Our Team
David Solomons
Director
David Solomons, Director of Memnosyne UK, was formerly co-founder and chief executive of CultureSmart!Consulting. An independent cross cultural specialist, he has been appointed cultural consultant to a number of leading management consultancies in Europe and the US. His expertise is in delivering a uniquely holistic approach to all aspects of cross cultural orientation and international management training for corporates, public bodies, NGO’s and charitable institutions globally. Whilst living in Israel he created and ran an initiative called Numbers 2000 which delivered a one year course to 12 year olds to research their family roots, which has been a part of the Israeli curriculum for over 30 years. He has recently been appointed CEO of Loving Classroom Worldwide, an international initiative bringing Emotional Intelligence into the classroom.
Born and raised in England, David’s background is in behavioural psychology as well as training and business. Having lived, worked and run organizations in the U.S., The Middle East, Spain, France and the U.K., he is fluent in four languages. He is also trained as a psychotherapist. As one of the world’s leading experts on Cultural Intelligence, David delivers papers, lectures and speeches on cross cultural and human understanding throughout the world, and has been a regular speaker at the world renowned Conference for World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado. He was on the steering committee of a British cross-party parliamentary initiative working for the establishment of a Ministry for Peace.
He has worked for over ten years for UK Trade & Investment on all aspects of exporting and international trade. He was in addition one of the four judges of the 2011 International Trade Awards. He has also created and delivers courses on Cultural Intelligence as a visiting lecturer at a number of International Business Schools, including being on the faculty of Bologna University’s School of Political Science & International Affairs as visiting Professor. He has worked for a number of NGO’s in Bosnia Herzegovina, Poland, Lithuania and Israel/Palestine and in the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He was the official Cultural Intelligence trainer to the British Olympic Committee for the Beijing Olympics.
David is also a member of Be Earth Foundation, a UN approved IGO of 70 of the world’s top influencers working to create a planet-friendly paradigm shift in the world’s Social, Economic, Environmental, Technological and Educational environments, as well as being on the Network Distribution Team of CONNECT-U. Work In the media included co-writing and presenting the ‘Crossing Cultures’ feature in BBC World TV’s weekly travel programme ‘FastTrack’. Regularly writes columns for publications (including a monthly article in UK International Trade) and broadcasts throughout the world. He has recently published a book – ‘The ‘I’ Factor’, a simple solution to harmonious cross cultural relationships.
Baroness Sandip Verma
Trustee
Baroness Verma is a highly influential, both as an outward facing global business leader and within the numerous political positions she has held.
Since entering the House of Lords in 2006, she has held several key Ministerial appointments, in Government and opposition. Baroness Verma is adept at leading teams from the front, strong in strategy development and transformational change. She has significant experience in chairing committees both in the private and public sectors.
Baroness Verma is self-assured, confident in decision making and wise enough to build strong teams around her.
A strong and committed advocate of diversity and inclusion, she is involved in a wealth of influential initiatives to create a more inclusive working environment and society. She has led from the front specifically on gender and race discriminations, both in her political position as well as in her many roles on committees. Baroness Verma was the Prime Minister’s Ministerial global champion for tackling violence against women and girls when was a government minister.
Baroness Verma has received numerous accolades over the years, as a business leader, politician and champion on rights and access to opportunities. She doesn’t shy away from being forthright and honest but has always embraced the art of cooperative support as the most successful way to achieve results.
- Former Energy and Climate Change Minister
- Former International Development Minister
- Former Prime Minister’s Global Champion to tackle violence against women and girls.
- Former Government Whip
- Former Opposition Minister for Cabinet, Health, Education and Equalities)
- Former Chair of the European External Affairs Committee
- Member of the EU Select Committee
- Current Member of the House of Lords International Agreements Committee
- Baroness Verma is Chair of Nexus Green Ltd (international Renewable EPC)
- Director of Domiciliary Care Services Ltd (UK adult health care provider)
She co- founded Powerful Women, when as an energy minister she saw the lack of senior women in the energy sector, which has helped changed the way women are supported in the sector.
She is former Chair of UN Women UK, the national committee of UN Women the only UN organisation that focuses specifically on women and girls.
- She is Chancellor of Roehampton University.
- Chair of EMPOWER
- Founder of Global Influence Club
- Founder of Women of Influence And an advisor on a number of business bodies.
Andrew Thornton
Trustee
Andrew Thornton is an entrepreneur who has spent his whole working life in the food industry founding, amongst other ventures, the award winning supermarket Thornton’s Budgens. He is now focused on how to address the considerable challenges of the food industry as a Venture Partner at the VC Big Idea Ventures, as an advisor to several startups and as a trustee to Food Source UK.
Everything he does is focused on using innovation to disrupt the smooth and dysfunctional running of the food industry! Andrew started to become concerned about food waste when he founded Thornton’s Budgens in 2006 and was very proactive in the early days of addressing this issue.
His role at Food Source UK will help enable much needed development in this area. He is the co-author of ‘Putting the Heart back into Business’.
Dana Amma Day
Memnosyne UK Speaker Series Curator
Dana Amma Day is a media entrepreneur, PR consultant, storyteller, and community advocate whose work bridges creative innovation with social impact. She is the founder and director of Positive TV, a pioneering online media platform dedicated to sharing inspiring,
solutions-focused stories from around the world. For over 16 years, Positive TV has highlighted individuals, initiatives, and movements that uplift, educate, and empower, demonstrating Dana’s belief in the power of storytelling to shift perspectives and spark positive change.
As a highly experienced public relations consultant, Dana has managed national and international campaigns for cultural events, peace initiatives, environmental causes, and social enterprises. Her track record includes securing major media coverage, developing
sponsorship partnerships, and positioning clients as influential voices in their fields.
She is co-founder and director of Beyond Loneliness CIC, tackling youth loneliness and stigma through meaningful, real-world connection. Beyond Loneliness creates pop-up social spaces, community events, and partnerships with artists, educators, and mental health professionals, with recent initiatives supporting autistic young people through the group Awesome Autistics. Alongside her husband, Dana runs Eggman Global, a creative agency specialising in ghostwriting, filmmaking, and brand storytelling for clients worldwide. The agency blends strategic communications with high-quality content production, helping visionary leaders and
organisations bring their messages to life.
Dana is co-hosting a series of talks with David Solomon on behalf of The Memnosyne Institute UK, designed to bring people together around the Institute’s shared values of fostering dialogue, connection, and mutual understanding in the UK.
Her career spans decades of work in television, film, events, and public relations, including collaborations with world leaders, cultural icons, and grassroots movements. Dana’s mission remains constant: to use media, creativity, and collaboration to build a more compassionate,
connected, and hopeful world.
SKY ANDREW
PR & MARKETING
Sky Andrew has been assisting the Memnosyne Institute with brand & profile building for a number of years. He is a dynamic professional with almost 30 years in negotiation, marketing, and PR.
Sky has represented clients from sports, entertainment, business and charities for just under 3 decades. He is also the founder of the ‘Inspiration Awards’ for women which has been running since 2008. He has won many awards including the ‘BEA Entrepreneur of the Year’ and the ‘Barclays Bank Men of Merit’. He is a former Olympian and winner of 3 Commonwealth Gold medals, a World Cup Silver and 14 National Titles.