Richard Thorold is a man on a mission! He wants his tenure at Gateshead College (which he joined as Principal in August 2008) to be remembered for its transformation into a true ‘Community College’ which delivers optimum results to all its stakeholders. With an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted report already under ‘team Gateshead’s' belt the 700-strong workforce are now focused on making the most of the £60million investment in four state- of- the art campuses across Gateshead. The College’s recent ‘Culture for Success’ award and Richard’s determination that it should be a fun place to work underpinned by a strong value system means that this is a £39 million business that is worth watching!

It’s great to have a good business story to share in these troubled times - and even better that success at BACK Collect has come in part from helping business clients with innovative strategies for debt recovery. Andrew Charlton, BACK’s co-founder is willing to share some practical debt-collection tips! Andrew served his apprenticeship in debt recovery at the region’s largest law firms. But, it was meeting business partner Barry Kemp that prompted some joined-up technology thinking and the foundation three years ago of BACK Consulting to provide IT solutions and outsourcing – it’s the technology (and a bit of innovative thinking) that makes debt collection so affordable. If you want to understand what makes Andrew and Barry tick; why they work every hour available to them; the value of innovation and improvisation; the importance of engaging the best people; the business returns from being pro-active and/or you just want some help with debt collection strategies that work… this conversation is a must!

In Conversation With…is a version of Question Time without the cameras! We challenge north east businesses to put their questions and concerns about the economic climate to a cross sector panel. Maggie Pavlou from Leonard & Pavlou Consulting; Stephen Slater from RMT Accountants and Gillian Marshall from Business Link will field questions fired at their area of expertise. Conversation host is Caroline Theobald, Managing Director of Bridge Club Ltd.

From big in Houghton to big in Hollywood, Darren Jobling, Business Development Director of Eutechnyx, believes firmly that the difference between good and great in business terms is export. When he joined younger brother Brian 19 years ago, Gateshead-based Eutechnyx was top of the UK games-charts , but hadn’t thought about Europe. Now exports provide 80% - 100% of the firm’s sales into a global retail market worth $32 Billion. Yes, that ‘s bigger than Hollywood box office and set to grow even bigger with the growth in the casual games market being pioneered in China and Korea. If you want to know how to get into exporting (from an award-winning expert); some lessons to be learned in running offshore companies; how to climb from the bottom to near the top of the business food chain; how to become the fastest company in the UK to receive an Investors in People Award; why selling out doesn’t always make great business sense; or how significant the gaming sector is becoming to the north east economy – this conversation is a must! It’ll also be good craik!

Professor Chris Brink was born and grew up in a sleepy rural town on the southern edge of the Kalahari desert. Since then, as a student and academic, he has lived and worked in the UK, South Africa, Australia and the USA. Now that he's here and leading Newcastle University he's determined to harness his academic and leadership experience to clarify the University's role and standing and build a new type of university that's fit for the future. If you want to learn what universities of the 21st century are for; what Chris Brink means by the co-production of knowledge; have a better understanding of the role of a civic university and the main drivers for Newcastle's engagement; or learn about innovative ways to widen student recruitment ...or just to meet Chris Brink - this conversation is a must!

If you want to meet the man in the driving seat; learn what his experience as group technology director of Smith and Nephew brings to the role; understand more about the importance of the ‘innovation machine’ in transforming tomorrow, be brought up to date with plans for Science Central, or want to be enthused about Newcastle Science City and compelled to take action…this conversation is a must!

Like many owner-managers stories, the Georgie Cameron book would be an interesting one to read. Born in London and having lived part of her life in Africa, Georgie started her professional career in big-brand PR (Coca Cola, BMW and KLM) in the Middle East.Ê It was that experience which landed her a role helping to build a national network of PR offices for McCann-Erickson (then the largest integrated marketing, PR and advertising agency in the world) before she fell in love, moved to the North East and following a stint at SAGE Plc, set up Admiral PR in 1999. If you want to learn some big-brand management tips, the skill it takes to manage a portfolio of private and public sector clients, an insight into driving success in the middle east, and/or balancing the needs of a growth business and a growing family this conversation is a must!

It’s quite something to employ 345 people and run a £34.5 million business that people think is public property, but that’s exactly what Alastair MacColl is doing at Business & Enterprise North East Ltd!  He and his team are in the business of business development!  Working under contract for the RDA, LSC and a number of Local Authorities, they are currently best known for the delivery of Business Link Services and (in these troubled times) innovating to offset the impact of the downturn. If you want to learn more about Alastair’s private sector mindset, the business importance of clear communications, the seriousness with which he takes his role, the range of services on offer from Business Link (and how they can best be accessed), what Business Link can do for your business, and/or challenges that face Business & Enterprise North East’s own business development …this conversation is a must!