Speakers

We have an exciting range of speakers confirmed for the conference consisting of leaders and innovators in the social enterprise field.

John Bird Founder of The Big Issue

John Bird, 66, was brought up in an orphanage and served time in a young offenders institution before he was out of his teens. During the turbulent and difficult times of his youth he often slept rough as one of London’s homeless. He was, as he now frankly reflects, very much a part of the problems of society. Gradually he realised that the only way to get out of the destructive circle into which he had grown up was to give himself a hand up rather than wait for others to give him a hand-out. Settling down in his 20’s he began to hold down regular jobs in factories and eventually as a skilled printer. But he never forgot the hardship and problems of his youth and the ways in which similar deprivation afflicts tens of thousands of others in similar positions on the bottom rungs of society.

Twenty-one years ago this year, using his knowledge of the print industry, his social vision and energy led him to found the now world-famous Big Issue. The weekly magazine achieves its mass circulation through being sold on the streets of the UK and only by vendors who are homeless.  The deal is simple with the proceeds of each copy sold being split equally between the vendor and the publishers. Thus, reflecting John’s own philosophy, the deprived and under-privileged are given a hand-up through earning their money rather than waiting for the hand-out which may do little more than trap them in the homeless poverty from which many crave escape. The Big Issue, or similar magazines, are now published in dozens of countries around the world – always with the same aims of helping those struggling for a break in society. In transforming himself from being part of the problem of society into being part of the solution, John has become a globally admired social entrepreneur. He is invited to speak at major events around the world. Although strictly non-political, John has been consulted by British Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers on how best to lift people out of poverty through harnessing their own energies.

Nick Temple Director of Business & Enterprise at Social Enterprise UK

Director of Business & Enterprise at Social Enterprise UK, the national body for social enterprise. At Social Enterprise UK, Nick has responsibility for business development and operations, allowing the organisation to grow its impact sustainably whilst delivering work of a high quality. He leads on all the organisation’s His remit also includes leading on SEUK’s social investment work, and chairing the Social Investment Forum. 

Before joining Social Enterprise UK, Nick was working as an independent consultant with a wide range of organisations, including UnLtd, Skills Third Sector, The Guardian, Venture Partnership Foundation, Stepping Out, British Council and the London School of Economics. Nick also co-founded and helped run POPse!, the world’s first pop-up social enterprise think-tank, and is on the board of the SROI Network.

Nick was previously at the School for Social Entrepreneurs for 6 years, latterly as Director of Policy and Communications, with responsibility for all communications, policy work with government, overseeing evaluation and research, and delivering learning programmes on social franchising and spin-out social enterprises.

Before that, he was director of the Global Ideas Bank and the Natural Death Centre, and co-edited Poem for the Day Two and the Time Out Book of Country Walks vol.2, books whose royalties go back into charitable work. Nick graduated from the University of Warwick in 1999.

Theresa Burton CEO and Co-founder of BuzzBnk

Theresa is CEO and Co-founder of Buzzbnk, an on-line crowd-funding platform bringing social ventures looking for start-up or growth capital together with like-minded people keen to participate in a new way of funding social change. Funds can be raised in a variety of ways, from offering fun and engaging benefits, in return for goods or services, or as a loan.
 
Buzzbnk, a social enterprise itself, won an Innovation in Giving award in 2012, a fund created by the UK Cabinet Office and NESTA, which backs innovative ideas for increasing participation in social and environmental change. Since launch in January 2011 it has helped 51 projects raise over £475,000 for socially- and environmentally-minded projects. Buzzbnk was selected as a Top 100 2012 UK Startup.

Before co-founding and setting up Buzzbnk in 2009 with serial social entrepreneur Michael Norton OBE, Theresa spent 16 years as a senior manger in the private sector, delivering global e-business, internet and enterprise business solutions for two large international corporations, the most recent with Swiss Re. In 2008 she completed a Sloan Fellowship MBA/MSc at London Business School. In 2011 she was selected as a “Make a Wave” fellow in the Ogunte programme for women social entrepreneurs.

Jonathan Godwin Analyst at Social Finance

Jonathan started at Social Finance in October 2011. He works on the development of Social Impact Bonds in the area of Looked After Children. Previously Jonathan set up a social enterprise sharing best practice between social activism projects and social enterprises. He also helped run the Bristol Hub. He holds a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from Bristol University.

Will Skillman Founder and CEO of Innoca    

Will is a graduate of Warwick Business School’s full-time MBA program having received a Distinction and a peer award for outstanding citizen.  He is currently a Ph.D. candidate exploring ‘Entrepreneurship in Base-of-the-Pyramid Markets’. In the past he has participated in the Hult Global Case Challenge which aims to identify solutions to the global water crisis for Water.org, where he worked on developing an innovative business solution to approach the market at the bottom of pyramid through microfinancing.

Will has spent much of his recent time in Africa where he worked directly with a group of doctors to form an NGO providing holistic medical care to the underprivileged in Mamelodi, South Africa. He designed and built a medical facility that included dental, vision and surgical care for the poor. In addition to the primary clinic they operated a network of mobile clinics in the township and in various locations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. He witnessed first-hand during visits with the mobile clinic the abysmal living conditions of the poorest Africans, and in particular the cooking situations that women deal with where paraffin stoves fill their unventilated shacks with poisonous gases.

That is where the idea for a bio-cooking fuel was born. The goal was to develop a fuel that burned cleaner and provided a healthier living environment; essentially, treating many of the common health ailments at the source.  Bollô is a healthier, safer fuel for indoor cooking and heating in the townships of Africa - has the potential to impact the lives of millions in South Africa and around the globe. 

Rhiannon Horsley Student Hubs

Rhiannon Horsley joined Student Hubs last year, where she manages their Hubs at Imperial and SOAS. Prior to joining Student Hubs she worked at UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs where she supported over 100 young, early stage social entrepreneurs. She co-founded Young Professionals in Human Rights, is a trustee for People & Planet and has run a week long pop-up tea shop. 

Nigel Sykes Principal Teaching Fellow at the University of Warwick

Nigel is a Principal Teaching Fellow at the University of Warwick. He is the Former Enterprise Agency Director and manager of pilot Community Programme project linked to industry with Birmingham Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He now works in a 'catalytic' role in helping to release capability and talent through individual, organisational and inter-organisational opportunities.

Viva La Yog

Viva La Yog! is a business venture founded by three Warwick undergraduate students, and supported by Ernst and Young through the Warwick Students’ Union Ernst and Young Social Enterprise Project. They will sell fresh and organic frozen yoghurt with a variety of toppings every Friday in the SU Atrium, and will begin trading within the next month. A portion of the profits will fund healthy eating workshops in primary schools located in low-income areas of Coventry, where poor nutrition has proved to be a serious problem among young children, affecting concentration in the classroom and long-term academic performance.

Backer Adventures

Backer Adventures is a social enterprise that aims to create sporting events with a purpose, with the majority of profits going to a local community of children with physical disabilities. Backer Adventures hosts adventurous obstacle runs which participants take part in for an affordable price. By merely participating in the race, the student is already contributing to the local community - unlike in other adventure races, where participants are required to fundraise for charity. The obstacle course races hosted by Backer Adventures aim to be fun, memorable and professional, yet challenging. We aim to promote fitness and altruism whilst supporting children with disabilities. We look forward to seeing you on the day!