Scott Allen

Microsoft UK

As CMO within Microsoft UK I am responsible for leading marketing working with a talented team. We have two go to market areas - Consumer and Commercial.

Consumer marketing focuses on our advertising and digital marketing across Surface, Windows 10, Office and PC Accessories and integration across our key retail partners. Responsibility for the strategy, execution and budget for all our advertising across TV, out of home and digital.

Commercial marketing focuses on Reputation, Demand Creation and Sales Enablement across all our products and solutions (excluding Xbox). This includes taking our Digital Transformation and Security story to market.

The Consumer and Commercial teams work with the CMO "Marketing Services Centre of Excellence" - Digital and Events. This is to ensure an integrated customer-focused approach covering content, social (engagement, listening and selling), web, inbound, operations, partnerships, insights & analytics, 1st party & 3rd party events, hospitality and webinars.

I am also the privacy sponsor for the UK subsidiary and lead a significant project around modern marketing covering tools, processes people and culture.

I can be found on Twitter: @ScottAllenUK

David Low

Amazon Alexa Skills Kit EU

David Low is Principal Evangelist for Amazon’s Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) in Europe, working with developers to create new and innovate experiences around voice. David has held several technical leadership roles during a career spanning almost 20 years, and, prior to joining Amazon, created and led the Developer Relations team at Skyscanner. David has a passion for early adoption of technology, with a particular interest in digital media, and has a track record of working with partners to develop new products, including Skyscanner’s bots and voice services, and Scottish television’s STV Player.

Simon Crosby

Department for International Trade 

Simon is the Senior International Trade Adviser at the Department for International Trade

Simon leads the team for the North East Local Economic Partnership area which covers Northumberland, County Durham, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, South and North Tyneside.  Simon has business development experience in the engineering and consumer goods markets throughout Asia, Europe and North America.  Having worked for Grove Europe, Domnick Hunter ltd and e-comeleon, Simon has been responsible for building multi-million pound distribution networks, sales to retailers and developing B2C fulfillment channels. Simon is also the Lead ITA in North East England for Canada, USA and Mexico and is the regional lead for the energy sector.

David Edmundson-Bird

Manchester Metropolitan University 

David is Principal Lecturer in Digital Marketing & Enterprise at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he runs a number of digital communications programmes, and is also the Associate Director for Digital Innovation.  He is Course Leader for Manchester Met’s full-time MSc Digital Marketing Communications. He also set up their first part-time MSc in Digital Marketing in 2007, a programme that has now graduated nearly 330 high-profile professionals into the sector.  David founded Manchester Met’s Agency Life programme 6 years ago to enable students to experience live work skills in the workplace very early in their course. He has enjoyed several spells in academia as well as senior management roles in the digital sector, and even helped to set up Manchester’s second web design agency back in 1995.

Chris Steele

IQ-IT

Chris is the founder of IQ-IT, an expanding software training company which delivers bespoke training to increase productivity with Microsoft Office software.  Chris learned how to use Microsoft Office to run a successful business in the 90’s. When that business came to a close, Chris moved into learning and development, cutting his teeth at various colleges in the north east before becoming the lead IT Trainer at the London School of Economics. Chris moved away from academia to focus on working with organisations in the private and public sector, delivering engaging and enjoyable training to increase speed, confidence and productivity with MS Office. Clients include Virgin Trains, Sony Mobile and The Ritz Hotel.

Stephen Lloyd

Vision Consulting Group

Workshop host Stephen Lloyd DipM FCIM is the CIM Manufacturing Sector Ambassador for the NW region. He provides strategic planning, NPD proposition development, branding and marketing communications support to SME’s operating in the manufacturing, print packaging, engineering, chemicals and recycling sectors. 

Ian Murray

Futuremade

Ian has over 25 years’ experience in management and training, gained from the military and the commercial business world. A former captain working for the UK Army Cadet Force, he developed programmes and strategies for disadvantaged young people, striving to deliver a service that would enhance their lives whilst giving them realistic opportunities for development and future growth. He is particularly strong in systems and procedures and with an eye for detail that enables him to deliver to the highest standards with level 7 (Masters) accreditation awarded by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) and level 5 in coaching and mentoring. He is also a member of the City and Guilds Institute, a member of the Chartered Management Institute and an Associate of the Chartered Quality Institute.  

John Bignall

Bignall Lubritec Ltd

John studied electrical engineering at Loughborough and had a number of roles in the industry before setting up Bignall Lubritec Ltd.  During the last 20 years he has created the global brand of Masterlube, which is now 98% export, and the largest part of the group. His expertise lies in taking a product from original opportunity, through concept to prototype and on to part of a range within one or other of his brands.

Mark Sutherberry

MTC

Mark is the business development manager covering Northern England. 

Mark has worked with SME manufacturers for over 14 years via Manufacturing Advisory Service and more recently The MTC.  He is well networked with complimentary support bodies his experience enables a swift understanding of SME manufacturers key issues. From Boardroom to shop floor, focussing the right support, with practical advice and achievable improvement outputs. Mark is currently involved with increasing manufacturing productivity and competiveness through use of operational efficiency techniques and the use of new technologies.

Tanya Hemphill Msc (dis.), Chartered Marketer, MCIM, MCIPR, MCMI, MIPM

Tanya is a digital marketing expert with over 18 years’ experience and over 23 years’ experience in traditional marketing and PR.

She’s passionate about digital marketing (having working in the sector pre-Google), and is co-author of the 7^th edition of ‘Digital Business & E-commerce Management’, published by Pearson Education (published later this year). Tanya is Founder & Director of performance marketing agency WeDisrupt and is an Associate Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University . Her commercial training experience includes running digital communications courses for both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Tanya is also a regular conference speaker on digital marketing topics, particularly ‘growth hacking’.

Christina Hamilton

GJW Direct

Christina is the Digital Transformation Lead at GJW Direct.  With over 18 years in the marketing industry, Christina has seen the digital evolution of organisations from implementing simple CRM solutions, pre-Facebook, Twitter and even iPhones (many moons ago). To the present day where advertisers have the option to follow customers through their digital journey, offering a truly personalised and targeted experience. Christina enjoys researching and reading around these new digital platforms that pop up daily, and testing how efficient they can be to deliver low cost leads into organisations. Part geek, part marketer, Christina also guest lectures at universities across the North West, which is a great way to find the new technologies the millennials are using! 

Andrew Davis

Just3things Ltd

Andrew is a Sales Director passionate about helping customers; helping drive business value for them.

He set up Just3things after a 20+ year sales career, 10 of which as Head of Sales/Sales Director (from FTSE100 to SME businesses), intent on helping business leaders better communicate what the customer will get as a result of working with them. In many cases this involves working with marketing teams to create the invaluable link between Marketing and Sales.

Sara Simeone MCIM

Wakelet

Sara is currently VP Marketing and Blockchain at Wakelet with over 10 years’ online marketing experience in creating both B2B and B2C digital marketing strategies for international brands.  Her expertise lies in acquiring and retaining customers; selecting the right KPIs to maximise the ROI of selected online channels; educating Top Management on how and where they should allocate their budget in order to achieve the Company’s Business Goals and Objectives.  

Scott Boyes

Carat Redefining Media

Scott joined Carat in 2010, having previously worked for both independent and network media agencies in London and the regions. He has experience across a wide range of verticals including retail, FMCG, travel & leisure and finance. Having worked across Carat’s London, Manchester and Leeds offices, Scott has lead strategic planning across a diverse client portfolio with budgets ranging from less than £500k to in excess of £100m. There are not many business challenges that Scott hasn’t been asked to address over the years, be it growing revenue, market share or driving behavioural change, or launching new brands to market, brand repositioning or brand portfolio management.

Richard Gay

Nesma

Richard currently delivers on a number of CIM programmes at nesma covering Integrated Marketing Communications, Digital Marketing and Strategy.  Previously, Richard was responsible for Sales, Service and Distribution in the UK and Europe for a US owned golf company prior to moving to Northumbria University. Here, he initially provided marketing training and consultancy to Start-Ups and Growth companies before developing his specialist interest in Direct and Digital Marketing. As Principal Lecturer, he developed undergraduate and postgraduate modules and programmes in these areas and achieved considerable success with Northumbria Students in the IDM’s National Student Competition. He was also Visiting Digital Lecturer at Burgundy Business School, Dijon. Many of his former students hold senior marketing posts around the globe.  He was formerly a CIM Senior Examiner in Digital Marketing and lead author of Online Marketing – A Customer Led Approach, a successful internet text.