Speakers

René Carayol

Guest Host

René Carayol is one of Europe's leading speakers on e-business and the new economy.

René's focus is on business transformation, leadership and corporate strategy, bound together with a compelling philosophy founded on his own board-level experience.

René Carayol is a business guru with unmatched credentials. He is the author of Corporate Voodoo, expert witness on Mind of a Millionaire, a regular voice on Radio 5 Live, a Non-Executive Director of The Inland Revenue and a former Managing Director of IPC Electric.

René has also presented a critically acclaimed film for Channel 4 on the challenges facing Sir John Stevens at the helm of the Metropolitan Police.

Awarded an MBE in 2004 for outstanding service to the business community, René has served as an advisor to the CBI, McKinsey & Co and Barclays, amongst many other organisations. He has chaired and addressed conferences across the world in the retail, financial, technology, energy and government sectors. He has also conducted the first onstage business interview with Sven Goran Eriksson and hosted the Sunday Times National Small Business Week.

He asks awkward and uncomfortable questions. How do you change old-fashioned, risk-averse processes that are ill suited to emerging global markets? How do you secure and nurture the talents of a new generation of managers and staff? How do you overcome cynicism and complacency, and replace them with resolve?

René’s messages are practical, and presented with electrifying effect. He both shakes up and inspires his audiences, showing them what lies within their grasp.

Kevin Mincher

Believe in Yourself

Kevin Mincher is the Founder of Unstoppable Teen.

Describing himself as a young person who “tested with an average IQ and a hint of attention deficit,” Kevin admits to being shy as a child and struggled with his parents’ separation when he was a teen.

But after beginning his studies on the strategies of success at 15, Kevin achieved double the national average grades in his school exams and then went on to become an apprentice professional football player at Sheffield United FC.

After a back injury sidelined him for good, and he gained coaching qualifications from The Football Association, Kevin began developing motivational learning experiences to help teens achieve their goals.

Kevin won the Anthony Everett Award for Young Business in 2001, was accepted into the Who’s Who of Britain’s Young Entrepreneurs in 2002, and was nominated by the Association for Coaching Honorary Awards in 2004 for his impact on the Life Coaching profession.

Kevin created YOUlive, britain's first nationwide educational radio network, in 2007. He is also the author of No Limits. Through his personal example, Kevin shows his audiences how anyone can change their performance and improve their life.

Kevin runs Unstoppable Teen from offices in his hometown of Doncaster, England, and at the age of 29 continues to succeed in ways that others thought impossible. More than 250,000 people have benefited from his motivational seminars and coaching resources.

Kevin will be providing a spot of motivation for the day - believe in yourself.

John Ryan

Transformational Football

Ten years ago, Doncaster Rovers FC dropped out of the league with a -83 goal difference. Now they've beaten Man City and Aston Villa in the Carling Cup and are heading for the Championship.

At the start of 1995, Doncaster were a comfortable Third Division outfit, but by June that year, self-styled benefactor Ken Richardson had made his mark. Richardson, who was later described by detectives as "the type that would trample a two-year-old child to pick up a 2p bit", hired three men to torch Belle Vue and planned to sell the ground to developers for a huge profit. The bungled attempt left the ground in a state, Richardson in jail, and the club on a collision course with non-league football. Doncaster Rovers dropped out of the league in 1998 with a -83 goal difference and even had to borrow kits from Sheffield United to keep themselves running.

So what's changed? Well, their bank balance, for a start. Lifelong fan John Ryan stepped in as chairman later that year, bringing money, ambition, money, some feel-good optimism and another dash of money to a club in desperate need of a hero. Rovers' attendance actually went up after their relegation to the Conference, such was the buzz the new chairman had sent reverberating around South Yorkshire and Ryan has now invested more than £5m in the club.

Hear more from John Ryan about how he has turned around the borough's football club.

Jane Campbell

The Highs and Lows of Running a Successful Business

Jane Campbell was the proud winner of The Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Doncaster Telecom in 2005.

Jane explains how she came to establish the business;
‘My husband was unhappy with his previous telecoms employment, so while on maternity leave a few years ago I researched the local markets and determined Doncaster would be an excellent location to set up our own company. Doncaster’s nearest telecoms company was around twenty miles away, and with the new airport due to open, I felt new businesses would be attracted to the area, increasing demands for services. The company was born in July 2003.’

‘Growth of the company came through effective marketing and networking, I was quickly able to demonstrate that Doncaster Telecom was ideally located and competitively priced to compete with the national players. We now have over 250 local businesses in under three years, from schools to pubs. Our customer service has been paramount to our success, with over 96% of our customers renewing their contracts with us each year.’

Jane was the first woman to win the award. She believes the sexes are treated differently within the business world. However, this is often the impact of women having children. Once these arrive, women’s ability to be as flexible as men within the working arena is handicapped. 'I also feel that women’s own perceptions and confidence levels make us our own worst enemy, so by default, if we don’t truly value our own abilities and skills, why should anyone else?’

Jane will be discussing the highs and lows of running a successful business in Doncaster.

Following lunch you will have the opportunity to pick and choose from a selection of success seminars, including ‘the traits of successful networkers’, ‘creating a winning team’, finishing with an upbeat talk from marketing guru, Geoff Ramm.

Geoff Ramm

Marketing Guru

Geoff has been described as the Billy Connolly and Peter Kay of Marketing.

On stage his observational style enthuses and inspires companies with ideas to market their business like never before.
Sharing real life marketing stories and easy to use marketing techniques, he has helped to launch, develop and grow over 5,000 businesses in 5 years. As a speaker Geoff has presented to organisations including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Business Links, Chambers of Commerce and Enterprise Agencies in the North East and North West of England.

Geoff has received rave reviews from thousands of start up and existing businesses.
He has also been awarded a variety of accolades including; Winner of the Shell Live Wire Young Entrepreneur of the year for South Tyneside, finalist for the Learning Skills Council Business & Enterprise Award and the Institute of Business Advisers Start-up Business Advisor of the year.

Geoff will be finishing the day's event with an upbeat, light-hearted seminar leaving you ready to inspire, create and grow.