Alex Payne

Alex Payne is the Group CEO of 21 Degrees, a company focused on advancing sustainable energy solutions. They previously led Big Bus Tours as Chief Executive Officer from 2016 to 2019 and also served as Chief Customer Officer there, and were Chief Executive Officer of eDesk from 2020 to 2022. They held senior roles at Microsoft (2000–2005), were Chief Marketing Officer at PokerStars (2011–2014), and served as Interim EMEA Chief Marketing Officer at eBay in 2015. From 2022 to 2024, they worked as an Independent Consultant providing advisory services to mid-market businesses and set up gofaster.ai to help clients use AI to accelerate performance, and served as a six-month launch consultant for Shupperz. Education includes pursuing a BA in Modern History at the University of Durham and an MBA at INSEAD, with MIT's Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning program completed in 2023.