UK
The Textile Services Association (TSA) has bagged popular BBC presenter Louise Minchin as keynote speaker for its Autumn Conference, 4-5 October, at the Hilton St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent. Minchin is a well-known and respected broadcaster and journalist who has presented BBC Breakfast on BBC One for 20 years.
Minchin has been known to leave the famous red sofa to indulge her passion for endurance sport. She gave up the sport as a teenager but after a BBC Breakfast Christmas cycling challenge she was inspired to attempt her first triathlon in 2013 and went on to qualify for the GB Team age-group team to race in Chicago in 2015. Since then, she has raced in five World and European Championships and competed in extreme triathlons including one of the toughest triathlons in the world, Norseman in 2019. In 2020 Louise took part in a 100-mile hike across the Namibian desert for Sport Relief raising awareness of mental health.
Elena Lai, secretary general at ETSA, the European textile services association, will be joining with Andreas Schumacher, CEO of DTV - the National Association for the textile service industry in Germany, to ask: ‘Do you miss us? The European Perspective on Laundry’. Lai has a strong focus on public affairs and network development and excellent lobbying, networking and negotiation skills across business development and management. She possesses a high level of expertise in media, communication and digital areas applied to a wide range of sectors, including EU funding and projects for established and new companies both large and small.
Schumacher has been CEO of DTV for nine years, represents 800 members and has more than 20 years’ experience within the industry in Berlin and Brussels, He is highly active lobbying and political networking. He is also on the Board of Small Business Standards Europe in Brussels and Board of Examiners for a textile care course in Frankfurt.
Nahla Summers, a cultural change consultant, adventurer, keynote speaker, Point of Light award winner, inspiring author, and the driving force behind ‘A Culture of Kindness’ and ‘Sunshine People’, will be explaining the theory of bringing kindness into the workplace. The result, she believes, is happier employees, improved wellbeing which in turn promotes better productivity and profitability. Through her talks, she inspires a mindset of positive change in her audiences and organisations.
Other speakers include:
Mapping our Sustainability Journey - Christoph Geppert, Grain Ltd
It’s Becoming a ‘Hot’ Topic - Fuel of the Future - Daniel Wells, Spirax Sarco
Moving Forward Together: Update on Hospitality Round Table - panel session with representatives from the group including Nigel Graham, Bourne Leisure and Sarah Simmonds, Travelodge
For more details on the conference and on the TSA please visit www.tsa-uk.org
