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Billionaire businessman inspires NE students

A billionaire who recently pledged to give away £1bn to good causes is set to inspire entrepreneurs in the North East next week. Sir Tom Hunter, Scotland’s richest man, will speak at an event being hosted by the Entrepreneurs’ Forum on Wednesday 12 March at The Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.

The son of a grocer, Sir Tom, who has already donated £125m to charity, began his business life selling trainers out of a garage in Ayrshire. He made his initial fortune after acquiring retail chain Olympus Sports in 1995, expanding it into his own company Sports Division and eventually selling it to rival JJB Sports for £290m in 1998.

The ‘What Drives a Serial Entrepreneur’ event, held in association with the Forum’s SoYouWantToBeAnEntrepreneur Graduate Conference, will be faciliated by Caspar Berry, founder of Twenty First Century Media, author and professional poker advisor to the James Bond film Casino Royale.

The conference will also hear from successful regional entrepreneurs including Stephen Bales, co-founder of software developer Platform One, which provides solutions for online traders across the UK including Amazon and eBay; Satish Shewhorak, co-founder of Teesside-based animation and motion graphics company Moshine; and Sarah Taylor, of UDigger Media whose online portal Urban Digger provides information on European cities not generally found in tourist booklets.

Carole Beverley, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said: “We are privileged to welcome Sir Tom Hunter to the North East. This is a rare opportunity to hear from and meet one of the UK’s most highly respected serial entrepreneurs who has not only enjoyed immense success in business but has also led a large number of philanthropic ventures in entrepreneurship and education.

“In what promises to be a really fascinating half day for both established and emerging entrepreneurs and business students, we will also hear from those behind some of the region’s most exciting new enterprises who will share their stories and pass on what they’ve learned.”

For more about the conference, visit www.soyouwanttobeanentrepreneur.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .