After Dinner Speakers: Keith Hellawell, Roberto Alagna, David Spade

When British Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed Keith Hellawell, the former Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire and Cleveland Police Forces to head up the UK’s fight against drugs, the media instantly christened him, the ‘Drugs Tsar’. With responsibility for setting the agenda for government and co-ordinating all of it’s anti drug activity, his role has been to put in place a ten-year strategy and to handle an annual budget in excess of Ł2Billion. Internationally he has met with heads of state throughout the world, driving forward programmes for action on the G8, UN and EU agendas. His background of 40 years in public service made him the ideal candidate for the job, with considerable success at the highest level of leadership and management. Like many business leaders, a Chief Constable has a wide degree of responsibility, but unlike other business leaders, they have no control over inputs, every move is constantly scrutinised by the mass media and subject to some of the most complex situations that society throws up. Keith has a wealth of experience that many of today’s senior executives would find exceptionally useful in managing their business. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programmes in many countries. In the UK he has been a ‘regular’ on the BBC’s Newsnight, Any Questions, Question Time and the Radio 4 Today programme as well as several documentaries following his close involvement with the Yorkshire Ripper case. This has given him a wonderful insight into the receiving end of the media and how to cope under pressure. Keith Hellawell is also one of the worlds most experienced negotiators having not only negotiated with Presidents and Prime Ministers, but also with armed gunmen, terrorists and serial killers. As a keynote speaker, Keith Hellawell brings a fresh approach to achieving key management targets. His speeches are highly effective, yet liberally sprinkled with amusing anecdotes from a fascinating career. He can also empathise with many of the problems faced in the private sector with his experience as a non-executive director of a major plc. He was voted Communicator of the Year in 1998, and his strong dynamic style, coupled with his warm down to earth approach has captivated audiences all over the world.