The Diary: Day 1 of Gentleman’s Journal Live 2025

The second edition of our live panel talks kickstarted on Monday morning, with the glorious London weather providing an extra sheen to the lively programme

Words: Gentleman's Journal

If you build it, they will come. And on Monday 12 May, we set up shop on the ground floor of Phillips, in Berkeley Square, London, to kick-off the first half of Gentleman’s Journal Live 2025, our two-day series of panel talks and keynotes with industry leaders and pioneers and produced in partnership with electric-car marque Polestar, footwear label Allbirds, property developer Native Land, and cult winemaker Penfolds. Set to the backdrop of sunshine and natural light blazing into the gallery-like interior, our editor and host, Joseph Bullmore, took audiences on a three-stop tour that ran from morning until afternoon.

First up was a sit-down with a trio of seasoned investors – Harry Stebbings (founder of 20VC), Dinika Mahtani (partner at Cherry Ventures) and Harry Destecroix (co-founder of SCVC) – who talked us through the workings of securing start-up funding and crafting compelling pitches. Nick English (co-founder of Bremont) and Luca Faloni (founder of Luca Faloni) then followed, with both detailing the realities of creating a luxury brand from scratch. And our keynote speaker, Matthew Freud, founder and chairman of Freuds Group and perhaps the most notable figure in communications, provided an insider’s perspective on the ever-changing nature of modern PR.

In the evening, a lively coterie of friends and partners of Gentleman’s Journal – including Mathias le Fèvre, James Yates and Sheyi Cole – joined us to toast and celebrate the opening day, with a spirited mix of libations coming courtesy of Penfolds, WhistlePig and Double Dutch.