LMA Business Club e-news issue 1 - January 2010

The LMA Annual Management Conference

Football and business leaders came together at the Emirates Stadium for the inaugural League Managers Association Annual Management Conference on the 24th September 2009.

Barclays Premier League managers, Arsène Wenger OBE, David Moyes and Gianfranco Zola OBE joined a wealth of industry leaders at Arsenal's Stadium for the inaugural conference.

The full day conference, hosted by former BBC director general and Brentford FC chairman, Greg Dyke, delivered a full programme of keynote addresses with senior figures from business and football discussing issues of leadership and management.

Amongst the programme, Archie Norman, former chief executive of Asda delivered a fascinating insight into his views on defining success. He was then joined on stage by former West Ham and Charlton manager Alan Curbishley, who drew parallels between Norman's influence at Asda and the growth of Charlton under his stewardship.

British Airways chairman, Martin Broughton shared his vision of building long-term organisational success and developing coherent strategies in the corporate world. He was joined by the owner of high street brand Timpsons, John Timpson, and England Under 21 manager Stuart Pearce MBE, for a lively debate on talent identification and internal communication.

Other speakers on the day included Maria Kempinska MBE, founder of Jongleurs comedy clubs; Fru Hazlitt, who delivered an entertaining whistle-stop tour of her career in both the dot com boom and bust with Yahoo and GCap media; and David Buchler, turnaround specialist, who talked about the similarities between struggling businesses and football clubs.

The afternoon session was headlined by Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger OBE. In conversation with Greg Dyke, he outlined his views and opinions on what it is to be a great manager and leader. He enthralled the attending delegates with stories of growing up in France and learning about people and football, about his role in the Arsenal dressing room at half time and about spotting mental toughness in young players.

Sky Sport's Matt Lorenzo hosted the day's closing session with Everton's David Moyes and West Ham's Gianfranco Zola OBE. Two of the game's most talented younger managers shared experiences on the challenges and pressures of managing their clubs in the Barclays Premier League.

Richard Bevan, LMA chief executive, said: "Our event reinforced the similarities between management at the top level of football and business. Arsène Wenger, David Moyes, Gianfranco Zola and the other LMA members who spoke today gave an incredible insight into their roles, demonstrating that they are outstanding strategists, talent managers and leaders. It is right that they should share a stage with some of the most talented leaders from UK industry and deliver such a successful event."

The LMA Annual Management Conference, as its name implies, will be happening every year from now on and will be the crowning event in the LMA Business Club calendar.

If you were unable to join us for this year's conference, make sure you don't miss out on the LMA Annual Management Conference 2010, which promises to be one of the year's unmissable events for anyone in the world of business or football.

To read the review document from the 2009 conference, please click here.

Please see below a few of the testimonials we received from LMA Business Club members and other delegates alike, following the conference:

Testimonials

"...the whole event was a resounding success, from the obviously impressive venue to the calibre of speakers, not only from the sporting world but the commercial side too. Upon my return to The Cumberland I have shared many of the things I picked up during the day with my team.

As with all these types of events there have to be some tangible benefits in terms of learning but also meeting and networking with the other business partners within the LMA. The conference certainly gave us the opportunity to do this."

Stuart Chappell
General Manager, The Cumberland Hotel

"I would like to congratulate you and the team on a great conference at the Emirates stadium. I thought it was a great way to mix the business world with the football managers and the attendance was great. Very worthwhile going to and we picked up several contacts."

Niall Flanagan
President, Loch Lomond Golf Club

"The conference on Thursday was fantastic."

Gerard Murphy
Managing Director, Leading Teams Europe

"It was fascinating and very well organised. I even got to shake hands (albeit very briefly) with Monsieur Wenger, which, as an Arsenal fan, was something of a highlight."

Tom Cowling
Partner, Swan Turton

"I thoroughly enjoyed the day and found the calibre and quality of the presentations and panels to be first class."

Ian Randell
PGA of Europe