Leaders' Network Lunch - September 2025

Date: 25/09/2025
Time: 12:00pm - 14:30pm
Borough: Manchester
Contact Name: Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Contact Email: events@gmchamber.co.uk
Contact Telephone: 0161 393 4321

Location:
tbc 

Join us for our next Leader's Network Lunch of 2025.

Our regular Leaders' Lunches bring together business leaders from all sectors. Delegates will enjoy a two-course lunch with a glass of wine/soft drink and coffee, in the company of various other directors from across the North West. An influential guest speaker will share their valuable experiences and key insights.

There will be plenty of networking time as well during the welcome reception, during lunch and after.

Our guest speaker for September will be Wayne Jones OBE, Founder of Improbus Consultancy Ltd.

Wayne Jones was born in Manchester in 1966 and graduated with an Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1992 from Stockport College of Technology on a day release program. Prior to his Academic qualification, he completed a 4-year Apprenticeship that later inspired some of his Leadership and Corporate and Social Responsibility philosophies. He has been employed in the Manufacturing Industry for more than 30 years, holding various positions in Sales, Project Management, Operations, After Sales Engineering and R&D. He has resided in Norway, UAE and Oman. Wayne started his career at British Aerospace in Woodford, completing his Apprenticeship at Mather & Platt in Newton Heath, Manchester before moving to the Sulzer Corporation, a Swiss company with a factory located in Leeds. Here he moved onto the Board of Directors responsible for all after sales activities in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

He joined the MAN Group in 2005 to head the UK aftermarket business before becoming Managing Director in October of the same year. Wayne led a major restructuring programme turning the Company from significant losses into a profitable result in less than 18 months. In 2009 a new purpose-built Headquarters was constructed in Greater Manchester, housing a state-of-the-art Academy, one of only 13 across the entire worldwide MAN organisation. This was used to develop the skills of the existing workforce, created a commercial opportunity to train the customer base and was utilised by many schools and colleges to give student first had knowledge of this sector.  In 2010 he was then asked to lead the Global After Sales business under the brand name of MAN PrimeServ and within 3 years drove a transformation project that increased the Turnover by more than 50% whilst delivering best in class profitability. Globalisation of the business resulted in more than 130 service locations in 70 countries across the world.

Wayne is passionate and committed to his Industry and ensuring the next generation of Engineers have the opportunities to be inspired and embark on interesting and challenging careers. To deliver these future concepts, Wayne Chaired the Employer Ownership of Skills in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with the goal of significantly increasing new Apprenticeships in the next generation. As a result of this program close to 1000 young people started their apprenticeships in 2014. Wayne was President of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the largest Chamber in the UK, from 2017-2019 and is still a member of the board today as well as chairing the Engineering & Manufacturing Forum. He is also a Global Ambassador for Greater Manchester.

Don't miss this lunch to find out more!

Welcome drink, 2 course lunch with wine or soft drink will be served.

To book please register below.

Please note that GMCC does not accept payment via American Express.

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. 


Registration deadline: 24/09/2025

PRICE:
NON MEMBERS £70.00 Excluding VAT
MEMBERS £45.00 Excluding VAT

REGISTER / BOOK