EThames Key Speaker Programme 2011

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Recently, EThames embarked upon the start of its 2011 Key Speaker Programme, a series of breakfast meeting, dinners and mini-lectures taking place throughout the year for middle and senior executives under the Executive Education and Corporate Development banner.

One of the main aims of the Key Speaker Programme is to bring together like minded people to listen to some of the key issues of the day and simultaneously offer an opportunity for some high level networking to transpire. It is also a way of offering EThames MBA students (and others) a chance to hear from distinguished speakers and take part in the interactive discussions that these Key Speaker events generate.

The inaugural event was a mini-lecture given in February to a group of special guests and a selection of EThames MBA students by Louis Turner, Chief Executive, Asia-Pacific Technology Network (www.aptn.org.uk), a London-based network focussing on technological developments from Japan through to India. The title was "The rising challenge from Asia: How should Western companies respond?"

In this well attended lecture, Mr Turner looked at the remarkable economic expansion of India and China which, he argued, will almost certainly continue to grow at super-fast rates for the next couple of decades. Literacy and educational levels have been rising fast in both countries and rural workers have been moving into factories. Governments have been investing in infrastructure (particularly in China). On top of all this, the digital and communication revolution has enabled local executives to find it ever easier to tap into world markets and to identify sources of technology. If one also takes into account the innovation currently taking place in both countries – new ways of developing mass markets; rethinking the design and pricing concepts behind many of today' s western commodities, such as the motor car; changing the nature of the process of production – the economic future for both countries is very promising.

In March, EThames hosted a breakfast meeting for a group of senior executives and invited guests on "Trade and Investment in the Middle East: Why should we trade with Emerging Markets?" We were most honoured to have Edward Oakden CMG, Managing Director (Sectors Group), UK Trade and Investment, as the speaker for this event, in which a host of issues were covered – Coalition Government cuts and the loss of International Development initiatives and budgets, the financial and economic difficulties facing Greece and Portugal and the European Union in general, usefulness of SMEs in developing Emerging Markets, the unique importance of Embassies in "Commercial Diplomacy", specific export opportunities in the Middle East and BRIC countries, and importance for the UK of maintaining its "Premier League" status as a leading global exporter. Edward is a bit of an expert in this area, as he runs the trade side of UKTI, where he concentrates on promoting the 20 or so sectors most key to the success of the UK economy into the UK's 20 highest growth markets. Before he took over the Sectors Group, he was the UK's Ambassador in the UAE, one off the UK's highest growth markets, and had previously been attached to the UK Embassies in Iran and Sudan.

The Key Speaker event in April is another breakfast meeting for senior executives and invited guests and is with Professor Joseph Connolly, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Finance and Management, ENCP School of Management, Paris, who will be looking at "Contemporary Issues in Islamic Finance and Shariah-compliant Banking".

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