Dear Members,
We recently heard the very sad news of the passing of our Toastmaster for 4 decades, Barry Dorn. As Master of Ceremonies, Barry kept us all in check, which is no mean feat, and did so with a smile, in his splendid uniform. Barry continued to play a part in the club long after his retirement from other duties, such was his commitment. We were delighted to give him a good retirement send off at Claridge’s a few years ago, and I’m sure like me, many of you remember him very fondly. His funeral was held last week, and I was able to send a message of condolences to Janice, Barry’s wife, on behalf of the Club.
We also heard of the passing of two titans of our industry and club members, Liz Nelson, founder of Taylor Nelson, and the first female Chair of MGGB, and Jennifer Tanburn, who amongst many achievements was the first woman on the BA Board, and one of the first female members of MGGB. We’ve come a long way, and it’s thanks in no small part to women like Liz and Jennifer.
On a happier note, last week we were delighted to welcome Professor Irene Tracey, Vice Chair of the University of Oxford, and Professor of Neuroscience, as our after dinner speaker. As we learned, she is in effect the CEO of a £3.5bn revenue organisation, with a research, publishing and start-up empire, bringing 300 new business to the world each year, and 4 unicorns in just the past 5 months. Professor Tracey also shared her hopes and fears for the British education system. It was a fascinating and inspiring talk.
Our next dinner will be the last of my season as Chair. On Wednesday 1st July we welcome Allison Kirkby, CEO of BT. Allison leads a huge empire, comprising BT, Openreach, EE and Plusnet, with a market cap of £20bn. In her 2 years in the job there has been a steady recovery in BT’s share price, as the roadmap for connecting digital Britain has been accelerated. Last month BT relaunched the brand with a major campaign, and it will be interesting to hear Allison’s thoughts on that topic. Allison started her career at Procter & Gamble before stints at Virgin Media, Shine, and Nordic telcos Tele2 & Telia. She is also a Member of the Board of Trade, and has her finger on the pulse of the government’s aspirations for Britain.
I do hope you’ll join me for this last dinner before September.
I look forward to seeing you.
Thanks,
Zaid