The Team
Owen James was founded by Evie Owen and James Goad in 2005. Our goal was to create events which brought together the right people to discuss the right stuff in the right context.
So far so good! We have managed to employ a team who share our enthusiasm and passion for hard work and excellent customer service. When people come to our different events, we believe they are made to feel welcome and special. That is the goal!
Meet the team...
James Goad - Managing Director
James’s career began at Richmond Events as Head of Sales organising a large annual IFA forum in the UK. This involved sending providers out to sea for a number of days on a luxury cruise liner and marrying them up with potential clients.
Times have moved on since then and James is now more focused on working with the key influencers from the various distribution communities to identify and work through the challenges facing both their businesses and the industry. James was educated at Bristol University and graduated with a 2.1 Master’s degree in Civil Engineering with European Studies.
When James is not juggling family and business, his passions revolve around Africa, pounding the streets, canoeing, football and skiing.
Email James - jamesgoad@owenjamesgroup.com
Daniel Gilmore - Sales Director
Dan started his career in financial services events, working on PIMS alongside Evie and James, whom he joined when they launched Owen James in 2006.
He later left the mothership for Last Word Media, joining as Head of Sales across their UK publication, Portfolio Adviser. As the brand grew he became editor followed by board director, before returning to Owen James 15 years later as Sales Director.
In his spare time Dan is a keen cyclist and traveller.
Email Daniel - danielgilmore@owenjamesgroup.com
Steph Walsh - Chief Operating Officer
Steph joined Owen James in 2018 as Head of Marketing and was then year promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Having worked within the marketing and events industry for over 20 years, Steph brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.
In her spare time, Steph is the captain of a local netball team, loves to read a good book, visit the theatre and escape to faraway destinations - when she can.
Steph is also a social butterfly and has been bridesmaid 14 times!
Email Steph - stephaniewalsh@owenjamesgroup.com
Elena Bakharova - Marketing Manager
Elena is a marketing enthusiast with a deep passion for bringing the value through her marketing prowess and innovative marketing strategies where she strives to create impactful campaigns that captivate audiences.
Elena is not just about work as she also enjoys dancing to Latino music and won a first place medal in Bachata, creating beautiful artwork and exploring new destinations. Elena’s ability to blend creativity with analytical thinking allows her to excel in her field and provide valuable insights that drive results.
Elena’s multifaceted nature and unwavering dedication makes her an invaluable asset in any endeavor she undertakes. Her vibrant personality and commitment to excellence make her a joy to work with.
Email Elena - elenabakharova@owenjamesgroup.com
Henry Hobbs - Marketing Executive
Henry joined the Owen James marketing team as of April 2024. Armed with 2 years of B2B sales experience and a masters in Digital Marketing, he is taking his first step into the expansive world of marketing.
Henry loves going to the gym, spending time around a fire pit and beers with his friends and from time-to-time loves catching the odd film at the cinema. As well as being a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan, he is also very keen on watching international Football and Rugby and very willing to talk about any sports… unless it’s baseball, which is the only sport he finds really quite uninspiring.
Email Henry - henryhobbs@owenjamesgroup.com
Nick Waugh - Sales Manager
A lifelong sales professional, Nick’s first exposure to the financial services sector was through the lens of recruitment back in 2015 - where he was sourcing high-level procurement candidates for some the world’s biggest banks, building societies, and mortgage lenders.
Since then, he’s spent a number of years in the technology and business intelligence space, with most of this time at the prestigious RELX Group; a FTSE 100 British multinational focusing on information & analytics, legal information, decision-making tools, and indeed in exhibitions.
Nick now returns to his financial sector routes, and joins us as a Sales Manager, focusing on obtaining high- level sponsors for our events who are at the forefront of their specific sub-verticals. Outside of a highly-focused career, Nick’s a family man, who enjoys travel, reading, and mountain biking.
Email Nick - nickwaugh@owenjamesgroup.com
John Hall - Senior Relationship Manager
John has spent the majority of his working life in retail banking with Barclays Bank where he worked in many different roles which included managing a number of branches. He also worked in the sports & gaming industry at Sporting Index, where he was a Business Development Manager helping to grow the organisation.
Now John is thoroughly enjoying life in the events industry, recruiting delegates and building relationships with various communities within Financial Services.
In John's spare time, alongside bringing up three young boys, he plays cricket whenever he can. A huge West Ham fan John attends games as much as possible and have had a lifetime of mainly frustration! Other interests include golf, horse racing, American football and going to the pub whenever permitted...!
Email John - johnhall@owenjamesgroup.com.
Mark Davison - Relationship Coordinator
Mark joined Owen James in March 2022 as Delegate Relationship Executive. New to the industry, he spent the previous 5 years working in property as a sales and lettings negotiator. Now using the skills learnt in his previoius role, Mark aims to bring together top executives from the finance industry for great quality discussion on varied topics.
In his free time Mark enjoys all different types of sport mainly football, cricket and tennis - playing 6 a side football a couple of nights a week. Mark also has a passion for cinema and loves films from early classics to modern blockbusters.
Email Mark - markdavison@owenjamesgroup.com
Clare Frost - Relationship Manager
Clare joined the company in December 2021 as Conference Relationship Manager.
In 2015 Clare sold up everything in South Africa and moved to the UK in the hopes of a better future. Clare has been involved in many different sectors from retail to online sales to steel fabrication and education. One thing she always has is a love for organisation, admin, processes and lists! So many lists and trackers!
When Clare is not organising meetings and building relationships, she's playing pc games and building Lego (especially fond of the Star Wars collections).
Email Clare - clarefrost@owenjamesgroup.com
Rebecca Leitch - Conference and Content Manager
Rebecca joined Owen James at the start of 2022 to create impactful conference agendas which meet the changing needs of the financial service industry.
She began her career as a broadcast journalist at the BBC, working on news programmes including Newsround, Panorama and Newsnight before pursuing content management roles for organisations in the business, charity and digital sectors.
While she loves living in London she often wishes it was the French Alps so she could hit the slopes and eat her favourite food more frequently…
Email Becs - rebeccaleitch@owenjamesgroup.com
Amelia Hawkins - Event Manager 
Amelia joined the Owen James team in 2021 after graduating from the University of Lincoln with a first class degree in Event Management. Her passion in events is sustainability, and she dedicates her time to promoting best industry practice in the workplace and making positive environmental choices in her personal life.
Amelia spends her free time travelling to new cities, where she enjoys visiting museums and art galleries, reading, and testing new coffee shops and vegetarian restaurants.
Email Amelia - ameliahawkins@owenjamesgroup.com
Beth Arrowsmith - Event Coordinator
Beth joined the Owen James team in 2023. Since graduating in 2020 from her Events Management degree at Leeds Beckett University she has worked in multiple museums in York and Manchester as part of their Operations Team. She loves working in lots of different venues and seeing how events can be transformed in the spaces and likes anything to do with logistics!
In her past time she loves to spend time with her family, friends and keeping fit by working out in the gym!
Email Beth - betharrowsmith@owenjamesgroup.com
Katarina Lasciakova - Event Executive
Katarina joined the team in 2022 as Event Executive following her studies from the University of Bolton in Events Management.
Her passion lies with event production to work closely with clients, bringing their ideas to life and creating an overall memorable experience.
Outside of working hours you can find Katarina contributing to her healthy lifestyle, which includes hiking, going to the gym and cooking delicious food!
Email Katarina - katarinalasciakova@owenjamesgroup.com
John Chapman - Consultant 
John has spent the majority of his career in financial services following his qualification as a chartered accountant with EY. He has been heavily involved with mergers and acquisitions and joined Torquil Clark, a national IFA business, leading them through four acquisitions in eighteen months and the sale of the business to Skipton Building Society. John recently relocated back to London to establish his own corporate finance business and works closely with Owen James to develop their merger and acquisitions consulting business. The relocation has worked well, except John now spends an inordinate amount of time on Virgin Trains, returning to Manchester to support his United lifelong obsession.