Meet the Team
Summit Overalls
The Coordinators take overall command of the Summit with influence over every aspect of its planning and implementation. The pair are the main outlet for innovation each year and as the representatives of the Summit they meet with key partners to discuss the aims and logistics of the weekend. On the weekend itself, the Coordinators will be responsible for the general image of the Summit and the organisation of the summit's extensive team. They will also be on hand to answer any questions from delegates, speakers and sponsors.
David Sangojinmi
David is a third year Computer Science student who has been at WES since he started at Warwick. Joining in his first year as a member of the Tech team, his contribution and love for WES has only grown. Since a young age, he's had a keen interest in anything tech related and loves to test his skills in different projects. He is also an avid gym goer *still* trying to deadlift 3x his bodyweight. His focus will be on increasing the WES name and brand globally this year, and improving the experience for in-person and online delegates. Making this first hybrid edition of the summit one not to be missed.
Ryan Yap
Ryan is a third-year Economics student who joined the WES team in his first year. With a keen interest in geopolitical and economic news, he is excited about what WES2023 will cover in terms of discussing the most pressing global issues. His detailed planning ensures that WES will be able to maintain our high standards, and he is looking forward to working towards making our first-ever hybrid approach to the Summit. In his spare time, you could find him playing (and struggling in) Football Manager or watching a wide range of action movies. He also enjoys watching and playing sports, particularly the NBA, where he wonders every day when the Dallas Mavericks will win the Championship again.
Talks Team
The Talks Team is an integral part of WES. It is responsible for assembling the speaker lineup as well as guiding the Summit’s key themes and discussions. From Nobel laureates to sitting heads of state, the team has a strong record in welcoming some of the world's most distinguished public figures. In addition, Talks handles speaker logistics and panel formats, working closely with the other teams to ensure each edition of the Summit is a success. Prior to the Summit, the team delivers a range of additional events such as one-to-one interviews, and standalone keynote speeches in its WES Presents series. Nonetheless, its unwavering focus is to ensure WES 2022 boasts the Summit’s most diverse, engaging and world-renowned lineup to date.
Nathan Collins
Nathan is a second year EPAIS student who was a talks team member last year. Being from Bournemouth, he's always wishing he's at the beach and not in the midlands where its always raining and cold. However, he loves exploring campus and finding new hidden spots. He's a keen cricketer and front man for WES United, who effortlessly beat TedX in last year's derby. He loves POP and you will see him there most weeks, for better or worse. Most of all he's committed to building WES' best ever line up of speakers, working with Samin, Ieva and the rest of the team and to have an amazing summit!
Ieva Varanauskaite
Ieva is a second year Economics student, which may come as a surprise given how abstractly mathematical she's tailored her degree to be. You will recognise her as being very willing to talk extensively on the previous years summit speakers, and how excellent past Talks members have been in creating memorable summits! She can't wait to curate an exceptional line-up with Samin and Nathan. When not evangelising the greatness of WES, she can be found hiking mountains, archiving books and debating. She spends a bit too much time drinking coffee, but in her opinion not enough- always feel free to reach out and chat over a nice cold brew!
Samin Sabah Islam
Samin is a second year Economics student from Bangladesh who just cannot get used to the British weather. She was enticed to join the Talks Team last year after hearing about an actual princess (!!!) speaking at WES. This year as coordinator, she is determined to deliver the greatest WES line-up along with her dream team. When she's not obsessively checking the talks email for updates, you can find her stocking up her TBR pile or obsessing over peaky blinders.
Operations Team
The Operations Team is responsible for handling the logistics and operations throughout the year and for the Summit weekend itself. It is the team at the Warwick Economics Summit that manages and organises the Summit activity. The team is responsible for taking care of all of the background activities that keep the Summit running efficiently behind the scenes and ensuring that the delegates of the Summit ultimately receive the highest quality of experience at the University of Warwick. They also oversee the purchase of merchandise in a cost-efficient way and ensure that the weekend operations run smoothly. The Operations team works closely with other teams to bring our marketing strategy to life and maintain a physical presence on campus and beyond.
Alexandra Ene
Alex is a 3rd-year Economics student who joined WES last year, in the Operations team. The One Where Alex Applies to WES is a memorable episode in her lifetime, starting with her co-mentor, Ryan, informing their mentees of the opportunity to be team members. And that was the moment she knew! Presently, she is thrilled to be leading the Operations team, alongside Shu and Jan. If you see Alex on campus, she would probably be holding her purple Keep cup, a sign of her profound passion for coffee. She loves teckels (sausage dogs), her lovely black cat, Masha (that’s why seeing Rolf is always an emotional experience) and communicating through funny GIFS. In her free time, she feels sorry for Meg Griffin and truly believes that whether they were or were not on a break, both parties were at fault. Her aspiration this year is to be able to host a talk show with Jan and Shu and have spontaneous karaoke sessions. Finally, she wants to assure you that WES this year will be legend… wait for it… dary and hopes you will join us in the experience!
Jan Stebnicki
Jan is a second-year Civil Engineering student from Poland. Discovering WES just because he entered the wrong room during freshers week, he joined us as an ERH team member in his first year. His hobbies include playing tennis, reading books and going on trips with his friends. If he is not busy preparing for countless experiments in his degree, you can be sure he is endlessly scrolling through Twitter to find the newest political news or socialising in the Rootes learning grid. Although he is an FC Barcelona supporter (which he talks about all the time), you can chat with him about any sport, and he will still try to convince you he is an expert. As the self-proclaimed most sociable exec in WES, he is constantly ready to meet new people and start debates with them. In his own words, his main goal for WES Operations this year is to "Make Ops Legendary Again''.
Shuyu Lim
Meet Shuyu (or as people more affectionally call her, Shu), a second-year PPE student from Singapore. She joined WES last year as an Operations Team Member and could not get enough of the experience! This year, she is thrilled to be an Operations Coordinator, alongside her favourite team members. She hopes to make virtual and physical aspects of WES2023 as seamless as possible and support the whole event the way Operations Team would! In her spare time, you can catch her dancing or cooking. She is extremely excited for the WESTour, WES Ball and most importantly, WES 2023 itself!
Technology Team
The Tech Team is responsible for the maintenance of the Warwick Economics Summit website and all the technical aspects that the Summit requires throughout the year. Due to its hybrid nature, WES 2023 promises to be a very exciting and equally challenging summit for the team. For the in-person summit, the team is focusing on delivering an app and installing event equipment to make the event as smooth as possible. The team is also working on creating a virtual platform for the event to be streamed on so virtual attendees do not miss out.
Torben Berndt
Torben is a third-year Mathematics student from Germany who joined WES in his second year as a member of the Tech Team. Following the massive success of WES 2022, he, together with the other Tech Coords, aims to make the first hybrid edition of WES an even better experience. Apart from looking to improve the general current technical capabilities, he is mainly involved in developing a mobile application to guide attendees and delegates during the summit. Outside of WES, if he is not hanging on for dear life trying to stay up to date with his coursework, you can find him playing badminton or going for a run. From time to time, he also dabbles in chess, realising soon enough that it is too late to become a child prodigy.
Marcus Lew
Marcus is a second year Psychology student who was a technology team member as part of WES 2022, he just could not get enough. Among the roles within tech team, he takes specialty in designing the front face of WES to be up to scratch with the current trends of websites - making sure they are as attractive as possible. When Marcus is not working on WES on the rare occasion, you can find him stumbling on the most simple of python codes, in a gym almost breaking his spine or cooking a mean Chinese cuisine - Marcus is more than happy to listen to your stressful uni-life or whatever is in mind and will make sure you come out feeling better (even if it is just by a little bit)!
Sponsors & Partners Team
The Sponsorships and Partnerships team (S&P team) is tasked with delivering the budget required to finance the summit and further events. The team works closely with university departments, corporate sponsors and IGO’s such as the European Parliament to form relationships that benefit WES attendees. Throughout the academic year, the S&P team organises career events with their sponsors and partners and promotes graduate and undergraduate opportunities. During the summit, it hosts panel discussions featuring representatives from corporations and moderated by S&P team members. Internally, the team is responsible for managing the budget, controlling budget spending, and making the most out of one of the largest budgets on campus.
Samuel Hummel
Samuel is a second-year Economics student who, just like his fellow coordinators, joined WES last year as an S&P team member. He comes from the US and Germany, and, though he likes to believe he has more calls with firms than with his friends, he is unparalleled as the social butterfly of WES. You can always count on him to be dressed in the utmost style and for a friendly chat anytime. When he is not dwelling on last season's NBA Finals outcome, he is travelling across the world, keeping S&P's operations running smoothly and attending various society events on a whim. He is a student faced constantly with the difficult decision of whether to watch a lecture or hit the gym, but inevitably chooses to work on WES instead. Most importantly, his relaxed demeanour and impressive work ethic makes him a crucial member of S&P and WES. If you ever see him, wish the Washington Wizards a great season and safe travels on his next journey across the globe.
Hibah Khan
Hibah is a second-year Economics student who joined S&P last year as an S&P team member. She comes from the rolling hills of Surrey and Pakistan and enjoys getting to know people from other countries and cultures. During freshers week in year 1, Hibah got sucked into the world of WES, maybe due to her passion for list-making and using spreadsheets. As soon as you mention WES, she won’t stop speaking about her ideas and ambitions for the society. But don’t worry, Hibah’s passions exceed Microsoft Excel and Gmail. Her love for football makes her exited for the World Cup and the Euros. She dreams to see Messi play one day and experience his phenomenal talent. However, some of us argue that she might be too polite to be standing in a packed stadium. Whatever Hibah does, she tries to exceed expectations and is committed to making WES 2023 the ultimate success, and unlike Prajay, Hibah sustains that energy without the excessive consumption of candy.
Prajay Surana
Prajay is a third-year Law and Business student who joined WES last year as an S&P team member. He has a knack for unfunny puns and can turn a team meeting into a stand-up comedy show. Born in Dubai, Prajay is a golf and tennis enthusiast who will forever be a devoted fan of Federer of whom he proudly has a selfie of. His interest in politics and public markets makes him come up with many new ideas for WES events and topics. You can count on him to be more up to date on financial topics than some news channels out there. When he is not working for WES, do not be surprised to find out that he is at his part-time job at a firm while simultaneously studying for three exams. We’re convinced that Prajay’s time must run slower than ours. Let’s not forget to mention his addiction to TicTacs and Sminths, which he will gladly consume in unhealthy amounts.
Marketing Team
The Marketing Team shapes the face of WES. Through social media, piazza stalls and podcast, Marketing aims to reach those interested in joining the debate. It is a close collaborator with all teams to show what WES' talks, events, sponsors, blogs and more, is really about. More importantly, Marketing is keen to find new ways to grow WES' audience, as it reaches its 21st year. On a practical level, the Marketing team is sustained by a mix of Canva, Photoshop, After Effects and Final Cut Pro, and the organised chaos of post schedules.
Charlie Atkins
Charlie is a second-year Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (EPP) student who joined WES last year as a marketing team member. After loving expanding WES to our largest audience to date, he is excited to continue growing the WES brand globally. Charlie enjoys working with different people and always tries to bring a positive attitude. When not making the next Instagram post or editing videos, you can probably find him in the Pret queue (fuelling his mild coffee addiction) or attempting to find a table in FAB.
Shamma Doshi
Shamma is a second-year Economics student from Kenya, who recently joined WES as a Marketing Co-ordinator. She is thrilled to be working with the rest of the talented team to elevate the WES experience to the best of her abilities. When she is not designing our social media posts, you can find her booking the next flight back to paradise; trying to escape the unpredictable UK weather!
Carmen Marcilio
Carmen is a second-year Economics student from Brazil that joined WES this year as one of the Marketing Coordinators. Looking to meet interesting and smart people, and to be part of something meaningful, she decided to join WES after being impressed and inspired by the success of the 2022 summit. Still, she is positive that the 2023 team can take #WES2023 to another level and make it the conference with most attendees ever! She is always down for some good food, going out, going to the gym (when she's not making up excuses), and obviously, creating new designs with the Marketing team. Carmen is very sociable and outgoing, so if you see her, do say hi!
External Relations & Hospitality Team
The team’s primary responsibility is to promote the WES brand across the globe through outreach to students outside Warwick to create the most diverse edition of WES yet. The Summit attracts students from top universities across the world, from USA to China, and hosted over 1000 delegates from 50 different countries last year. Prior to the Summit, the team recruits Ambassadors and Representatives, fosters networking opportunities, and works collaboratively with other teams to implement schemes that delegates can engage with. During the Summit, the team manages the logistics of external delegations and ensures they have a smooth and memorable Summit experience.
Anthony Pak
Anthony is a second year Economics student from Hong Kong who joined WES in his first year as an ERH team member. Having cried for hours after WES2022 ended, he found no choice but to return as a coordinator this year. There has been rumours that his 5 iced caramel lattes a day in first year has introduced him to the fantastic experience of caffeine overdose. And do not panic if you don’t hear from him in the morning - it is more likely to get a text from him at 1am than 10am. When he is not obsessed with sending emails and updates for WES, you would most likely find him wandering around campus looking for a charging spot for his poor old laptop. Spending way too much time watching YouTube and Asian variety shows, his latest dream is to see Victor Wembanyama and Chet Hologram dominate the NBA together in 5 years. Outside of singing, European languages and haircuts, Anthony is very nice, will always be down for a good chat or night out, and cannot wait to lead the ERH team with João and Zosia to reach new heights!
Zosia Swiatek
Zosia started studying PPE back in 2019, so she had the pleasure of attending WES in person before the pandemic broke out - with WES ball being one of her fresher’s year highlights! Now back from her year abroad and starting the final year at Warwick, she joined the ERH team to help bring delegates to our conference. Also, Zosia’s twin sister Mary (who’s also studying PPE at Warwick) was an ERH team member organising WES2020, so it’s basically a family thing by now. Actually, sometimes people confuse Zosia and Mary, so if you wave to Zosia and she doesn’t recognize you, it probably wasn’t Zosia you were waving to - Zosia is usually very friendly, we promise. In her free time, Zosia loves going on long walks (especially with friends, so feel free to join), read fiction books, do random sports (in her first term she persuaded three people to get the Warwick gym membership, but sadly failed to go often herself), and talk to new people. She hopes to talk to you at WES2023!
João Vilaça
João is a second-year economics student who also first joined Wes as an ERH team member. After spending the better part of the first year dissing his home country Portugal in pro of the rest of the world, he's come halfway around on it just in time to go mad again at the World Cup. He can be energetic, inclusively in the mornings when oscillating between being the central organizing force within the team or outright chaotic. Hence, he is Anthony's kryptonite, a pro of all things early except British dinner because, honestly, who eats dinner at 6pm? Around campus, you'll often see him pretending to work while actually planning out his next trip on his iPad and daydreaming of returning to his beloved Vietnam. He can't wait to make WES2023 even more diverse and meet new people.
Press & Communications Team
Communication is an essential part of WES. At the Press and Communications team, we ensure that important conversations and events - both behind the scenes and during the Summit - are portrayed effectively and widely across a breadth of media channels. By working with journalists and initiating partnerships - with both student-run and industry-leading media organisations, on a local, national and international level - we cultivate the face of the conference. Our work ranges from summarising talks, to interviewing prominent guests, to producing articles that promote debate and broaden horizons. While our schedule is predictably hectic during the Summit weekend, we are busy all year looking for exciting opportunities to cooperate and spread the word about WES! Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the #pressteambestteam at presscoordinator@warwickeconomicssummit.com
Lancelot Wilson
Lancelot is a second year PPE student and has been a part of WES since he started at Warwick. Outside WES, he can be found in four locations:
1) His natural habitat - curled up on the sofa, nose deep in Iain M. Banks or other science fiction,
2) Jogging through the fields around Leamington in the rain,
3) In T-Bar telling everyone how amazing Albania is,
4) Anywhere where there is Free Food.
He grew up in Oxfordshire, Israel and Bangladesh. His self-discipline and gung-ho attitude to work maintains the steady put-through of product in the P&C team. This year, he is looking forward to starting WESTalks as well as pushing WESBlog to new, competitive heights.
Joshua Li
Joshua is a third year Economics student from Hong Kong who, as of this year, has been a part of WES throughout his entire time at Warwick. His goal as a Press and Communications coordinator is to elevate WES's press strategy, and spearhead outreach to a broader audience. When he's not sending emails, you can find him on the badminton courts or at the gym in weird hours (who even goes at 2 in the afternoon??). You can also find him engrossed in the latest best selling novel, curating songs on Spotify for his alternative/R&B playlist, learning Spanish online or losing games in Valorant. He has thoroughly enjoyed his time at WES, and will do everything he can to put on one more great summit before his graduation.
Socials Event Team
The main goal of the Socials & Alumni Engagement Team is to help create a strong bond between team members, which is more crucial than ever after the virtual nature of the conference last year. We aim to create socials and challenges to engage all members during the year, encouraging bonding across all teams. Highlights include the WES Tour, where we aim to improve the team dynamic and build connections between members. Another is the WES Ball, where we strive to make the event an unforgettable one. We are also responsible for managing the diverse network of WES alumni, keeping them up-to-date on current WES events.
Tiffany Tam
Tiffany is a second-year Law and Business student. As a true enthusiast for planning socials and building team bonds, she joined WES this year as a Socials Coordinator. Tiffany has a special connection with food and loves anything sweet (like you). She eats chocolate every day and sometimes ice cream for breakfast. When she’s not busy planning WES socials, you can find her scrolling through food blogs or learning how to ride her bike (which is taking forever). Her grandmother handed her a bike with training wheels at age 5 — this cultivated her love of cycling, but that is why she never succeeded in riding an adult bike. Nevertheless, she is determined to make the best socials on earth for WES2023!
Prash Parmar
Prash joined WES 2 years ago as an Operations team member, as an Operations coordinator and now, a Socials coordinator! In his spare time, he has such fun cooking, baking (pancakes) and playing Tennis. The typical philosophy student, you’ll find him watching TV whenever he can, from competition shows to trash TV. Being a sarcastic and witty person, sometimes having no filter, he is always up for a good social (or feedback form), to have a laugh and hang out with friends. If there’s gin or any food, he’ll already be there! He’s easy to spot, as he wears shorts for the majority of the year, even in winter, but, should he be wearing any more clothes?!?