Gold medallist is keynote speaker at REC's IT & Comms Conference

Great Britain's gold medal winning athlete Roger Black MBE will deliver the keynote speech at the third annual conference of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's IT and Comms Sector Group.

Roger, with his vast experience of working individually and within a team to achieve success, is best remembered for being part of the gold medal winning British 4 x 400 metres relay squad at the 1991 Tokyo World Championships.

The IT and Comms conference, being staged in association with Recruiter Magazine, will be held on Thursday February 28 2008 at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Birdcage Walk, London.

With Roger's achievements as the inspiration, the theme of the Conference is "Winning the Race for Growth"; and other distinguished speakers will also be focussing on the numerous ways in which delegates can grow their businesses.

Recruitment guru Mike Walmsley, Chairman of Recruitment Training, will lead a session explaining why the vast majority of big billers are underperforming in their race for growth while Barnaby Wynter, Managing Director of Comms Unit, will offer tips on how branding can help businesses reach out further into the market.

Conveying the essential differences of a business to stay one step ahead in an overcrowded marketplace will be the theme explored by Alison Humphries, Chief Executive of Amicus Consulting.

Also during the conference, a panel session chaired by DeeDee Doke, editor of Recruiter, will offer the client's perspective on the approach and services provided by recruiters in order help delegates turn their businesses into even better agencies.

The conference will be chaired by Jeff Brooks, Chairman of the REC's IT and Comms Group and Primesourcing Ltd.

He said of the conference: "We are delighted to have such a popular and motivational speaker as Roger Black whom I am sure inspired many people with his fantastic sporting achievements.

"But the whole theme of the day is to help turn our sector members and indeed, all attending delegates into potential winners at a time when the role of the recruitment industry has never been so vital in helping clients finding suitable candidates against the prevailing background of skill shortages.

"Helping them win is vital to the ethos of the REC in delivering the highest possible standards of best practice to clients."

The conference runs from 9am to 5pm. Full details are available from Kathy Walker, the REC's Member Services Manager, tel: 020 7009 2195, email kathy.walker@rec.uk.com or visit the website, www.rec.uk.com/about-recruitment/sectors/itcomms.

End // 15.11.07

For more information, please contact Alison Henderson, Press Manager, the REC, 020 7009 2157.

Notes to Editors:

About the REC:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation is the representative body for the UK's £26.6 billion private recruitment and staffing industry and currently holder of the title, Trade Association of the Year. The REC's IT and Comms Sector Group currently comprises 161 members, all of whom adhered to its Code of Professional Practice.

About Roger Black MBE:
Roger Black is one of the very few people who have achieved success both individually and as part of a team. Born in 1966, he attended Portsmouth Grammar School and began reading medicine at Southampton University, but opted to concentrate on his burgeoning track and field career. Six years, later, he was awarded an Honorary degree from this university.

He represented Great Britain for 14 years at the highest level of world athletics winning 15 major championship medals including World, Commonwealth and European Championship Gold Medals. His greatest achievements including winning silver in the 400 metres at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and being part of the Gold Medal winning 4 x 400 metre relay squad at the Tokyo World Championships in 1991.

After athletics, he worked extensively in the media including for BBC TV Sport as a presenter and commentator, and he was a captain in the BBC's popular "A Question of Sport" quiz show.

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