He’s the definition of a serial entrepreneur with a sharp eye for disruption and scale - from booking ski trips for student groups in the ’90s to reshaping how the UK books beach holidays, Simon Cooper has consistently stayed ahead of the curve… and the competition.
At university, he launched On the Piste, capturing 50% of the student ski market before selling the business to TUI in 2008. But it was On the Beach, founded in 2004, that truly made waves. An early pioneer of dynamic packaging in online travel, Simon scaled the business from scrappy startup to £1.5 billion in sales, 1.5 million annual passengers and a spot on the London Stock Exchange. Along the way, he raised multiple rounds of private equity, steered the business through Covid with one of the sector’s strongest balance sheets and struck a landmark partnership with Ryanair in 2024.
Not one to rest on past wins, Simon turned his focus to scaling other high-growth ventures. As investor and non-executive director at Current Body, he helped grow the business from break-even to £100m+ in sales with 70% gross margin, leading the shift from retail to own-brand beauty tech. Then, at Nuco Travel, he returned to his ski roots – this time as non-executive Chair – helping the business double sales and merge with its closest competitor to become the UK’s third-largest ski operator.
Most recently, in 2024, Simon joined the Board of Fearless Adventures, a founder-first investment firm supercharging early-stage businesses with capital and capability. As Chair, he's helping shape a portfolio already worth 5x its original value.
With a track record of founding, scaling, selling, investing and mentoring, Simon knows what it takes to unlock potential. Now in the market for one more Chair role, he’s looking to partner with ambitious founders and help take their business to the next level.
Joanna Jensen is best known as the founder of Childs Farm, the UK’s number one baby and children’s personal care brand. Her story begins at home, growing up in a household of strong women and shaped by her mother, a nurse who believed in a holistic approach to health. From natural remedies to sustainability, Joanna’s upbringing instilled in her a practical, no-nonsense philosophy that would later influence her entrepreneurial journey.
When her daughters were born, Joanna faced a problem close to home: her youngest, Bella, suffered from severe eczema, and existing products on the market simply weren’t fit for purpose. Determined to find a solution, she began creating products that were natural, effective and fun – making bath time a positive experience even for children with sensitive skin. That vision became Childs Farm.
The road to success was far from easy. Joanna’s journey involved personal upheaval, financial risk and moments when the business hung in the balance. But with unwavering belief in her products, she persevered. By 2019, Childs Farm was the leading brand in its category, and in 2022 she sold a majority stake to PZ Cussons for £36.8m, paving the way for international growth.
Today, Joanna is passionate about helping others to succeed. Her debut book, Making Business Child’s Play – published September 2025 – distils her hard-won experience into an accessible, practical guide for anyone starting, scaling or running a business. Packed with advice, insider insights and top tips from trusted experts, it’s designed to give entrepreneurs the tools and confidence to turn their ideas into thriving ventures.
Mark Shayler is a creative powerhouse with a green heart and a commercial edge. For over three decades, he’s been at the forefront of sustainability helping ‘big companies think like small ones and small companies think like big ones’.
Having worked with the likes of Patagonia, Rapha, Propercorn, Nike, Samsung, EE, Audi, Bombay Sapphire, Seedlip, Universal Works, Unilever, Mars (and many more), Mark helps organisations reimagine products, rethink services and innovate business models with sustainability baked in, blending bold creativity with environmental strategy to deliver lasting impact.
Mark doesn’t just advise – he facilitates, coaches and provokes change. A seasoned speaker, he's delivered keynotes across the globe for 20+ years, making complex ideas land with clarity, energy and humour.
He's also the author of three punchy books: Do Disrupt, a guide to shaking up the status quo; Do Present, a handbook for anyone who wants to speak and be heard; and most recently, You Can’t Make Money from a Dead Planet, a no-nonsense manifesto for making profit sustainable.
Mark has delivered several standout events for the Forum and remains one of our highest-rated speakers, valued for his energy, originality and real-world insight. He consistently inspires audiences to think differently and consider new possibilities.
Originally hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Herb Kim's path to becoming one of the North’s leading figures in innovation and technology thought leadership began in an unexpected way. In 1997, he moved to the UK for a tech role with Blackwell’s Bookshop, starting out in Oxford, then London, before settling in Newcastle five years later. What followed was an extraordinary journey of creative exploration and community building in his adopted home.
Herb is the founder of the Thinking Digital Conference, the Bright Ideas Gathering and the TEDx events in Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool. A master at curating ideas and amplifying voices, Herb’s career bridges technology, storytelling and entrepreneurship with his work on Thinking Digital leading him to be named as one of the top 100 Asians in UK Tech in 2019. He’s helped world-class speakers craft talks that captivate audiences, held prestigious roles including David Goldman Visiting Professor of Innovation & Enterprise at Newcastle University Business School and board member at Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and even helped create the Bulletproof Coffee brand on a flight to San Francisco!
