The SHE Show North West 2012

Barrister

Gerard Forlin was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn and appointed Queen's Counsel 2010 in both Civil and Criminal (see www.qcappointments.org).

Education:
London School of Economics          LLB (Hons) and LLM
Trinity Hall, Cambridge University  M.Phil.
University College London              Diploma in Air and Space Law

Languages spoken:
English, French, Italian

He was previously Senior Crown Counsel, Hong Kong

Gerard is also called to the Bar in Australia and is a member of Denman Chambers in Sydney.

His areas of expertise, in which he also acts globally, include the following:

Regulatory, specialising in health and safety and corporate and gross negligence manslaughter, disaster litigation, Aviation, railways, shipping safety, diving, oil and gas, environmental crime, construction, professional discipline, public inquiries, fraud, regulatory offences, product liability, healthcare, commercial fishing (EU), consumer crime, licensing, corruption and bribery, waste offences, human rights and inquests.

The Legal 500 continues recognition of Gerard's practice.  Having taken Silk, Gerard is ranked in the newly amalgamated grouping 'Consumer and product liability', and 'Health, safety and environment'.  In Consumer law Gerard is singled out as showing "impressive judgement and strategic skill".  In the 2009 edition he is described as a 'formidable advocate with strength in technical and industrial product claims' 'managing the evidence well and is very good with juries'.

In September 2008 he is described as a 'manslaughter specialist', clients praising his 'great industry knowledge' and 'incredible work ethic', recent cases include acting for Balfour Beatty on the Hatfield crash.  "Forlin's robust style of advocacy, easy client manner and market awareness all combine with the above to merit a first-tier ranking".

In Chambers and Partners 2011 he is ranked as a leading new Silk in Health and Safety.  Interviewees describe him as "an old-fashioned jury advocate with excellent knowledge of his subject and a great feel for his cases".  "A seasoned defender of international blue-chip companies in fatality cases, he is a tireless performer".

He has been involved in over 250 fatality cases and has appeared in the vast majority of major cases in this field in the last ten years.  He also acts for the environment agency on policy issues.

In the last four years he has been ranked in no fewer than five areas in both the leading independent directories including:

1. Health and Safety
2. Crime
3. Public Inquiries and Inspections
4. Consumer Law; and
5. Environmental Law

Gerard is also:

• Special Adviser to the Bar Council on the Corporate Manslaughter Bill (2005)
• Consultant to a recent Global Aviation Concordat on Aviation Safety
• Standing Counsel to numerous Plc's, Unions and Government Departments in the UK and abroad.  Acts for Crown Departments on Crown Censure (Occasional AG nomination)
• Consultant to the Army and various police forces
• Licensed to be instructed directly by members of the public

Gerry has been involved in over 250 fatality cases and has appeared in the vast majority of pivotal cases in this field in the last ten years, including:

• Watford Train Crash
• Southall Train Crash
• Paddington Train Cash and many more

Ken Woodward is the world's most inspiring and memorable safety speaker.

In a horrifying workplace accident he lost his eyesight as well as his sense of taste and smell.  It left his family devastated and his colleagues traumatised.

Like all accidents, it could have been prevented.  From that moment on he was determined to do all he could to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else.

Since then, his dedication towards creating positive safety cultures and setting new standards has improved the working lives of thousands of people and changed the way hundreds of organisations operate.

Over the last decade he has become a globally recognised figure, providing people with the awareness, mindset and confidence to comfortably approach occupational safety issues with a fresh perspective.

Astonishingly, in one year alone, he made 112 flights, 19 overseas trips and 285 presentations to stop others being hurt.

Vice President Manufacturing

Coca-Cola & Schweppes Beverages

Bob Cameron is an Independent Operations Management Consultant who did his apprenticeship as a Board Director of Kellogg Co of GB Ltd and Board Director of Coca-Cola Schweppes Beverages latterly Coca-Cola Enterprises.  He operates in management coaching, re-launch of new products during period of intense equipment installation, improving productivity, stretching automatic warehouse capacity, rationalising subsidiary company collective agreements to a core agreement, Quality Management to name but a few.  Essentially he addresses how to earn more value from the system to yield more for less and have fun doing it!

Detective Inspector

North Wales Police

Jim is a Detective Inspector with North Wales Police, currently the Intelligence Manager for the Force.  He has 28 years service, with more than 20 years Detective experience, in all aspects of major crime, including fatality in the workplace, receiving commendations on four occasions.

For more than 10 years, he has provided training in many aspects of criminal law and investigation methods to North Wales Police and other forces and law enforcement agencies.

Founder

David Hitchcock Limited

David has been working as an ergonomics and safety practitioner since 1986.  In addition to his private consultancy, David has been Head of the Human Focussed Design Centre at Loughborough University, Chair of the Third Age Unit for Research into Usability and Safety, and Head of CEDS Research, a group dedicated to working with and on behalf of those who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged. 

David established his own consultancy to provide a flexible, collaborative and client-focused approach to the pragmatic application of ergonomics principles.  He maintains his academic links with both Loughborough as an occasional lecturer at Birmingham University as module leader and postgraduate examiner. 

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and a Chartered Member of IOSH and he drums in a heavy metal band despite his increasing years!

Driver Development Manager

Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services

Nobby has always had an interest in traffic/road safety, and in 1985 whilst serving in the Royal Air Force he found an opportunity to start off his 'Road safety' career.

Between 1983 and 1986 he was stationed in Germany and worked on a very large Operational Tornado base.  On the base was a school for service children aged 5 - 11 years old.  He went on to introduce a very successful programme on the base and was delighted to receive an Air Officers in Chief Commendation for his work based at RAF Bruggen.

On returning from Germany to RAF Marham in Norfolk he built up his catalogue of Road safety materials and shortly after left the RAF and joined the Cheshire Police in late 1987.

This was an ideal opportunity to further his interest in Road Safety and during his time on probation and as an operational police offer on general police duties he attended many schools, both primary and secondary to deliver various Road Safety workshops for the children.

In 1991 he applied for specialisation as a Traffic Officer and went on to be trained as an advance police motorcyclist and police car driver.  This again was an opportunity to continue with Road safety work and also to gradually expand and develop the various workshops.  This resulted in literally hundreds and hundreds of initiatives at nursery, primary and secondary schools.  This developed to Colleges, businesses across Cheshire, cadet organisations, women's institute and many more.

Mixed in with these sessions he developed a Major Road safety initiative across Cheshire which included the aquisition and use of a major Road safety display mobile unit which toured exhibitions, race meetings, open days and many more events through the year.

Over a period of 12 years he teamed up with Cheshire County Council Road Safety Unit and toured various schools across the County delivering Road safety workshops, which were ultimately timetabled into the school curriculum and became a permanent feature on the schools annual learning programme.

In 2000 he developed the extremely successful 'Drive Survive' course for young drivers.  This is a free full day course involving all the emergency services, highways agency and A&E professionals which accommodated up to 100 young people on each course and to date has had some 20,000 young people attend.

He trained as a Road Policing Families Liaison Officer and went on to attend many serious/fatal road traffic collisions in this role and worked with and supported many families through the difficult time of bereavement due to a Road Traffic Collision.

Nobby remained a fully operational traffic policeman throughout his career in the Cheshire Police and carried out his Road Safety duties in additional to his traffic policing role.

As a result of the success of his Road safety programme, in 2005 he was given the role of Force Road Safety Officer, this enabled him to give all his time to the production and implementation of Road Safety initiatives across the country.

Throughout his time in the Police Service he was lucky enough to receive 3 Police commendations and 2 Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Awards for his services to Road Safety.

In 2006 he was approached by Balfour Beatty Power Networks to deliver a Road Safety workshop across their business.  This was duly completed at numerous locations across the UK and 2000 people attended.

As a result of this he was successful in getting his current post with Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services upon his retirement from the police in 2008 and since January 2009 Driver Risk management business has been successful in receiving 14 various Road Safety awards including the ROSPA Gold managing occupational road risk and a Prince Michael of Kent Road Safety Award.

Pete's career began in 1978 when at 16 he won his first offshore race.  Since then he has sailed over 200,000 nautical miles; competed in seven classic international events; skippered Hofbrau Lager in a circumnavagation of the globe the 'wrong way' against the prevailing winds and currents in the British Steel Challenge 1992/93.  In every venture Pete has always been among the first three place winner.  Pete combines a ferocious will to win, 'competitive tenacity' as fellow yachtsman Chay Blyth describes it - with the mental and physical discipline of a Royal Marine.

His awards include the Royal Naval Sailing Association's Trophy for outstanding seamanship and the Sir Alec Rose Trophy for most outstanding single handed achievement of the year, this for sailing into second place in class in the Carlsberg Single handed Transatlantic race on Cornish Meadow, an extreme catamaran and the smallest at 26ft to cross the Atlantic east to west.

In 1983 Pete became skipper of the Royal Marines training yacht.  In 1990 he was appointed training development manager for the British Steel Challenge, responsible for training every single prospective amateur crew volunteer for the 1992/3 race.  His training responsibilities continue and he has taught over 150 amateur sailors the skills required to circumnavigate the globe the 'wrong way'.

He has a record of competitive excellence that includes four transatlantic and two round the world races.  The most recognised being the 1996/7 Vendee Globe non-stop single-handed round the world yacht race in his Open 50 yacht 'Aquq Quorum'.  It was this race that included the dramatic rescue of fellow competitor Raphael Dinelli for which Pete has been awarded the MBE by HM The Queen and the Legion d'Honneur by the French President.

In 2000 Pete gathered together the team and sponsors that enabled the construction of the world famous giant catamaran 'Team Philips'; a five year long project that ended with the sad loss of the boat, but thankfully not the crew, in a freak mid Atlantic storm during December.  In 2006 Two-handed Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race is a return to competitive sailing for him and the latest of numerous seafaring adventures, having previously competed in six transatlantic and two Round-the-World races.

Always leading from the front Pete is recognised as someone who can put teams together and make things happen, sometimes against seemingly impossible odds.  Working on the cutting edge of technology his teams have to be both complex and diverse.  Their skills and responsibility range from design to build, sponsorship, PR and of course the adventure itself.

Pete is a founder and Trustee of the charity 'Cornwall Playing for Success'.  He will be raising both awareness and funds, as well as providing an educational vehicle, through his entry in the 2006 Round Britain and Ireland Race.  Playing for Success is a national out-of-school-hours education iniative, aimed at raising literacy, numeracy and IT skills in children who have unrealised potential.  They often don't quite connect with school, leaving them feeling disaffected and demoralised.

In October 2008 Pete and a crew of 3, including his 14 year old son Eliot, set out on an epic five-month and 11,800 mile journey to Australia from Newlyn in Cornwall.  The boat Spirit of Mystery was made by Pete and a team of specialist boat builders as a reproduction of a traditional Cornish Lugger which made the same journey some 154 years earlier.  To remember and commemorate the achievements of the brave men who made that journey Pete decided to attempt it once again.

The crew arrived in Melbourne, Australia in March 2009 having successfully completed a journey which saw them navigating by the stars and overcoming rough seas and injury. 

Director

The Sophia Centre

Maxine Fawcett is a director of The Sophia Centre Ltd, a change consultancy focused on raising corporate consciousness around safety, sustainability and social responsibility and changing behaviour. She works primarily in the oil & gas industry, as well as with major construction projects and mining. Maxine has 30 years’ experience of helping global organisations, and the individuals who work in them, go through change.

Maxine says: “We need to change how we think, shift our beliefs about what is possible or needed, be clear about what is really important to us and actively think about the legacy we are leaving our children. We first need to become more conscious about our own mindsets, behaviours, habits and the collective actions of the organisations within which we work. With wisdom and heroic leadership, we then need to aim for a shift in consciousness that dramatically and permanently alters the way we do business.  We need to become the seeds of change”.