Dear Members,
As the sounds of Abba recede, I hope we will recall more clearly last Wednesday’s story of Accenture’s digital transformation from Omar Abbosh. The results from Accenture’s “wise pivot” in response to the “compressive” forces of disruption speak for themselves. Omar also gave us glimpses of his personal story, with childhood memories of Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad and proffered his views on the
future for creativity in marketing and advertising. It was very good to see so many of you with your guests when I know there was so much competition for your presence.
As previously announced, November’s speaker is James Timpson, Chief Executive of Timpson, the ubiquitous key-cutting and shoe repair retailer. James has been CEO since 2002 of this 150 year-old family business, which has an amazing track record of colleague-driven innovation, in its “upsidedown” approach to retailing. James has pioneered new approaches to the company’s people policies, recruiting actively from prisons, with a full 10% of its colleagues now brought into the business directly from this source. This promises to be a fascinating story from a retailer with clear and progressive values.
Bookings are open, so please secure your places via the website or by writing to Clare.
I look forward to seeing you all in Claridge’s next month, when I promise there will be no more Dancing Queen.
Best wishes,
Phil Smith
Chair 2018-2019
MGGB