Some of the most famous names in the business world will visit the North-East next month to inspire and encourage future entrepreneurs.

Sarah French previews the fifth annual Entrepreneurs' Forum conference.

THE Entrepreneurs' Forum conference hits five this year and to mark the occasion it is bringing five worldclass speakers to the North- East.

Billed as the biggest and best forum conference so far, Progres5ive will offer inspiration for hundreds of the region's leading entrepreneurs, business managers and professional service providers.

The line-up includes Europe's best-known music impresario and event promoter, an international supermodel and the founder of the UK's premier chocolate company.

The third generation head of one of Britain's best-known car marques, and an author, national newspaper columnist and expert on creativity in business will also speak.

The conference will be held on May 22 at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton and is sponsored by development agency One NorthEast, Tyne and Wear Development Company and Business Link.

Paul Walker, chief executive of Sage and chairman of the Entrepreneurs' Forum, said: "Every year, the conference gets better and better.

"It seems the team set themselves an impossible task of exceeding their own standards next time.

"But this year is extra special.

It's our fifth annual conference marking five years of the unique role the Forum plays in the life of entrepreneurs and business success in the region.

"If you've never been to a Forum conference before, I urge people to come this time.

"You'll be part of an event of the highest calibre and the personal and practical value you will take from it more than compensates for a day away from your business."

The keynote speaker will be Harvey Goldsmith, the event promoter behind Pavarotti's farewell world tour and Live Aid and Live 8.

Goldsmith is Europe's bestknown event promoter and has been associated with nearly every major artist in the world, including The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, Bee Gees and Sting.

The son of an East End tailor, Goldsmith staged his first event at his technical college in Brighton, where he studied chemistry.

Later he formed Artiste Management Productions Limited to produce and manage artists in the music industry, followed by the formation of Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments, which became the UK's leading promoter of concerts and events.

Television pictures of poverty in Africa in the mid-Eighties led to Goldsmith joining forces with Bob Geldof to produce Live Aid.

Within ten weeks, the idea had turned into a 17-hour television spectacular, raising £140m for the starving.

He went on produce many more high-profile charity events, including concerts for the Teenage Cancer Trust, Net Aid, a United Nations awareness campaign for extreme poverty, and Unite For The Future, which raised $1m for victims of the World Trade Center Disaster and their families living in the UK.

In August 2003, he produced Fly To The Past, a historic revival and flight display at Blenheim Palace and, for the Mayor of London, the inaugural concert of the renovated Trafalgar Square.

A year later, he produced the first parade of Formula One cars in front of 500,000 people in the centre of London, transforming Regent Street into a three kilometer circuit for the top eight F1 cars and drivers.

On July 2, 2005, he reunited with Bob Geldof to produce Live 8 for the Band Aid Trust.

It presented the biggest collection of artists - 225 - in concert on one day in eight locations around the world including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia.

The event set world records for television coverage, with 160 TV networks showing the event live, plus 400 radio stations.

He also secured the partnership of AOL and Nokia for the spectacle. AOL's coverage of the five key events was groundbreaking and has become a benchmark for global events.

Harvey hit the headlines again last November for reuniting the surviving members of Led Zeppelin at the O2 Arena, in London, in one of the most eagerly-awaited concerts of recent years.

The other speakers at Progres5ive are:

● Elle Macpherson - the Australian supermodel with an internationally-successful lingerie brand;

● Angus Thirlwell - co-founder of exclusive mail order, online and high-street luxury chocolate company Hotel Chocolat;

● Charles Morgan - grandson of the founder of Morgan Motor Company and corporate strategy director of the family business;

● Guy Browning - national radio presenter, daily newspaper columnist and author of numerous books cutting through business gobbledegook.

AFTER the speakers, delegates will be invited to stay for the evening dinner and entertainment, which this year comes from comedy impressionist Jon Culshaw.

Best known for his impersonations of Tony Blair, George Bush and Ozzy Osborne on BBC radio and TV's Dead Ringers, Culshaw's rise to fame began when he was working for London's Capital Radio in 1998.

He called Downing Street pretending to be Richmond MP William Hague, asked to be put through to the Prime Minster and went on to have a lengthy conversation with Mr Blair.

The evening will also see the presentation of this year's awards to the Entrepreneurs' Forum Entrepreneur of the Year, the Emerging Talent of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Last year, Matthew James, chairman and managing director of UK Biometrics, was honoured in the Young Entrepreneur category, while the Entrepreneur of the Year accolade went to Ian Baggett, managing director of property development and investment group Adderstone.

Mr Baggett said: "It was a complete surprise, but a great honour to win the Entrepreneur of the Year award last year.

"It was the first business award I have ever received from my peers and, when you look at the calibre of the people in the Forum, it is really great to have won their respect for what you do.

"It's been great to be the holder of the title for the past 12 months but equally exciting to see who wins this year."

Registration for the conference starts at 8.30am on May 22. The evening event starts at 7pm.

Packages feature a 24-hour day that includes the conference - including lunch and refreshments, black tie dinner, awards presentation and speaker plus overnight accommodation at the Gateshead Hilton, including breakfast - at £295 for Forum members and £350 for nonmembers.

Delegates can opt to attend the conference only, including lunch and refreshments, at £195 for Forum members and £250 for nonmembers.

Or they can enjoy the conference plus dinner, awards and evening entertainment at £250 for Forum members or £300 for non-members. The evening event costs £75.

Forum members can bring up to five colleagues at member rates. All the prices are subject to VAT.

To book, phone 0870-850-2233 or email conference@ entrepreneursforum.net. For more details, visit entrepreneursforum.net

Case study

Passion for chocolate gave co-founder taste of success

AFTER growing up in the Caribbean, home to some of the world's best quality cocoa, and coming from a family where business included cakes and ice cream, it's not surprising that when Angus Thirlwell started his enterprise, he chose something tasty.

As co-founder of Hotel Chocolat, he has encouraged British consumers to indulge in their passion for luxury chocolates and, in the process, created a company that has seen growth of 800 per cent in the past eight years.

Angus founded the business 15 years ago with Peter Harris as ChocExpress, rebranding to the more alluring Hotel Chocolat in 2003.

From an exclusive mail order business which developed into online sales via an award-winning website, three years ago Hotel Chocolat moved into stylish high street stores, including branches in the MetroCentre and at York.

It has grown into the UK's leading premium chocolate brand with sales hitting £40m even during these healthconscious times, and is officially one of the UK's prestigious "CoolBrands".

Angus says authentic ingredients are the key to Hotel Chocolat's success. This has been supported by the purchase of the 140-acre Rabot Estate, in St Lucia, where the company grows its fine cocoa boosted by the rich and fertile volcanic soil, high altitude and rainforest water.

It makes Hotel Chocolat one of the world's few origin chocolatiers, a route it has chosen rather than Fairtrade, which it says is limited in scope, would restrict its flexibility to work with a wide variety of producers and suppliers and would conflict with its principal aim to offer high- quality products.

Instead, it reaches out to the wider cocoa community in St Lucia through its Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme, while in Ghana it provides funding and management skills to launch and maintain sustainable projects to improve the lives of cocoa farmers.

Case Study

Driving force behind company handcrafted in excellence

THE Morgan Motor Company, the world's oldest privately-owned car manufacturer, has not only survived when many others have stalled but has thrived.

Its dedicated and skilled workforce, in Malvern, Worcestershire, hand builds 500 made-to-order sports cars each year, with half exported around the world.

Charles Morgan's grandfather began the company almost a century ago.

As former managing director and now corporate strategy director, Charles is attributed with guiding the company through the changes it has made to adapt and survive in a modern, competitive market, including leading the team that developed the Aero 8, the first new Morgan for 30 years.

Charles was the driving force behind the spectacular sportscar, originally built as a unique commission for Prince Eric I Sturdza, president of Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza.

Such was the response to the one-off, and the enthusiasm of its owner for Morgan to make more, that production of 100 more began in February this year.

Before joining the family business in 1985, father-of-five Charles worked in publishing and was a news cameraman with ITN.

He directed and filmed with Sandy Gall, the first documentary to go behind Russian lines in Afghanistan, in 1982.

He also covered the departure of the Shah from Iran, the aborted rescue attempt of the US hostages held in Iran, the conflict in Beirut and the Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon and the transfer of power and the first free elections in Zimbabwe.

Charles has raced Morgans, winning the British Racing and Sports Car Club and British Racing Drivers' Club production sports car championships in the late Seventies.

His speech will cover managing a family business, export and sales and marketing, and preserving the Morgan name and philosophy.

10:36am Tuesday 29th April 2008

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