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East of England

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IoD East of England is an active and vibrant region, with strong representation in a diverse range of industries, from traditional manufacturing, agriculture, extraction, education and professional services, through to new sectors such as technology, biotech and cleantech. We also take great pride in our world-leading position in fast-moving contemporary industries.

The region has over 3,930 members and is headed up by chair David Sales. We host a full programme of events ranging from networking lunches and dinners to business seminars and social events. All are open to members and non-members.

Members can also access a range of resources on topics such as business development and strategy, finance, technology and overseas trading by visiting the information and advice section of our website. David or any of our branch chairmen will be delighted to talk to you and answer any questions you may have.

A Celebration of Leadership talent, success and achievement in the East of England

Nominate someone you know who represents excellence as a business leader and who you feel deserves recognition at our prestigious awards. If you have been nominated you will be invited to enter the awards, or you can enter on your own accord without being nominated. Please enter below, or to nominate someone send us their name, job title, organisation and a few words about your nominee.

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Upcoming Events

IoD East of England holds many engaging and informative events and networking sessions across its branches. Below are a few events which we think you will be interested in. These are just a selection on the vast portfolio available.

What Economic Challenges and Opportunities are Businesses Facing in 2018 18th April Find out more	Going Global, Breaking down the barriers to International Trade 18th April Find out more	GDPR Briefing - Is Your Business Ready for GDPR? With Richard McBarnet 25th April Find out more
Tax & Regulation with Stephen Herring 02nd May Find out more	IoD Connect at Ipswich Town Football Club 02nd May Find out more	Annual Dinner - An evening with John Sergeant 10th May Find out more

East of England branches

The region encompasses five separate branches in Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire (includes Middlesex and parts of South Bedfordshire), Norfolk and Suffolk.

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire
Essex Essex
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire
Norfolk Norfolk
Suffolk Suffolk
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About Cambridgeshire branch

The Cambridgeshire branch is ably led by its interim chair Carolyn Rand who, with the help of IoD staff and the volunteer committee, supports local members and organises inspirational and valuable business events in the area.

The IoD Cambridgeshire branch covers the whole county, as well as the PE postcodes of South Lincolnshire, and has a membership comprising a diverse cross-section of business leaders and senior executives. The branch’s role is to provide for the needs of local members within the scope of the IoD charter.

Under the leadership of Carolyn Rand, the committee, which represents local members' interests, puts together a diary of events to appeal to a wide range of people. These include networking meetings, company and industry visits and social activities. We work with neighbouring branches in the IoD East of England region on key events and to allow region-wide to access all events for our respective members.

The branch also has plans to engage more with the local business community, link with media organisations, improve connections with education and work hard to develop its appeal to diverse groups. We are particularly working on ways to improve communication with members and support for not-for-profit organisations such as charities.

All Cambridgeshire events can be attended by IoD members from other branches and in many cases non-members are also welcome to come along.

About Essex branch

The Essex branch of the Institute of Directors strives to ensure that the voice of Essex business leaders is heard and recognised within local, national, international and political arenas.

The branch is ably led by its chair Christine Bhatt who, with the help of her Ambassador group supports members and organises inspirational and valuable business events in the area. The branch events programme includes networking occasions, social opportunities and director development courses to further your business education and leadership skills.

The IoD is a membership organisation which helps business leaders become even better business leaders.

About Hertfordshire branch

The Hertfordshire branch of the IoD has around 1,400 members and is ably led by its interim chair, Richard McBarnet who, with the help of the Ambassador team and IoD staff, supports local members and organises inspirational and valuable business events in the area.

The Hertfordshire branch covers all areas within Hertfordshire and also parts of Middlesex and Bedfordshire. It has the largest number of members in the East of England and represents a diverse cross-section of business leaders and senior executives.

The branch hold a range of events throughout Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire aimed at providing business insights to enhance skills and knowledge and also quality local networking opportunities. All of our events can be attended by any IoD member (not just Herts members), their guests and in some cases non-members.

About Norfolk branch

Welcome to the Norfolk Branch of the IoD

In Norfolk we have one of the most vibrant IoD branches in the UK. We have developed a wide ranging event programme which is designed to meet the needs of as many members and fellow business professionals as possible, with breakfast, lunch and evening seminar and social events, major corporate functions and mini-conferences - the IoD Norfolk Annual Dinner is usually the biggest event of its type from the IoD outside London.

The branch aims to provide a ‘community’ or ‘club’ in which any member is welcome and is likely to meet with and get to know their business peers at events – in a relaxed and informative setting, not a forced ‘networking’ environment.

If you are a member in Norfolk, and want to be updated on what's happening in the branch, make sure you have opted into local e-mails to receive full details of our events. We aim to have fun; add value to our businesses and ourselves; and do some good in our community.

About Suffolk branch

The volunteer committee of IoD Suffolk is led by Graham Kill. The branch aims to provide insights and networking that members cannot get locally elsewhere.

IoD Suffolk not only is creative in its events programme, it also partners with different organisations to deliver something different for its members. A visit to the ex USSAF Bentwaters base profiled the region’s creative industries with members wooed by massive projections, flying film drones and working military vehicles including a tank used for props - whilst such a display of hardware is not available for every event, equally stimulating events are showcased.

Important partners include MENTA, that together with IoD Suffolk created a mentoring scheme called Expert Connections to match business owners who are in the infancy of their business with experienced business leaders. This not only benefits both businesses, but contributes towards members’ CPD. The scheme has caught the attention of other IoD Branches that are evaluating adopting the scheme.

Members also give generously of their time to support local students with projects that aid their studies. The partnership with Suffolk One was one of the first such sixth form college relationships for an IoD Branch.

On a recent visit to Tuddenham Mill, the boutique hotel we heard how the hotel delivers informal formality - creating a warm welcoming environment that consistently delivers to the highest standard - IoD Suffolk can claim such an approach too and we look forward to welcoming existing, new and non-members to our events.