Sir Keith Mills guest speaker at Marketing Alumni Group meeting
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Sir Keith Mills, the force behind the London 2012 Olympic bid and founder of Air Miles loyalty scheme, gave a fascinating talk at the latest University of Bath Marketing Alumni Group meeting on 6 October in central London.
Speaking at the offices of SMMT (The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), Sir Keith described how he and LOCOG Chairman Lord Coe developed the bid strategy which persuaded the 115 IOC members that London should be granted the rights to host the next Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Sir Keith outlined the huge and complex operation involved in securing the technical bid which included plans for mobilising a 180,000+ workforce during Games time and securing 2012 hotel room prices as early as 2003.
He highlighted some of the problems associated with trying to win the bid in a city where there isn’t currently a 50 metre swimming pool, a velodrome or an Olympic track.
He also discussed the cultural problems associated with the need to raise the importance of sport in schools in a country where students currently only spend an average of 30 minutes a week doing PE.
In addition to the technical complexities, Sir Keith described the many relationship-building events that took place during the bid process, including briefing former Prime Minister Tony Blair for meetings with IOC members from all over the world.
On 6 July 2005 in Singapore, facing stiff competition from Moscow, New York and the favourites, Madrid and Paris, Sir Keith and his team propelled London to victory.
After securing the bid, Sir Keith remains as Deputy Chairman alongside Lord Coe to oversee operations. They still face the immense logistical challenge of building an Olympic village to house 18,000 athletes and trainers and an incredibly complex transport system including 9,000 coaches and 11,000 cars that all require drivers who have been fully vetted for security purposes.
Sir Keith assured the Group that the London Olympics are on time and on target and we can now begin to get excited about turning this into a reality.
“Hosting an Olympic Games is an extraordinary defining factor for any country. It transforms both the city and the country. It only comes to a country once in a generation and you must touch it in some aspect” said Sir Keith.
Many of the delegates present had already felt the positive effect of the games on their businesses. Sir Keith said: “The economic returns will be significant but can only really be measured in decades.”
Notes to Editors
Sir Keith Mills was born and educated in the UK. He founded Air Miles International Group BV (AMIG) in 1988 to develop the AIR MILES programme. Formerly Chairman of Loyalty Management Group Ltd (LMG) which is the company which owns and manages the Nectar programme in the UK and licenses Air Miles programmes internationally.
In September 2003 Sir Keith was appointed International President and CEO of London 2012, the company that was established to bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. Sir Keith led the team and along with Lord Coe was responsible for developing the bid strategy and persuading the 115 IOC members that London should be granted the rights to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. On 6 July 2005, in Singapore, London beat off competition from New York, Paris, Madrid and Moscow to win the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Having established the London 2012 organisation which will plan and organise the Games (LOCOG), Sir Keith remains as Deputy Chairman alongside Lord Coe to oversee operations. Sir Keith is also a non executive director of Tottenham Hotspur Plc. In 2005 Sir Keith received a number of awards including: Master Entrepreneur of the Year, Chief Executive of the Year and the Sports Industry Businessman of the Year.
Sir Keith was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in September 2008.
The University of Bath Marketing Alumni Group launched in September 2009.
The main aims of the group are to share best practice, to hear guest speakers and discuss topical issues. Meetings are held 2-3 times a year, hosted by one of the members in London.
If you are interested in joining this group or would like more information please contact the Management Alumni Team.
For further information / press enquiries, contact:
Liz Alvey, Marketing Officer
School of Management
University of Bath
Claverton Down
Bath BA2 7AY
UK
Tel:+ 44 (0) 1225 383526
Email: pr@management.bath.ac.uk
General Notes For Editors:
The University of Bath School of Management has consistently achieved both top research and teaching ratings in the UK's Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) assessments. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the School was rated 5th in the UK for management research.
We are one of a select number of international business schools accredited by EQUIS, the European Foundation for Management Development's quality inspectorate and the Bath MBA has been accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) since 1976. The School is consistently ranked among the top UK business schools by The Times, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times and The Guardian.
The centrality of research to teaching is an essential feature of all our programmes. The School offers a full range of programmes from undergraduate to postgraduate up to PhD level and post-experience programmes including the world-ranked Bath MBA. The School also provides tailored executive development programmes for middle and senior management.
The School of Management has a faculty of around 90 teaching and research staff, including visiting academics, with a support team of around 70 managerial and administrative staff. Research income averages £2 million per annum. There are approximately 2,100 students in total comprising some 200 MBA students, 460 Master’s students, 210 full- and part-time research students, and over 1100 undergraduates following BSc degrees. The School also runs joint undergraduate programmes with Departments in the Faculties of Engineering and Design, Science and Humanities and Social Sciences.
