Theme: “Finding your way around Whitehall” 

Speaker: Mark Gibson

Thursday, 29 September at Cass Business School

The Professional Development Committee is delighted to announce its autumn seminar in our informal series for members and guests.

We and our clients are all directly affected by decisions made in Whitehall yet, for most of us, its operation remains mysterious. Thanks to our First Warden, Mary Collis, however, we are fortunate to have an opportunity to learn from a past master of this complex and ever changing dance! 

Mark was until recently a very senior mandarin (Director General, Enterprise and Business Group at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, BERR)at the centre of the world of Whitehall. He is much in demand as an expert prepared to share his insights and general guidance on how it works (warts and all). He was appointed to his current role as CEO of The Whitehall and Industry Group, the only organisation which exists solely to bring business and Whitehall closer together, at the beginning of 2009. 

Mark Gibson has a degree in Modern History from the University of Oxford and an MSc from the London Business School. Mark’s career in Whitehall has included roles in the DTI, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office, where he was Deputy Project Manager for the Next Steps Team. He then joined the DTI’s Competitiveness Unit. In 1994 he became Private Secretary to Michael Heseltine. In 1997 he joined British Trade International where he was responsible for the organisation’s overseas marketing. He became Director General, Enterprise and Innovation, DTI in 2000 and then in 2002 took up his present role. 

As usual, we will foregather for refreshments and networking from 6pm. The seminar will last from 6.30pm to around 7.30pm and will be followed by conversation and further refreshments, the cost of which will be covered by a £20 fee to be paid on arrival. 

To reserve your place, please send an email to Ben Taylor (ben.taylor@redquadrant.com). If you would like to bring a guest, we will do our best to accommodate you. To satisfy Cass’s security requirements, we will need to have heard from you by the beginning of that week i.e. 26^th Sept.