Normally in these blogs I write about something that I have attended or seen but this week I want to write about a forthcoming event. On 2^nd September I am holding a one –day conference in the beautiful surroundings of my alma mater, New College, Oxford. This is a special conference arranged to develop my Master’s theme for the year by asking the question ‘Is marketing for good the future of marketing?’
 
I have invited leading speakers to address the theme for their sectors. They are:

·         Keith Weed, CMO Unilever to speak as a Corporate setting the way in sustainability
·         Amanda Mackenzie, CMO Aviva, currently on assignment as Executive Director, Project Everyone, which has the target of promoting the Global Goals agenda to the whole of the world’s population
·         Jack Lundie, Director of Communications, Oxfam, to represent the charity sector
·         Jim Carroll, Ex-chairman BBH who advises The International Exchange, a charity set up for executives in the communications field to take pro bono secondments overseas
·         Tony Stratton, former High Sheriff, Oxfordshire, who works with SMEs locally.
·         Jonathan Reynolds, Deputy Dean & Director of Graduate Studies, Said Business School,  who will summarise at the end
·         Roz Morris, an experienced journalist and TV presenter, will act as Chair

The conference is open to members and non-members so who should attend? I think business leaders and Marketers who care about falling trust in business, the need for sustainable business models, the growing importance of the third sector, the need for relevant purpose in business will all benefit from the day. In addition journalists and commentators to report on these vital themes, though they’ll have to pay like everyone else.

Why should they attend?
·         To learn the latest thinking in these areas from leading practitioners
·         To contribute their own ideas and stories in break-out sessions
·         It will be a conference where delegates will confer
·         It takes place in the beautiful setting of New College, Oxford University
The line-up of speakers is exceptional. Here are their biographies:

Keith Weed, CMO, Unilever
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Unilever. Before this, he was Executive Vice President for Global Home Care & Hygiene, covering fabric cleaning, fabric conditioning, household cleaning products, oral care and potable water.  Keith was previously Chairman of Lever Fabergé. He has worked for Unilever in the UK, France, the US and globally and regionally in a variety of general management and marketing roles. Outside Unilever he is a Fellow of the Marketing Society and, as an engineering graduate, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He is also President of the History of Advertising Trust, Chairman of the World Economic Forum Consumer Industry Board, Chairman of Business in the Community International, Chairman of Collectively Ltd and a non-executive director of Sun Products Corporation.  He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

Amanda Mackenzie OBE, CMO Aviva and Project Everyone
Amanda Mackenzie is on the Executive Committee of Aviva and as the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer she is the guardian of the brand, customer and reputation. She is Non-executive director at Mothercare and a member of the steering group for the Lord Davies report on women on boards. In November 2014 she announced that, with her company’s backing, she was taking a two-year break from her CMO role at Aviva to take on an executive advisor role at Project Everyone. Started by Love Actually director and Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis, the purpose of Project Everyone is to contribute to the effort to achieve the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals on poverty and climate change. Mackenzie has been brought in to make the entire planet – that’s seven billion people – aware of the goals. She will be telling us what she has learned from this unique global marketing experience. In October 2016 she will take over as Chief Executive of Business in the Community.

Jim Carroll, former Chairman BBH
 Jim joined BBH in 1991 and became chairman in 2004, leaving in 2015.Carroll was a qualitative researcher before he joined BBH in 1991 to lead the strategic planning on the agency's Levi’s account. He was head of planning at BBH between 1998 and 2001.
He advises The International Exchange which since 2007 has been developing conscious leaders who are shaping the future of the communications industry and helping to find revolutionary solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems. Its goal: To change the world, one brief at a time.
 
Jonathan Reynolds, Deputy Dean & Director of Graduate Studies, Saïd Business School
Jonathan Reynolds is Academic Director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM), Associate Professor in Retail Marketing and Deputy Dean at Saïd Business School. He is one of the leading academic experts in the study of the retail sector internationally.  Jonathan’s teaching and research focuses primarily on the retail sector. He is particularly recognised for his scholarship and expertise in the areas of electronic commerce and multi-channel retailing, innovation and entrepreneurship in retailing, retail productivity and skills, and the role of place in marketing and retail management.
 
Tony Stratton DL, former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Chairman Emeritus CPM 
Tony joined CPM in 1975, became CEO in 1990, Group Chairman in 2003 and is now Chairman Emeritus.
He is Chairman of The Quantic Group, Chairman of bChannels, non-executive director at e-Fundamentals, a member of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management Advisory Board and a trustee of Oxford Brookes Student Union. A Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Marketors, a member of the Marketing Group of Great Britain and a Fellow of the RSA, he is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire and was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire 2014/15.

Jack Lundie, Communications Director, Oxfam
Jack joined Oxfam in April 2014 after three and a half years at Save the Children, where he helped develop the content-led, brand marketing approach behind their landmark communications campaigns on Syria, newborn mortality, Christmas Jumpers and TV entertainment collaboration.  Committed to engaging audiences using the power of multi-channel, social engagement, he has wide-ranging experience in marketing, content creation, production and strategy and has worked across a range of media from television and music to events and advertising.  Jack loves to apply his passion for storytelling to projects that make a positive difference on an ambitious scale. 

Conference Chair, Roz Morris, MD TV News London Ltd
Roz is Managing Director of TV News London, the leading media training and communications training agency which she founded more than 20 years ago.  She works with major companies, public sector organisations and with charities on global issues and has many years’ experience of chairing conferences.  She is a former BBC and ITV news reporter and presenter and started her career in journalism as a graduate trainee on The Guardian, following her degree in history from Somerville College, Oxford. She is a Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.
  
Our conference on Friday 2^nd September  is fast becoming a must attend event. You can book for the conference on Eventbrite -Book here  There are Early Bird Discounts up to 14^th July.