Event times
Doors open: 9.30am
Event starts: 10.00am

Come and hear six transformational and inspiring speakers!

Speakers

Aneurin Smith – Business Director

Aneurin Smith was born in Vancouver, raised in the UK with a Hong Kong born mother and half English and Welsh Father, who was born in Nigeria. He has led and setup teams in global corporate environments across CPG Beauty, Consumer Goods and Eyewear industries with experience in running, establishing and exiting his own businesses straight out of university. He has delivered £50m+ growth strategies launching new and established brands and businesses across the globe including China, Germany and the USA. Aneurin talks about how most of us face daily low points, from the utterly benign to the more serious and how some of the very small moments can prove to be pivotal in your career and life journeys.

James Wells – Entrepreneur, Former Athlete, Cancer Survivor

An elite athlete, entrepreneur and cancer survivor, James Wells received a Leukaemia diagnosis at the height of athletic prowess as an international martial artist. His powerful message teaches you how to reach peak performance by optimising your full potential, even in the most extreme circumstances. After battling Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) – enduring 11 rounds of chemotherapy, 6 sessions of total body radiotherapy and 300 nights in a hospital bed – he was told he’d never compete again. Severe lung damage from brutal treatment meant an early retirement beckoned… But James refused to quit! Defying science, odds and even the greatest expectations, he fought and won medals for England less than 18 months after a stem cell transplant saved his life. Hear from a multiple world medalist, two-time cancer survivor and successful business founder, about how to adjust focus under pressure, align your priorities and discover courage through motivation.

Melanie Currie – Deputy Dean – School of Business; Nottingham Trent University

Melanie is Deputy Dean at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University and has over twenty five years experience in education. She is deeply committed to offering a more individualised and enriched student learning experience and is passionate about working with and through others to transform the student journey. This talks shines a light on the power of ‘being a bridge’ in our interactions and behaviours. Bridges connect and offer ways to cross into both known and unexplored terrain. Too often we can unknowingly build gates and barriers in tough times, that in turn can limit the exploration of new terrain and journeys not yet taken. This talk will explore this concept a little further, sharing personal and professional examples of how the power of ‘being a bridge’ can help us be more creative and connected.

Nicolle Ndiweni – Inward Investment and Business Expansion Specialist

Nicolle is a Zimbabwean-born UK based politician, who brings years of experience in both the public and private sector, from roles in business development to local government. In 2015 she was the first black woman to be elected at Ashfield District Council and is a former District Councillor and Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Communities. She was elected to represent BAME Women on the Labour Party’s East Midlands Regional Board in 2018 and was an East Midlands European Parliamentary Candidate in 2019. An active campaigner, who was elected to represent the East Midlands Region on Labour’s National Policy Forum in 2022. She sits on Nottingham’s Professional Services Board and Nova Education Trust, a cross-phase Multi Academy Trust educating over 10,000 pupils. She works at Invest in Nottingham supporting a range of companies from high-growth SME’s to global businesses, helping them navigate and accelerate their expansion plans. Her talk looks at how facing your fears opens doors.

Simon Nichols – Founder & Well-being Director

Big Boys don’t cry… Men hide their feelings. The “Man Up” culture has a lot to answer for in the UK and globally. Mental Health and more importantly talking about Mental Health is now becoming acceptable, but there is still stigma behind closed doors and in many industries, staring you in the face, in front of open doors. This talk will focus on a grown man crying in Pets at Home, it will show you that not only do big boys cry, but we need to cry, we have to show the world that we are struggling and that we need help. Simon is passionate about story telling and as the founder and wellbeing director of a Mental Health and Neurodiversity company, Simon knows a few things about how we think and feel, but how does a VP of Europe end up in Pets at Home with tears streaming down his cheeks. This talk will take you on a journey of love, pain, despair but ultimately hope, hope for us all.

Steve Pipe – Entrepreneur, Business Author & Consultant

Steve Pipe grew his consultancy from a spare bedroom to a 40-person business and then sold it on his 50th birthday. Along the way he wrote the 7-part BBC TV series “Easy Money” and 7 business books and was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by a leading British business magazine. His goal now is to create 100 Million smiles by giving 100 Million days of help to those in need around the world by 2030. So far he has created over 6 Million of those smiles. And he has inspired others to create a further 26 Million smiles. He will reveal the one simple change that allows you to also create thousands, perhaps even millions, of smiles by living a ‘Life for Good’, so you can enjoy more personal happiness, joy and reward. Best of all, you will be able to implement this idea easily and quickly into everything you do… in a way that empowers you to make a practical and measurable difference to seemingly intractable problems such as poverty, homelessness, climate change, war and displacement.

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