Moderator

Mary Hockaday

Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge 

Mary Hockaday is Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and a Trustee of the British Library. She was formerly Director of BBC World Service and Controller BBC World Service English until 2021, growing the weekly audience to WSE to nearly 100 million. From 2009-2014 she was Head of the BBC Newsroom, overseeing the BBC’s core news services on radio, television and online for domestic and global audiences and leading innovation in digital and visual journalism. Mary was Editor of BBC World Service News and Current Affairs from 2001 to 2006. WSNCA won a Special Sony Gold award in recognition of its 9/11 coverage.

In the early 1990s, Mary was based in Prague a correspondent for the BBC and The Independent, covering post-communist Czechoslovakia. She is the author of a biography of Milena Jesenska, 20^th Century Czech journalist and muse of Franz Kafka.  

As well as serving on the Board of the British Library, Mary is a Lay Trustee with the Royal College of Emergency, an Independent Non-executive Director with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and a Board trustee with a small charity focused on climate communication. She is a former Trustee of the Girls’ Day School Trust and a former external examiner for Cardiff University’s School of Journalism.

Mary studied English at Cambridge University and then went to New York University on a Fulbright scholarship for a post-graduate MA in journalism.

Laura Wright

Consultant, Awerian Ltd

Laura completed an MPhys at Durham University followed by a DPhil at Oxford University in Quantum Optics. After her studies, Laura began teaching Physics, Maths, Coding and Astronomy at a prestigious boarding school in London before relocating to Cambridge where she led the Physics Department in a progressive, technologically minded school. 

Realising that she wanted to get back to technical research, Laura had a change of career, starting as a Technical Consultant at The Technology Partnership, a research and development consultancy that specialises in working closely with clients to develop new technologies across a number of markets including Healthcare, Life Sciences and Deep Tech. 

Laura now oversees the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and Cyber work in Awerian, a subsidiary of TTP Group that specialise in Defence and Security. Her day-to-day activities include project leadership, business development and strategy, and managing a team of consultants. 

Shortly after joining TTP, Laura established a Women’s Network to help support and bring together women across the business for events, workshops and talks. Laura’s interests are split between developing impactful, cutting-edge technologies and fostering diversity, inclusion and equality in the workplace and at home! Laura has two young children and her philosophy in life is to never regret decisions, but to learn and keep moving forward!

Gwenhivir Wyatt-Moon

CEO, ProSpectral

Gwen is the CEO of ProSpectral, a deep tech start-up creating next generation imaging sensing technologies. Prior to this she was a Senior Research Associate in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge and a College Lecturer at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Her background is in fabrication and upscaling within semiconductor manufacturing, and she has published numerous papers in this field. She received her PhD from Imperial College London working on manufacturing of devices for optoelectronic applications. Prior to this she worked for a medical device start-up focusing on the control electronics for gas sensors and flow rheometry systems. She gained a BEng in electrical and electronic engineering from Swansea University.

Dr Shreeya Tewary 

Consultant Gynaecologist and IVF specialist, Bourn Hall 

Dr Shreeya Tewary is a consultant gynaecologist and IVF specialist at Bourn Hall and will be talking about common causes of infertility, how to know you need support to conceive, and the next steps.

Dr Tewary has particular expertise in the study of the endometrium (lining of the womb) and its role in early pregnancy loss. Also, on the impact of endometriosis on fertility, this condition causes heavy painful periods for one in ten women.

Dr Tewary was formerly a Clinical Lecturer at the Tommy’s Centre for Miscarriage Research, working on ground-breaking research and supports colleagues within the Miscarriage Clinic at Bourn Hall. And she has brought her expertise in endometriosis and reproductive medicine to establish a new tailored Endometriosis Fertility Service.