Dr Natasha Boulding is the CEO-founder of Low Carbon Materials (LCM), a climate tech company and Earthshot Prize finalist developing world-leading material-based solutions to decarbonise our built environment. Natasha has patents in the area of advanced materials and started her career in academia, both in the UK and internationally. She sits on the UK Government’s Circular Economy Taskforce, the board of the UK Green Building Council start-up division, as well as holding board positions for Durham University Enterprise and The Northern Net Zero Accelerator. She has been recognised by Forbes 30 under 30, has won Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation award which highlights top female entrepreneurs in the UK and has led LCM to win multiple global and national awards.

John Duns is a Director and co-owner of North East Times Magazine.

Originally launched in 1981, the North East Times is the region's leading monthly independent publication which combines business and lifestyle content for professionals working and living in the North East of England.

John has over 30 years’ experience in media, sales, management and marketing, having started his career at The Journal newspaper, where he was responsible for all business to business advertising for the publication, and its business magazine.

Following his role at The Journal, John supported business development and marketing at Greig Middleton, instilled a professional marketing and business development plan at Watson Burton and led a rebrand of wealth manager Brewin Dolphin, placing the brand at the forefront of investment management and financial planning in the region.

In 2015, when the North East Times announced it was ending its print run, John was a co-investor in the relaunched monthly publication, with a clean modern design and a defined online presence. Now 4 years after its relaunch, the publication is providing a voice for those shaping the North East economy.

Michelle Duggan has since 2025 been head of inward investment at NECA.

Duggan has worked on the inward investment team for four years, since joining the North East Combined Authority.

Prior to that, she spent four years as partnership manager at Newcastle University, and has also worked at Durham County Council.

NECA aims to foster inclusive economic growth by working in close partnership with businesses, universities, and local government to unlock innovation, boost productivity, and generate high-quality jobs.

As part of this, it aims to boost the region’s global competitiveness by attracting inward investment, increasing export capacity, and growing the international reputation of its creative and visitor economy.

As Head of Onshore Market Development UK, Matt is responsible for the team developing all aspects of Vattenfall’s UK onshore wind projects from concept to construction. Over the last 10 years, he has held various roles in Vattenfall in project development and public affairs. Prior to Vattenfall, he worked in energy and agricultural policy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and DEFRA. Matt holds a degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic from the University of Cambridge. He lives and works in Northumberland.

Having worked at the North East Chamber of Commerce for 7 years, 6 of which were in the membership team supporting hundreds of businesses across the region before joining the international trade team in April 2025. Michael’s primary focus is the ensure the Chamber are delivering the right support for businesses trading internationally which includes training, consultancy, events, audits, documentation, customs, knowledge sharing and expert advice.

Dr Callum White is a Senior Advisor for Net Zero Construction and Maintenance at National Highways, working at the intersection of infrastructure innovation, decarbonisation, and delivery. He is responsible for driving delivery of the National Highways Net Zero Plan across construction and maintenance, and is a member of the organisation’s Innovation Board, helping to shape funding decisions, technology roadmaps, and the transition from research to business as usual. Callum works across multiple directorates to develop robust carbon performance metrics and reporting frameworks. Prior to joining National Highways, Callum completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge focused on digital technologies and sustainable concrete, leading to the invention of a new measurement technology with a strong emphasis on real world impact and commercialisation. He brings a blend of technical expertise, systems thinking, and practical delivery experience to addressing the infrastructure sector’s net zero challenge.

Peter leads our International Trade practice and has over 25 years’ experience supporting local, national and international businesses alike.

Previously an in-house lawyer in the chemical sector for ICI and INEOS, Peter retains a focus on chemicals as well as manufacturing. He has a wealth of experience advising suppliers and customers of port, transport and logistics services, on infrastructure projects and other operational activities.

He advises major multi-national companies and fast growing SMEs across various sectors on their strategic projects and day-to-day activities. Peter helps businesses ensure their contractual arrangements fulfil their commercial objectives, balancing risk and exposure to potential liabilities with the need to get the deal done.

With in-house experience and familiarity with industry norms, locally and internationally, Peter offers practical support on capital projects and all manner of comme

rcial arrangements, including purchasing, sales and manufacturing, joint ventures, and collaborative R&D.

Peter collaborates with the Department of International Trade, our colleagues in the US and our global Lex Mundi network to help businesses grow in new markets internationally and attract inward investors to expand across the UK.

Fredrik Warneryd is the Chief Executive for the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the UK, one of the largest and most active foreign chambers in the UK. Prior to joining the Chamber, Fredrik held many leading positions in the City of London. With more than 25 years of experience within the Nordic teams of Banque Paribas, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, UBS and Credit Suisse, he has earned extensive knowledge and expertise in both the UK and Nordic markets.  

Paul has worked in heavy civil engineering construction for almost 30 years and now heads up Skanska Infrastructure’s Engineering Department as their Chief Engineer. Much of his expertise has been developed through the delivery of highly complex and technically challenging engineering solutions within different contract procurement structures. Some noteworthy schemes include innovative solutions to deep excavation support on several Crossrail projects, the installation of Jacked structures on major projects for Highways England, Network Rail and the Olympic Delivery Authority.

To combat the rate and scale of climate change, Paul is committed to delivering carbon neutral projects across Skanska’s project portfolio by 2045. His Engineering Department boasts many fields of expertise that support Skanska’s projects; these include Temporary Works design, Materials Engineering and Waste and Resource Management.

With these disciplines at his disposal, Paul has pledged to look at as many innovative ways as possible to reach this target, sustainably.