Paul is the Chief Executive at Traidcraft, the UKÃs leading fair trade organisation. Traidcraft, based in Gateshead, consists of a trading company (Traidcraft plc, with an annual turnover of £16 million), and an overseas development charity (Traidcraft Exchange with an annual income of some £2.5 million). Traidcraft plc sells the widest range of fairly traded craft and food items in the UK, distributing them through its webstore, extensive network of activists and through retail and wholesale channels. Traidcraft Exchange supports producers in the developing world through projects, consultancy and campaigning activities.

Paul, aged 45, is married with three young daughters. His wife, Sarah, is a GP with a particular interest in tropical medicine. They live just south of Durham.

After graduating from St John's College, Oxford in 1983, where he studied Modern History, Paul joined Barclays Bank. Over the following nine years he held a variety of management positions in Barclays, specialising in strategic planning and retail sales and obtaining an MBA from Henley Management College. In 1992 he was appointed General Secretary of SPCK - the oldest Anglican mission agency, which runs a substantial publishing business, a chain of bookshops and an international grants programme. He joined Traidcraft in 2001.

Paul is also chair of the European Fair Trade Association, a director of the William Leech Foundation, a tutor and SCR member at St ChadÃs College in Durham University, and a governor of the Choristers School, Durham.

Other previous roles have included being a member of the Church of EnglandÃs Board of Mission, a trustee of the Church of England Pension Fund, and a trustee of the All Saints Educational Trust.

Whitni Thomas joined Triodos in May 2006 with responsibility for structuring venture capital investments in social businesses and brings a particular interest in fair trade finance. Whitni worked in investment banking at JP Morgan for six years in New York and London, structuring leveraged finance for management buy-outs. She arranged senior debt, mezzanine and high yield debt for private equity clients for over 15 transactions in wide ranging sectors such as pub chains, paper manufacturing and automotive parts.

Most recently, Whitni was Head of Access to Finance at the New Economics Foundation where she led the think tank's research and consultancy work on improving access to finance for financially excluded individuals as well as social businesses. She worked closely with Twin Trading for 18 months exploring how best to finance fair trade companies. Whitni also worked for a year in the microcredit field in Mexico.

Whitni has co-authored a number of publications including: Basic Bank Accounts: The case for a universal service obligation, Ethical Finance: Challenging the mainstream or marginal alternative? Unlocking the Potential: A guide to finance for social enterprises and wrote a chapter on Finance for Fair Trade for the book Fair Trade. She has served on the board of the European Microfinance Network and the steering group for the Campaign for Community Banking Services. Whitni is a dual national of Britain and the US and lives in London.

Click here to view the text of Whitni's Conference Power Point Presentation