Business Festival Board Members Revealed

Following the first 2019 Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival (CWBF) board meeting of the Festival year which took place last week, the new board has been announced. 

Business Festival board members are all appointed on a voluntary basis to oversee the direction of the Festival and offer guidance, whilst being a Festival champion within the business community.

Many will, this year, also take on a dual role as a sector lead, because they are a key figurehead in their area of expertise and can help to drive up activity and engagement in their relevant industries.

The Business Festival’s key sectors are: Automotive and Advanced Manufacturing; Business Support; Communications & Marketing; Construction and Property; Creative and Digital; Education; Games Development and Serious Gaming; Health and Wellbeing; Logistics; Professional and Financial Services; Tourism and Culture.

The 2019 CWBF board consists of:

  • Jeremy Moore, Coventry & Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub (Business Support)
  • Peter Deeley / Edward Hudson, Deeley Group (Construction & Property)
  • Neil Curtis, Net visibility (Creative & Digital)
  • Paul Fairburn / Diane Gane, Coventry University (Education)
  • Jo Handford, University of Warwick (Education)
  • Marion Plant / Raj Joshi, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College (Education)
  • Nick Harper, Exient (Games Development & Serious Gaming)
  • Dr. Ann Coufopoulos, Coventry University (Health & Wellbeing)
  • Adrian De Courcey, De Courcey Travel (Logistics)
  • Alister de Ternant / Kirsty Bashford, Associate Events (the company managing the Festival)
  • Neil Mackey, Inspire Insurance (Professional & Financial Services)
  • Helen Peters, Shakespeare’s England (Tourism & Culture)
  • Lee Osborne, FSB
  • Parmy Singh, Coventry City Council

Neil Mackey (pictured left, speaking at 2018 CWBF) who is the Corporate Account Manager at CWBF headline partner, Inspire Insurance said, “Inspire Insurance is an independent local insurance brokerage which provides a range of personalised services, as well as niche products such as trade credit, product recall, warranties and bonds particularly tailored to the advanced manufacturing and construction sector. We are delighted to be headlining the Business Festival for a second year as well as playing an integral role in the strategic direction and leading the Professional Services sector.

“The Business Festival is a fantastic resource for the region that brings the business community together once a year to engage, learn and share ideas. Coventry & Warwickshire’s professional services industry particularly benefits from the opportunity to demonstrate its strength and dominance in the region and beyond.”

Originally developed by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub, the Business Festival is once again expected to comprise more than 100 different business events stretching across eleven key sectors over the fortnight.

CWBF board member and sector lead for Business Support, Jeremy Moore from the CWLEP LEP Growth Hub said, “This year will be our third Business Festival and each year, it is getting stronger, having a greater presence and more and more businesses are benefiting.

“We have received amazing feedback from people that have been involved by going to or running events, or being a partner or sponsor. Plus, know we are reaching new people as 57 per cent of attendees said they had not attended a business event in the six months prior to going to the 2018 Festival. This shows there is an appetite from our businesses to engage and grow.”

Applications to run events in the Festival are being invited until by 2 September via the website www.cwbusinessfestival.com.

Business Festival Sponsorship opportunities are also still available. This could lead to substantial benefits such as extensive brand exposure, guaranteed connections, introductions and business lead prospects.

For more information or to get involved, visit  www.cwbusinessfestival.com or email hello@cwbusinessfestival.com

Picture Caption: Board member representatives pictured above (L-R) Lee Osborne (FSB); Edward Hudson (Deeley Group) Raj Joshi (NWHCollege); Nick Harper (EXIENT) Adrian De Courcey (De Courcey Travel); Neil Curtis (Net Visibility); Clare Ireland (Coventry City Council); Jeremy Moore (CWLEP Growth Hub).