Tees <a How to Win More Business," where they will discuss strategies for opening doors, fostering relationships, and converting leads into contracts.
Occupying the entire West Stand hospitality level at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on Tuesday, October 20, the Showcase & Forum will host two keynote speakers, two expert panels, six workshops, and an exhibition featuring nearly 60 <a How to Get Ahead in Business – What Successful Teesside Leaders Wish They’d Known Earlier," with contributions from Outrank CEO Stephen Robinson, Education Training Collective CEO Grant Glendinning, reigning Tees Businesswoman of the Year Rachel Burke, and Andrew Rowe, managing partner of Azets’ Teesside office.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake MP will deliver the morning keynote, drawing on a professional background that includes co-founding Hunters and scaling it into a national estate agency before his <a How to Win More Business" panel.
Former Tees Businesswoman of the Year Sharon Lane is a leading figure in the region’s engineering and manufacturing sectors, while Peter Wilcock is currently spearheading Latos’ ambitious plans for a major AI data centre in Stockton.
Imran Anwar, CEO of Alt Labs, was recognized as both Tees Business Leader of the Year and Tees Tech Business Leader of the Year in 2025, while Martin Liddle provides the perspective of one of Teesside’s largest industrial employers and its extensive supply chain.
Together, they will examine what prompts senior decision-makers to engage with a potential supplier, how SMEs can effectively approach large organizations, the keys to securing an initial meeting, and why promising discussions sometimes fail to result in contracts.
They will also address a question highly relevant to those in attendance: what could companies in the room realistically supply to organizations like theirs?
Six workshops held throughout the day will provide practical training on leadership, AI, business finance, recruitment, retention, and digital marketing.
Tees Business director Dave Allan said: “We know how precious people’s time is and that leaving the office has to feel worthwhile.
“That’s been at the forefront of our thinking. We want people to leave with something useful – an idea they can put into practice, advice that helps their career or business, a different way of approaching a challenge or simply a valuable new connection.
“But you don’t need to give us the whole day. Look at the programme, decide what would be most useful to you and build your visit around that. If you only have time for one speaker or workshop, that’s absolutely fine.”
Almost 60 businesses under one roof
Running alongside the speaker programme will be an expo featuring almost 60 businesses, creating opportunities to discover potential suppliers, meet prospective customers and make new contacts.
Admission to the keynotes, panels, workshops and expo is completely free, although advance registration is required.
Businesses can also register multiple members of their teams, allowing colleagues to attend different sessions before meeting up in the expo and networking areas.
Tees Business Showcase & Forum: At a glance
Tuesday October 20 | Riverside Stadium | 8.30am-4pm
Morning
8.30am – Showcase & expo opens
Networking and expo featuring almost 60 businesses.
9.10am – Welcome
Tees Business
9.20am – Expert panel: How to Get Ahead in Business
What Successful Teesside Leaders Wish They’d Known Earlier
Stephen Robinson – Outrank
Grant Glendinning – Education Training Collective
Rachel Burke – Tees Businesswoman of the Year
Andrew Rowe – Azets
9.50am – Keynote: Kevin Hollinrake MP
Conservative Party chairman, MP and successful entrepreneur.
11.30am-12noon – Three workshops
1. Leading Without a Script – Dr Noel Dennis, Atomix Educational Trust
2. AI Without the Risk – Tomas Roberton, Circle Cloud
3. Better Finance Decisions – James Clinghan, Trusted Business Partner
12noon-1pm – Lunch + expo
Afternoon
1pm – Keynote: Professor Mark Simpson
Vice-chancellor and chief executive, Teesside University.
1.25pm – Expert panel: How to Win More Business
Getting through the door, building relationships and turning conversations into contracts.
Sharon Lane – Tees Components
Peter Wilcock – Latos
Imran Anwar – Alt Labs
Martin Liddle – CF Fertilisers UK
3.15pm-4pm – Three workshops
1.Insider Tips on Making Your Business a Great Place to Work – Jo Davies, HR Alchemy
2. Winning Digital Marketing in the Age of AI – Andy Taylor, Outrank
3. Coming soon – final workshop to be announced.
4pm – Showcase & Forum closes
The Tees Business Showcase & Forum is free to attend, with delegates welcome to tailor their visit around the sessions most valuable to them.
