Boards and the wider Health and Social Care system to ensure our people priorities are aligned and our resources used to best effect. Prior to taking up this role in May 2023, Fiona was Director of People & Culture at NHS Highland, driving the leadership, governance and culture transformation following the Sturrock report. She joined the NHS after 20 years working in a range of people, change and leadership roles in the Financial Services and Pharmaceutical R&D sectors, and is passionate about compassionate leadership, encouraging challenge, valuing difference, promoting kindness and respect and putting people not processes first. Fiona is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and has a degree in HR from the University of Stirling.
Job Titles:
- Director of Marketing, Data and Systems
George Krousti has over twenty years of experience of sales and marketing in public policy events and training courses.
Prior to joining Knowledge Exchange Group in 2018, George was Head of Sales at Capita Conferences and Capita Learning and Development. For over 10 years he led a team of 7 to successfully promote more than 200 conferences and events annually.
George enjoys boxing, going to the cinema and spending quality time with his family.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust / Chair of the NHS Confederation 's Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Network, and Co - Chair of Their BME Leadership Network
Ifti took up his position as Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Healthcare on Thursday 1 December 2022.
He joined the Trust from Derbyshire Healthcare where he had held the position of Chief Executive for over five years, with an additional two years preceding this as Acting Chief Executive.
A mental health nurse by background, Ifti qualified in 1988 after training at St George's Hospital in London. He has held a range of clinical posts in adult mental health services, both in acute inpatient and community settings.
Ifti also has significant experience of effective leadership holding several nursing management roles before being promoted through senior management and executive roles.
He also holds a number of national positions, including Chair of the NHS Confederation's Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Network, and Co-Chair of their BME Leadership Network.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Chief Executive at the Care Inspectorate
- Chief Social Work Officer
- Vice President of Social Work Scotland
Jackie was appointed as the Chief Executive at the Care Inspectorate in September 2022.
Jackie qualified in Scotland before starting her career in London, moving back to Scotland in 1991.
Jackie has been a Chief Social Work Officer for over 10 years and comes to the Care Inspectorate from her current post as Service Director, Children and Families and Justice Services within the City of Edinburgh Council.
Jackie has over 30 years' experience of working in the public sector and has also managed community health services for children.
As Chief Social Work Officer Jackie had overall governance responsibility for the quality and provision of social work services both within the Council structure and within a fully integrated Health and Social Care Partnership as well as an adult's only partnership. In these roles she has provided professional advice as it relates to the provision of social work services.
Jackie's previous positions were predominantly in children's services but not exclusively, as she has had strategic and management responsibility for community justice, community-based health services, hospital-based social work, homelessness and refugee and migration services. Jackie spent two years as an Inspector in Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education in the Child Protection team and was an advisor for the Scottish Executive on a part time basis for four years. Jackie also has extensive experience working in key strategic planning and performance roles.
Jackie was appointed as Vice President of Social Work Scotland in 2017 and then as President in 2018 and has served on the Social Work Scotland Board.
Katie has been with us since 2020 after graduating from The University of Greenwich with her MA in International Event Management. As Operations Manager, she leads our logistics team in delivering over 200 events annually.
When she isn't working on events across the UK, you can find her at a pub quiz, running around London's beautiful parks and volunteering with Disability Sports Coach.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the National MAT CEO Network for Alternative Provision
- Chief Executive Officer, Olive Academies / Chair, National MAT CEO Network for Alternative Provision and SEND
Mark's work in education is rooted in his belief that schools have the potential to break historic cycles of social disadvantage and to prevent the marginalisation of vulnerable young people. Mark has been a headteacher of a secondary school, an Ofsted inspector, a school leadership consultant and was a founding trustee of the PSHE Association. He continues to support numerous mainstream schools, PRUs and alternative providers across the country, offering strategic advice to help them secure rapid and sustained improvement.
Mark is Chair of The National MAT CEO Network for Alternative Provision and SEND. He is also one of the founding members of the Suffolk CEO Network. Both these forums were established with Mark's support to help the sharing of ideas, innovations and best practice. Mark's determined approach to improving alternative provision for vulnerable young people in England is linked to this partnership work - successfully bringing together alternative provision with mainstream schools and engaging local authority, DfE and voluntary sector leaders to improve the life chances of some of the most vulnerable children in our country's education system.
In 2021 Mark was awarded an MBE in The Queen's New Year Honours List for his services to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Matt Turton - Chief Commercial Officer
Matt is responsible for KEG's commercial activities. This includes managing the sales team and working with partner organisations looking to gain exposure via our conferences.
Matt has nearly 30 years of experience of working in commercial roles for publishers, conference companies and membership associations including Local Government Chronicle, Health Service Journal, Capita Conferences, ABTA, London Chamber of Commerce and Neil Stewart Associates. He has a BA in Government and Politics and a MA in Social Research.
Matt has two children and lives in Hertfordshire. In his free time Matt's hobbies include running, cycling and he is a qualified fitness instructor.
Susie Bacon Chairs Knowledge Exchange Group. She provides thought leadership and strategic direction, guiding KEG's aims, mission, and ethos, ensuring good governance, and championing equality, diversity, and inclusion. Susie has 25 years' experience in public policy conferences, training, and content. A practised leader, Susie was Managing Director (MD) of Capita Conferences for more than a decade. Other previous roles include, Executive Director of RIPA International, and MD of Capita Training. Prior to policy events, Susie was Head of Conferences at Haymarket Communications. Susie volunteers as a school governor. She enjoys writing and has penned a political murder mystery trilogy. Susie has twin boys and lives in Tunbridge Wells.