Huddersfield Town manager Mark Robins will take to the stage at this year’s Kirklees Business Conference.
The former player, who won honours at all levels, will take part in a question-and-answer session to reveal how getting the best from your people is the key to success in any venture – be it sport or business.
Lancashire-born Mark Robins won many accolades as a striker during his 20 year playing career – including a European Cup Winners’ Cup, a UEFA Super Cup, an FA Cup, a League Cup and the Charity Shield.
Starting at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, he made 71 appearances for the club before joining Norwich City in 1992 in search of regular first team football. During his time at Old Trafford he also earned six England Under-21 caps.Š
He played regularly for the Canaries and then Leicester City in the Premier League before loan spells abroad with Danish side FC Copenhagen, Spanish team CD Ourense and Greek outfit Panionios.Š
Mark returned to England and enjoyed spells at Manchester City, Walsall, Rotherham United, Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Burton Albion before hanging up his boots in 2005.Š
He served as assistant manager to Alan Knill at Rotherham before becoming caretaker manager at Millmoor in March, 2007. He moved the Millers off the foot of the League 1 table and to survival in his first few months before going on to establish Rotherham as a promotion contender over the next two seasons – despite a 17-point deduction in one campaign.
Robins took over at Championship side Barnsley in 2009 and repeated his feats at Rotherham, leading the Tykes out of relegation danger in his first season and helping to consolidate their status in the second tier the following season.ŠŠ
He left Oakwell at the end of the 2010/11 season and worked as a consultant for the Premier League during the creation of the Elite Player Performance Plan – the new structure for youth and under-21 football in England.
He was appointed Coventry City manager in September, 2012. During his five-month tenure, they won 52% of their games – propelling Coventry up to eighth in the table.ŠŠ
He left Coventry to become the new Huddersfield Town manager in February, 2013, and steered the club to Championship safety. Town’s 2013 season has started with great promise and Robins is hopeful this vein will continue.
Danny Matharu, event director of Kirklees Business Conference, said: “Although Mark has played under arguably the greatest living football manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, this session at KBC is not about football. It is a unique opportunity to pick his brains and discover what makes for a successful team.
“Many say that the work of a football manager mirrors that of a business owner and it is for that reason that we approached the club to see if Mark would be interested in speaking. We are honoured to welcome Mark to KBC13 and see this as a real coup to secure him. We thank Mark and the club for agreeing to this.”
KBC takes place on Wednesday, October 16, and is a key fixture in the second Kirklees Business Week. Monday, October 14, sees the start of KBW – an “Open Source” Business Week, full of sector-specific seminars run by different businesses and all free to attend.
Said Mr Matharu: “The principle of KBW is to provide a platform for Kirklees businesses to share their knowledge across the district spread across the week in a manner that is convenient for all sectors of business in Kirklees.
“All venues will be supplied free and all event delegate places will be free.”
Businesses wanting to submit their event to KBW should visit the website at www.kirkleesbusinessweek.co.uk
