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WSTA announces speakers for next week’s annual conference
The WSTA has announced its line-up of speakers for its conference on the wine industry post-Brexit next week.
WSTA cheif executive Miles Beale (Photo: WSTA)
The 2016 Annual Conference, which takes place at the Royal Institute of Great Britain on Tuesday, September 13 is one of the largest wine and spirit industry event of the year, and is set to focus on two distinct areas – Brexit and Innovation.
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Looking at innovation in routes to market, financing and technology” is a team of speaking, which includes Cilla Snowball CBE of advertising and communications group AMV BBDO, expert on customer behavior William Higham, CEO of Chapel Down, Frazer Thompson, and Jacqueline Davey, Vice President, Enterprise Sales, UKI at IBM, who has specialised in indirect route to market expansion programmes.
The panel discussion will be chaired by former ITV political correspondent, Alex Forrest.
The conference’s key Note speaker is former Minister for Trade and Minister for Europe Lord Maude of Horsham, who is likely to offer view on how the government will approach Brexit and the likely reception it will face in international arenas, as well as looking at the challenges and opportunities for the industry, and where industry can work with the government to identify and maximize the opportunities
Maude left the government in February this year after more than 25 years in Parliament negotiating with Europe and the single market.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s chief executive Miles Beale said he was very pleased to have a panel with such a broad range of experience, who have all been at the cutting edge of innovation in their fields.
“With the combined efforts of all our speakers the WSTA conference this year aims to try and bring some clarity to the Brexit debate as well as look forward to future trends and opportunities for the industry,” he said.
“Since the Brexit vote speculating about the UK’s future has become a favourite British pastime. The one thing we do know about Brexit is it will mean responding to change and living with uncertainty.”
Beale has just returned from Australia and New Zealand where he met with the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA) to explore how the UK and Australia can trade post-Brexit in a way that is more “mutually beneficial” than the current EU arrangement.