SIXTEEN hundred of the region's business leaders can be seen – or at any rate heard – in a new light thanks to this month's Yorkshire International Business Convention.
One of the keynote speakers at the Convention’s twin venues of Harrogate and Bridlington was international rock star Dave Stewart who showed delegates not only why he is one of the world’s top musicians, but also why he is the business advisor to sev
eral major multi-national companies including Nokia.
As part of a thought-provoking session he got the delegates at Harrogate and Bridlington to come up with the words for a song which matched the “can do” theme of the Convention this year, and then recorded the delegates singing the song to a backing track he provided.
The result – The Conference Song – can now be heard on the Convention’s website www.yibc.biz.
Convention chief executive Mike Firth, who has been known to play bass guitar in local group Mid Life Crisis, said: “With Dave Stewart I really hadn’t a clue what he was going to do on the day, and to be honest he probably only decided a few minutes before he went on the stage.
“But the idea of the song not only captured the imagination and enthusiasm of our delegates, it also perfectly summed up what this year’s Convention was all about: getting people to think outside the box and act outside their comfort zones, something we all need to do to get through this current economic recession.”
With just over a thousand delegates at Harrogate and a capacity 650 at Bridlington this year’s Convention is being seen as a great success, and already plans are underway for next year’s event on June 11.
“We always tell delegates coming to the Convention that they will not only be inspired and entertained but get that little bit extra,” said Mr Firth, “and this year’s delegates can now add to their CVs that they have performed with one of the world’s top musicians which can’t be bad!”
