Humber Business Week’s packed event list will be launched at two separate events for north bank and south bank
Dr Alan Raw will be keynote speaker at the 2026 Biz Week north bank programme launch(Image: Humber Business Week)
The Humber Business Week community is set to welcome award-winning BBC radio presenter, producer and author Dr Alan Raw as a programme launch speaker. The former broadcaster and co-founder of BBC Introducing will be keynote speaker at the 2026 Biz Week north bank programme launch on Wednesday, April 22, where he ask his audience to consider what sort of future they want for the Humber region, and what role they can play in that future.
The following week, on Tuesday, April 28, the programme launch on the south bank will use the spectacular backdrop of Helios – an installation by renowned artist Luke Jerram – to shine a spotlight on culture’s role in shaping growth, identity and ambition for organisations. Alan, who received an honorary doctorate last year from the University of Hull for Sustainability and Creative Practice, will return to the university for the north bank event.
A published author, cultural catalyst and entrepreneur, he will tap into the key Biz Week themes of sustainability, collaboration, and culture by presenting the Humber as a real-world example of industrial transformation and environmental change. Rather than seeing climate and environmental change as abstract challenges, he will invite the audience to view them as opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and long-term thinking.
Alan said: “Humber Business Week is one of those rare moments when people from very different sectors come together in the same room. Those conversations matter because collaboration is how regions like ours turn challenges into opportunities. The Humber is a place that has always lived with change. This region is learning in real time how to adapt.
“My talk will be about sustainability, creative practice, and leadership, how the futures we build always begin as ideas, and how businesses and communities can work together to write a future they want to live in.”
The event will take place at the University of Hull Business School from 5pm until 7pm on Wednesday, April 22. Meanwhile, titled ‘The Business of Culture: Under the Sun’, the programme launch on the south bank will combine business insight, cultural perspective and live performance to demonstrate the role arts and culture play in driving economic growth, strengthening identity and connecting communities.
The event will be delivered in collaboration between Future Humber, The Culture House and Humber Business Week with the message that culture is a powerful contributor to how places grow, compete and tell their story. It will take place on Tuesday, April 28 between 5pm and 7pm.
Pat Coyle, chair of Humber Business Week, said: “The purpose of the programme launches is to reveal details of the events which are planned on both sides of the Humber and this year we’re fortunate to have speakers who can help us do that from the combined perspective of sustainability, collaboration and culture.
“The programme launch is also a key point in the countdown to Biz Week itself, which kicks off on Monday, June 1 with a packed schedule of events at the MKM Stadium in Hull and continues with an array of speaker events, advice sessions, panel discussions and plenty of opportunities to interact and engage before the curtain comes down with The Business Day on Friday, June 5.
“The launch events are also an opportunity for people to set their Biz Week priorities, plan ahead to avoid clashes, and meet some of the people who will be organising, hosting and attending the sessions. New events are being added to the Humber Business Week website all the time and we’re urging anyone planning to host something to get it up online as soon as possible and join the programme launch line-up.”
To keep track of the latest additions to the Humber Business Week programme, register your own events and book your places visit Humber Business Week.
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