Key note speaker and Olympic champion Sally Gunnell OBE was joined by over 250 local businesses at East Cambs Business Boost 2018 held at The Hive Leisure Centre in Ely on Friday 23rd November.

Business Boost is the District’s largest business to business networking event and is organised by East Cambridgeshire District Council’s (ECDC) Enterprise team in collaboration with the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce.

‘Activate’ is this year’s theme, reflecting both the district’s fast business growth and the setting of the venue. Presentations from leading businesses including social media giants Buffer, Westfield Health and Sandler Training as well as Sally Gunnell’s excellent talk on corporate wellbeing provided an outstanding backdrop for delegates. All visitors were further engaged with the opportunity to network with local firms in the exhibitor hall.

As the only female British athlete to have held Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles concurrently, Sally now leads a corporate wellbeing company working with organisations to develop wellbeing strategies. Sally spoke with local businesses about her experiences and challenges on the path to success and how to use those principles to take business growth to the next level by building self belief and developing the right team.

“What a fantastic event to be invited to be part of!” said Sally Gunnell. “It provides the perfect opportunity to speak to other businesses, share some of the hurdles (pardon the pun!!) we all face and explore how we can overcome them.   I love to make a difference! Being provided the opportunity to pass on my passion, knowledge and experience to inspire and energise individuals is something I am very grateful for. My philosophy is simple ‘small positive changes, consistently made’ are a winning combination both in life and in businesses.”

Stella Cockerill, Chief Operating Officer at the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce said: “We are pleased to support the return of this successful event, which provides a great opportunity for businesses to connect with each other.  We were delighted to have secured some really excellent speakers that were able to offer businesses insights tips and guidance into issues that many of our members report as key challenges such as effective use of social media but also the importance of managing wellbeing in the workplace to attract and retain a productive workforce”.

Councillor Peter Creswell, Chairman of East Cambridgeshire District Council said: “Following on from the success of the first Business Boost we were keen to support another high profile event to promote East Cambridgeshire as a growing economy and a great place to do business.  Business Boost has proved more than just that. With visitors from across the region networking together, coupled with engaging and useful content from top speakers, the day has been an outstanding success.

We owe thanks also to sponsors PEM, Ellgia Recycling, Grovemere Property and Busy Bee Recruitment for their excellent support in making the day highly enjoyable.”