51Âþ»­

One of Britain’s most powerful business women and the director of New York’s Female Innovators Lab will discuss how female leaders drive change as part of Leicester Innovation Week.

Female Leadership and Innovation is one of three events being hosted by 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) as part of the week which aims to inspire businesses of every size and sector to embrace innovation.



51Âþ»­ is proud to be supporting Leicester Innovation Week, which kicks off today (Monday June 21) with an event at Leicester’s Space Park featuring astronaut Susie Imber. Throughout the week 51Âþ»­ will be showcasing how businesses can work with academics to explore new ways of working and create change.

The free event on Wednesday, June 23 has been organised by Professor Rachel Granger. She said: “Women represent a powerful segment of business – a market more than twice as big as China and India combined, representing $20tr in consumer spending – but why is it that few businesses still leverage female talent, especially when research shows that innovation, more likely than not, emerges from female managers and directors?

“Research shows us that leaders who are willing to change direction on women’s input are more than twice as likely to tap into winning ideas. In today’s climate, where innovating can be a matter of business survival, we explore the role of female leadership in this.”

Special guests will be Heather Melville OBE, head of global client experience at PwC – who is also chair of CMI Women, Katie Palencsar, Director of the Female Innovators Lab by Barclays and Anthemis in New York; Eileen Richards MBE, Chair of the East Midlands Chamber and Heather McLaughlin, Dean of Business and Law at 51Âþ»­. 

Tomorrow, 51Âþ»­’s creative tech experts will look at the opportunities technologies like VR and AI offer businesses – with practical examples. It is designed for manufacturers, programmers, designers and creatives. https://bizgateway.org.uk/events/creative-technologies-for-game-changing-business-ideas-leicsiw2021/

On Thursday, Dr Andrew Reeves of 51Âþ»­’s sustainable development team will be looking at how businesses can cut carbon use and adopt greener business methods to positively impact climate change.

And 51Âþ»­’s Innovation Centre is in the spotlight at an event which aims to showcase all the vibrant spaces available to start-ups in Leicester and Leicestershire, led by James Burkmar of the LCB Depot.

Other highlights of the week include a focus on innovations in the way we travel, featuring HORIBA MIRA’s Head of Horizon Scanning, Anthony Baxendale.  This event explores the connections between hydrogen vehicles, cyber security, the issues around electric cars and how these emerging questions affect the skills agenda.  

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals and Chair of the Leicester Innovation Board explains: “Innovation is about thinking differently, developing ideas and identifying new opportunities, which often fulfil a gap in the market and in individual businesses.

“The Leicester Innovation Board was established this year to bring together leaders from the public and private sectors, as well as academia. Its aim is to create a long term Innovation Strategy for Leicestershire, which builds collaborations, growth and opportunities, and safeguards the future prosperity and productivity of our businesses, workforce and communities.

“Innovation takes many forms, but often it’s as simple as making day to day changes within an organisation to improve efficiency, productivity and performance. Building an ‘ideas culture’ within an organisation is also key, so every person has a role to play.

“Innovation alongside continuous improvement is something that every business, no matter how small, needs to embrace as a core part of its operations, in order to be competitive and continue to grow.”

Helen Donnellan, Director of Enterprise and Business Services at 51Âþ»­, will join Dr Kotecha at an event on Thursday discussing innovation in Leicestershire. She is a member of the new Leicester Innovation Board.