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Banbury in Business Summit 2012 delivered ideas and inspiration for growth from leading business figures
Keynote speech from Stephen Hester, Chief Executive of RBS noted that
Banbury “is a good place to do business”
The theme for this year’s Banbury in Business Summit was maximising opportunities for growth and the speaker line-up included RBS Chief Executive, Stephen Hester, Stuart Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Oxfordshire-based ByBox and Steven Orchard, owner of commercial radio station Banbury Sound. The speakers covered all elements of this topic – from how to use social media through to dealing with adversity and challenges when starting up a business, and how to learn from these.
The event was hosted by Tony Baldry MP and was attended by a record number of 150 local businesses. The Summit was an opportunity for attendees to network, share knowledge and gain inspiration and advice from the speakers. An exhibition also ran alongside the conference, showcasing local business services from solicitors to training companies.
Stephen Hester, who lives locally in Broughton, endorsed Banbury and the local area as a “good place to do business” and also commented that “it was encouraging to see real signs of growth” when he had been talking to local business owners.
Stuart Miller, Chief Executive Officer at ByBox, a box-based logistics company spoke at the event about the challenges that he faced when starting up his business over ten years ago and how he learnt from these. He said of the event: “Events like Banbury in Business are really important for local companies. It is great that there are forums like these, where local business owners can hear practical and inspirational advice from people who have been there and done it! I firmly believe that we need to support and encourage entrepreneurs – small businesses are the backbone of Britain and critical for the contribution they make to the local economy.”
Along with Stephen Hester the speaker line-up included Stuart Miller, CEO of ByBox, Steven Orchard, owner of Banbury Sound, Sarah Castle, MD of Think Big Training, Adam Petford, social media expert and Sue Smith, Chief Executive of Cherwell District Council.
The event was supported by a number of sponsors: Cherwell District Council, Banbury and District Chamber of Commerce, Natwest, Colin Sanders Innovation Centre, Ellacotts, Spratt Endicott, CubanEight, Fuel, Banbury Sound, Toast Design and Parkwood Leisure.