Leader, Chichester District COuncil

Adrian is the Leader of Chichester District Council.

Under Adrian’s leadership the Council is prioritising housing, economic regeneration, the environment and working with community groups to support our residents.  He is passionate about nature recovery, protecting our harbours, rivers and natural environment. An important focus for the Council is the rural economy; supporting our agriculture, horticulture and viticulture to flourish sustainably.

Adrian believes in working with a wide range of local organisations to promote the District and businesses.   A key aim for the council is to work across the District to ensure a strong community voice.

During his working life Adrian ran a business consultancy supporting local and international business to grow their businesses in a sustainable and ethical fashion.

Director of Public Health, West Sussex County Council

Alison Challenger is the Director of Public Health for West Sussex County Council. She qualified as a Specialist in Public Health in 2009 and has held positions as a Consultant and Director initially in Nottingham then moving to West Sussex in 2021. Alison first qualified and worked as a Nurse, Midwife, and later Strategic Tobacco Control Manager prior to undergoing specialist public health training. These experiences, along with her public health experience, drive both her broad and specific interests in tobacco control, nutrition, and maternal and child health and wellbeing.

In her role, Alison works closely with, and supports a wide range of health, care, and community partners, including providing public health advice to NHS Sussex. She is a statutory member of the West Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board and is a representative on the national Association of Directors of Public Health Council and the Faculty of Public Health Board.

Partner, EY

David Kennedy recently moved to EY, where he is partner for corporate sustainability, focusing on food amongst other sectors.

He was Director General for Food, Biosecurity and Trade at Defra for the last six years.. He was responsible for leading all work on the food system, including maintaining food security through Brexit and Covid, food strategy, and farming reforms.

Previously he was the UK Department for International Development’s first Director General for Economic Development.

Before that he was the founding Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, which oversees design and implementation of the UK’s carbon framework.

He has also worked on development finance, strategy and investment at the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

He has a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics.