Future Focus: Suzi Perry (May 2010)

1.  What made you want to become a TV presenter?
I began as a sport reporter for Sky, I loved bike racing, still do, it was my passion. I sort of fell into presenting other shows..

2.  What do you love most about hosting The Gadget Show?
We have a giggle. It is a lot of fun and of course we have the chance to undertake amazing challenges, testing tech in extreme ways.

3.  What has been the highlight of your career to date?
I think being honoured with a fellowship by my old University, Wolverhampton. I don’t know really, I don’t think about it too much, it’s ongoing!

4.  What motivates you to stay focused?
I always feel that there are plenty of folk ready to jump in my shoes so complacency has never been an option. Anyway, if a job is worth doing…I always give 100%, always. 

5.  As a patron of Promise Dreams what advice would you give to anyone wanting to get involved in charity work?
Do it, it matters more than most other things you will ever do.

6.  What are your aspirations for the future?
I’m just buying a family home with my husband in the South of France, I hope we will be happy there. On a work front, I would love to broadcast on radio and continue to make television.

 7. What benefits to you think Birmingham Young Professional of the Year brings to Birmingham?
Great things come out of Birmingham and its important to shout about them. BYPY is a tremendous profile raiser for the town and highly inspirational for young people.

8. If you had one hour to show a visitor around the city where and what would you do?
I would begin at the Gadget Show studio’s in Digbeth, there are a lot of creative bods working around the Custard Factory, it is an energising place. Then a quick drive past the Bull Ring, I love the Selfridges building and also the contrasting architecture of the Town Hall and that area of town. One hour really isn’t long enough! I like the canals, the Jewellery Qtr, The Sea Life centre and Lasan is my favourite restaurant! 
  
9. What are the key characteristics you think makes Birmingham a great place to live?
It has a soul, from its’ music roots to its’ football core. There is an abundance of innovation, graft and of course the dry sense of humour and curry, the best! 

10. Villa or City?
Er hello, I am a Wolves fan!

Future Focus: Stuart Kelly (March 2010)

1.What was your career path to becoming the Bank of England’s Deputy Agent for the West Midlands?
After completing my masters in economics at Edinburgh University I spent three years windsurfing and surfing my way around the world before joining ING Barings in London on their graduate programme.  In my four years at ING I moved around within the bank a fair bit, spent a year working in New York, and was running the bank’s South African and Polish interest rate derivative books before I left to join Bank of America, also in London.  At Bank of America I traded the same products and markets as I had for ING, and at the end of my four years there I was managing the bank’s emerging markets interest rate trading desk.  In the summer of 2005 my wife and I decided to leave London and moved to Argyll on the west coast of Scotland with our young daughter.  This was a great opportunity to take a breather from the pressures of the City and to spend some quality time with our young family, and to keep myself occupied I established various small businesses, including a mountain bike hire company and a surfing and windsurfing shop in Campbeltown at the tip of the Mull of Kintyre.  Friends are now running those companies but I continue to take an active interest in their management, albeit from a distance, as I am now based in Birmingham working for the Bank of England.

1.How do find working for the Bank of England different from your previous roles?
Working for the Bank of England is poles apart culturally to working for merchant banks in the City.  For a start, there is none of the pressure to generate trading profits on a daily basis, the hours are much shorter and more flexible, and it is much more satisfying to feel that I am working towards the general good of the economy of the country, rather than for the benefit of corporate shareholders.  Having said that, in a way I miss being in charge of a busy trading desk with all the challenges and responsibilities that brings.  On the other hand, working for the Bank of England is also poles apart from running a surf shop – I’ve had to swap my flip flops for a suit and tie for starters!
 
1.What challenges have you faced in your role as Deputy Agent for the West Midlands since you were appointed in 2009?
Finding my way around Birmingham and figuring out how to avoid the worst of the traffic has been a steep learning curve, while crashing my car into my mother-in-law’s during my first week in the job also put me on the spot a little!
 
1.As we emerge out of the recession what do you think are the biggest challenges faced by Birmingham’s business community?
A common topic in many of the conversations I hold with the Bank’s business contacts throughout the region is how Birmingham will move away from being so reliant on traditional manufacturing industries for employment.  As we look forward towards economic recovery it is important for Birmingham to establish itself at the leading edge of emerging technologies and to reduce its exposure to the more cyclical nature of the old world economy .
 
1.As someone who has started up their own business what advice would you give to any entrepreneurs who want to start up their own business within the West Midlands?
Take advantage of all the mentoring, advice and most definitely the grant schemes that are available to help you set up on your own.  Research your potential market thoroughly to minimise the scope for surprises down the line, and be prepared to put a great deal of time, effort and, most likely, cash into your dream!

1.What benefits do you think Birmingham offers for graduates and young professionals?
As a young professional the world is very much your oyster and, as with everything, you’ll get out what you put in. With so many large, global companies having a presence here, there are myriad opportunities in Birmingham and with the highly developed networking scene in the city I think it’s very easy for younger employees to keep on top of new and exciting developments.
 
7.  Although the UK has an ageing population, Birmingham is one of Europe’s youngest cities, how important do you think this is for the future of the city?
  
Younger people tend not to be so entrenched in their outlooks and, given the challenge that I think Birmingham has to find itself a new direction, the established interests and the collective enthusiasm of Birmingham’s younger generation should find it well within their reach to steer the city towards a defining new identity.

1.What role and influence do you feel an organisation such as Birmingham Future can play/have in the city as it continues to develop?
Having an active and connected group of people across the city and across many different sectors can only make it easier to find shared outlooks and common goals to help Birmingham develop.  Business contacts are invaluable and, when you have them all readily available – as is the case with Birmingham Future – I find that it makes introductions easy and can be mutually beneficial for all concerned when you have a network of easily approachable potential helpers at your fingertips.

1.What are your favourite things about Birmingham?
Friendly people, a city centre easily reached from the airport by train, and hot, cheap curries!
 
1.Villa or City?
I’m more of a rugby fan, but supporting Scottish rugby is a bit of a thankless task at the best of times!  My old boss in London was an avid West Ham supporter, and I have to admit that it wasn’t long before I was too, mainly because he would be in a much better mood on a Monday morning if the Mighty Hammers had won at the weekend.  It’s a bit tenuous I’m afraid, but the claret and blue connection means that I’m going to have to go for Villa!

Future Focus – Julian Thomas

1.What made you want to become an athlete?
I’ve always had a passion for sport. My natural talent for speed has directed me to become a speed demon. I’ve always admired individual sports, as all the work rests on that person not several other players. The workload isn’t shared. My dreams isn’t in the hands of somebody else, I’m in control of what happens.

2.What has been the highlight of your career to date?
Over coming obstacles, climbing back to number 1 seed in the 200m for Britain. Previously Commonwealth Youth Champion: 200m & 4x100m relay, European Junior Silver medallist: 200m, World Junior Finalist: Attained rank 5th in the world for 200m Junior.

3.What motivates you to stay focused?
Success! The constant need to achieve. Perfecting the imperfections.

4.What motivational advice would you give to any runners who wish to take part in Birmingham’s half marathon later in the year?
To prepare, Set realistic targets then do your best to achieve them. Take the opportunity run a few miles a week. Gradually increase the distance with each run or set a course to see if you can better your time. Poor preparation equals poor performance. Do your best to keep well hydrated and wear secure running shoes.

5.What are your aspirations for the future?
To win an Olympic medal and represent my country for the London 2012 Games and beyond.

6.What benefits to you think the 2012 Olympics will have to Birmingham?
London 2012 games will give Birmingham the opportunity to show the world what we have to offer. With the Team USA and Jamaica staying within the city only gives an advantage over the other cities in creating more business, exposure internationally. Prior to the games supporters will want to see the other cities before the games start. That will be Birmingham opportunity to shine. If Birmingham gives a good show then more people will visit. Key focus is upon Tourism.

7.Who is your biggest role model within the West Midlands?
My role model has always been my mother. Its always been important to me that I can talk with a role model. Although I’ve have always admired Mark Lewis-Francis from a sporting perspective growing up.

8.What are the key characteristics you think makes Birmingham a great place to live?
I consider Birmingham to be the crossroad of England due to our location. Everything is within reasonable distance. Birmingham is nowhere near as congested as London. Birmingham could facilitate any event. We have Culture, sports facilities, transportation, hotels, bars, restaurants, while the key factors location. Commuting is easy. Living in Birmingham is easy.

9.What is the most memorable experience you have had in Birmingham?
Winning and Breaking the All England Schools 200m record that stood 22 years. In front of my home crowd, it was an experience I could get used to. Having the whole stadium applaud my performance…loving it!!!

10.Villa or City?
Villa.

Volunteer Spotlight

Rob Langley, Marketing Manager at BCMG (Birmingham Contemporary Music Group)
Chairman of the Citizenship programme run by The Civic Society

1. Who / what is your inspiration?
My inspiration really is just to give something back and know that I am doing something useful with my time. I grew up in a household where both my parents always committed a lot of time to Church and community groups and volunteering in the scouting movement – so their drive and personalities rubbed off on me a lot!

2. Which / what type of organisation are you involved in?

I have been involved with The Birmingham Civic Society for some time now. The Civic Society does fantastic work in the city in areas such as heritage, conservation and education. I have been Chairman of The Civic Society’s Citizenship programme since November 2008, managing two award schemes and promoting positive attitudes towards citizenship in the city.

3. What prompted you to get involved in volunteering?
I passionately believe that we need to encourage, engage, and nurture the young people of our city. We need to inspire them to have a voice, and to give a thought to the place they are living, learning and growing up.
4. What’s the best thing about volunteering?

The best thing is the buzz I get from knowing I am doing something positive with my spare time, seeing the reaction the young people give when presenting their proposals for improving the city and hearing the comments from teachers on how positive an impact the citizenship work is having on them.

5. Who have you met while volunteering?

I have been fortunate enough to meet hundreds of young people from the city’s secondary schools, along with their teachers, head teachers and a number of parents, as well as regularly meeting with a collection of some of the city’s most prominent business people who sit on the board of trustees for The Society with me.

6. What project are you working on at the moment / would like to highlight?

The Next Generation Awards – we ask secondary school pupils to think about the area in which they live and to focus on one problem that citizens living in that area face. They then prepare a proposal on how to combat the issue and present their ideas to a panel of judges who give each group an award. In 2009/10 we hope to engage with 20 Birmingham Secondary schools and more than 4000 students.

7. Why should others get involved?
Other people should get involved if they truly care about young people, if they care about the future city that they will be living in and growing old in and if they are passionate about having a positive impact on the lives of others.

The Civic Society’s website is: http://www.birminghamcivicsociety.org.uk. If you are interested in getting involved with the Citizenship work please contact Chloe Edwards (chloe.edwards@bevanbrittan.com) or Claire-Elaine Arthurs (CArthurs@hbj-gw.com) on the Community Development Committee and we will be able to put you in touch with Rob to discuss opportunities.
If you are doing voluntary work in Birmingham and would like to highlight your chosen organisation and your work in the Thrive pages of the Birmingham Post and the Future website, please get in touch with Chloe Edwards ( chloe.edwards@bevanbrittan.com ) to sign up for a ‘Volunteer Spotlight’!

Interview with Amrita Sidhu

The city’s young professional network is always happy to welcome a new face, and last week, as part of a programme of engaging with individual Future members, I met a new arrival who has fallen for everything Birmingham has to offer.
Amrita Sidhu arrived in Birmingham 12 months ago, after spending 3 years working with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in London. Amrita followed the majority of graduates to the capital after completing a three year Maths & Computer Science degree at Oxford. Her transfer to the Forensic Services department in PWC’s Birmingham office was initially a 6 month plan, which was then extended for a further 6 months, before Amrita became a Birmingham member of staff in September.
‘The appeal of Birmingham was both a social and a work one’ Amrita said as we caught up over a coffee in Starbucks on Colmore Row. ‘Having friends and family who have both lived and worked in the city, I was sure that I would be welcomed into the close knit community immediately. The opportunity to work as part of the Birmingham office was one that I took to continue to develop my career with my firm, and PwC has given me a fantastic opportunity to continue to progress’.
Having spent three years completing a 45 minute commute to and from the office in London, Amrita now enjoys the walk from Jewellery Quarter to Cornwall Court. She also enjoys being within easy reach of the important areas of the city, being able to walk to Brindleyplace for an after work drink, or being close enough to venture into one of the small bars in and around St Paul’s Square. ‘The business community of Birmingham is a vibrant one, big enough to attract some of the major investment banks, but compact enough that you can easily walk between offices for meetings. I came to Birmingham for the job opportunity here, and with the continued development of the city, I can see why more people are choosing Birmingham over London’.
Birmingham Future has also played a part in helping Amrita settle into a new business environment, with Speed Networking sessions and opportunities to mingle with the great and the good of the city.
When I challenged Amrita on how Birmingham could continue to attract new talent, and to develop them while they are here, her answer was clear. ‘The city needs to continue to attract the traditionally London based firms here, to give graduates the option of choosing Birmingham rather than heading to London. It’s a choice that I think many of them would make. I would also like to see the development of a greater social scene in the city. As a great University city, Birmingham does lack the after bar venues you see in other cities.’
In all Amrita is proud to call herself an adopted Brummie, and the city is delighted to welcome her into her new working environment. With talent like Amrita making the choice to work in Birmingham, the future for the city, and the individuals who choose to make it home, continues to look bright.

Jason Norris, Chair of the Talent, Retention & Development Committee and Membership Committee member.