The FWD Future Leaders’ Forum gives a voice to the up-and-coming leaders within the sector.
The group has 75 members and is designed for ambitious individuals who are 30 or under working within the FWD membership. They meet once a quarter with an opportunity to have a new demographic of voices heard and a chance for talent to come to the fore in order to support the strategic objectives of FWD, which in turn will directly benefit FWD members.
They have been challenged to determine the best way to inspire, retain and develop future industry talent, as well as to input into FWD activity and events to ensure they are future proofed. This might involve:
As part of FWD’s Promoting Wholesale initiative, the foundation of the FLF recognises the need to attract the widest range of talents into wholesale, and give them the tools to lead the sector forward as their careers develop.
The Future Leaders Forum is on the hunt for new members.
We want to offer help and advice to younger people from all roles within the FWD membership, including wholesalers, suppliers and service providers.
The group benefits from two bespoke face-to-face events for which the members themselves can agree the content they believe will be most benefical to them as they build their career.
They have access to FWD’s other free events, including four Introduction to Wholesale sessions and April’s parliamentary reception at the House of Commons.
New members also have the option to take part in the second round of the FLF mentoring scheme, starting in September, which matches them with a senior wholesale channel colleague.
Anyone wishing to join the FLF must be aged 30 or under and working for an FWD member company. The application form requests a 200-word outline on why they would like to join, the attributes they feel they will bring to the network, and what they hope to gain from being part of the programme.
This month FWD welcomed 30 members of the Future Leaders Forum to the group’s autumn event, a public speaking workshop, a subject selected by the FLF members.
The aim was to create an event which moved away from a standard ‘conference’ feel and got our participants involved right from the get-go. Active involvement is fundamental principle that FLF thrives on, so FWD set to work on providing an afternoon of interactive workshops. First up was public speaking profes- sional coach Gregg Harris who had the group on their feet at the front of the stage giving practical advice on how to maintain a stage presence, how to stand, and critically what to do with your hands when presenting! Techniques were imparted and skills loaded into the FLF participants play books ready for their next meeting, online team chat, or full-on stage-time presentation.
Next up Jill Livesey, MD at data agency Lumina Intelligence gave brilliant insight into how to present complex data. Key tip to do your homework on the audience was a key takeaway, be authentic and always have a condensed version of your slides in the eventuality that previous speakers run over or meeting times are cut short.
The day rounded off with Gareth Fendick, co-founder of social mobility consultancy Psalt. Gareth invited the group to think about how they can ‘Bring their difference’ to work. What makes us unique? And how does being true to ourselves ultimately ben- efit our workplace. It was inspirational, and thought provoking. His top tip? “Stories are the primary language of the heart.” Tell a story and your audience will come with you.
Lucy Darrall, Global Partnerships Manager at iPRO Hydrate, was full of praise for the event. “It was great to meet people who work across multiple roles in the wholesale industry and to learn some tips and tricks for public speaking, networking and prepar- ing a presentation.”
“I got to learn from the professionals,“ said Mica Bihal, Market- ing Manager at Time Wholesale. “Gregg showed us how important body language and speech are, Jill spoke about being prepared and knowing your audience, and Gareth talked breaking the mold by showing our unique qualities.”
Molly Breakwell, Business Development Manager at Radnor Hills, added: “This time 12 months ago I wouldn’t have dreamt I could stand in front of a group and talk or even put a sentence together, just goes to show with fantastic guidance and support anything is possible!”
Members of FLF had the opportunity to volunteer with the Felix Project at its new state of the art kitchens in London in October this year. It was an introduction to the work fellow FWD member Fareshare does, as well as an opportunity to network within the group.
Read MoreMembers are paired up for a suggested 12 month period. This scheme is designed to provide support and counsel to someone of a similar level. It is the hope that this will be a good ‘sounding board’ pairing and further develop members networks within the sector.
