Leeds Business Week returns for third year this October

Leeds Business Week is returning for a third year and will see over 100 business-focused events take place across the city from 12-16 October.

Managed by business networking group, The Yorkshire Mafia, the series of business-focused events aims to bring together the city’s businesses to meet, share and connect.

Last year’s event saw 130 businesses hold events across the week and over 3,500 local business people attended.

Events taking place throughout the week range from seminars and workshops to exhibitions, master classes and drinks evenings, all of which are delivered by senior business people who operate in Leeds, including those from Google, Vodafone and Leeds Beckett University.

Key events include:

Leeds City Summit, 11am-12.30pm on Monday 12 October at Salem Chapel, Hunslet Road:

Run in the style of BBC’s Question Time, Leeds City Summit gives attendees the chance to ask questions to a panel of high-profile business people. Panellists include Richard Flint, CEO at Sky Betting and Gaming, Councillor Judith Blake, head of Leeds City Council, Arif Ahmad, senior partner of PwC’s Leeds office, Dr Adam Beaumont, CEO of aql and Helen Beachall, general manager of Simon On The Streets.

Festival of Business, 9am-4pm on Wednesday 14 October at The Leeds Club:

A day-long series of seminars hosted by The Yorkshire Mafia and delivered by a variety of spokespeople from companies including Vodafone, Leeds Business School and PWC. Topics to be covered range from how to become digitally agile to the key skills every business leader needs and the best ways to increase profit and cash flow.

Come Dine with Simon, 6.30pm-10.30pm on Friday 16 October at Hotel Novotel Leeds Centre:

Based on the popular TV show, Come Dine with Me, Come Dine with Simon will see Simon on the Streets battle it out against a team from Novotel in a very special cook off. Attendees will be served a three-course meal and a cocktail by the two teams, before judging which team did best.

There are 80 places at the meal and a reservation fee of £15. At the end of the meal attendees will be asked to top up their ticket price by the amount they feel the meal was worth, with all proceeds going to the charity.

Becky Black, director at Yorkshire Mafia, said: “For one week every year, we aim to bring together the region’s businesses and wider groups to share their expertise, build better business relationships and to inspire growth and innovation.

“Leeds is home to a diverse range of businesses, ranging from micro organisations to large, multi-national companies and Leeds Business Week is a celebration of the city’s assorted business landscape.

“We’ve got some really high profile organisations and speakers taking part this year, and with over 100 events covering a huge array of topics, we’ve created a programme that offers something for everyone. We’re hoping this will be the biggest Leeds Business Week yet and we’re looking forward to meeting with organisations and individuals over the course of the week.”