Entrepreneurs Forum

This evening will now be introduced and facilitated by Entrepreneurs’ Forum Corporate Partner, Mark Hatton, Senior Partner of Ernst & Young, Newcastle.

 

Join us at this exclusive evening event to hear the rags to riches story from an inspirational leader, with a determined drive in achieving goals and business success.

 

We invite you to hear from Neil Stephenson, CEO of Middlesbrough-based Onyx Group as he shares with guests the path that he has taken over the last 14 years, growing Onyx from a fledgling internet start up to one of the UK’s fastest growing technology organisations and to learn exactly how this successful business model works.

 

A graduate of the University of Sunderland, Neil was a Marketing Executive with Vaux Breweries before joining Onyx.  He became the Chief Executive Officer of Onyx following a management buyout in 200, after the company’s American owner had been shattered by the bursting of the dotcom bubble.

 

Since then the business has experienced tremendous growth under Neil’s leadership. Entrepreneurial spirit, strong management and a clear strategy have enabled Neil to treble sales in the past two years.

 

During dinner under Chatham House rules of confidentiality, Neil will elaborate on the company’s growth and success, including their most recent acquisition, DRS, which gives the group a national foothold in the business continuity sector and will swell turnover at the 15 year old firm to around £15m turnover this year.

 

Their customer portfolio includes a host of well respected businesses; Sage, Optical Express, Middlesborough Football Club and Dickinson Dees.

 

 

Neil Stephenson has been with the Onyx Group for the past 14 years and has played an integral part of the growth of the company. Neil graduated from the University of Sunderland with a degree in Computing in 1993 and started work as a marketing executive at Vaux Breweries that same year.

In January 1996, he became marketing manager at Onyx, which was at the time a fledgling internet start-up. His career progressed quickly with promotions to operations manager in 1999 and then group sales & marketing director in 2001 before becoming CEO in early 2007. During his time at Onyx, Neil has been instrumental in the growth of the business.

Neil has been involved in two separate management buy outs, the first in 2001 and the second in 2006. He was also part of the team that built and launched the group’s data centres and workplace recovery centres, as well as securing 5 acquisitions in the past 18 months, including Scottish companies Campbell Lee and Dundas IT in 2008 and London based Moffat Communications in 2009.

 

Onyx Group is one of the UK’s fastest growing technology organisations, achieved through both organic growth and acquisition. The group’s acquisitional growth allows them to continue to offer the best IT services and support and also enhance their infrastructure and skills.

 

Neil was a regional winner of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009 and was presented with the Alumni achievement award from Sunderland University in 2009. 

 

Further nominations have followed, most recently with Neil winning the Tees Valley Business Executive of the Year in 2009 and a regional finalist in the regional business executive awards. Neil has helped to mentor many Northern technology businesses as well as supporting the embryonic Digital City project in Teesside. He was listed in the top 500 most influential people in the North East last year and is a member of the CBI Regional Council and the NTI board.

 

This is a members-only dinner and is charged at £55 + VAT per person. Please note that we will have to charge in full for cancellations within 48 hours of the dinner. The dinner will commence at 6.45pm therefore guests are advised to arrive at around 6.30pm.

 

Members can register by calling 0870 850 2233 or e-mailing info@entrepreneursforum.net

 

If you wish to attend or would like further information about any of our events, please call us on 0870 850 2233

 

Venue: Bistro 21, Durham
Time: 6.30pm – 9.30pm