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Brent Hoberman Biography
Brent Hoberman is an intersting an insightful and rich keynote speaker in the areas of Customer Service & CRM, Retailing, IT & Online Business. He has a number of speech titles including: Building an online business, Focus on service and Who buys online?
Brent Hoberman & LastMinute.com
Brent Hoberman co-founded lastminute.com in April 1998, with Martha Lane Fox, in the living room of his London flat three years after having drafted the initial idea. Brent was 29 and Martha was just 25.
Brent was CEO from the inception of the company. lastminute.com offers consumers airline tickets, car hire, hotel rooms, package holidays, entertainment tickets, restaurant reservations, home delivery, speciality services, gifts and auctions. Brent’s initial vision remains unchanged – ‘to delight customers with great value, inspiration and solutions when they are going away, going out or staying in.’
lastminute.com remains one of Europe’s leading ecommerce companies – and is one of the only startup brands in Europe to regularly feature in the top 10 ecommerce sites in many European geographies. The company floated in March 2000 when the dotcom bubble was at its peak – the IPO was 40 times oversubscribed and the price increase during the process was a record for a UK company.
lastminute.com acquired 14 businesses after the IPO to supplement the annual growth of the core brand which was over 100% from 1998 – 2004. Ten years on the company is the number one travel website in Europe and was acquired by Travelocity Europe for $1.1 billion, a division of Sabre Holdings Corporation on 20th July 2005. The most recent estimates for gross bookings in 2005 were over $2.1 billion.
Brent’s leading industry role was recognised by several organisations – these include: Time Magazines Top 25 European digital leaders, Revolution’s Internet Person of the Year and the Institute of Travel Tourism (ITT) Travel Business Person of the Year.
Brent remained CEO of lastminute.com through 2005, until April 2006 when he handed over the CEO position to Ian McCaig and took the position of Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer of lastminute.com. Brent’s entrepreneurial vision ensured the lastminute.com customer experience was continually enhanced by the latest innovations in technology.
MyDeco & Other Enterprises
Brent most recently founded another VC-backed internet startup, mydeco, which launched in February 2007 – the online interiors site that intends to revolutionise the way we shop and design for our homes, encouraging consumers to spend, socialise and play house all at the same time.
Brent is a Governor of the University of the Arts College, London and a Non-Executive Board Director of Guardian Media Group. From January 2007 he took on the role of Non-Executive Chairman of wayn.com – a travel and leisure social network with over 10 million members. He is also an angel investor in several internet companies including Viagogo, Wayn.com and moveme.com.
Brent was born in South Africa, educated at Eton and holds a MA in French and German literature from Oxford.
For further information or to book Brent Hoberman, call us on +44 (0) 20 8365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Brent Hoberman Video
Brent Hoberman Speaker Showreel - Click play to watch a short sample video clip of Brent Hoberman. For more information on Brent Hoberman please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Brent Hoberman News
A selection of relevant news related to Brent Hoberman, Keynote Speakers, Entrepreneurs and Retail Speakers stories. For more information on Brent Hoberman or details as to how to book Brent Hoberman for your corporate event, please contact one of the Speakers Corner booking agents on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
Michelle Mone, Charles Dunstone and Tim Smit Inspirational Entrepreneurs
4th July 2012
Michelle Mone OBE, Charles Dunstone and Tim Smit have been named most inspirational entrepreneurs.
Ian Livingstone, Ajaz Ahmed, and other Speakers Corner Talent in Wired Top 100
3rd May 2011
Speakers Corner’s top talent is elevated to the technology elite as Wired Magazine publishes its second annual survey of the UK’s digital power brokers. Featured as leaders in the field are Ian Livingstone , Ajaz Ahmed, Brent Hoberman, Bruno Giussani, Jamie Murray Wells and Stephen Fry.
Willie Harcourt Cooze Releases New Chocolate Range
16th April 2013
Entrepreneur and star of Channel 4 show ‘Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory’, Willie Harcourt Cooze, has recently released a new range of chocolate desserts and gifts, which are now available all over the UK.
Simon Calver Becomes an Author
28th February 2013
After dinner speaker and current CEO of Mothercare, Simon Calver, has decided to write a book about his time working as the head of Lovefilm, the movie rental service.
Alberto Alessi Looks to the Future
8th November 2012
Businessman, designer and keynote speaker Alberto Alessi speaks to the Independent about his background, family and his plans for the future.
Stuart Rose Talks Retail
8th May 2012
Stuart Rose, former CEO of Marks & Spencer and consummate keynote speaker, speaks to Management Today and tells how he started out selling men's pyjamas and ended up grappling with Philip Green.
Sir Richard Branson Tops The Entrepreneurs' Rich List 2012
1st May 2012
The Sunday Times Rich List has identified those who are battling out the recession – and winning. Management Today has pinpointed the UK entrepreneurs on the list who are rising through the ranks of the country’s wealthiest, and leading the way is Sir Richard Branson.
Luke Johnson Talks Mentors
5th April 2012
Luke Johnson, entrepreneur and keynote speaker, tells Management Today how Mentors can be extremely useful in business, but it takes real luck to find a good one.
Tom Pellereau’s Business Plan
19th March 2012
The 2011 Apprentice winner Tom Pellereau has secured a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar for his nail file business plan, a project he began working on before he starred on the BBC One reality series.
Michael Acton Smith: One To Watch in 2012
24th January 2012
From authors to entrepreneurs; from CEOs to ballet dancers, and from scientists to police commissioners, The Times has compiled a list of those inspirational and successful figures who are predicted to hit the headlines in the year ahead, including entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith.
For further information or to book Brent Hoberman, call us on +44 (0)20 7607 7070 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk
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