Speaker Announced

Transatlantic Tycoon Ken Olisa To Be Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise Key Speaker

Family man, charity chairman and successful entrepreneur, Ken Olisa who is also founder, chairman and CEO of Interregnum plc will be sharing his experiences with north east entrepreneurs as key note speaker at this year's Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise 2008. The Awards recognise business achievement in the north east of Scotland for companies of all sizes and are sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.

Having started his remarkable career as an IBM scholar at Cambridge in the 70s, Ken went on to work as head of Wang Labs in Brussels, where he was responsible for business operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In 1992 Ken established his technology merchant bank, Interregnum plc, in a basement in Rutland Gardens, London. From its humble beginnings, the company now has an enviable reputation as an advisor to, investor in and operator of technology companies. Ken has been at the top of household name IT businesses on both sides of the Atlantic for the last 20 years.

Ken has personally helped hundreds of entrepreneurs to transform their dreams into wealth and has shared his thoughts and insights with thousands more through the media and appearances at conferences worldwide. He is a director of several companies ranging from start up businesses such as Oxford Newtech to the FTSE100 giant Reuters Group. Ken is also committed to the belief that those who have been successful in the pursuit of wealth have a responsibility to contribute to the common good. He is also Chairman of the Thames Reach Bonway, a major charity dedicated to the elimination of street homelessness in London.

Chris Travis, chief executive of Enterprise says," A highly charismatic character, Ken is living, breathing proof of what can be achieved when you have entrepreneurial spirit and a determination to succeed. Building his business empire from a basement, Ken understands the full spectrum of challenges involved in running an organisation, be it a small scale operation or a global empire. Ken is an inspirational person whose approach to business is to share his wealth of knowledge with others, in order to help them achieve their business dreams.

"He is a highly sought after speaker and will be sharing the thrills and spills of being a winning entrepreneur with those attending the awards. Ken is known for giving very uplifting and witty presentations, and he only speaks at four engagements a year and this is going to be one of them, which is a huge coup for the Awards."

To book your tickets to hear Ken Olisa speak contact Samantha Welsh or call 01224 289796.