Three titans of the world of business and finance discussed everything from this week’s Budget to their hopes for the coming General Election, as the YN Finance Q&A Time raised an incredible £32,000 for Norwood. More than 180 young finance professionals attended last night's fundraiser, which was sponsored by Sunrise Brokers and held at the offices of leading law firm Mayer Brown.
The highlight of the evening was a panel discussion featuring: Lloyd Dorfman, founder and Chairman of the Travelex Group; Luke Johnson, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners and former Chairman of Channel 4; and David Kyte, founder of The Kyte Group. The panel was chaired by Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor of the world-renowned Economist newspaper.
The evening, which also included a drinks and canapes reception, provided a great opportunity for YN supporters to network while raising vital funds for Norwood, which supports people with learning disabilities and children and families in need.
As in the long-running BBC show Question Time, the panel were asked a series of questions which had been submitted by members of the audience in advance. Each panel member answered in turn before the floor was opened up to supplementary questions. Issues which were debated ranged from the potential economic benefits to London of the Olympics to whether Britain is too reliant on the service sector.
Another topic up for discussion was Wednesday’s budget, which none of the panel seemed particularly impressed by. Lloyd Dorfman said: “I regard it as a bit of a non-event, a bit of political posturing. By way of quirky coincidence, I was having lunch on Wednesday with the Governor of the Bank of England. I said, ‘Are you not concerned about the Budget that’s going on at the moment?’, and he said, ‘not really’, and we carried on talking about things that we were more concerned about.”
Turning to the state of the economy, the panel had differing views on whether Britain was on the road to recovery. David Kyte was most pessimistic, saying: “I think we’ve all been sucked into a level of enthusiasm and euphoria, and it’s false. If you really look around you, businesses aren’t booming. I don’t think the worst is over.”
The trio were also asked about who they wanted to win the upcoming General Election. The strongest view came from Luke Johnson, who was extremely critical of the legacy of the Labour Government and said this was the most important election in decades. “It seems to me that for any level headed person who wants to live in a capitalist society, anything other than a Conservative vote is not just a wasted vote, you are voting for a lower standard of living,” he added.
Panel members also discussed their own careers and gave advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Lloyd Dorfman revealed that by amazing coincidence, the tender document which won Travelex its first presence at a major airport had been copied and bound by printer Malcolm Marks, whose grandson Benjamin was the subject of the appeal film that evening. Benjamin suffered a brain injury at birth which left him with severe learning disabilities. He and his family have received a wide range of tailor-made support from Norwood since he was a baby.
Alisa Fleishman, YN Manager, said: “The YN Finance Reception is now in its second year and is already becoming one of YN’s most successful fundraising initiatives. We are delighted that this event was such a success and would like to thank our sponsors, Sunrise Brokers, our hosts, Mayer Brown, and our special guests, Lloyd Dorfman, Luke Johnson, David Kyte and Daniel Franklin. I would also like to thank the YN Finance Committee for helping to make the event such a great success, and all our guests for their generous support, which will have such a profound effect on the lives of so many people with learning disabilities, and children and families in need.”
