Business Conference

Ask the experts how they are handling the latest Covid situation

Introduced by the Minister for Tourism, Nigel Huddleston MP,  join Alex Polizzi, Channel 5's Hotel Inspector and owner of The Polizzi Collection, Mark Driver of Rathfinny Wine Estate,  Nick White of Bistrot Pierre UK and Simon Longbottom (to be confirmed), CEO of one of the largest hospitality groups in the UK, the Stonegate Pub Company.  ​

​Our hospitality experts will be asked how they built their businesses and how they are coping with a second lockdown and the ongoing uncertainty of Covid by Rob Cottrill, CEO of both Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils.

We will also be accompanied by Sussex MPs; Caroline Ansell, Nus Ghani, Sally-Ann Hart and Huw Merriman.

For an entertaining video introducing Nigel Huddlston MP, click on his image below left.
Click on each photo to link to their website
Dedicated support for your business ​-
​free of charge

​We will also be launching business support programmes to help you to find your way through the Covid situation with the assistance of your own dedicated business mentor, free of charge.

Run by Chichester University, Edeal Enterprise Agency and the Let's Do Business Group these programmes are funded by the ERDF, H M Government and East Sussex Local Authorities.​
​The Zoom link for online attendance will be sent out nearer the event, so register your booking now via this link: 
Agenda

Long Zoom meetings can be very trying so our agenda will be short, punchy and to the point:
  • 10.00 am  Minister for Tourism, Nigel Huddleston MP - welcome and introduction
  • 10.15 am  Driving the Sussex visitor economy  
  • 10.45 am  Leading through lockdown  
  • 11.00 am  Coffee break   
  • 11.10 am  Expert panel with Q&A                       
  • 12.00 pm  Summary and next steps
  • 12.30 pm  Close              

Welcome and Introduction

Nigel Huddleston is a businessman and politican who was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport with responsibility for Sport, Tourism and Heritage in February this year.
Nigel says he comes from a modest background; "Dad was a factory worker and Mum was on the tills at Asda".  He went to a local comprehensive school in Lincolnshire before moving on to Oxford University to study politics and economics.  After that he moved to the US and went to UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles where he gained a Masters in Business Administration. 
He worked as a consultant with Deloitte Touche before joining Google as Industry Head of Travel in 2011 and has a particular interest in tourism and technology.
​Moving from the high tech, fast moving Google to the UK Parliament with all its tradition and history, must have been a culture shock but Nigel embraced the change and will no doubt bring a creative approach to UK tourism.   ​

​Driving the Sussex Visitor Economy

​Hear how a unique and innovative partnership between organisations across Sussex is driving the recovery of the visitor economy.  
Sussex Modern is a business-led consortium of some of the UK's most vibrant and pioneering cultural organisations and vineyards, with the distinctive landscape of the South Downs National Park at its heart. It brings together unique experiences across Sussex with the creativity that defines the county's modern and independent spirit. 
Working across traditional political and geographical boundaries, Sussex Modern drives self-guided tourism by inviting audiences to 'join the dots' and 'curate their own visits' to destinations within the South Downs National Park , cultural venues, and vineyards across the region. 
Previous Sussex Modern campaigns have been supported by Arts Council England, Locate East Sussex, East Sussex County Council and Experience West Sussex as well as by private investment. 
Members of Sussex Modern's team including Charleston's Nathaniel Hepburn and Co-Owner of Rathfinny Wine Estate will be explaining more about this unique approach to supporting the wider Sussex visitor economy.
Leading Through Lockdown
​The LEAP Leadership and Management Programme is designed for entrepreneurs to help your business survive these difficult times.  The programme is brought to you by the European Regional Development Fund, H M Government and Lewes District Council through Chichester University and the Edeal Enterprise Agency.
The Let's Do Business Group will also help guide your business through these difficult times.  Both Edeal and LDBG are able to work with you to adapt your business to the current situation and find ways to grow - despite the pandemic.  ​ 
These programmes are free of charge and will help you make crucial decisions to adapt your business to the current economy.  Whether you manage a multi-million pound business or are a sole trader, these programmes can help you by providing a specialist business coach to work at your side through these challenging times.
Expert Panel

Alex Polizzi is a family member of the Forte hotel dynasty, an entrepreneur and a well known TV personality.  She has helped many businesses discover better ways of working and will share her ideas for promoting your business and this beautiful part of the country. 
After reading English at Oxford University, Alex trained at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, worked for Marco Pierre White at the Criterion, helped open various Rocco Forte properties as the company began business and then set up Millers Bakery, with her husband Marcus Miller.
Before taking over and stamping their mark on Hotel Endsleigh in 2004, Alex, Charlie and Olga Polizzi had already
launched Hotel Tresanton at St Mawes in Cornwall in 1998 . Alex then became the host of highly acclaimed show, The Hotel Inspector in 2008. With several series of The Hotel Inspector firmly under her belt, Alex's venture The Fixer, hit BBC2 in January 2012. She has now done twelve years as Hotel Inspector, and three years of travel shows in Italy and Spain as well as various restaurant programmes for the BBC and Channel 5.
Millers Bakery is now a 70,000 sq.ft operation, supplying most of the five star hotels, restaurants and burger joints in London, as well as across the country.
Alex and Olga took over The Star in Alfriston (pictured above right) in December 2019 and will be opening it after a complete renovation in March 2021.
Alex is a trustee of the Landau Forte Academy Trust and of Team Domenica.
She is married to Marcus and they have two children.
Nick White is the CEO / investor of the successful Bistrot Pierre restaurant group.  For 26 years, Bistrot Pierre 1994 have specialised in quality French inspired food, occupying the higher end of the casual dining market. Iconic locations are often the backdrop to great food and service, underpinned with a very strong value for money proposition. Five of the 19 locations are in seaside towns, with sea views. Many more are in historic buildings that have been sympathetically restored. The Eastbourne restaurant, developed in partnership with the Local Council, is a true flagship location of which the business is extremely proud.
Nick has been with Bistrot since 2017, joining to steer the business on the next part of its journey.
Bistrot Pierre came to Eastbourne in late 2019 (pictured above).  ​The Covid crisis has necessitated a complete rethink of plan and priorities, and a restructuring of the group was completed in mid-July 2020.
Working in hospitality, right across the sector, for over 30 years, Nick helped develop a number of well-known pub brands in the early days of ‘casual eating out’,  before running a several businesses in casual dining and food delivery.  Nick has experience in the UK and also in various international markets.
 
Mark Driver owns the Rathfinny Wine Estate with his wife Sarah.  Having worked in the city as a hedge fund manager the couple decided to follow their dreams and developed the largest vineyard in the UK.  With infinite attention to detail the Drivers chose the perfect site and pulled together a world class team to create sparking wines to compete with and surpass well known Champagne brands.  Before lockdown the estate supplied the best restaurants and hotels in London, Japan and Hong Kong and 'Sussex Sparkling' has consistently beaten Champagne in blind tastings.  The Rathfinny Estate now includes a fine dining restaurant, estate tours, a tasting room and a desireable wedding venue with a boutique guest house. 
Mark will share his plans to rebuild the business as we come out of lockdown.

Nathaniel Hepburn is CEO of the Charleston Trust.  Based at the Charleston farmhouse nestling in the leeward side of the downs near Firle, the farm was the home of the 'Bloomsbury Set', pioneers of early 20th century British art. 
Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant created a hub of artistic and intellectual activity at Charleston with visitors including Virginia and Leonard Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E.M. Forster and many others. Today's Trust has developed a world class festival which attracts top names from the world of art and literature each year; again attracting the best thinkers to East Sussex.  
Nathaniel is used to partnership working having led nine Sussex museums and galleries, including Charleston, who brought the exhibition Sussex Modernism: Retreat and Rebellion to London's Two Temple Place in 2017, and is one the project leads for Sussex Modern: a tourism initiative that celebrates the county’s unique contribution to modern culture and experiences.
Join our panel of experts and our East Sussex MPs to discuss the future of tourism and hospitality:
​Summary and Next Steps

​Rupert Clubb is Director of Economic Development at East Sussex County Council and will give us his take on the Visitor Summit plus positive next steps we can all take to develop the visitor economy across the County. 

Click here to register your free place at this valuable
​East Sussex Visitor Summit 
 ​                                 "East Sussex is a well kept secret....
​                                                                                  it's time we told the world about it!"​