Mentor Event - 24 September 2008 - THE SPEAKERS   

THE HOST

Satnam Rana

BBC Midlands Today Presenter and Reporter


Satnam Rana is part of the presentation team at BBC Midlands Today. She is a regular presenter on the breakfast slot and a reporter.

She has worked as producer, director and presenter on regional news and current affairs programme Inside Out in the West Midlands.  Satnam says “to be able to start an investigation from scratch and see it through to the end is great.  It’s even better when you have an important public message to convey as well.  After all, that’s why I am a journalist in the first place – to inform, educate and share news with others.”

She also has a regular weekly radio show on BBC WM called Midlands Masala and has also been stepping in to present on the digital radio station BBC Asian Network on the morning Phone In programme from 9am.



THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Suzanne Doyle-Morris

ACC Director


Suzanne Doyle-Morris, Ph.D. studied for her BA in Womens Studies and Psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland in the US.  She received her M.Phil and subsequent PhD in Educational Research from Cambridge University in the UK.  Her doctoral dissertation focused on the experiences of successful women in male-dominated fields.

Suzanne utilises a background in women's issues to help female executives grow into more senior roles and improve their personal and professional performance.  She is a qualified Associate Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, one of less than several hundred who hold such qualification in the UK.

She has worked with clients at the University of Cambridge, Women in Technology, UBS, O2, Microsoft, Trinity College Dublin, Linklaters and Clifford Chance, as well as smaller firms that want to develop their key people.

Suzanne has lived and worked in the US, Australia, the Republic of Ireland and the UK which brings an international dimension to her work.

Kresse Wesling

Director of Eako, Babaloo and Bio-Supplies


Kresse has a business background in venture capital and technologies investment.  She launched Bio-Supplies in 2003 in Hong Kong, a company that invests in, develops, manufactures and sells environmental packaging alternatives.  In 2005, the first UK branch was opened, and it is here that the primary source of growth has been.

Kresse then launched Babaloo in the spring of 2005.  Babaloo manufactures and sells a range of environmental and ethical products for parents and babies.  

Kresse has recently launched her third business, EAKO, which turns industrial waste into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to the charities and organisations related to the waste.  See www.fire-hose.co.uk

Kresse won the Entrepreneurial Woman of the Future award in November 2007 and was recently named in Management Today's "35 Women Under 35" list.  She is a Social Enterprise Ambassador and is also the British Library's advisor for social entrepreneurs.

Lamia Walker

Director, at London Business School


Lamia is Director at the Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business at London Business School which she co-directs with Professor Lynda Gratton.

She is a business to business marketing professional who has worked for national and international firms in a project and marketing manager capacity.  Prior to joining London Business School, her most recent role was at KPMG where she ran marketing projects across 25 country groups in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

She is co-author of two reports which the Centre has published: “Inspiring Women: Corporate Best Practice”, which focuses on practices and processes affecting working women from 61 organisations and “Innovative potential: Men and Women Working in Teams”, which reviews the optimal construction of professional teams regarding gender diversity.

In November 2007, Lamia was asked to Chair an Expert Group Meeting at the United Nations Focal Point for Women.  The mission was to identify measures to accelerate the improvement in the status of women in the UN system.