PRESENTERS

Phil Forster
Teesside International Airport



Phil began his career in television where he spent five years as a reporter with Sky based across the North of England and Scotland before moving into the world of aviation to take on the role of Media & Public Affairs Manager at Newcastle Airport. After spending three years at the north-east airport, Phil then moved to Leeds Bradford Airport firstly in the role of Aviation Development & Corporate Affairs Manager, before progressing to become the airport’s Head of External Affairs.

Phil led the airport’s public affairs strategy, including lobbying on aviation strategy and capacity and was heavily involved in the airport’s aeronautical and commercial operation, aimed to put customer experience at the heart of the business strategy while boosting the airport’s international connectivity.

He joined Teesside International Airport as Commercial Director in 2019 before taking on the role of Managing Director in 2020. He is responsible for overseeing Teesside International and its current transformation to ensure the airport is ready for the increase in passenger numbers resulting from securing new domestic and holiday services. He is also driving forward the redevelopment of its land and assets, including its new cargo handling facility and the creation of a £200million business park.

Caroline Theobald CBE
Bridge Club Ltd



Caroline’s non-executive roles are focused on contributing to a vibrant and sustainable regional economy in the north of England. She is a founding director of the North East Initiative on Business Ethics (NIBE) and Teesside’s Power of Women campaign. As chair of the Advisory Board to Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, she is working with the executive on a new strategy for the School to become a force for good; and in the Tees Valley she has been involved in gathering community evidence for the UK2070 Commission’s Teesside Task Force as an associate of Teesside University. She is also an Ambassador for the Open North Foundation.  

Over the past 14 years she has served as an honorary diplomat to the Swedish Government and as the north east region Swedish Chamber of Commerce’s chapter chair through which she promotes the north east region as an inward investment destination for Swedish companies. Caroline is an associate of the Tees  Valley Business Club, an honorary member of The Infant Hercules initiative at The Teesside Charity and a member of The Extol Multi-Academy Trust.

Caroline was awarded a CBE for services to business and entrepreneurship in 2016 and is a lifelong holder of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion.

Peter Turner
Cocoon & Bauer



Interior designer Peter Turner aged 36 is originally from Middlesbrough but has moved many times, fulfilling a passion for renovating houses. Currently, he lives in Yarm with his dog JB. He has always had a passion for interiors, studying 3D design at Cleveland College of Art (now The Northern School of Art) and then going on to the University of Teesside to study for a BA in Interior Architecture and Design. After qualifying with First Class Honours, he moved onto his first interior design role at a Yorkshire-based interior design company, working his way up over the next decade to become Owner/Director of Cocoon & Bauer in 2017 and recently opening up an interior store Bauer at Home on Yarm High Street.

Jessica Tucker
Social Allies



Jessica Tucker is an industry professional that has over fifteen years of experience in marketing, media and the press. After years of working in-house, Jessica decided to create her own agency specialising in Social Media management. 

Social Allies was born in 2019 out of a love of all things social. Jessica allied her professional experience and business acumen and created a creative space where a bunch of like-minded people could get together, and amplify the voice of organisations across the UK. 

Since the agency’s inception, Jess has headed several major projects, facilitated the company’s growth, and had her first child.

Jo Davies
HR Alchemy



Jo is a People Strategist. It’s not just a fancy job title - it’s a real talent she’s spent many years crafting. With 25 years’ experience as an HR director and board member, Jo knows what it takes to get a business to where it wants to be. Having lived out some of the hardest HR issues in the Steel Industry, Jo has created an ethos within her own firm to take the stress out of people, for people.

Hayley Shields
Teesside International Airport



Hayley is an experienced aviation professional with several years’ experience in the sector. Previously of Manchester Airport Group, Hayley held a number of roles across the business from customer experience to business development, including strengthening Manchester’s Anglo Sino relations and working on the £1.6bil terminal transformation programme. Faced with the industries post-pandemic challenges, Hayley returned to her Northeast routes in November 2021, joining Teesside Airport as Business Development Manager. Since joining the business, Hayley has worked on the opening of the new cargo facility and is responsible for overseeing the airport’s commercial functions.


Bob Makin
Sock Monkey

Bob is the CEO of Middlesbrough based SockMonkey Studios - an award winning game development team based in Teesside.  Founding the studio in 2013, Bob has successfully grown the studio from 2 to 50+ people and worked with the likes of Disney, SEGA and Sumo. Years of continued growth and huge revenue increases has seen SockMonkey recently win the Best Small Business at the North East Business Awards and Bob win the Buiness Man of the Year at the Tees Tech Awards. Their latest title, based one of worlds the biggest children's IP, CoComelon : Play with JJ, is coming to Nintendo Switch at the end of October.