20 . Glasgow Business May/June 2014


A range of leading figures took to the stage recently in a number of Glasgow Talks events, namely an Olympian, football insiders, a manufacturer and TV executives


BIG NOISES IN SPORT, ELECTRONICS SHARE I


n a truly inspirational Glasgow Talks Olympics in May, gold medallist Katherine Grainger outlined her long and


hard-fought journey to become the most successful female rower in British sporting history. In a heartfelt talk, Katherine,


who grew up in Glasgow, described her rise from taking up the sport in 1993 at Edinburgh University, to a glitering career that has seen her win six world championships and medals in all available Olympic boat classes. She described what it was like


to win gold in the home games at London 2012 and, in particular, the crescendo of noise as she and rowing partner Anna Watkins closed in on the finishing line. It was so loud she admited to thinking: “How loud does the sound get before your ears bleed?” Grainger outlined how much


she is looking forward to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games where she will spend three weeks as a ‘roving reporter’ as part of the BBC’s coverage of the event. Katherine Grainger summed up


the passion of Glasgow people for the Games. She said: “Te city feels ready. It’s going to be electric.” Also on a sporting theme,


Stewart Regan, Chief Executive of the Scotish Football Association (SFA), outlined the strategy that aims to build success in Scotish football and for the senior national team to once again qualify for the final stages of international tournaments. In a Glasgow Talks hosted at


Hampden Park, he described the moves to put Scotland United: A 20:20 Vision into practice. Mark Wote, Performance


Director of SFA, set out the painstaking work being done to improve the grassroots of Scotish


football by investing in the best of Scotland’s young talent. It includes a continual focus in


their working with 12-16 year olds to develop the ‘four As’ – atitude, ability, awareness and athleticism. Glasgow Chamber also


welcomed Gilad Tiefenbrun, Managing Director of Linn Products, to a unique edition of Glasgow Talks at 29 Glasgow. Linn Products is an engineering


firm, based just outside of Glasgow, specialising in bespoke high-quality speakers and sound production. In a candid interview with Chamber Chief Executive Stuart Patrick, Gilad explained the roots of the company – as a home experiment


– and how incorporating the ideas and philosophy of the company’s founder Ivor Tiefenbrun has been central to the company’s growth and progress to a 175-employee firm with a multimillion-pound turnover. Every decision taken by Linn is to focus on one central objective – to bring the listener as close as possible, quality-wise, to the artists’ performance. Tough Linn Products’


speakers are used by some very famous figures, Gilad talked about why this isn’t the most effective way to approach marketing. Linn’s ideal customer, in fact, is one with whom the company can build a long-term relationship, and who


will act unprompted as an advocate of their products to peers and associates. Glasgow Chamber members


tuned in to two Glasgow Talks on TV in May in a visit to STV and a talk by an MTV Awards Executive Producer. In early May there was a visit to STV at Pacific Quay to get a sneak preview of Glasgow TV which launched in early June. Rob Woodward, Chief


Executive of STV, talked about the development of the company, including its digital plans for the future, adding more ways of accessing its output beyond watching live on a television set. He compared the STV of today


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