In conversation with Alex Forrest, former ITN political news editor, the two speakers will headline this year’s event under the title - Trading Spaces: Creative partnerships with the EU and the rest of the world.
WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said: “We are pleased and excited to announce that this year’s WSTA Annual Conference has two business giants signed up as headline speakers.
“For a global industry like wine and spirits their views on how business can survive and prosper post Brexit are guaranteed to stimulate interesting debate.”
The conference, taking place on 12 September at The Royal Institution of Great Britain in London, will debate what needs to be done to support the industry and discuss the opportunities that Brexit may present.
Lord Mark Price joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1982. He spent 17 years on the board of Waitrose, becoming Managing Director in 2007, and was Deputy Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership from 2013.
Beale added: “We know there will be challenging times ahead for our members and our aim is to work together to find the best way through which allows our industry’s historic trade flows to remain intact.
“But we need also to look to the future and global opportunities.”
Tim Martin is the founder and chairman of JD Wetherspoon. He was educated at eleven different schools around the globe before eventually studying law and qualifying as a barrister, which he stopped to set up Wetherspoon in 1979.
From a single pub, Tim has grown the business to the UK’s largest pub chain, which has over 900 UK outlets (plus 50 hotels) and employs more than 38,000 people.
Following a ‘State of the Industry’ address from Beale and conversations with Lord Price and Tim Martin, there will be a panel of experts – whose names will be released closer to the event.
The WSTA Annual Conference is the largest wine and spirit industry event and takes place in September each year.
