52 . Glasgow Business January/February 2013
A
OUR TALK IS VALUABLE
s 2012 came to a close, Glasgow Talks continued on an impressive run of
welcoming high-profile guests to speak in front of a business audience within the city. Public and private sector were adequately represented on the podium, as
John Gilligan, Managing Director of Tennent Caledonian Breweries, Greg Clark, cities expert and Scotish Enterprise’s Managing Director Lena Wilson all appeared as speakers. November was a particularly
busy month as we hosted a special edition of Glasgow Talks prior to
the State of the City Conference. Greg Clark took to the stage, addressing a Glasgow audience for the second time this year. As a specialist on cities, he shared his rich and detailed knowledge on the economic make up of cities across the globe, showing the audience a variety of models adopted worldwide. Greg is an expert on the topic,
chairing a number of different commitees and internationally respected organisations, such as British Business Improvement Districts while acting as a Global City Advisor for Cap Gemini, as well as travelling around the world delivering interesting and informative presentations about city building, investment and all facets of urban hubs in the 21st century. Less than a week later, our
John Gilligan with Stuart Patrick
guest was a man who holds the reins of one of Glasgow’s oldest and most popular businesses. Many have bought his products, with plenty being consumed over Christmas.
GLASGOW TALKS LINE UP A FANTASTIC YEAR OF SPEAKERS
The Chamber welcomed these speakers to Glasgow Talks in 2012: • January – Media (Paul Cooney, Global Radio; Rob Woodward, STV and Andrew Harries, Scottish Sun)
• February – Willie Walsh, IAG • March – David Ramsay, Kelvin TOP-SET • April – Robert Peston, BBC • April – Lord George Robertson • May – Hospitality (Stephen Carter, Cameron House;
Audrey Gillespie, Premier Inn and Ryan James, Glasgow Restaurateurs Association)
• August – Steve Cram • September – Keith Anderson, Scottish Power • November – City Strategy (Greg Clark) • November – John Gilligan, Tennent Caledonian Breweries
• December – Lena Wilson, Scottish Enterprise.
Yes, of course, we were joined
by John Gilligan, Managing Director of Tennent Caledonian Breweries, purveyors of the country’s national beer. John spoke of the ability of
Tennent’s in being able to adapt to market changes, faced with declining sales in bars and a new generation of drinkers who prefer ‘to preload’ alcohol from within their own houses rather than venturing into town. Te brewery has recently
opened a £1 million training academy, working with the G1 group, while also investing in a further £1 million in staff facilities and £4 million on a new botling line. John quoted the late Bill Shankley, who said that great managers need great players to be successful, with Tennent’s taking on 25 modern apprentices to prepare the next generation within the business. Tennent’s is bringing in a lot of
revenue from exporting its brew, sending it to countries across the world which are keen to sample the amber drink for themselves. Recently cracking the Russian market, Tennent’s certainly has big ambitions. Seeing the example of the international appeal of St Patrick’s Day, largely engineered by Guinness, John was optimistic that one day Tennent’s could create the same profile for St Andrew’s Day. Continuing on the theme of
foreign investment, Lena Wilson of Scotish Enterprise divulged a wealth of statistics to delegates in the Grand Central Hotel, positively highlighting that Scotland was the most atractive
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