Day One is done, but there's plenty more to come!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:35:21 +0100

We’ve had an amazing first day at Buy Yorkshire with thousands of delegates attending our seminars and workshops, taking in the stands in the exhibition halls and networking with other business people from all sectors and industries.

There were fantastic insights from Alastair Campbell, Nicola Horlick, Jonathan Straight as well as some honest and forthright discussions from our formidable Billion Pound Panel.

What else is coming up…?

A sold out session with another Billion Pound Panel – they’ll be ready to answer your questions in our most popular Q&A
An inspiring story and business seminar from Michelle Mone, OBE
Q&A session with Alison Munro, the CEO of the £32 billion HS2 project that is set to change business in the North forever
Seminars and workshops from Google, Barclays, LinkedIn, Wonga and Microsoft
170 stands full of promise of new partners and suppliers
More opportunities to meet, network and connect with decision makers from all over Yorkshire.

Book your seminars now!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:55:06 +0000

We’re pleased to release the full list of seminars in our line-up for this year’s Buy Yorkshire conference, which promises to be our most exciting one to date!

You can book onto seminars now and we recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

To book just click the button in the email you receive from us. You will only receive this email if you register for the conference as a delegate.

Guest speakers, including leaders from Google, Barclays, Microsoft and British government, will be speaking at our conference on 24 and 25 April 2013 and offering invaluable and industry tailored advice.

Here is a glimpse into what our seminar speakers have to offer:

Alastair Campbell – Power and Responsibility: thoughts from a Happy Depressive

Journalist and broadcaster Alastair Campbell, most known for his work as Director of Communications for Prime Minister Tony Blair, will talk about his time spent at the Labour Party and discuss the role of power and responsibility in government and corporations and how they can impact on mental health.

Michelle Mone – How I Made it: The Success Story and Challenges I Overcame Along the Way

Hear a personal account of the founder of international lingerie brand Ultimo’s rise to success: achieving an OBE and being recognised as one of the UK’s top 10 female entrepreneurs, as well as the obstacles she has had to overcome along the way.

Alison Munro – Economic benefits of HS2 for the UK regions

A major national story describing how the UK’s Victorian railway infrastructure has been redesigned to meet 21st century standards, through the largest publicly-funded transport project in the history of the UK. The £32 billion CEO is here to answer your questions.

Rt. Hon. Michael Fallon – Great doing business in Yorkshire!

Find out what the government is doing nationally and within Yorkshire to support business. Our Minister for Business will encourage businesses to go out and seek support and funding by making the most of opportunities like the Regional Growth Fund.

Chris Brown – Can LinkedIn (and social media) save Europe?

Hear one of the Directors at LinkedIn, the biggest professional network in the world, speak about how it connects companies to talented individuals across the globe and how your business can use this growing online platform to further their knowledge and prospects.

Andrew Garner – Leadership: navigating through the turbulence

This unmissable seminar will explore Andrew’s ability to pinpoint company inefficiencies and deliver business results of the highest calibre, enabling him to help industry leaders with any problems they may encounter throughout their professional lives.

Tim Kiy – All SMEs need a trusted banking partner– but can banks be trusted?

Get an insight into how Barclays has had to overcome recent challenges in order to ensure that it is seen as the number one bank for forward thinking companies from their Corporate Affairs Director. He’ll also share an innovative new programme Life Skills and talk about how we can help up-skill the youth of today.

Warren Anderson – Running a Supply Chain in a customer-led business

Learn about integrity and its vital importance in the supply chain when you work for a customer-led business from the Vice President of McDonald’s UK who is responsible for quality assurance across 41 countries in Europe.

Nicola Horlick – Raising capital for companies when times are tough

The Chairman of Rockpool Investments LLP and “Supermum” will discuss how company money can be raised despite the current economic environment where it is increasingly difficult to get funding from the banks, drawing on her 30 years of experience in top level banking.

Jonathan Jenkins – Social Investment: Providing both social and economic impact

Gain a further understanding of social enterprise and investment and how it benefits local economy, including a deeper look at case studies of social enterprises in the Yorkshire region, from the CEO of a group that has made investments totalling over £311 million in just ten years.

Jon Mell – From Liking To Leading

Learn from the European Social Business Leader at IBM how social media can be used in order to drive real business value, recognising how it is changing the way people connect, organisations succeed and making customers become advocates for your brand.

Rob Wilmot – Social media: The coming of age

Ex-CTO of Freeserve and one of our most popular speakers last year, Rob will share his view of social media today and look back to show how social networks have developed to become an integral and important part of joined up, multichannel marketing and communications.

Tara Powadiuk – The User Experience in an ever-changing Digital Landscape

Get expert advice on the importance of customer experience in an evolving digital world from the woman behind multi-million pound marketing at Microsoft.

Jonathan Straight – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Hear the cold hard facts about being an entrepreneur within a listed business, as well as ways of coping with an immense workload and how to handle various stakeholders at once from renowned CEO and our Chair of the Billion Pound Panel.

Jas Hawker – In pursuit of excellence!

Hear from the former Commanding Officer of the Red Arrows how businesses must embrace operational excellence as well as practical insights into execution, risk and high performance.

Raja Saggi – 5 easy ways to online success

Hear the Head of SMB Marketing at Google offer five easy and understandable steps to online success and take advantage of these methods in order to ensure your own business grows on the internet.

Kevin Gardiner – Life after Debt?

Hear what this member of the Investment Committee and MD of Investment Strategy at Barclays has to say about the investment outlook for 2013, asking the question: Is there life after debt for the UK?

Speaker Announcement: Rt. Hon Michael Fallon - Department of Business Innovation and Skills

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:42:09 +0000

We’re very excited that Michael Fallon, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, will be speaking at Buy Yorkshire this year.

Michael has been the Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks since 1997, and in 2012 was appointed Minister of State for Business and Enterprise at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

As part of his duties, Michael is currently responsible for enterprise, small business, access to finance, competitiveness and economic growth and regional and local economic development (including grants for business investment.)

Alongside his Parliamentary work, Michael has also been director at a number of large businesses; Bannatyne Fitness Ltd., Quality Care Homes plc, Just Learning Ltd., Attendo AB and Tullet Prebon.

Michael will be setting out his vision for small and medium sized businesses in Yorkshire as well as discussing current and future business opportunities for the area.

He told us: “Yorkshire has a diverse economy with a wealth of opportunities. I am determined that businesses in Yorkshire are given the support they need to grasp these opportunities.”

Michael’s parliamentary and business experience gives him a wealth of knowledge to draw from and puts him in the perfect position to answer all your questions. We’re really looking forward to hearing what he has to say!

Buy Yorkshire Registrations hit 2,000 with over 90 days to go

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:27:19 +0000

Over 2000 delegates have already registered to attend the Buy Yorkshire conference – which is set to be bigger and better than ever before!

We’ve put together this infographic which tells you who has registered so far, clearly showing all the great benefits of attending. With so many decision-makers and over 90 different sectors and industries represented it’s sure to be a great networking and learning opportunity.

We’ll be announcing more great speakers on here very soon, but to be certain you get the news first make sure you register for your place at Buy Yorkshire now – it only takes 20 seconds when you register using LinkedIn.

Speaker Announcement: Jas Hawker - ex Commanding Officer of the Red Arrows

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:34:16 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that Jas Hawker, the former Commanding Officer of the Red Arrows, will be speaking at Buy Yorkshire this year.

Jas joined the Royal Airforce aged 18 and went on to be the youngest ever pilot to fly the Tornado ground attack aircraft on the front-line. He has served on 4 operational squadrons taking part in both training and operational deployments all over the world.

In 1999 he was selected to join the Red Arrows and in 2007 when he was selected to become their Commanding Officer and leader. He lead the team on tours to the USA, Canada, the Middle East, India, Thailand and Malaysia as well as the UK and Europe.

Jas has undertaken a number of non-flying appointments within the Ministry of Defence, advising senior military officers and civil servants on strategic policy and planning issues. He was also deployed to Afghanistan as an operational level campaign planner, advising senior commanders.

Jas is now the Director of Mission Excellence, a consultancy specialising in execution. They help clients to deliver operational change through embedded personnel, development programmes and consultancy.

Jas told us “The Buy Yorkshire Conference event provides the perfect opportunity for Mission Excellence to engage with business leaders about actually delivering operational change and to discuss what it takes to deliver results in high pressure, complex and fast moving environments.”

Jas is sure to deliver an insightful and exciting session – we can’t wait to hear what he has to tell us!