Judges of The BlackBerry Growth Strategy of the Year
Leslie Copeland, CEO, Vitesse Media
Leslie has worked in the media sector for over 12 years in an array of roles, including journalist, analyst, editor and executive director. He joined Vitesse in 1997 as a journalist on Growth Company Investor, ascending to the role of editorial director of Vitesse Media Plc by 2000, with responsibility for the delivery of Vitesse¹s products across all platforms online, events and print. Since mid 2006, Vitesse Media Plc has grown significantly, and Leslie has played a significant part in the integration of What Investment (purchased by the company in December 2006) and Information Age (purchased in December 2007). He was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer in July 2010.
Marihelen Esam, Leader of Business Growth Programme, The Cranfield School of Management
Marihelen graduated from the University of Maryland and went on to buy, develop and sell a number of small companies in London, including a PR consultancy, a publishing house specialising in trade magazines, an advertising agency and an industrial film making company. She sold her London based commercial interests in the mid 80s and purchased two farms in Somerset. After selling those, she moved to the Milton Keynes area where she has had a commercial stake in a number of local companies including a delicatessen, jeweller, travel agency and an engineering firm.
Marihelen is a Visiting Fellow at Cranfield School of Management and has worked on BGP and related programmes for over fifteen years as a lecturer, business counsellor and programme leader. She remains a serial investor and is passionate about growing and developing small to medium sized businesses.
Phil Lander, Senior Director, BlackBerry
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Phil Lander is the Senior Director of BlackBerry EMEA and Senior Commercial Director for Deutsche Telekom Europe at Research In Motion (RIM). He is responsible for the sales and commercial teams for BlackBerry and the commercial sell-in process for Deutsche Telekom Europe. Phil and his team drive business opportunities into new market segments and existing channels, building key customer relationships to aid growth. Phil has been at RIM for over three years and previously held the positions of Director, EMEA Carrier Product Management; and Commercial Director, T-Mobile UK and The Netherlands.
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Tom Thomas, Chief Executive, The Institute of Commercial Management
Tom Thomas was appointed Chief Executive of the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM) in September 2007. As Chief Executive, he has been involved in assisting other organisations in the implementation of the new Qualifications and Credit Framework. In recent years he has been active in facilitating numerous links with international organisations including those in Europe, Scandinavia, China and India. In addition, he has had extensive experience in the areas of training and consultancy..
