We have a strong track record of bringing together leading industry voices, featuring well known speakers from key regulators and prominent mainstream media publications.
Adam Fleming is an award-winning BBC news presenter, political commentator, and the co-host of the acclaimed Newscast podcast. He has hosted BBC Newsnight and co-presented Politics Live and the Radio 4 PM programme. He also presents the insightful Radio 4 ‘AntiSocial’ series which takes a deep dive into social media conflict, trends and culture wars.
With over two decades of experience reporting from Westminster and Brussels, he decodes complex political landscapes with sharp wit and analytical clarity.
Ashley Armstrong is one of the most respected and recognised names in business journalism. With an impressive career spanning multiple national newsrooms, including being the only journalist to cross directly from The Sun to The Financial Times, she has become recognised for her reporting on some of the biggest stories in business.
Since joining the FT as Chief UK Business Correspondent in June 2025 she has had multiple front pages and broken stories interrogating the ties between business and politics, including the implosion of Peter Mandelson’s lobby business Global Counsel.
As Business Editor at The Sun Ashley brought some of the biggest business stories to life for a tabloid readership, including the Liz Truss market meltdown and cost of living crisis, and invited FTSE 100 chief executives to guest edit her daily page in the UK’s biggest selling newspaper.
Costas leads a Supervision Department in the FCA’s Consumer Finance Directorate. He joined the FCA in 2014 and has spent the last 12 years leading teams responsible for regulating various consumer finance portfolios and mortgage lenders.
He is responsible for supervising debt collection, purchase and administration, debt advice, credit reference agencies, motor finance and retail finance lenders and also runs cross-market supervisory projects, focussing on the consumer duty. An Australian-qualified lawyer, Costas has worked in regulation for around 24 years, serving in a range of investigative an regulatory roles. Costas has previously worked at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Financial Services Authority, KPMG and Ofcom.
Jim Appleby is Chief Operating Officer at Secure Trust Bank, where he leads operational strategy, transformation and large-scale change programmes across the Bank. With more than 30 years of experience in financial services, Jim has built a reputation for delivering complex transformations that improve customer outcomes, strengthen operational resilience and create sustainable growth. He is passionate about building high-performing teams, driving innovation and turning ambitious strategies into practical, measurable results.
Prior to joining Secure Trust Bank, Jim was Chief Executive Officer of Arrow Global UK, leading the business through a period of significant growth and transformation before its successful sale to Intrum. He also serves as a Non-Executive Director at Copper Street, where he supports the development and continued growth of the Lantern business. Drawing on extensive experience across banking, credit management, lending, collections and recoveries, Jim brings deep expertise in scaling businesses, leading major transactions and delivering operational excellence in highly regulated environments. He is particularly interested in how data, technology and AI can enhance customer experience, improve colleague effectiveness and unlock long-term value.
Session: Debt purchase latest: Creditor attitudes and investment strategies
Andrew is a partner in Dentons' London office and a member of the Regulatory & Investigations practice, with particular expertise in UK consumer credit regulation.
He advises banks, specialist lenders, consumer credit firms and fintechs across the full lifecycle of regulated credit activities, including the regulatory perimeter, FCA authorisation, product design and distribution, documentation, compliance and governance. He regularly advises on the interaction between the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the FCA's consumer credit rules and wider regulatory requirements, including the Consumer Duty.
Andrew has supported clients on significant regulatory change projects and complex consumer credit matters, including large-scale remediation exercises and regulatory investigations. He also advises firms on the development of new credit products and customer journeys and on managing the legal and regulatory implications of changes to the consumer credit framework.
Andrew has extensive experience of working with industry bodies on regulatory change. He led the unsecured consumer credit working group for a UK industry association on implementation of the Consumer Duty, coordinating industry consideration of its application across the credit market.
Session: Reform of Consumer Credit Act: What's coming next
A corporate finance professional with over 12 years experience advising on loan portfolio and credit transactions at PwC. Has worked with banks and owners of credit assets across a wide range of asset classes, including consumer NPLs, mortgages, SME, point-of-sale, CRE and infrastructure.
Chris has a sector specialism in the debt purchase/service M&A market and has advised on some of the most significant transactions within the sector, including advising TDR on their acquisition of Arrow Global and advising Intrum in their acquisition of Capquest and Mars UK
Session: Debt purchase latest: Creditor attitudes and investment strategies
Paul is a specialist consumer credit and lending lawyer (that has also branched out into other areas of FCA regulation), having worked in the sector for around 15 years. His clients are typically non-bank lenders, specialist intermediaries, debt purchase/collection firms, technology providers and remediation support specialists. He works across motor, retail, personal and asset finance. Ha has spent 5.5 years (2018-2023) working in house in legal and operational risk roles, so has a good idea of the view from inside businesses, and the rest of the time he worked in top ranked law firm teams for consumer lending. Paul now leads Brabners’ Non-Contentious FCA Regulatory offering as part of our market-leading Corporate Defence & Compliance Team.
Session: Regulatory attitudes to complaints and redress liabilities (including motor finance redress update)
Laura Holmes is Standards Setting Lead at the Insolvency Service, where she is leading work to implement the Government’s plans to bring the setting of professional standards for insolvency practitioners under the statutory responsibility of the Insolvency Service. With more than 20 years’ experience in insolvency investigation, enforcement and regulation, she has previously led key initiatives to strengthen standards and improve outcomes in the IVA sector, including stewardship of the IVA Protocol and the review of SIP 3.1.
Session: Changing face of insolvency and debt relief policy
Mike is a social entrepreneur. Following a military career, an MBA and brief stints in banking and maths education, he launched National Numeracy in 2012, building the organisation into a well-respected national charity. Having handed over as Chief Executive there in 2020, Mike launched Plain Numbers in early 2021 and is now utilising his unparalleled knowledge of this largely hidden consumer vulnerability to work with firms to improve comprehension and thereby enable good outcomes for customers
Session: Adult financial literacy: raising awareness and boosting engagement
Alex is an Ombudsman Leader at the Financial Ombudsman Service, with more than 20 years’ experience at the organisation, including around 15 years in Ombudsman and Senior Leader roles.
Alex leads the Financial Ombudsman Service’s work in the Debt sector and is also Head of Practice for Quality of Goods, with responsibility for policy development in areas including Section 75 and Car Finance. Alex also leads the organisation’s sectorial work on Consumer Duty and regularly presents externally on this subject, sharing expertise and insight with industry and other stakeholders.
Session: Regulatory attitudes to complaints and redress liabilities (including motor finance redress update)
Sarah-Jane Mulreay is Client Services Director and FCA-approved SMF16, with over 15 years’ experience in the debt collection and credit services sector, including more than a decade in senior leadership roles. She holds executive accountability for both client partnerships and regulatory compliance across complex public and private sector portfolios, combining operational delivery with strong governance and conduct oversight. Sarah-Jane specialises in public sector and highly regulated environments, balancing commercial performance with fairness, vulnerability awareness, and public trust. Passionate about raising professional standards and responsible debt resolution, she led the team at Advantis to successfully achieving the ISO 22458 accreditation and kitemark in March 2023 – becoming the first DCA in the UK to achieve the standard with BSI.
Session: Public sector debt collection and the new Government Debt Management Strategy
John Pears is CEO of Lowell UK, the UK’s leading credit management and debt collection business, supporting millions of customers to manage their debts and improve their financial wellbeing. With over 25 years’ experience in financial services, John has a deep understanding of consumer credit, affordability, and the evolving challenges facing households across the UK.
Under John’s leadership, Lowell has championed greater industry transparency around financial vulnerability through initiatives like the Financial Vulnerability Index, the data-led insight report tracking the financial resilience of UK households.
The index highlights regional and demographic trends, helping businesses, policymakers and charities better support those in financial difficulty.
John is passionate about responsible business and financial inclusion, and is well placed to share timely insights on the current state of household finances in the UK.
Director of External Affairs (Enforcement Conduct Board)
Louise Rubin is Director of External Affairs at the Enforcement Conduct Board. Before taking up the role in January 2025, she was Head of Policy and Campaigns at disability charity Scope, and held a number of public affairs, policy and campaigning roles at organisations including Mind, London Councils, and Dignity in Dying.
Jane is a deputy director in HM Treasury, leading the Government Debt Management Function (GDMF) which oversees the government’s approach to debt across 40 government departments and arms-length bodies, recovering circa £100m annually. The GDMF ensures government debt is managed efficiently, effectively and fairly by preventing avoidable debt from arising, resolving debt to clear standards and improving government capability.
Prior to working in government, she spent over 10 years in the debt sector - using insights from debt services to lead policy campaigns, shape service design and develop new partnerships. She also has a background in regulation and local government.
Session: Public sector debt collection and the new Government Debt Management Strategy
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2025 Speaker Rating
88
%
with majority of delegates stating that the UKCCC 2025 speakers where either "good" or "excellent".
