Conference: How to win more business
On Wednesday 15th October Newry Chamber of Commerce will be holding a half day conference at Canal Court Hotel to help SMEs in Northern Ireland win more business. NI Business Now spoke to Orla Jackson to find out more about the NI Small Business Conference 2014.
We decided that we wanted to hold an event specifically tailored to the needs of SMEs in the current climate and, knowing that all business leaders face many time commitments, we have designed a packed half day itinerary to cover everything from HR, exporting and finance. We have spaces for 150 delegates and the event is open to all SMEs in Northern Ireland.
Mark Simpson of the BBC will open the event as the conference chair. Our key note speakers are all highly successful in their own fields and we think they will all have worthwhile advice to pass on.
Padraig Canavan will tell us how to grow a multi-million pound company. Mr Canavan founder and CEO of Derry based business technology firm ‘Singularity’ sold the company in 2011 in a £30m deal to Kofax. Mr. Canavan served as Head of US Operations of Braid Systems Ltd., a leading EAI and secure messaging technology supplier to global financial market participants. He has also acted as a special consultant to IT and Financial Services Institutions with a focus on the successful implementation of process automation in their business process redesign and automation.
Adrian Toner is Chief Operating Officer (COO) of First Derivatives plc and his talk will focus on how to innovate to win more business. He first joined the board of First Derivatives plc as a Non Executive director in 2005 and in June 2010 joined the Company full time as COO. As COO Adrian is responsible for global business operations, logistics and human resources. First Derivatives currently employees over 1000 staff and has operations in London, New York, Stockholm, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Toronto, Philadelphia, Dublin and its headquarters in Newry. Prior to joining First Derivatives, Adrian was Associate Commercial Director at Allianz plc in Dublin as well as being Head of Allianz Northern Ireland. During his career he has worked in London, Munich, Dublin and Northern Ireland.
Mark Gowdy is Sales & Marketing Manager for White’s Speedicook Ltd. and has over 25 years experience in food marketing. He will be exploring how to sell. Mark joined Ormeau Bakery in 1985 after completing a degree in Economics at Queen’s University Belfast and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing at UUJ. In 1989, Mark moved to Allied Bakeries as Key Account Manager where he was an important member of the team that successfully launched the Kingsmill brand. He became Sales Manager of Irish Biscuits Ltd (Jacob’s NI) in 1990 and was promoted to the role of Sales Director in 1994. He joined White’s in 1998. Mark is also a Director of the Dairy Council (DCNI) and a member of the Operational Board of FoodNI.
We will also hold several workshops throughout the day including how to market your message with Tom Kelly, Stakeholder Group, how to beat the big guys on the web with Niall McKeown, iONOLOGY, how to be more profitable and secure appropriate finance with Feargal McCormack, PKF-FPM Accountants Ltd, how to hire, retain and manage staff with Patricia Coulter, Labour Relations Agency, how to write winning tenders with Dr Peter Brennan, InterTradeIreland, and how to enter new markets with Dr Vicky Kelly, Invest NI.
For further information visit: http://www.nismallbusinessconference.com/
