Jon Walsh co-founded Bio&Me in 2019 alongside world-leading gut health specialist Dr Megan Rossi, also known as The Gut Health Doctor. With over 30 years’ experience in commercial and marketing roles, Jon has worked on some of the UK’s most iconic FMCG brands, including global names at Procter & Gamble and Nestlé.
Bio&Me is the UK’s first evidence-based gut health food brand, bringing clarity and credibility to the world of gut health. The Chester-based business is the fastest-growing gut health brand in the country, with retail sales of over £20 million. Its award-winning range of gut-loving granolas, porridges, mueslis, kefir live yoghurts and drinks, and oat bars are now listed in major retailers including Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The business has earned multiple accolades, from Great Taste Awards to the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, as well as being a multi-time finalist at The Grocer Gold Awards.
For those early birds, you can also hear Jon on BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Wake up to Money” as one of the show’s talking heads every now and then, where he shares business insights and perspectives from the front line of food and drink.
Rebecca Oliver-Mooney (ROM) is Director of Commercial for News & Treat at the Co-op, covering areas like impulse, drinks and kiosk across a multi-channel retailer. She constantly challenges the status quo, doing things differently with small suppliers whilst driving a laser focused approach on customer centricity. This is highlighted by conceptualising and launching the apiary in 2022, an incubator scheme that puts equity, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of it to drive range diversity and inclusiveness on retail shelves as well as creating kitchen discos across the UK!
ROM has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of commercial, category, innovation, marketing, strategy and consultation roles across manufacturing and retail including Mars, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Muller, Rewrite the Story and Biotiful Dairy before joining the Co-op in 2020. ROM is extremely passionate about putting the customer at the heart of everything she does, focusing on data and insight to create visionary customer-centric strategies. Empowering creativity, change and doing things differently ROM prides herself on driving accessible, mindful inspiration for the customer base.
ROM envisions a future where diversity, equity and inclusion are not just buzzwords but fundamental pillars of the industry. She strives to create a workplace where every individual feels valued, respected and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Her commitment to diversity goes beyond numbers. It is about fostering a culture where different perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. By embracing diversity, equity and inclusion ROM aims to drive innovation, creativity and success for companies and the communities they serve. This is highlighted by ROM founding Raising the Glass in 2024 after a year working in the drinks industry and recognising the need for change. Raising the Glass’ vision is to create meaningful connections that drive inclusivity for women and allies in the drinks industry, striving to foster a community where diversity is celebrated, voices are heard, and opportunities are abundant. Through a commitment to empowerment and collaboration, she aims to build a future where everyone feels valued, respected and supported in their journey within the drinks industry.
ROM wants to collaborate so together we can build a brighter future where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and succeed.
Prior to founding The Gut Stuff, as The Mac Twins, Lisa (and her twin sister) had done everything from DJing at the Olympics, to presenting on the Brits red carpet, regular live radio shows for BBC 1xtra and Virgin Radio, creating their own DJ gaming live battle show and being the Official Love Island DJ’s, but they can now add business women to that list and The Gut Stuff is their proudest venture to date.
The Gut Stuff was built to democratise gut health and now has a highly successful snacking range, a corporate wellness services business, 3 books, a consumer focused gut health app and even their very own (now global) tv show “Know your sh!t”.
Founder and CEO of the nutritional company BetterYou. Founded in 2005 the company pioneered, and is the leading authority on, nutritional oral sprays and transdermal magnesium therapy, providing an effective alternative to tablets and capsules. His groundbreaking work with Cardiff University won the company the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation in 2021.
A previous CiTi bank microentrepreneur of the year and Great British Small Business Entrepreneur of the year, Andrew has been a lecturer in nutrition at the Institute for Optimal Nutrition and is a trustee of the charity The Nightingale Trust for Nutritional Support which trains nurses in pre and post-operative nutritional care.
BetterYou is B Corp certified
Brett Hamer is an experienced commercial leader with over a decade in the global sports nutrition industry. His career spans a diverse range of markets and business models, with a proven track record of driving growth through strategic product development, omni-channel execution, and international licensing.
With deep expertise across the full product lifecycle, Brett has successfully led the development and launch of high-performing nutrition products across retail, e-commerce, and distribution channels. His ability to align commercial strategy with consumer insight has enabled him to deliver sustained results in both mature and emerging markets.
Brett’s global experience includes managing cross-functional teams and projects across the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia. This international perspective has equipped him with a strong understanding of regulatory frameworks, market dynamics, and cultural nuances essential to successful brand expansion.
Sara is a demand generation expert with over 20 years of experience across the FMCG, retail, and consulting sectors. She currently leads the Strategic Demand function for Mars Europe, overseeing category management, strategic revenue management, and portfolio activation. Before her current role, she headed the Strategy function for Mars Food, driving growth initiatives and long-term business transformation.
Drawing on her broad cross-industry background, Sara brings an holistic perspective on how innovation, strategic foresight, and consumer understanding can shape resilient and future-ready portfolios. At Mars, she champions the company’s commitment to quality ingredients, sustainability, and trust — key pillars in building the portfolio of tomorrow.
Ms. Ferrari is Vice President of Clinical Operations at Curis. Ms. Ferrari is an end-to-end drug development professional with twenty years of biotech industry experience. Previously, she led program management and clinical operations at Aileron Therapeutics as Vice President, Clinical Development and Program Management. Earlier, Ms. Ferrari had a lengthy tenure at ArQule, working in positions of increasing responsibilities within clinical operations and clinical development in both oncology and rare disease. While at ArQule, Ms. Ferrari was responsible for leading programs from pre-IND through all stages of clinical development. Of note, Ms. Ferrari led the development team responsible for ArQule’s BTK program from IND enabling through early-stage clinical operations leading to the acquisition of ArQule by Merck. Prior to ArQule, Ms. Ferrari worked at Ziopharm Oncology and Epix Pharmaceuticals where she was part of the team leading to the FDA approval of Vasovist. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Jenny is Head of our A&A and Compliance division and oversees our file review service, technical queries, manuals and all of our A&A training. Jenny is passionate about quality and ensures all of our A&A and Compliance products and services are technically sound and fit for purpose. Jenny has worked for Mercia for over 12 years and has held many positions within the A&A team including, Head of Manuals, Team Lead File Reviews and a lecturer.
Jenny sits on the ICAEW ISA Panel, which closely tracks and inputs into IAASB developments and its work programme. It focuses on the development of new and proposed revisions to auditing and assurance standards and contributes to the development of ICAEW policy on relevant audit and assurance matters. In order to stay practical at Mercia, Jenny performs file reviews and occasionally lectures.
Before joining Mercia, Jenny was an Audit Manager with Deloitte in their Nottingham office where she was involved in a range of clients from small owner managed businesses through to large listed international businesses and this covered providing audit, accounts and advisory services.
Jenny spends most of her time out of work looking after her young family and lively dog.
Over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with focus on Clinical Program Management, Clinical Operations, and International Regulatory Affairs spanning from early clinical development though marketing application preparation and commercial activities.
