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Black History Month – Celebrating Entrepreneurship
October 2, 2017 @ 5:15 pm - 7:45 pm
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BME led enterprises contribute £34bn to the UK economy every single year. On 2nd October we want to celebrate the work right across the local business ecosystem by bringing together representatives from across the area to provide motivation and inspiration to increase this figure even further. Come and join us for an evening of celebration, motivation and encouragement to help you to further your dreams, and hear from the experiences of others.
Speakers include (bios below)
Heather Melville OBE – Director of Strategic Partnerships, RBS
Glynn Blaize – Director, NORTHSTAR
Charmaine Lawrence – CEO of MogulMinded Group & N9NE Cosmetics
Councillor Asher Craig
Steve Lovell – Business Growth Enabler, NatWest
Keep an eye on more details to be announced
Agenda
5.15pm Doors Open and networking
5.45pm Welcome from Matt West
5.50pm Heather Melville
6.10pm Panel Q&A and stories
7.10pm Networking
7.45pm Doors close
A light buffet will be provided.
Biographies of speakers, more to be added IDC
Glynn Blaize – Director, NORTHSTAR
Glyn is a leader, motivator and creator of the ground-breaking application, NORTHSTAR. His people-led approach to business change started in 1999 when he was forced to retire from a successful rugby career due to injury. The experience of an elite team-orientated environment allowed Glyn to focus on the people element of businesses leading to him hold Director positions at a number of organisations. Perhaps a natural succession was founding Northstar Innovation Group. His experience within and outside the sales sector has allowed him to develop a platform that maps the mind of the entrepreneurs and sales teams and better enables businesses to recognise where they must adapt and improve in order to grow. Joined by Charlie Voller Barnes (Project Director) Ben Corke (Recruiter Product Analyst) and Fran Venus (Customer Success Manager) and a team of 10 Developers, their desire is to make NORTHSTAR the go to product for organisations looking for a ground breaking people and sales analytics platform.
Charmaine Lawrence – Founder & CEO, Mogul Minded Group, and N9NE Cosmetics
Charmaine Lawrence is a Bristol-born music artist turned entrepreneur. Founder and CEO of the Mogul Minded Group & N9NE Cosmetics. For many years she moonlighted as a well known female rapper and back in 2015 decided to turn her hand to business. Charmaine actively supports many community projects, frequently working with young people and the elderly. She is also very well connected throughout the South West.
Under the Mogul Minded Group, Charmaine have successfully organised and managed 7 events. 3 Queens Power Lunches, 1 Networking Banquet, The Annual MMG Regional Awards Ceremony 2016 & 2017 and #Kickstart2017 networking event. Effectively supporting entrepreneurs and SME’s through professional networking opportunities, business interviews and content through the MMG online media platform. Driving brand awareness resulting in engagement and referrals to new businesses
In September 2016 Charmaine Lawrence launched her second business venture, N9NE Cosmetics, an all natural skincare range. N9NE Cosmetics offers chemical-free body butters, lip balms and lotion bars in fragrances including ylang, lavender, grapefruit and lemonade, all handmade in central Bristol.
“Our brand was created to inspire people to love their skin naturally and we are dedicated to making people feel good about their appearance,” says Charmaine.
“A few years ago after making changes to my lifestyle and diet I started to investigate natural products. I worked on N9NE Cosmetics for around a year and a half behind the scenes [before launching].
“We want to positively impact the world by offering a high quality natural cosmetic line produced ethically and locally.”
Charmaine will also be launching her first book under the N9NE Cosmetics umbrella called #365N9NE – 365 Affirmations and inspirational quotes for your daily dose of motivation.
Refreshingly determined and with her vibrant outlook on life, Charmaine Lawrence does not plan to stop turning her dreams into reality any time soon.
Heather Melville OBE
Heather Melville OBE, Director for Strategic Partnerships and Head of Business Inclusion Initiatives for RBS, was recognised in the Financial Times 2016 & 2017 inaugural Upstanding 100 Executive BAME Leaders Power List and was named the winner of WeAreTheCity 2016, Top 5 Rising Star champion for Diversity.
Heather was awarded the prestigious Women in Banking & Finance Award for achievement under “Champion for Women” and in 2012 was awarded the World of Difference 100 award (TIAW) recognising Heather as one of the top 100 Women worldwide who have made a difference to the economic empowerment of women.
She established the RBS women’s network and in addition sits on the board for Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and leads the CMI women.
Outside of the financial industry, having completed an executive coaching programme, Heather is a Career Coach and Mentor advising young people who are striving to be tomorrows Entrepreneurs. She represents RBS as a Non-Executive Director for Enterprise Enfield a business consultancy funded by the Government to help small businesses
Heather graduated from IBM business school, together with a wealth of international experience secured over a 30 plus year career in the world of Banking, Finance & International Sales with her recent years focusing on diversity and Inclusion with regular contributions to Sky news and BBC world.
Heather was recently recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours list and received an OBE for her services on Gender Equality.