Before we get too stuck in to 2017, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the highlights of being a member of Coventry and Warwickshire First Young Professionals in 2016. A fantastic range of social events
We had lots of fun building relationships through social events in 2016. We began with a curry at former Chair Gus Bhandal’s pub, going to on the annual CII quiz, a trampoling social at JumpIn Warwick and of course our annual Christmas dinner! These social events are a real committee team effort but special thanks should go to Dan Smith and Holly Brain, our Social Officers. Donating £1,500 to Myton Hospice
Our ‘Charity of the year’ runs to the same timings as the tax year, so in April we were delighted to be able to give Myton Hospice a cheque for £1,500 representing funds raised from a number of fundraising events. These included the wolf run, Halloween quiz and table football. Joint Charity Officer Paige Howitt was instrumental in our fundraising work leading to her winning Charity Fundraiser of the Year at a local awards ceremony. Our first ever rounders win!
After playing an annual rounders match with the Young Lawyers for a number of years we finally won! Around 50 attendees turned up to have a go at this fun summer event. A new mentor scheme cohort
Lots of work was put in by our mentor scheme co-ordinator, Kelly Schofield, alongside Keith Boxley from the main CW First group, to ensure that a new cohort could join the mentor scheme. This time round we had eight pairings and had a launch event at Wright Hassall.
We hope that 2017 will be just as action packed. We kick off with the YoungPro awards run by CW First and hope to bring you a quiz, football tournament and CPD seminars along with our usual networking sessions.
On Friday 2 December we held the annual Young Professionals Christmas party.
This year we took over a section of the White Horse in Leamington Spa for a three-course dinner and plenty of conversation. There were representatives from a wide range of sectors including automotive, education, finance, banking, legal, insolvency and insurance. We were delighted to welcome new members Chloe Pass and Chrystal Wheatcroft from Yorkshire Bank.
The main topics of conversation for the evening were the nominations for the first ever YoungPro awards taking place in January and of course preparations for Christmas! The YoungPro awards will be our next event and you can book on here.
The 2016 Young Professionals Christmas meal at the White Horse
Myself and representatives from Mander Hadley, HCB Accountants and Aston Martin enjoying the Christmas party
Adam Bexon from Burrows Scarborough enjoying the Christmas dinner
If you have any other photos from the Christmas meal that you’d like to share with us please email them to C.A.Duxson@warwick.ac.uk
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
The hunt for Coventry and Warwickshire’s top young professional is now on, with the launch of the first ever YoungPro.
Run by the network for professionals, Coventry & Warwickshire First, YoungPro celebrates the breadth and depth of talent within the region’s professional and financial services sector’s next generation of leaders.
There are five categories in YoungPro – Legal, Finance, Banking, Property and Business Services. Each category winner will combine superb performance in the workplace with a commitment to the region and the all-important and intangible x-factor. The winners will be announced at a Gala Reception, being held at St Mary’s Guild Hall, Coventry on Friday 27 January.
The category winners will automatically be the finalists in the Young Professional category of FirstPro 2017, the results of which will be announced at a Gala Dinner at the Ricoh Arena in April 2017.
Chrissie Elliot-Duxson, Chair of Coventry & Warwickshire First’s young professionals network said: “Last year Jenny Simpson, winner of the FirstPro 2017 Young Professional category, was also named the overall FirstPro. Considering she was in the company of some of the region’s leading professionals, it was an incredible achievement.
“YoungPro gives us the chance to recognise the talent and contribution of the many other young professionals who are building their careers in Coventry and Warwickshire’s professional services.
“We want as many young people as possible to have the chance to be recognised so are encouraging everyone to nominate a talented colleague now!”
Mike Durkin, chair of Coventry & Warwickshire First and Relationship Director at Santander Corporate and Commercial Banking, continued: “Every year we receive a large number of very high calibre entries to the Young Professional category of our FirstPro awards. We wanted to do justice to the exceptional talent of our young professionals and recognise their contribution and aspirations. Launching YoungPro gives us the perfect platform to do exactly that.”
Nominating a talented young professional is easy. Visit Coventry & Warwickshire First’s website for more information or email the organisation’s executive support, Angela Tellyn at angela@coventryfirst.co.uk.
Nominations close on 27 November. The finalists will be announced on 30 November with the judging taking place on 5 December.
At the end of September the Young Professionals held a new event for this year – the Historic Warwick Charity Trail.
Participants had to follow the trail around Warwick answering questions about the history of the town, with the first person to finish answering the most questions correctly winning a prize. Fabulous new Warwick restaurant Dough and Brew, who specialise in woodfired pizzas, were kind enough to donate the prize of a meal for two with a bottle of wine.
There were several participants who came close to winning including Raymond Nsemwa from RBS and Graham Ball from National Grid, but in the end Dan Smith from BRI just beat them to it.
A lot of fun was had during the evening, which also included several pub stops along the route of the trail. It was great to see some new faces from Leigh Christou as well as representation from finance, accounting, legal, banking, engineering and insolvency sectors.
The most interesting fact we learned on the night was that the Lord Leycester Hospital building was never actually used as a hospital!
The £140 raised will go towards the total raised for the young professionals current charity of the year – Molly Olly’s Wishes.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Chrissie works in marketing, student recruitment and student experience for the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. Chair of the Coventry & Warwickshire Young Professionals network and Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses for Warwick and Leamington, she was nominated for a staff award both this year and last year and consistently goes above and beyond in her job. It’s no surprise she was ‘Highly Commended’ at FirstPro.
How did you feel when your name was read out?
It was unbelievable. It never occurred to me I’d be recognised but it felt wonderful when it happened.
The response at the University was great. It was lovely that Kate Hughes, the Partnerships Director at Warwick, and Ian O’Donnell from the FSB had been invited to support me. It went in our internal newsletter and I’ve had lots of congratulations.
Which achievements are you most proud of?
I’m really proud of all my qualifications. I have a first class law degree as well as being AAT and CIM qualified. I took both of those qualifications as evening classes whilst also working full time so it was quite challenging. Not to mention I’m terrible at maths so the AAT was really tough for me!
I was also really happy when I got my current job. Half my job relates to the student experience and I love being involved with the students. We like to offer them something extra so arrange guest lectures with well-known politicians and policy makers, and social events. I’m also running a soft skills module, which is compulsory for all our first year Economics students.
Where next for you?
I keep my focus on the here and now but at the moment I think the next step would be marketing manager. At Warwick there are always new jobs and initiatives coming up so I like to keep an open mind. There are currently new projects happening in London and California!
You love photography?
Yes, I ran a photography business for four years. It taught me a lot about marketing and business development but I have put that on a back burner for the time being to focus on my career.
What else do you get involved in?
I mentored an A’ Level student through the Career Academies Programme. I helped him grow in confidence and get ready for the workplace. It was amazing to watch him grow from a shy 16-year-old into a confident young man; he came second in the Career Academies STEM Student of the Year.
I would also like to be a role model for people with mental health challenges. I have experienced severe difficulties with depression, anxiety and agoraphobia over the past five years and yet still managed to achieve at home and work. I want people to know it can be done. That’s not to say it’s easy but you can keep fighting.
What about outside work?
I sing and play the guitar so when I get time I do the occasional gig. I played for a summer festival last year and a Christmas party in December but it’s hard to find the time to get gig-ready with all my other responsibilities.
I also love travelling and went to California and Vegas for my honeymoon. In the last few years I’ve been to New Zealand, USA and across Europe. Later this year I’m off to New York and next year it’s Perth, Sydney and hopefully Washington DC. Eventually I want to visit every single US state.
On Tuesday 26 July we held the Young Professionals Summer Networking at The Moorings at Myton.
It was great to see some new faces including Raymond Nsemwa from RBS and Jessica Fletcher-Hall and Emma Parry from Alsters Kelly. There was representation from a number of Warwickshire businesses including Wright Hassall, Burrows Scarborough, BRI and the University of Warwick. We were also delighted to welcome committee member Jodi Pearson back from maternity leave. She is now working as a self-employed consultant.
We were fairly lucky with the weather so managed to make the most of sitting out by the canal.
This month’s business card draw for a bottle of Prosecco was won by Rubeena Mehat from Mander Hadley. We also held a raffle for our chosen charity, Molly Olly’s Wishes, for which the prize was a bottle of Prosecco donated by Vin Neuf, and a bottle of red wine donated by HCB Group. This was won by Liz Jennings who is also from Mander Hadley so it was a lucky night for them!
We won’t be holding a Young Professionals event in August because we know a lot of you have holiday plans, but we’ll be back with two events in September to make up for it. Keep an eye on the events page for more details.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
On 30th June we held our annual joint event with the Warwickshire Young Lawyers. As usual this took the form of a game of rounders followed by pizza and networking.
The weather just about held out and, although it was very cold, it didn’t actually start raining until the last whistle had already blown.
I’m delighted to report that we had around 50 people take part this year. The Young Professionals narrowly beat The Young Lawyers in our first ever victory. It was fantastic to see people from so many different businesses and sectors take part, including representatives from the Coventry University Law Faculty, HCB Group and Lodders Solicitors, as well as from our sponsors.
Talking of sponsors we need to thank Robert Walters, St Ives Chambers and Wright Hassall LLP who all sponsored this year’s event. Without them we would have been unable to provide the food, drinks and equipment. I’d also like to thank the Xcel Centre Coventry who allowed us to use their facilities free of charge for the evening.
Rebecca Freeman gives the team a motivational talk
Getting ready to run for it!
Some praise should go to Carl Malcolm from Legal and General, who I believe scored a rounder on every go! My personal highlight was when the 15kg of pizza turned up to feed us!
Attendees munch their way through 15kg of pizza – well it’s hungry work playing rounders!
The next Young Professionals event is Summer Networking at The Moorings at Myton on Tuesday 26 July at 5.30pm. The Moorings is run by two young entrepreneurs and has a large beer garden next to the canal (but also a large indoor area in case the sun we’re keeping our fingers crossed for doesn’t appear!). Please register for your place now so we know to expect you.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
It’s easy to see why Jenny Simpson, of SFB Group won FirstPro 2016.
At just 23 years old she is already a fully qualified Chartered Accountant, with her own portfolio of clients and responsibility for the firm’s Coventry Office. She also finds time to run her local Brownie pack and right now can’t resist being part of the team establishing a new Guides unit.
We talked to Jenny to get an insight into the DNA of a FirstPro winner.
What did it feel like to win FirstPro 2016?
I know everyone on the shortlist for Young Professional of the Year so I knew the field was strong. It was really exciting when my name was read out.
If I’m honest I wasn’t really listening when they announced the overall winner. I was still on a high from winning my category and it never occurred to me I might also win the overall award. I was completely stunned!
What has been the response to your success?
People have been really lovely.
I’ve had lots of congratulatory emails from the Coventry & Warwickshire First network, colleague and clients.
What motivates you?
I love helping my clients with their business.
One had never had the conversation about his plans and ambitions. He had never been asked what he wanted from life. What did he want to get out of the business? What income did he want? When would he like to retire? Would he like to pass on the business to a family member?
These questions go a long way beyond completing the accounts, but with the answers we can help him plan to get the outcome he wants.
This approach really excites me.
Most people are just beginning to think about their career at your age but you’re already running a team. How have you achieved so much, so quickly?
When I was 15 I got a holiday job in an office and loved the atmosphere. Immediately I just wanted to get into the working world and get on with my career.
I was considering starting A ‘levels and there was pressure from some for me to go to university as this seemed the ‘norm’. But I didn’t want the debt and with the support of my parents I got my way. I left school at 16, came to SFB and started studying for the Association of Accounting Technician qualifications at CWT. I’d always loved Maths so accountancy seemed natural.
After three years of day release I qualified and got straight on with my Chartered Accountancy exams.
Every step of the way I’ve been working with clients, giving me the chance to apply the knowledge and see the impact I can make on real businesses.
You’re running the SFB Coventry office. What are your plans?
I want to grow SFB’s presence in the city; I want us to be at the heart of the business community.
What’s it like running a team at your age?
I suppose age is just a number. It’s whether or not you’re good at your job that counts.
I’ve had plenty of encouragement at SFB and all sorts of great opportunities. I want to do the same for my team and really enjoy the coaching and mentoring side of team leadership.
How do you unwind?
I believe you should give something back to your community so I spend a lot of my time outside of work running my Brownies unit.
I love arts and crafts and the girls in the pack enjoy having a younger leader. It’s always great fun and very rewarding.
I’m getting involved in starting up a new Guide unit at the moment with the view to handing it over to others to run in the long term.
Finally what are you aspirations for the future?
Right now my focus is on my career. I want to help my clients get the really valuable, proactive business advice they need.
Often the smaller clients are unaware of the range of services on offer and the difference they can make to their operations.
And yes, I do want to be a partner in the business; I’m aiming to get there by the time I’m 30!
We’re delighted to announce that the Young Professionals charity of the year for the next 12 months is Molly Olly’s Wishes.
Molly Olly’s Wishes aim to support emotionally and financially, where appropriate, the lives of children with terminal or life threatening illnesses throughout The Midlands and the UK, and to advise and assist their families.
The money raised helps support children and their families who need additional help beyond that given by the NHS and its supporting bodies.
Molly Olly’s Wishes was founded in memory of Molly Ollerenshaw who sadly passed away from cancer on 15th June 2011, aged just 8 years old . Molly liked to shorten her own name from Molly Ollerenshaw to Molly Olly hence Molly Olly’s Wishes!
I remember being at the Pride of Warwick District Awards last year when I first heard of Molly Olly’s. One of their representatives was there and showed me a lion cuddly toy that they give to children with cancer (Olly the brave). The lion’s mane is removable to help the children understand that they will lose their hair during treatment. I have such a vivid memory of it and have thought about it a lot since.
The Young Professionals committee vote was unanimous in choosing the charity for this year, and we really hope to beat the total of over £1,400 that we raised for Myton Hospice last year. The monthly raffle will be back, so make sure you see one of the committee at our events for your tickets! We’ll also be doing some separate charity events, so watch this space.
To find out more information about the charity and the fantastic work they do, visit their website.
If you’d like to make a donations you can do so using our new Just Giving page.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Over the past 12 months the Young Professionals have been raising money for Myton Hospice.
We’re absolutely delighted to announce that our efforts have collected over £1,500 and we couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone who attends Young Professionals, and who’s sponsored the various events we’ve put on.
Dan Smith, who is joint Charity Officer for young professionals said “All the young professionals are really passionate about giving something back to the community. It’s nice to have an impact locally with the group, as well as making contacts and friends”.
Myton is a local charity with a presence across Warwickshire. The team provide high quality, specialist care to people whose condition no longer responds to curative treatment, from diagnosis to death. All their services are provided free of charge and are available to all patients depending on need. They help both patients and their families deal with their symptoms and any emotional distress.
We chose Myton as our charity for the 2015/16 tax year both because of them being local and because some of our committee members have had first-hand experience of their services. Myton needs to raise £8 million every year in order to keep up their fantastic offering and we hope to play our small part in this.
Some of the fundraising events we’ve put on and participated in are:
• Monthly raffle at Thirsty Thursday events
• The Wolf Run
• The Myton Moonlight Walk
• Halloween Quiz
During the year we were also delighted when our joint Charity Officer Paige Howitt received an award for all the Young Professionals fundraising, as well as her own efforts, from Page One Personnel. Paige worked really hard on the ‘Charity of the year’ fundraising and was also responsible for sourcing the fantastic prizes we had for the monthly raffles. Paige said “It was an honour to receive the award at Warwick Castle. I accepted the award on behalf of all of the CWFYP’s as without them the fundraising wouldn’t be possible”.
We’ve already chosen our Charity of the Year for 2016/17 so keep your eyes peeled for my next blog where I’ll introduce them.
The thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are those of Chrissie Elliot-Duxson (or guest contributors) and do not necessarily reflect those of Coventry and Warwickshire First. All content on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of the blog is not responsible for content found by following any link on this site.
Our Halloween charity quiz
A very muddy group of young professionals after the Wolf Run
