After a year of businesses being forced to react at speed to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BOSS Leaders of the Future (LOTF) Committee curated another fantastic virtual event on 2 February 2021
Three keynote speakers, four roundtable debates and two industry panels entertained over 100 attendees from the industry’s young talent on the day.
Scott Castle (VOW Wholesale) and Hannah Thomson (OT Group) set the tone for the day, welcoming everyone to the conference for an engaging, informative and inspiring day.
Mark Shayler, founder of Ape, kicked the day’s presentations off by discussing how businesses can innovate to provide a better service with less environmental harm. He challenged delegates to think differently about how to approach their strategy for 2021 by bringing their focus closer.
Ali Green, head of HR from Open, gave her perspective on what the workplace will look like in 2021 as different generations return. She discussed how as workforce demographics are changing, employee training and up-skilling should be a key element of all businesses strategy.
Tom Dickinson, sales director from OSI, shared his emotive journey on mental wellbeing and the journey he has taken to be where he is today. He also talked about the role social media plays on mental health.
The BOSS Leaders of the Future (LOTF) Conference also held four intimate roundtable debates covering e-commerce, mental health & wellbeing, sales & marketing and how to present yourself virtually. Delegates had the chance to discuss the topic below in small groups led by an expert host before joining together:
Session 1: The E-Commerce Pretzel
Richard Sinclair, chief operating officer, EO Group
Richard identified key e-Commerce focus points for 2021 B2B sales in the OP Industry.
Session 2: Lead generation during a pandemic and into the future
Kelly de Silva, group marketing director, OT Group Limited
Kelly discussed how sales and marketing teams can adapt their strategy to continue to generate new business leads and appointments.
Mandy hosted an interactive roundtable session on mental wellbeing.
Session 4: Presenting yourself virtually
Jack Milner, presentation coach
Jack ran an interesting roundtable session showing attendees how they can best present themselves in a virtual environment.
The final session of the conference was a lively panel discussion hosted by Simon Drakeford, CEO, EO Group and BOSS Chairman. The audience heard from 5 future leaders of the industry and their thoughts on what 2021 will hold for the sector, in addition to their learnings from 2020. Across the panel there were mixed views for 2021, however all agreed the new normal is going to be different and will not mean going back to the conditions that prevailed in 2019.
Amy Hutchinson, BOSS CEO, commented:“In a year that has already been challenging for many, it was brilliant to connect so many leaders of the future in our sector and witness the enthusiasm shown for engaging with the speakers ideas and participating in the Roundtable sessions. A brilliant effort from the LOTF Committee and thank you to all our speakers who shared their knowledge, and sponsors who made the event possible.”
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