Vistage Executive Summit

Covid has changed the way things work. 

We will consider the key indicators of economic activity and forecast interest rates, growth and inflation for the next two years.

Roger is a practical researcher.  He focuses on how the economy really works and on the links between FT100 reward systems, the behaviour of banks and economic instability. He also researches his clients trading environment as a necessary component of his teaching. His book “Making Sense of the Economy” is in its fourth reprint.

CEO Projections 2022: Embrace the Revolution

Despite mixed economic signals, small and midsize enterprises are adding employees at record levels, providing workers with more options, opportunities and power than ever before. The decisions, investments and leadership challenges CEOs are focused on in 2022 center around talent, specifically the hiring, retention and development of people. In this session, you'll gain perspectives on how to embrace the workforce revolution with the latest UK CEO data and insights from Vistage Research.

A Going Concern

Are you a Zebra or a Unicorn? Join tech entrepreneur and economist, Dr Pippa Malmgren - advisor to presidents, prime ministers and tech start-ups - for an insightful talk on the renaissance of the ‘going concern’.

For years, investors were slavishly devoted to Silicon Valley backed ‘moonshots’ - start-ups with big ideas and total disregard for profits, revenues or even sales. In startup land fundraising was the key to success, not ongoing profitability. Founders were hot and CEOs were not.

The turbulence of recent years has reversed all this. Instead of hunting for elusive and rare Unicorns ($1b valuation companies), Pentacorns ($5b) or Decacorns ($10b), investors are now hunting for that old-fashioned creature called a ‘going concern’.

In this keynote speech, Dr Malmgren will bring simple sensemaking to the complexities of the world economy, geopolitics and technology. She’ll reveal why the money is now on the doers rather than the dreamers, and how lean and adaptive Zebras - companies that solve real problems and fill a market demand - are winning over the fairytale world of Unicorns.

Speaker - Ben Birchall

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans"

Peter F. Drucker

An interactive breakout session lead by People Puzzles Ltd. As HR thought leaders in the UK SME sector, we will be exploring the theme of what represents a vibrant 'People Strategy' that specifically fits your business. Why is it so vital in current times? How does it work? What does excellent look like? Where are you on the scale? And what gaps do you need to address?

The session will leave you with an outline plan of action to take back into your business to fully harness the 'People' resource that you employ; and help give you the best possible return on your investment by unlocking their potential to deliver success.

Speaker - Julia Rosenbloom

This session would be ideal for Business Leaders who are looking towards the future of their business, whether that is succession or exit:

• The options to consider for succession and exit – including method and timing, covering management buyouts, sales to employees through an Employee Ownership Trust and third party sales.
• Maximising tax efficiency, including capturing Business Asset Disposal relief and the use of a family investment company (FIC) where appropriate
• Consideration of future income requirements to secure ideal lifestyle preferences and consideration of gifts to family members pre-sale and cashflow planning to help determine the level of any gifts
• Investment post-exit

Speaker - Richard Ellis

The world of M&A, particularly mid-market private equity is highly active right now, and this is showing no signs of slowing despite the fears in the wider economy. Abundant dry powder continues to propel investor activity, with PE becoming an increasingly dominant factor in the overall deal landscape – PE accounted for 23% of all M&A activity in Europe in 2021, the highest proportion on record. This abundance of funds, buoyant debt markets and eagerness to deploy capital is driving strong competition for quality assets, which is in turn driving valuations up.

This session aims to provide an insight into the consistently evolving world of private equity. We’ll start by providing an overview of PE, how they operate, what gets them excited and some of the key trends/drivers in the market. We’ll then move on to walk through a case study PE transaction, demonstrating how they are typically structured including what this looks like on day 1 (level of cash-out, sweet equity etc.) and also what this means on exit in terms of illustrative returns. The session to conclude with an opportunity for Q&A.