Very good format, very relaxed way of doing business and sharing know how and experience.
Ignacio Ruiz de Eguilaz – Chief Operating Officer UK&I
Seidor UK&I
More Testimonials
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Conference
The process of creating the conference programme is based upon a dialogue with the people who know best.
Delegates tell us what subjects they would like covered and, assuming there is sufficient demand, we cover them.
Delegates review our proposals and, where necessary, help us to improve them.
Delegates help us to select the right speakers for each subject. We use only acknowledged experts as speakers and moderators.
Contact us if you would like to contribute to the programme, either with ideas for content or as a speaker.
Read the post event review for our 2009 event.
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Opening Keynote Address 2010
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| Challenging Champions |
| Sir Clive Woodward |
Sir Clive is renowned throughout the world of sport for his almost obsessive quest for perfect preparation and attention to detail. When building a high performance team, he applies the same mantra to each and every person, no matter their role.
The quest for building the perfect team starts with the individual, assessing his or her needs so as to identify how they can become the best they can possibly be. The next step then challenges people to seize the opportunity to become great, creating an element of competition spurring on team members to excel and surpass expectations.
In this keynote presentation Sir Clive will share “key measurables”; vital characteristics that an individual needs to attain in order to succeed at the highest level, whether it be in sport or in business.
All of Sir Clive’s methodology is underpinned by the knowledge that talent alone is not enough, it is how you develop the necessary skills to succeed at the highest level that sets even the most talented apart.
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Keynote Address - Thursday Lunchtime
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| An assessment of the UK economy nearly six months into a new government |
| Dennis Turner, Chief Economist of HSBC |
Join Dennis Turner, Chief Economist at HSBC, as he explores the key questions around our new government: Has it got its priorities right, are its growth projections realistic, is there a real risk of a 'double dip' recession, will the fiscal mess be sorted by Chancellor's Osborne's policies and what are the key risks over the next 12-18 months?
Dennis Turner is the Chief Economist of HSBC. His role involves advising lending bankers on economic trends not only at national level, but also on industries and regions.
Before going into the City in 1978, he worked for four years in Whitehall, for the National Economic Development Office. This was during the Labour government’s Industrial Strategy Initiative, which was an attempt to improve the performance of the UK’s manufacturing sector.
His first job on leaving university (Swansea and University College, London) was as an economist for a national trade union. Here he was responsible for the preparation of pay claims, arbitration cases and the union’s submission to various statutory bodies set up under Edward Heath’s Industrial Relations Act.
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The nano-public sector
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| Industry Focussed Session |
| Andrea Sutcliffe, CEO, Appointments Commission |
Andrea joined the Appointments Commission in 2007, bringing a wealth of experience from over 20 years in the health service and local government. Andrea’s career has focussed on general and performance management, notably in community and acute services for older people, women and children, neurosciences, and Social Services within the London Borough of Camden. Prior to joining the Commission, Andrea held the role of Deputy Chief Executive and Planning and Resource Director within the National Institute for Health and Clinical excellence.
Further information on the session to follow shortly. |
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Setting standards for carbon reduction
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| Industry Focussed Session |
| Keith Horgan, Partnership Development Manager, Carbon Trust |
With over a quarter of UK businesses saying that they have already felt the impact of climate change and a significant increase in environmental regulation and proposed carbon taxes, emissions reduction is one of the top strategic issues facing boardrooms today. Increasingly businesses need to demonstrate their environmental credentials as they face supply-chain pressure from customers, investors and stakeholders to measure and manage their carbon footprint.
If you have any questions about the carbon reduction legislation, how, if and when it affects your company and what to do about it, this is a must attend session. Keith Horgan of the Carbon Trust will provide delegates with a short update on the latest and key developments affecting UK businesses before giving the audience the opportunity to ask questions.
In 2006, Keith joined the Carbon Trust as the Sector Leader for Manufacturing and Utilities where he helped major clients reduce their costs and carbon emissions through pioneering carbon management programs. More recently, as Partnership Development Manager for the Carbon Trust, Keith is responsible for relations with a wide range of industry representatives and seeks to encourage company and sector-wide action through Low Carbon Collaboration initiatives and assignments.
Prior to the Carbon Trust, Keith’s career spanned a long and successful period of employment with major IT companies including DEC, Compaq, Hewlett Packard and Unisys with roles migrating from Operations Management to Consulting and Corporate Account Management. This enabled him to evolve to become an experienced professional with a proven track record in developing strong client relationships and developing business in a wide range of vertical markets and industrial sectors.
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Accessing Finance
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| Industry Focussed Session |
| Dominic Broom, Managing Director (Treasury Services Market Development EMEA), The Bank of New York Mellon |
Dominic Broom is Managing Director (Treasury Services Market Development EMEA) at The Bank of New York Mellon. He has been with the company for almost 4 years. Past positions have included Corporate Director, Global Trade Services at ABN AMRO Bank and Director, European Equipment Finance at GE Capital.
Dominic has also worked for Standard Chartered Bank and The Chase Manhatten Bnak. He has a degree in international law from the Queen Mary, University of London.
Further information on the session to follow shortly. |
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Durable business models, remaining competitive and fostering innovation
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| Industry Focussed Session |
| Siva Shankar, Corporate Finance Director, SEGRO plc |
Durability and remaining competitive are two sides of a spinning coin, a coin which is dependent on adaptation and innovation to maintain momentum in a rapidly evolving environment. Durability is not just about steps taken to strengthen operations, finances, people and leadership, but also about reinforcing the durability of customers and suppliers, and maintaining durable support from investors. This is a case study of a business which set and maintained durable foundations before the crisis, adapted and maintained strategic clarity in a rapidly evolving environment, and reaped the benefits of long term transparent partnerships with customers, suppliers and investors to emerge, strengthened by the crisis, as the European leader in its sector.
Siva has been with SEGRO plc for four years, and is currently their Director of Corporate Finance. He works closely with the executive directors and is responsible for M&A, capital market transactions, strategic planning, and investor relations. Prior to this, Siva was the Finance Director of SEGRO's UK division.
Siva graduated with a BA honours in Economics from Cambridge and qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in 1996. He joined Blue Circle Plc in 1997 where he was appointed regional financial controller for the European operations, and then for their South East Asian operations. Following the takeover of Blue Circle plc by Lafarge in 2001, Siva was appointed VP strategy at Lafarge. Following three years in that role at the group’s Paris head office, he was appointed to a general management role involving business performance improvement and restructuring.
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Cash flow and working capital management
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| Industry focussed interactive workshop |
| Caroline Wilce, Finance Director, Sanguine Hospitality Management Company Limited and Paul Marsland, Finance Director, Lane Clark & Peacock LLP |
Caroline Wilce:
Caroline Wilce is the Finance Director at Sanguine Hospitality Ltd. Her previous roles have included: Hotels Finance Director at Macdonald Hotels and Business Control Manager at Forte Hotels. Caroline has a BA in Hospitality Management, Marketing, Finance, HR and IT and she is the President of the Sheffield Members Network of ACCA.
Paul Marsland:
Paul Marsland qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant having graduated in Mathematics from Cambridge University. He has also recently finished studying for an MBA at Cranfield University.
Paul joined Lane Clark & Peacock LLP in 2008 as Finance Director after spending 20 years working for IBM in a variety of finance, marketing, operations and software development management roles, including time in the US HQ.
Further information on the session to follow shortly. |
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Pensions: the FD's Story
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| Industry Focussed Session |
| John Buckley, Director FD Services, Buckley Young Associates Ltd |
John Buckley was a Group Pension Trustee of defined benefit pension schemes in listed companies for many years. He learnt the hard way that actuaries,trustees, the company and its shareholders, the regulator, and the members of the scheme each have their own agendas. It falls to the Group FD to provide leadership and to resolve conflict by finding solutions that work for all stakeholders as well as the Company itself. In this workshop Buckley shares his experience of resolving the potentially terminal threat posed to a quoted company of a substantial pension deficit.
John Buckley recently retired after more than 25 years as Group FD of listed companies, initially in the food industry and latterly with a supplier of advanced niche products to international sports and leisure brands. In 2006 he formed Buckley Young Associates, a consultancy through which he provides non-executive and FD services to both private and public sector organisations.
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The role of the FD in terms of cost reduction approaches
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| Discussion Group |
| Arif Kamal, Group Finance Director, GL Hearn and Les Warren, Director of Finance & Resources, Tower Hamlets Homes |
The discussion group will look at the following points:
• Should cost reduction be part of the business strategy on a regular basis and not just at times of economic hardship?
• How can FDs influence this strategy - what should be the role of non-finance employees?
• How have businesses cut costs and still delivered the same level of service? Lean office techniques / systems?
• Reduced people based costs – what has been successful / unsuccessful?
• Does outsourcing really cut costs? Experiences?
• How do you ensure customer relationships are not damaged through cost reduction? Experiences?
Arif Kamal:
After qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), Arif worked in general practice and for an international firm of chartered architects before joining GL Hearn in May 1997. In June 2003 he was invited to join the Main Board of GL Hearn as the Group Finance Director. Arif’s role has progressed to a more strategic one, working closely with the Group Managing Director.
Arif was instrumental in the incorporation of the Group from a partnership in 1999.
He is a NED on the Board of NHS Harrow and holds an Executive MBA from the Cass Business School.
Arif also played a very active role in the introduction and establishment of the web based GL Hearn flexi-benefits scheme and review and monitoring of the Group Personal Pension Plans.
Arif has applied value for money techniques where possible, he has established efficient accounting systems including those for staff expenses and Group purchase order processing.
Les Warren:
Les started his career with Deloitte. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant he then moved into industry working for one of his former audit clients - a publicly listed property and housebuilding company. After a short spell working abroad, he moved back to London and took up a consultancy role in the social housing sector. He worked as Head of Finance and Interim Director of Resources for a number of businesses in that sector over the last eight years. In his current role as Director of Finance & Resources for Tower Hamlets Homes, Les is responsible for finance, ICT, procurement and governance. He also holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business of the University of Cape Town. |
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The nano-public sector - how will spending cuts affect your organisation?
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| Discussion Group |
| Discussion Group Facilitators - Iain Crossley, Director of Finance, Economic & Market Development, NHS Western Cheshire, Nigel J Hiller, Director of Finance, South Yorkshire Police and Karen Kelly, Head of Financial Services, City of Edinburgh Council |
Spending cuts on the public sector will not only have an effect on service delivery but also a dramatic impact on the private sector.
After all it is mainly private sector companies which provide IT / support systems, technical and office equipment for public sector bodies, to name just a few examples.
Attend this discussion group to hear the views and opinion share with your peers on both sides of the equation.
Discussion points include:
• Cuts and their effect on public service delivery – public need vs. want.
• Strategies to reduce costs when demand for services is rising.
• Ripple effect of these cuts on the private sector.
• Working in partnership with the private sector to develop and deliver public services.
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The requirements of a modern FD
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| Discussion Group |
| Discussion Group Facilitator, Ken Sutherland, Director of Finance & Internal Services, National Farmers Union |
This discussion group will allow FDs the chance to share their views with their peers on the requirements for a modern FD including:
- are we equipped?
- key personal qualities
- essential skills sets
- traditional views v. modern ideals?
- the current business environment?
- qualifications vs. / & / or experience?
Ken was born and raised on a raspberry farm in Perthshire before gaining a degree in History from the University of Edinburgh. After moving to London he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988.
Since then he has held senior financial posts in several commercial sectors, including leasing and television. Most recently he spent five years at board level in international food distribution, travelling regularly to Europe and the USA.
He joined the NFU on New Year's Day 2002 as Director of Finance & Central Services and is responsible for finance, IT, corporate taxation, HR, property and investments.
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Marketing and finance: meet the hot new power couple
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| Discussion Group |
| Discussion Group Facilitator: Richard Young, Freelance writer and editor |
In this age of austerity, marketing is all about metrics – from social media impact and click-throughs to brand indices and lead conversion rates. At the same time, the modern finance director looks beyond simple cost and budgets to take a more holistic view of value creation.
Does that mean a new rapprochement between marketing and finance? Can they share tools and techniques to enhance each others’ performance? Is “Finketing” the business version of “Brangelina”?
This discussion group between FDs and marketing directors will:
- Share the metrics and approaches that really work for both disciplines.
- Discover the best ways of communicating their department’s priorities.
- Find out how “the other side” is adapting to the post-recession environment.
- Discuss the best ways to deploy technology for better returns from marketing.
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Built for Greatness
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Jim Rees Author, Ultra Cyclist & Director Ripple Leadership |
Having completed 3 consecutive solo finishes in what is considered to be one of the toughest races on the planet - The Race Across America in 2007, 2008 & 2009 and going faster each year, Jim Rees has a deep understanding of what it takes to push beyond what most people think is possible. Cycling just over 3,000 miles from the West coast to the East coast of America non stop. Battling against sand storms, the extreme temperatures of the desert and the freezing conditions of the mountain passes of the Rockies whilst dealing with hallucinations due to sleep depravation, Jim knows about mindset. He also knows what a team needs, to be able to perform at their best and to be able to sustain that performance.
When things are going swimmingly well, itʼs fairly easy to get the best performance from your staff. The challenge for most businesses is that the environment has changed. Now itʼs more about how you and your team handle that change which will in turn determine your success. Your ability to respond to the unexpected curve balls and remain calm under pressure is one of the core components that world class athletes use to achieve consistent results. Using a blend of sports psychology and proven leadership strategies, Jim will stretch your thinking about what is possible leaving you feeling more engaged and energised to achieve your goals.
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Being the best - lessons from the front line
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Neil Jurd, Independent Leadership Consultant |
The battlefield is a terrifying environment, where enemy action adds danger and complexity to the simplest of tasks; mortars land in dining areas, resupply convoys are ambushed, surgeons operate from tents. How do officers plan complex operations when they are themselves scared and exhausted, and what inspires young soldiers, in many cases products of the hoody generation, to risk their lives again and again in pursuit of higher objectives? Do you have this level of loyalty in your own organisation? Would you like to? In this presentation former Gurkha Officer and Sandhurst leadership instructor Neil Jurd explains how the army succeeds where others fear to tread, and drawing on his experience as Head of Logistics with British Sugar, explains how battlefield loyalty and efficiency can be applied in the workplace improving morale and increasing output.
Neil Jurd has an MA from the Cranfield School of Management and has studied Strategic Leadership at Manchester Business School. He is a graduate of the British Army Staff College and a former Sandhurst instructor. During two years at Sandhurst, he trained and mentored several hundred graduate officers to prepare them for their first command appointments. In 2007 he led 200 Gurkha logisticians, running the supply-chain for 10,000 troops in Basra, Iraq. During this tour, Neil was injured by enemy fire, but continued in command of his unit. He has also trained foreign special forces in counter-terrorist operations and served in Sierra Leone during their civil war. During his army career of 17 years, which culminated in his selection for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, Neil has led mountain and jungle expeditions to Pakistan, South Africa and Belize.
Neil left his role as Head of Logistics for British Sugar in early 2010. Neil is now forging a career as an independent management and leadership consultant where he can apply his extensive experience in the commercial sector, the theatre of war and as an expedition leader.
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Vapour trails: what’s the smallest thing you can do right now that will have the greatest positive impact?
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Clive Gott, Inspirational Humorist |
Vapour trails is a down to earth sometimes serious, and sometimes downright funny presentation about how by taking small achievable steps, you can achieve extraordinary things in your life and more importantly leave a message for others to follow.
Clive will introduce you to immediately applicable skills and techniques that you can use to grow, and maintain, a positive winning outlook in your business and personal life by repeatedly asking yourself “What’s the smallest thing I can do right now that will have the greatest positive impact?”
Clive, often described as the highlight of the day, combines the perfect mix of inspirational stories linked with personal achievements, backed up with a memorable spread of humour to really hit the button for so many people.
Clive’s style of speaking is not gentle. He is not renowned for telling people what they want to hear just so that they will like him. He speaks HIS TRUTH with conviction and passion. He has been described as “Quite simply one of the funniest, most inspirational and authentic speakers I have ever heard” What qualifies Clive to be an inspiration speaker is the fact is that he has been there and done it, his stories and examples are for the most part experiential. Clive’s physical achievements include completing five Ironman triathlons, summiting Kilimanjaro (5800) and Aconcagua (6962) and completing the Marathon Des Sables, reputedly the hardest footrace in the world, all after he had lost ninety six pounds in weight. Personally Clive’s achievements are no less impressive. Obesity, depression and divorce are just some of the challenges he has overcome whilst growing a successful International speaking and training business. |
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Winning hearts & minds: master the power of storytelling to make yourself less remote and engage, persuade & inspire
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Roger Edward Jones, Corporate Storyteller & Executive Coach |
The art of storytelling is something few business people employ to best effect. Too often they use logic alone to try to persuade others’ and rarely succeed. Others’ struggle to have the impact they deserve due to their lack of personal presence.
In this session you will learn the key techniques that storytellers have used for centuries to effortlessly engage, enthuse and motivate others.
You will gain valuable insights into how to:
• Confidently influence others.
• Lead with passion and clarity.
• Bring logic to life.
• Deliver authentic and engaging communication with impact.
• Increase your personal presence.
• Become more authentic.
• Effectively motivate others into action.
• Bring your communications to life and become less remote.
We will explore effective ways to tell stories and the types of stories to use in business, how to structure stories, when to use stories to embed your key messages and how to bring them to life using key senses.
This session is designed for leaders who want to become more inspirational and encourage their organisations to achieve their goals by engaging hearts & minds.
Roger Edward Jones specialises in guiding his clients to become more inspirational as leaders, and so enabling them to unlock the potential of their organisation. He achieves this by delivering pragmatic and entertaining seminars, speeches and coaching programmes across Europe, Asia, Australasia, and the USA. Roger’s clients include many Fortune 500 multinational firms, medium sized companies and family businesses. His work has been featured in the Financial Times and on the BBC. He is also a bestselling author.
Prior to establishing his business, Roger’s career spanned over twenty years in blue-chip firms in the oil, finance, technology, and service sectors to general management / Vice President level. He holds an MBA degree from Cranfield School of Management and BSc and MSc degrees in science subjects. Roger has conducted business in over forty countries.
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Performance and productivity: using the new science of happiness at work
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Jessica Pryce-Jones, Chief Executive Officer, iOpener |
What exactly is the new science of happiness at work? And why does it matter? The short answer is that people who are happiest at work do a staggering 50% more than their least happy colleagues. And they are more motivated, more healthy, more confident and more committed, all of which help them capitalize on the highs in order to manage the lows too.
Jessica Pryce-Jones will talk about what happiness at work is, why it matters and how it breaks down into five important areas: Contribution, Conviction, Culture, Commitment and Confidence. She’ll explain the key role that Pride, Trust and Recognition have, outline a couple of business examples, and offer ten top tips for building happiness at work.
Jess is the CEO if the global consultancy iOpener. A well known speaker she has taken part in BBC TV and radio programmes, appeared on CNN, is a regular newspaper commentator and has presented at TED Global 2010. She also teaches at London Business School, Chicago Booth, Oxford and Cambridge. Author of bestseller ‘Happiness at work: maximizing your psychological capital for success’ published by Wiley Blackwell, she lives in Oxford with her family.
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Business Transformation using a Solution Focused Thinking System
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| Professional / Career Development |
| Rob Smith, Go MAD Thinking Engineer |
- Do you currently benefit from having straightforward & structured financial systems?
- Has your business got fast, flexible, fit-for- purpose and consistent I.T. systems?
- Do you consider such systems as a critical investment?
So: How many different financial and I.T. systems do you have in your business?
You will be interested to attend this workshop if you have considered the answers to these questions and would like to learn about a shared system for thinking. Discover the fundamental links between thinking, actions and results. Understand the hidden business blockage of hindering thinking. Share in the ground breaking UK research which led to the discovery of the Go MAD Framework, a Solution Focused Thinking System in use in over 30 countries, across a multi-sector client base.
You will be invited to examine the business case for organisational change or business improvement in your company, by completing a simple worksheet that you get to take away - you might find it makes a real difference to your current thinking! This session promises to challenge and stretch your thinking in a fun and practical way.
Rob invites you to join him to celebrate his 25th year delivering people development and leadership thinking programmes across a wide range of industry sectors. An inspirational speaker, author and accomplished facilitator, Rob works world wide helping people to create personal and business breakthroughs and make measurable differences. |
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Customer Relationship Management
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| Professional / Career Development |
| David Wortley, Director, The Serious Games Institute, Coventry University Enterprises Ltd |
Immersive technologies are the most successful technology applications for engaging our discretionary time, attention and income. This session focuses on how these influential technologies can be applied to Customer Relationship Management and address some of the challenges facing business today. The session includes :-
· What are immersive technologies ?
· How are they changing our relationship with technology ?
· What is the impact on CRM ?
· How can the technologies help to attract and retain loyal customers
David Wortley is Director of the Serious Games Institute (SGI) at Coventry University. He is responsible for the development of the Institute as a global thought leader on the application of immersive technologies which include video games, virtual worlds and social networking to serious social and economic issues such as education, simulation, health, commerce and climate change.
David is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) with a career which has embraced the converging and emerging technologies of telecommunications (Post Office Telecommunications), computing (IBM), digital media and community informatics (Mass Mitec) and the creative industries (De Montfort University).
He is a serial entrepreneur and innovator with a passion for applying technology to social and economic development.
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