Back in person in 2022, the Memcom annual conference will address the key issues of the day for the professional membership sector. Launched in 2000, Memcom has consistently led the way in thought leadership for over two decades.
Our overarching conference theme is ‘Back on Track?’ and as ever, our speakers will be addressing the key issues of the day through a series of talks, debates, panel discussions and roundtables.
Themes will include the latest thinking and sharing of best practice in the following areas:- Sustainability; EDI; Strategy; Finance and New Business Models; Membership, Marketing & Communications; Influence and Lobbying; People, Culture and Skills; Digital, Data & Technology; Good Governance Models and more.
Delegates will have plenty of time for networking and will be able to meet with the leading sector suppliers in the exhibition.
Meet our speakers:
Alison Heppenstall
Ali Heppenstall is the Director of Climate Action for Associations and the Managing Director of the b2b Group (b2b, b2b partnerships and B2 Media). Ali’s experience spans more than 25 years working with many of the world’s leading NGOs, professional and trade associations, such as The British Chambers of Commerce, CIPD, ICAEW, IWFM and ACCA, to name a few.
As a specialist in business-to-business, community engagement and the membership sector, Ali excels in delivering impactful and measurable strategies and the implementation of both strategic and operational commercial growth projects within international and domestic markets. Ali works across multiple sectors balancing her client’s need for financial sustainability with purpose.
Through her work with a number of international climate change NGOs and leading sustainability experts, including the Carbon Trust and The Climate Group, Ali long since recognised the value and influence of associations on the climate action agenda and the key role they can play in addressing climate change. CAFA, was founded by Ali and the team at b2b in response to the growing demand from membership organisations for climate action support.
Andy Burman
Andy Burman has been the CEO of the British Dietetic Association since 2003. He has over 25 years’ experience of the professional association and healthcare sector having worked with medical, psychology, psychotherapy and other allied health professions. He sits on various national bodies, including the editorial committee of the British National Formulary: the prescribing ‘bible’ for medical prescribers. He is a non-executive director and trustee of several organisations, is a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster and works as an independent consultant to the Third Sector. He speaks internationally on organisational development, leadership and good governance. He was a major contributor to the recently published Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food and is currently leading on a major project looking at sustainability within the health sector. He is also a Magistrate sitting in the East Midlands region.
Belden Menkus
Belden Menkus is a CEO advisor, Board-level facilitator, and purposeful strategist. He works with business leaders and their organisations to help them develop purpose-led strategies and then turn their ideas into action and results. Recognising that each organisation is unique, he uses 30 years’ experience across multiple sectors and situations to design and deliver custom-tailored interventions that enhance, amplify, and unleash internal capability.
Belden is the host of The Purposeful Strategist, a podcast that shifts the conversation about purpose and strategy from what organisations should do to what they are doing. Each week, he interviews a CEO to hear about how they are addressing these issues - and what they have learned along the way.
- Email:
- [email protected]
David D'Souza
David joined the CIPD, the professional body HR and people development, in 2014 and has been its Membership Director since 2018. He is responsible for growing membership and ensuring the CIPD connects effectively with the profession to understand how it can continually improve its support offer.
He previously worked as an independent consultant and has also held roles across a range of financial services and retail organisations.
David is a respected and in demand speaker and writer on progressive HR and business practice, with his commentary regularly featuring in national media. He has expertise in a wide range of areas, including organisational development and culture, learning and development, corporate ethics and the future of work.
He is a Fellow of the Learning Performance Institute, the Centre for Evidence Based Management and the RSA - as well as being a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.
Emma Wilcox
Emma was appointed as CEO of the Society for the Environment in July 2015, and since joining the organisation has led the development of a new five-year strategy increased registration numbers and enhanced engagement across a broad range of stakeholders.
The Society for the Environment is an umbrella professional body, which currently licenses 24 professional bodies to register their members as Chartered Environmentalists. Emma and her team work closely with each Licensed Body to ensure standards are met and opportunities are available to their members.
A Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, Emma’s career has spanned a range of disciplines including scientific research, knowledge and technology transfer, education, programme and business management and stakeholder and relationship management. Her strong academic background is supported by an in-depth knowledge of both public and private sector landscapes. In recognition of her work, Emma was recently awarded ‘UK Professional Certification CEO of the Year’ in the Female CEO Excellence Awards.
Heather Lishman
Association Director, Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO)
Heather Lishman is Association Director of ABPCO, a dedicated industry association representing the voice of professional conference organisers whose credentials clearly demonstrate the skills, knowledge and experience required to plan and organise major UK and international conferences.- Website:
- www.abpco.org
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/heatherlishman
Lee Davies
Lee Davies is the Chief Executive of CIPA. Lee joined in February 2012, having previously been the Deputy Chief Executive of the Institute for Learning (IfL), the professional body for further education teachers and trainers.
Lee has a background in further and higher education, having led the Thames & Solent District of the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), a voluntary membership body providing adult education, and before that having held a number of senior roles at Highbury College, in Portsmouth.
Lee describes his career path as somewhat unconventional, having started his working life as an apprentice plumber in Portsmouth. Lee was given the chance to try his hand at part-time plumbing teaching in the late 80s and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. Lee freely admits that coming to work in membership associations was a complete accident. He says that he hadn’t really identified the importance of membership to the WEA when he joined it in 1999 (despite the giveaway name), but he was soon hooked on working with volunteer members and has considered himself to be a membership professional ever since.
Lee also has experience of volunteering as a member and holding elected office, having been the 2011–12 President of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE). Lee is a frequent speaker at events in the membership sector, covering topics such as association leadership and governance, professionalism and the future of professional identity. Lee is a keen (though no longer much good) squash player and a sea fishing enthusiast.
Follow Lee on Twitter here.
Lizzie Lockett
Lizzie joined the RCVS, the UK regulatory body for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, in February 2005 as Head of Communications, bringing with her 13 years' experience working in IT/telco, agricultural, environmental and veterinary marketing communications both in the UK and across Europe. She later became RCVS Director of Strategic Communications. In autumn 2014, Lizzie set up the Mind Matters Initiative (MMI), to make a difference to the mental health and wellbeing of members of the veterinary team. Lizzie was appointed CEO in November 2017.
Lizzie is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and holds a degree in English from St John’s College, Oxford.
She sits on the Communications and Fundraising Committee of the Mental Health Foundation, is a Director of the Veterinary Policy Research Foundation and a Trustee of RCVS Knowledge.
Marcia Philbin
Dr Marcia Philbin is the Chief Executive of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is also a Professional Member of the Association of Project Management. She worked for twenty years as scientist, project manager and senior manager in various agencies of the Ministry of Defence.
In 2015, she moved to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health as the Assistant Director for Research and Policy. In 2019 she was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM), a professional membership body for 1500 pharmaceutical physicians who develop new medicines world-wide. She is responsible for implementing the Board of Trustees strategic objectives and is adept at managing their expectations on operational matters.
Matt Day
Matt Day lives to mix it up.
He started his media career at the BBC producing and directing on shows as varied as Blue Peter and Watchdog.
Matt co-founded LIQUONA in order to combine three personal passions; creativity, methodical processes and outstanding client service.
New services at LIQUONA that complement ‘traditional’ video and animation have led to several firsts in sector for interactive video and virtual reality.
LIQUONA is a Televisual Top 40 UK production agency helping some of the UK’s best known organisations and brands to get their message across.
Neil Carberry
Neil Carberry was appointed as Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation in June 2018 having been managing director at the Confederation of British Industry, leading the CBI’s work on the labour market, skills, energy and infrastructure. In 1999, Neil began his career in recruitment working for executive search firm Fraser Watson before doing a post-graduate degree in Human Resources at the London School of Economics and joining the CBI in 2004. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and a Fellow of the RSA. He is a member of the council of the conciliation service ACAS and a former member of the Low Pay Commission, which recommends UK minimum wages. A three-time nominee to the SIA staffing100 in Europe, he is also on the board of the World Employment Confederation and a primary academy trust in Oxfordshire. Neil is an RFU qualified rugby coach and is one of the 8000 co-owners who made Heart of Midlothian the UK’s biggest fan-owned football club.
Rob Gethen Smith
Rob has over 20 years' experience leading business and digital change across the not-for-profit sector as a CIO and a consultant. He has also worked for leading cloud CRM and ERP software companies where he has developed a deep understanding of these technologies. He is passionate about enabling organisations to increase their impact through strategic and digital transformation, with a focus on customer experience, growth and innovation.
Sarah Atkinson
Sarah Atkinson is CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation, a charity working to ensure young people from low income backgrounds can achieve their potential. The SMF supports an annual cohort of over 2000 young people on its student programme, and influences and advocates for social mobility through the Social Mobility Employer Index and its campaigns arm, the Department for Opportunities. She is a member of the City of London taskforce on socio-economic diversity in UK financial and professional services.
Sarah’s non-executive experience includes board roles at Endometriosis UK, the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years, and Womankind Worldwide. She is a Leadership Fellow at St George’s House, Windsor and a mentor on the Leaders Plus fellowship programme.
Previously, Sarah worked for thirteen years at the Charity Commission, most recently as director for strategy, policy and communications. Her background is in corporate communications and policy, and before joining the Commission she worked in the private sector, including roles with Nationwide Building Society and in public affairs consultancy.
Sarah Clarke
Sarah is the Head of membership at CharityComms. She’s dedicated to growing and improving the membership experience for our fantastic network of charity communicators. Previously, Sarah worked in marketing and membership roles for a variety of arts and education organisations in the UK and the US. She is a trustee of the Hamelin Trust and is part of the comms group for Charities Against Hate.
Simon Blake OBE
Simon Blake OBE joined MHFA England as Chief Executive in October 2018, leading the organisation to achieve its vision of normalising society’s attitudes and behaviours around mental health, through training one in ten of the population in mental health skills and awareness. He is Chair of the Headspace Health International Advisory Board, the Dying Matters Campaign based at Hospices UK and the Support After Suicide Partnership based at the Samaritans. He is also a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. He is a writer, campaigner and trainer and was awarded an OBE for services to the voluntary sector and young people in 2011. He enjoys running, equestrian eventing and his dog.
Tiger de Souza
Tiger is the National Trust’s People Engagement Director and within his role is responsible for inclusion and strategic volunteering development at the Trust. He has had a wide-ranging career in the non-profit sector working at Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors, NSPCC and England Netball. He is a passionate advocate for the power and creativity of youth after spending five years in his early career being motivated and challenged by a host of brilliant young people at vinspired. Tiger has been a trustee of both Volunteering England and NCVO and is currently a Trustee for ACEVO. He was awarded an MBE for services to volunteering, including during the pandemic in the 2020 New Years’ Honours List.
Meet our sponsors:
Interested in partnering with us, visit our Sponsorship page for more details