Monday 9 June - Day 1 Plenary
Monty Halls is an ex-Royal Marines Officer who worked for Nelson Mandela during the peace process in the early nineties. He left the Marines to pursue a career in expeditions, travel journalism and biology, achieving a First Class Honours Degree and becoming qualified as a marine biologist.
His degree was funded by running expeditions, the most notable of which was leading a multi-national team to the discovery of a sunken city off the Indian coast in 2002. During this period he also led four expeditions to Southern Africa, three to Malawi to explore the ecosystem of the lake and investigate poaching activity on the Nyika Plateau, and one to South Africa to dive looking for evidence of prehistoric settlements in cave systems off the Cape. For his work he was awarded the Bish Medal for services to exploration by the Scientific Exploration Society.
In 2003 Monty formed his own expedition company, completing four circumnavigations of the globe over the next four years, seeking out the greatest encounters in the ocean. This brought him to the attention of television producers, being head-hunted as a competitor in the flagship Channel 4 show ‘Superhumans’, a test of elite performers, competing in a series of challenges devised by the QinetiQ testing centre.
Monty is best known for his three hugely popular BBC series ‘Great Escapes’, where he lived on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland with his dog Reuben.
Monty went on to present the multi-award winning BBC NHU blue chip series ‘Great Barrier Reef, The Fisherman’s Apprentice, again for the BBC as well as series for Discovery and Channel 5.
Since starting his own production company, Monty has produced and presented three series for Channel Four. “WWII’s Great Escapes: The Freedom Trails” broadcast to critical acclaim in late 2017 and in 2018 the whole Halls family featured in a poignant conservation mission to the Galapagos for “My Family and the Galapagos”. A second series of ‘My Family’ aired in 2020.
In 2022 his series about the Royal Marines, was broadcast on BBC2 and his accompanying book released to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War.
Monty has written twelve books, and is a regular contributor to magazines and newspapers, many of them communicating his enthusiasm for the natural world.
Tuesday 10 June - Day 2 Plenary
In 2008, Priya Lakhani OBE gave up a promising career in libel law to set up her own company, Masala Masala, a fresh Indian food brand. Within a few months, Priya launched her product range at London’s Harvey Nichols and Harrods, secured nationwide deals with Waitrose, Ocado, and distributed the sauces to over 3,000 independent retailers.
She also founded a charity alongside her business, iamSOCO (I am socially conscious). By combining her love of good food with her passion for social change and her entrepreneurial spirit, Priya has ensured that for every hot pot of Masala Masala that’s sold, an underprivileged person in India is given a hot meal.
Using her drive and acumen, she moved on in 2012 and to launch her second business, Century Tech, in April 2013. CENTURY, backed by Telefonica and the Cabinet Office, is a learning platform in the UK that utilises data mining techniques to provide a personalised learning experience to students.
A member of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills’ Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Priya is passionate about using her skills to educate the next generation of aspiring entrepreneurs, and advises Vince Cable on enterprise. She’s also an Advisory Board Member to the Education Foundation, the UK’s leading education think-tank. She received her OBE in 2014 for services to business, community and voluntary initiatives.
Priya received the “Asian Achievers Award – Woman of the Year” in 2014, was awarded “Business Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2009, and was named on the “Growing Business Young Guns” list 2009; Management Today’s “35 Women Under 35” and shortlisted for “Young Achiever of the Year” in the Asian Women Awards.