Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE was keynote speaker at Hampshire Chamber’s Southampton Boat Show Luncheon. With her at the Leonardo Royal Grand Harbour Hotel Southampton are, from left: Marc Donoghue, RNLI Volunteer Community Presenter; Manj Mahey, Head of Training at British Marine; Hampshire Chamber President Peter Taylor and Chief Executive and Executive Chair Ross McNally.
Entrepreneur and tech innovator Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE addressed more than 150 business leaders on the opening day of the Southampton International Boat Show.
The Lastminute.com founder was keynote speaker at the signature event on Hampshire Chamber of Commerce’s social calendar, its annual Boat Show luncheon.
Global trade, skills development and links between business and the third sector were among the key themes of the gathering, the only dedicated networking opportunity for business attendees at the show.
Baroness Lane Fox, a crossbench peer and President of the British Chambers of Commerce since 2022, emphasised the importance of Hampshire and the leisure marine sector to the UK economy.
She told her audience at the Leonardo Royal Grand Harbour Hotel Southampton: “We have a huge opportunity in the UK to bring global investment here while being a provider of outstanding business products and services to global markets.
“What better place to give that message than Southampton with its focus on the worldwide leisure marine industry.
“The Boat Show is in the vanguard of how we think about our relationship with the rest of the world, including how we must put sustainability at the heart of everything we do.”
Connections between the business community and third sector were highlighted in a speech by Marc Donoghue, Volunteer Community Presenter of the RNLI which marks its 200th anniversary this year.
Marc said: “The RNLI is always interested in working with businesses so we can access the broadest range of innovations to support our essential work as a life-saving charity with strong links to the boating and sailing communities. Developments in AI that can help with early warning systems are one example.
“Partnering with industry, entrepreneurs and academia in a variety of ways is how we will sustain the RNLI over the next 200 years.”
Hampshire Chamber’s Chief Executive and Executive Chair Ross McNally also emphasised the critical crossover of business and third sector activities, including a shared need to attract and retain the best workplace skills.
He told the audience: “Our Boat Show Luncheon has once again attracted a fantastic turnout.
“It brings people together from all sectors for conversation in a relaxed, informal and informative setting.
“Just two months on from the formation of a new government, there is much to discuss about how we ensure employers can find the vital skills they need, whether they are in the business, public or third sectors.
“Events such as this facilitate and underpin the connections that will help to deliver that ambition as part of local, regional and national skills planning.”
In his talk, Chamber President Peter Taylor, Senior Partner of lunch sponsor and law firm Paris Smith LLP, encouraged attendees to “stand tall, be proud of what we have and what we can be” and celebrate the potential of the central south region.
He said: “I urge all of us to look with hope and optimism to what we can collectively achieve in the future.
“In doing so we shall continue to contribute to building a thriving community and the global recognition which it so merits.”
The international reach of Hampshire Chamber was reinforced by the presence at the luncheon of Nadine Storey, Trade Commissioner at the High Commission of Canada in London.
Nadine said: “This is a great opportunity to meet and connect with local businesses and continue to strengthen relationships between Canada and Hampshire, whether in marine, green tech or other sectors.”
As well as Paris Smith, luncheon partners and sponsors were Boat Show hosts and membership organisation British Marine, UK Export Finance, IT support provider Enhanced, Currencies Direct, Hambledon Vineyard, John Rose Photography and the Leonardo Group.
Luncheon tickets included a complimentary pass to enter the show, one of the biggest leisure marine festivals of its kind in the UK with thousands of boats and craft to view.
For more information, visit www.southamptonboatshow.com.
Nadine Storey, Trade Commissioner at the High Commission of Canada in London, at the Southampton Boat Show luncheon with Hampshire Chamber President Peter Taylor, left, and Ross McNally, Chief Executive and Executive Chair.
