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Economist to Speak at GCA Annual Conference
- 22 December 2014
A leading economist will be presenting to delegates at the Garden Centre Association's (GCA) conference next month (January 25-28, 2015). Roger Martin-Fagg will be speaking at the event on Tuesday, January 27 at the De Vere Carden Park in Chester.
Chief Executive of the GCA, Iain Wylie said: "Roger began his career as an Economist with the New Zealand Treasury in 1972, then as Economist to the Air Transport and Travel Industry Industrial Training Board. In 1975 he was asked to design and run a postgraduate programme in Airline Management for British Airways, which ran very successfully for 12 years at Thames Valley University.
"In 1987, he joined Henley Management College to design, deliver and teach bespoke strategic management programmes. This he did for 21 years, covering all sectors, but with an emphasis on financial services, house builders and newly privatised utilities."
For the past five years, Roger has worked as an independent Behavioural Economist. He has a visiting faculty place at Warwick, Ashridge, Henley and Duke Business Schools and has also been External Examiner at The University of Bath, and a visiting faculty expert at the Bank of England and the Institute of Marketing.
Roger specialises in making economics accessible for non-economists and helping boards think through their strategies. He leads workshops, seminars and delivers keynote sessions. He has worked in the USA, Middle East, Russia and South East Asia.
His book 'Making Sense of the Economy' is in its fourth reprint, and he publishes a quarterly economic update, which is read by 1,200 Chief Executives.
Iain added: "Roger has a reputation for making the complex simple, producing accurate forecasts, and is one of a few economists with a keen sense of humour. We're very much looking forward to his presentation at the conference. It promises to be both interesting and entertaining."
In his spare time, Roger is a veteran oarsman at Marlow Rowing Club and plays keyboards in a rock band.
Kevin Gaskell, a businessman and entrepreneur who ran Porsche GB Limited in the early 1990s, will present to the conference on the Tuesday too.
Iain added: "It's not too late to book for our conference, so if you are hoping to attend, please visit the members' section of our website via www.gca.org.uk to book your place.
"With a new venue, a great line-up of speakers and plenty of opportunities to catch up with old friends from the industry, the conference is set to be a fantastic event.
"To book, please visit the members' section of our website via www.gca.org.uk. Sponsorship slots have filled up well too but there are still one or two left so if companies are interested in this, please give me a call."
The conference kicks off on Sunday, January 25 with an afternoon of fundraising activities for the charity Greenfingers. Two teams will go head-to-head to battle it out for the Greenfingers Challenge Cup.
Scotts and Westland Horticulture are the event's headline sponsors and David Thomas, who broke the world record for reciting the maths formula Pi (3.14..) to 22,500 digits will be attending. He will speak about techniques for improving memory at the conference on Monday, January 26.
David is the bestselling author of 'Essential Lifeskills: Improving Your Memory'. His clients range from Olympic athletes, government officials to national businesses.
Professor Greg Whyte OBE, who has helped celebrities complete various physical challenges, will be sharing his secrets on achieving the seemingly impossible at the conference too.
He has led 18 celebrity Comic Relief challenges, which have raised more than £33 million for the charity.
Professor Whyte, who is an advisor to the Benetton and Renault Formula 1 Teams and several Premiership football clubs, will also be speaking at the event on Monday, January 26.
The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.
Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.
The conference takes place at the De Vere Carden Park in Chester from January 25 until 28. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend.
For further information, please call 0118 930 8918. Alternatively, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.
