Our theme for 2023 was Building British Business. The full day conference was an opportunity for business leaders from across the UK, and the globe, to come together to discuss the opportunities for growth to help local communities thrive.
Throughout the day, delegates heard from key senior politicians and other notable public figures about their plans for growth. The conference was centred around four key breakout sessions for thought-provoking discussion amongst peers across the Chamber Network.
The four sessions were:
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To find out more, get in touch with Faye Busby and Sophia Cotgrove in our Partnership's Team by clicking here or emailing [email protected]
Wednesday 17th May, 2023 in the QEII Centre, London
Join us next year
Hear from brilliant and inspiring speakers from the world of politics, business and beyond.
Strengthen your existing connections and make new ones at our full day in-person conference.
Add your voice to our advocacy campaigns in the executive breakout sessions.
Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce and Director, Sarand Business Software
Read MoreOur theme for 2023 is Building British Business. The full day conference will be an opportunity for business leaders from across the UK, and the globe, to come together to discuss the opportunities for growth to help local communities thrive.
Ayesha Hazarika MBE is a columnist and broadcaster who is known for her insightful and witty opinions and observations on current affairs and politics. She now hosts the weekend drivetime show on Times Radio every Saturday and Sunday from 4 till 7pm, where she dissects the weeks news and events across Westminster and beyond with a plethora of interesting and engaging guests.
In 2019 she took over as Editor of The Londoner, the Evening Standard’s Daily Diary section, where she distills the latest news and insights from across the capital. This is onto of her hugely popular column which graces the pages of the same paper every Wednesday. In 2022, Ayesha began co-hosting Take on Tomorrow, the latest podcast series produced by PwC aiming to understand the role business can play in solving some of the biggest issues facing society today.
Sarah has a long history in the Chamber Movement and is a great advocate for the power of business for good. Sarah became Chair of the British Chambers of Commerce in 2019, is a Past President of Suffolk Chamber and sits on the board of the London Chamber. In challenging times for business, she has supported the BCC and international network's growth and is working with her teams to ensure they support the growth and prosperity of our members.
She has a particular interest in skills development and bringing more diversity into the Boardroom and is currently working closely with Neurodiverity in Business. She was awarded the MBE in 2015 for her work on skills development for young people.
With a background in management consultancy, Sarah has worked for high profile organisations including JP Morgan and KPMG. She chairs Codikoat, a rapidly expanding British Biotech startup which is taking their unique antiviral, antibacterial technology to domestic and international markets.
She is also the Chair of Abbeycroft Leisure, a large not for profit Leisure Trust and is a Governor at West Suffolk College and a Member of Suffolk Academy Trust.
Shevaun Haviland is Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce.
Shevaun joined BCC from the Cabinet Office where she lead Business Partnerships. She joined the UK government in 2016 and also ran the Inclusive Economy Partnership for HMG.
Shevaun started her career in consultancy in London and New York. She then moved to the Walt Disney Company in strategic planning before joining Disneyland Paris, opening the second theme park. Shevaun then joined the agency world, running global accounts for Millward Brown, Mindshare and WPP.
Following this, she became a partner in a start-up digital innovation agency and venture builder, Independents United, where she also became an Advisor for the Danson Foundation.
Most recently, Shevaun was the New Ventures Director for Avado, building new businesses in Edtech and founding the Academy of Digital Business Leaders. Shevaun has a passion for business as a force for good. She is a social impact investor, sits on the Ventures Advisory Board of UnLtd, and is Trustee of Barefoot College International as well as a board member of Women of the World Foundation.
Jeremy Hunt was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 14 October 2022.
In May 2010 Jeremy was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. Between 2012 and 2016 he served as Secretary of State for Health - England's longest serving Health Secretary. He was then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from July 2018 to July 2019. He was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in May 2005.
Before his election as an MP, Jeremy ran his own educational publishing business, Hotcourses. He also set up a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa. Jeremy lives in Godalming and London with his wife, son and 2 daughters.
Solange Chamberlain, Chief Operating Officer, NatWest
Away from the sessions there will be networking time for delegates to greet existing contacts and meet new ones; and we will also be showcasing our dynamic network of Chambers and strategic partners.
Ayesha Hazarika MBE, Columnist and Broadcaster
On 20 December 2019, Andrew Bailey was announced as the new Governor of the Bank of England. He began his term on 16 March 2020.
Andrew Bailey served as Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 1 July 2016 until taking up the role of Governor. As CEO of the FCA, Andrew Bailey was also a member of the Prudential Regulation Committee, the Financial Policy Committee, and the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Andrew previously held the role of Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA from 1 April 2013. While retaining his role as Executive Director of the Bank, Andrew joined the Financial Services Authority in April 2011 as Deputy Head of the Prudential Business Unit and Director of UK Banks and Building Societies. In July 2012, Andrew became Managing Director of the Prudential Business Unit, with responsibility for the prudential supervision of banks, investment banks and insurance companies. Andrew was appointed as a voting member of the interim Financial Policy Committee at its June 2012 meeting.
Previously, Andrew worked at the Bank in a number of areas, most recently as Executive Director for Banking Services and Chief Cashier, as well as Head of the Bank's Special Resolution Unit (SRU). Previous roles include Governor's Private Secretary, and Head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis.
Linzi Boyd, successfully owned and sold two businesses before the age of 24. The second was a renowned footwear brand with global distribution channels in 7 countries, She sold this company to Caterpillar and then went on, to build her third business, working with and growing some of the most famous brands on the hight street. She became very well known for building "Famous Brands".
Eleven years ago she found Purpose and moved out of the world of consumer brands, to set up One Earth, (one-earth.global) the first purpose-led platform, connecting enterprise to trade.
A purpose driven movement which amplifies the voices of united communities, by connecting together, on purpose, learning together to grow and trading with each other to impact change in the world.
Linzi is a global speaker, leading with purpose, and has grown and scaled thousands of businesses globally, combining both business and people. Linzi has worked with the London Stock Exchange, The Mayor's Office and the UN Global Compact and is a regular presenter for BBC World.
She is known for being a global ambassador for purpose, with an aim to help millions of organisations and businesses to build and scale their causes/purposes, by supporting them to achieve sustainable change on the planet and showcasing their vision, insight and the determination of the entrepreneurs leading their businesses, industries and societal causes, to create a purpose-led world.
Away from the sessions there will be networking time for delegates to greet existing contacts and meet new ones; and we will also be showcasing our dynamic network of Chambers and strategic partners.
Once you have booked your ticket and downloaded the Event App, you can then select the breakout session you want to register for. We have four breakout sessions taking place in the afternoon. Two of the sessions take place from 13:00 - 13:45 and the other two take place from 14:00 - 14:45. Please note that some of these sessions are running concurrently. Make sure you do not register for two sessions taking place at the same time.
The four sessions are:
Click the BREAKOUT SESSIONS tab above for more information.
Away from the sessions there will be networking time for delegates to greet existing contacts and meet new ones; and we will also be showcasing our dynamic network of Chambers and strategic partners.
Ayesha Hazarika MBE, Columnist and Broadcaster
The Rt Hon Keir Starmer is the Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras, and has been an MP continuously since 7 May 2015. He currently undertakes the role of Leader of HM Official Opposition. In addition, he is Leader of the Labour Party.
Martha is an entrepreneur and internet activist. Martha became a crossbench peer in the UK House of Lords in March 2013. In March 2014, she was appointed Chancellor of the Open University. Martha is a director of Twitter and chairperson of WeTransfer where she helped them reach B-Corp Status. She is also a non-executive director of Chanel.
Martha co- founded and chairs LuckyVoice, revolutionising the karaoke industry. Martha is a Patron of AbilityNet, Reprieve, Camfed and Just for Kids Law. From 2009 to 2013 Martha was Digital Champion for the UK and helped to create the Government Digital Service – this team launched gov.uk transforming government service delivery. In 2013 Martha was awarded a CBE.
In 1998 Martha co-founded Europe’s largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com with Brent Hoberman. They took it public in 2000 and sold it in 2005.
Maximising the UK's trade potential.
Heathrow Airport is at the heart of facilitating Britain’s trade across the world as the most valuable port in the U.K., supporting 1.4m tonnes of goods flowing through by air freight in 2021 alone. £66.7bn of UK exports passed through Heathrow Airport in 2019, some 40% of UK exports excluding the EU and Switzerland. Heathrow also hosts a burgeoning e-commerce trade representing hundreds of high-value consumer brands for sale to its millions of passengers annually.
This session will explore the opportunities and challenges for customers of air freight, trade and e-commerce with the rollout from later this year of the UK’s new Single Trade Window, and the impact of inbound border controls at ports on goods entering and leaving Great Britain through the new Border Target Operating Model. It will explore how the UK’s only hub airport and its customers can play their part in facilitating a growth in exports and global e-commerce trade in goods. Moreover, through greater digitalisation and use of technology in trade and customs facilitation processes, this session will explore how this development can travel together with export growth for SMEs too.
Economic growth: Scaling barriers to build British champions
The UK has been praised as a competitive destination to start and grow a business. High Growth businesses are the engine of the UK economy, they are a key to our future prosperity, our future employers and creators of inclusive growth and regional equality. However, recent economic headwinds and volatility have added fresh challenges to businesses looking to continue on their growth journey. This session will unpack the challenges, opportunities and action needed to support more companies to scale and drive economic growth.
Skills: Recruiting, Retaining and Training a Skilled Workforce
Across all regions and sectors, employers report crippling skills shortages that are holding back growth.
In this session, we explore how businesses are responding to the challenge of recruiting, retaining and training a skilled workforce. We ask how well the skills system is working for business and what employers and the government can do to improve it? Where can we identify best practise and what we can learn from our global chamber network?
Businesses are fast recognising and implementing actions to address climate and environmental issues as they have moved to the forefront of consumers’ minds in recent years. The UK Government’s Net Zero ambition represents a significant opportunity for UK business to be at the forefront of leading the UK to be a green superpower whilst satisfying the general public’s wish to be more environmentally conscious. This ambition will provide jobs, skills and growth to the UK, whilst positioning the UK as leader in exporting technologies to enable other countries to reach their own Net Zero ambition.
Join us as we discuss how business can capture opportunities when addressing climate and environmental issues as well as how Government can support business in these ambitions.
