Future Faces: Award sponsors revealed

Contact:

Anna Assinder T: 0845 6036650

Headline sponsors of annual awards revealed

Aston University and BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK have been confirmed as headline sponsors for this year’s Future Faces and Birmingham Young Professional of the Year (BYPY) awards.

The annual flagship event will go ahead virtually this year on 27 August, set to welcome an online audience of up to double usual attendees following the division’s merger with Business Professional Services (BPS Birmingham) last year.

Returning as headline sponsors of the awards this year are Future Faces patrons Aston University and long-standing BYPY awards supporters BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK.

Mark Smith, executive director of business management at Aston University, said: “We are delighted to be the headline sponsor for this year’s Future Faces awards.

“Endorsing the efforts of the region’s young people is incredibly important to us at Aston University, especially after a year of such adversity. I am very much looking forward to coming together, albeit it virtually, to celebrate so many great achievements and the hard work that the Future Faces team have been doing.”

Stephen Hunt, chief executive of BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, said: “At BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, making a positive impact is at the heart of everything we do.

“After what has been a particularly challenging year for young people taking their first steps into the world of work, we’re delighted to once again be supporting these young professional awards and celebrating the abundance of talent that the region has to offer.”

Anna Assinder, head of Future Faces, said: “I am so glad to announce Aston University and BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK as our headline sponsors for this year’s Future Faces and BYPY awards. We very much look forward to working closely with them to ensure that this year’s celebration is a night to remember for our young professionals.”

Further sponsors will be revealed via Future Faces’ social media channels and in Chamberlink Daily.

Delighted: Mark Smith

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please email r.ashman@birmingham-chamber.com New Members

Freya Dearman (Magma Legal Services Ltd) Katie West (Ronald McDonald House) Charlotte Smith (Ronald McDonald House) Hannah Parkhouse (Handelsbanken Solihull) James Perry (Rund Partnership Ltd) Laura Daly (Irwin Mitchell) Amy Jacklin (Virgin Money)

Upcoming Events

FF Social Networking

Game-storming, Creativity and Innovation (Aston Business School Leadership Series)

Date: 15/6/2021

FF Professional development

Date: 24/6/2021

Festival of Business: FF – Meet the young professionals

Date: 30/6/2021

For more information and to book a place contact events@birmingham-chamber.com

Graham Allsopp

Lessons in financial security

Financial advisory firm Tilney Smith and Williamson shared their expertise in a Future Faces event to prep the future generation on financial resilience.

Birmingham-based Tilney team included business development director Lucy Minton (pictured), investment manager Tom Cadwallader and financial planner Khaled Hawwash.

They used their joint expertise in investment consulting, lifetime financial planning and employee benefit solutions to stress the importance of setting foundations for financial security early on in careers.

Tom explained that a good way to start building these foundations was to understand the expense of our future goals. In order for us to save for these events, he said that being able to account for those more mundane costs, such as rent and bills, is essential.

“As our income increases, most people tend to accumulate more expenses without even realising it”, he said. “The solution lies in choosing where your money is spent, rather than just spending your money.”

As a way of building differe nt levels of savings, Khaled detailed a three-stage approach. Firstly, he suggested that young professionals build an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenditure. The next step is to open a short-term savings account to retain any money that might be needed within the next three years in a current or fixed term account.

Finally, Khaled advised pooling money into a long term savings account, either an ISA or a pension scheme, which potentially result in an increase on investment over time.

Lucy said:“To any young people looking to start becoming more financially savvy, I’d always recommend our services at Tilney to guide them on their journey.”

By Claudia Congrave

Video series highlights mental health week

Award-winning video production company, Ark Media, produced a series of videos for the Future Faces committee in aid of Mental Health Awareness Week last month.

As mental health resonates as an important and relevant topic for young people, the Future Faces Chambers of Commerce (FF) launched a video campaign as a contribution to this year’s awareness week for mental health.

The series of videos was shared across social media throughout the week and featured members of the FF committee providing their top tips on taking care of their own mental health.

Graham Allsopp (pictured), head of production at Ark Media and Future Faces executive committee member, said: “Mental Health is such an important topic, especially at the moment given the situation we’ve all found ourselves in over the last few months. It was great to work on these videos for the FF team and play our part in raising awareness.”

The videos can be found via the Future Faces social media accounts.