Our next Devonshire House Dinner will be on 26th January 2016 at the East India Club, 16 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LH – We are delighted that our guest Speaker will be Lord Stephen Green.
Stephen Green was educated at Lancing College, Sussex, and at Oxford University where he graduated in 1969 with a BA (First Class Honours) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He also obtained a Masters Degree in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He was created a Life Peer in 2010 and was appointed Minister of State for Trade and Investment in January 2011. He retired from this position in December 2013. Lord Green began his career in 1970 with the British Government’s Ministry of Overseas Development. In 1977, he joined McKinsey & Co Inc, management consultants, with whom he undertook assignments in Europe, North America and the Middle East. He joined The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1982 with responsibility for corporate planning activities, and in 1985 was put in charge of the development of the bank’s global treasury operations. In 1992, he became Group Treasurer of HSBC Holdings plc with responsibility for the HSBC Group’s treasury and capital markets businesses globally. In 1998, he was appointed to the Board of HSBC Holdings plc as an Executive Director. He became Group Chief Executive in 2003 and Group Chairman 2006. He retired from HSBC in December 2010. Lord Green was Chairman of the British Bankers’ Association from 2006 to 2010. He also served as a Trustee of the British Museum. He served as a non-executive director of BASF.se until 2010. He is Chairman of the Natural History Museum, Chairman of the International Advisory Council of the British Chambers of Commerce and is a member of the House of Lords EU Select Committee. He is an ordained priest in the Church of England. Stephen Green has written four books – Serving God? Serving Mammon? [1996]; Good Value, Choosing a Better Life in Business [2009]; Reluctant Meister – How Germany’s Past is Shaping its European Future [2014]; and The European Identity – Historical and Cultural Realities We Cannot Deny [2015]. Stephen Green is married with two daughters.
Lord Green and myself did readily agree that we would not talk about banking or the EU Referendum – and, accordingly, chose the topic:- “Britain’s trade challenges in a global world.”. Ironically, this topic may, arguably, lie at the heart of both banking and the EU but it does elevate the serious thinking and the tone to higher levels. In fact, it’s likely to be the sort of level that you will find through this following link – http://www.capx.co/the-european-identity/.
Lord Green’s talk will be followed by our usual substantive Q&A session, which tends to be about 30 minutes.
You can bring a guest, if you wish – have a word with our office. The evening starts with Drinks from 6.00pm. Dinner will be at 6.45pm and Lord Green will speak to us at as close to 8pm as we can get with formal proceedings scheduled to finish at 9pm – enough time for more conversations and/or to still get home in reasonable time! We’re limited to 80 – so there is a need to respond quickly!
As you will see from our website, Devonshire House was set up about forty years ago – and we re-modelled it just over a year ago. The strong core purpose remains… we are Director-level professionals in leadership roles who have an instinctive focus on the human side of Enterprise. DHN members have a serious interest in all aspects of people at work and how people can flourish within whatever and wherever the work environment and context may be. I am sure that you would find many amongst our group both congenial company and professionally stimulating.
Your reasons for joining us on 26.1.16 are to do with the overall DHN offering – the Speaker, the Topic, the Director-level people you meet and good food – all very much likely on 26.1.16! We do hope you will be able to come.
