VentureDay 2026
Vincent Building, Cranfield University
Thursday 11 June 2026
Making Growth Happen:
From Vision to Execution
Join us on Thursday 11 June for our annual entrepreneurial conference, VentureDay. Now in its 18th year, VentureDay brings together entrepreneurs, SME owners, investors, and academia for a day of learning and networking.
Throughout the day, you'll have the opportunity to hear from key stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem about a range of topics including sustainable marketing strategies to financing the future.
Connect. Inspire. Grow.
Agenda
09:00 | Registration
09:30 | Welcome and opening remarks
10:00 | Opening panel - Making growth happen: From vision to execution
10:50 | Mid-morning networking (coffee and tea)
11:10 | Parallel sessions
12:10 | Keynote speaker: Edward Phillips, CEO, Luton Hoo Estate
13:00 | Lunch and networking
13:45 | Parallel sessions
14:45 | Parallel sessions
15:35 | Afternoon networking (coffee and tea)
16:00 | Keynote speaker: Cranfield Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner 2026, Antony Jenkins CBE, Founder, Chair and CEO, 10X
16:50 | Formal close
Parallel sessions
11:10 | Parallel session one
1. Workshop - Driving Sales in the Age of AI: Strategies for growth with key customers
2. Resilience at work: Mental fitness for founders and teams
3. Only at Cranfield Tour: Agrifood innovation in action
13:45 | Parallel session two
1. Building operational engines: Systems and processes for rapid growth
2. Talent for tomorrow: Building leadership and AI-enabled teams
3. Only at Cranfield Tour: Powering the hydrogen future
14:45 | Parallel session three
1. Fuelling your growth: Alternative funding routes
2. Employee Ownership Schemes (EOTS): What makes EOTs work?
3. Only at Cranfield Tour: Where Innovation meets opportunity
Keynote speakers
12:10 - 13:00
Edward Phillips
CEO, Luton Hoo Estate
Since 2007, Edward has been the Chief Executive of the Luton Hoo Estate, his family estate between Luton and Harpenden, where he leads the day-to-day management of the estate and its various enterprises. The estate is heavily diversified with residential and commercial property lets, an in-hand farm with a contracting operation farming predominantly cereal crops, a historic walled garden with a permanent wedding and event venue, and a renowned film location.
Edward has chaired a number of committees for the Country Land and Business Association notably the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire branch and more recently the national Tax Committee. He has sat on the board of the Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership, chaired the Bedfordshire committee for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and was appointed a Governor of Beechwood Park School in 2024. In 2025, he was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire with a particular focus on business engagement and tourism.
Since 2018, Edward has worked with the Luton and Dunstable Hospital Charity team chairing a number of fundraising events during this time. He also gives time as Community First Responder with the East of England Ambulance Service.
He enjoys many varied activities, notably skiing, tennis and swimming as well as being a keen shot. He is married to Marina and they have three boys.
16:00 – 16:50
Antony Jenkins CBE
Founder, Chair and CEO, 10x
Antony Jenkins CBE is the Founder, Chair and CEO of 10x Future Technologies Group, a fintech company that aims to redefine how banks operate and engage with customers. His ambition is to be the global bank operating system of choice by applying cloud native technology to everything from checking accounts to savings to loans.
He is an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England, and Chair of Currencies Direct—the U.K.’s first non-bank foreign exchange payments specialists. Antony is also a member of the Advisory Board at Palamon Capital Partners.
Previously, Antony led a global FTSE 100 financial services business, holding board leadership positions at Barclays Bank, including the Group Chief Executive (2012-2015). He was also responsible for several large business units at Citigroup (1989-2005).
Additionally, he has chaired Business in the Community and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical education. He has held board positions at Visa Europe, Absa Group, Barclays PLC, Fannie Mae and Blockchain.com
Raised in the Northwest, Antony was awarded an MA from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Cranfield University.
Antony was awarded a CBE for services to business in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2021.
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