GATWICK FORUM
WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT THE GATWICK DIAMOND ECONOMY? I
t’s important to understand why major employers and investors put their time and money into our Gatwick Diamond. Those of us
who live and work here understand the value
employer in the area through a number of
College, Gatwick Airport, Iceni Projects, Jones
hotels, will talk about why he has invested so
Lang Lasalle, KPMG, Liberty Property Trust,
much here, and about what others could do to
Mayo Wynne Baxter, NatWest, Optima Systems,
encourage more investment.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Red River Software,
of the superb road, rail and air connections to
Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick Airport,
Southern Housing Group, Transvalair UK,
domestic and international customers, and the
will talk about his investment programme and
University of Brighton, Valad, and Whiston
high quality of life here, but what would make it
rationale, and how the airport plans to help the
Solutions, as well as the Coast to Capital LEP
more attractive?
Gatwick Diamond economy grow.
and all seven of the local district and county
The annual Gatwick Diamond Economic
Delegates are a mix of leaders from
councils – all of which give the event significant networking power.
Growth Forum, which attracts around 200
significant local employers, investors, local
delegates each year, will this year give a
authorities and more. It’s this mix that gives
The annual Gatwick Diamond Economic
platform to a number of major investors and
the event its power, as business leaders talk
Growth Forum, which this year takes place at
employers, and ask of them why they are
directly to local authority leaders about how we
the Arora Hotel in Crawley on June 9th, brings
investing here and what could be done to make
can make growth happen faster.
the public and private sectors together to
the region even more attractive. Surinder Arora, CEO of Arora Group, who are
Organisations represented last year included Platinum Business Magazine,
currently progressing a major development in
American Express, Balfour Beatty, Canon UK,
Crawley Town Centre, and who is also a major
Chemigraphic, DMH Stallard, East Surrey
discuss the opportunities and obstacles for our regional economy. Join the conversation. See more information at www.gdegf.com.
Left to right: Charlotte Holloway, Surinder Arora, Sam Garrity, Stewart Wingate and Abhi Chacko
DIGITAL CAPABILITY For 2016, the event theme is the digital economy. The event will spend some time considering our digital sector and how it can grow further, providing more jobs, and generating more local economic value. The digital sector has an impact far beyond its own borders. All companies are now, or will be, affected by new digital trends such as the internet of things, cloud computing, mobile web services, smart grids, and social media, and those who take best advantage of them will grow the quickest. This means we need to retain and grow our strong digital sector for the benefit of the whole Gatwick Diamond economy. How good is our digital infrastructure, and how can it be improved? How do we achieve adequate digital investment? The event will also look at digital skills and the talent pool, discussing how the supply of digital skills could meet the demands of the labour market – and about what we can do to make sure the digital-skills bottleneck does not constrain our growth. Speakers in the digital section of the event include Charlotte Holloway, Head of policy and Associate Director, TechUK; Abhi Chacko, Head of IT commercial department, Gatwick Airport; and Sam Garrity, Managing Director, Rocketmill.
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