First Minister welcomes Globalscotsí commitment to scottish business growth

Over 150 of the worldís most successful business people and entrepreneurs have already signed up for the inaugural Globalscot conference being held in Edinburgh next month, where they will offer their experience and expertise with the specific aim of accelerating the growth of more than 200 Scottish companies.

Welcoming the Globalscotsí enthusiastic response, First Minister Jack McConnell, who will be addressing the conference, said;

ìI look forward to welcoming these business experts from around the world who have agreed to meet in Scotland. I am grateful that they have all offered their time and considerable expertise for free. Their advice will benefit Scottish companies.

ìBut Globalscots also take the message that Scotland is a vibrant and entrepreneurial country, and spread it to locations throughout the world. This Conference will encourage others to join.î

Globalscot is a worldwide network of over 900 Scots, and those with a strong affiliation for Scotland, almost 50% of which are at chief executive level. Most are working within global organisations or running their own companies and are spread across the globe with representation in all key markets in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. The network membersí expertise spans sectors from electronics, life sciences and financial services to energy and tourism.

ìSenior executives from companies such as Disney, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, National Australia Group, Unilever, Virgin and Shell are all heading to Edinburgh for the event,î explained Mark Hallan, Head of Globalscot at Scottish Enterprise.

ìIt gives Globalscots the chance to network with their peers and forge partnerships with Scotlandís best and brightest companies. Any business serious about its own growth should take advantage of this unique opportunity to talk to some of the best in their field at a time when they are solely focused on helping them.î

The conference programme will include a mixture of global industry briefings as well as sharing business intelligence and one on one discussions to help delegates get the most out of their access to some of the worldís most influential people in todayís global industries.

The conference is the brainchild of Scottish Enterpriseís globalscot team and its main sponsors are Clydesdale Bank and VisitScotlandís Business Tourism Unit.

Companies wishing to participate in the conference can contact Gary Bowie of the globalscot team at gary.bowie@scotent.co.uk or register directly at: