Woudhuysen

What clients say

Thank you for supporting our event. Great to get your insights and challenge!

John Kitchingham, managing director, Dassault Systèmes Northern Europe, about a keynote address to 70 clients on the subjects of business models, sustainability and innovation, 19 September 2019

Not one to follow convention, James entertained and challenged in equal measure. To our senior team, he first delivered a really engaging session on productivity and other trends in UK and international retailing. He then worked with us all to debate and develop our ideas. After a long afternoon and a long morning, James pulled everything together into a cohesive action plan to guide the strategic direction of the business over the next five years. Recommended.

Neville Moore, managing director, A de Gruchy & Co/Ulster Stores, 12 August 2019

James recently addressed 200 leasing broker members of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association, fleet business leaders and industry experts at the Association’s Leasing Broker Conference in London. As keynote speaker, he shared his perspective on the world economy and trade tensions on cars, as well on prospects for autonomous vehicles, mobility as a service and electric vehicles. James looked, too, at lessons for the UK from the auto leasing sector in the US.

Although he delivered some sobering messages about the year ahead for the UK economy, his speech was well received by members. They commented that it was one of the most valued presentations of the day, in terms of both content and delivery. An excellent address.

Gerry Keaney, Chief Executive, BVRLA, 20 June 2019

It’s so important to surround yourself with people who challenge the way you think. James challenges not just what you think, but how you think. He does that fantastically well, in his own inimitable and humorous style.

Cheryl Potter, 2019 chair of the British Venture Capital Association, partner and co-head of Consumer at Permira Advisers LLP; about an after-dinner speech on forecasting to 100 BVCA members, Leeds, 15 April 2019

James was very energetic. He made everyone think. That set the tone for the day and created lots of debate. Exactly what you need for an opening keynote!

Rob Charlton, CEO, Space Group, about a speech in Newcastle on IT, acoustics and specifications, to 150 experts in Building Information Modelling, 20 March 2019

James’ speech on agility was not just witty and entertaining, but thought-provoking as well. Just what we needed in times when everything seems to have become agile and everybody seems to have invented it.

Dr Joseph Reger, Fujitsu Fellow in the Fujitsu Distinguished Engineer Programme, about an opening keynote to 200 Fujitsu Distinguished Engineers, 15 October 2018

James had them on the edge of their seats: delighting, enlightening, and disconcerting our delegates in equal measure. Acuity, verve and flair rolled into one!

Drew Cullen, Director of Public Affairs, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, about a keynote address on trust and data to 500 delegates, 11 July 2018

Among the highest rated speakers of the day, James delivered a seamlessly engaging and well-prepared presentation. His message was very relevant and his humour and enthusiasm kept the audience captivated after a long day of presentations. Refreshing, energetic and thought-provoking – a fantastic closing keynote and a great end to the day!

Samantha Cullum, events coordinator, about a speech on the future of work to 100 delegates at Unwired’s Worktech18 conference in Munich, 4 July 2018

Our off-site event was themed around what our department would look like in the next five years, and James’ tailored input exceeded our expectations. As well as being insightful, informative and energetic, his content and delivery was challenging our team at all levels – exactly what we needed. James stayed on to support and critique a team activity too.

Ben Wagenaar, Innovation Technologist, Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited, about a presentation on Heathrow 2023, 21 June 2018

Thanks so much for today, and for all the time that had clearly gone into pulling together a bespoke presentation for us at such short notice. We all got loads out of it, and it was referenced multiple times in the ensuing workshop session.

Lucy Halley, Head of Planning (CRM), Digitas London, about a presentation on Millennials at Work, to a major client in financial services, 20 June 2018

James delivered a thought-provoking, entertaining and insightful after-dinner speech which had the audience moving from deep thought to laughter in a well-constructed and relevant presentation.

Kathryn Essery, programme director, Digital Transformation Network, about an after-dinner speech, 18 June 2018

Your session was excellent and we now have plenty of follow-up work. Thank you for the brilliant presentation prepared at very short notice.

Ghaleb Rostom, head of airlines solutions, Northern and Western Europe, Amadeus, about a speech on the customer experience of air travel, 7 November 2017

I just wanted to thank you again for your involvement in our company event last week.

I thought everything went well and your sessions were excellent. The feedback received has been extremely positive and colleagues really appreciated your insight in to a broad range of topics. I anticipate a positive response across the business to the challenges you threw down for us.

Michael Auger, regional director, Muse Developments, about two keynotes on innovation and property, 17 October 2017

At our annual conference, James gave an after-dinner speech on the future facing acoustics professionals, and presented Awards. His approach contrasted sharply with other after-dinner speakers we have had in the past: he worked hard to engage with us prior to the event, to understand our industry, the issues that may be of concern to our members, and to consider what may be important in our field in years to come.

James’ inimitable style was thoroughly entertaining, while his content stimulated some interesting discussions and heated debates. His performance added an extra dimension to the Awards presentations, which always risk being a little dry. Thank you, James, for the effort you put in and your delivery on the night.

Jack Harvie-Clark, chair, Association of Noise Consultants, 19 July 2017

A man with cosmic breadth, great depth, the ability to spark an audience and a twinkle in his eye, James livened up our conference on IT and the economy of the North East with a fearless line on the issues of the day. He earns his money with purposeful background work and a masterful nod to the underlying politics. A tightrope walker, he offers a great alternative to death by PowerPoint. Prepare to be energised!

Charlie Hoult, chair, Dynamo North East, 14 July 2017

James joined our flagship event, World Procurement Congress 2017, as one of the expert speakers, working with an exclusive group of Chief Procurement Officers. He delivered a fantastic session, focusing on the world economy and technological innovation; received one of the highest Net Promoter Scores from our delegates. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Prof Woudhuysen and he has been incredibly flexible & accommodating in order to meet the needs of our event as well as interests of our clients.

Katya Ushakova, content and research director, ProcurementLeaders, 21 June 2017

143 slides in 35 minutes! We were thinking it was not possible. But he did it! He captivated the audience about how the world will be digitised in the next 10 years: what’s certain to happen, what’s is not so sure. Engaging, charming, entertaining… with some French, too. I saw James two hours before the show, and in less than one minute I knew that we had made a good choice in inviting him.

Pierre Collette, marketing director, Xerox Belgium and Luxembourg, about an opening keynote at “The future of work”, to Xerox clients, Brussels, 18 May 2017.

James opened our conference in Hamburg with a fast, passionate, fluent and entertaining look at what companies in maritime can learn from developments in manufacturing, construction and energy. Developing our brief, he covered marine drones, Augmented Reality, Digital Design Modeling, and the relevance of older crew to shipping safety.

Our highly international audience loved it. James got the conference off to a cracking start, and, in other sessions, made useful contributions from the floor.

Kim Staarup, chief operating officer, ShipServ, about an opening keynote on lessons from sectors relevant to shipping, to the Danish online platform’s clients, 2 May 2017

And another big thank you from us all for helping to make our Spring Forum go down so well with our members – lots of good feedback for your presentation! It was relevant and stimulating and challenging all at the same time and I’m sure everyone there took away some really practical tips they could apply to their businesses.

Jessica Alexander, executive director, The National Bed Federation, about an opening keynote on innovation and the future of sleep, to NBF members, 2 May 2017

Fantastic, thought-provoking and provocative, James did not disappoint. We received brilliant feedback from our customers as to how engaging his presentation was. James is not just a standard speaker: he takes a brief, researches it and delivers a robust and well thought out presentation. I would not hesitate to recommend him.

Ashley Hayward, managing director, Kinnarps UK, about a speech on the future of work to the Swedish office furniture maker’s clients, 13 April 2017

James spent a day with Oracle clients at our annual Modern Business Conference for 3500 attendees at ExCel, East London. With some of our key UK customers, he held seven client ‘surgeries’ on how to fix complex business problems, with all the customer participants coming out of them very pleased. Following this, he sparkled during at a lunchtime panel session, fielding questions from the floor with wit and counter-intuitive arguments. Finally he delivered a barnstorming, Twitter-exciting keynote to over 300 delegates on ‘Work, 2027’, challenging assumptions and issuing eight recommendations about what to do back at the office. This was a key objective for us – to provide our attendees with actionable insights; and James more than fulfilled it.

Throughout, James was calm, courteous and completely professional. He had a smile on his face and frequently provoked still greater amusement on the part of those listening to him, including me. Highly recommended.

Hugo Whicher, UK SaaS Marketing Director, Oracle, 7 February 2017

James gave a keynote address – on consumer safety in 2021 – to a large conference combining CEOC, IFIA and other international groups of testing, inspection and certification companies. He began by looking at China’s reaction to the Samsung Note 7 product recall, at the crisis in capital spending in developed economies, and at the manipulation of safety issues in the cause of what he termed ‘The New Protectionism’.

From cybersecurity, biometrics and driverless cars through to the future of food, James reviewed myth and reality around technological change. With great statistics, fun images and a wry sense of humour, he made people think more deeply about the big picture. They also came away from his talk with a dozen practical recommendations about what to do next.

Drewin Nieuwenhuis, secretary general of Confederation of Inspection and Certification Organisations International, about a speech in Brussels, 9 December 2016

Once again, James proved a real asset to our Congress team. As chair for five breakout sessions at our 900-strong annual international conference in Berlin, he ensured that presenters gave their best, and structured debates so that each was lively and full of audience interest.

Michele Parker, Head of Congress, Information Security Forum, about the ISF’s 2016 conference, 6 December 2016

I had the pleasure of attending James Woudhuysen’s presentation on ‘The 10 Rules for Forecasting Future Trends’ at our recent international conference in Porto, Portugal.

What can I say? James has a unique style, funny yet serious, challenging yet thought-provoking – but always very engaging, passionate and polite.

His presentation was packed full of stories that serve to illustrate his views about how we can forecast future trends. These stories may even be only a few hours old, since he constantly looks to highlight what is current – as well as using examples from history. This ensures that no two presentations he makes are the same!

Not everyone agrees with James, but he always allows people to express their views without criticising them or telling them they are wrong. James wants to stimulate debate and not just to answer questions. That, in my opinion, is what makes his presentations some of the most interesting around.

Iain Bitran, Executive Director, International Society for Professional Innovation Management, 24 June 2016

Thank you for your excellent presentation and for getting stuck in to the networking.

Anthony Parker, head of international events, ALM – publisher of The American Lawyer and Legal Week, about a keynote speech on the future of legal IT, delivered in Lisbon, Portugal, 20 June 2016

James delivered two thought-provoking and engaging sessions at our annual conference, helping us to think differently about what current and future trends could really mean for us and our industry.

Anna Mann, communications director, Skanska UK, 17 June 2016

Thank you so much for your fabulous contribution.

Ruth Bailey, director general, Agricultural Engineers Association, about an opening speech to 150 representatives of farm equipment manufacturers, London, 12 April 2016

Thank you very much for last night. You had the audience in your hand. Interesting topics, good gags, nice and pacey and neat touches linking it back to us. I really appreciate your diligence in finding the foodie research, checking your facts and getting the presentation just right.

Lin Dickens, marketing director, Bartlett Mitchell, about a speech to 100 representatives of catering firms, London, 15 March 2016

Using witty slides, erudition and a relaxed style of delivery, James ran through the history of lean production at our Senior Managers Conference. He gave an intriguing explanation of how that way of managing has come into vogue, and even managed to relate it to the demise of FIFA chief Sepp Blatter! James concluded with how to apply visual management, and with some of the international companies that have successfully done just that. Staff said they found James’ presentation interesting and informative.

Alastair Gordon, CEO, Keolis, 24 February 2016

James is a powerful speaker and his interaction with audience proved to be very invigorating!

Rajshree Pathy, founder, India Design Forum, about James’ address on Invention, to the India Design Forum’s 2016 conference, Mumbai, 23 February 2016

Telefónica developed a report looking into cybersecurity and the Internet of Things. To launch it, we held a roundtable for the media, including Forbes, Bloomberg, Infosecurity and Computer Weekly. Speakers included the chairman of the IoT Forum and a special projects expert from Kaspersky.

This was not a gathering for the faint-hearted. We needed the best to chair the meeting and steer discussions in a balanced but rousing manner. James stepped in and fulfilled the role with an ease afforded to those blessed with a unique mix of confidence, experience, intellect and charm. He helped make the event a huge success.

Natalie Homer, UK Lead, Global External Communications, Telefónica, 27 January 2016

You provided a fantastic service to those speakers who were lucky enough to have you as their chair.

Michele Parker, congress manager, about James’ facilitation of five breakout sessions at the International Security Forum annual world congress of corporate chief information security officers, Atlanta, Georgia, US, 10 December 2015

It was a pleasure to work with you. The feedback from the local team and from clients has been excellent – so thank you again.

Imogen Russell, vice president of personal and corporate banking events, about an address to a Barclays conference for clients in the South East of England, 12 November 2015

James was an engaging and exciting speaker and managed to inject his passion and energy into a relatively dry topic. He really came to life when the audience got involved and enjoyed being challenged – a very enjoyable evening.

James Brennan, head of business development, Charities, Rathbone Investment Management Ltd, about a speech on Three kinds of data for corporate forecasting, 5 November 2015

Eighty-four per cent of the audience, which consisted of Fujitsu Distinguished Engineers, rated James’ presentation as excellent. The full unedited feedback from Fujitsu Distinguished Engineers was as follows:

  • As some of the presentations were quite provocative somehow we need some time to have Q&As. James Woudhuysen was particularly stimulating and great to be challenged. We need more of this
  • Outstanding
  • Uncomfortable, challenging and still enjoyable
  • A very different insight into innovation and how it is relevant to Fujitsu’s business
  • Good to get that type of challenge
  • I especially liked both Professor Woudhuysen and Michael Bushong of Brocade. Their presentations had an engaging presentation style, and in particular I liked the Professor’s candid approach and lack of political correctness – a welcome change
  • Definitely the best presentation I have seen
  • Challenging and thought-provoking on the realities on innovation
  • Entertaining and thought-provoking
  • Really interesting to get a different external slant on the market and trends
  • Slightly confrontational (which was good), thought provoking and stimulating. All in all, an excellent session
  • Extremely entertaining and thought provoking.

Jon Wrennall, CTO, Fujitsu UK & Ireland, 12 October 2015

Dynamic, passionate, entertaining, willing to push the envelope. Agree or disagree with James’ views, he will make you sit up and think. A wonderful and inspiring keynote presenter.

James McClelland, senior global director, customer value office, energy & utilities, SAP, about an address to an SAP conference on IT for oil, gas, electricity and waste, 17 July 2015

James presented a keynote to more than 900 senior information security professionals at our 25th annual world congress. The feedback was outstanding, scoring an average of 8.8 for content, and 8.4 out of 10 for delivery. Comments included; thought-provoking, passionate and moving. What really made the difference for me as the organiser was that James took the trouble to incorporate content delivered by our members in workshops that were held before his speech. James was one of our most popular speakers and we will be working with him again in the future.

Kevin Chambers, Head of Events, Information Security Forum, 22 June 2015

James provided a thoroughly interesting perspective on the future of energy and manufacturing. His style was utterly engaging. We have very much more to learn from James and people like him.

Andrew Bell, Chairman, Association of Manufacturers and suppliers of Power generating Systems, about a keynote address to more than 100 members, 12 March 2015

During our recent event for tyre dealers in the UK & Ireland, we shared with our customers the innovations  we see coming in  both consumer and truck tyres, and in retail business trends. Around the latter issue, we held a Q&A session with James. He did an excellent job, responding in a witty and informative manner, and gave our audience plenty of food for thought. I would certainly consider James for future events.

Erich Fric, Group Managing Director, Goodyear Dunlop Tyres UK, 2 February 2015

James is a storyteller in the grand tradition. He is a disruptive force on stage, as charming as he is abrasive. His talks are always well structured and thought-provoking, and his convivial nature allows him to rattle a few cages as he shares refreshing ideas and passionate opinions – on a seemingly endless array of topics – with an engaged audience.

Alex Vail, Senior Events Manager, Digital Catapult Centre, about speeches on retailing and on media, 22 January 2015

James gave a very inspiring impulse to our two-day session, organised with the American Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, on emerging technologies for emerging needs around disasters. Thank you so much, James, for your commitment, and for using your knowledge and insights to enrich the outcomes of our discussions. Much appreciated – especially your humour!

Gijs de Vries, Secretary-General, Netherlands Red Cross, 9 January 2015

In the session on Europe’s Competitiveness In A Global Economy, James’s clairvoyance and deep understanding of the barriers to innovation in the EU were most valuable. His legendary sharp witticisms, which delighted the audience, studded a passionate case for innovation and technology, and were topped by recommendations which were very pragmatic. The sparky discussion with Jeremy Rifkin was engaging, and proved to be one of the highlights of the conference.

Hanane Taidi, Director Communications, PlasticsEurope, about a keynote address in Brussels to 200 plastics manufacturers, 8 December 2014

James engaged with delegates through thought-provoking slides, his personality and his inspiring enthusiasm.

Jake Potter, Project Manager, UK Oracle Users Group, about a keynote address on the future of IT, 26 November 2014

Totally on-topic. We’ve had great feedback from delegates.

Katharine Morton, Editorial Director, EuroFinance Conferences, about a keynote address in Budapest to 500 chief treasury officers, 12 November 2014

We rate sessions between 1 and 5 according to the scale below.

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Very Good
  5. Excellent

I am delighted to let you know that your personal score was 4.25 for content and 4.38 for delivery, giving you an average total of 4.31.

Luke Stallard, Senior Programme Manager, EuroFinance Conferences, about a keynote address in Budapest to 500 chief treasury officers, 12 November 2014

 

Thank you so much. I thought your presentation was great – thought-provoking, which we needed. A few people have already told me they also thought it was the best session we have had so far. It has been a pleasure working with you.

Anna Kofoed, Associate Director, Global Brand Engagement, Amadeus, about a webinar speech on the future of marketing and travel, 9 September 2014

 

Thank you so much for your very thought-provoking presentation. It was perfect for setting the scene for the whole conference.

Karen McNamara, Marketing Manager, SCA Hygiene Products UK, about a speech on the future of healthcare, 3 September 2014

 

As part of an intensive day-long conference we held, James set the atmosphere for the day in his opening keynote speech on new technologies in energy and infrastructure. The conference rallied 100 members of our supply chain round the cause of innovative and pragmatic ways of working together. Thereafter, he chaired the event and kept proceedings to time, but with a light touch.


The whole day was extremely successful. James was easy to work with and witty, while also bringing a professional tone to the conference. He leads from the front. Recommended.

Chris Newsome, Director of Asset Management, Anglian Water, 27 August 2014

 

James has proved to be not only visionary in his ability to identify key trends, but also in his ability to translate these trends into practical steps that we can apply to our business.

Mark Collier, Marketing Director, Grafton Group, 21 July 2014

 

Thank you for taking part in the panel discussion, it was short notice but you performed amazingly. Your keynote was one of the best if not the best I’ve had the pleasure to attend. Thought provoking and amusing, if not laugh out loud at times. A barnstorming performance. The perfect end to the World Tour event. You certainly got the audience thinking. You are an important voice.

Anthony McCauley, Head of research, Fujitsu Ireland, 11 July 2014

 

Many thanks for making an excellent contribution to our Council strategy session. All the comments I heard about your presentation were very positive. They contributed to putting us in a constructive mood for our later discussions, which went very well.

Charles Tilley, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, July 2014

 

Your presentation at our Product Design and Innovation conference on ‘How to stop feeling guilty about Stuff’ was challenging and entertaining, a conference highlight, as it has been every year you have taken part. It’s great to have a speaker and debater who can confront the assumptions of a seasoned design audience and do it in such an engaging way.

David Eldridge, Editor, Crain Communications, 10 June 2014

 

James worked very closely with me to meet the brief for the meeting at which he was speaking. He also demonstrates the very real skill of judging and responding to the mood of and interests of the audience. Discussing innovation, James opened our audience’s eyes to many different ways of thinking about doing things in new ways and was very engaging.

Nick Kirkland, Managing Director, CIO Connect, 27 May 2014

 

I want to thank you for your contribution to the programme this year – you are lively and fun as always! You were a joy to work with and made a fantastic contribution to the Flame programme.

Victoria Chatterton, Senior Conference Director, Flame, 23 May 2014

 

Your humour and energetic spirit of the presentation was great!

Cheryl DeMesa, Manager, Corporate Marketing, Cartesian, 26 March 2014

 

Thank you for joining us at Goodwood on Friday. I thought your delivery was engaging and the subject – the Ten Rules of Forecasting, with special reference to road transport – enlightening. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to your book – I hope it’s as thought-provoking as your presentation!

Matt Schembri, Head of Marketing, Leaseplan UK, 27 November 2013

 

Thank you once again for taking part and working hard for such an excellent session.

Alex Vail
, Events Director, Airline Retail Conference/INK, 
25 July 2013

 

Many thanks for chairing the session we held on 3D printing, robotics and the future of manufacturing during our 24 Hours Conference. We particularly appreciated how, though argumentative CEOs began the session by interrupting each other, you managed to steer the discussion so it was focussed, well-disciplined, but still lively. As one heavyweight delegate said at the end of it, “I learned a lot!”

Johannes Winkelhage, Corporate Office CEO, Head of Think Tank
, Deutsche Telekom, 5 July 2013

 

We have had great feedback from lots of people who attended the event, including our main sponsor. So we are delighted. You were extremely professional and created an event to remember.

Alasdair Northrop, Editor, Scottish Business Insider, 16 May 2013

 

I would like to thank you for participating as a speaker at The Energy Event 2012 this year, your willingness to share your time and expertise contributed greatly to the show’s success. It was a great pleasure to have you involved and the feedback received about the quality of content has been extremely positive.

Tom Steer, Speaker/Sponsor Liaison Executive, i2i Events Group, 28 September 2012

 

Thank you very much for your time. The feedback has been very positive.

Katy Brown, Director, Unigestion (UK), 27 September 2012

 

I’d hope that we will be able to work with you again on this or other shows that we run. Your kind of presentation is good to spice up the conference programme, and it adds another dimension to our programme.

Ed Lawson, Event Content Director, The Energy Event, 14 September 2012

 

Over the 2012 London Olympics, UPS, an official supporter, hosted almost 700 of its best global customers for five thought leadership sessions on innovation and global trends. James was a keynote speaker for each session: and his thought provoking and inspiring talks engaged our guests in ways that made them think about more innovative methods to do business. James was entertaining and fascinating, and, on each occasion, succeeded in prompting the active participation of the audience. He has a tremendous stage presence, which enabled him to hold people’s attention and get them to really listen. I would like to personally thank James for his professionalism and contribution to making our customer programme the best experience possible. UPS will always consider him for future events and we certainly recommend him as a speaker.

Daniel J Brutto, President, UPS International, October 2012

 

James is a lively and engaging speaker who understands his subjects very well. He takes the time to research his audience and this, together with great content and a quick pace, ensured lots of discussion and debate following his key note speech.

Carolina Costa, Managing Director, Orange Labs UK, October 2012

 

Average rating for speakers in the session at which you spoke was 3.8. Your rating was 4.41.

Charlotte Benton-Hughes, Richmond Events, 20 June 2012

James provided a very refreshing view on the subject of business agility at our recent customer event. He worked well with a CEO who had actually “done it”; James shared the breadth of his experience, the CEO the depth of hers. His presentation was amusing, controversial and thought-provoking.

Simon Carter, Marketing Director, Fujitsu UK&I, March 2012

Thank you today’s inspiration. Everybody really enjoyed it. I will be in touch shortly to discuss further plans.

Kevin Dodd, Chief Executive, Wakefield and District Housing, 28 February 2012

A very warm thank you for your presence and input to our CEO Forum. Your contribution to our companies’ reflection on innovation was very well received and we felt that the participants got a lot of added value.

Teresa Presas, Director General, Confederation of European Paper Industries, 25 November 2011

We have worked with James as a speaker at a number of events, and in every instance we have been delighted with the booking. He is a wonderfully engaging speaker, who can wake-up the most serene audience with thought-provoking presentation and presence. Most importantly, James is an expert in his field and his pragmatic view on the world makes him an intellectual asset at any event.

Sam Wass, Director, Benchmark Communications, 17 November 2011

Thanks for an inspiring talk.

Amreesh Modi, Chief Technology Officer, Navteq, 19 June 2011

The kudos really goes to you. Your session was extremely well received. It was a real pleasure to hear it.

James McClelland, senior global director, customer value office, energy & utilities, SAP, about a keynote address to an international conference on utilities, Mannheim, 14 April 2011

Excellent job, James, truly inspiring! Many thanks! Very good feedback from delegates.

Jaimie Brown, Head of Communications & PR, Novartis Oncology Europe, 4 February 2011

Many, many thanks for sharing insight, history and wisdom. Everyone benefitted and many would like to explore further.

Anne Ferguson, Director, PwC, 1 December 2010

 

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed your session at Sage World 2010!  In ratings, 48 per cent of respondents thought your session Excellent, and 41 per cent Very Good. Some 16 per cent found it Invaluable, and a further 59 per cent saw it as Very Useful.

Joanne Leonard, Operations Manager, Benchmark Communications, 22 September 2010

 

Have received some excellent feedback from attendees on your presentation. I believe witty, clever, and entertaining were my three favourites!

Lisa Chaikin, PR Manager, Affiliate Window, 2 June 2010

 

Just a quick note to thank you for your efforts this evening- very much appreciated and with really good feedback.’

Andrew Cheseldine, Global Investment Practice, Hewitt Associates, 14 April 2010

 

Our congratulations and warm thanks to you for the successful Millennium Technology Prize media function. Your professional style of moderating the roundtable discussion highlighted the innovation areas of the Prize 2010 Laureates very appropriately.

Ainomaija Haarla, President and CEO, Technology Academy Finland (TAF), April 2010

 

James presented the first ever Arena lecture at Ecobuild 2010, giving an innovative insight into “How to avoid power cuts in the UK.” Thought-provoking and compelling in delivery, James was a welcome contributor to the prestigious Arena programme.

Daniela Entwisle,
 International Business Events Limited, 25 March 2010

Thanks so much for the presentation – it was very well received and we had really positive feedback from the attendees.

Craig Tomes,
 Corporate Account Manager, Network Services Division, Commercial Group, 4 February 2010

It was great to have you there… I know the audience’s minds were opened up and it’s started some momentum which we’re keen to keep up.

Selwyn Rose, Innovation Manager, Hallmark UK, 4 December 2009

 

James acted as Chairman for a recent Forum for Chief Information Officers held by Orange. He ran the event with a light but disciplined touch, and I was impressed by both his chairing skills and his insight. I look forward to James working with us again.

Olaf Swantee, Senior Executive Vice President, Orange Europe, November 2009

 

Thank you very much for your contribution to Monday’s seminar. Your presentation was extremely interesting as well as thought provoking and the feedback we received from all our guests was consistently positive.  Thank you also for your lively contribution to the panel discussion, which was the other key component of the day.

Dr Deborah Buckley-Golder, Director of Innovation & Knowledge Transfer, Atomic Energy Authority, 30 October 2009

 

On behalf of the Jersey branch of the British Computing Society, I would like to thank you for speaking at our event and your preparation for it.I have had a lot of feedback from the attendees and it is all very positive – particularly that you took time to talk to people afterwards.

Tim Bullock, chairman, BCS, 11 October 2009

 

James met our objectives very well – he was a good speaker and his ideas, suggestions and take on the issues were interesting and stimulated discussions the next day. Audience reaction was good; “Excellent” best describes the his performance.

Ian Dickie, Chief Executive, Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Ingénieurs des Techniques de l’Automobile, United Kingdom, 7 September 2009 

 

Thanks once again for your presentation. The feedback from customers and colleagues was very good.

Jason McInerney, Business Development Manager, ELGA Process Water, 2 July 2009

 

Thank you very much for your contribution in making the 2008 Conference, in Newport, such a success. From conversation with delegates I am pleased to say that your keynote speech on “The future of virtual worlds and their relevance in the workplace” was very well received and stimulated much discussion.

Ken Boxhall, Chair, Socitm Events Activity Group, 16 October 2008

 

Just a line to thank you for offering us excellent food for thought last Thursday. The team enjoyed the afternoon with you a lot: we felt we learnt a lot from you as a thinker and a professional.

Francesco Cara, Nokia Design Studios, London

 

Your speech was great – exactly what I wanted.

Kari Suominen, CIO, Konecranes Plc, 11 September 2008

 

I wanted to convey my personal thanks to you for your involvement in the event. Your contribution helped us to raise the standard of debate to the high level we had hoped it would achieve. The opening keynote is crucial in setting the tone of the event and I thought your presentation was outstanding.

Matt Dean, Senior Technology and E-Learning Officer, Association of Colleges, 15 April 2008

 

The feedback we got was excellent – our objective was to hold something a bit different and get people thinking and I think we achieved this.

Mark Hancock, Enterprise Campaign Coordinator, St Helens Chamber, 10 March 2008

 

Thank you very much – have had really positive feedback from the delegates.

Emma Entwistle, Communications Manager, Trafford Housing Trust, 9 November 2007

 

Although there were a couple of guys who didn’t “get him”, there were a lot of other comments on how good he was. I thought he was great – as did our MD!

Sally Bakhuizen, Telindus, 25 October 2007

 

The Board members enjoyed your presentation and found it interesting and thought provoking. Thank you again for agreeing to be our Guest Speaker.

Jennie Tetlow, Group Director’s Secretary, The Riverside Group, 24 September 2007

 

Just a quick e-mail to say a massive thanks for sticking with us, coming along and doing such a fantastic job at the conference. You were a real hit with the crowd, in fact a favourite, I’d say, judging by the feedback I’ve had!

Dominic Campbell, Principal Consultant, LCS Consultancy Services, about a talk given to a Barnet Council conference on suburbs

 

It was very appropriate that James looked to the future of the hotel industry on the occasion that the association was celebrating its past 100 years.  What he said underlined the lesson that trends and events, outside our own control, have as big an impact on developments in the industry as anything that we can control ourselves.

Bob Cotton, Chief Executive, British Hospitality Association, 21 August 2007

 

James provided a thought-provoking and insighful analysis of the relationship between technology and society, which was just what was required to kick-off our event. He set the scene to enable some open and frank discussions and provided his experiences and thoughts to the audience in a fresh, vibrant and interactive manner along with great humour. That stimulated and educated the audience to think of technology and society in a different perspective. I would recommend James highly to any organisation.

Ray Batt, 
Director Network Solutions, Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated (ARINC), Europe Middle East and Africa, 17 August 2007

 

I am most grateful for the presentation you made at the Fund Strategy Investment Summit in St. Moritz this month. The success of this Summit and the debate on the ‘future of energy’ was due in no small part to your participation. Delegates found your delivery enthusiastic, presentation skills excellent and content fascinating.

Simon Bennett, Conference Producer, The Investment Summit, 10 April 2007

 

James spent the whole of the conference getting to know the subject material and hearing what the delegates had to say before delivering a topical and very entertaining presentation. It was content rich and not afraid to challenge popular wisdom. We would certainly use James’ talents again.

Ian Wright, Service Development Director, Northern Housing Consortium, 7 March 2007

 

Many thanks again for your marvellous contribution to our meeting on Tuesday. I had nothing but positive feedback from the participants. You managed to find just the right balance in combining several very relevant and serious messages for the future of our business with a most entertaining and captivating delivery style.

John O’Higgins, CEO, Spectris, 15 December 2006

 

I was just about send you a note thanking you for livening up what was in danger of being a dull slot. I thought it went down very well.

Nick Edwards, Editor, Health Service Journal, 23 October 2006

 

Many many thanks for setting the conference of to such a great start yesterday and for contributing to the discussion and debate! throughout the day.Your talk had good ratings on our evaluation – so we know it went down well.’

Rose Molloy, Secretariat, Association for Qualitative Research, 15 June 2006

 

The feedback we have received to date has been extremely positive and I know the audience appreciated your extremely relevant and focused presentation. I am very aware of how much work and preparation you put into your presentation in advance of the conference and I thank you for taking the time out of your extremely busy schedule to participate.

Gordon Maclennan, Senior Director, Business Growth, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, 1 November 2005

 

We were looking for a wide reaching, unusual and insightful point of view about the telecoms business. James spent 2 hours with my team; 2 of the most inspiring and thought provoking hours we had all collectively spent for a long time. Our perspective on the category changed, and we believe it helped us win the pitch.

Elliot Moss, Client Service Director, Leo Burnett, London. 9 June 2005

 

James has chaired the Effective IT annual Information Age conference for two successive years, and has done so with intelligent, good humour and great skill. He is very capable of handling an audience and also makes telling and timely contributions of his own. He is also an entertaining and provocative presenter in his own right.

Andy Lawrence, founder, Infoconomy, 6 June 2005

 

James’ contribution to our 2005 User Conference was both thought-provoking and challenging …the Interactive Intelligence technology users from Europe, Middle East and Africa without exception, found his insights into the Consumer experience meaningful and relevant.’

Richard Brown, MD EMEA region, Interactive Intelligence, 6 June 2005

 

The feedback from your session was great, so I’m glad we managed to persuade you.

Martin Stewart, Education Projects Officer, Scottish Screen, March 2005

 

Many people didn’t agree with some of your thoughts/ideas, but it did the job in terms of getting people talking. Yours was the most widely discussed presentation that evening and many people did enjoy it and thought that you did have some good ideas.’

Hetal Patel, Allen & Overy, 11 November 2004

I am most grateful for the job you did at our Global Telecoms Business Summit this week. I felt the event in general was well received and I believe we have established some solid foundations with which to build for next year’s event. I genuinely believe that the success we achieved on the day is due in no small part to the role you played. As conference chairman, you incorporated knowledge of the topic, good presentation skills, and great humour, with an infectious enthusiasm which enabled a great atmosphere at the event throughout. It is this energy and enthusiasm which I regard as the key component and the vital ingredient to us achieving success.

Dan Sheriff, Conference Manager, Euromoney Seminars, 30 September 2004

I thought today went very well indeed and congratulations on coming up with two very different offerings.  My observation was that all of the staff were attentive and that the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Margaret Haynes, OFAS, about two speeches to a conference held by Computer Associates, 13 May 2004

I would just like to say again, how much we enjoyed your talk and the challenges that you posed for us. I hope that we will remain in contact.

Junior Hemans, Manager, Public Sector Business Advisory Sector, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 25 March 2004

I have just come back from the Philips Design Symposium in Eindhoven where I had to give a talk. I should first like to tell you that James Woudhuysen’s talk went down extremely well and caused quite a stir. It was delivered both with lucidity and passion and Mr Alvin Toffler, the author of ‘Future Shock’, said he was also very impressed and made quite a few references to James’ contribution.

I thought this might be of interest to you from one who has witnessed this successful speech.

International designer FHK Henrion, in a letter to Design Council chief Keith Grant, 8 October 1980