Tara Ruttley, newly appointed Chief Scientist, Orbital Reef, at Blue Origin and former Associate Chief Scientist at NASA, will take part in a keynote debate at the inaugural micebook Ventures.

She is among two expert panellists from the worlds of science and healthcare confirmed for the opening session at Ventures, taking place at Spaces at The Spine, in The Knowledge Quarter Liverpool on 31 August-2 September.

After a 21-year career at NASA, specialising in Low Earth Orbit platforms such as the International Space Station (ISS), Tara Ruttley has been appointed Chief Scientist for Blue Origin, the near-space exploration company owned by Jeff Bezos, Chairman of Amazon, where she will lead the development of its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) commercial space station Orbital Reef.

Blue Origin is one of four companies selected by NASA for a funded Space Act Agreement as part of NASA’s Commercial LEO Development program, which aims to shift NASA’s research and exploration activities in LEO to commercial space stations, helping stimulate a growing space economy before the aging ISS is retired.

Due to launch in second half of the decade, the Orbital Reef space station will start operating as mixed-use business park, where people can visit, live, and work. Along with its competitors, it will accelerate potential not only for high-profile space tourism but also as a Zero-g space lab, incubating human-enhancing technologies and cutting-edge research.

Another specialist joining Tara on the Ventures22 panel is Karen Brady, who leads Fundraising at the renowned Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine which will be celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2023, presenting major opportunities for events and stakeholder engagement. She is also Project Lead for HiVE (Health Innovation in a Virtual Environment) which builds virtual teams across sectors and borders to accelerate solutions for global healthcare and creates innovation capacity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

She is also Chair of Club Liverpool, the network of academics and professionals who work to help bid for valuable investment into the city region, across sport, business, tourism, conferences and major events.

Ventures Lead Chris McQue explained why these very talented seats matter at the micebook Ventures roundtable: “As this week’s IPCC report, against the barbaric backdrop of war-crimes in Ukraine has highlighted, it is more urgent than ever that the bubble-wrapped world of global meetings and events sees the need to change at pace and scale beyond net zero, towards social purpose and a net positive mindset as the fundamental reason for existing. Old capital models are cracking and our planet with them. Unless we drive collaboration between institutions, private enterprise and markets, the MICE industry that I’ve known for almost 40 years will be extinct by 2030. Way beyond the commercially defensive stance, sustainable profitability now makes better business sense than ever before”.

“At Ventures, we’re not only debating the reasons why this should head up every boardroom agenda, with high-level input from outside our industry, we’re also showing professionals from all parts of the supply chain, some of the practical options already available today and on-stream for tomorrow. We’re creating a movement of leadership minds to practically deliver live events with sustainable human purpose, that serve all stakeholders (not just shareholders) and driving good growth in the process.”

micebook Ventures aims to transform the world of business events as a force for good, and is now open for registration for courageous, change-making business leaders.

If you are an industry supplier interested in taking part in the event, get in touch now as our special early bird rates come to an end on 30 April