Speaker Profiles

Chris  Warburton has spent over 15 years in executive roles, leading transformation and delivering performance improvements in businesses in the UK, Canada and across many other markets around the world.

With a passion for new ideas, technology and process innovation, he helps teams find new ways of working to improve performance. Chris frequently speaks at events and conferences. He is always keen to look ahead of the curve, demystify and share experience with a wider audience.  For him, it is all about helping create great conversations in order to generate great solutions.

Data minded and people orientated his experience spans sectors from financial services, telecommunications and more recently in an advisory role in consultancy. He has specialist knowledge across the customer lifecycle, from Account Origination to Fraud, Account management, Collections and Recoveries. He is currently working on a series of videos exploring the latest ideas, innovation and technology in Credit and Collections.  The conversation is available at RO-AR.com.

Mel Chell is the CEO of Solaris Law and one of the UK credit and collections sector’s most recognised voices. With over 25 years’ experience in motor finance, asset‑based lending, litigation, and recoveries, she is known for combining deep technical expertise with a pragmatic, people‑centred leadership style. Mel has led major outsource recovery projects for leading motor finance lenders and previously spent over a decade as Partner and Head of ABL Recoveries at Shoosmiths, where she built and led a 70‑strong national team.

A regular speaker at Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) conferences and a Director of the Leasing Foundation, Mel is widely regarded as an industry “go‑to” specialist and a champion for skills, innovation, and inclusion across the financial services landscape. She brings clarity, energy, and a solutions‑focused perspective to every discussion.

Profile to follow soon

Richard Sharp is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Payment Assist, a leading automotive lender.

Richard has over 25 years’ experience in consumer credit, having held several executive positions across large PLC and Ltd companies, including Tandem Bank, Everyday Loans and Aro Money. An accomplished, results-driven and solution-focused professional delivering effective financial solutions, operational change and transformation with a digital and customer-first attitude.

Profile to follow…

Damon Gibbons is the founder and Chief Executive of the Centre for Responsible Credit (CfRC). With over thirty years’ experience in economic development, social justice, and designing services for disadvantaged groups, he is a leading advocate for the reform of consumer credit markets. Damon’s research and campaigning contributed to the 2015 cap on payday loans and the 2019 rent-to-own credit cap. Before founding CfRC in 2010, he was Head of Policy at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion and co-chaired the ‘Debt on our Doorstep’ campaign, which led to the adoption of responsible lending requirements in the Consumer Credit Act, 2006.

Damon has published widely on credit regulation, over-indebtedness, and financial exclusion including two books: Britain’s Personal Debt Crisis (2014) and Trust and Power in Consumer Credit Relationships (2026). He holds an MA in Public Policy (with distinction) from the University of Nottingham and is an External Associate of the University of Birmingham’s Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM).

David Large is Head of Commercial at Resolvecall, a specialist provider of customer engagement and amicable home visit services across financial services and utilities.

With nearly 20 years’ experience in the credit and collections industry, David has held a range of operational, strategic, and commercial roles across the sector, including within the Aldermore Bank group (Aldermore and MotoNovo Finance). He spent the majority of his career at Cabot Credit Management, where he led external operations strategy, overseeing third-party DCA performance across large-scale portfolios and driving improvements in governance, cost efficiency, and customer outcomes.

David now focuses on helping organisations reconnect with disengaged customers earlier in the arrears cycle, using insight-led, customer-centric approaches that support better outcomes and align with evolving regulatory expectations, including Consumer Duty.

He brings a practical, experience-led perspective to industry discussions and roundtables, focusing on the evolution of collections and the role of early, supportive engagement in preventing default and improving customer outcomes.

Lisa‑Marie Chin is a Revenues Team Leader at Southwark Council, where she leads a high‑performing team delivering customer‑focused revenue services. With 25 years of experience across council tax, business rates and income operations, her current focus is on council tax revenue debt collection, ensuring fair, effective and compliant recovery processes. Lisa-Marie works extensively with data‑driven insight to better understand borrower needs, strengthen segmentation, and shape effective recovery strategies. Using omnichannel engagement—spanning SMS, email, chat and digital portals—to improve accessibility, responsiveness and overall customer experience.

Lisa is passionate about empathetic, fair and supportive collection journeys. She brings a practical, person‑focused perspective to modern revenue recovery. On the panel, she will share insights on behavioural understanding, engagement strategies, and designing collection approaches that promote trust, clarity and improved outcomes for both residents and organisations.

Emma Winter is an experienced financial services leader with 14 years of expertise in debt sales and recoveries. As a Senior Manager, Debt Sale and Recoveries, Emma has built a strong track record of delivering commercial value through strategic portfolio management, data-driven decision making, and optimisation of end to end recoveries processes.

Emma is passionate about creating a recovery function that is not only commercially effective but fundamentally centred around delivering fair, supportive, and sustainable outcomes for customers. She consistently drives improvements in customer experience and operational efficiency, ensuring that all customers receive the right support at the right time.

Emma is committed to developing high-performing teams, strengthening partnerships, and contributing to a resilient, well-controlled, customer centric recoveries operation. Her leadership brings together empathy, insight, and strong governance to maximise net recoveries while ensuring every customer journey is handled with dignity and transparency.