The man who built the DVD rental company LoveFilm and sold it to Amazon for an estimated £200m will deliver the keynote speech at LEP Business Live later this month.

Simon Calver, who took over as CEO of Mothercare after the sale of LoveFilm, will pass on entrepreneurial, strategic and marketing lessons from LoveFilm to delegates at the event, which takes place on Friday 24^th October at the Lincolnshire Showground.

He is now on the board of online pharmacy Chemist Direct and Chairman of moo.com, the online business printers.

LEP Business Live combines the annual summit of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and last year’s successful Business Live exhibition and networking event.

Three hundred delegates and exhibitors are expected to attend the free event at the EPIC Centre, which will feature exhibitors, speakers, networking, lunch and a chance to put questions to the LEP board.

The dedicated exhibition area will feature distinct industry zones including property, finance, energy, digital, tourism and skills.

Under the same roof on the same day the annual Greater Lincolnshire LEP summit will provide a platform for business leaders and politicians to debate the big economic issues that face Greater Lincolnshire.

LEP Business Live will be hosted by Ursula Lidbetter MBE, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, and Steven Fletcher, Publisher of the Lincolnshire Echo.

“We are very pleased to have secured Simon Calver as a speaker at LEP Business Live this year,” said Ursula.

“He is a British entrepreneurial success story, having proved that you can take a good idea, build it into a successful business and attract the attention of a global powerhouse like Amazon.

“But he also has a wealth of corporate experience working with companies such as Unilever and PepsiCo. I’m sure our delegates will find what he has to say extremely interesting and useful.”

Places for LEP Business Live are now fully booked but a reserve list is open in case of cancellations. If you would like to be added to the reserve list please email businesslive@lincolnshiremedia.co.uk.

To book an exhibitor’s stand contact Karis Mellin at Lincolnshire Media by emailing karis.mellin@lincolnshiremedia.co.uk or by calling 01522 804328.

Follow @GreaterLincsLEP on Twitter or use the hashtag #LEPBusinessLive.

Notes to Editors:

• The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership is a private and public sector partnership led by the private sector which aims to improve conditions for infrastructure and doing business in the Greater Lincolnshire area.
• One of the first LEPs to be established in the UK, the Greater Lincolnshire LEP covers a large geographical area with a population of over one million and a diverse range of industries, from ports and logistics to farming, tourism and engineering.
• It includes North and North-East Lincolnshire and the administrative county of Lincolnshire and is controlled by a LEP board made up of leading figures in the public and private sector.
• Visit www.greaterlincolnshirelep.co.uk for more information.
• Business Live was staged for the first time by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and Lincolnshire Media in October 2013.
• The first annual Greater Lincolnshire LEP business summit took place in October 2012.

For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
[LEP70businesslive]