The Leaders’ Lounge has launched as a new invitation-led forum for founders, directors and senior decision-makers from across Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.
The first event was held at The Carrington Arms in Moulsoe, bringing business leaders together for dinner, discussion and a guest-led conversation about artificial intelligence.
Sam Furr of Tappable was the speaker for the opening Leaders’ Lounge session. His talk focused on how businesses can use data, experience and internal knowledge to create a more durable competitive advantage, rather than relying on the same AI tools available to everyone else.
The discussion moved from automation and efficiency to wider questions about job roles, training, customer relationships, communication and the responsibilities of leadership as technology changes the way organisations operate.
The Leaders’ Lounge has been created as a supper club-style business forum rather than a conventional networking event. Each session will feature a different speaker and topic, with numbers limited to encourage open discussion and useful connections around the table.
Kerry Lewis-Stevenson, founder of The Leaders’ Lounge, said: “The first Leaders’ Lounge showed exactly why this needed to exist. Founders and directors spend so much of their time making decisions, leading teams and thinking about what comes next, but they do not always get the chance to have proper conversations with people who understand that pressure.
“This is not about putting people in a room and hoping they swap business cards. It is about creating the right room, with the right people, where useful conversations can happen naturally.”
The idea has also been shaped by conversations with regional business figures who saw a gap for a more senior, discussion-led format.
James Geary, managing partner at EMW, said the concept had grown from conversations about “a gap in the market for a local business leaders’ supper club” built around Chatham House rules, senior leaders and common interests.
Parm Bhangal, founder of Bhangals Construction Consultants and My Build Estimate, said the first event showed the value of “genuine discussion, challenging ideas and learning from the experiences of others”.
Kerry added: “AI was a brilliant subject to start with because it affects every business in some way, whether they are already using it or still trying to work out where it fits. But The Leaders’ Lounge is not an AI group. It is a forum for serious business conversation.
“The speaker and topic will change each time, but the purpose stays the same: to bring founders, directors and decision-makers around the table with people they will benefit from knowing.”
Future Leaders’ Lounge events will continue with a different speaker at each session. Places are limited and aimed at founders, directors and senior decision-makers who want to be part of a more thoughtful business network.
Those interested in finding out more about future Leaders’ Lounge events can visit https://businessmk.co.uk/leaders-lounge/ and join the waiting list.
