*As Parkes holds seminar on marketing in turbulent times

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

THE British Council would be hosting a prominent academic expert, Dr Geoff Parkes of the Aston Business School, Birmingham in Lagos as part of activities lined up for Parke’s visit which aims at boosting the entrepreneurship potentialities of Nigerians.

A statement by the International Officer, Africa, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of the institution, said the marketing guru would host a seminar entitled: Connections, Innovation and Entrepreneurship on March 7, 2016.

It also described Nigeria as a key market for Aston Business School with an extensive history of successful students coming to Aston for postgraduate and MBA qualifications.

The statement further quoted Parkes to have said: ‘’Aston has been visiting Nigeria which is a country of great importance to us for many years now. I am fortunate to visit this great country many times a year and get to meet hundreds of enthusiastic Nigerians looking to build up their skills. It is a pleasure to see them arrive on campus and enjoying their studies. When they return, our alumni make great ambassadors for the university, and our Alumni Chapter in Nigeria, headed by an MBA alumnus in Lagos, is something that Aston is very proud of.

“My presentation is entitled Connections and it is about marketing in turbulent times. As marketers operating in the 21st century we are faced with a number of challenges presented from the external environment. The challenge for any marketer is to develop strategies which are capable of taking advantage of these opportunities and shaping our organisations.

it’s about identifying new developments and asking ‘what does this mean for me and my firm? The taster session is just one example of the up-to-date and relevant teaching students receive if they choose to study at Aston.’’

‘’ Attendees at the exclusive event will also be able to discover more about Aston’s highly ranked and triple accredited business school, the undergraduate, postgraduate or MBA programmes on offer, as well as information about scholarships of up to £6,000 available for talented Nigerian students. Finally, Aston alumni will be attending to allow attendees to find out first hand why Aston was the right choice for them.’’

Parkes, the statement said: ‘’Has worked at Aston for 10 years, before which he ran a commercial finance brokerage raising in excess of £20m per annum for small firms. His marketing career includes time at Ideal Standard Corporation and Black & Decker and for 10 years. He was the Sales and Marketing Director at Aga Cookers. He is now Head of the academic Marketing Group at Aston Business School and Associate Dean (International) for the School.’’