PM Forum Conference 2024

OUR FUTURE ROLE STARTS TODAY

The rise and power of AI and automation

Congress Centre | London | 26 September 2024

The rise and power of AI and automation

AI and automation have the power to revolutionise the way that marketing and business development teams operate today and in the future. They have the power to improve both internal and external roles and relationships through increased targeting, data analysis, collaboration and personalised interactions.

Within an industry built on personal relationships and trust, how can technology complement our skills and abilities and enhance our interactions with our peers, stakeholders and clients?

Whether you fear the impact that AI and automation will have on roles and relationships, or see these tools as a powerful addition to the professional services industry, there will be sessions to inspire you at this conference.

Learn from panel debates, keynote sessions and hands-on workshops that will provide you with fresh thinking and practical knowledge to drive change including:

The opportunity in uncertainty: designing the future
Overcoming the challenges and the future of Account Based Marketing within your firm
Get ready to rock your CX: innovating client listening programmes
Internal communications’ role in driving engagement and employee advocacy
How are today’s young professionals shaping the future of marketing & BD?
It’s not AI, it’s you: Creating genuinely useful AI copy

New for 2024:

Marketing Leaders can enjoy senior-level workshops with different panels of world-class experts. ‘AI for leaders’ workshop will be chaired by Janet Day, and ‘How to make a valued contribution at the Board’ workshop will be chaired by Neville Eisenberg.

We’ve packed the agenda with sessions offering industry expertise, practical guidance, and panel discussions from leaders, clients and experts who are shaping our industry now and in the future.

Book your place today to learn, rethink and be inspired.

Richard Chaplin

Founder & Chief Executive

200 Attendees

28 Years of experience

26 Stellar speakers

The countdown to the conference has started!

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OUR KEYNOTES

Bev Burgess

Eleanor Winton

MEET THE SPEAKERS

We will be joined by a world class lineup of speakers who will share their expertise and knowledge in a day of learning and development. An invaluable source of insights and inspiration.

Matt Allen

Director of Business Development & Marketing, Bidwells

Matt, part of Bidwells’ senior leadership, is a recent recipient of the B2B Marketer of the Year and is ranked among the top 15 marketing leaders in professional services. He founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Supercluster Board, uniting 40+ leading innovation Science & Tech entities.

Alastair Banks

Co-founder, Optix Solutions

Alastair is co-founder of Optix Solutions, a leading digital marketing agency. Its clients include numerous professional firm as well as the NHS. Optix earned Campaign’s Best Boutique Agency award in 2023. Alastair will be leading AI training workshops for PM Forum this autumn.

Rita Baptista Martins

Recognitions Project Manager, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Rita is a marketing and communications manager at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, responsible for the firm’s recognitions strategy in the UK and continental Europe, as well as other comms initiatives. She is a qualified lawyer and prior to joining Skadden had an editorial role at legal directory Chambers & Partners.

Sadie Baron

Chief Marketing Officer, Reed Smith

Sadie uses her experience to develop a vision for her function to keep ahead of the competition, while empowering her team to make a difference together. She is proud to work with some of the brightest legal minds in a firm that values the power of marketing.

Ingrid Brown

Principal, Bright Space Communications

As a senior brand and communications professional, Ingrid has worked both in-house in senior marketing roles with a number of professional services companies and consultancies to help them create greater engagement and connections with their stakeholders.

Bev Burgess

Author and Chief Executive, Inflexion Group

Bev is best known as a worldwide authority on account-based marketing (ABM) and has worked with some of the world’s largest professional services, legal and management consulting firms. She is co-author of Account-based Growth and A Practitioner’s Guide to ABM, and author of Executive Engagement Strategies. Her new book, Account-Based Marketing: The Definitive Guide for B2B Marketers, will be published by Kogan Page in March 2025.

Richard Chaplin

Founder and Chief Executive, PM Forum

Richard is the founder and chief executive of the PM Forum. He is also the architect and project manager for the Forum’s Skills Development Platform, an intuitive tool that supports those in coaching relationships through uniform engagement scores, selecting and tracking personalised playlists, and a confidential messaging service with alerts.

Janet Day

Independent Consultant

Janet is an independent consultant focused on technology services for legal firms. As IT Director at BCLP for 19 years, her responsibilities ranged from e-commerce to infrastructure.

Emily Edwards

Client Insights Executive Grant Thornton

Emily is a Client Insight Executive at Grant Thornton UK and has worked for the firm for two years. She enables teams to build stronger client relationships, make informed decisions and drive valuable conversations. Prior to starting her career, Emily graduated from the University of Liverpool with a distinction grade MSc in Marketing.

Neville Eisenberg

Senior Strategy Executive, Mishcon de Reya

Neville Eisenberg is the Senior Strategy Executive at Mishcon de Reya. He was previously at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner for over 30 years where he was a partner in the corporate finance group and served as Managing Partner from 1999-2015 after which he became the Senior Partner until 2018.

Leor Franks

Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer, Kingsley Napley

Leor leads Business Development & Marketing and Knowledge & Information at board level at Kingsley Napley. He has spent over 25 years in professional services at Deloitte, EY, and FTI. Leor sits on the board of the Queen Mary Business School, is Chair of the Managing Partners’ Forum Marketing Group and the Metropolitan Police Cannons Ward Panel.

Keith Hardie

Head of International Development, PM Forum

Keith has led communication, marketing, and business development teams globally. A winner of multiple awards, he now consults for law firms, while also spearheading the PM Forum’s expansion into Continental Europe and the Americas.

Shaendel Hallett

Head of Client Insights, Grant Thornton

Shaendel is a CX professional with over 20 years experience designing and implementing innovative programs. With a background in psychology and customer behaviour, she has led transformational CX programs that drive behaviour and cultural change, delivering commercial results. Shaendel is also passionate about gender equality and social mobility.

Joanna Hunter

Chief Food Lover, Piglets Pantry

Joanna is founder and director of award-winning baked goods provider Piglet’s Pantry. At the heart of Piglet’s Pantry stands Jo, a hands-on leader who isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands in the pastry. Despite her busy schedule, you’ll often find her in the kitchen.

Amir Hussain

Sales and Marketing Director, Mercia Group

Amir is the Sales and Marketing Director of Mercia Group (part of Wilmington Plc). He has held senior positions focused on marketing and business development at Deloitte, PwC, EY and BDO. Amir is passionate about using modern marketing, data analytics, and technology to drive sales performance.

Ben Lee

Head of Data and AI, Bidwells

Ben leads Bidwells’ AI strategy, directing two centres of excellence and driving GenAI adoption across the firm. He won the 2023 B2B Marketing Awards’ Best Use of AI category after delivering significant ROI for the firm. Drawing on 20 years in real estate, including roles as a journalist and public affairs consultant, Ben offers a unique strategic perspective on the future of AI at work.

John Lucy

HR Consultant

John has almost 30 years experience of working within the professional services sector, as a global HR Director. In addition, John has considerable experience as a Board member and has recruited NEDs, designed and facilitated Board workshops, coached Board members and participated in a number of governance reviews.

Maria McDonagh

Chief Marketing Officer, Grant Thornton UK

Maria is the Chief Marketing Officer for Grant Thornton UK, a global accounting and advisory firm. With 25 years of experience across B2B, B2C, and professional services organisations, she has a proven track record of driving measurable revenue growth through aligning business development and marketing teams to deliver impactful results.

Heather Murray

Founder, AI for Non-Techies

Heather is an AI expert, Top 20 MarTech influencer, international speaker and Founder of AI for Non-Techies (AI training and learning hub). Featured in Forbes magazine, she brings real energy with her jargon-free approach to AI. Passionate about purposeful business, she uses 20% of all profits to support isolated elderly people.

Claire Rason

Founder, Client Talk

Claire is a consultant and a senior practitioner EMCC-certified individual and team coach. She works with professional services firms to enhance their relationships – inside and out. Whether that be through coaching, business development training, or client listening, she takes a human-centred approach.

Paul Roberts

CEO and Co-Founder MyCustomerLens

Paul is the CEO and co-founder of MyCustomerLens. MyCustomerLens is the always-on client listening platform for professional services firms seeking a competitive advantage.
Using trusted AI technology, the easy to use platform automatically unifies and reports on all feedback sources from all clients, in real-time, delivering client insights that are core to the business and used by everyone.

Sarah Roberts

Director, Sarah Roberts Consulting

A Business Psychologist who is passionate about leadership and team development, Sarah has 30 years’ experience of working with organisations to support their transformation. She does this through their people and processes, talent management, leadership development programmes, coaching and team development.

Nicola Sawford

Chair, Non-Executive Director, Advisor, Trustee

Nicola is a portfolio non-executive director with 30+ years’ business experience. Her executive roles included CEO of Serle Court, as well as technology, retail, media, finance, and charities. She is chair of the Milton Keynes Development Partnership.

Kim Tasso

Founder and Principal Consultant, RedStarKim

Kim is the principal of RedStarKim. She combines psychology, marketing and business qualifications so is effective as both a professional trainer, facilitator and coach, and as a subject matter expert in a variety of strategy, marketing, selling and relationship management topics. She is also a journalist, prolific speaker and the author of seven books.

Eleanor Winton

Founder, Foresightfully

Eleanor is a foresight and innovation specialist whose career has spanned legal policy, money laundering investigations, innovation and future thinking. She designed, built and led KPMG’s Future Institute in the UK and has worked with senior leaders in a range of industries including healthcare, property, technology, logistics and financial services. Eleanor is a member of faculty on the King’s College London and Duke Executive Education Executive MBA programmes and is co-author of The Disruption Game Plan.

Shefaly Yogendra

Portfolio non-executive director

Shefaly Yogendra is an experienced independent FTSE-250 non-executive director and committee chair. with a technology industry background. Her board expertise includes selection of NEDs. Recognised as a FTSE 100 Women to Watch in 2016.

9:00am

Breakfast and registration

9:25am

Chair’s introduction

Leor Franks, Kingsley Napley

9:35am

The opportunity in uncertainty: designing the future

Global uncertainty has left many leaders and organisations in a state of inertia, even fear. Shifting our mindset from one of apathy to one of agency offers firms the opportunity to unlock and grow value in new ways. In this session, we’ll explore drivers of change today and into the future as well as the tools and approaches we can apply to better see and exploit opportunities in the here and now.

Eleanor Winton, Founder, Foresightfully

10:10am

CMO Executive panel: The evolving skills of marketing & BD professionals

With the pace of change, emerging technology, and workplace transformation, our CMO panellists discuss the role that marketing and business development has in creating value for their firms now and in the future. We delve into how they see skills and priorities changing, how technology will impact relationships and trust and what we can learn from other sectors that may revolutionise the professional services industry in the future.

Leor Franks, Chief Business Development & Marketing Officer, Kingsley Napley

Amir Hussain, Sales and Marketing Director, Mercia Group

Sadie Baron, Chief Marketing Officer, Reed Smith

Matt Allen, Director of Business Development & Marketing, Bidwells

Maria McDonagh, Chief Marketing Officer, Grant Thornton UK

10:55am

Coffee break

An opportunity to meet the sponsors, catch-up with old friends and make new ones.

11:25am

Making ABM work in a professional services firm

ABM started in professional services and yet this resource-intensive approach can be difficult to embed in complex, partner-led environments. Bev will explore why ABM is harder in firms like yours, sharing advice for overcoming the challenges you face based on 20 years’ experience in ABM. Whether you’re making the case for ABM, piloting, or looking to scale your approach with the benefit of AI, this keynote will give you the tools you need to succeed.

Bev Burgess, Author and Chief Executive, Inflexion Group

12:05pm

Morning breakout sessions

Choose one of the following:

Either:

Stay in the main hall for the overview option

Or:

Select one of the five workshops
(for in-house marketers/BD only)

O

Roadmap to the future: building your vision
of success

In this interactive workshop Eleanor will share a tool and approach to vision building that helps individuals, teams and organisations to envision future success and to build a path to get there that is agile and responsive to external change.

Eleanor Winton, Founder, Foresightfully

A

It’s not AI, it’s you: Creating genuinely useful AI copy

If you think AI-generated content is bad, you’re doing it wrong. In this interactive workshop, you’ll be shown how to ideate powerful content ideas across channels, coax AI into writing in your tone of voice, and repurpose your existing content quicker than ever before. This session features live prompt training, AI tool demos and detailed, downloadable playbooks to use later.

Heather Murray, Founder, AI for Non-Techies

B

Get ready to rock your CX: innovating client
listening programmes

In this session, we’ll explore how to evolve your client listening programs for maximum impact. From understanding customer expectations to adopting innovative approaches, we’ll cover the key strategies for creating next-level customer experience (CX). Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the game, you’ll gain valuable insights and practical tips for transforming your listening programme and rocking your CX. Don’t miss this opportunity to take your CX to the next level!

Shaendel Hallett, Head of Client Insights, Grant Thornton

C

Internal communications’ role in driving engagement and employee advocacy

This workshop looks at why internal comms requires the same strategic thinking and approach that client marketing requires. We explore an approach to planning your internal comms to appeal to a diverse group of employees, all with different needs. We also discuss how purpose can integrate with internal comms to bring a more unified way to engage with employees, making your purpose work harder for the business and adding the value it is capable of.

Ingrid Brown, Principal, Bright Space Communications

D

AI for leaders

68% of marketing leaders agree that Gen AI will transform the way that marketing & BD professionals work for the better according to this year’s Marketing Benchmark. Just 5% disagree. Yet few respondents feel prepared to take full advantage: 43% say that their firm lacks the right capabilities; only 41% identify themselves as confident that their firm is making the right levels of investment. Building relevant skills and capabilities is arguably more important than having a clear Gen AI strategy and policy framework. Hear from and engage with a panel of experts in a rapidly changing environment.

Janet Day, Independent Consultant

Alastair Banks, Co-founder, Optix Solutions

Ben Lee, Head of Data and AI, Bidwells

E

Making a valued contribution at the Board

For an organisation to meet its responsibilities, its Board should assess and monitor culture and ensure effective engagement with and encourage participation from all stakeholders (Principle D of the FRC Governance Code). This usually involves a discussion over the management practices and level of employee engagement that are necessary to successfully implement any strategy. NEDs will prompt further meaningful conversations. Hear from and engage with a panel of experts over how functional leaders can make a valued contribution to any Board.

John Lucy, HR Consultant

Nicola Sawford, Chair, Non-Executive Director, Advisor, Trustee

Neville Eisenberg, Senior Strategy Executive, Mishcon de Reya

1:05pm

Lunch break

An opportunity to meet the sponsors, catch-up with old friends and make new ones.

2:00pm

Future Leaders Panel: How are today’s young professionals shaping the future of marketing & BD?

Many firms are already benefitting from the skills, knowledge, and social C awareness that young professionals bring to the table. From millennials to Gen Z, these ‘leaders of tomorrow’ represent a diverse range of talents, life experiences, creativity, and digital proficiency. This panel of our future leaders will discuss their views on the rise of AI and automation, learning & development and their career expectations.

Emily Edwards, Client Insights Executive, Grant Thornton

Rita Baptista Martins, Recognitions Project Manager, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Sarah Roberts, Director, Sarah Roberts Consulting

2:40pm

Afternoon breakout sessions

Another choice to be made. Either stay in the main hall for overview option or, for in-house marketers/BD only, select from the same lists of workshops as in the morning.

O

Coaching skills masterclass for marketers

Every day, hundreds of marketers help their frontline advisers understand what’s required for effective marketing and selling. And help change expectations and behaviours. This interactive masterclass introduces core coaching and consulting skills, explores tools to support coaching activity, and hears from a seasoned coach. It will help you transition from reactively responding to requests to proactively helping your frontline advisers shape their ideas and plans, with tools and techniques that they are willing and able to use.

Keith Hardie, Head of International Development, PM Forum

Kim Tasso, Founder and Principal Consultant, RedStarKim

Richard Chaplin, Founder and Chief Executive, PM Forum

A

It’s not AI, it’s you: Creating genuinely useful AI copy

Heather Murray, Founder, AI for Non-Techies

B

Get ready to rock Your CX: innovating client listening programmes

Shaendel Hallett, Head of Client Insights, Grant Thornton

C

Internal communications’ role in driving engagement and employee advocacy

Ingrid Brown, Principal, Bright Space Communications

D

AI for leaders

Janet Day, Independent Consultant

Alastair Banks, Co-founder, Optix Solutions

Ben Lee, Head of Data and AI, Bidwells

E

Making a valued contribution at the Board

John Lucy, HR Consultant

Shefaly Yogendra, Portfolio non-executive director

Nicola Sawford, Chair, Non-Executive Director, Advisor, Trustee

Neville Eisenberg, Senior Strategy Executive, Mishcon de Reya

3:40pm

Tea break

An opportunity to meet the sponsors, catch-up with old friends and make new ones.

4:00pm

Client panel: Innovation and the changing face of professional services relationships

The professional services market is likely to continue to be shaped with the continued evolution of technology and changing business dynamics. In an industry where client relationships remain a critical asset our panel will discuss the way professional services relationships are formed and maintained and how the rise of AI and automation may impact that.

Claire Rason, Founder, Client Talk

Joanna Hunter, Chief Food Lover, Piglets Pantry

Paul Roberts, CEO and Co-Founder MyCustomerLens

4:50pm

Chair’s closing remarks

5:00pm

Richard Chaplin’s closing remarks

5:10pm

Drinks reception

6:30pm

Conference close

How to Book

Eligibility

The conference is open solely to members of PM Forum, the Strategy & Marketing Group of the Managing Partners’ Forum, and ICON APAC. Marketing Leader workshops are reserved for members of the Strategy & Marketing Group of the Managing Partners’ Forum and other marketing directors of similar seniority at PM Forum member firms.

There is no charge to attend the conference for those based outside the UK and Ireland. PM Forum membership is corporate by country so you may already be eligible to attend – just ask.

Workshop D & E: PMI reserves the right to limit access to marketing leaders who work full-time for a professional services firm with a job title such as CMO or Marketing/BD Director or a position with equivalent responsibilities.

Click here to find out more about becoming a member.

Our Sponsors

FAQ

Substitutes and cancellations

Up to 29 August 2024: Full refund minus £95 (plus VAT)
cancellation fee.

No refund after 29 August 2024.

Cancellation

Cancellations must be made in writing.
Substitutes are welcome.

PMI reserves the right to cancel
with no liability beyond refund of fees paid

Further information

+44 (0)20 7786 9786
pmf@pmint.co.uk | www.pmforum.co.uk | www.mpfglobal.com

Testimonials

“What a fantastic day, every presentation was engaging. I have come away very inspired and with lots of tools to put into place at my workplace.”

“The PM Forum Conference is the leading industry event for all aspirational markters.”

“Spending time with those who challenge and support your thinking always makes for a fun, informative, and engaging day.”

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