e-bulletin - April 2006

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News & Events

Welcome Diane and Christine

Last week’s AGM saw Diane Benussi and Christine Braddock step up to their new positions of Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Birmingham Forward respectively.

Both Diane and Christine have a wealth of experience working in and with the city’s professional and financial services sector and we are sure they’ll enjoy a successful year at the helm.

During her inaugural speech at the AGM, Diane set out her priorities for the year ahead which included pushing forward on the Advised in Birmingham campaign, and promoting graduate retention.

I’m sure you’ll join us in wishing them well for the year ahead and give them your full support.

Thanks also go to Derek Inman who stepped down as Chairman at the AGM. Derek has skillfully negotiated his year at the helm, playing a key role in the launch of Birmingham’s Westminster office, Birmingham W1, and building strong relationships that will strengthen our influence in the corridors of power.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ronnie Bowker and Malcolm Gloster who were ineligible for re-election, David Daly and Mark Newcombe who retired by rotation, and Jane Lodge and Andrew Sparrow who stepped down in the course of 2005. They have all made a strong contribution to the development of our organisation and we wish them all the best for the future.

And welcome to our new Board members

The AGM also saw the appointment of six new Board members:

From left to right;
# Sid Muir, Head of Corporate Banking, Allied Irish Bank
# Mark Hopton, Senior Partner, KPMG
# Richard Edwards, Practice Senior Manager, Deloitte
# Trevor Foster, Regional Head of Corporate Banking, Bank of Scotland
# David Hastings, Regional Director, Royal Bank of Scotland
# Perm Saini, Director, Claremont Group
# Centre Diane Benussi, Office Managing Partner, Benussi & Co

Amendment to Articles of Association

Please note that at last week’s AGM the following Amendment to Articles of Association was agreed: The Chair and immediate past Chair of Birmingham Future will automatically become Directors of Birmingham Forward.

First Individual Member

We are delighted to welcome Mirza Ahmad, Chief Legal Officer at Birmingham City Council, as the first Associate member of Birmingham Forward.

As highlighted in previous ebulletins, Associate membership is a new individual membership scheme allowing professionals working for non Birmingham Forward qualifying firms, or retired or non working professionals, to join the organisation.

If you would like further information on associate membership, please contact Jo.Sollom@birminghamforward.co.uk or telephone 0121 632 2200.

Chief Executive

Following the resignation of Simon Murphy to take on the role of City Region Project Director, we have now begun the process of appointing a new Chief Executive.

The closing date for applications is Thursday 20 April and information packs are available from the Birmingham Forward office on 0121 632 2200 or by emailing Jo.Sollom@birminghamforward.co.uk

Brushing up on diversity issues

With Birmingham set to become an ethnic majority city, do you know as much as you should about diversity issues?

If not Birmingham Professional DiverCity can help. Our sister organisation has planned a schedule of special training sessions for the remainder of the coming year, covering issues such as recruitment, religion and belief, and equality and diversity.

For further information on the courses, please email support@birminghamdivercity.co.uk

Awards & Achievements

Congratulations…
… to Citigate SMARTS, which won three awards at this year’s Midlands’ PRide Awards. The team was named PR Agency of the Year as well as winning the Best Business to Business and Best Use of Media Relations awards.

Congratulations also go to Gregory Jones of Shakespeare’s Solicitors, who was the winner of the First Class rail tickets at the Breakfast Connection on 6 April.

Read all about it…

Tenders are also being invited for the Public Relations contract for Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future.

The closing date for receipt of tenders in Friday 28 April. For further information, please contact Parmi Gill on 0121 632 2200 or email Parmi.Gill@birminghamforward.co.uk

Raising funds for Cancer Research

The girls from the Birmingham Forward office will be entering the Race for Life event in Sutton Coldfield Park for the second year running.

Last year they raised over £1,000 for the charity and, with your help, they’re aiming to beat that total this year.

For information about sponsoring the team’s t-shirts, please contact Parmi Gill on 0121 632 2200 or e-mail parmi.gill@birminghamforward.co.uk. Alternatively, if you’d like to make a donation, please send your cheque, payable to ‘Race for Life’, to Birmingham Forward, One Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD.

Bringing young people and employers together

Birmingham & Solihull Connexions is a government funded organisation that has been successfully bringing young people and employers together since 2003. Formerly known as the career service, it offers employers an excellent opportunity to recruit its future workforce.

The no-cost recruitment service offers employers the potential; to reach all of 16-19 year olds across Birmingham and Solihull.

The team can also help to identify skills gaps and promote these to students and teachers in schools and colleges. For more information, please contact Carole Tobin on 0121 248 8050 or click here to view the website.

Five of Hearts launch

Last month we reported on the launch of The Five of Hearts consortium to encourage payroll giving to five of Birmingham’s best loved charities: Acorns Children’s Hospice Trust; Birmingham Focus on Blindness; Birmingham Foundation; Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and St Basil’s.

We have since received an invitation for all Birmingham Forward members to attend the consortium’s breakfast Launch on Thursday 20 April at DLA Piper with guest speaker Sir Digby Jones.

For further information, please telephone 0121 248 4770 or email fidelis.hynam@fiveofhearts.org.uk

Make a Wish for charity ball

Every year, members of Birmingham’s finance community organise a Charity Ball held at the Botanical Gardens. Raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation, the event is attended by 300 of the local members of the Midlands Finance community including Corporate Financiers, Corporate Lawyers, Stockbrokers, Private Equity/Venture Capitalists and Bankers.

This year’s event takes place on 10 June. For further information and to book your place, please contact chris.hayes@dgarecruitment.co.uk

New member welcome

Birmingham Forward would like to welcome the following new members:

• Catapult Venture Managers manage £50m of private equity funds across the midland's region focussing on the £250k to £2m equity gap. Funding is available for most investment stages including growth capital and MBO's.
• Tirebuck Career Solutions is a recruitment agency on a mission. They are determined to inject new standards of professionalism into the recruitment industry and offer unparalelled levels of service to each of our clients and candidates.

Birmingham Forward, One Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BD
Telephone: +44 (0)121 632 2200 Fax: +44 (0)121 632 2201