Celtic Connections - 2 May 2007

John Bird, MBE
The Big Issue, Founder
John Bird is the founder of The Big Issue.  It was launched in 1991 and has since become one of the world’s most successful social ventures.  John was born into a London Irish family in post war London.

His autobiography "Some Luck", published by Penguin is an explanation of much of John’s lack of fortune and misfortune in his early years.  He was made homeless at the age of seven, in prison by the time he was a teenager, slept rough on the streets of London and from there went on to buying and selling products and services, and building businesses.

As a speaker, John has a lot of experience to draw from and as he says himself “I have talked to leaders from Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbitt to Jesse Jackson and Lord Moody Stewart, head of Shell. I have inspired South London Social workers on the front line and Swedish Bankers who are worried about the bottom line.”

Dee Forbes
Turner Broadcasting Systems, Senior VP and General Manager

Dee Forbes is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Turner Broadcasting System UK and Ireland for Turner entertainment channels: Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami, Cartoon Network Too and TCM.  Dee is responsible for commercial and channel activities across all departments.

Previously Dee was General Manager for the Nordic/Central and Eastern Europe and EMA regions, and Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales and Sponsorship and Promotions across EMEA, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami and TCM.

Before joining Turner in 1995, Dee was an Account Director at Media Audits.  Her role involved working across a large number of UK clients while also being responsible for setting up Media Audits’ Dublin office.  Dee’s career in media started at Young & Rubicam Europe as an international planner/buyer, working on clients such as Colgate and AT&T.  Educated at the University College, Dublin she studied History and Politics.

Tom Kelly, OBE
Stakeholder Group, CEO

Following graduation and an internship on ‘Capitol Hill’ with the Democratic party, Tom started his career with a Washington based communications consultancy designing strategies for hearts and minds campaigns on policy issues and electoral campaigns.

Years later, he is now recognised as one of the leading public relations and political advisors in Britain and Ireland.  Tom founded DCL (now part of the Stakeholder Group), one of Northern Ireland's leading PR agencies, in 1995.

He is a weekly political and business columnist for a national morning newspaper and is regular current affairs commentator on BBC and RTE.  He was visiting lecturer at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut and recently was appointed as Visiting Professor of Public Affairs and Communication at the University of Ulster.

In 2005 Tom was named as one of Ireland’s top 50 most influential businessmen in Britain by a leading business newspaper and was granted an OBE in 2006 for his services to business.