In Aid of
Youth Business Scotland, The Prince's Trust
Amount donated: £25,927
The Prince's Trust has an excellent track record as Scotland's leading youth charity supporting young people into education, training, work and self-employment. In Scotland, the Trust currently works with young people aged 13 to 25, to build their confidence, increase their motivation and improve their employability. In 2011 The Prince's Trust merged with fellow youth organisation Fairbridge, enhancing our capacity to support disadvantaged young people. Following this year's merger with PSYBT, The Trust now has a comprehensive range of programmes for young people in Scotland from intensive engagement programmes for the hardest to reach, through vocational training courses, to support for young people to start and grow their own business.
In such uncertain economic times, the integration of PSYBT with The Prince's Trust in Scotland has created a stable, strong and focused organisation, capable of making a significant contribution to sustainable economic growth for Scotland.
United, we are integrating our skills, expertise and resources to grow a programme of assistance to young people in Scotland who have ambitions to create and grow their own business - from those young people who are facing disadvantage, through to those young business owners with potential to grow their business and create new jobs for other young people.
We have set ourselves ambitious targets for the next three years. By extending the reach and impact of the proven Youth Business Scotland (YBS) model and building stronger links to a wider range of Prince's Trust provision, between April 2013 and March 2016 we will
• Inspire a significant number of Scotland's young people with positive, engaging messages about youth enterprise.
• Support the launch of over 2000 young businesses. · Double the number of growth businesses supported in total we will support over 400 existing young businesses with expansion and growth funding.
• Support our young businesses to create over 3,500 jobs and achieve a combined turnover of over £100 million.
The Women of Achievement Luncheon today will enable us to change the landscape of Scotland's business start-ups by empowering our most disadvantaged young people to become entrepreneurs, preparing them for the future and making Scotland competitive once again.
Chair
Elisabeth Beccle
Elisabeth is married to Richard, has two children aged 13 and 11 and lives in Oxfordshire. She is a non-executive director of three investment trusts and a trustee of the New Entrepreneurs Foundation.
From 1992 until 2008 she lived in Hong Kong, where she worked for Schroders. She began her investment career in Edinburgh and was brought up in Stirlingshire.
“This is the sixth Women of Achievement Lunch and we are delighted that so many of you have returned to support us once again. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to those of you who are joining us for the first time I hope that this will be the first of many visits.
While this annual event gives us the opportunity to see old friends and to make new ones over a delicious lunch and to listen to the inspirational experiences shared by our speakers, it also provides us with a chance to donate money to some excellent Scottish causes.
Last year, we raised £17,000 to support the establishment of Bee Sanctuaries in five Scottish gardens. In 2013, we hope to raise at least the same amount to support the work of the Prince's Trust Youth Business Scotland. The money we raise will provide grants and business start up funds to young women in Scotland to enable them to start their own businesses and contribute to the future growth of the Scottish economy. You will hear more about the work of Youth Business Scotland from Heather Grey and Diane Houston. The highlight of our lunch is our guest speakers. This year we are fortunate that Dame Fiona Reynolds, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill and Dr Heather McGregor have agreed to share their thoughts on the Art of Achievement. Each of them has achieved a great deal in their field and I am sure that you will all join me in thanking them for their contribution.
We are enormously grateful to our Gold sponsor, RBS, and our Silver sponsors, Diageo and Gleneagles, for their generous support of this year's lunch and to the companies and individuals who have donated the wine, the raffle, table and programme prizes.
My particular thanks goes to Carol Mitchell, who is the mastermind behind this event, and to the committee who have worked so hard and with such good humour to ensure its continued success. Thank you all for joining us and for giving so generously to this very worthwhile cause.”
Sponsors
Speakers
Annie Williams – The Prince’s Trust Scotland Senior Head of Major Donors
Annie has been part of the National Fundraising team at The Prince's Trust for the past eight years and is responsible for the Major donor and major gift strategy; and has responsibility for an annual budget of £4.8m.
Annie also leads on the recognition and stewardship for individual donors. In addition, Annie also leads on the Trusts USA fundraising strategies.
An accomplished entrepreneur, prior to her career at The Trust, spent 16 years running her own businesses in the care, hospitality and learning and development sectors.
Since joining The Trust Annie has continued with her entrepreneurial flair and has devised and developed two main fundraising streams which combined have raised over £8m for The Prince's Trust.
She is a keen cook, gardener and enjoys walking and cycling.
Diane Houston – Supported by The Prince’s Trust Youth Business Program
Diane Houston started her lingerie business, Gilda & Pearl in 2009.
After studying at the London College of Fashion, Diane moved away from the fashion world and settled into a career as a journalist. However, after attending a part time lingerie making Course and selling her designs at Portobello market, she decided to fulfil her dream of running her own underwear company and approached Youth Business Scotland for funding.
Diane sells her products online via her website www.gildaandpearl.co.uk and through a network of boutiques and fulfilment websites all over the world. Diane has split her business in two, Gilda and Pearl which designs and manufactures her ranges, and DSD Wholesale Ltd, which concentrates on selling and distribution.
Every piece of lingerie is handmade in the UK and Diane uses traditional techniques to fit and construct every design, meaning no two items are exactly the same. She is able to construct high quality underwear that is affordable, something that was previously missing in the marketplace.
Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE – Newly elected Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and former DG of the National Trust
Dame Fiona Reynolds Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE became Master of Emmanuel in 2012. She came to the College from the National Trust, of which she has been Director-General since 2001. Her appointment there ceases at the end of 2012. Before her position with the Trust, she was Director of the Women's Unit in the Cabinet Office and was previously Director of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (now Campaign to Protect Rural England) and Secretary to the Council for National Parks. Fiona is a Non-Executive Director of the BBC and from December 2012 will be the Senior Independent Director of the Executive Board. She is also a Non-Executive Director of Wessex Water.
Fiona was appointed CBE for services to the environment and conservation in 1998. She is married with three daughters and the family home is near Cirencester. Fiona was appointed DBE in 2008.
Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill – Interior Designer and Author, and owner of Woodstock Designs established in 1981
Henrietta Spencer-Churchill is the eldest daughter of the 11" Duke of Marlborough whose family home is Blenheim Palace.
She studied Art History and Languages in Florence and Paris and then completed a one year diploma course in Interior Design at the Inchbald School of Interior Design.
In 1981 Henrietta formed her own Interior Design Company, "Woodstock Designs" and went on to design her own collections of fabrics and wallpapers, one being the "Blenheim Garden" collection and these designs were taken from original Water-colours painted by Susan Blandford, the 5" Duchess of Marlborough in the 18h century. Her latest venture is designing furniture and accessories for the American company Maitland Smith. Woodstock Designs has carried out many projects in the USA and worldwide.
She is also involved in Charity work and is chairman of the Churchill Memorial Concert and Deputy President of the Oxfordshire Branch of the Red Cross and President of OAYP (Oxfordshire Association for Young People).
In 1990, Henrietta Spencer-Churchill wrote her first book, "Classical English Interiors", this was followed by more books on style and decorating and then in 2005 she published a book on her family, "Blenheim and the Churchill Family". Her eleventh book, "The Life of the House, How Rooms Evolve" was published in October last year.
Professor Heather McGregor – CEO of Taylor Bennett and the author of the Mrs Moneypenny column in the Financial Times
Heather McGregor is the Managing Director and the principal shareholder of Taylor Bennett, having bought the company from its founders in 2004. In her early career she worked in financial PR and investor relations before doing an MBA at the London Business School and joining ABN Amro as a sellside analyst. She then spent eight years with the bank, working in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, before joining Taylor Bennett in 2000.
She has a PhD from the University of Hong Kong. Heather was the founder of the Taylor Bennett Foundation, which works to promote diversity in the communications industry by equipping talented graduates from ethnic minorities with the skills and confidence to pursue successful communications careers. Heather is also the current chair of the charity Career Academies UK which works with 16-19 year olds to raise their aspirations through the provision of a structured programme including a six week paid intership, and was a founding member of the steering committee of the 30% Club, which is working to raise the representation of women at senior levels within the UK's publicly quoted companies. She is also an experienced writer and columnist in the national media.