HELPING TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS BETTER
Aimed at sole traders, directors, entrepreneurs, partners and owners of businesses, this event provides an opportunity to share and discuss the key issues around running a business.
When: Tuesday 28th February 2023 8.30am – 12.30pm
Where: University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, 19 Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Duration: 4 hours
ABOUT THE EVENT
This is an inaugural event for Suffolk Director magazine, who along with its sister publications, Essex Director and Norfolk Director, has one very simple aim, to help run your business better.
Brought to you in association with Ellisons Solicitors, Paddy & Scott’s, Ensors, University of Suffolk and Pound Gates, the event aims to inspire and motivate, as well as being useful and informative.
It is open to sole traders, directors, entrepreneurs, partners and owners of businesses from all market sectors. As well as providing opportunities to network with other business leaders, attendees will be positively encouraged to question the keynote speakers, and the panel of experts; all with a focus on sharing knowledge and experience and stimulating a healthy discussion around the real issues that are currently of concern to businesses in the area.
Brought to you in association with…
WHAT TO EXPECT?
The event is divided into two sections interspersed with opportunities to network:
8.30am: Arrival and registration. Attendees will gather for coffee, tea and pastries at Paddy & Scott’s Ambition House Café on Ipswich Waterfront.
9.15am: Taking place at the Lecture Theatre at the University of Suffolk Waterfront Building, part one will be presentations by keynote speakers, Minnie Moll, CE of the Design Council, and previously CE of Jarrold Retail and Joint CE of East of England Co-op, and environmentalist, entrepreneur and Suffolk organic farmer, William Kendall DL. They will talk about their career journey, along with the highs, lows and challenges they have faced along the way. There will be opportunities for attendees to ask questions after their presentations.
10.15am: Break for networking and refreshments.
10.45am: Back in the Lecture Theatre for part two, the Q&A session. Presented in a similar format to ‘Question Time’, this will be an opportunity to discuss and put questions to a panel of experts representing legal and HR, finance, risk and insurance, growth, strategy, grants, funding and international trade. All the panel members are currently working with local businesses and bring a wealth of ‘real’ experience and knowledge which they are happy to share. Please note this part of the event will be a closed session and take place under the ‘Chatham House Rule’, which allows anyone to use the information discussed but without revealing who made any particular comment.
William Kendall
is an organic farmer, entrepreneur and campaigner for a better world. He had short and unsuccessful careers as an army officer, barrister and then an investment banker before studying for an MBA in France and becoming an entrepreneur, leading the teams building the brands: New Covent Garden Soup Company, Green & Black’s Chocolate and Cawston Press. His latest hands-on venture activity is as co-founder of the non-alcoholic drink start-up LA Brewery, based on the Bentwaters Airbase outside Woodbridge. William is experienced in venture capital and advising on early-stage business development. He mainly works in private business and is director of the large food manufacturer Samworth Brothers and is a Trustee of The Grosvenor Estate and The Gascoyne Cecil Estate. He is also a director of the publicly listed ESG fund, Keystone Positive Change. William is a lover of rural life and with his wife, Miranda, he has built their small experimental farm into a successful brand – Maple Farm, Kelsale. He is an active volunteer in community projects in his home county of Suffolk and helps develop local solutions to global problems by campaigning for better nature protection and local food. William is a Trustee of the Suffolk Community Foundation and President of The Suffolk Wildlife Trust and writes and lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship in business. He is a founder director of The Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival and is actively involved with a number of charities mainly connected with the environment and the arts. He is also a Council member of The Suffolk Agricultural Association. He was High Sheriff of Suffolk in 2016 and is a Deputy Lieutenant for Suffolk.
Minnie Moll
is the Chief Executive of the Design Council, the national strategic body for design. Since joining in 2021, she has led the organisation’s new mission: Design for Planet. This aims to support and galvanise the 1.97 million people in the UK design sector to put sustainability at the heart of their work. She was previously Chief Executive of Jarrold Retail in Norwich. Her other roles have included Joint Chief Executive of the East of England Co-op, a £350m turnover business, Executive Director of Marketing at Notcutts Garden Centres, Global Marketing Director of leading innovation company ?What If! and Managing Partner of multi award winning Advertising Agency HHCL. Minnie is passionate about culture and business with purpose. ?What If! won The Sunday Times ‘Best Place to Work in the UK’ two years running. In her time at the Co-op they won Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Business of the Year’ and returned £millions back into the local community through their Sourced Locally initiative. Minnie was voted Vistage Business Leader of the Year in 2020 and listed as one of the 100 Most Inspirational Women in Suffolk and Norfolk in 2018. She was appointed by HRH Prince Charles in 2016 as his Ambassador for Responsible Business in the East of England. Minnie was a board member of Ipswich Business Improvement District (BID) and then Norwich BID and Town Deals Board. Minnie is a qualified Transformational Coach with a focus on supporting women in business. She is also an Ambassador for the charity Fresh Start – new beginnings. Minnie is a proudly East Anglian girl and lives in North Suffolk with her family, several animals and her vintage little grey Fergie tractor.
OUR Q&A PANEL:
Chaired by Professor Gurpreet Jagpal, Pro Vice-Chancellor Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Suffolk, our panel of experts represent all aspects of running a business, from legal and HR, finance, risk and insurance, to growth and strategy, grants, funding and international trade.
Our panel includes:
Guy Longhurst: Managing Partner at Ellisons Solicitors
Carole Burman: Founder and Managing Director, MAD-HR
Josh Yasar: Finance and Commercial Director, Pound Gates
Zoe Plowman: Associate Partner at Ensors Chartered Accountants
Scott Russell: Owner and Founder of Paddy Scott’s
David Jackson: Adviser at New Anglia Growth Hub & previously International Sales Director, MGC Lighting Group
Ellisons Solicitors
Ellisons Solicitors is one of the oldest, most established and fastest growing firms in the East of England having been founded over 250 years ago. With a team of over 270 people, across its offices in Suffolk and Essex, Ellisons offers a comprehensive range of services to businesses and individuals. The firm’s guiding principle is to become a trusted advisor and very much rooted in a belief that everything should be led by a client’s needs and motivated by ensuring a client’s absolute satisfaction. www.ellisonssolicitors.com
Ensors
Ensors Chartered Accountants is an award winning, regional firm which covers all of the areas you would expect, and more. From its compliance offering in accounts preparation, audit and tax, to advisory services; all help clients deal with the unexpected, as well as plan for growth, succession and international expansion. The firm has grown impressively and are rightly proud of this success. Its core values remain constant however, treating clients and employees as individuals; striving for the highest levels of technical excellence; building strong and long term relationships; and, most importantly, being genuinely approachable. www.ensors.co.uk
Pound Gates
Delivering peace of mind for its clients, Pound Gates is an independent Chartered Insurance Broker that provides certainty through commitment, expertise and added value. Its highly qualified and experienced team understands that each business is unique and therefore requires business insurance solutions to match. Its job is to create a tailored business insurance programme to meet the complex nature of the risks faced by its clients. The various accreditations it holds evidence its commitment to high ethical standards and business excellence. www.poundgates.com
Paddy & Scott’s
With a proud local reputation, Paddy & Scott’s are coffee farmers, who are on a mission to revolutionise how coffee is traded around the world. They are not just obsessed with great tasting coffee, but also using coffee as a vehicle for positive change. It grows, sources and imports some of the finest coffees in the world and has its own coffee farm in Kenya, where profits are diverted towards rebuilding the local school and fuelling the ambitions of the local community. www.paddyandscotts.shop
