Elise Lewis is a Portfolio and Programme Director with over 25 years’ experience leading complex transformation portfolios across Central Government, Local Government and highly regulated environments.

She has led nationally significant digital, data and technology programmes spanning defence, health, infrastructure, transport and international trade, often within high-risk and politically sensitive contexts. Her work focuses on restoring delivery confidence, strengthening governance and aligning investment, capability and operational services to sustainable outcomes across complex, multi-supplier ecosystems.

As a Non-Executive Director of The Hazels, Elise brings deep expertise in enterprise-scale transformation, governance and strategic delivery. She supports the organisation in strengthening capability, credibility and long-term impact across the UK space sector.

Arfan has over 30+ years extensive experience of central government and the space, defence & security sectors, building on a strong background in procurement, secretariat, operational, project management and business development. He has significant experience of policy development at the strategic level, building effective relationships/partnerships whilst drawing on well-developed communication and influencing skills at Ministerial and senior official/Board level.

He has held several key roles at the UK Space Agency and Space Directorate, including Head of International Policy and Strategy, International Director (where he was responsible for developing the Agency’s policy for international interventions which maximise benefits in trade, security, science and wider policy issues) and Deputy Director International Strategy and Regulation.

On joining the Saudi Space Agency as VP Partnerships, he led the development, build-up and operation of Saudi Arabia’s Space program in line with the National Space Strategy and the Saudi Vision 2030.

Since leaving SSA in Mar 25, Arfan has pursued an international portfolio career as a Board Advisor, Non-Exec Director, Trustee and Mentor.

Paul Johnstone is an education and skills specialist with nearly two decades’ experience working across national and international education, training, and workforce development systems. He advises governments, regulatory authorities, awarding organisations, and industry partners on policy development, programme implementation, qualification and assessment design, standards analysis, research, evaluation, quality assurance, and quality improvement.

Paul has served as an Education Advisor to the UK Department for Education and its partner agencies since 2011, contributing to major national reforms in technical and vocational education, apprenticeships, and qualifications. His work spans ministerial-level policy advice, the development and regulation of qualification and assessment systems, and the design and evaluation of large-scale education and skills programmes.

Paul's unwavering focus on the learner's interests in education and training has seen him develop highly innovative, engaging, and accessible skills-proficiency and problem-solving assessment models, which has underpinned provision that quickly became the second most widely taken qualifications in the UK, based on their appeal with learners, centres, and employers. Some of these influential innovations were embedded in reformed GCSEs to improve their capacity to deliver the fundamental proficiencies in English, mathematics, and digital skills, which enable higher level performance, progression, and achievement across all aspects of life, learning, and work.

In recent years, his work across government has expanded to include projects with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, alongside advisory work for international government departments. Much of this work focuses on aligning high-quality professional, technical and vocational education, training, and skills with evolving labour market and workforce needs, and the successful acquisition of high-value technical and transferable skills to meet rapidly changing social, economic, and technological demands.

Through his consultancy practice, Paul works with governments, awarding organisations, education institutions, professional bodies, and employers in the UK and internationally to measurably improve quality, standards, experiences, and outcomes across education and training. His work is driven by a strong commitment to the transformative potential of education and skills in supporting innovation, excellence, productivity, prosperity, access, and opportunity for all.