pro-manchester
  • HOME
  • Book Now
  • Agenda
  • Speakers
  • Blogs
  • Sponsorship


Speakers

Picture

​There will be a wide range of speakers at our Digital Media Conference delivering varied insights to help your business improve its digital marketing and learn what your competitors are doing successfully.

Head to our book now page to see what your ticket includes.

Read on for more information on our speakers...​
Picture

​​Viv Yau

Co-Founder, Bee Influence

Viv is Co-Founder of Manchester’s first dedicated influencer marketing agency, Bee Influence.

​She comes from an advertising background as an account handler at TBWA\Manchester. She then moved to London to represent the UK’s biggest influencers at Gleam Futures (the agency known for representing Zoella).

​Viv moved back to Manchester and co-founded Bee Influence in early 2018.
Picture

Sam Jones

Managing Director, Tunafish Media

​Sam Jones is the founder of Tunafish Media, a content marketing agency he started in 2011 with Richard Brooks and James McDonald.

​In 2015, he also co-founded Not Just Soup, a homeless support network that connects local restaurants to the homeless community providing over 30,000 meals.


Picture

Katy Leeson

Managing Director, Social Chain

Katy Leeson is former head of new Business and Marketing at MediaCom. Social Chain is a Global Social Media Marketing Agency, working with some of the largest brands in the world including Superdry, Warner Music, Coca Cola and Boohoo. Katy’s impressive career and accomplishments led her to secure the managing director’s position after just six months at Social Chain.

Since her appointment, she has become an IPA women of tomorrow finalist and developed a number of new initiatives within Social Chain’s existing structure, such as Data Chain which has become a key focus for growth and source of revenue since its onset. Not only has she secured a number of key retainers for the business, but a large proportion of her time is invested into focusing on culture. Katy has bought a number of policies into Social Chain which have allowed for the seamless expansion of the business and its culture across its five locations.


Picture

Mel Hill

Communications Manager, pro-manchester

Mel is in charge of pro-manchester's communications, including all forms of digital marketing the organisation uses. 

Mel fell in love with digital marketing after being tasked with updating social media accounts as a sports journalist when social media as a news source was just beginning and has since crafted her digital marketing experience in various sectors including sport, technology and charity.
Picture

Jonathan Hulton

Founder, The Manc and iM Agency

Jonathan Hulton is a former TV presenter, media executive and social brand awareness expert. He established his Social Media expertise working globally with a broad range of businesses and influencers.

Jonathan currently heads up one of the most powerful media brands in the UK, with iM Agency and The Manc at it's core. iM, which he solely founded, is built to empower brands, businesses and thought leaders to stand out on LinkedIn through world-class strategy and content. The Manc is the most engaged social publisher in Manchester, and as an audience-first social media publisher focused on everything Greater Manchester, has managed to build a loyal audience of over half a million.

Picture

Dan Nolan

Managing Director, theEword

Alongside his role as managing director of theEword, Daniel is also the president of the Manchester Publicity Association, a board member at pro-manchester and co-chair of their creative sector committee and has previously been recognised as the Digital, Media or Creative Professional of the Year at the Made In Manchester Awards.​
Picture

Rebecca Bishop

Founder, Buump Active
​

Rebecca Bishop is a busy, working mum of two young girls from Manchester. 

A business development specialist by profession, Rebecca has spent much of her career in the third sector.

Always a great connector of people, Rebecca created Buump Active to introduce mums to each other and to inspire them to become the best versions of themselves through fitness and activity - using tech as the vehicle for connection. Buump Active is the first social connection app in the world, designed to keep you active after having your baby. Helping look after your physical and mental wellbeing and proudly supported by Sport England.



Picture

Eve Jane Deasy

PR Consultant

​Eve Jane Deasy is a Manchester and high peak-based PR consultant with 19 years’ experience working with consumer brands and businesses. 

Eve has worked agency side, in-house and as an independent consultant during her career, across a wide range of industries including food and drink, beers, wines & spirits, fashion, parenting, tech, health and lifestyle, and takes a bold approach to media relations in order to secure national press coverage and help to make brands famous. She enjoys working with everyone from large FMCG companies to new start ups.


Eve is currently managing the PR for Buump Active, after becoming inspired and invested in the exciting venture from the very beginning.

Picture

Mike Pye

Director, Mike Pye + Co.

​Mike has been working in the Marketing industry for over 12 years.  It’s all he’s ever done. 

Working both agency side and client side, up to strategic level within successful businesses, Mike launched his own consultancy business in 2015 to provide an alternative, more collaborative approach to the traditional agency model. 

​His business, Mike Pye + Co,  provide bespoke consultancy to businesses across the UK as well as marketing training, mentoring and public speaking.  
Picture

AJ Handley-Rowe

Freelancer

​
Working in digital for over a decade, AJ specialises in integrated strategy, organic, paid and content in all its forms.

Having worked agency side, in house and self-employed, AJ is pretty well placed on a panel about client/agency relationships.

​She’s got a good idea of what it takes to make those relationships effective, from both sides of the fence and has experience of the dynamics of all kinds of organisations and sectors.
Picture

Sarah Glynn

Marketing Manager, Kuits 

Kuits is an award-winning, UK200 commercial law firm specialising in SMEs based in Manchester city centre. 
 
Sarah has over eight years’ experience in B2B and B2C marketing, having worked for a range of regional and international businesses across the professional services, publishing and charity sectors. 
 
Sarah won Marketing Professional of the Year (2019 Made in Manchester Awards) and sits on pro-manchester’s future.pro committee and the editorial committee for Manchester Law Society’s magazine, The Messenger. She has been quoted in national marketing / business press.
 
Sarah founded the Word on the Street initiative, bringing the gift of reading to Manchester’s rough sleepers.
 
Picture

​Sian English 

Head of Multichannel, seventy7

Sian leads multichannel operations for independent creative business, seventy7. With a 40-year history in retail, seventy7 work with fashion’s most innovative start-ups through to international luxury giants across London, Manchester and Mumbai.

For the past 10 years, Sian has worked in marketing focused roles for leading global B2B and B2C businesses including Speedy Services, Knauf, Yodel and theEword.

Driver, collaborator, speaker, innovator, creative and host, Sian is Chair of pro-manchester’s Retail and E-commerce committee, Vice Chair of the MPA and winner of Best Creative, Digital or Media Professional (2019 Made in Manchester Awards).

Picture

Steve Kuncewicz

Partner, BLM

​Steve specialises in intellectual property, media, privacy and communications-related issues, working mainly with the creative, digital, technology and advertising sector with a nationally-recognised niche specialism in issues involving social media and online privacy.
 
Steve deals in both contentious and non-contentious matters, ranging from litigation before the High Court to regulatory investigations and adjudications involving the ASA and ICO to cross-jurisdictional disputes and complex advisory work, reducing commercial, reputational, regulatory and legal risk.
 
Working across the public and private sector, and with both agencies and those who buy from them, Steve leverages commercial expertise gained during his time in house and a passion for the sectors he works with for the benefit of his clients.
Picture

Tom New

Co-founder, Formisimo

In 2014 Tom, along with his business partner Al Mackin, launched Formisimo, a multi-award winning SaaS analytics platform that uses behavioural data to provide market leading insights into peoples’ online shopping habits, and in particular how people interact with online forms and checkouts.

Clients include international brands such as Capital One, DFS, Travelex, William Hill, Sainsbury's Bank, Samsung and Unicef.

​Tom was named the IoD's Start Up Director of the year in 2015, and was the Entrepreneur in Residence at Ignite Accelerator.
Picture

John Kershaw

Founder, M14 Industries

John Kershaw founded Bristlr, the dating app connecting those with beards to those who want to stroke beards.

After gaining international notoriety he grew the company and white-labeled the technology to become M14 Industries, who now build and manage apps for other people.

​He and his company went through the Ignite startup accelerator in 2015 and appeared on Dragon's Den in 2017. 


Picture

Laura Berry

Account Director, BIG Partnership

​Laura leads the development and delivery of integrated marketing and PR campaigns for BIG Partnership’s consumer clients. BIG Partnership is one of the UK’s largest marketing agencies and launched its English head quarters in Manchester in 2016, providing a range of multi-channel services for clients including, media relations, social media, digital media and creative support. 

With more than eight years’ experience in PR and marketing, Laura has worked on award winning strategies for B2B and B2C businesses both in Manchester and Scotland, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Peel Ports, North West Cancer Research, Stewart Milne Homes and Loma Linda. Laura also sits on pro-manchester’s Hospitality Sector Committee.  

  • HOME
  • Book Now
  • Agenda
  • Speakers
  • Blogs
  • Sponsorship