• 22 Nov 2022
  • In-person
  • Networking

Levelling up and invest in Yorkshire and the North East

Discover more about Yorkshire’s diverse regional economy – and the companies that are setting the agenda.

Sponsored by British Business Bank & PwC (UK)

The IoD is bringing together Yorkshire regional leaders and investors to discuss how Yorkshire is flying the flag for the UK’s Levelling Up agenda.

Held at the IoD’s prestigious headquarters at 116 Pall Mall, London, the event will feature speeches and discussions that explore the benefits of investing in ‘God’s own county’.  ​As the UK bounces back from the pandemic but also faces the cost of living crisis, we will meet the individuals, companies and sectors at the forefront of meeting the challenges ahead.​ ​There will also be an opportunity to hear how the IoD is supporting directors through a turbulent period by driving collaboration, professional development and good governance while lobbying the Treasury and Government for a better deal for business.​ Fantastic things are happening in Yorkshire.  This is your chance to get an inside track on the next chapter.

Event Programme

  • 1:45pm - Arrival & Registration
  • 2:00pm - Welcome: Nick Green, IoD Ambassador for North Yorkshire 
  • 2:05pm - Tom Riordan, CEO, Leeds City Council 
  • 2:25pm - Levelling up in Yorkshire: James Mason, Chief Executive, West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce
  • 2:45pm - Jane Steer, Partner, Yorkshire & North East – PwC 
  • 3:05pm - Q&As
  • 3:15pm - Roderick Beer, Managing Director UK Business Angels Association
  • 3:30pm - Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk & Malton & Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (video)
  • 3:40pm - Film: ‘a playground like no other’ producer Sid Sadowskyj
  • 4:00 pm - Coffee
  • 4.10 pm - Investment case studies (Yorkshire):
    • Zandra Moore, CEO, Panintelligence
    • Endre Kiss Toth, Founder StemCellX (early stage Sheffield based company)
  • 4:50pm - Garry Wilson, Vice Chair, BVCA & Partner, Endless LLP 
  • 5:05pm - Moderated regional panel discussion: 
  • Moderator:  Nick Hawkins, Partner, gunnercooke
  • Panellists:  
    • Gordon Bateman, Founder, Investor Ladder
    • Ben Davies, Group Marketing Director, Praetura Ventures
    • Stephen Cardwell, Partner and Head of Technology, Anticus Partners
    • David Miles, Senior Investment Manager, Foresight Group
    • Helen Oldham, Founding Board Director NorthInvest and Fund Her North
    • Marion Bernard, Chief Investment Officer, Northern Gritstone,
  • 6:20pm - Concluding remarks - Jon Geldart, Director General, IoD. 
  • 6:30pm - Drinks & networking
  • 8:00pm - Close

    Speakers

    Endre Kiss-Toth

    Endre has always been passionate about translating research into therapeutic applications and founded Stem CellX to develop regenerative stem cell-based therapy for the treatment of Osteoarthritis.

    Helen Oldham

    Helen is a Founding Board Director of NorthInvest, a not for profit, early stage investment connector for Northern based tech start-ups. In 2020 she founded Fund Her North, a collective of 28 women in VCs and angel groups who’ve come together to support female founders to get equal access to finance.

    James Mason

    James Mason is the current Chief Executive of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. His most recent roles include Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, the regional tourism body, and Chief Operating Officer/Chief Executive at Bradford City and Rochdale football clubs.
    As a qualified journalist, James worked for many years as a news and sports reporter with the BBC and outside of his professional career is the founder of two not-for-profit dementia cafes in West Yorkshire.

    Nick Green

    Nick is Practice Lead for Nigel Wright Group, responsible for appointing C-Suite leaders for Private Equity firms and their Portfolio companies. He has extensive experience in this area of expertise and is widely networked across the broader Northern investment sector.

    Nick Hawkins

    Nick Hawkins has been a senior Corporate Barrister Partner at the 200+ partner law firm GunnerCooke LLP (see www.gunnercooke.com for more details) since 2016, and also works on investment matters and sits as a Director/NED on various Boards. He has well over 30 years’ experience of advising Companies and organisations, both as an external lawyer, and at Board level as in-house Legal Director or equivalent. Nick was also a Conservative Member of Parliament for 13 years, serving in Government, and as a Shadow Minister in 3 successive Shadow administrations. Nick has lived in the North for much of his career and has lived between Harrogate and York since 2007.

    Roderick Beer

    Roderick’s career spans over 17 years of managing, founding and growing angel groups and investment platforms that have collectively deployed over £100m of equity investment in more than 500 startup and scaleup businesses.

    He started his career at Beer & Partners, one of the first and largest angel groups in the UK, and later helped form and grow a corporate finance firm as their COO.

    He is now the Managing Director of the UK Business Angels Association, the trade body for angel and early-stage investing, representing around 220 organisations that collectively deploy over £2bn p.a. in early-stage, UK businesses.

    Tom Riordan

    Tom is Chief Executive of Leeds City Council and has overseen a significant transformation of the city since 2010. Tom’s top priority is for Leeds’ growth and public services to be inclusive, championing mental health and diversity causes in the city. Tom has held several roles leading local and central government engagement.

    Tracy Brabin

    Tracy Brabin is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who was elected as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire, and the first ever woman Metro Mayor in England, in May 2021. During her campaign, Tracy pledged to create 1,000 skilled jobs for young people, lead a ‘Creative New Deal’ for the region, bring buses back under public control, tackle the climate emergency and build 5,000 affordable and sustainable homes. Prior to her election as Mayor, Tracy was the Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen from 2016 until 2021.

    Zandra Moore

    Zandra Moore is a passionate tech leader and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the technology sector. As co-founder and CEO of SaaS software firm PanIntelligence, she leads a team focused on delivering analytics into the heart of SaaS applications, enabling users access to key information at the right moment and with the right focus.

    Sponsors

    British Business Bank

    Fatgreen Consulting

    gunnercooke llp

    Investor Ladder

    Leeds City Council

    Nigel Wright Group

    PwC (UK)

    York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub

    York St John University

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