Location:
Elliot House
151 Deansgate
Manchester M3 3WD
We are delighted to extend a warm invitation to the first GMCC Professional Services Club of 2025 kindly sponsored by Orca and in collaboration with the Bank of England.
GMCC Professional Services Club will provide a platform for networking and knowledge sharing within the sector. The event is designed to cater to all levels of expertise.
More details on the agenda will follow shortly but will include;
- Welcome from your host and Chair; Steve Edge, Founder & Director of OPTSM Ltd
- Guest Speakers:
- - Alison Stuart, Agent for the North West of Bank of England - Alison became our Agent for the North West in January 2021. Alison re-joined the Bank of England from the International Monetary Fund (2005- 2020) in Washington DC. She was a Division Chief in in the IMF’s Asia Pacific Department and held positions in the Strategy Policy and Review Department. Alison started her career at the Bank of England in 1986. Her roles included support for external members of the Monetary Policy Committee (2004-5), various roles in Monetary Analysis , Statistics and International, and representing the UK delegation to the IMF and World Bank (2001-2004). She worked at HM Treasury (1992-1994, and 1998).
- - Ken Clarke, Deputy Agent of Bank of England - Ken joined the Bank as Deputy Agent for the North West in April 2022. A former academic, he has published widely in the area of labour economics and held a number of leadership roles in higher education. Between 2015 and 2021 Ken served as the economist member of the School Teachers' Review Body which advises the Department for Education on teacher pay in English schools. He holds an undergraduate degree in Politics and Political Economy from the University of Glasgow and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Manchester.
- - Chris Fletcher, Policy & GMLSIP Director, GM Chamber - Chris is Policy Director at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. He is responsible for leading the Chamber’s policy work and campaign engagement with Chamber members, the wider GM business community and representing their views to key local bodies, organisations and decision makers. His team run the Chamber’s research and survey work including the influential Quarterly Economic Survey and are responsible for publishing the Greater Manchester Index. In August 2022 the Chamber was named by the Department for Education as the designated body responsible for developing the GM Local Skills Improvement Plan with Chris as the project director. He is also a trained media spokesperson and in his 20 years at the Chamber has been involved in several national pieces of policy work with British Chambers of Commerce. Prior to joining the Chamber he spent two successful years at business education charity Young Enterprise after spending 16 years at NatWest in a variety of roles including a range of business manager positions focusing on start-ups and early stage developing growth businesses. He has sat on and chaired a number of groups for a variety of organisations both public and private sector and has a real interest in how policy work affects economic regeneration, transport and innovation.
- Opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals;
- Refreshments and networking.
Sponsored by:
Cost to attend:
Free of charge for GM Chamber Members, £15 plus VAT for Non-members.
If you receive an error message to say your transaction has not gone through, please contact our team at events@gmchamber.co.uk. Many thanks, and apologies for the inconvenience.
Cancellation Terms
In case you are no longer able to attend this event, please note you must cancel your place at least 5 working days before the date. The cancellation must be in writing and sent to events@gmchamber.co.uk indicating the name of the event you are cancelling for and delegate(s) details. If a booking is not cancelled and the delegate does not attend, full event costs will still apply.
Payments
All payments for event bookings must be received in full prior to the event date. Failure to provide payment before the event may result in your booking being cancelled. Please ensure that payment is made promptly to secure your attendance.
**Please note: There may be photographs taken at our events that will be used for marketing purposes and on our social media channels. If you do not wish to appear in any of our marketing materials or on our social media channels, please inform a member of the Chamber team at the start of the event.
We are open, inclusive and welcoming, and we celebrate the diversity which makes up our city region. We ask that all delegates and sponsors uphold our professional code at all times.
PRICE: