Who’s speaking at our annual conference?

Our annual conference, which will include talks, industry updates and opportunities to socialise, takes place at St Andrews in Scotland from January 22 until 25.

With a great venue, a great line-up of speakers and plenty of opportunities to catch up with friends from the industry, it looks set to be a fantastic event.

The conference kicks off on Sunday, January 22 with an afternoon of fundraising activities for the charity Greenfingers. Two teams will go head-to-head to battle it out for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup.

Monday’s (January 23) part of the conference will focus on the operational side of our industry and will include talks from a range of inspiring and engaging business speakers to help motivate us for the year ahead.

Speaking on Monday, January 23:

Karl McKeever – retail consultant Karl, who appeared on BBC TV’s ‘Alex Polizzi – The Fixer’ will be sharing his inspirational expertise on shopping psychology and giving us all an insight into what our customers actually want and how we can provide it. 

Jon Wilks – speaker, facilitator, presenter and coach, Jon, will be giving delegates something to think about and asking them key questions about their own internal soundtracks and what they are saying to them, how this sits with what they want to achieve and what their beliefs, motivations and values are.

During the day on Tuesday (January 24) there will be more of a focus on the strategic element of business, with opportunities to listen to some inspirational speakers and a chance to experience the associate’s exhibition.

Speaking on Tuesday, January 24:

Gareth Jones – expert in business culture and creativity, Gareth will be throwing down the gauntlet and challenging delegates to become more creative to cultivate a competitive edge.

Pete Goss – one of Britain’s most highly regarded sailors and a true adventurer, Pete will be giving delegates tips on competitive tenacity and the will to win.

Rasmus Ankersen -– writer and leadership expert Rasmus Ankersen, who has been dubbed ‘the high performance anthropologist’, will be posing some thought provoking topics when he takes to the podium. 

Tim Harford – Tim Harford will be bringing storytelling, humour and intelligence to the oft-maligned discipline of economics when he appears before delegates at the event.

Radio and TV comedian Fred MacAulay will be compering our annual conference awards’ dinner, which will have a real Scottish flavour this year, on Tuesday, January 24.

It’s not too late to book if you are hoping to attend, please visit the members’ section of our website via www.gca.org.uk to secure your place.