MAKERS+MAVERICKS — 2019
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Each year we compile a list of the one hundred+ people that got us to utter those words ‘I wish I had done that, made that, invented that, thought like that, changed that’. These are the people who have shone the brightest for us in 2019.
Maker of the Year
Maverick of the Year
Tech
George Gilder
Investor, Writer, Economist + Co-Founder of the Discovery Institute
He is known as one of the world’s leading thinkers on technology. As far back as 1993 he was predicting the essentials of the upcoming 5G.
Kazuhide Sekiyama
Founder, Spiber
Japanese community focused biotech startup Spiber has pioneered tech for a sustainable way to produce synthetic spider silk. It’s environmentally friendly and highly customisable.
Well-being
Jameela Jamil
Actress, Radio Presenter, Model + Writer
After having spent years in the limelight being reduced to a number on the scales, Jameela started her ‘I weigh’ campaign to focus on the idea that women are so much more than their appearance.
Stan Collymore
Former Professional Football Player + Pundit
Stan is well known for using his Twitter account to connect with his followers and highlight several issues and stigmas surrounding mental health and aims to shatter stereotypes amongst his following.
Ted Dinan + John Cryan
Professors at University College Cork (UCC)
A 14 year study has shown that people who are clinically depressed have less diversity in the microbiota in their gut than people who are not depressed. Their research could revolutionise the treatment of depression.
Food
Nathaniel Ru, Nicolas Jammet + Jonathan Neman
Co-founders, Sweetgreen
The idea that fast food can’t be healthy is firmly in the past now with chains like Sweetgreen creating simple, seasonal, healthy salads and grain bowls made in-house from scratch, using whole produce delivered that morning.
Kei Kobayashi
Owner + Head Chef, Kei Restaurant
Kei Kobayashi has become the first Japanese chef in France to win the maximum of three Michelin stars. Kei, who opened his restaurant in Paris nine years ago, has wowed discerning diners and critics alike over the past decade with his signature dishes.
Platforms of Influence
Purpose Driven
Margaret Aspinall
Chair of the Hillsborough Family Support Group
As the chairperson of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Margaret has dedicated two decades of her life working tirelessly towards justice for her son, James, and all 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives in a fatal crush during an FA Cup football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, on 15 April 1989. She is a true inspiration.
David Miranda
Journalist, Politician + LGBT Activist
Standing up to the far right of Brazilian politics. Journalist and politician David Miranda is the voice of the LGBT community in Brazil.
Creativity
John C Jay
Global Creative Director, Fast Retailing + Uniqlo
From overseeing legendary Nike ads and spearheading ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy’s international growth to creating its multidisciplinary creative agency W+K Garage and putting Uniqlo on the map, John C Jay is truly one of a kind.
Sport
Jürgen Klopp
Professional Football Manager, Liverpool Football Club
On Thursday 8 October 2015, Liverpool FC arguably made their most important signing in a generation. Another important date in the clubs history will be Sunday 17 May 2020, when “The Normal One” will deliver the Reds their first Premier League title in over 30 years. YNWA.
Megan Rapinoe
Professional Footballer Player
From winning the World Cup to becoming a cultural icon to winning the 2019 Ballon d’Or, US football superstar Megan Rapinoe has had a year for the ages.
Raheem Sterling
Professional Football Player
Voted the 2019 Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association, he is considered one of the world’s best players. More than that, his courage to fight racism will leave a legacy not just for future generations in football but society as a whole.
Charlie Engle
Ultramarathon Runner + Author
Charlie is a recovering addict-alcoholic, choosing sobriety over addiction. Since then, Charlie has challenged himself to experience all that life has to offer. In 2019, Charlie started on his journey to be the first athlete to trek from the lowest point to the highest summit on every continent.
Product
SeaCell
SeaCell is a silk-like fibre composed of seaweed and eucalyptus. SeaCell aims to be a sustainable alternative to disposable nappies and the materials used in the fashion industry.
Music
Money
Financial Times Cover
In the midst of widespread global protests calling on Governments and big business to address climate breakdown and species loss, the Financial Times put out an edition calling on business to re-think the path it’s on. A bold and unexpected move from ‘the city’s bible’.
Alex Dunsdon
Entrepreneur + Investment Director
Alex is an Investment Director at SaatchInvest, a seed fund in London that backs truly great entrepreneurs solving big human problems. He also founded The Bakery London, an ad-tech accelerator that helps big brands integrate technology into their marketing strategies. His Tweets are refreshingly human, too.
Brian Armstrong
Co-Founder + CEO, Coinbase / Founder, Give Crypto
After co-founding Coinbase, Armstrong turned his attention to Give Crypto a non-profit that aims to empower people and communities by distributing cryptocurrency to those living in poverty with the aim to connect them to an open financial system.
Podcasts
Desert Island Discs with Lauren Laverne
Some of the world’s most interesting, unexpected, talented, controversial, pioneering and successful guests choose eight tracks, a book and a luxury take to a desert island.
On Second Thought with Trevor Noah
Trevor uses his Podcast to explores unfamiliar angles, embrace differing viewpoints, and celebrate the contradictions that make the modern world both bewildering and exciting.
Finding Mastery with Michael Gervais
Host and high-performance psychologist, Dr. Michael Gervais, interviews people excelling in the most hostile environments to discover the mental skills used to push the boundaries.
Blind Boy Podcast
Hosted by Blind Boy of the Rubberbandits comes an eclectic podcast containing short fiction, interviews and comedy.
Rich Roll Podcast
Ultra-athlete, and bestselling author Rich Roll delves deep with the most thought-provoking leaders to educate, inspire and empower people to unleash their most authentic self.
Have You Heard George’s Podcast?
The award-winning and critically-acclaimed podcast from George the Poet delivers a fresh take on inner-city life through a mix of storytelling, music, and fiction.
Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu
Impact Theory is a business and mindset-focused interview show that will teach anyone aspiring to greatness the secrets to success.
Under The Skin with Russell Brand
Russell Brand’s podcast gets to what’s beneath the surface — of people we admire, of the ideas that define our time, of the history we are told. Speaking with guests from the world of academia, popular culture and the arts.
The Dropout
Jarvis hosts The Dropout which chronicles the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and her company, health technology corporation Theranos.
Living Adventourously with Alastair Humphreys
Ever since he spent 4 years cycling around the world, Alastair Humphreys, has been interested in the idea of living adventurously. Last year he got back on his bike and spent a month asking people what living adventurously means to them.
Words that Matter
Facebook’s role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy, Carole Cadwalladr
Carole Cadwalladr is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. In her 2019 Ted talk Cadwalladr calls out the “gods of Silicon Valley” for being on the wrong side of history and asks: Are free and fair elections a thing of the past?
Know My Name, Chanel Miller
Long known as ‘Emily Doe’, the survivor in the January 2015 Brock Turner sexual assault case, tells her powerful story and offers hope.
In Praise of Walking, Shane O’Mara
In this hymn to walking, neuroscientist Shane O’Mara invites us to marvel at the benefits it confers on our bodies and minds. In Praise of Walking celebrates this miraculous ability.
Brave New Wales
Banc Cambria
Research shows more than 200 banks have shut in Wales since 2008, leaving people without any highstreet access to their money. Banc Cambria is aiming to be Wales’ first community bank, operating like a normal bank but owned by its members.
Anne Boden
Founder + CEO, Starling Bank
Welsh tech entrepreneur and founder of Starling Bank, a mobile-only UK bank, she received an MBE for her services to financial technology.
Twitter + Web
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Founder, INEOS
Ineos has picked Bridgend to build a new 4x4 inspired by the Land Rover Defender, creating up to 500 jobs.
Treorchy
Winner, UK’s High Street of the Year
The small town of Treorchy has beaten far bigger rivals to be named high street of the year in a nationwide competition. Adrian Emmett, who runs The Lion pub in Treorchy said “It is from us pulling ourselves up by our boot straps.”
Phew.
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