Co-op News September 2019: Agriculture

SOCIAL BUSINESS
Piracy and adventure: Lessons for Welsh co-operators
Delegates at the 2019 Social Business
Wales conference will be encouraged to
‘be more pirate’ by writer Sam Conniff-
Allende, and hear advice on overcoming
obstacles by adventurer Lowri Morgan.
The rebels of the high seas were the
original social entrepreneurs, says Mr
Conniff-Allende, and can offer inspiration
to businesses of today.
And Ms Morgan, a traveller and
endurance athlete, will talk about how
she is motivated to surmount barriers and
challenges to succeed.
The conference, to be held at Venue
Cymru, Llandudno on 25 September,
brings together social businesses from
across Wales to learn from experts in
areas such as digital marketing, business
leadership and procurement.
There will be a special contribution from
Wrexham-based social enterprise, Eternal
Media, and Cwmni Bro Ffestiniog on the
transformational impact they have had on
people’s lives.
The event comes as research shows the
social business sector is worth £3.18bn to
the Welsh economy – an increase of 34%
on 2016. The Mapping the Social Business
Sector in Wales report, commissioned by
Social Business Wales, revealed there
are 2,022 social businesses in Wales,
employing around 55,000 people.
“Going into this year’s conference,
confidence is high within the sector, with
the vast majority of social businesses
expecting to experience growth over
the next few years,” said Glenn Bowen,
enterprise programme director at Social
Business Wales.
“However, the sector faces numerous
challenges that pose a risk to continued
growth and sustainability. Measures to
address issues around ageing leadership,
and access to suitable funding options,
for example, need to be designed and
implemented to secure the sector’s
long-term health. It’s a sector that, with
support that targets start-ups, growth and
p Lowri Morgan
sustainability, can continue to grow as we
navigate through the impact of Brexit.”
The event also features a range of
exhibitors from the public, private
and social enterprise sector in Wales –
including a number of the finalists from
the Social Business Wales Awards 2019.
The conference costs £10 to attend, with
tickets available online. The event follows
the Social Business Wales Awards, held
the previous evening at Venue Cymru.
u Interview with Sam Conniff-Allende:
p40-41; book review, p48
OBITUARY
Alistair Asher, a key figure in the Co-op Bank rescue
Alistair Asher, a former member of the
Co-op Group executive and key figure in the
rescue of the Co-operative Bank in 2013, has
died after a short illness. Group CEO Steve
Murrells pays tribute.
Alistair joined the Co-op Group in May
2013 as general counsel. Prior to this, he
had been a senior partner at the law firm
Allen & Overy for 34 years, where he was
already part of the team working on plans
to recapitalise the Co-operative Bank
following its financial crisis.
Alistair recognised the seriousness of the
situation at that time and knew the Bank’s
troubles threatened to bring down the
entire Co-op Group and damage the wider
consumer co-op movement in the UK. He
worked tirelessly to prevent this.
Throughout the rescue phase, he was
at the heart of the efforts to stabilise the
Bank and protect the rest of the business.
There were months of long days and
hard meetings. Alistair brought energy,
professionalism, good humour and decency
to all he did during this time.
Through his work on saving the Bank,
Alistair grew to admire and then champion
the values the Co-op Group stood for – and
saw the importance of saving the business
for generations to come. And so he chose to
take early retirement from A&O and join the
Co-op full time.
As a member of the executive, Alistair
helped to complete the financial ‘rescue’ of
the Bank at the end of 2013 and went on to
take a leading role in the changes we made
to our constitution and governance. As
the Co-op began the ‘rebuild’ phase of its
turnaround, Alistair once again brought his
experience and intellect to the task.
I can say without hesitation that the
Co-op would not be here today if it weren’t
for Alistair Asher. He truly believed in the
importance of the co-operative movement
and became a passionate advocate
for co-operation.
Along the way he made many friends who
recognised his integrity and admired his
good nature and hard work. I will miss him
greatly and I’m sure many of my colleagues
in the Co-op will, too.
p Alistair Asher helped rebuild the Group
SEPTEMBER 2019 | 13