Star speakers for International Women's Day

The role of women in business across the Marches will be celebrated at a special event to mark International Women’s Day.

The Marches Growth Hub, businesswoman Hollie Whittles and the Federation of Small Businesses have teamed up to organise the annual high-profile event on March 8. The online event – which gets under way at 10am - will include inspirational talks from a host of keynote speakers as well as networking opportunities.

Marches Growth Hub Shropshire manager Emma Chapman said it was the third year of the annual celebration – and the first time it had been extended to cover the whole of the Marches. After nearly a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we thought it was more important than ever to bring together businesswomen from across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin to celebrate this very special day.

“We have lined up an exceptional selection of women who will talk about their own experiences of breaking down barriers in their careers and be able to pass on some of that knowledge to help others. This is a must-attend event for any woman in business in the Marches as well as being a fantastic celebration of the contribution women make to the economy and success of the region.”

Hollie, FSB area lead for Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and tech director for Telford-based Purple Frog Systems, is among the star speakers who will be sharing their stories and top tips from their areas of expertise.

“This is always a highlight in my calendar, and I’m delighted that so many inspirational businesswomen and friends have agreed to speak. This is the third year running that we’ve organised this sell-out event and whilst we can’t meet in person this year, it will still be lots of fun online.”

Speakers include: Trudie Adcock (global enterprise learning director for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca); broadcaster, presenter and TEDx speaker Merisha Stevenson; the CEO and founder of the KogoPAY Group Dr Narisa Chauvidul-Aw; Marches Local Enterprise Partnership chair Mandy Thorn and chief executive Gill Hamer; and Tracy Darke, assistant director economy and place at Shropshire Council.

International social media and marketing speaker Teresa Heath-Wareing, the founder of Digital Women and SocialDay UK Lucy Hall, and the FSB’s deputy head of English regions Linsey Luke complete the impressive line-up.

The event – which has sold out in both its previous years – costs £10. For more information and tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-womens-day-2021-celebrating-shropshire-women-in-business-tickets-126852821203

Pictured: The speakers for the event