The Great British Family Business Conference 2026 Programme

Timings For The Day (Subject to Change):

8.30 - Registration & Coffee

9.00 - Welcome & Introduction

9.20 - Opening Keynote – Cybersecurity

9.50 - Family Business Insight (Crieff Hydro)

10.20 - An Audience with Polly Staveley (TL Dallas)

10.45 - Family Business Insight (Hainsworth)

11.15 - Coffee and Networking

11.45 - Family Business Matters

12.15 - Panel Discussion (Culture in Family Firms)

1.15 - Lunch and Networking

2.00 - Workshops

3.00 - Afternoon Tea and Networking

3.20 - Closing Panel Discussion (The Family Business Agenda)

4.15 - Closing Remarks

4.30 - CLOSE

The Programme For The Day

8.30am Registration and Coffee

9.00am Welcome and Introduction - Paul Andrews, Founder & CEO, Family Business United

9.20am Opening Keynote - Cybersecurity: The Single Biggest Risk To Your Family Business: Daniel Teacher, Managing Director, T-Tech

Daniel is the CEO and Founder of T-Tech and has spent the past 14 years transforming the accounting industry through cutting-edge technology. T-Tech is a leading MSP and Cyber Security provider, driving digital transformation for accountants and SMEs to achieve peak efficiency, lower risk, and maximise value.

Featured as a technology expert on BBC News and Global News, Daniel also a recognised keynote speaker at accounting events across Europe. My expertise spans Accountancy, MSPs, Cyber Security, Tech, AI, Business Systems, and Change Management.

Daniel will share with us his insights on cybersecurity and why it could be the single biggest risk to your family business.

9.50am - Family Business Insight: Stephen Leckie, Chief Executive, Crieff Hydro

Stephen is Chairman and Chief Executive of Crieff Hydro and the fifth generation of his family to run this hotel and estate since 1868. The company is now the oldest trading registered company in Scotland which owns seven hotels with 1,000 staff.

He is currently Chair of Visit Scotland, Past Chair of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, Immediate Past President of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, a committee member for UK Hospitality and Lord-Lieutenant of Perth and Kinross.

Stephen has a broad background as an operator of hotels, self-catering and attractions across different parts of rural Scotland, and is well versed in the challenges and opportunities on the ground.

As a longstanding Chair of various companies Stephen is also familiar with working to maximise the impact of boards and organisations.

Stephen’s wife Fiona is a Director of Crieff Hydro and Head of Projects and Interiors, who with their family of four share Stephen’s varied interests - classic cars, Land Rovers, piping, skiing, trials biking and sailing.

10.20am An Audience With Polly Staveley, Managing Director, TL Dallas

Polly started her career as a Graduate Trainee in Corporate Finance at Yorkshire Bank after graduating from Newcastle University. After several happy years at the bank she joined the family business, TL Dallas Group in 1999 and has worked her way through the business and is now Group Managing Director. Polly will share her journey in the family firm and the emphasis that they place on mental health and wellbeing within the business.

Along with her brother Mackenzie they are the fourth generation to run the business, started by their Great Grandfather in Bradford in 1919.

10.45am - Family Business Insight: Balancing The Old With The New & The Next Era Of Growth - Amanda McLaren, Managing Director, AW Hainsworth

Amanda McLaren is the non-family Managing Director of AW Hainsworth, a 242 year old Textile Manufacturing Business, based in Pudsey, near Leeds, where she is charged with leading the Business through a new era of growth.

Backed by family shareholder investment, Amanda was appointed in April 2021, to establish and implement a long-term sustainability strategy for the business, which would ensure it would continue to thrive, for many generations to come.

Amanda has spent over 35 years working across UK Manufacturing – gaining experience in Mechanical Engineering, Electronics, Automotive, Leisure and Textile Sectors. For over 20 of these years’, she has operated at Board level.

She will share with us the story behind AW Hainsworth and their plans to futureproof the family firm for generations to come.

11.15am Coffee and Networking

11.45am - Family Business Matters

An update on the latest developments from Family Business United, key research findings and all the latest news including the National Family Business Lifetime Achievement Awards.

12.15pm Table Talk - Crafting A Family Business Culture

Our experts will discuss the ways in which they have used the very essence of being a family business to create the culture within their organisations, the nature of the underlying values and the steps they have taken, the programmes they have introduced and share the challenges they have faced and the outcomes and benefits that have resulted from their endeavours.

Our presenters include:

• Nick Hipkiss - Commercial Director, Furniture Village

• Luke Consiglio - CEO, The Pantry UK

• Bev Mitchell - Founder, Beverley Mitchell Consulting

• Louise Croce - People & Culture Director, AV Dawson

1.15pm Lunch and Networking with lunch including cheesecakes from The Pantry.

2.00pm Workshops

Each delegate is able to select and attend one of the workshops that run concurrently.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Workshop 1 - Creating The Legacy You Want To Leave Behind.

COUNCIL ROOM

Facilitated by Dan Cushing

Your family story is your superpower and capturing it well can become a real source of competitive advantage, driving the family business to new heights. This session will be facilitated by Dan Cushing, Founder of Para Familia, an agency working with family businesses and challenger brands to capture the real essence of who they are as a business as they plan their evolution.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Workshop 2 - Building Trust In Your Family Enterprise During Difficult Times.

SUNLEY ROOM

Facilitated by Mairi Mickel

This session will be facilitated by Mairi Mickel, Founder of Mairi Mickel's Business Families. Family Businesses have been hit with many obstacles in the past 5 years - a global pandemic, tax rises, Business Relief changes, pension Raids and tariffs to name a few - and difficult times often exacerbate the underlying tensions in a family business. In this session you will learn how to create a high-trust family business culture, handle conflict with more ease and learn to lead with love and logic.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Workshop 3 - Balancing The Needs Of The Family & The Family Firm.

DRAYSON ROOM

Facilitated by Nick Mayhew

This session will be facilitated by Nick Mayhew, Co-Founder and CEO of Alembic Strategy and will be an interactive session looking at communication and the needs of family members and the role of the family with the business, and the business with the family members, where needs often differ and are not met. It will look at some of the practical processes to enable family members to communicate more effectively in order to create certainty, understanding and better communication.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Workshop 4 - Apprenticeship Reforms, Succession & Capability: Who's Ready To Lead?

MAIN AUDITORIUM

Facilitated by Sara Taylor

Family businesses rarely fail because of markets — they fail because succession is messy, emotional and often starts shaping itself years before anyone talks about 'taking over.' Apprenticeship reforms, succession and capability: Who’s Ready to Lead? uses the world of Succession to explore the real behavioural patterns that begin in childhood, adolescence and early career, and continue into the leadership pipeline. From founder shadow to entitled heirs, overlooked siblings, reluctant successors and the outsider CEO, delegates will diagnose their own succession dynamics and uncover the capability gaps that quietly form long before the moment of handover.

The session will translate those gaps into practical development actions that strengthen emerging leaders at every stage — whether they are already in the business or still watching from the sidelines. And because capability-building doesn’t happen by accident, the session also includes a clear, up to date briefing on the apprenticeship landscape and the reforms shaping it. Delegates will see how structured, externally validated pathways can build capability early, de-risk succession, and support both family and non-family leaders in complex family systems.

This session is fresh, honest, and designed to help you future proof your leadership pipeline with confidence and will be hosted by Sara Taylor, Head of the Executive Development Network.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.00pm Afternoon Tea and Networking

3.20pm Closing Panel Discussion - The Current Family Business Agenda

Given the current economic and political climate it is not easy running a family business. Things are constantly evolving in terms of rules and regulations and plenty of conversations are taking place in board rooms the length and breadth of the country and our final panel will come together with plenty of insights, ideas and thoughts on some of the prevailing issues that are high on the agenda.

Our panellists include:

• Andrew Malcolm, CEO, The Malcolm Group

• Duncan Jackson, CEO, Buckles

• Simon Brewer, CEO, Brewers Decorator Centres

• Kate Nicholls, Chair, UK Hospitality

4.15pm - Closing Remarks - Paul Andrews, Founder & CEO, Family Business United

4.30pm - Close