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Ron is a father of two, business book geek, entreprenerd, author, CEO of Bookbuzz and co-founder of www.smallbusinesscan.com. Both these companies combine social media, narrative, story telling, dialogue learning, collective wisdom, peer-to-peer and social learning with achieving business success. Ron has wide global experience in entrepreneurship and SME development, training, consultancy, publishing, education, innovation and tech transfer. Press He is a regular contributor on Newstalk radio and his articles are regularly featured in national newspapers and magazines. He blogs a lot too. Books Books and entrepreneurship have been constant themes throughout Ron’s life. As a youngster he read the library in his local Dutch village dry, and his first business was selling books to his fellow college students. He studied Small Business and quickly decided that working for someone else was not an option. Ron has started several companies, grown a few, and sold one company. Author and publishing In his thirties, Ron wrote a number of best selling business books in the area of business planning, entrepreneurship and strategy. He subsequently spent some years in business publishing (co-owner and business development director of Oak Tree Press), selling other authors into Ireland, UK and USA. Academia, innovation and commercialisation In 2004, Ron was headhunted to manage Invent, the commercialisation gateway of Dublin City University. His role was to re-invent Invent and linking Irish businesses with the research and knowledge developed in DCU. He also managed a portfolio of over 40 innovative Invent companies in varying stages of development. www.smallbusinesscan.com Parallel to founding Bookbuzz, Ron was hired by Ulster Bank/RBS to develop www.smallbusinesscan.com, a free and open platform where owner managers can create and share the business knowledge, the insights, the experience and the contacts needed to generate new growth for their own business. Launched in May 2009, Smallbusinesscan is helping to create a new beginning for the Irish economy, is the fastest growing business website in Ireland, and will shortly expand into the UK and further afield. EBRD, ICM, OECD, Xbox Ron is a business development expert for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is board advisor to a number of exciting start-ups, a fellow of the Institute of Commercial Management and on the panel of experts in entrepreneurship for the OECD and is the entrepreneur in residence of the Innovation Academy of University College Dublin. In his spare time he plays Xbox, he cycles, he runs – and he reads (obviously). |
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After gaining a BA and MA in social science in the UK, Yanky was a management and marketing communication consultant in Israel before moving to Ireland. He designs and delivers corporate training programmes in team building, communication skills, people skills and marketing skills. Yanky is a conference facilitator, speaking coach, entrepreneurship expert, and a much-in-demand motivational speaker who has addressed audiences in Ireland, the USA, the UK, Poland and the Czech Republic. Yanky’s business books include Fire In The Belly – an exploration of the entrepreneurial spirit, and Bookbuzz Insights 2011. He features regularly in the print and electronic media, and is a regular contributor on business books to BusinessPlus. Yanky is also chief editor of The Varsity Press, a non-fiction imprint in the self-publishing field. Yanky developed the Bookbuzz methodology for enhancing a company’s collective intelligence as part of his quest to understand why so many CEO’s claim that their biggest challenge is getting their senior executives to open their minds. |
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With an MSc in Training and Human Resources Management Alan has over 20 years front line senior executive and consulting experience. During the 90s he led some of Ireland’s leading brands - Revlon, Roche Products Ireland, Bewleys, Allegro, Allied Foods, Shires, Aer Lingus and Irish Ferries, through a variety of quality programmes. He has consulted with businesses of all shapes and sizes from manufacturing, professional services, healthcare to voluntary organisations. This gave keen insights into how people drive business success and how important the people factor is linked to the processes of any company. He was Country Manager for Brinks Ireland from 2004 to 2009 during what was considered the worst period of attacks the country has ever seen for businesses involved in the Financial services sector. Having been through seven Tigerkidnap episodes he got to see first hand the challenge of leading your team through crisis points while still having to do the day job of driving growth, both top and bottom line. He was elected President of the Irish Security Industry Association in 2009 the industry body which represents approximately 60% of those employed in the industry (20,000) and turnover estimated at €1.2 billion. |
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For 25 years, Barre has been working in the area of innovation with some of the world’s leading innovation companies and institutes. He has worked with Synectics Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) and with the University of Chicago Graduate Business School. He was involved with the UK Department of Trade and Industry's Innovation Unit, and his work with Rolls-Royce earned him an accolade from Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce, who claims that Barre made 'an indelible impression' on the company. |
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Dirk was in international banking before he became the managing director of NTGent, one of the larger professional theatres in Belgium. He left arts to become Senior Associate to Executive Learning Partnership, an international and committed network of experienced executive development professionals. He is also associated to MenT where he is designing and facilitating executive programmes on leadership and change management. He combines these activities with his Associate Professorship at the University of Antwerp. He holds a number of board mandates in profit as well as not for profit companies, and is a frequent speaker on a variety of subjects (finance, the arts, entrepreneurship, management) at national and international forums. Dirk was a freelance radio reporter for more than ten years for Belgian national radio, where he gave live commentary on soccer games. |
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How It Works
A recent Frost & Sullivan survey revealed that 93% of CEOs state that growth is their main priority for the next five years – and yet 80% don’t believe that their senior management teams are capable of supporting these growth objectives. In a recent McKinsey survey, only 25% of respondents said their training programmes measurably improved business performance.
The survey also found that most companies don’t even bother tracking the returns they get on their investments in training. Clearly, something different is needed to help top teams deliver. Read More...
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