Twenty years ago, they were students at Christ's. Now Penny Pullan (m. 1986) is hosting the first Virtual Working Summit (www.virtualworkingsummit.com) and Gareth Kane (m. 1990) is one of her team of world class experts.

From 28th June to 9th July, Penny will be interviewing a whole host of experts about working virtually. Each one has insights and practical advice to offer to all of those who can't always meet their colleagues face to face to get things done. Penny has sought out experts from around the world, each with their own focus area, from 'how to build trust remotely' to 'dealing with different cultures'.

Virtual working is in the news at the moment with volcanic ash clouds and travel disruption through strikes. In the longer term though, working remotely gives us a way to cut carbon emissions by avoiding much business travel. It's so much more sustainable than air travel!

When Penny was looking for an expert in the whole  area of sustainability, she came across a familiar name, Gareth Kane. Twenty years ago, Gareth was (in his own words) a 'spotty teenager' studying Engineering at Christ's and Penny was his supervisor, studying for her PhD with Archie Campbell. Nowadays he's morphed into a well-regarded eco-guru, with a book to his name: 'The Three Secrets of Green Business'. His interest, sparked by being Green Officer at Christ's, has now taken him to work with the EU, the NHS, Du Pont and the UK Government through his company TerraInfirma www.terrainfirma.co.uk

Penny Pullan has travelled a long way too since her days studying for her PhD in Superconductivity. Looking back, the most useful aspect of her PhD was speaking without fear. Penny says, 'If you can stand up and give a graduate seminar to a group including Nobel Prize winners, speaking in business is a doddle in comparison! ' Through her company www.makingprojectswork.co.uk, she is in demand as a consultant, author and speaker herself, although she's chosen to interview others for the Virtual Working Summit, www.virtualworkingsummit.com.

You'd be welcome to join Penny, Gareth and a whole host of others at this year's Virtual Working Summit from 28th June to 9th July. To find out more and register without charge, sign up at http://www.virtualworkingsummit.com.