HOST
MARK DURDEN SMITH
Mark Durden-Smith is a sport and lifestyle presenter whose versatility has seen him front everything from sports coverage to reality contests, cookery programmes to morning magazine shows.
Well known to sports fans, Mark has led ITV’s Premiership and World Cup rugby coverage, as well as anchoring their Boat Race broadcast. He followed Premiership coverage as it moved to Channel 5, whilst for Sky he’s presented European golf, international cricket, Spanish football and the daily round-up Sky Sports Centre, as well as rugby. He also hosted Sky’s reality show The Match, which pitted celebrities against professionals in a football match.
Away from the sporting arena Mark has guest hosted This Morning and fronted Package Holidays Undercover, and Wish You Were Here – Now and Then. As well as, the reality show spin-offs I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Now! and Hell’s Kitchen Extra Portions.
Mark has hosted game and panel shows for ITV, Sky 1 and presented the game show Freeze Out, The BBC London Radio Breakfast Show, The National Lottery’s Millionaire Manor, and Design Wars. He has also hosted American Princess, a primetime reality show for NBC in the States, and written a regular column in the Metro.
KEYNOTE
Ollie Ollterton
Former UK Special Forces Operative
Ollie Ollterton is one of the first former members of the UK Special Forces to talk about their experiences and turn them into a positive force for good.
Ollie joined the Royal Marine Commandos aged 18 and was soon recommended for Special Forces Selection. After joining the Special Boat Service, he undertook operations in some of the most dangerous and remote locations on Earth, involving hostage rescue, counter narcotics, and counter terrorism.
He went on to use his expertise as a private contractor in Iraq where he was responsible for employing and training 2,000 Iraqi guard force, before heading to South-East Asia to command a four-man team that infiltrated child trafficking rings, a cause that remains close to his heart today.
Returning to the UK after 10 years overseas, Ollie became part of the Directing Staff on the hit TV show, Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins and now appears on the Australian show, SAS Australia. Alongside this, Ollie founded BreakPoint, a self-development company for the public and corporate world. He is also a best-selling author, with his fifth book hitting the shelves in May.
John Newcomb BMF CEO said: “I’m delighted that Ollie has agreed to speak at our All Industry Conference, where he will share some of his experiences and explain how mental and physical strength combine to create a powerful force within us.”
SPEAKERS
Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson was General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union before entering Parliament as Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle in 1997.
He served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
His childhood memoir ‘This Boy’ was published by Bantam Press on 9th May 2013. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award. His second volume of memoirs.
‘Please Mr Postman’, was published in September 2014 and won the National Book Club award for Best Biography.
The final book in his memoir trilogy, ‘The Long and winding Road’, was published in September 2016 and won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir.
Alan retired as an MP before the 2017 general election after 20 years as an MP.
A fourth memoir about his love of music (In my Life – A music memoir) was published in 2018 followed by his first novel, ‘The Late Train to Gipsy Hill’ in September 2021.
His new thriller, ‘One of Our Ministers is Missing’, is due for publication on September 1st, 2022.
Having spent eight years on the BBC’s ‘This Week’ with Andrew Neil and Michael Portillo, Alan now appears regularly with Steph McGovern on Channel 4’s ‘Steph’s Packed Lunch’ and is the agony uncle for saga Magazine.
He lives in East Yorkshire with his wife Carolyn.
Phill O'Dell
Phill was until very recently the Director of Flight Operations for Rolls-Royce plc having previously completed 18 years in the RAF, culminating in his role as Officer Commanding the Research and Development Flight of the Fast Jet Test Squadron.
Phill has not only flown a wide variety of aircraft – ranging from the Buccaneer, Hawk, Jaguar and F-14 Tomcat in his RAF days, to the Airbus A380, Boeing 787 and the iconic Vulcan, XH 558 – he has also contributed to a number of major engine development programmes including the Trent 900 for the Airbus A380 and the Trent 1000 for the 787 Dreamliner. Most recently he has been the project pilot for ‘Project ACCEL’, Rolls-Royce’s all-electric aircraft the ‘Spirit of Innovation’, currently the fastest all-electric vehicle in the world.
Phill also flew the Rolls-Royce Heritage Flight’s Spitfire at airshows and events throughout the UK and is still an ambassador for fly2help, a charity that enables people to experience the freedom of flight.BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “Phill is one of the country’s foremost experts advancing the technology of aircraft engine development. As we all seek ways to reduce our carbon footprint, it will be fascinating to hear how the air industry is advancing engine technology.”
James Freedman
“World’s best pickpocket” booked for BMF All Industry Conference
James Freedman, the only person to have picked the pocket of the Governor of the Bank of England, the Prime Minister, and His Majesty the King, will be demonstrating his encyclopaedic knowledge of deception at the BMF All Industry Conference 2023, in Istanbul, next June.
They say it takes a thief to catch a thief and James has spent years studying the methods of psychology of conmen and thieves to become a master of the deceptive arts. He now uses digital dexterity and mental agility to entertain and enlighten audiences with unforgettable performances featuring scams, theft and fraud.
James has made many TV appearances and presents a regular slot on the Channel 5 series Police 5, demonstrating the latest scams and how to avoid them. He has also worked behind the camera both as an advisor on movies and teaching the secrets of deception to award-winning actors.
As a crime prevention specialist, James has advised the Metropolitan Police and was appointed as The UK Fraud Prevention Ambassador by the City of London Police. In this role he works with police across the UK to raise awareness of modern fraud and stealth crime, using his performance skills and expert knowledge to change awareness of risk and reveal simple ways to defend against modern fraudsters.
BMF CEO John Newcomb said: “This promises to be an entertaining and enlightening session as James demonstrates how easy it is to defeat hi-tech security with low-tech methods, and reveals tools we can use to outwit fraudsters, scammers and cybercriminals.
The BMF All Industry Conference 2023 takes place in Istanbul 15-18 June, with the support of our headline sponsor Knauf UK. The final merchant places and supplier packages are
Kevin FONG
Understanding risk and decision making
Kevin is a Consultant in Anaesthesia at London’s University College Hospital (UCL) and part of their Emergency Response and Major Incident Planning Team. He was seconded to NHS England as National Clinical Advisor in Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response for Covid 19.
Kevin also worked as an academic and completed training rotations at America’s leading Space Centers, before founding the Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment (CASE) Medicine at UCL, which looks at the parallels that exist between critical illness and the physiology of extreme environments.
From space travel to emergency medical response, Kevin has combined insights into planning, human reactions and behaviours, engineering, and psychology to understand risk and decision making. His broad range of interests and experiences means he can address how teams work and operate. He considers how those that work every day under pressure, under stress and with high risk deal with it to make the right calls, and quickly learn from mistakes.
Kevin holds degrees in astrophysics, medicine and engineering and is also a science and medical broadcaster and writer. He is a regular contributor to programmes on the past, present, and future of space travel and has presented numerous editions of BBC 2’s Horizon including Back from the Dead and How to Avoid Mistakes in Surgery.
Penny Mallory
A leading Authority on Mental Toughness
Motorsport and TV fans know Penny as the first and only woman to drive a World Rally Car. She knows how to compete and beat the odds, but she also knows top performance requires much more than sacrifice and maximum commitment. It also takes heart, insight and the courage to keep going and the refusal to quit. She gets it, because she’s lived it.
In today’s ever more competitive environment where only the best will do, Penny Mallory has perfected the art of Psychologically Powered Performance to bring out the very best in us.
No secret sauce or overused buzzwords, for championship teams (including F1) to top organisations, from individuals and workshops to International audiences, her engagingly authentic but wildly entertaining vision of optimised performance and positive change sets her apart.
Penny’s expert understanding of how our thinking affects our behaviour is brought together in her Keynote ‘The one thing that will change everything : Mental Toughness’ Penny makes it real, accessible, and inspires life-changing and sustainable results.
These aren’t hollow marketing words, her life attests to their human truth.As a child she saw alcoholism and mental illness destroy her family. Fleeing home at 14, homeless and fending for herself on the London streets, her life couldn’t have been more dangerous or bleak, yet an inner strength and self- belief enabled her to take control of her future.
She made impossible possible and has since dedicated her life to helping others do the same.It is these experiences that have made her keynotes acclaimed international favourites for many of the world’s most powerful and storied brands, including Microsoft, Google Cloud, Santander, Coca-Cola, Nat West, Waitrose, Tesco, Telefonica, RoadChef, Sony, CitiBank, HPI, Jaguar, Proctor & Gamble, Airbus and many more.
Her life is a continuing series of doing what conventional thinking says she simply can’t – from Rally Driving at the highest level, competing in multiple marathons, enter the boxing ring twice, conquering two of the world’s highest mountains….and now she is preparing to row the Atlantic in Dec 2023. Little wonder that her interactive keynotes inspire taking action, and to believe you can because you can. With Penny in your corner, you can and will.Penny is a TEDX speaker, author of ‘365 Ways to Develop Mental Toughness’, ’World Class Thinking, World Class Behaviour’ and ‘Take Control of Your Life’.
INDUSTRY FORUM
David Craddock
Founder of the VerdeGO Group (formerly Elite NuGEN)
David Craddock has been involved in property development over 35 years and has extensive experience in Advanced Closed Timber Panel offsite manufacturing systems both in the UK and Europe.
He helped to found EBS Elk, which became part of the largest producer of offsite manufactured buildings in Europe, importing over 1000 units With EBS Elk he was a founder member of the Passiv Haus Trust, sits on several housing industry panels including the Future Homes Hub, and is a member of the CLC subgroup on housing.David set up his own manufacturing company producing timber frame buildings in 2019, winning two Best Sustainable Development Awards in 2021, and a Silver Award for the Best Small Housebuilder. His company VerdeGO Timber Frames is now geared to produce 600 homes a year
Howard Luft
CEO of Selco Builders Warehouse
Howard Luft is currently Chief Executive Officer of Selco Builders Warehouse part of the Grafton Group, a leading business in our sector with 75 branches and the aspiration to be a truly national player.
Before joining Selco, Howard was Managing Director of Travis Perkins’ insulation and dry lining distribution business, CCF for six years. Prior to this he was Managing Director of Buck & Hickman, and also worked extensively in the paint industry as Managing Director of Crown Paints and Commercial Director of Dulux Trade.
David Berry
An accountant by profession, David Berry, started his career in the aerospace industry with Rolls Royce, before joining C & W Berry as Finance Director in 1990. He took over as MD in 1996. Berry’s is the UK’s largest single site builders’ merchant, employing 250 and serving the North West from its 40 acre site in Lancashire.
David is also the Chairman of the Fortis Merchant Group, which has 40 members with a combined turnover of £2.2bn. He has had a 20 year association with merchant groups previously undertaking Category, Trading and Operations Director roles.
Mike Ward
Mike Ward’s career in construction products manufacturing spans more than 26 years. In his current role he is responsible for the UK, Ireland and export markets for Wavin, a leading manufacturer of plastic piping and drainage systems. Before joining Wavin in 2018 he held senior positions in timber building products and engineer wood solutions as MD of both Metsä Wood UK and of JELD-WEN.
Mike is passionate about driving diversity, making manufacturing a more attractive career, and mentoring the next generation of construction leaders. He also serves on the BMF Board as the Elected Director – Suppliers.
The Industry Forum brings together four influential leaders from different sectors to debate key business issues of the day. David and Mike complete the line up alongside Howard Luft, CEO of Selco and David Craddock, Founder of the VerdeGO group.
The sold-out BMF All Industry Conference takes place in Istanbul from 15-17 June 2023. Further details are available on the Conference website, www.bmfconference.co.uk
