Confirmed Speakers
Emma Jones
Small Business Commissioner
Following a degree in Law and Japanese, Emma joined international accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where she worked in London, Leeds and Manchester offices and set up the firm’s Inward Investment practice that attracted overseas companies to locate in the UK.
In 2000, bitten by the dot.com bug, Emma left the firm to start her first business, Techlocate. After 15 months, the company was successfully sold to Tenon plc when Emma was 27. The experience of starting, growing and selling a business from a home base gave Emma the idea for Enterprise Nation which was launched in 2005 to support the flourishing number of start-ups and SMEs.
Enterprise Nation expanded to become an active small business membership community, reaching more than 800,000 businesses each year with its powerful digital business support platform. Whilst leading Enterprise Nation, Emma presented a positive campaigning voice to government and the media on behalf of partners and members.
In 2011, Emma co-founded enterprise campaign, StartUp Britain, that she ran until 2014.
Emma served as SME Representative for Crown Commercial Service from July 2016, working to encourage more small businesses to sell to the public sector and its major suppliers.
In June 2012 Emma was awarded an MBE for Services to Enterprise. Emma was awarded the rank Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2021.
Emma started as the Small Business Commissioner in June 2025.
Martin Spiller
Non Executive Director – The Self-Employed Association & Partner at Oakmere Partners
Martin is a commercially minded CFO who’s spent the last couple of decades helping businesses stop faffing about and grow. He’s sat in the boardroom, rolled up his sleeves and done the work and knows the difference between strategy that works and PowerPoint waffle (although he does love a good PowerPoint).
He is a bit of an odd mix being a Chartered Accountant for over 25 years as well as a (non-practising) barrister, what it means is he knows the numbers inside out but also has a bit of substance (and claims to look good in a wig).
Alongside this he has done quite a lot of things (he claims to like changing direction and learning, a lot), having been a Corporate Financier, CFO, Entrepreneur, a serial NED, early stage investor (for a fund and himself) and more latterly a senior lecturer at a top business school.
The common thread is simple, he helps ambitious, interesting, entrepreneurial ventures turn good ideas into businesses that actually grow and make money. If you want sugar-coated advice, look elsewhere. If you want someone who’ll call a spade a shovel and get results, that’s him.
Emma Barnes
Managing Director, Vetpreneur | MD, Agilio Software (Veterinary Division)
Emma Barnes is a highly experienced CEO-turned-entrepreneur, now leading Vetpreneur, where she supports ambitious veterinary business owners to grow, scale, and ultimately build more valuable, sustainable businesses.
With a career spanning over three decades, Emma has operated at the highest levels of leadership across multiple sectors, most notably as CEO of Riverdale Healthcare and COO of Linnaeus Group, where she played a pivotal role in scaling the business from a small portfolio to one of the UK’s leading veterinary groups. Her expertise lies in “buy and build” growth strategies, cultural transformation, and creating high-performing leadership teams.
Today, through Vetpreneur, Emma works directly with business owners across the veterinary sector, combining commercial insight with practical, real-world experience to help them transition from founder-led businesses to professionally run organisations.
Alongside this, Emma is also part-time Managing Director for Agilio Software’s veterinary division, where she is helping to build a new generation of interconnected systems—spanning learning, compliance, and HR—designed to better support veterinary practices and their teams in an increasingly complex operating environment.
Passionate about leadership, growth, and the future of the veterinary profession, Emma brings a straight-talking, highly practical perspective on what it really takes to evolve from founder to CEO.
Chris Whatling
Founder Animal People Recruitment Company
Chris Whatling is the Founder of The Animal People Recruitment Company, a specialist consultancy supporting the pet, animal health, and veterinary sectors across the UK and internationally. With almost 15 years’ experience in recruitment, Chris has built and scaled teams for both household names and high-growth start-ups, partnering closely with businesses to deliver long-term, high-impact hiring strategies.
Known for a consultative, honest, and values-led approach, Chris works with organisations to strengthen their employer value proposition, improve candidate experience, and attract diverse, high-performing talent. He is a strong advocate for ethical recruitment practices, believing that the best outcomes are achieved when every decision is made with integrity and in the best interest of all parties involved.
Chris is passionate about raising standards across the industry and champions the belief that a company’s hiring process is a direct reflection of its brand. Alongside his recruitment work, he is an ambassador for Birmingham Dog’s Home, supporting initiatives that drive awareness and improve standards of animal welfare. He also hosts the “Meet the Animal People” podcast, sharing the stories behind the individuals shaping the future of the pet and animal health industry.
Jo & Vicky
Jo Moorcroft & Vicky Davies are the founders of Canine Business Academy (CBA)
Jo and Vicky are the founders of Canine Business Academy (CBA), where they help force-free dog trainers and behaviourists build businesses that actually make money without losing what matters to them.
Between them, they bring a mix of real-world dog industry experience and proper business strategy. Jo spent over a decade in marketing before stepping into the dog world, while Vicky built her career hands-on with dogs before realising that passion alone doesn’t pay the bills. Together, they’ve seen both sides and they’re honest about what works and what doesn’t.
They’re known for cutting through the noise in an industry that often avoids talking about money. Their approach is simple: you can care deeply about dogs and build a profitable business. Those things are not in conflict.
Through their coaching, podcast, and programmes, they’ve helped dog professionals move out of the feast-and-famine cycle and into businesses that feel stable, sustainable, and aligned.
Expect straight-talking, practical insight and probably a few uncomfortable truths that make things click.
Jake Parry
Digital Director Nobull
Jake Parry is a seasoned digital growth expert with nearly two decades of experience driving commercial performance across some of the UK’s most recognisable brands. As Digital Lead at Nobull, he works across ecommerce, B2B, and DTC clients, delivering measurable growth through SEO, paid search, paid social, analytics, and performance strategy – connecting creative, data, and platform expertise.
Previously, Jake has advised on growth marketing and commerce strategies for major UK brands including The Beano, Metro, The Telegraph, and Great British Chefs. He also served as Head of Growth at The AA, scaling digital operations across a complex business.
Earlier in his career, he spent over nine years at MailOnline as Commercial Director, helping build one of the UK’s most successful digital media operations.
Liz Stout
Communications Director Nobull
A former national newspaper journalist, Liz has clocked up over 20 years of experience working in the consumer and B2B media space. A strategic creative communicator with a commercial eye and an obsession for pets, she now helps transform excellent ideas into multichannel marketing strategy.
Sam Farnfield
Strategy & Value Creation Director PwC
Sam has over 15 years’ experience working in both consulting and industry, where he has focused on consumer markets and, more specifically, on the pet sector.
He works with management teams, private equity and lenders to unlock value and to make rigorous investment decisions. He has extensive experience working with pet brands, retailers and manufacturers in a deal and non-deal context, both in the UK and internationally.
He regularly authors thought leadership, contributes to leading publications, and speaks at industry events. He is well recognised for his perspectives on how changes in consumer behaviour are fundamentally reshaping consumer industries – and what this means for the pet sector
Bob Hanson
Partner, Pets Around the World
Bob Hanson has many years experience as a strategy consultant in the pet industry. He is the European Partner of PAW Pets Around the World, a global consultancy focusing on helping pet brands and companies achieve their growth goals by helping build their business globally
Clayton Payne
Founder, Pet Business Disruptor Podcast
Clayton Payne is the host of Pet Business Disruptors podcast, the pet industry podcast with the most weekly downloads through podcast channels. The podcast has been the number one pet podcast in more than 10 countries and has charted in more than 40 and offers innovative brands a platform to tell their story as well offering advice on every aspect of the industry from industry leaders.
Clayton has more than 30 years experience in the pet industry and has run and built distribution networks in the US and EU.
Nigel Baker
CEO, Pet Industry Federation (PIF)
Nigel joined the Pet Industry Federation in December 2012 and has more than 30 years’ experience in the pet trade, bringing considerable commercial experience from the senior positions he has held in pet food manufacturing and supplier companies.