2023 UK & Ireland Partners, Directors & Managers Conference

Rachel Pugh

Regional Coordinator, MGI UK & Ireland

My role is to co-ordinate the activities of the UK and Ireland area of MGI for the benefit of members, regularly visiting them at their offices, listening to and understanding their needs and be able to add value to their businesses by helping them to grow, compete, win and work collaboratively with other MGI members.

Jane Lowden

Managing Partner, F. W. Smith, Riches & Co.

Jane is the Managing Partner of F. W. Smith, Riches & Co. Her clients include large private, AIM and Standard-Listed and SME business and charities. Jane provides a range of audit and accountancy services and has experience of reporting under UK GAAP, IFRS and US GAAP. Jane has been a member of the MGI Technical Committee for the past three years and serves as a board member for the UK and Ireland region. Jane became a Smith Riches partner in 2014, having previously trained with the firm.

Professor Emeritus Sir Tom Devine Kt OBE

University of Edinburgh

Tom Devine is the Sir William Fraser Professor Emeritus of Scottish History and Palaeography in the University of Edinburgh, the oldest and most prestigious Chair in the field. Before Edinburgh he held professorships at Aberdeen and Strathclyde, where he was also Deputy Principal of the University.

Devine has received many awards, prizes and honorary degrees throughout his career including the Royal Medal, Scotland’s supreme academic accolade, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in History and Archives of the UK Parliament (Commons and Lords). He was knighted by the late HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2015 ‘for services to the study of Scottish history', the only scholar ever so honoured for that reason.

The Times has stated that 'Tom Devine is as close to a national bard as the nation has’ while Scottish Field described him ‘the rock star of Caledonian historians’. This, when published last was greeted with unbridled amusement by his wife, Lady Catherine, his children and especially his ten grandchildren.

Chris Borneman

CEO, MGI Worldwide

As CEO my role, with the MGI Central team, is to serve you; adding value to your business in the real sense of increasing your sustainable profitability.  My vision, the outcome I am seeking for MGI Worldwide, is to be a top 20 highly regarded network with a vibrant and engaged membership of good quality firms that derive significant value and benefit from being part of the network.

My belief is that our values of working globally, connecting personally, and collaborating in order to grow, compete, and win will deliver that, and I look forward to your support in delivering that together.

: www.mgiworld.com
: chris-borneman

Maxine Brock

Chief Marketing Officer, MGI Worldwide

As Chief Marketing Officer, I direct the marketing and communications activity which supports MGI Worldwide. 

Emma Rowley

Membership and Marketing Manager, MGI Worldwide

As Membership and Marketing Manager I manage the membership process and lead the Membership Enhancement Programme for all members.

Nicki Lynn

Operations Manager, MGI Worldwide

My role as Operations Manager is to manage and deliver activities that add value to members’ businesses and enhances the value members derive from membership. 

: www.mgiworld.com
: nickilynn

Steve Revill

Managing Director, Rickard Luckin

As Managing Director of Rickard Luckin, Steve’s role is to direct and oversee the firm’s operations through leading the Executive Team and providing strategic guidance and direction to the Board of Shareholders. He joined the firm as Commercial Director in 2018 before taking up the role of Managing Director in October 2020. Steve brings over 25 years of experience in client-side and international consulting roles across a broad range of industry sectors including Technology, FinTech, Financial Services and Professional Services.

Kate Bell

People Director, Rickard Luckin

Kate trained with the firm as a Chartered Accountant & Chartered Tax Adviser and became the first female Partner at the firm in 2006.  Kate has recently taken on the brand new role of People Director on the Executive Team at Rickard Luckin. Kate is responsible for developing and enhancing the employee experience throughout the whole employee life cycle to ensure maximum team engagement and advocacy. Aside from her personal experience of training to be an ACA, Kate has been involved in the learning and development across the firm for over 15 years. Kate brings the blend of her practice and commercial experience with her passion for all things people to the role.

Margi Luzanycia

The Alchemist Collective

Margi Luzanycia’s 30 years of wisdom were created primarily as the youngest of 9 children on a council estate in Newcastle UK, followed by senior leadership positions at The Guardian Newspaper UK, a NASDAQ listed technology business, global professional services, large scale public sector, as well as creating and founding the Alchemist Collective.

In all roles the driving passion has been the same - enabling people to be the best version of themselves and to take the courage to be that.

She finds it particularly rewarding working with Influencers where the impact on the person, the organisation and particularly society makes a real positive difference. She is a disruptor and a catalyst that will align individuals with their true energy and purpose – it is not always an easy journey; it requires the right blend of wisdom, coaching mastery and courage. Alchemy was born here and is a modern-day metaphor for the magic that happens in this work. It fuels the rise of the human spirit to make a behemothic difference in the world whilst the organisation reaps the benefit.

Being truly Global with her heart and life across UK and NZ, she has a large number of clients in the international market spanning Europe, US, China, Japan, Middle East and Aus/NZ, which allows her to play in the world creating game changing development for an organisation through humans. It really matters that she can play a part in keeping leaders a safe distance from the ordinary and for you to reach your inner magic…

Margi Luzanycia

The Alchemist Collective

Margi Luzanycia’s 30 years of wisdom were created primarily as the youngest of 9 children on a council estate in Newcastle UK, followed by senior leadership positions at The Guardian Newspaper UK, a NASDAQ listed technology business, global professional services, large scale public sector, as well as creating and founding the Alchemist Collective.

In all roles the driving passion has been the same - enabling people to be the best version of themselves and to take the courage to be that.

She finds it particularly rewarding working with Influencers where the impact on the person, the organisation and particularly society makes a real positive difference. She is a disruptor and a catalyst that will align individuals with their true energy and purpose – it is not always an easy journey; it requires the right blend of wisdom, coaching mastery and courage. Alchemy was born here and is a modern-day metaphor for the magic that happens in this work. It fuels the rise of the human spirit to make a behemothic difference in the world whilst the organisation reaps the benefit.

Being truly Global with her heart and life across UK and NZ, she has a large number of clients in the international market spanning Europe, US, China, Japan, Middle East and Aus/NZ, which allows her to play in the world creating game changing development for an organisation through humans. It really matters that she can play a part in keeping leaders a safe distance from the ordinary and for you to reach your inner magic…

Neil Williams

Divisional Director, Howdens

Neil is a Divisional Director dealing with claims and risk management in the Professional Indemnity division of Howden. Neil has a Law Degree and is ACII qualified.

Neil has more than 20 years experience dealing with a wide variety of professions with a particular emphasis on accountants, actuaries, SIPP administrators and IFA’s.

As part of his role, Neil regularly gives risk management guidance and presentations to accountancy practices as well as writing articles on relevant topics.

Finally, Neil also sits on the ICAEW Professional Indemnity Committee which gives him a real insight into issues affecting the profession.

Karen Eckstein

Karen Eckstein Limited

Karen is an experienced risk professional. She spent over 30 years defending claims against professionals and, in that time, saw where the root causes of claims arose. She worked with many professional bodies on issues such as engagement letters and professional conduct and was the chair of CIOT/ATT professional standards committee for several years. Her interest in preventing claims increased over time, she wrote a well-received book on the subject, as well as obtaining the Institute of Risk Management qualification, before setting up her own risk management practice in 2020, to help prevent claims and increase opportunities for business professionals. She is a regular and popular speaker on risk issues and runs the free RiskBites Club (risk in your lunchbreak) which attendees are welcome to join.

Rachel Pugh

Regional Coordinator, MGI UK & Ireland

My role is to co-ordinate the activities of the UK and Ireland area of MGI for the benefit of members, regularly visiting them at their offices, listening to and understanding their needs and be able to add value to their businesses by helping them to grow, compete, win and work collaboratively with other MGI members.

Daniel Teacher

Managing Director, T-Tech

Daniel started T-Tech 12 years ago, supporting the business as it has grown to 100 people and a £10 million turnover. Prior to his role in the company, Daniel worked in Consultancy at one of the Big Four, focusing on global transformation projects for some of the world’s largest banks, and also has a background in engineering.

His role as Managing Director as well as acting as IT Director and consultant for some clients means that he sits on the board, advising various accounting firms on strategic planning and digital transformation. His aim is to revolutionise the way accountants and their clients use technology.

The average day for Daniel means he spends time in meetings, doing client engagement, consultancy, and sales - as well as overseeing general business operations. He specialises in several areas, including Microsoft cloud technology, and advising on the most effective accountancy software in the market. Daniel has a keen interest in how technology can transform the accounting sector, through developing a clear strategy and leveraging automation and AI. 

: https://www.ttech.uk.com/
: daniel-teacher-296bb31

Karen Scholes

Director, Scholes Chartered Accountants

Karen is Senior Partner/Director at Scholes CA, retaining a hands-on approach to management within the firm and working closely with colleagues to ensure they are delivering the highest standards of professional support to their clients.

The firm employs 36 staff across our Kirkwall, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen offices, serving a diverse range of clients and sectors – everything from agriculture to renewables. The firm has a particular focus on small to medium sized businesses, employing a holistic approach to helping clients reach their goals through a constantly expanding portfolio of advisory and technical services.

The firm has also responded to a growth in demand for support from the third sector and they now work with several charities and voluntary organisations, recognising the positive impact their work has on close-knit communities like Orkney.

On a personal level, Karen serves as a board member on several local charities and continues to play an active role in the third sector and wider community. Karen is particularly passionate about supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and enjoys nurturing young people in business. Working in the past with both Young Enterprise Orkney and the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust and delivering the Stewart Ivory Finance for Sixth Formers programme in the islands. This interest in encouraging young talent extends to their own business, with Scholes CA committed to recruiting and training accounting students and supporting their professional development, through ICAS, ACCA and AAT.

Rachel Pugh

Regional Coordinator, MGI UK & Ireland

My role is to co-ordinate the activities of the UK and Ireland area of MGI for the benefit of members, regularly visiting them at their offices, listening to and understanding their needs and be able to add value to their businesses by helping them to grow, compete, win and work collaboratively with other MGI members.

Daniel Lawrence

CEO, Bots For That

As co-founder and CEO, Daniel is dedicated to "Making Work Better for Everyone, for People Profit, and Planet".

A self-confessed efficiency fanatic, Daniel has spent a career improving how a business operates to deliver best outcomes for customers, employees and investors alike.

After an early career as an accountant in industry, Daniel became a pioneer of shared services helping companies like Oracle, Yahoo and Coca-Cola to drive transformational change throughout their global accounting functions. Daniel then founded Bots For That, committed to revolutionising the future of work, eliminating the robotic and freeing people from the burden of mundane, repetitive manual work that we’ve all become accustomed to.

Daniel is building a company at the forefront of change and transformation and is particularly passionate that small and medium sized businesses can reap the same benefits from automation that their larger counterparts can, and in doing so, level the playing field for businesses.

Phil Daniels

Head of Customer Success, Bots For That

Phil is dedicated to "Making Work Better for Everyone, for People Profit, and Planet" for all Bots For That partners.

With a background in accounting, Phil is passionate about helping accountants automate processes within their practices, revolutionising the future of work, freeing them from the repetitive manual work, and giving them back the most valuable resource of all… time.

Ian Marrow

Rickard Luckin

Ian Marrow is a Director at Rickard Luckin and is leader of its specialist VAT team. He has worked in VAT for over 30 years both for the Government as an Officer of HM Customs & Excise and as an advisor in the private sector. Although familiar with all aspects of the tax he deals more frequently with property and land transactions, international trade, supply chains and not for profit entities.

Since Brexit Ian has also focused on the practical challenges that may arise for both GB and non-GB businesses, and the potential tariff costs of imports in GB from the EU going forward. He is also a keen user of other tax specialists in the firm to ensure that any solutions generated to address a VAT or duty issue do not create greater complexities or costs in other tax areas.

: www.rickardluckin.co.uk
: ianmarrow

Mick Jackson

Founder & CEO, WildHearts Group

Dr Mick Jackson is a serial entrepreneur, author and Ex Chart topping rock singer. He is also the founder of the WildHearts Group, the world’s leading B2B Social Business.  WildHearts banks- dedicated to empowering poor women in Sub-Saharan Africa- were recently ranked in the top three most impactful banks in Africa. Mick also created Micro-Tyco, the multi-award winning training programme that has inspired over 45,000 executives from leading brands across the world. To date, WildHearts has transformed over 2 million lives.

Mick’s work has been recognised globally; he has received numerous honorary doctorates, won EY Entrepreneur of the Year and is listed in the Meaningful Business 100. Mick is also the second only recipient of the highly prestigious Babson Social Innovation Award from the world’s top school in entrepreneurship.

: http://www.wildheartsgroup.com/

Rachel Pugh

Regional Coordinator, MGI UK & Ireland

My role is to co-ordinate the activities of the UK and Ireland area of MGI for the benefit of members, regularly visiting them at their offices, listening to and understanding their needs and be able to add value to their businesses by helping them to grow, compete, win and work collaboratively with other MGI members.