Lord Digby Jones to give University business talk

‌The former director-general of the CBI, who is formally known as Lord Jones, will deliver a speech called Doing it a Different Way, at the business seminar, being held next month.

Lord Jones’s talk is part of a programme of items arranged for the day, which has been organised by the University’s Innovation 1^st project – part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and set up to help small firms explore business opportunities through the innovative use of technology.

The free event will be held on Tuesday, February 25 at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park, from 11am to 2pm.

There will be speeches from Geoff Layer, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, and Cheryl Bradburne, representing  Birmingham-based charity Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer.

But the centrepiece of the day will be Lord Jones’s speech.

Lord Jones spent 20 years with Edge & Ellison, a Birmingham-based firm of lawyers, where he worked his way up from Articled Clerk to Senior Partner.

In 2000 he joined the CBI and spent more than six years as director general, before being appointed Minister of State for UK Trade & Investment and becoming a life peer taking the title, Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham.

On the day, guests can take part in a question and answer session and buy a signed copy of Lord Jones' book "Fixing Britain”.

Tours of the new University of Wolverhampton Visualisation Centre at the Science Park will also be available for businesses to explore the innovative technology and to find out how the Innovation 1st project might be able to support them through a minimum of 12 hours free assistance.

Professor Ian Oakes, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: “The University of Wolverhampton is delighted to be welcoming such a high-profile and successful business man such as Lord Jones, to speak at this event.   

“The university prides itself on the innovative and often ground-breaking work it does with businesses whether assisting companies with product development as part of its many advisory services or introducing its talented graduates into the workplace. 

“We hope that local and regional organisations will register for what promises to be an interesting, topical and thought-provoking event”

Register for a place at the event.

For more information please contact Chris Jones in the Media Relations Office on 01902 322736

Date Issued: Friday, January 10, 2013