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As part of our delegation to Delhi we are working with AWM to produce a high-quality brochure to promote the delegation, the city, the region and our business offer.

The style will be along the lines of the brochure produced last year about Islamic Finance. We are looking for worthwhile case studies about work that our members are currently doing in India, or with Indian firms. As we do not have editorial control of the brochure we can only offer your stories and cannot guarantee all will be included. Please provide a brief outline of around 250- 300 words that summarises the key activities, explains what is special or unique about them, and gives a contact for this area of work. Please send your first drafts to Tahreen Kutub by Friday 21st August.

Consultation on the Big City Plan Work in Progress report was carried out from the 12th December 2008 to the 6th February 2009. All of the responses from this consultation have
been analysed and the information that has been collected will be used to inform future work on the Big City Plan.

The Big City Plan was intended to be a single plan for the City Centre but as the work has progressed it has become apparent that it should be more than just a single document. The Big City Plan is intended to stimulate a continued debate about the future of the City Centre from which ideas, policies, projects and developments will emerge. On this basis Birmingham City Council will now be producing a number of different documents, building on the work to date and the results of the consultation, which will all contribute to shaping the future of the City Centre.

Click here to read the full story.
 

The Gala Dinner 2009 will take place on Friday 16th October at the Burlington Hotel. The event will celebrate Chairman Sue Lewis' year to date as well as Birmingham Forward’s achievements.

The event is one of the highlights of Birmingham Forward’s calendar and has over the years hosted a number of interesting speakers and enjoyable entertainment. This year’s after dinner speaker is the Rt. Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP. Ann, a Conservative Party politician, has been a Member of Parliament for over 20 years after being elected for Maidstone in 1987. She was Minister of State at the Department of Employment from July 1994 to July 1995 when she was appointed Minister of State at the Home Office, a position she held until 1997. She was also a member of the Shadow Cabinet until she resigned in 2001. Ann has contributed both as a presenter and commentator to various TV programmes on a wide range of subjects including travel, politics and religion. Ann is an alumnus of Birmingham University.

Ann’s talk will be followed by entertainment and dancing provided by Birmingham Development Company’s The Cubes. For further information, contact Isabel Drabble at isabel@birminghamforward.co.uk or 0121 632 2204.

Photo: Ann Widdecombe

Birmingham Forward is delighted to announce that Kinetic Communications have been appointed as the new PR Consultancy for Birmingham Forward and Future following a competitive tender. Kinetic Communications have worked with clients including Harrison Clark, Warwickshire County Council and RegenCo. They offered a fresh approach to Birmingham Forward and Future's PR and we look forward to working with them.

Kinetic Communications replace Urban Communications who have done a sterling job over the last three years. We have a policy that all such projects, involving services that can be provided by members, are re-tendered at least every three years.

Birmingham Forward patron member Amey, one of the UK’s leading public services companies, has confirmed Colmore Plaza Birmingham as the location for its new consulting Hub. It had announced its commitment to open an International Design Hub in Birmingham at MIPIM in March earlier this year. Amey, already with a number of offices in Birmingham, has secured a ten year lease on the 4th and 5th floors of the prestigious building located in the heart of the city. The new office will be home to Amey’s International Design Hub, bringing together all of Amey’s consulting expertise into one state of the art location. It will provide infrastructure design services for central and local Government in the UK, as well as clients around the world.

Colmore Plaza is one of the biggest office developments in Birmingham. The 14-storey building, which is owned by Carlyle Group provides 310,000 sq ft/28,800 sq m of grade A office space.  The decision to establish an International Design Hub in Birmingham represents a significant investment for Amey and demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment to the city and wider West Midlands region.  

 Photo: Colmore Plaza

Birmingham Forward patron Aston Villa is giving visitors a chance to enjoy lunch with Lord Digby Jones at its ‘More Than 90 Minutes’ event on Friday 11th September. The former Trade Minister will be sharing his words of wisdom in the newly refurbished Holte Suite at Villa.

There will be a drinks reception from midday, followed by a two course lunch and coffee.

Tickets are £25 (including VAT), or £225 for a table of 10. Bookings can be made by calling Rebecca Starkey in Aston Villa Hospitality and Events on 0800 612 0960.

Birmingham Forward Affiliate members Malmaison and Hotel du Vin are supporting the Variety Club this year as their chosen Charity and aim to raise over £3,000.

They wish to make this an annual 5 side championships. The football championship will take place at Power-league, Salford Stadium, Lichfield Road, Birmingham on Sunday 27th September, with a 10.30 kick off. The cost to enter a team, with a maximum of 8 players, is £200 (only £25 per person).

The winning team will receive medals and a trophy engraved with its company name on and a celebratory team dinner at Malmaison Hotel or Hotel du Vin Birmingham.

Please click here for further details on how you can get involved.

How do you fancy using your commercial knowledge and experience to help improve the life and lot of the people of Sandwell?

SCVO’s trading arm exists to return the long term unemployed to sustainable employment and to improve the environment in Sandwell — and it’s looking for independent directors to join a new board to lead the strategic development of the business.

If this sounds of interest to you or a friend or colleague, please visit the SCVO website and download the information pack and application forms, email director@scvo.info or call 0121 565 8930 and ask for Mark Triggs or Mark Davis.

Brindleyplace’s latest bar and restaurant, set to open this Autumn on the award winning estate, will be named Nuvo.

The winning name was chosen following an online competition run in conjunction with Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Future to find a name for the landmark bar.

Nuvo is a combination of two entries – Nucleus and Novu – submitted by Lisa Clark of HBJ Gateley Wareing LLP and Bryan Manley-Green of Alchemy Translations.  The entries combine to form a play on the word ‘nouveau’ which means something new, exciting and different.

Click here to read further.

Photo: Gary Taylor of Argent with joint competition winner Lisa Clark of HBJ Gateley Wareing LLP inside Eleven Brindleyplace.

12:00 for 12:30 until 14:30

Continuing in its intention to provide a variety of perspectives on the recession and its local and national effects on businesses, Birmingham Forward will be welcoming Rob Elder from the Bank of England for his own perspective and analysis of the situation. Rob is Manager of the Conjunctural Assessment and Projections Division and one of the Bank’s key economists. With his analysis of the current situation, he will also reveal the outlook for the future from the perspective of the Bank of England. The lunch will be held at the popular Bank, in Brindleyplace.

Click here for further information. There are only a small number of tickets left, so book now to avoid disappointment by contacting Claire Hawkins: claire@birminghamforward.co.uk / 0121 632 2209.

Photo: Rob Elder, Bank of England 

The forthcoming UKTI and Birmingham Forward delegation trip to Bahrain in December provides a number of opportunities for our members and their companies to become involved. This event will be held in order for those key speakers and delegates already involved to inform our members on the objectives of the trip and members are provided with an opportunity to register their interest in becoming involved. The event will be free of charge and is kindly being sponsored by UKTI.

Please contact Isabel Drabble for more information on this event: Isabel@birminghamforward.co.uk or 0121 632 2204. 

07:00 for 07:30 until 09:00

Vikki Heywood, Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, will be joining Birmingham Forward and Birmingham Chamber of Commerce members for a seated breakfast at Crowne Plaza, Birmingham.

Amongst the many projects she oversees, some of which she will touch upon at the breakfast, Vikki is supervising the RSC’s £112.8 million building project to transform its theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon and is now planning towards the re-opening of the theatres towards the end of 2010. Vikki will be sharing the vision for the transformation, whilst also considering the present and future challenges the company faces during a recession.

Click here for further information. To book your place contact Isabel Drabble: isabel@birminghamforward.co.uk or 0121 632 2204.

Photo: Vikki Heywood, Royal Shakespeare Company

 
12:00 for 12:30 until 14:00

Andy Syms, Founder and Principle Director of Client Development Partners, will be providing a workshop on improving presentation techniques to achieve and maintain business. Andy is an experienced Business Development coach and will examine the use of powerful visuals, as well as presentation and introduction techniques from which we can improve our delivery of presentations and create compelling and business winning formulae. The event will again be held at Ernst & Young LLP and will include networking before the seminar.

Click here for further information. To book your place contact Claire Hawkins at claire@birminghamforward.co.uk or on 0121 632 2209.

Tuesday 21st July

Carl Chinn received a warm reception from Birmingham Forward members at Austin Court on 21st July.

“Carl Chinn gave everyone who attended plenty of food for thought. It was great to hear from someone who is so passionate about the city and has such amazing depth of knowledge about not just our history but also about the interplay between business and public life. Being able to question and talk to Carl during the session helped all of us in the audience get a lot from the evening and reflect on our own views.”
Perry Buck, HBJ Gateley Wareing LLP

Click here to read Stefan Powell of Brefi Group’s review of the event.

Photo: Carl Chinn

Wednesday 22nd July

The fourth PSMG event of the year was again held at Ernst & Young LLP, this time welcoming Peter Kane of the BD Consultancy. Peter presented on the topic of Hot Selling, refreshing members on common practice whilst also revealing some new tricks and techniques to utilise.

"The workshop was certainly of interest and benefit. It covered off many aspects of customer retention (rather than cold prospects) in a humorous and energetic format...” Zurich.

Click here for further information.
 

Tuesday 28th July

The weather held out as Birmingham Forward welcomed Jim Johnston of Advantage West Midlands for a barbeque buffet lunch, served on the terrace of City Café, Brindleyplace. Jim, the AWM Business Manager for the London 2012 Olympic Games, discussed the opportunities available for companies to become involved, emphasising that these opportunities are not merely for the larger, national companies.

JW Hinks is a chartered accountancy firm offering audit, accountancy and taxation services, specialising in the SME sector, and healthcare and charity sectors.

Kennedys is a specialist national and international legal firm with expertise in litigation and dispute resolution. It has over 650 staff globally, across eight UK and seven international locations.