The Leading Speakers Bureau

Co-Founder of lastminute.com & Travelocity European Operations, Chairman at made.com

Brent Hoberman co-founded lastminute.com in 1998; three years after he had drafted the initial idea when working as a strategy consultant. Lastminute.com was the UK’s highest profile site and is one of Europe’s leading ecommerce companies. He was CEO until 2006 and then became the chairman and chief strategic officer of lastminute.com. He admits to being bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and has founded or backed a number of other companies since lastminute.com

“One of the most accomplished leaders in the rapidly changing E-commerce sector”

[expand title=”In detail”] Brent was educated at Eton and holds a MA in French and German literature from Oxford. After building revenues more successfully than his peers, he was hailed as a survivor of the dot-com crash, and remained as CEO of Lastminute.com Ltd. through 2005, when the company was sold to Sabre for £577m. Brent was also Head of Business Development and founding member of QXL. He is also an angel investor in several internet companies including Viagogo, erepublik, Wayn.com and academia.edu. In 2009, he joined The Business Council for Britain and co-founded PROfounders Capital.[/expand]

[expand title=”What he offers you”]Co-host of the European Founders Forum and non Executive Director at Guardian Media Group, TalkTalk plc and Time Out Group, Brent’s initial vision remains unchanged – to delight customers with great value, inspiration and solutions when they are going away, going out or staying in. He will lead the way for countless E-businesses due to his first-hand knowledge on what gives a company the competitive edge to survive, especially in daily changing sectors such as E-commerce. His entrepreneurial vision ensures the customer experience is continually enhanced by the latest innovations in technology.[/expand]

[expand title=”How he presents”]Strategy consultant and Internet entrepreneur, Brent is a dynamic speaker and a “Dot com icon”. He illustrates points from his own experiences and always seeks to be provocative and inspirational whilst using humour to add some fun to the occasion.[/expand]
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Leading UAE Media Personality, Former Member of the UAE Federal National Council

Najla Al Awadhi is a former Member of Parliament of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a distinguished media leader in the Middle East. Her Excellency is also the first woman from a Gulf Cooperation Country to hold a chief executive post in a state run media organization. For over a decade Her Excellency served as CEO of Channels at Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI), previously serving as General Manager of Dubai One and Deputy CEO of Dubai Media Inc.

“Few can deny the force that is Najla Al Awadhi”

[expand title=”In detail”] Her Excellency is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and also the Global Agenda Councils of the WEF. She is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Leadership Initiative and acting Chairperson of the regional board of Young Arab Leaders. Her Excellency graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire where she was President of both the Muslim Student Association and the Human Rights Committee. Her Excellency is currently completing her graduate studies at Harvard University.[/expand]

[expand title=”What she offers you”]One of the first women in the history of the UAE to become a member of the UAE’s Parliament, its youngest parliamentarian and the youngest female member of any Arab legislation body in Khaleeji history, Najla Al Awadhi covers a range of socio-political topics, broadly speaking about anything that falls under media, government, or the role and rights of women, in the context of the Arab and Muslim world. She is brimming with dreams to initiate positive change in society through the development of women’s rights in the region.[/expand]

[expand title=”How she presents”]Energetic and dynamic, Najla represents the up-and-coming generation of passionately fired-up Arab women who take their role as enterprising and productive members of society very seriously. [/expand]
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