Corina Kwami is a Renaissance woman whose mission is to bring together the arts and sciences and celebrate innovations on and off stage. On stage as a public speaker, singer or tap dancer, she has performed in countries across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia with her own band and as a guest, as a TEDx speaker and in the innovation lab space. Offstage, she holds a doctorate in engineering and is a speaker, strategist and policy advisor on future cities, infrastructure and sustainability. She has been recognised for her “impressive grasp of what jazz can teach us about leadership, partnerships, and innovative thinking” at the UNLEASH Innovation Lab. She is currently a policy advisor at the Royal Academy of Engineering. Corina’s work cuts across the arts and sciences, music and dance and recalling the past to inspire future innovation. Her new project, “Jazz for Innovators” aims to facilitate exchanges between these worlds to uncover our human knack for improvisation and cultivate experiences that enable change for a collective purpose. As a former competitive swimmer, she loves the challenge of training as an individual and as a collective and outside of lockdown, is never too far from the water. Based in London, she plays with her band Corina Kwami & the Swing Selection and collaborates in the jazz, tap and swing circuit. Check out more at: www.corinakwami.com

Charlotte Slingsby is a South African entrepreneur recognised by Forbes 30 under 30 as one of the brightest young entrepreneurs, simultaneously running two high impact startups. Charlotte’s first venture is Moya Power - a lightweight, flexible sheeting material that can independently harvest low-grade wind energy in a variety of locations. Charlotte is also Co-Founder and CTO of Nettoken, a London based startup developing a digital platform for everyday internet users to be in control and best manage their ever-expanding online identity - all without a username and password. Nettoken is supported by InnovationRCA, the Royal College of Art’s Centre for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, helping students and graduates transform compelling ideas into successful businesses. Nettoken’s all-female leadership team were recent Cylon and NCSC Cyber Accelerator Alumnus run by the British National Cyber Security Centre (GCHQ) and Wayra (Telefónica). Charlotte graduated with a Double Masters in Innovation Design Engineering from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art.

Pei Chin Tay is a Senior Programme Manager currently leading the Mayor's Digital Talent Programme - a £7m investment in London’s tech talent pipeline – created to up skill young Londoner’s and bridge employer’s demand for digital talent.  Previously, Pei Chin led ‘Design for Europe’ - a flagship £3.2m European design innovation programme, credited with utilising design as a tool to drive innovation and growth across the EU. Pei Chin has managed high profile portfolio of enterprise and employability projects for the University of the Arts London and the Singapore National Government. A specialist in digital and public sector transformation, Pei Chin is deeply passionate about driving change and creating lasting socio-economic impact through employability and skills.  The views in this episode do not reflect the views and policies of the Greater London Authority.

Rishi Chowdhury co-founded IncuBus Ventures with his business partner George Johnston. After working at Huddle, they both decided to buy a London double-decker bus and create the first startup incubator on a bus. The bus became a startup community space for meet-ups , pop-up shops and Code Clubs. Parking a bus in London is expensive and Rishi soon made friends with commercial real estate developers who had large swathes of land waiting for planning permissions for several years - creating the perfect parking location for Incubus. As a result, Rishi launched Incube with George to create smart spaces for landlords and corporations, spaces that adapt to people as opposed to a fixed design for the lifespan of a lease. This manifested into the London Connectory by Bosch, a smart co-creation space designed and operated by Incube and Incube’s sister company Nitrous. Nitrous is a leading community-building organisation connecting public sector organisations, corporate actors and technology startups.

Raj Pannu PhD is the Co-Founder and CEO of Emergence, a global creative agency dedicated to social impact. In addition, Raj is the Co-Founder of Smart Cities New York - North America's leading global conference for innovators and decision-makers who are improving life in the cities of tomorrow. An expert at adapting private sector approaches to behaviour change for application in the public sphere, Raj has introduced large-scale communication strategies for Coca-Cola Company, Sesame Workshop, and President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In a previous life, Raj was the acting as Director of Global Health at McCann Health, where he facilitated collaboration between McCann, multinational companies, and not-for-profits, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and UNICEF. He holds an MS of Immunology and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Alberta.

Ade Thomas is probably the most connected individual within the European Electric Vehicle movement. Previously a Producer and Director of Current Affairs and Documentary Features for the BBC. Ade was behind the environment and rural affairs series, 'Countryfile' and BBC Radio 4's environment series, 'Costing the Earth'. Today, Ade is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Green.TV, a multi-channel publishing network for sustainability content. Deploying creative content strategies to connect people with purpose. Green.TV produces the Ebike Summit and Oxford EV Summit, the world's most significant, CEO-led business forum for e-mobility.

Victoria Lee is an Urban Development Strategist with over 12 years of experience on nationally and internationally significant projects, from airport and rail infrastructure, innovation districts, estate regeneration and mixed-use masterplans. Victoria shares her views on what makes a smart city, the opportunities for cities after the pandemic, and the need for greater diversity in all its forms within the built environment industry.

Building Future Cities brings you interviews with creative leaders changing our cities for the better. Whether building brands, launching bold marketing campaigns or establishing strategic partnerships; we investigate how creative leaders are enriching the future cities conversation.