We are bringing together a group of heavyweight speakers and thought leaders to explore how businesses need to build resilience in order to survive and be successful in an increasingly uncertain world. The two conferences, in Birmingham and Manchester, will be delivered in partnership with TheBusinessDesk.com and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The events will see business leaders, entrepreneurs and experts assemble from the fields of economics, international trade, online retail and cyber security, including Paul Richardson the Chief Strategy Officer at Gymshark in Birmingham and Steve Richards, CEO of Casual Dining Group in Manchester. The Midlands Conference will be held at The REP (Birmingham Repertory Theatre) on Thursday 18 October, while the Northern Conference will take place at the Hilton Hotel Deansgate in Manchester on Wednesday 31 October.
Panel debates will explore what it means to be digitally resilient in the new data economy and, amongst other key topics, the advent of artificial intelligence and the cyber security threat that businesses in the Midlands and North of England are facing today.
A few of the key note speakers include:
Birmingham
- Paul Richardson, Chief Strategy Officer at Gymshark Ltd
- Mark Gregory, Chief Economist at EY
- Richard Butler, Director of the CBI in the West Midlands and Oxfordshire
- Steve Swain, Chair Designate, Institute for Turnaround (IFT)
- Nigel Payne, Non-Executive Director and Chairman of public companies.
Manchester
- Steve Richards, CEO of Casual Dining Group
- Vanda Murray OBE, Chair of Board at Marshalls
- Damian Waters, Director of the CBI in the North West
- Rob Clift, CEO, Institute for Turnaround (IFT)
- Mark Gregory, Chief Economist at EY
- Nigel Payne, Non-Executive Director and Chairman of public companies
The panel debate in Birmingham will feature Paul Richardson, alongside Ania Kubow, Co-Founder of Nimbla; Stever Borwell-Fox, Founder & CEO of Borwell; Peter Budd, Commercial, Technology & Media Partner at Gateley Plc; and will be facilitated by Alex Turner, West Midlands Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com.
In Manchester, the panel will again feature Ania Kubow, Co-Founder of Nimbla and Peter Budd, Commercial, Technology & Media Partner at Gateley Plc; as well as Luke Freeman, Director at FinTechNorth; Paul Mason, Head of Training and Education at UK Fast; Andrew Avanessian, COO at Avecto; and will be facilitated by Michael Ribbeck, North West Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com.
An audience Q&A session will follow both panel debates.
Dan French, Partner in Gateley Plc’s Restructuring Advisory team in Birmingham, said: “Businesses are understandably concerned about the uncertainty that macro-economic factors such as Brexit, and issues like cyber security risks, can bring. What we want to do at this year’s conferences is to gather professionals from across the country to discuss how businesses can ensure they become, and stay, resilient in a challenging landscape.
“We’ll look at how businesses can make the best use of an increasingly digital working environment to build relationships with customers and how to build a business model around constant change, in order to be robust in the face of inevitable change and disruption.”
Stuart Tait, Partner in Gateley Plc’s Restructuring Advisory team in Manchester, added: “This year’s conferences will look at how some of the biggest businesses in the region are achieving this through the creation of sustainable long-term business plans that are able to keep pace with rapidly evolving working environments and technological developments.
“We’ll discuss how businesses can improve their working processes to navigate new challenges – like managing data in the new digital economy – and be as strong as possible in the face of upheaval. We’re looking forward to what will no doubt be an informative and engaging conference.”
The cost for a place at ‘Restructuring Conference 2018: Creating business resilience in an ever-complex world’ is £85 +VAT per person, which includes lunch. CPD points will also be available.