Emily Hudson is the Political Editor – BBC South covering politics in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight for the BBC.

She regularly appears on BBC South Today and Politics South, BBC Radio Solent and if you open up your BBC app on your phone, she’s likely to have written at least one of the articles in the Hampshire section every week! Emily has worked at the BBC for 25 years and met thousands of people in that time, hearing their stories, their views and giving them a voice.

Her role also involves taking some really complicated subjects like devolution and local government reorganisation and trying to explain them and make sure people understand how they will be affected.

Jeremy Greaves has been at Airbus for more than 20 years in a number of diverse international and UK leadership roles including: Vice President, UK and International Communications & PR; Vice President, UK Corporate Affairs & Strategy and currently as Head of Strategic Engagement & Heritage for Airbus Defence and Space UK. He is also the Airbus UK Key Account Manager for NATO, EU and AUKUS.

In Q4 of 2025 Jeremy was appointed UK Deputy Head of Delegation to the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG). The NIAG is composed of senior industry representatives who provide defence industrial expertise and strategic insights to NATO. It serves as the voice of UK industry into NATO, helping form positions on industrial policy, technology, and capabilities while fostering collaboration.

He is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS 2018) and has recently stepped down as an Honorary Captain, Royal Naval Reserve, after 13 years. In the distant past Jeremy completed a short career commission in the Royal Navy and then spent a further 15 years in the Royal Naval Reserve before being made one of the few Honorary naval officers.

Nicola is a presenter, writer and researcher on people-centred innovation in customer experience, digital workplace and the future of work.

Nicola has done a range of roles, including futurology, research, usability, customer service, marketing, and business consulting. She was involved with a number of BT firsts, including the first application of artificial intelligence into their call centres, initial experiments with home working, and helping to develop the “net easy” score; a new way of measuring customer experience. She currently looks at innovation in both employee and customer experience.

Nicola is an award-winning presenter, with two TED talks and hundreds of conference panel, chair and keynote sessions under her belt. She occasionally pops up on radio and TV around the world, including appearances on ‘Woman’s Hour’, ‘Tech Tent’, ‘The Genius of Invention and Back in Time for the Weekend’ for the BBC. In 2019, she was listed as one of the top 10 UK CX Influencers by Customer Experience Magazine.

Nicola got her PhD from Lancaster University in 2005 and has authored over 50 publications.

Julian retired 5 years ago from the RAF as a 3-star Air Marshal and Chief Engineer. He served as the 140th President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

He is now a part-time Engineering Consultant, seeking to make good use of his aerospace knowledge and expertise, strong work ethic, board-level management, programme delivery and leadership skills.

In his last Service appointment he was immensely proud to have reached the top as the Director General Air (nee Chief of Materiel (Air) in the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and to have been the RAF’s Chief Engineer and ‘Air Member for Materiel’ on the Air Force Board.

In the Director General Air role Julian led 2,200 professionals and put to work an annual budget of £3.7 billion, with personal accountability for acquiring and supporting all the MOD’s fixed-wing aircraft from F-35 through Rivet Joint to the A400M transport aircraft. He was responsible for engaging with Front Line customers, multiple International Partners and all large UK/US/European Aircraft Industry Suppliers.

Previously, Julian was Director Helicopters in the DE&S as a 2-star. In this role he led 730 professionals and managed an annual budget to deliver acquisition, airworthiness and support for all Defence Helicopter fleets. He was the principal supplier of air capability to the British Army and Royal Navy Commands.

Prior to that he was the Technical Director & Chief Information Officer in the DE&S, and led the Engineering and Programme Management Functions and Quality Assurance for all DE&S projects.

Hugh Griffiths is a former military aviator, turned entrepreneur, turned angel investor.

He graduated in Physics then joined the RAF flying in multinational air operations in the Balkans and the Persian Gulf on Tornado aircraft. He also worked within the UK intelligence community for 3 years, in many unusual locations the world over.

At the end of his military Service, he became a senior military airpower advisor to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), where he was involved in the development of novel new concepts and technologies.

Hugh completed an MBA at Warwick Business School and then founded Inzpire Ltd, one of UK’s fastest growing defence companies, which he led as CEO for many years, taking it through a Family Office investment to, ultimately, a trade sale to QinetiQ Plc.

Hugh is a Chartered Director, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has twice been a finalist in the “Director of the Year Awards” and (again twice) the National Business Awards “Entrepreneur of the Year”, as well as being selected as one of the Maserati 100 game-changing entrepreneurs in their sector.

Inzpire, the company Hugh co-founded, was selected as one of the ‘Top 100 Companies to work for in UK’ for 10 years running (often finishing in the top 10). It has won 2 Queens Awards for Innovation. Founded with just £300 by 3 people, the business grew to 300 employees and turned over around £35 million at the point of sale. It exported to Ecuador, Jordan, Indonesia, Qatar, Portugal and Nigeria. As Inzpire CEO, Hugh was selected as one of the 4 best business leaders in UK in the 2021 Best Companies Competition.

Trevor Williams served as Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank for over a decade. Now an author, academic and consultant, he analyses the key trends and policies that shape the economy and markets. From energy and climate to how companies use their data to understand the wider economy.

Trevor worked for the civil service whilst studying for his economics PhD, after which he went on to work for over 30 years as an economist in the City, most notably at Lloyds. His professional life has encompassed equity and foreign exchange, forecasting and financial analysis. Today he provides clear insight into how politics, demographics and trade shape economies and economic trends.

From earnings and inflation to stock markets and trade deals, Trevor explores what is going on in the economy and what it means to organisations and individuals. Looking at both the global and the local, the long and short term, he explains what the numbers really reveal. With a focus on interpreting the information as it is, not as people might think or wish it was, he considers the effects of disruptions like Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, and how (and how quickly) economies can recover and what actions influence that recovery.

Trevor also studies what risks businesses and governments face and how the economy will react. In particular, he looks at the political economics of climate change, including the risks for investors, insurers and the general population that this existential challenge could impose. He also examines the economics of energy; the likelihood, causes and potential effects of energy shortages and what decisions and policies have increased the risk of energy reserves running low, as well as the cost to businesses and consumers.

As rotating Chair of the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Shadow Monetary Policy Committee Trevor keeps a close eye on Bank of England decisions and direction of travel. He unpicks the impact of interest rates, monetary policy and quantitative easing and translates them into useful intelligence businesses can use to inform strategy.

Dr Ruth Adams is leading one of the most significant new devolved authorities in the South, driving forward the Hampshire & Solent Combined County Authority and its £1.3bn investment programme to power long-term regional growth.

With a proven track record working with Leaders, Chief Executive and Partners to establish the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Ruth brings deep expertise in devolution, economic regeneration and building high-impact partnerships across business, public services and local government.

At a time of transformation for the Central South, she is focused on unlocking opportunity, aligning skills, infrastructure and investment to deliver sustainable growth, stronger communities and a more competitive regional economy.

Professor Knowles joined Solent as Vice-Chancellor from his role as Senior Vice-Principal for Education at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he has been responsible for delivering clear, strategic leadership for all aspects of teaching and learning, student experience and student outcomes.

Educated at a comprehensive school, and the universities of London and Oxford, Professor Knowles has previously been Executive Dean and Vice-Principal of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, Professor of Renaissance Literature and Culture and Vice-Dean (Research) at Brunel University, London, and Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature and Head of the School of English at University College, Cork.

He has been a Leverhulme Trust research fellow and has held grants and fellowships from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the British Academy, the Huntington Library, California and the Ransom Library, Texas.

Professor Knowles is currently Strategic Reviewer for the AHRC and a Member of the AHRC Peer Review College. Other external roles have included school and FE governorships, he is currently a trustee and board member of the AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) and he is also chair designate of The Gunnersbury Museum and Park Development Trust.

Chrissie Miller is Head of NERL Defence & External Business at National Air Traffic Services (NATS), where she leads engagement across the defence sector and oversees the delivery of defence-related capability, operational planning and support services. Working closely with the Department for Transport, Ministry of Defence, Civil Aviation Authority and industry partners, she helps shape the integration of civil and military air traffic management and airspace requirements to support national security, operational effectiveness and safety.

A retired RAF Group Captain of the Air Operations Control profession, Chrissie served for 20 years in the Royal Air Force in a range of operational, command and strategic appointments. Her career included roles at MOD Boscombe Down, RAF Northolt, Air Command and RAF(U) Swanwick. While serving at the Swanwick Area Control Centre alongside NATS, she established and commanded 78 Squadron, leading a team of more than 200 personnel delivering military air traffic management and battlespace management capabilities.

In 2023, she was promoted to Group Captain and appointed Assistant Head Planning, Performance and Risk, responsible for supporting delivery of the RAF Command Plan and advising the RAF Executive Committee on organisational performance and strategic risk.

Chrissie is a graduate of the Advanced Command and Staff Course and holds an MA in Defence Studies. She is also the incoming Vice Chair of the Air Traffic Management Specialist Group at the Royal Aeronautical Society, reflecting her continued commitment to advancing the aviation and air traffic management profession.

Born in Portsmouth and a graduate of the University of Portsmouth, Chrissie has strong roots in the South Coast region. Coming from a naval family and now living locally with her own family, she brings experience from both military and civil aviation and is passionate about strengthening collaboration across the defence, aerospace and technology sectors to support innovation, resilience and economic growth across the Central South.