October 23, 2017
Collaboration and progress were the key themes at GS1 UK’s 41st Annual General Meeting
Taking place on Tuesday 17 October, GS1 UK’s annual member meet-up and AGM and was held at 30 Euston Square, a unique events venue steeped in history in the heart of central London.
More than 100 members attended the AGM and they were treated to a range of engaging presentations including Digital DNA, how GS1 UK is helping SMEs and a brand-new report that looks at the future of standards in retail.
The day’s proceedings began with the legal part of the AGM where members were presented with the Chairman’s report given by James Spittle, a summary of GS1’s annual accounts and the re-election of the RT Hon Lord Philip Hunt as the GS1 UK President.
Next up to the stage was GS1 UK’s Chief Executive, Gary Lynch, who provided a report on our progress and significant achievements over the past year. In what was his tenth AGM as CEO, Gary was proud to announce we had achieved all our KPIs for the year, while making a special mention for the growth in membership – largely driven by online marketplace sellers.
Gary also gave an account of some of the innovative activities we have got involved with over the past year, including multiple thought leadership reports to grow industry influence and a special appearance from HRH, The Princess Royal, at the global GS1 General Assembly.
There followed a series of engaging presentations from some of GS1 UK’s senior leaders. Holly Porter, Chief Marketing Officer, showcased how we’re building value for SMEs. This is a new programme for us, following a spike in membership from this sector. Holly explained how GS1 UK is bringing SMEs and large businesses together to foster a greater environment of collaboration.
GS1 UK’s Industry Engagement Director, Harshal Gore then explained how we’re collaborating with different industries as their trusted advisors, before introducing Karl Havard, from PA Consulting Group, who presented the findings from a brand-new report into how global standards in retail will fare in the future.
Next was Head of Standards and Consulting, Paul Reid, who introduced the film premier of GS1 UK’s Power of Standards video before getting everyone in the room to take part in an interactive quiz. The quiz was a set-up to introduce the Mobile Ready Hero Images project, a global programme to establish guidelines for the way products are displayed online.
Jim Dickson, Head of Grocery, then gave an update on the Digital DNA programme by holding an informal Q&A with one of the key industry drivers of the project, itsu’s Aidan Tyers.
Harshal Gore took the stage once more to provide an update on our progress in healthcare before bringing proceedings to a close with the GS1 UK Industry champion awards, where he handed out prizes to industry leaders who have been essential in the drive to increase the adoption of GS1 standards.
Gary Lynch said: “As a membership organisation, we take our AGM very seriously as it provides us the opportunity to really engage with our members and provide them with key details of what we have been up to over the past year, our successes and our financial performance.
“This year’s annual member meet-up and AGM was a very important and successful day for GS1 UK. Important because our Supervisory Board made some important business decisions which will lead to some exciting announcements.
“And successful because we received extremely positive feedback from our members who attended complimenting us for getting a real sense of the breadth of what we are doing and the depth of the experience and talent we now have within our organisation.”
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