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| P2P Magazine | Autumn 2014
01732 759725
Office* 2014
2014 is a big year for office*. Over
four thousand attendees walked the
aisles last year – 11% more than in
2012 – and pre-registrations suggest
that office* 2014 is set to be just as
big a hit. And not just with visitors:
according to organiser Diversified
Communications UK, the exhibition
space sold at record speed this year.
Center Parcs, Pitman Training, Avery
UK, EAT, 3M UK, Ascott Hospitality
Management, Baby Blooms, CitySprint,
Hand Picked Hotels, Starwood Hotels
and Resorts, Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur
Services, GLH Hotels, London City
Airport, Reed Learning, Hays Specialist
Recruitment, Hemsley Fraser Group, The
Keyboard Company and SACO are just a
few of the returning exhibitors.
Brands making their office* debut
include Emirates Old Trafford, Giles Travel,
One Moorgate Place, STA Corporate,
Dukes of London, Coach, Four Pillars
Hotels, Alexander & James, Aveqia,
Classic British Hotels, Alton Towers Resort
Operations, Brandz, LSM Consumer
and Office Products, Twist Key, Purrfect
Office, PCC office supplies, Appetite for
Business and Zest Venue Solutions.
Educational content
Since its launch in 2010, one of
the show’s key draws has been its
educational content. Over 70% of last
year’s visitors took in at least one of the
show’s 12 free Keynote addresses and
eight free office* Interactive Theatre
sessions. Nearly half signed up for one
(or more) of 32 paid-for seminars held
across the two days.
The office* 2014 seminar
programme provides tailored training
and information on all the latest
management techniques in four
dedicated theatres. Highlights this year
include
Timesaving productivity tips
using Microsoft Office
by Microsoft
Certified Trainer Vickie Sokol Evans;
End
your Outlook Overwhelm
by Shelley
Fishel, The IT Training Surgery;
Show
Stress Who’s Boss!
by Carole Spiers,
CEO of Carole Spiers Group; and
How
can social media empower assistants?
hosted by Nicky Christmas of Practically
Perfect PA.
Because office* is now CPD-
accredited, anyone who attends a paid-
for training session will be able to claim
a CPD Certificate of Attendance.
Keynote programme
The free office* Keynote programme
is renowned for attracting a host of
inspirational names from the world of
business, including Karren Brady,
Deborah Meaden, Michelle Mone and
Jacqueline Gold. Guest speakers this
year include:
Margaret Mountford
. Lawyer,
businesswoman and adviser to Lord
Sugar in hit BBC1 show
The Apprentice
,
Margaret will be conducting a live
Q&A session and sharing insights and
anecdotes garnered from her hugely
successful and varied career. Her
eclectic resumé includes 16 years as
a lawyer with Herbert Smith; a non-
executive directorship at Amstrad; a PhD
in Papyrology; host of a one-off BBC
documentary on Pompeii –
The Mystery
of the People Frozen in Time
; chair of
the Bright Ideas Trust, a charity set up
to help young people starting up their
own businesses; and five series of
The
Apprentice
;
Freda Kelly.
The former secretary to
The Beatles manager Brian Epstein is
hosting an exclusive headline Keynote
on National PA Day (7 October). Freda
was just seventeen when Brian Epstein
offered her the job of fan club secretary,
a position she held for 11 years. Freda
could easily have cashed in and sold
her story to the highest bidder. Instead,
she calmly got on with her life, giving
away most of her memorabilia to fans
in the 1970s. To say she finally broke
her silence last year, with the release
of RyanWhite’s documentary
Good Ol’
Freda
is somewhat misleading. Although
the film and her subsequent interviews
reveal a fascinating first-hand account
of her time spent supporting the most
famous band of all time, she remains
the model of discretion.
MartineWright
. The Paralympian
and 7/7 London bombing survivor
is giving an inspirational talk on her
triumph over adversity. Since losing
both legs in the 2005 terrorist attack,
she has courageously rebuilt her life and
now embraces new opportunities at
every turn, from skydiving and gaining
a pilot’s licence to representing her
country at the London 2012 Paralympic
Games as a member of the British
sitting volleyball team. Her positive and
determined attitude to every challenge
was instrumental in her being awarded
the
2012 BBC Sports Personality of
the Year Helen Rollason Award
for
outstanding achievement in the face of
adversity and being named
Inspirational
Woman of the Year 2012
by
Zest
Magazine;
Heather Melville
. Director of
Office*, the UK’s biggest dedicated event for the
PA and office manager community, returns to
Olympia, London on October 7-8. Here, we pick
out a few highlights
EXHIBITIONS
Freda Kelly,
former secretary
to Brian Epstein
Margaret
Mountford
Continued...
