At Brighton Business School we believe that learning from business practitioners is a vital part of the student experience. That's why we incorporate guest lectures into our curriculum. High-profile speakers from industry are regularly invited to discuss curriculum topics, so you get professional insights into contemporary business issues.
These events are open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. They are free to attend and there is no need to book - just turn up on the day.
For more details contact c.r.matthews@brighton.ac.uk.
Forthcoming guest speakers
Details of forthcoming guest speakers will be published shortly.
Recent guest speakers
Charity Retail: How breaking all the rules of retail has been the making of charity shops
Sally Brighton, Retail and charity fundraising expert
Friday 22 March, 1.00 to 3.00pm, Mithras House, Room 150
Sally Brighton is a seasoned charity retailer who has managed retail operations and fundraising for Save the Children (the subject of the BBC2 Series "Mary Queen of Charity Shops"), Demelza Children's Hospices and, since 2012, Kids Company.
Having spent 14 years in commercial retail, working at M&S and The Body Shop, Sally moved into not-for-profit retail to turn around the fortunes of 150 Save the Children shops. Over the past 10 years Sally has seen charity retail transform from 'thrift shop' to 'shabby chic boutique', from glorified jumble sales to multi million pound businesses, with charity shops emerging from the struggling unprofitable 'problem child' of a charity to the successful and growing 'cash cow' of the fundraising portfolio.
The economic woes that started in 2008 have had a mixed impact on the fortunes of charity fundraising but charity shops continue to outperform the high street. Sally has developed insights into the factors behind their resilience and success, and will share her ideas on how to make profit from a sustainable model of redistribution, recycling and community engagement.
Search Engine Optimisation
James Miller, Propellernet
Tuesday 5 March
James Miller from Propellernet, a search marketing and social media agency, gave a lecture on search engine optimisation. This was a good opportunity to hear an industry profesional talk about this fast changing and vital topic.
"Search is about delivering what people want and the search engines need. It's about understanding the way people search and the way markets operate to develop great experiences worthy of top positions.... Search isn't a channel; it's behaviour, rooted in people's desire to find the best possible answers to the questions that matter to them. And search engine optimisation isn't a discipline in its own right; it's the output of a range of activities, each requiring different skills and experience."
Technical Change, Paradigm Shifts and Sustainability
Carlota Perez, London School of Economics
25 February
Carlota Perez is a Venezuelan-British. Researcher, lecturer and international consultant, specialized in the social and economic impact of technical change and in the historically changing conditions for growth, development and competitiveness.
Her articles from the early 1980s and her book Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages [Elgar 2002] have contributed to the present understanding of the relationship between technical and institutional change, between finance and technological diffusion and between technology and economic development.
