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As we prepare for the City AM Dragon Awards ceremony on Monday 18th November, we are excited to introduce our panel of judges who will bring their experience and insights to the process of identifying and recognising excellence in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives.

As with all City AM awards, we work to ensure a fair, independent, transparent and rigorous judging process. As part of this commitment we’ve brought together industry experts with a deep understanding of the ESG landscape and the evolving dynamics of ESG’s impact and influence.

Our judges will play a critical role in the City AM Dragon Awards process.

Domain Knowledge and Expertise: Each judge uses their domain knowledge and expertise to evaluate finalists within their assigned categories. This ensures that the evaluation process is both comprehensive and rigorous.

Understanding the Framework: Judges thoroughly review all category definitions and criteria provided to them, ensuring a deep understanding of the framework within which finalists will be assessed.

Individual Evaluation: Finalists are evaluated individually by judges based on the specific category definitions and criteria. This ensures that each nomination is assessed fairly and on its own merit.

Rating Process: Judges follow a structured rating and evaluation process, ensuring consistency and integrity throughout their deliberations.

Timely Results: Judges are committed to providing their results within the specified dates and deadlines of the competition, ensuring a smooth and efficient judging process.

Deliberation: Judges actively participate in a deliberation process for the categories they are responsible for, promoting thoughtful discussion and ensuring that only the most deserving initiatives are recognised.

Meet the judges:
Christian May, Editor-in-Chief, City AM

Editor of City AM from 2015 to 2021 before resuming the role in 2024, Christian has played a key role in solidifying the publication’s position as a leading voice in London’s financial and business communities. Known for his sharp insights, he ensured City AM remained relevant and influential, delivering high-quality journalism during a time of significant change for the country and the media sector. With experience in communications and corporate affairs as well as journalism, Christian is well-placed to recognise effective leadership in ESG.

Mark Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer, THG

“Mark Jones is the Chief Sustainability Officer of THG and has been in his position since June 2023. He is responsible for building THG’s overall sustainability strategy, THG x Planet Earth, to drive the implementation across the business to tackle carbon, biodiversity, circular economy, ESG regulations, and social responsibility.  Mark also oversees the business sustainability consultancy service – THG Eco.  Mark’s experience in sustainability spans over nine years and covers a vast range of sustainability matters.

Janine Hirt, CEO Innovate Finance

Janine Hirt is the CEO of Innovate Finance (IF), the industry body representing the world-leading UK FinTech sector. Having joined the founding IF leadership team in 2015 first as Head of Membership then Ecosystem Director, she moved into the COO role in 2017 before stepping up to lead the organisation in 2021. Janine is passionate about driving transformation to create a more democratic, transparent and inclusive financial services sector for all. Her professional career has been marked by roles that sit at the intersection of policy, international relations, and industry, including senior positions at Chatham House, (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) and the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Julia Streets, Founder and CEO of Streets Consulting

Julia Streets is a champion of fintech and entrepreneurship, as well as innovation, diversity, and inclusion. She is the founder & CEO of Streets Consulting, an international business development, marketing, and communications consultancy advising a wide range of startups and scaleups, global organisations, industry bodies, and technology incubators.Prior to becoming a founder and CEO, Julia was the Global Head of Communications at Atos Euronext Market Solutions, serving on the Executive Committee, and the European Head of Marketing and Sales Development at Instinet Europe. As a senior leadership coach, Julia works with C-suite executives and is an advisor, mentor, and investor. She is frequently called upon to chair many of the world’s leading conferences, drawing not only on her industry experience but also on her skills as a speaker, MC/host, and sell-out stand-up comedian.

Andy Melia, Director, Heart of the City

Andy leads Heart of the City, delivering support to small businesses to have a positive impact on people, places and the planet. He has over 15 years’ experience in the charity sector working with businesses on their social and environmental impact. He was previously the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Open for Business, where he engaged global corporates as advocates for LGBTQ+ rights using the economic case for inclusion. He also spent almost 10 years at Business in the Community, leading campaigns on community investment and place. Andy is active in the charity sector, serving as inaugural chair of trustees at Brighter Together and holding a number of volunteer management and trustee roles in the Scout Association in South London. He is also an adviser to Sixty7.green, a sustainability consultancy, and People Change Minds, which provides training to create inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ people in schools and workplaces.

Joel Blake OBE, CEO of GFA Exchange

Joel is a strategy advisor, and keynote speaker specialising in Inclusive Innovation with over 20 years of experience across banking, fintech, and wider financial services. He is the Founder & CEO of GFA Exchange, a data analytics platform-as-a-service designed to help finance providers optimise their portfolios whilst reducing human bias and risk, and the Founder of the ESG Future Growth Forum, a peer-to-peer development network for responsible executives and leaders. Joel also serves on the board of the emerging UAE-based fintech investment fund, Taranis Capital. He was voted ESG Entrepreneur of the Year in the City AM Awards 2023 and was recognised with an O.B.E for Services to Business Support and Enterprise in 2016.

Dr. Yvonne Thompson CBE, Equality, diversity and inclusion champion 

Dr. Yvonne Thompson CBE has been a trailblazer in entrepreneurship, global diversity, and equality for over 40 years. Honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with a CBE in 2003, Dr. Thompson’s extensive contributions have also earned her two doctorates and four prestigious fellowships, including those from St George’s House Leadership organisation at Windsor Castle, King’s College London University, London metropolitan University and the Radio Academy. 2024 sees her appointed President of the Association for Project Management and also became a Freeman of the City of London under Professor Michael Mainelli’s Mayoral term, further cementing her influence and leadership in various sectors.

Natalie Campbell MBE, Co-CEO Belu and Chair of Trussell Trust

Natalie Campbell MBE ran as an independent candidate for Mayor of London in May 2024. By day, Natalie is Co-CEO of Belu Water, a drinks business that puts people and the environment first. To date, Belu has given WaterAid over £5.8m to bring clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere. She is also an award-winning social entrepreneur and broadcaster and the Chancellor of The University of Westminster. During her installation, Natalie announced a flagship initiative called the ‘Chancellor’s Circle’ to create a bridge between businesses across London and the student community. Natalie is a senior advisor to FTSE-scale businesses including PwC and Stonehage Fleming Wealth Management.

June Yee Felix, Non-executive Director RELX Plc and former CEO of IG Group Plc

June served as CEO of IG Group from 2018 to 2023, having been a non-executive director since 2015. Under her leadership, IG, a FTSE 250 global fintech company, doubled its revenue to over £1 billion, expanded profits, and completed a $1 billion acquisition of US firm tastytrade. She also grew IG’s Japanese business five-fold. In 2020, June joined the board of RELX, a FTSE 10 leader in data analytics, serving on its Audit and Remuneration Committees. June has led and grown financial services and tech companies globally, including senior roles at Verifone, Citibank, IBM, and Chase Manhattan. She has received numerous awards for her leadership and innovation in fintech.