Speaker Bio

Unlocking Your Hidden Talent - Innovation is at the heart of BT's business strategies. Neil will discuss how BT's open approach to innovation and collaboration has proved to be an effective way to accelerate the pace of development and deployment of ICT to address customers' evolving needs to create and sustain value in their enterprise. Neil Blakesley has been employed in BT for just under nine years; his current role is VP of Strategy & Marketing BT Americas. Neil is also on the leadership team of the Global Services Strategy Marketing & Propositions Group.

His previous responsibilities within BT have included Vice President Marketing for Global services in the UK and Head of Strategy & Marketing for BT International. Neil has been responsible for delivering a number of key programmes for Global Services including an Integrated Multi Channel Sales & Marketing Programme combining field, desk, web and partners and the first Global Services Global brand Campaign - The Digital Networked Economy.

Previously Neil was a Business Director with SITEL a global outsourcing business. This was a sales and marketing management role selling multilingual call centers as part of an enterprise wide eCRM solution to global corporations.

As Head of Marketing for Lombard Tricity a subsidiary of Natwest Bank, Neil was responsible for the development, execution and deployment of the UK's first multi function store card. This was a complete marketing system with product and database design, supported by call center and web activity.

Neil is a lecturer for the Institute of Direct Marketing on business to business marketing and marketing in financial services. Neil represented Great Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics as a guide runner for Blind Athletes.