Emerging Markets Speakers

“ Just reading a list of Ibrahim’s achievements is exhausting” was the verdict of Scotland’s Sunday Post on this multitalented whizz-kid. Although still only in his mid-thirties, he seems to have packed a number of careers into one.

Already a respected entrepreneur, philanthropist, academic and former paratrooper, he is fast building a formidable track record as an adviser to a number of world leaders.

Born and Raised in Scotland, Azeem went from teaching himself to spot good investments from the newspapers he read in his father’s shop to a fast-paced business career.

Azeem rapidly moved from outsourcing IT to India, through import and export to maritime insurance, and then setting up a private bank, building society and even a hedge fund, all before his 32nd birthday. In 2006 he was the youngest person on both the Sunday Times Scots’ Rich List and Carter Anderson’s UK Power 100 list.

During this time, his commitment to relentless goal-setting saw him spend seven years as a reservist in the IV Battalion Parachute Regiment – the British army’s elite airborne infantry reserve, and gain an MBA, an MSc(Econ) and is completing a PhD in Strategic Studies at Cambridge University.

As well as an honorary doctorate, he is now a Research Scholar at the International Security Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a member of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy’s Dean’s International Council, Director of Research at the European Centre for Advanced Defence and Strategic Studies in Geneva and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy Understanding.

He has also been named an ‘emerging World Leader’ by Yale in their World Fellows Program. His columns are regularly published around the world, and can be read in Foreign Policy, The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald, The Middle East Times, The Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune and the LA Times.

Azeem now devotes much of his time to his own charities. As well as a private grant-giving foundation, he has founded charities which tackle problems as diverse as family and marriage breakdown in Scotland to providing clean drinking water in disaster areas.

He has offered strategic advice to the British government, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the Prime Minister of Turkey, the First Minister of Scotland and the Sheikh of Dubai, on topics ranging from anti-radicalisation to improving social mobility and national competitiveness. He is also a founding member of the Aspen US-UAE initiative with Madeleine Albright.

Most recently, Ibrahim has been appointed an advisor to the Chairman of the US Homeland Security Congressional Committee on security and terrorism.

A self-made success in a number of diverse fields, Glasgow-born Azeem Ibrahim has been described by his peers as a brilliant young scholar, financial wizard and gifted entrepreneur.

In 2007, Azeem became the youngest member of the Bank of Scotland Asian Power 100 produced by Carter Anderson, which described him as one of the most influential and highest-achieving people in Britain. The same year Azeem was included in the Observer Courvoisier Future 500 – a definitive list of the nation’s most forward-thinking and brightest young innovators.

In December 2007, a Scottish Parliament motion signed by a number of MSPs congratulated Azeem and his contribution to the country and in April 2008 Azeem accepted the Lloyds TSB and KPMG Business and Commerce Excellence Jewel Award.

His achievements have attracted considerable recognition around the globe and over the last few years Azeem has met and advised a number of world leaders, including the Prime Minister of Turkey and leaders in the Gulf States.

Business Interests Azeem Ibrahim began by launching his own IT consultancy, later expanding the operation into continental Europe, and then moved onto an insurance corporation for the niche maritime-transportation market.

Since then, he has founded over half a dozen companies, mostly in the financial sector, including an online insurance company specialising in maritime insurance, a private online bank for commodity traders, and an FSA-regulated global macro hedge fund based in London.

He was the youngest person on both the Sunday Times Scottish Rich List in 2006 and Carter Anderson’s UK Power 100 list.

Azeem’s most recent venture is Ibrahim Associates, a global strategic consultancy firm aimed at advising governments, NGOs and non-profits on recognising and capitalising on strategic advantage.

Academic life

Azeem’s former professors refer to him as a ‘first-class critical thinker’. He obtained an MBA and an M.Sc.(Econ) in Strategic Studies, then read for a PhD at the University of Cambridge on Geopolitical Strategy. Azeem also served as a Research Scholar on the International Security Program at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

Azeem also sits alongside former UK Defence Chiefs as a Director and Board Member of the UKNDA – United Kingdom National Defence Association – which operates to improve the position of the armed forces in government circles.

In 2008 Azeem also became a member of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy’s Dean’s International Council – a prestigious group of specialists from around the world with substantive experience in government and the private sector including former Prime Ministers, Presidents, Ambassadors and Diplomats.

The Council meets twice a year and acts as an advisory group for new policy initiatives and resource development for governments around the globe.

Since then he has been accepted as a Yale World Fellow in 2009. The programme selects emerging global leaders from over 1000 nominations and brought to Yale to undertake the Ivy League School’s signature program in advanced leadership training with some of the leading experts in various fields.

He has also been awarded an honorary doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University for his contribution to ‘global international affairs and community developments in Scotland,’ an Adjunct Professorship from Fatih University in Istanbul, and was made a Fellow at the Macmillan Centre for International Area Studies at Yale University, an organization dedicated to improving Americans’ understanding of the world beyond their borders.

In 2010, Azeem was named as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2009 by the LSDP European Social Think Tank and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Most recently Azeem was appointed a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute of Social Policy Understanding in the USA.

Much of Azeem’s time is now devoted to his own charities. He operates a private grant-giving foundation (www.ibrahimfoundation.com) and founded and chairs a number of charities which tackle problems as diverse as family and marriage breakdown in the Asian community in Scotland, (www.unityfamily.co.uk), lack of access to higher education for Bosnian students (www.benevolencefund.org), and lack of access to clean drinking water in disaster areas (www.purifi.com). He also owns and manages a school for 500 orphans in Bangladesh (www.asia-pacificfund.org).

He has recently increased his involvement in independent charity initiatives. He launched the first think tank in Scotland which is dedicated to providing education in authentic Islamic teachings, which can help to reduce the appeal of perverse extremist Islamic narratives.

He has also been the Director of Strategy for the British Writers’ Awards, one of the largest educational initiatives in the UK, which has helped to expose over 300,000 children in 7,000 schools to the benefits of creative writing, and secured endorsements from the leaders of the biggest political parties in England and Scotland.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’ Charity, the Princes’ Scottish Youth Business Trust Charity, has also recently appointed him an Ambassador.

Political Involvement

Azeem has also broadened his political involvement over the last year. He was the youngest member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Special Task Force on Social Mobility, on which he was appointed the sub-team leader tasked with studying how internships could help to improve access to the professions in Britain.

He is a regular contributor of editorials to the Scotsman newspaper, politics.co.uk, and a number of other publications around the world, on topics including budgetary policy, defence spending and policy, European integration, Israel-Palestinian peace talks, constitutional matters, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islamic radicalisation, Scottish energy policy, and sharia law in Britain.

Other interests

For seven years until early 2006, Azeem was a reservist in the IV Battalion Parachute Regiment – the British army’s elite airborne infantry reserve where they are trained to be inserted by parachute behind enemy lines at short notice.

A citizen of both the US and the UK, he is a fitness fanatic keen on marathon and fell running, and speaks four languages.

Testimonials

“ The work that you have undertaken and published is serious and high quality. The analysis and rigour you bought to this issue (social mobility) will provide a firm platform for actions by the professions and government over the years ahead”
Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, (as Prime Minister) – July 2009

“ I was struck by his great intelligence and wide ranging professional expertise and interests. Rarely have I met someone so accomplished at such an early age.”
Ambassador John Shattuck – US Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy and Human Rights – February 2009

“ The Prime Minister has made a very wise choice by appointing Azeem Ibrahim to help disadvantaged people. He is an example to people everywhere and a sound choice to help others become high-flyers.”
Evening Times – January 2009

Scottish Muslim Contributor of the Year Award – 2010

Named as World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader – 2010

Named as ‘Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2009’ by LSDP European Social Policy Think Tank – 2010

Honorary Doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University – 2009

Scotland’s Distinguished Citizens Award – St Andrews Society – 2009

Insider Elite International Executive of the Year – 2009

Named as ‘Emerging Global Leader’ by Yale World Fellows Program – 2009

Scottish Asian Business Entrepreneur of the Year – 2008

KPMG – Lloyd TSB Business and Commerce Excellence Jewel Award – 2008

Sunday Times Scot’s Rich List inauguration – 2008

Youngest Member of Carter Anderson’s Bank of Scotland Power 100 – 2007

Gary Duncan is the former Economics Editor of The Times, an award-winning journalist, and one of the country’s leading economic and financial commentators. As a Times columnist, he jointly wrote the paper’s flagship weekly economics commentary, sharing this with Anatole Kaletsky.

Duncan has covered economics for The Times for the past decade. Before becoming Economics Editor he was Economics Correspondent for four years. Previously, he spent 10 years writing for The Scotsman, Scotland’s national newspaper, where he was Economics Editor and chief economics commentator, writing a regular weekly column on UK and Scottish economic affairs. He also spent five years covering UK politics as a Lobby Correspondent at Westminster, becoming a noted commentator on political trends, as well as an admired and witty sketch-writer.

Gary Duncan has an in-depth expertise on the UK economy, with contacts at the highest levels among top economic policy-makers, in Britain and beyond. He has interviewed leading figures including the last three Chancellors of the Exchequer, the present and previous Governors of the Bank of England (Mervyn King and Lord George), many past and present members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, as well as senior US policy-makers.

Duncan is highly regarded for his insight into all aspects of monetary, fiscal, and broader economic policy, as well as their impact on UK politics and the business environment. He also has extensive expertise in the European, US and leading Asian economies, as well as broader global economic prospects and trends. He is adept at simplifying complex issues and presenting them in a lucid and compelling, as well as entertaining way.

Gary Duncan has substantial experience of speaking to audiences of all sizes from 10 to 500-plus, including conference platform speaking, and presentations at business lunches and dinners. He has chaired formal events for the World Economic Forum’s prestigious annual meeting in Davos, with participants up to heads of governments and multi-national chief executives.

Tanya Beckett is the presenter of BBC World News’ World News Today: Business Edition. She has worked as a presenter for the BBC since 1998, anchoring a variety of news and business programmes across the BBC’s including Business Breakfast, Breakfast News, Working Lunch and most recently, World Business Report. She also co-presents news programmes live from Washington with her London-based colleague, Zeinab Badawi.

In 2003 Tanya moved to the US, where she hosted live shows in New York and Washington, reporting on key events such as the 2004 presidential election and the Wall Street Financial scandals. She was also the New York-based presenter of World Business Report on BBC World News.

After graduating from Oxford with a degree in Metallurgy and the Science of Materials, Tanya spent a year working for Courtaulds, researching the properties of carbon and glass fibres. She then spent the next four years working as an investment banker for Commerzbank in Frankfurt and Citibank in London.

In 1993, Tanya became a business and political reporter for CNBC Europe. She’s worked for various broadcasters including BBC, NBC Europe and CNBC Europe, where she presented The Moneywheel and FT Business Tonight; for Sky News as presenter of its live nightly business news programme; for CNN International, reporting from the London International Financial Futures Exchange; and for News Direct Radio 97.3 in London.

During her television career, Tanya also presented a 30-minute chat show for NBC Europe with guests from the worlds of politics, showbusiness and the arts, including Chaim Herzog, Salman Rushdie, Ian Smith and Eddie Izzard.

Tanya speaks German and French fluently and has completed many high profile assignments both corporate and broadcast in both languages.

After many years in high-level diplomacy Charles Crawford has a unique profile as an imaginative, dynamic and even provocative speaker who has addressed audiences large and small in English, Polish and Serbian

After an Honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University he qualified as a Barrister before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

From 1985-87 Charles served as Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe’s official Speechwriter, contributing ideas/language for speeches by the Foreign Secretary (major set-piece speeches, Parliamentary debates and less formal after-dinner remarks)

His first job on joining the FCO in 1979 was to head the Indonesia Section, followed by his first posting, to communist post-Tito Yugoslavia. He returned to London in 1984 and after a year on the Aviation Desk was appointed FCO Speech-writer. He was posted to South Africa in 1987 as part of the Embassy team led by Ambassador Robin Renwick working to end apartheid.

Returning to London in 1991 he worked in the FCO Department dealing with the Soviet Union as communist rule collapsed. He then spent three years in Moscow as Political Counsellor and then served three times as HM Ambassador: in Sarajevo (1996-1998); in Belgrade (2001-2003) and most recently in Poland (2003-2007).

In 1987 he wrote the FCO’s first Guide to Speech-Writing, a dynamic text full of real-life examples on how to write speeches – and how to weed out lugubrious mistakes. Two decades later it remains a core part of the FCO’s speech-drafting training

He subsequently contributed to speeches by members of the Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers, as well as different Ministers and other senior personalities in public and commercial life

He left the FCO at the end of 2007 to start a new career as writer, consultant, mediator and trainer. In 2009 he joined the UK Conservative Party candidates list

In recent months Charles Crawford led training courses for senior EU and other officials and private clients aimed at improving their communication skills. He has written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Independent, DIPLOMAT and Total Politics.

In 2009 his audiences included the Headmasters Conference and Conservative Friends of Poland, as well as private groups and academic gatherings

In 2010 he and other former British Ambassadors in partnership with ADR Group launched a new senior strategic dispute resolution panel, ADRg Ambassadors

Charles Crawford’s trenchant observations on public policy issues are now available to a growing readership on his blog




Such honesty has no place in modern government…it’s bloody dangerous!
Andrew Dodge (Samizdata)

The most telling critique of this delusional foreign policy comes in regular instalments in the form of a blog by the former British ambassador to Poland, Charles Crawford. It’s called www.charlescrawford.biz, and if you want to know just how much in despair many of our diplomats are, this is the place to look
Dominic Lawson (The Times, 2010)

In 2005 a humorous FCO email he wrote as Ambassador to Warsaw (a satirical speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair damning other countries’ selfishness on EU Budget issues) caused a stir when it was leaked to the Sunday Times

His FCO written work was praised at the highest levels in London, NATO and the EU for its uncompromising dynamic style:

“fabulously readable and interesting analysis, with practical application … just about the best scenesetter [No10 staff] have ever seen”

“acrobatic and eye-catching in his use of language”

As a speaker Charles Crawford draws on dramatic episodes from his diplomatic career to explain wider policy themes, paradoxes and trends. His presentations are interesting and thought-provoking, but above all memorable

He is strong on foreign and public policy issues such as:

o Communism (and Vampires)
o Dealing with extremists and war criminals
o Climate change and PPP (perverse precautionary principles)
o Amazon Space: how the Internet is changing the strategic policy context
o International negotiation (as explained by Shrek, the Joker and Clint Eastwood)
o UK/European Union relations: Too Big (not) to Fail

Sam Wilkin is associate director of consultancy practice at Oxford Analytica, the highly respected international advisory firm providing open-source intelligence on global issues to more than thirty governments and many major global corporations worldwide.

Sam is coauthor of The Kimchi Matters: Global Business and Local Politics. The Harvard Business Review called the book “powerful” and Mark Mobius of Templeton Asset Management said “the authors exhibit a strong knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes in emerging markets”. Belgium’s Trends magazine noted that “the authors’ analysis of political stability mixes humour, drama, and an eye for ironic details”.
Sam advises corporations and governments on global issues ranging from the rise of the BRICs to climate change to the economics of happiness. He is a frequent speaker on current affairs, emerging markets, and geopolitical risks at client conferences and political risk industry events. His published articles cover topics ranging from reform of financial regulation to Turkey’s EU accession hopes.

Sam previously served as head of political risk consulting for Aon Trade Credit and director of country analysis for Marvin Zonis & Associates. He received his M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago. He is the editor of Country and Political Risk: Practical Insights for Global Finance, and was the 2004 alumni fellow for Eckerd College. He is a current member of the Great Britain national team in kendo, Japanese fencing.

Sam’s speaking has included:

• Managing & Insuring Political Risk & Terrorism
• 6th Annual Emerging Markets Trade and Political Risk Forum
• IVG Second Annual Client Conference
• Aon Political Risk Map Launch, National Press Club
• Indiana Library Federation Annual Conference
• University of Chicago Women’s Leadership Forum
• Pittsburgh Council on Foreign Relations
• Oxford Analytica Annual Conference

Essays and Op-Eds include:

• Harvard Business Review
• Barron’s
• Boston Globe
• Risk Management
• Asiaweek
• Asian Wall Street Journal
• Financial Times
• The Banker
• Far Eastern Economic Review
• World Trade

Dr Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied in Geneva, Zurich and Economics at the University of Zurich. At the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude.

In the 70’s Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Company Limited in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong and since 1973, he has lived in Hong Kong. From 1978 to 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK) Ltd. setting up his own business in 1990 as an investment advisor and fund manager.

Dr Faber publishes a widely read monthly investment newsletter “The Gloom Boom & Doom Report” which highlights unusual investment opportunities, and is the author of several books including “ TOMORROW’S GOLD – Asia’s Age of Discovery” which was first published in 2002 and highlights future investment opportunities around the world. “TOMORROW’S GOLD” was for several weeks on Amazon’s best seller list and is being translated into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and German. Dr. Faber is also a regular contributor to several leading financial publications around the world.

A book on Dr Faber, “RIDING THE MILLENNIAL STORM”, by Nury Vittachi, was published in 1998. A regular speaker at investment seminars, Dr Faber is well known for his “contrarian” investment approach.
He is also associated with a variety of funds and is a member of the Board of Directors of numerous companies.

THE GLOOM BOOM & DOOM REPORT

The Gloom Boom & Doom Report is an in depth economic and financial publication, which highlights unusual investment opportunities around the world. The guiding philosophy is that, as Horace already observed, “many shall be restored that are now fallen and many shall fall that are now in honour.” The Gloom Boom & Doom report aims, based on economic, social and historical trends, to warn investors when investment themes have become widely accepted and are, therefore, highly priced and risky, while it continuously searches for opportunities in unloved and depressed markets. Subscribers to the GBD report are usually institutional investors, corporations or high net worth individuals, who are in a position to invest internationally and in all asset classes including bonds, equities, commodities and real estate, and have the necessary account facilities in place to do so.

Ajaz Ahmed is the Founder of Freeserve, the UK’s largest ISP, now owned by Wanadoo. His eureka moment came when he bought a PC at PC World in Leeds and nobody in the store could tell him how to get onto the Internet. After much persuasion by him, Dixons launched Freeserve in September 1998 and became the UK’s largest ISP in just three short months. It floated just nine months later at a market cap of £1.5bn and entered the FT 100 soon after, in March 2000 it had a market cap of £9bn.

Ajaz was one of the three founding executives to launch the business, seeing it through flotation and the £1.6bn sale to Wanadoo. He was named “number one” in the e-commerce Hall of Fame by Business Age Magazine. Internet Magazine placed him in the top 50 movers and shakers in the UK Internet industry, the Asian community also recognised him with a Special Achievement Award.

Ajaz held the position of Business Development Director until April 2001 when he left the company to pursue a variety of business interests. He now sits a number of boards and has a number of investments which he is actively involved in, he also sits on the Governing Council at the University of Huddersfield and the board of Yorkshire Forward (Regional development agency).

Sir Richard Needham’s ambition has always been to stand up for business in both Parliament and politics. He started a packaging design company with three friends when he was 23 and went on to grow it into a silk screen, litho printing and laminating business before becoming a Member of Parliament.

From 1985-1992 Richard Needham was the Minister responsible for redesigning and rebuilding Ireland’s shattered towns and cities.

He is widely recognised throughout Northern Ireland as the man responsible for turning round and regenerating both the North’s infrastructure and economic base.

In 1992 Richard Needham was promoted to Minister of Trade and became Michael Heseltine’s Deputy. Over three years he overhauled and reinvigorated the whole of Britain’s export strategy. He is accepted in Whitehall as Britain’s most successful Minister of Trade sine the War. In recognition of his work in Northern Ireland and at the DTI he was made a Privy Counsellor in 1994 and knighted in 1997.

Since leaving politics he has become involved in a number of businesses both large and small. He was international Director at GEC plc from 1995-97, Meggitt Plc from 1997-2002, Chairman of the London Heart Hospital for five years and Biocompatibles Plc for six years togther with a number of other public companies.

Over the last 15 years he has been a Director of Dyson. He was Deputy Chairman for four of them. He was largely responsible for the development of the Company’s overseas sales operations in Europe, the US and the Far East, particularly Japan. He is now Dyson’s senior independent Director, Chairman of Avon Rubber Plc and Vice Chairman of NEc Europe Ltd.

He is President of the British Exporters’ Association and continues informally to advise the British Government on trade promotion matters. Richard has written two books, is an honourary doctor of laws and was appointed Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and silver Star by the Emperor of Japan.

Douglas McWilliams is one of Europe’s top economists. In 1992 he set up and now runs Centre for Economics and Business Research Limited (CEBR), one of the Britain’s leading commercial economics think-tanks. He is a well-known public speaker of many years’ standing and is greatly in demand for speaking engagements and media appearances. His face is a familiar one to viewers of current affairs and business television programmes such as “Newsnight” and “Business Breakfast” while his voice is heard frequently on the BBC and other radio programmes.

Douglas has a unique talent for being able to put across complex economic facts and forecasts in terms that can be understood by non-specialists. His great sense of humour can be detected in his speeches, which are interesting as well as informative. His presentations are clear, concise, well argued and supported by clear visual material.

Douglas has given keynote speeches to a wide range of audiences, from seminars for packaging to seminars for property, from insurance to information technology, from catering to construction and including a whole host of diverse interests.

Douglas was Chief Economic Adviser to the Confederation of British Industry from 1988 to 1992. Previously he was IBM UK Chief Economist, Manager of Market Research and Manager of Business Environment Analysis. He was Chairman of the economics forecasting group of UNICE, the European federation of employers’ organisations from 1980 to 1985. Douglas McWilliams was Visiting Professor at Kingston University Business School from 1988 to 1998. He was also a member of the Council of the Foundation for Manufacturing and Industry from 1993 to 1998.

Douglas is a member of the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He is also Economic Adviser to two organisations, the Chartered Institute of Marketing and NCL Investments Ltd.

Educated at Nottingham High School and Cambridge. The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP is a barrister-at-law, having been called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1963 and becoming QC in 1980. He has practised on the Midland Circuit, based in Birmingham.

Kenneth Clarke first became active in politics at Cambridge where he was President of the Union. Life in the House of Commons began on his election as MP for Rushcliffe in the 1970 general election and he has retained the seat to this day.

His career within the House has been a long one and he held positions within the Department of Transport before being appointed Minister for Health in 1982. Kenneth Clarke joined the Cabinet in 1985 as Paymaster General and Minister for Employment, and following the 1987 general election, became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for Trade & Industry. He subsequently held the posts of Secretary of State for Health, Education & Science and Home Office before becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer in May 1993, a position he held until the general election of May 1997.

On 19 January 2009, he rejoined the Conservative Party front bench team as Shadow Business Secretary.

Among the most energetic of former Conservative cabinet ministers in broadening his business interests since the election, Kenneth Clarke has recently been appointed non-executive chairman of Uni-Chem, non executive deputy chairman of BAT and a non-executive director of Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust.

Renowned for his powerful performances in the House and credited with having taken the UK economy to a healthy state, Kenneth Clarke is one of the most impressive people on the political scene today.

Famous also for his lively sense of humour and “the chuckle”, Kenneth Clarke’s vast experience of world economic and political affairs make him a much requested keynote speaker at senior-level conferences.

Lord MacLaurin was born in Blackheath in 1937 and educated at Malvern College. After completing his National Service with RAF Fighter Command from 1956 to 1958 he worked for a short period with a firm of domestic appliance manufacturers. In 1959 he joined Tesco as a management trainee and subsequently promoted to a number of senior appointments within the company’s retail operations before being appointed to the Board in 1970. He became Managing Director in 1973 and Chairman from 1985 to 1997.

Lord MacLaurin has held numerous titles including Chairman of the Food Policy Group of the Retail Consortium, and President of the Institute of Grocery Distribution. He has been a Non-Executive Director of a number of companies including Enterprise Oil plc, Guinness, National Westminster Bank plc, Gleneagles Hotels plc, Whitbread and Vodafone. He was elected Chairman of Vodafone in June 2000 and was a member of the Stock Exchange Advisory Committee from 1988 to 1991.

Lord MacLaurin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1986 and received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Stirling, an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Wales in Cardiff and an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Hertfordshire. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Marketing in 1987 and an Honorary Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute in 1992. In 1981 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London and in 1982 became a Liveryman with the Carmen Company. Lord MacLaurin is Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board and a Governor of Malvern College. He was knighted in 1989, and was granted a life peerage in 1996.

He became a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire in July 1992 and Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire in 1996. He received a Doctorate in recognition of the inspiration and leadership which he has provided in the worlds of business and sport and, in particular, for his contributions as Chairman of Tesco and, since 1997, as chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Dr Neville Bain is Chairman of the Institute of Directors. He is a Non-Executive Director of Scottish & Newcastle plc, Biocon Ltd, an international company registered in India with a market cap of $1.2 billion, and Provexis plc, an Aim listed company developing functional food Until March 2006 he was Chairman of Hogg Robinson plc. He was Chairman of Royal Mail.

Dr Bain has worked internationally for most of his career, first with Cadbury Schweppes in New Zealand where he was born; in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. He also spent 6½ years with Coats Viyella plc where he was Group Chief Executive.

Dr Bain graduated from Otago University, New Zealand, with a Master of Commerce (Hons) degree and with double Bachelors degrees in Accounting and Economics. He has also been awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a Fellow Cost and Management Accountant, a Fellow Chartered Secretary, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Keenly interested in business education, he has published numerous papers and is the author of three management books published by Macmillan: “Successful Management” 1995, “Winning Ways Through Corporate Governance” which he co-wrote in 1996 with Professor David Band, and “The People Advantage” written with Bill Mabey, published in 1999.

The book Roads to the Top profiled eighteen of the country’s most outstanding business leaders, including Sir John Harvey-Jones, Gerry Robinson, Archie Norman, Martin Taylor and Lord Sheppard. In the book, Neville Bain is described by a colleague at Coats Viyella thus: ” Truly bright and outstanding as a leader, with the capacity to run an even larger, more complex organisation than Coats Viyella. His strength lies in his ‘helicopter vision’, his ability to rise above things and also a charisma that leads people to transcend themselves.”

Neville Bain is equally charismatic as a speaker on topics such as leadership, change, globalisation, governance and strategy.

Dr Mo Ibrahim is the founder of Celtel International and one of Africa’s most successful business leaders. Originally from Sudan and educated in the Middle East and the United Kingdom, Dr Ibrahim is a respected global expert in mobile communications with a distinguished academic and business career.

In 1998, he founded MSI Cellular Investments, which was later renamed Celtel International. The company now operates in 15 African countries, under licences that cover more than a third of the continent’s population. The company has invested more than $750m in Africa, helping to bring the benefits of mobile communications to millions of people across the continent. In 2005, Celtel was sold to MTC Kuwait for $3.4bn, making it one of Africa’s most successful companies ever.

Dr Ibrahim holds a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Alexandria, Egypt, an MSc in electronics and electrical engineering from the University of Bradford, and PhD in mobile communications from the University of Birmingham. He is a member of the Africa Regional Advisory Board of London Business School.

Lord Jones (Digby) of Birmingham

From July 2007 to October 2008 Digby Jones served in the UK Government as Minister of State for Trade & Investment. During his 15 months in Ministerial office he made 45 overseas visits, travelling to 31 different countries and meeting with the world’s top business leaders and politicians. He changed the way that UK Trade & Investment was perceived in delivering a record year for inward investment and expanded the UK’s presence in all of the major international markets.

Digby Jones was made a Partner at Edge and Ellison, the law firm in 1984. He was responsible for developing the firm’s London presence and establishing its representation in many European countries and several states in America. He was involved in most of the major management buy-outs and merger and acquisition activity in the West Midlands in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was made Deputy Senior Partner in 1990, becoming the Firm’s Senior Partner in 1995.

In 1998 he joined KPMG as vice chairman of Corporate Finance, acting as close adviser to many public companies across the United Kingdom and in KPMG’s global markets.

Digby served as Director-General of the CBI, the Confederation of British Industry, the UK’s ‘Voice of Business’, from 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2006 where he regularly visited businesses in the UK and worldwide – taking their views back to those who make the rules. During his appointment he took the British business message to 70 different countries, internationalising the organisation and opening CBI offices in Washington DC and Beijing.

Following his departure from the CBI he held a number of senior corporate advisory positions – Senior Advisor to the Executive of Deloitte; Senior Advisor to Barclays Capital; Corporate and Governmental Affairs Advisor to Ford of Europe and its Premier Automotive Group; Senior Advisor to JCB; Special Advisor to His Royal Highness the Duke of York in connection with his role as the UK Special Representative for International Trade & Investment; Senior Advisor to Computer Science Corporation inc, Member of the Advisory Board of Monitise Ltd; Member of the Advisory Board of Thales (UK) Ltd; Advisor to Hugh James, Solicitors, Cardiff and London, Advisor to Wragge & Co., Solicitors, Birmingham and London, Non-Executive Director of Alba plc, i-Clean Systems Ltd and Leicester Tigers Rugby plc. Its a wonder he ever sleeps really!

In 2007 he served as the UK’s Skills Envoy, campaigning for both private and public sector employers to raise the level of skills of all of their employees to Level Two by 2010.

He accepted a lifetime peerage in the House of Lords where he now sits on the cross benches and is known as Lord Jones of Birmingham.

Hamish McRae is one of Europe’s leading futurists. He is the author of the acclaimed work on the future “The World in 2020: Power, Culture and Prosperity” and was named Business and Finance Journalist of the Year 2006 at the British Press Awards.

He is associate editor and the principal economic commentator of “The Independent” and “The Independent on Sunday”.

Since the publication of “The World in 2020″ he has been in demand world-wide as a speaker on the future.

His other books include “Capital City – London as a Financial Centre”, co-authored with Frances Cairncross, and “Wake-up Japan”, co-authored with Tadashi Nakamae. Awards include Financial Journalist of the Year in 1979, a special merit award in the first Amex Bank essay awards in 1987, 1996 Columnist of the Year in the Periodical Publisher’s Awards – and in 2005 the David Watt Prize for outstanding political journalism. He is a visiting professor at the School of Management at Lancaster University and a council member of the Royal Economic Society.

His current areas of work include the shift of power to the economies of Asia and the impact of the new technologies on the world economy. He is now working on a new book on global best practice.

He was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh and has an MA in Economics and Political Science from Trinity College, Dublin. He was deputy editor of “The Banker” and editor of “Euromoney” before becoming financial editor of “The Guardian” in 1975. In 1989 he moved to “The Independent” where he is now associate editor.

`A charismatic and innovative speaker. I can only recommend him.’
Deutsche Telekom

`An engaging and entertaining speaker, credible and authoritative.’
BBC

‘Thank you for your excellent talk at our chief executives’ conference, it contributed greatly to the success of the occasion. You certainly stimulated lively debate both for the rest of evening and beyond.’
Islandsbanki

`Hamish successfully stimulated group discussion after an excellent presentation. He is a pleasure to work with’
Scottish Enterprise

Will Hutton is executive vice chair of The Work Foundation, the most influential voice on work, employment and organisation issues in the UK. Regularly called on to advise senior political and business figures and comment in the national and international media, Will is today one of the pre-eminent economics commentators in the country.

He began his career in the city, as a stockbroker and investment analyst before moving to the BBC, where he worked both on radio, as a producer and reporter, and on TV as economics correspondent for Newsnight. Prior to joining The Work Foundation, Will spent four years as editor-in-chief of The Observer, for which he continues to write a closely-watched weekly column.

Will’s best-known book is probably The State We’re In, which was seen at the time as setting the scene for the Blair revolution. Since then he has published The State to Come, The Stakeholding Society and (with Anthony Giddens) On The Edge, a groundbreaking analysis of globalisation. His most recent book is The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century and his forthcoming book is an exploration of the terms, definitions and basis of the perception and reality of fairness in business and social terms.

Outside The Work Foundation, Will is a governor of the London School of Economics, where he is also a visiting professor. He is an honorary fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford, a member of the Scott Trust and a fellow of the Sunningdale Institute. In 2004, Will was invited by the European Commission to join a High Level Group on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy and act as its “rapporteur” for the final report.

Lord Adair Turner (Adair) of Ecchinswell

Adair Turner (Lord Turner) is Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, the regulatory body which oversees the financial services industry in the UK. He is also Chairman of the UK Government’s Climate Change Committee.

In March 2009 the FSA produced a report recommending a revamp of global banking regulation in response to the credit crunch and collapse of global banking luquidity.

Adair Turner will lead the FSA as it wrestles with the challenge of rebuilding a tarnished reputation and negotiates changes to the regulatory regime. The former McKinsey director is seen by many in the industry as a positive mix of industry experience and political nous, key to the FSA as the UK reviews its system for sharing financial regulation between the FSA, the Bank of England and the Treasury, and on the international stage.

Adair Turner is also Chairman of the Overseas Development Institute. He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and at Cass Business School, City University.

He became a cross-bench member of the House of Lords in 2005. He was Chairman of the Pensions Commission from 2003 – 2006, and of the Low Pay Commission from 2002 – 2006. His book ‘Just Capital – The Liberal Economy’, was published by Macmillan in 2001.

Until September 2008 Adair Turner was a non-executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank; from 2000-2006 he was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe, and from 1995-99, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry. Prior to that, between 1992 and 1995, he built the McKinsey’s practice in Eastern Europe and Russia as a Director.

Adair Turner is also trustee of the World Wildlife Fund UK, Chairman of the Centre for Sustainable Investment and Vice-Chairman of Britain in Europe, the leading pro-euro lobby group. Adair is a trustee of the World Wildlife Fund UK, Chairman of the Centre for Sustainable Investment and Vice-Chairman of Britain in Europe, the leading pro-euro lobby group. His recent book ‘Just Capital – The Liberal Economy’ is published by Macmillan.

Business Leadership is not for the faint hearted – whether your company is a start up or a FTSE100 giant. And it’s even more challenging in the roller coaster world of technology where today’s pioneer can quickly become yesterday’s museum exhibit. Nobody knows this better than Ken Olisa who has been at the top of household name IT businesses on both sides of the Atlantic for the last 25 years.

In November 2009 Olisa was elected as the 5th member of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority; the body commissioned to provide scrutiny and conduct review of the allowances scheme for MP’s.

Ken’s technology career spans over 30 years, commencing with IBM from whom he won a scholarship while at Fitzwilliam, College Cambridge University where he read Natural, Social, Political and Management Sciences.

At IBM he held various posts in systems engineering, sales and marketing, before joining Wang Laboratories in 1981. Following a period as Marketing Director for Europe, Vice President of US Marketing and then of Worldwide Marketing, Ken was appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager of Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME). Here he was responsible for the sales, marketing, support, service and administration activities within 11 Wang subsidiaries and 92 distributors. In that role he led the team which restored the EAME operation to profitability; following which he launched an unsuccessful MBO resulting in his departure!

Ken moved on to test his entrepreneurial mettle by founding Interregnum, the technology merchant bank (www.interregnum.com) in 1992. He led that company through the roller coaster ride of its early growth; its entry into, and exit from, a joint venture with BDO Stoy Hayward; the IPO on London’s AIM exchange in 2000; and the tricky years that followed the collapse of the dotcom boom.

At Interregnum, Ken worked at the forefront of the entrepreneur/technology growth cycle which commenced in the mid 1990s. As well as serving on the Boards of many of Interregnum’s investments and advisory clients, Ken notched up some interesting firsts, including chairing the UK’s first publicly listed Internet Service Provider (ISP) – Voss Net – on its admission to AIM and holding a similar position on the Board of the first Israeli technology company to be listed on the junior exchange – DMATEK. He was also a principal advisor to, and Director of, uDate.com which became one the UK’s few dotcom successes when it was sold to Barry Diller’s USA Interactive in 2003.

Ken retired from Interregnum in 2006 and now runs the highly respected boutique technology merchant bank – Restoration Partners.

Ken curently serves on the Boards of two FTSE 100 companies: Thomson Reuters (where he is a member of the Audit Committee) and ENRC (Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation) where he serves on the Audit, Nominations and Remuneration Committees). He was a Director ( and Chair of the Remuneration Committee) of Canada’s largest software developer – Open Text Corporation (Nasdaq: OTEX) – until December 2008. In addition he serves on the Board of, or is an adviser to, several privately held and innovative companies including BioWisdom, Prevx, Independent Audit and Metapraxis.

Ken’s knowledge and experience of large and small enterprises, technology and marketing and his willingness to speak his mind makes him much demand as a public speaker.

A believer in the Victorian ethos that successful commerce is the fuel of public service, Ken is a Freeman of the City of London; a Liveryman and Warden of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists; Director of the Thomson Reuters Foundation; Chairman of Thames Reach (a charity working to shelter and resettle the homeless in London); a Vice President of the British Computer Society; a member of the Government’s Women’s Enterprise Taskforce; and was an inaugural Postal Services Commissioner from 2001 to 2004.

In 2003 Ken won the 2003 BVCA/Real Deals Private Equity Personality of the Year Award and in 2006 he was elected as a Fellow of the British Computer Society. He was named in the top 10 most influential black men in Powerlist 2008.

Ken is one of the most powerful, relevant and highly rated speakers available today and accepts only a limited number of engagements each year. His masterclass sessions to senior management entitled What they don’t teach you at business school, have been celebrated by business leaders from all sectors.

John Willman is an Editorial Consultant based in London and a former Associate Editor of the Financial Times. In an 18-year career with the FT, he held a series of senior roles, including Chief Leader-Writer, Banking Editor, Consumer Industries Editor and latterly UK Business Editor.

He has also won many journalism awards, including Financial Journalist of the Year at the 2001 British Press Awards and the banking award in the Business Journalist of the Year 2002 awards.

Since stepping down from the FT in March 2009, he has been working on a variety of editorial projects for government departments and large companies, and is a Senior Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, a free-market think-tank.

Leaving Cambridge University in 1971 with a first-class degree in Social and Political Sciences, John initially taught economics, until in 1976, he entered journalism as a financial writer for the consumer magazine Which?, later becoming publications manager for the London office of Peat Marwick, the accountancy firm (now KPMG). Between 1985 and 1990, he was General Secretary of the Fabian Society, the left-of-centre think-tank associated with the Labour Party.

Willman has written or contributed to several books, including A Better State of Health (Profile Books, 1998), the annual Lloyds TSB Tax Guide (with Sara Williams, 1985-2000), the Which? Guide to Planning and Conservation (Consumers’ Association, 1990)and The Major Effect (Macmillan, 1994).

John Willman is widely recognised as the foremost and most trusted interpreter from the margins of where politics, policy and business meet. He has written and contributed to several books, including the annual Lloyds TSB Tax Guide, The Which? Guide to Planning and Conservation, The Major Effect and A Better State of Health.

He has extensive broadcast experience and has appeared frequently on BBC TV and radio, Sky News and CNN. He has interviewed many senior political leaders including Gordon Brown.

The current climate has led to an even more marked increase in John’s popularity with senior management and banking groups who clearly like their news delivered with more than just a hint of humour. John has been heralded as 100% economist and 50% humourist. It is often said that wherever two economists are to be found, you will hear four opinions – with John the single informed opinion is sufficient.

John Willman currently holds the bureau title for the highest level of client feedback for any speaker throughout 2008/9, with an impressive rating of 98%.

Dr James Bellini is a futurist, analyst, broadcaster and regular consultant to business and governments around the world. James is an expert in the future outlook for business and particularly within the context of the Internet, virtual markets and related developments in e-culture and business re-invention. He focuses on key management challenges related to issues of collaborative commerce, new business ‘eco-systems’, future consumer trends and concerns about the security of digital information flows and transaction data.

After a Masters from Cambridge, a PhD from London School of Economics and a spell as university teacher he was the first British member of the renowned US-headquartered futurology ‘think-tank’, the Hudson Institute founded by Dr Herman Kahn. He subsequently joined BBC TV as editor/presenter of The Money Programme, Newsnight and Panorama. This was the beginning of more than twenty years as a television programme-maker on business and politics, including three years with Financial Times Television and four years with Sky News.

Dr Bellini was a senior consultant with the Henley Centre for Forecasting and the Economist Intelligence Unit and regularly works with leading IT names such as Hewlett Packard exploring the ‘New Economy’. He is founder of Media Counsellors, a UK-based communications consultancy and the author of numerous books, special reports and analytical papers on social, political and business trends.

Recent speaking and conference moderating invitations have taken him to Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, the United States and to practically every country in Europe. His latest UK engagements include work with — amongst others — Institute of Management, London Business School, Lloyds TSB, Legal & General, Microsoft, Camelot, Arcadia, Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola, Compaq and DERA [the Defence Research Agency]. He was recently engaged by the UK Cabinet Office on the launch of its e-government strategy.

Speaker on the future; conference facilitator; TV broadcaster

Member of the global future forum

James describes himself as ‘an historian of the future’ with a close interest in key challenges faced by current and future management up to Horizon 2020:

• the business implications of emerging technologies – Internet III and the wireless world
• new business ‘eco-systems’
• the shape and style of tomorrow’s company
• the demographic revolution and its radical impact on the future marketplace:
• rise of the aspirational consumer
• post-family households
• financial services – pensions, savings products, insurance
• government and public services
• issues of work/life balance
• the ‘mosaic’ society

Dr Bellini is also a regular choice as moderator/chairman at leading conferences for business and government around the world.

He is currently writing a book on the psychological profiles of 21st century companies.