Carl Chouler is Founder and Chairman of the Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES). In 2004 he formed YES to help meet the needs of aspiring young entrepreneurs and connect like-minded individuals with a strong interest in enterprise. YES is not-for-profit and exists to kickstart budding entrepreneurs into business - www.yes-yorkshire.com Networking online can save time and but there is nothing better than meeting face to face. Online there are a multitude of sites being developed. Some are useful, others just fill up your inbox. Big networking events have the advantage of meeting lots of new people but equally smaller events, such as YES events, are great for developing deeper relationships. Check out your local Chamber of Commerce, Junior Chamber of Commerce and local BNG ( Business Networking Group) for large meetings or alternatively let us know where you are and we will organise a small YES event especially for you!! However you choose to do it… Network, network, network!!! www.yes-yorkshire.com For more information on YES networking events email network@yes-yorkshire.com

Charlotte is the Vice Chair of IoD Young Directors Forum in Yorkshire and Humber and a Director of Pollenation. Pollenation specialise in open source web and software development. The team have worked with clients such as the Country of Oman, Halifax, Interactive Finance, Deutsche Bank, Super League and many more. Pollenation is founded on the premise that a small experienced team will be more productive, produce better quality work and ultimately be more cost effective than any large team of junior staff. We use the same technologies that drive Google, Wall Street and NASA. As a small software company, we remain agile and able to keep pace with the development of internet technologies, and in some cases we also help to build them!

Claire Morley-Jones is Chair of the IoD Young Directors Forum in Yorkshire and Humber and also the Managing Director of 2 hr businesses, hr180 and hr828. hr180 is an HR consultancy delivering positive bottom line improvements through the better engagement, utilisation and productivity of staff. hr828, on the other hand is an HR advice and support service for SME’s, offering immediate telephone and e-mail support for those with staffing challenges. Claire is passionate about development and through the IoD leads a committed group of individuals who provide leadership development, peer support and networking opportunities to the emerging leaders of Yorkshire.

David Powell is the Business Networking Director for JCI Leeds.He describes himself as a “timelord, which has nothing to do with Doctor Who”, but everything to do with saving businesses as much money as possible through managing their overheads. He’s a passionate advocate of networking, and attends any and all networking opportunities he can.

Diane is a Youth Work Manager and has worked BARCA-Leeds since it was establsihed in 1994. BARCA-Leeds is a multipurpose organisation providing a range of different services for young people and is linked into the National Youth Bank UK programme.

Etta Cohen has grown Forward Ladies from just five ladies to almost 3,000 members. Last year she organised over 60 events, attended by around 4,000 businesswomen. Etta also provides training workshops, mentoring, business surgeries, and even foreign trade missions with her recent visit to South Africa working with lions and other wild animals in a bid to raise money for her brand new venture, the Forward Ladies Charity Account, which will raise money for worthwhile causes in her home region of Yorkshire.

Imran Ali describes himself as a ‘dotcom guy’: A veteran of the dotcom boom in 1999, several tech startups and now founding partner of an emerging technologies think tank, Carbon Imagineering.

Peter Boydell organises Inventure, a new and fast-growing society for entrepreneurs. Inventure hosts regular informal networking event for young entrepreneurs, and is open to all who want to chat and drink with entrepreneurs and like-minded people. Events are held on the first Tuesday of every month. Contact peter@leedsinventure.com or visit www.leedsinventure.com :-)