Speakers

A resident of Cumbria, Peter’s career has been centred around the global aerospace and defence units of BAE Systems Plc where he has led international consortia and multiple new business initiatives in the military aircraft sector. His appointments have included Divisional CEO, MD, and Board positions in worldwide markets including the UK, Australia, and the US. Ambitious growth targets have required him to develop innovative sales and marketing strategies, demonstrate exemplary standards of corporate governance, and provide the inspirational leadership of complex multi-national partnerships between governmental, industrial, and military participants.

Peter has recently been appointed as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Investment in Team Barrow, where he will lead efforts to secure additional public and private investment, over and above the £220m Team Barrow has already received from the Government. He will also focus on supporting the town’s industrial diversification to create long-term economic resilience.

Laura is a Development Director at Muse with over 18 years’

experience delivering major mixed-use regeneration projects

across the UK and internationally. Renowned for leading

complex public-private partnerships, she brings deep

expertise in creating long-term value through design-led,

commercially robust, and socially impactful places. Before

joining Muse in 2025, Laura was Senior Development Director

at Landsec, where she led transformative schemes across

the Northwest including the £1.7bn Mayfield regeneration

and the acquisition of MediaCityUK. Previously, as Head

of Development at Bruntwood, she directed nationally

significant projects such as ID Manchester and Circle Square.

Laura excels at navigating multi-phase developments,

securing investment, and aligning diverse stakeholders to

deliver sustainable, inclusive urban transformation

Tom has extensive experience in economic development and public policy, gained through a civil service career working across HMT and the Cabinet Office as well as the Business and Local Government departments. Since 2021 he led key aspects of the government’s devolution agenda, heading up the new deals and devolution policy teams, before moving to Cumbria in Summer 2025 to set up the Cumbria Combined Authority, where he is now Acting Director of Policy and Strategy.

John Marsh is Chief Innovation Officer at GTC, where he has worked for nearly two decades helping to shape the company’s approach to multi-utility infrastructure and low-carbon energy solutions.

Since joining the business in 2007, when GTC was delivering its first electricity networks, John has played a key role in expanding the company’s capabilities across multiple utilities. He established the Metropolitan heat team, creating GTC’s retail heat business, and has led initiatives to drive greater competition in the provision of water and wastewater services. His work has consistently spanned the full spectrum of utility infrastructure.

Over the past four years, John has focused on developing alternatives to gas for new homes, supporting housebuilders in the transition to low-carbon heating. This work led to the launch of GTC’s Community Heat Hub and Networked Ground Source Heat Pump solutions. Today, he is driving the integration of smart technologies into GTC’s renewable heat systems, with the aim of improving efficiency and significantly reducing energy costs for customers.

Mark Ashall is Chairman of Ashall Projects, with more than 20 years’ experience across property
development, investment and asset management.
Mark has been involved in major regeneration and development projects across the UK, including Cobalt

Park, one of the country’s largest office parks, and has increasingly focused on hospitality and town-
centre regeneration.

In Barrow-in-Furness, Ashall developed the 127-bedroom Holiday Inn Express and is now progressing the
regeneration of the Grade II-listed Majestic Hotel, planned to operate under IHG’s Garner brand. The
wider hospitality and placemaking offer also includes Francesca’s, supporting Ashall’s broader
commitment to Barrow’s long-term growth and town-centre regeneration.
Prior to Ashall, Mark worked for Swire Pacific in Hong Kong, where he held a number of senior
management roles including responsibility for Swire Pacific’s industrial joint venture interests in Greater
China.