Business Advisory Board Members

Liz Gibney
KMEP Chair/ Partner, Lee Evans Partnership LLP

Liz is a Strategic Housing, Masterplanning, and Regeneration specialist with an award-winning background in complex and varied roles.
Originally trained as an Architect, Liz has lectured at the Universities of Newcastle and Westminster, spoken at conferences, and advised central government policy using her diverse experience and expertise across growth and legacy change projects including Strategic Regeneration, Urban Design and Masterplanning, Levelling Up Funding, Department for Education projects, and Strategic Housing. Her work is defined by a pragmatic yet uncompromising vision for placemaking and delivery, driven by a passion for social value and the importance of social, fiscal, and environmental sustainability in delivering long-term growth and change.

Innovative, unique, creative and ambitious, Liz has an impressive track record of achieving quality and, through over twenty years work with Design South East, has a well-established reputation as a design advisor, including work for Ashford and Swale councils, the Essex Design Advisory Panel, and the Building Schools for the Future initiative.

Liz continues her commitment to strategic vision and focus on social value outside of her work life; In addition to her role as Chair of KMEP and BAB in 2013 she co-founded the charity ‘Dover smART Project’ which aims to provide support in her home community through creative arts projects that encourage people to discover their potential, foster a sense of belonging, develop personal confidence, and increase aspiration.

Vince Lucas
KMEP Vice Chair/ Director and Co-Founder, VA Rail - KMEF Thematic Lead for Infrastructure

Vince is an experienced senior leader and advisor with over 40 years’ experience in the rail industry, and more than 20 years helping economic partnerships and local authorities.
Vince has extensive experience in senior roles in passenger and freight train operations, and network and infrastructure management. He has advised UK central government and UK, European and Japanese Rail companies. He has worked on cutting-edge rail developments including the introduction of domestic services on High Speed 1. He helped create the operational regimes for the Channel Tunnel; won multiple rail franchise bids; developed and introduced train performance management systems; led the creation of the National Rail Contracts during the pandemic and advises on the development of rail industry professionals and career support.
As the co-founder of VA Rail, he has created a respected rail consultancy business that has grown over 11 years and is now developing VA Enterprises, bridging the gap between developers, investors and target markets for innovative carbon reducing technology.
Vince is the Deputy Chairman of the Kent & Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP); the Deputy Chairman of the Kent & Medway Business Advisory Board (BAB); and a Partnership Board Member at Transport for the South East (TfSE).

Tudor Price
CEO, Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce - KMEF Thematic Lead for Business

Tudor joined the Chamber in 2011 having worked briefly for the Government Business Support Agency, Business Link. Prior to that, Tudor worked in senior roles within the logistics and recruitment industries and has established several small businesses throughout his career and enjoyed a successful career as a professional actor in his early years.

Tudor took over as CEO in January 2024 and continues to work on modernising the Chamber as well as representing the interests of not just the Membership but the wider business community of Kent & Medway.

Tudor was born in Wales and now lives in Kent with his wife and two children and is actively involved with the Scout Association, local amateur theatre and performs with a male voice choir in his spare time.

Simon Cook
Principal, Mid Kent College - KMEF Thematic Lead for Skills and Employment

Simon is the CEO and Principal of MidKent College, a large Further Education College working across a range of communities in Kent & Medway. Simon began his time in education just over 20years ago after having a successful career working as a professional chef in the hospitality industry. Starting life as an apprentice and then working in London he then moved to Germany working in Michelin star restaurants and then on to South Africa before returning to the UK and then retraining as a teacher in Further Education. The ability to change lives every day in the work we do with students, parents, staff, employers and communities is simply a huge privilege and motivation, as a result Simon has always developed strong partnerships and cultures that help to contribute to the true purpose of education in changing lives and communities.

Ashley Hook
CEO, MHS Homes Group

Ashley is Chief Executive at MHS Homes, which owns and manages over 10,000 affordable homes in North Kent. The organisation has a turnover of £80m and employs 320 people.

Ashley is a Chartered Surveyor and has over 35 years of experience in the housing and regeneration sectors. He has a strong passion for placing making and creating sustainable communities. Ashley is also a member of the Medway Place Board and the Kent & Medway Employment Task Force.

Ashley has considerable boardroom experience and is a Chartered Director. His current non-executive roles include the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors and the Building Research Establishment Trust.

Lisa Carlson
CEO, Canterbury BID and Chair of the ATCM Board of Directors

Lisa Carlson is CEO of the Canterbury Business Improvement District, leading multiple forums and working groups representing business interests across a range of topics from inward investment and destination management to climate change and safety & security. She is a Kent Ambassador and chairs Canterbury’s Purple Flag partnership for the evening and night-time economy, the tourism consortium (Visit Canterbury) and represents Canterbury BID on the Canterbury Climate Action Partnership. Lisa previously worked at the World Bank and the London School of Economics and has a background in media and operations in the charity sector.

Jeremy Licence
Managing Partner & Head of Real Estate, Furley Page LLP

Jeremy is the Managing Partner and Head of Real Estate at Furley Page LLP. Furley Page is an established law firm with offices in Canterbury, Chatham and Whitstable. Jeremy took over leadership of the firm in 2017 and has, since then, led the partners through a period of unprecedented change, both within the Firm and externally in the sector. His role includes oversight of all financial, compliance, legal, marketing and HR management.

As a practising commercial property lawyer since 1998, Jeremy has a natural interest in all aspects of the business community, particularly with regard to development and the built environment. The planning system, environmental considerations and County-wide infrastructure plays a part in all aspects of his professional work. Jeremy has a broad range of clients from international companies through to SMEs and individual landowners and developers in Kent and further afield.

Mario Caccaomo
CEO NIAB

Mario is the CEO and Director of NIAB, which is the UK’s fastest growing crop science organisation, having trebled in size over the past decade through a strategic programme of investment, merger and acquisition.
Mario leads NAIB’s world-class team of researchers and innovators in advancing the science and practice of crop improvement. With a PhD in Computer Science and over 20 years of experience in bioinformatics and computational biology, Mario has a strong background in developing and applying cutting-edge tools and methods for analysing large and complex datasets. He has contributed to multiple publications in reputed journals. His mission is to foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and impact, and to deliver high-quality research and innovation that benefits the agricultural sector and society at large.
He is passionate about applying his skills and expertise in big data and computational biology to address the global challenges of food security, climate change, and biodiversity.
Mario has led the work on the assembly of the first whole-genome release of the wheat reference sequence and was also one of the founding co-chairs of the expert working group within the Wheat Initiative focused on the deployment of an international Wheat Information System.
Mario is a board member of the Kent & Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) and the Kent & Medway Business Advisory Board (BAB).

Olivier Morel
Partner, Cripps LLP

I am a cross-border M&A lawyer, qualified in England and France, and a dual national. I have been a partner with Cripps LLP for 20 years, and I have well over three decades of experience providing strategic solutions and legal advice to international groups investing in the UK.

I chair the UK chapter of the "Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France", a 125-year-old French government think-tank on international trade (4,500 members in 150 countries). I am also a member of the board of the French Chamber of Great Britain, where I have been an active member for over 30 years. I write and speak regularly on international, legal, and business issues in the national and international media.

The French government appointed me a Knight of the French National Order of the "Légion d’Honneur", France’s highest order of merit, in recognition of my three decades of voluntary work promoting Franco-British commerce, cooperation and friendship.

Tom Chown
Co-Founder & Creative Director, Digitom

Tom is an award-winning film-maker, with more than 25 years expertise of creating broadcast and branded content for some of the most ambitious clients, across a broad range of sectors.

He co-founded his production company, Digitom in 2010 out of a desire to create engaging content that shares a purpose and enables change, though factual storytelling. Digitom attained B Corp™ certified status in 2023 reinforcing Tom’s focus on making a positive impact on people, planet and the community.
Tom has extensive experience of working directly with clients and agencies on a wide variety of projects, from branded content for online, cinema, TV and radio, to communications, training and recruitment campaigns. Whether it’s capturing stories to demonstrate sustainability, products or services, build a brand, or stimulate thought and discussion, Tom and his team create content that enhances clients’ profiles and delivers results.

Tom started his career straight from sixth form college, working at a music TV channel in Sussex for 4 years, before joining the BBC where he stayed for 5 years. Whilst at the BBC he worked across news, online and factual, predominantly in the UK, but one project took him as far afield as the North Pole. Tom was approached to be Deputy Editor of the Ten Alps online TV channel for KCC – launching in 2007, 6 weeks before BBC iPlayer, before co-founding Digitom in 2010.
Born and raised in the South East, Tom is passionate about helping to support and strengthen the relationship between the local business community and the government.

Paul Turner MAAT FCCA
Chief Operating Officer, The Marlowe Theatre

A chartered accountant with experience across multiple sectors including Haulage, Manufacturing, Local Government, Charity, and Theatre.

During a six-year period of working in Local Government Audit and Accountancy roles across the whole of Kent, Paul worked on a of capital projects, including the Thanet Leisure Centres, The Beaney in Canterbury, and the development of the Marlowe Theatre. The latter leading to a permanent switch to working at the Marlowe Theatre six months before opening in October 2011. As an integral part of the growth of the Marlowe, Paul was part of a small team to develop the business case and plan to transfer the Marlowe Theatre out of Council Management and into an Independent Charitable Trust. His responsibility in the project included TUPE 230 staff, transfer all contracts whilst also setting up the new entity, including ICT, HR, Banking, Accountancy Software, Charitable Status, Company Registrations, Audit appointment and registration and compliance for VAT. The Marlowe Theatre was successfully transferred to Trust Management in December 2018 and continues to be an integral part of the Cultural landscape across Kent whilst also being an essential part of Canterbury City Centre.

Paul is currently the Chair of the Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID) and is a member of the Independent Theatres Finance Directors Group

Daren Rose
Relationship Director, SME Banking South East, Lloyds Banking Group

Daren is a Relationship Director for Lloyds Bank working in primarily in the counties of Kent and East Sussex.
He has over 30 years of banking experience working with SME’s across a wide range of sectors focusing on manufacturing but also within others including leisure, petrol stations, logistics and print.
Daren develops strong relationships with existing clients and is keen to support them and other businesses in the local area with their growth plans and financial requirements.