Our Speakers for 2012:

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Warren Cass

Warren Cass is the founder of www.business-scene.com, a national business community with a large audience.  He is also a social media strategist who helps businesses find their feet with tools such as Twitter, You Tube, Facebook etc and co- author of  the soon to be published Zero to Blogger.

Traditional marketing has been turned on its head in the last 10 years with many businesses failing to keep up with the changes in technology. Warren’s session will appeal to those relatively new to social media as well as those with experience.

He will explain why it is important to have a strategy and how to go about implementing it, which sites to use and why.

“A really valuable talk, down-to-earth and free from jargon, yet entertaining, informative, educational and well researched.  Keep doing what you are doing – just make sure the organisers of your talks know how popular you are to have enough seats for the audience!”

Robert Craven

After running his own businesses, Robert spent five years leading training and consultancy programmes for entrepreneurs at Warwick Business School.

Robert’s Customer Is King, Bright Marketing and Kick-Start Your Business are business best-sellers and have been acted upon by thousands of growing businesses.  His latest book is Grow Your Service Firm.

Robert’s track record at helping businesses is very impressive.  Add to this his broad experience at board level and you will understand how and why he uniquely adds value to all the businesses and individuals that he works with.  Recent clients include: AirBus, Barclays, BlackBerry, E.ON, LandRover, Nando’s, Serco, Tenon, Virgin, Welsh Assembly…

“… one of Warwick Business School’s most highly regarded presenters. His animated action-packed style demands participation. Robert does not give his audience the option of sitting back and merely reflecting.”   Professor David Storey

“Robert Craven says that ‘your whole business hinges on what your customer gets from you’. I wholeheartedly agree.” Sir Richard Branson

Robert’s key themes for 2012 are Get More Profit/Better Customers, Make Things Happen and Grow Your Service Firm.

Robert is MD of The Directors’ Centre, the consultancy for growing businesses seeking increased sales and profits.

SPECIAL GUEST

Michael Polledri MBE

Michael is Chairman of Lee Valley Estates, the “umbrella” organisation comprising a number of different companies, partnerships, and LLP’s with substantial commercial property interests in and around Londons’ Lee Valley. Michael established this organisation himself over 25 years ago.

Commencing his career in 1965 as an articled clerk with KPMG (Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co.) Michael qualified in 1969 as a Chartered Accountant and remained with KPMG until 1972.

Michaels’ career in commercial property began in 1973 and progressed until 1987, when Charterhouse Mercantile Properties Ltd. (CMP) was incorporated by Michael with associates. Various estates in the Leyton area of London were purchased and managed over a number of years, the principal of these being Leyton Industrial Village, a 6-acre site providing space for light industry, and Roxwell Trading Park, a 3-acre site providing similar business space.  The main focus has been on providing space for local small and medium sized businesses.

During the past 25 years Michael and his fellow Directors have developed excellent working and community relations with Waltham Forest, Haringey, and Enfield Councils, bringing benefits to the local areas in which the businesses operate. A number of dilapidated and run down industrial estates, and several fine but neglected period buildings, have been purchased and brought back to life, often with space for community use included.

Lee Valley Estates are committed to expansion over the next few years, with the redevelopment and subsequent management of former industrial sites remaining at the core of the business. Michael Polledri and his team, with their vision, business acumen, and ambition, remain the guiding light and driving force behind the organisations’ past, current, and future success.

Michael also plays a substantial role in the local voluntary sector and some of the positions he currently holds include Director of Enterprise Enfield, Director of North London Business and Chairman of Waltham Forest Business Board.

Michael has also always taken an active interest in the restaurant business run by his extended family. Their establishments include the phenomenally successful Little Italy and Bar Italia in London’s Soho as well as their “sister” restaurant, Nolita, in Hertfordshire.

In the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in June 2010 Michael was honoured by being awarded an M.B.E. in recognition of his services to Enterprise & Regeneration in North London.

Sonia Brown MBE

Sonia is the founder and director of the National Black Women’s Network (NBWN), a non-profit network organisation dedicated to raising the status and position of BAME women in all walks of life.

She is also the founder of the networking forum ‘Let’s Talk Business’ which is designed to increase the number of ethnic minorities and women wishing to grow and start businesses in the UK and is endorsed by government departments and ministers, leading banks and financial institutions including top FTSE companies ITN, BBC, Lloyds TSB Bank, Business Links, London, HSBC Bank Plc, BERR, Enterprise Insight and American Express to name a few.

Sonia was a member of the MOD Diversity Champions panel and the GLE oneLondon Loan Fund.  She has worked with the Women’s Equality Unit (now Government Equalities Office) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sports around encouraging BAME Women in Public Appointments.  The National Black Women’s Network was a strategic partner in the campaign to get more black women to become Councillors, which was a direct priority of the Rt. Hon Harriet Harman MP (Shadow Deputy Prime Minister).

In 2009, Sonia launched the social networking forum www.sistatalk.co.uk in order for business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals to connect, share and showcase their business and professional talent.  Sistatalk members currently come from 27 countries.

Sonia has a MA in Marketing Communications; BA in Business & Communication and is a certified NLP Practitioner.  She is currently the business editor for The Voice Newspaper  – Britain’s leading black newspaper and a regular contributor for features in various publications.  Sonia was awarded an MBE for services to Black and Minority Women.

Kimberly Davis

Best known for The Apprentice Series 5, where she quickly gained the reputation as “the nicest candidate ever” (The Guardian), Kimberly is the owner of Sarsaparilla Ltd. where she pioneered the concept of “Marketing Purification” – the process of helping companies increase profits and productivity by cleansing their marketing activities and protecting them from The Flash, Fluff and Fakers.  Her passion and dedication for helping SME’s has led to the recent launch of The Marketing Masters Series – a collection of master classes guaranteed to provide businesses with the tools they need to ensure their marketing is an investment, not an expense. Her goal is to use Marketing Purification to protect businesses from unqualified cowboys and harness the power of marketing and sales.  With the help of some of the UK’s leading business speakers and experts, Kimberly delivers an educational, yet highly entertaining, event that all businesses can benefit from.  www.sarsaparillamarketing.com

Jan Willis

Jan Willis is the founder Director of WOW Consulting, a digital marketing consulting company established in 2004 and based in London. She is the upcoming author of Digitally Challenged: Strategies for Effective Local Marketing in the Mobile Internet Age, creator of the Mobile Market Domination Formula and a leading authority on the strategic deployment of digital technologies to help small businesses grow quickly and profitably and dominate their local market place.

Lee Manning, Raffingers-Stuart

Lee is partner at Raffingers Stuart Accountants who are based in Woodford Green in Essex having worked for the same firm for 24 years!!   He is involved with businesses of all shapes and sizes and has helped them grow when the time is right, shown them how not to over trade and grow too quickly and most importantly made sure they traded in the most tax efficient way.  Lee is responsible for a portfolio of clients and assists them with all forms of tax planning, business development and strategic planning.  He is also responsible for the marketing of the practice and helps present seminars on business development and current tax planning opportunities.

Kathy Ennis

Kathy’s expertise in visual communication and personal impact has enabled her to work across the UK and Europe with a wide variety of organisations that include Specsavers, McDonalds, Breast Cancer Care and The British Council. With her straightforward, but fun-loving attitude, Kathy enables her client’s business success by improving their communication and business relationship-building skills; developing their presentation skills; increasing their confidence and self esteem; and developing their personal brand, the process of communicating through appearance and behaviour.

Peter Saggers, Enterprise Enfield

Peter Saggers is a self employed Business Adviser at Enterprise Enfield. He specialises in finance, assisting businesses identify and raise appropriate funding.  Following a career as a corporate bank manager, Peter worked at the North London Training and Enterprise Council administering a loan fund and subsequently took up a position as senior investment analyst with a private equity firm. He now provides business advice and guidance to start-up and established businesses at Enterprise Enfield specialising in business planning and financial analysis to support finance raising activities.

Enterprise Enfield is an independent, non profit making business advisory and training organisation dedicated to helping both new and established businesses succeed.  Services include business seminars and expert advice and guidance in areas such as business planning, raising finance, marketing and managing accounts.

Paolo Nistri, London Legacy Development Corporation

The future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will be a focal point for London’s growth, a thriving new metropolitan district in London, the heart of a local community and a catalyst for regeneration.The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is the organisation responsible for promoting and delivering physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration in the Olympic Park and surrounding area, working with a range of partners to create a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Games. Paolo Nistri, Senior Regeneration Manager at the LLDC and Fergus McLardy, Senior Project Manager at Business to Business will present the LLDC’s approach to promoting growth and economic development, outlining their work in creating opportunities for SMEs, social enterprises and diverse businesses through legacy and how business can get involved.

Roya Jahanbin, North London Business

Roya has been a qualified Business Adviser for more than 10 years with a background in Education & Employment advisory.

North London Business is the official agency for investor development within the North London area of Barnet, Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest. Also providing inward investment services to Camden and Redbridge. Working with our partners in the private and public sectors we promote North London as an area that is open for business and encourage economic development of the area.

Ariela Cesana, Il gelato di Ariela

Ariela comes from a family of Gelatai in Italy, on a very hot summer of 2006 she realised she could not find the real Gelato she was used to back at home, so she decided to make it at home for herself.

After bringing the Gelato to some friend’s parties, she realised she was onto something as everyone was telling her that her Gelato was so good it should be sold in London. It was then that the penny dropped and she realised there was a lack of real Italian Gelato in London. So with the help of Francesca, another Gelato lover, they opened a little Gelateria in north London.

Their mission was to make the original Italian Gelato, the artisan way, using only the best natural ingredients, real fruit and banning all artificial flavourings and colourings. After a short time other people were asking them to supply their Gelato wholesale to them so 3 years ago the wholesale business was born. Nowadays Il Gelato di Ariela is committed to supply businesses with the highest quality Gelato, to help increase profits and customer satisfaction as a better, healthier more natural product is served in their establishment.

We supply ice-cream parlours, restaurants, delicatessen, coffee shops and catering businesses not only with the best artisan Gelato, but also with all the cones, disposables and equipment needed to serve it. So bring back memories of an Italian summer with IL GELATO DI ARIELA!!