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City Campus East 1, Room 401

A Better Way of Doing Business, Russell Gill, Head of Community Delivery

180 years ago, the Rochdale Pioneers established a co-operative model which seeded a very different and distinctive approach to business, in the UK and far beyond, based on meeting the needs of its members and the communities it serves. Today, worldwide, over one billion people are members of  three million co-ops, which all share the same guiding seven principles inspired by Rochdale.

The Co-op Group places concern for the community right at the heart of its business model, which is now focused on convenience retailing, funerals, insurance and legal services. With a growing membership of over 5 million people, bringing to life our co-op difference is central to our purpose of co-operating to build more value for our member owners every day.

Russell Gill is Head of Community Delivery for the Co-operative Group, the UK's largest co-operative society. For over three decades, Russell has held a variety of positions covering membership, governance, community and campaigns and is currently chair of Co-op Academies Trust which operates 33 schools across the North of England.

The seminar will be chaired by Northumbria Professor Tony Webster, one of the world's leading experts on co-operatives.