***Please note this event is now booked out and no more places are available. If you wish to be added to a waiting list please email cathy.mcgann@accaglobal.com with your name and membership number.***
Topic:
The theme for this debate will be “Rebalancing and Growth”.
Speakers:
Sammy Wilson MP, MLA, Minister for Finance & Personnel
Sammy Wilson MP MLA is a graduate in Economics from Queens University Belfast and then from Stranmillis Teaching College. He took up a teaching post at Grosvenor Grammar School where he was to become Head of Economics and Assistant Chief Examiner for A-Level Economics in Northern Ireland.
He began his life in politics as the Democratic Unionist Party Press Officer and in 1981 he was elected as a DUP councillor to Belfast City Council. He became the first person from the Party to serve as Lord Mayor of the City in 1986/1987 and did so again in 2000/2001.
He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in May 1996 for the constituency of East Belfast (1996-98) and went on to represent this area again after the Northern Ireland Assembly in June 1998. In November 2003, he became the MLA for East Antrim which he continues to represent in the Assembly and in May 2005, he became its MP.
He is a former member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and Northern Ireland Housing Council. After the restoration of devolution in 2007, Mr Wilson was appointed by his Party leader to serve as the Chairman of the Education Committee until June 2008. Mr Wilson previously served as the Minister for the Environment until July 2009 when he was appointed Minster for Finance and Personnel.
Alan Bridle, Bank of Ireland UK
Alan Bridle was appointed UK Economist & Market Analyst for Bank of Ireland UK plc. in 2010.
Before this, Alan was Head of Research for Bank of Ireland in Northern Ireland.
After graduating from Queens University in 1986, winning the Adam Smith Prize, Alan joined the investment Bank of Ireland in Belfast and has held a number of positions in Bank of Ireland’s Group’s Treasury, Corporate & Business and Strategic Marketing Divisions.
Alan is responsible for all of the bank’s economic and market research, briefings and presentations including the quarterly house price index in partnership with the University of Ulster and the NI Housing Executive. He has been a regular commentator on business issues in the media with regular columns in business journals and newspapers for almost two decades.
Alan is a member of CBI NI’s Economic Affairs Committee and represented CBI on the Northern Ireland Statistics Advisory Committee. During 2007, Alan was also appointed by the DSD Minister to the independent panel of experts on housing affordability.
The debate will be followed by a glass of wine to give all attendees an opportunity to meet fellow members.
Please note this event is free of charge but booking is required as places are limited. To book please click on 'add event to shopping cart' at the bottom of the page.