Reminiscences from veterans of the timber trade, 20th March
Those of you who attended the Centenary Conference at the end of October will remember the session in which Clive Suckling, former Head of Forest Industries at PWC and now a new member of the Society, led a section in which Chris Kaye and Ian Townsend entertained us with their reminiscences of working in the timber trade in Finland in the 1950’s. Time was limited but it was clear that there were many more tales to be told so they have agreed to give a repeat performance on a more intimate scale.
Date: 20th March
Time: 6.30pm-7.00pm
Location: St Giles International
154 Southampton Row
London WC1B 5JX
Please notify Paola Killinen if you wish to attend. Her email address is paolakillinen@hotmail.com and her phone number is 07913 065363. She looks forward to hearing from you!
MEET THE SPEAKERS:
Christopher Kaye
had a distinguished career in the international timber trade over a period of 50 years, starting in 1949. He trained in Finland in 1952 and led the Finnish and Scandinavian departments at Foy Morgan for 15 years. In 1972, he was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive, Price & Pierce Timber Division. In 1982 he became MD of timber trader Churchill & Sim International and later continued his career via his own consultancy until retiring in 2000.
Ian Townsend
was initially trained by Rauma-Repola in 1958 in Finland; his career was spent in the Timber Trade, with a strong Finnish focus throughout. He operated across Europe as an importer and latterly as an agent, serving as chairman and managing director of a succession of timber companies. In 1996, he became President of The Timber Trade Federation. On retirement he set up the Forest Education Initiative in Lincolnshire, part of a national initiative to increase young people’s understanding of forestry.
Discussion Chair:
Clive Suckling
joined the international accountancy firm, Coopers & Lybrand, now PwC in 1975. Over a 37 year period, he served mainly multi-national companies, initially as an auditor and later in various advisory capacities. In 1984, he discovered Finland; over 20 years, he assisted many major Finnish companies with access to international capital markets, deals and enhanced shareholder reporting. He went on to lead PwC’s Global Forest Industries Practice from 2005. Since 2012, he has been an independent advisor on the global forest sector.