directorFORUM

REAL companies, dialogue, issues & opportunities.

Meet directors, advisers & investors from the engine room of the UK economy: Directorzone £500k – 100m turnover companies. 

REGISTRATION (above): £35-45 by Mon 22 Mar; later + £15; on door + £10. Some free places - please see below.

AGENDA 18.00 Reception. Case studies. 3 networking breaks. Boardroom Q&A. 21.20 End.

EXPANSION Q&A

• loophouse is a contemporary design studio based in London, specialising in custom handmade 100% wool rugs and related products - including wallpaper and accessories - for designers and architects, as well as private clients and household names, globally. Founded by Lorraine Statham in 1992, a loophouse collection was featured at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in 1998 and its products have been seen in The Guggenheim Museum in Venice and New York, celebrity residences in US and at the luxurious Glasshouse Hotel in Edinburgh. loophouse has worked closely with UKTI for expansion into the US marketplace.
• lightapp is a hosted computing service - which means that all the computing processing power, software, security, virus protection and back-up are handled in lightapp's state-of-the-art data centres. 2 areas of focus: 1. Education / UK marketplace; 2. Eastern Europe: to bring millions of people, particularly in the Balkan region - Sofia, Plovdiv, Bucharest and Istanbul - access to inexpensive, and powerful computing solutions: software as a service (SaaS), infrastructure services and offsite storage. Mircea Bucur, MD Eastern Europe, completed his MBA at Cass Business School.
• Panel: David Smith, Corporate Partner, Fasken Martineau LLP; International Trade Adviser, UKTI; Dr. Tim Meldrum, Research & Enterprise, City University London

BOARDROOM Q&A 

“Growth issues for small company boardrooms:
shareholders, management & NEDucation”.

• Guest speaker David O'Hara - experienced private investor, CEO and founder of Blackthorn Focus, a publication and events business dedicated to the financial markets. Organiser of NEDucation 2010.
  • Private investor representation on boards.
  • Smallcap slog: is success valued by smallcap markets?
  • Is corporate governance relevant for a small, growing company?
  • How popular are non-executive directors? FTSE100 / 250 / AIM UK 50…
  • Who are NEDs, what are they doing and to whom are they accountable?
  • Exchange choice for a growing company: AIM, CISX, Sharemark, PLUS...?
  • Unpaid NEDs - if they were being paid nothing, were they doing anything?
  • How do the financial markets look for growth companies 10 years post-dotcom boom?
  • NEDucation 2010 conference, June 8th: for non-executive directors of UK-listed companies.
• Open Forum led by Tony Drury, Chairman, Sunrise Biotech Holding (Chinese health food producer listed on PLUS Markets) and Axiom Capital, Founder St Helen’s Capital Plc; blogs regularly on Enterprise Britain: on behalf of the UK's 4.3 million business owners & managers.
• Boardroom mentors:
  • Kelvin Harrison, Chairman & Founder, Maxima Holdings plc; NED, UBC Media Group plc; board member, Warwick Ventures.
  • Paul McGroary, Non-Executive Director, Central China Goldfields plc; Director, Marshall Lake Mining plc.
  • Angelo Baskaran, Finance Director, President Petroleum plc.

ADVICE ZONES / SPONSORS

OVERSEAS EXPANSION. UK Trade & Investment 

Team at event: International Trade Advisers, Marketing team.
Issues: Developing your business overseas, marketing, trade missions + other questions about overseas markets. UKTI expert knowledge, facilities - Embassies and High Commissions 100+ countries - contacts & lobbying clout.
Target: Established companies based within the M25: 1. re-actively exporting & now looking for advice on how to export strategically; 2. not exporting yet, but interested & ready to do so.

EMPLOYMENT - building the team. Fasken Martineau LLP    

Team at event: Corporate lawyers; trusted advisers to clients ranging from emerging enterprises to multinational companies.
Capabilities: Company & Corporate commercial law, tax, intellectual property, information technology, commercial property, employment, international trade & litigation.
Markets: AIM Market. African, Canadian, Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern markets. Energy, life sciences, aviation, insurance, mining & natural resources, technology, publishing & retail property.
Target: start-ups to major international corporations interested in mergers, acquisitions & disposals, public & private financing, corporate governance & joint ventures.

RESEARCH & ENTERPRISE. Research & Enterprise, City University London

Team at event: City University London, the university for business and the professions at the heart of the UK capital, has gained its internationally-renowned experience from over a century of teaching and learning. Research & Enterprise is building bridges: we link City’s commercial expertise & innovation with global business through the synergies we create between knowledge & technology transfer, research contracts, consultancy and enterprise training.
Issues: Technology commercialisation, knowledge transfer, enterprise learning and development, from research to employment.
Target: Entrepreneurial researchers, businesses & professionals interested in exploring the benefits of international university-enterprise collaboration.

FREE PLACES. Our sponsors are offering a small number of free places to directors of £500k – 100m turnover companies seeking advice on:

• AIM, M&A and other capital markets issues - 5 places courtesy of Fasken Martineau LLP.
• Export advice - 5 places courtesy of UK Trade & Investment London.
• Engaging with City University research & IP - and/or City/Cass alumni - 5 places courtesy of City University London.

To request your free place, please click here to use a Cityzone response channel, specifying which category is relevent for you.

VENUE: Cass Business School
Located in the heart of London’s financial district, Cass Business School is a leading provider of business and management education. Our MBA is recognised globally as a market leader, we have the widest portfolio of Specialist Masters programmes (MSc) in Europe and our Undergraduate School is one of the best in the UK. Ranked in the UK’s top 10 business and management research schools.