Simon Thomas is the current presenter of Sky Sports’ legendary and flagship football results show, Soccer Saturday.
A highly respected broadcaster with 25 years’ experience, Simon began his career on Blue Peter when he became the 27th presenter on the iconic BBC children’s show, which he fronted with Katy Hill, Konnie Huq, Matt Baker, and Liz Barker.
After six years with Blue Peter, Simon moved into sports broadcasting and joined Sky Sports as one of the faces of Sky Sports News. Along with being a regular presenter on The Afternoon Report with Georgie Thompson and Kirsty Gallacher, Simon also presented Sky Sports News’ World Cup Report in Cape Town and anchored their coverage of the 2010 Ryder Cup and the 2010-11 Ashes Series in Australia. He also played a big part in the presenting team at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and in early 2013 Simon presented Sky’s live launch of the FA 150th Anniversary at the Connaught Rooms in London.
Simon’s versatility as a presenter also saw him become the first ever presenter of Sky Sports’ Cricket AM programme, where he presented the Saturday morning summer magazine show for four years alongside Anita Rani and Sarah-Jane Mee.
Simon went on to become the lead presenter for Sky Sports’ Football League coverage, before going on to present the Premier League for Sky at the start of the 2016-17 season.
In 2017, Simon experienced a life changing event when his first wife, Gemma, died very suddenly, just three days after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. Four months later, he made the hard decision to leave Sky Sports and devote his time to looking after his son, Ethan. Since then, Simon has become President of Blood Cancer UK, written his first book, Love Interrupted, about his journey through grief, and has written a number of blogs on his site A Grief Shared. To date, his posts on grief and mental health have been read by over a million people.
Simon had his own podcast series with Global, Life Interrupted, which ran for three series, in which he spoke to the likes of Fearne Cotton, Andrea Corr, Billy Billingham, and many more about how they found a way through some of life’s toughest challenges and found hope again.
After a period away from broadcasting, Simon returned in 2019 to present a series of films for ITV’s This Morning and has also presented several films for BBC’s Morning Live and Sunday Morning Live. In 2020 he returned to sports broadcasting and became one of Amazon Prime Video’s lead presenters for their Premier League coverage. He has also been a regular panellist on Channel 5’s The Jeremy Vine Show.
Away from the camera, Simon is equally at home with live events. At London 2012 he hosted the Olympic Stadium morning warm up and post-show in front of 80,000 people. He also compered the ECB Twenty20 Cup, as well as hosting a number of end of season dinners for clubs, including Chelsea, Norwich City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He has hosted a number of awards ceremonies, including the Football League Awards on three occasions.
With over 20 years’ experience in sustainability successfully advising businesses on sustainability visions, strategies, management systems and cultural change programmes.
Amelia has provided the thought leadership to multi billion pound projects across nuclear, rail, infrastructure and construction sectors and PLC businesses helping them position themselves as award winning sustainability industry leaders. Aside from her role at Speedy Hire, Amelia is an ESG business advisor to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for ESG advising government on ESG matters and Vice-Chair of the Scouts helping young people access scouting.
Ben has over 20 years’ experience in B2B journalism and was former editor of Jane’s Airport Review magazine.
Colleen is a tri-qualified lawyer with over 30 years of experience in environmental law, business & human rights, and ESG. She has expertise in modern slavery, workers’ rights, supply chain due diligence, and stakeholder engagement.
Fellow of IEMA, the professional sustainability association, and the Bakhita Centre for Research on Slavery, Exploitation, and Abuse at St Mary’s University, London, she holds significant industry recognition. She serves as a board member of Lexis®PSL Environment and APSCA. Additionally, she lectures at Birkbeck Law School London, St Mary’s Twickenham, Kings College London, Westminster University, and the University of Pisa (MBA course). She holds an LLM in environmental law (with distinction) and is an IMEA accredited trainer. She has also authored numerous guides, books, and chapters, including a book on Sustainable Procurement.
Pierre coordinates the policy agenda and stakeholder engagement of the Policy Liaison Group on ESG, liaising daily with parliamentarians, government officials, regulators, commercial bodies and businesses. He authored the Group’s four reports published since 2022 on topics ranging from the UK Green Taxonomy to gender equality and currently serves as its acting Chair. He began his career as an EU policy professional in Brussels, working in the EU Commission and as a lobbyist in European non-ferrous metals, specialising in trade, transport, energy, and sustainability.
Julia is the Nature Services at Mott MacDonald, and is the lead author of the UK’s Good Practice Principles for Biodiversity Net Gain, and has designed and delivered BNG for several infrastructure projects.
Julia developed CIEEM’s professional training on the statutory Biodiversity Metric and chaired the first British Standard on BNG. Julia is a Visiting Researcher at Oxford University, was CIEEM’s Member of the Year in 2023, was named on the ENDs Power List in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and in 2024 won the BCIA’s Nature and People Positive Champion award.
James leads the Consultancy team at Action Sustainability, with over 20 years of experience in product sustainability and sustainable procurement. His work focuses on assessing the sustainability impacts of products throughout their life cycles and implementing effective supply chain sustainability initiatives.
James has developed sustainable procurement policies and carbon footprinting strategies for clients such as Network Rail, Unilever, Tesco, IKEA, Vodafone, and Defra.
Inspired by environmental disasters such as the Bhopal and Exxon Valdez incidents, James pursued a Ph.D. where he researched methods for removing industrial pollution from water, fuelling his passion for sustainability.
Beyond his consultancy work, he is active in carbon reduction initiatives, including training through the Supply Chain Sustainability School, and contributes to local environmental efforts such as tree planting and organic farming.
Dame Sara Thornton DBE QPM is a Professor of Modern Slavery Policy at the Rights Lab in the University of Nottingham where her focus is on research in the area of prevention, business responses, supply chains, and the role of the financial sector in tackling modern slavery. She is particularly focussed on the important role of investors and works as a modern slavery consultant for CCLA Investment Management.
Dame Sara completed a three-year term as the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner in April 2022, a role in which she spearheaded the UK’s fight against human trafficking and modern slavery. She joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1986. During her 33-year career within policing she served as Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police from 2007 until 2015.
She was the national lead on intelligence; Vice-Chair of ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters; Director of the Police National Assessment Centre; and ACPO Vice-President. She was the first Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council from 2015 to 2019. She was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2006, made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2011 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2019. She has been recognised with a Career Achievement Award from the Police Training Authority Trustees and the Sir Robert Peel Medal for Outstanding Leadership in Evidence-Based Policing.
She is an Honorary Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force supporting the work of the auxiliary police squadron, Chair of the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit Leadership Advisory Board, and Chair of the Police Foundation.
She is an Honorary Professor in Modern Slavery at the University of Liverpool and holds honorary doctorates from Durham University, Oxford Brookes and Buckinghamshire New University.
Based in Leeds, Matthew is a qualified PIEMA practitioner, specialising in delivering carbon management, verification and validation services. In his advisory work he promotes best-practice in carbon reduction, helping clients to reduce costs, increase transparency in their GHG reporting, and drive supply chain innovation.
Having worked within the carbon management sector for over five years, Matthew has successfully delivered the quantification and reduction of over 500,000 tonnes of carbon across large projects such as HS2 and Network Rail infrastructure. Matthew has extensive experience within the verification of carbon management standards (PAS 2050, PAS 2060 and PAS 2080) working alongside Lloyds Registry.
He’s now leading our carbon management verification service offering, having delivered bespoke verification processes to building and infrastructure contracts in his career to date.
As part of our multidisciplinary team in Leeds, Matthew also works on a wide range of schemes across Yorkshire and the North.
Qualified as a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2002, Darren initially worked in general practice, moved into Asset Management for large institutional property funds and REIT’s.
Rachel Richards is an accomplished leader in social value and skills development, with over 12 years of experience creating meaningful societal impact through strategic education, diversity, and community engagement. As Social Value Strategy Lead at PeoplePlus, Rachel works to unlock businesses’ potential as forces for positive change, guiding them in socially responsible recruitment, community investment, and inclusive workforce solutions.
She has spearheaded large-scale programs addressing critical skills shortages and has fostered impactful partnerships that help disadvantaged groups find lasting employment. Passionate about aligning social value with commercial goals, Rachel champions sustainable, inclusive practices that not only strengthen business but also contribute to a fairer, more resilient society.
Dan began his career at Laing O’Rourke as a graduate in 2007 in their Select Plant Hire business, working across procurement, commercial and operational functions, and leading their Plant and Tools operations. His experience includes developing fleet from an environmental impact perspective, particularly to meet the then changing and tightening EU emission standards.
At Speedy Hire Dan is responsible for growing the Power and Energy business through providing newer innovative solutions such as battery storage units and fuel cell generators, and designing fuel solutions that include utilising HVO across the UK to reduce carbon emissions.
Aaron has worked across a number of sectors in transport and fleet management for over 40 years. At Speedy Hire, Aaron has pioneered the use of new transport technology in significantly enhancing safety and creating the hire sectors largest electric and hybrid fleet.
He features in the GreenFleet top 100 Most Influential People list and was recently named Fleet Manager of the Year at the Fleet News Awards.
Izzie began her career at Migrant Help’s Trafficking and Exploitation Survivors Service, working directly with survivors of modern slavery to provide essential support and resources for rebuilding their lives, developing her expertise in modern slavery in the UK and the barriers survivors face.
Transitioning to Bright Future Co-operative as a Placement and Partnership Officer, Izzie continued her commitment to empowering survivors, managing partnerships, and expanding placement opportunities across the UK.
Mike has a wealth of practical experience in engineering and construction, benefitting from practical experience to understand exactly what challenges customers face and the ability to build solutions to deliver results.
Michael Sheffield brings 29 years of extensive experience to the power solutions industry, with a career distinguished by his unique blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and leadership. A former U.S. military professional, Michael developed a foundation of operational discipline and resilience that has been instrumental in his transition to the private sector.
For much of his career, he has focused on critical power sales, gaining an in-depth understanding of power generation, distribution, and infrastructure. Now specializing in sustainable power, Michael is dedicated to advancing environmentally responsible energy solutions. His nearly three decades in the industry equip him with the insights and technical knowledge to guide clients through the shift to sustainable power, ensuring reliable, resilient, and eco-conscious solutions. Michael’s commitment to sustainable growth and innovative energy practices continues to shape his work, helping clients adapt to a changing energy landscape with confidence and foresight. Michael Sheffield, as the Commercial Director of AFC Energy, leads the strategic direction and execution of AFC Energy’s commercial operations, ensuring sustainable growth and market expansion for the company. Bringing a wealth of experience in sales and business development, Michael is focused on driving the company’s vison for clean energy solutions, emphasizing innovation and scalability in hydrogen fuel cell technology.
As an experienced Recruitment professional in optimising recruitment strategies for profitable people growth at Speedy Hire, Rabab leads both transactional and operational teams, while driving transformative projects that stay ahead of industry trends.
Understand how to distinguish genuine sustainability efforts from greenwashing. This session will teach you how to identify meaningful claims and avoid making mistakes.
Olly also has a Masters Distinction from Imperial College London in Sustainable Business. His previous clients include: The Crown Estate, Heathrow, Arcadis, Speedy & Formula One.
Kris Parkes is a Fleet Management professional with 11 years of experience with knowledge in transitioning fleets to electric and alternative fuel vehicles. Leveraging a strong background in IT and data, Kris brings a data-driven approach to optimising fleet efficiency and sustainability.
From navigating the complexities of EV adoption to implementing cutting-edge telematics and data governance systems, Kris is dedicated to driving both operational and environmental impact in fleet management.
Chris has a wealth of experience in the hire and utilities sectors and has worked for Milwaukee for close to 9 years as part of the JSS site team within Milwaukee, managing the national utility team.
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