Active Leadership Groups
| The programme incorporates two sessions of Active Leadership Groups which will provide platforms for focused insight and dialogue on the key conference themes. These intensive sessions offer invaluable expert-led but interactive learning opportunities on Scotland's key strategic economic challenges as well helping inform SCDI's policy outcomes from the Forum. These sessions will be designed to encourage active discussion and engagement amongst delegates. They will also form an essential element of agenda-setting for the Re:wiring Scotland Forum outputs. Within this part of the Forum programme delegates will be invited to select and contribute to two of the following Active Leadership Groups: |
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| SESSION 1: THURSDAY 11 MARCH, 15.00-16.00 | ||
| 1. | WIRED TO THE WORLD: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF WORDS & NUMBERS | |
Facilitator: Dr Lesley Sawers, Chief Executive, SCDI Venue: Robert Louis Stevenson Suite B Unlocking the value and insights from your customer and client data and information is key to developing a level of understanding and knowledge of service and product needs. As we enter a period of tightening access to finance and resources across the private, public and third sectors it will be imperative for organisations to understand “information” assets and to use data and customer insight to take the emotion from tough decisions, inform thinking and help provide a focus and clarity to service needs and delivery. This session will look to identify how segmentation and market analysis techniques operating in the private sector by global players can be applied to public service, education and professional service delivery in Scotland. |
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David Ciancio David Ciancio comes to the UK and dunnhumby after a notable career working at every level in the retail supermarket industry in the US. He is recognised as a pioneer in loyalty marketing, having led the creation and implementation of the premier customer loyalty program in the US, which today engages more than 50 million households in 41 of the 50 states. His visionary, customer-led, organic ideas helped grow Kroger to the 2nd largest retailer in America. In 2008, David was recognised by Advertising Age as one of its 'Top 50 Marketers' of the year. |
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| 2. | STATE OF THE NATION: GETTING WIRED INTO SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP - A NEW MODEL FOR SCOTLAND? Click here for synopsis |
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Facilitator: Ian Armstrong, North East Area Manager, SCDI Venue: James Graham Suite
PSN is an Aberdeen-based specialised provider of engineering operations and maintenance services to the owners of energy assets around the world. It is one of the top ten largest private Scottish companies with a turnover of more than £800million, employing 8500 people in up to 30 countries.
Glencraft is a small, 160-year-old business employing mainly visually-impaired and disabled people which went into liquidation in November 2009 due to funding and trading issues making the business financially unviable.
Bob Keillor and Duncan Skinner, PSN’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, stepped in to save the business by creating a Social Enterprise. It is an interesting and innovative collaboration which opens debate on the opportunities for new business models for Scotland. In Duncan’s own words, this is the story so far… |
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Duncan Skinner Duncan Skinner is Chief Financial Officer for Production Services Network (PSN). PSN is the result of a management buy-out of the Production Services element of KBR, the engineering part of Houston-based Halliburton. Duncan, together with CEO Bob Keiller, worked for 15 months to engineer this separation. Duncan has 30 years industry experience, primarily in financial, strategic and commercial roles, both at project and corporate level. He has a BA in management from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA). He is North East Chairman and a national Board Member of SCDI; a Director of the International School of Aberdeen Board and represents PSN on the committee of the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce. |
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| 3. | SWITCHING ON SCOTLAND: GETTING THE BEST FROM TECHNOLOGY Click here for synopsis |
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Facilitator: Iain McTaggart, General Manager, SCDI Venue: Robert Aytoun Suite Scotland’s challenge is to raise GDP growth rate to the UK level by 2011, and match the GDP growth rate of the small independent European countries by 2017. Research indicates that ICT exploitation accounts for approximately half of recent productivity gains in Europe. Equally, many Scottish public services are facing increased demands and reduced funding. Increasing productivity lies at the heart of solving both of these problems. There are great examples of 20% increases in productivity and transformation of the delivery of public services through excellent use of technology but, typically they are isolated examples instead of the norm. This session will explore how Scotland can build ICT infrastructure and skills to enable a step change in the delivery of public services and a platform for economic growth. |
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Martin Southern Martin Southern leads all consulting work with Government clients in Scotland. A member of BT’s Scottish Government Management team, he works with colleagues from Sales and Delivery to help clients identify ways to drive benefit from ICT. Recently, he has been working with Local Authorities to create business cases for implementing mobile and agile working. On joining BT in 2002, he worked for 3 years in BT’s partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council. He is a member of the Scottish ICT Forum tasked with driving economic growth from ICT; a member of the Scottish ICT Industry Advisory Group; Chair of Bonaly School Council; and a member of the Edinburgh School Estate Rationalisation Committee. |
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| 4. | THE POWERHOUSE GENERATION: THE THREE ‘Rs’ FOR 21ST CENTURY SCOTLAND Click here for synopsis |
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Facilitator: James Alexander, Policy & Communications Manager, SCDI Venue: Mary McLeod Suite This session will focus on how SQA qualifications are already equipping young people for the challenges of the 21st century, providing more time for learning, more focus on skills, such as employability and leadership, and applying learning through work experience, such as the Skills for Work portfolio. The session will also explore, how through Curriculum for Excellence, SQA are developing qualifications for the economic workforce of tomorrow. |
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| James Morgan James Morgan is a Project Manager in SQA's Policy & New Products team responsible for a range of projects mainly in relation to vocational qualifications. In over ten years with SQA, he has worked in research, operational and development roles. Prior to joining SQA he worked in quality assurance in industry. He holds degrees in both economics and technology management and is currently undertaking a PhD on the role of skills and knowledge in public sector reform. |
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| 5. | CREATING A CLIMATE FOR GROWTH: ENERGY SCENARIOS TO 2050 |
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Facilitator: Gareth Williams, Head of Policy, SCDI Venue: William Dunbar Suite Preparing for and shaping the dramatic developments coming to the global energy system is a question on the minds of leaders across business, government and civic society. The best hope for a sustainable future requires the right combination of policy, technology and commitment from government, industry and society globally. Shell has developed a series of scenarios for the future of energy, describing alternative ways it may develop. This stimulating and instructive session will help delegates prepare for and shape responsible participation in a sustainable energy future. |
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| 6. | SPARKING A NATION: IDENTIFYING BUSINESS STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGE |
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Facilitator: Janette Harkess, Director of Policy and Research, SCDI Venue: Duncan MacIntyre Suite We are all familiar with marketing and its use for sales and profitability in business, but can the same basic ideas also be used to influence public behaviour and sustainability? Can business teach social change programmes using concepts like customer orientation, branding and strategic planning to change social habits such as smoking or recycling? Professor Gerard Hastings, Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and the Centre for Tobacco Control Research, a collaboration between University of Stirling and the Open University, guides you through the processes. |
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| Gerard Hastings OBE Gerard Hastings is the first UK Professor of Social Marketing and Founder/Director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research at Stirling and the Open University. Professor Hastings has acted as an expert witness in litigation against the tobacco industry, Chairs the Advisory Board of the EC’s HELP campaign, and is a regular advisor to the World Health Organisation, and the Scottish, UK and European Parliaments. He teaches and writes about social and critical marketing both in the UK, where he has run Masters and Honours level programmes, and internationally in North America, South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. |
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| SESSION 2: | FRIDAY 12 MARCH, 10.05-11.05 | |
| 7. | TO THE WORLD: TOUCH THE NETWORK AND THE WORLD WILL OPEN UP Click here for synopsis |
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Jane Gotts, Programme Director, BusinessClub Scotland Facilitator: Vince McKeown, Membership Manager, SCDI Venue: James Graham Suite Brand recognition will be a key component for Scotland's international success. This session will explore: how we work in partnership to promote and support 'Brand Scotland' to enable us to more effectively manage and leverage our international reputation and brand assets how we maximise the business opportunities from Scotland's major international events programme how we utilise our people assets through international business networks and diaspora |
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Malcolm Roughead OBE Malcolm Roughead joined VisitScotland in 2001 from Guinness World Records, where he was Global Sales and Marketing Director and held a number of senior marketing positions over a 17 year period with Guinness in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. He began in marketing at Nestle, followed by Beechams. Malcolm has been responsible for the repositioning of Scotland as a leading tourism destination and is responsible for the UK and Ireland, International, Visitor Services, Local Marketing and Business Tourism divisions within VisitScotland. Malcolm is a Fellow of The Institute of Direct Marketing and The Marketing Society and in March 2004 was awarded Scottish Marketer of the Year at the Scottish Marketing Awards. He has been Chairman of The Marketing Society (Scotland) since 2007. Jane Gotts Jane Gotts is Programme Director of BusinessClub Scotland. Launched in February 2009 the Club aims to help Scottish businesses tap into the huge economic potential from Scotland’s world class events program. Prior to this she worked as Project Manager for SCDI with responsibility for delivering SCDI’s extensive Events and International Trade Programme, which has seen her lead trade missions to a number of international markets, including: China; Singapore; Malaysia; Japan; Korea; Poland; Estonia; Germany and the USA. |
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| 8. | STATE OF THE NATION: BUSINESS LEADERSHIP BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES Click here for synopsis |
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Julian Taylor, Senior Director, Policy & Research, Scottish Enterprise Facilitator: Iain McTaggart, General Manager, SCDI Venue: William Dunbar Suite Nations across the globe are responding to a post-recession drive towards greater internationalisation. Scotland has a track record of successfully exploiting new business opportunities across the world, but do we have the ambition and talent to make the most of the opportunities available? This workshop will explore some of the major opportunities and barriers for Scotland's business leadership to be truly global in its perspective. It will have a practical edge, seeking examples of what works and action to maximise emerging opportunities. |
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Linda McDowall Julian Taylor Julian Taylor is Scottish Enterprise’s Strategy Director and a member of SE’s leadership team. He has worked in the field of economic development for over 20 years in both operational and strategic roles. His current focus is on helping to maximise SE’s contribution to economic recovery, aligned with a range of partners, and helping to take a longer-term, global perspective to these challenges. |
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| 9. | SWITCHING ON SCOTLAND: THE CHALLENGE OF DOING MORE FOR LESS Click here for synopsis |
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Facilitator: Ian Armstrong, North East Area Manager, SCDI Venue: Mary McLeod Suite Scottish Water was set up in 2002 with the task of integrating the three regional Scottish Water operations into one. It was tasked to deliver better quality drinking water, a cleaner environment, and better customer services. Scottish Water set about a major business transformation programme. This programme resulted in the delivery of cost savings between 2002-2006 of £946m, a 47% reductions in lengths of polluted coastal waters and a 24% improvement in Customer Service. As organisations all over Scotland are now increasingly faced with 'doing more for less' in the current economic climate this interactive session will look at the journey Scottish Water undertook, the process they went through, and the lessons learned. |
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Grant Nairn Grant is the Director of Technology & Innovation at Scottish Water. His role is to drive innovation and the effective use of technology to deliver the best possible outcomes for Scottish Water customers. Grant was previously at HBOS where he was Head of IT Strategy and more recently Head of Enterprise Platforms. Prior to this Grant's career was in consulting at Accenture and McKinsey & Co. |
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| 10. | THE POWERHOUSE GENERATION: A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING BUSINESS |
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Facilitator: James Alexander, Policy & Communications Manager, SCDI Venue: Robert Louis Stevenson Suite B Your staff are central to your business. Without good people, you can’t do good business. You need energised, motivated people with strong soft skills to help you remain competitive and you need new employees who are enthusiastic and able to do the job. Through school/employer partnerships, Curriculum for Excellence is bringing learning to life and life to learning: helping our young people to develop the skills and knowledge needed for the challenges of the 21 century; and helping our businesses to thrive. This session will explain how a partnership has brought learning into context for young people, inspiring and challenging their perceptions of the world of work and how in turn an organisation can experience a cost effective way of engaging and motivating their staff while enhancing their corporate reputation. |
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Sandra Bell Sandra is a Senior Adviser within the Enterprise and Employability for Young People Division of Scottish Government focussing on engaging employers in the curriculum to enhance the learning and teaching within the classroom; and also in support of young people who are not in education, employment or training. |
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| 11. | CREATING A CLIMATE FOR GROWTH: BEYOND ENERGY REDUCTION – WHY MORE BUSINESSES MUST CONSUME LESS - Click here for synopsis |
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Robbie Weir, Programme Manager - Scotland, Envirowise - part of Zero Waste Scotland Facilitator: Gareth Williams, Head of Policy, SCDI Venue: John Barbour Auditorium We cannot continue to consume resources as we currently do. But how ready is your organisation to deal with change? What measures are you prepared or need to take to reduce your impact? This session will look at the targets set by recent climate change legislation, and discuss the effective management of resources – how businesses can best minimise waste and the use of energy and water. Is your business adapting? Can you afford not to? |
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Charles Smith Charles Smith is a commercial and projects lawyer who specialises in energy law, environmental law and public sector/regulatory and advisory work. His practice includes energy services, combined heat and power, renewables, contracts and advisory work on carbon reduction. Robbie Weir Robbie Weir is responsible for the delivery of Envirowise’s activities in Scotland. Envirowise is now part of the new government body Zero Waste Scotland. Zero Waste Scotland has been created to provide a one-stop-shop for support and advice to individuals, businesses and local authorities in order to help them reduce waste, recycle more and use natural resources more efficiently. |
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| 12. | SPARKING A NATION: CREATING CULTURES OF INNOVATION WITH AND THROUGH LEADERSHIP |
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Facilitator: Janette Harkess, Director of Policy & Research, SCDI Venue: Robert Aytoun Suite This session addresses creative leadership: how leaders can better deploy existing skills, creativity and talent in their workforce to generate innovations for their business or service. This approach has several advantages: it places high value on employees and their potential, it uses leadership creatively and effectively, and it is highly suited to creating an innovative workplace within the constraints of the current economic context. The session will introduce creativity and design and illustrate how they can increase productivity and motivation in the workforce. |
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Professor Irene McAra-McWilliam Professor Irene McAra-McWilliam is currently Head of the School of Design at the Glasgow School of Art. Before starting in Glasgow in September 2005, she was Professor and Business Fellow in Innovation at The Royal College of Art in London and Head of the Interaction Design Department. As Director of Design Research at Philips Electronics in the Netherlands, Irene envisioned and directed the global research program in areas such as Interaction Design and Brand Design. She set up design teams within Philips Research Laboratories worldwide and directed the corporate research programme in Design and Technology Innovation. She was voted one of fifty top design leaders by the UK’s ‘Design Week’ magazine. Irene researches and teaches Design Innovation and is an advisor to industry and government on creativity and innovation. |
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