Raising the Bar…
Hello there!
Let’s not beat about the bush: The October AVA Business day, sponsored by Huhtamaki, is an event you can’t afford to miss if you want to grow your business. Keynote speakers Lucy Jeynes, Dee Clayton; Kevin Moorhouse and Neil Whittall, Commercial and Contracts Director at Huhtamaki, all have things to say that we recommend you listen to. In addition, the Carbon Trust will be on hand to discuss the hidden cost of carbon in our vending solutions, as well as advising us on our goals to become carbon neutral. You may think you’ve heard it all before but this is a real eye-opener.
One of the long-term aims of the AVA is to help its members and affiliates achieve ‘carbon neutral’ status. This is a challenging goal to say the least and the Carbon Trust session focuses on the practicalities entailed in becoming carbon neutral and what the timescales of implementation might be.
The Business day is all about ‘raising the bar’, not only in the way we deal with our customers, but also in the way we operate as a group. In addition to the speaker sessions referred to, there’ll be an opportunity for members to contribute to an open discussion led by a panel of experts: Gillian White, Paul Theobald; Phil Millard, Jitendra Patel and Mike Saltmarsh. (There are links to more info on our panel below, if you’d like to know more).
The evening session will include a Casino night with roulette, blackjack, craps, poker and slot machines; an excellent opportunity to network and have some fun. I’d put a tenner on the Dalai Lama, if I was a Tibetan man.
Social Networking, carbon footprints, communication skills – all may seem like buzzwords. The truth, though,is that they’re much more than that. Tendering organisations increasingly demand elements of sustainability in the tenders they consider. October’s Business Day will give you the tools you need to show that your bids are sustainable.
Finally, remember, remember Thursday, 18th. October 2012, from 12.30pm, at Sketchley Grange, Sketchley Lane, Burbage, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 3HU.
Hope to see you there, but failing that, I hope you’ll catch the next ‘This month at the AVA’.
Regards
Jonathan Hilder
CEO, AVA.
Gillian White runs 24vend, an international vending business, she also has extensive lobbying experience and has worked with the EVA to help it become a founding member of the EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health.
Paul Theobald, apart from being the chairman of the AVA, is also the MD of MEI UK International Ltd, a payment solutions company. For his session he wants to focus on the future of payment beyond traditional coin and card-based options, looking forward to touch-less technology and the use of mobile phones as a payment option.
Phil Millard of The Vending Intelligence Agency, understands the challenges and issues facing Operators in today’s market-place having spent his previous career in top sales positions with two of the World’s largest business equipment suppliers. He knows the importance of investing in training and coaching programmes like Business Improvement Strategies, Managing through Change, Director Level Support, and Recruitment and Selection.
Jitendra Patel, Solicitor and Head of Company and Commercial at Brethertons LLP will be on hand to discuss the legal aspects of Business Audits, Corporate Acquisitions and the protection of intellectual property among others.
Mike Saltmarsh has worked in the vending industry since 1979 and has been the technical consultant to the AVA since 1996. He wrote the ‘Guide to Good Hygiene Practice in Vending’, the ‘Food Safety Management for Vending’ and the section on Food Safety in Vending in the ‘Encyclopaedia of Food Safety’.
