Preview FWD Annual Conference Forest of Arden Hotel May 10 & 11

The industry's leaders will be addressing this year's FWD Annual Conference. John Wood reports

All of the top players in the wholesale channel will be represented at the biggest conference in the trade's calendar, the FWD Annual Conference at the Forest of Arden Hotel on May 10-11.

This year the theme of the conference is Impulse, Sustainability & Campaigning and it will be addressed by a line-up of speakers from across the industry, who are all covered in the following two pages. They include the leaders of the biggest wholesale companies and groups, as well as top suppliers to the sector and experts to provide analysis.

One of the biggest talking points is sure to be the problem of duty fraud, which is hitting many FWD members hard, and the campaigning the Federation has been carrying out to educate the Government about the damage duty fraud causes, and to persuade it to take action to stamp it out.

Sustainability is also rising up the list of priorities for companies involved in the sector, with increasing amounts of legislation obliging them to get involved in recycling and with many making considerable savings by implementing energy saving measures.

There will also be opportunities for delegates to socialise and network with their colleagues in the industry at the FWD's annual golf tournament, and at an informal dinner on the evening before the conference.