Climb26 Opening Ceremony

Damian is the driving force behind Northern Arc Partners, bringing together the innovation ecosystems of the North of England. With deep roots in the Northern science, tech and innovation community, he's on a mission to connect the region's fragmented strengths into a unified corridor that can compete globally. He is a strategic leader with over twenty years of experience in economic development, inward investment, and venture capital. His career is defined by a commitment to dismantling regional silos and bridging the gap between university research and commercial scalability. Prior to founding Northern Arc Partners, Damian served as Investment Director for GC Angels and led the expansion of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult across the North West. His background includes driving significant international investment from India, China, and the US during a tenure in London, providing him with a global perspective on regional growth. Damian currently holds several key advisory and board positions that ensure Northern Arc Partners remains grounded in genuine regional representation.

Dean Cook is Director for Business Growth and Global at Innovate UK. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he provides senior oversight of the development of IUK’s new ‘Velocity’ account management support which will operate across new sector-growth programmes in line with the UK Industrial Strategy. Day to day, he leads engagement with local innovation clusters across the English regions and Devolved Nations of the UK and the delivery of business growth and scale-up support, delivered through a national network of over 200 expert advisers. His team also provides global support for innovative businesses to access international funding and partnership opportunities, across Europe, Asia, and North America. This includes hosting National Contact Points for the EU Horizon programme. With over 35 years experience in research commercialisation, Dean joined Innovate UK in 2014 having previously worked with the agri-tech and food industries. Dean is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an MBA graduate of the University of Warwick.

Emily Cloke, CEO at Creative UK Emily Cloke’s career spans diplomacy, law and film production. A global connector and convenor, she has worked in the US, the Middle East and Europe as a UK diplomat, while her leadership expertise as a senior civil servant blends policy, trade, investment, commercial and international. As British Consul General in Los Angeles from 2020-2024, she was the senior representative of the UK Government in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii. In this role, she led wide-ranging areas, including driving creative and media collaborations; trade, investment and economic partnerships; deepening science, innovation and tech links; tackling climate change; public diplomacy; and the delivery of essential consular services to a 600,000-strong British resident community, alongside British visitors. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of senior leadership roles including on US-UK trade; as Deputy CEO for the PM’s UK-Africa Investment Summit; and in export and investment promotion across a number of industry sectors. She worked overseas as Trade Director for the British Embassy Tehran, setting up and leading the UK’s trade section.

Gordon Bateman is a career company builder who has worked with the investment community for over three decades. Straight from university, he joined a small business that grew internationally and floated on the London Stock Exchange. During that time, he created and led the firm’s emerging-technology practice, supporting early-stage and high-growth companies around the world and partnering with venture capital and private equity investors at every stage. Those years inside the deal flow made one thing clear: the hardest constraint on growth is people. Gordon founded CRSI to solve that challenge, focusing on leadership, organisation design, hiring, retention and culture. Today, CRSI also works with many of the UK’s leading universities to help spin-outs achieve commercial traction and investment readiness. As investors sought stronger regional connections, Gordon founded Investor Ladder, now one of the UK’s largest informal investor networks, spanning angels, syndicates, venture capital, private equity and investment banks, engaging across the UK and internationally. In 2023, he founded ClimbUK, an international festival for business growth, innovation and investment. Built by operators for operators, Climb attracted nearly 2,000 people in its first year and continues to grow toward 3,000 delegates. To close the loop for founders, Gordon also leads Climb Ventures, providing investment-readiness support and connections to active funds. Gordon is known for building platforms that help others succeed, but his core craft remains unchanged: building businesses.

As Director of the GM Business Growth Hub, I lead one of the UK’s most established and impactful business support ecosystems — working at the heart of Greater Manchester’s economic strategy to unlock growth, productivity and opportunity with accountability to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the 10 GM Local Authorities The Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub was the first Growth Hub in England and provided the blueprint for a government roll out of these nationally, with 40 others now operating across the country. My career spans leadership roles across economic development, enterprise, education/teaching, regeneration and public‑private partnerships, giving me a strong grounding in both policy and delivery. I have consistently worked at the point where strategy meets implementation — translating ambition into practical, high-impact support for businesses and communities. In my role, I oversee a diverse portfolio spanning scale-up support, international trade, innovation, workforce development, enterprise and access to finance, ensuring businesses at every stage can access the right support at the right time.

Jez Willis is co-founder of Utah Saints, one of the UK's most enduring independent electronic music acts. Over 35 years he has built and sustained a creative business spanning recorded music, international touring, sync licensing across film, television and advertising, and live performance - without formal music qualifications, major label backing, or a London base. As Professor of Music Industries and Production at Leeds Conservatoire, he brings active industry networks to the conservatoire and in other roles, he works at the intersection of regional creative sector development, policy and investment. Jez is a voice in UK music education policy, having presented to the APPG for Music Education and contributed to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. His research with James Warrender into the transferable skills developed through creative practice was recognised as a UK Music Project of Excellence, celebrated at the House of Lords. At Climb26, Jez, together with conservatoire colleagues, will make the case that the skills forged through a life in music -entrepreneurship, resilience, risk management, collaborative problem-solving - are what the business world needs more of.

Josh is Chief Policy Officer at the ScaleUp Institute, leading policy development and external affairs engagement to support UK growth, and to enhance the UK scaleup ecosystem. He has advised both business and government on legislation and challenging policy issues for more than 15 years, including on the passage of multiple Energy Acts, the Localism Act and the best way to galvanise growth across the whole of the UK economy. He is passionate about innovation and has worked within the UK, EU and Globally on the nature of disruptive business models in emerging technologies, including AI, finance and clean energy, and across other highly regulated sectors.

Louis Taylor is CEO of the British Business Bank. Louis has a breadth of experience working within public and private sectors in the UK and abroad. He has held a range of senior roles in business and finance, including as Chief Executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF), and a private sector career in Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan and several industrial companies. In January 2025 he was awarded a CBE for services to business and trade.