The Conference Speakers
Paul Stobart
CEO, UK and Ireland
After qualifying as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse, Paul spent five years in corporate finance with Hill Samuel before joining Interbrand, an international marketing services consultancy, in 1988. He joined Sage in 1996 as Business Development Director becoming Managing Director of UK & Ireland in June 2003. In July 2003, Paul was appointed to the Board of Capital & Regional plc as a non-executive director.
Jayne Archbold
Managing Director Accountants Division
Jayne joined Sage in 1997 starting her career in Small Business Division where she held a number of roles over a 10 year period, this included Head of Sales and Head of Commercial Marketing. Jayne then joined Mid Market as General Manager of HR, Payroll and Outsourcing in 2008, this was a new role as a result of the acquisitions of KCS and Snowdrop and subsequently took up her current post in October 2009 as Managing Director of Sage’s Accountants Division.
Spencer Kelly
Presenter, BBC Click
Since 2006, Spencer Kelly has been the main presenter of Click, the BBC technology programme. Whilst trying to make technology appear simple, his passion for science shines through. He has presented items on challenging topics, from quantum computers to child abduction, and filmed features in exotic locations including Thailand, Finland and Essex.
Spencer has also presented on Channel 5's Gadget Show. Here he explains how things work, using simple props and layman's terms. Topics under the spotlight in the last series included GPS (using clocks and a lot of white paint) and credit card security (using flying boxes and a man in a stripey jumper).
Spencer started his career in radio, spending two years patrolling the south in a small plane for the Ocean Radio Group, performing aerobatic stunts in between (and sometimes during) travel reports. He spent 6 years presenting the Ocean FM breakfast show, hosted A Matter of Fact - a comedy panel game show based on unusual trivia - for local TV, and he fronted a film review programme for three years. Spencer was born in 1973 and graduated with a double first in Computer Science from Cambridge University. He remains a much sought after personality whose work includes after dinner speeches, facilitating corporate events in UK and abroad, and the filming of training and promotional footage for businesses.
Julian Hatt
Customer and Stakeholder Engagement, HMRC, Business Tax Programme
Julian joined Inland Revenue in 1986, having studied Accountancy & Law at Exeter University. Soon after completing his full technical training in 1992, he joined Inland Revenue South West Region’s Senior Management Team as Head of Self Assessment implementation. In 1998, Julian devised the New Enterprise Support Initiative and led the team that introduced the Inland Revenue’s flagship Business Support Teams.
Julian first became involved in electronic business in 2001. He was Head of Online Services Marketing & Communication when HM Revenue & Customs was created in 2005 and oversaw the transfer of the national team of Online Customer Advisors into the Carter Programme in 2006, before moving on to a customer strategy & policy role with portfolio responsibility for software developers and a special interest in inline XBRL (iXBRL).
Michelle Sansome
Accounting Standards Board
Michelle joined the Accounting Standards Board five years ago having spent several years working at a large multinational conglomerate where she worked on a number of corporate transactions, including M&A and restructuring activities. Her work in industry has assisted Michelle in bringing a practical approach to the development of financial reporting standards. Prior to working in industry Michelle qualified as a chartered accountant and worked as an auditor in one of the large accountancy firms.
Michelle is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
Jack Mansfield B.Sc., F.C.A.
Director for the Accountancy Profession
Jack Mansfield is director for the accountancy profession at Companies House, where he was previously the finance director for several years. He is working with the professional bodies and the providers of software to the accountancy profession to develop electronic filing of statutory accounts directly from accounts production packages, and to increase generally the take up of electronic filing on the public register. Jack is an FCA and earlier in his career was a finance director in the SME sector.
Nick Hewer
Nick Hewer is Alan Sugar's right-hand man on The Apprentice. His facial expressions, borne of wonderfully dry humour and a lifetime's business experience, tell you exactly what he thinks of the contestants.
Hewer's PR firm was selected to represent Amstrad in the eighties and soon became responsible for media handling of all Alan Sugar's business and charitable activities. For over 20 years, Nick played an integral part in Amstrad's management structure. He also built up a long and impressive client list, including the Secretariat of HH the Aga Khan and the wife of the ruler of Dubai, the late Sheikh Maktoum.
After selling the business, Nick retired early to his house in south west France; but having become firm friends with Alan, he was called back to help negotiate with the producers of The Apprentice. The tables were turned when Sugar persuaded Nick to take an onscreen role and promised to negotiate his fees. "I fought hard against it", he says, "but he cajoled me - in a muscular sort of way."
Nick and his original opposite number Margaret Mountford became surprising stars of the hit reality show. Nick's after dinner speech takes audiences behind the scenes, before turning into an extended question and answer session. With The Apprentice consistently topping the ratings, there is never any shortage of questions.