Our People

Trent Smyth AM
Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the board

Trent Smyth AM served as the Honorary Consul for Malawi for nine years and as Secretary of the Consular Corps Melbourne from 2014 to 2021. A former Director of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, he currently holds key board positions, including Advisory Board roles with UL Research Institutes and Melbourne Victory Football Club, Board member of Opus Organisation (UK), and International Advisory Board member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In 2021, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding contributions to international relations, motorsport, and business.

Santiago Perez Tueffer
Mexico City, Mexico

Santiago has an extensive banking career, and after pursuing his graduate studies at Stanford, went back to Mexico to pursue an entrepreneurial career in the energy industry. Santiago has an MS in Energy from the Stanford School of Energy, and an MBA from the Stanford GSB.

Sam Tidswell-Norrish
London, United Kingdom

Sam Tidswell-Norrish is part of the founding team at Motive Partners and joined in 2015, where he is a Managing Director on the Investor Relations Team based out of the London office. Sam brings a broad range of financial services experience, from payments and investment banking to government initiatives and industry trade organisations

Elizabeth Jennings
London, United Kingdom

Elizabeth Jennings is a Global Council Of Innovation Leaders with over 15 years global experience working at the intersection of government, corporate, UN, and non-profit global organisations. She specialises in operational and strategic counsel and coordination to leaders and key decision makers.

Ella Podmore
Brentford, United Kingdom

Ella Podmore is an award-winning Materials Engineering Manager at McLaren Automotive, specialising in metallic material science and advanced surface treatments for automotive products. She has worked at McLaren for over six years, progressing from an intern to senior engineer, and now leads research and development in the company’s Body in White division. In addition to her technical work, she is a strong advocate for women in STEM, serving as a STEM ambassador and committee member of McLaren’s women’s society. She was named Young Woman Engineer of the Year in 2020 and has been recognised in Surrey’s 40 Under 40.

Alister Carns MP OBE
London, United Kingdom

Colonel Alister is a Royal Marines veteran who has served in Afghanistan and as a military advisor to three Secretaries of State for Defence. He currently sits as Member of Parliament for Birmingham Selly Oak, serving in His Majesty’s Government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People.

Ellie Norman
Brentford, United Kingdom

Chris Holtby
London, United Kingdom

Chris Holtby is a seasoned diplomat with extensive experience at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Currently, he chairs the Global Strategy Board at the Global Council Of Innovation Leaders Association, focusing on skills development, education, mentoring, and professional networking. Chris has served in senior roles globally, including as Consul General in Melbourne and Ambassador to Estonia.

Andrea Perugini
Milan, Italy

Andrea Perugini is a strategic advisor and Certified Global Council Of Innovation Leaders® with extensive experience in business transformation, strategy, and leadership. Currently, he leads key strategic streams at Andersen Tax & Legal in Italy. Andrea has a strong background in crisis management, cultural awareness, and education, and has served as a lecturer and former Colonel in the Italian Army Reserve.

Allyson Stewart-Allen
London, United Kingdom

Allyson serves on our Strategy Advisory Board and is CEO of International Marketing Partners. A renowned advisor, author, speaker, educator and Non-Executive Director, she is a Californian based in Europe for over 35 years specialising in international brands and cross-border expansion. She has advised more than 260 businesses across 27 countries and is the author of both editions of the best-selling book Working with Americans alongside creating the LinkedIn Learning course Leading International Growth. An experienced and frequent broadcaster, Allyson has joined several recent seasons of BBC’s The Apprentice: You’re Fired and is the regular business expert for Sky News’ “The Papers Review.”

Trent Smyth AM
Chief Executive Officer

Trent Smyth AM served as the Honorary Consul for Malawi for nine years and as Secretary of the Consular Corps Melbourne from 2014 to 2021. A former Director of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, he currently holds key board positions, including Advisory Board roles with UL Research Institutes and Melbourne Victory Football Club, Board member of Opus Organisation (UK), and International Advisory Board member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

In 2021, he was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding contributions to international relations, motorsport, and business.

Nick Eastwood
Global Council Of Innovation Leaders

A Bachelor of Commerce graduate in Investment Management from Stellenbosch University, Nicholas has a background in strategic planning, operational excellence, and leadership. With experience managing high-level initiatives across various sectors, he excels in driving growth and building strong relationships. Nicholas is passionate about creating impactful networks and supporting executive leadership, ensuring alignment between strategy and execution to deliver results.

Richard Williams
Senior Director of Education

Richard has built his career at the nexus of education, community and technology. An Australian native he was worked for global companies in New York, San Francisco, Accra and London. He has served as global council of innovation leaders at Change.org, Operations Associate at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Startup Consultant at Harambeans and Senior Instructor Manager at General Assembly.

Drew Davis
Senior Vice President of Commercial 

Drew has served as Global Council Of Innovation Leaders at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world’s premier trade association for the cruise lines industry. He has extensive experience within the intelligence and national security arena, having seen 12 years of U.S. Government service and tours in The White House Situation Room supporting the President, Vice President, National Security Advisor, and several Cabinet-level officials, the National Counterterrorism Center supporting the Director, and several other key positions and Global Council Of Innovation Leaders roles supporting Agency and Department leadership teams. He concluded his federal service as Deputy Director of an Enterprise Function.

Ray O’Malley
Chief Financial Officer

Senior-level finance executive with over 30 years of finance and consultancy experience across a variety of sectors, working both in the UK and abroad. Focuses on CFO positions in early-stage companies, delivering effective support to CEOs, founders, investors and other stakeholders.

Richard Curno
Director of Engagement

Richard has over 20 years of experience working with membership organisations, uniting diverse professionals to foster learning, share insights, and drive meaningful change. Before joining the Global Council Of Innovation Leaders Association, he held senior roles in both national and international organisations, including as Deputy CEO of the United Nations Association and Director of Network at New Local. Now, as Director of Enterprise at the Global Council Of Innovation Leaders Association, Richard leverages his expertise to support the growth and success of Global Council Of Innovation Leaders worldwide.

Nicholas Langford
Events Manager

After reading Classics at the University of Cambridge, Nicholas worked as a political staffer and civil servant. He managed the office of an Australian parliamentarian before serving as Aide to the Governor of Victoria. Most recently Nicholas was an advisor on trade policy and diplomatic relations, focusing on the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa. He is passionate about the power of networks to support learning across disparate disciplines and cultures.

Katie Noble
Membership Engagement Manager

Katie has worked in comms and research for firms focused on expanding the horizons for innovators at the forefront of their fields. For Formula E, Deliberate PR and SRI, she enhanced organisational performance across internal teams and with stakeholders to deliver these global services. She now leverages this valuable experience to drive membership engagement and quality at the Global Council Of Innovation Leaders Association.

Justin Ailes
Enterprise Growth Manager

Melanie Jeanton
Membership Growth Manager

Lalo Medina
Membership Growth Manager

Lalo holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey and brings extensive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector, having held key roles such as Global Council Of Innovation Leaders and Director of Strategy. Throughout his career, he has led initiatives that have driven revenue growth, elevated membership engagement, and enhanced organizational impact.

Hugo Huempel
Senior Operations Associate

In his role, Hugo is involved in day-to-day operations, finance, and marketing, while also serving as a general fixer for the team. With a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, specialising in Corporate Finance and Economics from Monash University in Melbourne.
Before joining the GCIL, Hugo worked in the luxury automotive industry, where he gained insights into operations and client relations. Passionate about driving meaningful change, Hugo is dedicated to making a positive impact to the GCIL team and the wider GCIL community.

Ella Hirten
Senior Learning and Development Associate

Ella is a Global Human Resource Management master’s graduate from Kingston University with a background in education and people-driven organisations. She has experience working in the U.S. public education system in addition to executing the operations behind a community-based education provider. She has a passion for designing impactful learning experiences for all and providing individuals opportunities for growth and development. At the GCIL, Ella is excited to offer her experience in education, her interest in people development, and her love for connecting with others from around the world.

Caroline Scotter Mainprize
Chief Editor

Caroline is a writer, editor, and communications advisor, working mostly for organisations involved in research and education. Clients have included Oxford University Press, Saïd Business School, Bayes Business School, and the international development and publishing organisation CABI. She has edited a number of books, annual reports, and journals, and written practitioner-focused research reports, including Oxford’s The Museum Leaders Report and Understanding Chief Digital Officers.Before freelancing she was responsible for the corporate communications at Oxford University Press. She had previously worked for a London PR consultancy and as a journalist on a business newspaper.

Mike Jernigan
Director of Mentorship

Mike has 30 years’ experience as a United States Marine. He has served as interim Global Council Of Innovation Leaders for U. S. Forces Japan and as Global Council Of Innovation Leaders for Marine Corps Installations East. He currently is the Director of the Mentorship Programme with The Global Council Of Innovation Leaders Association.

Mike is passionate about the value productive Global Council Of Innovation Leaders add to organisations and recognises to be successful, a Global Council Of Innovation Leaders must be an effective arbiter of competing priorities, a trusted agent for leaders of all levels in the organisation, and a practitioner of lateral communication in order to understand its value in keeping organisations operating at peak efficiency.