2007 Seminar Speakers - 12.15
FROM GLOUCESTER TO GLOBAL
Ben White (Chief Strategy Officer) - MessageLabs
Content: Technology entrepreneurialism is not restricted to Silicon Valley and the Far East. In today’s connected world, ideas can and do materialise from anywhere – even Gloucester. This seminar was beneficial to those who recognises the goals achievable if you believe in an idea and follow your aspirations.
Ben White, Chief Strategy Officer of MessageLabs lead a seminar exploring the company’s significant growth in recent years. Delegates learned how a local company discovered a niche in the market and achieved global success. Ben shared the key techniques and decisions that enabled the company to drive business growth and international expansion. MessageLabs successfully broke the US market and this seminar will share the experience of building on the perception of UK businesses abroad and the benefits that Gloucester has to offer to the business world. Ben also explore the business landscape in 2007 and discussed what the future holds for local and global businesses.
Ben White is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of MessageLabs. Having founded the company in 1999, he served as Chief Executive Officer until 2006. Ben also served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of MessageLabs Group and was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board in 2006. Prior to co-founding MessageLabs Group, Ben co-founded and was a director of RBR Networks, a Cisco distributorship. Ben was recently recognised by the European Technology Forum's UK Technology Innovation & Growth Awards as 'Technology Entrepreneur of the Year' for 2005 and in December 2005 was ranked in the top ten of Management Today's list of the UK's top one hundred entrepreneurs.
Click here for Ben White's presentation
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR WINNING TEAM
Matthew Clayton (Partner) - Rickerbys and Cathy O'Donoghue (Director) - HR Champions
Content: A successful and growing business requires having the right team in place. It is an inevitable fact of life that from time to time this involves parting company with employees who aren't equipped to play the part you need them to - the secret of successful management is being able to do this whilst minimising the risk to your business along the way. In this interactive session, Matthew Clayton of Rickerbys Solicitors and Cathy O'Donoghue of HR Champions guided us through the business game and told us how to create a win/win situation from performance management situations.
This session was relevant for HR professionals and those responsible for personnel issues within their organisation. we learned how to manage poor performance issues effectively and legally, minimising risk to your business and helping all concerned to 
maintain dignity.
Matthew Clayton is a Partner in the employment team at Rickerbys Solicitor handling a wide range of employment law issues. He has developed a nationwide reputation for his work and regularly leads seminars for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the Veterinary Practice Managers' Association and other business organisations. Cathy O'Donoghue is the Director of HR Champions. She is a qualified trainer and HR Consultant, a member of the CIPD and a local advisor to the Gloucestershire Branch. Cathy works with a wide range of clients across the UK providing both a complete HR solution and Leadership and Management Training to both bussinesses and organisations.
Click here for the presentation
WHAT DOES YOUR WEBSITE SAY ABOUT YOU?
Richard Baker (Managing Director) - Sequence 12.15
Content: Every day, more than 250 million searches are conducted on Google and 167 million on Yahoo and every day new techniques become available to help you maximise your online presence. You need to know how to get the best out of your website, understand how to drive traffic to your website and how to keep your visitors coming back again and again. This session was designed to give a simple, no nonsense, step-by-step foundation guide to help you define what you actually want your website to achieve and what you need to consider when commissioning the design and build of a web project.
Unlike other communications tools, the web is effectively a level playing field and the opportunity is there for small businesses to rub shoulders with the multinational companies. All you need is a clear goal of what you want to achieve. This session helped us define the thought process you need to run through as you negotiate your web journey.
Richard Baker is founder, Managing Director and Chairman of Sequence, Wales’ largest Digital Agency. Sequence currently employs over 30 staff and delivered a turnover of over £2M FY 05/06. Richard set Sequence up in 1995 after an extensive career with Compaq, working as an Applications Engineer within the Access Solutions Division. During this time he was involved in the deployment of the first ISP (Internet Service Providers) in Israel and Greece as well as the introduction of the company's first ISDN products in to the market place. Richard has also been awarded the prestigious ‘Young Business Achiever of the Year’ at the Western Mail Awards in 2003. Richard is frequently asked to contribute to local television, radio and press programming and has provided keynote speeches at a wide range of technology, business and media seminars, events and conferences, including Business Week in Wales and Innovation Wales.
THINKING INSIDE BIG BOXES
Richard Tierney (Managing Director) Creative Talks and Carolyn Howe (Research Fellow in Innovation) University of Gloucestershire
Content: Innovation is at the heart of any business. But how to do it? This session explored the particular importance of creativity to successful innovation, drawing upon theory and practice and sharing fascinating stories from the hundreds of organisations with whom Richard and Carolyn have worked. This session told us the things you need to know about creativity, where your next big ideas are coming from and how to maximise their potential.
Richard Tierney is Managing Director of Creative Talks an ideas company. He is also a committee member of the Institute of Business Consulting. Richard worked in the television and theatre worlds, before applying his creative management skills to industry. Richard has toured the very best the UK has to offer in innovative companies, gleaning top tips from eBay, Virgin and Nissan to name a few.
Carolyn Howe is the University’s Research Fellow in Innovation and has engaged with hundreds of businesses on the issue of innovation. Carolyn successfully lead the delivery of the Gloucestershire Year of Innovation in 2004 and is also currently working with a number of local companies to develop their innovative capabilities through her new project ‘ICE’.
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