Shaping the Future Business Festival

March 16 th -20 th , 2026
Shaping the Future
Festival Programme
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Welcome
Drawing on the success of the first ever Newcastleunder-Lyme
Business Festival in 2025, we’re back with
new content, new venues, new speakers and an even
bigger programme!
Funded by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, delivered by PH
Production Services and King Street Studios, this
year promises to be another fabulous opportunity to
showcase the borough as a great place to invest, live,
work and build a business in.
It’s an opportunity to demonstrate the power of
collaboration and community — bringing us together
to learn, connect and share best practice. The festival
will strengthen businesses and attract investment
across the borough. It also continues to challenge
outdated perceptions, showing clearly that Newcastleunder-Lyme
isn’t on the margins, but exceptionally well
connected and firmly at the centre of opportunity.
The festival week will shape perception, influence
investment and reinforce our local identity,
strengthening the business community we are proud
to be part of.
The programme is fabulous and offers a wide array
of speakers, practical workshops and seminar style
breakouts balanced with chances for open networking,
demonstrations and, naturally, plenty of tea and coffee.
There is great power in collaboration and together, we
can all help to ensure that this year’s festival really does
deliver. Everyone involved can help raise the profile
of the festival, and in turn, raising the profile of the
borough and the business community.
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Mon 16 th
Employment & Entrepreneurs Day
St. Giles Church
///wishes.motor.global
Dr James Bannerman is a “Creative Change Agent”
who blends creativity and psychology to help
organisations innovate. He has worked with Aston
Martin, British Airways, Starbucks, Rolls-Royce,
HSBC and the National Space Centre.
He lectures on MBA programmes at Warwick,
Grenoble and Oxford Brookes, where he completed
a PhD in lateral thinking. Before consulting, he was a
platinum-selling songwriter, cartoonist and trained
psychotherapist.
Speakers
David Beech, Knights Solicitors
Steve Timmis, Sempar Accounts
Alastair Machin, Chaffinch and Ravenscliffe
Workshops
Leadership & Management for
Growing Businesses
The Risk No One Measures
Strengthening Business Performance
through Student Engagement
On Monday 16th March we’ll
be opening the festival at St
Giles Church and exploring the
themes of Entrepreneurship
and Employment.
The church courtyard will be
full of local business exhibitors
and inside the church we’ll
be hearing from fabulous
speakers such as Dr James
Bannerman, the only man
in the world with a PHD in
Lateral thinking,
Plus we’ll have fantastic
breakout sessions exploring
Leadership for Growing
Businesses, Student
Engagement in Business
and The Risk That No One
Measures.
Networking and Business Market Showcase
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Tues 17 th
Keele University
///haven.pardon.poster
Keele Innovation and Sustainability Day
On Tuesday 17th March,
we’ll be at Keele University’s
Denise Coates Foundation
Building looking at Innovation
and Sustainability.
Panel Discussion
Industry voices come together to discuss how
innovation is shaping the future of sustainability.
Speakers (L-R)
Raphael Hirshi,
Keele Digital Society Institute
Diane Roberts,
Staffs. Business and Environment Network
Gemma Thomas, Brilliant Bamboo
Dr Laura Rhodes,
Net Zero Delivery & Sustainability, Keele Uni.
We’ll be hosting a panel
chaired by Laura Rhodes the
Universities Head of Net Zero
and featuring Raphael Hirschi
the Head of the Digital Society
Institute with Diane Roberts
of Staffordshire Business and
Environment Network and
Gemma Thomas, Founder of
Brilliant Bamboo.
We’re exploring cyber security
with Jonathan Lawton of
Hixon Group, Usman Shah of
Absorbed IT will be exploring
his journey as a multiple
business owner and we’ll
have a range of innovative
businesses exhibiting too.
Workshops
Johnathan Lawton, Hixon Group
Usman Shah, Abzorbed IT Solutions Ltd
Dominic Cox, InnerNova
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Wed 18 th
Business and Network Day
Keynote Speakers
On Wednesday we have two keynotes speakers,
with a wealth of experience in the business world
and networking and we’re fortunate to have both
speakers leading practical sessions for you to enjoy
too.
Rachael Jackson runs several franchises of Women
in Business Network and won Networker of the
Year at the Business Success Network Recognition
Awards 2025 for outstanding work in building
business networks, championing collaboration,
and empowering women across sectors — all while
navigating neurodiversity challenges.
Lymelight Boulevard
///fork.zone.chat
Peter the Speaker went from a childhood as an
undiagnosed dyslexic, having been written-off, to
becoming an award-winning inventor and securing
investment in the BBC’s Dragons’ Den for his homemade
inventions.
Having won investment in BBC’s Dragons’ Den for
his innovative range of pet products, he set the goal
to produce the business workshops which would
allow neurodiverse audiences to master the skills he
learnt in his journey.
Workshops
Rachael Jackson,
Confident Pitching and Personal Impact
Peter “The Speaker” Bayley-Hill,
Networking for Introverts
Susanne Quinn,
Building Skills for the Workforce of Tomorrow
On Wednesday 18th March,
we’re heading back into the
town centre and taking over
Lymelight Boulevard.
Wednesday will see us
exploring Business and
Networking Day at Lymelight
Lanes and N-u-L’s newest
cocktail lounge, The
Boulevard.
We’ve got free 121 digital
consultations available
with Ben McManus from
Wavemaker and some
incredible practical workshops
that will help you make better
connections, improve your
business pitch and give you
useful insights into more
affective networking and
relationship development.
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Thu 19 th
Women in Business Day
St. Giles Church
///wishes.motor.global
Our Thursday keynote speaker, well known
across the borough, is Port Vale FC co-owner
Carol Shanahan. Leading the club’s community
engagement and business development, Carol will
discuss recent initiatives and speak publicly for the
first time about a new programme.
We’ll also host a guided conversation with Hannah
Ault (Valentine Clays), Eve Davies (ProtectaPet) and
Shanie Chaudry-Goodall (M Investment Group and
M Club) on the challenges and support systems of
female business leadership.
The hall will be full of exhibitions from femaleled
SMEs, and the afternoon includes talks from
Ramona Hirschi (Belvoir Lettings, Deputy President
of Staffordshire Chambers) and Josie Vujcic,
founder of Nellys Nest.
Speakers
Hannah Ault, Valentine Clays
Eve Davies, ProtectaPet
Shanie Chaudry-Goodall,
M Investment Group and at M Club
Ramona Hirshi, Belvoir and
Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce
Josie Vujcic, Nellys Nest
On Thursday 19th March,
we’re back at St Giles Church
and thanks to the incredible
attendance last year, we’ve
had to relocate our Women
in Business Day to a bigger
venue.
With plenty of space for
networking and making
connections throughout the
day, this year’s Women in
Business Day promises to be
a highlight of the festival week.
With some of the region’s
most prominent business leads
sharing their experiences,
offering insights and practical
advice all geared towards
helping you develop and grow
your business the right way.
Business Market Showcase
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Fri 20 th
The Guildhall
///fend.rift.clubs
Creative and Digital Industries Day
Keynote Speaker
Emma Ritson is the West Midlands Project Officer
at the National Literacy Trust. With over 20 years in
education, she began as an English teacher before
moving into library services and later joining the
NLT. Emma will be exploring the Trust’s Year of
Reading campaign.
The event also features panels with Ben McManus
Wavemaker, Dave Edwards (University of
Staffordshire Gaming), Clare Wood (British
Ceramics Biennial), Emily Turner (Artichoke), and
Sud Basu on creative industries and placemaking.
Speakers
Benedict McManus, Wavemaker
Dave Edwards, University of Staffordshire
Clare Wood, British Ceramics Biennial
Emily Turner, Artichoke, Lumiere
Sud Basu, Third Version Creative
Strategic Creative Industries and Action Plan,
Anninver Development Partners
Coffee Roasting & Tasting at Piccoloco
On Friday 20th March we’ll be
exploring Creative and Digital
Industries Day, we’ll have
exciting e-Sports demo’s with
the team at Newcastle and
Stafford Colleges Group and
some pop-up performances
throughout the day.
We’ll be wrapping up a
fabulous week of events at
Keele in Town as Piccolo will
be sharing with us the latest
technology and procedures
behind Coffee Roasting, there
will, naturally, be coffee tasting
involved too. Before we reach
for the last fresh brew of the
week, the penultimate part
of the festival is by Aninver
Development Partners,
who will reveal the final
recommendations for the
Borough Council’s Strategic
Creative Industries and Action
Plan.
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk

Monday 16th to Friday 20th March 2026
#ShapingtheFuture
Friday 20th March
Keele In Town
53 Ironmarket,
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Newcastle
ST5 1PE
Castle Car Park
Event Parking (All Days)
Liverpool Road
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Newcastle
ST5 2AU
Friday 20th March
The Guildhall
High St,
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Newcastle
ST5 1PW
Wednesday 18th March
The Boulevard
98-104 High St,
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Newcastle
ST5 1PT
Monday 16th March
Unitarian Meeting
House
Lower St,
Newcastle-under-Lyme
ST5 2UA
Monday 16th March &
Thursday 19th March
St Giles Church
Church St,
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Newcastle
ST5 1QS
Tuesday 17th March
Keele University
Keele University,
Science & Innovation Park,
Keele, Newcastle
ST5 5NS
Event Car Parking
Car Park A3
Keele University,
Science & Innovation Park,
Keele, Newcastle
ST5 5NA
#NULShapingTheFuture26
www.nulshapingthefuture.co.uk