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Judges Alumni

Stephen McCallion

Global Head of marketing Communications at TAQA, former Global Head of Corporate identity Communications , SHELL

Globally experienced marketing communications, corporate brand/ branding professional with strong technical & leadership skills. Strategist with ability to develop internal & external networks, achieve buy-in from senior stakeholders, gain C-suite support and deliver-with-excellence. Well- honed decision-making skills. Collaborative. Keep-it-simple approach.

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Stephen McCallion

Stephen McCallion

Global Head of marketing Communications at TAQA, former Global Head of Corporate identity Communications , SHELL

Andrew Flowers

Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Microsoft & Nokia

Andrew is a content strategist and producer with in-house experience from the likes of Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson and nASDAQ OMX. In the past few years Andrew has mainly been focused on producing online videos and TV advertisements for smartphones, yet his broad career also spans financial communication, consumer PR and B2B copywriting.

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Andrew Flowers

Andrew Flowers

Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Microsoft & Nokia

James Stevenson

Founder And Managing Director Of Bletchley Group Digital Consultant of Marks And Spencer, UK

James helped businesses create, transform and grow their digital presence, products and teams using strategy, marketing, product and technology. Working for global brands, offering a range of digital services from e-commerce, to online brand protection, digital business strategies and online marketing, helping clients understand new busi- ness practices, new consumer behaviour, and new digital technologies available.

His Clients include: Guardian News and Media, Selfridges & Co, Bacardi, News Interna- tional, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Grey Goose Vodka Hilton Hotels.

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James Stevenson

James Stevenson

Founder And Managing Director Of Bletchley Group Digital Consultant of Marks And Spencer, UK

Martin Kirke

Non-Executive Director and Coach, Advisory Board Chairman at PushFar.

Martin has held international HR director roles with Dow Chemical, Ericsson, Serco and BP including vice President resource management for Ericsson based in Stockholm and HR Director Operations Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific for the BP Group. Martin has experience of running a business as a General Manager and has also led major change and transformation programmes.

Martin was the lead in HR at Transport for London for the 2012 Olympics after which he decided to focus on non-executive director and consultancy work. His clients include the Cabinet Office, UK (Cabinet Office supports the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and ensures the effective running of government) and healthcare charity ‘Action for Change’ where he is also a non-executive director.

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Martin Kirke

Martin Kirke

Non-Executive Director and Coach, Advisory Board Chairman at PushFar.

Tony Coll

Media & Communication Consultant, former BBC Journalist

Tony Coll is one of the UK’s most experienced media and presentation coaches and trainers. A former BBC TV and BBC Radio reporter and producer, he has worked for many years with senior figures from companies and organisations of all sizes; politicians; national and local government officers; health service and utility managers; pressure group spokespeople; charity workers; chief police and fire officers. He worked at cabinet level with the late Veronica Crichton, former director of communications at the Labour Party, in media training several UK government ministers.
Tony’s training can be delivered in the form of personal coaching or consultancy, in groups or as part of wider emergency response training. It covers effective emergency communication with newspapers, radio, TV and social media as well as addressing live audiences.

Tony Coll is an Oxford law graduate who began his career as a newspaper reporter in North East London and Sheffield.  He moved on to the BBC World Service, BBC Radio One ‘Newsbeat’, BBC and commercial local radio and BBC regional TV in Manchester and London.  He has interviewed cabinet ministers and other public figures; researched, produced, reported and presented news and current affairs programmes, from hard news, sequence programmes and “built” documentaries, through live political discussions and phone-ins, to lighter features, celebrity profiles and vox pops.

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Tony Coll

Tony Coll

Media & Communication Consultant, former BBC Journalist

Simon Nicholson

Social Media Manager, Honda Motor Europe Ltd
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Simon Nicholson

Simon Nicholson

Social Media Manager, Honda Motor Europe Ltd

Omar Rostom

Consumer Engagement and Media Manager Near East, North Africa, Levant, & Emerging Asia, Microsoft
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Omar Rostom

Omar Rostom

Consumer Engagement and Media Manager Near East, North Africa, Levant, & Emerging Asia, Microsoft

Christophe Ginisty

President 2013 , International Public Relations Association, Former Digital Evangelist for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Edelman

International public relations expert and a digital guru with more than 20 years of experience.
- Deputy Managing Director of Edelman EMEA, European Technology – Digital evangelist (2011-2012), fouunder and Managing Director Rumeur Publique (1988, 2011).
- President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) for 2013.
- Founder of NGO ‘Internet sans Frontières’ (Internet without Borders) in 2007 then WebDiversity in 2011.
- Published author of Allons, enfants de l'Internet! (Publisher: Diateino, 2010).
- Creator of the "ReputationWar" international conference (2013).
- Professor of Lobbying & Influence at INSEEC (since 2010).

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Christophe Ginisty

Christophe Ginisty

President 2013 , International Public Relations Association, Former Digital Evangelist for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Edelman

Hannu Koikkalainen

Head of Digital Planning, Microsoft, Finland
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Hannu Koikkalainen

Hannu Koikkalainen

Head of Digital Planning, Microsoft, Finland

Guy Perry

Managing Director, Gulf Media Experts, UAE

Guy has 30 years’ experience in international BBC TV news, corporate communications and media consultancy. Now based in the UAE since 2006, he founded and ran for 10 years a successful media training and consultancy firm in London, Greenwich Village PR, working with blue chip clients such as KPMG, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), L’Oreal (Paris) and the Crown Estate.
In 2006, as adviser to the spokesman of the Asian Games Doha, he led the official response to the media onslaught following the death of a competitor.
Guy has worked for many international news organisations such as BBC TV, BBC World Service Radio, International Television News (ITN), Reuters, EuroNews and Channel 4 News.

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Guy Perry

Guy Perry

Managing Director, Gulf Media Experts, UAE

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  • The Future of Internal Communications: based on some ‘take aways’ from our conferences [INTERVIEW]
 

The Future of Internal Communications: based on some ‘take aways’ from our conferences [INTERVIEW]

The Future of Internal Communications: based on some ‘take aways’ from our conferences [INTERVIEW]

Monday, 30 January 2017 / Published in Article, BOC, Internal Communications, Interview
kat eletskih INTERVIEW3

Interview with Kat Eletskih from BOC Global Events Group

Technology has had a huge impact on almost every aspect of our lives, from the way we work to how we communicate. As one of the supporting partners Wisembly caught up with Kat Eletskih, Conference Director at BOC Global Events Group, just ahead of the 5th Annual Internal Communications Conference in March 2017 to hear how leading internal comms professionals are managing cultural change and reshaping their function for the future.

Wisembly : Thanks for speaking with us ! Can you tell our readers what are the biggest challenges facing traditional companies when it comes to managing their internal communications?

Underestimating the role of internal comms. One of the main reasons is internal comms professionals themselves need to take more responsibility, as some are still trying to use older methods of communication rather than leverage technology and moving together with changing business norms.
From what I see, your internal comms is one of the biggest resources you have when it comes to engaging employees and creating a culture where people can flourish, which has a huge impact on business outcomes and future profitability. So they need to be more in tune with the global economy and show what they are capable of, and then get backing from business leaders. You need to have both, but most of the time it’s one or the other that’s missing, which comes from not understanding the importance of the function.

W : Are there any emerging trends that companies need to be aware of?

Working on the ICC, I get to speak to various international speakers from well-established, traditional organisations – for example, GE, which is one of the oldest organisations in the world. And the amazing thing that’s happening, not just there but in many other large organisations, is that they are moving towards being tech-first organisations.
They’re realising that they have to change the way they do business for their clients and their employees, who are increasingly tech-savvy millennials. They are trying to abandon old beliefs and strongly embedded organisational culture of ‘perfection’ to be fast, agile, flexible and embracing a culture of failure – not advocating failure, but letting people learn from their mistakes.

Companies like GE are creating cultures that embrace failure and embrace change, and are looking outwards to see what competitors or other successful businesses are doing. Most companies only look inwards and not what’s around, so GE seems to be tackling that in a really innovative way which I applaud them for. As GE puts it, as long as they learn then that’s fine because the more they try, the more they fail but the more they will succeed as well…“It’s jumping off the cliff and building their wings on the way”.

Paul Osgood

W : How are those changes being applied within internal comms departments?

It’s about changing the entire culture, so whether applying to internal comms or not it starts with leadership coaching, looking at each manager as a leader and empowering them with entrepreneurial skills. We saw a similar message from Rolls Royce’s aviation business at our conference last year.
Companies aren’t striving for perfect, they just know that they have to do something in order to survive and continue to be leaders within their field so they are trying different things. Internal comms profession will have to embrace that notion and be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

W : How has the introduction of tech impacted the communications industry?

The main thing is that it’s making communications more fluid and transparent and more impactful, by allowing communications professional to gather data and measure the benefits that they’re bringing to the business. It’s helping to develop the function and move it into a strategic role where they can impact the bottom line of the business and measure success through data. But, as with any other industry, tech has huge potential still. It has changed lots fundamentally, but what I hear from speakers is that most of the change is probably still ahead.

W : Have you seen tech have big effect on comms for conferences and events in particular?

Tech is becoming a bigger and bigger part of conferences and events because people want enhanced experience while they are there. As a conference organiser we use the added benefits of various tools and platforms (like Wisembly !) to make the registration smoother, manage the clients better and encourage engagement or additional questions the audience might not ask if there wasn’t a tool for it. It definitely adds a different dimension. It also helps us analyse data and feedback post-event which then helps us improve for future events.

IC Conference

W : What are the risks if companies don’t embrace digital transformation?

It depends on customer demographic, of course – a very few may be just all right if their market isn’t tech savvy – but most will have to choose to change rather than be forced to change, as otherwise it’ll be way too late. What we see is that businesses that lag behind with tech or don’t change how they interact with employees and customers start to slowly disappear. There isn’t much room to make mistakes, and it’s only organisations that offer something exciting or an enhanced experience, not just to customers but to employees, are the ones that will succeed.

W : Finally, how can companies ensure that they are future-proofing themselves when it comes to technology ?

It starts with creating organisations where people don’t feel like they are restrained to one task or job for the 2, 3 or 5 years they are there. Really tech-savvy organisations are trying to open up huge potential for employees through training – so if someone is a great salesperson but also enjoys public speaking, they will invest in public speaking training. It’s about developing different talents within their employees to create environments where people can fulfill their dreams and ambitions, and encourage and support that through the use of technology.

The 5th Annual Internal Communications Conference takes place 22-24 March 2017 at the Bentley Hotel, London. Tickets available here

About BOC - Global Events Group

BOC Global Events and Training Group – is a professional global event organiser and corporate training provider, dedicated to help organisations to create new market space or a “blue ocean”, thereby making the competition irrelevant.

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