Nigel's Blog
Hi, I'm Nigel the Chief Executive of Retail Trust.
The coming year will be a time of growth and change for Retail Trust. The charity will be working more closely than ever with organisations in the retail sector as we cement ourselves as the charity committed to the well-being of employees in the retail industry.
Part of working more closely with the industry is communication. Technology allows me to communicate with you through this blog – spelling mistakes and all! So please feel free to email me on the Contact page with feedback, ideas, or just to swap stories about our blogs. Enjoy!
You can read my biography on our Trustees and Chief Executive page.
Nigel J L Rothband
Chief Executive
Read Nigel's Blog
04 February 2010 : Board Renewal
What an exciting, refreshing and entertaining meeting this morning with Leo McKee, CEO of Brighthouse, our London Ball Chairman for 2011. There aren't too many CEOs with Leo's kind of enthusiasm for his Brand and his people.
We talked about our plans for the London ball 2011 (31st January) book early to avoid dissapointment!
Angela Harvey, who has pulled together Retail Trust Search For A Star, is off back to Australia this weekend. Good luck, have a great trip and we will see you back here soon!
Most of this afternoon was spent pulling together notes for next week's Board meeting. We are setting up a new Nominations and Governance Committee that will oversee the regeneration of our Board. With one or two retirements and a couple stepping down from the Board, there are going to be some opportunities for new blood to join our exciting Board. Watch this space and appropriate press if you are interested!
03 February 2010 : From Redundancy To Recruitment
We have just announced our ReWork programme for the Spring which is designed to help retail staff move from Redundancy to Recruitment details can be found here.
In addition we have been asked by The Appointment to take part in their Redundancy Seminar at the Mayfair Suite, Marriot Grosvenor Hotel on 4th February. Retail Trust will have a stand at the event and Anthony Mills, our EAP Manager, will be presenting.
Also "doing a turn" is Lucy Funnell, who I worked with at The Body Shop. Lucy is an excellent Executive Coach and will be well worth going along to hear.
If you have been affected, or know anyone who has, why not go along tomorrow.
28 January 2010 : Supermarket Sweep
With my Development Director, John McDermott, up in the north east today presenting to dozens of store managers and HR executives from Tesco, I was presenting our Employee Assistance Programme to executives from Sainsbury's in London.
We have developed a lot since those days of The Linen, Drapers', Silk Mercers', Lacemen's Haberdashers' and Hosiers' Institution. (Snappy title eh)!
From a charity housing retirees from the Drapery trade into the only charity helping current, past and future employees across the whole of the retail sector.
Supermarkets are becoming increasingly important to our work and at the same time are becoming more supportive of us.
Following last year's £25,000 donation from Sainsbury's, Tesco on Monday night pledged £50,000.
27 January 2010 : Top Twenty
The Twenty Club dinner was a fine affair last night with a fair proportion of the attendees having been at the Retail Trust London Ball the previous evening.
Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of John Lewis Partnership was the guest speaker and put forward the argument that "The Partnership" was no longer unique or at least a lot less unique than you would imagine. It is now similar to many businesses.
Others on the table included Christine Watts from Waitrose (formely Asda and Selfridges), Tracy Stone, MD of Gant and Carly Gribble from Exley Hervey who is already "Linkedin" and we are following each other on Twitter.
26 January 2010 : The Best Ever
I have had so many texts, emails and messages this morning saying how amazing last night's London Ball was.
Not only did we raise £1,000,000, we also held the final of Retail Trust Search For A Star with Nicola Cassells from H. Samuel coming out on top.
The support we received from the whole room, containing 1,200 people, was fabulous.
Sir Philip Green ensured we hit our target through his generosity and I have to thank Teresa Tideman, her team at Disney and the whole of her committee for the outstanding job they have done over the past 12 months.
Photos of the event are on our photos page - see them here.
25 January 2010 : Tonight's The Night!
Preparations are well underway for the biggest night in the retail calendar. The Retail Trust London Ball takes place tonight at Grosvenor House with the live final of Retail Trust Search For A Star.
The stage is built and rehersals are underway.
With over 1,200 people, it is due to be a great evening. See last years event (photo above).
After my executive meeting this morning, I will be making my way into London to pace up and down the Great Room while my team create the most amazing set.
Look out for the coverage in the press and I will be reporting the results on Twitter and my Blog.
22 January 2010 : Philip Phones Home
A call from Sir Philip Green this afternoon gave us all a boost.
Philip is coming to the London Ball on Monday night and has agreed to "help" with fundraising.
He was instrumental last year in raising over £600,000 from corporate donations. This year we have taken a different approach and collected donations before the night and filmed the cheques being handed over to our ball Chairman Teresa Tideman.
Voting has now closed for Retail Trust Search For A Star and reopens on the night to see which of our four finalist will be crowned champion.
Don't vote now as your vote will not be counted and you will be charged!
I look forward to seeing 1,200 of you on Monday night - Dig deep!
20 January 2010 : London Ball Future Is Bright With All Star Line Up
As we build up to the biggest retail party of the year, The Retail Trust London Ball, which takes place at Grosvenor House on 25th January, I absolutely delighted to announce the name of the next London Ball chairman.
Leo McKee, CEO of Brighthouse will take over from Teresa Tideman, Joint MD of Disney stores, who has done an outstanding job over the past 12 months.
Leo will join 1,200 retailers on Monday night as Teresa kicks off the evening in style.
The who's who of retail will include: Sir Philip Green, Sir Stuart Rose, Harold Tillman, Rob Templeman, Nick Robertson, Ben Gordon, Brian McBride, Jim McCarthy, Mark Saunders, John King, Don McCarthy, Belinda Earl, Andy Street, Carl McPhail, David Reiss, Paul Marchant, Terry Duddy, Mark Newton-Jones, Hussein Lalani, Mike Clare, Touker Suleyman, Michelle Mone O.B.E., Paul Slater and Theo Paphitis.
In addition we have numerous celebrities also attending including: Bruno Tonioli, Caprice, Same Difference, Anthony Costa, Lisa Maffia, Angela Rippon and Liz McClarnon.
We are hoping to raise over one million pounds on the night that will be used to help and support the three million staff who work in our industry.
19 January 2010 : Centenary buses
100 year old birthdays are like buses...you wait a while for one then a few come around a once! Back in August Miss Hyder, resident on the Mill HiIl estate turned 100, and now Mrs Solomon, resident in the care home on the Crookfur Estate has turned the grand old age of 100 too.
I have been in Crookfur celebrating with Mrs Solomon's family and friends - the first time I've been to a party with visitors spanning a 99 year age gap (including herself and her great grandchildren).
This hopefully goes to show how well we're looking after our residents on all five of our estates. Another centenary birthday coming up in May...
15 January 2010 : Derby Day
Not the perfect start to the day when I got stuck on the M1 motorway on my way to visit our retirement estate in Derby. There was a serious accident that meant the journey took me ten minutes under five hours! Despite that, the day was excellent, spending time with every member of the team and planning the second phase of the modernisation programme.
We are just over a week away from THE retail party of the year. The Retail Trust London Ball that takes place on January 25th at Grosvenor House. We have been filming for the past couple of days in preparation for the big night. With the final of Retail Trust Search For A Star and a host of fundraising initiatives if promises to be a night to remember!
