Third Annual 'Social Business for CEOs' Conference
13 November 2008
What was it about?
Catalyst's third annual conference for social business CEOs took place on 13 November 2008 at the Emirates stadium. The topic of our conference this year was: 'Social Business - What do you really need?'.
The objective of this conference was, as in prior years, to deliver practical advice to social business professionals. It is the motto of Catalyst and its affiliate, socialinvestments.com, to help social businesses to succeed, and our annual conference is part of this effort. This year, the panel discussions focused particularly on three key areas: people (i.e. management, staff and the Board), the political and economic environment and raising investment capital.
As well as these three main panels there were two lunchtime speakers, talking about their personal experiences in social business, seventeen ‘45 second pitches’ and a tour of the Emirates stadium. In contrast to many social sector conferences, Catalyst's one-day event focused on the day-to-day business challenges and opportunities facing senior managers in this growing sector- not just on networking.
Conference programme:
Panel 1: 'How do you build a top-quality team?'
Stuart Brocklehurst- Partner of Carbon Leadership
Tom Savage - Managing Director of Bright Green
Henry Stewart - Chief Executive of Happy Ltd
Q&A
Panel 2: 'Which Party offers the best programme for Social and Business Enterprise?'
Kevin Brennan MP- Minister for the Third Sector
Susan Kramer MP- Liberal Democrats, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Nick Hurd MP- Shadow Minister for Charities, Social Enterprise and Volunteering
Q&A
Lunchtime Speakers: Lizzie Vann, Founder of Organix Brands and Vessela Gertcheva
Stadium Tour
Panel 3: 'Raising Capital- What are Investors Looking For'
James Arbib - Investor, Arbib Family Office
Daniela Barone Soares - Chief Executive of Impetus
George Latham - Head of SRI funds at Henderson Global Investors
Antony Ross - Director of Bridges Ventures
Q&A
Drinks and Networking
Date: 13 November 2008
Venue: Emirates Stadium, Arsenal.
Feedback from 2008 Conference
“Very good choice of interesting speakers. Felt like there was a really good networking atmosphere on which to build. 45-second pitches were brilliant. Thank you for another challenging and thought-provoking day.”
“Overall great conference; timing and pacing were very good. Good energy and mix of participants. Thank you for an informative and useful networking day.
“Thank you for an excellent day... I found it informative, educational and stimulating...”
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Click here to see the video of Rod interviewed by iball.