There is only Opportunity
The 4th Annual Hart Brown Economic Forum – 18 June 2008
Introduction
The UK economy and, in turn, the South East are witnessing a major change of pace compared with recent years. Though the South East is still a major contributor to the UK Economy it is presently shadowed by the opaque uncertainty of the current economic climate.
In order to continue to enhance and support key players in the region’s business community and help them understand existing challenges, whilst finding and creating positive opportunities, leading Surrey and London Law firm Hart Brown is hosting its 4th Annual Economic Forum on 18 June 2008. This is in partnership with Barclays Banks Plc, The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and University of Surrey. The Forum is being held in the prestigious Management School at the University in Guildford and is entitled ‘There is only Opportunity’.
It has been clear from the Forum’s success over the last three years, that leaders in industry and business value the opportunity to hear an up-to-date economic assessment from an experienced and highly knowledgeable panel of speakers. This year the panel will include Dr Richard Roberts, Market Analysis Director & Chief Economist, Barclays UK Banking. The other panelists are Mark Hoban, Shadow Minister for the Treasury and Tim Price, Director of Investment at PFP Wealth Management. After the formal presentations there will once again be an opportunity to discuss issues arising in a Q&A session chaired by Professor Rickman, Head of Economics at the University of Surrey.
The Forum starts with tea at 5.00pm and concludes with networking over drinks and canapés from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.
We do hope you are able to attend and look forward to seeing you in June.
Bettina Brueggemann, Managing Partner, Hart Brown
Programme of events
5.00 Registration and tea
5.30 Bettina Brueggemann
Managing Partner, Hart Brown
5.35 Dr Richard Roberts
Market Analysis Director & Chief Economist, Barclays UK Banking
6.15 Mark Hoban
Shadow Minister for the Treasury
6.40 Tim Price
Director of Investment
PFP Wealth Management
7.00 Questions and Answers
Chaired by Professor Neil Rickman
Head of Economics Department,
University of Surrey
7.30 Drinks and canapés
Our speakers
Bettina Brueggemann - Managing Partner, Hart Brown
Bettina is a member of our panel and will welcome visitors to the Forum. Bettina read law at Warwick University and was admitted as a solicitor in 1987. She trained with Hart Brown, became a partner in 1989, became joint managing partner in 2000 and sole managing partner in 2006. Bettina is based at our Resolution House office in Guildford, where she heads up Hart Brown’s commercial business department which specialises in commercial litigation, property litigation, debt recovery, employment law, company and business purchases and disposals, M&As, intellectual property and professional negligence. She is also a fluent German speaker.
Dr Richard Roberts - Market Analysis Director & Chief Economist, Barclays UK Banking
Before joining Barclays, Richard worked in a number of research and policy roles for small business organisations and the CBI. He was also seconded into government to work on initiatives such as the Loan Guarantee Scheme.
Since 1984 Richard has worked in Barclays, firstly as an industrial economist and secondly as a specialist on small and medium-sized business (SMEs) issues. For many years now he has led the SME Market Analysis Team, which considers all aspects of the SME customer base.
Outside of Barclays, Richard is a member of the CBI Small Firms Panel and the ACCA SME Advisory Panel, the IFRS SME Advisory Panel and CASE. He is also a non–executive director of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and a member of the DTI’s Small Business Investment Taskforce, as well as the Secretary of State’s Advisory Panel on the UK Economy.
Mark Hoban MP - Shadow Minister for the Treasury
Mark Hoban was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Fareham in June 2001. He was re-elected with an increased majority in 2005.
Mark was appointed the Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury in December 2005. Between November 2003 and December 2005 he was Shadow Minister for Schools. Before that, he was an Opposition Whip.
He was a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology between 2001 and 2003.
Mark’s involvement in politics started in 1980, when he joined the Conservative Party in the North East of England. He first stood for parliament in 1997 in South Shields.
Mark is also a Chartered Accountant. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and its predecessor firms between 1985 and 2001.
Tim Price -
Director of Investment, PFP Wealth Management
Tim has 17 years experience in private client and institutional asset management. He has been shortlisted for five successive years in the Private Asset Managers Awards programme and is a previous winner in the category of Defensive Investment Performance. He was also shortlisted in the inaugural Spear’s Wealth Management Awards 2007 in the category of Asset Manager of the Year.
Tim regularly writes for the financial press and has recently been featured in The Economist, The Financial Times, Investors Chronicle and The Wall Street Journal. Tim is also a regular columnist for Money Week magazine and publishes investment commentary at http://thepriceofeverything.typepad.com.
Neil Rickman - Professor of Economics, University of Surrey
Neil graduated from the University of Durham (BA (Hons) Econ) in 1988, before moving to McGill University (Montreal) to read for a PhD in Economics. From 1991 to 1995 he was a Research Officer in Economics at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford, and a lecturer in Economics at Pembroke College, Oxford. He moved to Surrey in 1995 to become Professor of Economics and was appointed Head of the Department of Economics in 2004.
