Craft Focus - Page number 38 - August/September 2021 (Issue 86)

CHSI Stitches 2021 takes place from 5 th -6 th September at the NEC, Birmingham, UK. To register for the show visit www.chsi.co.uk KEYNOTE SPEAKERS CHSI Stitches has announced keynote speakers for its first live event in over 18 months. The line-up includes Cate Trotter, Head of Trends at Insider Trends; Andrew Davies, one of the UK’s most prolific social media speakers, trainers and consultants and Miya Knights, retail influencer, author, research director and consultant. Cate Trotter, Head of Trends at Insider Trends has been named one of the world’s top retail influencers for the past five years. Cate has helped brands such as Chanel, Swarovski, Fujitsu, Samsung, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Nike, Johnson & Johnson and EE create world-leading retail ecosystems. LinkedIn named Cate one of the top 15 most listened to professionals in the UK and she’s been quoted numerous times in Forbes magazine and is a RetailWire BrainTrust expert. Andrew Davis is one of the UK’s most prolific social media speakers, trainers and communication consultants. He cut his teeth at the frontier of the social media explosion working for brands including Friends Reunited and MySpace and was part of the founding team for digital radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra. Andrew was ranked number 17 by the Guardian newspaper in its 2007 ‘Minority Report’ – countdown of the Top 30 most important ethnic minority contributors to the British media industry. In 2008, Andrew became the only person listed in both the prestigious Media Week Top ‘30 under 30’ and the UK and Broadcast magazine’s ‘Hot Shots’ list of media insiders. For four years, he sat on the Ofcom Advisory Committee. Andrew now works as a freelance trainer delivering tailor- made consultancy programmes to big and small businesses on social media, marketing and building a brand. Miya Knights has more than 20 years’ experience as an author, journalist and publisher, research analyst and consultant, specialising in enterprise technology use in retail. Miya most recently served as Head of Industry Insight for digital marketing technology provider, Eagle Eye Solutions, helping major retailers build best-in-class loyalty and promotions strategies. Miya began her research career as Senior Research Analyst with IDC Retail Insights, having edited Retail Technology magazine for 10 years, which she now also owns and publishes. She’s consistently ranked as one of the top retail technology industry influencers, and has recently appeared on the BBC, Channel 4, ITN and Sky News. Steve Mitchell, event director, ICHF Events said: “This year we have advanced our speaker programme, investing in sessions from leading experts outside of the craft industry that can bring fresh insights and practical knowledge that retailers can apply to their businesses. We recognise that things are different for all businesses coming out of the last 18 months and want to deliver practical support directly to our visitors.” 38