Business Breakfast Networking Event: Examining Net Zero

The prospect of a transition to Net Zero by 2050 has profound implications for businesses in various industries worldwide. The endeavour necessitates significant changes in production methods, resource allocation, and operational strategies across sectors, compelling businesses to adapt quickly.

In this session we bring together a Panel of distinguished speakers from business and academia to discuss how they are managing the challenges of transitioning away from CO2 and embracing renewable energy. Our confirmed Panellists include Alex de Ruyter Professor and Director of the Centre for Brexit Studies at Birmingham City University, Carl Arntzen, CEO of Worcester Thermotechnologies; David Horsfall, Director of Property and Sustainability at Tyseley Energy Park; and Jonathan Duck CEO of Amtico.

This breakfast event will offer insights for business leaders navigating the transition to Net Zero by 2050, policymakers seeking practical solutions, researchers analysing empirical evidence, and educators and students exploring the intersection of environmental challenges with economic and societal dynamics.

Register for your place today.

Agenda

8.30 Registration, Networking, Market place & Coffee

9a.m Welcome

9.10 Guest Speakers

10.00 Q&A from audience.

10.25 BCU Update

10:30 Networking , Market place & Coffee

11.00 Close

Meet your Speakers

• Alex de Ruyter

Alex is Professor and Director of the Centre for Brexit Studies at Birmingham City University. He has published over 60 research outputs in the time since he completed his PhD in 2002. He has published in leading international journals and presented at numerous international conferences. He has also been the recipient of funding grants, including ESRC-sponsored projects examining the labour market status of MG Rover workers four years after plant closure, and flexible staffing practices in UK nursing and social care. Alex’s main research interests are in labour markets, globalisation, Brexit and economic development.

• Jonathan Duck

Jonathan is CEO of Amtico, has an Honorary doctorate from BCU and is a Atlanta based, export led, flooring manufacturer. He joined Amtico in 2003, investing in an earlier MBO that needed fixing, and then led a secondary management buyout in 2006. Jonathan started as an engineer with UKAEA Harwell. He was then a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey, a Divisional Director within Bass Plc running various drinks, gaming and retailing business units, and the CEO of Access Self Storage, a private equity backed property company.

• David Horsfall

David is a Property Director, Webster and Horsfall Group and Director of Tyseley Energy Park. A Chartered Surveyor with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. Having worked within the development industry for 10 years David joined Webster & Horsfall in 2008 to lead the delivery of Tyseley Energy Park (TEP).

• Carl Arntzen

Carl Arntzen is the CEO of Worcester Bosch, he joined the company in 1984 and worked in numerous roles before becoming CEO in 2015. He has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion in engineering. Carl is a board member of the Construction Product Association (CPA), and Energy Utilities Alliance (EU) and the CBI Heat Commission.