Our six-strong panel of creative and business innovators are who you have to impress. With decades of experience at the forefront of their chosen fields, they know a good idea when they see one. They can also spot a non-starter from a mile off, so make sure your idea is a good one.
Mike Pickering
Mike started his musical career at the magnificent Factory Records with his band Quando Quango. When not on stage he was working as the labels A&R man signing a number of successful artists including Happy Mondays and James. Mike also became a mainstay behind the decks at the legendary Hacienda nightclub and stayed there for 11 years presiding over the dance floor and the rise of house music in the UK. He was one of the first DJ’s to pioneer this strange new music from Detroit and responsible for the first British house record "Carino" with his band TCOY. Smiley faces ensued and the nation’s youth stomped to a new sound emanating from Manchester. After Factory Mike graduated to seminal label Deconstruction Records which fired out some of the greatest dance records of the 90's.Not content with simply spotting and selling other peoples music, Mike proved he could do it himself shifting over 11 million copies with his band M People. Mike is currently back at the office on A&R duty, this time with Sony BMG. His current roster of talent includes Kasabian, The Ting Tings and Calvin Harris.
Kevin Cummins
Kevin Cummins was born within crying distance of Maine Road in Withington Hospital on 14 July 1953. A City fan, his first game at Maine Road was a 3-1 victory over Leicester on 19 August 1961. Since then he has followed City over land and sea (and Stretford) for over 48 years. Kevin has an international reputation as one of the world's leading photographers. His iconic portraits of rock musicians as diverse as Joy Division, The Smiths, Manic Street Preachers, Courtney Love and David Bowie have graced magazine covers, galleries and bedroom walls the world over and are included in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery and The V&A amongst others. He has published three critically acclaimed monographs to date, including We're Not Really Here, Manchester City's Final Season at Maine Road - which topped the best sellers lists and was nominated for the Citibank prize; photography's highest accolade.
He has lived in London since 1987 but has rarely missed a game, home or away, since moving dahn sarf. He can be found in block 223 row A seat 635 alongside daughter Ella (who has held a season ticket since she was six years old).
Mark Farrow
Mark Farrow has a highly regarded history in the graphic design world, beginning with his work in the early '80s for Factory Records, and legendary club Haçienda. His 1983 sleeve for Factory group the Stockholm Monsters marked his first appearance in the D&AD annual: a position that has repeated itself over 50 times since. The recipient of nine D&AD pencils, two Grammy nominations, 10 Music Week CAD awards, and two Art Directors Club of Europe Gold awards, "Farrow has won more awards than most of us have had hot dinners" (Graphics International).
The musical relationships developed early in Mark Farrow's career immediately placed him at the forefront of music design: a story that has long since continued. One example of this is Farrow's ongoing creative partnership with the Pet Shop Boys. This relationship now spanning over twenty years has produced some of the most iconic record sleeves of our time. The Farrow studio also have a long-standing relationship with Spiritualized, creating widely acclaimed pieces that transcend 'music packaging'; they are wholly integrated product designs. Many of these pieces are widely collectible, with people often buying two copies: one to listen to, one to covet. Mark Farrow has applied the same consideration that founded his acclaim to projects in several sectors. The approach is less an 'aesthetic' as such, and more a way of thinking. This quickly becomes evident in the Farrow studio's extensive body of work across a broad spectrum of clients, ranging from museums and galleries to pop music and retail, product designers and architects to restaurateurs and artists.
"[Farrow] work shows the refinement and sensitivity of a lace-maker. Nothing is left to chance. Every element is considered. Farrow work is near-faultless in its delicate precision and balance." Adrian Shaughnessy
It is this sensitivity that has carried Mark Farrow, and consequently the Farrow studio, from the Manchester music scene to the diverse client list they have today. Many Farrow clients become longterm collaborators. SCP, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Manic Street Preachers, Deconstruction Records, The Design Council, Kylie Minogue, Orbital, Channel Five, Levi's, Oliver Peyton, Sadie Coles HQ, The Science Museum, Wilkinson Eyre Architects: these are professionals at the pinnacle of their respective industries. This is only a fraction the studio's client list, past and present. The wide-bodied nature of this list and the resulting body of work is testament to Farrow's continual creative ambition. Farrow work has been published and exhibited internationally.
Trevor Cairns 
Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, Trevor spent his early years dividing his time between school and Windsor Park, inheriting the Linfield genes from his dad and going on to write for and edit the 'Blue for You' fanzine. Having been spotted on the BBC news invading the pitch in school uniform to 'protest' against a bad refereeing decision, during a mid afternoon Irish Cup game against Coleraine, it was time to leave the country and head 'over the water'.
Making an ill judged decision to study Accountancy and an equally ill judged one to follow Newcastle United, Trevor's first game at St James saw a 3-0 defeat to Coventry, courtesy of a David Speedie hat trick and it hasn't got any better since. Around the same time he revived his fanzine interest writing stories of away days travelling in Ford Escorts with no seats and close scrapes in the bars of Smithfield market at 6 in the morning, for 'Talk of the Toon' and 'Oh Wi Ya Knaa'.
Having knocked Accountancy on the head, he realised working for a living was going to be fairly dull unless he had an emotional engagement with the subject and so a job in football was sought. Joining Nike in 2000, the route to football was secured, heading up UK football marketing and later moving to Amsterdam to lead EMEA football marketing - and to see first hand if Ajax/Feyenoord really was comparable to Linfield/Glentoran and Newcastle/S*****land derbies.
Having sampled the cultural delights of Amsterdam for 3 years, he returned to the UK in 07 to run the Nike football business before joining Umbro in 09 as CMO. Having categorised City alongside Newcastle in the 'great support/awful team' bracket, he views the current rise with some dismay and considerable envy. Meanwhile he's getting ready to sample the delights of Scunthorpe and Blackpool away, while continuing to follow Northern Ireland across Europe in the quest for World Cup glory.
David Pullan
David Pullan has twenty years experience in the media and entertainment industries. He joined Manchester City Football Club in 2009 as Chief Marketing Officer, from Isobar, the digital network of Aegis Media, where he was President responsible for international clients including adidas, Nokia, The Walt Disney Company and Reebok. David joined Isobar from Emap plc where he was Managing Director of FHM Worldwide. Before Emap, David was Marketing Director at Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd., responsible for the rebrand as “Five” in 2002, and VP of Marketing and Digital Channels at MTV Networks, where he launched MTV Dance and MTV Hits. David spent five years at BMG Entertainment where we was Marketing Director at Deconstruction, working with artists including M People, Republica and Kylie Minogue and the Cream superclub. David started his career at the London office of management consultants McKinsey & Company. David has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a first class degree from Oxford University.
Dave Rofe
A mainstay of the Manchester Music Scence, Dave has had a varied career in the music industry. Starting out, he worked as touring crew for the likes of A Certain Ratio, Biting Tongues, Yargo, New Order and 808 State amongst others. He then decided to make the change, and run a small independent label. If that wasn't enough, he earned a pretty big name for himself as a DJ at the Haç between 91 - 97, and now, he finds himself manager of Manchester superstars Doves, and soulful troubadour Cherry Ghost.