Recent
Events
ICSC, Las Vegas
This event attracted 53,000 delegates. Roy was the MC and
interviewer.
International Olympic Committee
Roy was hired to moderate a series of panel discussions in the City of Lausanne
Symantec Europe
Roy was the MC and moderator for The 4th largest software company in the world in The Hague
....read moreWhat Clients Say
Scroll down this page for a huge collection of client testimonials. These have been included because it is not possible to show video of Roy 'in action'. Most of what he does is client confidential.
But here on video is what Roy is like to work with:
Many thanks to: Andy Key of One Box Productions, Keith Bennett at Unlimited, Mike Lancaster at Conference Co-ordination and Kevin Parr at Parr Marketing.
“Having worked with Roy on several occasions I have no hesitation in recommending Roy as both a facilitator and guest speaker. His ability to grasp the objectives, devise a customised approach to match the needs of his clients is second to none. Likewise his professionalism is second to none. He has always proved to be a great asset in focusing the audience to consider, focus and take on board new ideas and recognise the values and returns from Networking. I never have any reservations in recommending Roy as I can always guarantee he will deliver. He is a pleasure to work with as he has the ability and persona to recognise what everyone is aiming to achieve. A true Gentleman, a true Professional and an individual I feel honoured to have met and worked with on several occasions.” Nigel Greaves, Owner at NGA Events
“Roy always delivers. He is hugely professional and highly competent. We've had some of our best feedback from events that Roy has had a hand in.”
Owen Ashby, CMO at Think Smart Marketing. Formerly Head of Marcomms UK at Unisys
“I have had the pleasure of working with Roy on a number of occasions and his help and assistance during my time as Chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers World Summit which hosted over 1000 delegates was outstanding. He contributed to the success of that event beyond the expected role for which he was retained.” Ian Watt, Trustee at International Council of Shopping Centers, South Africa
“We hired Roy as the compere for our European customer event. On stage he was energetic and personable, and unflappable in the face of unforeseen events and difficult situations. He challenged the speakers to deliver value to the audience, and offered useful coaching and feedback during rehearsals.”
Mathew Lodge, Senior Director, Product Marketing Symantec
“I have known Roy for 25 years. We have worked together on many occasions in TV, radio and on the conference and meetings circuit — and he has always been a joy and, of course, a professional. An example is on one occasion we brought Roy in to facilitate a three-day conference (in Barcelona) for a major international pharma company. A large part of the conference was an extended and detailed discussion about the merits of a complex drug for an audience of 170 senior doctors from all around the world, Roy handled it superbly. He THEN had to give them a presentation on how to give a presentation at 2pm, the notorious graveyard shift, and with an audience where only 5% used English as their first language. The fact that the audience were enthralled and ranked the session so highly is a testament to Roy’s skill. Would I recommend Roy? Absolutely yes. He does what it says on the tin — and he does it very, very well indeed.”
Richard Cobourne, Producer and Director at On Screen Productions Ltd. FCIPR (Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations)
“I have met, and experienced, Roy on numerous occasions over the years. On one recent occasion, he has moderated our HP Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) NonStop Customer Council, a gathering of C-level executives of our most important HP NonStop EMEA customers, where Roy was the facilitator for this 2-day meeting. This is not a marketing meeting! This meeting serves as an important evaluation of the business relationship HP NonStop has with these customers; positive as well as negative, and always highly sensitive, information gets discussed in this, at times, highly charged meeting. Roy’s role as facilitator for this meeting requires him to be sensitive to the issues being presented, add himself in where the meeting is heading into a “dead-end”, and equally important, he knows when to just be quiet and let things flow! One of his welcome trademarks is his knack for asking the difficult questions, which, for whatever reason, are not being asked (either of the customer or of HP NonStop). His keen sense of timing, his ability to think on his feet, add humor when appropriate or required, all have made Roy a welcome repeat host for not just our HP NonStop customer council, but other events as well! Roy understands, that the facilitator role is not a “show-case” for him, but a role to make the meeting the best it can be. His personality and professionalism put the organizers at ease, and creates excitement in, and for, the audience, wondering what he will do or say next! I encourage you to experience him yourself in one of your next events. You and your event will be better for it!” Mike Hurst, Director, Global Field Marketing at HP
“My most recent engagement with Roy was as the conference moderator for Symantec's EMEA User conference. With over 1,600 attendees, Roy co-ordinated the interaction between various levels of speakers from CEO (John Thompson), keynote sessions (Senior Vice President, Marketing Directors and Chief Information officers) ensuring that each attendee had the opportunity to realise maximum benefit from the event. Succinct, factual and always willing to push the boundaries, Roy made the event the success that we hoped it would be. Having worked with Roy for over 7 years he continues to act as 'the conscience' of the audience. A different approach to others, although once you have worked with Roy you realise why his approach has your audience acknowledging the real benefit in attending events that Roy moderates for you. Roy has a great ability to make people feel positive about themselves and try new things, that work !!” Kevin Bailey, Director, Product Marketing EMEA, Symantec
“Roy came highly recommended and once I met him it was no great surprise. Roy gets it, by that I mean he deploys a level of listening that means he gets under the skin of your business and the needs of your team. Knowing that Roy wants to understand your business means you can really share what you are trying to achieve, and because Roy is very bright and very experienced you know he is going to understand your business. You couldn't ask for a better starting point for developing your event from there Roy's creativity and an eye for detail means your event will always run smoothly. Once you've tried him you'll not look back.”
Liz Brandt (nee Brown), UK Sales and Marketing, Logica
“I had the pleasure of working with Roy for a keynote at our user conference, Vision. The keynote had lots of parts to it and Roy's professionalism to help us make it run smoothly was fantastic. I was a little sceptical of the 'conscience of the audience' but it worked really well - Roy has a talent for listening and then being able to ask questions which evidently other people were also thinking.” Guy Bunker, Senior Director, Distinguished Engineer, Technical Strategy Group, Symantec Corporation
“I had the pleasure to work with Roy many times, the two words which best define him are professional and sparkling, Working with him was an real pleasure, was fun and instructive, but it was also a great honour.”
Giorgia Sanfiori, EMEA Corporate Events Senior Manager, Nortel Networks
“Over the years Roy has been a most reliable live event presenter/host/facilitator. 'A safe pair of hands' does not begin to describe what he brings to an event - a level of insight, engagement, fun and sheer powerful communication, comes closer. I look forward to the next time we can work together." Tim Horrox, HMX Corporate Communication
“Roy is a great facilitator. He has the ability to be the voice of the audience and friend of the speaker all at the same time. He gets the best out of a speaker yet makes sure that audience get the information they want. Clever man.” Katrina FitzGerald/ Foster, Conference Producer/Project Director
“Roy worked with me in preparing my keynote presentations for our most important business partner conference of the year. He is able to move between levels readily, from the helicopter view of what's to be achieved, down to practical coaching on diction, posture and movement. By constantly challenging my aims and message, Roy was able to distill my presentation to its essence, making it punchy, memorable and a pleasure to present. Without his help, the whole event would not have been the great success that it was - I recommend Roy very strongly to anyone preparing important communications.”
Chris Jagusz, Chief Executive at Eurotel Limited. Former General Manager at BT plc
“I first worked with Roy Sheppard at our EMEA Conference, where he was described to me as someone who could make IT humourous, and say all the things that the audience would want to hear but few would dare to ask . I wasn't disappointed. His relaxed but professional style of presentation and cheeky but natural interviews had the audience gripped from the opening sentence and talking about little else for the next 3 days! What wasn't conveyed to me however was how much fun Roy would be to work with.. I look forward to the opportunity to work with him again...” Sara Levison, Director of Marketing, UK/Ireland Region - EMEA at Symantec Europe
“Having Roy moderate our 2 day meeting ensured an overall event consistency, fun and an engaged group. He was a real partner during the event planning, continually looking at how he could add value.”
Ange Dunselman-Kunzmann, Communications Director at Philips Design
“I have known Roy ever since I got into the professional speaking business and just like today, when I started out he was one of the leading speakers and conference moderators on the circuit. What I didn't understand at the time was what a conference moderator does or indeed how difficult, challenging and extremely important a role it is. If you think that anyone can get up on stage and link the speakers then you are wrong. Conference moderation is an art form and one that Roy is a master of. I have seen Roy perform this role on a number of occasions over the years both as an audience member and as a conference speaker and I have always been very impressed the amount of preparation he puts in, the level of creative input he can offer a convention team based on his years of experience and the impact he has on the event itself when he is on stage. So if you have a convention or conference that needs a skilled communicator at the helm, (one with considerable journalistic experience too), then Roy is your man.”
Michael Tipper, Memory Coach
“Roy is an excellent moderator of conferences. He spends the time to learn the topics and keeps the audience engaged and interested.” Shannon Kellogg, Director - Information Security Policy at EMC Corporation
“I am fortunate to have worked with Roy many times over the years and can recommend his services absolutely without reservation. The two words that spring most readily to my mind when considering Roy’s work are ‘professionalism’ and ‘integrity’ and these attributes combine to make him both very easy to work with and highly effective in the results that he consistently delivers. His unerring ability to get right to the core of the issues whilst bringing out the very best in those with whom he is sharing the stage, makes him the perfect choice of facilitator for any live event. That he can do this succinctly and, when appropriate, with humour and most importantly without becoming the star of the show, are significant bonuses. As an event producer, if Roy is involved in a project you just know that the client, the presenters and the audience are all in the safest pair of hands around.” Ian Johnston, producer, i2i Technical Services
“I have worked alongside Roy on a couple of occasions, introducing him to a client as a potential presenter at their Annual Conference. On both occasions he cut quickly to the heart of what the client wanted as well as needed. Was very professional in his recommendation and helped the client to decide the best route for the conference. I have happily recommended him to clients since, value his expertise and on a personal level his counsel.” Mike Willoughby, Sales Director , PMC Ltd
“Roy has worked as a moderator for large events and smaller executive events. Roy works well with an international audience demonstrating professionalism enthusiasm and respect. He is particularly good at encouraging full involvement and engagement from all.” Neil Pringle, NonStop Director EMEA, HP
“Roy worked in a role as both a facilitator and in building client testimonials. As well as a very rapid appreciation of the key areas of the business, Roy has an excellent nature with the 'audience' and clients alike. Never condescending and always smart. He didn't let companies take the easy approach with employee sessions and really delivered great value.” Cath Rawcliffe, VP Sales & Marketing at SimCorp. Formerly Head of Sales Independent Operations at ACI Worldwide
“Just hire Roy! You absolutely won't regret it. He's the very best!” Justyn Comer, Investment Banking Consultant and Contractor
“During my time at British American Tobacco I worked with Roy in facilitating 2 major events and also attended 3 other events at which he was facilitator. Roy was always very professional, with detailed background research and attention to detail. He is excellent at holding an audience with both humour and insightful comment. I would have no hesitation in using Roy again and can recommend him highly.” John Paterson, Managing Director , Murray Industries Ltd
“I hired Roy on a number of occasions as a Conference Moderator for both Sales and User Group Events. He worked alongside me and my team and was enthusiastic, professional and motivational. Colleagues and Customers enjoyed his expert delivery and he enhanced our company's reputation as a result.”
LYNDA ARMSTRONG, Sales and Business Development Consultant, Interim Manager & Executive Coach. Former Sales and marketing Director at Ceridian/Centrefile
“I've worked with Roy on several occasions in his capacity as a Conference Moderator and have enjoyed his books and seminars; I can't recommend him highly enough. Excellent at what he does, Roy has the uncanny knack of making what he does look easy (it isn't)... whilst making the client look great; a true professional and a pleasure to work with.” Andrew Key, Business Communications Expert
“Roy is a dynamic and incredibly captivating consultant - speaker who connects at both the technology and business level. I would not hesitate to engage Roy one second to put my clients at ease and validate credibility. A terrific asset to any organization; engage Roy with confidence. Jon Harms HP Company” Jon Harms, NonStop Product Specialist, HP
Associations
"Thank you for the fantastic job in managing the world's leading retail real estate professionals. You really did help them look and present better.
Your focused and entertaining stewardship of the World Summit made all of us at ICSC look good as the event exceeded expectations. I hope we have a chance to work together soon.
Please feel free to use my name as a reference; it would be a pleasure to recommend you most highly." Scott Harris, ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) New York, USA
"Please accept my sincere thanks and great appreciation for your contribution as the moderator at the second ISO Networking Conference Networking in a new information and communication environment in Ottawa on 15-16 May. I would like to join the words of Hugh Krentz, the Chairman of SCC, who said "you are the best of all moderators". Owing to your valuable contribution and the contribution made by the speakers, the hosting ISO member and all participants, the Conference appears to have been a great success. It was attended by 109 managers and experts in fields related to information, marketing, training and public relations from 31 countries. Once again, thank you for your contribution... and I look forward to meeting you again!" Alan Bryden, Secretary-General, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
"...a huge thank you for making Monday such an enjoyable day. Several delegates, including board members, said you were 'a real find'(!) and commented on how you turned an ordinary day into something much better".
Judi Reader, Business Manager, The Institute of Clinical Research
"Thank you, so much for your contribution to our Conference, and the thought and hard work that went into preparing for it.
With your help, this Conference marked a milestone in the re-establishment of the Annual European Conference. Over 500 delegates from 34 countries around the world came together to do business and hear new ideas. The feedback has been very positive.
With some serious on-site challenges, it was a great relief to know that the proceedings on stage were in safe hands. I enjoyed working with you, and learning from you. I look forward to working with you again." Ermine Amies, Managing Director, ICSC Europe
"As Chairman of the IVCA, I am writing to thank you for your outstanding contribution as facilitator and presenter at our Convention at BAFTA last week. The audience reaction to the event has been very favourable indeed and much of this praise goes to you for your sheer professionalism, thoughtfulness and in-depth knowledge of our industry. Your comments were extremely thought provoking and elicited exactly the right response from both speakers and audience alike. As a producer of videos and live events, I know how much preparation needs to be done to hold together and present an event such as that, but I believe that you went beyond the call of duty on our behalf!" John Gordon-Saker
"We were particularly impressed with the 'homework' that you had obviously done on the Exhibition Industry - and this preparation showed through. Many thanks and we look forward to having another opportunity to work with you in the future".
Keith Reading, Commercial Director, Show International Ltd.
Automotive
"Thank you so much for all your help with our Volvo conference in Tenerife. We have had some excellent feedback from the dealers as to content and presentation style, and I feel you very successfully represented their interests on stage. Your contribution during the preparation time was also greatly appreciated by our senior managers. There is no doubt that you brought a new focus to the words and tone used by the presenters. The result was much more dynamic and personal. Thanks again!". Re-booked for Volvo Dealer conference in Barcelona, Jan 2003. Lesley Milne, Internal Communications Manager, Volvo Car UK Limited
"...As always, your contribution made an enormous difference, from help with the scripts through to the personal coaching which enabled our speakers to relax and give of their best. Your role as dealers' representative built nicely on last year and satisfied the audience that they had a voice in the proceedings. We have had excellent feedback from our dealers and I confidently predict we will reap the benefit in the next Dealer Attitude Survey! Many thanks Roy, and I hope we have the opportunity of working with you again in the future." Lesley Milne, Internal Communications Managers, Volvo Car UK
"In the course of the last 5 years AA Membership has embarked upon an extensive communication programme to its staff to enlighten and inform them of changes and developments within the business. Roy Sheppard was selected as presenter for both our audio and video programmes. Roy’s professionalism in this sphere coupled with his lively personality, energetic humour and charismatic styling brought the perfect balance to our programmes where topics were as diverse as technical information to topical news items. Roy’s popularity with both audience and participants alike was reflected in his ability to bring out the best in people and boost programme popularity." Cathy Billett, Manager Marketing Communications, The AA
"I have known Roy since 1989 when he first worked on Grapevine, our regular employee news video. I have always found him well-versed in business matters and well-informed generally, being particularly quick to pick up new ideas. I have been interviewed by him on many occasions and he has never failed to give a professional performance." John M. Neill CBE, The Group Chief Executive, UGC.
"You have been a major player in ensuring we have exceeded our client's expectations. The two more major projects that stand out where you made a major contribution were the Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice and the UK Unipart Roadshow. In the both cases the client could not believe their success in achieving both sales and motivating objectives." Mike Black, Creative Director, Complete Communications (a division of UGC).
"I have worked with Roy for four years now and have never known him to be anything other than totally professional. He is a competent interviewer particularly on business subjects and has the ability to set any interviewee at their ease and get the best from them. Amongst our crews he is legendary as a one-take wonder! I would recommend him to anyone looking for a versatile all-round presenter/interviewer." Corinne Richman, Producer, Complete Communications.
Computer/IT/Telecom
"Roy displayed a high level of flexibility, professionalism and humour, a trio of attributes not easy to replicate in my experience. He was able to keep the program lively and relevant, and his enthusiasm helped make the affair successful. Much of his effectiveness stems from his interest in and knowledge of much of the subject material, and I can recommend him for other events where this would be true". Joel S. Birnbaum, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, California
"Roy Sheppard did an excellent job. His professionalism and sense of humour contributed significantly to the success of the meeting, despite the fact that he is not part of the computer industry. I would recommend him highly for similar events". Alex Sozonoff , General Manager, Sales and Distribution, Hewlett-Packard, Santa Clara, California
"I would like to thank you personally for your tremendous contribution to the overall success of the event. As you know this event was no small task, with 700 Sales and Marketing people, over 40 separate speakers, actors, a voting system, a live satellite link with the CEO of Intel, Andy Grove ..the list of technicalities seemed endless. I know I speak not just for myself ..without you it would have been near to impossible to accomplish what we did in the time that was available to us. Your professionalism; understanding of people and flexibility throughout our time in Berlin made, not only my life much easier, but the end result outstanding. It goes without saying that when we have a need for presenters on any of our conferences, Roy, I will undoubtedly take great pleasure in working with you again. Many many thanks for a superb job". Christine Daniels, Managing Director, Face to Face Productions Ltd.
"We have just concluded our Hewlett-Packard Computer Products Europe KICK-OFF event for approximately 700 sales and marketing staff in Berlin. The feedback from the participants has been extraordinarily positive and is due to a large extent to Roy Sheppard who was very visible throughout the three day event as News Presenter, Interviewer, Master of Ceremonies and Raconteur.
Many of the delegates were amazed at his ability as an outsider to grasp the HP culture quickly as well as understand our products/reseller/end user focus in a very short period of time. This was well illustrated when one of our attendees asked Roy "if he was an HP employee or a professional" - there is no doubt whatsoever that he is the consummate professional!
I can unreservedly recommend Roy Sheppard for any event (large or small) which requires that the above and other skills be utilised in a live or video tape manner to thoroughly motivate an audience". David McDonald, Event Co-ordinator, Hewlett-Packard SA Geneva
"Thank you very much for the excellent job you did at our Kick Off meeting in January.
We have now analysed all the feedback and I’m delighted to say that the interview approach was very well received by our staff. On the day, your enthusiasm and wit contributed enormously to the overall success of the conference and kept things flowing in a lively and interesting way. In particular, I should like to thank you for the thought and energy that you put into the interviews leading up to the event and for the help and confidence you gave our ‘interviewees’. As you know, most were completely new to this approach and, therefore, understandably nervous and sceptical. You will, I’m sure, be pleased, but not surprised to hear that after the event, all said they would prefer to use this approach again. I hope that we will have an opportunity to work together again in the future.
In the meantime, please feel free to quote any of my comments or to put anyone interested in following up references, in touch with me, and I will confirm how happy we were with your work for us." Jane Berry, Marketing Communications Manager Europe, ICL Retail
"I can't quite thank you enough for what you did on our behalf at Networks. To launch a Live T.V. channel at an event incorporating interviews, news, roving cameras, corporate focuses et al takes an immense amount of preparation from a content and technical perspective. Even then it has to be delivered. We had two options - either an infamous T.V. personality or a lesser known professional. Thank God we chose you! It is rare to find someone prepared to spend days learning about Computer Networking (not a simple subject) in order to raise the professional standard of interaction required with industry figureheads. In pure delivery you were, as I had heard, outstanding - in front of over 40,000 professionals, and the compliments that we have received I pass to you. Keep all available dates free!" James Latham, Managing Director, Independent Network Marketing Ltd
"Thanks for the excellent work you did for us throughout the recent Mercury Conferences. From the very beginning, I was very impressed by your commitment to absorbing as much information as possible about Mercury and the issues that you would be discussing through the course of the conferences. All your hard work, as well as our confidence in you, was well rewarded at the conferences themselves. You managed to take the ‘internal debate’ further than it has been taken in the past and, you achieved that by being well-informed, credible and extremely professional. Importantly, you consistently demonstrated your ability to work as an integrated member of the team, something much appreciated by all of us at Spectrum and indeed, by our client. I am sure we will work together again in the future." David Zolkwer, Creative Director, Spectrum Communications
"... Thanks for all of the work that you have done to make the event yesterday a success. It is very encouraging to work with someone who can bring the best out of everyone involved in the delivery of such a key event. I am pleased to say that the small amount of feedback that I received so far has been very encouraging both at an event level and also the delivery and execution of the messages. A large amount of this praise must be attributable to the creativity that you brought to the event, when ensuring that the customer in the audience has received the information that he/she was looking for and also the presenter has delivered their message appropriately." Kevin Bailey, Marketing Director, StorageTek
"The event feedback has been fantastic. Everyone thought the whole show very worthwhile and you managed to strike the right balance between Facilitator and Honest Joe. Everyone was impressed how much you had grasped about the DNA of our company as well as our business in such a short time. Once again, many thanks for a great job."Alistair Lamb, Marketing Director, Rebus IS
"I would like to express my thanks to you for your outstanding contribution to what was a highly successful sales conference. Your personal expertise in interviewing techniques and understanding of our business challenges both before and during the conference managed to dispel any concerns I may have had about the proposed format. Your professionalism, that of the overall team produced a highly polished conference which provided us with outstanding business results. Thank you very much for all your energy and creative contribution before and after the conference. I hope that we will have the opportunity to work together in the future." Sam Sassoon, Logica UK Managing Director
"A huge thank you for all of your help making the Logica UK sales conference such a success. I hope you had as much fun as we all did, I'm still bathing in the glory." Liz Brown, UK Sales & Marketing Manager, Logica UK
"...thank you for your invaluable input to our kick off event this year. It was without question, the most successful event of its type that we have produced to date. The overall feedback was phenomenal on all counts. We exceeded all expectations in terms of communicating our messages, motivating our team and setting the agenda for the year ahead.
It was more than evident that your work leading up to and indeed during the event, with some of our senior speakers had a dramatic impact on the way they presented both themselves and their messages. The feedback demonstrates that your skills in terms of interviewing and linking not only entertained a potentially difficult audience, but added a level of professionalism very rarely seen at events of this nature. We are now discussing the follow up event.... I am sure we will be contacting you soon to see how you can help make this event a similar success." Owen Ashby, Marketing Communications Manager, Unisys Computer Systems
"Thank you for facilitating at ASP [Application Service Providers] last week, your presence was key to making this such a successful event. We had over 250 delegates attending the event, and the response to date has been excellent; the event questionnaire is attached for your reference along with the analysis from these - I am sure you will be pleased with the outcome!" Tim Pickard, Vice President Marketing, Netstore Group Ltd
"We, the team at Status would like to thank you for your professionalism and co-operation in making this event the success Netstore were expecting. This event would not have run so smoothly without the use of your skills, teamwork and on-site assistance. The feedback we have received from the client has been very complimentary. It was so good to work with an assertive, hands-on, friendly team member and we look forward to working with you again." Amy Knights-Whittome, Katherine Gilbert and Vicki Welham, Status Meetings Ltd.
"I am writing to express my thanks and appreciation for your hard work and input into the recent staff communication days which Apex produced for Philips Semiconductors. Philips were anxious to put across their communication messages in an interactive and open forum and your position as an independent anchorman was invaluable in gaining the delegates trust. I personally found you creative, enthusiastic and easy to work with, becoming part of the Apex team to ensure the success of the whole event. I will be recommending your services to our other clients and I hope we will have another chance to work together again soon". Paul Ashford, Managing Director, Apex marketing & Creative Communications Ltd.
"All I can say is a huge thank you. I think we delivered exactly what we set out to, and talking to some of the guests in the evening, who had been involved in the build up, they certainly felt that they had seen what we promised. Thank you, also for helping with the speaker training aspect, I know some of the presenters were very nervous; it is after all a fairly daunting stage! Your reassurance and tips on delivery really paid off, and when it counted I thought they all spoke very well. Pete wanted me to say thank you from a sound engineer point of view you controlled the interview sessions brilliantly, I don't think he missed a thing! I hope that we will be able to work with you again in the future, and especially a return to Watford next year, to see if they have actually done their bit and delivered on the issues they need to!" Jackie Chambers, Stagecraft Limited
Construction
"This is a quick note to thank you for your help in making our recent conference so successful. Your skills as a moderator and presenter ... certainly achieved everything I had hoped for in making the conference a success. I would unhesitatingly recommend your services for any such conferences in future." Peter Hooson, Commercial Director, RMC Materials
"I am writing to thank you for all your invaluable help in making our 'Stronger Together' conference such a spectacular success. Our MD has described the event as "setting a new standard for RMC Conferences". Peter Money, RMC Materials
Consultancy
"I would just like to record my thanks to you for your help in delivering a very successful meeting of our European partners in Amsterdam. The meeting was a significant departure from our traditional format and was highly successful in communicating information in a stimulating way. I particularly appreciated the time you spent in preparation with each of the speakers, which ensured that you had a thorough understanding of our issues and were able to apply this in the interviews.
It was a great pleasure to work with you. You undoubtedly added great value to the occasion and I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the near future." Geoff Dodds, Head of Marketing, Price Waterhouse Management Consultants
Fast Moving Consumer Goods
"I would like to thank you sincerely for your contribution at our Global Sustainability Summit and for helping to make it such an interesting event. We felt that the Summit was enormously worthwhile and , from the feedback so far, many of the guests agreed that it was a thoroughly enjoyable and productive two days. Please accept my thanks once again for your participation, which contributed immensely to making the gathering a success." Paul Adams, Chief Executive, British American Tobacco
"This letter is to offer my own endorsement to anyone considering using Roy Sheppard as a moderator or facilitator at a conference. Prior to a recent conference held by British American Tobacco, I had real reservations about using an external facilitator. I was principally concerned as to whether he would try to "hog the show" or whether he could be in tune with the audience.
I need have had no doubts, Roy quickly grasped the mood of the audience, mixed well with them and drew out of them the issues they really wanted to put on the table. He did it in an easy, entertaining, but understated manner and proved to be a great hit with the delegates. His style of questioning made it clear to the delegates that they need not hold back. I would have no hesitation in recommending him or indeed using him again". Martin Broughton, Chairman, British American Tobacco
"I would like to sincerely thank you for all you did to make our European Management Conference such a success. As you know, we were keen to involve the delegates as much as possible, and make it a very participatory meeting. Your role was key in achieving this – both in the planning of the Conference and significantly during the Conference itself.
The Q & A sessions led by you were as usual a great success – the only criticism being that some of the delegates wanted them to go on longer! A few thought that the questions were not as tough as in the previous two conferences, and that you must be mellowing. These people have obviously not had to answer your questions! Roy, thanks for your professionalism and energy. I enjoyed working with you." Paul Adams, Managing Director, British American Tobacco
"From the moment you walked into our preparation meeting and helped us re-focus our conference agenda to better achieve our aims, through coaching some of the team on their presentations and the actual conference facilitation itself, you have done a first rate job. Indeed, your desire to help us achieve our aims outside the sole facilitation role is notable, especially in relation to the production of the video snippets. The value these added to our conference is immeasurable. Once again, thank you for a first class effort." Neil Withington, Director, Legal & Security and General Counsel, British American Tobacco plc
"Thank you on behalf of our client, Mars Confectionery, for the great job you did as facilitator on their recent National Sales Conference. Not only did you provide great links during the show, but the presenters felt you added real value in assisting them during rehearsals. I look forward to working with you again soon". Trevor D Hamilton, Managing Director, Unique Entertainment Production and Design Ltd.
"This note is just to give you my sincere thanks and appreciation for your contribution. Not only did you reveal your own consummate professionalism but we really appreciated how you got the best out of our own people. Once again thank you for your help and input". Dr RH Platt, Head of Laboratory, Unilever Research, Port Sunlight, Cheshire. (For hosting the opening of their £40million laboratory attended by the Chairman of Unilever and opened by Rt. Hon. David Hunt MP.)
"Due to circumstances beyond our control, our client (namely the Tibbett & Britten Group plc) seems to be delighted with their annual management conference at Sopwell House the other week. A large part of this success must be due to your ability to extract information from a reticent collection of managing directors and chairmen in such a way that the audience could not only follow it, but be interested in it! We have received some very nice letters from John Harvey, Mike Stalbow and Kevin Mellor, so lots of Brownie Points all round! We look forward to working with you again soon!" Robin Smurthwaite, Partner, Synapse Ltd.
"Just a short note to thank you for your excellent performance at our recent sales conference. I was most impressed by your ability to soak up the issues relating to our business, the morale of our sales force and our organisation, and then to be able to draw out the right messages from the Directors in such a way that the sales force felt that you were their spokesman. The entire task, from our early meetings, through to the final "ordeal", had the hallmarks of a true professional". John Veale, Commercial Director, Groupe Schneider
Financial
"I would like to say that all my fears about the conference were completely unfounded and you did a first class job. Over the years I have seen many speakers and in my opinion you are one of the best I have seen. Once again thanks for making our conference the success it was."
Keith Spencer, Sales Director, First National Bank Plc
"Thank you for your help at the recent Lloyds TSB Marketing Conference. As you are aware the objective of the day was to create a sense of single focus and direction across the marketing departments of our organisation. This was achieved by involving and integrating the presenters, the discussion panels and the audience. A key part of this achievement was the professional, insightful and intuitive manner in which you managed the whole day... it seems I am not the only person who valued your input as general comments stated that you played an important part in the success of the day. I welcome future opportunities of working with you again". Ford Ennals, Director of Marketing, Lloyds TSB Group plc
"A very big thank you for everything you did during the Lloyd's TSB event. Audience feedback has been incredibly positive, with a certain Mr R. Sheppard emerging as a highlight for many of the delegates. I was incredibly impressed with your performance on the day. Lloyds TSB were very pleased with the day and good news seems to have travelled... They now see what can be achieved by using a professional facilitator. Much of the success of the day was down to you and I'd like to thank you for helping me deliver a response which genuinely started to answer their individual needs." Ian Liddiard, Page and Moy Marketing Limited.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the conference even though we seemed to be "on the edge" the whole time. Your contribution was excellent throughout and you made it clear to the audience that the questioning was authentic without intimidating those of us who appeared on the stage with you. The other thing we really liked about the conference was the relatively little amount of preparation required of us, in contrast with some of our previous conferences. I would be very happy to give a reference to any of your future potential clients. Thank you very much for your contribution to what we all regard as a successful event." Wallace Stein, Managing Director, Forward Trust Ltd
"At last, we have finally been able to work together - and what a treat it was. Thank you so much for all your input, your calming influence on the client and your resolve to get to the thorniest issues. Andy, I know, was very pleased, as were all his colleagues, who felt it was a highly successful event. You'll be pleased to hear they are already talking about next year's! Many thanks again and I think I can safely say it won't be too long before we work together again." Tim Horrox, Managing Director, Harmonics Ltd. in respect of a conference for Friends Provident
"Now the dust has (quite literally) settled on Connect, I thought I'd take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all your hard work last week. The event really wouldn't have been the same without you (or your jackets!) Despite the fairly punishing event schedule, at no point did you offer me anything other than 100% professionalism and genuine creativity. More importantly, you were great fun to have as part of the crew. The feedback I've had from the client has been almost embarrassing - I think they want to adopt the entire production team! Once again, a huge thank-you for last week, you took a lot of the pressure off me and the client, and for that I'm eternally grateful". Iain Liddiard, Presentations Director, Page & Moy Marketing (Client AT&T Capital)
"I just wanted to thank you personally for all your valuable input to the Liberty Life conference recently. The feedback from the client has been very positive and reinforces my feeling that our efforts helped them in no small way to achieve their event objectives handsomely. It was obvious during the event and confirmed by the many comments afterwards that the audience was impressed by your in-depth knowledge of their business and firm grasp of the key issues. Both I and the speakers appreciate not only your skill in this, but also the amount of sheer hard work you put into achieving it. I was particularly impressed by the way you were able to put the presenters at their ease and gain their confidence so early in the pre-production process. Even the sceptics became early ‘converts’ when they realised that they could trust you and that you really were going to make their task a lot easier. From a production company perspective this is especially important. In short you more than lived up to your promises and in doing so enabled us to deliver ours in turn to the client. It was a real pleasure to work with you on this project and I certainly hope that we get the opportunity to do it again in the near future. Many thanks once again, Roy." Ian Johnston, Conference Director, Motivational Meetings Ltd.
"I have just returned to the office following our tremendously successful One Baxter meeting that you facilitated so brilliantly yesterday. I have been talking to a number of my management colleagues and delegates at the conference and the unanimous verdict is that you did a thoroughly outstanding job interviewing the management group. Your confident yet relaxed manner inspired my colleagues and myself and ensured that we conveyed our views successfully to our audience. I am convinced that the delegates genuinely identified with the questions you asked and that you succeeded in tuning in to exactly the right wavelength. I am sure that it will not be too long before we are working together again. In the meantime, my thanks for your stimulating input and the support you have given to Baxter in order to help make this event such a memorable one." Bill Davey Managing Director, Baxter Healthcare Ltd.
"...a big thank you for your active, professional and most of all helpful participation in the Advisory Board meeting in Paris. Your capacity to absorb information, monitor and control the albeit small audience was truly impressive. As an initial meeting of the group, we were all pleased with the outcome, and actively look forward to the next meeting to more firmly cement the relationships". (Roy was subsequently booked to moderate the same meeting with 15 of Europe's most senior Orthopaedic Surgeons in Warsaw, Indiana, USA, London and Rome, Italy).
John Cresser-Brown, Director, Clinical and Technical Affairs, Zimmer Ltd
"Sincere thanks again for all your help, support and excellence at our conference this week. You were fantastic! Look forward to working with you again." Chris Isherwood, Sales and Marketing Director, Fresenius Kabi
"Roy facilitated our National Sales Conference "in the round" as we wanted an open and honest approach to share the concerns and issues facing the team and agree what has working for us as the clear market leader.
Roy staggered me as within the first day of interviewing key managers in preparation for the conference, he had already established a non-threatening rapport and most importantly had a grip of us as personalities, our business and the ISSUES. I will always remember his catch phrase "Don’t worry I am here to make you look good". The conference required very little rehearsal as the process was entirely led by Roy with his intuitive and incisive questioning of the key managers and the audience. The fresh air that the open style of the conference created has been incredible. A number of people commented to me that they learned more in two days than they had in years with the company." Graham Crawford, National Sales Manager, SMA Nutrition
I would like to thank you once again for coming to Amsterdam last week, and for making our Philips Healthcare Day such a very memorable event! Your contribution has been absolutely outstanding. Your focus on the overall objectives, constructive teamwork and sincere interest in all relevant business and personal details has again inspired me. I know I put you under great pressure at dinner, but can safely confirm to all that I really do consider you to be the best moderator I know! It is such a pleasure to work with you and I am still honoured that you wanted to support us at this meeting. Wilko Coers, Managing Director, Meducom.
Property
"Roy Sheppard took more trouble to get to know our business, our ethos, our culture and what we are trying to achieve than any external resource we have previously worked with. Roy is perfectly pitched for professional services organisations and totally in tune with current attitudes. Roy captivates the attention of a large audience at all levels" David B. Rugg, Chairman, Christie & Co
"...thank you for your enormous contribution to our Company Day...I have to say that the response to your presentation [Meet Greet & Prosper] and hosting of the day has been overwhelming. Without exception, everyone has commented how valuable and informative the day has been for them and the question and answer session appears to have been a great success. I know that Sally has already spoken to you to pencil in the date of next years event and we very much look forward to working with you once again." Christopher Day MRICS, Managing Director, Christie & Co. (following 2001 conference)
"Now that the dust has settled following last Friday’s events, I am delighted to report that the general consensus seems to be that last Friday surpassed the previous year’s event. The video clips which were shown were extremely well received and hopefully this will lead to improved service levels right across Christie & Co. Thank you for spending so much time putting these together. Once again many thanks for your efforts which are very much appreciated." Christopher Day MRICS, Managing Director, Christie & Co. (following 2002 conference)
Public Sector
"Very many thanks for being an excellent chairman for the second day of our conference. Many have commented on your skills and I need say no more than that the consensus was that we wanted to invite you again next year! Thank you too for the late night speech training - I am looking forward to my second lesson. It was very kind of you to take the time to prepare so thoroughly beforehand. I think the finished effect proved that the effort was well worthwhile. Many thanks". Dr Michael Dixon, Chair, NHS Alliance (formerly the National Association of Commissioning General Practitioners.)
"A sincere thank you for all of your hard work in the delivery of Hertfordshire Constabulary's Planning Conference. This was a very important event for the Constabulary - we have reached a significant crossroads in our development. It was critical that the process flowed seamlessly and delivered to the audience. Put simply, you made it happen. Your navigation of the event was both outstanding and inspirational. I have a sense that we addressed some fundamental issues during the conference and made some significant headway on the Constabulary's development. This happened because of you. Once again thank you for all of your work. It was a genuine pleasure working with you - you've given me much to think about both organisationally and personally!" Gary Kitching, Chief Superintendent, Hertfordshire Constabulary
"the conference ran smoothly and to time, thanks to your excellent facilitation skills. Our managers found your session "Meet, Greet and Prosper" extremely interesting and a number have commented to me personally that they felt the session would enhance their networking skills." Devora Wolfson, Corporate Change Team Co-ordinator, Tower Hamlets Council
Radio and Television
"Roy Sheppard worked for BBC West as the main presenter to our Saturday news and sports programme on BBC1. On most evenings the 5 minute programme was presented at 5.15 pm and was dominated by regional football and sports results.
This allowed just half an hour for the programme to be prepared. On top of that, it was a self-drive operation for the presenter, without the luxury of a director and full gallery crew. Roy had to do his own vision-mixing, cueing of carts (giving on location reports), as well as reading a news and sports bulletin under tremendous pressure. He was thoroughly reliable and demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of dexterity". Mark Byford, former Editor News BBC West, now Deputy Director General BBC
"Roy is very hard working and dedicated. Amongst his many talents he also showed his versatility during three series of In The News as a presenter by coping very well with programme ‘gear changes’ from hard news, to light topics and humour - these are quite difficult and he achieved such changes in tone very successfully." Jonie Lloyd, Editor, Sony Award Winning "In The News" BBC Radio 4.
"Roy knows so much about his subject that, whatever DJ work you intend to take up, the experience of reading his book The DJ’s Handbook will only help you improve your act. There is a crying need for a definitive new work on the art of the DJ; this is it" Johnny Beerling, Former Controller BBC Radio 1.
"I have had a long working relationship with Roy Sheppard. He is professional in the extreme, always fun to work with and highly versatile." Carolyn Smyth, Former Senior Producer, John Dunn Show, BBC Radio 2.
Recruitment
"I write to thank you very much for your excellent handling of our Managers and Staff Conferences. We were absolutely delighted that Pump House recommended us to use you because we feel you raised our game a whole level! Your role and contribution helped to raise the professionalism of the conferences to a large extent. Thank you also for being a pleasure to work with and for all your suggestions in the planning and rehearsals as we went along".
Jill Robertson, Strategic Marketing Director, ADIA ALFRED MARKS
Retail
"Just a short note to say a big 'Thank You' for the part you played in making our company conference so successful. It was a pleasure to work with you and I hope to be working with you again on future projects.
I thought that you may like to know that I have received many comments from delegates who were very impressed by your performance and wanting to know just how you knew so much about DO IT ALL. Don't worry I didn't give your secret away!" Lisa Abbotts, Employee Communications Manager, Do It All
Security
"Roy did a great job of moderating the RSA Conference, Europe. His energy, enthusiasm and wit were refreshing additions to our program. Roy did a great job of researching our speakers and attendees prior to the event to ensure everything was customized and tailored to our Conference." Karla Krause-Miller, Conference Director, RSA Conferences, USA
"I am most grateful for your involvement in the launch of Juvenis and your expertise in helping us put together an excellent show. It was no mean task for you to generate enthusiasm and interest, as well as putting the interviewees at ease.
Nevertheless, your skill and professionalism ensured that the event went even better than we had hoped for. It was obvious from the number and breadth of the questions from the audience that the students found it a most stimulating and enjoyable evening, and the relaxed environment that you created resulted in a high quality debate between students and participants.
It was a pleasure to work with you. Once again, many thanks, and I hope we may have the opportunity to work together again in the future". Isobel Norwell, Head of Corporate Communications, Electrolux
"Roy’s contribution to making our major event a success was invaluable. He grasped what was needed and applied his experience and professionalism to create an excellent show in very difficult circumstances." Michael Bland, Independent PR consultant to Electrolux
This show, for the UK launch of 'Juvenis' a global initiative for young people was sponsored by Electrolux and held at Westminster Central Hall, London. Hundreds of young people from UK schools re-enacted a UN Assembly. The launch involved interviewing young people from South Africa and Germany (through an interpreter) and the Swedish film director Steffan Hildebrand. The high spot of the evening was a detailed interview with the Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Gillian Sorensen and chairing a lively discussion with the audience.
