Entrepreneur who caused national TV stir will be conference keynote in Warwickshire
An entrepreneur – who famously rejected an offer on Dragons’ Den before selling millions of his products worldwide – will be the keynote speaker at a business conference in the region.
Rob Law MBE, the designer, founder and former CEO of Trunki, the innovative company behind children’s ride-on suitcases, will close the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Business and Economic Conference at the IXL Events Centre on November 6.
Rob led the business from an idea that was turned down by a host of manufacturers and retailers so, instead, he started the company from scratch – going onto sell millions of products and winning dozens of design awards.
He rejected an offer on hit TV Show Dragons’ Den from Richard Farleigh but the publicity proved to be worth its weight in gold and led to scores of orders.
Rob has since sold the business and has gone on to launch two subsequent ventures - Aphelion Agency, which empowers brands to thrive on Amazon, and Zeepy, an innovative start-up devoted to enhancing natural sleep in infants and young children.
His keynote speech will conclude a day that already includes a range of speakers and panellists.
The event, which is being headline sponsored by Prime Accountants Group and supported by HCR Law, Coventry City Council and People Arches Ltd, will hear from Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce who will also be hosting an economic panel.
That panel will include Emma Wilks, chief economist at HSBC UK; Steve Harcourt, director at Prime Accountants Group; Eleanor Deeley, joint managing director at Deeley Group; Dawood Ibtehsam, director of People Arches Ltd; and Dr Rebecca Gater, principal & chief executive of Solihull College & University Centre, which includes Stratford-upon-Avon College.
Another panel – chaired by Chamber president Sandra Godley OBE – will look at how the city and the county remain as one economic powerhouse and how it presents this message to rest of the country as well as the world.
It will include Julie Nugent, chief executive of Coventry City Council; Monica Fogarty, chief executive of Warwickshire County Council; Greg Clark, executive chair of the University of Warwick’s Warwick Innovation District; and Nicola Ibbetson, chief business officer at Coventry City Football Club.
There will also be a video address from Richard Parker, mayor of the West Midlands.
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We’ve got an absolutely packed agenda and I am really pleased that we’ve been able to secure Rob Law MBE as our keynote.
“He’s got an amazing story of risk, innovation, and resilience to tell and it’s one we hope will see everyone leaving the event feeling uplifted and inspired.
“Numbers are looking really strong for the conference too which will, once again, make it the biggest opportunity for networking in the business calendar.”
For more information or to attend go to https://www.cw-chamber.co.uk/events/annual-business-economic-conference-2026/