The best just got better …

It was always going to be tough trying to top the outstanding success of last year’s ACUMEN BUSINESS CONVENTION, but this year’s event was really ‘first class’.

Stephen Ridgway, CEO of Virgin Atlantic for 14 years, gave a revealing and inspiring insight into his journey with the company and his involvement with the king of the entrepreneurs, Richard Branson. He spoke candidly about Virgin’s history of ‘BA bashing’ and what the relationship with Willie Walsh and British Airways was really like. His closing thoughts on pushing the boundaries of the comfort zone and drawing on the skills of those around you were powerful takeaways from one of the business world’s most successful leaders.

Nikki King OBE, MD of Isuzu Truck UK and former Channel 4 Undercover Boss, had delegates rolling in the aisles as she reminisced about the trials and tribulations she had overcome to reach the top in a traditionally male dominated industry. Her refusal to accept ingrained prejudices and the value she places on leading by example made it easy to see why she was recently awarded an OBE for services to the road transport industry.

Grant LeBoff, one of the UK’s leading sales and marketing experts, had the audience furiously scribbling in their notepads as he fired out top tips on creating and managing a digital marketing strategy, and even the least IT literate were talking enthusiastically about Google+, reach and sentiment during the evening reception.

Delegates also participated in a series of five legal workshops, each run by the relevant specialists from ACUMEN BUSINESS LAW, the innovative and award winning business law firm based in Brighton. The interactive sessions covered different aspects of business law including employment, media & intellectual property, commercial disputes, corporate finance and employee incentive schemes.

This is the fourth year that ACUMEN BUSINESS LAW has run this increasingly successful event and the feedback this year has been exceptional. Once again those who were lucky enough to secure one of the 150 places at the Convention have praised the event in glowing terms, highlighting the quality of the speakers, the workshops and the organisation as nigh on flawless. It is doubtless due to this that the event is recognised by the local business community as the most prestigious and professional business convention in the area, providing access to high profile speakers, specialist business law knowledge and valuable networking opportunities.

Fishcakes

Recognised for their innovative ways of standing out from the crowd, ACUMEN BUSINESS LAW always strive for the ‘wow’ factor at their events and challenge themselves to think up new treats for delegates every year. In true ACUMEN style they really pushed the boat out last week and each networking table boasted a gloriously coloured Siamese fighting fish in place of the traditional floral table centre. As if this were not enough each delegate was given a branded cupcake to take home, made and delivered by the very company who supply cupcakes to Virgin Atlantic.

The ACUMEN BUSINESS CONVENTIONS have always supported local charities and this year representatives from Sussex Clubs for Young People attended the event making useful contacts and informing delegates of the valuable work they do supporting young people across Sussex.

Feedback

A blog posted by a delegate the next morning said, “The team at ACUMEN BUSINESS LAW did an amazing job. There were 150 businesses in attendance, which is rare for a business type event in Brighton. One would think that to deliver this you would have to be the biggest company or firm in town. Or maybe that is just what we tell ourselves. Clearly ACUMEN, who are a small but fast growing law firm have the mind-set that anything is possible when you focus and aim to deliver a great experience.” (Duncan Brodie)

As one of the delegates summed it up, “What a fantastic event! Tremendously good speakers, great venue, a thoughtful lead-in presentation and excellent networking – I loved it. Well done and thank you to you and your team!”

Penina Shepherd, Founder & MD of ACUMEN BUSINESS LAW said,

“I am immensely proud that we have exceeded even the success of last year’s event. As Stephen Ridgway of Virgin Atlantic emphasised in his speech, to succeed against the “big boys” you have to do things differently, and that really resonated with me. I am particularly grateful to the many delegates who took the time to write to me with wonderful feedback on Friday and over the weekend after the Convention. Indeed, the ACUMENBUSINESS CONVENTION has become an event that if you are a serious player, you really cannot afford to miss. That is a great achievement!”

The convention concluded with a beautifully catered networking reception and the only question that remains is, “How will the ACUMEN team top this event in 2014?”

Be there to find out!