Jon qualified in medicine, anatomy and neurobiology from University College London, and undertook surgical training, gaining Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, alongside a Research Masters in Neuroscience and PhD in Neurosurgery. During this, and senior clinical posts in Neurosurgery, he developed an interest in traumatic and vascular brain damage, the secondary effects of injury, repair mechanisms, and latterly, the effects of the extreme environment on the human brain, including during aviation and space exploration. Jon currently works as the lead clinician for an International Aeromedical and Aerospace Company, and has undertaken over 400 international patient retrieval missions worldwide. He is a founder member of a Space Neuroscience research group with pioneering brain monitoring projects on high orbital and international space station missions, including Axiom-2, which successfully launched in May 2023, and the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, in September 2024.

He is also a collaborator with Neural Tissue Engineering (NTEK), Biomaterials and Physiology groups at Keele University, investigating fundamental Neurosurgical problems such as CNS repair with neural stem cells and mechanisms of cerebral ischaemia and he teaches Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham Graduate Medical School.

David is responsible for Finaccord’s international research into travel insurance worldwide, international health insurance and other services related to global mobility. In addition to having authored numerous reports on these subjects, he has also been involved in a variety of related consulting assignments. Furthermore, having worked and studied in China for a number of years, he speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.

Kate, World Travel Protection’s EMEA Security Director since May 2022, boasts over two decades of expertise. Specialising in operations, intelligence, investigations, and security risk management, she collaborates with diverse clients, offering counsel and mitigating travel risks. With formal certifications in advanced disclosure, firearms training, and surveillance from the Association of Chief Police Officers, she excels in anti-kidnap, crisis management, and hostile environments. Kate’s career spans pivotal roles including service in Afghanistan’s anti-terrorism unit, Nigeria’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation security setup, Switzerland’s oil sector risk mitigation, and Bulgari Hotels & Resorts’ directorship. Her advice to travellers emphasises preparedness and confidence amidst uncertainties.

Fraser is a Policy Advisor for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) leading on travel and motor insurance. He works on key travel insurance issues including access to travel insurance for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Before joining the ABI, Fraser worked for a public affairs agency in London, engaging and building relationships with the government on behalf of organisations across industries such as financial services and energy production. This built on a background as a Parliamentary Researcher for an MP and multiple years of financial services’ consulting experience.

Andy has 20 years of FCDO experience, with postings to Malawi, Egypt, Vietnam, and Japan working on a range of portfolios. He has considerable consular and crisis experience, as well as working on political and trade issues.

In his current role, using a behaviour-change approach, he leads a global team that works alongside host governments and the travel and insurance industry to make travel safer for British people overseas.

James has been a consumer campaigner and financial journalist for over 20 years. Before launching Fairer Finance in 2014, he worked for the consumer group, Which?, where he campaigned for a better deal for customers of banks and insurers in the wake of the financial crisis.

James is frequently interviewed on national television and radio, and has regularly appeared on shows such as Watchdog, Rip-off Britain, Dispatches and Moneybox.

Before working at Which?, James spent 10 years as a business and finance newspaper journalist, latterly as The Independent’s personal finance editor and cycling columnist.

He is a member of UK Finance’s Consumer Advisory Group, and the Association of British Insurers’ Consumer Advisory Group. He is also a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s professional standards committee.

Rowan is an NHS Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Royal United Hospital Bath, where he has worked for the past 20 years. His medical training was at Cambridge University and Guys & St Thomas’s Hospitals, London. He initially worked in paediatrics before starting anaesthetic training in the South West, plus he had a year working in the Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland.

In terms of aeromedical experience, Rowan worked with Wings in Bristol for many years. He spent a year undertaking paediatric critical care fixed-wing air retrievals in New Zealand, for the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Starship Children’s Hospital. More recently he has worked for Capital in Exeter, carrying out critical care retrievals, before taking on the role of Medical Director when Capital moved to Centreline in Bristol in 2019.

Lynn is the CMO for Charles Taylor Assistance (CTA) having been with the company since 2015.

She manages the in-house medical department of 40 people providing full medical case management on behalf of CTA’s clients. She also manages the in-house flight bank of over 60 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and mental health practitioners who carry out their commercial repatriations.

Lynn’s extensive medical experience straddles a range of disciplines, from helicopter trauma medicine and trauma intensive care to general practice, global assistance, maritime medicine, and travel clinic management. Former roles include more than fifteen years as a senior ship’s doctor and several years running her own GP, occupational health, and travel clinic practice in South Africa.