Category: Speakers

Women’s Enterprise Scotland CEO to speak at St Andrews Business Club AGM evening

Yvonne McAulay
Carolyn Currie​, Chief Executive of Women’s Enterprise Scotland

Women’s Enterprise Scotland Chief Executive Carolyn Currie is the speaker at St Andrews Business Club’s AGM Evening on Wednesday May 15, to which non-members are invited after the AGM formalities.

 

To be held at the Old Course Hotel from 6.15pm, Carolyn Currie will tell attendees about her extensive career at a senior level in financial services and her current work with Women’s Enterprise Scotland.

Achievements

 

Ms Currie has guided the development of global-leading standards for gender equality in business advisor training and digital platform content. She has given evidence to Parliamentary Committees on economic matters, is a founding member of the UK Women’s Enterprise Policy Group, has contributed policy papers to the World Economic Forum in Davos and is a member of the T20, the think tank of the G20.

Anyone wanting to attend is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

 

Learn how to plan a successful business exit at St Andrews event

Yvonne McAulay

People doing business in North-East Fife can learn about developing a well-planned exit strategy for their business at St Andrews Business Club’s breakfast event on April 3.

 

In the fourth event of the club’s season, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 7.30 am, strategy consultant Ewan Menzies will teach attendees many ways to create and find the right strategy for their business using the Concord action-based system for business planning.

The session will be made up of four interactive learning experiences to deliver a successful exit or take your business to the next level.

Experience and Expertise

 

Mr Menzies entered the management sphere in 2000 and has worked for a variety of medium and large organisations in the private, public and third sectors since. He is now Director of Castle Strategy, Mount Parnassus, Concord and CTA Global. Ewan’s specialisms include helping businesses scale and increase profitability and planning an exit strategy.

Anyone wanting to learn about this important business topic for business, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

Full details of all the club’s events, most of which are now open to non-members, and how to join are available on its website at www.standrewsbusinessclub.co.uk and Eventbrite.

Inspiring women to share Inspiring women to share their stories at St Andrews event

Yvonne McAulay
Kirsty Thomson (left) and Angie Foreman are the speakers for St Andrews Business Club’s second Inspiring Women event on March 6.
Picture of Angie Foreman by Malcolm Cochrane Photography, for Business Women Scotland/WES Awards 2018.
Picture of Kirsty Thomson by Kathryn Rattray Photography.

Two inspiring award-winning female entrepreneurs will share their stories and advice in the second annual St Andrews Business Club event to celebrate International Women’s Day.

 

In the event, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 5.30pm on March 6, Angie Foreman and Kirsty Thomson will inspire attendees from all backgrounds.

In her 25-year career, award-winning businesswoman Angie Foreman, Programme Director & Founder of Coca-Cola 5by20 and CEO of Women’s Business Station, has worked mainly in the third sector and is mostly recognised for her empowerment work with women.

She has created award-winning social enterprises, community empowerment models and impactful corporate social responsibility programmes for Coca-Cola, all of which have benefited hundreds of women. Last year Angie won the Change Catalyst award at the Women Enterprising Scotland Awards and ‘Women of Inspiration Award’ from the Association of Scottish Businesswomen.

Award-winning

Kirsty Thomson is an award-winning serial social entrepreneur who’s set up and runs two Community Interest Companies over the past seven years – ACK Third Sector Consultants CIC (formerly Along Came Kirsty) and Circle Scotland CIC (The Circle).

Kirsty has a wealth of knowledge and experience working in and with charities and social enterprises over 20 years to secure more than £13 million in funding. She is a Saltire Fellow through Entrepreneurial Scotland, in 2017 was recognised as a Women of Inspiration by the Association of Scottish Businesswomen and is on the NatWest Wise100 2018 list, which recognises the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven businesses in the UK.

Anyone wanting to learn from them, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

North-East Fife 2019 – business influences to be revealed

Yvonne McAulay
Gordon Mole, Chief Officer, Business and Employability, Fife Council (left) and Professor Brad MacKay, Vice-Principal, International, Strategy and External Relations, University of St Andrews, will speak at St Andrews Business Club on January 16.

People doing business in North-East Fife can hear about the likely effects on the economy of North-East Fife of major factors such as Brexit and The Tay Cities Deal at a St Andrews Business Club event on January 16.

 

In the event, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 5.30pm, Gordon Mole, Chief Officer, Business and Employability, at Fife Council and Professor Brad MacKay, Vice-Principal, International, Strategy and External Relations at University of St Andrews, will talk about what they believe 2019 will and may hold for St Andrews and North-East Fife which will affect businesses and for which they need to have a plan.

Gordon Mole is responsible for employability, economic development, economic policy, town centres and tourism and is the council’s business lead for Brexit. He has worked on economic development and employment initiatives for major construction programmes including London’s Shard of Glass, Heathrow Terminal 5 and Tate Modern, and as Employment and Brokerage Manager for Crossrail.

Prof MacKay is Professor of Strategy in the University of St Andrews School of Management and was appointed Vice-Principal, International Strategy and External Relations, in August 2017.

Prof MacKay’s responsibilities include oversight of the development of the university’s institutional strategy (2018-2023) for the post-Brexit era and development and management of practices and policies related to strategic relationships national and international including membership on a range of government and sector-wide committees and delegations

Anyone wishing to learn about this important business topic, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

Top cyber resilience expert at St Andrews Business Club event

Yvonne McAulay
Gerry Grant, Chief Ethical Hacking Consultant, Curious Frank, Scottish Business Resilience Centre.

People doing business in North-East Fife can learn about cyber resilience from a top Scottish expert at St Andrews Business Club’s next event on June 6.

 

In the final open event of the club’s season, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 5.30pm, Gerry Grant, Chief Ethical Hacking Consultant, at Curious Frank, the cyber section of the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, will teach attendees about what cyber risks you should be most aware of and how to minimise these risks.

Anyone wanting to learn about this important business topic for business, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

Full details of all our events, most of which are now open to non-members, are here.

All welcome to hear Eden Mill’s Paul Miller at St Andrews Business Club AGM Evening

Yvonne McAulay

People doing business in North-East Fife are being invited to hear Eden Mill owner Paul Miller speak at St Andrews Business Club’s AGM Evening on April 18.

 

In the event, open to all,  to be held at the Old Course Hotel, Mr Miller, who founded the distillery and brewery brand in a former paper mill at Guardbridge in 2012 after almost three decades working for global brewing and distilling brands, will be the guest speaker.

Non-members should arrive after the club’s AGM formalities have concluded at 6.15pm for networking, food and refreshments before Mr Miller’s talk begins at 6.45pm.

Anyone wanting to attend is asked to book a ticket on Eventbrite.

Find out how a Modern Apprentice can help your business

Yvonne McAulay

People doing business in North-East Fife can learn how Modern Apprentices can help their business, and Scotland, at St Andrews Business Club’s next business learning event on February 28.

 

In the learning lunch, to be held at The Old Course Hotel from 12.30pm, John McFarlane, Employer Engagement Co-ordinator responsible for the Modern Apprenticeship programme at Fife Council, and Heather Brown, Co-ordinator for Foundation Apprenticeship at Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Fife, will teach attendees about the features, benefits and costs of Modern Apprenticeships.

Anyone wanting to learn about this important business topic for business, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

New business learning events at St Andrews Business Club

Yvonne McAulay

By Alistair Morris, President

Since the start of the Club’s 2017-18 Season last September, we’ve been delighted with the feedback we’ve received on our events programme from the growing number of business people attending them.

 

So far at least 80% of attendees taking our post-event survey have typically rated their event Excellent or Very Good overall. And many have gone on to join the Club as a result.

Today we’re announcing the details of our business learning events for the rest of the season.

Business learning

The event topics, some of which were suggested by members, have been chosen to provide you with essential information on today’s key business issues you can use straight away. They will be:

VIP tour

As a result of the positive feedback we’ve had about the Members & Guests-only Business Visits held so far, we’ve taken the opportunity to arrange an extra business visit to a site which will play some role in the business lives of many of us in the next few years – the University of St Andrews’ Eden Campus at Guardbridge. Members and their Guests will enjoy a VIP guided tour on June 27.

Networking

Opening most of our events to non-members – so they can get a taste of the business learning and networking we offer – has proven to be popular too. And the minimum 45 minutes networking time built in to our events is being well used!

We’re expecting plenty of that at our St Andrews 10 x 30 event on May 9, where Members will be drawn at random to present 10 slides for a maximum of 30 seconds each on a topic of interest to all. It promises to be a fun night!

Whether you’re already a member, a past one or someone new to the Club, we’d be delighted to see you at our events this year. And hear what you think of them – so we can keep making the Club better.

Details of the full season’s topics, dates, speakers are here

Details of membership benefits and how to join the Club are here

For latest news from the Club, its members and the North-East Fife business community, follow the Club on:
– Twitter
– Facebook page
– LinkedIn

North-East Fife 2018 – what to expect for businesses

Yvonne McAulay

People doing business in North-East Fife are being invited to St Andrews Business Club’s event on January 24 to hear what to expect in the economy of North-East Fife in 2018.

 

In the event, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 5.30pm, Keith Winter, Executive Director of Enterprise & Environment at Fife Council and Professor Brad MacKay, Vice-Principal, International Strategy and External Relations at University of St Andrews, will talk about what they believe 2018 will and may hold for St Andrews and North-East Fife which will affect businesses and for which they need to have a plan.

Anyone wishing to learn about this important business topic, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite. A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

The Club’s first event of the New Year, and at its new venue, is on preparing your business for HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme and takes place on January 10.

Prepare your business for Making Tax Digital at The Old Course Hotel

Yvonne McAulay
Mark Gibson and Elaine Cromwell, Partners at Thomson Cooper Accountants, will talk about how businesses should start preparing for HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme, as well as the why and how to choose of online accounting packages, at the next St Andrews Business Club Learning Lunch.

People doing business in North-East Fife are being invited to join members and guests of St Andrews Business Club on January 10 to hear how they should start preparing their business for HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme.

 

In the second Learning Lunch of the club’s new season, to be held at The Old Course Hotel from 12.30pm, Thomson Cooper Accountants Partners Mark Gibson and Elaine Cromwell will talk about how businesses should start preparing for this mandatory change to filing tax information online.

They’ll also outline the other benefits of switching to Web-based accounting and how to choose the package best suited to you.

Anyone wishing to learn about this important business topic, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.